Teenage Wasteland

Chapter 3

It was well past sunset when they reached the hole in the cable fence. Will drove through and continued on until they were about halfway between either of the openings in the cable.

“We’ll sleep here for tonight” Will told his friends. “I’ll take first watch, then Jason, then Tyler.” Both of them were happy to get some sleep. Will turned off the car and grabbed one of the blankets Tyler was passing forward. It would be a long night he thought.

About three hours later Will woke up Jason for his shift. Even though Will knew he needed the sleep, he couldn’t find it. It was sometime in the middle of Jason’s shift that he fell asleep. His sub conscious was plagued with nightmares. The worst of them was about Izzy disappearing and not being able to find her.

Tyler woke Will and Jason up around 6am. They got some cans of fruit from the back and ate a quick breakfast. Will then started a quiet meeting. It had to be quiet because Izzy was still asleep. The main topic was the only question they ever seemed to have, what next? They all had the same idea, back to Everson the small town they started from.

Will drove them back to the blockade, but parked in the grass. Will and Tyler got out, Jason stayed back to watch the car and Izzy. As they walked through the rows of cars they found that no one had returned, yet no one had left either.

“We should siphon the gas from some cars.” Tyler said

“What if these people come back?” Will countered.

Tyler laughed “I doubt they’ll come back after what happened yesterday.” He stopped and gazed into space.

“Fine, but just a few cars, and we don’t take all of it!”

Will looked around for more gas cans as Tyler ran back to their car to grab a hose. He found one behind the blockade along with a half-filled one in the trunk of a car. They filled both up all the way and carried them back to Jason and Izzy.

While they were gone, Jason had taken the liberty to cut the cables so they could head northbound back to Bellingham. Jason offered to drive, and Will accepted it graciously. The road back was pretty clear, a few abandoned cars and garbage were left on the snow covered roadside. Will stared out the window most of the time; he realized that all that driving hadn’t given him time to think. Dwelling on the past was the last thing he wanted to do though. Instead he thought about what he would do with Izzy. It was now his job to care for her; he didn’t think it could be that bad. Will had his fair share of babysitting under his belt. Easy he thought, staring out at the forested landscape he drifted off to sleep.

“Will?” Jason was shaking him awake. “Will?”

Will opened his eyes and looked around. They had just arrived back in Bellingham. He recognized the area known as Sunset Square. There was a grouping of stores on one side of the road. On the other side there was a hardware store surrounded by coffee shops and fast food restaurants. Most store front windows were shattered and lay in pieces on the sidewalk. Some of the smaller stores had boards across the windows and an assortment of things stacked against the doors.

As they continued on, Will was surprised to find living people still outside. Most of the houses and apartments they saw along the way were boarded up though. Every once in a while they saw a zombie or a few, but the number of sightings dropped as they got outside of Bellingham.

They turned onto the last long stretch of road that would take them almost all the way to Everson. A thin layer of snow blanketed the ground. Will enjoyed the quiet crunch it made as they drove along. He found himself staring out the window once again, but his daydreaming was interrupted.

“Will, I think we might have a problem.” Jason said.

“What is that?” Tyler asked no one in particular.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t like it. Tyler, grab some of those pistols from the back just in case.” Will answered. As they got closer Will made out two large pick-up trucks running perpendicular across the road. There were also two drive ways on either side that served as a good place to back their trucks into. All in all, it made a good gate. He counted five men, two drivers, and three standing in front. From what he could see, only two of the three men on the road were carrying guns.

“What should I do?” Jason asked.

Will thought for a second. “Just pull up and see what they want. I think we have them out gunned.”

One of the men held up his hand as the approached. Jason brought the car to a stop but left it in gear. The man who had held his hand up walked to the driver side door, one of the other men walked to Will’s side, the third stood directly in front. Jason rolled down his window. “What can I help you with?”

“Well how polite of you to ask.” The man peered inside the car. The only thought that came to Will’s mind was dirty. The man looked as if he had rolled in mud and hadn’t washed in years. His beard was long and scraggly and his moustache helped to cover his awful teeth. The man wore a red mesh snap back cap that accompanied his red flannel shirt. “Isn’t this a cute little group?” Will tightened the grip around the gun that he hid at his side. The man continued. “If you wouldn’t mind handing over all weapons and ammo, food, water, and any other supplies, we would appreciate it.”

This time Will spoke. “And if we don’t?”

“Then we would have to take it by force. I don’t know if any of you would survive that.” The man said with a smile.

Will looked back at Tyler and then rolled his own window down. Tyler did the same. As if synchronized all three of them pulled their guns out and pointed them at a different roadside thief. Jason’s barrel met the bottom of the dirty man’s chin.

“How about a new proposal? You let us go or I blow a hole through your head?” Jason said in almost a whisper.

“I… uh… I think we can make that work.” The man stuttered. He waved to the two truck drivers, who turned on their engines and backed up.

“One more thing, give me your guns.” Jason added with a smile.

“But…” Jason gave the man a reassuring nudge with the gun. Reluctantly the man slowly brought his pistol out and handed it to Jason. The other man did the same, he walked up and handed his rifle to Will. Then with a nod Jason sped on down the road.

When they were a safe distance away Jason slowed down. Without warning Will began to laugh uncontrollably. “What was that!” He asked Jason as he continued to laugh.

Jason smiled. “Don’t ask me. I think I scared myself more than I scared him.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure.”

“I think I saw a wet spot on the road where he peed.” Tyler said with a smirk. Not wanting to be left out, Izzy joined in the laughter.

They passed a few cars driving the opposite direction as they reached their destination. Jason drove them back to the Swanson’s where they all decided to stay for at least one night. The neighborhood was deserted, not one car was parked in a driveway. Their first task was to check the house before letting Izzy inside. The front and back door lock was still intact so they had a good feeling it would be clear. A quick sweep of the house and it held no signs of zombies or unwanted intruders. Will went out and pulled his car into the Swanson’s garage, and then he got Izzy out and went inside.

“We should probably board the windows up.” Tyler said while they all sat around the small dining room table. “We can use the fence.”

The Swanson’s backyard was inside a tall wooden fence so it was a good Idea Will thought. “Let’s just use them up to block off the stairs. No point in wasting wood and time.” The Swanson’s house was one of the only ones with two stories along with Will’s.

“Sure, if we’ll only be here for tonight.” Jason added. Will and Tyler tore the planks down as Tyler prepared the stairs. It was like a permanent baby gate. They boarded up the top and bottom of the stairs just to be safe. The top floor was made up of two rooms, Tyler’s parent’s bedroom, and a sort of family room. The power was still on to their surprise and relief. They each took a shower and set up their ‘beds’ in the in the family room. Tyler picked out a movie for them to watch and they all got comfortable.

“Enjoy it guys, it might be the last one we watch.” Tyler said as he clicked play.

Even though they felt safe, Will still took the first shift of watch. Everyone besides himself fell asleep before the movie ended. He got up and turned the TV off then returned to the sleeping body of Izzy. His gun was always in reach as he sat in the dark for the next three hours.

In the morning they did another quick sweep of the house and made breakfast. Lucky for them, Mr. and Mrs. Swanson had left all of their refrigerated things behind. They cooked up some eggs and poured generous glasses of milk. Sitting around the dining room they discussed yet again what was next. Tyler spoke first. “All I know is that we need to get out of here.”

“Yeah, but where?” Jason asked.

“We could head up to the mountains?” Tyler suggested.

“Guys, we could go all Robinson Crusoe and build a tree house!” Will said excitingly. Even though he was joking, the other two liked the idea.

“Yeah we’ll be off the ground and away from those zombies if they ever make it up the mountain.” Tyler stated.

“Well then, that’s that! We’re building a tree house!” Jason slammed his hands down on the table and smiled “I’ve always wanted to live in a tree.” The three of them got up and moved their plates to the sink.

“Wait, what will we build it out of?” Will asked.
Tyler came to the rescue again. “Well we’ve already taken down most of the fence. Might as well take the rest, we can use the posts as support.”

“That won’t be enough. We can stop at any construction sites and
borrow more supplies.”

“I know a place that they were building, and it’s on the way to the mountain.” Jason said.

“Okay let’s get to it then.” Will ended the conversation. The boys spent the next few hours taking the fence down and loading it onto a small trailer Tyler’s neighbor owned. There were about four hundred flexible planks of wood and twenty thick fence posts. The planks had too much bend to them, Will thought, but maybe if they doubled up it wouldn’t be so bad.

Izzy had woken up sometime in the middle of their demolition process. When they finished, Will got everyone some lunch and they packed up their stuff. Will decided he could drive again so he slid into his seat and towed the trailer away from the Swanson’s. They crossed the river and drove through the little town of Everson. There was only one grocery store in the whole town so as they drove close to it, expectations were low.

“Wow, looks like no one’s touched this place!” Jason said.

“Let’s go check it out, just in case.” Tyler said. Will sighed and pulled into the parking lot. It was empty except for a few unattended vehicles.

“Alright, Tyler and I will go in first, if it’s all clear, Jason, bring Izzy in. If it’s not clear and we are in trouble, get the car started.” Will wasn't sure what was in the store so it was a good idea to be prepared.

Will and Tyler slowly approached the entrance. The power was still on so the automatic door swung open. To their surprise a lot of things still sat on the shelf. Tyler walked over to the candy and started filling his bag with chocolate. Will, could only roll his eyes, as he walked through the seemingly empty store. He filled most of his bag with canned goods that everyone would eat. There was no water left and most juice was gone along with the packages of donuts.

Tyler walked to the back of the store where the meat sat inside a cooler; it looked good still he thought. “Hey Will, how about some steak for tonight?” He yelled across the store. Will popped out of an isle holding some toys for Izzy.

“What was that?”

“Steak, should we take some for tonight?” Tyler repeated.

“No not that, a noise back there.” Will pointed at the swinging doors which led back to the butcher’s room. “Hello? Is anyone here?” Another noise came through the doors. Tyler pulled out his gun, but Will waved it away and held his finger to his lips. Will drew his knife out slowly. A moaning sound broke the silence while the doors slowly swung open.

Will dove behind a shelf and Tyler followed. A large man wearing a blood stained apron walked out of the butcher’s room. Tyler turned and began to climb up the closest shelf.

“What are you doing?”

“He’s too tall for me to get a good shot at his head. I need higher ground.” As Tyler reached the top, the zombie butcher rounded the corner. It stopped for a second and stared at Will. Then growled and started to shuffle towards him.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Will said backing up. Tyler let the undead man pass him and then he jumped off the top shelf. Will saw it in slow motion, Tyler dove at the zombie and brought his knife down on its head as he slammed into its back. The knife sunk deep in to its skull, the zombie swayed for a few seconds and then fell forward onto its face. Tyler walked forward and pulled his knife out.

“See, nothing to it.” He said. Will just stood there trying to process what had just happened.

Will went to the door and waved for Jason and Izzy to come inside. They grabbed some backpacks that the store sold and filled them with assorted food items. Jason filled a cart with soda and started loading them into the car. Tyler ventured into the back where the butcher came from. A few minutes later he showed up next to Will holding two huge butchers knifes.

“I like these things.” He said swing them around.

“You’re weird, you know that right?” Will told him. He filled the rest of a bag with cans and grabbed an apple. “Let’s get out of here.”

Will drove another ten minutes until Jason directed him to the house under construction. The skeletal structure was surrounded by piles of scrap wood covered in snow. There were no doors or windows in yet, so the interior of the garage was visible. Two stacks of plywood sat in the middle.

“Lucky for us they hadn’t started the roof yet.” Jason got out and examined the wood. “Well, come help me!”

Will and Tyler got out and started packing the pieces onto the trailer. Jason and Will set down the last piece of the first stack.

“Uh… guys, we have a visitor.” Tyler was pointing down the long road. Two zombies were walking towards them.

“Keep moving the wood, I’ll take care of it. Make it quick.” Will said as he drew out his .44. He never got to test it with his dad, and now was as good a time as any. Will walked down the road for a few paces and the stopped in the middle. His legs startled the worn median as he brought the gun up. He estimated they were about 20 yards away, easy target. If he could hit a buck fifty yards away, this should be no big deal. He took aim at the one on the left; although he never had to kit a buck in the head. He loosened up his body, took a breath, let it out and fired. Will was ready when he fired the gun, but not for that much kick. The force of the recoil sent his arms up where he fired a shot directly in to the air. The second shot sent him off balance and he landed on his butt. He looked down the road; at least he hit the one he aimed for. Shoulders aching as he pushed himself to his feet and took aim once more. This time though he chose to put leg behind the other. All the muscles in his arms were tense with anticipation for the next shot. He took aim once more and fired as he exhaled. The bullet found the target but not the mark. The zombie’s right shoulder swung back as the metal round sank into it and passed through. Will shook his head in frustration and looked down the sights. The zombie was much closer now ten yards at least. An easy movement of his finger sent the fourth bullet away, but again it missed its target and buried its self into the chest of the advancing opponent. Will let out a grunt of frustration and brought the gun up once more. The last shot had sent the zombie stumbling backwards but did not stop it. Will fired again, his worst shot yet he thought as the bullet grazed the neck of the flesh eater. At his wits end, Will held the gun out in one hand. He waited as the zombie walked right up to him. The smell, Will realized as it got within three yards of him, was horrible! His heart beat began to rise but he held his ground. One bullet left, make it count he told himself. The zombie walked right up to the end of Will’s barrel. As soon as his gun met zombie forehead, he fired sending brain matter everywhere.

Will let out a sigh of relief and placed his right hand on his racing heart. He holstered his gun, and let his arms go limp at his side. He was going to be so sore in the morning. Now he knew what to expect when firing that gun. Will turned around and walked slowly back to the car. Jason and Tyler had managed to get a few pieces of ply wood onto the trailer, but got distracted with Will’s confrontations. They were now trying to hide their smiles as Will walked back to them.

“That was interesting.” Jason said

“Was all that part of your plan?” Tyler asked letting out a short laugh.

“Oh shut up.” Will said while rotating his arms.

Will helped them load the rest of the wood so they could get out of there. Will drove in silence until they reached the narrow gravel road that winded up the mountain. He got out of the car and stepped in to the cool afternoon air. Tyler got out and helped him strap down the wood better. The road to the top of the mountain was pretty steep at some points, and they didn’t need to lose any wood. After it was strapped down to Will’s satisfaction they got back in and drove up the long mountain road.

The road did open up at points where different companies had made a small quarry. Will ignored them and kept driving to the top. Most of the road at the end was made by loggers; they drove out into an open field of tree stumps. From there the road twisted and turned to the top. Instead of going up, Will continued straight until the next tree line.

“If we are going do this we need a good tree. Let’s take a look around.” Will left Izzy in the car just in case. Tyler got out with his machete and walked into the tree’s. To tell the truth, none of them knew exactly what to look for. All they thought was that it would just look like a good tree. A good tree is what Tyler found. Most of the trees on the mountain were pine and to their surprise they found the perfect clump of trees.

The first set of branches started about four feet of the ground, with about a foot gap until the next set. The branches themselves were about 8 inches in diameter and stuck straight out if the trunk. Tyler climbed up onto the second set of branches and began to clear way the next few sets above.

“We should save these branches” Will started to tell Jason. “We can use them as a natural roof of some sort.” Then he left to go get Izzy.

The car was no more than forty yards away and in eyesight. Jason continued to clear away the limbs that Tyler cut away. Izzy decided to help Will pick up dead branches and twigs that littered the ground. “Is this our new home?” she asked.

Will hesitated. “For now it is Izzy.”

“Why can’t we live at our real house?”

“It’s not safe there sis.”

“Why not?” Izzy stopped picking things up and stared at Will.

“There are a lot of bad people right now, and they make everything dangerous.” He answered after a few seconds of thought.

“Were the people you shot, bad?”

Will hesitated once more. “Yes Izzy, yes they were.”