Losers vs. Zombies, page 10
“There is another place almost just like this one north of here. There is another place that might be good enough on the eastern side of the island.” Tom said.
“Great! Pete, get a map and have Tom show you those locations. We will scout them out and see if they will work.” I turned back to Jennifer. Now, is there any big buildings with easy entrances and easy exits that are on opposite sides of the building? Someplace we can lure the zombies into without getting trapped inside without an easy way out. We can get rid of a lot of them that way.”
“There are places like that all over town. I take it you want a huge open room for the zombies to gather?” She asked.
“That would be better but not absolutely necessary. We used a mall once for this kind of thing. We can adapt.” I told her.
“The first place that comes to mind is Madison Square Garden” She was catching on quick! That was a great idea.
“Definitely! We will scout it tomorrow. Steve, remember to pick a few of the men and take a look. I will take a few and scout the roads Tom points out to us.” I said. I was getting excited about our prospects.
Chapter 12
Harold and Anthony found plenty of food for everyone. We would make another trip back to the warehouse the next day. The people took us in and gave us rooms in the apartment building. I didn’t eat since there were so many mouths to feed. They were much hungrier than I was. I did grab a bottle of water to take my pills with though.
I tried my best to get some sleep but it wasn’t happening. The pain was only part of it. Every time I closed my eyes, I would see my family. I missed them terribly. I knew my sister was most likely lost. I began regretting some of the choices I made in life. Although some of those ‘choices’ were out of necessity.
By the time this zombie mess happened, I was almost crippled by anxiety problems that were almost as bad as the physical pain. I was never able to keep a girlfriend for longer than six months. I knew that getting married would never be an option.
In some ways this whole mess was helping me. I couldn’t survive on my own. I knew that. With maybe seven billion zombies in the world, I would need help. I made myself face the others each day. I made myself go on no matter how much pain I was in. I did my best not to show my suffering.
While trying to sleep, these things and more went through my head. That stupid little mean ass voice in my head was telling me to go out and get bitten. End the pain and suffering. I couldn’t do it. I would fight as long as I could.
Sleep finally came. I wasn’t much better when I woke but I didn’t expect much anyway. I got up and started preparing for another rough day.
“Okay, Pete, turn left at the next intersection.” I told him. I was studying the map and telling him where we needed to go. We brought two other soldiers for safety.
It took us longer than we expected because of the cars all over the road. We had to find ways around and even through at one point. Pete used our truck to push through two cars that were too close for us to pass.
Once there, I saw that Tom was right. This area looked almost the same as the one we used the day before. I looked around and decided I liked this one better.
“Let the dozer driver know we will need him tomorrow. This area will be done first. We will need to spend today looking for as much accelerant as we can find. Get Bob and one of the locals who knows the area. Drive them around so Bob can show you what accelerants will be good. Take three trucks when you go. You’ll need to get started on that as soon as we get back. Well, if you’re hungry, eat before you go.” I told Pete.
“Um, we might need to leave now.” One of the other soldiers said.
I turned and saw a huge mob of the zombies headed our way. I motion for everyone to get back into the truck. We left there in plenty of time. Steve wasn’t back yet when Pete left with Bob. I took the chance for a break and went to the apartment I was given. Most of the tenants were doubling and tripling up in their apartments to make room for everyone. Our coming in made that even worse. I was assigned a single bedroom apartment on the ground floor since I couldn’t use the stairs and the elevator doesn’t work without electricity. I was one of the lucky ones who had a place to myself.
Every time I would lay down on the couch, there would be a knock on my door. I would answer whatever question was being asked and try again. Another knock. Answer. Repeat. They wouldn’t leave me alone for me to get any rest. I finally decided to leave my door open and let them come in and ask me while I was laying on the couch.
I stayed on that couch for the rest of the day. My back finally started to ease up. My feet were a lost cause.
Bob reported finding one hundred units of fifty-five gallon drums of paint thinner. What luck! His crew loaded ten of them onto the trucks and as many five gallon containers as he could fit. He said there were plenty more drums at the warehouse. He figured ten would be enough for this job. I wasn’t as sure but I didn’t feel like debating.
Steve came in all excited about Madison Square Garden. He said it was as close to perfect for us as we would find. The place already had a generator, all we needed to do was fill the generator with gas and use it to power the stereo. He didn’t think the PA system in the arena would be loud enough to draw the zombies in from very far away but he would give it a shot before bothering with the stereo.
Tom and Jennifer came to me for updates on our progress. I told them we would be doing the road north of the first fire the next day. Then Madison Square Garden a day or two after depending on how long it took to set up. They seemed excited and wanted to be there when we did those two places.
Harold reported that they found a second food warehouse that was better stocked than the first one. He assured me there would be enough food for everyone for at least the next month or two, maybe longer. I was relieved to hear that.
Amy came in to report that I was a total dumbass.
Finally, everyone had reported and I found time to sleep. I slept better than I had since taking the knockout pill. Luckily I didn’t dream. I used to depend on my dreams for inspiration for my writing. Lately when I dreamed, zombies were chasing me throughout the night. That wasn’t fun or inspirational.
The dozer driver, Troy, was busy doing as I had shown him. He blocked the ends off already and was working on the concrete safety barriers now. There were more zombies coming at us here than where we were the first time. I took that to be a good thing. Once Troy finished his thing, we waited for everyone to get into position.
Our group, along with maybe forty of the locals, stood on the western side as we did last time. I ordered the men to start firing their guns about every five minutes or so. The number of zombies started out low but increased steadily.
We didn’t use a stereo for this one. There didn’t seem to be a point. As long as we were standing out in the open where they could see us, the zombies kept walking until they fell in the pit. I was really glad they didn’t know how to look down.
I sat down. I knew we would be here awhile.
The drums of paint thinner were set out at even intervals. We set many of the five gallon containers in the pit close to the eastern side. There were rags soaked in the thinner hanging from the open mouth to the ground. We wouldn’t be able to spray the paint thinner like we did the gasoline. This way once the fire started, the five gallon containers would help spread the flames. I knew most of the containers would be knocked over by the falling and walking zombies. They would actually help us.
We waited until the pit was almost full. The drums were held over the edge to let the paint thinner splash down into the pit. Since there were seven cars in the pit, I had already warned the onlookers from both our group and the locals to hide behind the trucks and cars up where we were. I wanted to keep our injuries to a minimum.
I shouted the warning to everyone that I was going to light them up. I waited until they were safely behind the vehicles before I used my cloth covered rock to ignite the fire.
WHOOSH!
Just like the previous one, the flames soared. It didn’t take long before the cars were exploding. I counted them down until the seventh explosion. Then I stood and walked to the side of the pit. Everyone followed my lead.
The explosions worked better than the gunshots. I think they were a bit louder. The zombies kept coming. Since the novelty of watching the zombies burn had worn off for me, I went and sat in the truck.
I grabbed the bottle of water I brought and took three more pills. I took two a few hour earlier. I knew I was taking too many but the pain wouldn’t let me think straight. My thinking was the only useful thing I was capable of anymore.
I lost track of the time as the flames continued. Every once in a while I would look over to check if the flow of zombies had slowed down. So far they were falling in at a steady pace. I hoped all of New York would be this easy.
I had closed my eyes with my head laid back when Steve came over to check on me.
“How bad is the pain?”
“It’s making it hard for me to think straight now. I’m taking the pain pills to keep me able to walk but I don’t know if they will be able to even do that for much longer. You may need to run the entire job at the Garden.”
“I will but I need you to at least do a walkthrough to help me keep from making a mistake. I don’t want to get anyone hurt. Everyone else is amazed at how many zombies you have killed with your ideas. I am amazed that we have never had so much as a cut or scrape from pulling one of the jobs you set up.” Steve said.
“I will do a walkthrough in the morning then. I really think you are ready for this though. Harold and Bob are great at what they have been doing but they don’t see things the way you do. I will always help you if you need me. Even if it is only for your peace of mind.” I told him and laid my head back again. “Let me know when the zombies thin out or the fire stops burning. Okay?”
“I will, Brad.”
I tried to ignore the flames and zombies. I concentrated on making my back relax. I found the most comfortable position I could for my feet, which wasn’t much better than the worst position. In my mind I started writing for Josh and Seth, the werewolves from my books. Maybe they could help me forget my pain.
“I think that about does it.” Brad told me. It had taken around six hours.
I looked over at the pit and saw maybe five zombies approaching form the other side. I stood up and wished I hadn’t. I made myself walk over to the side to get an idea of how many we killed.
“It looks like a few more than the first one.” I commented.
“Definitely more this time. If there were thirty thousand last time, then there was between thirty-five and forty thousand this time.” Steve said. He sounded pretty sure of the numbers. I hoped he was right.
I gave the signal and everyone loaded back into the trucks. We headed back to the apartment complex. Jennifer and Tom wanted to speak to me when I got out of the truck but I told them to follow me inside.
It took several minutes for me to make the walk from the truck to my couch. As soon as I could I took off my shoes and laid back putting my feet up.
“You look like you are in so much pain. What’s wrong?” Jennifer asked.
“My back was hurt in an accident about eleven years ago. My feet are the worst. They have been permanently damaged by gout. Anytime I am on my feet for a few minutes, they start hurting. If I do too much, they hurt for days. If I do too much for two or three days in a row, they hurt so bad I can barely walk. I have been doing too much every day for weeks now. The pain is unbearable even with all the painkillers I take. Speaking of which, could one of you get me a bottle of water from the counter in the kitchen?”
“Certainly.” Jennifer said as she rushed into the kitchen.
I pulled out my bottle of pills and took three more being careful not to let them see how many I took. I explained enough about the pain. I didn’t want them worrying about the drugs too. I put the bottle back in my pocket.
“Now, what did you guys need to talk about?”
“Patty. She is going downhill fast. I don’t think she will make it through the night. We were wondering if a funeral would be possible.” Tom stated.
“Make sure you get a soldier to stand watch when someone is with her! Once someone dies they turn.” I said alarmed.
“Wait, the news said only the people bitten would turn. Patty wasn’t bitten.” Tom said.
“Laura’s brother was in a car wreck. He was alive but unconscious when we found them. He remained unconscious for days before he died. Once he died, he turned and started trying to bite. Believe me, you don’t have to be bitten.” I explained.
“I better go get someone.” Tom said as he walked quickly out the door.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Jennifer asked.
I still had a dirty enough mind to think ‘hell yeah’ but I would never act like that. I knew my limitations. Jennifer wasn’t beautiful but she was attractive. Too attractive for me to try and think about.
“No, but thanks for asking.”
“I’ll go then. Get some rest.” Jennifer said and walked out the door.
At least she seemed nice. That’s a hell of lot more than I can say about Amy. Why would someone as good as Steve settle for a mean ass witch like her? Sometimes people made my head hurt.
I shut my eyes and was on the verge of sleep when I heard the screams. I wanted to ignore them and try to rest. I knew I couldn’t. I was the leader here. It was my duty. Hehe, I said duty.
I finally made it to the door and saw several people rushing away from the stairs. I stopped one of them and asked what was happening.
“Patty just bit two people. Tom hit her in the head with an ashtray and killed her.” He said shaking.
“Why are you running?” I asked.
“Because I don’t want to get bitten too.”
“If Patty is dead, then no one will be biting for a couple of hours at least. You guys need to calm down. Who was bitten?”
“Terry, one of ours, and one of yours. I think his name was Steve.” He said.
No.
Not Steve. Anyone but Steve. Hell, I would rather get bitten myself instead of it happening to him. He was the one who could take over the planning. He was so nice. He actually cared about people.
Life sucks.
Chapter 13
“I would take your place if I could, Steve. You have a better chance of surviving all of this.” I said.
Steve was mostly in shock at first. He came down from Patty’s room. He had went there to take her some medicine. It was a wrong place at the wrong time situation.
“No way, everyone needs you too much. I know what I’ve seen you do. I could never come up with new variations like you do.”
“Yes you could. I already saw the potential. Where’s Amy?” I asked. As much as I hated her, she was his wife.
“She went off crying when she found out. She won’t talk to me. I knew I didn’t have long and I wanted to spend it with a friend.”
“You found one.” I said with feeling.
“Besides, Amy would have acted like a baby and been bitching at me for leaving her.” Steve laughed. “I know everyone wonders why I married her. I still don’t know. I have regretted it most of the time.”
“I have asked myself why.” I wanted to be careful and not insult Amy so I felt I shouldn’t say anything about her.
“To this day, I don’t know. It just kind of happened. Her parents were pushing for it. It sounded alright at the time. Now I know they were pushing me to marry her so she would get out of their house.” Steve said and cracked up. I couldn’t help but laugh with him.
I made sure a soldier was watching over the other person who got bit. The soldier knew to kill at the first sign of the turn. Steve and I were alone in my apartment. We were talking and trying to laugh. All the while, I had my pistol in my lap with the safety off. I was going to be his executioner.
“I would say I wish I had known you before the zombies but I wasn’t in the state of mind to be around people then. I buried myself in my writing so I wouldn’t have to deal with the real world any more than I needed to.” I admitted.
“I wasn’t much different. That’s why I liked being a florist. The flowers were peaceful. Even the way they smelled helped me stay calm. People always confused me. It is so easy to be a nice caring person but all you saw were angry people murdering each other. I never could make sense of it.” Steve wiped away a tear.
“That’s why I didn’t watch the news. Life was depressing enough without seeing that stuff. You can imagine my surprise when I found out the end of the world had come and I didn’t even know it.” I tried to laugh but was too sad. Steve laughed though.
“I couldn’t believe you were serious when I first heard you tell us that. Now I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t have lied about it.” Steve’s smile faded. “Just keep the gun ready, please. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“I know, Steve. I won’t let that happen. I will tell you that you are one of the best friends I ever had. You don’t have as much competition as most people would. I liked you from early on though. That was unusual. You were the right combination of nice, funny, understanding, and willing to do what you needed to.”
“I think--” Steve was interrupted by a gunshot from upstairs. He looked down as tears fell from his eyes. “I don’t regret anything. Well, sometimes I regret marrying Amy. Don’t ever tell her that. If she ask, tell her I said I loved her.”
“You got it. Any other requests?” I asked.
“Yes. Just one. Either you kill every last one of those zombie bastards or teach enough other people how to do it. Make sure…” Steve’s word’s trailed off. I knew what that meant. I tightened my grip on the gun.
