by Dulaney, C.
Her lips flattened out into a line. “You got something to say?”
Brad hadn’t realized how long he’d been staring. He jerked his head around and set his sights on the big, dark nothingness ahead.
Kasey sighed again. “Whatever you want to call it, I don’t like leaving when there might still be people out there that need help.”
“If there—” Brad had to stop to clear his throat. “If there were people out there, you’d have contacted them by now. Michael said he’s been on the radio every day. Torrez told us the same thing. No one’s answering.” He shifted around on the step. His ass was getting numb and cold. “And if there are people still out there that just don’t have access to a radio, how the hell would we ever find them?”
Kasey pulled her hands out of her pockets and folded them in front of her mouth. She blew into them a few times, then said, “So it’s we now.”
He braced a hand on his knee and twisted around to face her. “Yeah. We.”
“Alright.” She tipped her head back and forth, then blew into her hands again. “Then what we oughta be doing is heading back down to the CC and putting a boot in their asses.”
Brad shook his head right away. “No. That’s stupid and you know it.”
Kasey turned to look at him for the first time. “It’s what?”
Brad blanched and swallowed. “Stupid. For one thing, why would they even still be there? And for another, that’d be like…what’d you used to say? Shutting the barn doors after the horses have gotten out?”
Kasey’s nose flared and her jaw tightened. After a long moment, she turned back and stared out over the yard. “Something like that, yeah.”
Brad let out the breath he’d been holding and wiped his palm on his pant leg. He gave her a moment, then said, “Damage is done, Kase. Maybe we could have done something about it before, if we’d known what they were planning. But not now. It’s done. They may not have the numbers they used to, may not have the resources to hunt the rest of us down, but why would they? They don’t need to now. Eventually, the gabs will wipe this country clean, and it’ll just be…” He lowered his face and rubbed his eyes.
“Just be people like you left,” Kasey whispered.
“Yeah.”
“So we’ve lost, then.”
Against his better judgment, Brad reached over and laid a hand on her arm. “I didn’t say that.”
Kasey didn’t move to shake his hand off. “Might as well have.” She dropped her hands away from her mouth and looked skyward. “What the hell’s the point anymore.”
Her voice had dropped so low, Brad had to fight the urge to scoot closer to hear. He lowered his to match and squeezed her arm. “The gabs have to die eventually, right? Quicker than the dead, at least. They’re just living, breathing people. We get somewhere safe, kill as many as we can along the way.”
“And then what? Say the terminators die off in what…one, two, ten years? Twenty? Fifty?” Kasey shifted all the way around to face him, her gaze intense when she fixed it on him. “What will PhoenTek do then? And how many of us will be left?” She pointed at him. “Not you, you’ll be safe. But us?” She jabbed a finger, hard, against her own chest.
Brad’s hand dropped away. He tried to find more words, but she was right. Trying to make her feel better would only piss her off. Finally, he shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Yeah,” she breathed. “Exactly.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Good thing we got these extra horses,” Jake said. He, Kasey, and Jonah were in the barn, saddling seven of the eight they’d brought with them from Gibson. “Though I wouldn’t be against makin’ their asses walk all the way back to Blueville.”
Kasey looked across her horse at Jake. “They’d be nothing but stumps by the time we got there.”
Jake grinned. “Exactly.” He tossed a stirrup strap up and across the saddle, then tightened the buckle underneath.
Gus sniffed and rolled around in some hay over in the corner.
Jonah finished with one horse and moved on to another. He lifted a saddle off the bench and carried it over. “C’mon, now. Play nice.”
Kasey jerked a few times on a strap she tightened. “That is nice.”
Jonah swung the saddle up onto the horse’s back, looked over, and winked.
Her face warmed and she smiled.
Jake pulled the stirrup down, patted the rump of his horse, and walked around to Kasey. “It’s gonna be weird, goin’ back there.”
Kasey lifted an eyebrow and tipped her head. “Yeah, well.” She finished what she was doing and led the horse out of the way. “Long as it doesn’t end the same way, I’ll be happy.”
Jake blew what sounded like a raspberry. “No shit. That sucked.”
Jonah chuckled quietly to himself.
Jake turned to him. “Oh yeah, laugh. Wasn’t your dick hangin’ in the wind out there.” He thought back on how hard he, Kasey, and Mia had to ride to stay ahead of the runner horde they’d distracted and pulled away from the prison so their friends could escape. They’d barely survived that, and they’d ridden a couple of their horses to death.
Jake shook his head. “God, I hate it when we do that,” he said to himself.
The barn door swung open and Michael strode in, followed by Brad, Mort, and Adams.
The other three moved around their horses and met Michael halfway.
“What’s wrong?” Jonah said.
Michael shook his head. “I can’t get Torrez on the phone.”
Jonah glanced behind Michael and fixed his eyes on Adams. “Is Torrez still there?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Adams said, then he shrugged and jerked a thumb at Brad. “He already asked. We don’t know why they’re not answering the call.”
“You said they were pretty swamped when you were there,” Jake said. “I’m sure he ain’t walkin’ around with that satellite phone up his ass.”
“No,” Michael said, “but I’ve been trying all morning.”
“Still doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Kasey said. She moved around Jonah and Jake, and stood in front of Michael. “Either way, it’s decided. We’ll handle whatever we find when we get there.”
Michael hesitated, then nodded.
“That’s right,” Mort said. He motioned to all the Psy. “Between the four of us, we can keep you safe.” He focused on the shades of orange and red that swirled around Kasey. He’d seen this color on more than a few people throughout his life, the dangerous ones who walked around on a hair trigger, short tempered and prone to unpredictable bouts of violence. He forced a steady tone and added, “I promise you, girl. We’ll help you figure this out.”
Jonah kept his eyes on the nail in Mort’s right hand, watching him rub it steadily between thumb and forefinger.
“Sure.” Kasey gave Mort a tight smile. “We’ll deal with whatever comes.”
Jonah’s eyes flicked quickly to her. The skin around Kasey’s eyes was smooth. No crinkles around her mouth. Forehead, not creased. Pupils, slightly dilated. He caught Mort’s eye and gave him a barely noticeable shake of the head.
“Michael,” Jonah said, “see ‘em over to the shed so we can start gettin’ stuff loaded up.”
Michael gave Jonah a firm nod. “Bring the horses over when you’re done.” He took the reins of the pack horse and led the men outside.
Jonah took Jake by the shoulder. “You, too.”
Jake jumped, startled out of his thoughts. “You’ll need help gettin’ ‘em over.”
“Nah,” Jonah said, eyes on the back of Kasey’s head. “We got this. Go on, now. Help Michael pull supplies.”
Jake hesitated.
Kasey said, “Do as you’re told.”
He frowned and kicked his feet the first few steps, then shut the door behind him.
“Hey,” Jonah said, his words coming quick. He moved around in front of her and laid a hand along the side of her head, behind her ear. He ducked his own to look her in the eyes. “Hey.
Whatever you’re thinkin’, please don’t.”
She blinked several times. Jonah watched her pupils return to normal, and that line return between her eyebrows. The corner of his mouth quirked upward. “There ya go. This won’t go sideways.” He stepped closer and brought their foreheads together. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I promise. We’ll be alright,” he whispered.
“Yeah.” She sighed. “We’ll be alright.”
Jonah nodded and pulled her head against his chest. He smoothed her hair and held her tightly for a long time. Long enough for Gus to finally come over to see why everything had gotten so quiet. He sat at their feet and his tail beat against the wooden floor. It made them both chuckle.
“Alright.” Jonah tucked a finger underneath her chin and tipped her face up. “They’re gonna wonder what we’re doin’.”
Kasey shrugged. “Let them.”
He gave her a rare, toothy smile and his breathing quickened. “I just talked you out of somethin’ ugly. One of them comes lookin’, I’d be the one beatin’ ass.”
Kasey laughed this time. “Okay, okay.” She slid her arms between them and pushed them apart. She pointed to a horse off to the side. “Saddle him up, would ya.”
Jonah fought to get his breathing under control. “Yes, ma’am,” he said after a moment, then went back to work.
✽✽✽
The plan was to ride straight through to Blueville. Brad and Mort argued they could take their time on the return trip; they had plenty of supplies for a trip double the distance. Kasey and Michael argued that they’d rather get to the prison as fast as possible; they didn’t want to be caught out in the open by a swarm of terminators, no matter how many times Adams said he and his friends could shield their presence, hide them in plain sight. In the end, they compromised. The group would stop every eight or ten hours, but only to rest the horses and fill up their water supply if need be. If they stuck to this schedule, Michael figured they’d been in Blueville in roughly four days.
They’d been on the road for half that time before running across the first swarm.
Jonah and Kasey rode behind Jake and she grunted after catching a big whiff. “Damn. Last time I smelled something like that was way back when you got to my house, after the shit first hit.”
Michael burst out laughing.
Kasey spoke over her shoulder to Michael, who rode behind. “The worst part is it didn’t end there. Fucker stunk for two weeks because he refused to use my shower.”
Michael and Kasey laughed while Jake swore and told them to shut up. He reined in and brought the group to a halt in the middle of the road.
Brad rode alongside Jake in the lead. Mort, bringing up the rear with Michael and Adams, called ahead. “How many?”
Brad closed his eyes and brought up his danger radar. He took a breath, opened them, and superimposed the image over everything around him. He blinked a few times and looked to his left and right. Their sides were clear; no blips showed on his radar. He faced forward and blinked again. He held his breath and forced himself to stop blinking.
That can’t be right.
Jake looked over at him. “You alright?” he asked.
Brad let out a breath. “Found them.”
Jake jerked around in the saddle and looked back at the others. They rode up close and Mort shoved his way up next to Brad.
“How close and how many?” he asked.
Brad stared ahead, blinking every so often.
“Hey, boy.” Mort reached over, grabbed Brad’s arm, and shook him.
Behind them, Jonah and Adams maneuvered their horses around, putting Kasey, Michael, and Jake a few yards toward the back of the group. Jonah took one look at Brad and pulled his sidearm. He heard steel against leather and knew his friends behind had seen his cue.
“Brad,” Mort hissed again.
Brad finally turned his head toward Mort. “All of them.”
“What do you mean, all of them?” Adams said. He glanced over at Mort. “Like, the whole fucking horde?” He gasped. “Yeah, the whole fucking horde.”
Mort looked ahead, down the road. There wasn’t a gab in sight, so he had no idea how far away this swarm really was.
Brad turned his head to the right and blinked rapidly, then repeated this on their left. “Flanks are still clear.”
“How far away are they?” Mort asked.
Brad looked ahead and blinked again. “Couple miles, give or take.”
Jonah holstered his pistol and moved his horse in closer. “Adams, they movin’ west?”
“Yes,” Adams answered.
“Alright.” Jonah rubbed his beard a moment, then twisted in the saddle and called back to Kasey, “They’re movin’ away. But there’s a lot of ‘em, and they’re on the road.”
Kasey nodded and leaned in to talk with Michael and Jake.
Mort cleared his throat to catch Jonah’s attention. “We better find some shelter close by. Cool our heels for a little while.”
“I second that,” Adams said. “We’re moving faster than they are. If we don’t stop, we’ll run right up their asses.”
“Maybe get off this road, too,” Mort added.
Jonah glanced back again at Kasey, then looked forward and scratched his beard. “Alright. There’s some houses back that way.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder.
“That’ll do,” Mort said. He and Adams turned their horses. “Let’s go, boy,” he said to Brad. “Stay close.”
After a long moment, Brad finally got his horse moving. He pulled up alongside them and let his horse match their pace. “I don’t know. Something’s wrong, Mort.” He pressed his fingers to his eyes.
“What do you mean?” Mort said.
Brad shook his head. “They’re headed west. We’re headed west. I don’t have the map, so I don’t know what roads branch off this one. But it can’t be a coincidence, can it?”
Mort studied Brad a moment. “Blueville.”
Brad nodded. “Yeah.”
Jonah’s face hardened.
“Adams,” Mort said. “Is that horde headed to the prison in Blueville?”
“Yeah.” Adams swore under his breath.
“Okay,” Jonah spat. They’d almost caught up with the others and he didn’t want them to overhear and panic. “Let’s just avoid ‘em if we can for now, try and get to Blueville ahead of ‘em. Figure it out behind some bigass walls.”
They nodded and rode the rest of the way in silence.
Kasey led them a mile down the road, to a cluster of rundown houses. They picked the largest, which happened to be in the center, and led the horses around back. After they strung a rope between a storage shed in the backyard to the banister of the back porch, they unsaddled and tied off the horses. They’d be safe there; able to rest and eat grass, but unable to wander off. Kasey let Gus run around just long enough to pee on everything and shove his nose into a few clumps of weeds, then she snapped her fingers. After he stopped at her feet and looked up, she pointed to the door. He huffed and turned around so he could keep his eyes on it.
Michael and Jake kicked in the back door and cleared the ground floor, then the others carried in some supplies and barred the door shut. Kasey and Jonah cleared the upstairs. The house hadn’t been lived in for a very long time. There wasn’t even any evidence that zombies had ever been there.
“Alright. Michael, you got the map?” Jonah said. He swept everything off the dining room table; place mats, a plate and some silverware, a candle that smelled like wax but was supposed to smell like chocolate chip cookies, according to the label.
Michael pulled the map from his pack. “Right here.”
He unfolded it and smoothed it out onto the table. He and Jonah stood on opposite sides, bent over and studying it. Jake and Kasey wandered over after making sure the windows were secure. Gus settled down between Kasey’s feet, his ears perked and eyes locked on the front door.
“We’re here.” Michael pointed to a spot on the map about halfwa
y between home and Blueville. “Or thereabouts, anyway. That swarm is right around here.” He moved his finger just a bit, indicating the area down the road a few miles.
“It’d help if we knew where they were going,” Kasey said.
“They’re goin’ to the prison,” Jonah said, voice low.
“What?” she hissed.
Jonah nodded.
“Maybe not. Look here,” Jake said and moved Michael’s finger away. “This road connects to so many little backroads, not to mention the fuckin’ interstate. Some turn north, some south.” He moved his finger to another area. “Hell, some keep going west, and these two right here double back. They got a lot to choose from. What are the odds they stay on this road and go straight to Blueville?”
“Already asked Adams about it,” Jonah said. “He confirmed it.” He laid a finger on the map. “We can turn back, take this road,” he indicated a backroad a couple of miles to the east, “Cut around, hit this one, head on to the prison that way.”
“It’ll add another day or two,” Michael said, then he nodded. “But it’ll work. We’ve got enough supplies.”
The others nodded their agreement. Mort appeared behind Michael and cleared his throat. They turned to him.
“What is it?” Kasey said.
Mort glanced back over his shoulder. Brad and Adams were rifling through one their backpacks and, after a bit of disagreement, pulled out a pouch of jerky. Mort turned back to Kasey and the others.
“Brad said that horde is massive,” Mort said. “Bigger than any we’ve seen. And we know what kind of damage they can do. There’s a good chance we get there and there’s nothing left.”
“No way,” Jake said. “They got a big fuckin’ wall. And fences. No way the terminators take ‘em out.”
Jonah said to Mort, “You were there last. How were their defenses?”
Mort motioned to Jake. “Like he said. Fences and a big fucking wall.” He called over his shoulder for Adams. The younger man stopped arguing with Brad over the jerky and the pair came to the table. Mort pointed at the map, and to Blueville, and said, “Can the gabs attack the prison?”