Joseph Talluto - White Flag of the Dead

“We lost 27 to the zombies, so we will need people to help bury them.” I let that sink into the silence that followed. “But their sacrifice is not going to be in vain. We will survive and we will beat these zombies. I have no guarantees except my word. I promise you that we will survive.”

I saw several nods and sent all the men downstairs to help with the cleanup. I was going to go shortly, but there was something I needed to do first. I scanned the crowd and saw Karen standing at the far edge. I caught her eye and she nodded, motioning me to a classroom. I followed her in and she pointed to a small bundle in the corner. I went over and sat down next to my sleeping son. I picked him up gently and held him to my chest. I couldn’t stop tears from flowing and I held his sleeping form tighter. I did it, Ellie. I kept my promise. I thought to myself, bending my cheek to Jakey’s head and dampening his hair with tears.

I held him quietly for a while, just taking him in, then I put him back down. He shifted in his sleep, turning on his side and letting out a long fart. I grinned. Just like Jake.

I headed out of the room and thanked Karen for watching him. She smiled and said “Anytime. He’s a good boy.” and went back into the room. I went back downstairs to lend a hand with cleanup, and it was nearly dark before we finished. We could hear several moans out in the neighborhoods, so we knew we had more work ahead of us.

I sat down in the teacher’s lounge with Duncan, Tommy, Charlie, and several others. The families and the rest had been assigned rooms on the second floor, and most people had just collapsed from exhaustion. Hauling corpses was surprisingly tiresome. I had chosen a room on the ground floor, and Jake was sleeping there for the night, surrounded by his blanket and favorite teddy bear. We had spent a good deal of time reinforcing the doors that were broken in, and I was confident that they would hold in the future. I didn’t think we would be facing another horde like we had repelled today, but we had a plan to deal with it if we did.

Tommy told the rest about using the tables, and they all thought it was a great idea to trap them like cattle and slaughter them likewise. To that end, we prepared the commons as a killing zone, leaving the tables in place for use at a moments notice. We agreed to try to keep them out as much as possible, but if we were breached, it would serve as a focal point for killing.

The rest of the conversation was a going over of what the rules of the community should be. I advocated that everyone be trained in the use of weapons, and everyone attend training on a regular basis. One of our survivors was ex-military and said he would be happy to set up a training program.

Someone brought up the notion of what to do if the rules had been broken. Several ideas were fielded, but I held out for removal from the community. “Given the state of the world, I would think that people would rather simply behave than risk fighting for their lives for whatever time they have left. I think the rules need to be simple. Help out however you can. If you have usable skills, we’ll need them and use them as best as we can. Everyone works, everyone defends.” I didn’t see any disagreement.

“What about food and supplies?” Duncan asked, voicing a concern that was likely on the minds of everyone. I had actually thought about this a bit.

“We are surrounded by houses on all sides. What we need to do is start raiding those houses for whatever we can find. If they are occupied by the dead, we take them out. If they are occupied by the living, we invite them to join us, or leave them alone. We take nothing from the living. I figure we could do quite well if we took our time and were methodical.

“I know these are tough times, but I also know we will get through this. For God’s sake, gentlemen, we killed over eight hundred zombies today. Yes, we lost a few, but the majority survived. We survived. And we will continue to survive. I refuse to accept any other way.” I finished my little speech to quiet faces.

“Last thing.” Tommy spoke up. “We need a leader, someone we can count on to make decisions when things go rough. Someone who will be fair, but focused. Any nominations?”

A man whose name I didn’t know spoke up. “Why do we need a leader? We could have a group or council to make decisions, and we could have elections and such.”

Duncan put that idea down. “That would work for a huge group of people in a large, organized community, but we’re barely hanging on as it is. What do you do if something comes up that needs a decision right away? What do you do if the Z’s attack in force again? Do you tell them to wait until you can make decisions as a group? Sorry, friend, but if there is one thing history teaches us, a single leader can save a society where a council can stagnate it.” The man who spoke nodded with understanding.

It was quiet until Charlie spoke up. “I nominate John. He saved our asses in the gym, and continued to lead attacks on the zombies. All I heard from him was ‘Follow me’ as he went in to fight. I know most of us wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t found us in the gym, and led the zombies away.” Charlie spoke directly to me. “You need someone to watch your back, you let me know. Whenever, wherever.” Charlie leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his broad chest. His demeanor challenged anyone to say otherwise.

I have to admit I did not expect to receive any endorsements. I simply did what needed to be done, and took charge when someone needed to step up. I would be the first to admit that I have my faults and would be surprised that anyone would want me as leader.

Duncan spoke up. “You guys that we picked up when we were on the road, you don’t know what Tommy, John and I went through to get where we are. But I would have to say John made all the right moves, and he can fight like hell when he needs to. He’s slow to get started, but stay away after he does.”

Tommy spoke next. “I second the nomination for John. We need someone who keeps a cool head, stays focused, and is not afraid of a new idea.” He looked around the table. “Seriously. Would any of you have thought of using the tables to herd the Z’s like cattle to the slaughter?” Several shakes of the head and rueful smiles provided his answer.

“So let’s vote. All in favor of naming John Talon the leader of our so-called group, raise your hand.” Tommy called the group to make a decision.

I have to say, I was surprised when all hands went up. But, someone had to do it, so I guess I was as qualified as anyone, even though I felt like a goofball standing up and acknowledging the vote.

“Thanks everyone. I appreciate your support. I don’t really know what to say except I will never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do myself. I have a son here, as most of you know, so the survival of the community is top of my list. We have a lot of work to do, but I think we made a good start today, and in the next few days, we’re going to see our little compound come together and we will be happy to call it home for a while.” I sat back down and we hammered out a few more details regarding what we had here and what resources were available. I felt positive about where we were, and felt pretty good about the chances we had in this place. We had created a fort, and we now had a duty to defend it.

God help us all, as the living dead moaned into the night.

The next morning, I woke up with a headache. I initially didn’t remember where I was, and it took a few minutes of looking around before I realized where I was and what had occurred the day before. It was dark in the room, with a little morning light coming in through the single window in the room. I sat up, and looked around. My bike and trailer were in the corner, and my carbine was near the door. Jacob was still sleeping, snoring softly in the little crib I made for him using blankets and desks turned on their sides. I stood up and stretched, working out the kinks that accompany sleeping on a hard surface. I went back to the floor and did my morning routine of sit-ups and pushups, idly wondering when I might actually work out with weights again. Part of me wished we had made for the junior high, where they have a full workout room, but there isn’t a water source for a mile.