“How far are we going?” Nikki asked.
Fred pointed toward north. “If we were to get on a boat, we could go right up into the heart of DC, but we’re going to stay out of that rat’s nest. Remember Patient Eve?”
“Yeah, I heard about her. What about her?”
“Before Zach took off, he told me there was a big concentration of zeds in that area, even to this day. He also thinks there is a possibility that is where Patient Eve is currently living.”
Nikki’s eyes widened. “No shit? How does he know that?”
“He’s got his ways,” Fred said. Nikki waited to see if he was going to explain. He didn’t.
“I wonder what they do for food these days?” she mused.
“Rats and other vermin, most likely,” Fred replied. “All major cities are infested with critters these days. Alright, our mission is not about her or DC, so we’re going to stay out of there and concentrate on this area.”
Nikki stared out at the river. The brownish green water wasn’t frozen and flowed slowly. There was the occasional log or piece of debris flowing by, but nothing alarming.
“Okay, what do we do now?” she asked.
“We’re going to ride the area, hug the waterways, look around, see what we see. Our goal is to stay hidden. If we’re spotted, we hightail it out of here. Oh, if you see an opportunity, use that bow to snag our supper.”
“You got it,” Nikki said.
They rode in silence for almost an hour. Suddenly, Fred stopped, causing Nikki to stop. The dip of his head toward the west was almost imperceptible, but Nikki saw it.
“No sudden moves,” he whispered.
On the west side of the river were several dozen zeds.
“Stillness,” Fred emphasized in a whisper. “That’s the key. They don’t see so well anymore, but they can still spot movement. If the wind shifts, they’ll smell the horses, so let’s wait it out and see what happens.”
The two of them sat, not moving a muscle. Leeroy started to nuzzle the ground, but Nikki slowly tightened the reins. The zeds turned in unison and began walking south. If they had been spotted, they gave no indication of it. Soon they were out of sight.
“Tell me if I’m wrong, but I haven’t seen any signs of humans,” Nikki remarked.
Fred continued to stare at the direction in which the zeds had disappeared. “Nope. I haven’t either.” He gestured in that direction. “They’re going to recon that area for us.”
“How?” Nikki asked.
“If they encounter a large group of humans, I imagine we’ll hear a little bit of gunfire. So, Miss Nikki, what do you propose we do next?”
“Nothing to the north of us, the zeds are travelling south. We came from the west, but to the east of us is nothing but water,” she said.
“Good analysis, but you’re not answering the question.”
Nikki frowned, shrugged, and then pointed. “What’s the name of this road?”
“It’s commonly known as the Jefferson Davis Highway,” Fred said. “It roughly follows I-95.”
“Well, we haven’t gone down there. Maybe we should follow it the rest of the day and then head back tomorrow.”
Fred stared at her a moment, gave a small nod, and nudged Aisha. Soon they were heading south at a slow walk, careful to keep their distance from the zeds.
Chapter 31 – Fred & Nikki Find Zeds
“Look,” Nikki said and pointed.
Fred peered in the direction she was pointing.
“Good eye. Cover me,” he whispered and dismounted.
He walked down the street toward the intersection where Nikki had pointed. The ice-covered ground was not clean and pristine. In fact, it was dirty and rough, like a lot of people or things had recently travelled across it. After a moment he straightened and stared toward the west. The stare lasted a long ten seconds before he walked over to Nikki.
“More zeds,” he whispered. “Get down and take a look.”
Nikki dismounted and followed Fred back over to the tracks. He pointed. “This is the trail of the group we were trailing behind.” He then pointed south. “Another group came from there and joined them. They’re now heading west.”
Nikki stared at the ground, trying to understand Fred’s analysis. There were several scrapes in the ice and a lot of dirty stains.
“What is your estimation of the number?” Fred asked.
Nikki scrunched up her wind-burned face. “I don’t know how many, but it has to be a lot.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
“There’s a lot of dirt, grime, and scrapes. It looks like a lot of zeds,” she said.
Fred stared. She felt like it was not the answer he was looking for, but he did not rebuke her.
“Alright, if I had not said anything about zeds, would you still believe these are zed tracks?”
She stared again at the disturbed and soiled ice on the road. After a second she met him in the eye. “Yes, I would.”
“Why?”
“I guess I’m not sure. Wait a minute. We were following this one group who we know are zeds, and another group joins them. It’s not like zeds and humans hang out together, so it has to be another group of zeds.”
“Yep,” Fred said. He squatted down again and made another inspection of the road.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she said. “How do some of these zeds still have decent shoes on?”
“Excellent question. I believe these rascals have somehow figured out how to replace their shoes. They must be fifteens.”
Nikki nodded as she looked around. “That makes sense, I guess. They’re starting to think again, so I guess they could figure out shoes.”
“Yeah. So, it would appear we have encountered a large number of fifteens, who we know are a little bit smarter than the old zeds.”
“What are they up to?” Nikki asked.
Fred stood and stared out to the south. “Good question. They’re moving toward Mount Weather, and that’s something they need to know immediately. We’re going to head back to our hideout and radio this in.”
Nikki did not protest. She thought they were going to be out here for at least a week. So far, she’d been continuously cold for several hours, and that was enough for her. But she was growing to like the old man and his unusual style. Despite his gruffness, she enjoyed his company.
“We have a little bit of a problem,” he said. “Do you know what it is?”
She thought a moment. Movement to her left caught her attention, but it was only a couple of squirrels scampering around.
“We’re not supposed to travel back on the same route in which we came,” she said.
“Yep, so why are we breaking our own rule?”
This time she paused for a full minute before answering. “The only thing I can think of is you think this is a situation that is, I don’t know what the word is, scary?”
“Dire would probably be the best word,” he said. “We have to get back to the radio as soon as possible and give them a head’s up, so we’ll have to risk it.”
Chapter 32 – The Chase Is On
They’d been riding back toward their hideout at an easy pace for ten minutes when Fred drew up suddenly. They’d been riding abreast, and when Aisha stopped, Leeroy stopped too.
“What is it?” Nikki asked.
“Those zeds are heading right toward our hideout,” he whispered.
Nikki shrugged. “That shouldn’t be any problem, we can hide and wait for them to leave.”
Fred didn’t respond, which made Nikki wonder if there were something else concerning him that he was not voicing. He sat motionless on Aisha for several seconds before nudging her and they began walking. Nikki pushed Leeroy forward. They continued along the roadway slowly and silently, all the while scanning their surroundings. When they rounded a bend in the road and their building came into sight, the first thing they noticed were the zeds. Hundreds of zeds. And they were all staring directly at them.
Fred reacted instantly.
“This way,” Fred said and turned Aisha. She obeyed instantly and increased her pace. They soon had the horses at a trot. He explained as they moved.
“We’re going to try to lead them away from our building. Then we’ll circle back.”
Fred led the way, travelling east on one street for a block, turning north, then back east. He did this for several blocks, but as they rounded the old hotel, a dozen zeds emerged. They had been hiding behind cars, staying out of sight until the two humans on horseback appeared.
“They’re flanking us,” Fred growled and cut Aisha into a hard turn. The Arabian slipped on some ice but managed to regain her balance.
Her brief stumble caused Leeroy to skid to a stop. It gave four zeds enough time for them to lunge at the big horse and Nikki. Before Nikki could get her suppressed pistol out, four loud shots rang out. Three of the zeds dropped instantly.
The fourth zed’s head snapped to the side. He was a big one, well over six feet and he had a big watermelon head. Even so, Fred’s aim was a little off. The bullet had scraped the side of the zed’s head, and although it was wounded and addled, he had managed to grab Nikki’s shin and with a loud growl, bit down.
Fortunately for Nikki, her jeans and cowboy boots protected her from the bite. She now had her pistol out and put two bullets in its forehead at almost point-blank range.
When the zed dropped, she looked over at Fred in concern. His expression, what was a good word? Worried. Nikki saw something few people had ever seen. Fred was worried. He saw her staring, made a head motion, and increased Aisha’s speed to a canter.
Leeroy needed no encouragement. Zeds scared him and Aisha was leaving him. Nikki was certain they were going in the wrong direction. She said as much to Fred.
“They’re trying to draw us out and trap us,” he said. “We may have to ride several miles before we’re free of them. Let’s keep the horses at a canter for now, then we’ll give them a rest.”
Nikki nodded. She knew a horse could travel for miles at a slow trot before needing rest, but the speed they were travelling now, maybe around fifteen miles per hour, lessoned that range. An Arabian arguably had the greatest endurance of any horse. Leeroy, although bigger and stronger, would die if he tried to keep up with her all day. She instinctively reached down and stroked his neck.
They ran the horses for a couple of miles before Fred gave the signal and they stopped near an intersection which gave them a good field of vision for several blocks. The big gelding was breathing heavily, and he snorted a couple of times to let Nikki know he was not happy.
“He’s a little noisy,” Fred said. “Can’t be helped, I suppose.”
“They’re going to need water soon,” Nikki said. “I guess you know that already though.”
Fred responded by holding a finger to his lips and then pointing at his ear, indicating he wanted her to be quiet and listen. Nikki noticed once he lowered his hand, he flexed it a couple of times. They let the horses recover as they sat atop their horses in silence, listening keenly for any out of the ordinary noises. The fifteens may be a little smarter, but they were not yet aware of the value of silence. Fred glanced over at Nikki.
“I suppose your hearing is better than mine, so tell me what you think,” he said.
Nikki took her hat off and turned her head this way and that. After a minute, she put her hat back on. “I’m not hearing them,” she said. She gestured with her nose. “I’m not smelling them anymore either.”
Fred’s expression was dark. “I hate to say it, but I believe those rascals know where our little hideout is.”
“What are we going to do?” Nikki asked.
Fred glanced up at the sky. Nikki did as well.
“It’s going to be dark soon, an hour or so,” he whispered.
Nikki looked up at the sky again. It was a dull gray. The sun was hidden by thick cloud cover, which made her wonder how he knew the time of day. She decided there was no way and called him on it.
“How do you know what time it is?” she asked.
He responded by pulling up his jacket sleeve showing her the watch on his left wrist. “It’s a Timex windup. Had it for about fifteen years now and it’s still ticking.”
Nikki chuckled slightly. “If you say so. Should we head back?”
“Nope. I think those zeds are waiting on us. We need to find somewhere to hide for the night.”
He pointed toward some buildings a few blocks away and nudged Aisha. Nikki clicked her tongue, but Leeroy was already moving. Fred headed toward an area where there were several businesses and stopped at a building that used to offer in-and-out automotive oil changes. He dismounted, found the bay door was partially open, and went inside. After a moment he came back out.
“It’s still in decent shape, small enough to defend. There shouldn’t be any rodents and we can keep the horses in there,” he explained.
“Sure,” Nikki said in agreement.
Fred worked the door up while Nikki walked the horses to the side of the business where there appeared to be pristine snow on the ground. She knew they would have preferred fresh water, but this would have to do as she did not see any creek nearby.
After a few minutes of them pawing at the snow and eating some morsels of grass, she walked them inside the business. Fred, who had been walking around, followed her in and pulled the bay door down behind him. It was a little noisy but couldn’t be helped. They each took out their bed roll and ate a snack of biscuits that had become hard from the cold.
“I’ll be glad for a good meal,” Nikki remarked. “I guess trying to kill a squirrel or rabbit is out of the question.”
“We can’t risk a fire,” Fred said. “I can’t explain it, but I think they’re actively looking for us.”
“They’d kill for a good meal too, is that what you’re saying?” Nikki asked with a slight grin.
“Yeah, something like that. This is one of those times where one of us has to be awake while the other sleeps. How tired are you?” Fred asked.
Nikki shrugged. “I’m fine. You want to rest up for a little bit? I’ll tend to the horses and keep watch.”
“Yeah. Wake me in a couple of hours.”
Fred took both blankets and wrapped himself, leaning against a wall. Nikki glanced over a minute later and he already seemed to be asleep. That was fine with her. She was too keyed up to sleep. She’d give him a couple of hours of uninterrupted rest before waking him.
She unsaddled the horses and then sorted through a pile of shop rags. Finding a couple that were relatively clean, she used them to rub down the horses. Both of them were nodding off while standing. She knew she wasn’t the most knowledgeable person around, but she knew horses, and these two needed food and rest. She walked out and looked around until she found some more grass under the snow. She pulled up several handfuls and brought them back inside. The horses eagerly nibbled from her outstretched hand.
“I know it’s not much,” she whispered. “But I promise we’ll make up for it.”
There was a chair in the office, and she moved it over near Fred and sat. The business had a total of four bay doors, two on each side. From her vantage point, she could see out of them, but visibility was diminishing with the growing darkness. She glanced over at Fred. He was breathing deeply. She was cold and hungry, but she didn’t regret coming on the mission. She was learning from him and she was growing used to him.
She had to pee and made her way outside. Looking around first, she dropped her pants and squatted. It was cold and whatever body warmth she had instantly disappeared. But she wasn’t the type of person to complain, finished her business, and went back inside as quietly as she could.
“We are in a quandary,” Fred said from under his hat, which surprised her.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said.
He straightened and readjusted his hat before speaking. “I was, but my gut is telling me they’re aware of our hidey-hole. If we try to go back to
it, they’ll try to ambush us again. Or they’ll wait until we’re inside and surround us. Had that happen to me back in Tennessee.”
“How did you get away?” Nikki asked.
He thought back to that incident and remembered the tactic he and Julie had used. Fred felt uncomfortable describing the specifics and chose his words with care.
“We were on top of a building and surrounded by zeds. We used fresh blood as bait to lure them to one side of the building. When they were preoccupied with the blood, we escaped on the other side. I don’t think it’ll work this time,” Fred said.
Zombie Rules | Book 8 | Who The Hell Is That? Page 18
