“There was one girl actually.” He said, still looking out beyond the Hummer.
“She was a real she-bitch when she wanted to be. Powerful, and proud. She had tan skin, and long dark hair, which she never wore down. Too afraid of looking like a woman. We were stationed together, and I spent months trying to crack that exterior.” He laughed a bit, as if thinking of a joke he’d told her a long time ago.
“I had one hell of a time getting her to believe that I wasn’t just another dumb GI trying to get into her panties… I don’t know, maybe I was at first.” He smirked at the thought.
“She finally broke down though, and let me in… through the exterior I mean,” he said with a sly smile.
“We spent a number of great nights together.” He said trailing off.
“So what happened to her?” I finally asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He laughed, and casually shrugged, “Well, she got shipped off to Iran shortly after. We tried to keep together, but in the end, it was all just an in the heat of the desert sort of thing. Wasn’t ever going to work… the long distance thing I mean.”
Kyle tipped back his bottle, holding it upright and waiting for the final drop, then turned around and launched it out into the darkness. We heard it hit the ground and roll until it finally broke against something that sounded metal.
We closed and locked the doors to the Hummer shortly after. I checked my phone one last time before reclining my seat in hopes of falling asleep. Still no signal.
Chapter 11
Silence is Golden.
Sleep eluded me. Lying there in the Hummer, my mind was racing. How I could possibly find a working cell tower, or some sort of way to communicate with Jenn?
First, I thought of Walkie-Talkies and CB radios, like you’d find in an eighteen wheeler. However, I came to the conclusion that their reception wouldn’t reach as far as Atlanta.
The Pakers on the ferry had a Ham radio. My brief understanding of the Ham radio system was that one could communicate around the world by using various methods, including bouncing signals off the moon or relaying from operator to operator until they got to the intended receiver.
There used to be thousands of Ham radio operators out there, I had once read. However, I had no idea how many of those would be connected to generators, to keep them up and running.
The more I thought about it; the real problem would be that Jenn would literally have to know to be listening for me on a certain signal for it to work anyway.
Unless… unless, I could get a message to her with where and when to meet me. If I could just get one call or even a text to her, I would be able to set a date, time and frequency for us to meet. This assumed of course, that we could both find a radio, and a way to connect them.
That left me with finding an operational cell tower. The only way to find one of those would be to find a working power station. It was a long shot, but the world was full of long shots at the moment.
With the bit of liquid courage that I still had coursing through my veins; I stepped out of the car, and started up a metal staircase on the inside of the wall of the warehouse. I tripped over a few steps, but with the moon still almost full, there was enough light coming through the widows on the opposite side of the building to enable me to see.
Once at the top, I had to navigate across a bridge that shared space with the rafters. The Hummer looked very small, and I was beginning to regret making the climb when I reached a hatch that looked like it would allow me access to the rooftop.
Great, another roof, I thought, as I flipped it open. Lowering it slowly, as to not make any sound, I crept outside.
The air was cool, and there was a slight breeze. The trees flowed back and fourth, dancing in the moonlight, playing tricks with my mind. I could see hundreds of the dead, and then there would be nothing.
I decided to pull my shit together. I had my fun drinking, but refused to be left vulnerable. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I moved to the side of the building and started to survey the surrounding area.
If I could just see one lamppost or stoplight. Just one bit of light sitting out there, I’d have a beacon of hope for us to travel to. A place where there just might be enough power for a cell tower to work.
That’s when I saw it. In the distance, a tiny flicker. Struggling to focus my eyes, I realized there was more than just the one light. I could see a house fully illuminated, and a whole series of streets with what looked like lampposts lit, set on a hillside.
That’s where we’d head tomorrow, I thought decisively. That’s where we’d have the best chance of connecting with Jenn.
I stood there for a moment, my senses coming back into full function. The breeze felt nice, but something felt wrong. Things were quiet.
Quiet is a funny thing. Before this whole thing happened, there was always noise. Most of us zoned it out. We were used to it. Whether it was a car driving by or the steady hum of an overhead power line, there always used to be something making noise around us. Hell, I remember backpacking with some buddies before I met Jenn, and being pissed when an airplane flew overhead, taking us out of the wilderness feel. Noise was everywhere. There was no escaping it.
After everything fell apart, it took me a while to be comfortable with no noise at all. On the flip side, it heightened the noises that were still around. You could hear things from miles away. Nothing would drown out a gunshot or a scream. At first, people had trouble telling how far away things were. The old rules were gone. If you heard someone screaming, they could be in the next building over or four blocks away.
Between the swaying trees, I noticed another light in the same direction. It was much smaller than the streetlights on the hill, and closer to the ground. It was pretty far off, but the glow told me that it was a bonfire of some sort, and appeared much bigger than I’d ever be comfortable making. I hoped we wouldn’t have to pass directly by it.
It had occurred to me earlier in the day, that the dead zombies weren’t the only things to be afraid of. When there was no law, there would be nobody to stop the crazy people from doing even crazier things. I thought of all the end of the world movies I’d seen. From biker gangs, to crazy rednecks, to cannibals, there was always some group of crazies out there ready to steal your possessions, rape the women, and kill the men.
Man always seemed to be as dangerous, if not more, than the creatures running around outside.
Captured by the glowing light of the bonfire, I listened intently for any hint of what was out there.
Nothing. Just silence.
Chapter 12
The most dangerous enemy against mankind is man himself.
Kyle was the first to wake up the next morning. Day four, I thought, as I pushed the sleeping bag down. Nobody had noticed that I took my midnight stroll. I felt like a moron when I mentioned it, knowing that I should not have gone off alone.
In the beginning, following the herd probably got you killed. Not now, though; now, you never stray from the herd. That’s how you get picked off. I should have known better. Kyle let me know it with an eat-shit-and-die look as I explained what I had seen that night.
Regardless, he acknowledged that it was a good idea to look for what was out there, even if I was fucking stupid enough to do it on my own; leaving me with that same adolescent feeling of guilt I’d get while playing hooky from work.
We packed up our camping gear, and loaded up the Hummer.
Michael was still laid up in the back seat, trying to keep his head up. We knew we’d be nursing him back to health for a while.