Z14 (Zombie Rules) (4 page)

             
I put the soggy bread down on the saucer. I had gone over it with everyone more than once, but she was understandably worried. “Okay, it goes like this. It’s a two person operation. Lil’ H and I are going to camouflage ourselves and use john boats to traverse down Mill Creek. Mill Creek meanders its way through the south Nashville area and eventually dumps into the Cumberland River. We’re going to plant noisemakers at various points along the river banks and wait. When the noisemakers attract the zombies away from the reservoirs, the others will move in and we’ll fill up our tankers. If we’re successful, we’ll have enough fuel to last through the winter.” I finished my bread and drank some coffee.

             
“What if there are too many zombies? What will you do then?” She asked.

             
“I’ll get on the radio and tell everyone to abort. Then, we simply reverse course. We’ll be home in a few hours.”

             
She stared at me pointedly. “Why do you need my son?”

             
“It’s a two-man job. He can swim and he’s small. The boats are going to be full of stuff. We’re going to need all of the room we can get.” We had found several old style ‘boom boxes’ at a pawn shop. Batteries were much harder to find unfortunately, so I had rigged them to run off of car batteries. The advantage was they were going to play loudly for several hours. “When the zombies have moved away, Fred and Howard will come in with their truck and tanker, along with one of the Captain’s men in their truck.”

             
Lashonda shook her head with worry. “If my son comes to harm, I’ll never forgive you Zachariah Gunderson.” She said.

             
“I believe the weather, combined with dusk, will greatly diminish their ability to see…” I started to say more, but she walked out of the room without another word. I watched her walk out as Andie came over the radio.

             
“Are you there Zach?” She asked.

             
“Affirmative.” I responded.

             
“We’ll be there. If anything changes, let me know. I’ll be monitoring this frequency.” I acknowledged and signed off.

             
The rain was starting when we arrived at the creek with the boats and equipment. Fred helped me launch the boats and tether them together. Lil’ H and I put life preservers on and got in.

             
“Okay Lil’ H, we got oars and a trolling motor. If you see zombies, hide under those blankets. I’ll shoot them if I have to.”

             
“How long will it take Zach?” He asked.

             
The rain was falling harder now and the lightning strikes were closer. “A few hours I think.” I hoped. Fred and Howard waved at us as we floated off.

             
Mill Creek was rising with water quickly now as the rain steadily intensified. Our boats sped along with the current, occasionally using our oars to push us away from the banks. As we passed through the different neighborhoods, all we saw were rotting corpses. Many of them were now mere skeletal remains with some last remaining vestiges of tissue holding the bones together. We passed by one who was stuck in the mud. He turned his head on a rotting neck as we went by it.

             
There wasn’t a living human in sight.

             
There were other life forms though. Flies, mosquitoes, mice, and rats, to name a few. Millions of them. Without mankind to control their population, they thrived.

             
As we went under the Murfreesboro Road Bridge there were a few corpses on the side of the creek bank. Suddenly, Lil’ H gasped. Those are moving Zach!” He whispered. I peered closer, and when I realized what I was seeing, almost vomited.

             
“No H, they’re not alive.” I whispered. The writhing movements of the thousands of maggots made the bodies seem alive though. I explained it to him. He gagged involuntarily, but to his credit he held it down and didn’t complain. It looked they had been living in a hobo camp under the bridge before dying of some unknown cause.

I casually
wondered what had led to their demise. Was it zombies? Disease?

The
re were no other surprises as the creek threaded its way through the Donelson community, and soon we were dumped out into the Cumberland River. Exiting the tributary we now had to travel upstream. This was going to be a test. If the Cheatham dam was compromised, the current was probably going to be too strong for a trolling motor, but I did not feel a loud outboard motor was worth the risk. I threw a small chunk of wood out into the river and the two of us watched it.

             
“What do you think Zach?” Lil’ H asked.

             
“The current doesn’t seem to be any stronger than normal, full speed ahead.” I said as I looked back at him. He had practically begged me to let him steer the trolling motor and I relented with a chuckle. The look on his face indicated he was thoroughly enjoying our little adventure.

             
It was dusk now. We placed our first noisemaker on the bank a hundred yards from the creek. We continued this every hundred yards or so, including a few I had rigged so they would float in the water.

             
Along with trash, logs, and other unknown types of debris, we saw several corpses in the river. They were unmoving and appeared lifeless. We proceeded unmolested. It wasn’t until we reached the east bank where we wanted to land when we encountered them. There were approximately a dozen standing around right where we wanted to land.

“Alright H, it’s time to see how good of a sailor you are. Keep us in one place while I shoot those bastards.” Lil’ H nodded, pointed the boat upstream and manipulated the throttle expertly.

I used my Ruger twenty-two with a homemade silencer attached. I only missed once. The small caliber bullets did not make much of an overt impact, the only indicator was a small hollow hole suddenly appearing in their foreheads and then they would slowly fall over. Truthfully, I was surprised there were any mobile zombies left alive.

             
Finding no others nearby, I glanced at my watch. It read a little past eighteen hundred hours. We were proceeding on schedule.

             
“Okay buddy, it’s time for the signal.” Little Howard grinned in a way only a kid could grin. It made me wonder at what age you lost it and when I had lost mine. He reached down in the boat and retrieved a plastic baggie with a walkie-talkie sealed inside.

****

              Fred and Howard waited in the security of the dually pickup truck, parked in the middle of the Nolensville Pike intersection of Old Hickory Blvd. The rain was coming down now in torrents. The sky was inky black and only lit up when there was a lightning strike.

             
“So, you’re really going to do it?” Howard asked. It was not the first time he had asked the question.

             
“Yep.” Fred answered, which was the same answer he gave on the three previous occasions he was asked.

             
“California and back.” Howard said, which was probably the third or fourth time he had pointed out the obvious. “That’s one hell of a trip, even when the world was normal. You say Zach has a route all planned out?”

             
“Yep.”

             
Howard grunted. “Zach’s a smart kid, isn’t he?”

             
Fred glanced over at Howard and realized he was the type who talked a lot when he was anxious.

             
“He’s smart, capable, and resourceful. Little Howard is safe with him.” He said.

             
“Yeah. Yeah.” Howard said quietly. “I’m just worried is all.” Howard took a deep breath. “If it was one of my kids in Los Angeles, I’d want to go and get him, but damned if I know I’d be up to it. I’d be scared to death Fred.” Fred didn’t answer.

             
The radio came to life. “Come in Zach.” It was a distinctive voice with the southern twang.

             
“That’s the Captain.” Howard said. Fred picked up the microphone.

             
“We’re at the staging point. Zach hasn’t signaled yet. Where are you?”

             
“Who is this?” The Captain asked in the tone of a demand. Fred looked at the microphone for a second and then looked at Howard.

             
“This is Fred. Are you close or not?” Fred asked.

             
There was a moment’s pause. “We’ll be there shortly. The rain is slowing us down.”

             
Howard chuckled. A short time elapsed and then there was a large glow moving down the street. As it got closer, they recognized the bus.

             
“They’ve put a rack of lights on the top of that contraption since the last time I’ve seen it.” Howard said. “They sure are bright.”

             
The bus was followed by a black pickup truck hauling a tanker. Fred counted four men in the bus, the Captain and a tomboy looking girl driving the truck. The two men got out of the truck. Howard got out as well, walked halfway, and waited for the Captain. Fred lingered back, ready to shoot if things went bad.

             
“Hello Captain.” Howard said and stuck his hand out. The Captain eyed him like he was looking at a stain on his shirt. After a moment his expression quickly changed to jovialness and shook Howard’s hand.

             
“I remember you. You’re the mechanic. So, you’re in cahoots with Zach huh?” The Captain said as he eyed Fred. “Who’s your friend?”

             
Howard remained cordial. “That is Fred McCoy. We’re all with Zach.”

             
“Well now. Your group seems to keep growing. How many of you are there?” The Captain probed.

             
“Thousands.” Fred responded dryly. The Captain looked at him balefully and then chuckled.

             
“Alright you two, have any of the plans changed?” He asked.

             
“No.” Fred answered. “Our only problem we know of is a choke point at the Thompson Lane intersection. There are a bunch of abandoned cars stacked together, but there is a gap approximately ten feet wide. Zach and I reconnoitered the area yesterday. There is minimal zombie traffic on this side of Thompson Lane. Once you proceed further into downtown, the numbers increase.”

             
“And you think we can drive straight down Nolensville Pike into downtown Nashville, killing zombies as we go, hang a right, cross the bridge over the river, and drive right up to those fuel reservoirs?” The Captain asked.

             
“That’s the plan.” Fred said.

             
The Captain looked over at the man accompanying him. Fred sized him up. He was in his twenties, just under six feet tall, lean and wiry. He had a high and tight haircut and kept his shoulders square. He had the look of a man with military training. Fred noticed they all dressed alike, camouflage cargo pants, black boots, and black tank tops.

             
The radio crackled to life. “Come in daddy.”

             
“That’s my son.” Howard said. He hurried over to the truck and grabbed the microphone. “What’s up little buddy?”

             
“Zach and I are here. He says it’s clear to come in.” Lil’ H said excitedly.

             
Howard chuckled. “He sounds like he’s having the time of his life. Okay gentlemen, they’re at the reservoir and it’s clear. Are we ready to go?”

             
“Most certainly.” The Captain said. He went back to the bus. Fred looked at his watch and glanced over at Andie standing by her truck. When the bus driver turned on the lights, he got a good look at her. Her right eye was black and swollen shut. Andie saw him looking.

             
“What’re you looking at?” She challenged.

             
“I can’t imagine the Captain allowing anyone to hit his own niece. Unless of course, he was the one doing the hitting.” Fred said quietly.

             
Andie did not respond directly. “Are we ready to go?” She asked. Fred nodded.

*****

              One of the buildings had an overhang, which kept most of the pelting rain out. I had an idea and grabbed a can of spray paint. I was now abbreviating somewhat, instead of painting out ‘RULE 1’ I now simply used Z1. Painting them quickly, I added two more rules to the original ten:

Z11: THEY
DON’T REQUIRE LOGISTICS.

Z12: THEY’RE CAPABLE OF RETAINING SOME MEMORIES.

              After I finished, we quietly unloaded the tools out of the second boat, attached a grounding rod, and got to work. It was a little nerve racking. I only had a vague idea of how to bypass the safety controls, the lightning strikes were getting very close, and let’s not ignore the fact we were in downtown Nashville where literally thousands of zombies were probably still alive and lurking about.