Dallas nodded. “I agree. We can’t really know. Let’s pull up and make our plan.”
When everyone got off their horses, they all stretched and rubbed their asses, complaining and moaning as they did.
“Damn, Roper, how did you ride these things so long?”
Roper patted her horse’s neck. “They’re better than people. They’re quiet and loyal. I’ll take a sore ass over sore ears any day.”
Dallas kissed her forehead. “You are so sweet. Now, it’s entirely possible this base is as overrun with man eaters as it was when we came here a year ago. It’s also possible the hazmatters, as you called them, are using it as a base of operations. Whichever is the case, both scenarios are dangerous. How do you want to proceed, love?”
Roper knelt down and picked up a stick. “Okay, we’re riding in from this direction and we’ll lay low while we scout out the area and goings on. If we face hostiles, we cannot take them on. Instead, we’ll split up and ride in the directions I gave you earlier. In the event that happens, we meet back with the others at the lake and wait for Butcher to arrive.”
Everyone exchanged glances.
“What? She will get here,” Roper said, as if saying it so strongly made it a fact. “And if you don’t believe it, I don’t want to hear it.”
Dallas took Roper’s hand and kissed the back of it. “Everyone ready?” She made eye contact with each of them – Roper, Einstein, Ferdie, Fletcher.
Each gaze held a determined look––no fear––and the answer to her question.
Yes, they were ready.
“Good. Remember, there are probably still man eaters stuck in the barracks. Fletcher, you and Einstein need to be particularly careful.”
“Roger that,” Fletcher said. “And if the Japanese haven’t taken it over?”
“Then we’re cleaning it out of everything we can find. We ran away like little girls last time. Not this time. This time, we’ll take what we need before we go.”
“And if it’s occupied?”
Dallas shrugged and looked away. “Then we’ll ease on out of the room and meet Butcher further up the road.” She took Roper’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Because no matter what, we are not continuing west without her.”
Butcher
9 Days Ago
Omar and Hunter left right before dusk to hunt for more food.
At least, that’s what they told Butcher, who was too busy juggling hungry baby and injured husband to notice they didn’t really need more food at the moment.
When they were far enough out, Omar pulled up and leaned against a fallen log on the outskirts of another small town. “I’m seriously worried, dude. This isn’t how this was supposed to go down.”
“No kidding. He may talk and everything, but Luke looks like the undead. All pale and shit.”
“We have no idea if chopping off his arm saved his life or if he’s infected.” Omar pulled a bolt out and dug in the dirt. “No way at all. Problem is, I feel like an asshole for even considering it, ya know? I just don’t know what to do.”
Hunter tossed a rock at a bigger rock. “Well, you are an asshole, but I know what you mean. Einstein would know. I think he would tell us to put our heads down and beat a hasty path to Barstow. All these stops are killing us. I don’t know how long Dallas will wait for us, but at the rate we’re going, I’ll be surprised if they’re still there.”
Omar looked up at him. “Then we’ll have to make it to San Fran on our own. That’s a tall order considering what we’re carrying.”
“Yeah, the likelihood of that happening is pretty slim. We need to step up the pace.”
They stared at each other for a protracted moment before putting their hands out to perform Roshambo.
“Roshambo,” they both said as they moved their hands up and down three times.
“Paper covers rock,” Hunter said with a twinkle in his eyes. “You’re up.”
Sighing, Omar slowly rose. “I’m like, what, one for fifteen? Can you cheat at Roshambo?”
Hunter hooked his thumb. “Get going, man.” They both began to walk back to the vehicle.
“Don’t you find it interesting how few lone man eaters we see walking around these days? I fully expected to run into more, didn’t you?”
“They’re migrating quickly. I’m guessing they are in the eastern part of the country where there is more meat. Nothing in the desert but us chickens.” He nudged him with his foot. “Speaking of which––”
“I’m going, I’m going. She’s not gonna like what I have to say.” Omar picked up the pace a bit.
“No one likes it.” Hunter smiled. “But it has to be done. Our lives depend on her making sound choices. If he stays with us, he needs to be tied up.”
“Fine. Come on. Let’s do this and get it over with.”
When they got back to camp, Luke, Violet, and the baby were sleeping. Butcher stood watch, rifle on her hip while Richard watched the perimeter.
“Not often you both strike out. Too much chatting?” Butcher asked, shifting her rifle to her other hip.
Omar looked at Hunter, who looked away.
“You think I don’t see the fear in your eyes?” Butcher slung her rifle over her shoulder. “That I don’t feel the exact same fear? You think I don’t know what you’re both thinking? So...who lost? Which of you has to tell me what I don’t want to hear?”
Omar raised his hand.
Crossing her arms, Butcher waited.
Omar inhaled deeply. “Butcher, you know how we feel about you and all––”
“Spit it out, Omar. What is it you think we should do? Kill him? Leave him here? Cut his head off? What?”
“Butcher––”
“No, Omar. What the fuck would you have me do? You think I don’t see how he looks? You don’t think I wait with fear and dread in my heart for him to turn? He looks dead. He looks like a fucking corpse. If he didn’t talk every now and then...” She shook her head. “So speak your piece because I won’t hear it after tonight.”
Omar swallowed hard. “We have no idea whether or not taking off his arm stalled or stopped the virus, Butcher. Until we know, we can’t leave him untied, we can’t trust him, and we can’t get too close.”
“We are not tying Luke up.”
Omar moved closer. “You put everyone else at risk if you don’t...including Egypt. Can’t you see––”
“I see he has one arm and no strength. You still want me to tie him up?”
Omar nodded. “Yes, I do.” He looked at Hunter. “We both do. He has teeth. He has nails. He can infect any or all of us.”
Butcher shook her head and cursed. “You saw him talk. He’s alive. He’s not dead, he’s not infected. Alive.”
“But for how long?”
Butcher kicked at the dirt. “I can’t believe this shit. What about alive don’t you get?”
“What about ‘we have no idea how long he’ll remain that way’ don’t you get? I understand that it’s Luke we’re talking about, but believe me, Butcher, if the roles were reversed, he’d secure you.”
Butcher was silent a moment.
“You’re outvoted on this, Butcher. He gets tied up.”
“Bullshit.”
Hunter stood next to Omar. “O’s right, Butcher. We either tie him up or we leave him, but as long as he’s with us, he’s a danger.”
In two strides, Butcher was in Hunter’s face. “You are out of your fucking minds for even suggesting I leave my husband behind. If you ever––”
Suddenly, Omar was in between them. “Back off, Butcher.”
Butcher glared but did not move.
“Don’t make me tell you again. Back. Off.”
Butcher took one step back. “So this is how it’s gonna be? You two take over because Luke is out of the way? Because if that’s how you think this is gonna go down––”
“It’s not like that and you know it. We’re looking out for the safety of all of us, and if it was anyone but Luke, y
ou’d have him tied up. Dallas would have.”
Turning on her heel, Butcher started back to the fire pit. “This is bullshit, Omar, but at least I got to see your true colors. Now I know to watch my back. I’ll be with the kids. Don’t bother me.”
When Butcher was gone, Hunter shook his head. “Well, that could have gone better.”
“Ya think? I’ve never seen her so pissed off.”
“She’s just scared, O.”
“We can’t exactly afford panic right now, Hunter. She’s making poor choices where our safety is concerned. Right now we need to get our asses to Barstow, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do, with or without Luke.”
Dallas
8 Days Ago
They thought they’d been prepared for whatever they were going to find at the base, but they were wrong.
So wrong.
“I can’t believe this,” Roper muttered, looking through binoculars. “There’s easily fifty or more hazmatters milling about. Not one zombie. The whole base has been repaired. It looks like it’s never been touched…like the zombies were never here. Like we were never there.”
Roper gave Einstein the binoculars. “They’ve set up camp. It’s flourishing.”
Fletcher arranged his arrows in his quiver. “Seems to me we’ve got our answer.”
Einstein peered through the lenses. “I think it’s safe to assume we’ve been invaded by the Japanese. And they haven’t completely repaired the base yet, Rope, but they’re close.” He lowered the heavy binoculars. “My guess is that many more military bases are online or, at the very least, up and running. It’s what I would do if I were trying to jumpstart the U.S.”
“Jesus. So now we have to fight them, too?”
Everyone looked to Dallas.
She bit her lower lip. “We need to gather intel before jumping to conclusions. What we need are one of those helmets…or a hostage. I’d prefer the former. If we can listen in––”
“They don’t speak English, right?”
“No, they don’t, but I speak Japanese, remember?” Einstein said. “We need to know what they’re up to, and what better way that to listen in?”
Ferdie chuckled. “What would we do without you, man?”
Einstein leveled his gaze at the hippie. “In every horror movie, the guy who appears indispensible is the next to go.”
“Hush you two. We need to get our hands on a helmet.”
“I’ll go,” Ferdie offered first. “I haven’t carried my weight in a while. Let me go.”
“No. It has to be me.”
All heads swung to Einstein.
“Unless any of you know Japanese, I’m the obvious choice. I know enough Japanese to get the gist. It’s the only way.”
“We don’t have to engage them at all, you know,” Fletcher said. “We can wait for the others a few clicks up the road and then go around. I don’t see where knowing their business helps us at all.”
Dallas rubbed her chin. “Always the voice of reason, Fletcher. But knowing their business will help us figure what to do and how to react next time we see one of them. Until we get intel, we won’t know whether to shoot, run, or hide. I’d feel much better off knowing what they’re after, what they’re doing here. We need to know how to respond.”
“Isn’t it obvious? They came for our country. For our stuff. For our people.”
“Again, let’s not assume anything right now. Maybe they’re here to help,” Dallas added.
“To what end? Nobody does anything for nothing. Not anymore,” Fletcher said.
Dallas stared at him. “I’m sorry, Fletcher, but we need to know who and what we’re dealing with here.”
“I understand that, Dallas. I just don’t want to be put in a jail or poked and prodded by doctors if they catch us.”
“They won’t.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because Einstein is going in to get a helmet…Hell, he might even get the whole suit. Once we have that, we’ll discover everything we need to know.”
“The kid really speaks Japanese?”
Einstein nodded. “Along with Spanish and Klingon.”
“Klingon?”
Einstein barely smiled. “Trekkie lingo. Look, I think Dallas is right about finding out whose side they’re on. Their gear alone suggests they put a lot of thought into making them impervious to bites or scratches. They know something about what they’re up against. They’ve been here long enough to have figured it out and then reported back. I mean, think about it. We blew up a ship of theirs! How can we not find out what they’re up to? They came for something, right?”
“Yo, little dude, I know you think we are in a need to know situation, but if they came to that shitbag town and didn’t really do anything to help us, then I’m thinkin’ they are so not on our team. Know what I’m saying?”
Dallas looked through the binoculars once more. “At least consider what the kid is saying. When is the last time he was wrong?”
“And if he gets caught?” Ferdie asked.
“I won’t.”
“If he does?”
“Then we go back for the rest and come in guns blazing,” Dallas said.
“That’s more like it, I suppose,” Fletcher replied. “Although I’d rather we just bypass this madness all together. We don’t need one more enemy.”
Dallas turned to Einstein and handed him the Buck knife Roper had given her long ago.
He surprised her by shaking his head. “It’s chain mail getups they’re wearing, Dallas. The idea in the medieval ages was to make it hard for a sword or its tip to reach the wearer. That won’t help me at all.”
“So what will you use?”
He grinned. “You’ll see.”
Butcher
8 Days Ago
“Horde ahead!” Hunter announced from the passenger seat as Butcher slowed the Hummer to a halt.
They’d been driving since dawn, stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks. In all that time, Butcher had barely uttered a word. Even though Luke had allowed himself to be bound and agreed that it was safest for everyone, she was still furious.
“Go around it?” Omar asked from the back seat. “I don’t see what fighting them will net us in the long run.”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you two decide without me?” Butcher turned to Hunter, glaring openly at him. “You know, seeing as you both seem to know what’s best for everyone. Why don’t you two decide what we ought to do?”
There were easily one hundred or more zombies clumped together, moving east toward the survivors. As the living continued to make their way to a safe zone, the undead followed...almost as if they were hunting them.
Almost.
“Come on, Butcher. Don’t be like that.”
She shook her head. “You guys are assholes. Figure it out yourselves.”
“Dallas would take them out,” Omar said. “Every truly dead man eater is one less threat.”
“There you have it. Decision made. Hurry along, then, and let’s see how many of those you two can kill while we waste precious minutes doing it. We’ll be waiting right here.”
Hunter rolled his eyes as he got out. “You do that.”
“Can I come?” Richard asked.
“No, hon, you can’t. They’d love your tender flesh. You stay here and protect the vehicle.”
When Omar and Hunter got out, they jogged about a quarter of a mile toward the back of the horde.
“Let’s take out half with bows before going in mano-a-mano.”
Hunter nodded and made sure his speed loader was ready. “She’s seriously pissed.”
“Tough shit. She needs to get over it. He could turn any minute.”
“That’s not what she’s pissed about. She feels undermined. She feels like we betrayed her…like we ganged up on her. And we kind of did.”
Omar double checked his speed loader as well. “Look––as a leader, she made a poor decision. We righted that wrong before it cost u
s anything. She knows that.” Raising his crossbow, he nodded to Hunter. “Like I said. Tough shit if she’s pissed off. You ready?”
Hunter nodded. “On my mark. Ready...aim...”
The call for fire did not come…but something else did.
“What the fuck is that?”
Both lowered their crossbows as a military Jeep with a mounted machine gun drove up, did a one-eighty, and rat-tat-tatted the horde, mowing them down with one pass of the large anti-military weapon on the back. The man eaters dropped like trees felled by a giant.
Omar and Hunter quickly dashed for a small, tree-lined area and dove for cover behind a large Joshua tree.
“What the fuck? Who was that?”
Hunter shook his head. “No clue. What’s with the Power Ranger costumes?”
Omar peered around the tree. The Jeep swung wide and headed back in Butcher’s direction.
“Oh shit. Butcher.”
Hunter looked as well just in time to see the taillights disappear. “If she doesn’t see them coming––”
“Then they’re toast.”
“We can’t keep pulling her fat out of the fire, dude.”
Hunter took off running. “Wanna bet?”
Einstein easily made his way to the base. He had opted for the area of fencing that had been repaired after Dallas and Roper had stolen the Fuchs a year ago, since it was weaker than the rest and had already been semi-repaired.
That seemed like several lifetimes ago.
Maybe it was.
Had he ever really been a gaming geek who loved school and couldn’t wait to go to college? He wasn’t so sure anymore. That kid and his dreams were like someone’s memory of a movie ten years after watching it: fragmented, real but not. In the year since the virus broke out, he’d lived twenty years’ worth of experiences. He felt far older than seventeen.
Living in fear did that to a person.
Funny thing was, after Cassie died, he’d stopped being afraid. What did fear get him? What good was it? If it was time for his ticket to get punched, then so be it. No use dragging an anchor of fear around every moment of every day, right?
Pedal to the Metal (Riders of the Apocalypse Book 4) Page 7
