{"id":363,"date":"2009-05-10T06:24:09","date_gmt":"2009-05-10T11:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatsociety.org\/?p=363"},"modified":"2018-10-31T08:38:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-31T12:38:50","slug":"sunday-archive-the-walkers-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/?p=363","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Archive: The Walkers, Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was a \u201cmargin scribbling\u201d while I was engrossed in my post-apocalypse novel during 2003.\u00a0 The same novel I constantly threaten to serialize on Fridays but have, as yet, failed to do.\u00a0 While working out problems with characters and situations, I\u2019d pound out these little side story exercises, which is what inspired the below. Also — today’s my birthday.\u00a0 So go visit my Amazon Wishlist<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Death.\u00a0 That should have been a familiar scent by now.\u00a0 Tanner\u2019s lab reeked of it, and the cause was in the far corner.\u00a0 It was the first thing Anderson noticed.\u00a0 One of those goddamned monsters, nude body bruised, filthy and torn.\u00a0 It was chained to the wall, hissing and snarling through blackened, broken teeth with the eerie, clouded eyes that marked its kind following every movement in the room.\u00a0 The thing was a machine, a natural predator.\u00a0 It could take any of them \u2013 weasel-like Tanner, the blonde shrink who cowered in the farthest corner, the two brutes guarding the door, and the six Councilors grouped around Anderson.\u00a0 They were all dead in a heartbeat, before the brutes could even draw their guns, if that thing broke the chains.<\/p>\n

Anderson didn\u2019t even think of those things as human anymore but here, today, he had to train himself to do so.\u00a0 Dr. Tanner had made a promise.\u00a0 Still, though, how stupid was it to bring all seven elected Councilors into this room?\u00a0 The Colorado Republic would be in a shambles if they were forced to elections, especially now.<\/p>\n

\u201cTanner,\u201d Anderson hissed, \u201cCan we get on with this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner mumbled something, pushed his glasses up on his nose, then stepped within arm\u2019s reach of the monster.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus Christ, Doc!\u201d Young Bainbridge shouted.\u00a0 The people had elected a 25 year old whelp as their minister of health.\u00a0 Anderson didn\u2019t blame them.\u00a0 It was his generation that had brought this horror upon the world, maybe the kids were smart enough to learn different lessons.\u00a0 Probably not.\u00a0 It\u2019s never a question of age or intellect.\u00a0 It\u2019s a question of land and power.\u00a0 Always has been, always will.<\/p>\n

Even the monster looked confused.\u00a0 It could have taken Tanner\u2019s head off but, instead, it stood there, stretched out at the full length of the wall chains, and cocked its head curiously at Tanner.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be okay,\u201d Tanner soothed.\u00a0 He kept talking while, at his hip, he slowly raised a trank gun.\u00a0 There was a click-rush of air and a feathered dart blossomed out of the creature\u2019s stomach.\u00a0 It howled, though that\u2019s too human a word to use.\u00a0 The sound was an alien, belly-deep roar that made the younger Councilors step back and the two brutes step forward, guns drawn.<\/p>\n

Then it happened.\u00a0\u00a0 Murphy\u2019s Law.\u00a0 Or was it Peter\u2019s Principle?\u00a0 Anderson had forgotten which was which.\u00a0 Stranger still to be occupied by that pure, undisturbed thought as the creature pulled the chains out of the wall and rushed him.\u00a0 Maybe that\u2019s how life ends.\u00a0 Inane thoughts dancing through a frozen mind as blackened teeth and clawed hands bear down on you.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t shoot it!\u201d Tanner shouted.<\/p>\n

Anderson spun away at the last moment and, rolling across a cart of medical supplies, he watched as that big Indian, Isaac, delivered a vicious blow to the creature\u2019s head.\u00a0 The thing spun in the air and hit the ground with a wet thump.\u00a0 Isaac was six-six, arms like pistons, a Cherokee and the Republic\u2019s minister of defense.<\/p>\n

Tanner rushed to the creature\u2019s side and placed a hand on its throat.\u00a0 Anderson\u2019s eyes widened in surprise, then he composed himself and stepped forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a disgusting error in your judgment, Tanner.\u00a0 I \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s still alive, good.\u201d Tanner muttered.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me get him to the table! Quickly!\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson was shaking, his brain still locked solid.\u00a0 He stood there, fists clenched, and watched as Isaac picked up the creature and dropped him onto the cold, metal autopsy table.<\/p>\n

\u201cChains!\u201d Bainbridge shouted to the two guards and they rushed forward, snapping the table\u2019s chains on the creature\u2019s wrists and ankles.\u00a0 The chains it had pulled from the wall still dangled, just above the new restraints.<\/p>\n

\u201cTanner, I don\u2019t \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, Councilor Anderson.\u201d Tanner replied, \u201cJust a moment, I beg you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve taken a moment, Tanner.\u201d Anderson replied.\u00a0 \u201cThis thing shouldn\u2019t even be within our borders.\u00a0 What are you \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

The creature howled again.\u00a0 It woke up, rattling against the chains, and began to buck violently on the table.\u00a0 The thing didn\u2019t stop for air, it didn\u2019t need to.\u00a0 A constant, ear-shattering scream stretching on for two minutes without a cough, without a rattle.\u00a0 As if the thing didn\u2019t have lungs or throat or anything.\u00a0 It was maddening.\u00a0 It was a primal sound that flew through Anderson\u2019s skull, building until he felt his breath coming up in a scream of his own, shutting down the lights, beating his heart, pulse racing, the bright lights on the periphery.<\/p>\n

Then the howl changed.\u00a0 The creature coughed, the room abruptly silent.\u00a0 A silence that seemed almost as invasive as the inhuman scream.\u00a0 The creature coughed again, moaned, then began screaming \u2013 this time in the horse, shaking breath of a man.\u00a0 Clear eyes darted around the room and, just like that, a dirty, frightened, sick man lay on the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cMother of God,\u201d Melissa Jacobs muttered.\u00a0 She\u2019d been elected as Councilor of employment and welfare.<\/p>\n

Anderson turned to look at her wide-eyed, cherubic face, then looked again at the creature on the table.<\/p>\n

It was trying to talk.\u00a0 Its mouth moved, a low whisper escaping cracked, pale grey lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cTanner, what is this?\u201d Anderson asked cautiously.<\/p>\n

Tanner only looked at him, eyes wide with a fanatical joy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2026 What?\u201d the creature said.<\/p>\n

Maybe if you pump these things full of Quaaludes, they could act like people again.\u00a0 He stepped closer to the creature.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d the thing asked.<\/p>\n

Anderson looked into the clear eyes of the man on the table, then his guard fell.\u00a0 Tanner\u2019s hands clutched his arm and, after a few seconds, he realized that the little doctor was holding him up.\u00a0 It took a bit longer to get himself under control to the point where he could brusquely push Tanner aside, then he lunged towards the man on the table.<\/p>\n

The man jerked back, cracking his head against the metal.\u00a0 He said \u201cUh.\u201d\u00a0 Uh!\u00a0 It was incredible.\u00a0 Uh!\u00a0 Such a silly little thing.\u00a0 A human reaction, a human sound, human pain!<\/p>\n

\u201cMy God,\u201d Anderson breathed, \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEric.\u00a0 Eric Baker.\u201d\u00a0 The man replied, worriedly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Baker,\u201d Anderson said, smiling.\u00a0 \u201cI see.\u00a0 Mr. Baker, what is the last thing you remember?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were running.\u00a0 The Walkers had broken through our defenses.\u00a0 We were taking the children out through the back\u2026My God!\u00a0 My wife!\u00a0 Is she here?\u201d Baker looked around, \u201cIs this a hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me, Mr. Baker, what year is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCouncilor,\u201d the shrink said, stepping forward, \u201cI don\u2019t think \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cHumor me, Mr. Baker.\u00a0 The year.\u00a0 Please?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c2011.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson took a step back, shaking his head.\u00a0 Then he grabbed Tanner\u2019s arm and dragged the little scientist over to the middle of the room where the Councilors and the blonde shrink were gathered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell is this drug?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner, smiling queerly, told him.\u00a0 A homeopathic recipe.\u00a0 The goddamn cure was growing on the hillside.\u00a0 That did nothing but bring rage into Anderson\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cSide effects?\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanner shrugged, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I want to watch Mr. Baker and make sure.\u00a0 But I think it\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you reproduce this?\u00a0 In mass quantity?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on the resources available, and it\u2019ll take time.\u00a0 We should cultivate the required ingredients and \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much of this do you have now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough to dose quite a few Walkers.\u00a0 Most of the Northern camp, I imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bloodthirsty Northern camp.\u00a0 They would come swooping down any day.\u00a0 Only about 1000 of them, but they could clean the Colorado Republic up in a week.\u00a0 It was just a matter of time before Humanity lost its foothold.\u00a0 Just a matter of time\u2026<\/p>\n

Anderson pointed at the Councilor in charge of food and water, \u201cZando, get a list of whatever Dr. Tanner needs.\u00a0 Turn over the greenhouses in the fourth quadrant to cultivate the plants for the cure.\u00a0 Drop everybody to three-fourth rations.\u00a0 Isaac, get a team together.\u00a0 Let\u2019s work out a plan to hit the Northern camp and dose the Walkers up there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell is happening?\u201d Baker cried out from the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone, listen up.\u201d Anderson barked, \u201cEverybody in the Republic has loved ones out there, or believe that they do.\u00a0 If it looks like this stuff is the real deal, then we\u2019ll mass produce it.\u00a0 Until then, nothing that\u2019s happened here today is to leave this room.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have a riot on our hands if this leaks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson stepped up to the table, \u201cMr. Baker, the year is 2015.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t make it.\u00a0 The Walkers got you.\u00a0 You were infected.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been treated with a new drug, and I must ask you to cooperate with Dr. Tanner here.\u00a0 He has to monitor you for side effects but, if nothing shows up, then we have a cure on our hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c2015?\u00a0 That\u2019s impossible\u2026I\u2019m\u2026 My wife?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Baker, where are you from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTallahassee.\u00a0 Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Denver, Mr. Baker.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been running with the Northern camp.\u00a0 The world as you know it has changed dramatically.\u00a0 The last survivors of the United States have built three communities.\u00a0 One on the East Coast, the Pacific Union in California, and our own here in Denver.\u00a0 We\u2019ve not heard from the East Coast for three years, and no messenger has returned.\u00a0 We can only assume that they, too, have fallen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPacific Union?\u00a0 Like the railroad?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson smiled, \u201cYes, Mr. Baker.\u00a0 But there\u2019s no railroad now.\u00a0 The Walkers are a serious force, and they rule every patch of what\u2019s become a wilderness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFour years.\u201d\u00a0 Baker shook his head.\u00a0 He looked up at Anderson.\u00a0 \u201cSo we lost?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson nodded, speaking softly, \u201cYes.\u00a0 Yes, we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I get these chains off?\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson nodded at the guards, who began to unlock the chains.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do whatever you gotta do, Doc.\u201d Baker said to Tanner, \u201cWe gotta make this work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Mr. Baker.\u201d Anderson felt himself breathing again.\u00a0 When had he stopped?\u00a0 A few minutes ago?\u00a0 Four years ago?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This was a \u201cmargin scribbling\u201d while I was engrossed in my post-apocalypse novel during 2003.\u00a0 The same novel I constantly threaten to serialize on Fridays but have, as yet, failed to do.\u00a0 While working out problems with characters and situations, …<\/p>\n

Sunday Archive: The Walkers, Part One<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[137,76],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sunday-archive","tag-archives","tag-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=363"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":907,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions\/907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatsociety.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}