The door popped open without anything breaking. The men entered and trod softly, guns held across their chests, ready to go, but not quite as threatening-looking if there was a family cowering inside.
There was no one in the kitchen, dining room, or living room. But the house seemed ransack-free, as if the family had left for church and never returned. Perhaps they had.
Daniels started to tiptoe up the stairs to where the bedrooms were when he detected the faint stench of death. Not a good sign.
At the top of the stairs, he peered left and right. Nothing moved. He headed for what looked to be the master bedroom. The stench was much stronger here.
Inside, he found the skeletons of a man and a woman lying on the bed, holding hands. It appeared as if the flesh had melted off them and puddled around the bones on the bed.
“What the hell,” Jesse said. “Did Zoms do this?”
Daniels shook his head. “They did it to themselves.” He pointed to the empty pill bottle on the floor. There were hundreds of dead flies all around the room. “They evidently saw what was going on in the world, and decided to go out on their own terms before the Zoms could get them.”
“That’s gross. What happened to their bodies, I mean.”
“That’s what happens to a body if you don’t bury it. Well, even if you do. You just don’t see the results in that case. I saw it more than once in Afghanistan.”
“Yuck.”
“It’s been at least a year since it happened, or it would smell so much worse, and the fact the windows are open slightly helped. On the plus side, if we get the mattress and bodies out of the house we could move everyone over here. It’ll be cramped for thirty people, but it’s gotta be more comfortable than living in a barn, long-term. Clearly, the Zoms haven’t been here in all this time, so it’s reasonably safe, too.”
“Hey, you’re right!”
“Let’s check out the rest of the house, just in case there are any nasty surprises, and then dispose of the mattress. There’s probably some edible food in the kitchen, too. We could have a bite to eat before we head back.”
After inventorying the rest of the house and finding boxes of children’s clothing packed away in the attic—in various sizes, from newborn through elementary school—it was time to get the queen-size mattress out of the house. It was nasty, but not as nasty as the remains that they first had to dispose of, along with the sheets they were on.
The men had already dug a joint grave out back—clearly the couple had wanted to be together in death. Then they wrestled the mattress down the stairs and tossed it out behind the house. After that, they opened all of the upstairs windows to air the place out. The freshening breeze helped.
Exhausted from their work, they went to grab a bite to eat and opened the windows in the kitchen as well. The bread on the counter had turned to mold, and the small basket of apples on the table held nothing more than withered husks. The refrigerator was a disaster. When the power went out, everything inside had rotted and mold was growing everywhere.
But there were untouched boxes and cans of food in the kitchen, as well as a small pantry in the hallway. Tuna, peanut butter, pasta, rice, canned soups, canned fruit, everything a hungry group of people needed to sustain them. And dishware for at least a dozen people at once. Combined with the dishes from the other house, there might just be enough for everyone.
“Too bad there isn’t a nice big steak just waiting for us,” Jesse said.
“Maybe there is. Take another look in the fridge.”
Jesse laughed. “No thanks!”
* * * *
After a lunch of tuna and canned peaches, they left the farmhouse to check out the barn before heading back.
Inside, they found the remains of four cows that had apparently starved to death in their pens. Aside from that, there was nothing particularly notable about the place. They walked back out the door and closed it behind them.
As they turned toward the woods, they froze at a sound coming from around the side of the barn. It definitely wasn’t the wind rustling through the trees. Guns at the ready, they jumped around the corner.
A palomino pony grazed on the long grass growing there. It stepped back when they jumped out, but then went back to grazing.
“Hey, girl, hi there.” Daniels spoke in a soft, soothing voice as he approached the mare.
She eyed him, but didn’t back away. He stroked her muzzle and then her flank.
“She looks to be in remarkably good shape, considering she’s been alone for all this time. I don’t know how she survived the winter, but she’s obviously a hardy one.”
“Are horses good eatin’, Sarge?” Jesse licked his lips.
“Eating? We’re not gonna eat her. She’s too important for that.”
“Oh?”
“We can’t really drive those SUVs around. If the aliens are watching, they could show up on thermal scans, or be spotted because they move too fast to be animals. But this little beauty can get us from point A to point B, faster than walking, and do it inconspicuously.”
He patted her side and she raised her head and shook it.
“You miss the attention, girl? That’s all right, we can find a curry brush somewhere and get these brambles out of your coat.”
“You know much about horses, Sarge?”
Daniels shook his head. “Not really. I spent a few summers at a dude ranch when I was a kid. Learned to put a saddle on them, and ride and curry them. But I can’t shoe a horse, and I’m not a vet, so there’s only so much I can do for her. But she can certainly help us. Maybe pull a plow, if anyone around here still has old-fashioned horse-drawn plows, rather than tractors.”
Jesse shook his head. “So much for the industrial age. Ha!”
“You said it. I think I saw a saddle in the barn. I’ll go get it while you watch ol’ Mabel here.”
“Watch her? What am I supposed to do if she decides to wander off? Grab her?”
“Good luck with that! No, if she walks off just stay with her until I get back. Can you do that?”
“I…think so. But if she hightails it, I’m not runnin’ after her.”
“Good. You’d just tire yourself out. Be right back.” Daniels turned and headed back to the barn door.
Other than eyeing Jesse once or twice, the newly named Mabel stayed put and kept eating.
“Mabel, huh? You look more like a Qua’nisha to me. I knew a girl with that name, once. She had a long, skinny, horsey face and a big nose, too.”
Mabel shook her mane at him.
A couple of minutes later, Daniels returned with a horse pad folded atop a saddle and a bridle. He put them down long enough to stroke Mabel’s side again, and then tossed the pad across her back. When she didn’t bolt, he put the saddle on top and cinched it tight.
“Good girl.” He stoked her muzzle and persuaded her to take the bit. Then he secured the bridle and flipped the reins over her head and onto the back of her neck, just above the saddle.
“All set. You want to ride first, Jesse?”
“Me? On a horse? No way, José!”
“I can go first, but we’ll have to take the road back and that’s a lot longer walk than through the woods. She’s not big enough to take us both.”
“Fine by me. At least I don’t have to worry about my feet running off with me at a hundred miles an hour!”
Daniels laughed. “Okay. I guess we both walk, then. We’d better get going before the others get worried. We said we’d be gone a few hours at most. It’ll be late afternoon by the time we get back.”
“Suits me. After that mess in the house, and digging that grave, I’m looking forward to walking in the fresh air and stretching my legs.”
* * * *
Daniels and Jesse arrived back at the barn where the others waited. Chrissy and Moose rushed out when they saw the two, plus Mabel, walking up the driveway.
Chrissy spoke first. “What happened to you guys? We were afraid the Zoms had got you—or the
aliens.”
“Yeah, dude,” Moose chimed in, “you were gone a long time.”
By this time the rest of the group had followed them outside.
“Sorry, everyone,” Daniels replied. “We found another farmhouse. This one was untouched. We had to clean out a couple of bodies of the previous owners, but it’s livable and ready for us to move in. We found Mabel there. Didn’t we, girl?” He stroked her flank.
He went on to describe their day. “So, we didn’t come back with a rabbit, but I think we did okay, overall.”
Geoff stepped forward to shake Daniels’ hand. “Son, you done great. A couple of us here grew up on farms and around horses, so we know how to care for them.”
“Glad to hear it. I suggest we pack up our stuff and put everything in the SUVs. It’s not safe to go far in them, but if we travel in the heat of the day, and go slowly enough, I don’t think we’ll attract attention. The other barn is even bigger than this one, so there’s plenty of room to stash the vehicles inside. And let’s not forget to bring the rest of the food from the root cellar here.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Geoff turned to the others and raised his voice. “You heard the man. Pack up. We’re movin’ to our new home!”
The others cheered and then turned back to the barn to get their meager belongings.
Chapter Twenty-Two
A week after recovering from the hyperallergy virus, The Pack sat in a circle singing.
“Ol’ Mack Donald had a farm, E, I, E, I, O. An on dat farm he had some pigs, E, I, E, I, O.”
Jay, smiled at the ecstatic impression on Amanda’s face.
“I do good?”
“Wow, Uncle Jay, that was amazing! You’re so smart! You, too, Aunt Suzi, and Uncle Mike, and Aunt Joanie. You’re all doing so well! Uncle Bobo, you’ll have to practice some more, but you’ll get it, too.”
Poor Uncle Bobo, the only member of The Pack to be immune to the new virus, was the only one not to benefit from the side effect of brain cell growth. He would never learn the song.
The rest had a lot of learning to do.
* * * *
The other recovering Zoms now had a modicum of intelligence to go along with their animal cunning. Although having no formal education, they learned fast, just as children do. Those who had never used weapons before—not even sticks and stones—learned by observing others do so. This made them even more formidable than before.
These smarter Zoms were better able to defeat the original Zoms they faced, and the golden people.
* * * *
FronCar smiled at Dr. ZemBleth. The two sat in the latter’s office. “I have to hand it to you, doctor. Your virus is doing its job. There are hundreds of indie corpses littering the streets of this city, and I’m sure there are untold numbers where we can’t see them. Overflights of the surrounding countryside show thousands more outside the city. I’ve increased the number of sorties to other parts of the continent and the other continents as well. Within a few months the indie population of this planet should be down to the nuisance level. You’re to be congratulated, Doctor on some fine work. You’ve been a great asset to our mission.”
ZemBleth basked in the praise. “Thank you, Commander. As always, I’m at the service of the empire.” A gleam came into his eyes. “I, er, trust you will mention my humble service to the viceroy?”
“Certainly. I was just on my way to discuss the progress of our colonization efforts with him. I’ll be sure to express my pleasure at the fine work you and your people have done. “
“Thank you. That would be most appreciated.”
“It’ll be my pleasure, Doctor.”
* * * *
Viceroy CresNal seemed pleased with the status report.
“That’s excellent news, Commander. I knew you could find a way to secure the area without leveling the city. It just took the right motivation.”
FronCar successfully hid his grimace at the reminder. The fool looked for every opportunity to rub it in. Sure, FronCar had managed to subdue the indies in the city, but it had cost nearly a thousand of his men’s lives, and had taken at least two months longer than that it would have doing it FronCar’s way.
“Yes, sir.”
Still, he had to admit that doing it this way had probably accelerated the colonization effort. The new built-from-scratch Drahtch city was still months away from being ready to move the first settlers in, while over a thousand were already residing in the indie city. The living conditions weren’t ideal, yet the colonists had been cooped up on a ship for the last eighteen years. For them, the ability to live on the surface of a planet again and walk under the open sky, even an alien one, was a pleasure.
“Sir, given the progress we’ve made I feel confident we can safely extend the outer perimeter to encapsulate most of the city. Then we can accelerate our timetable for offloading people and materials from the ships. I expect that we could secure the new perimeter within several weeks and have as many as five thousand colonists settled in within a month after that.”
CresNal beamed. “Excellent! Now that’s the news I’ve been waiting to hear. I know it will be quite the undertaking to ready housing for so many people that quickly. You have my authorization to requisition whatever manpower and resources you need to accomplish your goal.”
FronCar executed the sharp nod that passed as a salute among the Drahtch. “Thank you, sir! Oh, and I have a question. Given that we’ve made so much progress in this city, perhaps it’s time to begin settling other cities across the planet. That would allow more colonists to live on the surface, rather than being stuck up here for another few years.”
“I understand your concern, Commander, but this is the way we’ve always done it, going back millennia. Why change things midcourse?”
“For one thing, normally we have to conquer a planet by force. It takes time to clear an entire area, so it makes sense to colonize slowly as well. But here, the entire planet is open at once. We could settle in a dozen cities right now, if we wanted to.”
“I’m sure we could, but that’s not how we do things. We have an established tried-and-true procedure, and I intend to stick to it. Any other questions Commander?”
From the tone of viceroy’s voice, it was clear he didn’t want to hear any.
“No, Your Excellency. Thank you for your time.”
“Always a pleasure, Commander.”
FronCar left feeling frustrated, as so often happened after speaking with the viceroy.
Sticking to “established tried-and-true procedure” are we? Didn’t established procedure call for orbital bombardment from space? You didn’t have any trouble breaking that protocol, did you?
* * * *
Although the house was terribly crowded for thirty, they managed to find room for everyone. There were four bedrooms upstairs, plus the living room and dining room. As long as most of them spent the day out and about, the house didn’t feel too crowded. At mealtimes, some sat at the dining table, some at the kitchen table, some on the sofa and guest chairs in the living room, and the rest on the front or back porch. They made do.
Each day, several of the better shots went hunting, a few people worked in the garden out back, and others stood guard at the perimeters of the yard, to provide advance warning should Zoms wander in from the woods or up the road. The rest either worked on preparing meals and doing dishes—thirty people ate a lot and dirtied plenty of dishes—or they worked on making beds.
Not ‘making the beds’ but making beds. Sleeping on the floor was exceedingly uncomfortable and there were only three beds with mattresses left in the house after Daniels and Jesse tossed out the disgusting one. So, several people with carpentry skills gathered tools and lumber from the workshop behind the house and built thirty bunk beds over the next couple of weeks. Two others sewed together sheets obtained from both farmhouses and stuffed them with hay from the barn. They weren’t the most comfortable beds ever, but they were a damn sight better than the floor.
The bedrooms turned into barracks, with four bunk beds in three of the rooms, sleeping eight people each. The fourth room held three bunk beds, along with a crib they made for the baby, Abby. Having only one bathroom was a problem. That necessitated building several outhouses behind the barn. And because there was only one bathtub, they also built a couple of rainwater-fed outdoor showers. That meant cold-water showers, only after a heavy rain and only for a few people.
With so many people in one house there was next-to-zero privacy, but they were dry and warm, and had enough food for now.
More importantly, for the first time in months they felt reasonably safe.
Still, it was midsummer and Fall was fast approaching. There was only so much food stored there, and the small garden and three apple trees would feed thirty people for only so long; certainly not enough to last all winter. Unfortunately, the cornfield out back had reverted to the wild in the absence of weeding and planting. The occasional rabbit, squirrel, or bird the hunters managed to bag added some variety and protein to their diets, but there wasn’t a lot of that either. They’d have to find a more permanent solution before winter fell.
Daniels and two others with horse-riding skills took turns scouting the surrounding area.
* * * *
Chrissy sounded the alarm, hollering back toward the house.
“Everyone inside the house. Hurry! There’s something coming down the road. Move it!”
Those working in the garden and the tool shed dropped everything and hurried back to the house. Those inside quickly closed the interior window shutters they had built recently. They were made of solid lumber with slots cut into them as firing ports, if needed.
Chrissy squinted at the distant image. Without high-powered binoculars, it was hard to make out what it was, but it was large, moving slowly and seemed to be weaving from side to side, almost like a snake, but less regularly. And it was definitely coming her way. Her rifle had an old 2X scope on it, which helped, but not a lot.
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