The Returners

  Everyone had been fairly talkative today as they became more comfortable around one another. Emily and Briella had been chatting almost the whole time since they'd left the campsite this morning. Even Joe and Jessica had been talking a lot, cracking jokes and making small talk with each other and the rest of the group. Jacob was leading the group now and had been keeping to himself for the most part.

  Conversation made the trip a lot more bearable at least. It was better than walking in silence and alone with your own thoughts. He knew this from his time traveling with his dog Flash. He'd spent a lot of time talking to the dog, having conversations with him like he was a person. Often wondered to himself if he was going mad or if he was just lonely. A drop of rain splashed on his face, bringing his thoughts back to the here and now.

  "Oh great, looks like we're not going to beat the rain after all," He mumbled in frustration to himself.

  Jessica heard Jacob mumble something she couldn't understand. "What was that Jacob? Something wrong?"

  "Yeah, just felt a drop of rain on my face. Doesn't look like we're going to beat the rain after all, we probably should get going." There was an air of disappointment in his voice.

  Deep inside he knew this was probably going too be a setback, but there was nothing they could really do about it other than push on. Sitting around wasn't going to help them achieve their goal. Everyone got up quickly and didn't protest, even though they were cutting their break short. They all knew the importance of making their destination today. Jessica walked over to Jacob and threw her arms around him giving him a hug.

  "Everything alright? You've seemed a bit lost in your own thoughts since we left camp this morning."

  "I'm good, just a lot on my mind right now." He knew this wasn't the time or place to discuss his concerns about what might lay ahead of them. It was something that had been eating at him since they'd left the cabin. The corpse on the end of the fishing line earlier in the day had really triggered a sense of doubt and worry in him. "No need to worry about me, thank you though."

  Jessica could tell there was more to it than that, but wasn't about to push the issue. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

  "Okay, just wanted to make sure. If you need to talk, you know...I'm here for you." She walked back over to where Emily was standing and helped her with her backpack as she appeared to be having a hard time getting it on.

  It only took a few moments before the entire group was ready to continue on. As if on queue the rain beginning to fall harder. Creating a signal of urgency for them to continue moving forward.

  ********

  Damien returned to Chris and Clayton with Andrew Smyth. The boy who was in his mid-teens was the one who had stumbled across the cabin while out hunting. Damien explained to him what was going on, so when they got back he'd be prepared. It didn't take long for him to repeat his story to Chris and Clayton, telling them where they could find the cabin.

  "You're coming with us, and you're gonna show us where it is. You said you only saw two women working around it?" Chris spoke with an authority in his voice this morning that rarely came out. Usually he was more laid back and quiet. The type that did what was needed without mincing words.

  "Yes sir, I just saw the two women." The boy snapped off the reply quickly and nervously. He didn't like this and didn't want to go, but he knew Chris was in charge of the camps when Ray wasn't around. He was better off to just shut up and not cause any problems, especially if Ray came back. The last thing he needed was for Ray to be pissed off at him for not following orders.

  Chris pondered what the kid had just told him. It was unlikely Ray and the others had succumb to a couple of women hiding in a cabin. Though anything was possible he supposed, even the sun shined on a dog's ass once in awhile.

  "Everyone grab a gun and some ammo and meet me back here in ten minutes. We're gonna go there and see if we can find anything out."

  The men dispersed, going their own ways to grab what they needed. Chris stood under the roof at the edge of the porch. The rain had started to fall and the sky was becoming darker by the moment. He knew the travel would be slick, and would be like traveling in the dark through the forest, but they weren't waiting around any longer. Action needed to be taken, they needed to figure out what happened.

  ********

  Joe walked up front with Jacob this time, they'd been walking for a couple hours and hadn't said much to each other. The rain had dampened the mood of the whole group. Everyone had kept their chatter to a minimum compared to earlier in the day. Joe could tell something was bothering Jacob, he just had that aura about him right now. He wondered if it was due to what had happened earlier in the day, or something else.

  "Can I ask you a question?" Joe asked, unsure if this was the right time, or even if Jacob would want to talk about it.

  "Sure."

  "What's bothering you man? Jessica and I were talking earlier and we both get the impression something's eating at you," Joe said. Unsure if his question would get an answer or not.

  Jacob thought about how to respond to the question for a moment and didn't immediately say anything. Joe figured he wasn't going to answer the question and didn't bother asking anything else. They continued walking for another minute in silence before Jacob began to speak.

  "When was the last time you were in a place where there was an actual population of people? I'm not talking about the camps, I'm talking about a town or a city?" Jacob asked, curious as to what Joe had to say.

  Joe thought about it, it had been awhile. "I don't know maybe a year or so."

  "That's what's bugging me, none of us have been in a town since things got really bad. Emily and Jessica have been out here the least amount of time, maybe four or five months. It’s been over a year for me." He paused for a moment as he pushed a small fir tree branch out of the way. "I don't know what we're really walking into, are we going to be able to handle it if it's really bad?"

  Joe hadn't thought about that, everything had happened so quickly in the last several days that the thought of the town they were heading to being overrun hadn't really crossed his mind. Even though it was a very real and plausible scenario.

  "I never thought about it to be honest."

  Jacob lowered his voice so only Joe could hear him. He didn't want everyone else to overhear what he was about to say. "I'm not worried just about hordes of Returners either. What if someone else has set up shop in the town? Someone like Ray who isn't going to take kindly to strangers poking their heads in and stirring up trouble? Someone who would just as soon gun you down as have a conversation with you? I haven't said anything about this yet, because I didn't want to worry the girls. I might just be paranoid, but what if?"

  Jacob and Joe both stopped and looked behind them, the rest of the group was about thirty yards away. The reality of what Jacob had just said really began to sink in for both men.

  "We're going to have to talk about this soon cause I don't know the town. Jessica and Emily do, it's where they're from. Just keep it between you and I for now," Jacob said.

  "You've got my word Jacob." The sincerity and worry on Jacob's face was enough for Joe to know he was genuinely worried about the effect it might have on the others.

  "Good, now lets keep going. I think we can still make it before dark."

  The rest of the group soon caught up with them. The haggard look of their faces told the story, they were getting tired.

  "How's everyone doing?" Joe asked.

  "Wet, and I'm starving, but other than that I'm wonderful," Jessica said with a sarcastic laugh.

  "I'm good,” Briella said, taking the opportunity to lean against a tree and rest for a moment.

  Emily was bent down tying her boots. "I'm good, but hungry."

  Jacob could sympathize. The small meal they'd eaten earlier wasn't really doing the trick, his stomach had been growling for awhile.

  "I know we’re all hungry, wet and tired, but we've got to be getting close to the road. If we ca
n just suck it up for a little bit longer and push on we should be able to make it before dark. We can find a good spot to camp, get something to eat and rest up then."

  Even though they were all tired, everyone understood it was important to continue pushing on. It was one of those grin and bear it, fight through the exhaustion situations.

  ********

  Andrew led the group through the forest, it had been a slow one due to the rain, but they'd finally made it to the cabin. Crouching on the edge of the hill that led down to the cabin and just off the path they observed. From this vantage point they could see the cabin, and stay well hidden. It didn't appear anyone was there, no movement around the cabin, no smoke coming from the chimney, no light of any kind coming out the windows. Right now it looked like it had been deserted.

  "Andrew you sneak down there and see if you can get a look inside," Chris said in a low whispered voice as he pointed toward the cabin.

  The young boy looked at him with a look of horror on his face. He didn't want to do that, what if they were there? "Why me?"

  The look on Chris's face was enough to tell him it was in his best interest to shut up and do what he was told. Andrew began moving slowly through the forest so he would come out along the side of the cabin, not directly in the front.

  Chris, Clayton and Damien watched as the boy clumsily moved through the woods. How this kid had ever made it here before and not alerted the women to his presence was beyond them. They'd been watching for a few minutes when they saw him suddenly fall to the ground.

  "Holy Shit!" The boy screamed as he quickly popped back up. He was now looking down at his feet.

  If there had been anyone in the cabin they surely would have heard all the racket Andrew had made. All three men stood up, feeling confident the coast was clear.

  Clayton hollered down to the boy, "What is it you clumsy oaf?"

  The boy didn't say anything, he just continued to stand there staring down. The three men began moving down the hill toward him and soon saw what he was looking at.

  "That's Dave," Damien said as he pointed to the corpse at the boy's feet. "At least what's left of him."

  Chris bent down and looked at the body, Dave had been shot a couple of times. Half his face had been torn off by the bullet that had struck him in the head. Leaving a gaping hole filled with chunks of meat and fragmented bone. It was ghastly, even compared to some of the things he'd witnessed over the last few years.

  Standing back up Chris looked at the others. "Lets go check out the cabin, there ain't nothing we can do for him."

  The group moved towards the cabin, Clayton pointed out the fresh mound of dirt a short distance away as they approached the front door. "That looks like a grave, and it's fresh, probably just dug in the last couple of days"

  Chris looked to where Clayton was pointing. "Andrew dig that up, I wanna see who it is."

  The boy didn't say anything and moved towards the mound of dirt, grabbing a shovel that was leaning against a tree and began to dig.

  Chris opened the door to the cabin, the smell of food and burnt wood still lingered in the air. It hadn't been that long since someone had been here. Which meant whoever it was couldn't be far away.

  "Alright, look around and see if we can find anything that might indicate who these people are or where they might be going. Anything we can use, let's take it with us."

  The group of men spent the next half an hour searching the small cabin finding nothing of importance. As they were finishing up Clayton walked over to Chris and handed him a photo of a woman and young girl.

  “Think this may be the ones who were here?” Clayton asked.

  Chris looked at the picture, the woman was very pretty. The girl didn't look like she was even a teenager yet. “Good chance of it, we'll show it to Andrew and see if it's the women he saw here just to be sure.”

  Chris was about to walk out and show the picture to Andrew when the boy came into the cabin, his face pale white.

  "I found Ray, at least I think it's Ray." His voice trembled with the news he delivered.

  This wasn't good, something had obviously gone wrong here and Chris knew it. First Dave's body, now possibly Ray's corpse. Chris shook his head and followed Andrew outside, Damien and Clayton right behind him. They moved to the mound Andrew had uncovered and looked down upon the body. Chris immediately knew it was Ray. He'd known the man long enough that he could tell by the clothes and build. Even without being able to make out any facial features he was sure.

  "Yep, that’s Ray." Chris stood there looking down at the corpse. "Andrew cover him back up, and dig a grave for Dave as well."

  The boy went back to work while the three men went back inside the cabin, getting out of the rain. No one spoke for several minutes, looking out at the young man who was covering up what remained of their leader.

  "I don't know who these people are, but we can't let them get away with this. Ray was our leader, the one who kept us alive. Dave was our friend, and who knows what's happened to Kyle, Jimmy and Joe. I doubt it's good." Chris's voice was filled with anger.

  "We don't know where they are Chris, how are we gonna find ‘em?" Clayton said trying to be logical about the situation. The last thing he or the others wanted was to go off on some wild goose chase that might get more of them killed.

  "We've been all over these woods, we know there isn't many cabins out here. I'm surprised we hadn't come across this one before now. Where would you go if things got bad and you thought someone might be coming for ya?"

  Both Clayton and Damien shrugged their shoulders, unsure of where Chris was going with this.

  "You'd head back to the closest town or where you came from, at least that's the first thing I'd think to do."

  "The closest town's Greenstone. You think that's where they're headed?" Damien said as he sat down at the table.

  "I almost guarantee it's where they're headed. We all cut wood up here for years, you've gotta get out to the main logging road to even get out of here. So they'd have to go there first. I'd say they've got quite a jump on us though." Chris looked out the door and saw Andrew starting to dig the grave for Dave's body.

  "We've got vehicles back at camp. We can get back there tonight and head out first thing in the morning. If they're on foot we'll catch up to 'em or cut 'em off. Then they'll pay for doing this to our friends."

  Damien stood up and slammed his fist down on the table. "Payback."

  Clayton chimed in, "You're damn right."

  Chris walked to the door. "Let's get Dave buried and get back to camp, we've got some planning to do."

  Chapter 14

  They finally made it out to the road, the last couple of miles had seemed to take as long as the entire first part of the trip. The ground had been muddy and slippery, every branch they hit covered them with water and soaked them to the bone. At least they'd made it this far, and with a decent amount of daylight left. They decided to start heading down the road in hopes of coming across something they could use for shelter.

  They'd only gone about half a mile when they came across four vehicles partially blocking the road.

  Jacob held up his hand for the group to stop. "Joe, Jessica come here. Briella and Emily you stay where you are." Both Jessica and Joe came to his side. "Let's go check that out, doesn't look like anyone's still around."

  They approached the vehicles cautiously and could see they'd long since been abandoned. Upon first glance it looked like they were cleaned out of anything useful, but a more thorough check would need to be done to make sure. There was no point in not taking a few minutes to do that, you never knew what you might scrounge up. First glances weren't always the best indicator.

  "People must have had the same idea as us about coming up here to get away from the populated areas," Jessica said as she tried turning the key of one of the cars, getting no response at all.

  "Looks like it, where are the people though? If they got trapped out here in the winter they wouldn't have made it
far," Joe said as he looked through a small duffel bag he'd found on the floor of one of the cars. He zipped it up and took it over to Jessica. "Found something you ladies might be able to use.”

  Jessica took it and opened it up. Inside were a couple pairs of woman's pants and shirts, as well as other clothes. “Thanks."

  “No problem,” Joe said as he leaned against the car Jessica had been trying to start.

  Closing the bag up Jessica turned to Jacob. "What do you think we should do for now? We've got to find shelter, we could use these cars to sleep in and get out of the rain."

  Jacob pointed down the road a little further. "I think I might have found us our shelter."

  Both Joe and Jessica looked at what he was pointing at. It was a large enclosed trailer for a chip truck, the type with the hard rubber top on it.

  "That looks perfect, keep us mostly out of the rain and we can even have a fire if we can get one going," Joe said as the group walked back to Emily and Briella.

  "Agreed," Both Jessica and Jacob said in unison, which made everyone chuckle.

  "So what did you guys find?" Briella asked as they made it back to her and Emily.

  "Not much, the cars have been fairly well cleaned out, just a few odds and ends. Though Joe did find some clothes that might be useful for you, Jessica and Emily." Jacob pointed down the road. "See that trailer, we can use it for shelter tonight. It'll keep us out of the rain, we can have a fire for warmth and cooking. Plus it'll keep us off the ground. I have a feeling there might be some Returners around here. I don't want to be on the ground if there is."