After what seemed like forever, Walt’s radio crackled.
“Okay, fill it up and let’s get the hell outta here.” Norm said. Nate flipped something and a whining noise started up somewhere beneath them.
“That’s got it! Keep it coming!” Norm radioed. Walt ran back to the windows for a quick peak happy to see no one on the road headed towards them. He heard the boats engines start up, knowing that Norm wanted to be ready to go, just in case. In a few very long minutes, the level in the lock was equal to that on the lake side of the dam and Nate opened the doors.
“I’d say we should shut this down, but we need to go.” Walt told Nate and the three of them made their way out, with Paul leading the way. They were halfway there when they heard a distant scream and started moving faster. The gates had made it all the way open and stopped automatically as Nate, followed by Paul, Lexi, Tim and finally Walt, made it down the three rungs and to the boat. As Walt was just starting the climb down, he heard a scream and looked up to see a group of about twenty running down the road towards them. He leapt onto the boat, quickly untying it just as Norm gunned the throttle and the big boat quickly made her way out of the lock. Over the sound of the engines, he heard another scream, this one very close and he looked behind him to see four or five come over the side of the lock and into the water. He watched for a minute, but none of them even attempted to surface, they just sank like rocks.
Walt returned to the flybridge where Norm was once again the captain. Norm looked at him and grinned.
“I will never underestimate your children again. I honestly didn’t think Nate could do this, but he did. If we get lucky, this will save us a lot of time and aggravation from having to swap boats at every dam.
“That’s good news, Norm. How are we sitting for fuel?” Walt asked.
Brad
Ocoee, TN
Brad cinched up the girth on the horse he was going to ride. Everyone else’s was done, thanks to Vicki. He hadn’t saddled a horse for years, so it took him a minute to remember, but she was on it and fast as hell. Gus didn’t appear to be very happy about hauling freight, but that was what he was bred for and all the other horses were being ridden and couldn’t carry the panniers. After a quick breakfast of instant oatmeal, which Spencer called dibs on the banana flavored, and two pots of coffee, they were ready to head out.
“Are we going the back way or taking the street?” Julie asked.
The back way was down the backyard and following the trail to U.S. 64.
“The back way. It’s dirt and not as steep and it’s behind the houses.” Brad said.
“There’s a guardrail at the top of the hill.” Jessie reminded him.
“Yeah, we’ll cut through a yard to get to the next street before we get that far.” Brad said, “Okay, I’ll ride point, the rest of you figure it out except for Dillon. I need you to ride Tail-end Charlie.”
“Yeah that figures, I get to smell horse farts the whole way.” Dillon mumbled.
“You wanna take point?” Brad asked.
“Beats the hell outta being last.” Dillon said.
“Son, you have major ego issues. Okay, Dillon takes point, I’ll ride last. Don’t do anything stupid, consult me before you do something stupid, because I know how your mind works, and keep us in the median or on the grass. It’s easier on the horses.” Brad looked at Donna, who looked totally at home on her horse, “You know the way better than I do, so you get to guide. Just keep in mind that we need to keep the horses as fresh as possible, just in case we have to haul ass along the way. I’d advise against Benton Station Road as much as possible; it’s a two lane and lined with houses.” Brad said.
“We’re gonna have to eventually to get to my house, but we can take 64 to 411 for most of it. It’s shorter that way.” Donna said. With that Dillon led the way with Donna letting him get a little way ahead of him before urging her horse forward. The rest fell in behind her. Horses are a herd animal and are more comfortable that way. That was something Brad had learned as a child and was counting on it now.
Brad eased his horse down the hill behind his house, giving the rein to the horse and letting him decide how to handle it. He was more used to guiding a horse with his knees anyway and this horse seemed to like it. One thing he and Vicki stressed to the less experienced riders was not to let the horses get too close to each other as horses were prone to kick for this, unless they were in a flight mode during danger.
The horses reached the bottom of the hill and then began the slow climb to the top of the bigger hill. Before they’d mounted up, Brad had made sure they all had radios with headsets and boom mics, even Spencer. Halfway up the hill Dillon started singing Toby Keith’s “Should’ve been a cowboy”. When Brad could take it no more, he spoke up.
“Really, Dillon? I mean why do you want to murder a song like that?” Brad asked.
“You don’t like Toby?” Dillon asked.
“Love Toby. Don’t like what you just did to it. Mouth shut and head on a swivel, son.” Brad told him.
“Aye, Captain.” Dillon snickered.
As they neared the top of the hill Dillon led them through a backyard that Brad hoped wasn’t full of crazies. He watched Gus, knowing that from what Julie had told him, would be the first to react to anything he thought was a threat. When they met at the junction with Waterlevel Highway/ U.S. 64 East, Dillon stopped.
“Do you want me to just cross over into the median or what?” he asked.
“Exactly. Horses hooves are loud on pavement and it’s not really good for them. Grass is better. Always head towards grass when you can.” Brad told him.
“Yes, sir.” Dillon said and moved across the highway. Brad was anxious as hell to get this part done so that they could get their asses to the farm. He hated leaving Katie and Zack all alone any longer than he needed to. After they crossed into the median, Dillon stepped up the pace a bit. Brad, following his own directive, kept his head on a swivel and was amazed at the damage. The small convenience store where he bought smokes looked like a tornado had passed through the area. Two of the four gas pumps were lying on their sides, having been torn up from their mounts, the plate glass windows were all over the parking lot, and stuff that someone had deemed unnecessary was littering the ground. It was a shame, Brad thought. The guys that ran it were from India and were some of the nicest, friendliest people he’d ever met. He hoped that they’d somehow managed to survive this. He saw the ’69 Camaro that he’d heard the other night. It looked like it had hit something very big. What, he couldn’t guess, but since it wasn’t here, he guessed something big.
When they passed the Ocoee Utility District building he wanted to smile. He wasn’t sure who trashed the place, but he was happy to see it after several arguments with them in previous years. It wasn’t that they gave bad service, but the personnel that worked there were subhuman in Brad’s eyes. Mean and for no reason. Then he chuckled at himself for finding something funny amidst the apocalypse.
Brad was surprised that they hadn’t ran into any crazies yet. Last night he’d pictured them in his mind as a horde attack. What he got was ghost town and it made him jumpy.
“Everyone keep looking around. If you see anything, sing out. This is really creeping me out.” He said.
“You got that right. One thing I did notice is that they seem to want to herd.” Jessie said.
“I don’t care if they like and try to squat on fire hydrants, keep your eyes open guys.” Brad said.
“Just saying.” Jessie said. She knew her dad wasn’t mad, just trying to get rid of some tension. She also knew he felt responsible for the entire party.
Gus had his ears on a swivel, with one twerking forward while the other to the back. Brad knew as long as he didn’t bring both ears in the same direction, everything was okay. He noticed his own horse doing the exact same thing and knew they were ok. For the moment. When they came to the bottom of the first sizeable hill, Dillon galloped to the top to make sure the area was clea
r, and stopped.
“What is it?” Brad asked.
“Nothing. I was just waiting on y’all to catch up.” Dillon replied and Brad wondered if the boy wasn’t growing up on him. This presented a problem because he would have no one left to pick on, even if it was in fun.
They walked to the bottom of the first hill and Dillon once again galloped to the top of the second, and last hill.
“Still got nothing here.” Dillon radioed.
“Stay alert. I’m not sure that these things have any intelligence left, so I’ve got no idea what to expect.” Brad said.
Halfway down the other side Spencer suddenly came over the radio.
“What’s that?” he asked and pointed to the left.
“What?” Jessie asked.
“That? The house.” Spencer said and Brad chuckled. When they’d first moved here, he’d spotted the long-deserted house that appeared to have been built in the 1800’s, since there were no power lines leading to it. The siding looked like it could soak up 100 gallons of paint before it started to show. The one window in the front was missing, but the curtain that somehow had remained after all these years, flapped like a banner in the faintest of breezes adding to the creepy effect. That it was surrounded by dead trees didn’t help. To Brad it looked like a great place to film a haunted house movie.
“It’s just a creepy old house. Nothing to be afraid of.” Jess told him calmly. The tone of her voice surprised Brad. That Jessie could suddenly sound like someone’s mother wasn’t something he’d ever expected. Instead of pointing it out and embarrassing her, he shut up. The evil eye Julie gave him made damned sure of that.
Down the second hill, they entered Polk County, where the speed limit was 45 M.P.H and they damned well meant it. In the past, 50 would’ve gotten you a ticket, as so many passing through had learned the hard way.
“If they see Polk County tags on your car, they usually leave you alone.” Donna had once told them. Brad somehow didn’t buy it. He figured she’d just been lucky and had never been caught.
“Dillon, turn left and let’s head along the road that goes in front of the store. Hopefully the crazies won’t be around.” Donna said and Dillon guided his horse across the oncoming lanes and into the strip mall as directed. After they made it past the Dollar General, which Tennessee seemed to have a million of, Brad heard a sound and turned around to see a lady in an electric wheelchair come flying out. He was about to say something when he noticed the stupid grin on her face. He stopped the horse and watched amazed as she sped towards them going faster than he’d ever seen anyone in a wheelchair go. When she screamed, it shook him out of his daze and he drew his pistol, but hesitated. She might have been infected, but she was still a handicapped person. That would be like gunning down a baby, in his eyes anyway, so he hesitated. At least until she opened her mouth to scream. He was just about to fire when someone beat him to the punch, hitting the woman in the head. The woman slumped and her chair connected to the curb, dumping the now dead woman unceremoniously into the street behind them, the motorized chair’s engine reaching a whine without the resistance of the rider’s weight and the friction on the road. Brad turned around to see Julie holstering her pistol.
“Damn, how about a warning next time?” he asked.
“How about paying better attention next time. Yeah she was handicapped but she was a crazy.” Julie answered.
Brad had been about to retort when the front doors to the Benton Quick Care came crashing open and a group of them came running out.
“Oh shit! Time to go!” Brad said loudly. He didn’t need to spur the horse on, it bolted immediately, as did everyone else’s. He let the horse have the rein again, trusting it to get them out of this as they thundered across the parking lot. Dillon evidently decided a straight path was better than following the road, which had been laid out to accommodate more stores, should the need arise, and the other horses and Gus charged behind him.
Brad was amazed at the speed and stamina of the things. They couldn’t catch up to the horses, but they didn’t drop back either. As they passed Los Habaneros, a small mom and pop Mexican restaurant, another smaller group rushed out to make the group of crazies even bigger.
“Shit.” Brad hissed as they barreled across TN Highway 411 and into the grass on the other side. Brad glanced over his shoulder and saw the group was still in pursuit.
“Double shit.” Brad hissed again. What he didn’t notice was that once they were in the grass, the horses got better traction and started pulling away from the group of infected. Before he knew it, they were a quarter of a mile ahead of the crazies, who quickly lost interest and slowed themselves. When Brad looked back again, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Slow it down Dillon, they’re way back there now.” Brad radioed and started reining the horse in to a walk. They passed a barn that had seen better days, but until the current events, was still being used. The unlucky house that had sat abandoned beside it, however, had been the victim of a fire, its roof now sitting inside the scorched rock exterior.
As they neared another area that consisted of smaller local stores, Brad half expected to be rushed again, but nothing stirred.
“See the Sunoco gas station ahead?” Donna asked.
“Yep.” Dillon answered.
“Left turn, Clyde. That’ll put us on Mull Road. In a quarter of a mile it merges with Benton Station. Just keep going for a little bit. When you see where it goes under a one lane bridge, look to the left, again. That’ll be Upper River Road. Take it.” Donna said.
“Got it.” Dillon replied.
The Sunoco looked no worse for wear and Brad thought it a good place for a break. They strung a rope between a metal post that had been sticking up in the grass next to the gas station and the support beam to the canopy and tied the horses out. Dillon and Donna cleared the little store and the storage area behind the drink displays. Vicki came in and found some empty five gallon buckets, sniffed them to make sure they were clean and started to pour water in them when Brad stopped her.
“Hardware store right next door. I’d just bet they have a couple of galvanized tubs that would work better.” He said.
They did indeed have galvanized tubs. They also had full five-gallon water bottle, some feed and a wheelbarrow to put it in. As Brad and Vicki tended to the horses, Julie, Donna and Jessie made a food raid for lunch.
“Dude, they have Spam.” Donna said, “And bread that’s still good. It’s sammich time!” she grinned. Julie carried a plastic bag full of drinks for everyone. They weren’t exactly cold, but they weren’t hot either. As the three women made sandwiches and passed them out, Brad returned and grabbed a few bags of chips, some Slim Jim’s and a dill pickle in a clear plastic container. Julie loved these and he couldn’t understand how she’d missed them.
They sat on the sidewalk and ate from Styrofoam plates that had been on the shelf, primary sold to people rafting the Ocoee River. No one seemed to mind that it was Spam they were eating. Brad had always liked the stuff. When they’d finished, Brad collected their trash and tossed it in the can, then opened the door to go back in the store.
“What are you getting now?” Julie asked.
“Smokes. I figure now is as good as a time as any to restart.” Brad answered and grinned. He’d quit smoking some years ago, but felt the urge again. What the hell, he figured. When he came out he tossed a can of Skoal to Dillon, who grinned and thanked him.
“If you’re going back to bad habits, why didn’t you at least grab beer?” Julie said.
“Because it’s warm and I’m probably the only person here that’s drank warm beer in so many places that it doesn’t bother me.” Brad replied.
“Okay, I’ll buy that.” Julie said as she mounted up.
They kept to the yards as much as they could, but it made Brad really uncomfortable being that close to places that could conceal the infected. He, like everyone else, were constantly looking around so much that he knew he’d have a sore ne
ck later. If it kept them from getting killed, he didn’t care.
Twenty minutes later they were riding into Donna’s driveway and Dillon smartly brought the horse to a stop before they reached the house.
“So, what’s the call, boss?” Dillon asked.
“I’m not your boss, but we need to reecee the place before we enter the house. Donna, I’d like you to stay outside. We haven’t heard anything from your hubby, so I’m expecting the worst. I’d rather you not have to see that. And if he’s turned and trapped in there, well, I don’t want you to be the one to have to put him down.” Brad said and Donna nodded.
“I don’t think I could.” She admitted. With that, Brad urged his horse toward the house. He rode two complete circuits around it before he dismounted, dropping the reins to the ground instead of tying it off, just in case he had to retreat in a hurry. He climbed the stairs and quietly banged on the door with his fist and listened quietly, Nothing. He banged again and waited; nothing. He tried the door and found it unlocked and slowly opened it, hand on his pistol.
Zack
Hopewell, TN
Zack used the Ka-bar to free the women. He still didn’t trust them, but after searching them and finding them unarmed, he didn’t feel the need to keep them secured. Besides, any false moves and Wolf would very quickly take them out of the equation.
“Do you ladies have any idea what’s going on?” Zack asked as they rubbed their wrists.
“Power’s off is all I know. Without that we ain’t got no radio. Can’t afford no cable, so no. Just that the power’s out. Looks like everyone around here got tired of it and went somewhere else.” The older one said.
“Not even close. There are some things you need to know. Let’s go sit on the porch and get something to drink.” Zack said and led the Goat Girls to the rockers that lined the front porch. Katie went to get some glasses of iced tea for everyone, while Zack sat with them.
“There’s been some major changes going on. That’s why I’ve been so rough on you two. The world has totally changed. Terrorists hit pretty much the entire world with a virus and designated nuclear weapons. They took out our grid, most of the cars, everything electrical. The virus killed most people. Those that were left were either infected and made crazy or unaffected.” Zack said and let that set in as Katie handed out the glasses.
Three Days From Home Page 22