Fountain of the Dead Read online

  “We should have been doing it that way all the time, kid.” Micah nodded. “Someday you’re going to talk again. And I hope I’m around to hear it.” He patted Micah on the back and they moved on to the next car. “Let’s rest a second.” Micah waved to Sharon up in the tower; she replied by shooting the closest undead. “Your mum keeps up like that and those two moving corpses will never finish. We only have a few cars left, kid. We might have a little time to relax before tomorrow. I expect you and your mom will be spending some quiet time tonight.” They walked to the next car. Frank dropped to the pavement and pulled Micah down with him. Something bumped in the car they leaned against.

  “There’s one inside the car, Micah. I want you to do what I say. When I give you the signal go around the side and knock on the glass, then count to three and drop down to the street. Do you understand?” Micah nodded and stepped quietly to the other side of the car. Frank took out his gun; he felt it moving around the front of the car. The creature bumped against the door and the dash, scratching against the glass. Its misshapen head rubbed against the window smearing the glass with bile and puss.

  Micah stood and knocked on the passenger’s side glass; it was a woman or had been, with bite marks on her arms and legs. Holes in her thighs showed tissue and bones. It turned eyes towards Micah and he tried to scream but no sound came out. Her eyes were grey lined with purple veins. Its mouth opened, the lips gone, ripped or chewed off. Black mucous drooled down her chin.

  A gunshot rang out, the window shattered, showering Micah with glass. A ragged arm reached out through the window and went limp, the fingertips and jagged nails touching the top of Micah’s head. The world turned for Micah and went dark.

  * * * * *

  “The road is clear, how’s the kid doing?” Frank asked, his face still flushed in embarrassment. Hands clenched into fists until fingernails dug into his palms.

  “He’s asleep,” Beverly answered. “Why did you do that?” Beverly was swelling with anger and doing her best to keep it controlled. Even though Micah’s real parents were dead, she felt very protective for him. She was the one he ran to for skinned knees and elbows when Micah and Sharon arrived in camp.

  “I thought it was a better plan than his mum putting a round through the car.”

  “So instead you shot it and covered him in glass.”

  “Like I said, I thought it was a good plan.” Micah rolled over on the couch, face still pale. “He’ll be fine, with everything that kid’s seen, I’m surprised he’s not up in the towers sniping.”

  “Yeah well, he’s still a kid.” A frown curled the corners of her mouth.

  “You ready for this trip, Beverly?” Frank asked.

  “No, I’m not ready to leave my daughter and the camp alone.” Frank could see the tears threatening in her eyes. Even though Frank tried to change the subject right now her concern was Micah.

  “They won’t be alone here,” Frank said turning away from her gaze.

  “They won’t be with us either.” Beverly said and wiped a tear from her cheek.

  “Give me a shout when the kid’s awake.” Frank stalked away from the house, noticing for the first time, his palms were sticky with blood. He shook his head at the fingernail gouges in the meat of his palm.

  * * * * *

  “Damn it, Crowe.” Williams paced along the edge of the fence. He knew he was being watched by the snipers, at least one, maybe all of them. The guns had been silent for a few moments. Williams stopped to look through the fence again. A group of the dead were stopped at the outer fence. Williams flipped them off and lowered his face to the concealed radio in his jacket.

  “Are you there?” He picked up a rock and tossed it over the fence. It bounced off the neck of the dead. It turned and stared at him. “Oh you’d love some of me wouldn’t you?” He picked up another rock and threw it hard; it made it through the fence links and hit one square in the head. It staggered back and came for the fence. It growled and stepped closer; the dead opened its mouth and started chewing on the fence. A gunshot ran out and separated its head from the rest of the body.

  The head lay on the ground and stared at Williams. Its foul tongue lolled from between rotting teeth to find purchase on the ground. Another shot and the head exploded. Williams watched the laser dot from Danny’s rifle, travel up his leg and stop on his chest. He turned away towards the fence aware that the dot was on his back.

  “Answer me, bitch.” The radio crackled.

  “I’ve been seen,” Crowe growled.

  “What about me?”

  “Do what they say, I’ll be close.” With that the radio went silent. Williams turned off the power to conserve the battery.

  “Do what they say?”

  “What are you doing over here?” Meredith asked. Sam’s dog strained against the leash she had wrapped around her hand.

  “Nothing.” Williams rubbed his bald head.

  “You should be in the shed.”

  “Have you ever been in there?” Meredith stared him down. “Look, there’s something not right with that Pierce guy. And he has a smell.”

  “Smell or not, crazy or not. Get back to the shed.” She motioned to Danny and another red laser dot appeared on Williams’ chest. “What’s your choice? Stay here, keep attracting attention from the outside? Or go to the shed and deal?” He wiped at the red dot moving up his chest. “Mock us all you want, when the dot hits your face, you’re dead.”

  “Guess I’ll go back to the shed.” She looked back to the tower and the dot disappeared. Williams turned and headed back to the shed. Meredith followed keeping her distance. “And maybe little girl, I’ll give you a surprise,” he muttered and licked his lips. He opened the door to the shed and walked in. Meredith locked the door from the outside and covered the doors with the green cloth. She walked the dog to the closest tree.

  * * * * *

  “What’s your name?”

  “You know my name, crazy man.” There was no light in the shed. Williams could hear Pierce breathing from the corner, in the dark.

  “How did you get out before?” Pierce asked.

  “The door wasn’t locked, ass bag. You’ve been sitting here in the dark for nothing,” Williams answered. Williams felt the weight of the radio in his pocket. Williams knew Crowe couldn’t take on the town alone. But a few words into the radio and Crenshaw’s lackeys would show up guns blazing.

  “The door is always locked.” Pierce saw Williams silhouetted near the door. His eyes were long adjusted to the dark of the shed. What little light seeped in outlined him crouched on the ground, from his bald head to his shoes.

  “Maybe I have a few tricks.” Williams heard footsteps approaching. Light exploded from the lantern Pierce carried. In Pierce’s other hand he held on tight to a book. Williams blocked his eyes and pulled back his hand, ready to strike and prepared for whatever Pierce had for him.

  “Maybe I have a couple tricks too.” Pierce turned off the lantern again and the shed was engulfed in darkness. Williams didn’t see the title before the lights went out again.

  “What’s that book, crazy man? You’re reading in the dark?”

  “Something I believe in. Something from my lab in Florida.”

  “One more thing when we get out of this shed, take a bath.”

  * * * * *

  Micah rolled over on the couch; the blanket slid off his legs. He rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands and stood up. Some water had been left, the cup wrapped in paper; Micah drained the glass and set it on a coaster. Catherine’s house was dark and quiet; what little light there was filtered in through the closed curtains. Micah reached for his bag and smiled feeling it on the floor next to the couch.

  Sharon knocked on the wall, before entering and smiled seeing Micah sitting up. She was still in her tower attire, loose pants, sweatshirt and backwards Red Sox cap. Micah tried to stand to greet her and sat back down halfway through, still dizzy. Sharon sat next to him on the couch and side-hugged him. She
turned his face in her strong hands; he was still pale. She reached for the small white board, marker, and cloth.

  “I wanted us to talk, before tomorrow morning.” Micah nodded. From outside the house came the sound of engines. “I’m going on this trip because I feel I have to.” Micah shook his head, making him a little dizzier. “I know you don’t understand, but I believe by going to Florida, we’ll help with the cure and keep you safe.” Micah thought for a moment.

  “You should stay.” He wrote after getting his whiteboard.

  “I can’t Micah, I thought I explained it.”

  “You’re going away, just like everyone else.” He erased the words. “Are you afraid?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid. If I wasn’t afraid, I’d be worried. You have to be at least a little afraid for something like this.”

  “Promise you’re coming back.”

  “Oh I promise Micah. I’ll do everything I can to come back in one piece. That’s about the best I can promise.” The squeak of the marker filled the room.

  “Take care of Catherine.”

  “That, I can promise. Catherine saved us. I’m going to keep her safe.” Sharon paused and kneaded her hands on her lap. “If anything does happen to me, Micah.” Micah shook his head and wrote NO! on the board. “If something happens to me, I want you to promise me, that you’ll go and live with Beverly. She’s the only one who can really care for you.” Micah nodded. He went to write something on the board and stopped.

  “Now there’s something I have to tell you. All those years when I found you crying on the street during the Night Storm, I did what I did to protect you. You know this right?”

  “Yes.”

  “When I saw you there, I ran out of my food truck and grabbed you up. I started running, but I didn’t know where to go. You looked so much like my Nathan.” She reached into her pocket and took out a worn color photo of Sharon holding a young boy. “You were a little older than he was when I lost him.”

  “How did you lose him?”

  Tears welled in her eyes, threatened to spill down her cheeks.

  “He was hit by a car. I had him in the truck one day and he ran out of the door into the road. So it was pure instinct, that when I saw you there. I did what did because it was a chance to save my Nathan and save another little boy. Let’s go outside and help with the cars.” Sharon swiped at her eyes. When she stood up, Micah jumped up to hug her.

  “I wish you’d speak to me,” Sharon whispered and buried her face on his shoulder.

  * * * * *

  Catherine walked among the vehicles; the trunk was open on the Monte Carlo and was being filled. Gas cans were loaded into the back of the SUV and the Jeep was getting the guns and extra ammo. The trunk of the Monte got the medical supplies and some blankets. Radios were tested and one dropped into the passenger’s seat of each vehicle. Catherine turned and drew a deep breath and put on her most serious face.

  “You think this is going to be easy? We’ll be on the trip of our lives, for your lives. We’re going to a very dangerous spot. Hell, The Glades were dangerous before the meteors. If anyone here doubts our purposes or our reasons, you go look out those gates. See what lurks in the streets and the bushes and is only there for the sole purpose to eat and kill you. It’s not part of the natural cycle. It’s unnatural in every facet.” Catherine looked over at Sam, “Go get our friends from the shed.” Catherine slammed the trunk on the Monte and closed the two doors on the Jeep. “And those bastards in Boston keep us out here, when we could be in the relative safety of their office buildings. Never forget that. When I think about it, we’re so much better out here than under the thumb of those assholes.” She tugged on the soft top of the Jeep to make sure it was secure. Williams and Pierce trotted up at gunpoint.

  “And we’re doing this,” Catherine continued. “Because this man, with the crazy red hair claims to have the cure to the zombie plague. That hidden in some dark dank place is water that will cure us. That’s a risk I’m willing to take. If anyone does have doubts now is the time to express it.” She walked the length of the three parked vehicles, noses to the road for faster and easier village exit.

  “Good. Tonight, Sharon is making a special send off dinner.” Catherine walked to each of the volunteers and hugged them. “I think we have a fire to start.” A loud groan filled the afternoon air, followed by a gunshot. The road emptied of people; Micah climbed up on the back on the Monte and sat cross-legged. He bounced a little, listening to the creak of the shocks as an idea formed. A smiled played across his face as Micah patted the trunk and slid off.

  Catherine watched him run off towards the fire pit then closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the autumn air and shivered. Something inside gave a slight warning, not her heart or stomach, something deeper. Catherine pushed the feeling aside to focus. She let out a small cry and wiped moisture from her eyes and looked at the blazing colors still in the trees like she’d never see them again.

  “We should have tested that water on a bite.” She forced a smile and went to the fire.

  * * * * *

  Sharon carried the Dutch oven around the people seated at the fire. She dished out venison chili and behind Micah handed out small slabs of corn bread.

  “Now if we could only find some beer. God I miss beer,” Frank said dunking the cornbread into the bowl. “Who would have thought ten years after the end of the world, I’d be eating chili and cornbread.”

  “I wish I had a little wine,” Catherine said and nudged Frank.

  “Shouldn’t you all be telling ghost stories?” Beverly asked.

  “No more stories to tell, we’re living the scary story,” Grace added.

  “Good point.”

  “So tell us, Sharon, how did you make this wonderful meal?”

  “This morning when the road was getting cleared, I saw some deer, so I shot one. Sam was nice enough to bring it home and butcher it. I cooked it up, had some unused spices from one of the shopping parties last month. And we had some boxes of corn bread mix. It’s all pretty simple.”

  Catherine applauded.

  “No offense, but this is so much better than critter stew.” She took a drink of water and looked over at Williams and Pierce. “So tomorrow morning about 7AM, by the sun, we’ll take off on our trip. The vehicles are all packed and ready to go.” She pointed at Pierce. “And that man is going to guide us to the cure.” Pierce gave a quick bow and resumed eating.

  They talked into the depths of the night, like good normal folk. Told stories of their lives before the storm and passed around cherished photographs. Sam said something to his mutt and it howled at the moon. Everyone around the fire laughed; Sam fed the dog a piece of meat and scratched his muzzle.

  Beyond the walls of the village the dead roamed in packs; they heard and sensed their next meal. Three quick shots rang out and two bodies fell to the ground, a fourth shot and the still standing beast toppled over sans the side of its skull.

  * * * * *

  The fire started to burn itself out; a few of the stragglers still around the fire talking quietly were oblivious to the breath that plumed from their mouths. Frank walked Pierce and Williams back to the shed; he waited until the lanterns were on and then closed and locked the door. He re-joined the others near the fire. From further down in the compound, Sam’s dog barked and growled wildly. A quick shout from Sam silenced him.

  “Life in the zombie suburbs,” Frank said to the others. He kicked a burning log closer to the center of the dying fire. Sparks crackled and flew into the sky. He finished his drink and tossed the plastic cup into the embers and watched it melt. “I’d give my mother-fudging arm for a friggin’ s’more.”

  Micah crept out from his and Sharon’s house when the voices from the fire died down. Frank would chat all through the night if allowed. Now though there was no one. The moon was high making it difficult to be sneaky. A long shadow moved in front of him as Micah darted between the cars. He peeked over the hood of the Jeep; his des
tination was the third vehicle in line, and closest to the fire and the people. He walked on the balls of his feet and crept over to the Monte.

  He took a thin, bent piece of metal from his pocket and slipped it into the lock and fiddled and turned until there was a very distinctive click. Micah spun around to see if anyone noticed the sound. When all was clear, he eased open the trunk and covered the light with his hand. He tossed in his shoulder bag, moved around some of the blankets and climbed in on top of them. When safe in the trunk, he closed the door.

  * * * * *

  “Micah!” Sharon walked around the camp looking for her “adopted” son. “Where is he?” Beverly came out of her house and squinted against the morning sun.

  “What’s going on, Sharon?”

  “He’s gone, it’s like he’s evaporated.” Sharon craned her neck around to check Beverly’s porch. There was more than one time she had found Micah asleep there. Hysteria was getting closer.

  “He’s probably just hiding, doesn’t want to say good bye.”

  “Well I wanted to say good bye.” Sharon felt her heart go heavy. She didn’t deserve this, not after all they’d been through together. “I’m ready to go house to house pretty soon, invited in or not.”

  “You’ll just have to say hello, when you come back.”

  “Beverly, I haven’t asked officially. But if something happens to me and I don’t make it back, would you watch out after Micah?”

  “Of course I will. But you are going to make it back, all of us are. Though I could do without that Pierce guy. I’m glad he’s in the lead car.”

  “You catch the stink coming off him last night?” Sharon tried to lighten her mood, but the fear of not seeing Micah again was still heavy in her heart and head.

  “Would you mind walking with me, while I keep looking? I’m too nervous to cook, or eat.” They walked through the camp, looking for Micah in trees or on porches. A knock came from the inside of the shed door. Sharon unlocked the door and Pierce burst out at them before she could step back. He ran to the fence and pissed. Williams came out and looked at the sky.