Day 12: During the night we gathered around a town map of Cascade Hills. We marked locations where we knew plague hearts existed in red and where known infestations were in yellow. Ally locations were marked in blue and known hostiles got a black dot. This put into perspective what we were dealing with.
At least thirteen plague hearts, ten infestations and two sets of assholes shooting at our vehicles every time we drive by.
I pulled Moonbeam aside and asked her about plague hearts. Since she’s taken out two she knows more than any of us about them. “I just blow them up” she jokingly advised. She said you’ll know when you’re close to one because there will be red ash floating in the air. When the ashes land on your clothes or skin they leave little blood marks. She advised not to get too close, find a safe location far enough away from the heart to avoid the gas it emits when damaged, and toss pipe bombs at it – one at a time. Said it takes about six or seven explosives depending on their detonation range. After the first explosion or two, get ready for the zombies to respond. “Safe spot” she emphasized.
With this information I grabbed a box of pipe bombs and set off. We’ve been here a dozen days and today it’s my turn to destroy a plague heart. I decided to take the Rhames V and head to the nearest red mark on my map – a heart near the center of Lowl. As I neared the location I could detect little wisps of flakes floating in the air. For a moment I thought they were butterflies until I noticed blood patterns developing as the ashes struck the windshield.
The plague heart was located in a dingy green house. I pulled to the side of the road about 50 meters away and parked the truck. Had to hop over a fence and crept my way toward the house. No zombies around. This is strange. I quietly peeked through a window and other than the wafers of ash in the air the place appeared empty.
As I opened the door I could hear a pulsing, gurgling sound. Intense heat was coming from the direction of the hallway. I checked each room of the house verifying no undead inside. I checked the kitchen, living room, front den and made my way down the hall to the two other rooms. A rush of heat struck me as I passed the bathroom. The back bedroom was clear so I turned and pulled a pipe bomb from my pouch.
The heart was in the corner of the room. I inched over to get a better look. It was like sitting next to an open oven door as heat emanated from the thing in waves. I had to cover my mouth to prevent inhaling the bloody slivers in the air. There was a glow inside of it. Around the edges were bones, blood, organs. It pulsed and moved as if it were breathing. It was evil.
The only way I can describe the smell is the metallic, gritty sense of having a nose bleed. Including the feeling of drainage in your throat. There was a thin layer of webbing covering the heart. Over the webbing was a transparent gelatinous membrane that had enough substance it took a great deal of pressure to poke my Bowie knife through it.
I took stock of my environment and realized a pipe bomb explosion in here will take me out with it. There was a small window on the North side I might be able to lob the explosive through. I’d have to be mindful of the shower railing near the window. Deciding this was the best course of action, I moved back outside to get a better look at the window. Decided my chances would improve if I just drove the truck over and stood on top. This would allow me the height I need to throw the pipes through the window and avoid the shower frame.
Getting the truck over was easy enough as I still haven’t seen any zombies. Once I got the truck parked I could see the very top of the heart. I shot out the window and tossed in the first bomb.
It just missed the shower rail and landed inside. For a brief moment I thought it was a dud but then BOOM! A few more throws like that and this will be done. My third throw bounced off the rail and landed to the side. I don’t know how much damage it actually did. The heart bubbled, rippled and then roared. Between the explosions and roaring my ears were ringing. I started worrying as my supply of explosives quickly dwindled.
Tossed my last pipe in and heard it chink against the tile floor inside and explode. The heart went with it and the blast from the detonation blew me off the top of the truck. The glass on the passenger side shattered. As I rolled out of the hedges I landed in I heard a feral howl. He was on the other side of the truck and made the mistake of poking his head around the side to find me. That was enough of a target for me.
With the noise the exploding heart made I decided trying to keep quiet was folly at this point. I went back inside the dingy house and made my way to the remnants of the heart. There were pieces of zombies flesh scattered and I was thankful for my safe spot on top of the truck. The zombies were here I just didn’t see them. Plague hearts must absorb items from their location because as I dug through the heart carcass I found weapons, pain killers and fuel cans. So strange. It’s like these things horde treasure similar to the dragons of lore.
As I was wrapping up I got a call on the radio from the Fire Side Campers, a friendly enclave just down the street. They requested plague samples and it just so happened I was standing next to a pile. When I got to their location Brian met me at the door and traded me a first aid kit, a bag of assorted ammo and a tool box for the samples. Deal!
When I returned to the base Fulgencio and Moonbeam were discussing cars. He asked her for help moving his Mega Max from the Outpost to the base. He said it’s in bad shape as the zombies tore it up when he entered town. They could fix it together and have a sweet ride. I said they might want to add fixing the window in the truck to the list. Antonio overheard and volunteered to stay at the Outpost with Trish. That way Fulgencio could have more time at the base to work on his car with Moonbeam. I’m quite sure there was an alternative motive there.
Beto agreed and Antonio and Trish set off to pack up their items. Moonbeam and Fulgencio took the Rhames V to tow his car back to base and find a window. Sandy gave Trish a small box of flavored condoms and told her to try the lime. Trish blushed and laughed.
By the time Moonbeam and Fulgencio returned, Trish and Antonio were ready to pack the truck. We all pitched in and in no time they were off. They are such a cute couple and I’m going to miss them even though they are a radio call away. Moonbeam suggested they keep the truck as she has the Beast and will soon have the Kaiser running.
Joe received a call from a trader offering rare skill books. Like the mysterious wandering trader, there was no location provided, just a general area where the the trader might be. He returned with a book on sewing. Trish heard over the radio and said she’d like to take a look at it and Beto responded that he’ll drop it off to them. He said he was heading out to take care of a couple of infestations.
When he returned he put an “X” through two yellow marks on the map. Trish called excitedly over the radio that the sewing book has a chapter on stitching secret pockets. Said she was willing to tailor all of our outfits. More pockets!
Moonbeam left to search a nearby auto repair shop for parts for the Kaiser. After my watch I went to bed. Going to get a few hours of rest before the inevitable zombie siege. It’s been an eventful day.
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