Earth's Survivors America The Dead: Zombie Fall

By Dell Sweet

Arlene’s Journal
It's the night before the six will leave to go back to the outside. I think of it that way... The outside. This place is something I have never had. So much love, so much caring, it overwhelmed me for the first little while. That and the other. Having to kill a man. But it was worse for those who stayed behind when we made our way to this place. If they had not stayed to fight the rest of us would not have been able to get away. David told me what it had been like for them. They had to kill too. They had to kill children that were controlled like puppets. Deadly puppets to be sure, but a puppet is a puppet... a slave.
And now we're sending them back out again into a world that can't be any better than it was. It's worse in some ways. We didn't have to deal with the dead. The radio tells us they have taken over most of the bigger cities. I just can't imagine it. But We're sending them out tomorrow, and all so that we can live a little better. Nothing that we absolutely have to have. We have everything we could ever need right here. But to live better.
To live better we need other things. It makes me wonder if we have changed all that much after all. I hope it is not a move toward the old society. I really hope not. Enough negativity though. They're going. I voted yes too, and there are thing's they will bring back that I asked for too.
On a lighter note I think almost every woman in the Nation is pregnant. I guess that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not much. Me, Patty, Candace, Lilly, Annie. Jane, Alice and Amber are pretty sure. There are so many more people here. It seems almost like we grow every week. Maybe we do, come to think of it. Oh and now Molly too, and I wonder who the father is? But how would I ask Molly without sounding too nosy or even insensitive? Babies and more Babies, and thank God for them. They are our real crop. We joke about that, how in a few weeks it will be time to bring in the corn and that's our crop, but our real business, our real crop, is babies.
Sandy and Susan are thinking about it too, only they both want to get pregnant. They're trying to decide who goes first. God bless them.
Some times I think I am a long way from my roots. In another respect it seems to me that I have spent my entire life trying to get to this place... This condition... And I am so glad that I am here.
May God go with ours tomorrow as they go back to the outside. Keep them safe. Bring them right back to us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A. L. Norton
• Release date: Mar 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310842023

Dell Sweet

I was raised in Texas and New York. I write short stories, novels, lyrics, poetry. I also enjoy building 3D models in my down time. I have written several series and collections.

Book preview

EARTH'S SURVIVORS AMERICA THE DEAD: ZOMBIE FALL

Earth's Survivors America the Dead: Zombie Fall is copyright © 2016 Dell Sweet. All rights foreign and domestic reserved in their entirety.

Cover Art © Copyright 2016 Wendell Sweet

Some text copyright 2010, 2014, 2015 Wendell Sweet

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your bookseller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

LEGAL

This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or incidents depicted are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual living persons’ places, situations or events is purely coincidental.

This novel is Copyright © 2016 Wendell Sweet and his assignees. Dell Sweet and Geo Dell are publishing constructs owned by Wendell Sweet. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, electronic, print, scanner or any other means and, or distributed without the author's permission.

Permission is granted to use short sections of text in reviews or critiques in standard or electronic print.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHARACTER BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PROLOGUE

Before The Plagues

New York: Rochester

John Simmons

The sidewalks below him were crowded. John stood at the apex of the steps that led up to the old court house. It was impressive. He looked down at his hands, shifting the small silver canister from hand to hand, rolling it across his palm, treating it as though it were just a small fascination to occupy his mind, when in fact he knew it was something more. He didn't know what, exactly: He wasn't paid to know what. Maybe someone up the ladder knew what, he didn't, and it was likely he never would, but it was something more than just a shiny little object to occupy his mind.

He had done hundreds of these small jobs. Little things. Little things that probably meant nothing in the scheme of things, at least that's what he had always told himself. A little mental salve to prevent an infection of the larger truth. Little things he never heard a single thing about later on. Little things, but he suspected this time, this job was not a little thing at all. He suspected this was a big thing. He suspected he would hear about this one down the road. He suspected this one would come back to bite him in the ass.

The trouble was, in for a penny, in for a pound. It all mattered. He had taken job after job where he might leave an item on a park bench. Drop off a set of wheels in the middle of the desert. Switch a suitcase at an airport. Little jobs. Little jobs and he had never said no. Never complained about them. Never turned one down. And so here he was about to press the activator on a small, silver canister that might do anything. Anything at all. And was he worried about that? Yes, he was.

It was not so much worry for himself. He didn't really believe the thing would blow up. He didn't truly think they would take him out that way, if there was ever a reason to take him out, that was. He quickly shut down that line of thought. He had too much to worry about right now without starting a whole new avenue of doubt.

So, no, he did not believe it would blow up. He believed it would hiss and release a giant cloud of some sort of toxic gas: Gases even, he amended. Waste, poison, something, but if that were the case how could he safely set it off and not be contaminated himself?

The instructions were to walk to the top of the courthouse steps, depress the red button, and then toss it away. No specific direction, just away. It apparently didn't matter. And, he thought now, wasn't this exactly the way some terrorist would do it? Do an attack? A poison gas attack? An unclassified viral attack? He had seen a few movies, this was the way he would do it if he was writing the script. The girl beside him spoke.

If this is going to take much longer you're gonna have to pay more. I know I said I would be cool, a fifty, I mean, but standing around here is wasting my time. I got places to be. I got...

He cut her off. And you ain't got no money yet. And if you do want the money then you need to shut the fuck up. He went back to his self observation. A second later he looked back at her. Hey, hey, he soothed. She had begun to pout. Just another street girl with a habit and too much time on her hands to feed it.

Look... He waited for her to look at his hand. He held the small vial upright. Do me a favor, okay? I was looking around because, well, because I want a picture right here. Now all you have to do is push this little red button... Aim at me, it's got a little camera in there...You can't see it, it's one of those new ones... Like them spy ones? So all you got to do is point it at me and then press the button. He held the canister and looked around. She tried to take the canister from his hand and he snatched it away.

Goddammit, Dude, You want it or not? She stamped her foot exactly like the spoiled child she was and was destined to always be.

Yeah... Yeah I do. Just... See that corner over there? The top of the stairs? That little what-do-you-call-it hollow between those two pillars? Wait until I get there and take the picture. He handed her the silver canister and started away.

Hey! How the fuck am I spos'ed to tell? There ain't no screen thingy, what-the-fuck-it-is?

He turned back and smiled. Just face it to me and do it. It's not supposed to have a thing, screen, just do it.

She turned the canister to her face. It was only about four inches long, maybe an inch thick. It didn't look like a camera at all. She turned it back to John and clicked the button. Nothing, not even a click. It didn't work. It was bullshit just as she had thought.

John froze when he saw her push the button, but nothing happened. Nothing at all. She had pushed it just a few inches from his nose. No odor. No vapor he could see. No anything. He pulled it from her fingers and flipped it back and forth. The red button was depressed now and although he tried to work a thumbnail under it to pull it back up he couldn't do it. He bought it closer to his nose, nothing. No odor. He pressed it to his ear. No hissing. It was dead. A dud. Whatever it was it did nothing at all. Maybe it had even malfunctioned. He hefted it a few times and then let it drop from his fingers. It hit the stone step below him with a small metallic clink, and then rolled away to the edge. It dropped to the next step, but it didn't have enough momentum to find its way across that step to the next. He turned back to the girl.

You broke my camera, he told her.

Did not, and that ain't no fuckin' camera anyway. You think I'm just stupid?

I do think you're stupid. You broke it. You broke it and so I ain't paying you. In fact, you should pay me for breaking my camera! Besides which, you pressed it before it was time. You fucked the whole thing up. I shouldn't pay you shit. Not a fuckin' dime.

Yeah? she asked. Her eyes were wet, but they were also hard. She looked around at the crowd. That's okay, because you know what?

What? John asked. He smiled. She was stuck and he knew it.

What is, I'm fourteen. Fourteen. And I bet you if I was to start yelling right now, oh, something like rape. If I was to say Rape! She raised her voice a little and a nearby couple flashed their eyes at the two and slowed.

John flinched and drew back from her.

Yeah, see? So, now if I was to do that I bet your tune would be different. I just bet it would.

Twenty, John said. His smile was gone.

You said fifty. Fifty is what you said, and it should be eighty. She picked eighty out of a hat. It was three more dimes, and three more dimes was a lot better than five. It is eighty. It's eighty because you tried to rape me! She raised her voice once more and John's hand plunged quickly into his back pocket. He flipped a fifty and three tens at her from the wallet he had quickly pulled free, and she had to scramble to catch the money. Two of the tens fluttered to the stone step below her and she flashed a hard smile at him. The couple that had cut their eyes at them were now stopped and staring at the two of them. A cell phone appeared in the woman's hand and when John met her eyes there was something there he didn't like at all. The girl scooped up the money, muttering as she did, and John headed down the stairs two at a time. A few minutes later he had blended into the crowd and was making his way away from the downtown area.

ONE

September 15th year one

Mike sat quietly on the stone ledge, feet dangling over the edge, watching the sunrise. Patty and Candace were both on post and Mike expected them to come down from the top of the pass in just a few minutes. He sipped at his coffee as he waited for them.

He was midway up the ledge, just below the wider ledge that fronted the cave, before him the valley spread out in all directions. You could see the mountains where they blocked one end and sent the valley into a long right hand curve, but even that was several miles distance from where he sat. It was a huge expanse of land, and it was only a small part of the land that was available to them.

There were three large metal barns within sight, constructed from the steel buildings they had bought in with them. There were two smaller steel structures, one that housed the school, the other their small power plant.

That building sat next to the stream, further down the valley, and held the power generator they had bought, and two large diesel engines from two of the flatbed trucks.

It had taken three days to get the trucks down there. Using a winch on the pickup and the third stake bed as an anchor, but, they had done it. The two diesels were soon to be hooked into the main power supply line so that when the wind power was not enough they could run the diesels for supplementary power. The stream itself generated power, but the current was not fast enough, or strong enough to fill their needs. Coupled with the wind power it was more than enough. Backed by the two diesels to turn the generators, they would be fine year round

They intended to add solar panels eventually to provide on demand power and to take the load off the water turbine on sunny days. The power that wasn't used could be stored in a bank of batteries. Another item that was needed. Items, Mike corrected himself. Plus wire, lots and lots of wire. Because, although the power plant was working, there were only a few lights here and there and only very close to the plant, most of the other dwellings, and the cave, were without power.

The other dwellings were made of stone. Like the power plant, they had Tim’s remarkable mind to thank for the stone and concrete walls. He had read about the power plant and put it together. He had read and understood the formula for cement and made it.

The first few batches were not the best, but they worked well enough, and after that he had shown Ronnie, Patty, David and Mike how to mix the batches. The stone buildings had gone up fast after that.

It took the longest to build the roofs, they were nearly all wood and they had not thought to bring a sawmill, although Bob was sure there had been a fairly large portable one at the farm equipment store.

They had remembered chain saws and oil, and Tim had used an illustration in a project book to build a small Sawmill using one of the larger chain saws. It worked well enough, but ate into their gas supply, which was very low. Even so it had allowed them to build dwellings, another barn, milk house, and slaughterhouse.

The concrete had allowed them to build a long stone wall that sat at the edge of the ledge that fronted the cave and the sheer drop off to the valley below. They had built a chimney for the smoke hole, as well as another wall at the front of the cave to close it off and protect it from the rain and snow they expected. Rain for sure, they had already seen that. They would know more about the snow in just a few months. Mike hoped to be back by then.

He pulled a small notebook from his pocket and wrote... Base type radios. He then tucked the notebook away. The notebook was the only way to do it, otherwise he would forget too many things and...

Hey, babe, Candace said. She and Patty walked side by side down the pathway from the top. They were both showing, at nearly six months along, and that was the main reason that he and Ronnie would be going along with Nell, Molly, Tim and Annie on the re-supply trip, and Candace and Patty would be staying behind. He stood quickly so she would not try to bend to kiss him. Candace was even larger than Patty and already uncomfortable. He kissed her and held it for a moment.

Any more of that coffee, she asked.

At home, he smiled. All you want... Patty? He offered.

Nope, she stood smiling. I'm going home to my man. With you two leaving tomorrow I have forbidden him to go anywhere else today or tomorrow. I don't want him to forget me, she said. She smiled but couldn't quite hide the worry in her eyes.

I had the same idea, Candace said. Believe me, she said, kissing Mike again. He's not going to forget about me.

Patty laughed, You guys, she said. The three of them continued down the path to the valley floor, past the pool and on down the flagged pathway to the stone houses.

They left Patty with Ronnie, and headed to the next house in line. The inside was still only sparsely furnished and smelled of the fresh cut pine that had been used to build the roof and wall studding. They had to make everything they owned, and it took time. Another thing they had not thought of, furniture. A few simple chairs or beds. They would remember this time though; they were on the list.

Candace stayed on the front porch while Mike went in and started the coffee. The flowers in her little garden were in bloom and the fragrance was strong on the morning air. Mike came back out to find her sitting on the long porch swing he had built for her, fashioned from heavy rough cut planks and sanded smooth with sandstone, watching the sun continue to rise.

He handed her, her coffee, and then carefully sat down beside her so she wouldn't spill it. She was quiet.

Penny for your thoughts, Mike said.

You don't have a penny, she said smiling.

Well, you know, if I did, Mike said.

I've been thinking about you leaving. I wish I was going, but I’m also glad to be pregnant with our baby, still I'm going to worry about you while you're gone, she took his hand and held it.

A month, month and a half tops, and we'll be back. I wish you were going too, but to be honest I'm glad you're not. Bouncing around those trucks, you and Patty both? No, not at all. Sandy was right to say no. So, I'm gonna miss you, but we'll be back with a bunch of stuff to keep you busy through the winter and probably the next few years.

Oh yeah, she said. Which reminds me, computers.

Computers, he asked.

Yeah, it would be so helpful to have a few. For the farm, school, teaching the kids. The power project, but also for my music. You did that right... Computers? Used to program them, she asked.

Yeah, and I didn't think I'd see them again, but you're right they would be useful, Mike agreed.

Can you program, she asked. You said so, right? Can you write a program like Tim wants for the powerhouse?

Well, I'm okay with HTML, C, Java, but not so hot with C++. But, I don't have to be, Janet is, Mike told her.

Janet, she asked.

Yeah, she worked as a data processor. But she wrote several data base programs to do specific work. Not like macros or scripts you write for databases, but real programs, he said.

Babe, I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but will you get them? Candace smiled.

Mike smiled and pulled out a notebook. How many were you thinking, he asked.

A few dozen. A little more maybe and the stuff to hook them together? She said.

He wrote it down and then re-pocketed the notebook. You got it, Babe. And I'm sorry for the tech-speak, he smiled and kissed her. Now, didn't you say something about spending time with me, before I left?

She leaned over and closed his mouth with her own. Come with me, she said softly, pulling him from the porch swing and into the house...

There was no head of what they had named 'The New Nation' and then immediately abbreviated to just 'The Nation,' instead they had chosen nine members from among themselves and formed a representative panel. There were also no formal meetings, but when something needed to be decided or discussed the nine of them got together and hashed it out.

They would be down to six, losing Mike, Ronnie and Nellie to the expedition, but they decided there was no real reason to appoint someone to take their places while they were gone. It was so rare for them to even meet that there should be little reason for that to occur while they were gone. And if it did? Patty had asked.

Well, Bob had said. Six could decide every bit as well as nine could. And that had been the end of it.

Instead of remaining in the dark ages as some had been concerned about, Bob and Janet had been all for nearly any and every modern convenience they could find. Bob had balked at telephones though when Tim mentioned how easily it could be done.

We have radios. I for one don't want to have to answer the phone so young Tim here can sell me a subscription to the local paper, he had joked. But the point had been made, even with Tim, and he had immediately turned his attention to radios. Base radios. More power. No Batteries. Radios, Phones, they were the same thing to Tim's mind. A cell phone could fit in your pocket. The clunky radios they carried now could not. Bob would come around once he saw how much easier a cell phone would work. They were nothing more than a glorified radio anyway. Tim decided not to mention his argument to Bob though. Maybe later.

One of the first decisions the panel had made was to use the cave for a meeting place, clinic, and storage. There were several dry, cold storage areas. The passages went on forever it seemed. The ridge that lead away into the distance, and formed a natural border for the valley, was honeycombed with caves. Most of them connected to the main cave. At least the ones they had explored. Probably, Mike had opinioned, they all did. It was just a matter of exploring them and mapping them out.

There were also underground rivers, steep narrow passages that went deep into the ground. They had blocked off anything truly dangerous within the first few months.

Sandy and Susan had decided to build their own home into the stone overhang. It only made sense, Sandy had said. The clinic was in the cave. The herb racks. The medicines. They were both working their way through several books to learn as much as they could about herbs and the natural healing properties of the trees and plants around them.

Tim and Annie had chosen to live in the cave too. Tim needed the space for the projects he had going. He moved from one thing to the next. He couldn't wait to get his hands on a few computers, and he was sure he could easily learn whatever Mike and Janet were willing to teach him.

Sharon was learning to nurse from Sandy. She was also finding her background as a veterinarian's assistant in demand. She was fascinated with plant and herb medicines and was as eager as Sandy and Susan to learn it.

Cindy had stayed in the cave because of Sharon. She was like a mother to her. Whatever had needed to click had. Cindy was impressed with the veterinarian skills Sharon had, and eager to learn from her.

Cindy's other hero was Molly, who could do just about anything to a motor or any other mechanical thing. She was learning mechanics from Molly and animal husbandry from Sharon. It filled her days up. Made her feel useful. And she rarely thought of her old life any longer.

The large main room in the cave was used as a gathering place by all of them whenever they wanted to get together. It was this space that had been closed in with stone, and a heavy, solid plank door protected the interior from the elements.

Down in the valley, two of the barns held most of the animals, several head of cattle and bison grazed in the valley. They were still fed grain to keep them dependent and close by. The others, mothers who were through nursing their calves, were moved to a separate part of the barn and joined the milking team. They now had twenty-four milkers, and a steady supply of milk, cheese and butter.

The other half of the barn held chickens and rabbits. They had separate areas in the same space, and both reproduced very quickly so they had a constant supply of fresh meat. Some weeks more than they could use. But It was easy to use the far, colder reaches of the caves to keep the meat cold. The cold storage was not enough to keep the meat frozen during the summer but it did keep it cold enough to keep the meat fresh a few weeks at a time. A permanent smoke house existed farther down the valley and took all the excess meat and turned it into dried meat. Highly concentrated protein that could be stored for months. They were working on pemmican so that it could be stored indefinitely, as long as it was kept dry.

The egg supply was also constant with fresh layers coming along all the time. The beef cows were free to graze the valley floor. A short section of stone wall had been erected to close off the exit at the far end of the valley where a second, longer valley ran for several miles, eventually opening into untold miles of grazing lands past the mountain range.

That closed in several miles of the main valley. The sides of the valley climbed to ridges that were far too steep for any animal besides a mountain goat to climb. The area that held the houses and the ledges that led up to the caves was fenced off.

The horses shared the valley. They tended to prefer the closer proximity of people. Several horses were stabled in the second barn along with oxen teams. Some of those horses were used for field work along with the oxen, but there were about a dozen horses that were used for riding and herding the beef cows.

Spread out in the valley there was a small herd of moose and another of deer. Both by-products of the cow chow they had used to lure the cows and horses. An even smaller herd of Bison had stayed in the valley. The question in everyone’s mind at first was whether any of them were cross mate-able. Because the moose bulls were constantly chasing after the cows when they came into heat. They took the questions to Sharon.

Moose and Cow, No, Sharon said. Cow and Bison, yes. She had laughed it off. But