Z14 (Zombie Rules) (22 page)

             
And then I got over confident. Sensing victory, I let my hands drop down, leaving my head unguarded. Barry seized the opportunity and landed another wild haymaker. It connected solidly with my temple. He followed up with a left to the jaw. It stunned me. I saw a flash of stars and stumbled. I felt my knees buckle and had a sudden flashback to the beating I sustained not so long ago.

The humiliation of that da
y forced me to recover quickly. I planted my feet as he bore in. I feinted with a right and ducked a punch. He leaned in for another punch, but never had the opportunity. I launched an uppercut and my fist made solid contact with his nose. I felt it crunch as his head snapped back. He fell to the ground in a heap. Before he could get up I kicked him in the face. He grunted in pain and his eyes rolled back. He was bleeding heavily out of his mouth and nose, and a couple of his teeth lay on the ground beside him. He was done.

             
I looked him over a moment, and not wanting a bullet in the back, I reached down and took his sidearm. I returned to my seat and sat for a minute getting my breathing under control. The Captain had stood when the fight started and watched with gleeful amusement. I kind of believed he may have subtly instigated the whole thing. I waited until he sat back down.

             
“Now, where was I? Oh, yes, taxes.” I set Barry’s handgun on my leg, casually pointing it at Eli in case he got any idiotic ideas. “Once word gets out, you’ll start to have people from all walks of life drift in. Some of them will be craftsman who will set up shop to ply their trades. This is where the large parking lot will come into play. You can charge them rent for the space, or charge them a tax on their business transactions. This can be either a straight fee or on a commission basis.” I looked over at Barry, and noted with satisfaction he was still addled.

             
“Now, suppose someone is in need of medical services. You’ll need to somehow attract doctors, nurses, dentists.” I got a smile from the Captain. “These people, you’ll need to be paying them. Their skills are highly specialized, so you’ll want to do what it takes to keep them nearby.”

             
Barry slowly regained his senses and moved into a sitting position. Howard walked over and knelt beside him. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to him. Barry glared at him with contempt.

             
“Go on now, take it and hold it on your nose. We gots to get that bleeding under control. Zombies can smell blood, you know.” Barry looked at Howard a moment longer, and reluctantly accepted the handkerchief. Howard stood and looked at us. “I’ll get some soap and water. We’ll get that blood washed off.” He walked inside without a backward glance. I noticed Howard’s boys and his wife were watching out of one of the windows. I looked over at the Captain.
              “Perhaps Barry needs to read Gunga Din.” I quipped. The Captain grunted.

We were interrupted by the girls driving up. They were laughing over some inside joke as they got out of the truck. Andie had several plastic bags stuffed with items.

              “What have you got there?” The Captain asked Andie as they walked up. She gave Barry a passing glance and stored her stuff in the jeep.

             
“Female stuff.” She said cheerfully. He arched an eyebrow. Julie and Macie both saw Barry sitting on the ground holding the handkerchief over his nose. They looked at me, saw the scrapes on my face and knuckles, and grinned knowingly. I got the journal out of the truck and handed it to the Captain.

             
“It’s an interesting read. There is something more going on with these zombies than we are aware of. Next time we meet, we can discuss it.” I said and then stood. “I have to get caught up on some chores. How about we meet at the truck stop in two days, maybe at noon? If I can, I’ll bring some steaks and we’ll throw them on the grill.” He nodded in agreement. I unloaded Barry’s handgun and tossed it on the ground. Before we left, I saw the Captain leering hungrily at the two girls. My two girls. He saw me looking at him, grinned at me, and walked to his jeep.

             
We filled each other in on our respective interactions. The girls were especially interested about the fight.

             
“So you kicked his ass?” Macie asked. I shrugged. “I am so fucking aroused right now!” She said. Julie giggled.

             
“It wasn’t without consequences. I need some ice on my eye, it’s swelling shut.” Julie stopped where there was some snow still on the ground under a large tree. I scooped some, wrapped it in a bandana, and held it on my eye while we rode.

             
“You two need to be on the lookout for a radio antenna.” I said. I sat in the back of the truck, holding the compress over my eye. The two girls would look at each other occasionally and start giggling.

             
“What is up with you two?” I finally asked. They giggled again.

             
“Why nothing, dad.” Macie said. This caused them to laugh so hard Julie stopped the truck. The two of them looked back at me and smiled warmly.

             
I think my mouth dropped open. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” I asked. Julie put the truck in park and climbed into the back seat with me.

             
“Yep. I’m really pregnant this time.” She kissed me as she explained how she confirmed it with the pregnancy test kit. When they described how they urinated in a bucket in the middle of Walmart, there was more laughter.

             
“Oh, there’s more.” Macie said. “We poured it into a canteen, set it on a counter in front, and put a Hallmark card beside it. We made it out to Barry and Eli.” They laughed again.

             
“No fucking way. What did you write?” I asked.

             
“Dearest Barry and Eli, here is a present for you two. It’s a fine sixteen-year-old blend we’re certain you’ll enjoy. Hugs!” Julie said between laughter. I had to laugh as well.

             
Julie suddenly stopped the truck and pointed to a house at the end of a circular driveway. “Found one!” She said cheerfully. There was a HAM radio antenna mounted on the chimney of the house she was pointing at. It goes without saying I was the one who climbed up on the roof and got it down. I guess it also goes without saying I’m the one who remounted it at our house.

             
After dinner, the three of us cleaned up the house, cleaned ourselves up, and went to bed before nine.

             
“How is the charge on the radio battery, do either of you know?” I asked.

             
“It was fully charged this morning.” Macie said. I could hear the fatigue in her voice.

             
“What do you have in mind?” Julie asked. She was tired as well.

             
“Now that we have an antenna, as soon as we wake up, I want one of us monitoring the radio all day and trying to make contact with Fred. We may even need to scan all of the low band frequencies. I think we need to visit Bernie too. Hopefully he’s feeling better.” I realized I was talking to myself, both girls were sound asleep. Since I was the last one to use the restroom, I was on the end tonight instead of in the middle. I cuddled up to Julie and was asleep within seconds.

             
Major Fowkes climbed down the stairs from the cockpit and checked on her crew and lone passenger. The crew’s complement was Sergeant Fandis and a stocky woman, also bearing stripes of a lessor rank. She was reading a technical manual. Sergeant Fandis looked at the Major with no small amount of anxiety.

             
“Have you checked everyone’s parachute?” She asked.

             
“Yes ma’am. We’re all good to go.” He replied. She looked at Fred.

             
“If you throw up, you better use your puke bag. You’ll be the one cleaning up any mess you make.” She said. Fred nodded in silence. “You don’t talk much, do you cowboy?” Fred shrugged. She walked back to the front of the aircraft and climbed the stairs. Fred wanted to accompany her and watch her fly the plane, but she didn’t extend an invite, and Fred doubted she’d respond well to him inviting himself. Instead, he sat on the red nylon troop seat. He watched the two soldiers maneuver a Humvee inside the cargo compartment and used several tie downs to hold it securely. The two soldiers went back outside and he listened as each engine was started. He watched out of one of the windows as they quickly and efficiently disconnected the start cart, pulled out various pins, and removed the chocks. A few minutes later, the two of them wheeled in a contraption and began lashing it down.

             
When finished, Sergeant Fandis focused his attention on Fred. He picked up a helmet with a long chord attached to it and handed it to him. Fred put it on and adjusted it while the sergeant stuck the chord into the intercom jack.

The speaker in the helmet came to life. “Can you hear me, Fred?” He asked.

“I read you loud and clear.” Fred responded awkwardly.

“If we have an in-air emergency, we’ll be jumping out of the rear
door. Here are the controls to raise and lower it. Watch.” He pushed a switch and raised the ramp door. “Don’t worry about them unless I’m incapacitated, then it will be your responsibility to lower the ramp and jump out. Have you ever jumped out of an airplane before?” Fred shook his head. “It’s not real difficult. You hook your parachute opening cord up to this cable up here.” He pointed to a cable. “When you jump out, the cord will pull out a small pilot chute, which in turn pulls out the main chute.” He mimicked the action with his hands.

             
“Now, it’s really pretty simple until you land. You want to be facing the wind, if you can, keep your legs together and your knees slightly bent. If you lock your knees, you’re going to injure yourself. Got it?” Fred nodded. Sergeant Fandis smiled. “The Major is a good pilot, we shouldn’t have any problems. Any questions?”

             
Fred leaned forward before speaking, although he didn’t need to. He pressed the microphone switch. “She seems to be a little bit tightly wound.”

             
Sergeant Fandis laughed. “Yeah, she can be a real ballbuster. Alright, there’s no need to wear the parachute, but keep it close, just in case.” He patted Fred on the shoulder and walked over to his fellow soldier. He sat beside her and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled warmly at him.

             
Five minutes later, the plane taxied down the runway and lifted off. Fred felt the vibration as the landing gear was retracted. The plane increased altitude.

             
Fred found himself drifting off, but received another tap on his shoulder. Sergeant Fandis was grinning at him.             

             
“The Major said come join her in the cockpit. What you do is unplug your cord, carry it with you, climb up the stairs, and the cockpit is right in front of you. There will be an intercom jack where you can hook up and talk.” Fred nodded and made his way to the cockpit. Major Fowkes was sitting in the pilot’s seat, strapped in with shoulder and restraining belts. There was a kneeboard attached to her right thigh and there were various numbers written on it. She motioned to the co-pilot’s seat. Fred moved a map, sat and fastened himself in with the restraints.

             
“This model is a C130 model E. It’s an older model but still a very versatile plane. Normally, I would have a co-pilot with me, but it’s only me.” She pointed out the various gauges and operational procedures. “Your responsibility will be watching the fuel panel. When that one,” She pointed at a gauge. “Gets lower than the right one, let me know.” Fred looked at her quizzically. “Keeping the fuel consumption evenly balanced is important to the flying and handling characteristics of the plane.” Fred nodded in understanding.

“I’m keeping our cruising spee
d at a touch under three hundred knots, which will put our flight time a touch over three hours. Our primary destination is Los Angeles Air Force Base, which is located practically next door to LAX. If we can’t land there, we’ll try LAX, but we’ll be burning precious fuel. If LAX is untenable, we’re going home. If you like, we can find a spot for you to jump out.”

             
Fred pushed the microphone switch. “Whatever option you think is best.” He said.

             
They were silent for several minutes before she spoke again. “You said your daughter was the only family member you had left.”

             
“That’s right. My wife, brother, and mother-in-law survived the initial infection, but then my brother got sick and killed them.” Major Fowkes looked over at Fred, but did not comment. “What about you, Major? Do you have any family?”

             
She looked at Fred and shook her head. “My mother died of cancer when I was young and my father raised me. He never remarried, and passed away a couple of years ago. I’m not married and I have no kids.” She glanced at Fred again. “Right about now is the point where you’re thinking I must be gay.”