by Lybeck, Kyle
This is what you get for stealing Bobby’s supplies and burning down his barn to kill that group of runners, Trish, you dumb bitch. You should have known better that he wasn’t gone for good. No matter how much he bullied you as a kid, stealing from him was plain wrong.
Trish had to push the thoughts out of her head, and make sure to keep a good following distance from the car in front of her in case of a sudden stop.
The roads hadn’t been too bad so far, not much to get in the way of their travels west. She was at least happy for that. The last thing she wanted was to have to fight more of those things and possibly lose her truck in the process.
The truck had been in her family for a long time as well, other than the guns she had in the back, this was the last remnant of home she brought with her.
She was easily following the path of the Honda, swerving the truck around a tire in the middle of the road, and an abandoned gas can. Before long, the sign for Bend City Limits was passing her passenger door.
The city streets became much more crowded with debris than the highway they had dealt with the last two and a half hours.
The vehicles cautiously made their way through town, before turning right at the intersection for NE 3rd and NE Greenwood Avenue. Trish continuing to follow as the Honda drove into the parking lot for the Riverhouse Lodge. Settling the truck next to the car, she turned off the engine, opening her door to the smiling faces of the other women.
“This where y’all decided we stay for the night?”
“Caroline has been doing a pretty good job of finding spots for us to stay each night. This one looked really nice from the pictures, we were hoping it wouldn’t be too bad in the way of ragers or anyone else.”
Trish began looking around the empty parking lot.
“Looks like we’re good in the way of other people. Doesn’t seem to be any runners right around here either, which is good considering what we were seeing not far outside of the city.”
“Let’s go check it out, make sure we can get into the rooms,” Caroline said starting towards the front.
The front entrance was a log cabin style front, absolutely gorgeous architecture. Pulling on the side door as the sliding doors wouldn’t open, Caroline led them inside.
“Definitely doesn’t have power, that’s for sure,” she said, as the other two were following her inside.
“Damn this is a fancy place,” Trish said, taking in the luxurious lobby, couches all around, and a fireplace with river rock hearth.
Abby and Caroline spoke in agreement, as they went to the front desk to see if keys or key cards were used for the rooms.
“Key cards, crap,” Caroline said, throwing one of the cards back onto the counter.
“We could always try breaking into the rooms,” Trish suggested.
“Could be worth a shot. I guess if it came down to it, we could always stay on the couches down here, there sure are enough of them.”
The trio found the stairwell entrance next to the elevators, walking upstairs to the top floor.
“Should we try for the suite and all stay in the same room, or try and get into two rooms?” Abby inquired of Trish.
“If you two don’t mind, I’d like a room to myself. They can be next to each other if you want, in case something happens in the middle of the night.”
“Works for us,” Abby answered, as they went down the hallway to a block of rooms.
“Okay, let me see if I can kick this thing in,” Trish said, bringing up her boot to the lock, pulling it back, and giving her full force forward. The door made a snap sound, but didn’t give way. Two more attempts led to no better a result.
“Maybe if two of us run with our shoulders into it,” she gave her suggestion.
Joining her, they both put their shoulders to the door, as Trish counted to three for them to rush forth.
The door pushed inward with a louder snap, but still didn’t fully open. They made two more attempts, but the stubborn door held.
“Something is to be said for good old fashioned keys,” Caroline said.
“Says the fourteen year old,” Abby was laughing.
“Well, looks like we may have to take refuge on those couches for the night,” Trish said, beginning to walk back down to the stairwell door.
Making their way back down the stairs and into the lobby entrance, they went back out to the vehicles to bring in any supplies for the night they found necessary.
Abby was a little taken aback, but at the same time not overly surprised when Trish brought in multiple pistols, rifles, and shotguns, placing them all on one of the couches.
“You sure that’s going to be enough?” Abby was chuckling as she saw the final arsenal laid out.
“Better than leaving them out in the car where someone could steal them, or worse yet use them against us,” she said, in a very stern tone.
“Sorry, I was just joking.”
“Sometimes, there isn’t room for jokes anymore,” Trish said, walking back out front to gather more items from her truck.
Abby took a moment to think about her words, before walking out to the Honda and retrieving the last of their own items, a backpack and a cooler.
After all the items were inside that they wanted, each closing up their vehicles for the night and began making a place to stay on the couches.
“I found some extra blankets in a closet down the hall,” Caroline said, divvying them up onto the couches.
“Great, thanks hon,” her mom said, helping spread them out.
“I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving,” Trish said, holding her rumbling stomach. “It looked like there was a courtyard a few side doors down with a fire pit and wood, along with a bunch of chairs, if you two want to go out there. That’s where I’m thinking of going.”
Mother and daughter agreeing in unison, grabbing some hot dogs from one of the coolers. Trish was snagging a few cans of Chef Boyardee from a backpack, a lighter, and some newspaper from the front counter to start a fire.
The painter’s suits irritatingly crinkling behind Trish as she made her way to the courtyard.
“I’m amazed you two aren’t burning up in those things, or at least get annoyed by the noise they make.”
“You get used to it, it’s worth it knowing that it’ll keep us from the rager blood if it comes down to it.”
“If you say so, but I’d at least be careful around the fire, those things will probably melt back against your skin if you aren’t careful.”
Upon reaching the courtyard, Trish found a stack of firewood back against the building, and in no time had a fire going. Abby and Caroline were already pulling out their metal hot dog sticks they had found at the same convenience store as the hot dogs, and began to roast them over the warm flames.
Trish used a pocket can opener to partially open the top of the cans, placing them down into the fire pit to warm.
The three cooked and ate in silence, enjoying the fire as the early evening had quickly grown cool, the sun creeping its way down towards the hills.
Sitting back in her chair, Trish brought out a flask from her pocket, unscrewing the lid and taking a swig.
“Whiskey?” she asked, holding the flask out to Abby.
“No thanks, not really much of a drinker.”
“Might want to rethink that mentality in this day and age. It’s pretty much the only thing that helps me sleep any more. I’ve grown accustomed to being on high alert to defend the farm.”
“I always want to be on my most alert,” Abby said, taking a drink of her own water.
“Suit yourself,” Trish brought her arm back and took another drink before screwing the cap back on. Placing the flask back in her pocket and leaning up towards the heavens, she saw the first stars beginning to peek out against the darkening sky.
“I think I’m going back inside to try and get some sleep, that okay with you, mom?”
“Sounds perfect, go ahead sweetheart. I’ll be in soon.”
; Caroline made her way back inside, chills running through her body the further she was from the fire.
“So, Abby, tell me what happened with you guys. You said your husband and son got killed, but what went down?”
Staring at the flickering flames, Abby let out a soft sigh while playing with a stray string from her shirt.
“It was gut-wrenching. We were trying to leave our family home in Casper, and my husband was attacked by one of those ragers. Caroline had to kill him before he turned into one of them.”
“Holy hell, that’s some fucked up shit.”
“Yes, it was pretty horrific,” Abby said, cringing both at the harsh language, and the reflections in her mind of Will’s brain splattering against their car.
“And your son? How did that come about?”
“We were trying to get out of Pocatello. These people actually made balloons filled with rager blood, trying to infect other people. They chased us and we found our way to a church to seek shelter, but they turned out to be some sort of crazy cult. They tried to shield Ben and keep him for their own, but they were splattered with blood as Caroline killed oncoming ragers and they became ragers themselves. They attacked Ben and killed him before we could even think about trying to save him.”
“Good god, both of those are worst case scenario shitstorms. I’m amazed you two haven’t broken down and given up yet.”
“It’s crossed my mind, but the only thing keeping me going now is Caroline. I can’t give up on her.”
“I can see that. Like I said before, I don’t mind being alone, I tell ya, it’s a helluva lot easier to just worry about yourself and nobody else.”
“Didn’t you get lonely though, without anyone else around?”
“It wasn’t too bad, I had my iPod, so I could at least listen to some music to drown out the noise of those runners before I killed them. It also helped me get to sleep, that and the whiskey. What little sleep I could get, that is.”
“Same for us, we haven’t been able to get much sleep. Between being on our toes, and both of us having nightmares of Will and Ben’s deaths, it’s been a rough go.”
“Well, maybe tonight we’ll all finally get some sleep. I haven’t heard a single noise out here to indicate we should worry. No gunshots, no growling or screaming.”
“That’s true, I suppose we might actually get some sleep,” Abby said, yawning into her hand as she replied.
“Why don’t you go inside and get some rest, I’ll keep an eye out here and then come inside in a little while,” Trish said, watching the flames beginning to wind down in the pit.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, you and your daughter have been through a lot, I can see that. If we’re going to be a team, at least for the time being, I want you guys to be alert during the day.”
“Thanks, Trish,” she said, taking her leave from the warmth of the fire and walking back inside.
Trish kept watch as the rest of the fire was dwindling to nothing but coals as in the distance, a single coyote was yip-howling into the ether of the cloudless night.
Chapter 26
A New Dawn
Caroline awoke to both adults still asleep on their respective couches. Her mom cozied into a blanket, and Trish cozied against a shotgun.
Walking quietly to the front desk, she began searching for some sort of staff room, possibly a coffee machine or snacks. To her luck, the back room behind the front desk had a coffee machine and bags of coffee. She then remembered there was no power, a frown crossing her face as she went back out into the lobby.
Softly opening the cooler with their drinks, she snagged one of the coffee beverages they still had left, walking out to the courtyard. Taking a seat and unscrewing the lid, she took a long drink of the sweet beverage.
Stretching her arms and legs, she was quickly realizing she actually felt rested. She couldn’t remember having woken up from any nightmares, which was a plus.
Before long, her mom was joining her in the courtyard.
“How’d you sleep?”
“I actually feel really good,” Abby said, herself now stretching out her sleepy limbs.
“Want some of my drink? I found a coffee machine, but then remembered there isn’t any power.”
“No thanks, too early in the morning for that much sugar. I’ll have some later, we should still have a few other bottles left, right?”
“Yeah, there are still two more in the cooler.”
“Perfect, you enjoy that one then,” she said, taking a seat on one of the chairs.
Caroline took another drink, licking her lips of the sugary milk.
“Have you been looking at your phone yet to see where we should be heading today?”
“I haven’t yet,” she said, pulling it out of her pocket. “Let me check.”
Bringing up the map on her phone, she looked west, and also north.
“Do you want to try and go out towards the Oregon coast, or make our way up north into Washington and the islands?”
“I guess we could try for the coast, it would be a lot closer.”
“Works for me, let me look,” she said, putting her nose back into the map. “Looks like either way we would have been heading north. We can follow US-20 like before, and over to Corvallis. From there we could make our way out to Newport.”
“Then finally put our backs against the ocean, and find a permanent place to live out this nightmare.”
“We can easily make it out to the coast today, I don’t see why not. It’s only four or so hours. Unless we hit some really major roadblocks, we could be there by lunch.”
“That’s awesome, I’m so happy that we’re that close.”
Smiling, Caroline took a final drink of her beverage. The two then went back inside, just as Trish was sitting up on her couch.
“Morning you two, how’d you sleep?” she said, a big yawn following her question.
“Really well, how about you?” Abby asked.
“I think I actually was able to sleep four or five hours straight. That’s pretty much a miracle nowadays.”
“That’s great, we’re all rested for the final leg!” Caroline said, excitement seeping out.
“What’s that now?” Trish asked, head slightly tilting.
“Caroline looked at the map, and from here we could make it to Corvallis, and then out to Newport on the coast probably by lunch. We could station ourselves out there to easily defend against anything, and then start up a more permanent residence.”
“I’d love to find another farm to live on, maybe there will be one out there I could make a home of.”
“Well, as we get closer, we’ll have to keep a keen eye out for one.”
Smiling, Trish began to pack up her belongings, as did the others. After loading up the cars, Trish had an idea.
“Hey Caroline, you said you can look stuff up on your phone on a map?”
“Sure can, why?”
“Is there a motorcycle shop around?”
“A motorcycle shop? What for?” Abby asked.
“I just have an idea.”
Caroline was looking on her phone, quickly finding a store.
“There is a Harley-Davidson just up the road from here. Would that work?”
“Perfect, take us there first before we head out of town.”
Abby and Caroline gave each other confused looks, but didn’t ask any more questions as they took their seats in the Honda, proceeding forth to the store.
Once there, Trish stood, waving them to follow her inside.
“Okay, so, I was thinking. You have most of your bodies covered, but not your heads. So call me crazy, but if you had a motorcycle helmet, you’d be even safer from those things trying to attack you if it were to happen, or blood from reaching your faces because of the face shield.”
“You’re crazy.” They both said.
Trish stood staring at them, not understanding how they hadn’t been jumping on-board at her suggestion.
“We’re kiddi
ng!” Abby said, patting Trish on the shoulder.
Grumbling at them, Trish went about finding helmets for all three of them, she herself thinking the idea was worthwhile even if she wasn’t going to wear one of the suits.
Each found a helmet that fit them, all with some fun designs to their liking. They were then walking back out to their vehicles, placing them inside.
“I’m glad you two warmed up to my idea,” Trish was scoffing.
The two were smiling. “It was a really good idea, thank you Trish,” Abby said.
“Okay, are we finally ready to head out?” Caroline asked.
“I do believe we are, lead the way you two,” Trish said, climbing into her truck.
Finding their way back to US-20, Caroline then placing her phone back in the holder to navigate them towards Corvallis.
The three hour drive was mostly uneventful. The usual stalled cars, items strewn about the highway at random spots, and a few ragers here and there, were about all they saw on their way.
It was upon reaching the city of Corvallis, and the cut-off towards Newport that made them stop in their tracks.
Ahead of them on the road were multiple military-style roadblocks. Large painted boards and signs were placed about, warning against going towards the coast.
Nothing but death awaits you at the coast.
The coast has fallen, and so will you!
Quarantined area, turn back or your life is at risk.
All three had made their way out of the cars.
“Well shit,” Trish said.
“What are we going to do now?” Caroline asked.
“The question is, do we trust the signs?” Abby said, a speculative look on her face as she read the multiple signs across the road.
“I don’t really think we should test that theory,” Trish said. “Those are military barricades. I’d say something fucked up would be that way, and I personally don’t want to find out what that is.”
“Well, I guess that means we head north? I vote we find our way up to the Seattle area, and the islands up there. We could find a motor boat somewhere, and take all our supplies out to one.”
“I suppose I may be able to find a farm on one of the islands up there,” Trish’s hopes sounding less enthusiastic than a few hours prior.