Losers vs. Zombies, page 6
We loaded the trucks with the food and water we wouldn’t be needing over the next couple of days. It was nice to know we wouldn’t have to scrounge for a while. Once we were done we moved the truck and Jeep a little farther away from the door. Not more than thirty feet or so, but we needed to keep them some distance away in case the fire got out of hand before we left. I was trying to be safe.
We all stood or sat by the back door waiting for Steve to return. I sat with my back to the wall trying to think of anything but the pain I was in. I was looking at the ceiling when something caught my eye.
“Bob, Harold, do fire alarm sprinkler systems need electricity to work?” I asked. They must have seen where I was looking since they both went and stood under the sprinkler head in the ceiling.
“We can check. I really don’t know for sure.” Bob said.
“I don’t know either, but there should be a cut off valve for the water leading to the sprinklers. We can find it and turn the water off. That would work.” Harold added.
“You two go ahead and do that, please. The rest of us can make sure Steve gets back in safely.” I said.
I was very glad I saw that. All the planning wouldn’t do any good if the sprinklers put out the fire before the zombies could die.
Steve came back unharmed. We went out to protect him but there weren’t any zombies close by. He was smiling so I knew he did something good.
“You’re smiling. Does that mean it went well?” I asked.
“Hell yes! There were hundreds east of here. There were over a hundred south of here. I went on the interstate and used the emergency lane to lead a few hundred more. The real mother lode was west of here. I might have brought in over eight hundred just from the west.” Steve was happy.
“Great job! Let’s go to the roof and take a look.” I said. He nodded and came with me.
I looked out over the growing sea of zombies. We had thousands in the parking lot. I hadn’t been up here for a while and didn’t realize how many were showing up. The road leading in was full of incoming zombies as well. This was working better than I dreamed. What made me want to laugh was looking across the street to the Springdale Mall. We could wait a few weeks and do this same thing over there!
Chapter 6
I spent the rest of the day visualizing the fire. We would need to douse everything with as much accelerant as we could. The problem I was seeing was how slippery the floors would become. We would need to move quickly once we opened the doors. It took me longer than I like to admit to solve that problem.
“Amy, get some of the other women and go gather all the towels, blankets, and floor mats you can. We need things that won’t be slippery after they are wet with the lighter fluids.” I told her. She was the only one close by or I would have asked someone else.
“Why can’t you get your lazy ass up and do it yourself?” Amy replied.
“Because I am in pain. Also, I am the one who has to figure all this shit out. Now go get those things, please.” I spoke with as much restraint as I could. She really got on my nerves. She snorted and walked away.
We would make a pathway from the doors we would open to the door we would leave by with the towels and stuff. That way, the ones opening the doors would have sure footing on the way out.
The night passed without incident. We all slept in the mattress store. We kept a guard posted through the night. We went in two hour shifts with mine being the last. I wanted it that way so I could get a head start on thinking things through.
I watched the sun rise thinking of how this would go down. We would open the ends of the building and as the ones who opened the end doors passed by, the next set of doors would be opened. This way, we could keep the incoming zombies from getting too close to anyone of us. I hoped.
I had another idea. Instead of using the flare gun, I would soak a couple of sheets in flammable liquid and use them as a fuse. I could walk them out the back door and light them from a safe distance.
We planned on leaving out the same door as before with barricades set up from the outside to hold the zombies in. We were going to send one truck with Susan and the three teenagers to the side road. She would watch after we opened the doors. With a set of walkie talkies we found, Susan would tell us when enough of the zombies were inside the building. I would then light the fuse and we would get in the other two vehicles and haul ass. I hoped we could get the timing down. We would be getting started once everyone was awake and ate their breakfast. Some of them were beginning to stir.
I watched as one after the other woke and got out of bed. Laura was already passing out the food, drinks, and plastic forks. I went and got something for myself.
“So, today’s the day. We should get plenty with this one.” Angie said.
“Yep. When I finish eating, I am going up to the roof to see how many we have. If there are more than there were last night, then today will be a great day.” I said. I ate quickly so I could go and see.
“I want to go with you.” Steve said.
His statement was echoed by everyone else. As it turned out, we all ended up on the roof. We just weren’t expecting the two things we saw.
The entire parking lot in the front of the mall was full to overflowing with zombies. I couldn’t even estimate how many there were. I know there were over ten thousand now. That was safe to say.
The second thing we were surprised by didn’t happen for a few minutes. We were standing there gaping in awe of the number of zombies when we heard it. A helicopter! I turned this way and that until I saw it. The sound was hard to pinpoint. I never have figured out why. It came from the south.
“Holy cow. It’s a helicopter!” Eric said.
All of us started waving our hands and jumping up and down. The helicopter turned more toward our direction. Once it got to us, it hovered above looking down at the sea of zombies. The helicopter repositioned itself and began firing a gun at the zombies.
“No!” I screamed. I knew they couldn’t hear me, it was more out of reflex.
I pulled my gun and fired a few shots in the air. Once the helicopter stopped firing, I motioned for them to stop shooting. I then motioned for them to land on a flat part of the roof. The helicopter hesitated but flew over to the roof.
“You guys stay here for a minute.” I told our group.
I walked over to stand close to where the chopper landed. Once it was down, a man in an army uniform got out and ran to me.
“Why did you tell us to stop firing?” He asked.
“We already have a plan to kill them. You shouldn’t have to waste any bullets on them.” I began explaining our plan. “We set up the mall…”
When I finished telling him, he looked at me and then to my group. He shook his head and smiled.
“Where were you guys headed when you left here?” He asked.
“I didn’t really have that decided yet. We just move from place to place doing this kind of thing.” I told him.
“Wait, you’ve done this before?”
“Yes, but on a much smaller scale. This is the first time we tried anything this huge.” I was having to shout to be heard over the rotors of the helicopter. He was holding his hat on his head and shouting back.
“Go to the battleship. We have that area as a safe zone. Make sure you take the bridge. The tunnels are a mess.” He informed me.
“Yes, sir! We will. If you want to hover and watch this, be my guest.” I said with a smile. He nodded as if to say he would.
“Good luck!” He held out his hand and I shook it. He turned and went to his chopper and I returned to our group.
“Let’s get this done! Does everyone know their job?” I asked.
“Yep.” Was echoed by all of them.
We had all the cans of accelerant set up to be dumped, sprayed, and splashed. Everyone took part. Each person had an assigned area. It only took a few minutes to coat the walls and floors with the stuff.
I kicked a hole in the window part of the door we would leave through. I threaded my soaked fuse out of it making sure the part staying inside would be in a puddle that had tendrils going in all directions.
Once everyone was through with the dousing, I sent Susan and the teenagers to their truck. We already made sure there were no zombies there to bite them. I sent Steve and Tina to the end doors. Angie and Laura manned the next set. Cindy and Amy the next doors. Harold and Bob had the main entrance.
I pulled my gun and shot a round into the ceiling. This was the signal for Steve and Tina on the outside doors. I listened and heard “now!” coming from each direction. A few seconds later I heard “now!” again from each direction. This was the outside door people telling the next in line to open their doors. Once they were all close enough, I yelled for Harold and Bob to open their doors.
Our group all sped past me and grouped outside. I turned on the stereos that were linked together by Steve. The music blared. I wanted this last precaution to insure the zombies would keep entering the building.
I went out the door and helped the others move the huge machines we were using as barricades. Once the doors were blocked, it was just about waiting for them to enter the mall. I used the walkie talkie to see if Susan was in place.
“Yep. I have a clear view.” She said.
“Where are you exactly?”
“In the parking lot across Cottage Hill Road. The zombies didn’t pay any attention to me. They are all drawn to the music and the helicopter. They are heading in though. I can see the whole mass of them going through the doors. It’s like we opened the flood gates.”
“Great! That’s what we wanted. Tell me when it gets down to less than a hundred or so still outside. Okay?”
“No problem.”
I gave the others the thumbs up. They were already in the trucks ready to go. I waited. I kept a watch for the stray zombie that might have found his way to this part of the parking lot. I didn’t see any. The wait took longer than I had planned.
“Okay, Brad! That’s about all of them! Light ‘em up!” Susan said cheerfully.
“Lighting them now.” I said and grabbed my long handled lighter.
The fuse worked perfectly. I watched long enough to see the flames spread through the visible part of the mall. The zombies were still strange to watch. They just stood there until they dropped. No writhing in agony or anything.
I jumped into the Jeep and drove over to where Susan was parked. She got in line behind us as we began driving to the battleship. I had been to the USS Alabama which was permanently docked on the causeway. This trip was much more welcome.
We needed to take a long route to get there. Since we couldn’t hit the interstate right by the mall, we went over to Dauphin Street and hit I-65 from there. The drive was slowed by wrecked cars all over the road. We finally made it to I-165 to go toward the bridge when we came up to a jam that blocked the road. It took us a while to clear a way through. We killed several zombies who wandered the area.
It was smooth sailing after that mess. We drove in at the ship to the cheers of many soldiers.
I was shocked by how happy they seemed. I was pretty sure we weren’t the only survivors they had found.
Once we parked and got out, I found out the reason for their celebration. The man from the helicopter radioed in to their base telling them what we had done. The soldier treated us like we were heroes.
I looked around at their ‘safe zone’ and wasn’t all that impressed. There were tents erected all over the place. A restaurant was being used as both a mess hall and their headquarters. It was nice to feel safe again though.
Chapter 7
“I am Colonel Burke. I didn’t introduce myself on the roof.” He said as he held out his hand. We were in their headquarters.
“I’m Brad.” I said simply as I shook his hand.
“Are you the leader of your group?” Burke asked.
“Yes. Against my will, but yes.” That got a small laugh from him.
“How on earth did you come up with that idea? That was brilliant.”
“I don’t think brilliant is the word. It’s kind of a long story.” I said and shrugged.
“Come in and sit. You can tell me all about it.”
He led me to a room and shut the door. The chair he offered wasn’t very comfortable but it sure as hell beat standing up.
“How many people do you have here?”
“About a hundred and fifty, give or take.” Burke replied. “Now, tell me the story.”
“Well, I’m a writer…” It took a while, but I related my story and how the group came together as well as the zombie-killing fires.
“Wow. You really didn’t know what was happening?” He asked.
“No sir.” I said causing him to smile.
“I get enough of that ‘sir’ crap from the soldiers. You just call me Burke. Forget the titles and sirs. There isn’t much left of the army or government anymore anyway.”
“How much is left?” I asked.
“A few of them are still trying to act like bigwigs but mostly, their done. We are following the same structure here because it is easier. The officers were trained for strategy and survival and the soldiers would rather stay and follow orders than be left out by themselves. We made it clear that all service was now voluntary.”
“Are there any other military safe zones? Or safe zones of any kind for that matter.” I asked hoping this wasn’t the only one.
“We’ve been in contact with several groups. All of them are saying the same things. ‘We need help, the zombies are overrunning us’ or something along those lines.” He paused. “I am still shaking my head in wonder. Your group killed more zombies this morning than we have killed since this whole thing got started. Did any of your group have a military background? Or any training?”
“Nope. One of the groups that joined us had a wounded soldier. He never regained consciousness. We carried him from place to place until he went bad and started trying to bite. The rest of us are, well…the word losers comes to mind.” I said it with a smile. Burke smiled and shook his head again.
“Losers is the last word I would use. Your group not only survived, you fought back better than any group I’ve seen or heard about. Tell me one thing, do you have any other ideas on how to kill the zombies?”
“I had a plan to use the Bankhead Tunnel. It would involve a lot of the same principals as we used at the mall. We lure as many in as we can and we set them on fire. That tunnel should be able to hold quite a few zombies.”
“You work through the details and I will help you pull it off! Consider us your new army.” Burke said.
“Wow. Now I have an army to work with. That changes things. Let me think for a while.” I requested. This could change things.
“Take what time you need. It is refreshing to have some hope now. I never would have thought of luring the zombies to the place I was hiding.”
“It was more of trapping them someplace where they could be controlled. I could tell you what would work the best.” I began. Burke sat up in his chair and gave me his full attention like I was about to tell him the secrets of life.
“Please do! If it’s possible, we will make it happen.” Burke assured me.
“A very large hole in the ground. Maybe twenty feet deep and about the size of the Civic Center. Wait, there’s another idea. The Civic Center! I bet we could fill that place up too. I don’t think it would even be hard to do.” My mind was going a mile a minute. I wanted to get up and walk out to think better, but Burke was offering an army. I decided to make sure I wasn’t rude to him.
“Where would the hole need to be? You need to explain this better.” Burke complained. I thought for a second.
“If we had a hole, preferably in the center of a zombie filled area, we could suspend a speaker over the hole. Then the zombies would walk straight into the hole. If the hole is deep enough, they won’t be able to climb back out. We could spray them down with accelerants and light them on fire. Once that fire burned out, we could just turn the music back on and lead more zombies to the hole.” I explained.
“Holy crap! I sure wish we could have found you sooner. How do you think of these things?” Burke asked.
“Since we didn’t have soldiers or cops or anyone with training, I had to figure out ways that wouldn’t put us in danger. I have been writing books which makes you think a little differently than normal people.”
“Once we get everyone started on this tunnel plan, I think we should scout out an area for the hole you just described. We can use whatever heavy equipment we’ll need. Pretty much anything you can name is sitting somewhere in Mobile waiting to be used. I--” Burke was going to keep talking but I held up my hand to stop him. Something he said hit home in my already crowded mind.
“The service road by I-65. There are some heavy equipment places there. That would actually be a good enough place for the hole. The equipment is right there and the location will work. I will need to think out the details though. I have to make sure Steve, or whoever is driving the truck with the stereo, has a safe outlet.”
“Wow! Just like that. I guess it would be close enough to some zombie traffic. Do you think we should go ahead and get started on the hole?” Burke asked.
“Not yet. Let me think it through. By tomorrow morning we can get started on one, maybe both, of the plans. Either the tunnel or the hole, whichever one I can see the clearest in my head.” I told him.
“I can handle that. Come see me in the morning when you are ready to get started. We serve our breakfast from dawn to about 10:30 in the morning. After you eat something would be a good time.” Burke stood up.
“Sounds good. I will see you then.” I said.
I rejoined my little group. They were unloading our bags from the trucks. I grabbed my bag and joined them. They were nice enough to wait until we were in the tent assigned to us before asking me any questions.
“So what did he want?” Bob asked first.
“He wanted to hear more about our group and to find out if we had more ways of killing the zombies.” I began.
