“Who are you talking too?” Swan’s voice drifted back to them from the shoe section.
The boy’s eyes got big when he realized there were more of them and at least one was a girl. He looked quickly around the room, at the open toilet, the squalor and his filthy clothes. He’d even pissed his pants. He looked like a cornered animal, not grateful somebody had freed him but mortally embarrassed that they were going to see how he’d been living.
Cody hesitated before he answered. Would he want to be found like this? No, he guessed not. Who knew what the kid had been through? He wouldn’t humiliate him any further.
“Myself!” he yelled back. “Did you find a jacket for Vanessa?”
“Working on it.” Came the reply, far away and echoed.
“Look, we have a pretty good place if you want to join us.” Cody told the boy.
“You guys have food? Is it safe?” he asked
“Yeah, completely fenced in and we have food now, we just raided the store. Besides, we could always use more help.”
“I’m not going to be your slave.” the boy said, getting some of his bravado back.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Cody replied, a little exasperated. “I mean, it’s a big place, we all have work to do and somebody else helping out would make things easier for everyone. You don’t have to, you can stay here. I don’t care.”
“No, it sounds good. I’ll come.” he said, afraid the boy with the panther would change his mind.
“Okay. Cool.” Cody said. “Um, if you want, go ahead and get cleaned up. I’ll wait for you outside.”
The boy eyed him coldly as he backed out of the room, shut the door and took a deep breath of the fresh air. How could anybody live like that? Why hadn’t he just killed the zombie and been done with it, there was only one. Why hadn’t he at least used a plastic bag for a toilet and tossed it out the window? Cody went over to the military boots section and started prowling around, looking for his size.
The kid took his time getting cleaned up. Cody had given up waiting around the back of the store for him, had loaded his boots and coats into the cart and was helping Murray back to it. He told them about the boy he’d found, glossing over the grossness of it, and finally finished by saying he wasn’t sure if he would be coming with them or not.
“If he doesn’t show up in the next few minutes, let’s go.” Cody said as he laced up his new boots.
“I want to get back before dark and he may have changed his mind. I think the animals scare him.”
Swan snorted. “He won’t be much good at the Park then. Let’s go.”
“Give him a chance.” Harper said. “He’s been trapped for weeks. Poor guy.”
Donny signaled you want me to start? Indicating him and Yewan would lead the way.
Cody shook his head. “Let’s all stick together. Those things could be anywhere, more may have wandered in while we were here and be on the road.”
Donny nodded and waited, one hand gripping his spear, the other scratching the panther behind an ear. The twins spotted a tattoo parlor and slipped over to peek inside.
“We’ll be back in a sec.” Tobias said and they were gone before Cody could say anything.
The door finally opened and the kid stepped outside on the sidewalk. He stared at them, at their animals, at the cart and trailer loaded up with supplies and announced “I’m ready.”
He was wearing all new military gear that didn’t quite fit. The pants legs and sleeves were too long. He had on brand new shiny black boots, not the dull brown ones or hiking boots everyone else had chosen. He had a machete on both hips tucked into a belt and a big oversized pack stuffed full of things on his back. Even though the uniform was too big, his belly still hung over the belt. The baby fat, as his mother called it, on his cheeks reddened as they stared at him and didn’t say anything.
“This will need to go in the cart somewhere.” he said as he came over to them. “I guess we have to walk? How far is it?”
Cody hid his annoyance and signaled Donny to get him started on a slow jog back, running point and looking for danger. The big cat loped along beside him.
The twins came back out of the tattoo shop and sprang to their mounts. They had grins on their faces and a bulging satchel.
Harper introduced herself and stuck out her hand from the driver’s seat.
“Gordon Lowery.” he said and handed his pack to Cody to put on top of the stuff in the already overloaded cargo area.
“Gordon Lowery, the guy that owns half of the county?” Murray asked
“That would technically be my father but since he hasn’t been heard from in a few months, yes, I suppose it would be mine now.” Gordon replied.
Cody caught his time reference again. It had only been a few weeks, not months, since the outbreak. Maybe being trapped in the store room messed with his head.
Swan rolled her eyes and led her wolves to the rear. She didn’t bother to introduce herself and was already wishing Cody hadn’t invited him to join them.
18
Tribe
The flames licked at the night sky as the bonfire burned brightly. Smoke drifted lazily on the breeze. Everyone was boisterous and cheerful, happy they had something new and different to eat. They sat around the fire roasting Vienna sausages or marshmallows on sticks celebrating the success of their first raid and their new member. Otis smacked his lips in anticipation of the tasty treats Cody shared with him.
Gordon tried to be pleasant with the group but was in a foul mood. He looked on in disgust as Cody and Otis shared the tiny sausages. The bear was obviously a danger to everyone, it was running around without a chain or muzzle or anything. His feet hurt, he had blisters. Nobody told him he’d have to walk miles and miles. They should have let him ride, he could have drove or the cripple in the wheelchair could have rolled along, he didn’t have to worry about getting blisters. Nobody had really spoken with him, they stayed separate on the endless trudge back to the Park. The animals didn’t like him much, either. That was okay. He didn’t like them. Cody had promised him food and warmth. This wasn’t food, not like he was accustomed to before the world collapsed. Junk food and canned meats. Potato chips, snack cakes, and stale crackers. Cody had made it sound like they had a good setup, that it was nice and almost normal like it was before. It wasn’t much better than where he had been staying. The only good thing he’d seen so far was there wasn’t an undead thing constantly scratching at the door. He was already thinking he should have stayed in town. If he’d have known all the zombies were gone, he probably would have. There had to be better places than this crappy zoo left in the world. There wasn’t any electricity or hot water. There weren’t any steaks or ice cream and that creepy quiet kid actually ate cat food. He wrinkled his nose as he watched the mute boy spooning some out of a can and smearing it on crackers, eating one and giving the other to the huge black panther that never left his side.
The house was old and drafty. The rooms dusty and the floors creaked with every step. They seemed content, but the whole situation felt beneath him. They all slept in the same room, too. There was no privacy. You had to carry a bucket to the bathroom to flush the toilet or walk to one of the fancy outhouses along the trails. Cody told him there were rooms on the top floor if he wanted and that was probably just a ploy to get rid of him so they could talk about him behind his back. He told them he had blisters but nobody seemed to care. One of those weirdo albinos told him there was an aide station if he wanted to get some Band-Aids but nobody went to get him any. They all acted like they were too busy unpacking the cart and feeding the animals. Nobody had cooked, either. They were eating junk. He hoped it wasn’t like this every night. What was the use of all that food he’d had to help lug into the house if nobody was going to whip up something good? He sat by himself and listened to the talk as they worked on improving their weapons. Most of them had dangerous animals right beside them. He’d tried to join in to different conversations but they were talking about stu
ff he didn’t care about. Easier ways to file spear points. Fish traps and logs they’d spotted for firewood. Proper ways to wrap a handle so the paracord wouldn’t come loose. All they cared about was work and the stupid animals. What was with all the mediaeval weapons? Why didn’t they all have machine guns? And didn’t anyone play video games anymore? His iPad was full of them and when he found out they had a way to charge it, he wanted to plug in. They said he had to wait, Murray needed the charger for his book reader.
The twins made him uncomfortable. They were strange. The kid in the wheelchair was always amped up, fueled by energy drinks and junk food, the monkeys always climbing on him and making noise. It was disgusting to watch him take a bite out of a candy bar and then share it with one of them before taking another bite himself. Savage Ones, he’d heard the term used about the scavenger animals, but to him it seemed like these kids were pretty savage in their own right. He eyed Harper, now that was a good-looking girl. He liked blondes. All of his favorite girls in the magazines he’d brought were blonde. The other girls were pretty too, but other than Vanessa, she was the only one who didn’t weird him out. Swan and her wolves were creepy. Annalise, her polar bear and the tribal tattoos she drew on her arms was a little disturbing. He moved closer to the fire and a little closer to Harper. At least she didn’t have some animal sitting beside her. She’d said she had a giraffe and he’d almost laughed at her. Out of all the animals here at the Safari Park, she couldn’t pick out one more practical? A dog maybe?
Cody was talking about food and his ears perked up.
“If we ration carefully, we picked up enough food to last us at least a month on this trip. One or two more raids and that should be enough to carry us through the winter.” Cody said.
“Now that we know what kind of stores are in town, I have some ideas for some projects we can build,” interjected Murray. He was wrapping paracord around the handle of a homemade war hammer. “We can even build a windmill to pump water.”
Cody nodded. “Food first, then we’ll worry about that. We also need to do something to insulate the chicken coop and goat pens before it gets too cold. Hopefully in the spring, we’ll have some new chicks and it won’t be long after before we have plenty of eggs to go around.”
Swan lay on a blanket and stared up at the clear night sky. There were no artificial lights to interfere with the view anymore. The stars looked close enough to touch. She stretched a finger towards one.
“You know,” she started. “We are all connected. The stars lined up perfectly to bring each of us here so that we could survive. Some of us were strangers, but now we are a tribe. We are a part of everything; everything is a part of us. Mother Earth provides everything we need if you will look and listen for it.” She traced designs in the air with her fingers. The wolves lay on either side of her, lazing in the warmth of the fire. The others paused in their work or idle chatter and listened.
“Squirrels gather nuts, store them for the winter. They lose a few along the way and a new tree grows. The tree provides shelter for more squirrels. More squirrels means more for my wolves to eat. They make sure the squirrels don’t overpopulate. It’s a perfect design when people don’t mess it all up.” she said with a sigh.
Donny lowered the file he was using to sharpen his spear point, Yewan curled protectively around his feet. It was an odd speech but she was a strange girl at times. Her mother had been active in the tribal council and she’d been attending gatherings and pow wows her whole life. She was proud of her heritage and its closeness to nature. She saw mankind as a negative influence on the natural world. Her wolves could shred some small animal they’d managed to catch and she didn’t bat an eye but if talk turned to taking down one of the gazelles for meat, she became agitated and would often storm off to be alone. The subject of hunting had been broached a few times during Mr. Baynard’s discussions before the fall and she visibly bristled. They had no right to hunt the creatures of the forest, we should become vegetarians she’d insisted. She wasn’t so vocal about it anymore. She knew the store shelves would be empty sooner or later and her wolves didn’t eat vegetables. They were lousy hunters, it was only luck if they ever caught anything by themselves and she didn’t know how to teach them.
She talked on about harmony and balance, about the trees and the bees in her melodic voice and how maybe this was all a big reset from Mother Earth. Man had grown too greedy, took too much and the world had had enough of it. They’d forgotten how to live in unity with nature. Nature always provided if you knew how to see it. Some of it made sense to them. Cody thought a lot of it was wistfulness and hopefulness. No one had any idea what had happened to cause all of this. All they really knew for sure was that they were alone and outside their protective fence was a world full of death.
19
Donny
Every night after he got the spear Donny and Yewan would slip out of the back gate and attempt to bring in some fresh game. He’d spent hours throwing it at haybales and finally had it perfectly balanced. It flew straight and true and most of time he could get pretty close to the bullseye. He’d filed the blade to a fine point and it could cut cleanly, penetrate deeply and take down an animal before they knew what hit them. He couldn’t call to his cat so he’d taught him to obey different sounds he made by tapping his ring against the steel of the spear. They were simple commands they could both remember. A double tap meant come. A scraping of steel on steel meant stay. They were basic but it was all they needed to understand each other.
They’d spent night after night stalking prey or waiting to ambush an unwary deer. On this, the ninth night of luckless hunting, the rising full moon cast the forest in a dim glow as they sat unmoving on the limb above the game trail. It was just past twilight, full dark barely settled in and he was feeling good about their chances. He’d spotted fresh tracks on the trial so he knew it was frequently used.
Donny shifted slightly, careful not to let his improvised armor creak. His mind was still and clear as he tried to channel his ancient ancestors, tried to have patience and peace. Dressed all in black with pads and guards of various sports gear, he was protected from bites but could move easily. He had modified it to look a little more like Samurai armor. Like the rest of the crew, he was exploring the freedom from society’s constraints. A few months ago, none of them would have even considered painting their faces or tattooing their skin. It simply wasn’t acceptable. The old rules didn’t apply now. There were no grownups telling them what to do or protecting them from being frightened, hungry and cold. They had killed the undead who were trying to kill them. They had stolen from stores and ran with wild animals. Everything was different now and the ways of the past were gone. It didn’t matter if you knew how to do algebra, it mattered if you knew how to milk a cow. Actions they took now had real consequences. Life and death hung in the balance and there was no fallback plan. If any of them made a mistake, it could kill them all.
If they were to be magically transported back to September as they were now, back before the outbreak, their family and friends wouldn’t know them. They moved differently. They looked at things differently. They listened differently. They could be violent and even the smallest among them would never be bullied again. The other children would shy away, they would sense the savage and the wild just below the surface. They looked untamed with the best movie quality Halloween costumes any kid ever had but they weren’t costumes. They were functional tools and the weapons they carried weren’t plastic. The blood stains on them weren’t fake.
The twins had embraced their Nordic heritage and looked more like Vikings every day. Swan looked every bit like an Indian warrior and Donny was trying to emulate his brave and fierce ancient ancestors. His hair was getting long again. He’d kept it short during the summer but now it was already over his ears. By the time the winter snows came, it would help keep him warm. He had taken to wearing his armor all the time and if felt as natural as a shirt or pair of blue jeans. So far, the park had been sec
ure but anything could happen at any time. The speed and fury of the outbreak had shown them that. Beside him, Yewan sensed something coming and twitched his tail in anticipation, his golden eyes focused and unblinking. They were both learning patience, the panther learning his commands by sound and touch.
A pair of whitetail deer walked along the game trail towards the tree that concealed the hunters. They moved cautiously in the low light, stopping often and sucking up the acorns that littered the forest floor. With their sensitive noses analyzing every scent and their keen eyes alert, they searched the night for predators. They sensed something was amiss but their noses and sharp eyes weren’t registering anything. They didn’t look up. Lowering their heads, they continued their walking graze inhaling the fallen acorns by the mouthful.
Donny laid a hand on Yewans neck, trying to transmit his thoughts to the black panther. Not yet, he thought. Not yet. Impatience had cost them a chance at a kill more than once over the last few nights. They couldn’t rush in and chase them down. Donny wasn’t very good throwing at a dead run and the deer were wily and quick. Yewans speed would have helped him in an open field but the brambles and underbrush slowed him while the deer bounced right through it with graceful leaps. As the pair moved beneath them, Donny removed his hand from Yewans neck and stepped from the limb.
Before the startled deer could react, Donny dropped the ten feet and drove the spear through the ribs of the one right below him. Yewan landed on the back of the other, sank his claws into its sides, his fangs into its neck and rolled it to the ground. Sharp teeth sheared through the spine, instantly paralyzing the deer as the taste of warm blood filled his mouth.
Ancient instincts flared to life as the flow of fresh blood reawakened them. He hunched low and let out a growl, guarding his kill. His first but now that he knew how, it wouldn’t be his last. Donny’s heart hammered as he looked at the results of their ambush. Not one, but two fine animals that would help sustain the carnivores and feed his tribe. After weeks of trial and error, of chasing and waiting, of fruitless nights that ended with disappointing results, they had finally figured it out.
Animals Page 12