“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Cody agreed, smiling softly.
Luke was right, and that was the best thing about it, too. Cody knew he was right, because he was right. They both got each other. Even while Cody could be more eccentric, or Luke more actively passionate and emotionally expressive, there was more or less always crossover between those aspects of them as well. At the end of the day, Luke was just more of the leader– the do-er, maybe– and Cody was more the people person, but they were still a great fit for one another, when no one else could understand.
After walking for a while in silence, the two stumbled upon an odd clearing. Something about it was certainly off, but at least upon first glance, and still from a distance, Cody was unsure what.
“Hold up,” Luke cautioned, holding his arm out, and grabbing his pistol with the other.
“What is it, you see something?” Cody asked nervously, darting his gaze around seeking out some kind of unnatural threat.
“Those trees, they fell down as a border. A wall,” Luke pointed out.
Cody peered ahead as they inched closer, and saw more clearly the odd-looking barricade the four or five trees presented. They looked to be knocked rather violently from their stumps, and rolled across the ground to make an uneven pentagonal shape. The logs were torn, and much of the bark on only one side were ripped away, littered on the ground around them. The tears all seemed to be made in fours; probably claws, if Cody had to guess.
“What do you think it was?” Cody asked, holding the swiss army knife firmly in his grasp. Luke shook his head, uncertain, and stepped over one of the logs. “Whatever it was, this place seems kinda old, right?” Cody thought aloud. “The ground is dead, the logs seem long dead, and the–”
Cody stopped, as did both he and Luke in their tracks, as they saw what laid in the middle of this odd fortress.
It was a body. A human body. Or, more appropriately, a human skeleton. It was decayed, and almost all the flesh was ripped from its bones; some still scattered around them, with insects crawling all over every individual piece.
Many of the bones were oddly spaced out as well, with a few mounds of rotting flesh near them. It seemed that whatever it was that killed this person had been pulling at it, likely tearing their limbs from their body. It was horrifying, to say the least, but both Cody and Luke just stood there silently. Not so much in shock, but rather, in remorse. There was nothing they could have done, clearly it was an act long since committed, and whatever committed it was likely no threat they could overpower, but still, it hurt them both to know someone went through such pain and fear in their final moments.
“Whatever it was, there was more than one,” Luke muttered. “They took their own pieces,” he pointed, noting the piles of meat Cody had already seen.
“You think this weird tree-fort is their home?” Cody asked, his legs shaking, but his voice solid. He glanced over at Luke, and saw his free hand clenching and unclenching repeatedly. He rubbed the sweating hand down the leg of his pants, and swallowed hard.
“No, I don’t. It’s hardly even a fort to begin with. Probably just the last place this person got to before they... got him,” Luke guessed. Cody nodded, and took a deep breath through his nostrils.
“So what, those things knocked the trees down around them? Like a, what is it… like a trap?” Cody assumed.
“Maybe. I don’t really know, Codes,” Luke responded, staring deeply at the scene long-since passed before them.
“Should we tell the others?” Cody eventually suggested. He himself didn’t think it was worth it– whether the others would choose to admit it or not, they’d likely be scared out of their minds to even hear of this, let alone see it– but it was Luke’s call. Out of the two of them, he’d be the one who could muster the courage to explain it, if he had to.
“No, it’s not worth it,” Luke decided. Cody felt a small wave of relief wash over him, glad that the others wouldn’t have to confront this harsh reality. “But I don’t think we should stay here tonight; it’s not safe, even if whatever did this is probably gone.”
“Agreed,” Cody nodded. “Der’s probably gonna get all kinds of pissy over having to tear the camp down this early though.” He smirked. Luke grinned back, and they turned around.
“He’ll get over it,” Luke replied.
They both stepped away from the poor soul they had stumbled upon, and just as Cody went to look back, he saw that Luke had already done the same.
“You think that person was alone?” Cody asked. Luke thought a moment before responding. The wind whistled in the tips of the trees swaying far above them, like some kind of overseer.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t see any other bodies. I don’t… I hope that didn’t happen to anyone else.”
“You think they were alone before that, though?” Cody pressed. Luke grimaced.
“I hope not,” he said.
They still stared back sadly at the lifeless skull staring up at the darkening sky. The warm wind swept down, and blew softly against their backs. In that moment, Cody only felt Autumn’s cool breeze creeping closer up his neck.
“You think that’ll happen to us one day?” he wondered.
“I hope not,” Luke said.
He turned back around, and with that, they regrouped, and went off into the night, away from the first unknown corpse any of them would find since the end of the world.
Day 431
“The Camp”
Early the next day, the guys finally reached another, smaller clearing in the patchily green and browning landscape. A circular knoll surrounded by trees and blocked in shade, with few cracks of sunlight managing to peek in. It was more than large enough to fit the wagon, with space to spare, for the group to stop and take a break. Which Adam was in desperate need of.
“Alright, pass out the food,” he demanded, grabbing impatiently at the air toward the packages near him. “I’m starving here.”
“Fine, but keep it light,” Derrick reminded from outside the wagon. “We need to conserve, remember.”
Nolan and Chris passed out small rations to everyone– Chris taking far too long by Adam’s standards– and they sat, all inside the wagon. Luke and Derrick sitting on the outer edge with little to no wiggle room; their legs hanging out of the entrance.
“Look, all I’m saying is, Adam and Nolan’s cars were essentially the same. Essentially, that’s all,” Luke continued. “I’m not saying they were carbon-copies.”
“But they weren’t even that!” Nolan argued. “They absolutely were not.” He angrily took a bite out of his food.
“They were both jeeps!” Luke yelled back.
“No,” Adam denied. “Mine was like, off road; spare tire, no roof, and all. Nolan’s was, well… it was more, suburban.”
“Okay, what does that mean?” Chris questioned, laughing. Jeremy spit some of the food out of his mouth, trying to catch it with his hand. Adam scowled; they knew what he meant, surely. They were just being assholes. Or they were seriously dumb enough to not know.
“You know, suburban! You’re not so stupid that I actually have to spell it out for you, do I!?” Adam retorted.
“Yeah, but like, we all lived in the same suburban town,” Chris argued. “We all lived the same middle class–”
“Well…” Cody interrupted, looking at his food nonchalantly, raising his eyebrows slightly. Jeremy too reacted, raising his hand up a little.
“Upper-Middle class lives,” Chris corrected. “So calling his car suburban and your’s not is kind of a mute point.”
“But it’s not! My car was a different year! Different model! Different damn company!” Nolan insisted, still fired up. “They looked nothing alike!”
“Two four-door, off-road, rectangular vehicles? My God, they might as well be black and white,” Luke said sarcastically, chuckling to himself on how riled up he knew he was making Nolan. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, after all.
“
Shut up!” Nolan shouted, laughing as he did, shoving Luke on the back of his shoulder.
“Oh what, you wanna take this outside?” Luke threatened, still chuckling, and pointing outside of the wagon.
“Yeah, I do!” Nolan called his bluff, smiling like a madman, and playfully shoving past everyone as he tried to maneuver his escape from the wagon.
The others at this point were hysterical, shouting “Oh’s!” and “Yeah’s!” while pushing Nolan even further out of the wagon. Even Adam had to admit, he joined in on the rather playful energy. At first, anyway.
Luke hopped out and turned around, egging Nolan on to try his best, and do his worst. Just as Nolan got to the edge of the wagon however, Adam shot his arm out in front, and stopped him.
“Adam, what the heck, man?” Nolan asked, looking annoyedly at his friend, who glared down at Luke, his body stiff. The others all looked at him confusedly.
“Keep laughing and smiling everyone,” he demanded, very seriously, but all while holding a smile.
“What? Why?” Jeremy asked curiously.
“Just do it, god damn it. We’re being watched,” Adam replied. The others all looked around wildly, minus Luke, who continued to stare at Adam; checking his peripherals for any signs of danger as best he could. He knew something was up; Luke was always good at reading Adam’s face, and vice versa.
“Laugh damn you!” Adam shouted in a whisper. The guys all broke back into smiles and laughter again, Adam himself included. “Alright Nolan, that’s enough! Back in the wagon, come on!”
“Ha ha, Adam, how many times are you gonna do this?” Luke asked, looking right at Adam, and hoping he would pick up on his message. Luke’s jaw tightened slightly, and his pupils almost seemed to hone in directly on Adam. Knowing Luke, that meant he was focused as all hell, and he was tense, to say the least.
“Only once, maybe twice!” Adam replied, quickly darting his eyes in two specific directions, though keeping his head facing Luke. Luke noticed, and continued to force a laugh. He grabbed his stomach, and he slyly lifted up his shirt to reveal just a hint of the pistol. Adam just shook his head. Luke nodded a little, and pulled his shirt back down.
“Alright well, time to get a move on, huh?” Derrick suggested, hopping down from the wagon and grabbing his rope. “Luke, I think we’ve only got like an hour or so left on our shift, might as well get the rest of it now!”
Luke made a soft sound of approval, and grabbed his own rope. They pulled away, faster than they were moving before, and Adam coyly peered outward. He noticed a slight rustling in the bushes, and then nothing. After a pause, Adam turned back to the others, speaking low.
“Alright, I think they’re gone, for now,” he decided.
“Who are they anyway?” Derrick asked.
“How the hell… I don’t know,” Adam retorted, then stopping himself. It bothered him when people wasted time with useless questions like that. Derrick just glanced back at him angrily, then turning back to face forward. Adam didn’t really have it in him to start a fight at the moment anyway, so he was fine with it.
“W…What do we do if they come back?” Nolan asked, getting very evidently nervous.
“Don’t worry buddy, we’ll be fine,” Luke reassured, glancing back at the others, directing them to console their friend.
“Y-Yeah, don’t worry man, we’re totally, uh… totally cool,” Chris awkwardly supported, poorly picking up on the not-so-subtle cue. He uncomfortably tried to pat Nolan on the back. It was weird.
“You sure?” Nolan asked, slowly inching out of the defensive position he had so tightly circled into.
“Of course! We are the heroes of tonight’s mystery hour, don’t forget!” Cody said optimistically, once again in his stupid broadcasting tone.
While Adam and the others groaned, Nolan settled a little, and a small smile slowly returned to his face. The others all having done their best to reciprocate some form of comforting expressions.
“Adam,” Luke said, pulling the pistol out with one hand and tossing it back to him. “Take it. Just in case Derry and I need to shift it into high gear, and someone’s gotta ward something off.”
“Got it,” Adam nodded. Luke glanced back at Nolan once again.
“Not that I think we’ll need to. Just, you know, in case.” Nolan nodded, and put on a half a smile. Their relationship was so odd. Why did Luke try so hard to coddle him like that? Adam never understood it. It just spurred on more negative behavior. But then, maybe that was Adam’s negative perspective on things. Maybe it was just a kind of friendship that he never really had.
They moved on for another few minutes, maybe 20 or so, and did so in a cautious and forebodingly tense silence. Admittedly, Adam hated that the flow of conversation had ended, but there seemed to be something far more sinister than they were used to afoot. Their fun, short-lived as it was, had to be put on pause.
The threat seemed at first to be gone, and Adam could tell that the others were sliding back into their more or less casual demeanor. Luke was still on edge, and Adam was as well, but he tried to at least pretend he wasn’t. Maybe that would keep the other calm, anyhow.
Suddenly though, they all heard rustling come from the woods on either side of the wagon. Luke turned to his left, and Derrick to his right. The wagon stopped dead in its tracks.
They each saw someone strolling toward them; both individuals in ragged, dirty clothing. They approached slowly, and one unnaturally calmly. They were almost walking toward them as though they meant to… welcome them…
“Guys!? What’s happening!?” Chris nervously whispered from inside the wagon.
“Nothing, I don’t think…” Luke murmured.
“This doesn’t look like nothing to me, dude,” Derrick countered. Nolan tensed up a bit, and Adam could feel a sense of dread building in his own stomach.
“Just follow my lead. Be cool,” Luke insisted.
Luke released the rope, and Derrick followed suit. Luke stepped forward from the wagon, and turned so he was facing it, as to see both of the strangers more clearly. They were both relatively young, maybe a little older than the group, if not the same age. Hardly adults.
The one to Luke’s side was taller, had a somewhat muscular build, and short, curly blonde hair; he was about Luke’s height, give or take an inch above. The other was shorter, maybe Nolan’s height. He too was somewhat built, though not as much as the first stranger; Adam would argue he had more fat than muscle. He had short, poorly cut brown hair, and an incredibly greasy face. A simple face, if Adam was honest.
Neither seemed to have any weapons on them, but Luke wasn’t certain, so he clenched his fists together and glanced at the guys in the wagon very quickly, tilting his head in a questioning motion. Then releasing his clenched hands and looking back to the taller stranger. Most of them didn’t get what he meant, but again, Adam knew how to read Luke. And most people in general, really. Still, Luke was an old friend; Adam could read him like a picture book. These people could be threats, but Luke wasn’t sure. A fight might happen, so be ready. That was the gist of what Adam got.
“Hey there, I’m Luke. This is Derrick,” Luke bluntly spoke up, introducing himself.
“Hey Luke,” introduced the blonde stranger, “name’s Jack. This is my buddy Trevor.” Jack motioned to Trevor, who gave a very small and subtle nod back, all while eyeing down Derrick.
Jack came in a bit closer to Luke and turned around, perusing the inside of the wagon. The others all stared back, nervous, but unhostile. They were unnaturally still. Jack waved to them with an all too devious smirk on his face, and they waved back cautiously. Adam didn’t like the look of him whatsoever. Something was definitely off.
Chris also clearly thought he and his friend were far too dirty to stick around with, but that was his own, weird, personal issue with cleanliness.
“So, you gonna introduce me to your friends?” Jack asked, turning back to Luke. “These are your friends, right? Or, what, you capturing other
people to run around and work for you? Wouldn’t make a ton of sense, seeing as how you’re the one pulling this weird-ass shack on wheels,” Luke paused a moment, confused, and Jack smiled, laughing. Luke feigned a grin and lightly chuckled back.
“Sure, yeah. This is Adam, Jeremy, Nolan, Chris, and Cody,” Luke said, pointing at each of the others, most of which who smiled back, and some of which who even waved; Adam hardly gave any effort himself however.
“Ah, well, sure is some group you got there,” Jack remarked, staring at everyone. Then placing his hand on the wagon. “Where’d you get a hand of this thing? You live on a farm or something?”
“We actually built it, if you can believe it,” Luke answered gesturing to the wagon. Not to the people within it, insultingly.
“No shit? That’s awesome dude!” Jack exclaimed, giving Luke a playful shove on the shoulder. “Looks like we got a group of carpenters on our hands here, Trev!”
“Hmm. Could use that,” Trevor muttered abruptly.
“Well hold on now,” Jack said, holding his hand out patiently. “Let’s not be intrusive or anything here.” He gazed to Luke, as well as the rest of the group. “We uh… we do have a camp though, if you’d like to take a rest. It’s got about fifteen people, us included. We haven’t got much, but we do have beds, some water, some food; things worth not passing up. Not nowadays.”
Adam looked to Luke, eyebrows raised. They didn’t have a lot of water, and the more beds they could use the better, even if only temporarily. All the same, they both knew the risks involved with going anywhere with someone they don’t know, and like Adam thought, these people were shady to be sure. Still, no risk, no reward.
“Yeah, I get that,” Luke agreed, looking down. “Tell you what: we’ll follow you back there, wagon and all, and see if we can’t help each other out. Alright?”
The Way Back (Book 1): The Way Back Page 6
