I heard gunfire from behind us, and saw that the enemy was closer than I’d thought. Scout’s people were shooting from the back of the trucks. Jake finally started the van, and we all tore out of the lot, away from the approaching threat.
We left them behind quickly, but I sensed more ahead of us. “Watch out!” I yelled.
Chapter Forty
If anyone had told me something could be more disgusting than one of the creatures, I wouldn’t have believed them. But seeing them squashed by a van was definitely worse. I closed my eyes against the sight, and hoped the van would keep running. There was nothing I could do at the moment. Escape was up to the drivers.
Letting go of control like this was hard. I clenched my hand over the hilt of my sword, now resting in my lap.
“That won’t do much good, Z,” Rex said.
“I know,” I snapped. “It’s just…”
Mike interrupted. “Leave her alone. It helps relax her.”
This time Rex snapped. “I know.”
I wasn’t looking, but I could almost feel the heat from the glare Rex was shooting at Mike. “Settle. It’s fine. You both noticed. No biggie, okay?”
I opened my eyes to look back at the others, and caught Jake smothering a smile. “What?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Nothing.”
I figured if he was able to laugh, we must have made it through the worst of the creatures. Risking a view that would make me sick, I turned to the front. No more creatures filled the windshield. With a full attempt at concentrating, I only felt the enemy who were behind us.
“We’re through? Awesome,” I said. Outside the vehicles, that would have taken much longer, and been tiring for all of us.
Jake nodded. “Yeah. Seems the vehicles weren’t a bad idea after all.”
Kate’s truck moved past us and took the lead. She turned down a side street, and we made our way through the city quickly.
The brake lights on Kate’s truck flashed, and we all pulled to the side of the road. Jake and I got out to meet her.
“We’re close,” Kate said, climbing out of her own vehicle. “I was thinking we might want to walk the rest of the way. If there’s anything there, we don’t want to give them advance warning.”
Jake and I nodded agreement. “How close are we?” I asked.
“It’s just over the next hill,” Kate answered. “Why?”
“Just wondering if just a few of us should scout it out first. The others can wait here.”
Scout approached. “Probably not a bad idea. It will draw less attention. Kate, you stay here. I’ll go with whoever Zero wants to send.”
“Rex, Jake, and I will go with you,” I answered.
We instructed the others to wait by the vehicles in case we needed to make a quick escape. Then we walked up the hill toward the prison.
As we walked, I started getting a major tingling. My anxiety rose, and I tapped the hilt of my sword. Rex eyed me curiously. I was aching for a fight. Something to break the monotony of the walk. I wanted to feel my enemy give way to me, and feel the warmth of blood on my skin.
“Zero?” the normally calm voice was plenty anxious now.
I pushed forward, and ignored the people who walked with me. They were unimportant. They would not keep me from my fight.
Voices mumbled behind me, but I couldn’t concentrate enough to figure out what they were saying. Finally, I got a glimpse of the horde trapped behind the fence of the old prison. They were frantically trying to get out, and I pushed forward, wishing them all dead.
“Zero!”
The first sensation I could feel was rough concrete ripping through the top layers of skin on my knees and arms. The second was a large body covering mine and grasping at me desperately.
The voices were yelling frantically, and they were dragging me away from the creatures. I howled as I tried to escape and get to the horde. They continued carrying me away as if I weighed nothing.
“Zero, what is going on with you?” Jake’s voice finally broke through the red haze. “Z, are you with us?”
My head was pounding. The haze of bloodlust was dying, but in its place was a deep exhaustion. I relaxed in his grasp, and couldn’t find the energy to answer.
“Not the prison,” I heard Scout say. “We can’t go near that place again.”
Jake carried me to the van, and set me into my seat in the van. Within a few seconds, the engine had started and we were moving away.
I rested silently for several minutes as we drove in the opposite direction of the jail. “I’m sorry,” I finally said, surprised at how hoarse sounding my voice was.
“It’s alright,” Jake assured me. “We just… we need to figure this out. You never used to have this problem. Now it’s happening each time you’re near them.”
Something had changed. Something I feared would affect my ability to complete our quest. At the same time, it made the quest even more important. If I reacted this violently every time, I wouldn’t be much use to the others.
“We should find a farm house,” I said softly. “Safe. Separate.”
“True,” Jake said. “It’s a good idea. We do need to keep you away from the hordes at this point.”
I could feel Rex’s eyes on my back, but he didn’t say anything. After our experience in the car on the highway, he’d know exactly what I had been fighting against. How he felt about it, I was unsure.
Jake pulled the van up alongside Kate’s truck and motioned to her to pull over.
Once all three vehicles were stopped, Jake got out to talk to Kate and Scout. Probably discussing our backup plan to find a farm house to stay at. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes, trying to feel if there were any threats nearby. Somehow, the horde at the prison had taken over before I’d even fully realized they were there. Not good.
“Why aren’t you out there planning with the others?” Mike asked softly.
I shrugged lethargically. “Already told Jake what we should do. He’s just relaying the message.”
A quick glance back showed Rex’s glare at the new arrival. “Stop, Rex. He’s just asking. No harm done.”
“Just asking. Right,” Rex said, shooting a last glare toward the other boy.
It would be good to find our safe place, so we could separate from the others for a while. It seemed like all the togetherness was starting to get on people’s nerves.
Once Jake returned, we started moving again. This time away from the city, toward another section of the zone. The closed in feeling of the city gave way to the open farmland, and I finally started to feel like myself again.
“We should scout there,” I said, pointing out a large house that appeared abandoned.
Maybe we would get lucky on the first house we tried. I couldn’t sense a horde in that direction. It was possible there could be single creatures within the house, but we could easily take care of even a handful of the enemy.
It was possible the people who lived here had simply run away, trying to make it to a safe zone before they got trapped with a bunch of creatures. Honestly, I had no idea how the border fences had been put up so quickly. Whoever was in charge moved fast. I guess the spread of this disease was good motivation to get things done.
A dog barked as we pulled to a stop on the side of the road. It was in a cage next to the house, and appeared happy to see a person. If we stayed, a dog could be a useful warning when anyone approached.
If not, we’d free it so it had a chance of taking care of itself. I wouldn’t leave it to starve to death in a cage.
We waited several minutes to see if anyone reacted to the dog’s barking, but nothing happened.
“I don’t know for sure, but I’d say this place seems empty. There aren’t any vehicles in the driveway,” Rex said.
“I’ll check the outbuildings,” I offered.
Making my way across the yard, I peered into the garage. Only a beat up old car sat inside, the hood raised, and it looked like parts were missing. A chec
k of the barns showed a tractor and a couple other farm related machines, along with a riding lawnmower. No other cars or trucks were apparent.
One barn had a pasture area not visible from the road. Two horses stood grazing. Their heads raised almost as one as I approached, and they nickered as they trotted toward the wooden fence.
If the place didn’t seem so deserted, I would almost say it was peaceful. An ideal place to set up, if we were able to stay.
I returned to the others, giving the horses a wistful glance. I’d always wanted to be able to ride, but I hadn’t been taught how. They could be useful for plowing or something, if we wanted to set up a decent garden. But I was unsure where we would find seeds.
“Nothing seems to be in use right now,” I reported back to Jake, Scout, and Rex. “No running vehicles are here, so I think the owners left.”
“Let’s check the house,” Jake suggested.
We split up into two groups. Rex and I started on the main level, while Jake and Scout went upstairs. Once we’d cleared the lower floor, we headed to the basement. If there was an attic, the others would check it.
“Nothing. The house looks like everything was left. As if they just went away, and never managed to make it back.”
I checked the washing machine and dryer. A load of clothes was still in the dryer. “I don’t think they knew what happened. I think they must have just left to run errands, or go to work, or something. They just…”
“Never stood a chance,” Rex finished. “What else did you find outside? Anything useful?”
“Possibly. There are tractors and stuff, but also two horses. They look healthy. They were grazing, but seemed pretty excited to see people. Any idea how to take care of a horse?”
Rex shook his head. “Not really. But someone in this group might. It would be good to have them healthy and ready to use if we need to ride them somewhere, or have them pull a cart or something.”
We made our way back to the main level. Jake and Scout were already there. “Anything?”
“No,” Jake answered. “Just looks like the people vanished. Nothing indicates they packed anything, or that they were panicked about something.”
“I guess that means this is it,” I said. “Get everyone to unload, and we’ll get stuff set up as best we can. Once we’re settled into the house, we need to fortify the yard.”
“Good idea. The dog will be useful,” Scout agreed. “Anyone find any dog food?”
I thought back to what we’d seen. “I didn’t find any. But we didn’t look inside the closets or the pantry. There could be some. If need be, someone could try to find a store that might have some animal food on the shelves. They aren’t likely to have been looted.”
I looked around the kitchen while Scout and Jake went to help drive the trucks and van onto the property. There was a pretty well stocked pantry, a fridge full of food—some of which was still good, since the house had electricity—and in the basement was a cellar full of what looked like self-canned food. A quick scan showed applesauce, peaches, and a couple variations of tomato sauces.
Bottles of water and cans of soda were stored in the pantry, and I found the dog’s food in a closet just off the basement. Filling a bowl from one of the cupboards, I headed out to make friends with our new dog.
Chapter Forty-One
As I suspected, the dog had been grateful for a bowl of food. She’d come up to me once she’d finished, and rubbed her head on my leg. Even now, as we spent our first night in the new house, the dog rested against me on the floor. I leaned on the couch, and enjoyed the warm feeling of the animal cuddling against me.
Her dark fur was soft and silky, and I was happy she was willing to accept us on the property. I had also set Aly and Tony in charge of the horses. Both had previous experience, and knew how to handle them. Hoof care might become difficult. A couple of Scout’s people seemed interested in the horses, but no one had come forward to say they knew how to properly trim hooves. Admittedly, not the most important problem at the moment.
Now we were sitting in the living room discussing how to better fortify our new home. The general consensus was to search all of the farms in the area, and if there was any available fencing, take it and set up as much of a barrier as we were able. We’d already found a couple large rolls of chain link fencing in one barn, so I had high hopes we’d be able to find more at other farms. We could also use the panels from the dog kennel, if needed. She’d be loose in the fenced in area anyway, so the smaller kennel would be unnecessary.
Once we’d set up groups to search the other farms, most of the others found places to sleep. There were four bedrooms upstairs and one on the main level. “We might want to drag some mattresses from the other houses too,” I suggested. “There are quite a few beds available, but not enough for everyone. We can set up beds in some of the other rooms. I think they’ll be helpful.”
“Good idea. For tonight, though, just take the couch,” Jake gently commanded. “You could use the soft place to sleep.”
Rex approached me once the others had gone to bed. “You gonna put the dog back outside? She may be more helpful there.”
“Yeah,” I answered absently stroking the content dog’s head.
He cleared his throat and shifted. “Was there something else?” I asked.
“Uh… yeah. When are we heading out? I know you wanted to get started. And we found our safe place.”
“Day after tomorrow,” I answered. “As long as the fortifying goes okay. I don’t wanna leave until I know the others are protected.”
He nodded. “I’ll start getting our supplies packed tomorrow then. Just a reminder, who all is coming?”
“You, me, Jake, Scout, Kate, and Shanti,” I answered. “A bit larger group than I wanted, but it should still be okay.”
He shook his head slightly. “Why is Shanti coming? I don’t really understand that part.”
I gave a brief shrug. “Not sure. She pretty much insisted that she needed to go. I think she’d follow us if we tried to leave her behind. We’re better off just accepting it, I think.”
Rex nodded, then changed the subject. “So, what are you gonna call the dog?”
“Not sure,” I answered. “She wasn’t wearing tags, so I don’t know her name. What do you think?”
“She looks like some sort of Labrador mix,” he answered. “Dark, but has longer fur than an average Lab.”
“Yeah. She’s a really dark brown,” I agreed. “And she’s a nice sweet thing.”
“With a big bark,” he countered. “How about ‘Siren’? As in a warning siren for when intruders are approaching.”
“I like it,” I agreed with a smile. “Just make sure the others know to use it often, so she can get used to it.”
“Good. Now, we should get some sleep. Put Siren out so she can do her job,” Rex ordered.
I raised my eyebrow at his command, and he backtracked a bit. “Uh… I mean, we should get some sleep, boss. Maybe Siren should be outside?” he adjusted.
I chuckled. “Yeah, I’ll take care of her. G’night, Rex.”
He went upstairs to one of the bedrooms, and I rose, stretching. “Come on, Siren girl. Time for bed.”
We slipped outside, the cool night welcoming me like an old friend. I had grown accustomed to sleeping outdoors. It was almost comforting to be outside again. I led the dog into her kennel and knelt to rub her head again. “Don’t worry, girl. We won’t leave you alone again. You’re ours now. Good dog. Keep an eye out, okay?”
She whined softly as I closed the gate, but moved to curl up in her doghouse. “Good girl, Siren,” I said again. I could hear the horses moving around their pasture, and other peaceful night sounds. Nothing raised my hackles. It was as if we’d managed to find a serene oasis in the crazy infected world.
I sighed, a bit perturbed. It figured. We’d finally found a nice peaceful area. And I would be leaving it soon.
Chapter Forty-Two
The night passed uneventf
ully. Our guards had nothing to report, and the early morning shift even had a decent breakfast made for everyone by the time we got up. We were able to split into groups, and each group went to a different place to search. One group spent the day exploring the buildings on our property. The others went to the other farms to bring back whatever supplies they could.
I had almost hoped we’d find other people in some of the nearby farms. Instead, they brought over two more horses, some chickens, and a couple calves they found still in pens. Apparently, most of the animals had either been set free, or had broken out of their enclosures. There was plenty of hay stored in barns, so we could keep all the animals fed. Although I was slightly less certain of how to properly feed cows.
Someone would have to find a how-to book on caring for farm animals. If we were going to call this place home for the foreseeable future, we should learn to care for all the creatures living here.
“Found a goat,” one of Scout’s people said. “Thought the milk could be useful.”
“Good thought. Thank you…” My voice trailed.
“Stan,” he answered with a slight smile. “I know. We’ve been travelling together a while, but there’s been no real time to get to know each other. I wanted to apologize, by the way, for how we behaved when we first met.”
“No problem. Thanks Stan. You don’t by chance know anything about caring for a goat?”
“Some,” he admitted. “I grew up in the country, but I’d need a refresher. We’ll be searching for the country mart. According to the phone book I found inside, there should be one nearby.”
“Excellent,” I said. “We’ll need books for cows, horses, chickens, and goats. Also, bring back whatever grains and feeds we can get our hands on. It won’t last forever, but at least we can have a start.”
“Sounds good.” Stan shot me a loose salute and led the goat toward the horse barn. The animal went along willingly. As with the other animals, it seemed content to have someone caring for it again.
Boxes of supplies, and rolls of fencing came in on the trucks. Another dog also came in. I’d seen several cats wandering the barns, so I figured we wouldn’t have much of a problem with the smaller pests. They all seemed in good health, but none came for attention when anyone approached.
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