Chapter 11
Gus and I walked over and joined the others. "Now the real fun starts. Does anyone know where the base hospital or a clinic is?" I asked. Gus gave me directions to a squadron medical clinic and to the base hospital. "Ok, Gus you stay here in the chopper. If you see any of the gang members, do a fly over of the clinic and hospital and then fly back to town. If we don’t come back in three hours, we probably aren’t coming back. In three hours even if you don't see anyone, you take the chopper straight back to town. The rest of us will hit the clinic first. If we don’t find what we need there, we will try the hospital. Does anyone have any medical knowledge?" I asked. Dennis said he had received some Medic training in the Army. "Ok, when we get to the clinic I'll go in first and check it out. When I give the all clear you come in and determine what we need. Ruben and Mel will stand guard outside for us. The rest of us will carry any supplies you find. When and if we find sufficient supplies we will meet back here and then head for home."
Jack pulled the van to a stop in front of the clinic. We all got out and walked up to the clinics front door. "Wait here till I give the signal then everyone but Ruben and Mel come in." I said. I pushed the door open and saw a Zombie in an airman’s blood stained fatigues in the lobby. I raised my 9mm and shot him in the head. "Damn it!" I cursed. The bullet had torn through the right side of his mouth. He stumbled toward me, his jaw dangling by skin and muscle from the left side of his face. I put a second round into his head this time it entered his right eye, he finally dropped face down on the floor. I looked down the hallway in front me. Five more Zombies were coming my way. I gripped my pistol with both hands and started firing. This time I made each shot count. I ejected the ammunition clip and inserted a fresh one, and then proceeded down the hall. At the first door I tuned the door knob. And I pushed open the door… empty.
At the second door I could hear scrapping sounds. I turned the door knob and pushed, the door hit something that gave resistance. I brought the pistol to chest height and fired through the door and the resistance lessened. I raised my foot and kicked the door. A Zombie stumbled backward into the examination table. I raised the pistol and put a round through his skull about where his nose had once been. There was more shuffling sound I looked over in its direction and saw a second Zombie crawling toward me. This one was unable to walk, it had been half eaten. Its intestines were strung out from its abdomen and its left calf had been eaten down to bone. I put a bullet through its forehead. The remaining examination rooms were empty.
I walked back up to the front of the clinic and saw a door across from the reception area. A sign on the door said PHARMACY in large letters. I tried the doorknob, it was locked. I fired four shots into the area surrounding the doorknob. I kicked the door three times and the locking mechanism finally broke, and the door swung open. A Zombie came rushing out and bowled me over. I could see its teeth snapping inches from my face I worked the pistol around and fired 4 shots into its abdomen… nothing. It was still trying its best to get a bite of me. I pushed my forearm into its throat with all of my strength. It rose up an inch and I shoved the pistol into its mouth and pulled the trigger. It went limp. I pushed it up and rolled out from under it.
I staggered to my feet and walked past the rows of shelving. I didn’t find any others. I walked back to the front door and called the others inside. Dennis walked toward the pharmacy and stooped down to examine the body. "It's dead". I said. Just get the medicines and let’s get out of here. Dennis looked up at me with hate blazing in his eyes and said, "IT, was a man" "Well its a dead man now." I said shaking my head at Dennis's stupidity. He stood up and grabbed a large basket and started loading it with bottles from the shelves. When he had it loaded, he grabbed another and filled it. I spotted a book titled "Practical guide to prescription drugs" I shoved it into my pocket, thinking I might find it useful myself.
Dennis said, "That’s the antibiotics and pain meds. I'll get anything else I recognize then let’s get some equipment and I’m finished". We loaded the meds and some small pieces of equipment into the van and drove back to the hanger area. Gus jumped out of the chopper and waited for us. "Hey, I was doing a final check out of the chopper and getting it ready to go. Did you get what you needed at the clinic?" he asked. "Yeah, we made a pretty good hall. I killed the Zombie at the gate, one at the hangers and four Zombies in the clinic. So there’s a good chance we were the first ones to have gone into the clinic since the Zombies overran it. The hanger doesn't appear to have been looted either. We haven't seen any obvious evidence of looting on a large scale. What bothers me the most is, where the hell are all the Zombies? There should be hundreds of them on this base.
We will have to make another trip to check the commissary and armory. With reinforcements we could even check the hospital and any where else that might have items we might need. Tom and the mayor can decide about that." I said
For safety precautions, we spread the medical supplies out between all of the vehicles. If we were to have any problems and lost a vehicle, not all the medical supplies would be lost. I instructed Gus to take off and to stay well north of the towns we had seen on the way here. "I sure don’t want them following us home do you?" I asked. "Dennis you go with Gus and man the door gun. If you spot anyone trying to follow you, make sure you take them out. Don’t let them follow you back to Wasco." I told him. Before Dennis could respond, Gus said not to worry; they wouldn’t be followed. Gus and Dennis got into the chopper and Gus started it up. Gus lifted off and the chopper flew out of sight heading up the road we had used to enter the base.
"Ruben, you ride shotgun for Jack in the lead tanker. Mel, you go with Paul in the second tanker. Ron and I will follow last in the third tanker". I moved my personal weapons and items to Ron’s truck. Gus and I agreed that the advantage of having an extra 8000 gallons of aviation fuel make the extra trip back here worth the inconvenience." "Man, I’ll be glad to get home." said Ron, when we got into the truck. "I hate it out here". "It’s not that bad here, East of the Mississippi I've seen groups of Zombies too numerous to count. Even on this side of the Mississippi you need to steer clear of the big cities. The streets are starting to get overgrown already after only a couple of years. Think how bad it will be in five or ten more years, it will be like a jungle. The trees don’t get trimmed vines and bushes grow anywhere dust leaves and trash pile up. You walk down the street and you never know which rusted wreck of a car which low hanging tree or clump of bushes conceal Zombies. They charge out of doorways and shadows. Hell, they will even jump from a roof if they spot you. They don’t think. Shattering their legs, breaking their neck, or their back, or even landing on their heads never occurs to them. They just want to bite you. One thing I never understood is why are they still here? They should have starved or dried up to nothing long ago. They just look the same, like they’ve been dead for months not like they’ve been dead for two or three years." I said.
Ron fired up the big truck and he pulled into line behind the other two tanker trucks. At a blast from Jacks air horns we all started our trip back to Wasco. "Damn, what's he trying to do call every Zombie on the base to us?" I said "I guess he got carried away with thoughts of a convoy and forgot about Zombies." laughed Ron. Jack, Ron and Paul decided to take a different route back to Wasco. The drivers Paul, Jack, and Ron decided it was a good idea to avoid the town where we had spotted the gang members. By using some unpaved roads we were able to skirt that town by at least eight or nine miles. Using the unpaved road required we drive slower due to its roughness. Slowing down also meant that we didn't raise a dust cloud betraying our passing.
The trip back to Wasco was uneventful. But when we pulled up to the roadblock leading into town, it was a visibly relieved Tom, who walked around the barricade to wave us into town. As Ron and I started to pull through the roadblock, Tom waved to me and motioned for me to climb down. I told Ron to go ahead without me, that I would catch a ride into town with Tom or a deputy. Tom had a grave look
on his face, he walked me away from the Deputies and said, "Dennis and Gus arrived about three or four hours ago and Dennis was fit to be tied." Then Tom said, "Dennis came to me and said that he wanted you arrested for murder and torturing a prisoner after you had shot him. Dennis also said that you shot several other people without so much as a warning or reading them their Miranda rights. I looked at Tom and said, "True, I did most of that. Well what are you going to do?" I asked. Tom said he had questioned the McDonald's and fully understood the shootings and didn't see a problem, and he told Dennis so. "I told Dennis that I would get a statement from you about the torture charge but I wasn't prepared to take any action until I had discussed it with you. But Dennis was like a dog with a bone, and wouldn't let it go. Dennis said that if I wouldn't enforce the law he would take it up with Mayor Marshall." said Tom.
Tom looked at me and said, "Will you go over with me to see what the Mayor has to say about the accusations?"Well, Tom... I'm not going to allow you or the mayor to arrest me. But I understand how you might be caught up in a catch 22 if the Mayor wants me arrested. If he does, I'll pack up and Gus can fly me back to my vehicle, I'll leave and you won't see me again. Thats the best I can promise." I said. "Fair enough." said Tom.
At the Mayor's office, Tom knocked on the door then pushed it open and we walked in. The mayor stood up and walked over to shake my hand. Then he said, "Welcome back Mr. Mason. I've had a discussion with Stan McDonald and his family. I understand you rescued them from one of the Los Angeles gangs." "Thanks Mayor, but lets cut the chit chat and get right to the point. What do you want to do about the charges that Dennis wants filed against me? I queried. The Mayor responded, "As I told Dennis, these actions were taken in a time of martial law. And they took place outside of the town governments' jurisdiction. I'm sure that you only took what measures you deemed necessary in order to facilitate the safety of the innocents involved. In these lawless times, the rights of criminals must take a backseat to those of innocent victims. And that you were to be commended not condemned for a successful expedition." Tom asked, "How did Dennis take that?" "Oh, you know Dennis, he huffed and puffed then he threw his badge onto my desk and said he quit. If he doesn't understand that things have changed dramatically then I say good riddance." I was relieved at this news. I was serious about not allowing the sheriff to arrest me and I wasn't looking forward to a shootout which is how I was afraid it was going to go down. I genuinely like this town and the people in it. It would be a shame if I had to shoot some of them. And it would be even worse if some of them shot me. "Well I'm glad to hear that at least you understand the situation. Like I told Dennis, the one guy was dead when I broke his leg. I did shoot down the gang members from ambush before they could kill Stan McDonald. And I have to admit that I would certainly torture if I felt my or the teams survival required it. But this time I didn't." I said.
Tom and I left the mayors office and Tom said he was paying this time, if I wanted to meet him at Fred's for dinner and a few drinks. As we walked to Tom's car, Dennis roared up and screeched to a stop in front of Tom's car. Dennis jumped out of his truck with his weapon drawn. He yelled for me to drop to the ground and place my hands behind my neck. Before I could react, Tom was between Dennis and I. Tom said for Dennis to lower his gun and back off. There would be no arrest. Tom reached out and twisted Dennis's pistol from his hand. Dennis looked Tom in the eyes and said, "Tom I'm going to arrest him for his crimes and place him in jail where he belongs." No, you are going to do no such thing, Dennis. What you are, going to do, is get back in your truck and leave town. I don't even want you to return home to pick anything up. Just leave now with what you have on your person and in your vehicle. Don't stop or go home first. Just leave, leave right now. Or you are the one who will be arrested and placed in jail." With an incredulous look on his face Dennis said, "Why should I leave, I'm a deputy, and I've lived here all my life?" Tom shook his head and said, "No, you resigned, so you aren’t a deputy, you are just a citizen and I don't think it is in the best interest of the community for you to stay. Get out and stay out. You will be turned back or shot if you try to enter town again." Tom removed the shells from Dennis's revolver and handed it back to him. Tom walked over to his patrol car and said, "Come on Ralph, I'll drop you at the hotel. Then Tom looked at Dennis and said "Then I'll go to the barricade and make sure Dennis has left town."
An hour later, I walked into Fred's place and saw Tom seated at our regular table. He was sitting there with a couple empties in front of him. As I sat down at the table, I said, "Sorry, about all of that trouble with Dennis." "No, it's me that should be making an apology to you. Dennis was a good enough Deputy before the Zombies. He just wasn't the kind of man I need in these times. He needed clearly defined regulations. He didn't operate well with just guidelines. He could only see things as right or wrong. Not everything is black or white these days. There isn't a manual chapter to cover Zombie infestation let alone every resulting situation. Gus told me it was frightening to watch you out there. He said it was like a switch had been thrown. You turned from the affable guy he had come to know into a methodical killing machine. Do you think you could teach some of my people how to survive out there?" asked Tom. "I can teach them the mechanics of surviving. But unless they have watched family, friends, or just strangers get killed by those things or by armed thugs I can't give them the will to kill without mercy. Unfortunately, you don't have room for much mercy out there." I said.
As we ate our venison steaks, Gus walked over to the table and asked if he could join us. "Sure, have a seat", said Tom. "Thanks, I think I will. I just wanted to ask Ralph when he wants to go pickup his APC from Edwards?" said Gus. "I want to go as soon as we can get away. I would sure hate for the gangs to stumble across it. If they rolled up to the roadblock in that thing they could cause a lot of trouble with the 50 caliber before it was over", I said. "I was thinking the same thing, but I was more worried about Dennis, I heard you had some trouble with him this afternoon." said Gus. "Damn, word travels like wildfire in this town. I haven't even turned in my report to the mayor yet and it's already the talk of the town." said Tom, shaking his head. "Well, you know how it is without TV or radio. The only thing we have to talk about is local goings on." laughed Gus.
The next morning I met Gus at Fred's Place for breakfast. Over a meal of eggs and potatoes I outlined my plan. I told Gus that we would fly to Edwards, and as soon as I exited the chopper he should lift off and get some distance between himself and the hanger. If there was a problem, I didn't want to endanger him or the chopper. As we ran through the plan, Tom walked over and pulled out a chair. "Mind if I join you two?" Tom asked. "No, no sit down I was just going over tomorrows plan with Gus." "Do you mind if I come along? I could man the door gun and guarantee a little more safety, in case Zombies or the gangs are a problem until you are safely inside your vehicle and on your way home." said Tom.
On the trip back to Edwards Gus flew the chopper low so as to attract as little attention as possible. Gus said that the low altitude flight would also give any gang members that spotted us less reaction time between the time they heard us and we were out of their line of fire. Three miles out of town, a group of 20 to 30 Zombies were spotted walking in the general direction of Wasco, but they turned and started following the helicopter back in the direction we were flying. I guess that was good for the men guarding the barricade. I told Gus to make sure he didn't lead them back to town on the return trip. We landed just outside the hanger where I had left my vehicle. Gus said that his plan was to swing southeast then head for home avoiding population centers.
As soon as I jumped down from the helicopter, Gus lifted off and rose to about 100 feet to insure he had a good view of the surrounding area. I saw him turn and swoop off in an easterly direction. Then I heard the rattle of the 50 cal. in the distance. I opened the hanger door, and before I could start for the big APC I had left inside, I grabbed the hand held police radio Tom had loaned me and called the chopper to
ask what they were shooting at. Tom had responded, "Just a few Zombies that needed some attention. They're all down now. We're going home." "OK, I'll see you back at Fred's." I said. The chopper pealed off in a south western direction and started dropping to Gus's 50 foot flight altitude.
I entered the hanger and headed for the APC. I replaced the handle on the rear hatch and lowered the door. I climbed in and drove out of the hanger and stopped. I jumped out of my vehicle and just as a reached out to close the hanger door a shot rang out. The bullet caught me in the left shoulder spinning me around and to the ground. A second round ricocheted off the tarmac about 2 feet from where I lay. I rolled sideways until I was past the door opening. I reached down and pulled my handgun from its holster and chambered a round. I heard Dennis yell, "Come on out where I can see you, Ralph. I guess you'll have to kill me now right? Remember, you said if I got anyone hurt or killed you would kill me. Well, I think you qualify as hurt, right? So, come on and kill me. What's the matter, don't you have the nerve to face me." I lay still not moving or making a sound. After about 5 minutes, I heard tentative footsteps. I looked around, I had a clear view in all directions except inside the hanger. Luckily, the footsteps must belong to Dennis. Not a Zombie. My shoulder still felt like it had a hot coal held against it and it was still bleeding badly. I pointed my pistol toward the door opening and waited.
Then Dennis was standing in front of me. Luckily, I could see him well, while he had to blink a couple of time for his eyes to adjust from the dimness of the hanger to the bright sunlight of the outside. I fired two quick shots. The first one caught him in the chest and the second hit him in the throat, he dropped gasping for air. I stood up and walked over to where he lay. I kicked his rifle away and stood there watching as he choked on his own blood. I turned and walked over and lowered the hanger door, as he lay dying. Dennis croaked, "Help me! You’ve got to help me." I just laughed and told him, "If you're still alive when I finish bandaging my shoulder I'll look at your wound, otherwise I'll just leave you for the Zombies". Unfortunately, for Dennis he choked to death on his own blood before I got most of my bleeding stopped and applied a bandage to my shoulder. It's not really that cold on my part since I'm not a doctor and couldn't have done anything but hold his hand as he died, and the hell with him, he shot me. There was no need for me to bleed out, while he died. I dragged Dennis's body away from the hanger door. I wanted to come back and there was no need to have to smell up the place. I just put a round into his forehead and left his body over by the dumpster. I didn't want to draw attention from gang members by burning it and I sure wasn't going to dig a grave for him. My trip back to Wasco was uneventful. Luckily, I didn't run into any Zombies or gang members. I still didn't understand why the gangs hadn't been here looting the airbase. I guess that will have to be an unsolved mystery that I would have to solve another day.