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  “What does it matter? That’s miles away,” Della asked.

  “They get closer each night. No way of knowing for sure who or why. It means a lot more people are out here. If it’s campfires, the builders are a bunch of fools and will be drawing monsters and survivors alike.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “Go to that place Steve was talking about. I think as soon as he’s fit to travel,” Millie answered.

  “Is there any coffee?” Steve called from the bunk bed in the shadows.

  Della walked to the bed and pressed her hand to his forehead. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like shit, but better,” Steve answered. “Coffee?”

  “No, you need to take it easy and start with tea,” Della answered. “If that stays down, you can have broth in a few minutes.”

  Zack walked into the cabin. “Hey, did I hear Steve’s voice?”

  “Sure did, big guy,” Steve answered. Open that roll up door. I’m tired of being cooped up in the dark.

  Della carried a cup of warm liquid to Steve. He took a gulp, and she quickly pulled his hand away. “I told you to drink slowly.” She scolded.

  Zack leaned the rifle against the door jam. “How’re you feeling, man?”

  “I'm all right,” Steve snapped. “Millie’s right. We need to start thinking of getting on the move.” He pulled himself into the wheelchair and made his way to the table.

  “Why?” Darlene asked as she climbed down from the loft with Penny following close behind. “We have plenty to eat. With Millie as the cook, we’re eating better than most people. Maybe they won’t find us.”

  “Millie is right about the fires meaning people,” Steve answered. “If they find us, it’s too late. Only one way down to the highway from the cabin and then only one direction to go once we leave there.”

  Zack poured two cups of coffee and handed one to Steve when he rolled up to the table. “I heard engines early this morning; motorcycles, maybe.”

  Della scowled but remained silent. Meanwhile, Millie stirred a bowl for a few minutes then poured the contents on a floured breadboard. She folded the mixture a few times then flattened the mound of dough. Millie pulled a metal can with both ends open from the shelf and used it to cut biscuits, one after another. Finally, she looked up and added. “I heard something big and loud two nights ago.”

  “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Steve asked.

  “What would we have done? You were sick.” Millie answered as she slid the pan of biscuits into the oven at the side of the firebox. “You’re the only one knowing where we’re going.”

  “Shit!” Steve cursed. “We fix that right now. He pulled out a state map and a brown paper bag. He spent ten minutes listing the roads he had intended to take to Pine Springs Canyon. He recorded landmarks as he remembered them. When he was done, he added. “I’ve only been there once so when we get close, we’ll need to be careful.”

  “How far are we from Pine Springs Canyon?” Della asked.

  “Less than a hundred miles, if we can stay on the route I’ve outlined,” Steve answered.

  Zack grinned. “So we can be there in one day.”

  Steve shrugged. “We can hope. But I doubt it.”

  Della interrupted. “We can’t leave until you can walk. If something happens to the truck and you can’t….”

  Zack looked at the others with a wide grin and asked, “What about the horses?”

  Della shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about that. I believe we need to make a trip back to the horse ranch. I saw several western saddles. We can get them and all the tack needed to ride the horses. I noticed a trailer that would hold everything we need plus the horses. Darlene can tell us what we need.”

  “Horses?” Steve asked. “What are you talking about?”

  Della chimed in. “They followed me back when I went to the ranch for antibiotics. We put them in the corral behind the shed.”

  “I’ve been feeding them hay from the shed,” Zack said proudly. “They like me.”

  Darlene chimed in, “They’re all Quarter horses, I think.”

  “We can’t take horses with us.” Steve protested.

  “We don’t need to get a trailer from the ranch. There’s a trailer behind the shed,” Zack added. “We could load them up and take them with us.

  “No! Definitely, not.” Steve protested. “It’s not worth the risk going back to the ranch. Pulling a trailer will slow us down.”

  Millie placed her hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Young man, the horses will die if they’re left here. The infected will get them, or they’ll starve. Besides, you might find they’re worth the trouble if you end up walking.”

  Steve looked at each of the women, then Zack for a hint of disagreement. When he saw none, he grunted, grabbed a cup of coffee, and rolled the chair to the porch. He recognized he was defeated.

  Millie, Della, and Darlene laughed. Zack shrugged and got a cup of coffee.

  “Now, you two sit down so Ms. Darlene and I can tell you what to look for,” Millie announced with a wide grin. “Everyone starts taking turns at saddling a horse and riding when you come back.”

  Della climbed on the ATV behind Zack and realized how much he had lost over the last few weeks. Zack had once weighed more than two hundred fifty pounds and was far from in shape. Now his body had hardened and muscled replaced the softness.

  “You sure about this?” Della asked Zack.

  “Sure as you are,” He answered over his shoulder as he cranked the engine. He stepped on the clutch and kicked the four-wheeler into gear then pulled away from the shed. The roar of the engine seemed terribly loud after the quiet of the hunting cabin.

  While Zack drove the ATV, Della repeatedly looked over her shoulder afraid the sound of the engine would cover the sound of someone approaching from behind. The noise made her nervous after the quiet of the cabin. After thirty minutes, she directed Zack off the road along a white fence. He dodged around tree stumps and a fallen branch or two, bouncing over the rough ground. Zack followed the fenceline until he got to the back of the paddock where Della had taken the boards from the fence. Zack stopped the machine.

  Della looked around. The infected had disappeared from the property. The silence was suddenly overwhelming.

  “Where to?” Zack asked.

  “The barn. There’s a tack room.” Della walked to the fence and began prying at the final board she had left on the barrier.

  “You want to drive in there?”

  “They’re too bulky to pack across the yard. It won’t take long at all if we get into the stable. We can stack the saddles, blankets, and bridles on the back. Tie ‘em down, then get outta here.” Della answered.

  Zack grabbed the pry bar from Della and stepped up to the remaining board at the fence. He struck the bar between the post and the board and gave a quick jerk. Nails screeched but held. With a second pull against the bar, the plank popped loose. He moved to the other end jerked it free. Zack tossed it aside then pointed at the ATV. “You drive. I’ll walk ahead.” Zack ordered as he pulled the machete from his belt and slid the crowbar in its place.

  “The red barn with the open doors. It’s the first room on the right.” Della said. She started the engine.

  Zack jogged across the barnyard while Della followed a dozen feet behind on the ATV. He moved his head from left to right and saw neither living nor dead. As Zack neared the opened door of the horse barn, his steps slowed. He held the machete in his right hand ready to face attack.

  Della saw moisture glistening on his face and arms. When he got to the door, he stopped and peered into the shadows within. Zack raised his nose and sniffed

  He turned around and grinned at Della, “All I smell is hay, manure and whatever.” He laughed nervously.

  Della drew closer, and he raised his hand and made a circle in the air. After a moment, she understood. He meant for her to back up to the tack room. She clutched, slowed and steered the ATV in a full circle. Wh
en she was turned away from the barn, she clutched again and slipped the machine into reverse. She gave the handle a twist and backed toward the opening.

  “Close enough. Turn it off so we can hear.” He shouted.

  Della turned the key then the valve and slid off the ATV. She walked the entrance of the barn, “I can’t imagine all the infected are gone from here. Let’s be careful.” She whispered.

  Zack held up his blade, “Let me go first.”

  Della held out her machete, “Together.” She stepped into the dark.

  Chapter 14

  Housekeeping

  “One down, a dozen to go,” Billy called out.

  “Keep your head in the game, PFC. We have to have gas to leave here.” Brian called out.

  Juan hurried toward Leon and began calling to the infected now concentrating on the large, black man. “Hey, dead fucks!”

  Two of the infected changed directions and headed for Juan. An enormous fat man continued toward Leon. His folds of flesh swung from side to side with each step. He lumbered forward when suddenly a tall, thin man with raw open wounds dripping puss from his face brushed by him with outstretched arms and gnashing his teeth.

  Leon sidestepped and swung the machete. The blade struck the man’s head, and he fell to the ground in a heap. Meanwhile, the fat man stumbled forward catching both feet on the fallen monster. The obese monster tumbled forward looking like a beached white whale. Legs extended, knees unable to bend leaving his feet flailed off the ground. His arms extended in front of him still reaching for Leon. Leon stepped closer and raised the machete over his head and swung it into the back of the head splitting the scalp of thinning, greasy, black hair and driving the metal into the skull and brain. The whale’s arms and legs collapsed into stillness. Leon stood staring at the deep gouges across it’s back. Strips of flesh had been pulled from his back leaving trails of raw meat and yellow globs of fat bubbling from the wounds.

  Brian took out two infected, then walked to Leon’s side. “You okay, man.”

  “Look at him. Someone did that to him, deliberately. He was tortured.” Leon announced.

  “As time goes by I’m afraid things are going to get a lot worse,” Brian answered. “Let’s get this nest cleaned out so we can settle down for the night.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Leon shrugged and moved away from the atrocity with a renewed determination.

  The four men moved forward, taking out the remaining infected one at a time. Paula and Margo followed in the van at a discrete distance. When they got to the building, Brian walked around to the driver’s door and spoke to Paula.

  “Stay here until we clear the store. The place looks like there might be infected inside.”

  Paula sighed. “It’ll stink. They always smell. We can’t stay in there.”

  Brian laughed as he pointed to the darkening clouds overhead. “I don’t really want to spend the night in the van. Maybe we’ll be lucky, and it won’t be too bad.”

  “Sure.” Margo groused under her breath. “Been real lucky so far, I started my period today.”

  “Yeah, that’s really going to suck from now on,” Paula admitted. “Hopefully there’s something inside. Paper towels suck.”

  They watched the men enter the building through the gift shop. The store seemed intact. No windows were broken, and the door opened to the outside. It explained the infected not being inside. Once they walked out, there was no getting back in.

  Brian led the trio of men inside. Leon moved to the right and Juan to the left. Billy followed looking toward the dark corners of the open space now cluttered with overturned displays and racks. The place had an underlining smell of spoiled food. Brian glanced toward the eatery at the side of the convenience store. The sandwich shop was separated from the store by a security gate from the ceiling. At first, the store appeared to have been empty when it was it was overrun despite the unlocked door. As they got deeper into the building, the aroma of the dead overpowered the smell of spoiled food.

  “There is dead in here,” Billy announced.

  Juan grunted. “Sí. The back, I think.” He pointed to a narrow hall at the back of the store obscured in the shadows.

  Brian glanced over his shoulder. “Watch outside, Leon.”

  “Sure thing, boss,” Leon answered as he stepped back outside the gift shop.

  Brian turned to Billy. “Let’s do it.”

  Billy followed Brian to the ingress of the hall. Brian stopped and whistled. Muffled sounds could be heard behind the last door on the right. An entry beyond the restroom was identified by a Manager sign. At the end of the hall, another entry acknowledged an Exit.

  “Billy, clear the woman’s,” Brian ordered as he snapped on his flashlight. “I’ll get the men’s. I don’t think there’s anything in there, but be careful.”

  Brian eased around the opening of the doorway, flicked on a flashlight and crossed to the opposite side of the room. He pressed his back against the cold tile and sidestepped to the corner. Leaning around the corner, he fanned the beam across the dark recesses. He saw a row of sinks on the left and half a dozen stalls on the right. Most of the stall doors were open but not all. He moved into the gloom and quickly walked past each doorway shining the light inside. After pushing the last closed door open, he backtracked to the entrance just in time to see Billy appear with a quick shake of his head. “Clean in here.”

  “My six, Billy.”

  Brian made his way to the Manager’s office door and tapped twice on the door. A sudden slam against the door made both Brian and Billy step back.

  Billy forced a laugh. “Guess we found where the smell was coming from. You think one or more?”

  Brian stepped back to the door and knocked again. The monster behind it slammed against the door then clawed at the wood. “One.” He announced.

  “At least the door opens inward,” Billy shrugged.

  “Probably why it was still inside.” He turned to Billy, You ready for this? Turn the knob, and I’ll kick in the door. On three.”

  Billy gave him a thumbs-up, and from the side of the door, he reached over to place his hand on the doorknob. He gave a twist of his wrist, but the knob only moved a quarter inch and stopped. He turned back to announce. “Locked.”

  Brian nodded, and Billy pulled a short metal pry bar from his belt. He slipped the forked end into the crack between the door facing and door. With a nod from Brian, he pulled back. Hard. With a swift kick to the side of the knob, Brian shattered the door facing, and the door crashed into the room. It hit something substantial and bounced back toward the opening. Brian caught the door with the toe of his boot and gave it a nudge back while he stepped into the room and sidestepped to the left. He pushed the door against the wall just in time to see an infected man in a golf shirt with the truckstop logo on the breast pocket lay on the floor. A quick glance around to ensure the monster was alone and noticed the room was covered in candy wrappers and empty water bottles.

  Billy stepped into the room and nudged a chair out of the way. “He came in here and died, I guess.”

  Brian stepped to the infected man struggling to get to his feet. “Sorry man.” He whispered as he drove his blade into the man’s eye. The monster slumped to the floor. “Let’s drag it and the rest of the bodies out back.”

  “We can go through the vehicles and see if there’s anything we can use. Maybe check out those trucks,” Billy said.

  “It’s getting dark. Let’s get moving. We need to secure the building.” Brian agreed as he headed back to the front of the store.

  Together the four men cleared the parking lot, piled bodies in the back after searching for keys. They found half a dozen sets of keys in pockets and purses but were less than excited about the results. The keys belonged to a big rig, two trucks, sedan, a minivan, and Suburban.

  “We could always hot wire one of the other vehicles.” Billy volunteered.

  ”I think we’ve all established the fact none of us have that skill set.�
�� Brian laughed.

  Leon walked up to the pair. “Looks like the Suburban is in pretty good shape. A pickup is an option for a second vehicle. I found hoses and a small hand pump so I can fill gas tanks and the three five-gallon gas cans we found. If we take two cars, it’s more fuel but would give us options if we run into trouble.”

  Juan joined the trio. “We found a few supplies in a storeroom. Not much but extra cases of water, some packaged foods, and t-shirts, some for Zombie Truckers.” He grinned. “We can at least change clothes.”

  “Throw those fucking zombie shirts on that pile of bodies!” Brian ordered. “We light that shit up when we leave.”

  Juan shrugged. “If you want, but I kinda like the green ones with all the blood.” He chuckled as he walked away.

  “Fucktard.” Billy laughed.

  Chapter 15

  More and More

  Matt walked into the manager’s office and placed Claire in the portable crib. He sat down in the recliner and watched Amy as she prepared a bottle and gave it to her sister. “You take good care of your sister, pumpkin.” He smiled.

  “When we go to Pampa’s, I want Mommy to see I did a good job,” Amy answered as she walked into the living room and handed her sister the bottle. “When are we going to Pampa’s?”

  Matt rubbed his hand across the stubble on his chin. “I don’t know, pumpkin.”

  Amy’s bottom lip quivered. “But….”

  Matt leaned toward Amy, picked her up and pulled her onto his lap. “I’m sorry, pumpkin. We have a lot of people depending on us right now. Larry, Jake and I can’t leave the rest of the soldiers to take care of so many kids. There’s just not enough people to take care of all the other children.”

  “What about the preacher man and his friends?” Amy answered.

  “Preacher man?” Matt asked.

  “Mr. Larry brought them back when they found the campers. He wanted to move in here. He said he needed it since he was a churchman, but Mr. Jake told them no.” Amy leaned closer and whispered. “The preacher man got really mad and said a bad word, too.”