In moments it was all over, the mob had been reduced to a pile of bloody red chunks, steaming softly in the morning sun. Not all of the them had been put down, zombies here and there still moved forward, but had Ned wanted to retreat he could easily have moved back that direction with little fear. Instead he kept moving forward and came up Dora's driveway. The helicopter swiveled around and its guns plowed into the group in front of Dora's house. In seconds all zombie resistance had ceased to exist.
The flying vehicle tilted from side to side momentarily then flew off, leaving silence behind. The small group on the rooftop quietly took in the scene below them. The zombies who were left were quickly dispatched with a few well-placed shots. The helicopter had accomplished in thirty seconds what it would have taken them the better part of a day.
'That is the difference between military and civilian firepower. Just amazing really.' said Alex softly.
In the trees across the way Dora saw a flash of yellow, she lifted her gun and fired at it, but was certain she had missed. Down below she heard Mike say, 'Come on in! We have coffee and can make you up something to eat if you are hungry.'
Chapter 22
'I need to call into KSHB, let them know I am alright.' said Ned, over the top of his mug of coffee. Up close and personal Ned was not as impressive as he seemed on television, he was sunken into himself and older than Dora expected. He wore a long sleeved khaki shirt and his tan complexion was a bit more pale than she thought it should be. Ned looked…well Dora thought he looked sick.
'You get any sleep the last few days?' she asked him.
In response the cameraman, Jeremy, laughed out loud. 'Him? Any of us? No. Not a wink. We have taken a few cat naps from time to time, when we found a safe place and needed to recharge the batteries for the camera. It has been hell.'
'The walking dead are part of God's plan for the end of days.' Mary said.
Ned just raised his eyebrows a little, but all of them let the comment pass. One of the guardsmen, John, got on his radio and called in to someone, a simple time check, stating their current position and followed by some code. 'Checking in?' she asked.
'Yes ma'am, mandatory, the only way they let us go with him. We check in every fifteen minutes, when we don't check in, they send someone looking for us.'
'The helicopter?'
'If it is available, usually the sergeant just gets on the radio and yells at us until we answer.' said John.
'So…did you call in the helicopter?'
'It was in the area, they zipped over here to help us out. They are getting ready for the big push against the ones coming down interstate seventy.'
The other guardsman, Kerim, shushed John, 'Not supposed to talk about that John.'
'Yes corporal.'
'So you outrank him?' Dora asked shifting her attention to Kerim.
'Yes. Look it is not much of a big deal, but we knew if Iowa was coming in with their troops we would go on the offense as soon as they arrived. We are not telling civilians, because the situation is still not good. We want to evacuate the area and if people think we are going to protect them, they will not leave, see ma'am?'
'I suppose. I wasn't planning on leaving.' Dora said. The rest of the group got real quiet.
'Uh, Dora, what do you mean?' asked Paige.
'I thought I would stay here.'
'Don't be stupid, how long could you last?' asked Mary.
'As long as I have to. Fuck leaving. Roger left. I am staying.'
Ned raised his coffee cup to her in a toast. 'Whoever wants to come can follow us out in whatever cars you have. I won't tell Dora to go. Everyone deserves to fight for what they believe in.'
'We are getting to safety.' said Mary clutching Peter close to her. 'And taking Marge, she needs medical attention. I do not think it will do any good, but we should try.'
'That is up to Marge.' said Dora, keeping her voice even, 'She knows she isn't going to make it, so she can decide where she wants to die.'
Mike had been quiet during the exchange, suddenly he spoke up, 'I am staying too.' looking quickly at Dora he added, 'If it is okay with you?' Dora nodded at him with a smile.
Kerim's radio started to chatter, a string of codes and numbers rattling off in the kitchen. He ducked out the back door to the patio to respond.
'So Mary, you Peter and, I assume Alex will go? What about you, Paige?' asked Dora.
'I am thinking about it.' turning towards John, she asked, 'Are there any safe places? Anyplace for us left to run to?'
He hesitated and shook his head slowly. 'I don't know. Iowa is, well not zombie free, but they have a much lighter problem then we do. Their guard is almost complete. Plus they have access to every base around their state and all the equipment there. If I had a choice, that is where I would go.'
Kerim poked his head in from the patio, 'John, Ned and crew, could you step out for a moment for a little pow-wow? Sorry, its private.' he said holding up his hand to stop the others from coming out. The group stepped out and then moved well away from the door, all the way to the other side of the pool, where they stopped and started having a quiet conversation that grew more animated as the group inside watched.
Dora stood looking them over for a while before making a 'Hmmm' sound.
'What?' asked Paige.
'Probably nothing.'
'Nothing, nothing or are you going to share?'
'Is it hot to you guys?' Dora said addressing the group.
'Hell yes!' said Mike, summing it up for all of them.
'They all have long sleeves on. And pants. No shorts, no flip flops. And they are sweating too.'
Dora's group looked at the group outside. 'Ned seems a little, gray to me too. Like,' Dora hitched her thumb over her shoulder to where Marge lay in a restless sleep, 'her.'
Mary started a low prayer.
Paige screwed up her eyes, squinting out at the soldiers, 'I think you are right, Dora. What do you think that mean?'
'They're fucked already? Who's going to ask them?'
'You.' Paige responded, Dora's eyebrow went up questioningly. Paige sighed and said, 'I dare you.'
Outside the group seemed to come to a consensus, Ned, Jeremy and the driver, Cameron, came marching back to the house. John and Kerim stayed outside, with Kerim speaking into his radio. Dora opened the door, Ned was the last to come in and when he did Dora ran her arms up the length of his and embraced him in an awkward hug. Ned suffered through it, patting her back with his hands and looking uncomfortable. As Dora pulled away she jerked his right sleeve up, unbuttoning the shirt forcefully at the cuff. A white bandage was uncovered, Dora stepped back and asked, 'So when did you get bit?'
'I knew you were up to something. That didn't take long.'
'You are looking a little gray around the gills, Ned. Did you have an affair with Diane?' Dora asked referencing to the other newscaster on the air.
'What does that have to do with anything?'
'She knows then too, right? Her face, it's like she is in mourning. The other guy, Jim, seemed on his game, she is not. I thought maybe she was just extra tired.'
'So you put two and two together and did the fake hug thing to check for bandages?'
'Devious, huh? I had to know.'
'Does it make any difference?'
