America the Dead (7 page)

Sarah put a hand on my chest. “I know I can tell you it’s just a dream, but something is eating at you, something you may not even realize. And it’s manifesting itself in your dreams as the one thing you’re most afraid of.”

“What’s that?” I looked over at her.

“Failure.” She said.

“Failure?” I didn’t understand.

“Think about it, John. You’ve beaten back the zombies. You’re taking back what we lost, restoring our world to us, one small region at a time. You may think you’re not part of it, but people still look to you to lead them, to bring them out of the dark. You’ve been successful in nearly everything you’ve done for this miserable world and I think you’re scared of how hard the other shoe is going to drop.”

I had to admit she had a point. I had been unbelievably lucky and the fact that I had managed to get this far was stunning in the extreme. I guess I might have been waiting for my luck to run out.

Sarah continued. “Problem is, you get scared, you get killed. If you start thinking too much about what you are doing and how it might affect the future, you’re going to hesitate when you shouldn’t.” Sarah put a hand on my chest. “Maybe it’s time you accepted the role you avoided when you left Leport.”

I looked over at her in the dark. “What do you mean.?” I asked.

Sarah smiled. “You’ve created these communities and they are alive, but in order to live, to grow, they need a cohesive leader, someone to step up and say ‘Follow me.’ Whether you like it or not, John, you and Charlie and the Knucklehead Twins are the best leaders this country can produce right now.”

I turned to face her. “Then we’re seriously more screwed than I originally thought.” I tried to make light of the situation, but it wasn’t working.

Sarah smiled at me. “You were the only one in that school that had a vision for the future and you never lost sight of it. You refused to accept living on the fringe, taking what scraps could be had for existence. You carved out a life for people who had no hope, taking from the monsters who were coming to get us.
You
did that, John. You and Charlie and Tommy and Duncan. You did and no matter what happens, people will never forget you for it.”

“That’s why I came here, I didn’t want…” I started but Sarah wouldn’t let me finish.

“Dammit, John! Face the truth. You’re the leader this country needs to bring it back,” her voice softened. “Everyone else knows it. It’s time you did too.” Sarah snuggled into my arms and murmured into my shoulder. “Now go to sleep. Sunup is coming earlier and earlier.”

I wrapped my arm around her and settled back into my pillow.
Like I’m going to sleep now
. I thought to myself. But shortly, I was drifting off, and thankfully, no more nightmares.

7

In the morning, after I had fed Jake and made sure he was happy, I went to the workout room for my daily routines. Charlie and I had spent considerable time finding and bringing home workout equipment. We had decided that a certain level of strength and fitness helped a great deal when it came to combating zombies and we also did it because once the crops were planted and the animals were fed, there wasn’t much else to do. After our workouts with free weights, Charlie and I sparred for an hour. We fought for real and a casual observer would have thought we were trying to kill each other. But I had realized that we needed to train like we fought and the only way to do that was to forgo pulling our punches and make it for real. After months of bruises, black eyes and the occasional broken fingers, we got better and were able to protect ourselves more effectively, not allowing strikes to connect, or turning them away without injury. Between the two of us, it would have been hard to determine who was the better fighter. But I felt confident going into combat that I could reasonably account for myself.

We finished our sparring and I was smarting from a hit to my shoulder. Charlie was nursing a forearm, but apart from that we were sweaty, but okay. Every other day was weapons practice and both Charlie and I made sure Jake and Julia watched us. I wanted the kids to get the images into their subconscious on how to protect themselves and when they were old enough, they were going to be trained. Some would argue that I was being paranoid, but I knew full well it was going to be a long time before we could count on others for our security and safety. For now and the immediate future, it was every man for himself.

After I cleaned up I went to the main room where Sarah was reading to Jake and Rebecca was watching Julia play. Warm spring sunshine reflected off the stone patio and a cool morning breeze worked its way through the lodge, promising a very beautiful day.

I sat down in a chair and watched the kids play for a bit. Sarah smiled at me then returned to reading to Jacob. I sat back and let myself relax for a minute, then stood up as Charlie and Simon walked into the room. Simon was wearing his pack and looked like he was ready to keep moving.

“Not staying?” I asked, moving over to the big table.

Simon shook his head. “Just feel the need to keep on the move, you know? Maybe I’ll find another place like this for myself. There’s a lot of parks and such up north in Wisconsin and Michigan.”

I nodded. “Probably. But you’re taking a huge risk walking all that way.”

Simon laughed. “I figure if I can get here from California, I can pretty much get anywhere.”

I smiled. “True. Well, if you need anything or if you find yourself back this way, you’re always welcome.”

Simon extended his hand. “I appreciate that. I really do. I’m grateful for your hospitality, wish I could return the favor somehow.”

Charlie nodded. “We’ll think of something. Right now, the best thing you can do for us is to let anyone you meet know about us and if they want to come down to the communities, they’re welcome.”

Simon looked sober. “I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am I met up with you guys. After what I saw in California, I figured it was every man for himself. But you guys really want to get the country back together, don’t you?”

I considered my answer. “If we don’t do something, then we’ll fall apart, into little kingdoms where the only law is violence. We have been cursed with this virus, but in a way it has been a blessing. We’ve been given a chance to correct the mistakes we made in the past, to build a better, stronger country. We can’t let the bastards win.”

Simon and Charlie looked at me, then looked at each other. Charlie spoke first. “Now do you understand?”

Simon nodded. “I certainly do.”

“What?” I asked, only to be ignored.

Simon headed for the door. “Thanks again. I’ll probably be back this way someday, so look for me.”

“Will do,” I said .

Charlie went over to Julia and scooped her up. He motioned me to take Jake and picking him up, we followed Simon out onto the patio. “You have to see this,” he said.

I was vastly curious, so I followed the three of them down to our drawbridge and watched as he lowered a section of the winding staircase down into place. Any zombies chasing us from the river would make it halfway up the stairs, then fall forty feet to a broken existence on the rocks below.

When we reached the bottom, we walked a ways towards the dock where our boat was tied up. When we had gone about halfway, Charlie put Julia on the ground and motioned that I should do the same with Jake. Curious, I put him down and watched him toddle over to Julia. The two of them walked together for a minute before settling down on the ground. Jake squealed as he played with a couple of sticks and Julia rolled a rock around.

A deep growl from the forest ahead caused me to whip out my SIG and train it on the woods. As I stepped forward to get the kids, Charlie held out a hand. “Hold on. Keep your gun out, but wait. You won’t believe it.”

I was doubtful as I waited and then turned incredulous as a huge cougar stepped from the shadows of the forest. It was ten feet long from nose to tip of tail and looked incredibly fit and healthy. It looked at me with deep green eyes and then looked at the other two men. After that it walked slowly towards the two children. I tensed, but Charlie shook his head. “Wait,” he whispered.

The kids saw the big cat and laughed with delight. They walked and stumbled over to it and to my complete amazement, the big cat lay on its side as the kids came within reach of paw and fang.

Simon was just as stunned as I was. Charlie looked at the two of us and grinned as Jake and Julia played with the big cat, crawling on its side and tugging at its ears. The cougar was as gentle as a house cat with the babies. Charlie walked slowly over to the big cat and held out his hand. The cat sniffed him then let him rub its head. The deep grumbling I heard was a cougar equivalent of a purr.

Charlie motioned me over and I walked slowly over to the big cat, its eyes never leaving me as I reached out with my left hand, keeping my SIG in my other. The cat flattened its ears a little at me, but once it smelled me and recognized the scent from Jake, it was fine with me petting it. I shook my head in disbelief as I rubbed the fur of the great cat.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Charlie asked as the kids tumbled over the cougar. It rolled onto its back, stretching its great legs and flexing the hind claws, hooks that could disembowel a human in an instant.

“Yes, she is,” I noted, discovering for the first time that our cougar friend was a female. I withdrew my hand from a yawning head, two inch fangs were not my favorite playthings. I was still amazed when the big cat leaned over and licked Jake across the face. He giggled, then buried his head in the cat’s shoulder.

Suddenly, the cat rolled to its feet, tumbling the kids to the ground. I picked up Jake and Charlie grabbed Julia. I wasn’t sure what was wrong, but the cat suddenly growled and lowered its head, bearing its fangs and growling. I looked back and saw the problem. Simon had come closer and since his was an unknown scent, the cougar had dropped into a defensive pose.

“Just step back slowly, Simon,” I said, stepping away myself. Charlie was backing away with Julia, who was struggling to be put down again.

“No shit,” said Simon, who stepped back quickly. The cat relaxed a bit, then with a final glance at Charlie and myself, disappeared into the woods.

I looked over at Charlie, who shrugged. I shook my head and said, “Well, its nice to know we have a kick-ass babysitter, although I sure won’t leave the kids alone with her.”

“No kidding,” Charlie said. “But did you see her get protective? It’s almost like she was getting ready to attack.”

“Yeah, I saw
that
,” Simon said shakily.

I laughed and we kept walking, heading down towards the river. When we reached the edge, I pointed to the west. “Follow that trail until you get to the north/south road. Head north across the river and you’ll be in Utica. Keep going north and you’ll hit I-80. Head west and you’ll hit I-39. Take that as far north as you want. If you want to, Galena is a nice place. Head west on 20 until you hit it.”

“Is it like this?” Simon asked, looking around again.

I shook my head. “More remote, more hills, lots of valleys and farms.”

Simon considered it. “Maybe I’ll head there. Look for me if you’re up that way.”

I nodded. “We’ll be on the river if we do. Good luck.” I shook his hand and he shook Charlie’s. Shrugging his pack into a more comfortable place, Simon headed off down the trail, his long legs eating up the journey. Charlie and I watched until he rounded the bend in the river, then we turned back to the lodge. We had to get ready for a journey of our own.

8

We debated for a couple of days as to what we were going to do. I favored going up to Leport by myself and talking with Nate, while Charlie and Tommy thought it would be a good idea for more of us to go. Eventually it was decided that we all would take a trip to see old friends and acquaintances. Sarah and Rebecca were delighted to be heading back to Leport and I had to admit, I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces as well. It had been a long winter and we needed to shake off the cabin fever that always came from too much cold weather.

As we carried our belongings down to where the boat was docked, a telltale moan wafted across the parking lot. All of us tensed as we looked for the source and Charlie finally spotted the lone Z working its way through the dense brush at the western edge of the main parking lot.

We waited for a moment and determined that it was alone. I waved on the rest of the crew and put my supplies down. I took off my backpack and rifle and after a moment’s consideration, I put down my trusty pickaxe. Drawing just my knife, I walked quickly to the stumbling zombie. It groaned loudly and raised a hand in my direction. It was in better shape than some I had seen, making it a more recent convert to the undead. As I approached, its mouth opened in anticipation of a meal, baring dirty white, chipped teeth.

I dodged its outstretched arm, sweeping it aside with my left hand while bringing my knife hand up to bear. The zombie stumbled and in the second it took for the Z to regain its balance, I slammed the heavy tanto blade into its skull. The ghoul stiffened and I twisted the blade, scrambling its eggs. The corpse dropped and I pulled out my knife as it fell. Walking back to my stuff, I wiped off the blade and set flame to it with a lighter, burning away the virus.