Joseph Talluto - White Flag of the Dead

Duncan had effectively managed to cover the front windows, so we were okay with anything looking in. We still needed to be as quiet as possible, since sound seemed to attract them in droves. We sat down at the employee section again and I had Jake in my lap. He was playing with some stuffed animals I had found in the store, and taking turns hitting them on the table, trying to eat them, and talking to them.

“So how was the roof? I saw the Z’s go running after a tennis ball. That your doing?” Tommy asked, sipping on a warm bottle of water.

“Yeah, that was me. Just running a little experiment.” I said.

“Well, it was exactly the right thing to do at the time. Duncan couldn’t put up the posters without attracting attention, so you gave him just the opening he needed.”

Duncan nodded. “I had everything taped and ready to go, but couldn’t move because three of them were too close. Thanks.”

I nodded back. “Speaking of close. Have either of you taken look out back, over the wall?”

Tommy shook his head. “Can’t see anything over the wall unless I stood on the dumpster, and I sure ain’t one to try that right now. Why?”

“Well, you’re not going to believe this, but behind the wall, there’s a subdivision of houses, and at least three of the houses are occupied with a number of people.”

Tommy and Duncan just stared at me. If I didn’t know better, I would swear Jake stared at me, too.

I continued. “They are living on their second floors, and have connected the houses with extension ladders on the roofs. It looks like several neighbors came together and have created a sort of refuge, but I can’t imagine they have enough food for all those people.’

Duncan halted in his eating of a granola bar. “What do you want to do?”

I thought for a second. “We need to communicate and see what their situation is. For all we know, they’re fine and just enjoying the show of three lunatics trying to make a run for it. Duncan, do you remember where you put those radios you found?”

Duncan nodded. “Yeah, I remember. Are you thinking on tossing one over?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have an arm like that. We need to think of some way to launch one over without attracting too much attention.”

It was Tommy’s turn to shake his head. “Why worry about attracting attention? Why not just throw it in the yard?”

“There’s about thirty zombies wandering around the yards, and likely as many in the houses on the ground floors. We’d be witnessing a slaughter if they tried to get it.” I said.

Tommy looked down. “Hadn’t figured on that.” he murmured. Then he brightened. “What if we tossed the radio into the yard, distracted the zombies from the roof here, and they could get to it.”

I thought about it. “What about the zombies on our side? Won’t they hear us?”

Tommy got more excited. “Yeah, but if we’re on the roof, near the false front, they’ll never know where the noise is coming from, and lose interest in a little while. All we need to do is get the ones in the yard to see us, and they’ll be wandering over to the fence in no time.”

“Works for me”.

Duncan got the radio ready by wrapping it in a towel and putting it in a coffee can. We didn’t need to throw it too far, but a good fifty yards. Tommy said he’d give it a throw. I had no problem with that. Jake was getting antsy, so I needed to spend some time with him before I gave him his dinner. Duncan and Tommy would let me know how it went.

They were gone for half an hour, then came scrambling back down the ladder. Duncan was slapping Tommy on the back and Tommy was grinning like a loon. I looked up from feeding Jake and asked, “So, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the show?”

Tommy slumped into the seat and took a swig of water. “I’ve never felt so wanted in my life. We climbed up on the roof and waved to the people in the houses, and then Duncan whistled. Holy shit. You would have thought he just farted in church. Every zombie in the yard came limping over and clawing at the wall. I saw several come out of the houses and join the group.” He took another drink. “After that, we just sat there and let the group see us. Duncan would occasionally wave at the zombies, but it gave me time to throw the can.” Another sip. “I had no idea I could throw that far.”

I glanced over. Jake was nearly done. “How far?”

Tommy grinned. “I bounced it off the porch and it landed near a smashed-in sliding glass door. I have no idea how they’re going to get it, but we did what we could.”

I couldn’t argue with that. We had no real obligation to those people in the houses, and they had no obligation to us, either. But since the dead seemed to be outnumbering the living these days, we kind of needed to try to stick together. Duncan clicked the radio on and we waited. I gave Jake a bath in the big sink in the back area, and he loved it. He played with the faucet and laughed when I used a bottle of water to wash his hair. I really envied his inability to understand the situation he was in. Yeah, we had a scary moment there, but we recovered and now just needed to plan our next step.

The sun was starting to set, and that was when the radio crackled to life.

“Hello? Hello? Anybody there? Are the guys who threw the radio to us still there? Hello?” The voice sounded frantic.

Duncan picked up the radio. “Hello, we read you. How are you all doing?” He looked at Tommy and me when we came over to hear.

“We’re okay for now, but we’re running out of food. We’ve been rationing for a week now, and are nearly out. Any way you can get some to us?”

Duncan looked at Tommy, who shook his head. “Negative, it’s too risky right now. How many people are up there?”

The answer stunned us all. “We’ve got sixty-two people on the second floor of four houses. We’ve been going back and forth with the ladders. The zombies know we’re here and won’t leave.”

It was my turn to shake my head. “Can’t get them out without serious help. Do they have vehicles?” I asked.

Duncan asked the question to the person on the radio. “No, our vehicles are gone. A group passing through took them two weeks ago.” the voice said sadly.

I ground my teeth in frustration. People suck, I thought. A thought occurred to me. We could get them out, and moving, but we were going to have to do it soon. I reached over for the radio.

“Hello?” I said.

“Yes?” came the reply.

“Do you have any weapons?” I asked, formulating a plan as I spoke.

“Yes, we have about fifteen guns and everyone has a weapon of some kind”

I raised my eyebrows. That was a lot more that I ever had expected. “Do you have any ammo?”

“We have about four shots each. We used a lot when we set up our little forts.” the radio said back.

I hoped it would be enough. “I have a plan, but it’s going to take a serious concentrated effort. We’ll talk again tomorrow. Can you hang on until then?”

The voice sounded determined. “We’ve made it this far. What time?”

“I’ll call you back at 8 am. Turn off the radio so you don’t waste batteries. Out.”

“Will do. Out.” The voice sounded off.

Tommy and Duncan looked at me. “We have some planning to do, and I for one, am tired of playing nice with these decaying bastards.”

“What’s the plan then?” Tommy asked.

“Simple.” I said. “We kill them all.”

Planning became lively after that, and we talked and long into the night.

The next morning, at precisely 8am, the radio crackled to life.

“Hello? Is anyone there, hello?” The voice seemed calmer, but I could hear other voices in the background. I picked up the radio.