Charlie walked over and looked at Ceara.” the press will look like an old time counter can crusher.”
Ceara looked at him, “the one that you sat on a counter and put the can in then pulled the lever?” Charlie nodded then Ceara turned to Alden and smiled, “I got this, Sir.” She stood straight and saluted with her left hand.
Alden roared with laughter, “TROOP, YOU SALUTE WITH YOUR RIGHT!”
Ceara turned as red as her hair then giggled and saluted with her right hand, ‘SIR... YES SIR!”
Colt stood back taking off his hat, wiping his brow, “Daylight is wasting, I say we do this and get our asses back. Does anyone know which car has the most gas? My luck we would run out and have to hoof it back.”
Charlie stood up with Colt, “The rover is full, plenty of space too. Ceara, can we talk?”
Ceara looked to the others, then to Charlie, “You really do worry too much, I’m going to be fine!”
Charlie took a step off the patio, “It isn’t that...,” He held out his hand, “please?”
Ceara took it, and they walked across the yard to the barn with Tiger and the un-named puppy tagging along. As soon as they were in the barn, Charlie pulled her into a hug, “Ok, I lied... I want you to be careful; do not take any chances you don’t have to. Don’t leave the others and don’t let them go off either.”
Ceara leaned back smiling at him, “I knew you were going to be like this. Charlie, I told you I need to do this. I think it is more for me than anything else. I messed up a lot...”
“No you haven’t, you messed up once.”
Ceara stepped out of his arms, “No, Charlie, there were several times. I’ve almost been bitten several times, and then I caused two deaths. I need to know I am smarter now.”
Charlie lowered his head and spoke very quietly, “And what if you’re not? Ceara, I can’t lose you.”
Ceara was shocked into silence, after a long pause she walked back to him, “You don’t think I learned from what happened? Charlie, I will never run that risk again. I will never go off without thinking of others again.”
Ceara leaned down forcing Charlie to look at her, “At some point, I have to prove it’s true and not just words. I love you, you have to trust me.”
Charlie shook his head, “I don’t like the result, if you find out that it’s not true. I do trust you; if you need to do this, than you do it. I love you, just come back to me.”
Ceara smiled and saluted Charlie the same she did Alden, “Yes, Sir!”
She was happy to see the smile on Charlie’s face, she kissed him. “Come on, the sooner we leave, the sooner you know I’ll be back.”
Charlie pulled her into arms and gave her a deep, long kiss, “Something to come back for.”
Tabitha and Colt walked into the barn and Tabitha laughed, “Damn, if I was coming home to that I would be in a hurry too!”
Colt glanced back to the house at Beth when Tabitha pushed him to the Rover, “Get going, you can get yours when we get back, jeezes!”
Tabitha was about to get in and she noticed one of the five gallon gas cans off in the distance. “I will be right back.”
Colt looked agitated as hell but when he realized that Tabitha was going after the can, he took in a deep breath then let it out slowly.
“You mentioned gas... might as well have this. That way if we see some vehicles, we can syphon some gas out of them. Don’t forget that tanker we brought back was empty by the time we got back. Damn asshole shot a hole in the side, remember?”
After putting the can in the back, Tabitha got in the Rover then shut the door. Noticing the tension on Colt’s face she calmly said, “It’s going to be ok, Colt. In and out, we will be back before nightfall.” Looking out the window to see where Ceara was, Tabitha continued speaking, “Beth will take care of everyone, stop worrying. We will do our part right now, that is, if Red would hurry her ass up!”
Colt shook his head discouraged, “I just don’t think that girl knows what the hell she is doing. I mean, I know we all have had our run ins with wanderers and making grave mistakes, but I just don’t want her messing this up.”
“Well, I can’t argue with you on that one Colt, but we do need a third, and if she is willing to prove herself, then I say give her a shot.”
Shaking his head, “I’ll give her a shot alright.”
Tabitha saw Red coming out from the barn, “Colt, that ain’t no way to be right now. Come on man, let’s just wire our shit tight and as long as we got that, then hopefully she will follow suit.”
Ceara jumped in the Rover slamming the door, “Sorry, I wanted to grab the backpacks! You guys ready?”
Colt started the motor, “Been waiting on you. Is everyone locked and loaded?”
Tabitha laughed, “When am I not?”
Colt did a sideways look at her, letting her know he wasn’t really asking her; “Ceara?”
Ceara looked around Tabitha to Colt, “Yeah, why are you asking? That is just stupid to go on a run unarmed.”
Colt put the Rover into gear without answering, “Ok, Tabitha, you are the only one that’s been there, so if there is anything we need to know, the ride there is the time to fill us in.”
Tabitha shook her head, “Nope, only thing we need to do is head downtown, and look on the right side. We saw it as we pulled out of the town.”
Ceara started drumming on the dash with her hands, dancing around and singing “We are the Champions.” Colt sighed shaking his head, “How about we take this serious?”
Ceara stopped drumming and looked over at Tabitha, “What the hell is his problem?”
Tabitha held up her hands, “Leave me out of this! If you guys got beef, you deal with it between you guys.”
Ceara leaned forward, “Well?”
Colt kept his eyes on the road, “We aren’t going to a damn party, Ceara. This is a mission, so let’s at least try to take it serious.”
Ceara’s eyes got wide, “You are telling me to take this serious, really?”
Colt glanced over to her, “Let’s face it Ceara, you have made a few mistakes that were costly.”
“Oh my God, you did not just say that to me! I could deal with it if Tabitha said it, but YOU?”
Colt glared at her, “And what’s that mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know... who got my dog shot, who got shot twice... AND who HASN’T been on a run before? Hmmmm, I guess that would be YOU!”
Colt was breathing heavily trying to calm down, “You got your dog killed, you got Heath...”
Tabitha slammed her hand on the dash, “Give it up already! We all know where we are going; we all know what needs to be done. Now both of you either let this go... or just shut the fuck up!”
The silence was deafening, when Ceara just stared out the window. “Colt, you need to deal with the fact that we all are not perfect. I did learn from what happen. If I do something to distract myself from what we may be walking into, then you can just get over it.”
Alden had finished cleaning all the rifles and had them stacked neatly along the picnic table. It had taken him over an hour. Looking up he started to call for Charlie. Just then he noticed Niz standing, wobbly at the back door, “What the hell are you doing up girl?”
Niz gave him a weak smile, “I’m tired of lying in that damn dark room. I need sunshine.”
Alden grabbed both his crutches, making his way to her, it was his turn to smile. “Yeah, I never could just lie in a bed.” Handing her one of the crutches, he put his arm gently around her waist, “You use that one, I’ll use this one and we can lean on each other til we get to the table.”
As they sat down, Charlie walked around the house with a leather bag full of colt .45 pistols. “You guys okay?” He asked as he set the bag on the table.
Niz looked, “Right as rain, Charlie.”
Charlie placed the bag in front of Alden, “You both need a drink.”
Alden grinned, “Now you’re talking cupcake, whiskey on the rocks.”
Alden looked at Niz as Charlie headed to the house, “Sunshine, do you know how to clean a pistol?”
Niz smiled, “Let’s see if I remember this from what Larry taught me.” Alden watched as she stripped the .45 in a matter of seconds, laying all the pieces out neatly.
Alden smiled at her, “So Larry taught you, huh?”
Niz smiled back, “Since I was about 10 years old, my father would bring me here. He and Larry were real close, something that had to do with both of them in their past. Anyway, Larry would sit out here at an old table and clean his weapons, he hadn’t built the patio yet. One day I was petting one of the horses right over there.”
She pointed by the coral, “All of a sudden a rattlesnake came out of nowhere and was coiled to strike. The horse reared and ran off. Then I heard a shot and the snake was laying there with no head. Larry walked over. I was still shaking. He picked me up and carried me to the table, then got me a cold Coke,” Niz paused and looked at Alden, “I’ll never forget that. He handed me the ColtRevolver, and said ‘now little one, you have to clean the pistol.’ He sat with me every time we came over and I cleaned the same one. On my fifteenth birthday, he came to our village and presented it to me as a gift. He made me promise that I would come to his house and clean it every now and then.”
A tear was in her eye, “the last time I came, we were attacked, he got me out and sent me home. I remember looking back and he was backing into the porch stabbing them in the heads.”
Alden looked at her and squeezed her hand, just as Charlie walked up and placed two glasses of water on the table, “Here’s your drink, Gin for the lady and rocks sans whiskey for you.”
Alden glared at him, “Son, I did ask for whiskey correct?”
Charlie smiled and nodded, “Yes, yes you did. You also told me that no one handles weapons while drinking alcohol.”
Alden glared at him then grinned, “Damn, foiled by my own rules.”
The silence in the Rover was getting too much; Colt rolled down his window and relaxed his arm out in the window. “Ceara, I don’t mean to be an ass. I really don’t, but the fact is, the last mistake was a big one.” Ceara started to interrupt him and he held up his hand, “Hear me out, it was a big mistake but as you just politely pointed out... I have made my share too. I’m sorry for making you feel like you can’t do this. I know that had to be very hard for you to go through. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Tabitha bumped Ceara’s shoulder, “I think that was as close to admitting he was wrong as you are going to get.”
Ceara rolled her eyes, “Fine, apology accepted, but I’m still telling Beth what an ass you can be!”
Colt laughed, “Yeah, you do that... pretty sure she knows better than you how much of an ass I can be.”
Tabitha leaned forward, “Ok guys, heads up, that is the town coming up.”
Ceara’s eyes were darting everywhere; it seemed the only thing moving was a few scraps of trash, and a few newspapers. “Were there any wanderers when you guys came last time?”
Tabitha was scanning the higher windows for any movement, “No, and those will be the least of our worries. What we need to think about, is the living.... that is who shot at us. At least with the zombies, we know they will come straight for us, the living hide and wait for a clean shot.”
Ceara mimicked Tabitha as she began watching windows, “Do you think they are still here? This place looks pretty deserted.”
Tabitha didn’t have a chance to answer before Colt pulled into a slanted parking spot. Tabitha looked at him like he was crazy, “Couple of questions, slick.... Why did you actually pull INTO a spot and why the hell are you stopping so far from the ammo store?”
Colt pointed to the store in front of them, “It’s a hobby store, and not all hobbies are trains or crafts. There may be some stuff we could use in there.” He glanced around at where he had parked, “What was wrong with how I parked?”
Tabitha rolled her eyes, “Rookies.... How many times has Alden pulled into a spot? None... we don’t park where we may have issues getting out, if we need too. Back up and park on the street. I’ll give you this though; a hobby shop is a good thought.”
Colt backed up and parked in the street, as they got out, each scanned the windows for any movement. Colt noticed the front doors of the store had been smashed and the glass was scattered outside on the sidewalk, “Guys, this doesn’t look good. I think there were people breaking out instead of in.”
Ceara was confused, “Why would they need to break out? Wouldn’t they just unlock it?”
“I guess that would depend on what you were locked in with, or if you could take the time to find the lock.” Colt stepped through the door and found who he thought had broken the glass out. Lying just to the right of the door was a middle-aged man, his body was severely decomposed. Colt pulled his t-shirt over his nose and pointed to the shard of glass that still lay in the dead man’s hand. Colt looked to Tabitha and ran a finger across his neck, “Guy opted out.”
Tabitha and Ceara both looked at the man but continued into the store. Tabitha looked around, “We secure this place first, then we look... Ceara you go left, I’ll take right, Colt you have center. We meet back here in ten minutes. If you run into trouble, do NOT shout out, just knock something over. We will hear it.”
Not seeing a lot, Tabitha kept moving down the right side of the store and carefully watched where she was stepping. The floor was cluttered with so much stuff, that it looked like the people that had been in there before them, had just ransacked the place. On a few of the shelves were knitting needles with crochet hooks strewn from one end to the other. While buttons, snaps, and patches, were laying everywhere. As she got to the back of the store, Tabitha noticed a pile of cow bells that were about ten inches tall. She made a quick count and realized that there were eight laying there. Tabitha smiles as she noticed a red shopping basket lying turned over on the floor a few feet away, Tabitha went to get it then returned to gently place the bells inside.
She then made her way toward the middle of the store, trying to find some strong rope that she could make trip wires or something that would hold the bells to give them an early warning system, in case the zombies or trespassers were lurking around. As she did, she saw an adorable welcome sign that said, ‘Visitors Welcome! Wipe Your Paws’ with a picture of a litter of little kittens on the bottom of it. Tabitha put that in her basket and thought about giving it to Beth, just as a nice gesture. Sure they needed survival gear but she thought that with all the work that Beth had been doing, she needed something just for her. Moving on, she found a few boxes of nails and a huge roll of twine, which she thought that may work with the bells. “Better to get it and not need it than to need it and not have it”, she said out loud while putting that in her basket.
Ceara moved slowly up and down the aisle, looking for things that could be used; “Just my luck to get the damn paint department.”
Ceara grabbed several packages of paint brushes with wooden handles, “Too bad we aren't fighting vampires.”
She smiled at her own joke then saw something she thought would be a very good grab. Ceara filled her arms with cans of paint thinner. She thought back to what Colt said in the truck. She realized that if anything were to happen, her arms were full. Setting everything at the end of the aisle, Ceara searched for some sort of bag, silently berating herself for forgetting her own backpack in the Rover.
One aisle over, at the very end, was a holder for recycle bags, Ceara grabbed a few as she made her way back to her first aisle.
Colt went down his first aisle looking around; he thought somehow Tabitha knew she sent him in the trinkets area. He ran his hands through bins of beads and thought if nothing else it might trip them up, but he had his doubts. How good they would work on the desert floor? In the end he left them where they were. The next aisle was frames; here he thought were a few things they could use. The pieces to make your own frames already had sharp points they could set tra
ps with. Just as he got an arm full, he felt a blade on his throat, “You yell and I will drop you where you stand.”
Colt just stood frozen, trying to figure out how he would get out of this, “Look man, we are only getting a few supplies. Didn’t mean no harm.”
“Shut up and walk, no one takes my stuff and lives to tell others.”
Colt started walking and felt the blade cut a little into his throat. The man was in his ear, “Not so fast, you ain’t getting away.”
Colt was wondering why the man even bothered walking him out, why not just kill him. “Where are we going?”
The man laughed a sick laugh, “You’re going to be bait, junior. I still got a few of those things around and I am going to let you bring them to me, so I can handle my little problem.”
Ceara heard Colt talking and wondered if he and Tabitha already met back up. Had it already been ten minutes? She started making her way over to him but just as she got to the end of the aisle, she saw Tabitha.
Tabitha held a finger to her lips and Ceara glanced around and gave Tabitha a confused look. Tabitha waved her over, “Put your shit down, we got a problem.”
“What’s going on? Did you see wanderers?”
Tabitha shook her head, “I told you already, it’s the living we had to worry about. There is an old guy that has a knife to Colt’s throat.”
Ceara eyes got wide, “What are we going to do?”
Tabitha smiled and cocked an eyebrow, “We take him out before he takes Colt out, what did you think we would do?”
Tabitha waved at Ceara to follow her. Tabitha worked her way around to get in front of Colt, “Ok Red, I need you to trust me a minute, are you ok with that?”
Ceara looked nervous but nodded, “What do you need me to do?”
“I want you to just walk out like you have no idea he is there, and do not act like you know Colt at all. We need the guy distracted, do whatever you need to.”
Surviving Day by Day (Book 3): Still They Come Page 15