Dead Surge by Joseph Talluto Page A

what it’s going to do!” he yelled.
    That was enough for the rest of us. Usually when Duncan rigged something, it was a good idea to check to make sure you had nothing loose on you that might blow off, and preferably had a strong handhold on something solid. The next best thing was to get away as quickly as possible.
    We dove into the vehicles and sped away, trying to get as much distance as we could. After racing out of town, we stopped and looked back. Nothing had happened, so I was wondering if the trap had been a bust.
    “Where’s the boom? Usually when you touch something, it goes boom.” Tommy asked as Duncan scanned the sky for smoke.
    “I’m not sure. I rigged it like I normally do, but maybe it landed on something that put it out, or….”
    Whatever Duncan was going to say was drowned out in a loud whoompf, followed by a huge fatooom! The center of the town suddenly erupted in flame and a pillar of flame, debris, and body parts lanced skyward in an effort to defy gravity. We could actually see the shock wave, and staggered as it hit us.
    I couldn’t resist. I tried, but I failed.
    “Think you used enough dynamite there, Butch?” I said.

 
    Chapter 19
     
    Duncan was wide eyed at his handiwork, and Charlie was the second to speak.
    “The fertilizer probably did it. Pretty cool, though,” he said.
    “Well, that ought to attract any strays and let everyone know we’re here,” I said. Charlie looked over at me and Duncan looked hurt, but I clarified when I said, “If someone comes investigating, that will give us the edge because we can see them coming. If no one shows up, for sure it’s not a rogue group.”
    Several nods greeted me and Charlie walked over, shifting his head for a private talk. I obliged, figuring I owed him an apology for acting like an ass earlier.
    “What’s up?” I asked, starting the ball, looking at the smoke rising to the sky. Several other buildings had been set on fire, so this one was going to be big.
    “Not too much. Did you notice anything about our zombie friends?”
    I thought about it. “They seemed pretty fresh, now that you mention it.” I thought a little more.” Their clothes were in pretty good shape, too.”
    “Didn’t notice the clothes.” Charlie reflected. “Did you notice there weren’t any kids with them?”
    “Now that you mention it, no, I didn’t see any. That’s odd.” It was, too. This far after the Upheaval, kids were making a serious leap in the population. I attributed it to people taking the responsibility to get the world jump started, but Duncan would always say it was because there wasn’t anything on television to keep people’s hands off each other.
    “What do you think it means?” Charlie asked.
    “Don’t know yet, but I have a feeling it’s to the south of us.”
    “Yeah me too.”
    “Charlie?”
    “Don’t mention it. You got out. We’re good. If you’d bought it, I’d be feeling bad.”
    “Thanks man.”
    We went back to the group and boarded our truck and van. We had one more stop to make before we could try and figure out what was going on. The only thing we pulled away from this town was it had been recently alive and there were no children here. If it was a rogue group, then they were using zombies as weapons and stealing children for who knows what purpose.
    If that was true, then they’d better find a place to hide before Charlie was unleashed on them.
    Five miles south of what was left of Mineola, we stopped at the intersection of County Highway 45 and Gaston Avenue. There were five homes around this little intersection, and it would have been easy to believe the troubles of the world never touched this place. However, the homes were abandoned, locked up and left, without vehicles in the garages or barns. I didn’t disturb the homes, hoping that someday the owners might return to their little piece of heaven. The grass was long, as it was everywhere, and the fields were returning to the days before the