Kayla ran over to Julia and gave her a big hug. She gave me one as well, then ran her hand over the hood of the Jeep. I swear the engine purred a little louder when she did that.
“Oooh, pretty. I like your style, Aaron,” Kayla said.
“Thanks. Julia’s idea. Where the hell did you get to?” I asked.
“She was on a second story porch,” Jake said. “About ten zombies were circling about; my shots took them out.”
I looked at Kayla. “Didn’t you have a rifle?”
Kayla looked sheepish. “When I threw it up to the balcony I missed, and it went on the roof.”
I would have laughed if I hadn’t done that same thing a few times. In the rush of trying to save your own ass, sometimes you had bursts of strength just when you didn’t need them.
“All right, then. Saddle up. Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said.
I took the driver’s seat, and Jake sat next to me. The girls settled into the back seat and pulled out the maps again. Julia took a quick look at the map and made a quick decision.
“Just go back the way we came, Aaron,” she said, pointing down the street.
“You got it.” I put the Jeep in first and we took off.
A mile down the road, Jake asked me to stop. We were right outside the big zombie pit, and I told him that he wasn’t going to use any of our spare gas to light up the zombies. Jake waved me off and scampered across the street. A big clang came back to us, and in a minute we could see Jake rolling a fifty-five-gallon barrel across the road. He got it to the pit, then wrestled it until it was upright at the edge. Dozens of zombies reached up to try and grab him, but he was just out of reach. Jake took his pick and with a hefty swing, banged the pointed end into the base of the barrel. Fuel sprayed out, covering the closest zombies with gas. Jake walked away from the pit and for a second I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. He stooped by an old skeleton and took a bit of rag from the shirt. Wrapping the shirt around one of his arrows, he went back to the gas which was still spraying and soaked the cloth with it. Jake came back to the Jeep smiling.
I wasn’t so happy. “Was that gas we could have used?” I asked.
Jake shook his head. “It was the low octane stuff, used for farm equipment. It would have gunked up the injectors on the Jeep.”
“Okay. Need a lift?” I asked.
“Not yet. Let’s get some distance, and let the gas run out,” Jake said. He walked down the road, searching his pack for a match. When he finally found one, he was about sixty yards from the pit. Not a wholly easy shot, but Jake was capable. Lighting the arrow, Jake drew back and let fly, arcing the shaft into the air. We watched the flame soar and then fall, dropping just inside the pit.
For a second, nothing happened, then there was a whoosh as the gas caught. Flames flew into the evening air, and black smoke drifted into the sky, mingling with the reddened clouds of the sunset.
Jake nodded to himself and started back to the Jeep, ducking when the drum exploded. A foot square piece of shrapnel buzzed angrily through the air, just missing Jake and the back of the Jeep.
“”Holy…” Jake said, running for cover.
“Well, that should take care of any strays,” I said. “If the light doesn’t get them here, that explosion sure will.”
Jake put his bow away, and we finally got ourselves out of Jackson. I hoped this was the worst we could expect.
Chapter 30
“This is your fault.”
“Shut up.”
“Why can’t you listen?”
“Me? Why can’t you?”
“I said follow the road.”
“I did.”
“The straight one, not the one to the right. And what do you mean why can’t I?”
“Why won’t you listen?”
“What have I been told that I haven’t listened to?”
“Me telling you to shut up.”
I was surprised when that actually worked. We left Jackson, and instead of taking the route south, I wasn’t paying attention and we headed west on what we discovered to be Teton Pass Highway. Julia thought it would cut our time significantly if the way was open, but Jake of course had to be a pain and tell me repeatedly that the southern route was better. I asked him how he could remember the route when the last time he was here he was playing with toys while Dad was out killing zombies.
“Let’s just see where this leads. We need to find a place to spend the night, anyway, and this is as good as any. Our luck hasn’t been great on the main road, so this might be a good thing.” I tried to be reasonable.
“You might be right,” Jake said, pointing into the darkness. On the bridge over the river, a barricade had been set up. Cattle pen railing had been welded together and welded to the railing on the bridge. A section had been rigged up as a doorway, and was chained in place. A hand lettered sign read:
Combination is 18-24-32.
Lock up behind you.
“Nice. Only the living could get through.” I stepped out and worked the lock, slipping the chain out, and pushing the gate open. After I drove the Jeep through I carefully closed the gate and threaded the chain back the way it was, locking it and spinning the dial on the lock.
We drove carefully forward, keeping in mind that it was getting very dark, and we were going to have to sleep somewhere. Kayla pointed out that the gate we just passed probably meant that this area was safe, and we could just about pick anywhere to spend the night.
I agreed with her, and was happy when I saw the sign for Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, only to have my hopes dashed when the next sign told me the place had been burned down. Oh well.
A little further in, and we pulled up to Nora’s Fish Creek Inn. It was a little tidy place that probably had done a decent business back in the days before the zombies came. Across the street was an actual working General Store, so Jake and Kayla volunteered to head over for some extra supplies.
Julia and I headed into the Inn and were pleasantly surprised by the number of people sitting in the lobby, just having conversations. Everyone stopped and looked when we walked in, likely we were the first visitors this place had seen in a while.
I nodded in greeting and Julia stuck close, walking with me over to the counter. And older woman looked up from her book and smiled.
“Well! Welcome strangers! What can we do for you?” she asked.
I placed my pack on the floor. “Looking for a couple of rooms for my wife and myself, my brother and his wife. We’ve been on the road all day and could use a good night’s rest.”
“You come over the mountain?” the woman asked, glancing past me to someone on my left.
I glanced back and caught two men out of the corner of my eye. I tapped Julia on her left hand twice to let her know what was going on.
“No, ma’am. We just came from Cody, or the town just outside Cody. Had some trouble in Jackson, and just looking to spend the night,” I said, slipping my hand down towards my axe.
The woman held my gaze for a second, and then smiled a much bigger smile. She raised her hands in a friendly gesture, but I knew it was to get the men behind me to stand down. Her eyes shifted to my hands, of which she could only see one.
“Cody! Fun place that, if you could get there. Just sign in, and let me know how you plan to pay.” Everyone relaxed in the room, and the conversations started again.
“What are your terms?” I asked, using the language begun so long ago.
“Trade is livestock or supplies, cash is four coppers a room for the night. That includes an actual working shower, dinner, and breakfast. Fascinating conversation is free, although I might reduce the rate if you have some good stories.” The older woman winked at Julia, and Julia smiled back warmly now that the tension was gone.
“Done. I’ll pay you now, and you can kick back what you think my stories are worth,” I said, placing one silver coin on the counter.
The woman picked up the silver and handed me two keys. I went back through the
lobby with Julia, winking at the two men who had been behind me. One of them nodded, and the other smiled. It was nice to finally have someone understand the way of things.
Outside, Jake and Kayla were coming back from the General Store. Jake had a couple of packages under his arms, and Kayla did as well. A young lad of around fourteen carried another bundle.
“Good lord, Jake, did you leave anything for the locals?” I asked, grabbing my weapons from the Jeep and heading to my room.
“Hardly touched the inventory,” Jake said. “But I got some information that will be very useful.”
“Great. Let’s wash up and get to dinner. I paid for it, and I want to have a meal you haven’t cooked,” I said.
“That’s true. Wait. Hey!” Jake protested over Julia and Kayla’s laughter.
The poor boy just looked confused. I took the bundle from him and thanked him for his trouble, slipping him a couple of coppers. Jake never tipped, which was why I was the more popular brother.
Chapter 31
After showers and weapon cleaning, we went back down to the lobby to get into the café next door. I nodded at the woman behind the desk again, and she smiled back.
The café had long tables, and food was served by putting it in large bowls in front of several people at once. You passed when asked, and ate what you wanted. It worked in a lot of places, and we had done it so often it was almost second nature.
We said hellos to the other patrons at the table, then fell to with gusto. I had forgotten the last time I had eaten, and tried to make up for it now. The locals let us eat in peace, and when we finally pushed our plates away a man sitting near my elbow spoke up.
“Howdy. Come a piece?” he asked. He was an older gentleman, probably around fifty, but looked closer to sixty. His hands were rough from hard work, but his eyes were clear and intelligent.
“Been on the road for a while. Came out of the capital, originally,” I said. I offered my hand. “Name’s Aaron. Aaron Talon. This is my wife Julia, and my brother Jake, with his wife, Kayla.”
“Nate Potter. Pleased to meet you.” Nate waved to his companions. “This here’s Conn Murphy.” Nate waved a hand at the man across from him, a rough looking man with amazingly red hair. “And the ugly, raw-boned crank over there is Lee Jenkins.” Nate waved a hand to the man down the table. He was a man about seventy, and looked like he was made of beef jerky and barbed wire.
“Mind yer betters, Nate,” the old man rasped. “I ain’t cranky. Pleased t’ meet you, son. Ladies, a pleasure.” Jenkins actually rose a little in his seat to tip his hat at our wives. My esteem of the man rose considerably.
“Pleasure, “ I said. I held up my cup as the waitress refilled it with very strong coffee.
“Capital, you say?” Conn asked. “They take back the one in the East, finally?”
Jake shook his head. “No, they left that one alone. The new one in Illinois.”
“Gotcha. Heard about that one. Nice place?”
Jake nodded. “Probably have over ten thousand people there now. Do a lot of trade down the river and out to sea. Last I heard, they were thinking about seeing if any other countries made it out of the Wars.”
Conn whistled. “I’ll be damned. May have to head over there one day, and see it for myself.”
Nate nodded. “Might be worth a trip. What brings you out here and away from the land of plenty?”
I waved a hand at my brother. “Jake wanted to see the mountains, and we got assigned by the president to look over the land and see if there were more trading routes to be had. Found a little mystery that we’re trying to solve along the way.”
Nate cocked his head. “What kind of mystery?”
“Murder,” Jake said abruptly.
Lee Jenkins turned his head. “You don’t say. What kind of murder?”
Jake shrugged. “We found a man killed out in the foothills. Found another dead woman in a town, and a third was killed almost at our doorstep when we stopped for the night. All of them were dressed alike, and two of them had been killed by rifle fire.”
The men all looked at each other. Finally Nate spoke up. “Were they dressed in black, all of them carrying a cloth with numbers on it?” he asked.
Julia jumped into the conversation. “Yes! Do you know anything about it?
Nate took a moment to answer. “We had found a couple just like you said, dressed in black and shot with a big rifle. Nothing ever came of it. We left it alone once it seemed like it was an isolated incident.”
“Well, something is up, because these people keep trying to get out and warn whoever they can, either alive or dead. “ Julia said. “Aaron may have wounded the shooter, by the way.”
That provoked some stares. Lee looked at me hard. “How’d yu’ wound the man, son?” He asked.
I answered casually. “Flicked my ‘hawk at him as he ran, cut him somewhere. Blood trail suggested it was a good cut. Probably around the face, ear, or shoulder.”
Conn hit the table. “Son of bitch! That’s what he was hiding! I knew it!”
Now it was our turn to stare. “Say again?” Kayla asked.
Nate explained. “About a day ago, a small guy landed an ultralight on the street. Kept his head covered as he asked for some gas. Said he had to get over the mountains and get back to his kids. Didn’t think anything of it, we get travelers here from time to time. But this guy looked funny, and wouldn’t take his scarf off. Just filled up, paid, and flew away. Come to think of it, he headed northwest.”
I shook my head. “That would have been an interesting conversation, but you probably did the right thing. This guy has tracked several people over the mountains by himself, avoided being killed by zombies or locals, and gotten back to wherever he comes from with barely a scratch. He might have been a bigger fight than you think.”
Lee Jenkins snorted. “True enough. The last zombies these guys fought was five years ago. Been nothing but a shooting gallery ever since with a few wandering around up on Fish Creek or Snake River.”
“Shush up, Lee,” Conn said angrily. He turned back to me. “You guys able to handle it?”
Jake took the question. “We were collectors until recently, and have made over fifteen successful runs into the city of Chicago, if that means anything.”
That shut up everyone in the room except Lee. He cackled quietly.
“That’ll do, son. That’ll do.”
Chapter 32
We finished our meal and headed back to our rooms. In the morning, we stopped in the café again for breakfast, and I was happy to get scrambled eggs and bacon for a change. We ran into Lee Jenkins again as the old man was finishing his coffee.
“Headin’ out?” Lee asked, tipping his hat again to the ladies.
“Right after breakfast. How are the passes?” I asked, filling my plate with eggs and toast.
“Clear for now, not so much in a month or two. Want to tell you all something.” Jenkins leaned in close. “Something is up in those mountains. Not zombies, neither. Some people have taken the north trail and not come back. You seem like nice kids. Watch yourselves.”
Without another word, the old man left the café. We looked at each other for a minute. I shrugged and kept eating. “When have we not had to watch ourselves?” I asked of no one in particular.
That broke the mood, and we kept on with our breakfast. In a short while we were on the road again, crossing the town and heading into the mountains again. We passed several homes and ranches, and all were clearly occupied. This town had survived the Upheaval, and was actually doing well in the middle of what was thought to be an unsafe area.
As we travelled further north, Julia had a bit of good news. She said the road we were on would actually take us back to the one we wanted, just going through the mountains instead of around them. The road was a little rougher, but the new vehicle had no problem. I was still a little nervous about the tires, but they seemed to be holding well. At one point the road doubled back on itself, and we were g
ifted a magnificent view of the early sun as it rose over the mountains. The mountain we were climbing loomed over us as we travelled, reminding us it owned the road with a few rockslides. We had to clear two of them to get past, but no zombies came to call.
After a few more miles we reached the top of the mountain, road-wise. There was a little sign and parking area to mark the occasion, but nothing more. No one wanted to stop, so we kept moving.
A set of serious switchbacks reminded us we were in the heart of the mountains, and if the snows caught us here we’d be in major trouble.
Four miles later we were rolling out of the mountains, crossing the state line into Idaho. Julia mentioned that we were about three miles outside of the town of Victor, but other than that, we were making decent time.
We pulled into the outskirts of the town of Victor, and we could see that it had been abandoned years ago. The houses were empty, and even in the bright sunlight there seemed to be a kind of pall hanging over this area. Several cars were in the ditches, left a long time ago. A sign caught my attention, advertising the Teton Springs Lodge. It caught my attention because there was a small sign hanging from the bottom that simply read “Alive.”
I stopped before the sign to put the change to a vote.
“Thoughts?” I asked, gauging my instincts about this.
Jake looked it over. “Seems harmless enough. Maybe they can give us some advice on the best route through the mountains.”
Kayla and Julia nodded, looking to get out of the Jeep for a stretch. As I turned down the road, I recalled the words of Lee Jenkins, but I figured he must have meant something further up the mountain. This close to a community wouldn’t make any sense.
We drove down the entry road, passing huge house after huge house. Each one must have been over four thousand square feet, with a three or four car garage on every one. After the tenth or eleventh one, Jake commented.
Generation Dead (Book 3): Beyond The Gates Page 12