Free Last Fight of the Valkyries by E.E. Isherwood Page B

"It looks like a
prison wall. The town is a prison."
    Victoria replied, "With walls like this, I wonder why they
need to dig a ditch?"
    Liam had no idea.
    The grassy slope was too steep to ride. They hopped off and pushed
their steeds up the incline. With a huff, Liam pushed his onto the
flat gravel service road on the ribbon of levee above the town.
Victoria was a moment behind.
    "Wow," he said.
    She repeated him as she saw the same thing.
    They were at the highest point of a narrow peninsula. From his
position, the levee road receded into the distance to the south,
toward the two large bridges. Looming large to the West was the
Mississippi River. The ugly brown water moved fast. He could see that
from several hundred yards away, across some newly planted farmland.
    "What in the heck is that ?" She pointed to a side
channel of the Mississippi river. It was about a mile long and
completely filled with barges, barge towboats, and smaller
watercraft. At the head of the inlet were two bright white towboats
pushing drifting boats and other debris into the protected harbor.
    "It looks like they're junk collectors," he replied.
    Across town, to the east, lay the Ohio River. He couldn't tell if
the locals had a similar operation on that side, but it was similarly
filled with barges, towboats, and a multitude of other boats.
    Victoria pointed north. "Let's go up that way." She
didn't wait for an answer, she just started riding.
    "Hey! Wait up." He jumped on his bike, steadying himself
as he tried to get the pedals moving, and rolled after her.
    He didn't catch right up. She was pumping hard to stay ahead of
him. She turned back once with a wry smile, daring him to catch her.
    They both laughed as he rose to the challenge and tried in earnest
to catch her. The sub-par inflation of the tires and the uneven
surface of the gravel road made it hard going for both of them. When
they reached the junction where the levee going north met the one
crossing the north boundary of the town, Victoria stopped with a
skid.
    Liam was only a few seconds behind her. "I was going to get
you," he shouted with joy.
    The mirth drained away when he saw why Victoria had stopped.
    She turned to him. "I think we found the ditch ."
    He took in everything and had a new perspective on the geography
of the town. It was bracketed on three sides by the waters of the two
big rivers. The land pointed like a finger to the south. At the very
southern tip, the two bridges spanned each river. On the north side,
where they held their bikes, the levee provided one layer of defense
against the farmland and patches of forest to the north. However, the
authorities had taken it several steps further. The levee was the
first layer. About a hundred yards north of the massive levee was a
similarly impressive trench. It was filled with heavy equipment and
hundreds of people with shovels. On the western edge, where it would
have met the Mississippi, men were crawling over large wooden beams
drilled up and down in the mud. It was a check dam to keep the water
out until the ditch was ready. Liam could see the plan was to create
a type of moat in front of the levee. On paper, it was a very
formidable barrier of entry to the town.
    North of the ditch was a swath of destruction of charred and
barren land. The woman had mentioned burning. All the trees and
vegetation had been stripped from the land—giving the defenders
clear visibility up to the interstate miles to the north.
    All told, this town had used its unique geography to maximum
effect.
    Liam reflected on every book about zombies he'd ever read. No
matter how strong the fortress, no matter how dedicated the watchmen…
    “I give this place two weeks.”
    5
    Victoria gave him a knowing look. “This is where you tell me
what you're thinking, right?”
    He laid his bike on the gravel, and tentatively felt his head
wound after it was down. “Did you know today was my birthday?
When I checked my phone earlier I noticed a little