The Z Contingency

Chapter 54

After thanking the Zombie Survivalists for their hospitality a final time, the convoy of vehicles departed the shelter and made its way back to the main highway just as the sun was rising in the sky behind them. Their destination was a compound of the Z Fighters near North Platte, Nebraska.

Bubba’s voice came over the CB radios. “Our hosts are radioing ahead, so the Z Fighter guys will be expecting us. It’s going to be a long drive. If everything goes smoothly, we should be there in about eighteen hours. Get comfortable folks.”

After waiting for Bubba to finish, Gary added, “This is ZCon One, we are now departing the current Rendezvous point. To the two vehicles still out there, please continue to this location. There are people keeping watch for you, and will direct you to our next location.”

Five hours into the drive, the group located another gas station to refill their tanks. After circling around the area to confirm that there were no hordes of zombies, the vehicles all pulled into the station. As Gary and Simon emerged from the Explorer, a man emerged from the office, leveling a shotgun at them. He was a large, imposing figure, even without the gun, with heavy jowls and a receding hairline. The stubble on his face, and what hair he had on his head were graying, but it may have been premature, as he appeared to only be in his mid-fifties. “Get away from here you damn thieves!” The man angrily shouted at them.

“We’re just here to buy gas,” Simon replied calmly, holding up the credit card he was about to swipe through the reader on the pump.

“What are you doing out on the roads anyway? The highways are all supposed to be shut down. The only ones out are government types and thieves, and you don’t look like government types,” he muttered as has scanned the ragtag troop.

“Actually, we are with the Government.” Simon slowly pulled the FBI identification that he still had with him, and held it up for the man to see. “Or at least, some of us are. I’m with the FBI, and I am escorting these CDC scientists to a safe location away from Atlanta,” he said, gesturing to Gary and Natalie. These others are civilians accompanying us,” he continued calmly. Then he added, giving his voice a harder edge, “if you continue to point a firearm at an FBI agent, that’s a federal offense. Now lower your weapon before someone gets hurt.”

The man looked around, his face showing confusion as he was obviously struggling with the decision. Finally, he lowered the shotgun and said, “Sorry. After everyone left town, the only people who come by are here to steal my gas. You can’t be too careful.”

“No, you can’t,” Simon agreed. “So, if everyone in town left, why did you stay?”

“Got nowhere to go,” he replied earnestly. “The news says this epidemic is spreading all over the country like wildfire. I figure the folks who left are just as likely to be running towards it as running away. So I stayed to protect my property. This is all I got.”

“We’re just going to fill up our tanks, and we’ll be on our way.”

“How long can you stay here all by yourself?” Gary asked. “At some point you’re going to run out of food, or worse, there are going to be thieves who are better armed than you. Why don’t you come with us?”

He stopped to think for a moment, recognized the wisdom in what Gary said and replied, “You’re probably right.” Then he thrust his hand out to Gary, who shook it. “Name’s Grover Cleveland.” The man grinned. “Just like the President. My Grandmother used to tell me he’s a distant relative.” He then tilted his head in Simon’s direction,“An FBI Agent is probably my best bet at survival now. Let me toss some things into my truck, and I’ll follow along. Where are we going?”

“Montana,” Simon answered, not overly pleased at the new addition.

As the latest member of the group was gathering his possessions, Natalie saw the last of the vehicles pull up to a pump for gas. Earl and Bubba got out from the front seats, and Mary exited from the rear. Natalie looked over to see how she was doing, and noticed that Mary’s eyes were red and puffy. Since leaving Ocoee, Mary would suddenly become melancholy and start crying. Natalie attributed the puffiness to Mary having one of her crying episodes grieving over Danny, but the redness in her eyes did not look right. Her movements also seemed more lethargic than she had observed the previous morning.

“Mary? Are you feeling okay?” Natalie asked.

“What? Oh, I guess I’m okay,” replied Mary in a tired voice. “I’m probably just worn out from all the excitement we’ve had these past days. I don’t think I’ve had a good night’s sleep since I took Danny to the hospital.” Upon hearing herself say his name, Mary suddenly put her head in her hands and started to cry, her body shaking uncontrollably. Natalie started towards her to offer comfort, but Earl, who was still standing nearby, got to Mary first. Natalie mentally shrugged, and turned to Gary, pulling him aside for a private conversation.”

“I think she may be infected, “Natalie said quietly. “Don’t look.” She cautioned as Gary was about to turn his head.

“She does look like she’s starting be exhibit the symptoms, but the progression is all wrong. It’s too slow,” Gary replied. “Didn’t you say she at the ramps at the festival?”

“Yes, she ate quite a lot of them, in fact,” she acknowledged. “I think that the ramps are suppressing the virus, but it doesn’t look like they’re enough to stop it. We might be able to use them as a component of the cure, but we’re going to need something else. Maybe something that stimulates healing and tissue regrowth.”

“But what...?” Gary trailed off.