by White, A. L.
“How do you think that you know this?” Tressa asked.
Todd changed from looking concerned to that big six-year-old smile he made when he thought he did something good and Tressa would be proud. “I was looking over the paper Charlie had in his truck.”
“Todd, I told you that we can’t just look through other people’s stuff without asking first.” Tressa replied.
“Don’t be mad at Todd, Tressa, please don’t. I wanted to make sure that the puppies were going to be ok is all, Tressa. I wasn’t being sneaky or bad at all.” Todd replied.
Tressa knew deep down that this was going to be a problem that would not just go away. Todd may be like a small boy but he was, in fact, a grown man, a very large, strong, grown man. Once he made his mind up it would be nearly impossible to persuade otherwise. This wouldn’t be one of the things that she could offer an extra snack and another glass of hot chocolate to take Todd’s thoughts off of it. It would return every time he thought about the dogs or Virginia. There was a sweet spot where Todd was at his best, that spot had involved Charlie, Virginia, and the dogs. Now it was gone. Deep down Tressa had dreaded when Todd would realize it. She worried that the day would be spent lying in bed crying at the loss of his new friends. That would have been bad, but this was going to be worse! There was no way to keep Todd under her protective gaze twenty-four-seven. One day she would not be able to find Todd and he would be out there with the creatures alone and scared. In the past just that thought kept Todd close by, barely letting her out of his sight for very long. Now Todd had a purpose in his mind to be away and that wasn’t a good thing.
“Why don’t we go talk with Doc?” she asked. Changing the subject, she forced the idea of Todd being out there alone out of her head for the moment.
“I have a lot of work to do, Tressa. I must find some of those treats we found in that house for the puppies. I don’t think they brought any with them and they love them.” Todd replied.
“Doc lived here before the bad creatures came, maybe he would know where to find some of those treats?”
“Not just any treats, Tressa.” Todd replied rolling his eyes as he headed out to find Doc. “They like the ones that look like little hotdogs in a bun.”
Todd had a way of startling most people even when they knew him; flying at them with the excitement of a five-year old and the body the size of a professional linebacker. Not so for Doc. He had come to see Todd for what he was, an oversized child who tended to react like a child would. Doc grabbed his coffee cup just in case Todd slammed into the table, a lesson he had learned the hard way on more than one occasion in the past.
“Taking a trip, Todd?” Doc asked.
“Yes Sir, Mister!” Todd said with a large smile. “I am going to find the puppies and Virginia!”
“Well, you certainly looked dressed for it, Todd. It’s going to be pretty cold and lonely out there.”
Todd’s smile faded momentarily. The thought process didn’t cover the possibility of being completely alone until just that minute.
“I think we should find you some better shoes than those old gym shoes too.” Doc added.
Todd turned his attention from being alone to his feet. “I think they will be ok. I have two pairs of socks on and some plastic bags! Tressa makes me where the plastic bags when I play outside sometimes.”
“Why don’t you finish your chores for Tressa and when you are done, we will look and see if we can find you some proper shoes for your trip.”
Todd’s face lit up again. “Do you think we could?!” Todd said as he rushed forward and hugged Doc as hard as he could.
“Todd, why don’t you go start your chores and let me talk to Doc so he knows what size shoes you need.” Tressa said.
“I sure will, Tressa, I sure will! I am going to do my chores faster than anyone has ever done their chores. Do you think I can have some hot chocolate and the shoes?”
“I think we can work that out don’t you doc?” Tressa asked.
“I was thinking that very thing myself. Maybe I will have some too, Todd.” Doc replied.
“With the little marshmallows?”
“An extra helping.” Doc replied.
Todd jumped up and spun around yelling “Yippee!” as he ran into the kitchen to start his chores.
“Thank you, Doc. You do know that he will try to go, right?” Tressa asked.
“Tressa, I have been thinking since this morning that maybe we should go. We might be able to catch up to Charlie in a day or so.” Doc said
“You have heard the talk too?” Tressa asked.
“Yes, I have. Since Charlie and Boo left others are talking about a safe haven out west in Wyoming or Arizona.” Doc answered.
“ I had thought it was all just talk.” Tressa said. “Zoe says the place is all but empty now.”
“Pretty much from what I could see this morning making my rounds.” Doc replied.
“Do you think it is true?”
I don’t really know, Tressa. No one has a name or exact location of where this safe haven is supposed to be. It is all just rumors.” Doc replied.
“You would rather try your luck with Charlie?” Tressa asked.
“I think I trust Charlie and Boo to get someplace safe, if that is what you are asking. If I am going to die chasing dreams I would rather it be with friends.” Doc replied. “What I prefer to do is go out and find them and bring them back home.”
Do you think they would come back?” Tressa asked.
Doc shrugged his shoulders. “I am not sure. I would like to talk to them and find out.”
Tressa started toward the kitchen. “I will see what I can gather for the three of us to take with us. Can you see if you can find a good car or truck?”
Chapter 6
Doc found an old beat up blazer at Hanson’s filling station a few blocks over. It looked as though the owner had gotten a new set of tires before everything happened. The poor guy never returned to pick it up. It wasn’t pretty, but the motor sounded smooth and the tires looked great. As long as there was heat and a full tank of gas it would get them where they were going. If it couldn’t make the trip back home, well, that was fine. They could hopefully ride back in the RV with Charlie and the others. Doc had to admit the prospect of leaving town was a little exciting, if only for a short while. Since the outbreak he had been in a two or three block radius of the schools tending to the sick and departed. Locally he wasn’t known as one to head off on an adventure, but he had his daring side. After all, he had closed his practice in Chicago and moved way out in the middle of nowhere to Rivers Crossing on a whim. How many other people could say that they were adventurous enough to walk away from everything they ever knew and start over? Not many, that’s how many, Doc thought to himself.
Doc pulled up by the back door to the school and found Zoe, Tressa, and Todd waiting. Todd had on mixture of winter clothing, as if he were planning to walk to the North Pole. A sweatshirt, a hoody, a jacket, and not one, but two winter coats topped by a winter hat that pulled down over his ears and buckled under the chin. He was smiling from ear to ear as he noticed Doc pull in.
“Todd.” Doc said as he exited the truck. “I think those plastic bags will do you more good inside of your boots, son.”
Todd shook his head no and looked at Tressa.
“No, you explain the bags. It was your design.” Tressa said.
“Miss Zoe found me some new boots. I don’t want nuthin to happen to them.” Todd said
“But Todd, I think the plastic bags are to keep your feet dry when you’re out in the snow.” Doc replied.
“That’s why I have them mister, only I want to keep my new boots nice and dry too.”
“Well, let’s hope they stay nice and dry in the truck then.” Doc replied.
Tressa moved Todd towards the door of the truck and helped him climb into the back seat. “You two stay safe out there and come back at the first signs of trouble. Looks like the flurries are turning to bigger flak
es already.” Zoe said
“There won’t be no trouble, Miss Zoe, we’re just going for a ride to get the pups, right Tressa? Just going for a ride in the truck to get the pups.” Todd said from the back seat.
“Ok Todd, I hear you.” Zoe Replied. “All the same, you two keep that in mind. I would rather have you here than dead someplace along the road.”
“I promise you if anything seems to be going south on us, I will turn right around and head for the safety of the school and my warm, dry bed.” Doc said climbing into the truck. “Zoe, keep everything buttoned up here if you have to.”
Zoe smiled and waved as Doc pulled away from the door.
“Doc, on the map it looks like it would be shorter to take this road along the river.” Tressa held the map for Doc to see.
“That’s the old river road, and you’re right, it would be a lot shorter than taking the highway. Less likely to have any abandoned cars on it too, I would wager. The road was never in all that great of shape to begin with so most would avoid it.” Doc replied.
Todd watched the white landscape pass them by slowly as the old truck made its way forward. Doc drove as fast as he could while complaining about the lack of visibility. Tressa, for the most part, ignored both as best as she could while trying to watch for things that she secretly worried that Doc would miss, like the edge of the road hidden beneath the snow.
“Tressa, can you keep an eye out for a small cabin off to the right?” Doc asked.
“Cabin?” Tressa asked. She was surprised at the thought of stopping so soon after their departure from Rivers Crossing.
“In the past three hours it has gone from bad to worse. I don’t think it is going to get better as we go. There is an old fishing cabin that we might be able to hold up in for the night and let this pass.” Doc replied.
“A fishing cabin? A real fishing cabin? Please, can we stay there, Tressa? Please! I have always wanted to go to a real fishing cabin.”
“I don’t think we will be able to do any fishing, Todd.” Tressa replied.
“Maybe not now, Tressa, but maybe someday we will.” Todd said. “A real fishing cabin!” he added, excited at the prospect.
She pointed off into the wall of white and asked. “Is that it Doc?”
Doc nodded his head yes and maneuvered the truck off the road, coming to a halt at what looked like it was a cabin at one time. The entire front was missing and part of the side too, but the roof and the other two walls remained standing.
“Once we make a fire, I think it will be ok.” Doc said, getting out of the truck. He walked around to the back of the truck and fished out the few bits of firewood he had packed for just such a need.
“Do you really think this place is safe, Doc? It doesn’t look like we will have any cover from you know what.” Tressa didn’t want to say the creatures name and send Todd off into a rant or worse, a panic attack.
“I don’t really think they are going to be out in this. Do you?” Doc replied.
“Why wouldn’t they be out?” Tressa asked.
“Well, for starters, they don’t seem to move very well on dry land or compacted snow. This out here is an easy six inches of fresh heavy snow. I just don’t think they can move very well in it and we would be able to get away easily. Doc replied.
“I am fast, Tressa. I can run really fast. I can show you. Do you want to see how fast I am?”
“No Todd, we can save your energy for when we need you to run fast.” Tressa replied. She patted Todd on the back. “For now, why don’t you help Doc get a fire going and I will grab the sleeping bags we packed.”
***
Pulling out of the barn Boo became more aware of the black skies off toward Clarksville. It looked like they were going to get hit with one heck of a storm, he thought to himself. The flurries were beginning to be peppered with large, dime sized flakes. Virginia had talked her way into riding with him and Perseus for the first scout which didn’t bother Boo all that much. He enjoyed being around Virginia because she did waste words on things that others would just to pass the time. She was kind of like him in that way, he thought, smiling to himself. It made him think of his boys and wonder how they had turned out or if they were even still alive.
The truck fish tailed breaking though a snow drift that had formed by the road heading back to town. Boo turned the wheel a little to the left, giving it just enough gas to right itself as he checked the rear-view mirror to see how the RV had fared. Once satisfied that all were still with him, Boo began to speed up a little, putting some room between his truck and the rest of the convoy.
Turning onto the main street in Clarksville, Boo fixed the cars still sitting in the middle of the street in his sights. From there he could tell that it was no longer a neat little scene. Zombies had found the bodies or what was left of them. Creeping past it he didn’t see any reason to stop Virginia from taking it all in. She had seen far worse in her young life than this. The only differences were it was originally the work of other humans.
“This is why we stay out in front of the rest?” Virginia asked.
Boo nodded his head yes to her and tried to look for any movement on the sides of the street around them. The snow was coming down heavy, covering the blood-stained snow, leaving only the half-eaten carcasses exposed. Virginia pulled out the copy she had made of Bob’s map and looked it over until they were passed.
“I think we turn to the right up here.” Virginia said, pointing to a road just passed what had been a small convenient store.
“Uh-huh.” Boo down shifted a gear and caused the pickup to slide into the turn. “How far up until we turn again?” He asked.
“It looks like we follow this road until we see the river and then head south alongside it.” Virginia replied, folding the map and petting Perseus who was looking out the back window for the others. Glancing in the side mirror she said, “I can’t even see them anymore.”
“The snow is so heavy the road is hardly visible in front too.” Boo replied. He noticed he had been letting off the gas.
The flakes grew larger while the wind picked up, creating a near total whiteout. Boo kept driving forward hoping that the others were keeping up. Knowing that the idea of scouting ahead wasn’t doing anyone any good without visibility he thought about pausing until Charlie caught up. Sliding to a stop when he could make out the river twenty yards ahead of him, Boo wiped a little sweat off of his brow. “That was a close one.” To the South he knew there was nothing ahead of them but open road with a few pull off spots where people used to go fishing and have picnics. To the North there was an old pavilion that could be used for shelter if needed; three sides had bushes grown up leaving just one way in or out facing the road.
Boo put the truck into reverse and let the clutch out, spinning the tires at first until they found traction. With the truck pointed in the right direction he eased it forward, trying to find both edges of the road.
“It’s pretty out here.” Virginia said.
“Looks like a picture postcard for some place.” Boo replied, smiling at her and Perseus.
“Do you think the snow will let up any?”
Boo looked towards the sky as best he could in the blizzard conditions. “I am not so sure the snow is our problem right now. Looks like the wind is picking up all the snow that we had and mixing it in with the new.”
Virginia nodded in agreement. A crashing sound emanating from the driver’s side startled them before the impact had its full effect. Boo’s was knocked over on top of Perseus as the truck slid off the road into the ditch.
“Out of the truck now, head into the woods with Perseus until I call out for you!” Boo ordered Virginia as he leaned back up into his seat. He shifted, looking out into the snow for what hit them. Back up on the road he could make out what looked like an old tow truck, the bumper and grill showing signs of the collision.
“Boo, I…”
“Girl get into the woods and take cover with the dog. Keep him quiet if you can un
til I come get you. Please.” Boo replied. “Stay as low as you can and move as fast as you can.”
As soon as he saw that Virginia was dashing toward the woods as fast as her crutch and determination could carry her, Boo pulled out his forty-five and started trying to force his door open. It groaned at each pop with his shoulder until it gave way, creaking as it opened. Climbing, out he searched for signs of a driver. The tow truck was empty and any tracks the driver left were covered before Boo had reached the driver side door. Moving back to his own truck he surveyed the damage. It looked a lot worse than he had thought. The front tire had been forced off the rim by the force of the collision and the rest of the truck looked like it was bent into a banana shape. There was no way the truck could move. He and Virginia would have to wait for the rest of the group to catch up.
Boo’s mind was already thinking, he needed to make sure the rest of the group didn’t pull up into a trap when they arrived. Walking around to Virginia’s side, his lips moved to call out to her when he felt a sting seconds before hearing the shot that tore through his right shoulder nearly ripping his arm off. Falling face first into the snow, Boo used his right arm to push up on the ever growing red, slushy snow that he was laying in. Once he was nearly to his feet, another shot struck him in the lower back, kicking him forward to the ground again. Over the throbbing of his pain Boo heard the thwack of the crossbow as it let a bolt fly. He looked up in terror at the idea of Virginia taking on the unknown person out there. A thud hit the ground someplace behind him and he felt Perseus licking his face.
“Here Boo, let’s get you up.” Virginia said, pulling his good arm up off the ground. Helping Boo over to the truck, Virginia found whatever she could use to stop the bleeding.
“Take that old blanket and cut it into strips.” Boo said. Then we can try to tie it off around my shoulder and my back as best we can.”
Virginia did as she was told, but there was too much blood and it wasn’t showing signs of slowing.
“Ok girl, that looks like you have it as good as it’s going to get for now.” Boo said. “I need you to help me into the woods with as many of the things in the cab you can give me to keep warm and protect myself.”