Chapter 10
In about the pup’s third week, we saw where bonds were being made. Zipper and Kane wouldn’t leave each other’s sides, Biter went around with Lola, Aurora went around with different groups at different times, and Xena seemed to have pronounced herself ‘leader’.
It was only natural, then, that we took the pups on their first hunt soon, after some training. They all seemed to excel at this, biting, snapping, and leaping, all out of pure enjoyment and excitement. But, if they got bit, they soon wouldn’t be smiling, and neither would the adult dogs, so they needed some form of protection.
“Cloth?” Daniella offered.
“Nah, something stronger.” Courtney mused.
“Leather?” I suggested.
“Where would we get it?” Teegan asked.
“The next material shipment will be in next week.” A worker said. “I think there may be some leather on it, but not much. Leather supply is quite short at the moment.”
“Of course.” Courtney said, before turning to me. “Can you look out for it?”
“Sure.” My tone was quiet, as usual, as I was thinking about a design for a leather ‘Dog Coat’.
“Good.”
We then went back to our meal, while I drew out some plans and wrote out the measurements and materials we would need. Leather, tough leather, and some metal buckles, as well as strong rope.
There was another problem. The puppies were growing fast, so we would need to wait until they reached a steady weight, height and length. Sadly, that would be a long time, so I made the materials cheaper but the actual design stronger, as to use our resources better.
After all, there was a Zombie break in to the underground resource tunnels every once in a while, so some delays had to be made, but, overall, it was an ok system, with things mostly running smoothly.
We wanted to go on the move again, but we didn’t really trust the buildings much. Suddenly, I had an idea.
“Why don’t we sleep in the van?” I asked Courtney.
“Say what?” Teegan asked, from a little behind me.
“It makes sense.” Courtney said. “We have all the resources we need in the van, so we could, technically, live there permanently.”
“It would be a bit stuffy.” I admitted.
“That’s why I said technically. But, for now, it’s fine. Good thinking, Kate.”
We had to collect up all of our belongings, not wanting to leave anything behind, and piled them all into the van. We were starting to make it homey, with blankets and dog baskets in the back, not to mention benches and chairs, and also a personalised cab, with key rings dangling from the rear view mirror and curtains drooping over both of the side windows.
By this time, the leather coats for the dogs had been finished, and what a sight they were! The fine, if slightly battered, leather fit perfectly on their sleek bodies, and made for a comfy fit. It protected them well, if leaving their heads and tails slightly exposed, but not their legs, as there were leg coverings on it.
I even made my own chair, A.K.A lots of blankets and a cushion tied together with a belt, then put on the space in between the front two seats. I was honoured to control the Gear Stick, moving it when Courtney told me to, as she had held onto her promise to ‘teach’ me to drive, just in case.
The first decision? Where were we going to go? I mean, we were living in a moving vehicle, and the whole point of that was to move around.
First stop on the list? We... Uh... Didn’t have one. We just wanted to get on the road, to keep moving, with as much food as we could hold and a long time’s supply of clothes.
To be honest, I didn’t really like not having a plan. It made me feel a little insecure, like we wouldn’t know what to do when we were in danger. You see, I wasn’t like Courtney. I liked my guns, but wielding them wasn’t enough. I had to actually know what I was doing with them, and when, and how.
We got onto the Motorway, and on came the radio, with me soon tuning it to Survivor FM. Nigel Bell was on, with his usual light hearted banter, which cheered us all up considerably, making us sing along to any of the songs, and I even texted in, asking for a particular song I had heard on Youtube!
The lunch break came soon, what with Daniella being kind of separated from us, so we wanted to ‘keep in contact’, I suppose.
We watched, slightly amused, as the puppies, and their elders, took down a fully grown Zombie, but we were also ready to step in if things got a little too rough. Luckily, they didn’t, and we let the pups eat some of the meat, as it didn’t seem to harm them, but we could never be too sure.
After a quick lunch of sandwiches and fresh water, we were on the long, and lonely, road again, only Teegan and Daniella had swapped places. They were taking turns in the back, as it was a little bit noisy, and not that big, but, for then, it was home. And not a bad one, either.
Ashton was soon far behind us, and Manchester lay ahead. However, after our recent bad experiences with big cities, we had decided to stick to the outskirts, only raiding some shops for food, clothes, etc., and basically, on the whole, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
The dogs enjoyed running around a compact park, while me and Courtney sorted out our weapons and ammo, Daniella cleaned up the van and Teegan watched our four legged friends. We had quite a lot of ammo, but, with some boxes we found in the back, as well as some more ammo and SMGs (Amazing what you find when you look), we sorted it all out into separate compartments. Some for ammo, some for pistols, others for melee weapons, and still others for the larger guns, like rifles and my Sawn Off Shotguns.
We all piled into the van again, at around two O clock, and off we went, to... Well... Somewhere else, I suppose. Courtney wasn’t being specific, so I don’t think she really knew where we were going herself. Not on the motorway again, that was for sure, as we kept to the roads around the outskirts of Manchester.
Sometimes, memories floated to the surface of my mind. Of Hannah, how she had ran for her life on the day that we had met her, and died because of a simple bite, not even a strong one. Of Sophie, how she’d been so foolish, but how saddened we had been by her death. The empty bottles seemed to lurk in my mind, tempting me, but, fortunately, there was nothing in reality to lure me into that dark world.
And besides, I had my friends, I had the dogs, I had a new life, what more did I need? What more could I want? Well, for this to end, for this to have never even happened, for my family to be alive... Ok, let’s not go into that.
But hey, things were fine. The memories might have threatened to pull me under, but I always surfaced, always triumphed. It was almost like a game, where I would be the underdog, then succeed in whatever I was doing, no matter what, but it wasn’t. It was very real life, thank you very much, although we all wished it wasn’t.
We ended up in a car park for the night, the moon creeping up through the sky, and giving us just enough light to lock up the van, before we could rely on the various lamps inside the back (No ceiling lights, it was not a house). Everyone was in bed, the dogs in their various baskets, and all on full stomachs, thanks to Courtney’s cooking.
Early the next morning, we were all awake at the sound of gunshots. Gunshots. We were the only noise makers around here, as far as we knew, so what on earth were some Zombies doing shooting? Unless... Unless... They weren’t Zombies. We weren’t alone. We never were, and never would be. There were other survivors out there. But to reveal ourselves or not, that was the real question.
Z-Day Series: Book 1 First Burnz Page 13