Dark Home Coming

The return home was sullen as we reflected on the friends we had lost. We had gained major inroads in getting a cohesive society again with people in other places. We had gained more friends than we had lost, but it still hurt like hell. All of us who survived came home with wounds either physical or mental. Some of us both. Once we reached the town limits we were given orders to eradicate any of the dead we came across. The streets were eerily empty. Our mood was tired and aching, it would soon be black.

As we pulled through the gates the women left at the Depot were relived to see us. Then we got the news.
Sometime during the night of our first day away, someone left the prisoners loose. Instead of escaping like any sane people would have, they decided on mischief. Odessa and Jill (Found in town a few days back)found them trying to break into the nursery. A trail of carnage followed them there, as they had killed several people and children while they slept with knives. One of the women who were stabbed did not die right away and crawled to another room and alerted the occupants. The woman and her 2 children ran to get Odessa, who grabbed Jill as she was now just across the hall. Armed with shotgun and pistol, the pair found the five people pushing their way into the barricaded nursery. By now the Depot was alerted and more women were gathered behind the first two along with the doctor. They ignored commands to stop and continued to pound on the doors.

‘Stop and turn around, now!’ Odessa shouted, her shotgun raised. Jill had her pistol aimed down the dead end hallway. Odessa then pumped a shell into the chamber. The sound had the desired effect, the five stopped and turned around, their hands bloody, knives dangling.
‘Put down the knives and get down on the floor!’ She yelled at them again. They looked confused, wild eyed. They then started slowly towards them.
‘Stop, I mean it!’ she yelled again. They kept coming. She hesitated and they suddenly started to sprint.
The roar of the shotgun was deafening in the small space, and the hammering of Jill’s 9mm pistol was barely heard. Another roar from the shot gun and the five lay twitching on the floor. The doctor rushed to check them, gloves already on, and knelt down in the gore.
‘They’re done. Good shooting ladies.’ He peeled their eye lids back and used a pocket light. ‘Just as I thought, they have the virus. We need to check the rooms where people were killed, now.’ Woman moved off to check, some only armed with shovels or butcher knives. Odessa and Jill stood there watching as the nursery door opened and J.T.’s wife stuck her head out the door to see if it was clear or not. Odessa left at the point and went to our room. Jill stayed and got the bodies handled and taken out to be burnt in the parking lot.

Odessa never wanted to kill a human being. Zombies were different. This hit her hard. It didn’t matter they were infected and turning, but they still looked human. They still bleed and made noise when they died. The next day women came up to her to thank her and it made it worse on her. We lost 9 women and 6 children, of which 2 women and 3 children were to be waiting on men coming back with me. Once the tale spread through our ranks, the two husbands, Tom D. and Jack H., needless to say took it not so well. The dead were already buried in the lot outside the fences with the graves marked by the time we came home. It was a very sad homecoming indeed. Odessa was distraught and numb. She cried a lot the first day I was back. The Major called for me twice and I ignored him both times. Finally my Dad rolled to the room and looked in on us.
‘The Major needs to talk to you both.’ Dad said quietly, well quietly for him being nearly deaf.
‘He can come to us if he wants us!’ I replied, my patience with the world very strained at the moment.
About that time the Major stuck his head around the corner, ‘I thought you would say that, but we do need to talk, all of us.’
Resignedly Odessa sat on the bed and looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. I looked on with a glare. Dad followed him into the room and shut the door behind him. The room felt very crowded and you could almost see the storm cloud brewing in the air between us. I was pissed for leaving Odessa behind and not having the foresight to see this happening. I was also pissed at the Major for losing so many people. I was just pissed in general. It didn’t have to make sense, I was angry.
‘We got a big problem,’ The Major started, I cut him off.
‘What was your first clue Kevin? The zombies outside? The bandits trying to kill for what little shit we have? Or maybe I missed something? FUCK!’ so I exploded. Odessa watched me with something akin to terror in her eyes. Or was it disbelief?
‘Shut the hell up and listen for Christ’s sake!’ Dad roared. I calmed. Slightly.
‘Yes, sir.’ I said and sat back down on the bed. The major cleared his throat, and then looked at me. Not with anger but with sorrow.
‘We have all been through a lot lately. I am sorry for everyone’s lose, but I cannot change that. I think you are missing the point though.’
‘Such as?’
‘Someone here released the prisoners, they could not have cut the straps on their legs and arms themselves.’
The world got a little darker. I completely missed the fact in the retelling of the tale.
‘I thought the Doc said they were infected, like a fast Z. Couldn’t they have broken loose?’
The Major shook his head sadly, ‘If they did they would have left flesh behind. The straps were cut. The doctor recovered them while they were cleaning. We have at least one traitor in our midst, maybe more.’
The world went completely dark.

After our little pow-wow, we decided only very few would know this information. I also posited the idea that the bandits killed their helper(s). Since no bodies were found in the integration room, we must assume they are still with us. Damn. As if we haven’t got enough shit to deal with. We got back to ‘normal’ over the next few days. We kept watch for anything strange, well stranger than normal anyway.
Odessa’s mood slowly got better and then was almost back to normal when her brother called her. She was waiting for almost five days after I told her. Many times she wanted to take our old truck and go see him. I vetoed it and it almost came to a verbal boxing match. They talked for about a half hour until my crappy Sony Ericson’s battery gave out. I told her he promised to keep in contact and she could call when she had the chance and the phones still worked. Our plans for our Power Plant trip were tabled again and we are now awaiting a good day to do it. During all this I would be remiss in the memorials we had for our fallen. We have started a ‘wall’ made of a piece of stainless steel bolted to the floor in one of the garages. Dad showed a few people how to acid etch the names into the plate. We will now have a reminder of the people who gave it all to keep us safe. This Memorial day will be a sad one at best.

John was by several times with J.T. to see Odessa, and to always thank her for keeping their wife and grandchild safe. She smiled each time, but I knew it was hollow, she hated killing people. I told her it would be okay and went through the motions, but deep down I knew I could not heal for her or heal her myself. Only time and her own mind could do that. For once Zak and the bandits left us alone for almost a solid week. Watson radioed us to say the starter crops were growing great and could soon be used as seed stock and as food soon. The still is producing alcohol at a good rate and we had several barrels sealed and stored. We had converted a few cars over to run on our ‘fuel’ and the test seems pretty good. We will be leaving in a day or two, as the Dix River plant people said the bandits had slackened to the point of being opportunists and a nuisance.

When we leave again, we are leaving Odessa in charge again, against her wishes, but we are only taking about a third of our forces this time. I wanted to stay but the Major said no, he needed me out in the field. More like he needed Odessa to work this out without me hovering over her. It may again be a few days before we I can report back, but hopefully I can get some images with the next report.

Over.