“How far are we going?” Lilly asked as they walked out of the fence.
“The kitties usually wait till the stinkers are a few hundred yards from the fence, but Ian and I have found some a mile down the road,” Lance answered, looking at the stinker coming at them. Now the stinker was coming at them in a fast trot with its arms held out. Since it was several hundred yards away, Lance paid it no mind.
Picking up several body parts, Lance started making a pile. “George, sit,” Lilly commanded and continued to work with George, letting him know that taking off wasn’t an option.
Looking up, Lance saw the stinker was a hundred yards away. “What the fuck?” he mumbled, lifting his AR peering through the scope. Hearing Lance, Lilly looked up at the stinker and cocked her head to the side.
“What’s wrong with its face?” she asked, patting George.
Dropping his AR, Lance yanked the katana out as his AR swung under his arm by the sling. “Bull-fucking-shit!” Lance bellowed and took off in a sprint.
“Lance!” Lilly shouted, taking off after him. Dino soon passed Lance as Lilly shouted for George to stay beside her. Matching Lilly’s pace, George stayed beside her as Lance pumped his legs hard.
“Dino, back off!” Lance screamed before Dino reached the stinker. Dino stopped and started bouncing around the stinker, but wasn’t barking. The stinker stopped and moved after Dino as Lance neared them.
Gripping the katana with both hands, Lance let out a yell as he swung it like a baseball bat. Skidding to a halt a few yards away, Lilly watched the blade pass through the stinker’s abdomen cutting through a nice hockey jersey the stinker was wearing.
The torso toppled off as Lance slid through the mud, coming to a halt. As Lance turned around the legs tipped over, crashing to the road. Twirling the katana in his left hand, Lance took a step as the stinker clawed toward him, dragging what was left of his body. “Where’s your buddy with the fancy glove?” Lance shouted, slashing down hard and severing the right arm off the body. “He stop for more knives to put on his glove?!”
Hearing that, Lilly froze as Lance slashed out hard, taking off the left arm and leaving a deep cut in the muddy road. “See? I didn’t run from you, did I, bitch!” Lance shouted, kicking the torso over on its back.
“Oh,” Lilly mumbled, seeing the hockey mask on the stinker.
Slowly moving over, Lance stood on the stinker’s chest. “Yeah fucker, you’re not the only one who can play with sharp objects,” Lance growled, pointing the tip of the katana at the mask.
The stinker’s head moved around, thumping against the ground as it snarled up at Lance. “You’re my bitch now,” Lance declared in a normal voice, slashing the katana down hard.
Watching the head roll away, Lilly moved up and looked at Lance staring at the masked head with boiling hatred. “He’s down, Lance,” she said softly, but made no move to touch him.
“And my bitch!” Lance shouted, jumping up in the air and stomping on the torso, sending black goo out of the body.
“Lance, it’s not Jason,” Lilly offered softly.
Spinning quickly, making Lilly jump back, Lance locked Lilly in the seething gaze. “Oh yeah? Just how many fuckers have you come across wearing hockey masks?” Lance growled.
Lost for words, Lilly raised her eyebrows and looked off. When Lance stepped off the torso, Lilly turned back. “Well, you’ve done something that nobody else did in like ten movies,” Lilly said.
“More like a dozen, doll,” Lance snarled, standing over the head. Lifting the katana up, Lance rested the tip over one of the eye holes. “When crispy glove boy gets here, I’m doing the same to him,” Lance said, shoving the blade down hard.
The skull stopped moving with the jaw opening and closing as the tip met the dirt. “Your momma shows up, I’ll shank that whore, too,” Lance told the head, putting a foot on the hockey mask and yanking the sword out.
Lilly moved up beside Lance, looking down at the head. “You’re braver than me. I was just going to shoot his ass,” she said.
Patting Lilly, “Then you don’t watch the movies close enough. The super-hot girls are always in the most danger,” Lance huffed and walked away. “He wasn’t touching our super-hot girls.”
Smiling, Lilly patted her leg and George trotted over. “Good boy,” Lilly said as Lance tossed the body parts into a pile.
Lighting all the piles they’d made, the two climbed on the buggy and continued the sweep. It was 1800 when they pulled up to the gates wearing NVGs. Both were numb as they pulled through the gate, waiting on Ian and Jennifer.
When they stopped at the backdoor Lance moved to get the chainsaw, only to have Ian grab his arm. “Dude, go get warm,” Ian said, looking at Lance with his own NVGs. “I can tell your lips are blue and you are only supposed to see shades of green.”
With his teeth chattering, “Thank you,” Lance sighed, heading for the door and digging out his key. When Lilly and Lance went in, Ian and Jennifer emptied the buggy and pulled it into the shed and plugged it in.
“They should’ve come back and let me and you clear the west side,” Jennifer said as she and Ian ran for the back door.
Stepping inside, they saw two trails of wet clothes and gear forming a path to each bathroom. “I still can’t believe Lance killed Jason,” Ian declared proudly, picking up the clothes.
It was thirty minutes later when Lance walked out of the bathroom feeling much better. Walking over to the couch he found Lilly curled up under a blanket with Ian and Jennifer sitting beside her. Lifting her blanket up, “You can share my blanket,” Lilly offered smiling.
“I’m good now,” Lance said. “I can finally feel my toes.”
“Then warm me up,” Lilly said, still holding the blanket up.
Dropping down beside her, Lance tucked the blanket under him. “Sorry,” he smiled. With her knees pulled in her chest, Lilly curled into Lance’s side. She was the same height as Lance, but Lance had a good twenty pounds on her so he looked bigger.
“What was your count?” Ian asked with his arm around Jennifer.
“Seventy-one heads but as usual, I think there were more parts than heads,” Lance answered. “We need to patrol. I have some ideas we need to put in place.”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking along those lines as well,” Ian agreed as Allie carried in a bowl. She stopped suddenly and her mouth fell open, seeing Lilly curled up next to Lance under the blanket.
“Is that supper?” Lance asked and Allie slowly turned to look at him.
“Chili and rice,” Allie mumbled.
“Will you bring Lilly a bowl and then you and Carrie get in here under the covers with us and get us warm,” Lance said.
A smile jumped on Allie’s face and she bounced over, handing Lance the bowl as Carrie came in carrying a glass of tea. “Carrie, get Lilly some tea!” Allie shouted from the kitchen and Carrie stopped, looking at Lilly.
Spinning around, Carrie took off. “If looks could kill,” Lilly mumbled.
When Allie and Carrie came back, Allie climbed in Lance’s lap and Carrie in Lilly’s as the four huddled together under the blanket. “Time for Star Trek,” Ian said, lifting the remote.
Chapter Eight
May 15
Lowering the binoculars, Johnathan struggled to keep his eyes open as he lay with the others on the crest of a ridge. “I haven’t seen stinkers or people,” Johnathan said, looking at a farm below them.
“I see horses, goats, chickens, and two dogs,” Bill added in a very tired voice.
When they had moved off north from Reno that night, they’d found out real fast that they were too close to a population center. They had run into groups of stinkers wandering around the arid landscape. One group of stinkers, literally in the middle of nowhere, thirty miles northeast of Reno was so large it boggled their minds.
They had headed north up a mountain without stopping as day had broken. At noon, they had spotted a house under siege by a mass of stinkers in a valley belo
w. When a small group of stinkers walked out of a ravine, they’d killed them with their bows and pushed on.
As the sun set, they had stopped below a ridge crest and made camp, now fifty miles northeast of Reno. Below them was a large arid basin and as darkness had come they’d seen a line of headlights enter the basin. The vehicles had stopped in the middle of the basin and it hadn’t taken long for them to see, this group didn’t play nice.
Not wanting to be spotted moving in the daylight, they had loaded up and moved on. Moving north along the ridge, they had finally turned east and headed down into the basin, but couldn’t see the vehicles. Following an old dirt road that looked like it was used by ATVs, they’d climbed the mountains on the other side of the basin. It was then that they’d heard several gunshots in the direction where the vehicles had been parked.
It wasn’t long until the gunshots had picked up tempo, turning into a torrent. In the dark, they rode down the east side of the mountain as the sounds of battle faded away and then, slowly stopped. After moving for twenty-four hours nonstop, they had found a small cave and pulled the bikes inside. The girls hadn’t slept when they’d laid down, they had passed out. Johnathan and Bill had taken the first watch, and had to stand and pace to force themselves to stay awake.
Moving out that night across the barren land, they had seen several groups of stinkers in the valleys below them. Only when they crossed valleys had they run into stinkers. The first group of four, they’d passed by and pedaled on. When they had stopped to rest and Bill looked back, the group of four had turned to eleven and they were still following.
Waiting, they had killed the eleven in the dark with their bows. Now, when they passed a stinker, one would break out their bow and kill it. When dawn started, they had found a ravine and settled in with everyone agreeing, they would sleep high up and not in valleys.
Below them, they had seen a small house and barn and when the sun had peeked over the mountains, they’d seen people come out of the house. For several hours, they’d watched two kids play and several adults work around the house and barn. It was just before noon when Johnathan and Sandy were waking Bill and Mary for guard duty, trouble had shown up at the house below.
A line of jacked up 4x4 trucks and dirt bikes had entered the valley. The people all ran for the house but it was too late, they had been spotted. The vehicles circled the house and a gun battle ensued. For two hours, those in the house held off the marauders but the marauders were undeterred, tossing Molotov cocktails at the house and catching it on fire.
Faced with burning alive, the people tried to fight their way out and were taken. Hunkering down in the ravine, they had watched as the men were killed off and the women and kids were tied up and tossed into the trucks. The marauders grabbed all the chickens and ransacked the barn before leaving.
Two hours later after the group had left, the men who had been shot, sat up and headed north after the group. It wasn’t much longer and a group of stinkers shambled down the road the marauders had traveled in on.
Luckily by dark, the stinkers were gone as everyone grabbed their bikes and moved on.
Remembering that small house, Johnathan looked at the house and barn below them with trepidation. “Guys, I just don’t know,” he said wearily.
“Johnathan, we are out of water and food,” Sandy said, staring at the house. “Nobody has come out and there isn’t a car or truck down there.”
Lifting the binoculars up, Johnathan looked at the empty carport. “Damn, now I know who Lance gets his powers of observation from,” Johnathan mumbled.
“We’ve been watching for half an hour and haven’t seen any movement inside the house. They should at least have looked outside with all that’s going on,” Mary stated. “Let’s watch another half hour and then move down.”
Everyone was scared, tired, and hungry, so nobody could think of an argument. “Johnathan, Bill,” Sandy said softly and Johnathan turned to her. “Can we take those horses?”
“Damn, that is a good idea,” Mary agreed with a sigh.
“It’s been a while since we’ve ridden,” Johnathan said, but really liked the idea. Pedaling a bike through the desert sucked ass in his opinion.
Studying the house, Bill finally lowered his binoculars. “I think we should move down now,” he remarked. “Unlike other houses we’ve seen, this one isn’t even boarded up. Look at all those windows on the ground floor.”
“Bill, get on the AR and cover me,” Johnathan said, getting up. “I’m riding down alone. If someone sees me, they shouldn’t be alarmed by one person.”
“Let me go because people are less likely to shoot a woman,” Sandy offered, grabbing Johnathan’s leg.
Looking down at her with a smile, “No, Lance would tear me apart if something happened to his momma,” Johnathan said and then moved over to his bike.
Climbing on, Johnathan coasted down the steep slope to the road that led to the house. When Johnathan reached the road, Sandy turned to Bill and Mary. “If they shoot Johnathan, I’m burning down their house,” she proclaimed with a snarl.
As Johnathan rode up to the house, the two dogs ran out barking. Fighting the urge to shoot the dogs with the .22 pistol, Johnathan stopped in front of the house. Putting the kickstand down, Johnathan knelt down looking at the house. “Come here, guys,” Johnathan said, holding out his hands.
The dogs stopped barking and slowly crept up to him, sniffing. After smelling his hands, both dogs moved closer and Johnathan loved over them. “It’s been a while since you two have eaten,” Johnathan said, rubbing them down and their tails were wagging wildly.
Standing up, Johnathan moved to the house while dropping his backpack to the ground and held up his hands. “Hello,” he called out, heading for the door. “We just need water and any food you can spare.”
Reaching the door, Johnathan tried the knob and was shocked when the door opened. Stepping inside, Johnathan looked around at the nice living room. Noticing the dogs weren’t beside him, Johnathan turned around and saw them at the door, looking at him with sad eyes. “You can come in,” he grinned and patted his leg.
When the dogs bounced over to him, Johnathan glanced around the living room. Then, he noticed a ceiling fan turning. “Solar panels on the barn,” he mumbled, retrieving the fact from his groggy mind.
Walking around the house, Johnathan found each bedroom with clothes strewn about. “Hope they don’t mind,” he said, leaning down and patting the dogs who stayed by his side.
Heading outside, Johnathan faced the ravine and waved his arms over his head, then motioned for the others to come down. As he dropped his arms the dogs kept bouncing around him, then darting toward the carport and then darting back. Intrigued, Johnathan moved to the carport and the dogs yelped with excitement.
Stopping under the carport, the dogs were bouncing around a large plastic drum and whining. Seeing dog bowls, Johnathan smiled and moved over to open the barrel, finding it was filled with dog food. When he’d filled the bowls the dogs dove in, shoving the bowls across the cement floor.
“Poor guys,” Johnathan said and then saw an empty torn up bag of dog food on the floor. Getting up, Johnathan realized it was two bags. Looking at the dogs closer, “You two shouldn’t be that hungry,” he said, moving closer to the dogs.
“Belgian Malinois shepherds,” Johnathan said, kneeling beside the dogs. “Hell, you two aren’t even a year old.”
Hearing the others riding up, Johnathan turned around as Sandy coasted to a stop under the carport. “Making friends?” she asked, getting off and dropping her pack.
“Yeah, they are good dogs,” Johnathan answered, rubbing the dogs.
Putting his kickstand down, Bill came over with a smile. “Belgian Malinois,” he said with a grin, kneeling down and rubbing them with Johnathan. “A dame and sire.”
Sandy and Mary were allergic to many dogs so neither had ever had one, but they sure knew dogs. “Anything inside we can use?” Sandy asked, moving over and p
etting the dogs still gulping down food.
“Don’t know, but they have power,” Johnathan said. “From the looks inside, they left soon after it started.”
Looking around, “Wonder why? This is a good spot,” Mary insisted, moving over and petting the dogs.
Getting up, Sandy headed for the door in the carport. “I’m going to see what they have,” she said, going inside with Mary getting up to follow her.
“I don’t think the dogs are more than nine months old,” Bill said as one lifted its head up, panting hard. Seeing the collar had a nameplate, Bill leaned over. “Dan,” he read, then looked over at the other one. “Oh shit, Ann,” he said.
“Hey, I like the names, but that damn movie I’ve only seen once and will never watch it again,” Johnathan confessed, standing up. Dan walked over to the side of the carport and dunked his mouth in a water bowl. Moving over, Johnathan saw it had a sensor to automatically fill the bowl up.
Stumbling back, Johnathan turned to Bill. “They have running water,” Johnathan declared with reverence.
“No way,” Bill cried out, jumping up and heading for the door.
Following Bill, Johnathan turned to the dogs. “Come on,” he said, holding the door open and the dogs shot inside.
Walking in Johnathan saw Bill at the kitchen sink, holding his mouth under the faucet. “We are staying here today,” Sandy said as Johnathan walked into the kitchen. He turned and saw all the cabinets and pantry open. “They buy food like Miss Penny does, in mass quantities.”
“Shit, living out this far, they don’t have much choice,” Johnathan nodded, grabbing a bowl and filling it when Bill moved. Setting the bowl of water on the floor, he watched the dogs start to drink. “One of us needs to be upstairs and watching the road.”
“Yeah, the road dead ends at this house,” Bill agreed, wiping his mouth.
Forsaken World (Book 3): Rite of Passage Page 9