by Dawn, M. K.
Axel peered back into the cattle pen. “What should we do about the bodies? The infected and the cattle?”
“Burn the cattle.” Britney let out an audible sigh. “And bury my in-laws next to their son. But no funeral. And don’t mention who it was in front of the kids. They were close to their grandparents. I’ll tell them when I think they’re ready.”
“Of course.” Axel turned to Gunner, who nodded.
“Thank you.” Britney forced a smile. “I guess we should make sure the rest of the place is safe.”
Axel gestured her onward. “Lead the way.”
***
Tensions ran thick as they sat around the dining room table eating cold eggs and a slice of toast. Britney had offered to reheat them and cook the bacon she’d left on the counter, but everyone decided they were too hungry to wait. Plus, it was nearing lunchtime; no need to waste a perfectly good slab of bacon when they’d be eating again in the next few hours.
“Mommy.” Molly ended the silence. “I’m done. Can I go upstairs and play?”
“Sure, honey.” Britney pushed her untouched eggs around with her fork. “Carson? Blake? What about you two? I think there’s a little left in the pan.”
“I’m done.” Carson took his plate to the kitchen and came back with an apple in hand.
Blake stuffed the last of his eggs in his mouth. “Me too.”
“Go play, then,” Britney said with a smile that was obviously forced. “Upstairs with your sister. No fightin’.”
“Come on, Blake.” Carson took his brother’s hand and half guided, half dragged him upstairs.
When Axel was sure they were out of earshot, he turned to Britney. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t look up. “I’m not a great liar.”
“Kids are resilient,” Rainy reassured her. “They’ll be okay.”
“They’ve been through so much.” Britney kept her eyes on her plate. “Seen so much already. It kills me to know this is the world they’re goin’ to grow up in. I just want them to grow up in a place that’s safe.”
“Maybe it won’t be.” Angie, who sat to Britney’s left, squeezed her hand. “We have no idea what’s going on in the rest of the world. They could be fighting back, creating a vaccine. Or a cure. This might not be our forever.”
Axel wished he held the same optimism Angie did. “I think we need to figure out how the infected got in. You have a fence surrounding the entire property, right?”
“A ten-foot electric one.” Britney set down her fork. “Not that it does us any good now. Still, it’s a damn good fence. We had it installed after a very aggressive bear attacked our cattle.”
“You think the infected could get through it?” Shifter asked. “Their claws are ridiculous.”
“I don’t know. The steel is top-notch.” Britney stared at her eggs. “I hate to waste these. Anyone want them?”
Mac raised his hand. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll take them.”
She passed him her plate. “Here you go.”
Axel pushed his plate away and propped his elbows on the table. “So, Britney, should we go check out the fence situation?”
“Sure. Let me just get the kitchen cleaned up.”
“I’ll take care of the kitchen. Angie, do you mind boiling some water?” Rainey collected the empty plates.
“On the stove or over the firepit?” Angie asked.
Gus peeked out the window. “The sun’s out. I’ll start a fire. No use wasting propane if we don’t have to.”
Shifter stood and stretched. “I’ll gather some firewood and make sure we have enough for the next few days.”
“I’ll go with you.” Mac scooped what was left of Britney’s eggs into his mouth. As the largest person in the group, the poor guy had to be hungry with the small portions they’d been living on.
“Oh.” Rainey popped her head back into the dining room. “It goes without saying that I’ll keep an eye on the kids.
Britney smiled. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing.” As quickly as she’d appeared, she was gone again.
“I guess the only thing left to do is clean up the cattle pen.” She pressed her lips together.
Axel and Gunner had already wrapped and removed the bodies. Later this afternoon, Axel would go to the cemetery and dig the graves.
Gunner popped up from his chair. “On it.”
“You really don’t have to do that.” Britney scratched her bottom lip. As much as she had been accepting their help, it was obvious she still felt bad relying on them for so much.
“I don’t mind.” Gunner wiped his mouth with his old rag and stuck it back into his pocket. “Really. I want to make sure the calf that lost its mama is doing okay.” Gunner left with a smile on his face and a hitch in his step Axel couldn’t believe.
“He’s sure adapting to farm life, isn’t he?” Angie asked with a chuckle. “Never in my life would I have pictured him all giddy over a bunch of cows.”
“I’ll go saddle the horses,” Britney said over the uproar of laughter about Gunner’s newfound hobby.
“Horses?” Maybe Axel heard wrong.
“Yep.” Britney grabbed her gun and stuck it back into her holster. She insisted everyone remove their weapon while in the house and around the children. “Meet you outside in a few.”
Mac grinned at Axel. “Didn’t know you could ride a horse.”
“I’m pretty sure I can’t.” Axel sank into his chair. “Doesn’t she have a four-wheeler we could use?”
“Got to save the fuel for the generators,” Gus said.
“True.” Axel ran a hand over his damp forehead. He was nervous. After everything they’d been through, the thought of getting on a horse made him sweat. “Any of you know how to ride a horse?”
“Nope.” Shifter draped his arm around Mac’s shoulders. “Ready to go get that firewood?”
“Yes, sir.” Mac’s eyes danced with amusement. “Axel, you better be getting out there. Don’t want to keep the missus waiting.”
“Shut up,” Axel snapped. He didn’t like what the term missus implied. “And if any of you think you’re going to sit out there and talk shit about my horse-riding abilities, I will throw you under the bus so hard….”
Gus, Gunner and Mac all laughed. Axel hated that none of them ever took him seriously.
“Ignore them,” Angie said. “Not a single one of us can ride a damn horse. And we sure as hell aren’t going to make fun of you for trying. Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for all of us to take a few lessons from Brit. Might come in handy.”
Mac snorted. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before you get me on top of a horse.”
“We’re three days away from October.” Angie planted a stern hand on her hip. “And we’re in Montana in the middle of a fucking zombie apocalypse. Hell’s about to freeze over.”
Even though Angie’s anger wasn’t directed at him, she still scared the hell out of him.
“Fine.” Mac held up his hands in defeat. “I’ll learn how to ride a damn horse. Hope she has one suited for an extra-large rider.”
Angie narrowed her eyes. “Go get firewood so Gus can get the fire started. We got work to do.”
The three men left the house, heads hung low.
She laughed. “That’s all there is to it. Doesn’t take much to put them in their place.”
“Easy for you to say,” Axel grumbled. “They respect you.”
“Who said they don’t respect you?”
Axel ground his teeth. “It’s pretty damn obvious.”
“Let’s get one thing straight.” Angie bent over so she could get right in his face. “After the hell you’ve been through, and how you managed to come out the side and still keep moving forward, there’s not a person among us who doesn’t have the utmost respect for you. They give you shit because you’re like a son to them. Or maybe a baby brother, since none of us wants to admit we’re old enough to have a kid your age. But we wouldn’t be here—and they wouldn’t have fol
lowed you here—if they didn’t respect you. Your quick thinking saved us. If it weren’t for you, God only knows where we might be.”
“Thanks, Angie.” Axel really wanted to hug her.
She must have seen the need in his eyes, because she opens her arms and waved him over. “Come here.”
***
“Just stick your left foot in the stirrup,” Britney directed, “and kick off the ground, throwin’ your other leg over the horse.”
Damn, could this be any more humiliating? Well, it could have been if Angie hadn’t shooed Mac and Shifter away.
“You almost had it that time.”
Axel could hear the amusement in Britney’s voice. “This funny to you? I got a lot of weight to throw over this horse.”
“Please.” Britney laughed. “John was a lot bigger than you and didn’t have any problems.”
He planted his feet and glared. “I bet John had a couple more years’ experience than I do.”
Britney winked. “Just a few.”
“Maybe I should just walk.”
“Oh my God.” Britney threw her head back. “Stop being such a baby and get on the horse.”
Axel took a step back to catch his breath. “He doesn’t like me.”
“Mabel is the same horse all the kids learned how to ride on when they were three. She’s as tame as they come. I think the problem is you. Have you really never been on a horse before?”
“One time,” Axel huffed. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
“The horse threw you.” It wasn’t a question.
Axel’s stomach tightened, but he didn’t answer.
“How old were you?” Britney pressed.
“Ten.” Axel pointed to his forehead. “Fifteen stitches. And a concussion. I spent two nights in the hospital.”
Britney dismounted from her horse and made her way to Axel. “I’m sorry I laughed. That must have been a very traumatic experience. But I promise you, this mare will not kick you off. She’s very gentle.”
“Fine.” Axel stuck his foot in the stirrup. “Let me try again.” He pushed himself off the ground as hard as he could and threw his left leg over the horse’s back.
“There you go!” Britney messed with his saddle as he got situated. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“After the twentieth try, no, not bad at all.”
Britney mounted her horse with ease. “At least I didn’t have to bring out the box.”
“What’s the box?” Axel asked.
“It’s like a step stool.” Britney tugged on the reins and headed toward the back pasture. “Come on, Mabel.”
Axel’s horse trotted along behind Britney. “There’s a step stool? I might look like a badass, but I would have felt no shame in using the box to get on top of this beast.”
Britney jumped off her horse to open the gate. “Who said you looked like a badass?” She whistled for the horses. “Let’s go.”
“Ouch.” Axel clasped his chest. “That hurt.”
“Please don’t tell me Mr. Badass gets his ego bruised so easily?”
Axel chuckled. “Most of the time, no. But you pretty much just called me a wuss.”
Britney closed the gate and mounted her horse, King. “I did not call you a wuss. I just don’t know if badass is the right description.”
“Are you fucking with me?” Axel gently kicked Mabel’s side in hopes of catching up with her. “How do you make this thing go faster?”
Britney clicked her tongue. “Come on, girl.”
Mabel picked up her pace.
“I think lessons might be in order.”
“I’ll have Carson give you a few pointers.” Her smile was infectious. “And to answer your question, yes, I’m fucking with you. You’re the most badass of all the badasses I’ve ever known.”
“I appreciate the compliment.” They took a right along the fence line. Neither spoke for a while, both checking for any signs of damage. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“The rest of the bikers and I, we don’t scare you, do we?” Axel pressed his lips together. “It’s just sometimes it seems like we might.”
She hesitated before answering. “At first you did. I mean, look at you. Rode into town on your motorcycles wearin’ leather jackets. Your tattoos alone….”
“You’ve never seen anybody with sleeve tattoos?” They were common in the circle he ran with.
“In the short time I was in college. From afar.” A light blush touched her cheeks. “They weren’t exactly the kind of people I hung out with.”
“No offense taken.” The corner of Axel’s mouth twitched. “But that doesn’t surprise me.”
Her face tightened. “Why’s that?”
“Most people who’ve never been around bikers find us intimidating.”
“That’s fair.” Britney scratched her nails along her chapped bottom lip. “I just want to say… I’m glad you guys are here. With John gone….”
“How are you and the kids handling it? His death, I mean.”
Britney rubbed at her eyes and sighed. “We have our moments. Good and bad. Nights are tough, but we’ve managed. It helps, you and the others being here.”
“I wish I could tell you the pain disappears, but it tends to stick with you.” He knew from experience.
Her eyes met his. “Who did you lose?”
Axel rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn’t. Not now. Not when the pain was still so fresh. So he did what he always did when the topic came up and changed the subject. “You’re right. This is one hell of a fence. I’m impressed.”
If his avoidance of the question bothered Britney, she didn’t show it. “Yeah, John was big on keepin’ predators out and away from the livestock.”
“I don’t remember seeing this high a fence when we drove in.”
Britney turned the horses around. “We were havin’ the fence installed in stages and hadn’t gotten that far. Plus, predators rarely use the main road.”
“Depends on the predator’s intelligence.”
Britney’s breath hitched. “Do you think they’re intelligent? That they’re more than mindless zombies?”
Axel shouldn’t have said anything. The fear in her eyes alone put his stomach in knots. But at this point he wouldn’t lie. That wasn’t the kind of foundation he wanted their friendship to be built upon. “I don’t think they’re mindless. This morning they paused when we went silent. That requires some sort of intelligence.”
“You think we should check the weakest point of the fence? The stretch along the main road?”
Axel stared at the well-built, sturdy fence. “How many acres do you have?”
“About two thousand.”
He didn’t even try to calculate how long that meant the fence would be. “Check it all. We can’t be too careful.”
“We should get goin’.”
They took the ride along the fence slow—for his benefit, no doubt, but also because they needed to be thorough. With the intelligence of the infected in question, any minor defect in the fence could spell trouble for the entire homestead.
“Everything looks good so far,” Britney said over the wind that had picked up not thirty minutes ago. “But I think a storm is movin’ in.”
Axel peered up at the sky. He’d been so focused on staying on his horse that he hadn’t bothered to check why the wind started to howl. “Do we need to do something with the cattle? Or the sheep?” They had passed both along the way.
“No, they’re used to the weather here.”
Thunder echoed off the mountain, resonating deep in his bones.
Mabel whined but thankfully didn’t rear up like King did.
Britney white-knuckled the reins. “The horses don’t like being out in the storms.”
“Should we go back?” Axel shouted over another rumble of thunder.
“We’re almost to the main road,” Britney yelled over the wind. “I think we have time
before the actual rain hits.”
“Think?” Axel covered his face as the wind sent a cloud of dust in their direction. He really didn’t want to get stuck out here during a downpour. The dampness in the air had already seeped deep into his skin.
“We’ll have to go faster than a trot.” Britney whistled for the horses, who took off racin. down the fence line.
Axel held on tight as the horse slung his body in every direction. Obviously he was doing something wrong; Britney didn’t seem to have a problem staying upright.
A light rain fell as they reached the main road. Britney slowed King, and Mabel followed suit.
This section of fence was as he remembered—three rows of barbed wire wrapped around a wood post for as far as the eyes could see. “Yeah, this isn’t worth a shit.”
Britney crossed her arms over her chest. “It keeps the livestock in.”
Axel hadn’t meant it as an insult. “Sorry. I meant for keeping out the infected.”
“I know what you meant. I’m just frustrated that we never had the fence finished. We kept puttin’ it off and puttin’ it off.”
“It’s not like you knew the apocalypse was coming.”
“Always protect the homestead with as much as you can spare.” Britney sighed. “That’s what my father always preached.”
“You were more prepared than most.” Axel managed to maneuver his horse beside her. “And you took us in when you didn’t have to. You saved us.”
“I want to save more.” Her eyes went round. “I didn’t even know I was goin’ to say that.”
“It’s your farm.” Axel understood her need to save those lost in the world, those who couldn’t help themselves. That was the main reason he had joined the military.
“Our farm.” The words came out so low he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
“What did you say?”
Britney’s eyes locked with his. “It’s our farm. All of ours. Don’t make me repeat it for a third time, or I might change my mind.”
Axel didn’t press, though he wanted to question her change of heart. “Thank you.”
“This isn’t a damn handout. You guys have been bustin’ your asses helpin’ around here. Of course, if that changes, I’ll have to rethink some things.”