The Dead Hunger Series: Books 1 through 5 (170 page)

“We’ve seen it.  What about it?”

I looked at Albert, dumbfounded.  “All this time and you don’t know what it does?  Have you ever gotten lightheaded at all after killing one of them close range?”

Albert looked confused.  “I don’t know … maybe.  We’re always outside when we come across them, so it’s not like we’re in close confines or anything.”

I thought that might explain it.  It also depended on the food intake of the abnormals.  The vapor dissipated if they didn’t eat for a while.

“Anyway, the vapor will knock you out.  The wafers our scientist friend made – we call it WAT-5 – prevents it, but it also makes them not gas you, because they don’t see you as food.”

“Cool,” he said.  “Wow.  Good information.”

A gunshot rang out.  Then another.  It sounded like an AR-15.  I snatched the radio from my belt and pushed the button.  “Nelson!  Rachel!  Come in!”

“Whoa, dude,” came Nelson’s voice.  “No worries, brother.  Rachel here just killed one of nature’s most majestic creatures with her majestic machine gun.”

“A deer?” I asked.

“Yeah,” said Nelson, sadly.  “Here, talk to her.  I’ve gotta go say a prayer over what’s left of the little guy.”

“
What
?” I said.

“Dave?” came Rachel’s voice.

“You shot a deer?”

“Yeah!” she said.  “I wouldn’t have, but it was within view of the chopper.  Fresh venison today.  How does that sound?”

I looked at Albert.  “How does fresh venison sound?”

He rubbed his stomach.  “I am gonna be so full.  Tell them to hurry.  The smell of blood draws ‘em fast.”

“Rachel, Albert said to tell you go get that deer to the chopper fast and get here.  We all know what the smell of blood does for our rotting friends out there.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said.  “Nelson finished his prayer.  We’re good.  See you in about fifteen minutes.  We’ll need a bit of engine warm up.”

“Good enough,” I said.  “Check in before you lift off, would you?  I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“You’ll hear the chopper, Dave,” she said.  “Pretty sure.”

“Oh, right.  Okay, bye.”

I looked at Albert.  “When’s the last time you went to Bug’s place?”

“About a week and a half ago,” he said.  “I didn’t tell Maddie and Russell.”

“You go during the day or night?” I asked, hoping it was day.

“Always in the light.  I told them I was checking traps.”

“Traps?”

“Yeah, small game stuff we got from the farm supply.  Rabbit’s good now and then.  Any meat we can get.”

“What’s left of the deer you can cure.  I’m not sure how long we’re going to be here, but I don’t expect more than a couple of nights, so what doesn’t go is yours.”

“Cool,” said Albert.  “I’m excited.”

I liked Albert.  He had a determination and a sincerity about him that told me he would make a loyal friend and a formidable adversary.  I’d want him on my side if I lived here.

“Okay,” I said.  “Today we plan, eat and rest tonight.  Tomorrow would you care to join us up there?”

He nodded his head.  “Do you want to breach the perimeter?” he asked.  “Go inside?”

“I kind of have to,” I said, shrugging.  “But I need to get deep into the place if I want to find my uncle.”

“Okay,” he said.  “I’ll help all I can.  I need to answer some questions.  Once and for all.”

I put a hand on his shoulder.  “Hope I can help you do that, man.”

“So do I,” he said.  “My folks’ names are Morgan and Ellie Brookins, and if they’re alive in there, I need to get them out.”

I wondered if anyone could be alive in there after so long essentially trapped.  Supplies had to have run out, and if many of them were sick, I didn’t hold out much hope.

I said nothing to Albert.  He deserved to cling to his bit of hope.

*****

While Rachel had plenty of expertise in field dressing a deer, so did Russell, and he insisted on doing the job.

Albert and the girls built a nice fire in the pit in the middle of the camping area with a large, round grill top over it.  The smell of fresh venison and trout cooking was visibly driving everyone over the edge.

We’d brought out some of our extra .22 rifles and supplied the group’s adults and the older kids with enough weapons and ammo to defend their home for perhaps a year, at their current level of infestation – I suppose that’s the word for it.

In return, they promised to assist on runs down to the gas station to haul enough fuel back to fill the chopper.  We all thought that was a pretty fair trade.  Plus, we got shelter for the duration of our visit.

The kids all carried their own chairs outside from one of the other cabins, which I assumed was used for storage.  We all sat on molded resin patio chairs – the stackable kind – and when the food was done, Russell carved the meat and cut the fillets into halves.

We all sat in a large circle around the cooking fire, our plates on our laps.  I took a large bite of deer meat and chewed it.  It was amazingly tender, thanks to Maddie’s expertise in preparing and cooking it.  I drank down a large sip of the Cabernet Sauvignon they’d provided with dinner and I almost felt human again.  Beside me, Serena looked at me as she bit off another mouthful of meat and smiled.  She looked beautiful, having bathed in the cool water of the creek.  It reminded me that I needed a bath, too.

“Have you got any kind of early warning system out here?  How do you know when someone’s coming?  One of them?” asked Nelson.

“We actually do,” said Albert.  “We have to check on them all the time, but you might have seen PVC poles sticking out of the ground wherever there’s a clearing.  We mounted cowbells on the tops.”

“Cowbells?” asked Lola.

“Yeah,” said Kristin, the oldest girl. “There was an antique shop downtown that had tons of them, some painted with local scenes and Dunsmuir, California on them and some really old and rustic.  Tourists loved ‘em, I guess.”

I was glad to see the kids, even with what they were going through, were very sociable and friendly.

“Good idea,” said Nelson.

“They are,” said young Russ.  “Saved us a bunch of times.”

“So we’re going tomorrow,” I said to Russell.  “I would say that everyone here should be on alert, because we’re going to basically slaughter as many as we can up there.  While they don’t run from a fight because they’re too stupid, some could end up down here, I guess.  Just be aware.”

“I’ll join you,” he said, glancing at Maddie.

She did not respond, but broke her eye contact with him and looked back down at her plate.  I took that to mean she preferred he didn’t.

“Look,” I said.  “We came here prepared to do what we had to do.  We never anticipated help, so if you have reasons – and you clearly do – to want to steer clear of the fight up there, then I absolutely insist that you do that.  Stay here and defend your home and family.”

Russ glanced again at Maddie, then said, “I have Maddie and my kids to think about.  I don’t think there are many men who can say that anymore.”

“You’re right, Russell,” said Serena.  “As the world begins to rebuild when this has passed – and I have to believe it will eventually be over – you will be one of the original families.  It’s unique.”

“As unique as a hand-painted, Dunsmuir cowbell from Tessa’s Antiques,” said Kristin, smiling.

“Anymore venison, anyone?”

Six girls raised their hands.  I sheepishly followed suit.

After dinner was over and we all pitched in, washing the dishes in the creek, night had fallen.  The girls retired to their sleeping quarters and full bed checks were done by Russell, Maddie and Albert to make sure nobody had wandered off.

I guessed it was more of a ritual than a necessity – this was a well-organized group of survivors.  A great little community, but a huge responsibility for the generous couple.

After all was said and done, we all reassembled back in Cabin 6 where we relaxed.  Nelson slipped outside to burn a bowl of pot, and came back inside, ready to strategize.

“So urushiol oil melts them, huh?” said Russell. 

Albert sat up suddenly, his eyes wide.  “Russell!  Remember that day I told you I was walking through the woods and I smelled something?  And I went toward it and found like a whole bunch of rotted meat and bones?”

“Yeah, I do.  Three months ago or so.”

“Yeah, well there was a whole bunch of low, green plants in that area.  I wonder if that was poison ivy.  Or oak or something.”

I sat up.  “We have some urushiol, but not much.  Do you have a brewery in town?  Or a distillery of any kind?”

“There is a brewery,” said Russell.  “Not sure how it survived the fire, though.  We haven’t been down that far.  There wasn’t a need.”

“A brewery will need more modification and we’ll need other parts,” I said.  “I was in on the work done in Concord, so I have a good idea of how to go about it.”

“Before we go,” said Serena.  “If we can get you guys extracting your own urushiol oil, it would be a Godsend to you.”

“Sounds like it,” said Maddie.  “You guys are giving me this sense of hope that I haven’t had in a long time.”

“And dudes, don’t forget.  The best part is, you don’t have anything to worry about while you harvest it.  All of you – even the girls – are immune to it.  It’s why you survived the zombie gas.”

“Whether we need to mess with the brewery equipment depends on what we find up there,” I said.  “It’s  not going to be a quick job and it’s definitely not top priority for now.”

Russell nodded.  “Got it.” 

“Albert, when we go tomorrow,” asked Rachel, “do you want to join us?”

I had told Rachel about his parents.

“Oh, I’m going,” he said.  “No doubt.  I already told Maddie and Russell.”  He looked at them.  “You understand, right?”

“Hell yes,” said Russell.  “If not for the responsibility we have, I’d go, too.  But they’re right.  They’re equipped, they know how to use the weapons they have.  I might get in the way.”

I pulled out the bag of remaining wafers.  “These are all we have left of our main protection,” I said.  “If there aren’t any of the red-eyed females around they’ll be effective.  If there are, these will help some, but in the end, we’ll be found out.”

“Really?” asked Maddie.  “You can take this and just stand right there with them?  Like you’re one of them?”

“Yeah,” I said.  “It’s pretty freaky at first, and you still have to make sure you don’t get scratched or bitten if they fall into you or something.  You also don’t want it wearing off while you’re in the middle of them.  You’re toast if that happens.”

“If we mulch up a bunch of the poison ivy,” asked Albert, “and spread it around the perimeter of our compound, think that’ll stop them?”

“If their skin is exposed,” said Nelson.  “and they walk on it, I guess it would.  Once the leaves die, only the oil will remain, right Davey?”

“That’s what Hemp told me,” I said.  “As for touching their skin, most of them are barefoot now, even the ones that had shoes on at first.  Saw one like that today when I was out with Albert.  No soles.”

“Ha, good one,” said Nelson.  “Souls, right?  Like in the spiritual sense?”

I hadn’t even thought about it, and I laughed at Nelson’s connection.

Lola yawned and stretched.  Her hand went instinctively to her knife, and she said, “I need to turn in.  I’m in the Northern Pacific car?”

“Yep,” said Russell.  “And Dave and Serena are in the CCT car right behind it.  Rachel and Nelson, you guys are free to take either the Cotton Belt car or Cabin 4.”

“Oh, we’re not together,” said Nelson, with an embarrassed smile.  “Rach, if you want the cabin, I’ll be fine in the car.”

“That’s fine, Nel,” she said, smiling.  “Thanks.”

Rachel did not seem embarrassed at the implication she was with Nelson.  In fact, I thought I saw faint disappointment in her eyes.  It was probably my imagination.

“Any special procedure for problems at night?” I asked.

“If you hear cowbells, get on the radio and await instructions.  Channel 16.  I’m glad we’ve got the guns now, but that doesn’t mean I want their putrid asses in our compound.”

“Got it,” I said.  “Once it’s good and light, we’re heading up there in the morning.”

“We’ve got chickens that you haven’t seen yet, so there will be fresh, three-egg, venison omelets if you want them,” said Maddie.  “You’ll need energy, so don’t leave without eating first.”

With that we retired to our respective rail cars and cabins.  Sleep came fast.

I don’t remember dreaming, which is good.  I can’t imagine my mind settling on pleasant things, considering what task lay ahead.

*****

             
Chapter Fourteen             

Breakfast was good, but I found myself powering through it.  I had only one thing on my mind now.

Brett Ulrich Gammon.  Uncle Bug.

As we prepared, we saw something very cool and a little strange:  Some of the girls were undergoing zombie-killing training.  Someone – I assumed Maddie, Russell and Albert – had constructed what appeared to be a kind of a horizontal, turning carousel, like a merry-go-round of sorts.  It looked like it was made out of 2” x 2” lumber with bearings and spindles, kind of like a wagon wheel, complete with spokes and supports, along with a series of guy wires.

I could not see exactly how it was designed, but it appeared to have been built utilizing a large flywheel of some kind that connected to other gears.  Beneath it, I could almost make out a flat, coil-type spring beneath its base, similar to what you see in wind-up toys.

This made sense when I saw three of the girls rotate the entire device counter-clockwise a few dozen times before letting it go. When released, it slowly unwound, turning the entire upper piece and its attachments.  Atop the carousel were ten dummies of varying heights and configurations, dressed in torn up clothing.  Some had arms down at their sides, others arms reached outward, and some were missing limbs altogether.  Their heads looked like tightly balled and wired balls of straw, which is what I assumed also stuffed the bodies.

When it was all underway, the girls, from the youngest to the oldest, leapt over the spinning base, gauging the time remaining until the next lower crossbar arrived.  Their eyes never left the looming, faux zombies, and as one neared, they would lunge forward and jab twice with their lengths of rebar, piercing the heads of each crude, representative mannequin.

I was impressed.   I was captured by little 7-year-old Frannie’s level of focus, and was mesmerized, unable to look away.

That is, until I saw Cara, the 10-year-old, ram her rebar in the side of the head of one of the dummies, her hands well-placed on the sharpened steel rod, only to yank it out, reposition it, and jam it at the perfect angle beneath the dummy’s chin and up into its straw brain.

No grunts, no sounds.  All were silent as they killed their makeshift zombies.

I was glad at their level of preparation, but at the same time I thought,
I hope there’s room for love in their hearts, along with all that fierce determination.

Nelson came out of his place, and I was surprised to see Rachel step out behind him a few seconds later, looking up to reveal a slightly embarrassed look.  She raised her hand in a wave.  I waved back and looked away, hopefully leaving her dignity intact.

She’d been through a lot, and Nelson was a good man.  Age differences mattered far less these days, and going by Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and about a hundred other celebrities, there was really nothing unusual about it anyway.

“Ready?” asked Rachel, walking up to us with her AR-15 and drop holsters loaded up with a pair of .45 semi-automatics.

“We are,” I said.  Serena and I were similarly equipped. 

“I get WAT-5,” said Lola, coming out of her cabin with an empty plate.  “Sorry.  I breakfasted alone this morning.  I got so used to being alone.  Gives me time to think.”

“To each their own,” I said.  “Will you be taking any other weapons besides your knife?” I asked her.

“Nope,” she said.  “Your wafers and my blade.  Along with these feet, it should be all I need.”

“Your call, just be careful,” I said.  I thought again how glad I was that Nelson had finally decided to arm himself.  I needed firepower by my side, and as much as I could get.

“Nel, you got all your mags loaded?” I asked.  “Extra ammo, too?”

“Yep,” he said.  “I’m primed, too.”

“Comforting,” said Serena, smiling and shaking her head.

“For me, it is,” he said, shrugging.

“We leaving the helicopter here?” asked Rachel.  “Make our way on foot?”

“Yeah,” I said.  “Albert showed me the trail, and with a group like the one they described, there are going to be a few pregnant females in there.  If their ears are working, we need to mitigate that risk.”

“Davey,” said Nelson.  “Mitigate.  Good word.”

“Saw it on Wheel of Fortune,” I said, smiling.

As if on cue, Albert exited his cabin and walked over.  He held a .22 pistol we’d given him, and over his arm were a load of jackets. 

“Okay, guys.  Are we all taking those wafers?”

“Yes, but we need to sit,” I said.  “What’s with the clothes?”

“Russell and Maddie don’t want you guys going up there without these on.  Lightest leather we could find over the past year.”

“It’s not that cold,” said Rachel.

“Not for cold,” said Albert, holding one up.  “These are long-sleeved vests.  If we’re going to be right there with them, we should all protect our arms.  Scratches, even bites won’t get through it.  You guys been hiding under a rock?” he asked, smiling.

I smiled back.  “Good idea.  We haven’t been involved in too much hand-to-hand,” I said.  “Mostly distance kills.  I’ll wear one, if you have something that fits.”

“There are more,” he said.  “If you don’t find something, we’ll grab it from inside.”

Albert put the stuff on a nearby mesh table and we sorted through it.  He ran back in to find one that was long enough for Nelson’s arms and soon we looked like a strange motorcycle gang, looking for trouble.

“We can take the wafers over by the fire pit,” Albert said.  “I’m ready to go.  Let’s dose and get out of here.”

“Now you’re talkin’ my language,” said Nelson.

I pulled out the appropriate number of wafers, and realized we would only have around seven left when it was all said and done.

Nonetheless, we all took our wafer naps and woke up ready to go see what was up at Bug’s compound.

It’s that awkward moment when everybody seems to trust your judgment, and the only holdout is yourself.

We said our goodbyes and headed toward the trail to Brett Gammon’s place.

*****

There we were, finally in California, doing what we had gone there to do.  I appreciated the help from my friends, both old and new, but I also worried for them.  This was my mission, after all; not theirs.

Knowing that each of them had their skills – including Lola and her awesome blade work – I was put somewhat at ease.  Communication would be everything up here, especially if it was anything like Albert said.

Speaking of the kid, he was the wild card in my mind.  He’d been perfectly comfortable hoisting a bat in one hand and a .22 rifle in the other. 

I hoped he had a plan on how to use both if he needed them.  I was on his turf, and he had a mission.  As we walked, I called him to the front and because we were already on the trail, it was narrow enough that Serena had to fall back.

“Yeah, Dave,” he said.  “What’s up?”

“Albert, what’s up is that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.  I don’t mount offensives and I don’t fight wars.  I’m a shitty captain to put your confidence in.”

To my surprise, he shook his head with a big smile on his face.  “Seems to me you’ve got a group here who knows you and they’re following you.  You tellin’ me they’re stupid?”

It’s that awkward moment when a nineteen-year-old puts you in a conversational box that you can’t get out of.

“Good point,” I said.  “And yeah, to a man and woman they’re smart and capable.  I just might be the only one who’s been running off of dumb luck.”

“Well,” he said, taking a deep breath and a glance at those behind us, “I don’t think
they
think so, and I don’t either.  That said, what is the plan?”

“Is there any other way inside?” I asked.

“Never looked,” said Albert.  “I’ve been focused on the place my folks went in.”

I looked at him as we walked, occasionally glancing ahead on the path in case something popped out ahead of us.  “Seriously?  You’ve never scouted higher up?”

“We can do it today if you think it’ll help.”

“We don’t have enough WAT-5 to waste,” I said.  “So depending on how things go now, we may need to take advantage of every minute of invisibility this stuff provides us.  It might get us into where your folks are.”

“Do you think so?” Albert asked, hope in his voice.

The path widened and Serena and Nelson moved up beside us.  I looked back and saw Rachel in the rear, her AR-15 ready for trouble.

It was about a 1-1/2 mile hike from the Railroad Car Resort to the narrow trail that led to Bug’s place, and another half mile up the winding path to his house, according to Albert.

“Albert here just asked me about his folks,” I said to Serena and Nelson.  “I was just about to tell him that if we find them, he needs to take them and hightail it back down to the park.”

“But –”

“No buts, Albert,” said Serena.  “You’ve got quite a responsibility down there, and you’re good at it, from what I saw.  They need you.  If it were up to me – and I think Nel and David here would agree – you wouldn’t be here now.”

“You don’t have a right to stop me,” he said, with no hint of a smile now.  “I need to find my parents, and I’d have come up here whether you did or not.  Now that I have this,” he said, holding up the rifle.

At that point, we were about halfway up.  Just under a half mile to go.  It was fairly steep, though, and the going was sluggish.

It had been so long since I’d been there, nothing looked familiar.  It’s funny how well we think we remember something until called on to access the information.  Then it’s gone. 
Poof.

“Davey doesn’t bark commands,” said Nelson.  “Albert, dude, this is your call and it always was, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have your back.  That said, I barely know how to shoot this damned gun.”

“Oh, that’s comforting,” said Albert with a smile.

Albert stopped.  “There,” he said, pointing.  “We should move off the trail.  I’ve gone through the woods here so many times there’s a narrow trail now.  I get pretty close to them.”

He pointed to an almost invisible path.  The only indication it was there was what looked like a fallen tree branch with dead leaves packed over it.  The trail of flattened leaves and branches wound their way into the forest as far as we could see.

“Lead the way,” I said. 

He did.  We followed. 

“How far from here?” I asked.

“Another five minutes,” he said.  “Shh.”

In four minutes I called a halt to our forward momentum and asked everyone to get in a circle.

“Okay, guys.  We’ve got …” I turned my wrist up to look at my watch.  “about four hours and fifteen minutes of WAT-5 protection.”

“I feel something,” said Lola, looking directly at me.

I was shocked to see her eyes with a red tinge.

“Oh, my God!” said Rachel.  “What’s wrong with her?”

Nelson put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder and nodded toward me.

“Lola,” I said.  “I need you to stay calm, but your eyes are … well, they’re red.”

“What?” she asked.  “Like bloodshot?  I was just saying I feel a pull.  Something pulling me forward.  It’s … like it’s almost impossible for me to just stand here.”

Nelson reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a shiny, 3” Ninja star.  He held it up and she looked into it.

“Oh.”  She stared at her reflection in the gleaming, stainless steel and at first, her eyebrows furrowed together.  A moment later, her red eyes began to water.  “Am I … is this
still
from what happened to me before you found me?  I’m like …
them
!”

“That this is from your exposure to them is a definite,” said Nelson.  “But that said, you don’t seem like one of them.  You’re much nicer.”

Despite her fear, Lola laughed, and I was surprised to hear Rachel laugh, too.

Nelson seemed pleased at that.  A shy smile crossed his lips.  “Don’t worry, Lola,” he said.  “You took one of the wafers made of the red-eye vapor right away.  It didn’t get to you in the helicopter, and that was right after.”  He turned and looked at me.  “Plus, we don’t even know if getting blasted by them affects you long term, right Davey?”

“I
told
you I feel a pull,” Lola said, obviously still frightened.  “So something is happening.”

“What the hell is this about?” asked Albert.

“Sorry,” Serena said.  “Albert, have you noticed some of the females have red eyes?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it a couple of times.”

“Okay,” said Serena.  “If a woman in her childbearing years who is fully capable of having children is doused with the eye vapor from a pregnant female abnormal, she can fall under their control.”

“Like psychic stuff,” said Nelson.  “Magic.”