“One of our guys is a train driver for the depot north of here and he told us about all the containers that were sitting there, doing nothing. I guess the companies that made them found it cheaper to make new ones than pay to have the old ones shipped back. Anyway, he started bringing them down and here we are.”
“Are they attached?” I asked, remembering that we had a group of zombies that nearly managed to get past our fence early on until we welded them together.
“Most of them are,” said the sheriff, “but I can’t remember which ones aren’t. We had a breach a little while back with a group of fifty zombies who pushed one out of the way and got inside.” The sheriff stepped over a rise in the containers and stopped at the corner of the fence. “We lost several people before we got the better of them. That’s when we got in contact with your pal, Nate. He told me if there was anyone who might be able to get us situated to where we don’t have to worry about that again, it was you.”
I shrugged off the compliment. “I just try to do what makes sense and try to stay alive while I do it.”
“Well, I would appreciate the help,” said Sheriff Tom. “Although I kinda figured you would have brought more people.”
I nodded. “I wish I had too,” I said, looking at the horizon.
Sheriff Harlan looked puzzled. “Why’s that?”
I pointed at the advancing grey line. “Because that swarm of dead people will be here by tomorrow.”
Sheriff Tom looked to where I was pointing, then said something both religious and sacrilegious at the same time. I have to admit, even for a reluctant Catholic such as myself, I was impressed.
We stepped down the first ramp we came to and hurried to the town hall. We had planning to do and lots of it. As we walked towards the center of town, Sheriff Tom grabbed his radio and called his deputies to the hall, instructing them to get the Mayor and as many of the people as they could to the hall immediately. The sun was setting, casting long shadows and as I walked through the little town, I hoped it wouldn’t be the last one these people got to see.
A deputy came zooming up in a golf cart and the Sheriff motioned me to get in. We made much better time and as we drove on I could see people starting to stream out of their homes and head towards the town hall. If I had to guess, there was a lot more than one thousand people here. I figured closer to two thousand. Too many to evacuate. We had to stand and fight.
Joseph Talluto
Taking It Back
10
The Sheriff pulled up to the town hall and jumped out, surprising me with his agility. I imagined in his youth Tom Harlan was a man to step around. I walked up behind him, working my way through the people who were standing in the hallways and outside. More than one of them gave me strange looks, likely in response to my being a stranger to the town and the fact that I was armed to the hilt. Zombie Killer. That’s me. Certified.
I moved into a large atrium that was doing double duty as a meeting room and the area was packed. I spotted my crew up on a landing of one of the four stairwells that led to the second floor. The mayor was talking animatedly to the Sheriff and the Sheriff was gesturing wildly. The two deputies squeezed themselves through the throng and positioned themselves on the stairs, blocking anyone from approaching the mayor.
I reached the stairs and the deputies waved me up. I moved up to where Sarah, Tommy, and Charlie were talking.
“Hey all,” I said. “Everybody okay?”
Charlie spoke up. “Sure enough. They gave us food and drink and asked a ton of questions. How was your walk with the local constabulary?”
I blinked at Charlie’s vocabulary, then shook it off. “Fine. He knows the horde is coming and we’re going to try to do something about it.”
“Do we have a plan?” Sarah asked, taking my hand.
I looked into her beautiful eyes. “Not a clue. But I’ll think of something.” I grinned at her and she squeezed my hand.
The noise in the room increased as the Mayor and the Sheriff tried to quiet everyone down. But everyone was shouting questions and not listening to answers. The Mayor threw up his hands and walked away from the table while Sheriff Tom continued trying to quiet the masses with no success.
I grew impatient and shrugged off the warning look I got from Sarah. I motioned for Charlie and Tommy to follow me. I released the magazine in my rifle and ejected the round in the chamber. I put it back in the magazine, then I moved to the table and tapped the Sheriff on the shoulder. His flushed face stared at me for a second, then he stepped aside. I stood on the table and held my M1A out in front of me. Behind me, Charlie and Tommy were doing the same with their AR’s. I stared at the crowd, which began to quiet down at my appearance, then I deliberately charged the rifle, the bolt sounding unusually loud in the diminishing noise.
“Who wants to die right here, right now?” I boomed across the assembled town. I was greeted with shocked silence. “Who?” I yelled at them, receiving no answer. I stared for a minute. “You’d better be sure. Because if you don’t start listening and don’t start preparing for the shit storm coming your way right at this minute, then you will wish you had spoken up and taken a bullet when you had the chance.”
I stared at the stunned audience. “My name is John Talon. I have led a group of survivors from Leport down here to lend you a hand. What I didn’t know, what no one could have known, was a large horde of living dead is headed your way right now. If I had to guess, they are what is left of State Center Bravo. If I had to guess again, I would say there is about two or three thousand of them headed this way.” There was a collective gasp. “You have made a good stand here and if I had to estimate your chances of survival, I’d say they were better than average. If you don’t work together, your chances are none. Are you ready to listen?” A lot of heads nodded.
I jumped down from the table and rejoined my group. The Mayor looked nervous as he stepped to the table and Sheriff Tom nodded his thanks.
The Mayor spoke to the group and outlined what was expected of the townsfolk while the sheriff, his deputies, and my crew discussed plans and defenses. When the Mayor finished extolling the virtues of the town and its people and the willingness to fight for their homes and lives, he called upon the Sheriff to outline the plan.
Sheriff Tom Harlan adjusted his jacket, hitched his belt a little higher, ran a tired hand through thinning hair, then spoke to the people.
“Most of you know me as Tom since most of you grew up with me here in Coal City. I’ve tried to do the best I could by you and when this mess hit the world, I tried to save my town as best as I knew how.” There was scattered applause. “We worked together to get the fence up and we fought together when we had that breach. We welcomed those who came to us for shelter and we never asked anything from anyone.” Sheriff Tom paused to collect his thoughts. “When we had that breach, I realized we needed some help; someone who could steer us in the right direction. When I got on the ham radio I prayed I would find someone who could help save our town and ensure our survival. What I found was John Talon.” Sheriff Tom motioned me over. “John has been in survival mode since the Upheaval and he has managed to save hundreds of people. I figured if anyone could do it, he could. Trouble is, I called him here just as the worst is about to hit us. I don’t know if we’re going to survive this, but we certainly are going to try. John here will tell you what the plan is. John?”
I didn’t expect to speak, but since I was no stranger to it, I stepped up to the table. “You have a secure fence, but it has its weaknesses. Against the lone zombie or ten, it will do just fine. But against a thousand or two thousand it will eventually fail. What we need to do is engage the enemy much sooner and try to thin the ranks as much as possible. We don’t have enough bullets for all of them, but we have enough to thin the herd a good deal. Me and my men will be setting up firing positions and anyone who has any long range guns and ammo will need to step up. Second, we need to make sure we have enough weapons for everyone to use in hand to hand combat. Check your homes and see what you have. Charlie here will be available to check weapons for suitable purposes. Third, we need to have fallback points in case there is a breach. All cars need to be requisitioned to form choke points and kill zones. Our final fallback position will be here, in this building. The windows are high enough off the ground that they cannot be breached and there are only two doors to block. All the people of the town not engaged in the fighting will stay here until the danger is passed.” I looked around the assembled town. “I will do my best for
