The Zombie Wars: The Enemy Within (White Flag Of The Dead Book 8) by Joseph Talluto Page B

Creek and didn’t bother him as we made it through Tunas and Buffalo. Both towns were very much alive, and we had good conversations with both of them.  This just confirmed what I had always suspected; small town America was much better suited to survive a zombie apocalypse than any major city.
    Tommy eased up when we reached 65, and it was pretty smooth going to Fair Grove.  Charlie woke up just as we reached the outskirts of the town.
    “This isn’t Macks Creek,” he said, rubbing his eyes and looking around.
    “Nope, we made it all the way to Fair Grove,” Duncan said, looking at his map. “We figured you could use the sleep.”
    “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I would have liked to have been awakened when we reached Macks Creek,” Charlie said.
    “Not to be a pain, but why?” Duncan asked.  “The towns all look alike around here.”
    “My first wife and daughter are buried there. I would have liked to have paid my respects,” Charlie said quietly.
    “Aw, hell, Charlie, I’m sorry,” Duncan said.  “We can stop by on the way back if that would work.” Duncan sounded genuinely sorry.
    Tommy nodded. “Not a problem at all, bro. I’m used to the roads; we’ll get back there in no time.  You can have a nice long visit.”
    Charlie looked sad, but grateful. “Thanks, guys, it would mean a lot to me.”
    We got out of the van and stretched our legs. We were hoping Fair Grove would be like the last two towns, and if we were stupidly lucky, Springfield would have a decent sized population that we might be able to get some recruits from. I didn’t have high hopes for the last, but these days you never knew. 
    As I got out of the van, a cold wind blew right in my face.  It reminded me we weren’t all that far south, but if we could get cold without snow for a while, then we could make some serious progress. We might even be able to tackle Kansas City head on and just go on a slow zombie killing spree.
    Fair Grove was an interesting, sprawling community.  It spread out in every direction, but it wasn’t heavily populated. Off in the distance I could see a house here, a farm there, a business over there.  Tommy had parked us at a bank, and there was a small strip mall next to us, but two hundred yards away was a Dollar General sitting by itself.
    After looking around, I said we needed to find someone to talk to, and we’d wear our legs off trying to find someone within a mile of where we were.  I didn’t think anyone was dead here, but they were just far apart.
    As we walked back to the van, I hung back with Charlie until Tommy and Duncan got back in the vehicle.  When they were out of earshot, I whispered at Charlie.
    “When are you going to tell them that your first wife and child actually died in Springfield, Illinois?”
    Charlie shrugged. “Not sure.  But I think after all the crap I take from those two I deserve to milk this for all its worth, don’t you?”
    I shook my head.  “You’re on your own with this one.”
    We got back in the van and drove towards what looked like a promising collection of buildings.  There was a truck mechanic shop, a clinic, a bait shop, and some low building that we couldn’t identify.  A quick search showed no one was at any of the buildings. 
    “Okay, which way?” Tommy asked. 
    “Try south.  We wanted to go that way anyway,” I suggested. 
    “All righty,” Tommy said.  Duncan buried himself in a couple of maps.
    Tommy took the van in that direction, and we quickly reached the southern end of town.  There we were greeted by a curious sight. 
    Hundreds of people were working feverishly erecting barricades and digging trenches. Three watchtowers were fully manned, and I could see several sniper stations out in the grassy areas to the south.  All of them had clear fields of fire out to five hundred yards.
    I gave Charlie an approving nod.  “These people have faced the fire before. But why are they preparing for it