Dead America - Mississippi

  DEAD AMERICA

  THE SECOND WEEK: BOOK 1

  MISSISSIPPI

  BY DEREK SLATON

  © 2019

  CHAPTER ONE

  Day Zero +8

  Vernon sat in the wooden chair on his front porch sipping a hot cup of coffee like he did every morning. He watched the first of the sun’s rays peek over the horizon and warm his dark skin like he did every morning. He stood up and stretched his forty-year-old back, ready to head across the river for work like he did every morning.

  Only unlike a normal morning, he wouldn’t be heading from his home in Lula, Mississippi to West Helena to work on engines at the local mechanic shop. This morning his work was more suited to the survival mentality that had encompassed the world.

  He sighed and downed the last of his coffee. “Well, daylight’s a burnin’,” he said, to nobody in particular. “Better get to it.” He headed back inside his modest two bedroom home and filled up two travel mugs with the last of the camping coffee pot from the fireplace.

  He headed down the hall and took a deep breath before putting his hand on the knob of the second door on the left. He cracked it open, letting a ray of bright sunlight cascade down onto the sleeping form of his own little monster.

  She gave an almost inhuman groan and grimaced at the light in her eyes, pulling the covers up over her head.

  “All right, Nadia,” Vernon said gently, “it’s time to get up, girl. Lots to get done today.”

  The sixteen-year-old grunted again, tightening the blankets over her. He chuckled and shook his head, opening the door wider to brighten the room.

  “Daddy…” she whined, voice muffled as he poked her still form. “Why do you insist on starting every day at the crack of dawn? It’s the end of the world. There isn’t any time clock to be punched.”

  “That’s true,” he agreed. “But ever since we lost power a few days ago, the only light we have is the one the good lord put in the sky for us.”

  Nadia pulled the covers off of her face and wrinkled her nose, her shoulder-length braids disheveled around her head like a halo on her pillow. “Still don’t see why I have to be up at this hour.”

  “Because we’re going across the river today for some more supplies,” Vernon replied, perching on the edge of her bed.

  Her brow furrowed. “We just went two days ago.”

  “And we’ve had eight new people show up in town since then, which means we’re runnin’ through them supplies faster,” he explained.

  Nadia rolled her eyes. “That’s right, we have eight new people in town. Which is why Mister Kenneth asked for my help this morning in getting them situated. Remember?”

  “Ah, damn.” Vernon scratched at the salt-and-pepper scruff on his cheek as the conversation from the night before came back to him. “I’m sorry. You’re just so good on these supply runs. You know we need you, baby. Are you sure Mister Kenneth can’t handle this one on his own?”

  “He’s busy helping the older ladies get the daycare set up,” Nadia replied, finally shaking the sleep from her voice and sitting up. “There’s a lot more orphans in town ever since we had to go to the casino.”

  “What about Solomon and Gregory?” her father asked. “I know they are a little younger than you, but they seem competent enough.”

  Nadia sighed impatiently. “They’re helping those big trucker boys and the church handyman get some barricades set up on the north side of town. They don’t have much to work with, but Mister Kenneth figures something is better than nothing.”

  “I would take those boys along…” Vernon pursed his lips. “But they ain’t exactly what I’d call physically able.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, they’d probably pass out just walking to the bridge, let alone all the way to West Helena,” she agreed. “Plus, from what I can tell, they aren’t that bright, either.”

  “So, that makes you the last capable person in this whole town,” he reiterated.

  She shook her head. “Maybe not. I was up for a bit after you went to bed and I saw a car come into town. I could hear Mister Kenneth talking to somebody before they went inside. Maybe they’ll be useful.”

  “Well, maybe you right, girl.” Vernon shrugged. “Come on, now, throw some proper clothes on, grab your coffee, and we’ll go chat with Mister Kenneth.”

  The father and daughter headed across the quiet residential street. It was an old neighborhood, most of the houses built in the sixties, and not incredibly well-updated. But they stood, and it was home, and that was what mattered.

  There were four people milling about on Mister Kenneth’s large porch, enjoying their own morning brew, dressed in form-fitting clothing and armed to the teeth.

  “Mornin’ Vernon,” Marc greeted, waving. “Not like you to be the last one showing up.

  He laughed and patted his daughter on the shoulder. “Had a little trouble waking the sleeping princess today.”

  “Hey.” She pouted. “It’s not my fault you neglected to bring me coffee in bed.”

  Vernon laughed again. “If I had done that, you’d still be there. At least when I leave it on the counter I know you’ll get up before it gets cold.”

  “Making a tired person find their own coffee,” Nadia replied, shaking her head in disdain. “Pretty sure the Geneva Convention would classify that as a war crime.”

  “Hear, hear!” Mandy agreed, holding up her own mug. “You coming with us today, Nadia?”

  “I’m afraid I require the young lady’s assistance here,” Mister Kenneth announced from the doorway, heading out onto the porch in his conservative Deacon outfit.

  The morning sunlight shone off of his pristine bald head, and his presence brought a calm over the group, as it always did. He stepped out of the way and a young couple emerged, the woman holding a gurgling infant.

  “I’d like to introduce you to the newest members of our little community,” Mister Kenneth said with a smile. “This is Phil, his wife Emma, and their baby daughter Olivia.”

  “Pleasure to meet you all,” Phil offered with a nervous smile.

  Tony winked at him, adjusting his baseball cap. “Well, you say that now,” he said playfully, and the tension seemed to drain out of the young couple as everyone chuckled.

  “Phil, my friends and I are about to do a run,” Vernon piped up. “We’re a man down today.”

  Nadia clucked her tongue. “Excuse me. A man down?”

  “Apologies,” her father corrected, giving her a bow and a flourish. “We’re a person down today, and you look like you can handle yourself, sir. Would you be so kind as to join us on our trip?”

  Phil glanced at his wife, and she looked up at him with a little nod. “These people have taken us in. The least we can do is contribute,” she replied.

  He kissed her forehead and then leaned down to do the same to the baby, who giggled and squeezed his nose in response. Mandy let out a little noise of delight and cooed at Olivia as Phil turned to Vernon.

  “I have a handgun with our things,” he said. “I’ll go grab it and we can get underway.”

  Mister Kenneth put a gentle hand on his shoulder as he turned. “If you look beside the washing machine, there’s a crowbar resting next to it. You would be wise to take it with you.” As the younger man headed inside, the old Deacon turned to Nadia. “I really appreciate you helping me out today. As it so happens, I have a fresh pot of coffee that should be finished brewing about now. Why don’t you go help yourself to another cup before we get started?”

  “Thank you,” the teenager replied, and then turned to her father. “Daddy, you be safe today.” She put a hand on her hip.

  Vernon felt a pang in his heart as he took her in, looking so much like her mother
. “Don’t you worry baby,” he assured her, voice thick. “I’ll come home to you just like I’ve always done.”

  “Well, this is the first time you haven’t had me watching your back,” she replied. “So you’d better be extra careful. And I’m going to have a walkie talkie on me all day long, so you’d better keep in touch and let me know you’re safe.”

  “I will, baby,” he promised, and pulled her into a tight hug. She kissed his cheek and then headed into the house, stepping around Phil who emerged back into the sunlight.

  “All right, I’m ready,” he announced.

  Darrell pulled out his keys and dangled them above his head. “Hop into the back of the pickup and we’ll get rolling.”

  Vernon gave Mister Kenneth a little salute and the Deacon nodded at him, clasping his hands in front of him as the group headed to the truck. Emma bounced the baby next to him, her lips pursed tight with worry.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Darrell swung the wheel to the left just before the bridge and pulled off to the side of the road, the tailgate facing their destination.

  Phil’s brow furrowed as the crew began to dismount with their gear. “Wait, why are we stopping here?” he asked.

  “We’ve got a series of barricades set up,” Marc replied, motioning down the two lane bridge.

  The newcomer squinted, putting a hand to his forehead so he could survey the makeshift fencing and parked cars up and down the highway. “Why not just put a gate at the end of the other side?” he asked.

  “Might have something to do with our lack of supplies,” Darrell replied, clapping him on the back. “Not sure if you noticed or not, but we didn’t have a big hardware store in town.”

  Mandy sighed. “Or a restaurant.”

  “Or a bar,” Tony added.

  “It’s safer to go on foot,” Vernon put in as he led the group down the road.

  Phil jogged to catch up to him. “How in the world are we safer on foot than in a truck?” He tucked the crowbar into a loop on his jeans and decided to hold his gun in lieu of jamming it into his waistband.

  “Trucks are loud, my friend,” Vernon replied, adjusting his sun hat. “Our biggest fear is leading a large group of those things back to town. Outside of us and my daughter Nadia, there aren’t too many others that would be capable of putting up a fight should the situation arise. So we take extra precautions, even if it puts us at more of a personal risk.”

  Phil nodded thoughtfully. Before he could open his mouth again, Mandy reached out and tugged on his arm to stop him. She pointed to movement in a long train of barbed wire that ran all the way across the bridge.

  “Looks like we caught a couple,” she said, and held up a long metal pipe. Darrell joined her, the two of them heading up to the wooden stairs built to get over the hazard. Tony stood directly in front of the two zombies flailing in the wire, moaning and reaching for a fresh meal even though the barbs tore chunks off of their rotting flesh.

  “Yeah, come and get me, ya bastards,” Tony teased, sticking his tongue out to keep the corpses occupied.

  Mandy and Darrell skirted around behind them and, in unison, skewered their heads with the pipes.

  “Nice shot, y’all,” Tony said, and the duo high-fived each other at their silent but deadly attack.

  Vernon led the group over the wooden stairs, double-checking the security of the gates as everyone passed. As he did so, Phil paused and headed over to the bridge railing, peering down at the rushing water below.

  “First time seeing the Mississippi?” Vernon asked, sidling up next to the newcomer.

  Phil shrugged. “First time outside of Georgia,” he admitted. “Never seen anything like this.”

  “Where were y’all in Georgia?” the older man asked.

  “Marietta,” Phil replied, turning back to him. “Just a bit northwest of Atlanta.”

  Darrell let out a low whistle as the group began to walk again. “Atlanta, huh? I mean it was bad here and we only had a few hundred people in town, so I can’t imagine what it would be like in a city that size. Especially with them runners.”

  “The day everything hit I was home with my wife,” Phil explained. “We got to see a couple of hours of footage from downtown before the networks were knocked off the air. I don’t know how anybody could have survived that.”

  Mandy shook her head. “So how did y’all get out?”

  “Dumb luck, to be perfectly honest,” Phil admitted. “About six months ago, we got a good deal on a house in this new neighborhood on the west side of Marietta. It was one of these planned communities that lost funding, so only a few houses had been built. Since nobody wanted to live in a neighborhood that looked like a perpetual construction zone, we got it on the cheap. So we were able to throw stuff in the car and get out of town without being overwhelmed. We spent the last week working our way west.”

  Tony nodded, cracking his knuckles. “Good a plan as any, I suppose.”

  “My family is still alive and I get to go shopping with you fine people,” Phil replied. “In my book, that’s a win.”

  There was a round of chuckles, and they continued in a companionable silence for a little while before Phil took notice of a gaudy-looking eight-story building in the distance.

  “If y’all don’t mind me asking,” he began, “what in the world is that?”

  Vernon barked a laugh. “That right there is our very own den of iniquity.”

  “I’m sorry?” Phil scratched the back of his head.

  “It’s a casino,” Marc explained.

  “Ah, gotcha.” The newcomer nodded. “I mean, it looks pretty nice from here. Sturdy, too. Why haven’t y’all moved in there? Wouldn’t that be easier to defend?” A somber silence fell over the group, and he looked around at the stern faces. He raised his hands, palms out. “Apologies if I said something wrong.”

  Mandy shook her head. “We tried to move in there. It didn’t go well.” Still stone-faced, she broke from the group and picked up the pace, heading for a zombie tangled up in the final barricade. “Got this one.”

  Vernon put a hand on Phil’s shoulder. “We thought of the same thing and tried,” he said quietly. “Twenty-five of us went in, only nine came back out. Mandy’s brother was among those who didn’t make it.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Phil stammered, face white as a sheet. “I had no idea.”

  “Mandy knows that,” the older man assured him. “She’s not mad at you. Just still very raw and doesn’t want to think about it.”

  “Understandable,” the newcomer replied. “I won’t bring it up again.”

  Instead of skewering the trapped corpse, Mandy smashed it violently three times in the face, until its head resembled pudding.

  Vernon nodded. “Probably a good idea, friend.”

  “Clear!” Mandy called over her shoulder, and headed up over the last barricade.

  The group checked their weapons, readying themselves for the task ahead.

  Tony stretched his arms over his head, grabbing one wrist and bending at the waist to warm up his muscles. “All right, Vernon, what are we hitting today and how do you want to get there?”

  “I think we’re gonna have to go all the way north to the Stop ‘n Shop,” the older man replied.

  “That’s one hell of a haul,” Tony replied, lowering his arms and reaching down to touch his toes.

  Vernon nodded. “Yeah, but we about picked clean the other grocery store.”

  “There were a couple of grocery carts worth of stuff left in there,” Darrell cut in.

  “Yep,” Vernon agreed, “but it’s there in case of an emergency.”

  “Well, it’s your call, bubba,” Tony replied, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet. “So, how you wanna get there? Highway? Or you want to go through the neighborhood?”

  “We had some issues with the highway last time,” the older man mused. “Let’s stick to the neighborhood. It’s a little bit longer around, but I think it’ll safer.”

  �
�Neighborhood it is, then,” Tony squatted a few times, and then stood up with a smile. “I’ll try to lead as many of ‘em as I can to the highway and meet y’all up at the store.”

  Vernon stepped forward and gave the younger man’s shoulder a squeeze. “Be safe.”

  “Always, brother,” Tony replied with a grin, and then shot off down the road like a bat out of hell, legs pumping like practiced pistons.

  Phil raised an eyebrow as the group continued in a different direction. “Where’s he going?”

  “Tony is our decoy,” Vernon explained, “he’s going to clear the path for us so we don’t have to deal with too many zombies.”

  “He’s also the closest thing our little town has to a celebrity,” Darrell added. “He had one of those internet video stations that got pretty popular. He made those parker videos.”

  “Parker?” Phil furrowed his brow. “I’m not familiar with that.”

  “You know, parker,” Darrell repeated. “Like he’ll run real fast and jump off walls and shit.”

  “Oh, you mean parkour,” Phil corrected.

  Darrell laughed and waved his hands around his head. “Well look at you with them fancy foreign words and shit,” he joked, and smacked the newcomer in the arm at his worried expression. “Relax, buddy, I’m just fuckin’ with ya.”

  “Haven’t even been with y’all a day and I already feel like I’m a part of the team.” Phil rolled his eyes.

  “Whoa there, bud, how can you be a part of the team when you ain’t killed nothin’ yet?” Darrell asked, a wicked glint in his eye.

  “The hell I haven’t,” Phil shot back, squaring his shoulders. “I left a trail of corpses through Alabama that would make even the baddest serial killer blush.” He narrowed his eyes. “And I’ve killed my fair share of zombies in the last week, too.”

  Darrell’s eyes widened, and he nearly stumbled at the sudden realization.

  Phil’s face broke into a wide grin, and he couldn’t hold back a laugh. “Just making sure you can take it as good as you can dish it out.” He pointed a finger at his new friend.

  Darrell shook his head and punched the newcomer’s shoulder playfully, blushing at his naiveté. “Fuck, buddy, that was a good one.”