The Returners

  "Why don't we just stay in the cars?" Emily asked as she looked to where Jacob was pointing.

  Joe answered her question. "Well they can get through glass and we'd be in a lot of trouble if a horde of them came by. I wouldn't want to be trapped inside a car in that situation. I've actually seen it happen before and it didn't end well."

  "That makes sense," Emily said, satisfied with Joe's answer to her question.

  "So if everyone understands the plan for tonight lets get going," Jacob said.

  The group headed towards the trailer. About half way there they saw two shambling figures moving out from the tree line. Both looked like they'd been turned for awhile, their flesh was starting to turn a sickly gray color and pieces of skin had begun to rot off. It was a vile site to witness, making you feel an odd combination of repulsion and sorrow.

  Jessica raised her gun and was about to shoot when Joe spoke, "Don't shoot. We don't want to alert these things we're in the area. There's only two of them, Jacob and I can take 'em out."

  Jessica lowered her gun, these were the first Returners they'd seen since running into the one when leaving the cabin. Instincts had taken over, and the fact they had talked about not shooting unless necessary had slipped her mind.

  "You take the one on the left, I'll take the one on the right," Jacob said to Joe.

  “Got it, just be careful and lets do this quick,” Joe said, getting his ax ready.

  Both men moved swiftly but cautiously towards the two Returners, making sure they didn't do something stupid like trip. The Returners made low grunting noises, seemingly getting excited by the two men moving towards them. Knowing prey was close by both Returners stumbled forward with as much fervor as a corpse could muster.

  As Joe approached he swung his ax doing his best to split the Returner's skull. His aim was off slightly and he missed, burying the blade into the creatures shoulder. The Returner seemed unfazed by the blow, one that would have dropped a normal man and kept moving towards him. Joe kicked, putting his boot into the creatures mid section and pulling on the handle of the ax at the same time. Hoping the force would loosen the blade. Instead his action rendered him off balance and he fell over, losing his grip on the ax which was still lodged in the Returner's shoulder. The Returner dropped on top of him, its gnashing teeth only inches from his face. A putrid smell emanated from it's open mouth. The foul odor causing him too gag. Reaching for his hunting knife he clamored to wrap his fingers around the hilt.

  The Returner was single minded and unrelenting in it's pursuit as it continued to try and sink it's teeth into his flesh. Finally he managed to grab the knifes handle and pull it from its sheath. Using all his weight he pushed the Returner back enough to free his arm, and in one swift motion drove the knife into the creatures skull. He pushed the corpse off of him and looked to see how Jacob was faring.

  Jacob apparently had an easier time and was walking towards him with his hand outstretched to help him up.

  "You alright man?" Jacob asked as he grabbed Joe's hand and pulled him to his feet.

  "Yeah I'm fine, kinda underestimated my task I guess. Good reminder too not be so cocky about it."

  "It's easy to forget sometimes," Jacob said as he and Joe walked back to the girls.

  Briella hugged Joe. "Glad your alright, promise me you won’t do that again?"

  "I Promise, It was just stupidity on my part."

  Everyone kept a sharp eye out for more Returners as they continued towards the trailer, making it without any further incidents. Four large safety bolts held the gate to the trailer in place. The gate didn't completely cover the back end, only going about half way up. This worked out great because it would allow them to use it as a ramp once it was dropped down.

  The group decided it was better to leave it down in-case they needed to make a quick exit. It would be difficult to latch from the inside anyway. The only downfall to doing it that way was someone would have to stay on guard at all times. The inside was musty smelling and still partially full of old wood chips, surprisingly most of them were dry.

  "This should work well, but we've got to be careful. We know there's a good chance of more Returners around here," Joe said, trying to figure out how they could have a fire in here without setting the whole thing ablaze. "Anyone got any ideas how we might be able to have a fire without burning the trailer down?" Everyone shrugged. "I’m going to go search around, see if I can find something. Briella you wanna come with me?"

  "Sure," Briella said as she set her things down.

  The two of them went down the ramp while Emily, Jacob and Jessica stayed behind.

  "If you ladies want to change into dry clothes I'll keep an eye out for Returners."

  "That would be amazing, I'm soaked." Jessica said as she unzipped the duffel bag and took out the clothes. They looked kind of small for her, and way too big for Emily, but it was better than nothing. She handed Emily a pair of pants and a shirt before taking out a pair for herself. Jacob walked down the ramp so the girls could have some privacy.

  Joe and Briella walked back up the road to where the cars were. They were cautious, their ears and eyes open for any suspicious sounds or movements that might indicate a Returner was near. The forest was quiet and nothing happened to cause alarm. This was the first time they'd really had any alone time together since Joe had gotten her from the camp.

  Briella slipped her hand into his as they walked. This caught him off guard and he stopped, turning toward her with a surprised look on his face. She leaned forward and kissed him, not thinking about what she was doing. Joe smiled, his face turning red as he stood there with a dumbfounded grin, unable to find words to respond.

  "Better keep looking, it's going to be dark soon," Briella said, trying to bring Joe out his stupor even though she thought it was cute.

  They were both smiling as they continued searching. Their hands still clasped together.

  "Jacob, we're all changed, you can come back up now," Jessica said as she walked to the edge of the trailer.

  He turned and looked back up at her from the bottom of the ramp. The clothes were slightly small on her, but she looked good in them. "You look great."

  "Thank you." Jessica blushed at the comment.

  Emily appeared next to her mother. The clothes obviously way too big, making her look awkward and gangly in them. "I look like an idiot in these, but I'm dry. Beggars can't be choosers."

  For some reason that comment made both Jessica and Jacob break out in laughter. Emily just looked at them with a weird look on her face, she didn't understand adults sometimes. Sitting down on the floor of the trailer she tired to adjust her pant legs. Jacob walked up the ramp and stood by Jessica while the three of them waited for Joe and Briella to come back.

  It was getting dark, and it wasn't safe to be wandering around in an unfamiliar area. That worried Jacob, he didn't like them being out there by themselves, but he supposed they could take care of each other, at least he hoped so. He could tell by the expression on Jessica's face she was worried as well. The rain had almost let up completely and the forest now had that weirdly familiar comforting smell to it. One that gave you the sense life was renewing, that the circle of life was moving forward. Everything blending together, the trees that were budding and even the smell of the rotting leaves from the fall. It was strange to think smells of death and life mixing together could create such a peaceful feeling.

  "Think maybe you should go look for them," Jessica said.

  Jacob shook his head. "Not yet, they'll be back in a few minutes. If they aren't I'll go look for them."

  Another five minutes passed and there was still no sign, Jacob looked at Jessica who looked increasingly concerned.

  "I'll go, watch the back of the trailer," Jacob said.

  Jessica nodded her head and watched him head off. He hadn't gone more than ten yards when Joe and Briella came into sight. Joe was carrying an old tire rim and Briella had a large flat piece of metal in her hand.

  "W
e found these, should be able to place the metal on top of the rim and use it for the fire. It'll mostly keep the heat off the floor, won’t be able to make it very big, but at least it'll give us some heat and something to cook on." He sat the rim down and Briella put the piece of metal on top of it to show them what Joe was talking about.

  "That's awesome, good job. We can probably use those wood chips for the fire. They seem dry enough, but you and I should see if we can get some birch bark and any dry wood we can muster up as well. We've only got twenty minutes if we're lucky before it's going to be too dark to do that."

  "Good idea, let’s do that right now then," Joe said.

  Jacob turned to the girls. "We'll be back soon, see if you can get some of those wood chips burning."

  He and Joe stepped off the road and into the woods to see what they could find. Emily and Jessica came down the ramp to help Briella with the rim and sheet of metal. It wasn't long before they had it set up and began their attempt to get a fire going. The light was now fading fast as darkness quickly approached.

  Chapter 15

  After a short hike Chris Dodge and his group arrived at their vehicles. With him the other three men who had gone to the cabin, as well as two more from the camps. Chris had picked the two new men for their particular skill-sets. He felt they would both come in handy if things got out of hand.

  The first man, Bryce McIntire was a stocky man in his late thirties with short black hair. Bryce had been a sniper in the Marines for eight years and had done two tours of duty in Iraq. The other man, Mike Blackman was a big guy who stood over six feet tall and had worked in the woods all his life. A gentle giant his friends always called him. Not the best person to have in a fight, but capable of taking care of himself when need be.

  The main reason Chris had brought Mike along was his ability to track. He could pick up on small things most other people would miss. It was an ability Chris figured might come in handy if they were going to find these people.

  The vehicles had been left a few miles from the camps because the road had washed out and they could no longer drive in. There were four vehicles total, an old rust colored SUV, a small green pickup truck, a red van and a larger black full size truck. The SUV and small truck were the two primary vehicles they used for runs and gathering supplies. They mainly used the SUV to transport people during the runs, and it had some storage capacity in the back. The small pickup was good on gas and had an open back end to put large amount of supplies in.

  Most of their gear was packed in the SUV, only keeping a few items on them like weapons. They had brought a small supply of food and emergency gear in-case they had to be gone for multiple days. Chris, Clayton, Mike and Bryce piled into the SUV, while Damien and Andrew took the truck. Within minutes of arriving both vehicles were moving towards the main road. There they hoped to catch up to Ray's and the others killers.

  ********

  The air was dry and crisp this morning despite the previous nights rain. Emily sat with Briella by the fire as the rest of the group slept. Joe and Briella's idea for the fire had worked great and the trailer had remained comfortable throughout the night. The wood chips burned well and provided enough heat to keep the chill off, but you had to pay attention to it and keep it well stocked or it would quickly go out.

  The two girls chatted about random things to help pass the time and were enjoying each others company. Emily was especially enjoying it, it had been a long time since she'd been able to chat with another woman other than her mother. She missed being able to talk about girl stuff with her friends and missed them dearly.

  "So is Joe your boyfriend?" Emily asked Briella, giggling when she asked the question.

  "I'm not sure," Briella said. She was caught off guard by the question, it wasn't something she'd expected to be asked.

  "Do you like him?"

  "I do, he's a really nice guy and he's always been kind to me. Plus I think he's wicked cute," Briella said. Giving Emily a wink and smile too emphasize her point.

  Emily began to giggle and Briella couldn't help but start as well.

  "He sure is, I think he's handsome," Emily said as she put a handful of wood chips on the fire.

  "Me too Emily, me too."

  They both continued to giggle, but Emily stopped, her demeanor changing. Briella could tell something was bothering her. "Is something wrong Emily?"

  "I'm kinda scared to go back to town," Emily's voice became rattled as she spoke.

  "It's okay to be scared. We have each other and that makes me feel less scared." Briella understood where the girl was coming from. The things they might face when they arrived in Greenstone made her nervous as well.

  Emily didn't say anything for a second, and then started to speak again. Briella's words seemingly having a positive effect of not making her worry so much.

  "I guess you're right, we shouldn't....." Emily stopped in mid sentence and stood up as movement caught her eye near the back of the trailer.

  Briella noticed it as well and stood up with her as a decaying hand reached around the edge of the trailer. Both girls backed up a few steps, there was now a head poking around the corner, it's eyes blotched white and skin a sickly yellow color. The Returner saw the girls and began to move to the back of the ramp. It's movements slow and uncoordinated.

  Emily pulled her single shot shotgun up and Before Briella could tell her not to shoot she pulled the trigger. The Returner’s head exploded as the buckshot from the gun slammed into it. Blood sprayed on the back walls of the trailer as it fell backward. It crashed to the ground and rolled into the ditch beside the ramp.

  Jacob and the others woke to the blast of the shotgun, the metal walls magnifying the sound ten fold. Each of them were brought to their feet in an instant. The blast causing instantaneous confusion and disorientation, making them pause to get their bearings.

  "What the hell?" Joe screamed out, unaware of why the shot was fired. He held the ax in his hand ready to use it if needed. He had given the 30-30 to Briella and could see she had it in her hands, but not aiming it at anything.

  Briella hollered out to them, "It's alright, Emily got it."

  Her voice seemed muffled as everyone's ears were still trying to adjust from the gun blast.

  "You okay Emily?" Jacob could see she still had the gun to her shoulder.

  "Sorry, I shouldn't have shot." Emily lowered the gun and turned to look back at the others. "I'm so sorry." Tears began to fill her eyes. She knew she'd made a mistake by firing the gun. Wiping them away she apologized again. “Sorry everyone.”

  Jacob walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "It's fine Em, no one's mad. Just kinda jumped us waking up like that," Jacob said before looking back at Jessica and Joe who were still trying to get their bearings. "Well I guess now that we're all up we should get going. I don't feel safe sitting here, especially with the gunshot echoing through the woods. Bound to draw the attention of any Returners in the area."

  Everyone quickly gathered their things and they were soon headed down the road. A sense of urgency in their step.

  ********

  The vehicles continued to chug along towards their destination, they had been riding for just under an hour. It was light enough that headlights were no longer required. So far the traveling had been smooth, no obstacles to delay their progress making it to the main road. The SUV was in the front with the pickup following closely behind it.

  What happened next happened in a blur. The brakes of the SUV slammed on and it came to an abrupt halt. Glass, debris and blood went flying everywhere, covering the window of the pickup. Damien who was driving the pickup truck had only moments to react and swerved to avoid hitting the suddenly stopped SUV. The front drivers side wheel of the pickup truck caught the edge of the narrow road and flipped end over end twice. Damien threw his arms up and felt his body fly forward through the windshield. The last thing he saw as he hit the ground was the truck coming down on top of his legs. His world went black as extr
eme amounts of pain ripped through his body.

  "What the fuck?" Damien muttered as he began to regain consciousness.

  His ears were buzzing with static noise from the crash, his world spinning black. What the hell had just happened? When he was finally able to open his eyes and focus all he could see was the early morning sky above him. He could hear one of the other men in the group screaming behind him, but couldn't tell who it was. They sounded like they needed help. He needed to get to his feet before he could do that. It was then he realized something was wrong, when he tried to move his legs they wouldn't cooperate. Pushing himself into a sitting position he looked down and froze. The reason his legs wouldn't move was they had been crushed and mangled. He then remembered the truck coming down on top of them.

  “Fuck me!”

  This wasn't a good situation to be in with no medical care available. Pain began to coarse through his body as his adrenalin began to wear off. Looking down at his legs and the large pool of blood he lay in, it wouldn't be long before he died of blood loss. The last thing he wanted was to become one of those monsters. Reaching down to the holster at his side he felt the grip of his 9mm pistol.

  Looking to the sky he mouthed the words, “I'm sorry.” Unclasped and removed the gun from its holster, clicked the safety off and put the gun in his mouth.

  A gunshot brought Chris Dodge back from darkness. The last thing he remembered was a large black figure running out in front of them. They hadn't had time to react as the vehicle and the moose collided. Blood ran down the side of his head, its sticky warmness caressing his skin. Looking to his left he could see Clayton who'd been driving hanging half way out the front window. He lay motionless, and made no noise to indicate if he was still alive or not.