by TW Brown
Vix was so intent on taking in what was actually a rather stunning countryside that she ran into the back of Chaaya. She instantly went on the defensive, her hand going for her weapon. The woman placed a hand on hers and shook her head, her free hand bringing a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. After Vix nodded that she understood, her eyes followed to where the other woman was pointing. On the opposite side of this narrow road was just another field, however, it was what was in that field that had the entire group so captivated.
A herd of horses were grazing on the grassy slope. They were all of different colors; some black, some bay. However, it was the pure white one in the middle that immediately drew the eye. The majestic animal was walking amongst the others, its head held high and proud, its long mane ruffling in the gentle breeze.
The animal froze and then craned its neck in their direction. Vix could almost swear that the creature was looking directly into her soul. If it was afraid, it gave no sign. More likely, it was just as curious about these recent intruders into its territory as she and the others were fascinated by its beauty.
Vix had no idea how much time passed until they resumed their trek, but she walked away feeling like she had witnessed something special. Wild animals were a common sighting on field runs, but horses were a rare treat. This herd easily numbered over a hundred and was by far the largest that she’d ever seen
At last they reached the top of the hill and the farm house. After Gordon pronounced it safe to enter, they all made their way to the upper floor. None of them were even the slightest bit inclined to snoop around. It was obvious that the place had been gutted and stripped of anything that might even be remotely useful ages ago.
The view was all they could hope for. It showed nothing but empty English countryside as far as the eye could see…with one exception. Far to the north, a single spiral of smoke twisted skyward. It looked pencil thin from where they stood, which meant that it was likely quite a large fire at the source. It also seemed to be in the general direction that they needed to travel.
They now had a general location for their target.
As the day dragged on, the group talked about what they hoped to do once they reached their destination. Vix took part in the conversation; however, she kept mum on making any specific offerings to the plan. In her experience, plans were best left as an outline. As soon as you put one into motion, something was bound to come along and ruin things.
They stopped for the evening at a roundabout. They could travel further, but there was no sense creeping along in the dark. Clouds had rolled in and there would be no moon to see by this evening. The world would be plunged into blackness. They would simply have to wait.
After a very brief debate, the notion of a campfire was finally agreed upon. Vix remained the lone voice of dissent. She was chilled, but her bed roll would be adequate. If the bad guys were close at hand, she saw no need in announcing their presence.
Her eyes had just closed after her standing the first watch shift when a scream jolted her awake.
***
“How many days since she spoke to you?” Caroline asked as they hiked along what had once been Interstate 5.
“Well, we packed and left five days ago, so I would have to say five,” Chad answered, casting a glance over his shoulder.
Ronni was keeping pace, but she had put about a quarter of a mile between herself and her dad. Chad had stopped early the first day when he realized how far back she had fallen, but when he stopped, so did she.
“You are going to get yourself killed!” he shouted, his voice echoing off of the canyon walls.
“Tell my dad that I am not a baby and can take care of myself!” had been the reply.
“She does know that I can hear her, right?” Chad had asked, glancing at Caroline.
“I think this is more symbolic,” Caroline had sighed, turning to resume walking and tugging at Chad so he would follow.
Every single day, Ronni made it a point to somehow wake up before either Chad or Caroline, gather her gear, and then put her distance between them for the day’s journey. After the second night, Caroline had taken Ronni aside and asked if she intended to keep this up forever.
“Just until we find a settlement, then I am done. If you and my dad want to just roam the country for eternity, feel free. But I am sick of moving. I want to wake up in a bed, do things like talk to other people,” had been the girl’s response.
The problem was that Caroline could understand where the girl was coming from. She hated moving almost as much. However, she could not deny the peculiar vibe of that last group. Add in the fact that they had a thing against those who were immune—which would include Ronni—and the recipe for trouble was already in the pot and simmering.
Once she took more time to think about things, she realized that she had noticed people eyeing Ronni suspiciously. Her arms were a mess of hideous scars. Oddly enough, those were not even the bite marks. Those were from her self-inflicted injuries when she had done something drastic to try and draw zombies away from some children.
Chad, as always, was putting the best interests of his daughter ahead of everything. However, if Caroline was being honest with herself, he had a tendency to overdo it. He could find an excuse anyplace they went. Just because somebody eyed his daughter (or herself for that matter) did not mean that they had some hideous designs churning in their mind. The problem was that Chad had spent a good portion of his life in prison. That had clouded his outlook on humanity perhaps worse than somebody who had never had the misfortune to ever be locked up. Add in some very unsavory business from one of the first settlements he and his daughter lived in, and he was overly gun shy.
“Hey,” Chad said, yanking Caroline out of her little ruminations. She was surprised to realize that he had come to a stop perhaps a dozen or so steps back.
“What’s wrong?” Caroline’s hand went to her hip and her machete out of reflex.
Chad pointed and she turned to look to the right. A sign was off of the road and up in a rocky crevice.
It read simply: Emigrant Lake-Survivors welcome!
“Seems pretty straightforward,” Caroline finally said after it was clear that Chad was going to just stand there until she offered some sort of input.
The man approached her, his eyes seeming to search the ground for an answer or perhaps a sign. When he looked up, she saw for the first time that amount of pain he was feeling.
“You think we could give the place a try? Maybe Ronni will get over our leaving the last place.” Chad’s hands were twisting and squeezing themselves in nervous agitation.
“We won’t know until we give it a try.” Caroline shot a look over her shoulder at the young lady who was starting to rise up on tiptoes and cock her head as if that might magically allow her to know what was being said.
“Fine,” Chad agreed, “but we do this my way. I will go in and give the place a look. You two make camp over the other side of that ridge.” He hiked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate where he wanted them to wait.
“That seems fair enough.”
Less than an hour later, camp was made and Chad started off towards where the arrow pointed. It took him the better part of two hours, but at last he crested a ridge. Before him was a massive lake. A wall at least twenty feet high ran alongside what was left of a two-lane road.
There were dozens of cabins spaced out as well as a few large buildings. Even from this distance, he could see more people walking around than he’d seen in one place since this whole nightmare began. Even more important, he saw children. There was a park with dozens of children running around. He could see blankets spread out on the grass as people enjoyed the sun and a picnic. It was enough to bring tears to his eyes.
Could it really be this simple? Was their journey finally over?
***
“Jody, you can’t do this,” Selina insisted. “Not without me.”
Jody turned to face the woman. He loved her with all of his heart
, of that there could be no denial. Yet, his daughter was in danger and he was about to go out with the sole intention of doing something horrible. He knew from experience that killing another living being was not as simple as many people believed. Killing a zombie was one thing; but killing a person who might be looking up at you and begging for his (or her) life? He would not allow Selina to see him do such a thing; nor would he allow her to be forced to commit it.
“I need you here in case she returns or whoever did this thinks twice about the road they are heading down.” Jody put his hands on Selina’s arms and looked into her eyes. He could see the same pain in hers that he felt all the way to the core of his soul. “And I have no idea what is going to happen once I walk out this door.”
Jody saw no need to lie. Besides, he was certain that all of the hardware he was sporting gave away his intentions. He even had two of his handmade flash-bang grenades dangling from his vest. He also had his crossbow with a high-powered scope that he only used if he was hunting game.
“Do me one favor,” Selina whispered, her head against his chest so tight that his heartbeat could be felt by both of them.
“Name it.”
“Bring her back.”
Jody kissed Selina and walked out the door. He was not to the bottom of the steps when he saw somebody in the shadows of the trees at the corner of his street. The person was outfitted in camo gear and had a wide-brimmed hat that cast a shadow preventing the face from being recognized. For a moment, the two stood facing each other. Neither seemed inclined to move for an uncomfortable amount of time. Jody was making a study of this person. He was looking at the weapons this person had all over their body. They obviously meant business.
At last, the figure raised both hands, laced them behind the head and knelt. That had Jody curious. Certainly it was obvious as to what he, Jody Rafe, had in mind. And if this person was one of the people responsible, it seemed incredibly peculiar that he or she would submit so easily.
Instantly, Jody went on guard. This could, in all likelihood, be a trap. Erring on the side of caution, he brought up his crossbow and advanced. His gaze went everywhere, but continued to flick back to this individual to be sure they were not doing anything devious.
Once he was about ten or fifteen feet away, the figure spoke. “Can I take my hat off? Maybe then you won’t be as anxious and accidentally shoot that damn thing.”
“Danny?”
“Yeah, and this is really playing hell on my ankles. Can I please get up now?”
“What?” Jody was confused for a moment. “Oh, crap…yes!”
He stepped back and reached down to give Danny a hand up. The man was wobbly at best, but at last he was on his feet.
“I thought that you needed a cane to even get around a little?” Jody stepped back. He was trying his best to sound more concerned than suspicious.
“Yeah. I have been going through some gnarly physical therapy. And honestly, I just got to the point where I could go anyplace without my cane. It hurts wicked bad, but I gotta push myself, ya know?”
“Okay, but that still doesn’t really explain how you are here or how you knew what I was about to do.”
“Funny thing when you are seeming to be crippled. Folks forget that you are even around. Can you believe I even have some folks that talk slow and loud like I might be deaf or mentally challenged?” Danny scoffed.
“Yeah…that ain’t really stretching things,” Jody said with just the hint of a smile on his lips.
“Screw you, Rafe.”
“Listen, I appreciate the offer. Seriously, but you look like you can barely handle going to the end of the street, much less scour the freaking community as well as the surrounding areas. No offense.” Jody gave a raised eyebrow and glanced down at Danny’s feet.
“Good to know you still don’t listen to a damn thing I say,” Danny said after a moment. “If you paid any attention, I just told you that people tend to ignore me because they think my ruined freakin’ ankles got anything to do with my hearing or ability to understand.”
“I don’t think I follow.”
Jody stepped back. He knew that Danny wanted to at least appear to be helpful. And that might do a lot to mend their ruined friendship, but right now, he had much bigger things to deal with and no time for further delays. He could not deny that it felt good to see that a person he had considered to be a dear friend was standing in front of him, offering his help despite the fact that there seemed very little he could actually do.
“Jesus, Rafe!” Danny hissed. “Not only do I know who took your daughter, but I know right where they are.”
***
Entry Seven—
I don’t usually hunt women. Seriously, in this day and age, I figure they have gotten the short end of the stick enough times, that anything they did would pretty much be justified. The zombie apocalypse set back women’s rights about a hundred years in some places. And in others, well, they don’t have any at all. Every once in a while, I hear tales of some poor gal reaching her breaking point. Some abusive jerk ends up castrated or worse; and believe me, there are things that are worse.
I could give two squirts about that sort of thing. And honestly (I will probably piss a few people off here), I don’t delve in domestic issues. If I started down that road, I would probably lose what is left of my mind.
This woman is an exception. I first heard about her when I was spending the night at this little community by some nameless creek. The stories were such that I thought it was just some tale to keep the kids in check. When I looked around and realized that the kids had all gone to bed and then saw the expectant faces looking at me, I knew otherwise.
Sometimes my reputation precedes me. I never meant for that to happen. But in this new world, news can travel in strange ways. Of course it is often so distorted that you can’t tell where the actual story resides in the morass of fabrication.
The woman in question actually begins the story as a victim. The way it is told, she was living alone with some guy in a cabin on a bluff. She got pregnant and gave birth to a son. Unfortunately, she turned out to be like those women you heard about every blue moon in the old days. She was like that lady that put her kids in a van and drove it into a lake, then tried to blame some imaginary minority.
This woman’s husband comes home from a day of chopping wood or whatever to discover his nine-month-old son floating face down in the wash basin. The husband goes nuts and beats the woman near to death. Only, after all that, the bastard felt guilty and slit his wrists. The story says that he thought that he had actually beaten her to death.
From there, it gets sort of strange. The woman survives and in the process, whether due to the beating or her own mind’s inability to process the terrible thing that she has done, she goes crazy. She starts slipping in to other communities. Once she is accepted, it is just a matter of time before she snatches some poor kid and takes off.
Nobody is certain what happens to these children, but they are never seen or heard from again. Unfortunately for the woman, she has some pretty identifiable disfigurement around her left eye. It did not take too long for her to strike enough times so that people started sending word to other settlements. Also, traders and merchant caravans were given the story and the description.
One day, she shows up and somebody freaks. They call her out, saying that they knew what she had done. That is not the best way to deal with crazy. And I am sure that, with hindsight being twenty-twenty, the poor fool would have kept his mouth shut.
The woman did not even blink or bat an eye. She just walked up to the sap and stuck a knife in his belly. Then she walked away as cool as the other side of the pillow. People heard the shouts or screams and came running. By the time they showed up, the woman was gone.
People went out to search, but in this world, if somebody wants to stay hidden, they can damn sure do it. I guess that was just over a week ago. Things were getting back to normal and folks were going about their business. Only
, yesterday, some poor mother woke to find her daughter gone.
The girl is just eleven months old. Her mom put her to bed for the night like any other. When the father woke he ducked his head in to check and made the discovery. I showed up to people in an absolute sea of rage. They were all about going out to find her and deal justice. I totally understand.
When I arrived, I was questioned as to if I had seen anything. When I said I had not, but that I would certainly be willing to look, one of the men pulled me aside. He’d heard about me. Said he recognized me from the description some merchant gave. It is hard to believe, but I guess I am getting references.
I told him I was the person in question and then he called a bunch of the citizens together to get the community blessing on me going out to find this person. It was a short discussion.
I ate, got a good night’s sleep, and then picked up some gear. The guy at the shop told me it was on the house, but I told him that would not be necessary. If he wanted to hook me up when the job was done, that would be fine, but I just didn’t feel right taking stuff for a job that I have not done yet.
I left a few hours before dark. I had no idea which direction to go, but the surrounding landscape actually narrowed my choices. There is some nasty and mountainous terrain to the east. To the south is a massive river. Nobody crosses that without being on one of the barges that ferry people over.
That left me with heading west or north. Coin toss said west.
5
Making Her Geek Proud
She walked down the street, but she could not get a read from anybody as to where there might be something amiss. Of course, she assumed that these people had survived a great deal already. It would likely take something considerable to get them riled up. Still, she had to find out where Denise DeCarlo had run off to after getting the news that Kalisha had been taken to the administrator’s office.