“No, I just figured you got off watching Full Metal Jacket with R.Lee Emery.”
Alden smirked then broke the silence, “That is an awesome movie and I bet that if you all look careful enough, Larry probably has a copy of that somewhere in that drawers over there because he loved that movie too.”
Colt stretched out on the bed and as he did he made groaning noises that made it evident that he was sore and very stiff. Beth went over to the set of Chester Drawers and retrieved a bottle of lotion that she had and then went over to where Colt was.
Placing a small amount in her hand she rubbed them together then began at the top of his shoulders. His muscles were extremely tight and as she continued he made more painful sounds.
“So how long has it been since you had a back rub?” asked Beth and before she realized what she had asked. She wished she could take it back.
Colt’s muscles tightened as he turned his head on the pillow, “Let’s see, Jessica got bit on February twenty third, she was sick for a day then she turned, you know the rest of that but nine days before that on Valentine’s day I came home to a candlelit dinner.” As if lost in memories he just kept talking as Beth began rubbing his back.
“She was a great cook, she had made my favorite food…. Spaghetti with rolled steak and garlic bread.”
Beth stopped a minute, “What is rolled steak?”
Colt smiled, “My mother taught it to her, its tenderized round steak stuffed with breading. Anyway, we ate and then she led me to the bedroom and gave me a shower. After that was the best massage I have ever had.”
Colt glanced to Beth, “Course this one is amazing too!”
Beth smiled and continued on with the massage. When she got down towards his side he made a jerking motion as though she had hit a tender spot. “It’s funny you know…”
Colt turned his head to the side so he could see her a little, “What?”
Beth continued rubbing, “You mentioned the word ‘bit’ and I for a moment had forgotten just what the world is like now.”
Colt put his hands underneath his forehead so he could let Beth have better access to his sides, “Yes Beth, it’s kind of nice for you to have forgotten about it. There have been moments that I have forgotten too.”
Beth stopped and inquired, “Like when?”
Colt chuckled, “One time the other day, when I walked in here. Just how you have made the room, our room, well it was kind of like how Jessica would’ve done. Men don’t have the flare for that kind of thing. I mean the romantic stuff that I did for Jess was ok, but when it came to making our house a home…. Well that was always her thing. Beth we hardly have anything and you have made this room a pretty nice room.”
Beth smiled and continued back with her massage and worked her way back up to his shoulders then started rubbing his arms one at a time. She smiled to herself, happy that he had noticed she had put effort into make the room theirs.
Ceara curled into Charlie’s side and laid her head on his shoulder, “This movie is so cute, and if I remember right it’s about two hours long so does that mean our watch will be over.” She grinned up at him as he looked down at her.
“No, I just think it means our watch starts two hours later, and don’t forget, we don’t do shifts anymore. Now hush, I haven’t seen this movie.”
Ceara scrunched up her face but stayed quiet and turned back to the movie.
Alden lifted the foot rest of the recliner and folded his hands behind his head, “The penguins are my favorites.” Everyone relaxed watching movie just like it was a normal Friday night.
After the movie, Charlie got up and turned off the TV then headed out to the shed to shut down the generator. As he made his way back to the house he stopped on the porch steps and looked out into the darkness. There was no moon so the stars were shining brilliantly. Ceara walked out and joined him.
“Everything okay?” She asked as she too peered off into the blackness of night.
“Yeah, yeah I think so. It’s just…. Well I hate nights like these. You can hardly see your hand in front of your face. Those damn Wanderers could be out there only a few hundred yards and we’d never even know it.”
Ceara took his hand and smiled at him, “Oh yes we would.” She turned and pointed to the two dogs lying at the bottom of the steps. “Those two would smell them a mile away and would give us more than enough warning.”
Charlie looked down as Tonto raised his head and looked at him, “Yeah I guess you’re right.”
Charlie held the screen door as Ceara went in. All of the rest had retired for the night. Charlie lit on old oil lamp and placed it on the table. Ceara returned from the kitchen with two cups of coffee and some Twinkies she had found in a cupboard.
“You think these are any good?” She asked as she sat down at the table and picked up a deck of cards.
Charlie opened a package, “Hell yeah! Twinkies have an expiration date of like forever.” Taking a bite he smiled big. “I haven’t had one of these in a long time. I forgot how nasty they were.” He choked down the bite and finished it off.
Ceara looked at him, “The why in the hell would you eat it?”
“Waste not want not, sweetie. If Alden found out I wasted a morsel of food, he tan my hide,” Charlie said with a chuckle. Ceara was shuffling the cards as Charlie picked up a small wooden board with peg holes.
Looking at her he smiled, “Have you ever played cribbage?” Charlie placed the wooden board on the tabled and opened the back. He took out four pegs two blue two red and placed them on the table.
Ceara looked at him, “Yes as a matter of fact my Uncle taught me years ago. We can play that after we get tired of cards.” She quickly dealt out six cards and soon the two were quietly laughing, playing cards by candlelight as if the whole world was normal once again.
The hours had seemed to fly by and soon the sun began to peek over the horizon. Charlie had gotten up to make another pot of coffee, when he suddenly heard Tonto outside growling lowly. Grabbing his rifle he stepped out on the porch and saw both Tonto and Maximus standing a few yards out in front of the porch. Both of them were baring their teeth growling as they stared off across the desert.
Ceara joined him, “What is it honey? What’s up?”
Charlie shook his head, “I don’t know I can’t see anything but those two sure see something.”
A few minutes passed as they both stood trying to see what had the dogs’ attention. Ceara suddenly gasped and pointed. Charlie turned and looked then pulled the binoculars up from his neck. “Holy shit….. errrr Ceara you best wake Alden and the others. We got company and lots of it.”
Ceara gazed out across the desert. She saw a small group of rabbits take off. Behind them came the Wanderers. As the sun slowly rose, she began to see the full scope. It was hundreds. Ceara turned and ran quickly into the house. Going into Alden’s room his eyes opened as soon as the door did. “Alden.. there’s… there’s lots.”
Alden jumped up totally naked, “Lots? How many is lots?”
Ceara turned and blushed, “LOTS.” She began to open Beth and Colt’s door then stopped remembering what she just saw in Alden’s room. Knocking on the wall she called out, “GUYS, GUYS YOU ALL GOT TO GET UP, WE GOT COMPANY!!”
Chapter 23 –Not Alone
Alden reached the porch, still pulling on one of his boots. Charlie was frozen just looking through the binoculars. Alden put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder, “Let me take a look see.” Charlie handed the binoculars to Alden. He scanned the horizon. There in front of him was a wall of Wanderers, but they weren’t headed toward the house, they seemed to be following something else. Alden began searching out in front of them and found what was holding the Wanderers interest.
“Charlie, look at that.” He handed the binoculars back and Charlie looked to where Alden had pointed. Charlie gasped just as the others joined them on the porch. “Damn Alden, are those buffalo?” The group turned trying to see what Charlie was seeing. “Yes Charlie they
are.”
Charlie looked at Alden, “So do we let them pass or what. I mean will they keep following all the buffalo or will they turn toward us?
Alden looked at the scene and smiled. “Anyone ever been duck hunting?” They all looked at him. Alden smiled, “When shooting ducks in the air you always shoot the last one in the Vee. That way the others don’t know what’s happening.”
Ceara latched hold of Charlie’s arm, talking in almost a whisper, “We have never had to deal with this many. Can’t we just let them go? I don’t like our odds…”
Alden looked over to her, “We could, but what’s to say they won’t turn this way in five minutes, an hour, or even tomorrow?”
Ceara didn’t even look at Alden nor acknowledge that he spoke, other than to go back in the house and start checking and loading the weapons. As everyone walked back in, Ceara would hand them their own weapons. Alden walked back in and just looked at her and shook his head.
“I taught you better than this… Everyone put those up, this is a silent attack, hence them not knowing what is going on behind them. We use knives, arrows or anything else that will allow stealth.”
Colt laid his gun down but didn’t let it go, “I am kind of agreeing with Ceara now, if we have to go up and join them to take them out; then I say let them just pass.”
Alden looked around the room, “Who else wants to just let them go by?”
The room was silent, but all eyes were going to each other. Heath stepped up setting his gun on the table then pulled out his bowie knife, “We take them while we have the upper hand, I would rather have that then to have them attack when we aren’t expecting it or while we are separated.”
Beth looked over at Colt who was still holding onto his gun. She knew where her Beretta was and she was not about ready to go get it. “Alden’s right.” Almost everyone looked at her with surprise except for Heath.
“Look, I get what Ceara and Colt are saying…. But the point is that if we all stand by and look the other way hoping for the best, these ‘things’ could come back when we are sleeping and they happen to take out Tonto and Max then get up to our door, well, then we are pretty well….” Tabitha interrupted, “Fucked!”
Beth smiled then continued, “I wouldn’t have put it that way but yes, by some chance if we let down our guard they may or may not come back. Do we really want to take that chance? We got to fight to survive, we MUST take them out, and if we do what Alden suggested then I say we got the upper hand. Moving in a silent, stealth way we come up behind them and one by one we take them out.”
Beth walked back into her and Colt’s bedroom and grabbed a machete that she had found somewhere along the way. Returning back to the kitchen she continued, “One fell swoop and this thing can take their head clean off.”
Tabitha looked over to Beth, “My crossbow! I can venture off somewhere close but out of sight as you guys start picking them off. I can take out any that turn around; just in case they catch on to what is taking place, I can pick them off.”
Ceara gave a heavy sigh, and looked at Charlie, “I guess no matter how you feel, we will be out voted.”
Alden looked at Tabitha, “I was counting on you and that crossbow.” He walked into the master bedroom and opened the closet, pulling some boxes out he uncovered a small cover that lifted up. Alden reached down and began to pull canvas bags out. He had several lying on the floor when Tabitha and Ceara walked in.
“What are those Alden?” Ceara said as she lifted one of the bags. Alden sat on the bag and opened the bag. Shaking his head he reached in and pulled out a handful of bamboo sticks. “These are arrows for a Montagnard crossbow.”
Tabitha picked one up, “A monty what crossbow?”
Alden chuckled sadly “We all thought Larry was foolish for sending these things back home. Montagnards were a mountain people in Vietnam that were treated very poorly. Both the north and the south, but they were some fighting little bastards. Larry thought the arrows and the crossbow, which was their primary weapon for hunting, were really cool. So he sent one home, then every chance he got, he’d send arrows back.”
Alden handed the bags to Tabitha, “Here ya go kid, these should work in your bow and there’s probably a couple of hundred between all them bags.”
Alden turned and headed outside looking towards Larry’s grave Colt heard him mumble, “Crazy son of a bitch.”
Heath had watched from the doorway as Alden had told Tabitha and Ceara the story. Walking in he picked up the canvas bags by a side handle. Carrying them outside to the porch he laid them down and opened them up. Inside one was a woven grass basket that would hold the arrows. It had an old army sling attached to it. Heath began taking some of the arrows and placing them in the handmade quiver. “You know Tabitha, I never realized how far ahead of us those people I used to laugh at in the National Geographic magazines were. I mean seriously, these things are awesome and how long would we take to figure this shit out?”
Tabitha grabbed the bag out of Heath’s hands, “Not sure who this ‘we’ is but I knew a long time ago I wanted a crossbow, just took me some time to lay my hands on one.”
Everyone gathered around Alden waiting for instructions. The Wanderers were heading west and Alden waved the group together putting the morning sun to their backs. Ceara glanced to Beth and she just shrugged. Alden motioned for them all to get low, “We are going at this to where even if they turn they won’t see us, the sun is rising, that will blind them and allow us to blend into the desert floor, so just keep low.”
Maximus and Tonto moved to the front, Max still hadn’t learned to stay completely quiet and was giving off a low growl. Alden snapped his fingers and Maximus fell silent. Alden snapped again and both dogs turned to look at him, he motioned down and Tonto immediately began a form of a low crawl.
Alden looked back to Ceara, “Shit, I haven’t taught Max that yet, keep him with you and keep him low.”
“Maximus come here boy.” Her call was very quiet but Maximus was right there, “Good boy, you stay with me ok?” He gave a whine, looking toward Tonto and then the Wanderers but stayed by Ceara.
Within fifteen minutes they were in position, the numbers weren’t as bad as Charlie thought at first but there were still at least fifty to seventy five, with every step they seemed to break more apart. The biggest group was the one Alden pointed too, “Colt you and Charlie come at them from the south, Heath you and Tabitha go north, I will take Ceara and the dogs up the middle.”
Beth spoke up, “and me?”
Alden turned to her, “You are staying back, since we have to do the hands on approach, I want you watching our backs, if you see anyone in trouble get to them.” She didn’t seem happy with that but didn’t argue.
Alden searched their faces, “We aren’t trying to take them all out, just thin the herd, so to speak.” Once that is done we can come back on horses and finish off the rest. I’ll be happy if we just take out about half on this go around.”
Colt was listening but he was watching too, the group of Wanderers seemed to be a little of everything, male, female, old and young. His heart was in his throat when he saw two small girls that could have been twins. It was funny but they were holding hands, as if they still knew they belonged together, he didn’t know if he could kill kids. His eyes kept moving over the group, one man wore the tattered remains of a three piece suit and beside him was what looked like a man in a mechanics uniform. It seemed funny that it took the epidemic to make all men equal… dead, but equal.
Heath and Tabitha had worked their way to the north and even had gotten a little ahead of the main body. Laying low behind some rocks Heath pulled bunches of tumbleweeds up around them to hide their position. He looked at Tabitha, “Wait till most of them get by then try and pick off the last four or five with that thing.”
He laid out the arrows so he could hand them to her quickly.
Tabitha looked at Heath, “I got this, I got this.” She reached down and began to crank the
string back on the bow and nocked an arrow. Taking careful aim she let loose the first arrow. It flew straight but hit the businessman in the shoulder. “FUCK SHIT!”
Heath handed her another arrow, “Take your time, Tab you can do this.”
Tabitha took a deep breath let it out and fired. The second arrow hit the businessman right in the temple. He fell to his left and into the mechanic. “GOT HIM!”
Heath reached over and put his hand over her mouth, “Shhh this is supposed to be a silent operation.”
Tabitha glared at him at first, and then realized he was right, “sorry,” she said in a meek voice. Tabitha took aim once more and let another arrow go. It sailed through the crowd and hit one of the Wanderers on the other side. It collapsed to the ground then started to crawl to follow the herd and quickly was falling behind.
Heath looked at Tabitha, “Let it go,” He pointed to where Alden was, “he’ll take care of that one. Try it again.”
Charlie and Colt headed south, Colt glanced over to Charlie whispering, “Damn, I wish the sun was going down, not coming up.”
Charlie nodded in agreement and then smiled, “But think how pissed Alden is without his first cup of coffee.”
They made their way to the horde and watched two or three drop, then Alden and Ceara were silently taking their share out. Charlie waved to Colt as if to say come on. Colt moved his knife to his left hand and dried his palm on his dirty jeans. He gripped the knife in his right hand again as he started moving with Charlie.
The seemed too strange, but everything Alden said was true, not one wanderer turned around. They just kept moving even as their numbers dropped. What seemed funny was the look that each wanderer had, some had so much decay that Colt couldn’t figure how they were even still walking. Others had apparently lost legs and were crawling, they had a harder time with the horde; they were being stepped on almost constantly. Charlie seemed to be going for those, Colt figured he wanted to put them out of their misery.
Surviving Day By Day (Book 2): Fears, Flames, and Future Page 45