“What are we going to do with over ninety survivors?” James asked, looking at the other two.
“Well, they won’t last long. Soon we’ll have less,” Connor said.
“Yeah, I know that,” James said, defeated. “But even if they do make it, they can’t go all the way to Alaska with us.”
“No,” Emmett said. “But maybe we can find a well-fortified town and let them find some semblance of a life.”
“Do you think any of those still exist?” James asked.
“Yeah, you destroyed one,” Emmett said. “Even though it was led by a psychopath, it was still a haven.”
“That’s true,” James said. “Maybe we can get them somewhere safe.”
“I wouldn’t get too attached though,” Emmett said. “It’s hard enough protecting our own group, let alone two buses full of people.”
“I’m going to keep Olive in my truck,” James said, looking over to where Olive and Felix were sitting in the bucket of a bulldozer a few yards away, fiddling with something.
“I think that’d be smart,” Emmett said, glancing over. “I’ll give the other kid a ride. He seems like a good egg.”
“Well, let’s get on with it,” Connor said.
They lowered the bodies of Peter and the little boy, Henry, into the graves. Olive came over and grabbed James’s hand and Felix stood next to her. James looked down at the little girl by his side and was amazed once again by her bravery.
“We should say something,” James said.
“By all means,” Emmett said.
James thought for a second. “Peter was a good man, trying his best to protect those around him. He’ll be remembered for paying the ultimate price so others could live. Let the boy find peace in you, God.” Picking up some dirt from the pile, he let it drain into the grave.
“Ashes to ashes and dust to dust,” Connor said, doing the same.
They buried the bodies and Emmett walked off to meet Ana and Alexis, who were returning from gathering supplies. Olive walked up to James and handed him a small cross she’d made out of two sticks tied together with bailing twine.
“That’s perfect,” James said, taking the small cross and sticking it into the grave of the boy.
Felix walked over and put a similar cross at the head of Peter’s grave. James looked at the boy. Emmett’s right, he’s a good kid.
Mila walked up next to James and Connor, looking at the graves. “A good way to honor their memory.”
“It’s the best we can do in such a short time,” James said, turning away from the graves and looking at the two loaded buses. He was stunned to find about a dozen adults and twenty kids by the third bus, looking his way.
“Those are most of the families,” Mila said, looking sad. “I tried to talk them out of it, but . . .”
“You did all you could,” James said, feeling an odd peace about it. He couldn’t help those who didn’t want to be helped, no matter how much he’d like to. Instead, he’d focus on the people who wanted help—the people he could help. “Let’s send them on their way. Olive, take Felix over to the trucks and wait for us there, okay?”
“Okay,” she said and the two ran off.
“They’re oddly calm about all this,” James said as the three of them walked over to the group that wanted to go their own way.
“They’ve both been through a lot,” Mila said. “More than some of the adults, actually.”
“So you wanna leave?” James asked, arriving at the group.
“Yes,” said a hard-looking man standing in the front. “We’re not going to take orders from some boy who thinks he knows everything.”
“That’s fine with me. I’ll get you a couple guns and you can be on your way,” James said.
“Good. Make it quick,” the man said.
James smiled. “Right away, sir.”
He walked over to his truck while Connor stayed to keep an eye on them. Digging around in the back, he pulled out a rifle, handgun, shotgun and a box of ammo for each. He walked back and handed them to the man.
“That’s it? Randy said your whole bed was full of guns!” the man spat.
“It’s either that or you’ll be leaving at the end of this gun,” Connor said, patting the AR he held.
“Pricks,” the man said as he handed the guns out and the group loaded into the bus. “I hope I never see you murderers again.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” James said, smiling sardonically at him. For a second, he was worried he might have to shoot the man, but then he moved off, calling them some colorful words under his breath. The bus pulled away and headed south, back toward Burns. “Well, good riddance.”
“Less people to get us killed,” Connor said, walking over to the truck.
“That leaves us with what? Sixty?” James asked Mila.
“Sixty-two, including Olive and Felix,” she said.
“Those two will be with us. You have the rest divided evenly with adults and kids?”
“Yes. Greg is driving one bus and Bill the other.”
“Good, and the food?”
“Split as evenly as possible.”
“Perfect, I’m going to go talk to the drivers and give them radios.”
“I’ll be riding in Greg’s bus if you need me.” Giving him a smile, she sauntered her way to the far bus.
James walked over and met Connor halfway to the truck. His brother had already gotten a set of radios. “Channel seven will be ours and ten will be everyone’s,” he said.
“Sometimes I feel like we think on the same wavelength,” James said.
“That’s because we do.”
“I’ll go talk with them.”
“I’ve got Olive in the truck. Felix is with Emmett,” Connor said as he walked back to the truck.
“Good,” James said and walked over to the first bus.
The man in the driver’s seat was in his fifties, with short brown, graying hair, glasses, and a face that made him look even older.
“I’m James,” James said, offering his hand.
The driver took his hand, shaking it. “Bill, nice to finally meet you,” he said with a friendly smile.
“That’s a relief. I thought everyone hated us,” James said.
“No, they just don’t know how to take all this, and frankly, neither do I. But I can see the good in what you’re trying to do.”
“Thanks.” James handed him one of the radios and a charger. “We’ll be on channel ten at all times while driving. Every driver will have one. If we need to stop, we do it as a group. One of the trucks will be leading. The other bringing up the rear.”
“You’re good at all this. What’d you do before?”
“Honestly? I was guide. I spent a lot of my time outdoors.”
“Well, I’m glad to be in this group.”
“Thanks, Bill,” James said as he walked over to the other bus.
Greg was in his thirties with dark skin, a bald head, bushy black beard and tattoos covering both arms. He had to be over six feet tall, was broad at the shoulders, and looked like he should be a linebacker. The surprising part was that he wore the gray uniform of a janitor.
“Name’s Greg,” he said in a deep voice.
This was not the kind of man James had imagined. When he’d thought about strangling the man who’d started the bus early last night, he’d thought of a skinny, scared little man. Not this . . . giant of a man.
“James,” he said, sticking out his hand.
Greg shook it. He had a strong grip. “So, you’re the one in charge now?” Greg said, eyeing him.
“I am. We gonna have a problem?” James asked calmly.
“We’ll see.”
“Until we do, you follow my lead. Is that gonna work?”
Greg nodded.
“Good. Take these,” James said, handing him a radio and charger. “We’ll be on channel ten at all times when in the rigs. We’ll coordinate our stops and stay in touch in case something happens. Follow behind either m
e or Emmett, whoever’s in front, but keep a little distance in case we need to back out quickly.”
“Okay.”
“Good.”
James was about to turn away when he caught sight of Mila sitting in the front row. She smiled at him and winked. James smiled back hesitantly, then turned away and headed to Emmett’s truck. What is up with that woman? Does she really . . . but no, she can’t . . . could she?
“What’s the call, boss?” Emmett asked as James walked up.
“Boss?” James asked, taken aback.
“These people are following your lead now,” Emmett said. “Regardless of your age you have their respect, and some, their fear. I’ll follow your lead as long as it doesn’t put us in undue danger. Just remember what I told you this morning. My daughter and Ana come first, always.”
“Yes, sir,” James said, glancing into the backseat at Alexis and Ana. He knew Emmett would do whatever it took to keep those two women safe. “I guess I’ll lead then?”
“I’ll bring up the rear,” Emmett said, sticking out his hand. “Watch yourself up there.”
“Yes, sir.” James shook Emmett’s hand and then walked to his truck, climbing in. “We ready?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Connor said.
“Let’s ride,” Olive said, giving him a thumbs up with a broad smile on her face.
James laughed. “Did Connor tell you to say that?”
“Maybe . . .” she said as she glanced at his brother.
“Well, either way, let’s ride,” James said.
Pulling out onto the highway, he watched in his rearview mirror as the buses followed, with Emmett’s black F-450 bringing up the rear. He couldn’t help but smile a little. They’d lost quite a few since escaping the school, but they’d still been able to help them. Olive, Mila, Felix, Greg, Bill and all the others were part of his group now, and maybe they were all better off because of it. The responsibility weighed heavily on him, along with sorrow for the ones lost, but he had his brother by his side, the open road ahead, and, maybe, the hope of a new future.
“Have you called Tank yet?” James asked.
“I tried earlier, but there was no service,” Connor said. “I’m hoping it’s because we’re in the middle of nowhere Wyoming and not because the towers went down.”
“I guess we’ll just have to try when we get to the interstate.”
“That’s what I was thinkin’.”
Connor turned the music on and Dead but Rising by Volbeat began to play. When the chorus rolled around, the lyrics spoke to James. Was he going to be the chosen one or the fallen one? Was he going to be able to help those around him or fail them miserably? He was hoping for something along the lines of the former. Could someone do both? If so, he feared that’s what he’d end up doing. He just hoped he’d be able to help more than he failed.
“Can I hold the snake?” Olive asked, looking at the cage belted into the middle seat.
“Sure,” Connor said, looking back. “His name is Squeezer. Let me get him out and then I’ll hand him to you.”
“Okay!”
“Now remember,” Connor said, after he had the snake in his hands, “don’t move too fast and don’t mess with his head. Just be calm and he will be too.”
“Okay,” she said, offering her hands. Connor handed her the snake. Her eyes lit up and her smiled widened. “He feels so cool! What kind of snake is he?”
“He’s a ball python.”
“And how do you know he’s a boy?”
“You can tell by the tail. It’s thick and tapers off quickly, meaning he’s more than likely a male. It’s hard to tell without a female to compare to,” Connor said, turning back around to face the front.
Olive held the ball python up by her face and watched as he flicked his tongue in and out, tasting the air. “Why does he do that?”
“What?” Connor said, looking back.
“Stick his tongue out so much.”
“Good question,” Connor said. “He’s tasting the air. Even though he has nostrils, he kind of smells the air with his tongue. It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s a simple way to explain it.”
“Makes sense,” she said, nodding. Then she looked up at Connor curiously. “Why did you take him?”
“Because,” he said, after a pause, “I used to have a snake a lot like him named Squeezer. This new Squeezer helps me remember my old life and what it used to be like. He helps me remember who I am.”
“I’m glad he helps you.”
She smiled at Connor and then went back to playing with Squeezer, putting the snake on her lap and watching him intently. Connor turned back and looked out the windshield.
He probably didn’t even know that himself until he said it. Good. Maybe something as simple as a snake will help him hold on and get through this, James thought.
Connor looked over at James. “Thanks for making me grab the snake, bro.”
“We needed a mascot to round out our little group . . . well, rather large group now,” James said.
“Sometimes you know me better than I know myself.”
“That’s what brothers are for.”
~~~
The white truck rolled to a stop on the small gap between the hills overlooking the town of Chugwater. James put the truck in park and grabbed the radio.
“Hang tight here. We’re gonna scout out the town,” James said into the radio.
“Roger that,” came Emmett’s response.
“Okay,” Bill said.
“Got it,” Greg said.
“We’ll make it quick,” James replied, turning the radio down and sticking it into his vest.
Climbing the small hill to the left of the road, James sat down on top, using his knees to support his elbows as he looked through his 10x42 Vortex binoculars. Connor lay next to him, looking down on the town with the ten-power scope on his .308 rifle. He couldn’t see the town well, but he could see that a road on the south side met up with the interstate. If he wasn’t mistaken, it looked like there was a gas station all by itself south of the interstate on that road. It’d be the perfect place to fill up and let the kids use the restroom. They’d have to play it safe and be fast, but they should be able to do it.
James noticed that one of the two vehicles parked next to the gas station pulled forward to a pump and two women got out. Three more people came out of the gas station and his whole plan fell apart.
“Survivors,” Connor said.
“Yeah, but what kind? The ones we can help or the ones that need a bullet to chew on?”
“Can’t tell from here.”
“Well, this changes my plans.”
8
Friend or Foe
So much had changed in the last couple of days. Alexis was still trying to process it all—the infected; her stepdad dying, then her mom; being on the road for days, then finally safe in a town—or so they’d thought. That “haven” had ended up being fake, a façade for something far worse than anything they’d faced on the road. She’d been shocked at the pure evil the priest had been capable of. How could someone sacrifice people to forgive a whole town of their sins? Not only did it not fit with what she knew of Christianity, but it made no logical sense. But Father Ahaz had done it anyway, convinced he was protecting his “flock.” Standing on the steps of the church about to be eaten alive by zombies had been a pivotal moment in her life. She’d known there was nothing she could’ve done and her father had been powerless to save her. In a moment of desperation, she’d done something she hadn’t since her brother’s death when she was a child. She’d prayed.
And it’d worked. James and Connor had rescued them.
She’d seen the pain in their eyes that night when they’d separately left Haven. It broke her heart even now thinking about it. There had been something familiar about them that reminded her of Mason, her younger brother. She’d known then and there that she had to help the brothers because she hadn’t been able to help her own. She’
d easily convinced Ana and her dad that they’d all be better off traveling together, and they’d set out after them.
Now they had a large group they were responsible for and that complicated things, but she was glad they’d found these people. Just since yesterday she’d seen a change in James. He’d risked his life to save a little girl and now he was the leader of the entire group from the school. She could tell the responsibility had already started to strengthen him and hopefully it would continue to do so. The brothers were struggling with the loss of their parents, but she thought she could see that they were beginning to move on. She would continue to help them however she could. They’d saved her life and the lives of her new family, so she’d do her best to save them from themselves.
Alexis sat in the passenger seat of her dad’s truck, her SCAR rifle resting between her knees. It was one of the many firearms James and Connor had collected on their way to Haven. Her dad had gone through the guns, and after taking the foregrip and flashlight off another, he’d set it up for her. He’d also found the rifle Ana was using. James and Connor hadn’t minded sharing their “loot,” as they’d called it when they’d stopped during that first afternoon together.
Was that really just yesterday?
It felt like days ago. Being on edge every moment, never sure when something might happen, made the days and nights drag on. She looked out the window, absently twirling her hair between two fingers. The fields passed by on both sides of the truck as the early morning sun continued to climb into the sky. It looked like it would be a hot day with only a few high clouds. They rolled to a stop after only being on the road for an hour.
“Hang tight here. We’re going to scout out the town,” James said over the radio.
Her dad picked up the radio. “Roger that.”
“Okay,” said one of the bus drivers.
“Got it,” said the other bus driver.
“We’ll make it quick,” James replied.
Up ahead she watched as James and Connor ran up the side of a ridge and then sat down on a small point where they could see the town. She was amazed, not for the first time, at how well they worked as a team. It was like they’d been close for so long that they knew what the other would do without asking.
The Brother's Creed (Book 2): Battleborn Page 9