Losers vs. Zombies, page 7
“What all did you tell him?” Susan asked.
“I told him my story from before the zombies up to when he landed on the roof of the mall. Then we started talking about better ways to get rid of the zombies. I gave him a few of the ideas I’ve been working on. He basically said that this army was at my disposal. They would follow whatever plan I decide on.”
“Wow! Really?” Tina asked.
“Why would they want to do what your dumbass told them? They are supposed to be the military. They are the ones with experience in this kind of shit.” Amy trailed off with, “Following this dumbass loser…”
“We now have an army to back us. Hey, you aren’t planning on leaving us out of all this are you?” Harold asked worriedly. “We all followed you up until now and we want to keep fighting those bastards.”
“I will make sure any of you that want to stay involved, will. You guys have seen how I think so you might understand what I am trying to do better than these soldiers would.” I tried to assure them.
“What were the ideas you told him about?” Steve asked.
“Mainly two ideas. One, the Bankhead Tunnel. We could set up a semi for the battery to run the stereo. We put the truck close to this side of the tunnel and block off the exit. Then we lure the zombies to the opening on Government Street. We will have to find a hell of a lot of flammables for this one. That tunnel is long and could hold over ten thousand zombies. We would want to make sure they all burned.
“The other idea I told him about is actually something I’ve been working on for days now. It is really simple. We need a really huge hole in the ground. Maybe twenty feet deep and the size of a football field or the Civic Center. We could suspend a speaker over the middle of the hole and lure zombies toward it. They would fall right into the hole and not be able to climb out. We burn them when there are enough of them in the hole. When the fire goes out, we lure more zombies in to refill it.”
“That’s perfect. We could do that.” Angie chimed in.
“What did the military guy say? Did he like your ideas?” Steve asked.
“Yes, he loved both plans. I am supposed to figure out the details and tell him after breakfast which one we should get started on. We might even start on both tomorrow. I was hoping you guys would help me think through the problems with each plan.” I said and looked around to see their reactions.
“Hell yes. You know we want to kill those zombies as much as anyone. We’ll help any way we can.” Harold said.
“Good.” I took a deep breath trying to decide where to begin. “The hole in the ground is the best idea overall. The Colonel and I were thinking the hole should be by the service road off of I-65 where those heavy equipment rental places are. You know, between the Highway 45 exit and the Moffat Road exit. If we can make it work, we could kill tens of thousands easily. The hole could hold thousands and we could reuse it again and again. So let’s start with it. The two biggest problems I see are solvable, I think. One, the person who is driving the truck with the stereo will need a way to get away from the hole without either putting himself in danger or leading the zombies away from the hole when he leaves. Two, how do we keep the zombies from clawing through the dirt on the outer sides of the hole once we get them into it?” I posed the main problems I needed to solve.
Once I stopped talking, everyone went into deep thought. Except for Amy, she snorted and went to lay down. I began to sort through the possibilities for the driver of the truck. I wasn’t getting any ideas. The area around where the hole would be, is open with no cover to hide the trucks departure.
“I know the easy solution to the sides of the pit. We could place plywood around the walls of the hole. We would need to replace them after each fire though.” I explained how I had been thinking. “The harder problem is getting the truck away. The only thing I’ve been able to come up with, is to build a fence with a gate the truck could drive through. If the zombies can’t see through the fence then they would lose track of the truck and concentrate on the music coming from the stereo.”
“Both of those solutions would work. The plywood might need to be improved on. We can all sleep on it and see what we come up with.” Bob suggested. “Now, explain the problems with the tunnel plan.”
“One problem is the sheer size and length of the tunnel. How would we put down enough accelerant to make sure all the zombies were caught up in the fire? Two, again, how do we lead them to the tunnel entrance and get the driver away without them following the driver instead of entering the tunnel?” I posed these questions to them.
The group stayed silent for a while. Everyone was deep in thought. Except for Amy who was asleep. I knew they were thinking hard and trying to help. We sat for a couple of hours without any great solutions.
“How hard would it be to put a cement wall around the edges of the pit? How long would that take?” I broke the silence.
“If we had enough men working on it, we could do the pour in a day or two. We would need the hole to be dug and measure beforehand so we could build the proper forms for the pouring of the cement.” Bob said.
“What are forms?” Tina asked.
“Wooden brackets to hold the cement where you want it. It is how most all cement pours are molded. We could build the forms and place them around the perimeter, leaving some room between the forms and the wall of the pit. Then you pour the cement in between the forms and the sides. Once the cement sets, you can take down the forms and the cement walls will remain standing.” Bob explained.
“I think we could do that since we have all these soldiers to help. It would take an entire day just to cut the stakes and build the forms properly.” Harold began. “A cement truck would help, but again, with this many soldiers to help, we could do the mixing by hand if we have to. I think it’s doable.”
“Does anyone have a better idea for getting the truck away? The fence is all I can come up with. The fence would need to be a solid wood fence, heavily reinforced. That might take too long to build, though.”
“We could put up a tall chain link fence with a tarp covering it so you couldn’t see through it. There was a fence like that near where I lived.” Susan said.
“Which would be easiest?” I asked.
“The wooden fence would be a little harder to put up. The boards would have to be cut and gathered, then placed and nailed. The chain link would be ready to go once we found a fence place that sells them.” Harold seemed to know. I wasn’t sure since I never worked with fences or had one put up before.
“Okay, we’ll go with the chain link idea.” I paused and looked around at the group. “We aren’t alone anymore. We have help but I trust you guys and would like for you to be as involved as you are willing to be.” I told them.
“We want to help.” Tina offered. Her sentiment was echoed by the others. It seemed we were all in agreement.
“I will tell Burke to start on the hole then. Bob and Harold, I want you two to come with me when I talk to Burke in the morning. You two know more about getting these things ready. We will hold off on the tunnel for a while.” I said.
“We have enough people to do both now. Why don’t we get that started as well?” Susan suggested.
“I guess we can. I will make a mental list of what we’ll need and how many people we need to help us. Thanks for your help everyone. Now get some rest. You’ve earned it.” I wanted to sound positive. I hoped it didn’t come off as corny.
Chapter 8
The hole was eight feet deep and growing quickly. We had several crews all working on different projects. The heavy equipment was being used to dig the hole and move the dirt to build makeshift walls around the back and side of the hole. We wanted to funnel the zombies into the pit without giving them a way to avoid the hole.
Another crew started working on the fence. I gave them the design I was looking for and Harold was overseeing its construction. Bob was in charge of the material gathering for the construction. He took a small group of soldiers with him around town gathering tarps for the fence, cement, boards to build the forms, as well as the saws, nails, and hammers we would need. He had a huge list as well as anything he would see that would help.
Steve and the others were put on tunnel preparation. They were gathering the accelerant, stereos, and more trucks. They also had a detail of soldiers helping them. One of their main jobs would be to scout the area and know where the zombies were thickest. I would need to know as many details as they could give me.
All of our groups were encountering zombies. We knew this couldn’t be avoided. We worked as quickly as possible to get things done. The soldiers’ main job was protecting my group. They were doing a good job so far but it was too early to tell how well these plans would work. The zombies weren’t cooperating.
As I stood watching the hole get dug, I turned to look around the area again. I looked across the interstate and saw some zombies in the road trying to get to us. The fences lining the interstate had them stopped. There were some in the southbound lanes that were stymied by the waist high concrete dividers.
“What are you looking at?” One of the soldiers asked.
“We will need to open up gaps in the fences and that concrete divider once the pit is ready. We will be able to get all the zombies from the road and even some from the western side of the interstate that way.” I told him.
“When do we need to get started on that?” He asked.
“After the cement has been poured. Until then the fences and dividers are helping us to keep them away.”
“I will tell Colonel Burke. He wanted me to let him know about any changes or any different things you came up with.” He said.
“So the Colonel is keeping tabs on me?” I wasn’t sure why I was so angry about it. It seemed like a reasonable thing for him to do.
“No sir. Not like that. He told me he was trying to figure out his own ways of killing the zombies and he wanted to know any ideas you haven’t already told him. He said it would help him with future strategies.” The soldier explained.
“I see. This is a simple thing. We will want all the zombies we can lure this way, this will increase the number. I also think we should build fences from the hole we made on this side of the interstate to the corners of the pit. Then we will have made three distinct entries to the hole where the zombies can enter without getting in each other’s way. It will keep them moving more smoothly.”
“Could you draw a diagram of that? I’m not seeing it.” He asked.
“I will before we head back. I need to show Harold what I am talking about anyway. He is the one who will be building it.” I informed him.
The rest of the day was very productive. I drew the diagrams for Harold and the soldier. The pit was huge already. I would need to talk with Bob to see how long the forms would take since we would be ready for the pour by the end of tomorrow. This was coming along much faster than I thought it would.
Once we were back at camp in the safety zone, I gathered our group before we went for our meal.
“Bob, how long will it be with the forms?” I asked.
“We have finished all the ones we can do here. I built enough to make it almost if not all the way around. I will probably need to make one or two smaller ones there to make them fit the way I want them to in the corners. I am going to take enough materials and tools to do that when we head out tomorrow.” Bob said.
“Fantastic. Harold, will the additional fencing from the interstate to the pit be a problem?” I turned to him.
“Only the removal of the old fence will be tough. We will build the new fence before we take out the segment you wanted from the old fence that is already there. The problem is the zombies will be right there trying to bite us while we are trying to cut the fence away.” Harold explained it well enough.
“Give me a minute.” I sat there thinking it through. “Could we use one of those tree limb saws on the fence? The ones where the chainsaw is on a long pole. That way the men would still be too far from the zombies to get bitten.”
“That would work. Good idea. I have been meaning to ask you how we were going to move the concrete dividers without putting someone in danger. Will we just kill the zombies then move the divider?” Harold asked.
“Nope. Once we open up the fence, the ones on the near side of the divider will be lured into the pit. Then we use a forklift to move the divider. The divider itself will always remain between the zombies and the forklift. At least until those zombies are lured into the pit. Then we can move the divider anywhere we want safely. We can use the tree limb saws on the fence on the other side and have a truck there to carry the men doing the cutting to safety. Some of the zombies might follow the truck but I believe the music will keep at least most of them headed toward the hole.”
“I think I see what you’re saying.” Harold said.
“If you think of a better way of doing it, let me know.” I turned to Steve then. “How is the tunnel project coming?”
“We are going to need sandbags or something to cover the drains. If we pour the flammables onto the pavement, we will lose most all of it into the drains. Also, I was wondering how we would drive into the tunnel leading them and get out if we are going to block the other end.” Steve said.
“Burke can probably find the sandbags for us. Use tarps too. I will go and get a couple of semi-trucks. We can use the battery from one of them to power the stereo. We can use them to block the road. One will be in place with the other beside it. Once the truck or trucks that were leading the zombies into the tunnel pass by, the second semi can be moved forward to cover the other half of the road.” I explained.
“Okay. Sounds good.” Steve said.
“You might want to make sure there aren’t any sprinkler systems in the tunnel. Remember how it was at the mall? We want the fire to keep going.” I told him.
“I will look.” Steve assured me.
We went to eat after some other small details were covered. Our group still got stares from everyone in the camp. We would get a lot of greetings and well wishes anytime we were around the soldiers. They seemed happy to be doing something positive now to stop the zombies. Their previous efforts hadn’t amounted to much.
The meals were better in the camp. They had generators going for the stoves. Cooked meals would always be better than food right out of the can. The chairs were horrible. Of course, it could have just been the constant excruciating pain in my back that made me think so. My feet weren’t any better.
I was told they had a doctor here but I had put off going to see him. I needed to do that. He might have some pain pills that would ease the pain some. I usually hated to take them for fear of addiction. I knew I would always be in pain and if I started using the pills to relieve that, I could very easily get hooked.
Bob, Steve, and Harold joined me when we went to talk to Burke after we ate. Burke wanted daily updates from me on our progress. I wanted the guys to be with me in case we needed clarification on some of the finer points of the plans.
“I hear we are ahead of schedule. That makes me happy. Is everything running smoothly?” Burke asked us as we sat down in his office.
“We are finding new things we need and new ideas are popping up. The plans are coming along fine though.” I began. I then filled him in on the new ideas and needs we came up with. “We will need…”
He wrote down the new stuff and asked the appropriate questions. Once he was up to date on our ideas, we left his office to head back to the tent. I decided to go find the doctor. I couldn’t live like this.
“So you’re the one who figured out how to kill the zombies. I was wanting to meet you.” The doctor said as he shook my hand.
“I’m Brad.”
“Call me James. Now, how can I help you?”
“I am in too much pain to function. I hurt my back in an accident back in 2004. My feet have been permanently damaged by gout. I have to have something for the pain. Before the zombies, I managed my activities well enough to limit how much pain I was in. Now, I am on my feet all day which hurts both the back as well as my feet.” I told him.
“What was the diagnosis of your back?” James asked.
I explained the two compression fractures and the muscle problems I was diagnosed with. I went over the gout damage as well. He seemed sympathetic.
“Wait here. I will go get you some pills.” He told me.
I sat in my chair and waited for him. It took a lot longer than I expected it to. I almost felt like I was back in a doctor’s office for real. They always made you wait needlessly in the waiting room, then once they took you to a room, it was more waiting. Stupid doctors. I think they are just mean jerks that like to screw with people.
He gave me three bottles of differing strengths. He explained their purpose as one for when you are out in the field, the second for when the pain is really bad but you need to function, and the third bottle was for ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ kind of pain. He warned me not to take the third kind of pill unless I was near a bed.
I thanked him and returned to our group’s tent. My cot looked welcoming. I decided to try the see you tomorrow kind of pill. It worked.
Chapter 9
I woke up refreshed and ready. We headed back to the pit for another day of setting up. The work went quickly. By mid-day we were mixing the cement and finishing the placement of the forms. The fences were in place with the tarp being made ready.
I checked with both Bob and Harold before I left to get the big trucks. According to Burke, there wasn’t anyone else around that knew how to drive them. I kept an extra soldier with me in case we found a truck with an automatic transmission. Anyone could drive those. Well, as long as there wasn’t a trailer hooked to it.
A Freightliner dealer was just across the interstate and down a bit from where we were digging our pit. I headed over there to see what their selection was like. I found a couple of old Century Class trucks that were both automatics. I needed one for the soldier. If I could spare myself the shifting a straight ten would need, why not do it?
