This horde moved slowly. Feet—both shoed and not—shuffled along the pavement. They didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in particular. What did they do when there wasn’t anything to eat, or any prey around? I wasn’t completely certain. Every zombie I’d ever seen could go from this sort of docile creature to a bloodthirsty monster within seconds.
Rex’s hand landed on my shoulder. Probably to keep himself grounded as he saw the size of the horde. I didn’t tear my gaze from the passing creatures to check. Thinking back to the time we had hidden in the car on the way to Ground Zero, I considered his hand might be more to ground me, than him.
He didn’t have to worry as much. I would have told him so, if we could feel even remotely comfortable making any slight noise. Since I’d been delving into the horde so frequently, I’d found a way to protect my own mind from their influence. At least partially. Even without the strength of having the other experiments with me, I could block their influence.
I tore my gaze from the horde to glance back at the horse. He stood stock still, eyes forward, and ears pointed toward the trees and brush between us and the monsters. Even his tail didn’t swish as the animal realized that predators were near. Thankfully, it didn’t seem as though he was about to run. Instead, he was on high alert, watching for anything that he would have to run from to break through.
Always ready to run. My friends and I might have more in common with horses than I thought. Fight or flight. We’d fight if we had to, but would definitely prefer to run. Given the option, horses seemed to do the same.
I turned my attention back to the horde. Thankfully, they hadn’t noticed us. At least not yet, I mused as a breeze rustled through the trees, toward the road. Blowing our scent right toward the creatures.
Rex and I both silently gripped our weapons in case our quickly applied scent coverage didn’t work. I opened my senses to the horde. I had to know if any of them noticed us.
Some of the putrid creatures walked near our hiding spot. It was only by virtue of practice that I didn’t audibly gag at the smell. These were not freshly turned. Both clothing and flesh rotted to such an extent that it was difficult to distinguish colors of clothing, or whether they were male or female.
Not that it mattered for some of them. Some were small. Child-sized monsters. These didn’t carry their rotten toys along with them. Instead their milky eyes hardly blinked, and they plodded along with the rest of the horde. No different than the adult monsters.
By the time the creatures disappeared from sight, my thighs were burning, and my feet were cramped from crouching in one spot for so long.
Frodo and I relaxed at almost the same moment. He flicked his tail several times to rid himself of flies, and shook his head with a soft nicker as if to say, ‘Finally! Those bugs were really starting to annoy me.’
I stood and stretched, flicking several bugs off myself as well. Rex did the same beside me.
“Gotta say, I definitely expected them to notice us,” he admitted. “Especially when the wind picked up.”
I looked down in disgust at the dirt and pine sap covering my clothes and arms. “Guess pine sap and dirt make a decent deodorant,” I said. “Gross and sticky, but it hid our smell.”
“First place we see with water, we’re getting cleaned up,” Rex decided. “It’s been like two days since we were able to wash ourselves at all. I’d like to get some use out of that soap and stuff that you collected for us.”
Grimacing at the sticky pine sap in my hair, I grunted. “You got it. I’m not really a fan of this myself, you know?”
We waited a few more minutes to make sure the creatures wouldn’t simply double back on us. When I could no longer sense them, I picked up Frodo’s reins, Rex gripped the bike handles, and we walked through the small opening back onto the road.
“We’ve got a few hours before sundown,” I said. “Hopefully we can find a place to clean up by then.”
Rex reoriented himself, then pointed down the road where the zombies had come from. “We have to go down that road until we reach the next large intersection. It should be pretty noticeable. Hopefully. It was meant to be a pretty major road around here before.”
“Lead the way,” I said. I swung myself back up into the saddle.
My idea of switching off between riding and biking hadn’t worked overly well. Rex was simply a faster biker than I, and I hadn’t been able to keep up even at a slow trot. Not for very long anyway. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, through all the scenic areas we passed, I often found him staring with an oddly content look on his face.
We rode for about twenty minutes before we reached our next turn.
“Major road, indeed,” I said. We stopped and looked down the slope at the gridlocked highway below.
Chapter Thirty-One
Even before entering the highway, I knew we would have to keep our eyes open. “There are a few of the enemy down there,” I warned. “And not a great many places to hide if something goes wrong. Stay to the shoulder, and hopefully we’ll be able to get through.”
Rex nodded as he too stared open-mouthed at the traffic graveyard below. Apparently, our route had taken us near some previously busy areas. That, or everyone in the state had decided to try to escape by going the same direction.
A quick check showed the opposing lanes were just as blocked up as the way we were heading. “We have no choice,” I said. “We need to go that way, right?”
Rex sighed, but nodded. “Yeah. Let’s get going.”
“How long are we on this road?” I asked softly as we rode down the ramp.
“Only a couple miles, thankfully. We should be able to reach our next road before dark.”
It always struck me as odd how a simple thing like empty vehicles lined up on the road could seem so desolate. The vehicles themselves seemed okay still. Just empty and abandoned. Some had doors flung open as if people had decided to run rather than waiting inside their car to get through the locked up traffic. I had to suppress a shudder. No doubt. Abandoned highways were definitely creepy.
We traveled in silence for about half an hour. The few creatures I’d felt had gone other directions. It seemed our pine-sap deodorant was still working. It also helped that we were downwind of them. I caught a whiff of rotting flesh every so often, but mostly, I smelled motor oil and gasoline.
Bike gears whirred softly and Frodo’s hoof beats clomped on the blacktop as we trotted down the shoulder of the highway. When the ground was flat enough, I moved him over to the side so he could run on grass rather than the hard pavement.
I put slight pressure on the reins to slow Frodo almost before I even realized I sensed the creatures. Or… creature. Just one. I breathed a sigh of relief. One we should be able to handle.
A loud, angry grunt echoed across the highway, and I drew my sword, ready to deal with whatever happened. “Try not to use your weapon,” I warned Rex softly. “The noise would draw any zombies along the highway, and we need to save those bullets for when we really need them.”
“How many this time?” he asked. Rex had his gun out, but lowered.
“Just one.”
He eyed me, a look of concentration on his face. “Even without the others, you might be able to control one creature. You should try to connect with it. Get it to let us pass or tell it to go somewhere else. Something.”
In theory, I should be able to do it. In practice? I didn’t know. It was easy when the other experiments had been around. Even in the short time we’d been together I’d grown accustomed to the control I had over even large hordes. Thinking back on my time before the others… I hadn’t had that ability.
“You need to try. You know how to connect now,” Rex said, reading my hesitation in my expression. “Zero, you can do it.”
He was right. I had to try. For the two of us to survive, I had to know exactly what I could do. If I couldn’t even take control of one creature by myself… we would never make it. Not with such limited ammo and one sword. “Keep r
iding,” I said. “But stay slow and steady. I don’t want it to think we’re running.”
“The predator thing, right? They see prey, but ignore it until they see it run.”
“Exactly,” I said. “I want this creature to see us as a normal part of the area. As if we were just wildlife passing by. Try not to make any extra noise either.”
He nodded and got the bike going again. I urged Frodo over to the grass and kept him walking. The slight squeaking of the trailer’s wheels, I couldn’t do anything about.
As the echoing grunts and moans grew closer, I closed my eyes and concentrated. It was time to prepare to enter the zombie’s mind-web once again.
Time to stop thinking in terms of what I couldn’t do before I met the others, or what I could do once I did. It was time to figure out what I can do now. How I could keep Rex and myself alive long enough to get back to our friends.
We rode at a walking pace toward the zombie as I followed the path in my mind toward the hive. This one was on its own, so the strands connecting it to the horde were almost non-existent. The strand connecting me to it solidified. I felt its frustration at not finding food, the desire to attack and eat anything that came into its path, and what felt like a longing. For what, I didn’t know exactly, but I guessed it didn’t like being so separated from the horde. Too bad.
“Nothing here. Nothing anywhere,” I whispered.
It looked up as we got near, and sniffed the air curiously. “Nothing here. No food. Just metal and rubber.”
I put more effort through the link as the creature continued sniffing and stepped toward us. “No. Nothing here. Keep moving.”
“Smell food,” a voice responded. I almost jerked off the horse when I heard it.
Rex kept looking between me and the zombie warily. “You all right, Z?” he chanced whispering.
“It… uh, it talked to me,” I said. “Now shh. I’ll explain more later.”
He clearly wanted to know more, but reluctantly kept a steady speed on his bike.
“No food,” I said again through the link. “Nothing for you. Not here. Keep moving. More that way,” I urged it through the link. I tried to get it to go the direction we’d come from. Honestly, if it got behind us and my influence wore off, Rex and I could probably outrun the thing.
As I watched, the zombie wobbled its head slightly, then turned to face the direction I was trying to send it. “Food? There?” It sent through the link.
“Yes. That way. Good food. Keep walking,” I said.
By the time the monster started moving, Rex and I were alongside it. We’d just managed to get by when it picked up the pace, heading back the way we’d come. I breathed a sigh of relief. The thing had been harder to convince than most.
“We’re good then?” Rex asked, watching the retreating monster nervously.
I nodded. “Should be. I think we can go faster now.”
We rode quietly for a couple minutes, then Rex turned and asked. “So, what was so different? You looked really spooked for a bit. You said it talked to you?”
“Uh… yeah. That was a first,” I told him.
“Really?” he seemed perplexed. “I thought you talked to them all the time. Isn’t that how you tell them to go somewhere else? Or how you know what they’re doing?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I usually just get impressions. Never actual words. Not sure why it was different this time.”
He shrugged and turned back to focus on the route. “You can connect better now than you could before. Maybe the horde has too many voices and muddles things into less understandable impressions. Who knows?”
My ability to connect had improved. That much was true. Maybe Rex was right. It could be as simple as practice making the communication more stable.
Rex pointed to the sign we were nearing. “There. We’ve got about a quarter mile left. We’ll be getting off pretty soon.”
I checked the sun, it was getting low and the shadows had already begun to lengthen. “Good. We need to find shelter for the night.”
“Not to mention cleaning off this nasty, sticky dirt and sap,” Rex said, eyeing his dirty clothes in disgust.
No doubt. I nodded agreement. The sap pulled at my skin uncomfortably. By unspoken agreement, we both sped up and the last quarter mile went by quickly.
No other creatures appeared, and I didn’t see any sign of survivors on the road. The exit was on an incline, so we slowed a bit again. “Which way up here?” I asked Rex.
“Turn left. If I’m remembering the maps correctly, there might be a lake or pond or something fairly close. And a place we can crash for the night.”
I grinned when I saw the sign. “You mean that?” I asked.
“Campground… huh. Yeah, that’s what I mean. At least there are cabins.”
I grinned. “Yeah. And a nice little swimming hole where we can get clean. I’m not sensing any creatures right now. We’ll have to see if there’s a paddock or some sort of fenced area for Frodo.”
We rode into the camp area and picked a cabin that was near the pond. It was only a short walk to a small fenced area with a lean-to. “This place must have had horses or ponies at some point,” I surmised.
“Could be. Either way, it’s nice that Frodo will be able to graze a bit.”
Eyeing the overgrown area, I grinned. “More than a bit. Hopefully he doesn’t make himself sick.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. Just in case we need to make a quick getaway, we should consider leaving his saddle on,” Rex said.
I shook my head. “No. We need to give him a break from it so he doesn’t get sores. It’s pretty light. We’ll leave it ready on the fence so we can toss it on quickly.”
Rex accepted my decision, and helped get the horse into the fence. We removed the saddle and detached the reins, but left the halter on. I took a ripped T-shirt and rubbed him down to clear the dirt and sweat from the day. “Would be nice for him to have his own brushes. Oh well,” I said with a sigh.
“Better than nothing,” Rex said. “We should go get cleaned up before we eat. Frodo is fine here.”
As we prepared to head down to the pond, I found myself missing Siren. The dog would have been useful to help keep watch while Rex and I got clean. As it was, we needed to take turns. “You can go first, Rex,” I said. “Help me move this boat and I’ll sit against it to keep watch.”
Once we moved the rickety old rowboat in front of the water, I leaned against it, facing the cabins. After the stress and constant travel of the last few days, my eyes felt heavy. It was a struggle to keep them open.
Until a cold splash of water hit the back of my head. “Hey!”
“Sorry,” Rex said, his voice slightly choked as he tried to hide a giggle. From that, I got that he wasn’t overly sorry. “I thought about just telling you it was your turn, but this seemed more fun.”
I rolled my eyes and stood, brushing some sand off my pants. Or, rather, trying to. I’d underestimated the stickiness of the sap, and had sand caked on everywhere. “Yuck,” I said with a grimace. “Thanks, Rex. Good luck staying awake.”
“Nah,” he said with a wave of his hand. “The water felt invigorating. You’ll wake up more too, once you get in.”
He definitely appeared fresher and happier as he walked barefoot over the sand. He wore a loose pair of jeans, and a fresh t-shirt. His dark hair was plastered to his skull, but was free of the sap and dirt that had been caked in previously.
“We’re still clear, right?” Rex asked.
I nodded. “We’re clear. Even Frodo is relaxed.”
The horse had already dropped and rolled, then he stayed down while lazily snacking on the long grass. His ears flicked to chase the flies away, but otherwise, he was the picture of contentment.
Rex had a soft smile on his face while he watched the horse. After a moment he seemed to realize I hadn’t gone yet. “Go, Z. Get washed up. Then we’ll eat and get some rest. And, probably find a bucket for some water for Frodo.”
>
The sun was going down fast, so I went behind the boat, took my shoes off, and jumped in. The water was cool, but not frigid. After a few minutes of rubbing, I stripped off the sodden, but cleaner clothing and set it aside. Then I dunked and rubbed my hair to try to loosen some of the gunk. I had to wash my hair three times to get all of it out. Never had I been more excited to condition my hair. I used a bit of soap to scrub at the rest of my body, then climbed out and dried myself with the other towel. Once I’d pulled on clean jeans and a t-shirt, I definitely felt more human. I kept the towel wrapped in my hair while I gathered our bathing supplies.
“We can go back to the cabin now,” I said.
Rex paused where he’d left the bike, and pushed it into the cabin with us. “If someone comes by, we don’t want it obvious that someone is here.”
I thought the horse might give us away, but it couldn’t hurt. Would make it harder for anyone to steal it from us, anyway. Along those same lines, I pulled the little trailer in as well.
We ate a cold meal of tuna with somewhat stale crackers, and a can of fruit we split between us. Once our stomachs were filled, we settled in for the night. There were two sets of bunk beds in the main room, so we each took the lower bed and put our blankets on them. Even the hard camp mattresses felt like heaven after sleeping on the ground so often.
“I’ll take first watch and switch out once I can’t stay awake, okay?”
Rex sighed. “We need to figure out a way to let both of us get better sleep.”
“Until then, sleep well. I’ll wake you in a couple hours.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mike
Four days of travel, even in an RV, was exhausting. We stopped relatively frequently. Both to siphon more fuel from abandoned vehicles along our route, and to let everyone out to stretch. The dogs got some exercise during those stops, and everyone had a bathroom break. With the RV, we were making good time, so we didn’t have to push forward too hard. We stopped at night to give Kate a chance to rest.
Countdown to Zero (Patient Zero Book 2) Page 15
