David fought, half his attention focused on watching for moves from the mutants and half turned to wiping out the zombies. His senses told him that there were surprisingly few zombies, all spread out.
They were arriving at a steady trickle now, in ones and twos rather than larger packs.
Almost as though they had just escaped from wherever they had been trapped nearby.
Then it happened. His force was incredibly noisy and with their dim senses and the ongoing death cries the zombies were largely ignoring the survivors.
It was only because he was watching that he could put together what happened afterwards.
There were half a dozen people out of their cars moving back along the sidewalk to get a better view of the fighting, some even had their phones raised, obviously recording.
Then in a rush of motion there were more than twice as many figures as mutants broke cover and rushed, striking the group, grabbing and slashing.
It was too easy and only one of the people even managed to yell.
Before David could close or use magic people were vanishing, being dragged back into the shadowed interior of a shop with broken doors, the ally beside it and in one case a limp form was being hauled up a wall by two creatures leaving a dark smear behind.
It was fast, overwhelming and before anyone could react it was over.
David paused, feeling sick. It was like watching a nature documentary about lions hunting on the African savanna. Humanity was the herd, and the predators had just culled them, taking the weakest and most distracted people.
Swallowing bile, he turned back to attending to the last few zombies, scanning the rooftops and tracking with his spirits he felt at least one then more of the mutants withdrawing slinking over rooftops and vanishing.
It was over moments later. No more zombies emerged and his senses told him that they didn’t have any moving up within his range.
After spending a few more seconds checking to be sure he lifted his radio.
“The mutants snatched some people and pulled back. Zombies are dealt with. I’ve got a lot of survivors out of vehicles, get people back in and get anyone out of their vehicle to watch out.”
He paused grimly, then continued.
“The ones who were taken were recording the fight on their phones.”
“Shit. Seriously? I mean, I guess that is a reaction that I would have too maybe if I didn’t feel I was in personal danger.”
Sarah sounded half incredulous, half understanding as she responded.
“We have people here asking if they can join our convoy if we know an open route to safety.”
“Yep, I’m about to get slammed. Call when you are turned around.”
Then as David predicted people were coming up to them, others calling from within their cars.
“What happened?”
“What was that?”
“Are you going to go after those kidnappers?”
“Did you see that, they didn’t look human.”
“You killed those people!”
He let the babble wash over him for a moment as he checked on his team. Everyone seemed to be fine, so after a moment he held up his hands for quiet.
There were perhaps half a dozen people out of cars and more with their windows wound down, or just broken.
“Listen up! I don’t know what is blocking the road ahead. My group was trying to return to the safe zone; that’s the place marked by the light of the beacon. We have vehicles at the end of this traffic jam and are diverting to an alternative approach. As you just saw, this area is NOT safe. There are two dangers we are aware of. Zombies, the shambling humanoids which attacked you initially and what we call mutants. Things which used to be people and transformed in chrysalises. Those are what snatched people who were out of their cars and not paying attention.”
Seeing that he had everyone’s attention he continued.
“We are getting our convoy turned around and will be moving out shortly. If you can get your vehicle turned around we would be happy to escort you closer to safety, though with the state of the roads we don’t know if we can get all the way there.”
“Some of us will be spreading word back up the queue as they rejoin our convoy. Others will be advancing on foot to the safe zone spreading word of what happened here. We think you are about quarter to half a mile from safety here but moving outside your cars at night will be extremely dangerous. So you could decide to move on foot, just don’t expect your vehicle to be intact when you get back to it.”
Then he finished.
“There are more people at the safe zone which is centered around a park. I suspect the problem is there is nowhere to put the cars people have arrived in, though I don’t know if your line was moving at all?”
Shouts came back.
“It was moving for a bit but nothing in the last hour and a half!”
“Do you know what these messages that appeared when we woke up are all about?”
The questions continued and David waved for silence.
“You can ask questions once we get you to the safe zone. I need all of you to try and divert your cars back the way you came and follow our convoy.”
The others looked at him questioningly as they huddled, people standing around.
“Carl, Charlie. I need you to take our radio team back to the convoy and get people turning around. This divide…” he gestured irritably to the low barrier separating the lanes of traffic going in each direction, “is a real pain in the ass. I guess we can get people turned around at intersections but it’s going to take a while.”
Carl spoke softly, trying not to be overheard.
“You thinking there is space in this site we are aiming for to park all these cars? You do realize that site is outside the safe zone, if I understand what Camila and Katie have said it’s probably outside the area where the Obelisk repels zombies…”
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“Yep, we will have to hold it through the night unless we can get all the people into safety.”
Carl looked at him.
“You sure we ain’t biting off more than we can chew. I don’t fancy our chances of covering a lot of people if a pack of mutants shows up…”
David met the older man’s eyes. “I can see a way to do this. It might not be pretty but the tools and things from the airport give us options we didn’t have this morning.”
Carls eyes widened, then he nodded.
Camila asked the obvious question.
“So what are we doing?”
Her gesture included Mark but with just three of them it seemed more like an oversight than a planned group.
“We are going up this queue all the way to the safe zone warning people, we are going to find out what the issue is and we are going to get whoever is there to lend a hand.”
Mark nodded even as Camila replied.
“Right, let’s go.”
The trip up the stationary cars was slow, painfully so as they had to stop and explain the danger over and over again.
Their bloody appearance and tactical gear seemed to buy them some credibility. The thing that got people moving was the words ‘alternate route’ paired with ‘convoy’ and its implied security the whole mass of gridlocked cars started to turn around.
As they drew closer to the safe zone, they entered the range where David could hear the hum of the barrier and finally, leaving the main road by the same turn that David had used all those days ago they saw the problem.
The road was blocked by a barricade.
There were several dozen exasperated people standing on one side and figures who David recognized as part of the militia on the other side with guns. They were all wearing distinct armbands with a crude shield on them, which was new.
As the three of them approached nobody initially paid any attention to them. Once they were actually in the crowd in front of the barricade they could see more clearly. The defense was crude, piles of stuff blocking most of the road and sidewalk with a gap plugged by what looked like an improvised gate. This was a pickup truck with a couple of big metal road plates bolted to the back reversed into the gap between barricades.
The truck bed also gave them somewhere to stand with a reasonable view.
“What’s going on?” David’s question to the others outside the barrier elicited an immediate response.
“Damn gun toting maniacs have blocked the road. They were letting people though for a while but stopped just before we got in! It’s safe in there! We have a right to get in!”
One of the Militia men on the barricade, clearly meant to hear given the volume at which David’s neighbor had spoken responded.
“As we have told you several times now, we are trying to find space to park people’s vehicles. As soon as we manage to rearrange everything so we can cram more cars in we will! We can’t even move our emergency response vehicles right now so for the bloody thousandth time THERE IS NO ROOM, WAIT FOR US TO FIND SOMEWHERE TO PUT YOU.”
Glancing at Mark and Camila before he moved David stepped forward and called out.
“Hey! I don’t remember your name. It’s David with the raiders. I need to understand the situation. The people back here are in danger; there has already been one attack on the traffic jam.”
The militia reacted to that. They pulled back and hunkered down where David and the others couldn’t see them over the barrier. They could still hear and everyone shut up to listen in on their ‘private’ conversation.
‘hey, is that really…”
“Yeah, it’s the guy who got all those people killed. You remember what we need to do?”
“Look, I’m not sure about this. He’s been out trying to help people again, right?”
Look, if you don’t want to, I’ll go!”
After that there was a pause, everyone on their side of the barrier straining to hear what was going on.
There was a thump as someone jumped down from the truck and then the two guys who were left came back into view.
Both looked nervous. The first spoke identifying him as the one who had been unsure of David’s identity.
“Where are the rest of your group? Did you get them killed too?”
David raised his eyebrows. Then he decided to answer.
“We are stuck at the far end of this traffic jam, with all the food we collected today. You know the food that we were asked to go and get because it was an urgent priority to keep everyone fed?”
Both men looked much less sure of themselves at that announcement.
The other man, the one who had been more on David’s side spoke up.
“How much food? A lot more people arrived today…”
“Truckloads of food. Some of it might go bad if it isn’t cooked soon too…”
That got the attention of the people standing around him.
“Wait? There isn’t any food in this safe zone? What are the government thinking setting something up and not making sure it’s properly supplied?”
David responded before the militia men could.
“Nope, no government involvement. The Obelisk is the reason it’s safe and my friends and I have been working to rescue people since it started. People living round the park have got involved too. With mixed results.”
His eyeroll toward the militia men on their truck was obvious. They spotted it.
While the second looked uncomfortable the first responded angrily.
“Hey, we are duly deputized law enforcement for this area! You and your bunch of thugs have been running around kidnapping people and getting them killed!”
David was about to respond when Mark spoke up from next to him.
“Who deputized you exactly?”
“Officer Vale. He’s the ranking member of law enforcement in the enclave. A veteran too!”
Mark smiled and innocently asked “So he was chief of police or county Sherrif before all this started? Because for him to officially deputize you he would need to be the top dog.”
There was an awkward pause.
David smiled and moved the conversation on, focusing on what he wanted to accomplish.
“These people need the protection of law enforcement. They need to reach safety and do so in a way that doesn’t leave a jam of vehicles blocking access. So how are you going to help?”
The second militiaman grabbed onto the change of topic and immediately gave David exactly what he needed to hear.
“Sir, that’s a very good point. We need to protect people and maintain access for emergency situations. There are only three roads into the neighborhood. They are all jammed with Traffic and have been for hours. We couldn’t even get people out! As we told everyone there is nowhere to put more cars, we are jammed in and trying to find more space. It’s a total nightmare.”
David nodded, then he asked his real question.
“What about that old, abandoned site beyond the park? It’s a mill or city transport or something isn’t it? Lots of space there right?”
The guy looked confused for a second then his eyes light up with understanding.
“Oh, you mean the Hobo Mill?”
David looked confused and the guy continued.
“I’m pretty sure that’s what you mean. It’s been a blight on the neighborhood for years, it’s been factories and stuff for a century so its badly polluted. Its abandoned by everyone now, except the homeless. They even stopped using it for buses and stuff a few years back. Big scandal at the time, the drivers union found out that there was lead, arsenic, asbestos and a bunch of chemicals I don’t even know the name of all over the site. It got shut down and the whole thing got fenced off while they dug a bloody big drainage ditch to try and stop toxic runoff from flowing onto our streets. It’s the reason half the businesses along the border have shut, and why our property taxes are so high…”
It sounded like the guy could complain about the local eyesore for a while longer so David interrupted.
“So it’s empty then?”
“Yeah, why would anyone in their right mind want to go there?”
David nodded, then pushed again.
“You going to get the militia out here to protect these folks?”
The angry man spoke, sounding less sure.
“There are enough of us to hold the border. His face darkened. Even we’ve lost people today.”
“So let them in, if they abandon their cars until daylight surely you can let them all in?”
“They need to clear the road so we can get out. We can’t have them abandoning their cars, they have to stay with their vehicles until we find a place for them to park.”
He sounded stubborn, then his face twisted and he spoke again quieter, addressing the people standing around David.
“Look, I was told to tell you all that. I get you’re scared. I’ll be honest. I doubt we can find space for any more cars, I heard a rumor that one of the big police stations is serving as a rallying point. Also, suggestions that the army are doing something around one of the local hospitals, though I don’t know which one. Then there’s a rumor that the mayor has a bunch of people holed up at town hall. I wish I could help more.”
The other guy interrupted him.
“Look we aren’t supposed to say this but there basically isn’t any food. There wasn’t much to share this morning, and none has made it in.” He turned to David.
“We really need the food your convoy is carrying sir. Is there any way you can get it close enough to let us feed people?”
David shook his head. “We are over a mile away and working to get turned around to try another route. We’ll do everything we can to get food to you. Tell the Obelisk council that we are trying to find a way in with food and maybe suggest that the locals who have some stores in their homes share to make sure nobody goes hungry.”
The flashes of guilt on both men’s faces told him that they already knew what the temporary solution was, but that there was no appetite for implementing it.
It seemed that food was an even bigger problem that David had realized.
