The Feral Children [A Zombie Road Tale] Box Set | Books 1-3

by Simpson, David A.

  She wiped her brow with the back of her arm. She was worked up and sweaty. She circled him slowly, eyed her tomahawks in his outstretched hand. He moved as she moved, kept his distance from her, watched for her to spring or dart in for the weapons.

  “I thought you guys were a tribe.” Bob taunted. “You don’t fight like a tribe. I’m kicking her ass and you guys are just standing there watching.”

  Tobias needed no further incentive. He didn’t particularly care for this guy and he noticed how the girls couldn’t take their eyes off him when he was laid up in his underwear. He ran at him with a fearsome battle cry and leapt high in the air. His sheathed battle axe was cocked back behind him as he sailed towards Bob, a snarl on his tattooed face. He wasn’t holding back. He wouldn’t bust the strangers head wide open but by the Gods of Asgard he’d put a hurting on him.

  Bob pivoted and caught Tobias by the front of his shirt in midair. He used the feral boy’s momentum against him and flipped him. Tobias hit the ground with a thud, a cloud of dust pluming around him. All of the air rushed out of his lungs and he groaned as his axe flew out of his hands.

  He stepped quickly towards the boy and smacked him across the chest with the flat side of a tomahawk. “You’re dead.”

  Analise let out a shrill cry and rushed in, swinging her battle axe at his midsection. He evaded it, moved only enough to let the blade skim past him. She spun and swung a back handed blow towards his head that would knock the stuffing out of him. He stopped it a millimeter from his skin with one of Swan’s tomahawks.

  Swan used Analise’s distraction and leapt onto Bob’s back. She curled one arm around his throat and reached for her tomahawk with the other. He reached over his shoulder, grabbed the back of her shirt and flipped her. She hit the ground next to Tobias. She growled and locked her arms around Bob’s leg and tried to bite him through his pants.

  Analise tired quickly and her blows slowed without much strength behind them. She couldn’t even get close to him. It was like he knew what she was going to do before she did. Bob caught the battle axe by the handle, threw her off balance and dumped her onto Swan. Swan let go of his leg as Analise crashed into her. He tapped each of them with the flat of the tomahawk blades.

  “You’re both dead.” Bob skipped away to meet the next attack.

  Vanessa and Donny leapt into the fray using the blunted end of their long spears They poked and slashed at him, the long hafts kept them away from the dual tomahawks and Bob’s size advantage. Vanessa lunged in with hers, a hard blow aimed at his belly to knock the air out of him. He batted it aside an inch from his stomach, grabbed it behind the shaft and jerked her forward. She stumbled and lost her grip. Bob wrapped an arm around her and touched her temple with the tomahawk in his other hand.

  “You’re dead.” He released Vanessa and she stormed off in a huff to join Swan, Tobias and Analise on the sidelines.

  Donny twirled his spear like a bo staff, reminiscent of the old martial arts movies. He knew a few kung fu kata’s too. It was a blur of motion as he advanced towards Bob. Bob took a step backwards. Feeling confident Donny surged towards his retreating opponent. Bob leapt forward and caught the spinning staff with the beard of the tomahawk. Donny recovered quickly though and managed to keep his grip on the shaft, turn it out straight and swung it towards the stranger, a blow that would send him reeling. Bob quickly ducked under the whistling steel. A tuft of hair drifted towards the ground. It was the first time any of them had managed to touch him with a weapon. He barked out a laugh. Donny grinned and thrust the blunt end at the older boy, aiming right at his bread basket. Bob turned his body slightly, caught the shaft between his arms and ribs. He swept Donny’s feet and the boy hit the ground with a thud. Bob reversed his grip, spun the spear and touched the end to Donny’s throat.

  “Nice try, kid. But you’re dead.” Bob grunted.

  Kodiak watched his tribe getting trounced from his seat at the fire. Bob was the superior fighter no doubt. He nodded at Harper and they homed in on him at a run. The stranger watched them come. He tossed the tomahawks towards Swan who snatched them out of the air then stood there unarmed once more.

  Kodiak let out a yell and swung his wooden training hammer in a crushing blow from Bob’s right. Harper attacked from the left with her monkey’s fist, the heavy ball a good substitute for her wicked spiked Morningstar. Bob stepped into Kodiak’s swing, grabbed the boy above his wrists and spun him towards Harper. She already had the heavy ball at the end of the chain flying towards his legs and it was too late to pull it back. Bob swung Kodiak and the Warhammer in an arc that intercepted the ball. The chain wrapped around the shaft of the Warhammer and Bob snatched both weapons from their grasp then let them fall. He grabbed each of the teens by the back of their armored outfits and brought their heads together at high speed. Just before their skulls smacked into each other, he brought them up short, so they were lip to lip. Harper smiled at the closeness. Kodiak snarled at being bested so easily.

  “What about you guys?” Bob asked as he released the two. He looked at Murray and the triplets who sat wide eyed watching the whole thing. They adamantly shook their heads side to side.

  “Yeah, I want another go.” Kodiak said. Bob nodded and the two circled each other warily.

  The boys all looked disgruntled and pissed. The girls had a different look in their eyes. They were riveted by the stranger. It didn’t go unnoticed by the boys and their moods soured further.

  Kodiak dropped the Warhammer and moved towards the older boy. He’d done a little wrestling in school, he knew how to take him down. He tackled him around the waist. Bob slipped out easily and danced away. Kodiak feinted to the left and when Bob shifted to counter, Kodiak hit him from the right. They fell into a tangle on the ground and Bob let out a pained yell.

  Kodiak jumped to his feet. He looked at the older boy clutching his collar bone. He felt bad. He knew Bob was still healing. He should have taken it easier on him.

  They helped him to a seat on a log. Murray poked and prodded at the injury and then sent Caleb after some bandages so he could rewrap it. Swan appeared with a glass of lemonade and shot Kodiak a dirty look. He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to hurt him. How was I supposed to know he didn’t know how to fight without a weapon?”

  “Yeah he wasn’t any good without something in his hands.” Tobias quickly agreed.

  Bob kept quiet, sipped the lemonade and let Murray fuss over the injured shoulder.

  “We usually fight with our animals.” Kodiak said. “Together, we’re unbeatable.”

  Bob nodded. “Agreed. Nobody can stand against them, but what happens if you are separated from them or the quarters are too close, maybe you’re fighting indoors. You guys need to work together. Play to each other’s strengths and supplement each other’s weaknesses. Almost every one of you let out a battle cry when you attacked. I knew you were coming before I ever saw you. That split second gave me time to prepare and counterattack. That may be fine for fighting the undead, but it’s gonna cost you against everyone else. They have guns and lots of them. I’ll give you this though, there’s no shortage of guts in any of you.”

  The boys perked up at the praise, the girl’s eyes got wider and they wore silly grins.

  “Now, if you guys are through beating up on me I could use some rest. Tomorrow I could really use some help finding that truck you were telling me about.”

  Kodiak studied him warily as he limped through the door, collapsed on the couch. Soon the living room was filled with soft snores and he watched the stranger sleep. He knew the older boy let him win. He felt the strength of him when they grappled. It was like trying to move Otis. It said a lot about his character. He was a good man and his presence brought new hope to the tribe. Kodiak felt pride swell in his heart. The decision to bring Bob to the zoo had been the right one and not another mistake. He vowed to do whatever it took to help him get what he needed to continue his journey.

  13

  The Truck


  The sun was just peeking through the windows, but the tribe was up and bustling. Clara and Landon came in with fresh eggs and milk while Caleb finished up the morning feeding of the barnyard animals.

  Bob tried to stay out of the way of the comings and goings of the kids and finally wandered into the kitchen where Tobias and Analise were getting ready to start breakfast.

  Tobias acknowledged him with a grunt and told him to get on the butter churn. It was a tedious job and if the albino boy was going to slave over the stove to feed the stranger, then he was going to get some work out of him in the process.

  The delicious smells from the kitchen greeted the tribe as they came in from their chores. Harper and Bert had done a hurried perimeter check while Kodiak fussed with Millie. He finally got the harness on the old rhinoceros and filled her hay bin. She snorted and bumped him out of the way with her massive shoulder. He gave her a rub between the ears. She hated the harness and always made it as difficult as possible to get it on. She knew it meant they wanted her to pull something for them.

  Donny, Swan and Vanessa cleared the front gate of undead. Vanessa, astride Ziggy, lured them down the road and deep into the woods where Donny, Swan and their companions put them down. Killing and leaving them at the front gate wasn’t an option. No one wanted piles of rotting, stinking bodies so close to the house.

  Murray rolled around looking for a pen to finish up his supply list. Elmo had snatched one from his hand and ran up the stairs with it chittering loudly. The other three chased him, eager to fight over the bauble. In minutes, it would be reduced to a disassembled piece of chewed up plastic and they would all have blue teeth. He’d need the tribe to grab him some more. I’d put pens on the list if I had a pen to write with he ironically thought to himself,

  Even though there was still a lot of merchandise sitting on the shelves in Putnam, they weren’t things they could use. The small town was drying up as a resource and before long they would have to start venturing further for the things they needed. The garden was producing better than expected and with the foaling of the herd animals, their need to venture outside of the gate was greatly diminished. All of the stores that didn’t have undead stumbling around inside had been raided for toilet paper and Swan had started gathering it from the houses she explored. Tobias had told them they could use corn shucks when the supply was finally exhausted, but the girls had some very strong opinions on that. He’d just shrugged and shook his head. He didn’t understand girls, not even his sister.

  A big bowl of scrambled eggs was set on the table alongside the thin strips of fried venison back strap. Freshly churned butter, courtesy of Bob, was smeared on chunk of thick flatbread. Tomatoes and cantaloupe were sliced and glasses of fresh milk were poured. The raw milk had taken some getting used to, but now every drop was drained by the hungry children. Breakfast was devoured and the dishes piled high in the sink for later. Excitement was high about a trip to town as weapons were gathered and Murray went over the list with Harper and Kodiak one more time.

  They passed through the gates to the chorus of Landon, Clara and Caleb telling them to be safe and how much they would miss them and to bring back candy. Lots of candy. And toys.

  Kodiak spoke to Bob in a low voice. “No guns. I don’t care if you carry them, you know, just in case there is some kind of extreme emergency, but if you shoot them, you’ll spook the animals. They’ll run off. We’ll lose them. You understand?”

  “Understood.” Bob said. Kodiak watched as he pulled the pistols and cleared the chambers. He dropped the rounds in his pocket and slid the guns back into their holsters.

  Kodiak heard Otis moaning from the fence. He was leaving him behind this time. Millie was difficult and would require most of his attention to keep her plodding along. They’d be lucky if she didn’t stop and refuse to move or decide to turn around and drag him back to the zoo at least once. He had a pouch full of her favorite treats slung over his shoulder though so he wasn’t too concerned about keeping her motivated.

  The trip to town passed without incident. No undead stumbling out of the woods or signs of the Savage Ones. Swan kept an eye on the sky. The carrion birds usually gave away the location of the strange band.

  Vanessa scouted ahead and came back with news that the truck was still there and the area was clear. The fleet footed ostrich couldn’t be caught once she started running and Vanessa loved the thrill of tucking down low, giving her free reign and urging her to go faster. Ziggy could easily hit forty miles an hour, faster than most horses and way faster than any zombie could run.

  They hid in a copse of trees and waited for Vanessa to make one more pass through the area around the grocery store. If there were any undead hanging around, she’d draw them out as she and Ziggy raced between the derelict cars and abandoned shopping carts. Satisfied that they were as safe as they could be, Bob and the tribe made their way over to the truck. Vanessa sat on the hood, beaming a radiant smile. Bob smiled a crooked smile back at her then motioned her to scoot off so he could raise it.

  The tribe conversed in whispers or sign language even though there didn’t seem to be an immediate threat. They were careful not to do anything to draw the attention of any undead that might hear them from blocks away.

  Donny, Swan and Vanessa scattered with their animals to keep watch at the cross streets. Harper tied her giraffe’s reins to the shopping cart corral and joined the twins to raid the store one last time. Tobias kept a sharp eye out, battle axe ready, while the girls checked the small piece of clear tape near the top of the sliding glass doors. It was intact, no one had been in or out since the last time they’d been here. They pried the doors apart and slipped inside. A quick walk thru confirmed nothing had been disturbed, the back door was still locked. They relaxed, grabbed carts and started loading up. Tobias wanted to try experimenting with different seasonings. The spice shelves had been cleared of salt and pepper, chili powder and paprika but the less common ones, the marjoram, the dill weed and rosemary were still there. He’d come across some recipes that called for them. The air inside had a stale, musty scent with just a hint of decay from the meats and dairy that had spoiled long ago and rotted away. Analise filled the cart with different spices while Tobias loaded powdered marinades. Satisfied with their selection, they walked the aisles one last time, taking everything that was still good. Most of the shelves were empty. It was the only grocery store in town, the only one they’d been shopping at for the past nine months. Rodents had gotten to a lot of the boxed and bagged foods before they had a chance to take them. When they met at the front of the store, instead of the half dozen overflowing carts they normally took back, the three they had were barely full. Harper tossed in a handful of magazines and a few cat toys for the monkeys. There was plenty of room for extras this trip.

  Kodiak kept watch as Bob examined the truck. He muttered under his breath, shook his head at some of the things, nodded in approval at others. He crawled underneath and Kodiak figured he was looking for damage or oil leaks. He didn’t know much about cars, but he remembered there was always an oil stain in their driveway and his mom had shown him how to check and add oil to the old Subaru she drove.

  Bob finished his inspection and slid into the cab. The key was in the ignition but nothing happened when he turned it. He shrugged, they hadn’t really expected it to fire up, it had been sitting for nearly a year. Kodiak led Millie over to the truck and together they started rigging up the ropes to the bumper. She snorted at him, tried to pull away but a carrot from his satchel settled her down.

  Tobias and Analise slid the grocery store doors closed, reapplied the tape then helped Harper finish loading the supplies into the bed of the truck. It was the smallest haul they’d made. Analise signed to Kodiak they were ready. He signed back and the crew spread out to take their places for the trip back.

  “Plenty of room for more.” Bob whispered.

  “That’s the last of it.” Kodiak whispered back. “We’re going to have to go farther next t
ime, to the next town. Donny is going to scout it soon, we just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

  “There’s food warehoused down by the river.” Bob whispered.

  “How do you know?” Kodiak asked.

  Bob shook his head. “I don’t. Some places used to, back when there was river traffic. I guess they’re long gone now. Do you want to try to get some guns so you guys can practice?’

  Kodiak shook his head and got another nagging feeling that the stranger knew more than he was letting on and his attempts to change the conversation didn’t go unnoticed. The older boy was hiding something.

  “Not this time,” he whispered. “Not with Millie dragging the truck. We’ll have to break in and if the noise draws any of them, we’ll have to leave her, she’s too slow.”

  At the strangers raised eyebrows, Kodiak added

  “They don’t bother her, we’ll come back and get her but it might take a day or two before it’s safe if they get riled up and start wandering around.”

  Bob nodded and made himself comfortable behind the steering wheel. He eased the door closed and dropped the truck into neutral as Kodiak gave a gentle tug on the reins to get the old rhino plodding back toward home.

  The clop of Bert and Millie’s hooves and the truck tires crunching the sticks and leaves littering the road were the only sounds to be heard on the slow walk back towards the zoo. Donny and Yewan were a half a mile ahead scouting the way and Swan moved silently through the woods with her pack. Harper walked alongside Kodiak and Millie. Vanessa let Ziggy nibble at the wild berries on the side of the road while Tobias and Analise brought up the rear of the strange procession.

  Kodiak brought Millie to a halt when he saw Donny and Yewan racing back and signing the word for zombie at them. This was bad. It took a lot to spook the boy and his shadowy companion. Bob braked the truck, slipped it into park and moved beside Kodiak. He watched as they flashed signs back and forth in in their silent language.