The Feral Children [A Zombie Road Tale] Box Set | Books 1-3

by Simpson, David A.

  Lastly, she looked at the Asian boy as he joined the circle. He too carried a spear as well as machetes that crossed his back and protruded over his shoulders. Knives were strapped to his all black armor, most of it hand made of thick leather strips sewn in an overlapping pattern. He moved easily in it and he reminded her of a Samurai from one of those old Kung Fu movies. His hair was long, held back by a cord around his forehead. Like the others, he was scarred and lean. His face was kind, his eyes gentle but she saw strength, loyalty and determination in them. The black cat stood by his side, nearly invisible in the shadows, except for the yellow of her eyes and the swish of her tail. The boy and his companion exuded danger and menace. They weren’t the kind of enemy you would want to meet in the dark.

  Kassie lowered her voice, they leaned in close and she told them everything she’d overheard. She told them that they were going to help them, they just didn’t know how yet and she told them they weren’t from Gallatin. They were only here by mistake.

  “We lived by ourselves in the woods up in the badlands all winter.” She said. “We heard about Lakota on the radio, that’s where we were headed but wound up here.”

  “I didn’t take you for one of the townspeople.” Tobias said. “You look a little wild.”

  “You want to quit flirting with the new girl and concentrate on what she said?” Swan asked and Tobias reddened. “In case you missed it, they’re going to shoot you, skin the animals and rape us girls.”

  “No, they’re not.” He replied. “Nobody would want you, you’re too mean.”

  Analise elbowed him and Swan growled.

  “Fine.” He said. “When Kassie and her mom go to leave, we’ll bust out of here, open the gate and ride out of town. No problem.”

  As they started arguing about how dumb his plan was, they didn’t notice the tall man wearing a cowboy hat as he sauntered in and walked over to the wounded bear.

  15

  The Barn

  “I need him to be still.” Linda said as she sat back, her gentle probing finished. “I have to get the fragments out. It would be better if he was sedated but I don’t have anything strong enough. Everything I have is for humans and I don’t want to risk giving him something that might hurt his organs. I can try a local anesthetic but that means multiple injections in and around the wound and if he’s in that much pain, I’ll never be able to work on him if he decides he’s had enough.”

  “How about some Ketamine?” the cowboy asked. “That ought to keep him still and give him some sweet dreams of large lady bears.”

  Everyone turned at the new, laconic voice.

  “Who are you?” Linda asked

  “Someone who can’t mind his own business. Name’s Rye, Ma’am.” He said and tipped his hat.

  “How come they let you in here wearing that gun? You buddies with those guys?” Tobias demanded as he strode over. “Why would you want to help? We know what you’re planning!”

  Swan, Vanessa and Analise all elbowed him and he grunted with the pain. Swan didn’t hold back, she went for a kidney.

  “You’re an idiot.” She hissed. “Now they know we know.”

  “I’m not planning anything. I mean you no harm.” Rye said. “That guard’s not a friend, he’s a card cheat and he owed me thirty pieces of silver. He’s not much good at drinking and playing cards and I thought it was time to collect. He didn’t have the coin so we did a little trading. Thirty silver for thirty minutes. I wanted to meet you all, you’re famous. And besides, I don’t give up my guns for anybody.”

  “How come everyone who starts out telling us they mean no harm ends up trying to harm us?” Vanessa asked.

  “Lot of truth in that question, kid. Most people will tell you whatever you want to hear to get what they want from you. I suspect you guys have seen more than your share of that.” Rye replied.

  “How come he owed you money then?” Tobias growled. “You said he was a card cheat, why didn’t he win?”

  “I’m better at it.” Rye said with easy confidence and an easy smile.

  “I remember you.” Linda interrupted. “You’re a retriever. You brought in a couple of half-starved farmers a while back that had gotten themselves surrounded by a horde. Ketamine would be great if you have some.”

  “You got it.” Rye said. “I usually keep some in my Jeep, you never know when it will come in handy. Hang tight, I’ll be right back.”

  A few minutes later he returned with the horse tranquilizers and a can of dog food. Kodiak buried the pills in the Alpo and fed it to Otis. Within minutes, he was snoring deeply.

  “Ok, let’s do this.” Linda pulled on fresh gloves and grabbed her brush.

  She cleaned out the dirt and honey that packed the wound then scraped away the fur and dead flesh that could cause infection.

  It was a nasty wound. Gangrene could have killed the bear if left untreated. At the least, it would have maimed him and bothered him for the rest of his life. She irrigated the wound with peroxide and watched it fizz and bubbled as it attacked the infection. She kept pouring until it ran clear. Harper handed her a pair of forceps and she fished out the fragments of the bullet that had exploded in the muscle. She probed aggressively with her fingertips to find every last sliver.

  Harper held the light and mopped the sweat from the lady’s brow with a cloth. She watched and learned, asked questions and listened as the nurse walked her through everything she was doing. Finally, Linda let out a sigh and leaned back. She stripped out of her bloodied gloves and took a long drink from a bottle of water. Her apprehension was gone and she was in her element once again. Helping those who couldn’t help themselves. She felt good about the procedure and was sure she’d gotten all of the bullet fragments. Harper was ready with the sutures and she guided her through the process, showed her how to sew the torn flesh back together.

  Kodiak watched unblinking. It seemed like it was going well. The lady worked quickly and efficiently. She was thorough. He’d watched her intense concentration as she dug out each fragment and laid them in a tray. Almost like a puzzle, she’d placed them in the pan until she was satisfied she’d gotten them all. He thought about his mom as he watched. She had that same no-nonsense attitude when she’d tended to a wounded animal. He wished he’d have shown more interest in medical care, but he’d always thought he had all the time in the world to learn those things. The wound still bled freely but the nurse reassured him it was going to be okay as Harper stitched up the damage.

  “Looks better than mine.” He said when she was finished and indicated a rough scar on his arm. He wasn’t sure what had caused it. Might have been a coyote, maybe a boar? Could have been a raccoon for all he knew. There hadn’t been much time for thought in the battle against the savage ones. It was panic and chaos and trying to stay on your feet. If you went down, you would have been shredded.

  Linda stood and stretched. “I removed all of the bullet fragments. He was lucky, it didn’t hit anything vital. No broken bones. The inside stitches will dissolve on their own, but you’ll need to take the outer ones out in a week or so. He’ll be sore but if you don’t let him overdo it, he’ll be fine in a couple of weeks. He’ll be able to walk, but don’t let him run. If he wants to rest, then let him.”

  Harper laughed. “You have no idea how lazy that bear is. If he heard that, we’d have to carry him the rest of the way to Lakota.”

  Kodiak was nearly overcome with emotion as he watched the softly snoring bear.

  “Thank you.” He whispered.

  Linda nodded then in her no-nonsense nurse’s voice she called out to the rest of them.

  “I want to examine all of you.” She said, “Make a line and shed some of that armor.”

  They were circled around Rye and from the gathering thunder on his face, she could tell Kassie had shared what she’d overheard. They could fill in Harper and Kodiak as she examined them and maybe they could come up with a plan.

  Linda fussed over all of them. She told Tobias he needed
to do a better job at brushing his teeth, told Kodiak he needed to do stretching exercises or he would lose some mobility in his arm but overall she was impressed and pleased at how well they’d taken care of themselves. Rye reassured them that Lakota was a good place and they shouldn’t abandon their plans to go there.

  “How are we going to get there if they plan on cutting us down as soon as we’re away from town?” Kodiak asked. “They’ve got us penned in by men with guns on the walls. If we try to force our way out, they’ll shoot us down and claim we had rabies or something.”

  “Donny and I can get out at night.” Swan said. “We’ll dig under this barn tin, sneak up to the top of the wall and kill all the guards. We dump their bodies outside; they won’t even be missed until morning. It shouldn’t be too hard.”

  Donny thumped his spear in agreement.

  “NO!” Linda said. “You can’t do that. You can’t just go around killing people. There are laws.”

  “But they want to kill us!” Kodiak exclaimed. “We’re just getting to them before they do.”

  “They’re not all bad men.” Rye said. “Some of them have families and the guards are just doing their jobs. Most of them don’t have any idea what the mayor is planning. We need a stealthy way out. Once you’re away from the town then it’s anything goes if they come after you but you can’t go around slicing throats inside the walls. You’d have bounties on your heads.”

  “We could blow up the wall and get out then.” Tobias said. “You got any dynamite?”

  Rye shook his head and hid a grin. These kids had spunk. “I said stealthy. You know, quiet like. No explosions.”

  “Time’s up, Rye!” a shout came from the front of the barn. “You’ve had your thirty minutes, let’s go.”

  “Coming, Slim, just let me say goodbye. I think I’ve taken a shine to this wolf girl.” He shouted back.

  There was laughter from the door but the man didn’t dare come inside. The wolves scared him.

  When Rye turned back there were looks of shock and surprise on Linda and Kassie’s faces. The children had raw rage on theirs. Weapons were out of sheaths and the animals didn’t look friendly anymore. He hadn’t even heard the whisper of steel on leather, those kids moved like shadows.

  “Hold on.” He said. “I had an idea, that’s all. Hear me out.”

  They didn’t lower their weapons as he slowly pulled a flask of whiskey from his vest and another horse tranquilizer from a pocket.

  “I think I’ll join their gang.” He said and when the weapons still didn’t lower, he repeated what he said before.

  “Stealth.” He said. “Not brute force. How much do you think, Doctor? I don’t want them knocked out, just loopy.”

  He unscrewed the cap and started breaking off pieces of the pill to let them dissolve in the amber liquid.

  “What good will that do?” Kodiak asked. “They’ll sober up and come after us.”

  “Not if they’ve been tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail.” Rye said. “Do you trust me?”

  “No.” Swan said.

  “Yes.” Linda answered.

  “I know him.” She continued, addressing the tribe. “We’re not best friends or anything but he has a reputation, he’s risked his life to help strangers. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. He’s one of the good guys, Kodiak. I’ll stake my life on it.”

  Kassie nodded. She knew the farmers he’d saved, it was all they talked about for weeks. He’d come in guns a blazing and had cleared out nearly a hundred of the undead by himself and led the rest of them away when he ran out of bullets.

  “You, too, Doc.” The man yelled again. “Enough chit chat, let’s go.”

  “Can I borrow your phone?” Rye asked Kassie as they headed for the door.

  “I like him.” Vanessa admitted. “He seems like someone who doesn’t take no crap off anybody.”

  “Yeah, like me.” Tobias said.

  Swan snorted and Donny rolled his eyes. They all flinched inwardly when the guard slammed the door shut behind the cowboy, the doctor and her daughter.

  16

  Job Interview

  Rye swatted Linda across the butt as she hurried away from the barn and laughed when she shot him a dirty look.

  “Slim” he said as he pulled out the bottle “I envy you. You’ve got yourself a sweet little setup here. How do I get a little bit of this action?”

  The man took the proffered whiskey eagerly. Guard duty was tiresome and boring and he hadn’t had time to grab himself a little nip of his own.

  They passed the time and it wasn’t long before he had the two others sitting around a table in the shade playing a little five card. They were still guarding, they could see the front door and the back one was chained. The brats weren’t going anywhere. Slim was the only one he knew personally but he’d seen the others around back when they were retrievers. Back before they became the Mayor’s men. If he remembered right, they hadn’t been very good at it. They weren’t very successful at any of the big gold gigs and took the easy ones that didn’t pay very much. Rye was careful not to swallow any when it was passed to him and when the first flask was empty, they started on the second. He brought up the subject again of coming off the road.

  “You boys know how dangerous it is out there.” He said. “I’m tired of risking my life for those rich bastards. They don’t even care if we get killed, am I right? They’ll just send someone else out to get whatever it is they’re looking for. I want a job working you boys. Is the Mayor hiring?”

  The special K was doing its job. They couldn’t remember whose turn it was or who had bet what. The talk was light and tongues were loose. Rye started off by asking them if they could keep a secret. Three inebriated heads nodded and leaned in closer.

  “I ever tell you about that Indian squaw I come across up in Kansas?” he asked in a conspiratorial whisper, his hat askew on his head. “Her and her man had a place in a warehouse. Pretty good setup. He was out scavenging when I found her. She put up a good fight, but I like to play rough.”

  He laughed and they leaned in closer, wanting to hear the details. The lie left a bad taste in his mouth but they ate it up as he told about two days of “fun” he had with the woman.

  “Her old man came home when I was giving her the old in and out. Had to put a couple of bullets in him, he wasn’t the sharing type.”

  They guffawed and started sharing stories of their own, like how they’d gotten rid of the old mayor and the sheriff in a tragic cattle stampede. That little “accident” was what paved the way to their life of leisure here in Gallatin.

  Rye passed the bottle around again and asked about the kids in the barn.

  “Oh we got plans for them.” Slim said. “They’ll be leaving tonight, never to be seen again.”

  “That’s right.” Beardy guy said. “Those animals hides are gonna bring us a whole bunch of money and those kids will be feeding the fishes.”

  “After we have us a little fun with those girls.” The third man said with a wicked grin. “Me and blondie and the black girl and that albino twin are gonna have us a date tonight.”

  “Don’t be getting all greedy.” Beardy complained. “I want some, too.”

  “I want me a piece of that wolf girl.” Rye said, his smile predatory under his mustache. “I got a thing for Indians. You think the Mayor would hire me on?”

  “Probably would.” A bearded man slurred. “We could use another man that’s good with a gun and ain’t afraid to use it. Can’t trust these townies with anything more than walking the wall.”

  “What do you think, Slim. Will you vouch for him?” he asked but Slim was face down on the table in a puddle of drool.

  The third man narrowed his eyes and tried to focus them. Something wasn’t right. They’d only had two small bottles of whiskey, nobody should be feeling so loopy. It was barely enough to give them all a good buzz, let alone have one of them passed out. He picked up the nearly empty bottle and gave it a shake, sa
w the residue of powder in the bottom and dropped his hand to his gun. Rye hooked his chair with his boot and pulled, tipped him over backward and swung a hard left at the bearded man’s surprised face. There was a solid thwock as he cracked his jaw and the man went stiff before his eyes rolled up and he toppled out of his chair. Rye put a pointy toed cowboy boot to the man struggling to free his pistol and sent it flying. He reached for his AR-15 but Rye had already snatched it up.

  “Say goodnight, dirtbag.” He said and slammed it against his forehead

  17

  Ice Cream

  The tribe tensed when they heard the rattle of the chain being pulled from the doors but relaxed again when Rye stuck his head through.

  “Hey, give me a hand.” He said and they hurried forward to drag the three unconscious men through the door.

  “Got any rope we can tie ‘em up with?” Rye asked, sweating from the exertion of dragging the fattest one.

  “Don’t need any.” Swan said.

  “Look, I know you kids are tough but they’re grown men and…”

  “Guard.” Swan said and instantly her pack of wolves stopped being inquisitive about the bodies and low growls came from their throats. They paced around the inert forms, watching for any movement, any signs of aggression, any little reason for them to rip into the soft flesh and bone.

  “Uh. Okay.” Rye said. “Point taken.”

  “Now what?” Kodiak asked. “This is your plan? How are we going to get through the gate, they still have machine guns. They still have the height advantage.”

  “Yeah. We’re worse off now than before.” Swan said. “They’ll figure out they’re missing three guards pretty quick. I thought you said stealth. I could have gone out and konked some drunks over the head.”