Alex sighed heavily, wanting something more than this for the two of them and Shadow. It wasn’t fair that Shadow had to stay locked up inside this area, large though it was, trapped within these walls.
And when it comes right down to it, so were they now. Yes, they would need to do something about this, he decided. And soon.
***
They woke the next morning at their own pace, eventually gathering in the Great Hall and sharing breakfast, as well as stories about their fallen friends. It was very uplifting and not at all emotionally similar to the night before. After they ate, as promised, they all gathered together at the rear of the castle grounds, in an area where Alex had found Nick only recently in heavy contemplation.
The roof was open above them where it appeared it was meant for a pane of glass, but none was there. It was also where someone, presumably Nick and/or Liz, had planted makeshift tombstones. It was reasonably well kept and the ground was well kept, unlike most of the surrounding area where weeds and grass grew heavily among huge dead spots of brown grass and dirt these days,
The group took turns saying something kind about both Bryan and Alexis. To Alex’s surprise, even Liz and Selina spoke kindly about Alexis, Selina specifically recalling her bravery and willingness to be the ‘pied piper’ in their plan.
Everyone laughed and cried, placing eclectic wildflowers down in a place which Nick had prepared as a memorial, and there was much reminiscing. Nick had spent the better part of the evening to make the place special for today. He had even hung a wreath on an easel, and decorated it with many of Ben’s things, including some old photos. Beside that was another crudely made cross, driven into the ground, which displayed some of Tom’s things. This space was to be used as their ‘graveyard’ to remember their fallen friends, Nick said, feeling emotionally expressive in particular this day. Though, under the circumstances, and with the many special memories and stories that were shared, they were collectively caught in the thralls of the emotional upheaval this morning,
The weather too seemed to shift wildly this day in conjunction with their mood swings. It was sunny one minute, then the clouds would roll in and threaten to rain the next. Then the clouds would disperse abruptly, leaving behind sunny skies once more.
As the group began to disperse, Alex lingered until it was only he and Nick left in the funeral garden.
“You guys wanna leave soon, I assume?” Nick asked, suspecting the reason for Alex’s choice to remain behind. He stood in silence after asking the rhetorical question, staring up at the sky pensively, his hands held behind his back with one hand grasping the opposite wrist.
“That is something that Selina and I have discussed, yeah,” he answered, moving to position himself in Nick’s line of sight. “But, as I’ve said before, we’re more than willing to help you get ready for winter.”
“What vehicle do you have to take south? You’re not gonna get that van outta the fairgrounds, I’m thinkin’” Nick said, staring back at Alex.
“Agreed. We were thinking of taking the ambulance. I haven’t really given it much thought to be honest,” Alex said truthfully.
“Well, it’s probably well kept,” Nick said. “Runs on diesel though, Might be harder to find fuel out there.”
“Solid point. Devil’s advocate though, I might be able to siphon a lot of gas from abandoned big rigs. Or even from someone’s home oil heat. But, best not to take that chance. I’ve heard varied answers on that. We’ll need to give it some thought for sure, though.”
“What about a nice all-wheel drive four-cylinder?”
“Yeah, been thinking about trying to wrangle up some kind of all-wheel drive vehicle, something I can take off road if necessary. The ambulance might not be the best idea for that. Plus, there’s more medical supplies inside the rig you guys may want later, just in case. Anyway, just wanted you to know. Anything else that Selina and I could do for you guys before…?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. I’d ask you to help us make one more run to the grocery store with Me and Phil, to fill the gas cans, and refill our stock of canned goods,” Nick replied, turning to face Alex again, who had made his way for the exit. .”And maybe help us hunt down a vehicle if you’re gonna take that ambulance. Kelly’s good at a lot of things, but vehicle repair isn’t his strongest suit. I’d love to know that you looked over whatever vehicle it is we’re gonna be usin’ in the future here.” He smiled through his goatee at Alex. ”Sound okay to you?”
“Sure thing. I’m leanin’ towards leavin’ the rig with you. But anything you guys need, of course. Besides, I wanna grab a pair of walkie-talkies. Is there a hardware store around here that hasn’t been overrun or stripped? I used to go to a place on Main Street, but it’s pretty much been picked clean.”
“Yeah, there’s a Home Depot about thirty miles from here in the opposite direction of everything else…of course, right?” Alex smiled and nodded, rubbing the stubble on his neck. But before he could ask about them going there, too, Nick spoke up about something else. ”And for what it’s worth, Selina just being around is helpin’ a lot with Hannah. I know it means the world to her to have female companionship.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell her,” Alex said, turning once again and heading out of the courtyard, staring up at the sky. It was overcast again and might just rain again. He was sure Shadow would love racing around in the rain, as he had done many times at the cabin. Alex sighed, wishing for that peaceful of an environment once again, and yet, extremely satisfied that he had met these people who enriched his life.
He held that thought for a long while and his smirk broadened with each step he took.
Alex proceeded back to the chapel in the outer courtyard, gathered all of their road supplies and weapons, loaded them into the anchored boat, and went back to spend some quality time with Shadow.
Over the next hour or so, Alex wrestled with the wolf, played fetch briefly, and bonded with him as he had in the past. He felt much better after, when Selina and the others came out to join him there. Shadow actually got up from where Alex sat and trotted over to sit beside Selina, who looked surprisingly at Alex. He couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, not expecting that. But the wolf had been warming up to her since they first met.
“Looks like the puppy’s got a new best friend,” Phil teased through a sarcastic grin.
“Liz is gonna stay here with Hannah. Me and Kelly’ll go with you guys on the first trip, since I don’t think we can get more’n four of us in that boat, right?”
“Yep, four’s about max. May be pushing it, actually,” Alex said, squinting through the sunlight in an attempt to look Nick in the eye.
“Then you can drop us off and then come back and get Phil and Selina and make your runs. Sound good?”
“How are you and Kelly gonna get back?”
“We got all day. All we’re gonna do is fill up gas cans, bring ‘em back to the meet point, rinse and repeat.”
Alex looked at him with his face wrinkled up in question of that answer.
“We’ll walk them back,” Nick said more plainly. “I could use some exercise.”
“Ah, got it. Guess it ain’t that far, right?”
“Anywhere’s walking distance if you got the time.”
“I’ve heard that somewhere before,” Alex said, nodding his agreement of that statement.
“All right then. Let’s get this show on the road.”
With that said, Kelly and Nick stepped into the boat. They collectively removed all of the weapons and supplies, and filled the space instead with empty gas cans. All said, they managed to put eight empty cans into the tiny boat.
“And remember, Lancelot. We’re getting me a bow today,” Selina teased as Alex stared the motor. He couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement.
“She’s persistent, eh?” Nick asked.
“Yeah, it’s one of the things that attracted me to her in the first place,” Alex answered. “Well, that and the constant stream of insults,”
he added with a laugh, guiding the boat out of the moat and into the river. The navigation was, by comparison, much easier and faster going upstream with the motor, Alex admitted, though he did not say this to Kelly, who had really put a great deal of work into the other boat.
Five minutes or so later, and they were at the old boat. Alex pointed to it and Kelly nodded, taking care to mark any landmarks, scanning the entire area. Alex knew he intended on coming back to look at it sooner or later.
“Sorry. I pulled one of the short sides loose. Might be an easy fix. Just couldn’t do it—“
“I know,” Kelly interjected. “You had bigger fish to fry. I get it. It’s cool, Alex.”
They rode the next few minutes in silence until Alex recognized the area. It was marked pretty well with tire tracks in the mud, a one-armed zombie lying on its side, and debris kicked up all over the hill heading down to this very spot. He pulled the boat up to the bank and the three of them got out, easily pulling the boat out of the river and onto dry land.
The group quickly removed all of the gas cans and placed them under some heavy foliage. Then Alex took them to see the ambulance, hidden behind a large bank of trees and shrubbery.
“Actually, why don’t you guys take the rig to fill the cans while I go back and get the others?”
“We’ll be fine, Alex. You go get ‘em and we’ll do it like we planned. Like I said, we need the exercise,” Nick said, glancing over his shoulder to Kelly, who simply shook his head.
“We? Speak for yourself, old man,” Kelly teased.
“Truth be told, I really just need some time out of that damned castle. Besides, it’s shaping up to be a nice day,” Nick commented, staring up at the sky. The sun was out, there was a cool breeze, and the clouds had all but disappeared. “See ya, kid.” With that said, the two men each grabbed a pair of gas cans, and headed off down the road toward the gas station.
Alex pulled the boat back into the river, started the engine and headed back to get the others. He wondered about Nick’s last statement about being in the castle too long. He hadn’t really left the place much at all that Alex could remember.
“I guess I can understand that,” he said to the open air.
It wasn’t long before the moat was in sight again. Many zombies yet remained on the outskirts of the fairgrounds, in sight of Alex and the boat as it passed. Several of them raced toward him down the precariously pitched hill, falling into the river, immediately lost in the current that brought them downstream.
He wondered just how many zombies were in the river, and if they were ‘alive’ under the water? They didn’t breathe, so it wasn’t as if they would drown, he guessed. He considered that unimaginable terror that lay beneath the water somewhere, and when he realized it, he was already inside the moat, rounding the corner to see Phil and Selina patiently waiting for him. Phil was coming back from the courtyard where Shadow was and wiggled his eyebrows at Alex oddly.
“What was that all about,” he said, killing the engine and coasting up to the lowered drawbridge.
“Found a frozen steak and gave it to Shadow. He’s my best buddy!”
Alex nodded in agreement and took all of the supplies into the boat. Phil stepped in and then Selina. They spun the boat around, restarted the engine and headed back upstream.
They travelled in silence, Selina sitting behind Alex, her hand wrapped around his chest.
“I’m cold,” she whispered, hugging him for warmth as the wind whipped past.
“Groceries first?” Alex asked Phil. He nodded and glanced to the sky broodingly as the time passed. They reached the landing spot, pulling the boat up and onto the bank. Alex tested the weight of the motor, a 5HP engine, and found a handle. He lifted it from the boat, feeling its weight. He could carry it easily enough, he decided.
“What the hell ya doin’?” Phil asked, pulling on his backpack and straightening the scabbard at his hip.
“Well, I wanna hide the boat, right? But, I also wanna take the motor with us. That way if someone finds the boat, they really can’t go anywhere.”
Phil laughed at the cunning of Alex’s thought process, placing the boat upside down in a cropping of thickets. “Well, sure, unless they got their own…or a couple of oars,” he said as he strode over to Alex, and then grabbed one side of the motor, taking some of the weight off. He helped him carry it up the hill and held it easily as Alex fumbled for the right key, opened the back doors of the ambulance and gently rested it in the right rear corner.
“I'm gonna try to prop it up,” Alex said, looking around for something that would aid in that effort.
“Try these,” Phil said, removing several bungee cords from one of the many drawers in the back of the ambulance. There were many metal edges and grates where they could hook them to, and very quickly, the motor was secured.
“Plenty of room back here,” Phil said, holding an outstretched hand for Selina.
“I'm gonna sit up front,” she said, smiling meekly at his offer. “But thanks.”
“Oh, well, sure. Leave ol’ Phil all by his lonesome back here.”
“Phil, we can see you easy. You can sit right there—“
“I know. I'm messin’ with you,” Phil said with another goofy grin. Alex shook his head and climbed into the front seat.
“Selina wants to stop at the SuperMart to get a bow and some arrows so I can teach ‘er how to shoot,” Alex said loudly as he pulled the vehicle out of the woods and back onto the road.
“Why don’t we just go there, then? I can probably get all of the canned goods we need there, too,” Phil offered, slapping Alex on the back. He looked back at Phil and again shook his head.
“Sounds like a plan, Stan,” Alex heard himself say.
“Stan?” Phil asked incredulously as the ambulance picked up speed.
As they passed the grocery store, Alex tapped Phil to point out that the swarm of zombies that were at one time surrounding the back of the store, and which were now all around the front of the lot now, too. There were easily dozens of them in the distance. They collectively looked up and started racing after their vehicle as they passed by the lot, running into the fence that surrounded the outer edges of the shopping center
“Poor Ollie’s,” Phil said dejectedly.
“So that was the name!” Alex said, recalling the remaining letters that hung on the storefront.
“Yep. My home away from home at one time. It was as stressful as I could remember, but I’d do it all again if I could go back.”
Phil became silent and even melancholy after that. He was no doubt reminiscing about his prior life that was evidently full of joy, love, family and friends. Alex looked at Selina pleadingly, as if to ask her to try to cheer him up, which she did.
She engaged him in conversation quickly about trivial things, and distracted him with talk about his swordsmanship.
“I learned most of what I know from practicing and actually killing the damned undead,” Phil said, adding some final thoughts about the subject. “And I appreciate what you did there, Selina.”
She looked from Phil to Alex, giving him a sideways glance. He shrugged, knowing that Phil was smart enough to know what they were doing. Alex believed it needed to be done, and evidently, so did Phil.
It wasn’t long before they turned up a lone, deserted street that led to the SuperMart. A minute later, they were in the parking lot. Alex quietly pulled the vehicle up to the side of the building, in the shade, and looked about nervously. He expected something to come running toward him whenever there was a moment of peace these days, and when nothing happened, he was amazed. But, in that moment, he felt a panic attack coming on out of the blue.
“Shall we try the front door or go in through that employee entrance again?” Selina asked Alex. She was staring at the side of the building and missed the tightening of his grip on the leather bound steering wheel. He let out a sigh as his emotions came under control and he let go of the wheel.
“Sure thing. Le
t’s go the path of least resistance,” Alex said, putting the car in park and retrieving his gear. He tucked his pistol with the silencer in his belt and shook his head as he shouldered the compound bow. “I really need a holster or something for this thing.”
“Yeah, you look like you’ve got something stuck up your ass,” Selina said, drawing an immediate look of ire from Alex.
“Is that so?”
She laughed at him, removing her sword from its scabbard, and moving straight ahead toward the short row of concrete steps that led to the employee entrance on the side of the building. “Hey, what kind of sword is that anyway?”
“That there looks like a European-style, medieval long sword, like they used in actual fighting, if I was to guess,” Phil interjected. “This, however,” he said, removing his much larger blade, “is a double-edged long sword, able to be used for one handed or two handed action.” Phil spun away from them and performed a few jabs and feints with the weapon. “I use it with one hand, because I also like to employ this,” he said, unstrapping a smallish, leather bound, round shield from his back. “Helps keep me alive, I like to think. This is modeled after the 17th century Highlanders, who—“
“Yeah, I’ve seen you use ‘em both,” Alex said, interrupting Phil, and straightening his own pack on his back and testing the string on the composite bow. “You’re very good with them,” he added, after catching the ‘stink eye’ that Phil leveled his way, clearly not liking the fact that he was interrupted. “Sorry, can we get going here?”
“Sure,” he said, following Selina, who took the lead. They quietly climbed the short flight of steps to the door, Selina testing it, and it clicked open, just like before.
Alex removed his flashlight and shone the light into the gloomy area. There were a few windows way up high on the walls, but it didn’t help their cause very much at all. He heard a snap from behind and looked to see that Phil had a yellow neon glow stick in his hand that he shook, which illuminated the back of the warehouse pretty well. He tossed one to Selina and another to Alex.
Wake the Dead 2 (Wake The Dead Series) Page 9
