S4E09:
"Kaya-in-the-Skya requesting emergency assistance. Mayday. Mayday this is Kaya in the Skya –"
"Kaya sounds like she's in real trouble." Doc said sounding frustrated, "Wish we could do something."
"We gotta find a way to boost our radio signal so we can contact her." Warren said as they walked down an abandoned road that got strewn with more and more trash and debris the further they went down it. In addition to the usual apocalypse junk there were random pieces of metal that looked like they'd either been torn apart or blown apart, maybe by an explosion.
"Look, she can't help us, we can't help her, I say we call it even." Murphy said.
"A TV or radio station could give us the boost we need." Sarge suggested as she led their group with Warren.
"What we need is a vehicle." 10K spoke up as he broke off from the group to examine another piece of metal, this one read Action News 9, "Where did this come from? Chopper crash?" he asked pointing to it with his gun.
As they walked they found what looked like might be the tail of a helicopter, or at least a piece of one. When they passed their first car they found the windshield had been punctured by one of the chopper blades.
Murphy put his finger in his ear and started to act like a reporter, not taking anything seriously as usual, "A disabled vehicle on US-41 has traffic moving slower then a clogged artery in a diseased heart. And I-41 is blocked by a horde of zombies. Film, at eleven."
Doc scratched the back of his head at Murphy's imitation and 10K's eyebrows pulled together showing his annoyance. He tried to bite back a harsh comment and let out a long breath before turning away from Murphy and following Sarge and Warren.
"That ought-ta boost our signal." She said as they rounded the next corner and found where the News 9 chopper had come from. A TV station sat across the street with several large satellite dishes on its roof. They followed Warren to the front doors, they passed some concrete planters that had probably looked pretty back in the day but now had 'Green Bay Cheeseheads' graffitied across it in green and yellow - only someone had taken a can of red spray paint and changed the S's to Z's. 10K briefly wondered if it was the same person who had tagged the Liberty Bell, Mt Rushmore and countless other signs they'd been seeing all across the apocalypse.
When they got to the front doors of the building they could see in clearly since they were made of glass, it was impressive that no one had broken in yet since it had clearly something worth protecting inside.
"Barricaded from the inside." Doc said saying what they were all thinking. "Gotta love their optimism."
"Locked in for eight years? This is gonna be like opening up a tomb." Warren said not sounding thrilled at the idea of what inside might smell like.
"No signs of looting so the equipment is likely in good shape." Sarge said looking on the bright side.
"This town musta turned fast." 10K added looking for a way in, the doors seemed fragile enough, "We can break down these doors."
Warren clearly cringed but shot down his idea as politely as she could, "Let's find a way in that doesn't invite anyone to follow."
Then she turned and headed back to the street to scope out their options. They followed her example and split up – not going too far – checking everything they could in the debris to see if there was anything useful they might have initially overlooked.
A bit further down the road was an SUV with the same Action News 9 logo on the side that they decided to take their chances on. If this town had turned fast like 10K thought and it was 'on the way to nowhere' like Murphy was mumbling about then maybe there would still be some supplies that no one had time to loot. Warren broke into the car and started fiddling with the engine trying to hotwire it. After she unlocked all the doors Doc was able to pop the back hatch and they found several duffle bags full of news reporter gear.
"Walkie talkies." Doc said as Sarge unzipped the bag next to him as 10K moved to one of the back doors, "Road flares."
"Batteries. First aid kit, we can use this." Sarge said as she rifled through.
"Gallon of gas!" 10K said excited when he saw the red container sitting on the floor in front of the seat. Then his voice dropped as he reminded himself not to celebrate too early as he mumbled, "Probably oxidized."
He unscrewed the cap to check and the smell that permeated the air was the best thing any of them had smelled in a long time.
"Sealed tight." He said happily glad they had fresh gas. Warren was still trying the engine but it wouldn't rev up.
"Are there any candy bars?" Murphy asked, "Or protein bars? Check the glove compartment. Or under the seat. They'll have snacks, I'd never risk a blood sugar crash on a live report."
"Quit it Murphy you're making me hungry." Doc said before going back to the bags.
Then Sarge pulled out a granola bar from one of the duffel's pockets and handed it to Murphy, "Chicken dinner for ya."
"Alright." Warren said not sounding too thrilled but not bummed either, "The news van isn't going to run again but one of these keys will get us into the TV station."
They grabbed what they needed from the van, Doc took one of the duffels and pulled the long strap over his shoulder while he cradled the red gas can in his arms. 10K had his rifle in one hand and the other was holding the road flares. Sarge had her gun ready while they circled the building until they found a back door. Warren took her ring of keys and tried them until she got a match and the door clicked open. She went inside first with Sarge on her tail, gun raised and finger on the trigger in case anything or anyone came out and attacked them.
Inside it was all dark, the only light was coming in through the windows. Doc pulled out some thin red glow sticks from his sack and snapped them making them light up before he passed them out, giving everyone a couple as they moved. Since they couldn't use the gas they'd found in a vehicle Sarge had suggested they look for a generator to use it in so the radio equipment would go back online and they could try and contact Kaya.
"Generator's probably in the basement." Sarge said next to Warren at the head of their pack.
"Somebody made a stand and never left." Warren said keeping them on their toes in case whoever had barricaded the door was still taking refuge here.
"I hope it's not a trap." 10K replied, "I'm tired of running into traps."
They cautiously made their way forward down a hall that was darker then the rest of the building they'd been in so far. Sarge tossed a couple of the glow sticks in her hand to dimly light the way and also to lure out anything that might be craving brains. When nothing came out they moved forward, then suddenly a Z came from the left and grabbed the one who was closest to their dead rotting hands – Sarge.
She struggled with the zombie pinning it to the wall, then it pinning her to the wall. 10K rushed forward and grabbed the collar of its shirt pulling it off Sarge and throwing it to the ground. He dropped his gun and grabbed his knife quickly leaning over the zombie and stabbing it between the eyes. It went down in one hit meaning anything in here was the good old fashioned zombies and not the Mad Z's. as he caught his breath and picked up his gun again Warren patted him on the shoulder and Sarge gave him a fist bump before they continued on.
They checked several doors before they found one that revealed a staircase that led to the basement. 10K took the lead as they moved single file down the steps with caution.
"Going into a dark basement on purpose?" Doc asked as they made their way down the stairs with 10K leading, "That would freak me out even if it wasn't the apocalypse."
"Over there." 10K said pointing with his glow sticks as he made it to the bottom of the stairs and saw the generator.
"Nice 10K." Warren said as Sarge checked it out.
"Gasoline powered." She said, "That gallon you found will last us an hour. Maybe two."
Together he and Sarge started uncapping and pouring in the fuel. When their can was empty he rescrewed the cap on and Sarge got to work powering it up.
There were some clicking sounds just before the lights turned back on and the whole building was lit up. Knowing they didn't have time to waste they made their way back upstairs to look for something that could transmit a strong radio signal.
"That generator can power all this?" Doc asked as they made it to the main newsroom where cameras were still rolling and every light and computer in sight was on. Bodies scattered along the floor here and there, their skin mummified and looking like a wasp's nest while puddles of blood had dried around their heads and other wounds the corpses had suffered just before death. The empty holes where the eyes used to be were haunting almost as much as their slack open jaws that were exposing the teeth that hadn't fallen out of their heads yet.
10K moved around the room finding blood stained papers and coffee mugs broken on desks. This place gave him the creeps and he was glad he wasn't the only one.
"This place looks like it hasn't been touched in eight years." Warren said as she looked around another part of the open room. Chairs were overturned as more bodies lay on the floor beside them, what they could tell by the remains of their tattered clothes was that it looked like these people had been at work at the news station when the outbreak started. They wouldn't have known about the zombies, not for long anyway. It would have hit them right out of the blue.
"A new report suggests zombies, can be bad for your health. Film, at eleven." Murphy went on going back to his ridiculous reporter fantasy.
"Keep alert." Warren snapped at him, "The Z's that did this are probably in here somewhere."
"The clock hates us." Sarge added, "That generator will only give us about an hour of power."
"Yeah, so look for anything that will help us contact Kaya. Look for a sat-phone, a CV radio. . . "
"I'll check these offices." 10K volunteered as they all split up.
The hallways and rooms were easier to check now that they were lit up with the bright overhead lights. He moved through one room, then a second when he reached his third he paused and took his bag off his shoulder. He wasn't sure what made him do it, and a larger part of him screamed at him not to, but he still opened his pack and dug to the bottom and pulled out the old notebook he'd been keeping for the past two years.
He opened it up and flipped through it. The page he was looking for he knew by heart and smiled sadly at the handwriting on it.
Zombiepedia, it said across the top margin. It was an idea Bailey had told him she'd gotten from CZ while 10K had been inside the nuclear reactor with the others. Since then she'd started writing down rules she picked up on their journey and rereading them not only helped him remember those moments but helped him survive after he'd lost her.
Rules:
1. Keep moving and live to see another day (Warren)
2. Don't get out of the boat (Doc)
3. Don't fall in love **fall in love, fall hard, it makes every moment you live so much better, no matter how it ends
4. If you don't have a reason to live you might as well die, **find a reason (Warren)
5. Z's don't like the cold (10K) **careful of Zunami's in the south**
6. Don't hug the zombies (Doc)
7. Live a life that many others didn't get to (RIP Homer Stubbins)
8. Approach people with caution, but don't judge a whole group of people based on one bad interaction in the past – not everyone is the same (learned from observing Man Hater Helen)
9. Not everyone is what they seem (Sisters of Mercy camp had a damn zombie-bear)
10. When taken hostage/kidnapped, keep your cool, composure will save your life
11. The apocalypse means never having to say you're sorry (Murphy)
12. valley = ambush (Murphy)
13. Think less like a missionary and more like a mercenary (Vasquez)
14. Beware the Blasters
15. Bullets don't kill plants **keep in mind when fighting Phytozombies**
16. Safety in numbers
17. Anything can be a weapon
18. If you can't be self-critical there's no room for self-improvement (Skeezy)
19. There is a place called Zona, trust no one from it or working for those who live there.
20. Zombies fear fire, it can be used as a weapon (Grand Canyon)
21. Only act on what is, not the what if's (Warren)
22. Find that one thing inside you that makes you strong, that makes you want to live (Warren)
23. There will always be fear, no one can promise 'no fear' (a person without fear ceases to be a human being)
24. Fight for the people/ person you care about
25. When in a sticky spot, improvise, lie, make it up as you go (Doc and Nurse Ratchet)
He couldn't keep the small smile off his face as he thought about Bailey writing all these. Sometimes when he'd read her 'Zombiepedia' page it would give him the kick in the rear he needed to keep going, the kick he knew she'd give him if she were here.
Then he heard a commotion and rushed back out to the main newsroom. Grabbing a trophy off the shelf as he passed he ran into the room and found Doc struggling with a zombie. Murphy wasn't too far from him but instead of running over to help he stood there then closed his eyes like he was focusing. It was like. . . like when he was blue, like when 10K was a blend and he'd be forced to stand by and watch Murphy focus like that to control people. The Z paused and looked from Doc to Murphy giving the hippie a chance to put it down.
"That was weird!" Doc exclaimed after he'd mercied the zombie with his hammer.
"What was weird?" Murphy asked like nothing had happened. 10K shook his head and moved over to the pair who hadn't noticed he'd been there prior.
"You okay?" he asked Doc, "It's all clear back there."
"What you got there, 10K?" he asked still catching his breath from the struggle.
"It says it's an Emmy." He said looking at the gold statue in his hand.
Then Murphy resumed his dumb anchor act, "I'd like to thank my good friend Doc, who believed in me when no one else would –"
"Keep it short Murphy, it's a local Emmy." Doc interrupted.
"You guys are wasting electricity." 10K scolded gesturing to the cameras and lights with the trophy in his hand.
"It's not me. It came on when everything else did." Murphy defended himself. Before 10K could reply that he could have shut stuff off instead of playing with it Doc exclaimed.
"It was on!" he said looking like a lightbulb had just gone off above his head, "This place went down during a newscast. Man that'd be one hell of a blooper reel."
"Murphy look out!" 10K shouted as a Z came out from behind a greenscreen and stumbled toward Murphy. 10K hadn't shouted to protect him, mostly he wanted to see if Murphy tried to control the Z like last time. When he didn't look like he was going to 10K tossed him the Emmy which Murphy then used to impale the zombie's skull.
"Well I guess now we know what a local Emmy is good for." Murphy whined.
"That Z went right for Murphy." 10K pointed out hoping Doc might catch on. Unfortunately Doc took the chance to make a joke instead.
"Nice blazer. I think you were sitting in his anchor chair Murphy."
Murphy fixed his jacket as he moved away from the desk, "Let's go find Warren. I do not want to meet the rest of the award winning Action News team."
They met up with Warren and Sarge who had found some equipment but Sarge still needed to get to the roof hoping to tinker with the satellite directly to boost the signal and reach Kaya up north.
"We have to get up to that dish before the generator dies." Sarge said sounding on edge. Almost like fate heard her a horde of half a dozen Z's stumbled from around the corner at the end of the hallway. 10K lifted his gun ready to fire as everyone else got their weapons ready for a fight.
"Murphy are you with us?" he heard Doc ask behind him and had a feeling Murphy was trying to control the zombies again. But if he was getting that ability back it wasn't strong enough to tackle a whole pack at once.
"Overrun 'em to the stairs." Warren whispered, "Haul ass."
On her mark they all rushed forward, the stairs just in view behind the horde. Their momentum made it easier to shove the zombies back and given they had been locked in here starving for eight years made them weaker but their hunger still seemed enough to drive them forward.
The group pushed their way through to the atrium and rushed up the staircase. After two flights there was another door to the side with a sign that said it led to the roof. Hurrying as the Z's followed them they made it to the top as fast as they could and found the door they were looking for. It didn't open easily and once they smashed through it they took whatever they could touch and barricaded it.
"Keep them off the roof!" Warren shouted.
"You got it Chief." Doc replied holding the door while 10K helped secure it shut. There were a few silver luggage cases, maybe what had been barricading the door before, scattered here and there in piles that they grabbed and stacked like blocks to keep the zombies from getting them while Sarge and Warren took the equipment they'd found and started working on the satellite.
"Warren!" Murphy shouted drawing their attention to a Z in a blue dress stumbling along the roof now headed for them. Warren stood up and drew her gun mercying the Z in one shot.
"Where did she come from?" Sarge asked as they checked to make sure there weren't any more Z's on the roof.
"The door was barricaded from this side." Murphy observed, "She's the only Z up here."
"She died all alone on this roof." Warren said sadly before crouching down and closing the Z's milky eyes. "I give you mercy."
Meanwhile 10K checked around the edge of the roof, still hoping to spot a vehicle they might be able to use when they were done here. It was times like this he missed that red El Camino.
He kicked his legs up on the armrest between the two front seats of the El Camino as he leaned back in his seat in the back with Bailey curled into him. They'd taken a blanket from her bag and threw it over them as they enjoyed their afterglow. Her legs were resting over his and half of her body was covering half of his as they caught their breath and got their strength back before they'd get dressed before turning in for the night. He wished they could have just curled up under the blanket, sharing their body heat as he felt her skin against his, and gone to sleep. But in the apocalypse you always had to be ready to get up and run for your life. But even with that always on his mind he still couldn't keep the grin off his face as he wrapped his arm around Bailey and held her to him as her fingers trailed up and down his bare chest making him repress a shiver and take a deep breath.
He chuckled, "I never thought I'd have sex in an El Camino."
"Hmmm." Bailey hummed sounding quite content as she wrapped her arms around his lean torso and kissed his collarbone before snuggling deeper into his embrace.
"I love you." He whispered into her hair, "Have I mentioned that?"
"Only a few dozen times." She giggled, "But I never get tired of it so keep saying it as much as you want."
"Hmmm." He hummed keeping his face buried in her hair. It still smelt like that floral shampoo that she'd used back at the Zero's place. He still couldn't believe they'd made it out of that alive, being outnumbered a hundred to one. It made him even happier that they were nearly at the end of this mission. His mind kept drifting to what they could do once they dumped Murphy. They'd be free to go north if that's what she still wanted. He knew it was dangerous to fantasize about the future and everything that might be, but he couldn't help himself. He kept picturing the life he'd had growing up, out in the woods, fishing, camping, only killing zombies every now and then and having Bailey to cuddle up with at night. He wanted that life, he wanted to start living it, he didn't want to wait any longer.
Then Bailey shifted again and he pulled away to look at her. She had a mischievous look in her eye as she sat up and threw one leg over his lap, making the blanket fall as she rested one hand on his chest and another along his jaw as she leaned in and kissed him deeply. He gave a low moan in the back of his throat as she shifted her hips again and he ran his tongue along her lower lip. They kept kissing, only pulling apart for short moments to catch their breath.
"Again?" he asked through the panting, "Already?"
She nodded and brought their lips together again before pulling back for air, "I can't help it." She said before another heated kiss, running her hand down his chest as the other wove into his hair, "I'm addicted to you baby."
He chuckled and brought his hands up her bare back and held her close as they continued to kiss and he was tempted to turn and lay her on her back on the seats though he wasn't opposed to the position she was in already. Not long now, he thought, they were so close to California and once they gave Murphy to the CDC he'd never have to see him again. He'd have Bailey and they'd go north, settle down and have all the time in the world together.
He shook his head as he looked over the side of the building down at the pieces of the crashed helicopter below. He took a deep breath and tried to make himself focus on the present again, the dull, zombie ridden, full of death world they were in.
"So that's where the rotor blades came from." Doc said joining him by the black fence that outlined the roof. He looked down at the destroyed helicopter, the blades had seemed to fly over the building to where they'd found them on the other street earlier. "She was waiting for chopper nine to rescue her."
"That is harsh." 10K replied but he didn't sound as sad as Doc did. That Zombie wasn't the only one who'd been through shit in her life, he thought miserably. Maybe - like Bailey - he'd been addicted too. After growing up the outcast, feeling like he'd never be in a relationship, maybe he invested himself too much and now he was like Doc without Z-weed, going through withdrawal. He hadn't seen his friend run out once but he figured it wasn't a pretty sight. He gave a small, very small, chuckle to himself and looked over his shoulder at Sarge by the radio hoping she'd make contact. She must have felt his eyes on her because she turned to him and smiled before giving him a thumbs up as Warren started broadcasting.
"Northern Light? Kaya, Operation Bitemark calling. Come back?" Warren tried as Sarge got up and made her way over to him as Doc went over to Murphy.
"Hey, you okay?" She asked him as he looked back over the railing at the busted chopper and she rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess." He shrugged.
"Is it about Bailey?" she asked and he looked at her confused. He knew he'd never mentioned Bailey to her, maybe someone else had? Great, now they were talking about him behind his back. Sarge must have seen his confusion because as she took her hand off his shoulder she leaned on the fence and continued, "I hear you mutter that name in your sleep sometimes. I asked Doc about it and he told me a little about you and Bailey."
He turned away from her and looked back at his hands on the rail. He thought all that was behind him. But maybe losing Red had made more of that same guilt come back and it triggered a relapse. When he didn't say anything Sarge went on.
"Maybe it's better talking to someone who wasn't there, who didn't know her. Less judgement, or more depending on what you're after." He turned to her with a blank face.
"I remember in my early marine days. . . when someone would fail an assignment - like a rescue. Everyone you know who was there, who had seen you two together they're always going to say 'you did your best' 'you did all you could' because they want you to feel better. But someone who wasn't there, who didn't experience it, is a new perspective that might help you get. . . closure."
He thought about that for a moment. Sarge would be a blank slate, she'd have an unbiased opinion. He knew if anyone would tell it to him straight it would be her. Then he exhaled a deep breath.
"I feel like I'm going in circles. First I lost Bailey. Then I lost 5K. Now Red. I feel like. . . maybe I'm supposed to be learning something that I'm not getting. So I keep making the same mistakes. I keep losing people because I'm not learning from my past failures."
She pursed her lip and nodded to herself before she responded, "What do you think it is you're supposed to be learning from your loss?"
He shrugged looking back over the roofs of the nearby buildings, "Maybe I'm not meant to care for anyone, maybe I'm supposed to be learning that it only brings pain."
"I don't think that's the lesson." She said and he turned back to her, "It sounds like that was what Bailey believed before she met you. If that's what you were supposed to be learning from all this then, wouldn't she have taught that lesson to you when she was here instead of her walls breaking and changing her for the better?"
He shook his head this time, "I'm not sure, when I start thinking that deep my head just hurts."
Sarge gave a short humorless chuckle, "So don't think. Maybe that's what you need a break from, no thinking, just feeling. Going with your gut, throwing caution to the wind, no strings to tie you down."
He thought that over for a second, "That actually sounds. . . pretty nice for a change." He said a small smile turning one corner of his mouth upward.
Then Warren's voice interrupted as it carried across the roof to where they stood. "Operation Bitemark for Camp Northern Light, do you copy?"
"Hey Warren it's me Citizen Z. I'm here with Kaya-in-the-Skya. Over."
"Citizen Z, we heard Kaya's mayday, is she okay?"
"She is now that Simon's home." Kaya's voice responded.
"Let me tell you, that makes our day." Warren said smiling.
"Listen I've been off the air a long time, what's the status of Operation Bitemark? Where's Murphy? How's Addy and the rest of the group?" CZ asked.
Warren paused remembering everyone they'd lost since their last contact with him, "Lost contact with Addy. Lucy's dead. Doc and 10K are with me. And, uh, Murphy and I escaped Zona together."
"Zona? You were on Zona?" he asked sounding alarmed and confused.
"That's a roger."
"Zona soldiers just attacked us. They stole files."
"Zona?" Murphy asked now crouching beside Warren, "Are you sure?"
"Stole files?" Warren asked, "What did they take exactly?"
"Not sure, they covered their tracks."
"They were after old floppy disks." Kaya interjected, "We're not sure what was on the disc, it was damaged. All we know is the name of the label on the files: Black Rainbow."
"Black rainbow?" Murphy asked.
"Black Rainbow's real." Warren mumbled sounding amazed.