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

by Simpson, David A.

  He gazed off in the distance. Out there was where it was really at. Living by the blade. Outsmarting your prey, fighting for your life and the life of your tribe. He missed it, but knew it wouldn’t be the same without the tribe. Those days were over.

  He tapped his spear to warn the others of an approaching patrol and melted into the shadows.

  39

  Girl Talk

  “Hold still.” Sasha said. The heavily inked girl began the process of outlining the faded pink flower on Analise’s arm. She was keeping her promise to Sara.

  Trish’s boss, Caitlin, sat beside Swan on the couch in the back of the bakery. Kassie, Vanessa and Harper sat in chairs opposite flipping through outdated magazines. The scent of fresh bread and other delicious concoctions permeated the space.

  Swan was recounting their escape from Gallatin for the hundredth time when Caitlin heard the wild girl’s stomach growl over the buzz of the tattoo gun.

  “I can’t believe it. Are you still hungry?” The redhead asked.

  “I could go for some more of that banana bread.” Swan answered. “Where are you getting the bananas anyway?”

  “They’re freeze dried, got a few hundred cans of them but they do taste good, don’t they? What about you girls?” Caitlin asked the other three. “You want anything?”

  “Chocolate chip cookies!” They chimed in unison.

  She shook her head, left the room and returned a few minutes later with a plate of cookies and a thick slice of banana bread.

  “I wish I could still eat like you.” She sighed. “I’d be as big as a house if I did.”

  “Finish your story. I want to hear more about this retriever you met in Gallatin.” Caitlin urged.

  “That’s pretty much it, he helped us out and then he disappeared.”

  “Is he cute?” Caitlin asked.

  “I guess, for an old guy. He said he would be coming this way before long. Can’t miss him. Drives this big jacked up Jeep thing with guns hanging off it and thinks he’s a cowboy or something.” Swan said through a mouthful of bread.

  Caitlin raised an eyebrow at Trish. “Dibs on the cowboy.”

  “I dunno.” Kassie said. “You might have some competition; I think my mom kind of likes him. She said she hoped he showed up while we were still here.”

  “Oh really?” Caitlin asked. “How much longer are you staying again?”

  The girls laughed, everybody knew they were leaving tomorrow. Kassie was bemoaning the fact that she and Tobias hadn’t been able to spend enough time together. They only came in because the doctors here wanted her mom’s opinion about Swan’s hyena bite. The infection was bad and getting worse. They had some kind of new medicine they wanted to try but didn’t know a whole lot about it. They wanted a second opinion before they injected her with the pink liquid.

  “I wish those truckers would raid an upscale fashion store.” Caitlin grumbled as she pointed at the beautiful models in the magazine’s pages. “I’d like to have clothes like this. They think all we want is blue jeans and flannel shirts.”

  “So.” Trish asked, eager to change the subject before Caitlin went off about the lack of fine clothes again. “Have you forgiven him yet?”

  They knew she was talking to Harper and asking about Cody. They’d heard the story about their fight more than once. Everything had been so harried and busy the past few weeks they hadn’t found time to talk to each other. When they did cross paths, there were other people around and it was awkward. It was easier to be excruciatingly polite and keep their distance. Harper stared down at the gossip magazine and the happy couple announcing they were expecting a baby.

  “I’m not mad anymore.” She said. “He’s avoiding me though. I don’t think he wants to talk.”

  “Well,” Sasha looked up from her tattooing. “It did seem to work out for the best. If Bert hadn’t shown up here no one would have known where to look for you.”

  “Maybe.” Harper admitted. “But I’m not going to chase after him. He knows how to find me.”

  “I see him moping around when I go out to the gardens.” Caitlin said. “He likes to sit at the end of the wall and stare at the water like he doesn’t have a friend in the world.”

  Vanessa looked at Harper over the top of her Outdoor Life magazine. “Girl, you better go get your man or someone will. You know these city girls are just waiting for a chance to get their hands on him. I heard them giggling and whispering when he went in the dollar store to get school supplies.”

  Harper looked away from Vanessa’s intense gaze. “Maybe you’re right."

  When Sasha finished, Analise admired the new ink on her arm. She’d tried to encourage Donny to come with her, but he’d declined. The boy who feared nothing was afraid of any kind of needle. It made her love him even more. She really hoped Harper and Kodiak worked out their issues because Vanessa was right. The Lakota girls wanted to be with him just because he was famous. They might not even care about him but if posting selfies together got them likes on their Facebook page then they’d string him along.

  40

  Kodiak and Harper

  Cody sat on the southern corner of the barricade wall. Much like the river spot at Piedmont it had become his place to go when he needed time to think. The guards paid him no mind after the first couple of days. Just a wave or nod and a how ya doing kid as he walked along the top of the wall.

  It was sort of nice to not be constantly looking over his shoulder for danger. It was a relief to have plenty of food and a real bed to sleep in. His new foster brother Gage had tried to get him involved in some kind of plan to loot some of the cargo containers, but he’d declined and steered him in Donny’s direction.

  He pulled a piece of chalk from the pocket of his shirt and began drawing on the rusty red steel paint of the cargo container. Mindlessly he doodled and when he finally looked at what he’d drawn he saw it read C+H. Cody and Harper. He wondered if he really was Cody again. All of the townspeople called him Cody; the only ones who still used Kodiak were the tribe. Except Harper of course, she hadn’t called him anything. She wouldn’t talk to him even though there had been a few opportunities. That was fine. If all it took to make her so mad she’d never speak to him again was saving her life then maybe she wasn’t worth it. He didn’t need a girlfriend and he certainly wasn’t interested in any of the silly girls he’d met so far.

  He wondered if Kodiak the Warrior was just a memory in this safe and secure walled city that would fade in time. He started school in a few days. That would be strange. Going back to learning Algebra and other stuff he considered useless was going to be hard.

  He heard approaching footsteps but didn’t look up. He automatically categorized them. Soft soled shoes, not boots. A light tread that would be silent if it wasn’t on metal. One of the girls. It had taken a while but he no longer reached for a weapon every time he heard a noise. He had no enemies in this place, nothing to fear. His enemy lived in his head and constantly rehashed his mistakes and bad decisions.

  He smelled lavender and the soft scent of lilacs. It was Harper.

  “Hey.” she said as she sat down beside him. She offered him a chocolate chip cookie but he waved it off and dropped his chalk in the process. He watched it fall the thirty feet to the ground. Great, he thought.

  “Hey.” He replied.

  She rested her hand on his knee and spoke softly as they stared out at the wide lake. “I forgive you and I’m sorry. I don’t hate you and I never have. I love you, dummy.”

  “I love you too.” He said “That’s why I did what I did. I was thinking about me. I was thinking what it would do to me if something happened to you. I’m sorry too.”

  She kissed him on his cheek and lifted his arm. She scooted in next to him and wrapped it around her. “That’s better.”

  “Yes, it is.” He smiled and kissed her softly.

  “So, I hear you are the hottest thing around. Girls are just lining up to spend time with the fearsome Cody Wilkes.” She s
mirked.

  “Huh?” Kodiak asked cluelessly.

  “Oh, yeah. Word on the street is that I have some serious competition as soon as school starts. I figured I better get up and restake my claim before some girl bats her eyelashes at you one too many times.” She teased.

  He harrumphed.

  “Should I be worried some football jock is going to steal you away?” he asked.

  “Not likely.” She said. “Rumor has it you have a big Grizzly bear you would sic on them.”

  “Otis? He’s a pussy cat.”

  “Yeah, but they don’t know that.” She said. “They think we’re all as wild as Swan.”

  They laughed at that. She already had a reputation around town. She’d pulled a tomahawk and snarled at a boy who had run to hold a door for her.

  “You happy here?” He asked.

  She shrugged. “Yeah, I want to be. Sheriff Collins and Griz are nice. They’ve had their hands full with Caleb, Clara and Landon. I think they appreciate the extra help with them.”

  She paused. “I love hot water and watching DVD’s from the old days. Shampoo and bubble baths. I like not being worried about getting attacked. I miss some things, though. The sunrises over the Mississippi and taking long rides on Bert. I don’t miss the fear but I miss the joy, even if it was something silly like making fun of Tobias’ cheese or watching one of the monkey’s ride Kuma Lisa or Mr. Ringtail. I miss the laughter.”

  He nodded in agreement. He’d been disappointed to find that the X-Box in his room didn’t make him feel like it once did. The delicious meals and the endless variety left him stuffed yet strangely unsatisfied. Part of him wanted to let go of that old life, but part of him wanted to scale down that wall and disappear into the wilds.

  “It seems to be working out for Vanessa.” Kodiak said. “I’m happy for her. It gives me hope for the rest of you. There’s still a chance, you know. We made it, maybe some of your families did, too.”

  “Maybe.” Harper said doubtfully. “Mr. Bastille has been broadcasting our names for over a week. I think they would have replied by now.

  He changed the subject. “A retriever told me about an African safari park they stumbled across down in Texas. The fences were intact and there was a large herd of gazelles being stalked by lions. Elephants were bathing in the river and tigers were basking in the sun.”

  “Was it Rye?” She asked.

  “No, it was a Lady called Fat Nancy. She seemed nice enough. I asked about Rye, no one has heard from him since he left Gallatin. Some of them didn’t seem to like him very much. They say he’s a scoundrel and cheats at cards.”

  “True.” Harper said. “He admitted as much.”

  “Still, I like him. He helped us get away, I don’t think we could have without him.”

  They sat in comfortable silence until the day faded into darkness and the chill night air sent them home.

  41

  Geeks and Freaks

  Winter was coming but the tribe didn’t feel anxious about it. The homes were warm, heated with an inexhaustible supply of natural gas, the weather was mild and blizzards were unheard of. Thanksgiving was over and Christmas was three weeks away. Their animals didn’t seem to mind the new homes either. Bert could wander the acres of wilderness inside the walls, the bears were content in their back-yard habitats and Yewan became the house cat down at Tommy’s shop. The children had more or less settled in even though they didn’t really fit in. The same old clicks they’d all experienced in high school were still there. The jocks and the nerds, the stoners and the entitled. Lakota had the best schools and teachers in any of the walled cities and accordingly they had the largest number of students. Many parents moved there not only for the schools but also because it was the capital city. Work was easy to find and more and more positions were needed to fill in the growing government. Power and wealth were becoming important again.

  “I want to show you something.” Harper said and ran to her room. “Wait here.”

  They were in the big apartment above the jail. When Griz and Sheriff Collins had taken in the triplets they had expanded the little flat to encompass the whole floor. They had knocked out a few walls, added a bathroom and now all six of them lived there.

  Analise and the boys didn’t look away from the TV, they were all mashing furiously on their controllers in a four-way Super Smash Brothers battle. Vanessa was the only one to jump up and admire the tooled leather armor Harper held out. It was a beautiful hard leather piece that had been formed to fit her perfectly. It contoured her waist and breasts, buckled along the sides and had boiled leather pieces riveted around the bottom to give it the appearance of a short skirt. Cody stole a quick glance to see what Vanessa was exclaiming about and did a double take. He got knocked out on screen but didn’t care. The cuirass was amazing, it looked like it could have been in a museum.

  “Where did you get that?” he asked and hopped up to check it out.

  Donny and Analise did too and fingered the fine leather, admired the quality workmanship.

  “Griz made it.” She said. “Not only is he the best gunsmith in town, he’s pretty handy at armor, too.”

  “Can he make me some?” Tobias asked. “I mean real Viking stuff?”

  “Of course. He wants us all to come down to his shop so he can take some measurements. He said you can never have too many guns or too much armor. He saw the one I made and wanted to try his hand at working with leather. He said he’d make some for all of us if we wanted.”

  The game was forgotten as she modeled the outfit, complete with arm guards and bindings for her legs. He’d improved her morning star, too.

  “You’re ready to ride again.” Vanessa said.

  “Yeah.” Harper replied a little wistfully. “I guess those days are over, though.”

  At first the other kids wanted to befriend them, after all they were famous, but the friendships were forced and all they ever wanted was to hear the same stories over and over again. There were constant requests to show them their scars or tattoos or bring the animals to school and have them do tricks. It got old after a while. Vanessa may have had it harder than any of them. She was tiny and the ritual scars on her face couldn’t be covered up. No matter how often they saw her, they still turned their heads and stared. She wore dresses and long sleeves to cover the scars from the savage ones. Her hair was growing out and she’d started straightening it again but they still talked about her. Snickered behind her back. She was the smallest of the group of freaks and the daily insults were getting worse as they grew bolder.

  Swan’s arm had healed up completely and she was already in trouble for fighting. A boy had made fun of her for the way she drank at the fountain. She cupped her hand, filled it and drank from it. It was how she drank from a creek, you never stuck your face in and lapped like a dog. It was too dangerous. When she snarled a warning at him, he’d laughed. When she broke his nose and threatened to squish his eyes out with her thumbs, he’d cried.

  Nobody messed with Tobias or Analise, they looked too wild even though she’d tried to appear normal for the first month. He wouldn’t let even the slightest insult go unnoticed. He was quick to anger and even quicker to react. They learned to avoid him and not to whistle at his sister. He seemed to take great offense at that. Donny was almost invisible to them. He was quiet and stayed to the back of the room. Some tried to goad Cody but out of them all, he and Harper were the ones they accepted the most. Aside from some scars they usually kept covered, they seemed almost normal. It was easy to forget they were barely tamed savages.

  The school was big enough that they only shared a few classes together and were usually spread out all across the campus. The worst class for all of them was gym. They had to wear shorts and t-shirts and if the kids ever forgot they weren’t the same as them, gym class brought it all back. The battle with the Savage Ones had left them all scratched and torn. Uneven slashes and skin ripped open from jagged teeth had been sewn without anesthesia. The infected wounds h
ad healed but they didn’t heal pretty. Pink and white lines crisscrossed their legs and arms.

  It was a Friday, dodge ball day, and Vanessa was actually glad. It was cold outside and she didn’t want to run around the track or play soccer. She was good at most sports but she excelled with the red rubber balls. Especially the one little one the size of a softball. The burn ball. If she got her hands on it, whoever she targeted was out. A year of slinging heavy steel spears had built up her muscles and her aim was true. She was always one of the last to be picked as they were choosing sides. Even though she was tiny and fast, could dodge the ball with crazy skill and was nearly impossible to hit nobody wanted to pick her. She was weird. As they were lining up to, the coach’s phone rang. He put it to his ear for a second, yelled at Goldberg to take charge and disappeared down the hall towards his office.

  He was the boy Swan had punched. There was still some faint bruising around his eyes and his nose looked tender. Goldberg waited until he was sure the gym teacher was gone and announced they were playing a different version of the game. A better version.

  “This is called whack a geek.” He said and his buddies guffawed. “The rules are simple. Throw balls at the freak until your arms get tired.”

  He shoved Vanessa hard and she stumbled behind the basketball backboard.

  “That’s not fair.” Someone said and he got pushed across the line too.

  “Anybody else wanna join the freak team?” he asked and no one did.

  Goldberg and his friends were the biggest boys in the class, they were seniors, and Vanessa recognized the meanness in them. The savage that hid beneath the veneer of civility. She’d seen it in Gordon but it had taken him a long time before he worked up the courage to hurt someone. To kill someone. Her savage wasn’t buried deep, it hovered right near the surface and she smiled her warrior smile. These boys thought they were going to hurt her, give her a few welts and sore spots from a rubber ball. She laughed and her grin got wider. She welcomed it. She wanted it.