by Deb Rotuno
“Derek wouldn’t risk it if he didn’t think it was worth going,” I said softly, looking between my dad and my husband.
“That’s very true.” Jack sighed, shaking his head as he looked over at my dad. “Well, I still say give them a bit longer, if not another day. But they’ve got plenty of daylight today.”
“All right,” Dad agreed, but I could see that he was worried. “At least they have good weather.”
Glancing around, I nodded. The rain the night before had cleared up sometime during the night, leaving us with a cold, clear day. The sky was a cloudless bright blue, reflecting in the lake, and the wind was minimal but crisp, except for the smell of the zeak bonfire that Mose was manning off in the corner of the property. They’d cleared the fences last night but left the bodies for today. Cleanup was just about finished.
I lifted the binoculars again, scanning the other side of the lake. Derek had taken the small metal boat, heading south to the opposite corner, so I looked a little more east but saw no movement. There were farms and small cabins across the way. I kept looking but drifted along the shore in a westerly direction, thinking maybe they’d taken to foot once across the water. It was just along the curve of the lake that I caught sight of movement.
I nudged my husband and put the binoculars in his hand. “Look. Um, about…two o’clock, I’d guess. Is that them? Or someone else? ’Cause that’s not the same boat.”
Jack looked, and my dad turned around to wait for an answer, but Jack sighed. “I can’t tell yet. It’s a bigger damn boat, that’s for sure.” He stayed quiet as he kept watching, and then a laugh barked out of him. “Oh, that’s them. Joel just went ass over elbows into the water.”
Grinning, I stole the binoculars back. “Shut up! Really?”
It was like watching an old silent movie. The large white boat had come to a stop right in the middle of the lake, and I could see Joel’s head bobbing up and down just above the surface of the water. He was laughing, at least, but he pointed a finger to Derek, who seemed to be yelling down at him and threatening Joel with his own sword. But it was Lexie and Josh who made me chuckle. Both were practically doubled over in laughter.
“Well, they’re all alive and accounted for… That is if Derek lets Joel back in the boat.”
“Oh, hell… Let me see,” Dad said with a groan and a chuckle.
I handed him the binoculars, but Sasha and I followed Jack out through the small gate in the fence that led down to the dock.
“Serves Joel right…starting shit,” Jack muttered, readying the dock for the bigger boat that was now growing closer. “I left his punishment up to Derek.”
Giggling, I shook my head at Jack’s shameless crooked smile my way. “He’s gonna be cold,” I sang with a grin.
“He’s gonna be even colder when he’s sleeping in another damn room,” I heard behind us, and I spun to smile at Ruby, who was rolling her eyes at Jack’s laughter. “Idiot. I told him to leave shit alone about you and Lexie, but he wanted to razz Derek. There’s a time and place for that shit, but he didn’t listen. Just tell me you two—and you and your cousin—are okay, Jack.”
Jack snorted, waving it off. “My cousin and I have argued like brothers my whole life, Ruby. Don’t you worry about that. We state our case—sometimes very loudly…or with fists—and we move on.”
“And you two?” she asked me.
“Oh, no… We’re fine,” I said firmly but with a smile.
“Good.” She nodded once but glanced back when a few more people started to join us as the boat’s engine could now be heard.
Ruby, Jack, and I cleared the dock of another small metal boat, dragging it up to the bank. By the time we were finished, Derek was slowing down. Joel was a shivering, wet rat on the bow, which caused me to laugh.
“Joel, your lips are blue,” I called out, but he grinned, the silly thing. “It’s a good look for you.”
“Ya think so, Shorty?”
“Mmhmm,” I hummed with a nod, taking the line he threw my way.
Jack took the other one Derek was tossing him. “You decided to upgrade the boat?” Jack asked, smirking at his cousin.
“Yeah, well… Farm girl over there decided we needed to save the animals,” he drawled sarcastically, but Lexie merely grinned.
“Shut up!” she snapped with a laugh, reaching down, only to come up with a cage.
“Oh, hell,” Jack breathed, his eyes wide.
“Oh, yes,” she told him, pointing behind her.
There were at least ten to twelve cages with chickens in them…and one with a rather disgruntled-looking rooster. I was guessing he didn’t like his little harem being uprooted from their home.
“And these,” she added, handing another box over the side to me.
I peeked inside, smiling at what was peering up at me. Rabbits. “Guess we need to build some cages.”
“It’s two of the easiest farm animals to raise,” Lexie explained. “And chickens… That’s meat and eggs.”
“Excellent… All we need is a pig and a cow, and we’ve got breakfast,” Jack teased her, but she merely shoved a cage at him.
“How ’bout goats?” Josh called out, leading two to the side of the boat. “Now you know why we had to upgrade the boat.”
Jack chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. “Fair enough, kid.”
Derek landed heavily on the dock. “This bastard’s full. We kinda fell into a lucky streak. There was a farm that was pretty secure. The house was riddled with zeaks, but the barn and the barnyard were practically untouched. The animals were hidden away. These guys, anyway,” he said, gesturing to the cages. “There were pigs and cows and horses too, but they’d been killed. We’d have been back sooner, but the rain yesterday trapped us in a bait shop for like eight hours.” His eyes drifted around the property. “Though, it looks like you guys had a bit of trouble.”
“Nothin’ we couldn’t handle,” Jack assured him and then shot a sharp whistle over his shoulder. “Everyone pitch in to unload!”
Mose, Margaret, Jesse, Tina, Ava, and Freddie headed down to the dock, the latter two at an excited run with Janie on their tail. Supplies were handed over the side by Joel and Josh, and they were all carried up to the deck for the moment. There were boxes of canned goods, some dry goods, and even a few cans of fuel. Some sacks of feed for the chickens and rabbits had managed to survive the zeaks as well. The goats bleated in protest when they were picked up and handed over, and Sasha eyeballed them for a second, finally giving her approving, “Boof!” Both goats jumped, but Lexie soothed them, leading them up the dock and into the fenced area, where she let them loose. They could feed on grass and flowers for however long they wished.
“Anyway,” Derek sighed, looking to Jack. “We made our way around the east side of the lake,” he continued, pointing to the opposite shore. “We found an old-as-hell pickup that had a bit of gas left in it, and we used it to lug all this shit around. We kept checking these lake houses until we found this boat tied up on a dock.”
“What about my mom’s stuff?” Jack asked, glancing over his shoulder for a second for his parents, who were making their way down.
“Got it. All of it. And then some,” Derek stated with a nod. “She can probably find a cure for cancer with what I brought her.”
“It’s not cancer that’s the issue,” Dottie piped up, giving Derek a kiss on the cheek and ruffling his hair in such a motherly gesture that he blushed. “But I appreciate it all the same. Thank you, sweetheart. And I’m glad you guys made it back safely.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His voice was soft, almost embarrassed, but he smiled her way. “I’m afraid all I was able to get for you was stuff from that vet clinic you told me about.”
“Which is perfectly fine, son,” she soothed him. “It’s all the same stuff—the syringes, antibiotics, and equipment. It doesn’t matter. I’m still grateful.” She turned to Jack. “What I’ll need next…is a specimen.”
“A wha… A specimen
of what exactly?” Jack asked her his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. “Tell me you don’t mean a living zeak.”
“I do.”
Jack’s head fell back with a groan as he scrubbed his face, only to grip his hair in his hands. “You coulda said somethin’ sooner, Ma! We just burned about seventy-five of the damn things. Now I have hunt one down for you?”
She laughed, patting the side of his face and shooting a wink my way. “Well, I didn’t know if this run would be successful. Now we know it is. And now I need a specimen.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed on his mother. “Fine, but you’ll need to give me a day or two.”
“Okay,” she sang, kissing his cheek, too. “Just let me know…”
He turned to face me, his expression deadpan, and I laughed at him. “Laugh it up, Shortcake. You’re probably comin’ with me.”
Giggling, I stood up on my tiptoes to kiss his slightly pouty lips. “Sure, baby. Tell me when.”
JACK
“How do you wanna do this, Jack?” Sara asked as she straddled the four-wheeler, leaving enough room for me to sit in front of her.
I lifted Freddie into the attached trailer, and Sasha hopped in next to him, settling herself between him and Quinn. It was Quinn’s first scouting trip since his gunshot wound. His leg was pretty much healed, although it occasionally gave him trouble. This trip would be a day, at most, if not just a few hours. All three were waiting for my answer.
Running a hand through my hair, I thought for a moment as I cracked my knuckles. “Mom needs something alive, but she didn’t say it needed to be…functional.”
Quinn laughed. “Off with his head!” he yelled in a false British accent. “Seriously?”
“Maybe.” I chuckled. “What makes them dangerous? Their teeth and hands, right?” I asked but turned to Sara. “So…we remove the trouble: the arms and bottom jaw. Or at the very least all appendages so they can’t move or grab.”
“Eww,” she groaned but nodded. Her beautiful blue eyes gazed up at the gray clouds above us. “Well, if we’re doing this…”
Nodding, I looked to the boys in the trailer. “We’re not going far, just to some cabins nearby. And this isn’t really a scouting trip…but if you spot supplies we may need, then let me know.”
“Okay, Dad,” Freddie said, running his fingers through Sasha’s fur.
When Quinn agreed with a nod, I straddled the seat in front of Sara. Her body melted to my back, and I smiled back at her, receiving a kiss to my cheek.
“Where are we putting this thing once we find it?”
I pointed to the rack on the front of the four-wheeler. “We’ll strap it down like a deer.”
“Oh hell… Just go, Jack,” she sighed, and I chuckled at her adorable disgusted expression.
“Blame Mom, Shortcake. Not me. She could’ve had her pick of zeaks the other day, but noo…”
We pulled out of the gate, but Derek stopped us. “You guys take it easy. No big deal if you don’t find anything today. Okay?”
I nodded, giving him a fist bump before leaving the grounds. I made sure the gate was closed and locked before pulling away. It was better that we were taking the four-wheeler. The small, narrow side road that led to the lake houses was a mess. Cars, trucks, and zeaks we’d already taken care of were everywhere, causing me to drive on the roadside to get around it all.
The next three houses were empty. I already knew that much. In fact, the three on the opposite side of the lodge were cleared out as well. We’d raided them for blankets and food, clearing out the zeaks as we went, so my goal was to start at the fourth house, but it was at least two miles from the last cabin, which was why it had remained untouched by us. It wasn’t close enough to be a problem. And this was the first time that I was hoping we’d actually find a zeak when we got there.
I wanted this trip quick and over with as soon as possible. Tomorrow was Thanksgiving, and I was looking forward to it. It would be a big day, a day where everyone could just relax. It had been a few days since Derek had brought back all his supplies, and the chickens had already proven themselves useful. Fresh eggs were just about the best damn thing the camp had tasted in a long time, not to mention all the things Millie could use them for, but she was also planning on roasting a couple of the hens. It was going to be a big meal and a true testament to what Thanksgiving really was, which had nothing to do with Pilgrims and Indians anymore.
Slowing the four-wheeler down as we neared the fourth cabin, I sniffed the air, but it was Sasha who gave me my answer.
“Boof,” she huffed from behind me.
“Yeah, I thought so too, big girl,” I muttered, stopping at the end of a dirt driveway, and I felt Sara’s smile into the back of my neck.
The house was big, with two stories and a rather large shed in the back. It was a lot of ground to cover, but truly, we were in no hurry. We weren’t that far from the lodge, and we had plenty of daylight to get it done.
Shutting off the engine, I said, “No splitting up. We’ll just work through it all together. Okay?”
“Sure, baby,” Sara agreed softly, using my shoulders to get off the four-wheeler. Once she was on solid ground, she gazed around the place. “There’s a car in the back. I see the bumper from here.”
“Which means someone’s home,” Quinn stated with a grimace, pulling out his machete.
I turned to my son, smiling down at him as he readied his rifle. “Freddie, c’mere,” I called him, taking a knee. “You okay to do this?”
“Yes, Dad,” he answered quickly. “We only need one, right?”
“That’s right. And since we don’t know what’s inside, I need you to stick close to me. Aim for the knees, son. Okay?” I asked him, smiling and squeezing his shoulder when he nodded. “Good. Keep your distance.”
“Got it.”
“Good boy,” I praised him, standing up to face the house.
The house was eerie, but that might have been because the weather was growing uglier. It also might have been because it was in a little disrepair—peeling paint, missing shingles on the roof, and a cracked windowpane or two.
“Watch your steps in here,” I told them when the porch steps creaked under my weight. I reached for the door, trying to peer inside through the thin curtain, but I could see no movement. I raised a fist, pounded on the window, and waited, but after several seconds, there was still nothing moving on the other side. “That doesn’t mean anything,” I murmured, opening the door. “We’ll clear downstairs first, then the second floor.”
Quinn nodded, stepping past me toward the left, and Freddie followed to the right. Sara eyed the kitchen straight ahead. Sasha, however, was tense, with sharp eyes and a lowered head, but she stuck to Sara like glue as she stepped into the kitchen.
I heard Quinn call clear, but he’d only had a small sitting room and a bathroom to check. I took a hallway, noting that most of the doors were open, except for the one that led out to the backyard and one that was most likely the basement.
Pressing my ear to the door, I listened closely but also kept an ear out for Sara, who hadn’t said anything yet. When she appeared at the end of the hallway, she shook her head, but Sasha left her side, stepping closer to me and Freddie. Her smart, deep-amber eyes were locked on to the door, only to flicker up to me.
Freddie listened to the door, suddenly stepping back. “I hear something in there.”
“Okay,” I sighed, pulling my .45 out. I had to rethink how to do this. My initial reaction was to aim for the head, but I couldn’t do that in this case.
“Jack,” Sara called softly, and when I snapped my gaze from the door to her worried face, she pointed to Quinn, who was starting up the stairs but had stopped about halfway to wait for us. “Quinn heard movement upstairs. Maybe we should clear that first. We know that one isn’t going anywhere.”
Glancing to Freddie, who was wide-eyed but calm, and then to the door, I nodded. “Maybe you’re right, Shortcake.” When we walked through the kitchen
to the stairs, I asked, “Anything we can use in the kitchen?”
“Just some canned stuff. We’ll pack it up before we leave.”
I stopped, shaking my head. “Actually…” I trailed off, turning to Freddie. “Son, pack up what you can find in those cabinets. Keep Sasha with you.”
“Okay, Dad,” he said, and I smirked over at Sara, simply because he was so damn eager to be a help. And in all honesty, he didn’t care how he could help. Fishing, hunting, fighting… It didn’t matter.
“Here, baby,” Sara said, taking the bag she’d brought with her off her shoulder. “Don’t go crazy, Freddie. Just take what we need. And stay inside. Just set it by the door.”
“Okay, Mom.” He took it with a serious expression on his face, calling Sasha to go with him, and she obeyed him instantly, staying right by his side.
We got to the stairs, only to meet Quinn’s amused face. “He’s really like your mini-me, isn’t he? All serious and shit. Does he get all cranky when stuff goes wrong?”
“Shut up,” I said with a laugh, shoving him up the stairs.
Sara chuckled. “Actually, yes…a little, but he gets that from both of us.”
Grinning with pride, I looked to Quinn, who rolled his eyes at us. “And there you have it, smartass. Now…get your ass up there. Take the left, and I’ll take the right. Sara, stay in the middle at the stairs and watch our backs.”
Sara smirked at the laughter but nodded. “Yup, got it.”
Before I stepped away from her, I whispered, “And keep an ear out for Sasha down there. Hmm?”
She winked but nodded. She knew Quinn and I could handle this shit upstairs but that Sasha would alert us to something down below. And it would be easier for her to get to him than me, simply because she’d be closer…and quicker.
The second floor wasn’t all that big. Quinn checked to the left but only found a linen closet and a bathroom. To the right, there were a few bedrooms, but I knew we’d found trouble when thumps met my ears, not to mention shadows shifting back and forth at the bottom of the door. Looking to Quinn, who’d joined me, I nodded once at him.