Z14 (Zombie Rules) (38 page)

             
“We’re moving. We got a lot of stuff here that I want to move into our new home. I want to get moved by the end of the day. I hope you’re here to help.” I picked up the tote bin and handed it to him. He took it with a grunt.

             
With Rowdy’s help, we got the cellar emptied out and loaded into the trailer. Even though the morning was in the lower forties, Rowdy was sweating and breathing heavily. He sat on the edge of the trailer and caught his breath. I wasn’t feeling so good myself, but I was better than yesterday.

             
“I need to get back in shape. I really let myself go this past year.” He said. I sat next to him. “Were you always in good shape?” He asked. I shrugged.

             
“When I was in school I ran cross-country track. I could run all day, but I was skinny as a rail.” I thought a minute. “When everything happened, I was out here with my friend Rick. There was a lot of down time, so I worked out quite a bit.” I seemed to keep referencing Rick, but I didn’t want to talk about him. I talked about him with Julie, but that was different. I changed the subject.

             
“Speaking of Andie, how are you two getting along?” I asked. He looked at the ground a long minute before answering.

             
“We’re getting along fine. She’s a little shell shocked right now, but I think she’ll be okay.” As if on cue, he scratched his beard. “She’s a real sweetie, but every time I look at her, all I see is a skinny little girl. I’ve got to tell you Zach, I haven’t got any arousal going, if you know what I mean.”

             
I snorted. “She’ll gain weight. She’s only been with us a short time. The Captain had all of them on short rations. She’s eating a lot better now.”

             
“Well, I guess so. She’s young though, and I’m not so young.” He said, and stood up. “You think it’s going to rain?” I nodded as he looked up at the gray sky. “Yeah, you may be right. I’m going to regret saying this, but we better get back to work before everything gets drenched.” I laughed at him and stood up.

             
“The house is actually right across the field.” I said as I pointed toward the south. “We’ll have to cut a hole in a few fences and create a road. Otherwise, if we take the existing roads, it’s about a half-mile.”

             
We had all of our canned goods moved in the ample storage cupboard of the Riggins house by sunup. Julie and Andie drove up as we unloaded the last box.

             
“Y’all have been busy.” Julie said. I nodded.

             
“How are you two this morning?” I asked.

             
“I threw up my breakfast.” Julie said. “I guess that’s a good sign.”

             
“How about you Andie?” I asked. “The swelling seems to be going down.” Which was true, but both of her eyes were black, along with the ridge of her nose. Andie shrugged her shoulders.

             
“Okay, I guess.” She said and looked at Rowdy. He busied himself with emptying the box. I gave Julie a sloppy kiss, and gave Andie a peck on the cheek.

             
“I’ve been told my kisses go a long way.” I said as I ruffled her hair. She smiled before she could help herself. Julie rolled her eyes.

             
“We’ve got a lot of stuff to move still, but most of it can wait. I think while you guys get the house cleaned up, Rowdy and I are going to find a generator.” I hugged Julie again before I thought anything of it. She grinned. No eye rolling this time.

             
“Oh, I almost forgot. What do you guys think of Fort Campbell, do you want to go?”

             
“No!” They all said in unison.

             
“We talked about it last night after you went to sleep.” Julie said. “All of us want to stay. But I think Lashonda wants to relocate.”

             
“It’s not too late for them to leave and get there on time.” I said.

             
“I think they’re talking about going the next time they come back.” Andie said. I nodded thoughtfully. The fact is, it would probably be better for them, but for purely selfish reasons, I wanted them to stay with us. I shook it off and motioned to Rowdy.

             
“Let’s get moving Zach, you’re dilly-dallying. I don’t have time for dilly-dallyers.” He said with a mischievous grin.

              We had no sooner exited the driveway when we saw them, three people in a beat up police car. When they saw us, they stopped and the driver, a man, got out. He was accompanied by two women. I glanced at Rowdy, who readied his M4.

             
“How much ammo do you have?” I asked.

             
“Eight magazines.” Rowdy said. During the last few months, we’d not resupplied our supply of ammunition, and were starting to run low.

             
“Alright.” I said. “I have four magazines for my forty-five. Let’s hope they’re friendly. As I drove closer, their features came into focus. I recognized one of the women.

             
I stopped when we were fifty feet away. Opening my door, I leaned out and pointed my handgun through the gap between the door and the truck frame. The man raised his hands. I stared at him for the first time. He was in his twenties, maybe six feet tall, about a week’s worth of dark whiskers on his face, and greasy hair cut in a high and tight. He was wearing military camouflage fatigues, and they looked pretty dirty as well.

             
“I’m guessing you’re George.” I said loud enough for him to hear. He nodded.

             
“Let me come closer Zach, I just want to talk.” He shouted back.

             
“Alright, walk forward until you’re ten feet from the truck and then stop. Keep your hands where I can see them. If those women make any furtive moves, you’ll be the first one I kill.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Watch the sides of the road Rowdy. He may have a friend somewhere.” Rowdy gulped and nodded. George stood in the middle of the road with his hands out.

             
“We meet at last Zach.” He smiled slightly and eyed Rowdy. “I don’t have anyone out there Red. It’s just me and the two women, thanks to Zach.”

             
I scowled with anger. “Thanks to Zach?” I repeated his words. “What the fuck do you mean by that? Are you about to blame me for everything? I am sick and tired of being blamed for everything that has happened to you cocksuckers.” I tried to take a breath, but my anger was growing and I started shouting.

             
“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, you stupid fuck! It’s obvious all of you are so fucking stupid that you don’t think there should be consequences for your actions, but there are!” I snorted in disgust. “Look how fucking pathetic you look now! Did you see the Captain? Did you?”

             
“I did.” He said quietly. “Did you kill him?”

             
“Andie killed him. He suffered the consequences for his actions. Barry and Eli suffered the consequences. Tony, Randy, Herb, Eddy, and every one of you retarded fucks who hung your hat with the Captain. You all turned on us and suffered the consequences.” I thought of Macie and felt my finger depressing the trigger. George saw it too.

             
“Newton’s third law.” He said quietly. I continued scowling at him, but relaxed the tension in my finger. “Newton’s third law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. You’re right Zach. All of my so-called friends are dead. The Captain’s dead. Now, I have nothing but a couple of trailer park whores and an infant kid who may or may not belong to me. You’re right about me being stupid too. I’m nothing but a stupid Marine who was trying to find his place in life.” He kept his hands out in the open and looked at me plainly.

             
“Why are you here George?” I asked quietly.

             
“I came here to ask for some food. The fire burned up all of our stores. I was going to lay a guilt trip on you, but…” He shrugged.

             
“I know you don’t owe us anything.” He continued. “But, if you can find it in your heart to give us enough for a few days, we would be most appreciative. We’ll leave the area and won’t cause you any further trouble.”

             
“Take your jacket off and toss it over here. Then lift your shirt up and turn around in a circle.” I said. George obeyed without complaint.

             
“I’m not armed.” He said. “There are weapons in the car, but they’re unloaded and I’ve told them don’t dare touch any of them.” I picked up the jacket, searched it, and tossed it back to him.

             
I looked at him a long moment and sighed. “Why the fuck did you guys convince yourselves we were your enemy?”

             
George rubbed his face. His expression was one of pained sorrow. “Because the Captain said you were.” He said quietly.

             
Rowdy and I fixed them up a supply of food and told them about Fort Campbell. George surprised us when he retrieved a surplus ammo can out of the trunk filled with ammunition. He handed it over.

             
“It’s a mix of different calibers. I think it’s a good trade.” He said simply. He held his hand out and I reluctantly shook it. Rowdy shook his hand and gave him a hug.

             
“You take care of your women and kid, bro.” He said. “And be careful who you hang your hat with.”

             
We watched quietly as they drove away.

              Rowdy and I drove in silence to Home Depot. The streets were bereft of any kind of humans or zombies. There was nothing but vacant automobiles, vacant buildings, and trash being blown about by the wind. I stopped on the Moore’s Lane overpass of I-65, and got out. Rowdy got out with me.

             
“What’re you thinking about Hoss?” He asked. I pointed at the mass of vehicles sitting silently along the Interstate.

             
“We need to figure the most efficient way of scavenging those cars and tractor trailers.” I said while rubbing my stomach. Rowdy saw me doing it.

             
“You got a gut injury?” He asked.

             
“Yeah, the Captain gave me a pretty hard kick in the stomach. He got me pretty good. I don’t think I’ve got any internal injuries, but I’m still hurting all over.”

             
“Yeah, but you won in the end.” He said.

             
I scoffed. “I don’t feel much like a winner. We lost Macie, and Fred’s family home. If he ever comes back, everything he had, everything reminding him of his family, is gone. It seems like this all could have been avoided somehow.” I sighed.

             
“All true.” Rowdy said. “There have been losses, but don’t sell yourself short Zach, you won.” He pondered a minute before speaking again.

             
“Those six months when I was locked in my bus with absolutely nobody to talk to. I think I went crazy. I started seeing people that weren’t there and even started having conversations with them. If I hadn’t of stumbled upon you guys when I did…” He wiped his brow. “I don’t know man. I think I was pretty close to eating my gun.”

             
I looked at him, but he pointed down at the Interstate before I could respond. “I’m seeing some zombies or something.”

             
“Yeah, a lot of them turned while in their vehicles. Their higher level functions went on the fritz, so now they don’t know how to open the door and get out. A lot of them are still in their seatbelts. I covered it in rule number seven, by the way.” I said. Rowdy chuckled.

             
“Let’s go see if there are any generators left. The shelves were pretty empty, but there were a few items still there. We’ll grab what we can, and then we’re going back to the compound. There may not be anything left, but I bet the tanker is still there.”

             
“You need to paint your rules around here too.” Rowdy said. “I tell you what, I’ll paint them for you on the front of Home Depot.”

              We struck out with finding a generator. Even though we found some small items we could use, but we didn’t make any major discoveries.

             
“We’ll find one, just gotta look harder, or we can move the old generator over there to the new home.” Rowdy said.

             
“It’s an option, but I kind of wanted a generator at both houses.” I sighed. “Oh well, you can’t have everything.”

             
I experienced no small amount of anxiety when I stopped in front of the barn where we had left the Captain. His body wasn’t there. George must have moved it. All that remained were some dark stains on the dirt floor.