He shivered as they walked. He had worn a long-sleeved shirt, but should have brought a jacket. The trees blocked most of the wind, but couldn’t block the cold. Alice must be freezing without a shirt on at all.
“Do you want my shirt?” He asked, but she shook her head.
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
“You sure?”
“It’s all right. We’ll be back soon.”
They walked the rest of the way in silence. To be honest, there wasn’t much to say. They had gone out with one goal in mind, and they’d failed. They’d completely fucked up. Not only had they wasted time and energy falling into a trap, but there was still a chance the person who created the trap would realize someone had been there and escaped.
That, Mark thought, was the most dangerous part of all.
If Kyle hadn’t been injured, Mark would have kept going. He would have paid even closer attention to avoid being caught in other booby traps, but he would have kept going deeper into the woods. At this point, it wasn’t about finding the watcher anymore. It was about finding whoever built the trap.
Did they know about the watchful zombies?
Did they understand why some of them were different?
Would the person who built the traps be a friend or a foe?
Mark had no way of knowing, but he wanted to find out. He would talk to Alice later and see if she wanted to go out again, see if she wanted to pursue this, to see where it led. He couldn’t force her to come with him, but Mark was all about having as much information as possible.
You needed to know your enemy.
You needed to have as much intel on them as possible because when they attacked – and they would attack – you needed to be ready.
You needed to be prepared for anything.
You needed to know exactly what was coming for you so you could know what you had to throw back. Lack of knowledge was no excuse for lack of preparation. Mark knew that better than anyone.
When the zombie apocalypse happened, he didn’t exactly have a heads-up about the whole thing. It’s not like they had special training classes or like there were warnings in the news about it. Still, he should have been prepared. He should have been ready. He shouldn’t have let his new life as a civilian let him grow lazy or stagnant, yet he had.
And it had cost him.
Mark didn’t want to spend the rest of his life focusing on if only’s, but the fact of the matter was that he should have had guns and ammo and food and a safe place to bug out. He should have worried less about fitting in with the world around him and more about being ready for anything life threw his way.
He and his friends were fine now, yeah, but the journey hadn’t been an easy one, and Mark had a feeling that things would only get more difficult from here on out.
Kyle groaned as they walked, and Mark patted him on the shoulder.
“Hang in there, buddy. We’re almost home.”
Chapter 11
With each step, Kyle’s pain grew worse. Fuck, he was turning into such a pussy. Then again, maybe he’d always been this way. It was just that when he was in pain, it was usually his lungs burning. He didn’t often experience other types of pain, but when he did, it was bad.
Much too bad for a man of his age.
His eyes roamed as they walked. They hadn’t seen any walkers in the woods today. They hadn’t seen anything. There were no people, no zombies, and no animals. It was strange, and uncomfortably quiet. As the three of them walked back to the lodge, Kyle couldn’t help cringing at each little noise they made.
Alice kicked a pebble and it bounced loudly. Mark’s shoe hit a twig and it crunched. He himself was shuffling along, leaving footprints and making noises he shouldn’t be making. They were too loud, and it made them vulnerable.
“What are you going to do when we get back?” Kyle finally asked. They were halfway to the lodge at this point. Just a bit further, and then they could get in the canoe and head back across the lake.
“Stitch you up, dumbass.”
“I mean after that,” Kyle clarified. “You’re going to go back out, aren’t you?”
Mark didn’t answer for a minute, and Alice was silent. Their non-answer was clear enough. He knew they were going to go back and search the woods further. Mark would feel the need to. He wouldn’t be able to rest unless he’d completely explored. Did he not realize there were hundreds of acres of forest here? Mark could search for weeks and not find anything or anyone.
If someone didn’t want to be found, they weren’t going to be.
Still, he thought he knew what Mark was thinking. Mark was a soldier through-and-through. He was a planner. He was the type of guy who needed to know exactly what they were up against, and then he’d formulate a plan that would protect him and his friends.
“Not tonight,” Mark said finally. “But yes. I still think we need to know what’s out there.”
“I hate to say it,” Alice’s voice was quiet. “But I agree with Mark on this one. We already know there’s a watcher out there. We already know it’s been keeping tabs on us. We already know it can control the other zombies, to a certain extent. Now we know there’s another threat. We need to figure out exactly what we’re up against before the first winter storms come.”
Because once the storms hit, they’d be stuck.
There wouldn’t be anyone plowing the roads or fixing telephone poles that fell. There would be no one bringing emergency supplies. There would be nothing. If their group accidentally burned the lodge to the ground, there wasn’t going to be a fire department coming to rescue them. They were completely on their own, and they needed to get used to this idea.
More importantly, they needed to prepare as much as possible before they really were stuck at the lodge. Kyle didn’t like the idea that they would essentially become sitting ducks, but isn’t that what they would be?
Fighting zombies was tough enough when the sun was shining.
Did they really want to have to fight these bastards in the snow?
“I assume I’ll be standing guard at the lodge,” Kyle said dryly.
“You’re injured,” Alice pointed out. “You should stay back.”
Kyle was always injured, always staying back. He was tired of being the sickly one, but he couldn’t very well do anything about that right now.
“Yeah,” he said. “I got it.”
“Alice and I will take supplies for a couple of days,” Mark said. “We’ll search the woods and see what we can find. Our main goals are to see if we can discover where the watcher stays, and to figure out who the other survivors are.”
“The ones that laid the trap. Right. Something tells me they aren’t going to be very friendly to see visitors. You’ll need to be extra cautious.”
“Absolutely,” Alice agreed. She walked ahead, leading the way. She was more assertive these days, more sure of herself. It was good that she wasn’t just depending on Mark to lead the way for her and Kyle. Although Mark had inevitably been their unofficial leader for awhile, it seemed like things were evening out a little. Mark still had a take-charge attitude, but Alice was showing her strength.
She was being decisive.
She was going for the things she wanted.
When she had grabbed the roots in the hole and hauled herself out, Kyle had been impressed with her strength and her determination. She hadn’t just curled up into herself and gotten too scared to focus. She had thrived under the pressure of survival. She had been strong, both emotionally and physically.
They should all be more like that.
“We’ll be careful, Kyle, but you’ll need to be careful, too,” Alice pointed out. “Just because you’ll be with Torrance doesn’t mean you two are going to be safe, especially now.”
Especially because now the watcher knew where they were.
Not that their hiding place had been particularly secret. The lodge itself was hidden in the trees, and unless someone was looking directly at that area of the forest on the
other side of the lake, they wouldn’t notice the smaller cabins by the lake. If someone was looking, though, and they were trying to find them, they could. They were camouflaged at first glance, but not much beyond that.
Still, the lodge was an incredible find. They were close to water. They were in the forest. They were only approachable by water or by a narrow road that was rarely used. No one was going to randomly stumble across the lodge and try to live there. If other survivors passed through Raven, they would likely search the houses on the main street or settle into one of the abandoned buildings, and then leave.
No one was going to waste their time wandering around in the forest trying to find things.
Except, of course, for Mark, Alice, and Kyle.
None of them seemed to think this idea of searching the woods was weird. Even Kyle, bitter as he was about being left at the lodge during the next day’s adventures, thought it was a smart idea.
“We’ll set up some traps before we go,” Mark said. “It’s a good idea, anyway, but especially now.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” Kyle said. “I’m hurt, not dead. This is a pretty minor injury. It won’t keep me from keeping a watch. I don’t think the watcher is going to come back anytime soon, you guys, but if he does, I’ll be ready.”
They continued walking in silence until they stepped out of the forest. To the right, through some more trees, was the city building where Torrance had once been hiding, along with several other town buildings. To left was more forest. Straight ahead was the lake they needed to cross to get to the lodge.
There was just one problem.
Their canoe was gone.
Chapter 12
“Where did the fucking canoe go?” Alice asked. They hadn’t been gone that long. They hadn’t been gone long enough for the canoe to just vanish. The weather had been fine, so it’s not like some storm had rolled in and washed it to sea. Besides, the lake wasn’t so damn big they wouldn’t be able to spot a wooden structure floating in it.
She looked right and left hastily before motioning wildly, like some sort of crazy woman.
“This is the right spot, isn’t it? I mean, I’m not crazy or anything.”
“No, you aren’t crazy,” Mark looked around warily.
Kyle just cringed, and Alice shot a look at the shirt he was holding to his wounds. He was still bleeding. They needed to get him back to the lodge and stitched up, and fast. Oh, Alice didn’t think he was going to die from this wound, but the longer it was open, the greater his chance of infection would be.
Alice walked over to where the canoe had been and squatted down. She looked at the marks where it had been resting on the ground.
“Someone dragged it,” she said, jerking her head. “That way.” Toward town. Someone had taken it and hauled it back toward Raven and its buildings.
“We don’t have time to look for it,” Mark said. “And at this point, I don’t even care.”
“Maybe it was the watcher,” Kyle whispered.
“I don’t think it has time for canoes. I think there are other survivors around here, and I think they’ve got the same idea we do. I think they’re getting ready for winter and they’re doing anything they can to prepare.” Mark stared toward the town, as if watching it would somehow reveal answers they were all searching for.
Who were these mysterious survivors?
Why hadn’t they seen them before?
Were they going to turn out to be their friends or their foes?
And, perhaps most importantly, what did this mean for their continued survival?
Alice didn’t want to think about having to put down humans, but if it meant saving Kyle or Mark, she would do anything. Hell, she’d kill for Torrance, too, even though she might not be ready to admit that out loud.
These people were her family now and like it or not, they were all in this together. They had fought side-by-side. They had survived side-by-side. Alice didn’t want to think about death, but she did know that when she died, it would be with her friends at her side.
“We need to get back,” Alice said. “I agree. Fuck the canoe. We don’t have the time to look for it. Kyle needs to get back. Is it going to be quicker to go through the forests around that side of the lake, or will it be faster to go through Raven and take the road?”
Either option held risks. They’d never walked entirely through the forest and around the lake to the lodge. Alice guessed it would take at least two or three hours by foot. Maybe more. It was a big lake, and if they didn’t miraculously stumble across another canoe, would take more time than they had.
“Let’s just take the fucking road,” Mark spoke through a growl, and Alice knew what he was thinking.
Zombies.
There were going to be fucking zombies.
They’d be lurking around, and the two of them would have to fight their way through the town because Kyle sure as hell couldn’t fight.
“It’ll be fine, guys,” he said, but he spoke with a grimace.
“Let’s just go,” Alice said, and they started walking toward town. She ignored the way she was starting to feel cold, instead focusing on moving her feet forward and holding onto her bat. The weapon had served her well and she knew that as soon as they rounded the first building, she’d be using it again.
There would be zombies around the front of the building. There always were. They’d see the library, too, where they had hidden while they waited for Kyle to come back. Alice didn’t want to think of the fact that she and Mark had both thought he was dead. How stupid of them. They’d viewed Kyle as weak and incapable of taking care of himself, but Kyle wasn’t weak.
None of them were.
They had proved that over and over and over again.
“I see a walker,” Mark muttered, and strode ahead of Alice and Kyle. He kicked the Infected as soon as he reached it, tripping it. The Infected fell to the ground and Alice tossed Mark her bat. He nailed the walker, hitting it in the head until it stopped moving. Blood splattered on Mark’s clothes, but he ignored it.
They were used to the nastiness that came with this lifestyle now. Blood and gore were just part of the journey. The three of them kept walking. There was another Infected up ahead and Alice took this one. She grabbed the bat from Mark and went ahead of him.
They should have brought more weapons with them. Even having a crowbar would have meant an easier escape from the hole they’d fallen into, but they thought they were going to be in the woods all day. One bat would be enough for the number of zombies they had expected to see, which was very few.
Once again, their lack of preparation was going to be the death of them.
“Search that car,” she jerked her head toward a car parked nearby. “See what you can find.” Mark went to search while Alice swung her bat at the Infected. It fell quickly after only one hit.
“Your aim is improving,” Kyle commented.
“I’ve had a lot of practice.”
There were two other zombies who had noticed the trio and began to wander over. Alice took them down. First she nailed the older-looking one with the bat. It fell immediately. The second one was a bit faster, and grabbed for her body while she swung at it. She felt the Infected’s fingers run over her bare belly as she swung the bat.
“Hurry the fuck up! Don’t let it scratch you!” Kyle sounded nervous, even for him, and Alice brought the zombie down quickly. “Are you okay?” He asked when Alice walked back over.
“Fine.”
“Did it scratch you?”
They both looked at her belly. She had dirt and blood on her now, courtesy of their infected friend, but she didn’t have any scratches or cuts. In other words, she was disgusting, but not infected.
Great.
“What did you find, Mark?” She turned toward where he was fiddling in the car.
“Keys,” he said, sounding relieved. “Get in.”
There were plenty of cars in Raven. Just because the town was abandoned didn’t mean it was
empty. Alice had been hoping Mark would find a crowbar or something useful to use as a quiet weapon so they wouldn’t waste all of their ammo or make a ton of noise trying to get through Raven.
Finding a car with keys, though?
That was gold.
Kyle climbed in the backseat and Alice took the passenger side. Mark got in the driver’s seat and started the engine. It took a few tries before the car sputtered to life, but they got it going, and from the looks of things, they still had a little bit of gas.
“Let’s go,” Alice urged him, looking nervously out the window. There were a few other walkers wandering around. They weren’t going to take the time or energy to put those down, though. No, what they needed was to get back home as quickly and safely as possible. They didn’t need to deal with taking the time to clear out the whole town.
It wouldn’t matter, anyway.
However this virus spread, it was brutal. No one was safe from its effects, and Alice had realized that no matter how many zombies they killed, there would always be more. There would always be more springing to life, always more crawling out of houses. This was the world now, and she hated it.
They passed Torrance’s old hiding spot and the library where Alice and Mark had lived for awhile. Then they passed houses as Mark made his way back to the lodge where they lived now. They didn’t necessarily need an extra car. They didn’t really need to have a bunch of vehicles parked nearby. Still, Alice couldn’t deny this was a fast, simple way to get back to their base camp.
It was only a few minutes before Mark stopped the car and Alice and Kyle got out.
“I’m going to go hide it. Get him stitched up,” Mark said. Alice nodded and helped Kyle up the steps to the lodge. The door was locked and she knocked, but Torrance didn’t come to open it.
“They’re in my pocket, sorry,” Kyle reached for the keys, but dropped them. He was starting to look pale, and Alice didn’t like where this was going. He’d exerted too much energy. He was getting weak.
Alice grabbed the keys, unlocked the door, and dragged Kyle inside. She got him to the couch.
Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse (Episode 7) Page 5
