by Diane Butler
Roxanne continued driving but slowed down once they passed all the roads that they had previously traveled. She looked in the rear-view mirror to make sure the dogs had settled safely on the mattress, but noticed that Cowboy had her head over the tailgate watching the road behind them. No one had said anything since leaving Lucky behind but Mary could not contain herself any longer. “Why do you hate him so?” she asked.
Roxanne shook her head, “Don’t know and I can’t say that the word ‘hate’ is correct. Resentment, maybe? Suspicion, definitely. He’s hiding something. If he was my protector then he was incompetent.”
“’Protector’ seems to be a word used only in the bayou,” Mary said. “Have any of Lucky’s group alluded to the possibility that the two of you had a relationship? You traveled with them and they all seem to care for one another. You can’t rule out that possibility and they’ve already told you that you were taken as revenge against Lucky so you must have meant something to him.”
Roxanne visibly shivered. “Let’s not go there, okay?”
They were 10 miles north out of town when they began to see their first zombies. Roxanne called to Cowboy and Mutt to come through the back window of the truck into the cab. The Z’s were headed south toward the town of Mamou but Roxanne didn’t know if it had been the sound of the approaching truck that had attracted their attention toward their direction. There were single stragglers or groups of two to four walking on the shoulder of the road and Roxanne took the opportunity to hit them with the fender of her truck. She knew it wouldn’t kill them and she only tapped them so as not to damage the truck in any permanent way, but it would at least break the zombies’ legs so they could not follow.
“I don’t like this,” Roxanne said. “I can see the Marina up ahead on our right at the canal but it looks like zombies are in the vicinity.” She slowed down looking for the entrance and realized that the tarred parking area had broken up with weeds and gravel becoming more prominent. She turned the truck in but started to hit unseen potholes beneath the debris and to slide on the gravel. “Let’s skip this place and go on to the next one. I don’t want to puncture a tire or get stuck on something hidden in all the debris. We couldn’t make a fast exit if we had to and I don’t want the dogs cutting their paws on any broken glass.”
She put the truck into reverse but didn’t back up very far before the limo pulled up to the entrance and stopped on the shoulder of the highway. “Shit! You knew it didn’t you Cowboy, that he was following us? I should have pulled off as soon as I saw you watching the road.” Lucky pulled further up so Roxanne could back out onto the road then he got out of the limo and waited for her. She felt that he was making fun of her as he leaned against the car with his arms folded.
He waited until she straightened the truck out and then walked up to the cab. “Fancy meeting you here. I’m just exploring. What are you searching for? Maybe I know a place where you can find it.” Mutt leaned across Roxanne toward Lucky and did a deep growl. Drool started to drip down his jaw and he stopped growling long enough to smack his lips, giving Lucky a chill. “I would watch Mutt carefully Roxanne. He started attacking and ripping zombies apart while you were gone. We saw signs that he may be going crazy from it.”
Roxanne put her arm around the dog’s chest and whispered, “Hush now, precious.” She looked at Lucky, “Just how do you plan on living here alone and how long will it be before they will be back to pick you up?”
He backed off from the cab and looked both ways up the highway, “Oh, I don’t know.” He looked back at her and smiled. “To be honest, the town of Mamou is a possible back-up plan in case the paper mill should fall. Each family could have their own house, more privacy than everyone living in a factory but the houses are close enough that you can assemble a fighting group quickly. We’ve been checking it out for some time as a possibility. Every place is considered temporary and we are always looking for back-up areas to relocate if necessary.”
He saw Roxanne’s face go dark with anger and Mary put her hands over her face as if she didn’t want to witness what was coming, but he continued to stand there and smile. Roxanne very calmly dropped the gear down into drive while looking at him and let the truck drift to gently hit the limo’s bumper. The smile left Lucky’s face and he put out his arms. “No, no, no, no!” he said and made a run for the limo. This time it was Roxanne who smiled as Lucky jumped in the limo and pulled off. She and Mary looked at one another and began to laugh.
Roxanne turned the truck around and starting driving back toward town. “Well that puts a kink in our plans. I wanted to go further north to the next Marina but I don’t care to run into him again today. No pun intended.” Mary cracked up laughing again.
After Mary settled down she asked, “Do you think he’s telling the truth? That they are checking out this place for another settlement?”
Roxanne shook her head, “I don’t know, but I would not stay if they do. I don’t do well in crowds and it sounds as if his group is growing each day, although our house is separated from the rest of town. I’m torn by this world to be honest. The bayou is too isolated for me although it is safer. I need word of what is happening in the outside world. I need to experience it firsthand and I would only get word or news twice a year in the bayou. I need more time to get used to people before I could settle with them.
“I suddenly remember something,” Mary said as they were driving back to Mamou. “I saw it when we were driving to the Mansion with the group but I guess my mind was too preoccupied for it to register.” She looked at Roxanne, “Remember the place where everyone was gathering for the EVAC and there were cars lined up on each side of the road leading up to the signs to the Fairgrounds? Well, in some places the cars were double parked in the grass and then blocked in by cars on the shoulder of the road. I saw a car on the grass with a boat hitched to the back. It caught my eye because it was a bright red. Written on the side were the letters “Pebbles Classic Boat” and it was so small that two people up front would be elbow-to-elbow and it looked like it had a jump seat in the back for one person. I thought they must have been in a big hurry not to take the time to unhook their boat to come to the EVAC. It still had the motor on it.”
Roxanne smiled, “Perfect. I had not looked that area over at all being careful not to hit any of the cars parked all over that road.”
“I don’t know if we can get it out though,” Mary said. “It may be blocked in pretty good and I doubt that people left their keys in their car so we can move them. It’s a habit we don’t think about, taking the keys with you.”
“I’m more worried about zombies. We led them out that way, led them away from the mansion that way so it may not be as quiet as the last time we went through.” Roxanne looked up in the rearview mirror to see if Lucky was following but the road behind them was empty. They approached the area that Lance had shown them to enter the town from a northern position and Roxanne slowed down to make the turn. “We’ll check it out. If the Z’s have wandered into that area perhaps we can lead them out again. Take them back in toward town and then do our zig-zag around that two-block area at the mansion.”
When they reached the area where the abandoned cars started to build up Roxanne stopped the truck and looked ahead to see if there was any movement among the cars. “We’re just on the outskirts but if the Z’s started coming this way they haven’t made it this far.”
“They should have been here by now,” Mary said. “Maybe they’ve already come through this area and cleared out. Either that or they turned back to the mansion again.”
Roxanne drove further down the road. “Which side of the road did you see the boat?” Mary said it would be on her side. “Alright, you watch for the boat and I’ll watch for zombies.” Suddenly she started to see movement ahead but it appeared to be stragglers and not a herd. “I don’t see anything so far that we can’t handle. A few here and there but we will need to watch each other’s back. We can’t both be pushing a car and not notice
a zombie coming up behind us. Here’s where you two come in,” she nodded at the canines. “You two keep alert and let us know if a zombie gets too close.”
“There it is!” Mary pointed out the window. Roxanne stopped the truck and looked at the rows of various vehicles parked along the shoulder. “Jez, they parked almost bumper to bumper through here,” she said as she leaned out the window. Roxanne drove further and made the right turn to the Fairgrounds to see if they could drive through the grass back to the car. She suddenly swung the door open to hit a zombie that was approaching her window then got out to use her axe. She stood there looking around for more movement and could see some in the distance.
“Come on, let’s check the car out,” Roxanne said. “Be careful and get your staff out of the back. Don’t use your gun unless you absolutely need to. Leave your door open in case you need to quickly jump back in.
They checked the cars along the shoulder but most were locked and those that weren’t did not have the keys in it. They crossed the grass to the car and found that it was unlocked but since it was sitting in the sun with the windows up the heat inside was intolerable. They opened the doors to let it cool somewhat before searching it and Roxanne went back to check the boat. “I don’t see any cracks in it, but I may need to work on the engine.” She looked around for the easiest method of getting it to the truck or bringing the truck to it. “I don’t see us pulling this trailer over to the truck in this tall grass and the engine alone would weigh 50 lbs. The cars are automatic and we can’t shift one into neutral without the key.” She looked over at the vehicles on the Fairground road and back to the cars that they had already passed. “There’s a truck on the road up ahead. You take Mutt and see if it’s a shift-stick. I’ll check that one over there and see if that’s a shift-stick. We can put a manual in neutral and try to push it off the road so I can get our truck in here. Don’t yell, just signal with your staff.”
She was walking back to the highway when she saw the limo approaching. Roxanne slowed her walk and muttered under her breath. She considered sending Cowboy over to keep Lucky pinned in his car, but decided that she didn’t want Lucky sitting there watching them. She climbed the grade to the shoulder and began to walk around the front of the limo when a zombie approached her from behind another car. Without hesitation she stabbed the zombie in the eye and heard it fall behind her as she kept walking toward Lucky. She grabbed the car door handle and pulled it open. “What the hell do you want?” she asked. Before he could answer the zombie’s hand reached out in an attempt to grab her ankle and she stomped his head, crushing it. The zombie stopped moving and no longer moaned so she turned her attention back to Lucky. “Why does your exploration of the town always end up where we are?”
It took him a moment to find his voice after what he had just witnessed and at the easy of how she had dealt with the zombie. “I told you that I wanted to explore the Fairgrounds, the EVAC area. I didn’t know that you would be here.” Roxanne put one hand on her hip and straightened up with the other arm across the window frame. She looked at him for a moment, deciding whether he was lying or not. “Alright,” she said. “Since you are here we will put you to work. Come with me,” and she walked away. She looked over to Mary who was watching them from the truck that she was to inspect and Roxanne could see a zombie crossing the road toward Mary. Roxanne quickly pulled her crossbow forward and loaded a bolt but Mary had become aware of the situation and had already turned to face the danger. Roxanne could only stand in position and wait to see if Mary could handle it but she never took her aim off the zombie. Mary had learned well, holding the staff low at her waist and bringing it up into the zombie’s neck then throwing the zombie to the ground and stabbed it again with the staff. Mary looked over to Roxanne and nodded but the fact did not escape her that Roxanne had her crossbow drawn.
Lucky came up to stand beside Roxanne with ready criticism. “You didn’t run over to help her?”
Roxanne pushed her crossbow behind her. “Running wasn’t going to save her. She was too far away. The bolt would have made it there before I could.” She regretted that last sentence knowing that he would take it as a weakness due to her limp. But then she decided that she didn’t care what he thought of her, strong or weak. She explained to him what they were doing, that they needed the boat, the trailer and motor and that they were attempting to move one of the trucks off the road to get the trailer out of the meadow.
Lucky listened to her, then looked around and asked, “Have you checked the sports cars, like the Mustang? They are often manual with a stick-shift.”
Roxanne was ashamed that she hadn’t thought of that. “Good idea. Why don’t you check those while we check the two trucks.” She walked back down the highway and saw that Mary was trotting across the field with Mutt at her side and her staff in her hand to meet her. “No good on that one, Roxanne.” She stopped and they both turned when they heard the sound of shattering glass to see that Lucky had broken the window of the Mustang. “What’s he doing?” Mary asked.
“I put him to work,” Roxanne said as she shielded her eyes while trying to peek through the glass of another truck. Lucky opened the door to the Mustang and picked the glass off the seat then waved them over. “I put this one in neutral,” he said as he got out. “You should be able to get your truck through here although it might be a tight turn coming out with the trailer hitched up. Mary,” he swung his arm out to the driver’s seat, “if you please Roxanne and I will push. Just keep your foot on the clutch so it will coast.” It took a few times pushing back and forth to move the Mustang out from between two other cars and push it off into the grass. “Why don’t you two go get your truck while I unhitch the trailer?” Lucky said after they had all shared some water but the sound of moans brought their attention elsewhere.
They looked up to see perhaps ten Z’s coming up the road from town. “I’m too tired for this,” Roxanne said. “Mary, make for the truck and I’ll take most of them out by running over them. Lucky, I would suggest that you back the limo further away to give me some room.” Mary, Roxanne and the two canines ran for her truck. Roxanne wanted to get to the zombies before they turned into the Fairgrounds Road which was much narrower than the highway. If they continued to follow the limo then she could back over them as she turned onto the highway. She started the engine, put it into reverse and waited for the Z’s to come into view. They put their seatbelts on and Roxanne asked Mary to hold onto Mutt while the coyote got on the floor between Mary’s legs. She waited until the middle of the pack was in the intersection and then popped the clutch but made sure she wasn’t going so fast that she would run over the Z’s and hit the cars on the other side of the road. She did not want to do great damage to the truck, but to incapacitate the Z’s. She hit five of them and then pulled the truck forward and waited until the end of the pack turned and came toward her. She ran over three more but this time she backed the truck out onto the highway so she could see what Lucky was doing. Apparently Lucky had the same idea because the limo was coming straight at the three remaining zombies that were between them. Roxanne held her breath hoping that his speed wouldn’t cause him to run into her too.
Roxanne still had the truck in reverse when she looked up to see Lucky barreling down on them to hit the three zombies and she had the foresight to continue backing up to create more distance. “What the hell?” Mary said and grabbed the roll bar while holding onto Mutt. “Does he think he has a tank?”
Lucky hit the zombies with the limo so hard that they flew over his hood with body parts breaking off and flying everywhere. He slammed on the brakes and fishtailed before he came to a stop well past the intersection that Roxanne had been sitting in. If she had not continued to back up he would have slammed into them. She saw that the hood of the limo was damaged with some bones and zombie organs embedded in the grill and shook her head. “Boys will be boys.” She put the truck into drive and drove past him at a slow pace, ignoring that he was sitting there. She turned in
to the space that they had created to get to the boat trailer and drove down the slight embankment, through the high grass and parked next to the car with the boat trailer. They got out and without waiting for Lucky who had said that he would unhook the trailer from the car she started to do it herself. They heard the limo back up but ignored it and both Roxanne and Mary grabbed the hitch and tried moving the trailer over to their truck.
The tires of the trailer had sat in the meadow for so long that they were deeply embedded into soft ground surrounded by high grass and moving the trailer was proving to be difficult for the two women. Lucky saw them struggling and got out of the car to come over and help. He waved them off, “You two get behind and push, I’ll pull the hitch up to your truck.” Between the three of them they managed get the trailer hitched up to Roxanne’s truck. Lucky walked around the trailer looking at the tires, “You’re lucky they weren’t flat, sitting so long in one place. They aren’t in good condition. I suggest you take it slow in case you lose rubber.”
Roxanne was mad at herself for not checking the tires and for not thinking to check the sports cars for a manual shift. She was beginning to realize that traveling with others could be more productive than traveling alone but she wasn’t ready to make that commitment yet.
Before Roxanne got in the cab she saw steam coming from under the limo’s hood and smiled but kept silent. Lucky went back to the limo to move it out of her way while Roxanne drove the truck onto the highway. It wasn’t an easy task for the truck to climb the embankment with the trailer, to squeeze in-between the cars on the road and make the turn onto the highway. Part of the trailer scraped one car, caught its bumper and pulled it off with a clatter onto the asphalt. As Roxanne drove away she looked into the rearview window and saw Lucky standing next to the steaming limo watching her drive away. Mary had also been looking in her side-view mirror and asked, “You aren’t going to leave him there, are you?”