by TW Brown
When we reached the other side, we could hear the patrol talking amongst themselves as they rode along. One of them was saying something about staying alert since they were “veering close to the Island City settlement where people kept turning up missing.” That statement struck me as odd since, if they were indeed missing, then how were they actually turning up?
Nat held up a hand in the universal sign for us to stay put and then climbed up one of the stacks of defunct automobiles. She reached the top and then pointed to me and then to the stack to my left. At first I thought she was perhaps crazy and thought I was going to climb one of those towers of scrap just as she had done a moment before. I stood there for a minute, just staring up at her until she made the same gesture much more emphatically.
I was reluctant at best as I began my ascent. Everything was going fine until I looked down. It is one thing to be on a ladder or something that is designed for you to climb; it is quite another to be holding on to some rusty bumper from whatever the hell a Ford Taurus is and be twenty or so feet off the ground.
Once I was able to open my eyes again, I got up on top of the cursed piece of junk and laid down flat on the hood or roof, or whatever the hell they call it. I shot what I hoped was a nasty look over to Nat, but she either did not take it as intended or could care less that my eyes were sending toxic daggers at her from across the open expanse.
She had her crossbow ready and signaled to me that she was shooting at the one on the left. Either that or she was swatting at a fly. I took a deep breath and tried to focus my energy on aiming at the rider on the right. Whoever killed her target first could deal with the one remaining.
That was my thought all the way until Kayla came racing around a corner about a block in front of the riders. They were pretty damn quick to react despite appearing to be in conversation as they were heading back to camp. Suzi would probably have been pleased with their reaction all the way up to the point where two of them took a bolt in the middle of the back. Mine fell from the saddle and landed awkwardly. Even from up on my perch, I could tell that a neck should not turn quite that far.
Kayla saw the horses coming and did the smartest thing she could do; she dumped the bike. Her feet were moving even before they hit the ground and she bounded towards the fence to a back yard that looked like the owners had been really into palm trees.
I was pleased with how fast I was able to reload despite my fear of sliding off and plummeting to my death. Still, Nat was faster. Her bolt caught the third rider just ahead of mine. The second rider fell, but unfortunately, the one that Nat shot first was still in the saddle and obviously aware that he or she was under attack. The horse had taken off and did not even slow as it passed by where Kayla had just vaulted that fence and landed in the back yard with impressive grace.
I reloaded, but it was pointless. The rider had taken a corner, and even if he or she had continued straight ahead, there would have been little to no chance I could have hit the target. The effective range had been surpassed by then.
Nat was already scrambling down her tower of cars. My trip down was not nearly as quick or graceful and I had to run to catch up to where Nat was already talking to Kayla who had climbed back over the fence to meet us in this little alley or whatever was running between the junkyard and the row of houses that bordered it.
“…got away, but that won’t matter at this point,” Nat was saying as Kayla kept glancing over her shoulder in the direction that the zombie horde was coming from.
Their moans were carrying on the breeze and I could tell that she was more than a little bit nervous. I had to remind myself that she was not used to being outside the walls. Not that I was some sort of seasoned veteran, but I still had flashes of Platypus Creek before it had become the walled community that we knew as our home. Not to mention the fact that the last several days had numbed me considerably.
In the distance, I could hear the noisemakers being employed to distract the herd that Cricket had led. I looked back the way our smaller group was coming from just as they rounded this last corner. From here, we would be leading them down through what was once the heart of La Grande. Most if not all of the buildings had been stripped, and many were either collapsing, burnt down to a charred skeletal frame, or outright leveled over the years of neglect and harsh weather. Once we reached the end of this old junkyard, the zombies were on their own, so to speak. We were now supposed to break to the right and hook back up at the walls of Island City where Cricket and his group were going to meet up with us. That was where my plan differed from the norm. I hope that Kayla played along; we hadn’t really had the chance to discuss this next part.
“You guys go on ahead, I want to stay here just a bit longer and be sure,” I suggested.
“That isn’t the plan,” Nat said with a dismissive wave. “The herd is moving right for them, and by the time they realize this group is coming, they won’t have enough time to deal with it.” Nat turned and looked back towards the tent city that was Suzi’s camp and planted her hands on her hips. “I just do not understand why they never made the move to occupy Island City. There are a lot of living people in that camp, but no more than four or five thousand at the most. The zombies will be too much. They will have no choice but to run. And that is going to cost them in gear, because they aren’t ready to move. This just does not make sense.”
That last part of her monolog was more to herself than anything. In fact, I don’t know if she was even aware that she was saying it out loud.
“Yes, well, as I said, I will catch up to you in a bit.”
I started to walk away and choked back a grimace as Kayla hurried to fall in beside me. It wasn’t that she was not welcome. She had proved to be a solid companion up to this point, but what I had planned next was going to require me moving fast and not being able to take even a second to watch over her.
“We are in this until the end,” Kayla whispered. “Don’t even think about going off by yourself.”
“Okay,” Nat moved around us in a hurry, “what is going on?”
“I don’t have time for this,” I said, pushing past the woman.
Or, at least that had been my intention. Nat grabbed my arm and spun me back to face her.
“You have kept whatever this little secret is of yours long enough. Cricket likes you. He trusts you. He put his ass on the line for you. Now, you can go on and do whatever it is that you have in mind, but you are going to tell me what it is before I let you go. He deserves that much. We all do for that matter.”
I glanced at Kayla who only shrugged. I turned back to Nat and explained about Jackson. I did not go into a lot of detail, but I at least explained that not all of us had escaped. I had to try and see if there was any way that I could rescue him.
“That is pretty stupid,” Nat said when I finished.
I expected any number of responses, but that had not been one of them. Not that I completely disagreed with her assessment. I knew what my limitations were as far as this little rescue mission was concerned. I hoped that I had the sense to know it was entirely hopeless before I slid past the point of no return. I wasn’t entirely confident of that possibility, but I could still hope. It wasn’t like I wanted to die. I knew that going after Jackson had almost no chance, but if I would have just given up on him like the others, then his slim chance would become none.
“I’m not throwing my life away, sorry, kid,” Nat said.
I was okay with that response. Apparently Kayla wasn’t.
“Nobody asked you,” the girl snapped, shoving her back. “You go back to your little gang and keep hiding in the shadows while that army comes in and takes the town that your people worked hard to create. You let those piles of dead bodies rot and become fertilizer without trying to do anything in response.”
“We’ve done plenty,” Nat shot back. “We’ve killed thirty or forty of their patrols so far, not that I have to explain myself to you.”
“Can we do this later?” I asked, steppi
ng between the two before somebody threw a punch.
“Doubtful, since it is unlikely that either of you will survive this little escapade.”
Nat spun on a heel and started away. She reached the fence for the junkyard and was over and gone. Kayla and I stood in the alley alone; well, except for the hundred thousand or so zombies coming our direction.
“We need to get moving.” I grabbed Kayla’s arm and pulled her along.
We were content that the zombies were on a solid trajectory that would lead them into Suzi’s camp. Now I just had to try and find my way in without being noticed. If Suzi caught me, it was all over except the dying.
We reached a small stream and I was pretty sure that this one would be the one I needed to follow to make my way into the camp. I was at least ninety percent sure that it had been the same one that I had followed when I was attempting to escape. That all seemed like a lifetime ago now.
We slid down the embankment and did our best to move from one clump of tall grass to the next as fast as we could. I saw the sentries before Kayla, and had to pull her back so she would not walk out into a small clearing and be seen. Now is when it would get dicey.
I was still thinking about how to approach these guys when Kayla slipped past me and walked right out into the very opening where I’d prevented her from doing so just moments ago. I could not believe it. Then…she turned into Kayla.
I was actually a bit mesmerized myself as she peeled off her jacket and slung it over her shoulder. She did not seem to be paying the two sentries any mind as she stopped under a tree and hung her jacket on a branch. She was still plenty far enough away that they were just now noticing her arrival. I actually saw one of the sentries nudge the other when Kayla reached down and pulled her shirt off. She gave it a dunking in the rather cold water. I was impressed considering how my feet felt like they were actually turning into ice cubes. Kayla did not seem to notice at all now that she stood in just her bra while repeatedly dunking her shirt.
It took me a few seconds to realize that the girl was using one of the old tricks from the manual. Not exactly as it was written, but the best way to deal with a situation is to turn the strength of the enemy into a weakness. Sure enough, the men were now heading right for her, neither had a hand near his weapon.
I brought up my crossbow and sighted on the one who was actually a few steps behind his comrade. I waited for Kayla to bend down and then come back up with her shirt because that was when she was making the most noise. In that instant, I fired. I did not take time to see the full effect of my shot and reloaded as fast as I could. I almost had it cranked back and ready to fire when I heard a shout.
I looked up just in time to see the man I had not shot turn to see his partner floating by flat on his back with a bolt jutting from his chest. He was smart enough to realize what was happening and his hand went for the large blade at his hip. I fired my second shot and caught the man in the shoulder. He staggered back just a step, but that was only a momentary setback. He resumed his charge and actually tackled Kayla, both of them landing with a loud splash.
I knew that there would be nothing I could do with the crossbow at this point and rushed in to help. I arrived as arms and legs thrashed in the water, making it almost impossible to tell who was who until I was right up on them. By then, I had my knife free. I was raising it to strike when the man came up sputtering, a mouthful of blood pouring from his lips.
Kayla emerged, shoving the body away and spitting out a mouthful of water as well. She gave the body a hard knee and grabbed a handful of the man’s hair.
With one quick movement, she brought her knife across his throat and slit it, ending the last of his feeble struggles. Honestly, I hadn’t even seen her draw her knife.
“Wow.” Seriously, that was all I could say. I was at a loss.
“Grab my coat, please,” Kayla said as she wrung out her shirt one more time and then put it back on. I did as she asked, not bothering to hide how impressed I was by the outcome of this little skirmish.
After we dragged the bodies to the grass to hopefully keep them from being discovered, we picked up the pace and hurried along the bank of the stream. We could actually start to hear the sounds of the camp now that we were closer. They had no idea what was coming, or, if they did, they were underestimating things severely.
I urged Kayla to follow me out of the creek. We were so close now that, if we acted like we were sneaking around, we would probably be spotted and treated like enemies. If we merged with some of the people that were coming and going, then perhaps we could get in easier. After all, with this many people, was it likely that everybody knew everybody else?
I saw a group of five carrying wood. That seemed like the best way in. I hurried over to the one that was lagging and moved in beside him. “Let me help,” I offered.
“Thanks.” The guy did not even give me a second glance as he allowed me to take a few of the sections that he’d been carrying.
Kayla made no such overture and simply stayed beside me. She was keeping her eyes peeled and I wanted to elbow her and ask her not to look as obvious, but I was too busy keeping my own eyes scanning for anybody who might recognize me. I guess I was glad that I had spent most of my time as a prisoner here inside my tent.
It only took me until we reached the drop off for the fire wood before I managed to spot a few familiar landmarks. I dropped my load onto the growing pile and started away.
“Hey!” a voice said from behind, causing me to freeze. I noticed Kayla’s hand drift towards the hilt of her belt knife.
I turned to the person that had spoken. It was the guy I’d taken some of the wood from. He was smiling. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” I really hoped that I sounded cooler than I felt. At least Kayla had taken her hand away from her hip and was now pretending like she was inspecting her fingernails out of boredom.
“Are you on one of the teams tonight?” the guy asked just when I thought that we had managed to get away clean.
I opened my mouth, but once again, Kayla was proving to be more than just a little useful.
“Can we go? I promised Billy I would be back in time for our little meeting.”
Her words dripped with innuendo, leaving no doubt as to what she intended. Even though it was pure fiction, I could not help but blush. That might have actually helped sell our ruse. In any case, it covered our exit as she started pulling me by the wrist.
We hurried away and I waited until we were out of sight to pull free. As soon as I did, I turned to Kayla. “I apologize for ever underestimating you,” I said with all sincerity.
She actually beamed at my compliment. We blended in with another group and I had to backtrack twice to get us in the area of where they were keeping Jackson. When I finally spotted the tall, metal boxes, I felt my heart sink. I knew which one had been his.
It was wide open and empty. There were no guards posted. In fact, all of them were open. That had me curious. Maybe this was shower time or something. I needed anything I could find to cling to in order to keep my hope alive. The churning feeling in my gut was telling me that this was not going to turn out well. I shoved the voice of rational reason aside and clung to my raft of faith with all my might.
Maybe that was why I did not hear the shouts until Kayla grabbed my arm and yanked me back so hard that I almost hit her out of reflex. I turned and saw the look of pain on her face. My gaze followed hers and I found Jackson.
He and five other men and women were hanging from a long gallows. Each of them were still thrashing about, their bulging eyes easy to see.
“Let’s go,” Kayla whispered.
My feet were planted. This was yet another thing that made no sense. Jackson was dead, and it was obvious that he had been so for at least a while. Suzi had never meant to release him. That was the only thing that came to mind. But if that was so, then why had she let us go at all?
Kayla continued to tug on me, but I was not ready to just walk away from this.
There had to be answers. I was missing something.
A hard slap to my cheek snapped me out of my daze. Kayla’s own face was inches from my own.
“We have to go. Now!” she hissed.
I was about to join her when I heard a series of gongs. The camp as a whole seemed to freeze. Everybody turned with looks of confusion on their faces.
“How could that be?” somebody nearby said.
“That is from the north watch!” somebody else exclaimed.
“That has to be a mistake,” a woman insisted.
Then, it was like watching a large flock of birds being startled. People began to run in every direction at once. It was still not a mass hysteria, but more of a sense of purpose. If nothing else, these people were proving that they were very adept at handling a crisis. There was an urgency, but no signs of panic.
We used the people all moving with haste to our advantage. I was numb and allowed Kayla to sort of take me by the hand and lead the way. This entire trip had been all for nothing. Jackson was dead.
My mind was trying to come up with even a shred of reason for all of this and continued to draw a blank. I was still in shock when Kayla suddenly came to a stop. I had to look around to figure out why.
We were out of the camp. I had no idea how long we’d been running, or even a clue as to what direction. It took me a few more seconds to realize that we were west of the encampment for some reason. If there was any direction that we did not need to go, it was west. That took us away from not only Cricket and Island City, but it also put the zombies that she and I had helped lead in between ourselves and home.
I guess I had given up at some point. I wanted to go home. I was certain that I would be in trouble, but I didn’t care. I was just tired.
“Why are we going this way?” I asked.
