deadheads by jade swiler (top 100 books to read TXT) 📖

then going right back to it but with marcus and seth helping. As the day wore on, maggie went inside taking the boys with her to start dinner. I didn’t mind, the hard part was done, now all I had to do was plant the seeds I had kept from the compound and we would have fresh food from our own garden.

The moaning had gotten louder as the day wore on, I climbed the small rise and looked over the wall. About 20 deadheads were lined up near the gates. Seth told me every morning they climbed the wall, him and marcus had a shoot fest until the deadheads were all dead and then burned them away from the wall. But they kept coming, everyday there were more and more.

 

The spring storms started the next day. Durning the night I was woken to loud booming thunder and flashes of bright light. The station was dark, everyone was in bed , as I went to the kitche and got a cup of coffee. I had started to enjoy it once I figured out it helped keeep you awake during watch.

I pulled a chair to the front door and opened it to sit in the doorway and watch the rain fall in a heavy curtain. It was the most amazing sound because it reminded me of Emily and how when we were kids we would play out in the rain until after dark.

“ jade? Can I sit with you?” Sams small voice said behind me.

“sure buddy, grab you a chair.” I replied and sam went running off to the kitchen to do just that. I I moved me chair over and made some more room for him. We sat there in silence for a long time before he spoke again.

“when I was in the basement, I knew my parents were dead. I was so scared. But then you and seth cme and got me. Do you think there is anymore kids like me out there jade?”

I had to think before I said what I really thought, I didn’t need Sam to have nightmares.

“I don’t know bub, but I hope they were saved by people like us. “ I replied and sam nodded and laid his head against my side.

After sam went to sleep I took him to his room and laid him in his bed. I went back out to the chairs and watched the early morning light begin to rise over the trees .

I didn’t know how many kids were killed or still out there. It hurt to think of all the babies that would have been left in cribs for the dead to kill and eat. I shuddered to think of this.

When I heard the rest getting up and around for the day, I took the chairs back after locking the doors.

A few of the adults and rain was ill in the morning with something not seen by our Doc. Red splotches and high fevers made our crew very ill.

“jade we are going to need IV fluids, meds for the infection and pain meds. Seth and I had already cleared out what was left of the hospitl in the next town, we need you to go to the CDC outpost that was at the Capital. Hopefully they still have what we need there. I’ll make you a list. “

I nodded and went to see seth.

The room was dim and I could just make out his body under the sheets on his bed.

“hey” he groaned when I sat down in the chair near him. I couldn’t touch him because it was so contagious.

“hey yourself. I’m heading out soom to get some meds. Want me to pick you up something?” I asked with a smile on my face, didn’t want him to see I was scared, I was heading for a city and we all had saw what the virus did there with the dead. It was always over run.

“who’s going with you?” Seth asked.

“no one seth, everyone, including the doc has this. Except for me, I guess I found something else I am immune to.” I smiled to ease the humor. Nothing about this was funny and I didn’t wat to upset Seth anymore then I had to.

 

I set out the next day , early in the morning, I carried my small pack and my sword and a knife and a small pistol. I had to find this cdc place and then get all the stuff we would need. Then find a vehical to get back to the station with that would have gas in it.

 

There was 6 deadheads at the fences and I had to take them out once I got out of the gates. I didn’t have time to move the bodys so I left them there and headed to the west with the map doc had drawn me this morning.

It should take 2 days walking to get there, 2 days back. One day if I found a car. It was a plan but hopefully I would have no trouble getting there.

 

I cut in to the woods and fields, it would save me some time if I stayed off the roads. It rained as I made my way ver rocky and uneven fields. It was slow going in the fading light and found a farm house in the middle of nowhere to spend the night. With deadheads around it was crazy to try to walk around in the dark.

It was a mess. Insdie was old blood and gore from a major fight. One deadhead was left alive but the flesh had almost rotted away from its thin body.

I locked my self in a upper room and went to sleep.

 

I came out on to a road the next day after leaving the farm house and making my way more to the north. The road was on the map and I needd to get back to the road so I wouldn’t miss the CDC outpost.

As I neared the outpost mid-afternoon, I stopped and stared. Newly turned deadheads and older ones were stumbling around inside a torn down fence. There were maybe 50 of them. I needed to do the trick with the deadhead gore and blood if I was to get past them in to the tents that were all around the capital building.

I ducked in to the trees and grabbed some rocks. A deadhead closer to the torn fence was a newbie, the soldier uniform had a few rips in it from being attacked and bitten. I didn’t want to fight a newbie. So I waited until an older one stumbled near the gate. I threw a rock and it hit it in it’s shoulder. I ducked down when It turned its rummy eyes my way.

I got ready when It started my way. I had to be quiet so I didn’t get the rest of them coming my way.

It came slowly, I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, the body was almost all gone except for bones and tissues holding it together. The smell was aweful.

I used my knife and came behind it and stabbed downward. It dropped like a ton of bricks and I dragged it away in to the tree line.

Smearing this crap all over me wasn’t easy but I knew it would work. As long as the rain didn’t start back up that is. I gripped my sword and made it out to the road when I got finished. No deadheads even turned my way. So far so good.

I found a shopping cart with duffle bags in them. I took 3 and headed in to the tents and found a lot fo whast I needed in the first three. There were no meds on the list there and I searched the rest with no luck. I went to the capital building and went inside. There were a few deadhads walking around but nothing like outside.

 

In an office in the back, the CDC had made a temporary medical place and inside I found all the meds on the list plus some others I didn’t understand. All three bags were loaded and across my back. It was heavy but I was strong.

I made my way out the door and rain came down suddenly in a torrent.

The blood washed off in a second and I suddenly knew I was in trouble, deadheads stopped still and slowly turned towards me, the moans started as they came at me from all sides.

I took up my sword. I started slashing left and right trying to make my way through the deadheads in my way.

I suddenly screamed as a mouth bit down on my back and I could feel the flesh tear away. More grabbed me and I was pulled to the ground, mouths were on me and the pain was incredible. I fought as much as I could. Blood flowed from my body in a thick river and I thought I was a goner. Shots rang out and deadheads laid still over me. More shots came from somewhere over my head to the right of body. A hand grabbed mine and pulled me to my feet,

“we’ve got to run!!!! Now!!!!!” Grayson’s voice yelled in my face. He looked like a wild man. I could barely stand but knew if they got me to the ground this time, I would be dead for sure.

As I turned to run the other way, LT Harris was standing there. Or at elast what was left of him. Blood covered his shirt and pants and his intestines were dragging the ground. I jerked away from Grayson and swung my sword and watched as Harris’s head rolled away. Good got the bastard.

I was dragged to a jeep I hadn’t seen before and shoved in the seat. It started as deadheads came closer but Grayson got us away from there in short order.

 

I copuld barely keep from passing out but managed to tell Grayson how to get to the station. I had my arms around the 3 bags and held them to my body, I wasn’t about to let them out of my sight.

 

I heard yelling as we pulled to the gates, it was grayson because of more deadheads surrounding the walls to the station but he was able to get us through and safetly inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(8)

 

I woke a few days later. The man leaning over me changing my bandages was not Grayson, it was a man who looked like him.

“hello so your awake, so you are immune. I was wondering becaue you never turned.”

I tried to sit up but dizziness made me lay back.

“yes I’m immune, who are you?” I asked him.

“Name is Rob. I went to the CDC to see if my brother tim was there. Your people here were really sick, all of them but I administered the meds and did iv’s and they are all getting better. Ready to eat something?” rob asked me as he checked the iv on a pole next to my bed.

I could see he didn’t look like Grayson as much as I first thought, but I wasn’t ready to trust him as much as he wanted me to.

“I think I can. But just give me a can of something and I’ll open it okay?” Rob gave me a small smile and left to get me something from th kitchen.

He was back quickly and gave me a container of crackers and a can of potted meat. Rob left to check on the others and I ate what I could handle and fell back to sleep.

 

A few days later we were all up. It was good to see everyone again. Sara was a lot better then anyone else because she had caught it last. The doc was on his feet and seth was doing okay. Maggie was still in bed but the kids acted like they had never gotten it. Jess had hollowed eyes and a sunken face from it but seemed to be in good spirits.

Rob figured the virus we