Land of the Dogs (Book 1)

by S. L. Rowland

One by one, they unleashed their arrows as the dead walked closer. The bodies began to pile up and those behind began to stumble and fall as they tried to march onward. David’s people were excellent marksmen. Nearly all of the arrows were on target.

  As the minutes raged on, their arrows found their marks. The rain continued to fall and thunder covered the moans of the undead horde.

  “Hold your fire!” David ordered. Only one remained. It was an old man wearing overalls with a plaid shirt. His head hung to the side, evidence of a broken neck. “I’ll take care of him myself.”

  People began yelling.

  “You can’t.”

  “Just tie him up.”

  “He doesn’t deserve this.”

  Claire understood who he was then.

  “It’s the only way,” David yelled above the thunder. “This isn’t the man we knew and loved.” Claire couldn’t tell if David was crying or if it was the rain, but she knew the pain on his face. “He was my father. My teacher. My best friend. I’m sorry, Dad.” David nocked an arrow and let it fly. It stuck between the old man’s eyes and he fell to the ground.

  “Everyone back inside. Hank, Travis, help me scour the area and make sure we didn’t miss any.”

  Clair went back inside and took the cot next to Debra and Cindy, who had somehow managed to sleep through it all.

  “So, are you going to tell me about it?” asked Dan. His boot splashed water slightly as she stepped through the small puddle in the road.

  “About what?” said Simon.

  “You know what. What happened with you and Violet?”

  “I’m sorry to say, but that’s none of your business.”

  “She seemed pretty chipper this morning. Something must have happened.” Dan wore a devilish grin.

  “Not gonna talk about it.” Though Simon thought, She was amazing. I hope to see her again.

  Dan and Simon walked briskly down the road towards Town Hall. The sun hid behind gray clouds and the wind, for a moment, was at peace.

  They had woken early, before the roosters had seen fit to crow, and set out after saying good-bye to Violet and Emma. Simon and Violet were late getting in the night before, so Simon had slept on a couch downstairs at Emma’s.

  “You know,” said Dan, “it’s almost peaceful nowadays out here. You can go hours without seeing one of those monsters. It wasn’t always like this.” Dan kicked a rock in the middle of the road and watched it tumble down the pavement. It came to a stop in a large puddle, sending ripples out like a miniature ocean’s tidal waves.

  “What was it like?” asked Simon. Things seemed bad enough as it was; he had a hard time imagining it being much worse.

  “It’s changed a lot. As time has passed, it’s been different. Right after the outbreak, they were everywhere. We stayed locked in the house with Dad for those first few weeks and it seemed like every day, there would be more and more. And then they started to drop off. I guess this was when people started to learn that to stop them, you had to kill the brain. Ever since then it seems like there are less and less. Probably because there are less people to turn into them. Makes me wonder if we are on the verge of going extinct. No one has really talked about it, but there aren’t babies being born anymore. I don’t know if it is because people are too scared to bring a baby into this world or because the same chemicals that make us turn into those things when we die keep us from having babies?”

  “Wow. I hadn’t even thought of that. I haven’t been around long enough to notice that there aren’t any babies, but now that I think on it, I haven’t seen anyone under five or six years old this whole time,” said Simon.

  “Yeah. I don’t know if people just aren’t talking about it or if everyone is blind to it,” said Dan.

  “We could be going extinct.” The thought made its way through Simon’s head as he imagined a world where little by little, everyone he knew dropped off the face of the earth.

  “It’s pretty screwed up. How far are we from Town Hall?”

  Simon pulled out his map and looked it over. “Looks like we should be there this time tomorrow. Hopefully, Claire will already be there waiting and we can plan our next step.”

  “I can’t wait to see her,” said Dan.

  “I know. Just be mindful of what she’s been through. She holds it together pretty well, but I can tell she’s changed.”

  “I’d be more worried if she hadn’t changed. She’s a tough girl, though.”

  “That she is,” said Simon.

  Claire woke to the smell of bacon frying in a pan. She turned over and noticed that Debra and Cindy were not there. She found them in the kitchen where Debra was helping wash dishes and Cindy sat in a chair at the table, playing with an old peg game where she moved golf tees across a triangular piece of wood with holes in it. The goal was to eliminate all but one peg by moving one peg over another and removing the jumped peg, but only jumping one space at a time. She was having a difficult time with it, judging by the look on her face.

  “Good morning,” said Claire.

  “Morning,” said Debra. “Seems like I missed the show last night.”

  “You were out like a light.”

  The rained had stopped in the early morning. Claire could still see the puddles of water through the window, and she could also see people moving the dead bodies from the night before. Where they were taking them, she wasn’t sure.

  “I saved you some bacon and eggs. I hope you’re hungry.” Debra set a plate down at the table and motioned for Claire to sit. “I really appreciate what you did. Getting us here, it was very kind of you. I was angry at first, but it wasn’t your fault. We knew we needed to leave the High School and we knew there were risks involved. But you were right. This place is better. I think we’ll do okay here.”

  “I hope so. You and her deserve a break.”

  “I don’t know about that. We’ve been through the same things everyone here has. Maybe the world deserves a break.”

  “Maybe,” said Claire. She dug into her food. The bacon was crisp and salty; the eggs were light and fluffy.

  After eating, she said her good-byes to Debra and Cindy, who still hadn’t spoken since the High School, packed up her belongings along with food for her trip, and went into the yard to find David. He was loading bodies into a wheelbarrow when she found him.

  “Hey, David,” she said.

  He stopped what he was doing and walked over to her, wiping sweat from his brow. “You were asleep downstairs when I came back in last night. I didn’t want to wake you.”

  “I know. After everything happened, I thought it was better if I slept alone. I’m about to head out again. I’m not sure if I’ll be back or not, so I just wanted to say good-bye.”

  “Let me send one of my men with you to make sure you make it there safely,” offered David.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I feel confident I can handle myself. It’s only two days away. I’ll be fine.”

  “I hope it all works out for you, Claire. You’re a wonderful girl. I have a feeling we’ll see each other again someday.” He smiled.

  Claire put her bag down and gave him a hug. They embraced for a long moment, taking in each other’s warmth for what might be the last time. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before walking away. Hope was waiting for her at the end of the driveway. I hope we meet again as well.

  Dan and Simon found a clearing off from the road where they could camp for the night. Simon hung his hammock between two trees. Dan had a small, one-man tent to sleep in.

  “Do you think that’s safe?” asked Simon.

  “Safe enough,” said Dan. “It’s made of a tear-resistant fabric. And last I checked, these things don’t know how to use knives. It even hides your scent from wildlife, not that we’ll see any around here.”

  “Okay. You’ve been dealing with this a lot longer than I have, so if you feel safe, then I trust you.”

  They slept without incident. Simon was the first to wake in the morning. They shar
ed a breakfast of hardboiled eggs, blueberries, and oranges. Simon finished his meal with a candy bar, but Dan refused.

  “I eat so well these days. I can’t even bear the thought of putting something so unhealthy in my body. There are enough things trying to kill you without you killing yourself.”

  “Sometimes you have to enjoy the little things,” said Simon. Dan laughed as he packed up his tent.

  They walked for miles in silence along the desolate roads leading to Town Hall.

  “Hey, Dan,” said Simon.

  “What’s up?”

  “Do you think there is anything human still left in them?” He didn’t specify what he was talking about, but Dan had a knowing look on his face. No doubt he had asked himself the same thing many times.

  “Honestly, I don’t think so. Have you ever looked in one’s eyes? There is nothing there. It’s just a body running on autopilot. When Dad turned, I went outside and stood in front of him. I got as close as I could, to where I could feel the spit as he tried to bite at my face, and he didn’t recognize me one bit.”

  “That’s what I thought too,” said Simon.

  They turned onto a road that was on the outskirts of town. “I know where we are,” said Dan. “Town Hall should be about thirty minutes from here.”

  As Claire and Hope walked along the highway towards Town Hall, Hope never left her side. Justice was right about one thing. Dogs can sense the dead. If he hadn’t woken us up last night, I don’t know what would have happened.

  Claire stopped to eat lunch near an abandoned SUV. It was white, with tinted windows. She climbed onto the hood and pulled out her food. She ate beef jerky and an apple, feeding some to Hope as well.

  “I hope this is all over soon,” she said. “All this walking is for the birds.”

  Claire was stuffing the leftover beef jerky into her bag when she noticed a group of men marching her way on the horizon. Panic set in as she wondered what to do. She thought about running, but knew that they would see her. She couldn’t wait for them; she knew the perils a lone female faced in this world. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled on the door to the SUV. It was unlocked. Thank God. She picked up Hope and crawled inside, carefully closing the door behind her.

  Claire waited nervously as the men approached, afraid to breathe. There were nearly a dozen of them. They all wore the same black shirts and black pants as the men at the High School. Justice’s people. She could tell by the way they carried themselves, like the world was theirs to do with as they pleased. Hope stood against the window, watching them as they walked. They were a hundred yards away when he let out a small bark. Fear set in and Claire grabbed his muzzle, holding it closed with her hands. She knew that another bark would be the end of her. In that moment, all that mattered was silence.

  One of them, a teenager with long blond hair, had a metal pipe and was smashing out car windows as he walked along. The other guys seemed to find it amusing. Claire could see that one of the men, an older guy with a black mullet and a mustache, was saying something to the kid with the pipe. He didn’t look happy.

  They were twenty feet away when the kid smashed in the window of a blue pickup truck. All of the men laughed except for the man with the mullet. He ran over to the kid, yelled something, and punched him in the teeth. Claire could see the blood trickling down his chin as he dropped the pipe to the ground. He looked at the older man in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. The older man picked up his pipe and tossed it to the side of the road. They walked by the SUV Claire sat in and Hope began to struggle against Claire’s grip. He nearly freed himself, but Claire gave a strong squeeze to his muzzle and he let out a small whimper. One of the men turned towards the SUV as if he heard it. He stared for a few seconds before running to rejoin the group.

  Claire waited in the car for thirty minutes before opening the door. Her shirt stuck to her back from the sweat caused by the stress and heat.

  She decided to walk off the road for the remainder of the journey, just in case she came upon any travelers. The road wasn’t safe for a woman and her dog. As the sun began to set, she found a place to hang her hammock in the backyard of an abandoned house. Hope lay at the bottom of the tree as if telling Claire that it was okay to sleep.

  The first thing Claire noticed was that the tire fire was no longer burning at Town Hall. Maybe they learned that a giant beacon leading people to your doorstep is a bad idea. Thirty minutes later, she arrived at the gate. At first, she didn’t know what she was looking at. There were a dozen stakes outside the gate with something mounted on them. She moved closer to try and get a better look. She saw flies buzzing around them and realized they were human heads. Her heart sank. The heads of people she knew and cared for in the time she had spent there stared at her from the wooden stakes. And towering above them all was Maggie’s head with a makeshift crown of twigs. Justice said she was in charge now. The piece of shit. He deserves to die for this. She recognized Becky, Stump, Carter, and James, who had worked with her in the greenhouse on occasion. The worst was the young girl, Claire remembered her working with her mom washing clothes, but couldn’t recall her name. Hope ran over to the stake of the little girl and let out a whimper.

  “I know, buddy. It’s messed up.” She gave him a pat on the head. Claire began to panic, not knowing if whoever did this might still be inside. Then she remembered that it had happened before she and Simon arrived at the High School and she was able to breathe again. What do I do now? Should I wait here for Simon? If I go somewhere else, how will he know to find me?

  Claire walked passed the spiked heads towards the gate. The smell of rotting flesh made her gag and for a moment, she couldn’t go on. The gate had been left open. Inside, everything that hadn’t been looted was destroyed. The bodies that belonged to the heads out front were piled together at the foot of the main entrance. Flies swarmed and maggots nestled in the flesh. The greenhouse had every pane of glass broken. Someone had even devoted the time to flip over the picnic table near the entrance. The rain had quenched the fire that ravaged half of the main building. Nothing was left but an empty shell. Where are the rest of the people? There were at least fifty people living here when we left. I’ve only seen the bodies of a dozen and we didn’t see any of them when we were at the High School, so where could they be?

  Claire had seen enough to know that there was nothing worth finding there. I just need to find a place where I can see Simon, but no one can see me. As she left Town Hall, she walked over to the stakes and looked at the young girl’s head. Her flesh was wind burnt and her eyes were still half-open; her light brown hair, though matted with blood, still blew in the wind.

  “You were too young,” she said.

  As Claire stood in the courtyard of Town Hall, she looked out from the gate at what lay before her and had no idea where she should go. There were a few houses across the street and woods to the side of the road. If she made the wrong choice and somehow missed Simon by ten minutes, they may never see each other again. The last thing I want is to be alone again.

  Thirty minutes later, she still hadn’t moved, afraid to make the wrong choice. Screw it, I’ll just wait here. Claire walked back over to the barricade that surrounded Town Hall and set her bag on the ground. The waiting was the worst part. She leaned against an old car, constantly looking for Simon, yet knowing it could be another day before he showed up. Claire tried to pass the time by playing fetch with Hope, but eventually there was nothing to do but sit and wait. I wish I had a good book right now. She fixed herself dinner and as night began to creep in, she found a place to hang her hammock in the yard across the street from Town Hall. Two trees grew behind the white picket fence.

  The next morning offered more waiting. Afraid to venture off for even a moment, she went back to the barricade and stared at the road. It was midday when Hope began huffing at something in the distance. Two men approached. Claire couldn’t make out who they were from so far away, so she hid behind the barricade, taking Hope w
ith her. She watched as they slowly made their way towards her. She peered through a crack in the barricade where two vans were pushed together, unable to be seen. When they spotted the spikes, the men started running towards them.

  “Simon!” she called out when she knew it was him.

  “Claire?! Where are you?” He looked around, unable to tell where she was calling from.

  She ran out from behind the barricade and gave Simon a hug. Hope ran beside her and jumped up on Simon’s leg. “Dan! I’m so glad to see you.” She gave him a bear hug and he lifted her off her feet. Simon scratched Hope behind the ears.

  “I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” said Dan, a look of horror on his face. “What happened here?”

  “I got here yesterday and it was like this. I’d bet anything that Justice is responsible. How else do you explain the crown?” she said.

  “One day,” said Simon, his eyes sharp, “he will pay for everything he’s done.”

  “How are you holding up?” asked Dan. “Simon told me everything.”

  “As best as I can. Where’s Mom?” She looked from Dan to Simon and back.

  Dan told her what happened. Claire knew she should be sad, but the truth was that she felt more numb than anything. So much death and destruction had a way of hollowing out people. Claire stood there, comprehending what they said but unable to process it, so she put it in the back of her mind where she could deal with it later.

  “So where have you guys been?” she asked.

  “It’s a place called Griffin’s Hollow. You’d love it there,” said Dan. “I think it’s where we should settle down.”

  “And what do you think, Simon?” She trusted Simon’s opinion greatly after the past two weeks. He had seen the different camps with her and taken in all they had to offer.

  “He’s right. It’s a great place.”

  “Better than the Farm?”

  “I think so. The way everything is set up, everyone has a say. And there are good people there.”