The zombie stood up. Even with its brain blasted to bits and splattered on the ground, he still moved. Before he could stand up, Christie approached.
Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out. She shot the zombie once in each leg.
"Don't have to kill them. Just immobilize them."
"We should know how to kill them, Christie. We have to figure it out if we're walking through a power plant full of them." I objected, eyeballing her skeptically.
"There is no way to kill them, Jake." She argued hawkishly, "his brains are all over the pavement and he's still moving! How much deader can he get?"
"She's right, son." Allen interrupted, "it's not something we have time to figure out right now. We have to get inside before the sirens go off again. If we run into any other ones, shoot their legs."
"Joe, get on the radio while we're inside. See if there's an update on the base in California." I directed, "we haven't heard anything from them in awhile."
_
"Get to the core reactor."
Allen repeated his words as we trudged through the abandoned facility. The stench of death filled the sticky air and zombie groans could be heard from all directions.
Keep moving. Stay silent.
A zombie man roamed in the hallway. Fortunately, the eyes weren't black. I shoved my knife into the skull and was pleased to see that the zombie was put down for good.
"Some of them may not have been as affected as others." Allen called over his shoulder in a whisper. "I knew him. Good man."
When we found the core reactor, Allen began working. He explained that it was overheating and it wouldn't take long to get it back to normal.
"Where you all headed? Settling down here for good?" He inquired as he maintenance the reactor.
"California. Military base shipping survivors off to Canada," I explained. "What about you guys? You can't stay here forever. That much is obvious."
"California's an awful long trip. It may not even be there when you finally make it. I'd rather stay in my home with my family, tend to the animals and live off the land. Not much more I could ask for."
"If we all go to California, we could have everything we need once we get to Canada. There's a safe zone, a place to live without zombies." I lectured, keeping an eye on my surroundings as I spoke.
"Sounds too good to be true, kid."
I replied simply, "sometimes when there's nothing left, you have to find something good to hang onto."
Moments of silence went by before a siren filled the air. This time, it was even louder. It rung through my head quickly.
"Shit! We have to get out of here!" Haze called, "Allen! Let's go!"
Every zombie within miles is going to come here. We had to wait for them to clear out before we even came close to this place.
"Just a minute!" Allen responded hastily.
"We can't wait! C'mon!" I responded, shooting the approaching zombie in the head. "Allen!"
The zombie didn't go down. Instead, it ran at me. The speed of the creature caught me off guard. I let out a shot that buzzed through the air, missing the radioactive nightmare.
"Help!"
Haze ripped the woman off of me before throwing her to the ground. She stood up without a flinch. Blood exited from between her lips as she let out a scream. Her eyes were pitch black.
Which ones are worse, the ones with a soul or without?
Bang! Bang!
I disabled the woman by shooting her calves. Chunks of her skin were knocked off by the force. She fell to the ground.
"Done! Go! Go! Go!"
We ran through the building at full speed. Hordes of zombies formed in all directions. The others were already in the vehicle. Before I could close the door, Christie skirted off and in between hordes. The car clunked as it ran over a few unlucky zombies.
I took a deep breath before breaking the silence.
"We can't stay here."
"It'd be nice to have some people around to make deals with," Allen offered. "We're safe now. This place is perfectly livable."
"We don't know how many zombies got infected with the radioactivity," Haze objected. "There could be hordes of them out there. I'm not sticking around to find out."
"We've faced worse," Hailey, Allen's daughter chimed in. "My sister is detoxing. We can't go anywhere."
"We'll give it a few days, then we'll pack up and keep heading to California." I planned hawkishly. "I'm sorry, Allen. Someday when we get to Canada, we'll have a normal life again. I can't sacrifice that."
"Never be sorry for doing what's best for you, son. You've done enough — you helped me fix the reactor so we could continue living here safely. Thank you. You're more than welcome to stay at my house for the remainder of your visit here."
That was an offer we couldn't refuse. We were rationing well but running low on food and water. After packing up the campsite, we headed to Allen's. His farm was completely functioning and it made me grateful that we were able to stop the meltdown.
"You did good today." Courtney caught me outside around the fire. "You saved this family and who knows how many others. I think — even without Vick, you're doing just fine."
"We saved them," I corrected with a smile before it died down quickly. "I didn't know how I'd keep going without him but you guys help. A year ago, I never would've thought this would be my family."
"Crazy, isn't it?" She let out a laugh. "Beef jerky?"
She pulled the beef jerky away from the fire. I accepted her offer and pulled it off of the stick it was lodged on.
"He was the one man that was always in my life. After my dad left, my uncle brought me in. One night, we were helping his friend who was broken down on the side of the highway. The second my uncle got out of the truck, a car hit him."
Her eyes widened. "Right in front of you?"
"Yeah. I was right in the passenger seat." I answered. "Made me think I was never worth having that role model in my life. Then, I met Vick. Most badass biker in all the land."
I reminisced, chuckling lightheartedly as I talked about Vick. Then, my smile died down as I realized he was never coming back.
_
"You really think headin' to California is the answer? What if it's abandoned by the time you get there?" Allen questioned as he helped haul the supplies into our vehicle.
"This is the only thing giving my people hope. We don't want to live in middle of the apocalypse — we want to escape it. This seems like the only way."
I pushed the box of canned goods into the cargo space of the minivan and let out a sigh.
"There are some things you just can't get around, son. Gotta accept it and ride out the storm. It can't last forever."
"I don't think there's anyone left to save us, Al."
"Well, I surely hope there is — and I hope I see you guys again someday. You know where I'll be."
"Got the medical supplies loaded up. You ready?" Haze approached, an impatient expression on his tan face. "If we want to find another place to stay before nightfall, we gotta go."
I met eyes with Allen. The look on his old, withered face told me that he didn't want us to go. We could help him and his family survive — in the long run, we'd probably survive too.
But for how long?
"Stay safe, son."
"You too."
I moved in for a hug. He squeezed me tight and for a moment, I questioned if this was the right thing to do. Every decision we make now could be the difference between life and death.
"It's time we move onto better, zombie-free things," Christie chimed as she came in for a hug with Allen. "I'm glad you and your family can continue living here. Hold onto it."
With that, we loaded up the rest of our supplies and continued heading west. The radio repeated the broadcasts about the California aerial assistance. They promised Canada would be safe and without infection. I hoped with everything in me that they were right.
After several hours of driving, a hiss of air began to source from the front wheel of the car. We came to a rolling stop and jumped out. Joe exited the vehicle, swear words ablaze as he ranted about our flat tire.
"We can fix this. I just need a tire plug kit." Haze examined the tire, "next city over probably has an auto parts store."
My eyes wandered to the bridge above us. On it, the word 'Bethlehem' was scribbled in red spray paint. Rain drops began to fall from the grey sky. Dark, stormy clouds shadowed in the distance.
"Joe and Anna, let's go." I called out, "Haze, you stay, brother. They need you here incase this is a trap."
The three of us slung our backpacks over our shoulders. The rain drops became bigger and came down harder as we headed towards the storm. The breeze sent a shiver down my spine as we walked under the bridge.
Welcome to Bethlehem.
_
"We have to be in and out of this place. Looks like a big city." I planned hawkishly, "we still have over four hundred miles to go. Hopefully the plugged tire lasts that long."
We passed by some zombies that rusted in the trees. I turned, noticing that they weren't able to move. When I got closer, I noticed they were all tied together by a rope that connected each of their wrists to the surrounding trees.
"What the Hell?" Anna commented, her brows furrowing. "Who would do something like this?"
The zombies fought to break free but weren't met with any success. I decided it wasn't worth putting them down and we continued down the road. After some scavenging, we were able to find what we needed.
As we trudged, an eery feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. I began to feel uneasy and realized I've felt this before. Someone's watching us.
"Guys, cmon. Pick up the pace." I ordered firmly, "there's someone here. This is their territory."
"How would you know that?" Anna inquired, "those zombies could've been there since the beginning. The rope was embedded into their skin."
"The spray paint on that bridge was fresh. Tread carefully." I warned cautiously.
Noise from the surrounding brush caught my attention. I came to a quick halt and focused on the movement. Slowly, I stalked until I ran into the source of the noise.
"Who are you and why the hell are you watching us?" I barked, drawing my handgun and aiming.
It was an older woman. She wore a black robe with the hood over her head. Her eyes were almost completely veiled by the cloak and she spoke in a calm tone.
"I'm here to help. Refrain from using your weapons. My people don't play nice if you threaten us."
I skimmed our surroundings. She must have others watching us too.
Joe chimed in, "You can help us by moving out of our way and letting us get back to our group."
"We can help them, too. The woods here, they're our home. We live amongst the ones chosen to survive through this resurrection."
"Thank you but we don't need help. We got what we need to get back on the road." Anna attempted to reason with the old woman.
"You come stay for a night, see how you like it. We're always in search of new sheep for our herd. You will eat well."
I turned to Anna and Joe. Anna shrugged, obviously enticed by the food. After a moment, I decided that one night couldn't hurt. The old woman in the cloak didn't seem bad — just slightly weird. When we met with the others, only Haze and Christie were reluctant.
Majority won and tonight we would be eating with strangers.
"Please, have some wine." The old woman offered, pouring each one of us a glass. "The food will be done any minute."
The people lived similar to animals. They had a fire pit and a few tents but that was about it. Over the fire, a stew brewed that actually smelled enticing. Several unfamiliar, hooded people also stood near the fire.
"What do you guys do out here? I mean, why'd you decide outdoors is the best place to survive?" Courtney asked, her curiosity obviously getting the best of her.
"This is where we were meant to return. We are apart of a group called the great crowd. This is the time of resurrection and to survive, we have made great sacrifices — and continue to do so."
We lined up, each one of us using some type of container to hold the stew in. Chunks of meat and vegetables floated around in the broth.
The woman turned to one of her people. "Bring them out."
"Bring who out?" Haze questioned, immediately meeting her gaze with a stare.
Two people dragged out a line of zombies. They were connected by rope the same as the ones back on the road. They tied the end of the rope around a nearby tree in order to keep the zombies immobile.
"They eat with us. If we didn't sacrifice to them, we wouldn't survive."
One of the robed men walked over to the fire and filled the ladle full of stew. Without hesitation, he turned and flung the contents onto the ground in front of the zombies. They immediately bent down to eat the treat.
I gulped, my eyes widening as one question came to mind.
"What's in this stew?"