by Dawn, M. K.
A small chuckle escaped his lips. He didn’t know what to say, so instead he focused on the task at hand. “You see any signs that the infected got through over here?”
One of the great things about Britney was she never seemed to mind changing the subject when conversation got too heavy.
“Damn wind throwin’ dirt everywhere.” She dismounted, handed Axel the reins and walked the fence line. “I couldn’t see a thing from up there.”
“Want me to jump down and help?”
Britney whirled around and shot him the most incredulous look. “Are you goin’ to be able to get back up if you do?”
“Point taken. I’ll just stay up here, keep an eye on things.” Axel reached out and grabbed King’s reins. “And hang on to the horses.”
She continued along the fence line while he watched for anything out of the ordinary.
“I think I found something!”
And not a moment too soon. They were about to get wailed on by the impending storm. “What is it?”
She held up a piece of torn fabric. “This is the dress my mother-in-law was wearin’.”
Axel squinted. “What else is hanging on the fence?”
“Skin.” Her face blanched. “Tore a big chunk off when it climbed over.”
Rain pelted Axel’s exposed skin. “We should head in.”
“What about this?” The fabric flapped in the wind.
He tossed her King’s reins and she mounted. “Nothing we can do about it right now.”
“They just climbed over.” Britney rubbed her hand against her soaked pant leg. “How are we supposed to keep them out when they can do that?”
“I don’t know.” Axel braced himself as a gust of wind nearly knocked him off the horse. “But we’ll figure something out. Right now we have to get back to the house.”
“What was that?” Britney whipped around. “Did you hear that?”
“What?” Axel was having a hard time hearing her, and she wasn’t even three feet away.
Britney’s lips trembled. “There’s somethin’ out there.”
Axel scanned the area. “I don’t see anything.”
“It’s out there.” She pointed a shaky finger toward the tree line across the road. “It’s not attackin’. Do you think it’s scared of the storm?”
“God, I hope so. But let's not stick around and find out.”
***
The rain didn’t stop for five days. As muddy, wet and cold as it was, Axel welcomed the gloomy weather. It gave them a chance to get settled into their new living spaces.
Britney had offered Rainey and Angie the basement. Rainey accepted. Angie did not. Unbeknownst to everyone else, she and Mac had become an item, and as a couple, they wanted their privacy. Which the basement and barn didn’t really have much of. So Britney, being the saint she was, told them to take her grandparents' old house.
Axel cringed at the thought. It hadn’t even been two weeks since Susan’s death. But Angie and Mac didn’t seem to mind. All they really cared about was having their own space. Not that Axel could blame them; they’d been living in close quarters for far too long.
That left Shifter, Gunner, Gus and Axel with the barn. The loft had three sections, one to the back and one on each side. It wouldn’t take much to separate the three, but that still left two people who would have to share.
As they went back and forth on who would share, Britney popped by to see how things were going. And then she threw a wrench in mix.
John had a small room under the stairs, a man cave that he used on nights when he had to be up with a sick or birthing animal. Or when Britney was pissed at him. She said one of them could have it. The problem was deciding who in the fairest way possible.
Britney suggested they draw sticks, longest one wins.
And that’s how Axel got his own room with a door and a small cot. He even had a TV and beer fridge, not that either worked.
But it was peaceful. And confined. And all his.
He closed his eyes and relished in the silence. What he wouldn’t give for a solid night’s sleep.
A light knock at the door forced him to open his eyes.
With a deep yawn, he called out, “Come in.”
Britney peeked her head past the door. “Wow. You cleaned up. I hardly recognize the place.”
Axel threw his legs off the bed. “I put all John’s personal stuff in a box.”
“You didn’t put these.” Britney ran her fingers along the photos of her and the kids.
“I didn’t take anything off the walls.” He almost had, but something about the way they all smiled made the world feel a little brighter. “I can if it’s weird. Or if you want the pictures back.”
She turned to him and forced a smile. “Whatever you want to do with them is fine with me.”
“Maybe I’ll keep them up.” Axel watched her reaction closely. “You know, keep a little piece of John here, in the space he loved so much.”
Britney’s eyes softened. “Some days, when it was really hot out, I’d find him in here when I thought he was out workin’. Beer in hand, watchin’ a game on TV. I used to get so mad at him for sneakin’ off when I was stuck inside with a cryin’ baby or rowdy kids. But then he would hand me a beer and pull me down beside him on the bed, and we’d hang out here for a bit until the kids hunted us down. It was nice.”
“I don’t have to stay in here if it’s too weird.” The more she talked about the room, the less comfortable he felt about using it.
“Don’t be silly.” Britney waved a dismissive hand. “It’s just a room.”
“Okay. Then I’ll stay.”
Britney beamed. “Great!”
“Great,” he repeated because he didn’t know what else to say. “Was there anything else you needed?”
“Oh!” She rubbed her temples. “Sorry. I haven’t been sleepin’ well.”
“Everything okay?”
“You know….” Her smile dropped. “It’s hard not to worry with these things on the loose and not knowin’ when or where they’ll show up. Or what they’re capable of. I know the kids are upstairs, but what if the infected can open doors? Or climb walls? Break windows? We know they have no problem with barbed wire fencin’ and don’t care if they’re injured.”
“There’s a lot of unknown. But now that the storms have passed, we can focus on security. I think the fence line along the road needs to come first.”
“Any ideas?”
“Actually.” Axel stood and stretched, trying to suppress a yawn. “Yes.”
Britney pressed her lips together. “Sorry. It’s late. You were about to go to bed, weren’t you?”
Axel pulled back the dusty curtain of the small window. “It’s not even dark outside.”
“Still, it's been a long couple of weeks. We’re all exhausted. We can talk about this tomorrow. Or whenever you have time.” She turned for the door.
“Wait.” Axel slipped on his boots. “There’s something I saw and want to ask you about it.”
“Ask away.”
Axel grabbed his leather jacket from the hook beside the door. “I think it’ll be easier to explain if we’re looking at it.”
“All right.” Britney followed him out.
They weaved around barns and sheds in silence as Axel guided them out to the back corner of the acreage. “I noticed John kept a lot scrap metal and other discarded stuff out this way.”
“You mean his junkyard where all things went to die. Yeah. He had a serious problem.” Behind him he could hear Britney’s boots sloshing through the mud.
“He might have been a hoarder before the apocalypse, but he left us a goldmine.” Axel stopped at the first of twenty-plus piles of sheet metal. “What do you think of this?”
“All this corrugated metal? It used to be an old barn. John bought that at an auction a few years back. What about it?”
“You have a gas welder, right?”
Britney nodded. “Yes. Why?”
“
I was thinking we could build a wall to replace the old fence along the road using all this.” When she didn’t reply, he asked, “What do you think?”
“A wall, huh?” A bright smile stretched across her face. “I think that might just work.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Why is it so fucking cold here!” Shifter howled.
Britney couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s like thirty-eight degrees. Not even below freezin’. It’s actually kind of nice for November.”
Shifter tossed his hammer aside. “Where I come from, we wear shorts on Thanksgiving. Because it’s hot.”
Axel shut off the welder and removed the helmet he used to protect his face from the sparks. Sweat poured off his wet head. “You can take over for me? It’s hot as fuck under this helmet.”
“You think you’d be used to it by now after nearly two months,” Britney teased.
They’d been working their asses off since the end of September, trying to get the wall built. Digging trenches, welding the pieces together. The learning curve didn’t help—they ended up doing so much rework at one point that they nearly said screw it. But an infected sighting reminded them of why they’d started this project in the first place.
“You’d also think he’d be getting better after all that time.” Gunner full-on belly laughed as tears ran down his face. “But he’s still slow as hell.”
“We should have been done by now,” Shifter muttered.
“Excuse me?” Axel yanked off his gloves and tossed them to ground. “You want to talk about being slow? What about all the rework we had to do because you fucked up the plans?”
Axel and Shifter had been at each other’s throats for weeks. Most of the time, Axel blew off Shifter’s insults, but today he was pissed
Shifter took a menacing step toward Axel. “I’m not some fucking architect or engineer.”
“And I’m not a fucking welder,” Axel said with equal disdain.
“Well, I’m goin’ to go.” Britney didn’t want to stick around and watch them come to blows. Plus, she wanted to check on Angie and Rainey. They had volunteered to inventory the freezers and the boxes in the storage building where Britney kept all the extra blankets and old clothes. “Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”
“No promises.” Axel snatched his helmet and gloves off the ground and got back to work.
The walk from the road back to the house never used to bother Britney. On pretty days, she would walk instead of taking the truck to pick up the kids from the bus stop. The peacefulness of the country always had a way of soothing her soul. But now every time the leaves rustled or the wind howled, she reached for her gun. She hated the helplessness, the uncertainty.
Still, over the past few months, she had come to terms with the world they now lived in, even going so far as embracing the simple way of life. Her father had promised her that one day learning how to live off the land would come in handy. Sure, he probably didn’t mean in the form of an apocalypse, but he was right. They were still alive because of her knowledge. She prayed that after they finished this wall, they would also be safe.
Britney walked into a quiet house, the last thing she expected. “Hello?”
The back door slammed, and Rainey strolled into the living room covered in dust. “Hey, Britney. How’s the fence building going?”
“Shifter and Axel are at it again.” Britney narrowed her eyes. “Where are the kids?”
“In the basement. Angie found a box of old board games and toys. They were so excited.” Rainey froze, her eyes wide. “I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course. I told you, what’s mine is yours. Stop worryin’.”
Rainey wet her lips. “I just don’t want to piss you off.”
Britney laughed. “Oh my God, Rainey. Seriously. You might only weigh eighty pounds, but you could still kick my ass.”
“Just because I can doesn’t mean I want it to come to that.” Rainey shot her a little wink. “Which is why I don’t want to upset you.”
“Please.” Britney waved her off. “You’re goin’ to piss me off. But that’s what family does. And then we get over it and move on.”
Tears filled Rainey’s eyes.
“What did I say?”
“Come here.” Rainey beckoned her over. “I need to hug you.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Britney whispered in her ear as they embraced.
Rainey cupped Britney’s cheeks. “Upset me? Have you lost your mind? Calling me—us—family means everything.”
She couldn’t have been over ten years older than Britney, but she had a motherly way about her that put Britney at ease.
“I meant it.” And she did. With every ounce of her being. “I’m so glad you guys are here.”
“Aww.” Angie clapped her hands. How long had she been standing there? “Did I miss the group hug?”
Rainey rolled her eyes. “What’s your man doing?”
“He and Gus are chopping firewood.” Angie narrowed her eyes at Britney. “Because someone said we need a butt load more.”
“I’m pretty sure I said shit ton more.” Britney smirked. “Find anythin’ good in the storage building?”
Angie grimaced. “Girl, it’s not good.”
“What do you mean?” It had only been a few months since she’d been in there, and everything appeared fine then.
“You ever have any kind of issue with mice or rats?” Angie asked.
Britney threw back her head and groaned. “They didn’t.”
“Never seen anything like it.” Angie plopped down on the couch. “They chewed through the plastic totes. What the hell kind of rodent can do that?”
“Was there anything salvageable?” Britney couldn’t believe it. They would need those extra blankets this winter. “Maybe if we wash them?”
Rainey shook her head. “They shredded them all.”
“Yep. Those totes are full of dirty, stinky scraps of cloth,” Angie added. “There ain’t nothing we can do about them.”
Britney dropped on to the couch next to Angie. “What about the clothes?”
“Your mama was a tiny woman, wasn’t she?” Angie asked. “Because the only clothes I found will fit you and Rainey.”
“There wasn’t anything else?” Britney could have sworn there was more.
Angie patted her leg. “Nothing I could wear, but if you want to see if you can work your farm magic on it, be my guest.”
Britney scrunched her nose. “I guess the mice got into those boxes too?”
“Sorry, sugar.”
“Dammit.” Britney grabbed a pillow, covered her face and screamed. No extra blankets, no extra clothes. They were screwed. So fucking screwed. “What about the freezers?”
“Rainey has the list,” Angie said. “I think we’re sitting pretty good. We took stock of the jars of food you have in the basement. You can all of those yourself?”
“Yep.” Britney flopped her head to the side so she could face Angie. “And I’ll teach you how to can crops too once our garden produces.”
Angie cocked an eyebrow. “I’ll have you know I’ve grown my fair share of tomatoes.”
“Good. That’s a great starter plant.” Britney rubbed at her eyes. “Between the meat and the canned goods, we should be set for the winter?”
“We think so. You should still look over the inventory list, but I don’t think we’ll starve.”
Some good news. Thank God.
“There’s one other thing,” Rainey said.
Britney leaned her head back so she could look at her. “What’s that?”
“Well”—Rainey looked at Angie—“we found a frozen turkey. And we're thinking since Thanksgiving is two days away….”
Even though Britney knew they should focus on winter prep, her heart leaped at the thought of celebrating an actual holiday. It had crushed the kids when they found out they wouldn’t be able to trick-or-treat. Thanksgiving wasn’t their favorite, but celebrating something—anything
—would do them all a world of good.
“It’s a great idea. Let's get started!”
***
An hour later, the new supply list had grown to over three pages long. That wasn’t even their biggest concern. Britney still had to ask Axel if he would be willing to go on another run. He never said what exactly happened last time, but she had heard Shifter and Gunner talking about a kid who’d been turned. She couldn’t even imagine seeing something so horrific.
“I’m goin’ to hunt down Axel,” Britney said, “see what he thinks about all this.”
Rainey kept her eyes on the Go Fish cards in her hand. “Sure. I’ve got the kids. Angie will start lunch.”
“Thanks.” It was such a comfort having these two women around to help. Didn’t hurt that the kids loved them too.
Britney left the house and was headed toward the main road when she spotted Axel jogging to the barn. She considered calling out to him, but they had all agreed to keep the place as quiet as possible since noise drew the infected in.
She knocked on the doorframe of Axel’s room, not wanting to intrude even though the door was open.
“Come in,” he said.
“Hey.” Britney gave him a quick once-over, making sure he and Shifter didn’t get into a fight after she left. “I don’t see any blood. Guess you guys worked things out?”
He glanced up from a piece of paper his hands. “That was nothing.”
“It didn’t look like nothing.”
Axel grinned. “Shifter has always been a hothead. And he loves to run his mouth.”
“I can see that.” Britney shifted from foot to foot. She always felt a little uncomfortable coming into Axel’s room. It was such a small space, and she never knew where to stand or if she should sit.
“Did you need something?” Axel watched her with such intensity it made her cheeks burn. “What’s that in your hand?”
“Right.” Britney waved the paper around. How had the reason she’d come here slipped her mind? “The bad news. All the extra blankets and stuff I had packed away are ruined. Freakin’ mice or rats chewed their way through the plastic storage containers and made themselves at home.”
“That’s not good.”