Losers vs. Zombies, page 15
“I don’t see a problem with that. Sara will probably want to have another cookout though. She loves to get the whole city together whenever she can think of a good enough reason.” Riley snorted and shook his head.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like cookouts?” I asked.
“I love the food. I get uncomfortable around a lot of people though.” Riley looked ashamed. I must have had a funny look on my face because he got defensive and thought I looked down on him for his anxiety. “It’s not that uncommon. I--”
“No, Riley! That’s one more thing we have in common! I was almost a shut in and it wasn’t because of the pain. Hell, I didn’t even know the zombie apocalypse had happened until it was already done. I would go a week or more without even leaving my apartment.” I admitted. Riley was stunned.
“Do you think that is why we see things so differently?” He asked.
“Hold on a second. I need to think something through.” I said. I thought of some things Steve had said. “Steve, the one who died, was a florist who liked being alone himself. He was the closest to our way of thinking.”
“Maybe it is more like the other people all talked to each other so much they began to think the same way. It could be them as much as it could be us. If that makes any sense to you.” I was nodding my head before he finished talking.
“I think you may be on to something. Time spent alone leads to your own style of thinking. The opposite is just as true.” I agreed.
We sat thinking things through. It was getting late and we would have a full day tomorrow. I knew we should quit talking and get some sleep but I was reluctant. It was rare for me to choose to keep talking to someone, but I wanted our conversation to continue.
“If you start to get tired let me know. We can talk tomorrow. I have more things I would like to discuss but we do have another day.” I stated.
“I can rest while we drive. Riding on long trips always put me to sleep. I was more worried you would need to rest from the pain.” Riley said.
“Since I won’t be riding anymore, I can get rest from now on. Tonight and tomorrow need to be spent getting everything lined out.” I said when I was hit with a thought. “I haven’t even asked you how many survivors you have in Des Moines.”
“Eighteen hundred, give or take.”
“Wow. That is a lot for a city this size. I wouldn’t have expected that many. You guys must have started fighting back pretty early.”
“We did. I tried to get some people organized before but they wouldn’t listen to me. We could easily have eighteen thousand or more instead of eighteen hundred.” Riley sounded disgusted. “I did what I could but the politicians that were still around kept saying ‘the military will come take care of it’ and things like that. I really wanted to pick them up and shake some sense into them. If I had thought it would have helped, I would have done it.”
“We ran into that type in Cleveland. People just won’t listen sometimes. I got lucky with my group of losers but it was too late to save many people.”
“That’s the third time I’ve heard you call your group losers. Why do you call yourselves that? With all the good you’ve done, it should be any name but that.”
“A fast food manager, a substitute teacher, two waitresses, two hardware store guys, a customer service rep, three teenagers, a florist, a writer, and one mean ass Amy. The one of our group who would have some knowledge or experience was a soldier who was unconscious before I met him and he died before he woke up. Amy kept calling us losers and the name stuck in my head.” I smiled at Riley. “I use the name fondly.”
“I understand then. It was bothering me before you explained it though.”
I took a few more pills. Miranda was still asleep so she wouldn’t give me the mean look. I needed them. Riley saw them and looked like he was about to say we should call it a night. I shook my head and waved it off. I could rest once he took over for me on the road. Until then, we needed to talk.
“We didn’t have a great plan for where we were heading. Once we left Chicago we kept coming west on I-80 since that was what we had been doing before. Omaha and Lincoln are up the road but I was thinking Kansas City might be a better destination.” I said to get the conversation going again.
“There is more people there and St. Louis would make sense afterward. Maybe we should start thinking of breaking the country down into sections. Since we are in the Midwest, we should concentrate on the cities here first.”
“Good idea. That’s better than just going blindly from place to place like we were doing.” I said.
“I like to have a strategy. I work better that way.” Riley looked at me. “Have you ever been to Kansas City?”
“I drove through there a few times. I don’t know the area real well but I seem to recall a few good places for a road pit. There was one place on I-70 on the Kansas side of the city. If I am remembering right, there is one perfect spot. You will see it easy enough. Harold and Bob might need a little guidance but we’ve done these road pits enough for them to have gotten used to them.”
“I hope you are right. These holes were very effective but I would like to try something new now.”
“You will get your chance. You will get more chances than you will be able to count.” I thought of something we had not covered yet when Miranda began to stir. She woke up confused before her eyes settled on Riley and me.
“Why didn’t you wake me? It’s getting pretty late. You need to rest.”
“Plans are changing. Riley and I have a lot to talk about.” I told her.
“What’s changing? The trucks will be leaving early.” Miranda said confused.
“I won’t be going with them. I--”
“What? They need you too much. I wish you would stay here but they need you.”
“Riley and I are switching places. He will be going with the group and I am going to stay here. Truthfully, I should have stayed in New York. You’ve seen my pain better than anyone. Riley can do the same things I can as far as problem solving.”
“Are you sure? No offense Riley, but Brad is a hero. Harold, Bob, Angie, and Laura told me their story from the beginning. According to them, no one else could have done what Brad did. I saw Cleveland and Chicago myself.” Miranda spoke with a passion that both surprised and moved me.
“I know I have some big shoes to fill. I guess it’s a good thing I’m so big.” Riley smiled. “I know I might not be as good at this as Brad and that scares me a little. I can see his pain though. You’re right, he is a hero. That’s why I have to try. He has earned the right to stop putting himself through all of this pain if he can.”
“Would you guys quit that?” I asked.
“Quit what?” Miranda asked.
“Talking about me like that. When they told you our story, did they tell you that I didn’t want to be their leader? They voted and elected me. Well, Amy abstained from the vote. I was as scared as they were, maybe more so since it would be my fault if one of them had died. I can’t consider myself a hero. Sorry.”
“It’s like when they voted you as leader, you don’t get to decide. You might not want to be called a hero but your actions have earned you the title.” Miranda said. She walked over to my chair and pointed toward the house Sara told us we could use for sleeping. “You can talk to Riley more tomorrow. It’s time for bed.”
“Yes ma’am.” I mumbled and put my head down like I was pouting.
Riley laughed as I rolled away.
Chapter 22
“I can rest tomorrow.” I told myself when I tried to sit up the next morning. My back was in a real bind. “Just make it through today.”
I tried to reach out for my wheelchair but I couldn’t quite get to it. I stretched farther and the pain caused me to cry out. It wasn’t loud but Miranda heard me. She came in and helped me to my chair.
“Every day. You do this every day. I keep telling you to call me, but no, you have to keep hurting yourself trying to do things the hard way.” Miranda scolded.
“I’m a fort-two year old man. I should be able to do something for myself. Next thing you know, you’ll be burping me after I eat.”
“You’d probably just spit up on me.” She said smiling. “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
“Yes. Sorry.”
“You keep saying sorry. If I weren’t willing to help you, I wouldn’t. Now quit feeling sorry for yourself.”
She helped me go. She helped me bathe. She dressed me. She brought my food. She…was needed. Day after day, she did these things and more. She never complained except to tell me to let her do more to help me. She was so beautiful. She needed to find someone and be happy. She deserved better than to be taking care of a prematurely old man.
Once my morning ritual was done, we headed outside the house. There were people everywhere getting things set up for the cookout. I could see the locals pointing at me and whispering among themselves. I am sure they were angry to be losing Riley only to be left with some cripple they would need to support. I didn’t blame them for being angry. It was a bad trade for them.
Sara saw me and headed in my direction. I wondered briefly what she really thought of Riley and me switching places. I doubt she would let on if she were disappointed. I would watch to try and see though.
“So, you’re tired and you’re causing us to lose our hero. What’s next? You going to bring us more zombies?” Okay, so she was good at hiding it. I would need to watch very closely from now on.
Miranda opened her mouth to speak but I held up my hand to stop her.
“You have a right to be angry. You have seen Riley in action and he helped save the people here. I admit it is a bad trade. All I can say in my defense is that I have done the best I could at each place I’ve been. So far I haven’t gotten anyone killed and I helped save a lot of people. I will try to continue that.”
“We’ll see.” Sara said and walked off in a huff.
“I need to kick that bitch’s ass!” Miranda stated strongly.
“No, Miranda. Riley is all they’ve known. He was the one who showed them how to defend themselves. They are as loyal to him as my group is to me. If I am as good as everyone says, then I will prove my worth here. Until then, these people will be a little bitter.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Trust me, things will get better as we go.” I said with more confidence than I felt.
We headed for what appeared to be the center of activity. It was hard to tell since people were all over the place and were constantly in motion. I saw Bob and Pete off to the side. I headed over to say good morning.
“Goo--”
“What the hell? Why didn’t you tell us you were leaving?” Pete nearly shouted. “We can’t do this without you!”
The good people of Des Moines stopped what they were doing and watched us. I could see this would be a long day.
“Pete, I-”
“After all the people we’ve saved you are going to risk the rest of the country on some oversized meathead?” Pete was clearly furious. I just sat and looked at him until he managed to calm down a bit.
“Riley will get the job done, Pete. I wouldn’t do this if I thought otherwise. You’ve seen what I go through every day. I can’t keep doing that. Riley is healthy and able. You will learn to trust him like you do me.” I looked at Bob and knew he felt the same way Pete did. I racked my brain trying to figure out a way to make them see.
A loud ruckus erupted a little ways off. They were too far away for me to hear what was being said. The crowd rushed over to see what was going on. I pushed the handle forward to make my wheelchair take me to the problem. I didn’t want to go but knew I needed to be there. Today was going to suck.
Harold and a local man were rolling on the ground fighting. The crowd was cheering them on. I took a breath to call for order when Riley stepped in. He separated the two men and held them apart at arm’s length. When they tried to get back at it, Riley shook them hard enough to make their teeth rattle.
“What the hell is wrong with all of you?” Riley shouted.
“Our groups are overly loyal.” I said as I rolled my chair into the circle of faces. “My side doesn’t believe you will be good enough and your side doesn’t believe I am good enough. We will be seeing this all day by the looks of it.”
“We will convince them then.” Riley vowed.
Once order was restored and the cookout preparations continued, Riley and I talked. We left strict orders with both sides that no more fighting would be tolerated. I wasn’t sure if they were going to listen but it was worth a shot.
“I can’t believe my people are acting like this. Sara should be more in control of them.” Riley said once we were alone. I debated but decided to tell him.
“Sara approached me this morning and let me know how much she hated this trade. She was as mad as any of them. One of my guys, Pete, was shouting at me for even thinking about doing this.”
“What can we do to calm them down?” Riley asked.
“I’m not sure. I think it will take time for each side to trust us. I’m not sure any words can convince either side.”
“Well, we can make them behave better anyway. Fighting amongst ourselves is stupid when there is so much we need to fight against already.”
“I couldn’t have said it any better than that.” I told him.
We passed a few bad ideas back and forth with no real solution. I was worried about being away from everyone for this long but knew Riley and I needed to solve this before it could get even worse.
“What if we proposed a trial run? Tell them that you will go to Kansa City, then St. Louis, and over to Indianapolis. You guys can come back here after those three cities. Our two groups can talk it over then to see if we want to continue with this trade.” I suggested. I knew Riley would work out. I also felt pretty assured that I could handle any problems that came up here. Our people needed to see it though.
“That would give them a chance to see. It is the best idea we’ve had so far. Let’s propose the trial run and see how it goes. Who knows, maybe we will want to trade back after those three cities are done.” Riley said.
“Let’s get back before they start another fight. It doesn’t look like we are going to have a better idea.”
The preparations were continuing. Each group was giving the other the evil eye. They weren’t talking to each other at all.
“Brad, call your group leaders and I will gather the council members. We can have a smaller meeting and they can spread the word.” Riley suggested.
“Good idea. Where will we meet?”
“Take them to Sara’s house.”
“You got it.” I said.
I rolled away to tell my people.
“Do we get a say in this at all?” Laura asked.
“We will discuss it, Laura. Let’s do it at Sara’s house though. The locals will want to put in their two cents as well.” I said.
“At two cents, they are overcharging us. These idiots actually think Riley is better at this stuff than you are.” Bob snorted. I waved them forward toward Sara’s house before answering. I knew we needed both sides to hear both viewpoints.
“…no way! That man might get us all killed.” One of the local men yelled. We only heard the last of it as we entered Sara’s house.
“Him? You guys are already safe! We will be the ones out where it’s dangerous. We will have to put our lives in the hands of some overgrown bear.” Angie shouted.
“Everyone shut up!” I yelled. “Look, Riley and I have a proposal. Hear us out before there is more fighting.”
I looked around at first one group, then the other. Riley walked over to stand beside me. I heard Riley take a deep breath and knew he was going to tell them.
“Look, Brad and I appreciate the loyalty each group is showing. The facts should be clear to everyone by now, you all just refuse to see it. Brad took a small inexperienced group and helped make not only Mobile safe, but New York, Cleveland, Chicago, and other smaller cities as well. If one of the two groups have a right to gripe, it is his group.” Riley gave a stern glance at his people daring them to argue.
“Look around at this city.” I started while looking directly at my group. “They have ten times the survivors the population here warrants. That is all because of Riley’s ideas. Need I remind you that Riley’s ideas are pretty much identical to my own? He kept the people here safe. Why would you doubt that he will do the same for you?” I asked them.
There were looks from both sides showing disbelief.
“Brad, I’ve seen you take one look at a problem and solve it in the next breath. You took a small group of scared, untrained people and made a great team out of us. We have helped save thousands of people. We don’t want anyone else. It doesn’t matter if Riley can do the job or not. We want our group to stay together.” Bob declared.
“We feel the same about Riley. Des Moines would have been completely lost without him. No matter where Brad has been or how many cities he saved, he can’t replace the man who saved us.” Sara replied.
At least they were talking and not shouting.
“Brad and I have decided to make a trial run. I will go with his people to Kansas City, then St. Louis, and then Indianapolis. We will come back here once those cities are done. If either side still has a problem, then we will try and solve it. Can everyone live with this? Or will you keep being blindly stubborn and make this man suffer through more pain than any of us could possibly take?” Riley said.
All eyes went to the floor. I hated that Riley was playing the cripple card but it trumps most others. No one spoke for some time. I knew, and I think Riley did too, that we needed them to speak first. We waited.
“Just a trial run? How long will that take?” Sara asked.
“It depends on what we find. Sometimes we can get the locals trained and ready to fight for themselves in a week. Sometimes it takes longer.” Harold answered.
