“What’s up, bud?” he whispered and Wolf’s eyes never left the doors leading into the back as he growled. Shit, Zack thought, I don’t have time for this. He quickly gathered some dog treats and a couple of dog toys and tossed them into the wagon as well. Wolf growled a little louder and Zack thought he heard someone giggle from the back. He made sure the bike was facing the front doors and brought his rifle to the ready.
“Well, shit. Let’s go see what’s so funny.” He told Wolf and headed for the doors. Maybe he’d get lucky and there was some more food back there. He slowly pushed the door open with one hand and Wolf darted past him in full attack mode. Zack saw a fat woman in the back with a store vest on and not much else. She swung a fire extinguisher at Wolf, who latched onto her arm and yanked until she hit the floor. Zack thought the dog was going to retreat, now that the threat had been taken down, but the woman swung the fire extinguisher again and before he could bring the rifle to bear, Wolf lunged in and grabbed the woman’s throat. Yanking several times until the woman stopped moving. The dog stepped back and looked at Zack, who motioned for the dog to join him. He rubbed the dog’s face.
“Good boy Wolf! Very good! Now let’s see what we have back here.” Zack said as he brought the night vision goggles up and switched on the flashlight. He whistled quietly, there were at least four pallets about five feet tall stocked with food. He’d have to figure out how to get it all back to the house, but it was good to know it was there, as long as no one else wandered along and found it. He was about to walk into the main store when his eyes landed on a case of corned beef hash. He looked at Wolf and smiled and he picked it up.
“Breakfast, pal. A good day starts with a good breakfast.” He said and led the dog back into the store.
What he hadn’t counted on was the weight of the goods in the trailer. It was easy with a twenty-pound kid back there, but it took some work to peddle the bike now, slowing him down a lot more than he’d have liked. He really hoped two bags would keep the dog in food for a while because he really wasn’t enjoying it half as much as Wolf was. The dog trotted along in front of the bike when he suddenly stopped and looked off into a yard with a low growl. Zack, trusting the dog’s instincts, brought the bike to a quick stop, but didn’t see anything.
An older white farmhouse seemed to have attracted Wolf’s attention and Zack was torn between wanting to check it out, just to make sure he wasn’t followed, and saying to hell with it and biking on past. He sighed heavily. Family first, he told himself. He thumbed the push to talk switch on his headset.
“Honey, are you there?” he said as quietly as he could.
“Right here. What’s keeping you?” Katie answered immediately.
“I’ll explain it when I get home. Right now, Wolf’s alerting on a house about half a mile before the bridge. I think I’ll check it out. Wolf’s pretty sure there’s someone there, just what kind of someone is the question.” Zack explained.
“Get your ass home! Screw whoever’s in there!” Katie replied and Zack shook his head.
“Sorry babe, Wolf’s already moving up and I owe him.” He said and turned the radio off. He knew she’d be letting loose a slew of words that he really didn’t want to hear right now. He put the kickstand down and dismounted, bringing the rifle to bear at the same time. Whatever Wolf thought was there, Zack trusted him, and he damned sure wasn’t going to let anything happen to that dog.
Wolf led the way around the back of the house with Zack in trail. Wolf suddenly made a quick left and darted into the brush. Zack was about to call him back when a sudden footstep in front of him got his attention. In the green glow two men came from behind the house with shotguns pointed at him.
“Well, what the fuck do we have here? Trespasser?” the one on the left said.
“Looks like.” The one on the right replied. Zack moved the fire selector to full auto.
“Nope, just thought I heard something when I was riding past.” Zack answered and both men snickered.
“Did ya now?” Lefty said “What ya got in that trailer?”
“Forty pounds of dog food and a case of hash.” Zack answered, never wavering his aim on the guy. The men laughed loudly.
“Dog food?! Shit, son, you expect us to buy that one?” Righty said.
“I don’t give half a shit what you believe. That’s what I got and no, you can’t have it.” Zack answered.
“You can keep the dog food. How’s about we relieve you of that nice rifle? Before you answer, you need to know there’s two 12 gauges loaded with double ought aimed right at ya.” Lefty grinned.
“That’s all well and good, but what you don’t know is this isn’t a normal AR. It’s an M-16 and it’s on full rock. Are you sure you want to do this? Even if you do win, there’s going to be a world of shit coming when the crazies show up. They love noise.” Zack said, tightening his grip on the fore stock. “Just so ya know, I’ve spent two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq, so this won’t be my first fire fight.” Zack said, hoping they’d back down.
Lefty looked at Righty, who started to bring his shotgun up to his shoulder. A green flash darted out of the far right and hit Righty in the neck and stayed there. Righty fired into the ground as Lefty spun around to help. He never stood a chance as Zack fired off five rounds into the man’s chest. Both men dropped to the ground, but Righty was screaming until Wolf found his throat and once again lunged and jerked until Righty had stopped thrashing. When Wolf had let loose, he looked back at Zack.
“Good boy, Wolf! Good boy! Now let’s get the hell out of here.” He said and hurried back towards the bike.
Jessie
Cleveland, TN
The sun came up, waking Jess from the sun in her eyes. She’d always hated mornings and this one was no exception. Although she’d never had a hangover, her pounding head fit the bill of what her friends had described to her. Knowing that it was probably dehydration, she reached for the old-style canteen on the outside of her pack. She noticed something move in the brush in front of her and almost froze, but decided to act normal and made sure her rifle was within easy reach. What she really wanted to do was wake Dillon’s sleepy ass up, but that would alert whoever or whatever was hiding in the weeds. She quickly snatched up her rifle and thumbed off the safety while aiming it at whoever was trying to hide.
“I don’t know who you are, but you need to show yourself before I fire this rifle.” She ordered and a little boy of about six stood up.
“Please don’t shoot me.” The little guy’s voice quivered and Jessie lowered the rifle and she smiled.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what you were. Come on over.” She said and the little boy timidly made his way over and Jess motioned for him to sit on the ground next to her.
“Are you hungry or thirsty?” Jessie asked and the kid nodded, so she took out the canteen, unscrewed the top and handed it to him. Then she got into her pack and fished out a small package of cookies, which she opened and traded him for the canteen, once he’d finished drinking.
“My name is Jessie, that sleeping mess there is Dillon and the lady you see waking up there is Crystal. What’s your name?” she asked and the kid quickly swallowed the bite of cookie he’d been chewing on.
“My name is Spencer Rivers and I can’t find my mom and dad.” Spencer explained, tearing up as he said it.
“Were they at home?” Crystal asked.
“No. The baby sitter went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up so I walked home and my mom and dad never came home after work. I got scared and went looking for them, but I got lost. Then the mean people came out and started hurting everyone, so I hid.” The kid whimpered.
“It’s okay. You’re with us now. Do you know your address?” Jessie asked and Spencer shook his head. “Well, that’s okay too. You can stay with us until we figure something out.”
“But the mean people….” Spencer started and Jessie couldn’t help herself from giving the little guy a hug. There was no telling what kind of m
adness he’d endured and it melted her heart.
“Don’t worry about them. We won’t let them get you.” Jessie explained. She dug a freeze-dried package of scrambled eggs with bacon and held it up. “How about we fix you a good breakfast?” The kid nodded enthusiastically and it made her smile as she broke out an Esbit folding stove, unfolded it and got a fuel tablet ready. She poured water into a canteen cup and put the canteen away. Digging a box of matches out of her back, she struck on and touched the tablet, which lit off immediately. She placed the canteen cup on the top of the stove to heat as Dillon finally opened his eyes.
“What the fuck is that smell?” he asked groggily.
“It’s a heat tab and watch your mouth, there’s a little boy here.” Jessie said. Dillon sat up and looked at the kid.
“Well hey. I’m Dillon. What’s your name, little man?” he asked.
“I’m Spencer Rivers. I’m five.” Spencer said and Dillon chuckled.
“I bet you are. Is she cooking you breakfast?” Dillon asked and the kid nodded. “She must like you, because she never fixes me breakfast.” Dillon smiled.
“That’s because you wake up and go to work before I get up.” Jess said.
“That much is true. So, big guy, where’s mom and them?” Dillon asked.
“They didn’t come home.” Spencer said.
“And his babysitter went to sleep and wouldn’t wake up, so he walked home. Then he went looking for his parents and got lost.” Jessie filled him in and Dillon understood what had happened.
“Well, we’re going to her dad’s house, unless you know your address.” Dillon said.
“No, he doesn’t and I’ve already told him that we won’t let the mean people bother him.” Jessie said, giving Dillon a stern look that he interpreted right away as meaning ‘shut the hell up and go along’. Dillon nodded.
“I’m sorry you had to see the mean people. Those guys are doing bad things and when Jessie tells you we’ll keep you safe, she means it. We’re going to her dad’s house and then we’ll be going to the farm he owns with more people. It’ll be safe and there’s lots of food. When was the last time you ate?” Dillon asked.
“I had crackers yesterday.” Spencer said proudly.
“Crackers? That’s good. It’s better than going hungry. Jessie here’s fixing you breakfast, so eat as much as you can. Then if you want to take a nap, you go ahead. We won’t leave you, as a matter of fact, we’ll be hanging out here until it gets dark, because that’s when we like to move because the mean people can’t see us. But you have to be very quiet, so they don’t hear you. Think you can do that?” Dillon asked and Spencer nodded.
“I bet he can, I didn’t even see him until this morning.” Jessie replied, taking the water from the stove and pouring some in the pouch. She pulled a plastic spoon from her pack and stirred it before closing the envelope and setting it aside. “We have to let this sit for a few minutes to get ready.” She explained and handed the canteen cup with the leftover water to Crystal so that she could start heating up her breakfast.
“See what I mean? Even now she doesn’t fix me breakfast.” Dillon complained.
“Women and children first.” Jessie said and then grinned, “My pack’s open. Do you need me to dig out some ointment for that ass hurt of yours?” she said and he laughed.
“No, ma’am. I’ll be fine.” Dillon chuckled and fished around his pack and came up with a small package of Oreo’s, “This right here, will be perfect.” He smiled and tore into the package.
They spent the day resting and napping occasionally. After feeding Spencer, Jess made the little boy a bed out of her poncho liner and the boy fell fast asleep. She had figured the boy was exhausted and smiled when she heard his breathing change.
“You know he’ll slow us down?” Dillon asked her and she nodded.
“It’s not like we have a choice. We can’t just leave him; those things will kill him in a heartbeat.” Crystal said.
“I just wonder why we haven’t seen more kids. I mean did the virus kill them? Did the crazies do it? It makes me wonder.” Dillon said.
“I’m thinking both. Young kids and older people are more susceptible to viruses, so that probably took out a large portion of them. The crazies probably had a field day with the leftovers.” Jessie said quietly.
“So, what do we do?” Crystal asked.
“We take him with us.” Dillon said, “But if he starts slowing us down or if we have to boogie, I’ll carry him.”
“Well, give us some of the stuff out of your pack to lighten it up a little.” Jessie said.
“He can’t weigh that much. We’ll see how it goes first, if I need to, we can split up my pack later.” Dillon said.
Dillon moved everyone to a small wooded area in the afternoon when the heat of the day made staying in the sin unbearable. He had to wait until they were between groups of crazies out of fear of being seen.
“They’re herding. Like cattle.” Crystal pointed out.
“Humans are a social animal. I guess even the crazies think there’s safety in numbers. What I don’t understand is why one group attacked the others last night. That part doesn’t make sense.” Dillon said.
“Nothing about this makes any sense.” Jessie said, leaning back against a tree.
“I agree with you there. I don’t know who made this virus, but they sure as hell knew how to create something bad.” Crystal said after sipping from a water bottle.
“I just hope whoever started this got a good dose of it as well.” Dillon said.
“They probably did. I read somewhere that if someone were to board a plane, even on a local flight, that a virus would be international in a couple of days. If this was ISIS, you can bet they released it in most European countries as well as here. It probably went world-wide in record time.” Jessie said.
“That’s unbelievable. Why would anyone do that?” Dillon pondered aloud.
“Because they don’t believe in anyone’s ways but their own.” Jessie answered and then closed her eyes for a nap.
When she opened her eyes again it was night. She looked over at Dillon who was still sleeping but Spencer was awake.
“We need to get you fed.” She said as she rooted around her pack for a couple of MRE’s.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” The child said meekly and Jessie set the MRE’s down.
“Pee or poop? Because if it’s poop, we need to dig a little hole first.” Jessie explained.
“Um. Poop.” The kid looked embarrassed and Jessie smiled.
“Let’s walk over there where no one can see you.” She fished out the folding shovel and the toilet paper and let the boy a little way away. She quickly and quietly dug a small hole. “You’re going to have to squat and poop in the hole, then toss the paper in when you’re finished. Then I’ll come back and bury it for you.” She explained.
“Don’t leave me out here, I’m scared.” He pleaded and she smiled.
“I’ll be right behind this tree. I won’t leave you.” It tugged at her heart strings to hear the fear in the boy’s voice as she wondered what kind of horrors the child had seen before he found them and what else he would witness along the way. This new world wasn’t going to be the Cartoon Network by any means and she hated that for Spencer.
Jessie poured water in the MRE heater and set it aside to heat up.
“I hope you like chili mac, Spencer.” She said and the boy nodded. While they waited, she took a water bottle out of her pack and mixed a flavored electrolyte drink in and gave it a good shake. When she decided it had dissolved, she handed it to Spencer. “Walking will dry you out, so drink this with dinner. We’ll be leaving in a little while.”
Dillon woke up at the first smell of food, as was usual for him. Taking a walk to check their perimeter while his MRE heated, he found that the roads seemed to be deserted. He was more than okay with that. When he made it back to what he considered camp, he’d found that everyone had eaten, packed up, and were waiting o
n him. He quickly opened the package and wolfed it down so fast that Jessie was sure he’d choke. He downed a bottle of water, threw his gear together and led them towards the road.
“Stick with me, little man. We should talk quietly, so don’t say anything unless you have too. Try your best not to kick any rocks on the street or anything. We’ll stay with it, since it’ll be easier on you. If we have to, we’ll hit the woods, but let’s hope we don’t have to.” Dillon told him.
“Can you see with those?” Spencer asked, pointing at the night vision goggles and Dillon stopped and squatted down, taking them off his head. He held them up for the little guy to look through. “Wow! Everything is green.” Spencer said.
“Yep. But you can see pretty good with them. Right?” Dillon asked and the kid nodded.
Dillon led them across South Lee Highway and up the onramp to APD 40, keeping his head on a swivel. The last thing he wanted to do was get rushed by a bunch of crazies with a kid on his back, but he’s do it if he had to. Dillon liked kids, but Jessie wasn’t ready for them, despite having a motherly instinct. It hadn’t surprised him at all that she looked after the little man and he’d be damned if he let anything happen to him.
Working their way to the John Deere dealership, Dillon led them across the eerily quiet road, picking up Spencer and helping him across the guardrail in the center.
“Why did we just do that?” Jessie asked quietly.
“Because the jail is on that side of the road and we really don’t want to be anywhere near it, just in case some got out. And besides, the woods are on this side of the street, in case we have to duck in them. It’s too quiet and I don’t like it.” Dillon answered.
“Me either.” Crystal admitted.
“I wonder if one of the tractors would start.” Dillon mumbled.
“Doubt it. Everything with a computer, remember?” Jessie answered.
Dillon was taking it slow and easy, not just for the kid, but because he was a little spooked by the sudden lack of crazies. He kept his eyes open, thinking that he didn’t want anyone to get shot if they came across someone uninfected. As they neared the jail they finally heard a noise.
Three Days From Home Page 12