by Dulaney, C.
He pulled me close again, both arms wrapped around me now, only one was inside my coat. I laughed and tried shoving his arms away.
“You’re letting in a cold draft.” Each inch I scooted away, he moved two inches closer. “You know, this is always the part where the bloodthirsty psychopath jumps out of the trees and hacks the two lovebirds to pieces.”
His nose and lips brushed against my ear, his slow and measured sighs making me shiver, even though his strong and warm body did indeed make up for the cold air seeping inside my clothes, thanks to his wandering hands.
“Well then, let’s give him a show.”
Chapter Two
March 20th: Twenty Miles East of the Ohio River
The first signs of spring were finally popping up all around us. I tried not to get my hopes up; March always has a few surprises up its sleeves. Instead, I took it in stride. At least now we could travel comfortably minus two layers of clothing. The trees were budding, new grass shoots pushed through the newly thawed ground, and the Easter Lilies were coming up. Well, that’s what we called them anyway. Regardless of their true name, they were always the first flower of the year to bloom.
Only one thing pissed me off about the change in weather: We were losing the trail. Correction, we were beginning to lose the trail. There was still enough to keep us going in the right direction, but only just enough. Once the spring rains started, we’d be playing a whole new ballgame.
“Hey baby, how’s it goin’?” Mia asked, riding up beside me.
Her silly face broke my stoic mask into a faint smile. We were running dangerously low on supplies, and the continuous warm weather had thawed many more swarms of deadheads. Add to that our slowly dwindling convict trail and the potential psychotic break I feared from Jake, and it was safe to say I wasn’t in the best of spirits these days.
“I don’t know, Mia. We need supplies, so a raiding trip is priority one now. And look at this shit.”
I swept my arm wide, gesturing at the muddy ground ahead of us. We were traveling through the woods between two towns, the trail nearly destroyed in this area. I was working on the assumption that the convicts had taken this shortcut between the two populaces. We’d know for sure when we cleared the woods and hit pavement again. If the next town was in the same shape as some of the others we had seen along the trail, then we’d know we were on the right track.
Mia was quiet a long moment before commenting on my grumbling. “Well, we’ll have to leave the trail to get supplies. Those cons haven’t been leaving much behind in the towns they’ve passed through.”
I agreed but didn’t offer any suggestions. I was feeling cranky and simply didn’t want to waste any more breath talking. I could hear the others behind us chatting back and forth. Gus was scouting ahead of me, always sniffing around for something to eat. It was mid-afternoon and overcast, the gray and dreary sky only adding to my brooding mood. I was even starting to question my decision to save Kyra and Shannon. With everything we’d seen since leaving home weighing on my mind, I wondered if going after the cons was even worth it. That’s when Mia once again proved how impeccable her timing was and spoke up as we rounded the last point before leaving the woods.
“As far as the trail goes, would it be such a bad thing if we lost it?” She cocked one eyebrow at me and studied my startled face.
“I was just thinking that.” I glanced over my shoulder; Nancy and Jake were still yakking it up, and Zack was bringing up the rear, watching the area. “I know rescuing them is the right thing to do, I just wonder if it’s worth it. That sounds awful, and I wouldn’t dare say it to the others.” I closed my eyes, the picture of unbearable weariness. “This shit’s getting to me.”
Mia patted my shoulder. “Could be worse. You could be sitting at your desk, bored out of your mind and contemplating suicide by pencil. And I could be standing in front of the black board, my back to those little bastards, and wondering how many were either flipping me off or making out.”
“That’s true, things could be worse.” I was again thankful Mia was on this trip and immediately regretting my poor choice of words.
* * *
“Whoa…” Jake said, staring at what was left of Kirlin. “Uh, guys? I think…I think…it’s possible the cons came this way.”
The cons had been through this way alright, and left a gutted, burned-out town in their wake. That’s when it finally hit me.
“They’re headed towards the river.” Why didn’t you think of this before, you idiot?
“Umm, what did you say, honey?” Nancy asked.
Her faced was glued to the wreckage, but she had pulled her horse alongside mine and was blindly reaching for my arm. The others were cautiously making their way down the embankment next to the road. Gus was lagging behind, obviously distressed over the smell of the place. It wreaked of old, burnt wood, the smell of a fireplace a few days after it’s been used.
“I said, they’re going to the river,” I answered and kicked my horse in gear.
She skidded down the bank and jumped the ditch, her hooves clattering on the pavement and jerking to a halt next to Zack. Nancy followed behind and gathered in as closely as her horse would allow.
“I don’t know why I didn’t realize this before. The cons are headed straight to the river. They’ve been traveling pretty much due west this whole time.” I waited while the others absorbed this.
Mia smacked her forehead and slid her hand down her face. “What the hell’s wrong with us?”
I held my hands out to the side and shrugged, clearly at a loss to explain such an oversight.
“Damn. This trip would have been much easier if we had noticed that sooner.” Zack laid a sympathetic hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
“Are ya sure, Kase?” Jake asked. His face was pale and his eyes sunken with dark circles underneath. To be blunt, he looked like shit. This trip needed to wrap up, and quick.
“I’m positive. If you look at the map, you’ll see there’s a bridge in Blueville, which is directly west of here.” I pointed down the road. “They’re trying to get out of the state.”
I pulled the compass I’d been carrying from my pocket and checked my suspicions: Yes, due West, and this highway would take us right into Blueville, across the bridge, and to the cons. I didn’t bother stomping their hopes by adding that once we were in Ohio, it was a crapshoot what direction the cons would’ve taken.
“Well what are we waitin’ for? Let’s go!” Jake was more excited than I’d seen him in months. Nancy stopped him, however, before he could become absolutely giddy with joy.
“Easy now, aren’t we forgetting something?” She waited for Jake’s smile, and his delight, to disappear with his comprehension.
Jake’s body wilted. “Goddamn zombies…”
I moved Daisy away from the others and rode a few feet towards town before stopping again. I had to clear my head. We knew where they were headed, but we didn’t know how far ahead of us they were. Jake was acting wonky. We all needed rest. And supplies. Supplies were the priority. Without those, we couldn’t continue following the cons.
“Nancy, where’s the closest town, other than Blueville?” I called back over my shoulder.
I doubted there was time for resting, but we could at least stock up on more food and ammo before hitting the road again. Maybe spend the night somewhere. It was already close to suppertime.
“About thirteen miles the other way, east of here along this route. Looks like it’s smaller, probably didn’t have the population Blueville had.”
She sounded hesitant, and I knew what they were all afraid of. I turned Daisy around to face them and tried to sound as confident as possible, considering I might be leading us all to our deaths by going into a town. Our chances would be better in a small town than a larger one, like Blueville.
“I know what you’re thinking, guys. But you also know we stand a better chance getting supplies in a little podunk shithole than a city. We can’t live off rabbit
and squirrel forever. We also need ammunition, and water, and it would be nice to sleep indoors for at least one night. Get a little rest. Refresh, recharge!”
I admit, I put a little too much gusto into that last statement, and they weren’t the most susceptible of crowds. If this had been an auditorium, I swear I would’ve heard crickets. Even Gus was silent for a change, sitting at a safe distance away from me and Daisy, staring at me with his head tilted.
“Like I said, these towns around here are more like Matias, one-horse town sort of thing…” I trailed off when I realized it wouldn’t make a difference what I said. They weren’t buying it.
“Alrighty then.”
I did what any leader would do in this situation: I nudged my horse towards the East and got on with it. If they were with me, they would follow. If they were mutinous scoundrels, they’d go the opposite direction. It wasn’t long until I found out where they stood on the subject.
“Hold up, Kase, we’re coming,” Mia yelled.
I smiled to myself but didn’t slow down. They would catch up.
* * *
The next town over from Kirlin was in much better shape than its neighbor. Our reaction, however, was the same as before. We’d been on the lookout for deadheads the whole ride there, but besides the random ghoul trapped in a stalled-out vehicle, we came across zilch. That was unnerving enough. To see a near-pristine town completely devoid of both people and vehicles was downright disturbing.
We sat on our mounts in a line across the road, watching and listening for any sort of activity.
“I have a bad feeling about this…” Zack said.
“Take it easy, Princess,” I shot back.
Mia snorted and quite possibly choked.
“Well,” I cleared my throat, “let’s see what we can find.”
The sun was setting at our backs, casting our shadows out before us. Made me feel like I was in an old spaghetti Western; the only thing missing was tumbleweeds blowing down the street.
This town was slightly larger than Matias, fanning out at its center to fill the wide valley. As we rode down the street we noticed the windows and doors of the houses. Shut, closed, and not broken. There was a post office on the right, with an adjoining bank and drive-thru. The homes weren’t stacked one on top of the other; they were spaced out with beautiful lawns and landscaping. A few had attached garages, and some of those were still open. Other than that, this looked like everyday America, not a thing amiss. Well, besides the deserted part.
“So what do you think happened here?” Mia asked.
We closed in on the only intersection in town and I pulled Daisy to a stop. We looked first to the right—nothing down that way, it was a dead-end— then to the left. That street was paved with brick and looked like the old business district. There were a few shops with assorted goods in the large front windows, and houses strewn in between on either side of the street. At the end was a grocery store. A big one. And its parking lot was completely empty.
“I have no idea,” I answered.
As far as we knew there was no one here, but it felt strange and awkward talking, or making any noise at all. I took one more look around, then turned down the street and headed towards the IGA.
“Wait, Kasey,” Jake said. It’d been so long since he’d talked it made me jump. “Do ya think we should check out the rest of town before we load up the packhorses? We need ammo, right?”
He had a good point. I motioned towards the storefront railing on the corner. “Yeah, good idea. Tie the packhorses there, and we’ll pick them up on our way back, after we’ve checked out the rest of this place.”
I waited with Nancy and Mia while the guys led the packhorses over to the railing and tied them off. Gus was already making a preliminary sweep of the area and so far hadn’t found anything he particular disagreed with. After a long look around, I figured our best chance of finding something would be the areas in and around the business district, so I let the others know we would start there.
“Mia, you and Gus go down Main Street here. Check out all the shops. Don’t go inside any of them, just look. If you see anything lucrative, holler back over your radio. Jake and Nancy, you take that side of main; Zack and I will take this side. Go block to block until you don’t see any more businesses. We’ll meet back at the packhorses in an hour.”
We checked our weapons and split up, something I knew was probably a huge mistake. I wanted to get this done as quickly as possible so we could pack up and move out, find a good spot for the night, eat, then get some much needed sleep.
* * *
Mia whistled as she rode down Main Street, her horse’s hooves clip-clopping on the old brick road. Gus swaggered ahead of her, his nose to the ground and his tail wagging. Everything about this town screamed Run! though she understood Kasey’s determination. They did need food and water, this was true. Mostly Mia thought Kasey’s reasons were less focused on supplies and more focused on the group in general, and their deteriorating morale. It made sense that this sort of thing would take a toll on people; they had been pushing themselves too hard. Maybe they did it in an attempt to keep everything else off their minds; just having one goal seemed to keep them focused. Or maybe they were just running away, figuratively speaking. Many times over the winter she had heard Kasey say “Just keep moving.” Her friend was running away from the situation, or trying her damnedest to anyway.
She scanned her head from one side to the other, casually reading the names on the buildings, and her thoughts turned to Jake. She was sure he was hiding something. Someone as tough as him didn’t normally break down into an introverted mess as quickly as he had. She decided as she passed Norma’s Crafts Store that she would have a talk with him later.
Gus stopped ahead of her and jerked his head back and forth, his tongue hanging out as he panted. They had reached the grocery store parking lot without issue.
“C’mon, boy,” she called to the dog, then pulled the reins and turned her horse around.
Gus followed a little reluctantly, his curiosity begging him to keep investigating, but he caught up with her and bolted past the horse. Mia watched the beagle run up the steps onto the storefront sidewalk and continue with his incessant sniffing, still fighting the panic that had already begun creeping into her chest.
* * *
“This is beyond weird,” Zack said.
So far we hadn’t found anything we needed in our section of the business district. There was a hardware store, a seamstress, an antique shop, a senior citizens’ center, and what could only be described as a questionable place to dine. I wasn’t really surprised we hadn’t run across a sporting goods shop. We may have been in West Virginia, but stores like that still weren’t in every town. If we didn’t find what we were looking for, we would either have to check some of the houses and try our luck, or simply wait and hope we would eventually find ammunition in another town. Too many ifs. It pissed me off.
“You okay?”
I chose not to answer and kept my eyes on the buildings around us.
“We’ll find something, don’t worry,” he said, then lapsed back into silence. I glanced at him, at the road ahead, and grunted.
“Only thing I can figure is everyone here got the hell out of dodge when it all happened. There’s no cars, so that backs up my theory. No dead activity, which could mean there were no people here when the inevitable swarm of zombies passed through. You know they’re migrating now, looking for food. So these people were gone before that started. What do you think?”
It was my turn to fall silent while he considered my theory. We’d reached the end of our search and were turning to go back when he pulled his reins in and came to a stop. His brow was wrinkled and his eyes narrowed, like his brain was chewing over some unpleasant thought. I mirrored his face and looked around, suddenly aware again of the dead silence. When I looked back at him he was staring at me with an arched eyebrow. Other than that he was calm.
“What? What is it?” Th
e strange look he wore had me wondering if I’d overlooked something important again. Damned if I knew what it was.
“Stop looking at me like that and tell me what the hell is wrong!”
The corner of his mouth twitched. He looked down, took a deep breath, and when he looked up again it wasn’t at me, but over my left shoulder. He stared like that so long I finally twisted in the saddle to find what he was trying to show me. Just as I was about to turn on him and unleash my annoyed aggravation, I saw it.
It only took a moment for me to realize what he had been wanting to say.
“Holy shit…”
On the hill above us sat a church. Its parking lot was full of vehicles. We were close enough to see a padlock on the door and a crucified zombie displayed on the small front yard. There was also a homemade wooden sign next to the deadhead. We couldn’t read all the words, but we could definitely make out the first line.
Dead Inside.
* * *
Nancy had been chitchatting with her grandson the entire time they’d searched, hoping something she would say would open him up and she’d finally be able to figure out what was wrong with him. What had been eating at him since leaving Crousley’s. She’d had no luck. Jake had offered a few words here and there, but she couldn’t seem to keep his attention. He was constantly getting lost in his own thoughts, as he’d been almost this entire trip. She’d been so focused on talking to Jake she hadn’t even noticed any of the shops they’d passed. That is, until he finally spoke up and told her to be quiet.
“What?” Nancy’s eyes automatically scanned around for danger.
Jake pointed ahead of them and to their right, at the last store on the block. Her eyes followed until she found the dilapidated building at the end of his finger. She made a face and looked back at Jake, repeating her initial question.