by Chesla, Gary
Linda finally looked up at Mike and forced a smile.
“I’m going down to the road with Tony for a few minutes,” Mike said. “He thought he heard a car and wants to go down and see if anything has been disturbed. He also said he thought he smelled something strange down near the road yesterday and wanted to see if the smell is still there or if it is now gone.”
“He probably got a whiff of George,” Linda smiled.
“We should only be a few minutes,” Mike said. “I hate to ask you to get up, but you need to bar the door after we go and keep an eye on things until I get back.”
“It’s OK,” Linda replied. “I’m wide awake now. I swear I don’t know what smells worse, zombies or George’s bug puke. For some reason, ever since we were trapped in the attic back home, George insists on eating every bug he sees. I would have thought by now he would have learned that stink bugs don’t agree with him.”
Mike grinned as Linda looked up at him and started to laugh.
“In the world we now live in, we must be doing pretty well if all I have to complain about is George eating stink bugs,” Linda said then her smile faded. “Do you think there is going to be a problem?”
“It’s probably nothing,” Mike replied, “but it’s a good idea that we go and make sure.”
“I know, give me a minute to get dressed and I’ll be right down,” Linda said.
“You should change that shirt too,” Mike smiled, “George must have eaten more than one stink bug this time.”
Linda looked down at her shirt and frowned.
Mike had just put on his black flannel shirt when Linda, Jamie and George came down the steps.
“Good Morning,” Tony said as he looked up.
“George ate a stink bug and threw up,” Jamie said.
“Don’t ask,” Mike said to Tony then looked over at Jamie, “I’ll tell Tony all about George outside.”
Tony grinned as he followed Mike to the door.
“Be careful,” Linda said as she walked over and gave Mike a kiss on the cheek.
“You too,” Mike smiled.
Mike and Tony walked out on the porch and heard Linda slide the plank over the door.
“George threw up?” Tony laughed.
“Yeah, he likes to eat bugs, but every time he eats a stink bug, it makes him throw up,” Mike replied. “Of course he has to climb up on the bed with us before he throws up. He can’t spit up hair balls like a normal cat.”
“The problems you cat lovers have to endure,” Tony laughed.
When Tony and Mike reached the woods line, they both got serious.
Tony led the way and Mike followed.
Talk was replaced with hand signals.
They began to walk quietly through the woods, careful to avoid stepping on branches or anything that would create a loud noise.
After every few steps, they would stop and listen.
The woods were filled with the unthreatening sounds of birds, happily chirping and flying around.
Finally they reached the spot where Tony had piled up brush to make his hiding spot.
After they had stood and listened for a few minutes, Tony pointed to the road, signaling Mike that they were going to move closer to the road.
It was only another thirty feet to the road.
When they reached the road, Mike was looking down Route 271 towards Westmont when Tony tapped him on the shoulder.
Mike turned to see Tony pointing at something on the road.
When Mike looked at the road, he saw a large spot of blood on the middle of the road.
A bloody trail went across the road and disappeared into the weeds twenty feet from where they stood, on their side of the road.
Mike followed Tony as he walked quietly through the weeds to the spot where the blood trail disappeared into the brush.
Tony raised his crossbow as he neared the crushed weeds where the trail led into the brush.
He studied the trampled weeds and the bloody trail for a moment, then without looking at Mike, Tony raised his hand and signaled that they were going to follow the trail.
Mike glanced around to be sure that in their state of concentration, no one was sneaking up on them.
They had only gone into the woods for about twenty feet before Tony stopped.
He studied the scene in front of him for a moment, then turned to Mike.
“It’s a deer,” Tony said. “It looks like it was hit by a car.”
Mike moved up next to Tony and looked down at the dead animal.
“You did say you heard what sounded like a screech and a thump,” Mike whispered. “Let’s go check out the road.”
Tony nodded and they retraced their steps.
When they reached the side of the road, Mike whispered to Tony, “Look in the center of the pool of blood.”
Tony stared at the spot for a few minutes, then he saw it too.
“It looks like broken glass,” Tony replied.
Mike glanced both ways, up and down the road, then walked out to the middle of the road.
“It looks like clear glass,” Tony said. “Probably from the headlights.”
Mike walked over to the other side of the road, bent down and picked up something lying by the road.
He turned towards Tony.
“I don’t know if the red is paint or deer blood,” Mike said as he held up a small oval Kia name plate.
“Shit!” Tony said. “I bet that belongs to that red Kia Soul we saw yesterday. “I wonder why it was out here?”
“Do you think it was out this way looking for us?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know,” Tony replied as he walked up the road a few feet, knelt down and examined the black tire skid marks on the pavement. “They were coming this way, towards Westmont, when they jammed on the brakes.”
Tony looked up the road, in the direction where the car had come from, then he stood.
“Mike,” Tony said as he stared up the road.
Mike walked up next to Tony and stared up the road and then at the hill top.
“Is that smoke?” Mike asked.
“That’s what it looks like to me,” Tony replied. “It looks like someone is burning something. The smoke is thick and dark.”
They stared at the horizon as two pillars of dark smoke lazily rose into the otherwise clear blue sky above the distant hill tops.
“Could it be a forest fire?” Mike asked.
“I don’t think so,” Tony replied. “It seems too concentrated in one spot. A forest fire would be more dispersed. This looks like someone is intentionally burning something.”
“So there is someone else out here after all,” Mike said. “I don’t know if that is good or bad.”
“At this point, I say it’s bad,” Tony replied.
“Why would someone make a fire like that in broad daylight?” Mike asked. “Don’t they know it can be seen for miles?”
“Maybe they just don’t give a damn,” Tony said. “Or it could be they aren’t very smart. If they just don’t give a damn, then I would say they are probably dangerous.”
“How far away do you think that is?” Mike asked.
“Four, maybe five miles,” Tony answered.
“A mile or so past Outdoor World,” Mike said. “If they are that close to the store, I wonder why they didn’t clean the place out?”
“Good question,” Tony said. “But right now, what concerns me is what that red car was doing here. Were they just going somewhere or were they looking for us?”
“If they don’t give a damn who sees their fire and they were down here looking for us,” Mike added.
“They are arrogant bastards that are up to no good,” Tony finished Mike’s thoughts.
“What do you think we should do?” Mike asked.
“I think we need to find them before they find us,” Tony replied.
“Then what do we do?” Mike asked. “What if there are a lot more of them then there are of us?”
“Then we
figure it out,” Tony said. “First things first.”
“OK?” Mike asked. “This kind of thing is out of my league. What’s our next step?”
“Go tell Linda what we found,” Tony said. “Tell her to keep an eye out for movement in the woods. I’m going to stay down here and you should help Linda secure the house.”
“Then we are going to go looking for them?” Mike asked.
“Not until I see that car go back up the road,” Tony replied. “We don’t want them coming in behind us when we go out that way.”
“OK,” Mike said. “But are you sure we need to go looking for them. Maybe they will just keep passing through. Maybe if we just stay out of sight, they won’t bother us.”
“Maybe, but I’ve learned that the best defense is a good offense,” Tony replied. “If there is a problem here, you can’t ignore it and expect it to go away. We aren’t going out to look for trouble. We just need to know what their intention is. After we know that, then we can decide what we have to do. If it is some biker gang, then we might have to make the decision to leave and go somewhere else. If we find it is something we can deal with, we deal with it, but we need to know who they are and determine their motives first.
I’m not crazy. I might have been a jar head, but I’m not suicidal. I just feel this isn’t something we can ignore.”
“OK, I’ll follow your gut on this, but I would rather just go somewhere else than get us all killed,” Mike added.
“Trust me,” Tony smiled. “I’m a firm believer in living to fight another day. But I also believe in knowing all my options before I do anything. I have no problem running if that is our best option.”
Mike nodded.
“Go talk to Linda,” Tony said. “Then relax. We’ll be fine. I’ll be up as soon as that car goes back up the road. If I can see who is driving that car, it might go a long way in telling us who we are dealing with. Besides, you know a Kia Soul is a chick car.”
Mike laughed, “Dream on.”
Mike took a few steps towards the woods and stopped and smelled the air.
“I just noticed that smell you mentioned,” Mike said as he looked around hoping to see the source. “I see what you mean about that smell. It’s faint, but again it seems to be coming from everywhere.”
Mike turned and glanced at the smoke rising into the sky off in the distance.
“You don’t think that is where the smell is coming from?”
“That was what I was just thinking,” Tony replied.
“What the hell are those people doing up there?” Mike said then looked at Tony. “Let me know when you’re ready to go, I’ll go get ready.”
Chapter 13
June 31st, Granite Mountain
Rogers and Davis walked into the situation room as Chervy sat down in front of the computer.
Chervy had just hit the power button and was waiting for the computer to power up.
“Good Morning Cherv,” Rogers said.
“You two seem unusually chipper this morning,” Chervy smiled.
“Yeah, we’re hoping Doc wants us to make another trip out to Stone this morning,” Davis replied.
“I have to admit, I’m surprised at how you have been able to fly that helicopter,” Chervy smiled. “I would have bet anything that you would have gotten yourselves lost or ran the helicopter into the side of a mountain.”
“Because we screwed up one of the simulators and smashed two drones?” Davis grinned.
“That and the fact you two can’t walk down the tunnel without getting yourselves into trouble,” Chervy laughed. “I’m surprised the Navy even let you two enlist.”
“Tell him,” Rogers grinned.
“Why?” Davis asked.
“Tell me what?” Chervy asked.
Davis grinned but didn’t say anything.
“Those things aren’t real helicopters,” Rogers said. “They’re actually computer controlled drones.”
“They’re what?” Chervy asked.
“They’re drones,” Rogers replied. “You program them and they fly themselves. Didn’t Doc tell you?”
“But we have to keep an eye on it while it flies,” Davis added. “If there are any problems then we have to take over and fly it.”
“They’re neat as shit,” Rogers said. “It’s like going on a ride in an amusement park. You should ask Doc if you could come along for the ride next time.”
“No, Doc didn’t tell me,” Chervy smiled, “but that explains a lot. Here I was thinking that you two jokers had really learned how to fly. I should have known better.”
“But Doc said we’re doing real good on the simulator,” Davis added. “He said we will eventually have to fly the helicopter manually. If we see anyone while we are in the air, he said we might have to take over the controls so we can go investigate.”
“If Doc feels you can handle it,” Chervy laughed.
“I know we can handle it,” Rogers replied.
“Hey Cherv,” Davis asked as he walked further back into the bay. “What is all this other equipment in here?”
“I’m not sure,” Chervy replied. “It looks like different types of communication equipment. I don’t know much about that kind of gear. The only reason I know how to work the satellite controls was because I was the head computer tech and was trained to work with you guys on the satellite monitoring project. Doc wants me to see what I can learn about this other equipment when I have a chance. He feels it might come in handy, but right now our priority is using the satellite to try and find out if anyone else survived.”
“I guess there is still a lot we have to learn about this place,” Davis said.
“Yeah, we’ll probably never find out about everything we have here,” Chervy replied. “We don’t exactly fit the profile or have the skills of the kind of people the government intended to send here. This place and the equipment here is way over our heads. If it wasn’t for Doc, we would all probably still be living in that wrecked Seahawk helicopter out on the mountain.”
“You’re right,” Davis sighed. “If Doc wouldn’t have discovered those little helicopters were really drones, Rogers and I would probably be splattered all over the side of Granite Mountain or running from the infected after we crash landed down in Salt Lake City.”
“We are a sorry bunch to have the job of trying to save the world,” Rogers smiled. “But I’m glad we’re in here and not out there somewhere.”
“Do you think that maybe we have everything we need to find the survivors, but we just don’t know it?” Davis asked.
“I have a feeling we do,” Chervy replied. “I’m sure eventually we’ll figure some of it out.”
“But probably not in time to save anyone,” Rogers added. “Too bad we couldn’t have come here sooner so we would have had more time to figure this place out.”
“Yeah, but as fast as the infection spread, no one had much time to do anything,” Chervy replied as he walked back to the computer. “It probably wouldn’t have made any difference. After as much searching as I’ve done with the satellite, I honestly don’t think anyone else survived. I have a feeling we are the last of the human race.”
“That is how I felt as I watched what was happening to the base as we flew out of Fallon,” Davis said. “I just felt we were delaying the inevitable by coming here. But I guess being here is better than the alternative.”
“I think Doc realizes he isn’t working with a crack crew of skilled professionals,” Chervy laughed. “But he is still determined to find some survivors. He just keeps saying that all we can do is the best we can.”
“He tells me that a lot too,” Rogers added.
Davis looked at Chervy and grinned at Roger’s comment.
“What do you think Doc will do if we find that no one else survived?” Davis asked.
“I don’t think he considers that a possibility,” Chervy replied. “I keep joking that I want to go to Hawaii, but I know that Granite Mountain is probably going to be where we will
live out our last days. We would need a boat to go to Hawaii, but even if we had a boat, it would be crazy to give up everything we have here.”
Rogers was staring at the computer screen when Chervy started to walk back towards the computer.
“Is this the picture of where Davis and I dropped the crate with the supplies?” Rogers asked.
Chervy glanced at the screen, “That’s the spot.”
“It looks like some animals got into the supplies and scattered shit all over the place.” Rogers said.
Davis walked over and looked down at the screen.
“You’re right,” Davis said. “Doc told us to just drop the crate and get out of there. When we left, everything was in one neat bundle. What do you think it was, some coyotes?”
“It was probably a bunch pf prairie dogs,” Rogers laughed. “Those little buggers are ornery as hell and they get into everything. Back at the base, I dropped off a box of MREs for Murphy outside his barracks. When he came out to get them ten minutes later, they were scattered all over the base in front of his building. He said he followed a trail of shredded wrappers out to a bunch of prairie dog burrows next to the runway.”
“Maybe on the next drop we should put the food in metal containers,” Davis said.
Chervy tapped on the keyboard for a moment and the screen changed to a dark gray fuzzy picture.
“What happened to the picture?” Davis asked.
“I set the camera to take a series of pictures overnight using the night vision lens so we could go back and see if anything came around the crate while we were asleep,” Chervy replied. “Since we haven’t seen anything during the day, it didn’t make sense to have anyone stay up all night to watch the crate. Maybe I can see what did this.”
“My money is on prairie dogs,” Rogers said. “You want to bet?”
“I bet you the last slice of lasagna the next time Reynolds makes it,” Davis replied. “I bet it was a coyote.”
“You’re on,” Rogers smiled.
“I don’t know if the camera will be able to tell the difference between a prairie dog and a coyote on these grainy night vision pictures,” Chervy grinned. “Is there anything that you two won’t bet on?”