Reanimates, page 6
part #1 of Reanimates Series
Climbing out of my head I saw that we had come to a stop midway up the access ramp and behind a tractor-trailer truck. It had not exactly jackknifed, but it was occupying the entire ramp. The plates on the trailer were Canadian, from the province of Quebec to be exact. The trailer and truck were both yellow. I recognized it as a Robert Brother’s truck. They did a lot of hauling from Quebec to Vermont. It did not appear as though the engine was running, whether that meant the driver had shut it off or it had run out of fuel I could not tell. There were neither any signs of the driver nor of any sort or trauma having transpired.
I took a long swallow from one of the water bottles, let out a belch and turned to my group. “I guess I need to go and check this out.”
Frank was the first to protest. “Jim, is that really necessary? Can’t I just back out and we can go the back way?” This sentiment was echoed by Becca and Julio.
“No,” I said shaking my head. “If we take the back way there are too many variables we can encounter. The interstate is two lanes wide, both heading in the same direction, with fairly wide shoulders that we can drive on if needed. Route two and seven are two lanes, with traffic going opposite directions, and in some spots barely any shoulder. We could end up trapped by a jam in the road. There are no houses on the interstate, so it is unlikely that we will encounter a large group of the reanimates, not true with the back way. Once we get to Swanton, we are going to have to take Route Seventy-Eight into Alburg, so I’d rather not spend more time than needed on roads with houses. I am proceeding under the notion that if I do not know who someone is, they are more than likely our enemy. Resources are now very limited, and we all know how that makes people act.”
Michelle chimed in with disdain in her voice. “I think he is referring to all of the idiots that went and bought out all the toilet paper and similar things when the pandemic began.”
I nodded that she was right. “Now……..does anyone know how to drive a semi?”
I think I was the most shocked when Karen held up her hand. “One of my exes drove one. I spent a summer going on runs with him, he taught me.”
I smirked at her and said, “That settles it. Karen and I will head up and check out the rig. If it can be moved, we will move it. Like always Frank if there is trouble you get everyone out of here.”
Frank nodded and Julio handed me the blade. “Take this Jim, you’ll probably need it.” I took the proffered blade and exited the truck. Karen got out behind me and we started to make out way up towards the cab of the truck. I could tell that by the way Karen was breathing, she was terrified.
“Listen Karen, I am in the lead and that is where I will stay. If anything happens you just turn and run,” I said.
“Thanks Jim,” she answered. “Oriental food is not considered fast food though.” She chuckled at her own joke. I had to give her credit for at least holding on to her sense of humor.
About midway up the side of the trailer I signaled her to stop, and I dropped to the ground. I looked under the trailer to see if there was anyone or anything lying in wait under or behind it. I saw no traces of anyone, so I got back on me feet and continued the walk to the cab. I noticed that the closer we got to the door the tighter I gripped the handle of the blade.
When I reached the driver’s door, I grabbed the handle in my right hand and placed my left foot on the running board. In one swift motion I pulled with my arm and pushed up with my leg. This brought my face up level with the door window and gave me a clear view of the interior of the cab. It was a mess. The driver’s seat war torn and soiled and the passenger’s seat was covered in paperwork, so much so that quite a bit had fallen on the floor. There were three cup holders that I could see, and they were all filled with empty Mountain Dew bottles. Mixed in with the paperwork was a myriad of empty food containers. Whoever drove this truck regularly was a slob. They were also nowhere to be seen.
I was about to motion for Karen to come up when I had a different thought. I lowered myself to the ground and continued my journey forward until I had gone past the front of the trunk. My heart sank with what I saw. For as far as my eyes could see there were vehicles cluttering up the interstate. Some of the cars were empty and running, some empty and off, but the worst ones were the cars that had undead occupants. Luckily, it seemed that the reanimates could not figure out how to open a car door. There was a handful of reanimates shuffling around the cars and I was happy that none had noticed me yet.
Not wanting to give them that chance, I turned around and went back the way I had come. I reached Karen and she said, “Well?”
I heard the disappointment in my voice when I answered her. “The way is completely blocked. We couldn’t even go that way if we had a tank.”
I could see her heart sink, so I took her hand in mine. “We will be fine, trust me,” I said as I looked her deep in her eyes. Karen nodded at me, but it was not the nod of someone that believed what they had just heard. I started to walk back to the Humvee, keeping her hand in mine.
As we climbed back into the truck Frank said, “Back way it is.”
He put the truck in reverse and backed out onto the main road. We all knew that this would raise the danger level of the trip, as well as the time. It was already midway to lunch time so there was the possibility that we would need to make camp somewhere besides our destination for the night. In reality the trip should take around an hour, but I did not know what we might encounter on this journey, let alone what our top speed would end up being. We would have to travel through Colchester, Milton, Georgia, Saint Albans, and Swanton, as opposed to only Swanton as I had originally thought. I did not know which I feared more though, the thought of running into a large group of reanimates or a group of people that had gone over to the dark side and were looking for easy pickings.
I found my last thought quite unsettling. We were just that, easy pickings. Surely in hand to hand combat we could hold our own against a small group of assailants but were we to encounter anyone that was equipped with more than their fists and bad intentions our odds dropped drastically. I knew of one place that would probably help even our odds, but I was not sure if it had already been hit or not.
In St. Albans there was a newer gun shop that had been built out of an old barn. It was called Back Country Sports and was located on Seymour Road. Seymour Road was only a couple of miles long if memory served. It connected St. Albans to Route 105 which led to Sheldon and Highgate and other northern towns. There was only one driveway entrance to the store, but it was surrounded on the back side by a farmer’s field, so I thought that if we got into trouble the Humvee would be able to drive out in any direction. My mind was made up, but I figured that the discussion could wait until after we all ate. I had purged my breakfast and was quite hungry. I also had the desire to keep everyone on the same meal schedule. At least for now.
One of the best features of Frank’s Humvee was that you access the trunk area from the inside. I had Karen dole out food and water to everyone, though Frank wanted to wait to eat until one of us could take his spot in the driver’s seat. He did not want to risk being distracted and miss a possible threat. I agreed that that was a solid strategy and ate at an accelerated pace so that I could switch spots with him.
As we drove, I felt a sense of awe come over me, maybe awe is not the right word. I was seriously creeped out by the lack of human activity, but for the first time in a while I could enjoy the scenery that was going by my window. It was a beautiful late August day and some of the leaves had even started to tinge with a hint of their fall coloring. Somewhere along the way Route Two also becomes Route Seven, or perhaps it is always so, but we were approaching the junction of that road and Route Two A which led into Essex when I finished eating.
“Frank, pull into that Irving station and we can switch spots,” I said.
As Frank made the turn he said, “I think getting out to switch would be a bad idea. Why don’t you climb into the back and I will switch seats and then you can climb back up front?”
As I looked around at the world outside of our vehicle, I saw several of the reanimates walking around. The sound of our engine attracted their attention, so I saw the logic in his idea.
“Sounds like a plan to me”, I replied.
Frank pulled into the lot and got the nose of the Humvee pointed back out towards the road before stopping and engaging the emergency brake. I was already climbing into the back before he had fully stopped the truck and he was in the passenger seat just as soon as my butt was out of his way. I turned around as fast as I could and made my way for the driver’s seat. Luckily enough I was an anomaly for my generation and could drive a stick.
I sat down and was just about to release the brake when there was a loud bang from the passenger side’s rear door and a scream that was let out by Becca. We all turned in unison to see what had caused the sound. Outside of the Humvee was a man with a wild look in his eyes, his hand was working the door handle as he tried to gain access to the interior. I could not say from exactly where he had come, but I assumed that it was the store. He realized that he could not open the door and started to scream.
“PLEASE! LET ME IN! YOU NEED TO SAVE ME! THEY ARE COMING!”
There seemed to be genuine fear in his voice, and I knew that I needed to make a decision and do so swiftly. On one hand he could be an innocent person that was trying to survive, just like us. On the other hand, he could be one of the people I had worried about and had nefarious intentions. He could be just end up being the head of a larger beast that still lurked in the shadows.
Frank must have intuited my thoughts. He looked me deep in the eyes and said, “Just drive. If he is a bad person, then we are all dead.”
His words were echoed by the people in the back, so I swallowed deeply and released the brake, put the stick into first gear and slowly drove out of the lot, the whole time the man was screaming at us. I could have potentially just committed murder, and that was something I would have to get used to as my body count was now at least two. I felt another wave of nausea wash over me but without having to look at the face of the man I had just killed I managed to hold onto my food. We were fifteen minutes away from Milton at the pace we were driving, and I knew that things were probably only going to get worse from here.
As we crested the hill that was immediately after the Irving station, we passed a Sunoco on the right. Frank was the first to see the smoke that was coming from the back side of the building and I slowed the Hammer down from ten to five miles an hour. We all looked to see if there was a structure fire or if it was a pocket of survivors. Though we feared other people as much as we feared the undead, I think that deep down we all hoped to see more actual people. We were all disappointed as well as relieved to see no living people. The store itself had been on fire at one point, though it had mostly burnt out. The side of the building that was visible from the road and the front third were still intact, but it looked like the rest had burnt to the ground. The lot was crawling with the undead, and that caused me to speed back up. Both of my greatest fears had been realized within a mile of each other, potentially dangerous people and large groups of reanimates.
The later would be easy enough to avoid in this particular case as we drove away unfettered. I felt my pulse and respiration rate both slow as the group dwindled behind us. It was only when we were clearly safe that Frank started to eat his lunch. It was also at that time that I decided to make my pitch.
“Ok everyone,” I began. “We just encountered two shining examples of how ill prepared and underequipped we are to be out here wandering around.”
Michelle chimed in for the first time since we rescued her. “What do you suggest?”
I smiled slightly as I answered. I was happy to hear that she was coming out of her shell and joining with the group. “I think we need to take a chance and see if we can find any weapons at a gun store.”
Frank made a dismissive wave of his hand. “Those places would be the first to get hit.”
Julio echoed his agreement, but I pushed on.
“Unless that is what everyone else thought as well.” I paused to let that sink in. “Listen, if that man back there was armed, we would be dead or someone’s prisoners. If that group of reanimates had been in the road or larger, then we might have ended up a buffet. We don’t know yet that shooting them in the head will kill them, for lack of a better term, but if we can cripple their legs then we increase our chances of escaping.”
“I have a question,” Michelle said. “Why do you call them reanimates? Aren’t they zombies?”
Before I could answer her Becca supplied the reasoning. “Yes, that is what they are. We received a mass text message from the government, and it explained how these are the reanimated bodies of the dead, so Jim’s been using that word. I think it’s because it sounds less mystical than zombie.”
This answer seemed to satisfy Michelle and I was surprised at Becca’s insight. She was not far from wrong.
The discussion waged on until Karen spoke up in the authoritative voice that I had not heard her use since the world ended. “Guys, we all agreed to follow Jim. He did not ask to lead us, we kinda forced that role on him. I think we should respect his decision here. I doubt that he would do anything to intentionally put us at risk.”
That was the backing that I needed, and the group all murmured their agreement to my plan.
We slowly closed the distance between us as the town of Milton, Vermont. The town had around ten thousand residents, which made it highly populated for the northern part of Chittenden County. As I drove down the road, I knew that we were getting closer to where the road split into two distinct routes. If we continued on our trajectory, we would stay on Route Seven, or we could turn left and head towards the interstate and the Lake Champlain Islands on Route Two. I knew we needed to get to Alburg as swiftly as possible, and I did not believe that heading through the islands would be our best bet at that. That road would eventually lead to our destination, but there was a lot that could go wrong when you were on an island.
I slowed down as we approached the turn to see if I could get a clear view of the interstate. I got my view, and it was comprised of a road that was still choked shut with cars and trucks. Though I was forced to do a lot of swerving on our current road, at least my ability to move forward had not yet been impinged. I knew that if I attempted to take the interstate, we would not make it far at all before running out of room to maneuver. With a sigh of resignation, I nudged the speed back up to around fifteen miles an hour, which was the fastest that I thought I could move and safely avoid any serious collisions.
As we drove through the traffic lights at the intersection and passed the Mobil station that was on our left I spoke to the mostly silent group. “I want everyone to remain vigilant. Keep your eyes scanning the houses and side roads for any possible trouble. Advanced warning might not help us to avoid the trouble, but it will help us prepare for it.”
The group mumbled their understanding and a hush fell over the interior of the Humvee. Slowly we passed the industrial outer section of Milton and got into the area where houses started to become more plentiful. Though we were not yet anywhere near the center of town, the carnage was everywhere.
The first image of horror I saw was a reanimate that was laying on the road. There was little left of it besides a head, its shoulders and arms. Everything else had been torn from the body and presumably eaten. There was little remaining of flesh, so I had no way of telling if this had been an adult of child or even a man or a woman in life.
Julio let out a gasp and said, “Jim, we are about to have a lot of company.”
Julio was seated on the passenger side of the Humvee, so I turned my head to look at that side of the road. We were just passing the first part of Andrea Lane which looped up and rejoined Route Seven about a quarter mile from here. Walking up the road towards us was the stuff of nightmares, a horde of reanimates. The sound of our engine must have attracted every one of them in the area.
“JIM!!!!!!” Frank yelled, but it was too late. I had kept my eyes off the road for too long and not seen the mess of cars that completely blocked the road. I jammed on the brakes but not before we slammed into a wall of metal, rubber, and plastic with a terrible bang. No one in the group had buckled up, so everyone was tossed around. The only good thing to come of this situation was the fact that we were moving quite slowly so no one got hurt.
Swearing at my own stupidity, I threw the transmission into reverse and dumped the clutch while I floored the gas. We moved a little but started to drag the first car in the pile with us. I felt panic well up inside me as I had taken away our chance at safety. I was frozen in my seat while the group needed guidance, not my finest hour to be sure. Karen seemed to sense the fact that I was panicked and assumed the mantle of leader.
“Everyone, grab what you can for food. We need to make a run for it.”
The interior of the Humvee became a blur of motion as everyone started to make a grab for a bag of food or a case of water, and yet I still sat there helplessly staring at the mob of hungry former humans that was closing in on our location. I was transfixed by the sheer number of reanimates and yet the only thought running through my mind was why I had not seen the pile of cars in time. It was Becca’s scream and a loud bang at my window that finally broke my trance.
I snapped my head around to see a reanimate that must have come from the open field to my left. It looked like it had been dead for a while, confirming my fear that somehow the buried dead were able to be reanimated and claw their way to the surface. In life this had been a rotund man somewhere in his golden years. He had kept his hair short and parted to the right. When his family had placed him in the ground, he had been wearing a nice grey suit with a bright blue tie. There was little left of his suit now as time had caused it to rot. Time had a similar effect on his flesh as there were many spots that I could see his bones. This jarred me back to my senses.
