by Diane Butler
Lucky put his hands up in the air and shouted, “All right, all right! I understand! Turn back, right? I’m turning back. Mutt stop it, I’m turning back!” He tried to calm himself so Mutt would listen to his command and began to use a softer voice. “Mutt, let go. I promise you that I will put it into reverse and turn back.” Still growling Mutt tore Lucky’s shirt until the sleeve came off and then looked up at Lucky from beneath his eyebrows as if asking, “You get my point?”
Lucky felt boxed in and wished he had put the window down on the passenger side so Mutt could jump out. He slowly reached for his door handle, “I’m going to get out, okay Mutt? I’m going to slowly get out if you can signal to the coyote not to attack me.” Lucky had never seen such hatred as he saw in the coyote’s eyes who still had her head up against the windshield and was looking at him with hooded eyes. With the shirt sleeve still in his jaw Mutt looked at Cowboy and uttered a muffled ‘woof’. The door squeaked as Lucky opened it and slowly stepped out and away from the car. Mutt jumped out startling him and then both he and the coyote went to the front of the vehicle to block him. Lucky got in and quickly wound the window up and put the car into reverse but he noticed that the two animals did not move until he was out of sight.
Mary and Roxanne were sitting in rockers on the front porch when they saw Cowboy and Mutt trotting up the driveway toward them. Between them they had a red-checkered shirt sleeve, both carrying a piece of it and trotting so proudly together. At first Roxanne smiled but when Mary burst out laughing she joined in and did the same. Roxanne got up to pour water into their bowls and as the canines stepped onto the porch they dropped the garment at her feet and looked up at her for acceptance. She dropped to her knees and hugged them both, still chuckling. “I assume it was Lucky?” Mutt snorted and walked over to his bowl to drink but the coyote stayed in place. Roxanne gently caressed Cowboy along the jawline and then closed her eyes to put her forehead against the coyote’s. They stayed that way and Mary knew not to interrupt although the sight still mesmerized her. Roxanne smiled and pulled away, “Go get you some water,” she whispered. “I’m glad that you didn’t hurt yourself. So brave you are.”
They heard the car before it turned the corner and came into sight at a speed much faster than called for. It kicked up dirt and dust from the unused road leaving a trail behind it. Everyone grabbed their guns and took cover not knowing if Lucky had found a car or if they were being attacked by an unknown person(s). It came down the road toward them and at the last minute the driver threw on its brakes to avoid going over the pier into the water. Lucky opened the door and stepped out, looking as if he had just outrun a herd of zombies.
“Are you being followed?” Morgan yelled. “Are you hurt?” Everyone stood up but could see nothing in the cloud of dust left behind.
Lucky came out of his daze and stepped out from behind the door, slamming it. He took a kerchief out of his pocket and began to wipe his face while everyone came toward him with questions. “It’s Mutt. He’s gone rogue again. Look at what he did to my shirt,” he waved his arm around. “I think he would have killed me or at least tore me up real bad.”
“I don’t understand,” Caleb said. “Mutt is dedicated to Roxanne. Could he have been bitten? Could he be rabid? He wouldn’t have attacked you without…” his voice trailed off.
“Yes, exactly!” Lucky almost shouted. “Not without Roxanne’s orders!” He calmed himself before speaking again knowing that Caleb still believed in Roxanne. “I think I know what spooked Lance. He wasn’t here long enough to get to know Mutt and how controlled he is by Roxanne. If Mutt came at him like he did at me it would have freaked him out. And that damn coyote was also in on the act. They prevented me from going down a certain road so I’m sure that’s where Roxanne lives. Hell, I don’t know how far, what house, don’t even know where the road leads to but they did not want me in that direction. And Mutt was in the car with me so the space was tight and his window was up and it was stop and turn around or I was going to suffer damage. Damn dog!”
Morgan and Brandon looked at each other and smiled. “Then we must look at Mutt as if he is Roxanne,” Brandon said. “If he is carrying Roxanne’s orders then we must be respectful of him and do as he says.”
“Yes, and I bet that is what spooked Lance,” Lucky said. “It was as if she were there talking to Mutt and signaling to the coyote that came off the porch at Lance’s house and ran in front of the car to block it. Then jumped on the hood and if it had been human it would have tried to knock the windshield out to get to me. I felt just as much danger from those two as I have from zombies,” he wiped his forehead again. “Mutt forgets who took care of him when Roxanne was missing.”
“But we didn’t,” Caleb said. “Mutt took care of himself and ignored us. Only Mutt stayed behind to wait for Roxanne. He knew she would be coming back.”
Morgan patted his son on his shoulder, “We did everything that we could to help Mutt, Caleb. You shouldn’t feel guilty about that.”
“I have an extra battery that we should charge for Jenny,” Lucky said. “The car doesn’t have much gas but we won’t need much to go to the mansion and back. I would like to do some trial runs but that would just excite the Z’s each time. I found the car at one of those four houses on the corner where Lance lived. The house I was in doesn’t look as if it was searched by either Lance or Roxanne. Why go so far for supplies and not search the immediate houses where you’ve taken up residence?”
“Perhaps to make it look like no one is in the vicinity?” Brandon guessed. “You know, ‘Don’t pee in my pool’ type thing? Or ‘Don’t rob in your own neighborhood’? She didn’t want to leave her mark that she had been there. Strategy, I guess. Make the area look abandoned and untouched since the ZA began. That way no one will come looking for you.”
Mary walked into the kitchen to the smell of fish stew. “Hmmm, smells good” she went over to the sink by Roxanne. “What’s that you’re throwing in?”
“Sow Thistle,” Roxanne said. “Study it so you will be able to identify it. It can be cooked and seasoned like boiled greens.” She paused, not knowing how to approach Mary about the raid on the mansion. “Tomorrow will be the third day since you took that group to the mansion. I want you to be careful because you have seen that they can be careless. That Lucky is too impatient and pushes forward too quickly putting people in danger.”
Mary looked down at the floor, “I think that he thought I was a coward by the way I kept hidden and pulled back. If he had just followed my lead the Z’s would not have discovered that we were in the Book Store.”
“That’s what I mean. He’s impatient and doesn’t let others lead even in a situation when someone else knows the area better. You and I will be together but I may pull us away from the rest of the group once we get into the mansion. I’m looking for antibiotics and most drug store remedies like aspirin, cold and flu products, peroxide, even vitamins. The people in the bayou know how to survive but their bodies are deficient in ways that can weaken them. Things that you may have used every day without a second thought can be very valuable to them on the black market. Raid the bathrooms if we don’t find a supply brought in by the shop owners. These are the things that are gone from the drug store shelves and have been hard for me to find. At the beginning of the ZA everyone must have thought that they had the flu,” she began to fill bowls with her stew.
Mary frowned at Roxanne’s last statement as she was often confused by her vague references to the ZA. But she had respected Roxanne’s desire not to speak in detail about her past and was grateful that Roxanne had never asked about her own journey. Mary had no need to discuss what could not be changed and she had grown tired of the people who wanted to talk about their lives before the ZA. Or talk about what had happened to them once it started and what family had died or who had been left behind or lost. Mary had learned to take each day as another day to survive.
“You must have been very sheltered in the Bayou, Roxanne. Don’
t you know how the ZA started? Didn’t word get to you?”
Roxanne looked up startled as she was sitting down to the table and Mary was embarrassed that she had asked. The chair scraped as Roxanne pulled it up to the table and for a moment Mary thought that she was not going to get an answer. Then Roxanne looked away out the window toward the pirogue. “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always lived in the ZA.”
Mary quickly sat down and changed the subject. “Are we going to check on them today?”
Roxanne smiled and shook her head. “No, let them fend for themselves. I need to teach you how to use a pirogue. I won’t be able to take all this stuff back by myself and I haven’t been able to find a fishing boat with an outboard motor. I had thought of using one and towing the pirogue behind me but I think the lotus pads and roots of Water Hyacinths would just tangle up in the motor.” She looked up realizing that she may have been presumptuous that Mary would want to follow her into the Bayou. “Of course, you could have moved on by then. I hadn’t planned on going until fall but it looks like I will need to make a couple of trips during the summer. I’m gathering more than I anticipated like jeans, boots, blankets, coats, all the things that I wish I had last winter.” She smiled, “and an air mattress. Yes, it would be nice to find an air mattress.”
“As of right now,” Mary said, “I have no other plans. You keep trying to get rid of me.”
“The bayou is now a dangerous place for a young girl,” Roxanne became serious. “If you come with me it will not be permanent but only to accompany me to drop off supplies and stay a short while. It is a place dominated by men and I saw only one woman. Men have fled there since the ZA and the women have disappeared. I was kept in hiding in the beginning and protected by a person who was feared by others so if word got out no one came looking for me. She wanted to make sure I was strong before taking me to the Trading Post where I would meet the owner. It was from Lou that I learned what is valuable for trade in a ZA. Word could never get out that you were in the bayou. No,” Roxanne shook her head, “it will not be a permanent place for you no matter how captivating it can be. Besides, on my first visit back Cowboy may decide that she wants to stay and I will not have her protection when I return. Perhaps just Cowboy and I will go together, leaving you with Mutt for protection until I return. Mutt doesn’t belong in the bayou.”
“There are too many unknown factors to decide right now,” Mary said. “Let’s wait and see how tomorrow goes.” But secretly Mary decided that she must become stronger and learn more of how to protect herself. If she could gain Roxanne’s confidence then she wouldn’t be so hesitant and would see Mary as a partner, as an asset and not as someone who needed to be protected.
Lucky stood on the deck having his cup of chickpea coffee, waiting to see if Roxanne would show up when Brandon joined him. “I think we should go into town today and scope the place out ourselves,” Lucky said. “We need to get a better handle on this place and not rely on her for information. Besides, she didn’t say when she would be back, only that it would take a couple of days for the Z’s to settle down. Each day we stay here is hard on the group at the Mill waiting for us to find more supplies.”
He turned and leaned against the railing to face Brandon. “When Mary was walking us through the outskirts of town I caught a glimpse of a waterway on our left. Didn’t look like it was wide enough for Jenny but we could take the skiff and check out a few small businesses that were on that side of the street and go in from the waterway. I’d also like to find the street that the Mansion was on since it appeared to go in the direction toward that leeway. Perhaps there’s a small bridge that crosses over it and we can land the boat there. We would avoid a lot of zombies that way.”
“Wouldn’t it be quicker to take the car three or four blocks from the mansion and park it, then go on foot to the Book Shop? We know the door is unlocked and we can watch the mansion from a safe distance.”
Lucky fished in his pocket and pulled out the key that he found, handing it to Brandon. “I’m wondering if there is a back entrance that would be safer.”
Brandon shook his head. “I don’t know”, he said looking at the key. “It appeared to me that the drive at the gate split in two with one driveway going to the circle in front of the Mansion and the other going around to the back of the house. Beyond the house was a wooded area and I didn’t see any break in the trees to indicate a road back there.” Brandon was becoming annoyed, “If you want to make a run to the Book Store and keep the Mansion under more surveillance then I’m with you. But I can’t see trying to find another way in when Roxanne has already scoped the place out and has a plan. If you want to take the skiff out to find that waterway and scavenge a few places on the banks then I’m also with you on that. But I don’t suggest trying to do both in one day.”
Morgan and Caleb came on deck and Lucky put the plan to them. “I’m more in favor of finding the waterway that you saw,” Morgan looked out toward the canal that led to the bayou and eventually to the banks of the plantation. “It can’t be far and is on our right. You could easily have missed it when you went after Rodriquez because you kept to your left. I’d like to come with you and we can tow the raft behind us, that way we will have more room for supplies. Caleb,” he put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, “you don’t mind staying do you in case Mary or Roxanne show up?” Both he and Caleb had seen Mutt in the bushes earlier and had not said anything to Brandon or Lucky. Morgan winked at Caleb and he took it as a sign that his father felt he would be safe.
But both Brandon and Lucky were startled that Morgan would suggest leaving Caleb behind. “Are you sure Morgan?” Brandon asked.
“I’m sure. We shouldn’t leave the boat vacant and Caleb has proven many times that he can handle himself. But if you should run into trouble Caleb, just give a couple of blasts on the horn. I wouldn’t worry about a herd but if one should show up you are safe on the boat if you stay undetected. A couple of them may fall onto the deck but they won’t rush the place unless they see you.”
After seeing them off it was another thirty minutes before Caleb heard and felt a ‘thump’ against the hull of Jenny. He thought it was probably a drifting log and began to walk the rail looking below when he heard it again but this time it was followed with the word, “Crap!” He put his hand on his holster and quietly walked further until he could see the edge of a pirogue come into view. “Hello?” a female voice called out.
Mary was holding onto the hull of Jenny trying to balance herself on a small pirogue by using the pole. “Could you get me off this thing?” she looked up at him. “I was doing pretty good until it came time to land it, or dock it or whatever the hell they call it.”
Caleb smiled, “Don’t try to board Jenny from the pirogue. Pole over to the pier and come up the steps.” He pointed the way and watched as she pushed away from Jenny and teetered on the pirogue. “You know,” he said trying to be helpful, “you can get down on your knees and pole using that method too. It would probably be safer.” He stood up and looked around for Roxanne on shore but only saw Mutt sitting at the pier watching him. He scanned the bushes for Cowboy but the coyote was very good at staying hidden and if she was there Caleb didn’t see her.
“Oh, thank God,” Mary said as she tied up the pirogue and Caleb looked back again. She mounted the steps and was about to step onto Jenny when she remembered Roxanne’s instructions and pulled back. “Permission to come aboard?” she asked Caleb.
They had paddled only a half hour into the swamp that was too shallow for Jenny when they found a wide access where the water was swifter indicating that it could be the channel they were looking for. After turning right the channel started to bend back toward the town which further encouraged them that they were on the right leeway. Soon they began to see cottages along the shore and an occasional break in the tree line revealed buildings beyond which would be on the outskirts of town.
“I think this is the low income side of town,” Morgan said as some o
f the cottages were boarded up and others had broken windows with cardboard taped to the frames or sagging screen doors and rotting steps balanced on concrete blocks. They continued to paddle past these and saw only a few zombies wandering around, none of which saw them on the water. They continued in silence until some small businesses built of cinderblock began to scatter the shore. These looked to be repair shops for lawn mowers, tractors and the type of places that would have a single owner trying to make ends meet and support a family. “We should probably look for tools in some of those places,” Morgan said. Lucky nodded and they veered off toward the shore where they pulled the dingy and raft onto the grass.