Chapter One
“There's place and means for every man alive.” – William Shakespeare
Running is an essential part of living these days. I run because I like it and I run to stay alive. Being able to out run a carcass is literally a do or die kind of thing and a great motivator for daily exercise.
It was a crisp morning here in Thompson Falls, the air was cool enough I could see my breath with each exhale yet warm enough to be without a jacket. The small compound I call my home was still mostly asleep as I made a lap around the perimeter, keeping close to the steel fencing and guarded walls while I jogged. The uneven beaten down path of dirt and grass was a familiar comfort as I tried to ignore the world around me.
In the distance, just beyond the perimeter, I could hear the gnarling and shuffle of a straggler as it made its way closer. Only for a moment the desperate cries of hunger escaped the deads lips before being cut off by the click, pull and a bang. The surrounding wilderness was quiet for a moment; my heavy breath a loud echo in the stillness of the early light, but soon the forest was happily chatting again, proving that even the creatures of this world were used to this new life.
Thompson Falls is a small town near the border of what used to be the state of Montana. The area was colonized specifically because of its location and its uncontaminated condition, which was mostly unheard of it was so rare. Thompson Falls is located next to a brimming river and vast open lands, and because of its closeness to the mountains and the abundant life that live in them. It is perfect and ideal for hunting, fishing and growing crops. It’s also a great location because it puts us far enough away from the bigger, infected area's but not so far that we could not to travel for supplies.
The settlement itself is a decent size as far as most colonies go, having just over six hundred people living here it isn't one of the biggest assemblies but still an impressive size compared to most. It is larger and stronger than some of the other outposts and provides protection that living outside the gates on your own lacks.
My mother Olivia and I first came to live here when I was twelve. When Commander Hendricks and his team found us we had been on the run for several weeks after our group had been invaded by the dead. We lost my father and uncle to the kooks that day, and several more before we eventually made it out alive. The few of us that survived and then stayed together have been close ever since, being hunted and having to watch as your family and friends become something’s meal has a way of binding the ties between you.
The commander was still putting the colony together when he found us and brought us to the Falls. At the time the small town had only around a hundred people living in it. It wasn't long after our arrival though that my mother became something of a rock star and was quickly in high demand. Commander Hendricks was more than just the leader, he was also the resident doctor and until the point of our arrival he had been training people to help him practice medicine. Mom was being trained as a doctor when the plague first became known, and then after was forced to take a crash course as a field medic; not professionally speaking of course, she just had to start applying her abilities and what she knew about medicine to perform outside her scope of practice to save lives.
Unfortunately it was quickly discovered that there was nothing to be done once you were bitten or infected, and that the only cure for this particular disease was a bullet to the brain or a separation between head and chest. I was particularly proficient at the former but found that I lacked the required upper body strength to be any good at the latter – which really didn't bother me all that much, getting up close and personal with any zombie was something that everyone strived to avoid.
Regardless, there were always other medical needs and for that the Hippocratic staff were always in high demand. When I was old enough to look over a gurney and into a person’s mouth my mother taught me basic care and first aid so I could help and work in the care center, but the job wasn't for me and after two years I threw in the towel. I didn't have it in me to stitch a person back together or hold a puke bucket for someone else to get sick in. I learned a lot over those two years, but I couldn't imagine myself taking care of people—in that particular setting—for the rest of my life. I knew she was disappointed; so was the Commander, but neither of them said too much, they both knew what I really wanted to do. I guess I was more comfortable with the dead and killing them, rather than trying to save someone from it. Eventually, and as the town grew, more doctors and nurses came and my guilt over the disappointment became less and less.
As I rounded the last corner of my course the O Motel came into view and with it the first signs of life; my mother’s room light was on. When we came to Thompson Falls the O Motel had just been fixed and was the temporary housing that people were staying in until something more permanent was available, but we ended up liking it so we made it our home.
The town itself was adopted and taken over and so were most of the jobs and buildings in it, so as time passed and with our desire to stay and become a part of the growing community, we eventually began running the Motel and have been ever since.
Once I decided I would not work in the care center, I began 'slingin hash' (as Hendricks called it) here in the kitchen and serving drinks to the town’s people when I wasn't on rotation. The setup was like that of an old bar and grill and became popular since it was, at the time, the only place offering or serving anything like an old restaurant. We have a menu with daily specials, and close the kitchen after dinner, but we offer a place to relax with food and drink, and a bed to sleep on if you need it.
The world is quite different from how it used to be, one thing we don't miss is the money. Currency, for the most part, is null and void. We don't get pay checks, workman's comp or insurance—whatever that is—and we don't have banks, savings accounts or credit cards; we all just work in kind. We exchange in trade or barter; we do what we can to help each other out and provide a service in exchange for services provided.
The life we live now is beyond monetary gain or what we possess; being alive is the most valuable of all things and everything else is less than secondary. The items that used to be considered important or high end have very little meaning in this new world—it all looks the same after it's been stained with blood, guts and rotting flesh—we use and take what we need and have no desire to compete with each other.
When I'm not working at the O Motel I go out with the rest of the vanguard to collect supplies and gather essentials we can't make or produce for ourselves. Most of the cities that were still standing after the natural disasters stopped beating us down later became infected with the dead. They are crawling with grave mutants and the remains of which they refused to be, but are also loaded with product, food and supplies that will last us and generations for years.
There are thousands of cities and towns across what is left of the United States, Canada and the world, full of leftover commodities and it is our job to retrieve these items while disposing and clearing the zombied streets. Every time someone leaves the protective guard of the gates they are risking their life—and their death—but there are things left within the walls of old cities worth going after.
Our raids are rotated in shifts but at any given time there are several teams out in the morgue—the land outside the gates where the dead roam—hunting searching and rescuing, so when I'm not out there, I work here at the O and feed the locals, but, either way, I'm in the business of service.
As I made my way in through the front door of the O and into the kitchen I could smell the fresh brew of the morning’s first pot.
“Coffee's ready.” My mother told me as she passed through the double swinging doors from the kitchen.
“Thanks.” I said to her heading to the sink, first, grabbing a glass and filling it with water before pouring a cup of the hot stuff. “If you give me a few minutes to clean up I can make you something to eat before you go.” I told her.
“Thanks, but you don't need to do that. I w
ant to be early at the clinic today and I'm already running late.” She said to me as she dumped the rest of her coffee into her go cup.
“So, you're running late for being early?” I cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Ha. Ha. Abel. Very funny.” She said. “Will you be here when I get back later?”
“Should be, we're still waiting for Rick's team to come in.”
“How long have they been overdue?” She asked me trying to keep her voice even.
“Two days, but it's not a big deal so please don't worry about it.”
“Uh huh.” She said as she came over to give me a hug.
Olivia was just shorter than me by only an inch or two, putting her at around five-five and other than our smiles we look nothing alike. Shoulder length and wavy ‘dish water’ blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin are a complete contrast to my long and stark-straight dark brown hair, green eyes and olive colored skin. Apparently I’m my father’s daughter when it comes to appearances.
“Love you mom.” I told her as she moved toward the door.
“I love you too.” She said back to me with a smile.
We keep in contact with the other colonies and power the town with the energy from old solar, wind and water power plants that were left over from PEI, the Pure Energy Initiative that was enacted to combat global warming. Add that with our own minor production and we have close to a functioning civilization. It was one of those things Hollywood did wrong in the old movies, we didn't lose all of our technology or electricity, and we still had running water—usually.
We're able to keep in contact with the town when we are out on assignment using Satellite phones, CB's and radio waves, provided we have charged batteries and aren't too far away from a signal. I don't really understand all the mechanics behind our ability to talk over long distances, or how it is we still have utilities most of the time, but I'm thankful for it. That's not to say it doesn't fail us fairly often because it does and it isn't an uncommon thing to lose contact with someone outside of the gates for no other reason than a battery went dead or a wire got crossed, but it still makes us anxious and for my mom in particular its cause for alarm. She treats a lot of injuries and sees and hears things that make it hard for her when I'm out in the morgue and little things like a simple miscommunication make my life all that much harder.
After showering and getting cleaned up I passed the rest of the morning prepping for the lunch rush. Breakfast is cooked to order, but lunch needs to be prepared for. There are a few regulars that come in and help out in both the restaurant and the bar, and several part-timers that like to come in for the latest gossip or some other reason every once in a while. Either way I hardly ever find myself over worked or asking for help to run the place.
The vanguard hang out here a lot when they aren't out on rotation and usually stop in for a drink before heading home when they get back, so the O usually gets the best beer, booze and frozen goods that were found (if there were any) when they return.
“Hey GG.” I smiled at the little woman as she approached the serving counter a few hours later. “I didn't know you were coming in today.”
“Sure I am, it's Friday honey, this is when I make all my big tips.” She said with a wink.
GG is a tiny thing, only about five feet tall and a buck twenty soaking wet. She is in her seventies but you wouldn't know it, she’s a spit fire of a lady and whatever GG says, goes.
“What’s on the menu today?” She asked coming into the kitchen and wrapping an apron around her waist.
“Fish and chips.” I told her. “Grady's out back cleaning up the rest of his catch and Charlies cutting potatoes.”
“And you're making a mess with the batter.” She said shaking her head at me. “Go clean yourself up and get out in the front.” She ordered. “I don't know what I'm going to do with you kid.”
This was her way of helping out; taking my place and doing my work as a way for her to 'earn her keep' as she had once said. The O was one of a handful of places in town she could work at and it was only because it gave her purpose and pride that I allow her to do anything at all. GG being alive and breathing and one-hundred percent human in this day and age were a blessing she didn't need to earn, but like I said—what GG says, goes.
“Ok GG.” I smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading over to the sink.
“I see you got in trouble again Abel.” Charlie teased as she continued to cut up a potato.
“Yeah, I wasn't doing it right.”
“You never do,” She laughed, and then looked up at me, “kid.” Rolling my eyes at her I turned away and went to work in the front of the house—just as I was told—while ignoring Charlies kid remark. I stacked plates and rolled silverware and made sure everything was clean and ready for when the lunch crowd showed up.
GG didn't talk about the zombies much, and she didn't use our terms when she did. If she ever spoke about them at all she referred to them as the dead and nothing more. I think it was hard for her knowing what was going on outside the safety of the walls and she tried to forget about it by not talking about it in casual conversation like everyone else did.
Kooks, grave mutants, flesh monsters or any other term we could come up with applied to the original walking dead. They were the people that received the I-M injection from the Vampires that would allow them to live close to forever, but then accidentally died from heart failure or brain injury or something else that couldn't be fixed with rapid healing. After they died, they came back as a walking, biting, infection spreading animated corpse.
Kids, evo's, ankle-biters, etc. were what we called their children. Kook spawn were smarter than their predecessors, they were stronger, faster and liked to hunt in groups. Essentially, they were the leftovers that got away. They are moving and mutilated body chunks on a mission to find blood and flesh. The kids were turned by the originals and somehow were able to get away but were infected. Sometimes with just one bite, other times by not being completely consumed. These zombies are more intelligent through some sort of mutant evolution, and prove to be the more dangerous of the two—even if they are uglier and sometimes have fewer parts to them—the kids parents are slow, dumb and weak in comparison.
GG wouldn't know the difference, she's never seen a kid and never will, it was only several years ago we realized ourselves that the kooks had changed into something else. When we finally realized it most of the people that stay in town had never seen one and wouldn't know what to look for as far as differences. Unless you spend a lot of time hunting zombies, you don't pay too close attention to what you are shooting.
Plus, GG wouldn't use our terms to insult me, Charlies just an ass like that.
“Abby!” Hendricks yelled as the door chimed with his entrance.
“Here!” I called back to him.
Commander Lane Hendricks, MD; Master of all trades was the big guy around town. He started up this colony many years ago and has been the man running it and in charge ever since. He's the go to guy for anything important, medical or anything directly related to the security of Thompson Falls, he's also the man that saved mine and my mother’s lives.
“Hey peanut.” He said as he sat at the counter across from me. “You have any of that lunch I've been hearing about all afternoon?”
“Grady's fresh catch of the day?” I teased. “I sure do.”
“I'll take two.”
“Coming right up.” I told him as I turned to give GG the order. “Two fish n' chips please!” I hollered through the order window.
“You don't have to yell, I'm standing right here.” She said surprising me as she dropped the fillets in the fryer.
“Sorry GG! I didn't see you.”
“Well honey, we're the only five of us in here, I could have heard the good Doctors order from way in the back.” She continued to chide me as she put down the sliced potatoes, “Even if you didn't see me, I'm not deaf.”
I apologized again while stifling a laugh and turnin
g back around to face Hendricks, he too was smiling as he greeted his mother, “Now ma, you be nice to Abby or she'll fire you.” He said with a wink.
“She could sure try.” She laughed to herself, “but I'd just keep coming back.”
“Oh I know.” I said as I poured him a cup of coffee. I knew from firsthand experience she'd keep coming back; I'd already tried that once.
“Tsk-tsk.” She murmured from the kitchen as she kept with her work.
“Abel, I need a favor,” Hendricks said after taking a sip from his mug “and, I need you to keep it quiet.” He finished saying, peeking my interest.
“Sure, what can I do for you?” I asked him eagerly. I'd been off rotation for a couple of weeks now and I was itching to do anything that didn't involve plates and beer.
“I need you to cover for me with your mother. I have to run over to outpost six and get rid of some neckers that haven't heard we don't work with their kind here.” Neckers is a slang term for the Vampires that some of the guys use, the Commander in particular has a strong dislike for them.
“I'm sure their just passing through.” I told him.
“This is the second time they've come this way, the guys at the post say they insist on aiding.” He told me with a sneer.
Commander Hendricks had no use for vampires, and that was putting it mildly. When he first put this outpost together he made sure that everyone knew that it was an all human camp, no blood drinkers allowed. When he traveled and made contact and allies with other communities, he made it clear he would deal with them but not their vampire counterparts. Most of the colonies were fine with this exception, but for a few it was a deal breaker. The protection of vampires was readily sought after in most communities. I couldn't blame them, they were stronger and faster and we all had to look out for ourselves and the ones we love anyway we can. If it wasn't for Commander Hendricks bringing us to the Falls, I'm sure we would have done the same thing.
“Their people too Lane.” GG chided him from behind the wall, “their probably tired and hungry.”
“They’re not people ma.” He said through clenched teeth. “And they aren't welcome here. I will not have a bunch vamps sucking the life out of my people for protection we don't need. We can take care of ourselves, and they can move on.”
GG came out of the kitchen and stood in the doorway while she waited for her son to finish speaking. She gave him a look only a mother could and told him, “You didn't always feel that way. It's best you don't forget that,” and without another word she turned around and went back to work.
I wasn't surprised by their exchange, GG and Hendricks usually butted heads about this subject and most others for that matter, but it was enough to remind me not to get on her bad side. She may be in her seventies, but I was positive her wit alone would take me down without a fight.
No vamps, that was the one rule and because of this the outposts were constantly running off tourist vamps; they were the ones without any real purpose who were just looking for a warm meal in the form of a positive or negative blood type. It was a rarity we had any come this way that wanted to stay and help, most were just passing through.
Regardless, it didn't matter if they were tourist vamps or members of the VIG (Vampire Increment Guard), the Commander blamed all vampires for our current situation, stating that it was their fault we had to protect ourselves from the dead and if it wasn't for the I-M shot we wouldn't be living this way. I don't know if I agree with him completely after all it was our human need and want to survive that is half to blame and neither party could have known the outcome of the choices they were making.
Even so, this was his place and his rules, or the rule as it were, and we all followed it. He was reasonable and listened in every other way and was open to suggestions, often making the people of the town take the lead on decisions just as long as they didn't hurt anyone else.
“Abby, please.” He asked me again after a few minutes and a refill in his mug.
“Well, alright.” I agreed to his request, “what would you have me do? I can be ready to go in five minutes.” I told him guessing he wanted me to ride along with him.
“No, no.” He cut me off, “I need you to cover for me with your mom remember?” He said with a smile, “I can handle the neckers by myself.”
“You mean actually cover with my mom? Why would she care?” I asked him skeptically, getting concerned that he wasn't telling me the whole truth. There's no reason he would need to hide what he is doing from her, this is our life and it was his job. She understood that, hell she was part of it.
“We are supposed to have lunch today.” He explained after seeing the look on my face. “And after that, we were scheduled to do a minor surgery. I won't be able to make either since I'm going to the outpost; you're my buffer.”
“Why wouldn't you just tell her? I'm sure she would have understood.” I said as I crossed my arms over my chest.
“She was busy; I couldn't bother her when I got the call.” He said.
I still wasn't convinced but GG had just put the orders up in the window so I took the time to distract myself by putting them in to-go containers rather than analyzing his motives.
“Alright, well, take your lunch,” I told him handing over the bag. “I'll put down more fish to go over there with.”
He smiled at me as he stood, then kissed the top of my head before putting his cap back on.
“Abby, what do you think these are for?” He said with a wink. “You know I don't like fish.”