Joseph Talluto - America the Dead

They took what they wanted, recruiting more members. Ken established his base of operations in the ghost town of Bodie, California. He had been there once and remembered it was a defensible place, isolated, with a supply of water and land for subsistence. It was close enough to make raids into several neighboring communities and Thorton used the old mining complex as his personal fortress. There were many buildings still standing and it worked well to serve as a place for families to move into for a modicum of relative safety.

That was the lure. Major Thorton would travel with his band of men, offering a place to stay and passing themselves off as the last of the military of the United States. When the people agreed, and many of them readily did, they were brought into the town and given a home. After they had been taken in, the families would realize their mistake. Women disappeared for days on end, returned to their husbands with broken spirits and bruises. Husbands who complained were immediately beaten, some severely. Children, especially young girls between the ages of twelve and sixteen, were taken from their families to the ‘fortress’. Young boys were sent to work on another part of the property, making sure their parents stayed in line. The youngest children stayed with their parents, but were used for coercion as needed.

Major Ken Thorton not only was a bully, a brute, and a murderer, but he was also a molester. In his warped mind he believed he was owed the pleasure of the little ones and he preferred the fear he caused in them as to the disdain and contempt of the older women.

Such was the world as Ken saw it as he surveyed his little kingdom. In truth, that was what it was. He ruled over the lives of the three hundred people who were luckless enough to fall into his trap, and he ruled over the lives of the seventy-plus men he had in his little ‘army’. Over the course of the next six months of the Upheaval, while the world reeled from the attacks of the undead, Thorton managed to recruit individuals to his cause, each one having the prerequisite of extremely low morals and dubious ethics. Those who showed intelligence or potential were ‘promoted’ within the ranks.

Thorton was smart enough to realize he would need overwhelming force to ensure there would be no rebellion from his population, so after raiding a military surplus store for uniforms and supplies, Thorton set out arming his men with military weapons. Ft. Laramondo was the nearest source and after leading thirty men to the post, managed to eliminate the zombies and secure the weapons left behind when the fort had been overrun.

With his new found wealth, Thorton had increased his area of operations and brought more people into the fold. He even had criteria for new recruits. Anyone surviving alone was included and anyone willing to kill a survivor, especially an annoying husband complaining about his wife being abused, was a shoe-in.

Dissent among the ranks was dealt with by the captain and complainers never received a warning, just a bullet or knife in the back. Word spread quickly and the complaints fell to zero.

In the general population, complaints were few since they were usually followed by a beating or a killing, but they persisted. Even now, two years after the Upheaval, people, especially new survivors, lured in by the fake military, brought up the fact that their rights were being violated. It was a common complaint and Major Thorton was becoming tired of it. Rights, he thought, what do these idiots care about rights? The major contemplated this as he stood naked before his window and looked out of his suite. He could see the town from his perch, a ramshackle ghost town re-populated back into existence. Bodie, California had been abandoned in the 1940’s, declared a historic site in the 1960’s, and served as a tourist attraction until the dead rose. Now it was a town again, tucked away from the world and isolated by geography. Hills surrounded the town, providing a natural defense, and Thorton had enough men to provide reasonable security should the odd zombie make its way to the town.

But security was an illusory thing for the hapless population of Bodie. If the zombies ever discovered the place in force and attacked en masse, the standing plan was to cut and run, not stand and fight. To hell with the helpless citizens. Major Thorton figured when the zombies were busy killing the townsfolk, he and his men could escape.

“Rights.” Ken said the word aloud, startling the small form huddled on his bed. A tousled head peeked out from under the covers as Ken continued his reverie. “Rights. How dare they assume they have rights? When the world ended so did any notion of rights.” Thorton spat the word. “These morons live because it amuses me. They die because they serve no use.” End them, end their rights, he thought.

End their rights. A seed of thought planted itself in his mind, growing quickly. End their rights, destroy the source. Ken considered this as he stared at his thralls trudging from the work fields or to and from the saw mill and wells. Destroy the source, he thought, then he started to chuckle, an ugly sound deep in his chest. Thorton’s twisted mind burned with the logic of his reasoning. The logistics of his idea be dammed, Ken realized what he wanted to do. It didn’t matter that his thoughts required moving a large number of men across three thousand miles of hostile territory inhabited by rogue bands such as his own, carnivorous zombies, and who knew what else. Ken mulled the thought over again in his head and came to the twisted logic that once he had destroyed the source, he would be in a position to grab ultimate power for himself. Any rational person would think him deluded, but Ken didn’t care about that. Like a petulant child, he was striking out at that which annoyed him and to hell with the consequences.

“So has it been considered, so shall it be done.” Ken said to himself as he returned to his bed. He smiled as he flipped back the covers, revealing the small naked girl huddled on the bed. She knew better than to resist or cry. She had seen what had happened to her predecessor and wanted no part of it.

Ken had a small group of victims held in a cage near the main mine shaft. If he was particularly displeased with a girl, he would just throw her in, listening to her screams as she fell the quarter mile to her death. If a girl fought him, he would lower her slowly down the mine shaft head first, to be devoured slowly by the zombies waiting at the bottom. No one had a clue as to how they got there, but when one of Ken’s men dropped a flare to see how deep the shaft was, they flocked to the light.

He grinned again as he lowered himself on top of the girl, his mind thinking about his task ahead and the glory that was to be his, ignoring her cries as he thrust himself against her battered, eleven year old body.

Later in the day, Major Thorton called a meeting of his officers to discuss what it was he wanted. Captain Tamikara was there, seated in the chair on the other side of the long conference table. On one side of the table was Lt. Lon Hansen, a former police officer who had been fired for misconduct right before the Upheaval. Hansen figured his firing had probably saved his life, keeping him home while his colleagues responded to emergencies and died. Sergeant Nick Harris, a former convict whose crimes included rape and assault sat across from Lt. Hansen. Next to him was the other NCO, Sergeant Rod Milovich, a former petty thief rehabilitated into a truck driver.

Major Thorton looked at his subordinates. His eyes rested on Captain Ted’s small frame for a second. Tamikara stared back without blinking. Ken gave a small grin at the little man, then spoke to the group.

“Thank you all for coming at such short notice,” the Major began, “I have been hearing the complaints again about the abuse of rights of our refugees. I have thought about this, and I have decided to do something about it.” Ken paused for effect while Sgt. Nick and Sgt. Rod shared a look of predatory anticipation. They were certain there was going to be some drastic retaliatory measures taken against the complainers. They were not prepared for what Major Thorton said next.