No one did.
“Connor could have gotten you killed tonight, but I don’t blame him, either. Something just wasn’t right in him. Devin, you didn’t fail anyone tonight. Grieve for your friend, but I’m your friend too, and I’m not gonna let you blame yourself.”
“Thanks, Nick,” Devin said, and then he turned to Thorn.
“What happened out there?” he asked.
Thorn contemplated; he had been trying to understand it all since the legless Creeper had patiently waited for her opportunity to strike.
“I’m not certain, but I think these things have developed some form of intelligence.”
“They didn’t have any before, though. What changed?” Adam asked.
“No, before they didn’t, but they seem to be evolving in some way.”
“Like the coming home,” Susan said.
“Exactly,” Thorn agreed.
“What do you mean ‘coming home’?” Adam asked.
“When the outbreak began, my neighborhood was nearly empty. Then one day, Creepers started showing up. Not just random ones but former neighbors who had turned.”
“Maybe they had been inside all along and just came out for food,” Brad suggested.
Thorn shook his head.
“No, these neighbors weren’t home on the day of the outbreak. I know because I went to several houses and tried to warn them. The houses were empty. These infected showed up later.”
“So you think that they came back from wherever it was that they turned?” Brandon asked.
“Yes, and then shortly after their return, they began the night burrowing. I didn’t have time to really examine it, but now it appears some form of evolution.”
“And tonight, they ambushed us,” Adam said.
“Worse than that,” Nick added, “they were waiting for us, which means they had set that signal fire you saw, Adam.”
“Fuck me,” Austin said in a hushed tone.
“Indeed,” Thorn agreed.
“Dr. Thorn, are we still safe here?” Caroline asked.
“I don’t know, Caroline. I just don’t know.”
“So now what?” Brad asked and looked to Thorn, then Adam, and then Devin.
“Good question. I think we need to consider our options and consider them quickly.”
Thorn looked at Devin. He knew it was unfair to put this on the kid. Devin was still hurting over the loss of his friend, but Thorn needed to know if that despair would hinder his leadership. If it did, then someone had to take that role because Thorn sensed time was very short now.
“We need to leave,” Devin said.
Devin’s tone was firm and confident, and Thorn was relieved that the kid still had the fight in him.
“And go where?” Adam asked. There was no challenge in his voice, just a sharp-edged fear.
“Wyoming.”
“What? That’s like two thousand miles from here,” Adam said.
“Probably a little more, but hear me out,” Devin continued. “Doc, you said the Creepers seemed to come home, right?”
“Yes, it appeared that way.”
“Stands to reason that if it’s true here, then it’s true everywhere.”
Thorn nodded, although there was no evidence to support it.
“So we need to go to the place with the least amount of people. That will be the place with the least amount of Creepers.”
The idea had certain logic to it.
“So why Wyoming?” Brad asked. “I mean, there’s got to be closer places with small populations.”
“You guys remember that online zombie game we played with my dad?”
Nick laughed. “Sure, we had a lot of late nights.”
“Well, one day after we started playing, I got this crazy e-mail from him. It was a zombie apocalypse survival plan. He pinpointed the best place to go that had both the lowest population and the lowest surrounding population. Something about overflow if you were too close to a city or large town.”
Thorn nodded. It actually made sense, although Wyoming seemed a bit far.
“In his e-mail he cited Lost Springs, Wyoming, population of one, and a hundred miles from the next large town. He even calculated a route that went around major towns and cities.”
“Did he say how long it would take to get there?”
“Yep, about thirty-six hours of drive time.”
“So that’s what? About four or five days’ travel?” Brandon asked.
“Yeah,” Devin answered, “that seems about right.”
“Devin, no offense to your dad but that sounds a little crazy,” Adam said and looked to see if Golden would draw on him. She just continued to stare at the far wall, and Thorn wondered if maybe she thought it a little crazy too.
“Maybe,” Devin said, “but we don’t have the Internet to find an alternate location. And I’m willing to bet, if he picked that spot, he was pretty certain it was the best choice.”
“We’d be betting our lives on something that could have been just a joke, Devin,” Thorn added, but Devin shook his head.
“No, Dr. Thorn, even when my dad was playing, he was a stickler for the facts.”
Thorn saw the agreeing nods.
“I’ll support whatever we think is best, but leaving is a big risk, considering we don’t even know if the Creepers will come for us,” Nick said.
“And what if we get on the road and find it’s even worse up north than it is here?” Brad added.
“Doc, how much time do you think we have?” Devin asked.
“Well, there’s still no evidence that the Creepers will even come. You’ve managed to stay here with few problems. For all we know, they won’t leave their neighborhood. That may be why they needed to coax us in.”
“True, but now that their plan failed, it’s possible.”
“Yes, if they’re intelligent, and it appears they are, then they may come.”
“So how long?”
“Best guess, if they do come, then we have only a few days.”
Devin considered it. Thorn had his own opinion, but he wanted to hear Devin’s response. He believed guns weren’t the only things critical to their survival; it was the group’s friendship and loyalty that made them strong and therefore made the difference. That, however, was a delicate balance, and to maintain it, Thorn better served as a “tiebreaker” or advisor than as the leader. Still, Susan and his lives depended on logical and mature decisions, and right now that fell to the group’s unelected leader. He hoped Devin was about to make the correct decision.
“So if the Creepers attack, it will be in a few days?”
“That’s my best guess, Devin. I can’t be sure,” Thorn corrected.
“Understood, but there’s little harm in being prepared. We get everything ready, and then we send out a scout team to see if the Creepers are moving in our direction. If they are, we get out of Dodge. If not, then we consider a new plan. Bottom line is I don’t want to be rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic if there’s an iceberg out there.”
Thorn was relieved. The plan was the prudent one.
“Near, far, wherever you are,” Brandon sang, and the group laughed. The tension was relieved for the moment.
“Anyone has a better plan? I’m open,” Devin stated.
They looked at each other. No one had a better plan.
“Dr. Thorn?”
Thorn shook his head. “Nope, it sounds like the best move. Webster, that bus is going to have to survive thirty-six hours of driving.”
“Okay, I’m gonna need a hand pulling that transmission. If we stay off second gear, I think I can keep it together.”
“There are some atlases and maps in the library, but I need someone to help me take down the barricade in front of the doors,” Brandon sighed.
“
Bro, if you disagree with the plan, say so,” Devin said.
“Oh, the plan is fine.”
“Then what’s the issue?”
“Freakin’ hate road trips,” Brandon said and then smiled.
“Come on, jackass, I’ll help you move those barricades,” Brad said.
“Okay, tonight we lay out the plans to leave. What night is this?” Devin asked.
“Umm, it’s 11:00 p.m., so it’s still Monday,” Nick answered.
“We plan for departure Thursday night, just after dark. Nick and Webster, work on that bus. Brandon and Brad, you have route navigation, but remember, no highways or major cities. Austin and Ann, figure out a vehicle count and who’s riding in which. Caroline, I need you to decide on the most vital supplies to take because space is limited. Doc Thorn and Susan will select the medical stuff and evaluate our sick folks. Adam, you and I will work with Brandon and Brad on a plan to stay safe out there. Any questions?”
Brad started to raise his hand, but Annie shook her head, and he let it fall.
“Okay, then, if nothing happens by Wednesday night, we can rethink our options.”
They all nodded.
It was a good plan, except for the small fact that the Creepers arrived early.
Rubato
Outside the impromptu triage, Thorn and Susan packed medical supplies.
“Do you think it’s a good plan?” she asked.
Thorn looked around to ensure they were alone.
“I think after what we saw tonight, we need to do something. And with a focused goal, at least these kids have gained a little of that confidence we lost. We need that confidence if things go bad.”
“I agree, but it’s gonna be difficult to move the sick, and there are so many children. It could get really bad out there. How will we protect them?”
“I don’t know, Susan. Maybe it’s all been just borrowed time since day one, but we’ll try.”
“I know we will. I’m just a little scared.”
“You got me beat,” Thorn said. “I’m a lot scared.”
She smiled and he realized that he loved her.
“Susan, look, I don’t deserve a second chance with you after the way I screwed up the first, but I just want you to know—”
Susan kissed him. He was shocked at first, but then their arms wrapped around each other, and they discovered how well they fit together. Without another word, Susan led him to her private sleep quarters. They undressed each other slowly, fighting the urgency of the imagined sound of the world’s timer speeding toward zero. Their passion became a new kind of urgency, a desire to absorb the other, and they welcomed it the way that only new lovers might.
Afterward, Thorn lay on his back with Susan in his arms. Here, after so many years, in a place at the end of the world, he had found a reason to live. The thought scared him more than the Creepers. Since the outbreak, his actions and decisions had been little more than programmed instinct to survive. Now he had a reason to live and a love to protect. And that just made him ever more concerned about God’s sense of humor.
There’s no such thing as a bad plan
By early Tuesday evening, the problems outnumbered the successes. Thorn caught up with Devin and Nick at the gym’s main entrance. They both looked stressed, and Thorn hated to add to it, but the health of the elderly was of great concern.
“How’s it going, Doc?”
“Not good, gentlemen.”
Devin and Nick looked at one another with expressions of “What else is new?”
“What’s the problem?” Devin asked.
“The elderly are in really bad shape, worse from the stress and poor diet. Without the proper accommodations, I don’t think they will fare well on the bus. It’s going to complicate their already-poor health and might be dangerous for them.”
“More dangerous than staying here?” Nick sounded edgy, which was out of character.
Things must be bad, Thorn thought.
“Do you have any other options?” Devin asked, ignoring his friend.
“A second bus.”
Nick laughed.
“Lee County was a huge school district. You can’t tell me we have the only damn bus in the area,” Thorn argued.
“No, probably not, and the one we have is not going far.”
“What?”
“Webster found a bigger problem than second gear. There’s a hole in the transmission pan. Without a replacement, we’re gonna need to refill the thing every twenty miles or so,” Devin told him.
“Damn. So we go out tonight and find two buses and bring them back.”
“That’s the second problem.” Nick added.
“Isn’t there a bus depot right up the street?”
“There is, but the front entrance is a three-bus pileup. It’s why we haven’t replaced our bus. We’d need a very large tow truck that we haven’t found yet to move that mess.”
“Well, we need to find one. If we can keep the sick folks comfortable and prone, it might work out. If not, I’m afraid we’ll be stopping often to bury them.”
Devin nodded and said to Nick, “It may be easier than trying to fix that mess Webster has out there.”
Webster walked in; his hands were red, and Thorn’s first thought was that he had injured himself. On closer inspection, he saw it was red transmission fluid.
“That bus is good for a few miles, but we need a new one,” Webster said.
“Yep,” Devin agreed, “that seems to be the plan. Let’s get everyone together and figure this shit out.”
In the cafeteria, the faces showed a mix of frustration and exhaustion. It was obvious that each was having their own issues.
“Okay,” Devin said in a loud voice, “we need to get some updates and work out some of these problems.”
“Transportation is the big concern right now,” Webster started, but Devin held up his hand to stop him.
“I know, but let’s start with some of the smaller stuff first. Caroline, how does the supply situation look?”
“Well, there’s no way to carry everything we need, so I’m focused on food and water, but we’ll need to stop along the way to replenish the supplies.”
“Susan, how about the medical supplies?”
“Based on the current illnesses and the medicine we’ll need, such as antibiotics, I think we can carry a ninety-day supply.”
“It’s too much,” Nick said. “We have to conserve space for other things too.”
“I understand that,” Susan countered, “but some of these medicines won’t be easily found on the road, and we can’t risk running out.”
Devin thought for a moment.
“Susan, reduce it to forty-five days.”
Susan looked to Thorn, but he just nodded his agreement.
“Austin, Ann, how’s the transportation?”
“Assuming we have the bus worked out, we have enough room with the three SUVs. We’ll divide the supplies evenly, so in case we lose one SUV, we have backups in the other vehicles.”
“Brandon, Brad, how about the route planning?”
“Still working it out. We don’t know what your dad suggested, so we are taking our best guess at population avoidance.”
“Okay, so it doesn’t sound that bad.”
Before he could finish, everyone began talking at once. Clearly, there were issues with storage, the amount of ammunition to take compared to water, who would drive, and what other things were needed that someone took off the list.
“Hold on, hold on,” Devin yelled. “Okay, I get it, it’s not perfect. Here’s the deal. Let’s get everything we want or need to take in the back hallway. From there, we can pack and see how much room we have and what we have to sacrifice. The real problem is finding two buses. Dr. Thorn will explain.”
“As you are
all aware, the older folks are very ill. Placing them on a bus with the children will create real problems. First, most of them need to lie down, as they can’t hold themselves up. Second, a bus full of kids is not a very peaceful environment. Beyond that, the close proximity will be bad for both the elderly and the children. I don’t need to remind you of the incontinence problems that exist or the other less than pleasant attributes of their particular ailments. The bottom line is the environment won’t be healthy for the children or the sick.”
“So we need a second bus,” Devin said, and Webster nodded.
“Yes, and maybe a third,” Webster added. “The one we have is in rough shape.”
“We need a small group to go recon a wrecker that can clear the pileup from the bus terminal. Then we need Webster to find the best models, drive them back here, and pull most of the seats from one so people can lie down,” Devin said.
“The second bus will solve some of our storage problems,” Caroline added.
“Yep,” Adam said, “and makes us a big yellow beacon for every Creeper from here to Wyoming.”
The group nodded. A second bus meant they would move even slower and have the additional challenge of protecting two vehicles.
“Hey, we have a problem at the gate!” One of the triplets yelled from the cafeteria doorway. “Come on, quick,” he called and then ran toward the exit as the group followed.
Sweet gravy, we’re going rogue
The triplets, Josh, John, and Joseph, stood in the dark, about fifteen feet from the fence.
“What’s going on?” Devin asked.
“This,” one of the boys said, and he turned on his flashlight and shined it at the fence.
“Oh my God,” Caroline whispered.
Connor stood on the other side of the fence. His face was burned from the black bile, and a flap of skin hung from his cheek. His eyes were cloudy blue, and his mouth held open in a hungry silent growl.
“Connor?” Devin called.
You and Me against the World: The Creepers Saga Book 1 Page 12