“We've been driving for nearly a week, looking for a place to live. There are 27 of us, 9 children and 18 adults. We had a place in SW Montana but it was destroyed by militants and we've had to find a new place. We're able bodied and can provide protection as well as fix those wind turbines for electricity.”
Is that so? You say you have 9 children with you? Where?” she said, peering at the motor homes.
“They're there believe me. Two of them are infants. We would appreciate sanctuary.” Now all we had to do was wait for her to decide. Standing proudly she stared at us. I figured she was in her late 60's and was dressed in jeans, long sleeved, chambray shirt and the brightest red Nike's I've ever seen. Her glasses sat low on her nose and her gray hair was so short she almost looked bald. When she made up her mind, the stoop of her shoulders straightened a bit but she didn't get taller. All five feet of her gave us the once over then she smiled.
“What the hell,” she muttered, turned and started back inside, completely forgetting the monster gun she was leaning on until it fell with a clatter to the floor. Every one of us ducked, expecting it to go off but it just wobbled on the floor and lay there. She turned back at the noise, waved at it, then walked back inside the building. We looked at each other, shrugged and started up the steps. I was taken aback when the biggest dog in the universe galloped out the door and down the steps. It ran over to the semi and proceeded to pee on every single one of the tires. Wow.
“I think I'll just have a nervous break down and get it over with.” I heard Duke mutter. One of these days he may do just that, he threatens often enough.
Mason took my hand and up the steps we went. I didn't like the fact that it was dark inside. I did like the fact that we could see windows directly across from us but they were covered so I'd have to ask about that. The smell of pine was heavy in the air but it was the smell of roast chicken that made me smile. A noise behind me startled me into looking and I saw Flynn pick up the huge gun. He smiled at me and shook his head.
“It isn't loaded and the firing pin is gone. She couldn't have fired it but it would have made a wonderful club if she was able to lift it higher. Must weigh a ton.” He set it on the floor near the door, then we walked into the building.
I finally spotted her in the gloom, stirring a large pot in a makeshift kitchen in the corner of the living area. The usual adornments of a log cabin were everywhere but someone had gone bat shit crazy with the antlers. There were antler chandeliers hanging from the ceiling which was to be expected, we had one in the lodge but the many tables had antlers for legs, coats racks made of antlers, table lamps, coasters, picture frames. Even the key-chains for the rooms had antler key bobs with the room number engraved. Geez. Talk about overkill.
“Are you the only one here?” I asked.
“Oh no, I have Baby. He nearly ran you down when you came up the steps.” She continued to stir the pot, adding some spices from time to time. After taking a final sip, she nodded, then sat at the end of the table and lit a cigarette. That surprised me but not as much as I racket I heard from down a long hallway to our right. The boys took the stance, ready to shoot whatever came out but nothing did. She took a long drag on the cigarette, inhaled deeply, blew it out, and put it out. “Man I'm gonna miss that when they're gone.” Looking at the men with weapons drawn, she laughed. “I mean the cigarette not the noise.”
“What was that?” Mason asked.
“That's Marc. Before you get bent out of shape, he's dead and locked in the coat closet. I have my best jacket in that closet,” she said with a small smile, “but I can't get it out cause he wants to eat me every time I try to open the door. Damn near did the last time I tried. The slightest noise and he starts making a racket.”
“A walker? You have a walker in here?” I said, getting angry because the kids had started arriving inside. Lacy heard me and started to turn the kids around to take them back to the RV's.
“Oh, hell, come on back in here, kids. He ain't gonna hurt nobody, he's locked in. Why every walker on the place has been locked into their rooms so they can't get out.”
“Every walker on the place? How many do you have?” Mason said, checking his ammo supply.
“Well, let's see. There's was that lovely, young couple in 2A on their honeymoon. Such a tragedy. The little lady in 6A just wanted to be alone. I think there's a story there but don't know what it is. A couple in 10A. All they did was fight. He was such a shit so it's ok he's dead. Now upstairs...”
“Hold it, just a minute.” I said trying to absorb what she was telling me. “Do you have a count of them or have the room numbers written down?”
She waved in the direction of the board where the keys were kept. “The keys hanging there indicate a room with walkers. The others are open rooms and safe. They ain't gonna hurt ya. They're locked in. Do you have all your senses, girl or do I need to talk slower?” She moved over to the pot and turned it off.
I looked at Mason, who was standing there with his mouth open. Flynn and Clint were just as dumbfounded. I turned as George and Riley came in loaded down with weapons and placed them on a table, then I started to remove keys from the key board to hand out.
“What..is..your..name?” She asked, as she started to cut some slices off a loaf of fresh bread.
“I'm not dense or hard of hearing, ma'am. I'm just surprised you've been living with walkers in the house is all. We'll just take care of that and you won't have to worry anymore.”
“But I wasn't worried before dearie. I just don't go where they are. Geez, if you're so worried about the ones that locked up in here, you're just going to love the ones in the pool.” She shook her head as she turned to check the chicken. I looked at Mason, then slowly walked to the window and pulled back the curtain.
Outside the window and just off the hardwood deck was an Olympic size pool, minus the water. Inside that pool, I could just see the tops of heads. Lots and lots of heads. Moving heads. Good thing a chair was behind me because when my legs went, I sat down, hard.
Chapter 11
“Jesus Christ!” Flynn exclaimed, loudly. Immediately, a loud smack was heard as a spatula bounced off his head. I was close enough to try to catch it and managed to juggle it in the air before actually dropping it. “Fudge!” He said as he rubbed his head.
“You don't use that kind of language in my house young man. No sir, not in my house. Just take that kind of shit outside.”
He grumbled as he did just that and a few minutes later I saw him walk by the window with my crossbow, lots of arrows or bolts and Randy close behind with an ax wearing a raincoat. I shuddered, closed the curtain again and turned to the nice, little old lady.
“I was wondering...um..”
“Hazel. I was named after my granny on my mama's side. Though, people don't care about that anymore.” I started to say something but she cut me short again. “All they care about is the next toy and themselves, always about themselves. Don't give a rats ass about some defenseless, old lady.”
“Yes, well...what?”
“We were wondering,” Mason said when he saw my confusion, “with your permission of course, if we could take care of the walkers. I don't know if we will be staying but we would like to do this for you in return for your hospitality.” Boy, that Mason, could talk. And without a shovel, too.
“Hell, if I care. Go for it.” She continued to work on the meal as Mason just stood there, uncertain of what to do. Just what kind of language is allowed around here anyway? I chuckled as I gently shoved him towards the table laden with weapons. He loaded up, took the keys for the first floor and started for the coat closet, Clint close behind.
I helped Sarah and Lacy get the kids settled and places set for dinner, to take my mind off of the sound of thumps outside. The Monster, our monster, sat on Mikey's shoulder after irritating Baby for a few minutes. Bubba was stationed at Mandy's feet waiting for the occasional crumb she would 'accidentally' drop. Occasionally, a loud bang would come from down the hall but
otherwise it wasn't too bad. My imagination was working overtime as Hazel made over the children, finally settling into a rocking chair with baby Tony, as Jill and Ken sat nearby. By the time we had the children fed and quieted down, the men came back signaling the job was done. The upstairs needed clearing yet, but it could wait for a bit. Flynn and Randy would need baths. I don't have the words to describe how nasty those two were.
“Miss Hazel, my name is Duke and I think I can fix the wind turbines. If you could tell me where the room that holds the batteries is, I'll check things out and see what I can do.”
Hazel opened her eyes and looked at Duke. From the top of his head to the tips of his toes. He hadn't dressed to meet people today so he was wearing his cowboy boots with denim shorts, an Hawaiian shirt that made your eyes hurt and the cap that almost matched. I braced myself for the rude comments I thought would surely come but was surprised. “Well, its nice to meet someone who might know something about those things. Down that hallway,” she said as she pointed at the hallway in question, “is a door marked, 'Battery Room'. You should find some tools in there. I thank you ahead of time for your trouble.” She smiled, lay her head back and closed her eyes. The rocker never slowed down.
Duke headed for the hallway to the 'Battery Room' and I jumped up and said, “I'll go with you, old man, to make sure it's clear.”
“We need to haul away the bodies, Hazel. Do you have any idea of a place we could put them? I don't want to burn them, the smoke would draw more walkers.” Mason asked, as he poured a glass of water. Hazel had her head on the back rest, eyes closed, but she was rocking so I knew she was awake.
“Out the west door and down the hill a bit is an old mine shaft. It has a cement cover now cause the old mine played out. It might take a bit of straining to get it off but you should be able to fill it up and put the lid back on.”
“Are you sure? There's quite a few bodies in that pool alone.”
“Yep, it's a pretty deep shaft or so I was told. Should be plenty of room.” That rocker never missed a beat. Mason looked from her to me, shrugged his shoulders and settled down to eat. I hurried to catch up with Duke.
Once the deck was safe, Flynn and Randy elected to eat out there, although, I don't know how they could stand it. A breeze had come up and the smell was pretty bad inside with the windows closed, so it must've been worse out there. But I think they'd gotten used to it because they sat there eating and laughing so I wasn't going to say anything. They may have to sleep out there tonight, though, because I just couldn't see Lacy and Melody letting them anywhere near them otherwise.
Baby, the monster dog, lay sprawled out in the middle of the floor, surrounded on all sides by kids. Some were asleep, but others just lay there petting him. By the time I caught up with Duke he was standing in front of the door in question, hands on hips. I knocked a couple of times but we didn't hear anything, so I had Duke stand to one side as I eased the door open, but it was unoccupied. Huge batteries lined the far wall, while big machines with lots of gauges, buttons and switches were on either side. Duke found a tool box and started checking things out. I leaned against the door for a minute watching him, then got bored and started back to the main room.
“Shit!” Duke yelled. I cringed, expecting the wrath of Hazel to land on him with both feet but it remained quiet.
“You okay in there?”
“Yeah. Do me a favor and see if one of the turbines are moving?
“Okay. Give me a second.”
I pulled the curtains back on one of the windows and came face to face with a walker. It immediately started to attack the window. I didn't want it to break the glass but didn't want it inside either so, just when I was getting ready to pull the trigger, it went down in a heap. Leaning forward so I could look down at it to make sure it was dead, a scruffy old man appeared, tipped his hat at me, removed the machete from the head of the walker and dragged it away. It all happened in the space of a couple of seconds. I know my mouth was hanging open but I walked over to Hazel anyway.
“Who's the old man, Hazel?” I asked, still stunned.
“Old man?” She frowned, opened her eyes and smiled. “Oh that's Stewart. I haven't seen him in a while, glad to know he's still kicking. I wondered where all the wood was coming from this last winter. Huh. Old Stewart.”
“He just killed a walker outside the window and dragged it away. Not very sociable is he?”
“Naw, not friendly at all.” She smiled again. “Bless his old heart.” Then she dozed off again.
“JD, you see that turbine yet?” Yelled Duke, clearly agitated.
“Oops,” I whispered and peaked out the window, again. One wind turbine was moving. Running back to him, I gave him the information while he continued to cuss, very, very, quietly.
“My head feels funny,” Mikey said.
“Mine too,” Andy replied.
When I thought about it, mine did too. I ran to the window and scanned the sky. When I didn't see anything I went out the front door followed closely by Mason. There hovering in the sky 200 hundred yards away was the silver UFO.
“Crap,” I said.
“Well, hell, where is a bazooka when you need one?” Flynn said, as we stood there and watched. I decided not to give the damned thing another thought and went back inside to console the kids. Hazel was smiling but her eyes were still closed.
“They're back.” She said, rocking slowly. “They come back to check on me every month or so.”
“Who?” I asked.
“The cute little guys in the flying saucer out front. They talk to me in my head and help me out on occasion. They want me to go with them but I don't want to leave my Walter behind.” She frowned then. I turned to Mason and mouthed 'Walter'?
“Are they talking to you now?” Mason asked from behind me, shaking his head and mouthing 'later'. It dawned on me then that we were not communicating with our minds and I realized we didn't want the 'little guys' outside to hear us.
“Yeah, they said they brought you here. They told me you were coming, that's why I made so much dinner. I wasn't aware of the children or I wouldn't have met you with the gun. They want to know if you are going to stay.”
I looked at Mason who just shrugged. “It's gonna be hell trying to defend this place, JD, you know that Maybe we can stay a bit but we need to find something safer.”
“Say,” Hazel said, leaning over to give Tony to Jill, “What about a fort?”
“What fort?”
“Well, there was a feller with more money than sense that came up a few years back and decided he wanted to build himself an old western fort. It has tall log walls and rooms for people to stay in, water and everything. There's even big old gates you could close off at night. I have a pamphlet around here somewhere about it.”
She started to get up but didn't make it very far. Moaning she settled slowly back into the chair. “Damned, old arthritis.” she moaned, rubbing her knee. She pointed towards the keyboard. “You should find it in one of those drawers.”
I was starting to get a headache and Mikey was looking a bit pale. “Hazel, could you ask your 'friends' if they would stop whatever they're doing? It's giving us headaches? The little ones can't take it.”
“Oh, dear, I hadn't thought about that.” She closed her eyes and a few seconds later, my head stopped buzzing. “I'm sorry, dearie, I'd forgotten about the headaches when they first visited me. It takes a bit before talking to them doesn't hurt anymore.”
“But they aren't talking to us. They just make our heads hurt.”
“Oh, but they are talking to you. That's the buzzing you're hearing and it does make your head hurt the first few times they do it. It will ease with time and you'll be able to talk to them like I'm doing. They don't want to hurt us. They want to help but there's just so much they are allowed to do. Can't mess with the order of things or something like that.”
Flynn came in to say the UFO had left. I noticed the kids getting sleepy so I asked if we could put th
e kids to bed here or if she preferred us to sleep in our RV's.
“Oh, no dear, I fixed the rooms for you as soon as I heard you were coming. You just put those babies to bed if you like.”
Mason grabbed a flashlight and we started down one of the hallways when the electricity came on, with a blast. Music blared, a static filled TV roared like a mad dragon and every light in the place came on. It was a mad scramble to turn everything off and cover the windows so the light wouldn't attract walkers.
“Duke!” I yelled headed down the hallway.
“I got it.” He yelled back and the lights outside began to flicker off. I hadn't realized there were so many outside lights. All the outbuildings had lights and two big lights were at the entrance with a yard light every 20 feet leading to the front door. Good grief, no wonder they needed wind turbines, the electric bill would've been hell otherwise.
Mason and Randy went outside to check the upstairs windows for lights and sure enough there were four lights on upstairs. After heaving the loudest sigh I've ever heard, they went upstairs with Clint, Flynn and Riley behind them. There were several crashes and loud thumps before they returned and announced they'd killed all they could for one night. They were going to bed after showering in the RV's. The hot water heaters in the ranch would need some time before hot water would be running.
Hazel announced her bedtime as well and headed for the couch. I said, “Hazel, if you'd like to take one of the bedrooms I'd gladly give up the one you had ready for me.”
“Honey, my old back ain't gonna let me lay down in any old bed. I sleep like a baby most nights right here so don't worry your head about it. The morning is going to find us working our tails off to finish this place for the next crew coming in so get some rest and I'll see you bright and early in the morning.”
“Wait. What crew?” I asked.
But she'd already lay down and put her back to me. I thought about waking her but then thought I might as well get some rest. It had been a stupid, long day, not to mention a gory one. I needed a bath and some loving, exactly in that order.
Seeking Sanctuary (Walkers) Page 10