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

Page 65

by Simpson, David A.


  “Not just any guards and not just any konking.” Rye said and pulled out Kassie’s phone. “Have a listen to this, I recorded our whole conversation. See if you can edit it some, just leave in the really nasty stuff they admitted to and play it on a loop.”

  Tobias grabbed it and started to do as he asked.

  “Cut all that stuff I said out.” Rye called after him. “None of it’s true, I was just talking crap.”

  “Great.” Swan said. “Now all we have to do is walk around with an ear bud and ask everybody to listen. Good plan.”

  “Oh ye of little faith.” Rye sighed.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked again.

  “No.” Swan said.

  “Yes.” answered Kodiak.

  “What do we do with them?” Harper asked, indicating the three unconscious men.

  “Hope they wake up and try something.” Swan said and fingered her tomahawks.

  “Just keep them here, all will be revealed but I’ve gotta hurry. I’ve got to stay ahead of the Mayor. Right now we have the element of surprise but this whole plan can blow up in our face.”

  Rye gave Kodiak a nod, winked at Swan and hurried towards the door.

  “I’m going to run the chain back through the handles but it’s not locked. You can get out if you want but I’d stay inside if I were you. Give me another hour to put the rest of the plan in motion.” He called over his shoulder then was gone.

  True to his word, about an hour later they heard the quiet rumble of a truck pull up and Rye slid the barn doors wide open.

  “You ready to get out of here?” he asked

  Linda and Kassie were there with Denny and his ice cream truck.

  “Can the bear walk or does he need a ride?” he asked

  “He can walk.” Kodiak answered. “He’s limping a little but he’s good.”

  “We just going to waltz to the front gate and tell them to open it?” Swan turned to Rye. “That’s your big plan?”

  “You can waltz if you want to.” Rye answered with a smile “but it’d be cooler if you didn’t.”

  “You have my phone?” Kassie asked “Did you get it edited down to a loop?”

  “Yeah.” Tobias said and handed it over. “Good playlist, I like your music.”

  “Thanks.” She said and for some reason she felt a little heat creep to her cheeks as she handed it to her mom. “I can get you another one, I have a bunch with even better songs.”

  “You kids gather your gear.” Rye said. “We’re leaving.”

  Linda found a quiet corner, recorded her message and handed it to Denny as packs were stowed, saddles were strapped on and Rye dumped a bucket of water over the three men.

  They spluttered awake and he wasted no time tying their hands and looping nooses around their necks. He ignored their complaints, attached the three ropes to the bumper of the van and signaled Denny they were ready. He took off at a slow and steady pace with the ice cream music blasting its merry tune as he made his way towards the center of town. Kodiak led his band of warriors with Otis at his side, his Warhammer held in his fists. Donny and Swan followed, the wolves and the panther padding softly beside them. Harper rode high on Bert, her blonde curls blowing in the breeze as Vanessa sat tall and proud astride her war bird. The twins brought up the rear astride their massive polar bears, battle axes in their hands, pale hair fluttering.

  The people along the way stopped what they were doing and followed the slow parade. Once they reached main street, Denny turned on the recordings and heard their doctor tell them what she’d been ordered to do by the Mayor. They gasped when the voices of the drunken men started bragging about killing the old mayor and the sheriff. Every window had faces in it and every hand stopped its work as the crowds grew. They listened in horror at what had been planned for the children as the truck made its way to the center of town and the courthouse. The Mayor heard and ran to put a stop to it but the words were too damning and when they started repeating, empty hands of the townspeople were filled with whatever was at hand.

  Rocks, shovels and hammers. Butcher knives, pitchforks and baseball bats.

  They watched the quiet procession, the battle-scarred children riding majestic animals as tame as kittens, and their hearts went cold with rage as they heard the words repeated over the loudspeakers. Rye cut the three men loose in front of the courthouse and motioned for Denny to continue on towards the front gate. Most of the men stayed behind, looked up to the windows of the mayor’s office and made their way inside the building. They sent their women and kids to the gates to see the tribe of wild children off. A great wrong had been done in their town, a wrong they had let happen. It was time to set things right and it wasn’t anything they wanted their families to witness.

  Denny stopped the ice cream truck a mile out of town at the first crossroads. They could see for a long way in all directions and there wasn’t a zombie in sight. He passed out some bags of food he’d thrown together for them and watched them pack it carefully away.

  “I’ve got something for you.” He said and pulled out a bucket of homemade ice cream. He had cones and sprinkles and chocolate syrup to pour over them and the kids lined up at the window like kids had for generations. He put on his ice cream man hat, turned the jaunty music down low and his eyes shone, basking in their simple joy. Once the animals discovered the sweet, sticky goodness he knew he was going to use up the whole gallon.

  “You still headed to Lakota?” Rye asked Kodiak as the boy watched over his people.

  “We have to.” He replied. “I made a promise, three of our tribe are already there.”

  “It’s a good place.” Rye said. “A lot of real good people there.”

  Kassie grabbed her phone out of the truck and took it over to Tobias who was tussling with Popsicle over a handful of ice cream.

  “Here you go.” She said shyly. “You can have it if you want.”

  “Oh, cool. Thanks.” He said and wiped his hands on his pants. “Which song is your favorite?”

  Within minutes they each had a bud in their ears, heads together and were smiling broadly.

  The wolf pups were wound up on sugar and when they realized there was no more of the treat to be had they started chasing each other around a field as Swan watched over them.

  “They look so much like children.” Linda said “But I know they’re not. Not anymore.”

  “Maybe when they get to Lakota they can unwind, be kids again.” Rye said. “Maybe the scars don’t go too deep.”

  “We can only hope.” She said then added “That slap on my ass was just for show, right?”

  “Um, yeah.” Rye said quickly. “I’d never want to smack your backside, I found it quite distasteful and difficult to do.”

  He was pretty sure that was the right answer.

  “Hmmm.” She said and walked off. “Too bad.”

  Rye groaned as he watched her give her bottom a little extra shake. He blew that chance.

  “Hey, Wolf Girl.” he hollered over to Swan “Trust me now?”

  She made a face and waggled her hand back and forth. “A little. Maybe.” She said.

  “Donny.” Kodiak said over the hubbub and when the boy looked his way, he flashed some hand signs at him. The boy nodded, waved at Rye and Linda and started a slow jog down the road.

  The rest of the tribe saw that it was time to go and like a well-oiled machine everyone mounted up, found their places in the procession and were waving goodbyes and shouting thank you’s.

  Everyone except Tobias, he was still head to head with Kassie, lost in the music.

  Vanessa gigged Ziggy, got low in the saddle and rode by them at full speed. She let an acorn fly and it bounced off Tobias’ head.

  “HEY!” he yelled and realized everyone was ready to go and waiting on him.

  “What? A guy can’t listen to music with a pretty girl?” he demanded then turned red when he realized what he’s said.

  “You’re having turnips for breakfast, lunch and dinn
er for the next month!” he said in exasperation as he tried to disentangle himself. They’d been twining their hair together in a little braid.

  “Better than your cheese.” Swan said as she jogged by, her wolves bounding along beside her.

  “Come on lover boy.” His sister said as she rode past on Daisy. “Kiss her goodbye and let’s go.”

  “You guys suck!” he yelled after them, his face as red as a tomato.

  “Wait.” Kassie said softly and pulled out her knife.

  She cut the braid close to her scalp and they came apart. “You can keep it if you want, you know, so you don’t forget me.”

  “I won’t ever forget.” Tobias whispered as he turned away. He didn’t want her to see his embarrassed face.

  He took the knife and cut out a small braid with a polished bone in it. “This is from the first fish I caught, from my first net. I knew we wouldn’t starve when I caught it, it meant life.”

  She took it and no one was watching so she stood on her toes and kissed him. On the mouth. Then ran back to the ice cream truck and her ride back to town.

  “Thanks again.” Kodiak told the three adults. “I won’t forget what you did for us.”

  He turned and walked after his tribe, Otis beside him as Harper circled around to keep watch on their rear.

  “That boy is the King of the Wild.” Denny said, still in awe of the easy way the children handled the creatures.

  18

  The Road

  The tribe traveled throughout the night. Whenever Kodiak asked if they wanted to call it, to find a house and get some sleep, they elected to keep going.

  “Just a few more miles.” was the general consensus whenever they stopped to rest. They trusted Rye but who knew if the Mayor had friends that might seek a little revenge. Best to put some distance between them. It was slow going with Otis favoring his foreleg. The bear groaned and moaned when he realized it elicited sympathy from Kodiak or a treat from one of the girls. The big bear played it for all it was worth.

  Kodiak walked beside him. “It’s really just a flesh wound you big baby.”

  He was thankful and relieved. Thankful for the people who helped him and the tribe. He’d begun to fear that the trip was a mistake. Feared that everyone they would meet was like Gordon or Moretz. It was a relief to know that there were still good people out there like Kassie, Linda and Rye. He thought about Bob, wondered where he was and what he was doing and if they would ever cross paths again.

  Tobias was still going on about Rye.

  “Did you see his ride when we were heading for the gates? That thing was a beast. Maybe I’ll get me one of those someday.”

  Swan snorted. “Hope you can drive better than you cook.”

  He shot her a dirty look. She never complained when she was stuffing her face with his culinary creations. Except for the cheese. They all hated his cheese.

  “Oh yeah?” He shot back. “Must not be too bad since you are getting fat.”

  Swan bared her teeth at his bad joke. None of them had an ounce of fat to spare on their lean bodies. “Keep talking blondie.”

  Donny and Yewan were somewhere ahead of the rest of the tribe. He was scouting for a place to hole up so they could rest. Somewhere off the main road that wouldn’t be too obvious.

  Ziggy and Vanessa came trotting over to Kodiak and Harper.

  “Donny left some sign up ahead. We’ll need to get off about a half mile further. Single brick mailbox by a dirt road.” She said.

  “Thanks.” Kodiak nodded.

  “I’m gonna let Ziggy run.” She said as the bird danced from side to side. She moved effortlessly on her back in rhythm with the huge bird. “I’ll check our back trail for a couple of miles and make sure no one is following us.”

  “Be careful. Take no chances.” Kodiak said.

  She raised her spear in acknowledgement and nudged Ziggy with her knees. They were gone in a flash.

  Kodiak called out to Tobias and Analise. “Cold camp. No fire. Sun will be up soon, and we all need some rest. Let’s see what you can whip up with what they gave us.”

  The twins nodded. The saddlebags were nearly full with dried meat and canned goods.

  Swan had kept a sharp eye out for any signs of game trails beside the road, but the wolves hadn’t scented anything that was fresh enough for pursuit.

  They followed the signs that Donny had left to a two-story house a couple of miles down a dirt road that was slowly being overcome by nature. They made sure to remove the crossed sticks marking the way when they came to them. No need to be obvious if anyone happened to come along.

  When they reached the house, Donny lay in an old porch swing with one leg on the floor pushing himself back and forth. Yewan was curled up by his side.

  Harper and Vanessa turned Bert and Ziggy out in the fenced in backyard. There was a plastic kiddy pool full of rainwater, a couple of sad looking dog houses and the grass was thick and tall. Ziggy wasted no time seeking out bugs while Bert surveyed the trees for tasty leaves.

  When they gathered around to eat, they realized they didn’t have many utensils left. Everything had been unpacked when Otis got shot and they didn’t have a can opener, any pots and pans and only a few of them had an extra spoon in their pack. When they went inside to raid the kitchen they discovered they only had one flashlight and the batteries were weak. Instead of wasting the last of their light rummaging through drawers Donny pried up a few bricks from the walkway. They rubbed the cans back and forth until the lids were worn down enough to pop off with a knife. They ate quietly and watched the first hints of gray lighten the eastern sky. They were tired from the long night and looked forward to catching up on sleep.

  “This place stinks.” Tobias said and opened a few of the sticky windows. “Smells like some old cat lady lived here.”

  Harper took first watch, she’d ridden most of the night and had even gotten a little sleep dozing in the saddle. The others dragged couch cushions and mattresses into the living room and settled in. It was how they’d spent every night in Piedmont house and the closeness of the tribe always brought comfort and peace.

  When she woke Kodiak for his guard shift, he walked out on the porch to watch the storm clouds gathering. From the size of the thunderheads forming in the west, it looked like it might be a big one. Otis could use a break and the house seemed solid enough even if it was pretty dirty. He scratched idly at his head, it itched. Maybe he’d collect some water and wash his hair, there would be shampoo inside. It looked like they’d be camping out for another night, nobody liked traveling in the rain where your gear got soaking wet and chafed.

  19

  Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers

  “Would you look at that?” Tobias whispered to his twin sister. “Ripe for the picking. I bet there’s all kind of stuff in there just waiting to be plundered. Gonna grab me a brand-new Xbox for sure.”

  “What are you gonna do with that? Popsicle got a power plug in his butt you haven’t mentioned?” She snapped.

  “No but that big mouth of yours could power a town.” He snapped back. “We’ll be in Lakota soon, they have power.”

  “Right. I almost forgot. I’m sure he won’t mind carrying around another fifty pounds of useless junk for the next hundred miles.” She sniped right back.

  “Quiet, you two.” Swan hissed.

  Tobias flipped her off then turned his back to his sister. He hated it when she was right.

  Everybody was in a foul mood. The house had been infested with fleas and lice and every other type of burrowing and biting chigger and crab. By the time they realized what they were everyone was itching and scratching and ate up with the annoying little bugs. They left the farmstead and trudged for miles in the drizzle towards the next town, a pharmacy and some relief. They were on the outskirts of an old town with a new industrial district that had been built on what had been farmland a few years ago. They were in a grove of trees across from a strip mall with a Walmart and watched for any signs of
movement. The drizzle was constant, it hadn’t let up since they started walking hours ago. Big, fat drops dripped down from the trees and ran down their necks. Their clothes were soaked and they were surprised the little biting insects hadn’t drowned.

  “I just remembered an ancient Indian secret of how you can get rid of those crabs, Tobias.” Swan said as he squirmed in his clothes.

  “Don’t keep us waiting, Pocahontas.” He said. “How?”

  “You have to shave off half your hair down there.” She answered. “Then you set the other half on fire. When the crabs jump across to the shaved part, you stab them with an icepick.”

  The others snorted laughter and Analise told him she had one he could borrow.

  “You first.” He said. “I’ll help. But let’s start on your head so as I can stab you in the face.”

  “Quiet!” Kodiak said again as Donny darted across the road and slid in beside them.

  Front of the store is all clear he signed. Doors are broken but nothing inside.

  “You’re up, Vanessa.”

  The dark girl nodded, pulled down her goggles, swung onto Ziggy, tucked in low and raced around to the back of the buildings. The ostrich flew across the asphalt and at the speeds they were traveling they circled the entire strip mall in a few minutes. She pulled up in front of the store and raised her spear. All clear.

  “Okay.” Kodiak told the tribe. “We know what to do. Let’s get in, get the stuff and get out fast. I don’t like being this close to a big town.”

  “You worry too much.” Tobias grumbled and scratched at his privates. Then under his arms. Then at his head. They were driving him nuts. “Everybody knows their job, we’ve gone over it a thousand times.”

  They slipped across the road and splashed through the mostly empty parking lot to the front of the store. There had been a fight of some kind a long time ago, the glass doors were broken and shopping carts were tumbled. A car was buried in the Game Stop and many others had open doors. While Harper loosely tied Bert’s reins to a rack of potted plants at the far end of the store, the rest of them ducked inside. After hours of walking in the rain they welcomed the roof overhead as they pushed dripping hair out of their eyes and resettled their gear.

 

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