The North: A Zombie Novel Read Free

the city, but the army as we knew it was dead.
    It occurred to me that other survivors somewhere might have access to the short wave band – the frequency ham radio operators used.
    “Mel … flip that radio over to short wave. I want to try something.”
    She nodded and pressed the toggle with an index finger as I started switching through the channels. A spray of radio static spat out of the speaker with each turn of the knob so I continued to switch channels in hope of hearing something … anything.
    “You think there might be military assets broadcasting?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “Probably civvies. I mean, if we’re alive there have to be other people out there somewhere. If they have a radio, they’d be using shortwave to contact others – the signal carries all over the globe.”
    We spent the next half hour flipping through the channels one at a time, listening for a few minutes and then switching to the next one.  I was about to switch back to the military frequency when I finally heard something. It was barely audible amid the background hissing so I fiddled with the squelch knob.
         NODUFF. THIS IS SANCTUARY BASE CALLING. SANCTUARY BASE AT 53.200 NOVEMBER 105.7500 WHISKEY. ALL CLEAR NOW – I SAY AGAIN – ALL CLEAR. SANCTUARY BASE. NODUFF. ALL CLEAR. NODUFF. NEXT CONTACT AT 0630 ZULU.
        
Mel threw me a look of shock or surprise, I couldn’t tell which. “Noduff? They’re military, Dave. They’re using army voice procedure.”
    I pursed my lips tightly as I scribbled down the message on my field message pad. It was broadcast three more times and then ended abruptly. “Yeah … maybe.”
    “Someone else is out there, finally!” Mel said through a wide grin. “We’ve got to tell everyone what we heard. We’ve got to contact these people.”
    I wanted to agree with her, but we didn’t have a clue who sent the message and what it meant. “Mel … don’t, okay? Not yet. We need more information before we get everyone’s hopes up – I need to talk with Cruze. She’s the only qualified signals person we’ve got. If there’s anyone who can verify the message, it’s her.”
    “Everyone should know, Dave,” she said sharply. “They have a right.”
    I couldn’t pull rank on Melanie Dixon because she’d probably kick my ass, but I had to reel her in. “Look … let me talk with Cruze, okay? Just trust me on this, Mel, can you give me at least twelve hours?”
    “They’re broadcasting again at 0630, Dave. We might miss something. That’s seven and a half hours from now.”
    I exhaled heavily and said, “Then give me seven and a half hours. We’ll let everyone know what to do at first light. It’s what Sgt. Green would have done. He’d take the cautious approach.”
    She turned and then leaned over the parapet and pointed to the fire. “Yeah, well he’s dead … and we’re going to be dead if we don’t come up with a plan.”
    “Just keep quiet about it, Mel,” I warned.
    She didn’t reply and instead she just gazed out into the darkness.

2
    A message on short wave radio from a place called Sanctuary Base and some possible map coordinates along with the words “all clear”. For all I knew those coordinates could be on the other side of the world. I stared at the hastily scribbled message on my field message pad and rubbed the back of my neck as I wandered down a hallway lit only by tea light candles. We’d made lanterns out of tin cans and the tiny candles threw heavy shadows on the walls, each one shifting and stirring amid the soft ambient glow.
    I needed to talk with Pam Cruze because if we couldn’t come up with a way to present news of the broadcast to the team, the shit could hit the fan. We’d managed to cobble together some measure of military discipline but that was all under Sgt. Green’s leadership. The only thing scarier than the prospect of being ripped apart by creeps was to wind up on the receiving end of one of his patented blasts of shit.