by Diane Butler
“No, in fact food is plentiful if you know what to pick and where to fish or hunt.”
“Then why did you leave?”
“To see how the rest of the world was surviving. To get news, to learn the fate of things.”
He relaxed his hand and stepped back into the doorway, “You better come in. I just boiled some water for lemonade.” He gave Mutt a wide path as the dog came in first, followed by Roxanne and he thought that she must not be a good fighter to put her back to him. Then he noticed her limp. “Are you bitten?”
Roxanne turned and showed confusion. “No….Oh, you mean the limp. I had an accident. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Get caught trying to steal alligator eggs from the mom?”
Roxanne smiled, “They don’t hatch until August. You haven’t told me your name.”
He walked to the kitchen and opened the obsolete refrigerator to retrieve two mason jars of water and a small bottle of lemon juice. “My mother was a complete romantic and named me Lance after Sir Lancelot but that is not to be repeated to anyone, especially since I have never ridden a horse or wielded a sword.” He put a few drops of lemon in each jar and handed her one. “Are you telling me that you have been in the Bayou all this time?”
“For a long as I can remember,” was her answer.
"And what have you found out about our fair land?” Lance asked.
“That is what I want to know from you. From where do you hail?” Roxanne asked.
Lance almost choked on his lemonade. “Are you making fun of me? I tell you about Sir Lancelot and you ask ‘from where do you hail’? I can see that we will not be friends.”
Roxanne reached across the table and put her hand over his. “I am not making fun of you, Sir. I am sorry if my speech is confusing to you but I have not socialized with others for a very long time. You must forgive me and my ways. I realize that I may seem strange to people.”
Lance looked down at her hand on his and saw that they were hard-working hands but he had never felt such a soft touch. When he saw the scars peeking out from the shirt he quickly pulled his hand back. “Is this the first time that you have been out of the Bayou?”
She remembered what Brandon had said about her. “No, I was out 6 months ago. What part of the States are you from?”
“South Texas, Brownsville. I was trying to get north because everyone said that the Z’s would be affected by the cold, but it was useless. Herds kept getting us turned around, vehicles kept breaking down, ammo was spent and little by little our group started to diminish until it was just me left. From time to time I would find someone still fortified in their home and they would let me stay for a while but I felt that I should keep moving. Those people had not seen the herds and I guess I was searching for something more secure than a house. To be honest,” he paused and looked out the window, “I don’t know where I’m going or of any place where it would be safe.”
“There is a paper mill further up the Miss in which a group of people are trying to make a home,” Roxanne volunteered. “It’s surrounded by a fence and borders the river. They have a boat that they take out for fishing and on supply runs. Would that meet your needs of a safe place?”
“How did you hear of it?” Lance was suspicious.
She smiled, “We are not totally isolated in the Bayou. We do get word from travelers and traders, but I had only heard about the east. I know of the herds that you speak of but those stories were of herds traveling west and being stopped by the Mississippi. Unfortunately it appears that once they reached the river that they turned south into Louisiana. If the Z’s on the west side of the Miss have done the same then you and I are in their path.”
Lance shook his head. “This place is quiet. I haven’t planned on what I would do if it were overrun or planned an escape route yet but it feels good not to be running. I’m staying to rest and gather supplies before I hit the road again.” He paused. “I suppose that you will be going back to the Bayou.”
“Yes, but not soon. Like you I have found a place that I enjoy and want to stay for a while. What have you explored? I have only been to the dock and have not seen any stores other than the Tackle Shop. There must be another part of the town, the commercial or market place that I haven’t found yet.”
“There’s a school on the outskirts that I wanted to get into, hoping that the cafeteria had sugar, salt even ketchup to make tomato soup. But…” he paused and seemed to become uncomfortable. “They can’t think, right? The Z’s? We all know that. They just walk looking for food, wanting to be fed and a noise will change their direction unless they get their sights on prey. Well, the school,” he shifted in his seat, “or at least this school…it’s different. I’ve been watching it and the dead children have come back. Maybe it’s the last thing that they remember, I don’t know but something has drawn them back. They walk past it, go one block then turn around and come back again. They don’t wander off like the other zombies and I even tempted them by making noise to draw them away. But they never go past that one block.”
“I think a school cafeteria is an excellent idea for staples,” Roxanne said. “Perhaps we can go together.”
Lance shook his head, “I can’t go back there. It’s just too sad. I’ve had to do a lot of killing to stay alive but I don’t think I would be good at killing a child zombie. I would be too emotional that some virus, some mistake in chemical warfare took their lives. Besides, there’s too many of them but I’ll give you the directions if you want to check it out.”
Roxanne looked over at Mutt and an idea started to form. “You said that they are not affected by noise, but they still need to eat, to feed. Perhaps Mutt can draw them away from one side of the school that is vulnerable and we can gain access. If your theory is true then they will stop chasing him once he runs past that first block and he will be safe.” She smiled. “Even if they should continue to pursue him Mutt can outrun them and he will not be in any danger.”
Roxanne rose from the table, “I’ll talk to him and Cowboy tonight to make sure that they understand and we can go together tomorrow to check the place out. Thank you for the lemonade,” she said as she walked into the living room.
“Roxanne,” Lance called after her. “Let me give you a word of advice in handling this new world. Don’t ever turn your back on someone you have just met as you did to me when you first walked in. I could easily have killed you.”
Roxanne smiled and opened the door. “Oh, I knew you were not evil but I was not careless. You were being watched when my back was turned.” Lance thought she meant that there was another person in her party and felt duped but then he glanced to the porch where the coyote was sitting. Now there was a new addition sitting on the porch railing in the form of a long-haired black cat with orange eyes. Both of them were staring at him in a way that made him back up.
“Come Mutt,” Roxanne called to break the spell. “I’ll pick you up in the morning Lance. It was nice talking to someone again. I think that we will make good partners in a fight.” She shut the door behind her and for a few moments Lance stood frozen in place. He went to the window and watched to see that she was continuing to follow the road out of town. He started to doubt his sanity thinking that she wasn’t real and that he had imagined her, that he was finally losing his grip on reality. He wanted to watch until he could not see her any longer to make sure that she didn’t just disappear or fade away like ghost. He had heard of ghosts in the swamps, both good and bad. When he lost sight of her as she rounded a bend he quickly went to the door and locked it.
He let his breath out and looked around the room putting his hand to his heart. “Shit, I’ll never be able to sleep here tonight. She’s ruined it for me. She invaded the place, tainted and marked it.” He realized that he had to sit down. “Get a grip Lance. She’s just a crazy loon talking to animals that’s all, someone who broke under pressure. She’s not dangerous, she’s not a spirit and you are not losing it.” But as night began to
fall he packed up a duffle-bag and decided to sleep in one of the houses closer to the wharf.
As Roxanne walked back to her home she knew that she had lied or left out the truth or misled Lance on much of the information that she had given about her. She saw no reason why she should tell him of the other group that she had met or about her memory loss. She knew nothing about herself other than when she woke up in Shoes cabin. The stories told to her by Morgan and Brandon could be lies to mold her into what they wanted her to become, or what they wanted her to believe about herself. She did not feel any animosity from Morgan, Brandon or Caleb but she was very suspicious of the one called Lucky. As long as they were together in a group she would distrust them all until proven otherwise.
Suddenly she stopped in her tracks when she realized that she had given her name to Lance as ‘Roxanne’ and not as ‘Cami’. She heard Mutt whimper and tried to focus on his face as she fought off the dizziness. She reached out to regain her balance but found it was easier to crumble to her knees in the dirt. Mutt began to lick her face. “It’s all right Mutt,” she whispered as she took his head and leaned into him. The sun was blinding and she could feel that she had gone into a sweat. There was the beginning of her first headache and she could tell that she was going to be sick. With shaking hands she quickly opened her duffle-bag and poured water over her face, then drank. Her heart slowed and she looked up to see the three animals sitting before her. “I’m sorry. I have been neglectful.” She pulled out two bowls and poured water into them. “It is Roxanne, isn’t it Mutt? That part of what they said is true. My name is Roxanne.”
***
Roxanne was up before dawn to catch fish, cook and feed the animals plus her. She found a container and put a cooked fish in it to give to Lance for his breakfast. She checked her weapons, duffle-bag and then sat in one of the kitchen chairs. “Cowboy, come here dear. I want to talk to you.” The coyote sat in front of her as Mutt and Max walked away but stayed within hearing distance. Roxanne scratched Cowboy’s ears as she spoke, “I want you to know that I will not always take you with me and I do not want you to be hurt by this. You have been my protector, my teacher many times and you are very valuable to me. But, we must think of Shoes. If anything should happen to me only you know how to get back to her. She must know if I have failed, so sometimes I will leave you behind and take only Mutt. If I should not return from a supply run do not wait longer than two days then go to Shoes. Do you understand?”
Cowboy turned her head and put her teeth on Roxanne’s wrist but did not apply pressure. “Yes, I know that you are upset by this but I promise that it won’t be often. If I were alone I would want you with me but I will be with Lance and want you to wait at his house.” Cowboy released Roxanne’s arm and looked up at her. “Another thing. I know that this is not your territory and there may come a time that you miss the Bayou and want to go back to what is familiar to you. If that time should come I want you to tell me. I do not want to see you unhappy and you may become weary of my travels. Will you promise me that?” Cowboy began to sniff Roxanne’s face and she took that as an understanding. She realized that the coyote did not lick her face as Mutt did, each having their own way of communicating with her.
Roxanne got up, “OK everyone. Let’s go and get Lance up and see what he was talking about.”
At dawn Lance left the home he had selected for the night to be back at his own place before Roxanne got there. He had not slept well, if at all, having heard too many noises during the night. He had not been this nervous about sleeping in a new place for a long time, having gotten used to it on a nightly basis. He left the houses behind and was wondering how long he would need to wait before Roxanne showed up. He could barely see the road up ahead where he would make a right when he suddenly realized that Mutt was walking on his left and the coyote was walking with him on his right. His heart went to his throat but he kept his pace and wondered if the animals were escorting him to his death. The sun finally topped the trees and he could see Roxanne sitting on his porch. He desperately tried to think of a reason to give her as to why he wasn’t in his own home.
Roxanne stood up. “Good Morning Lance. I brought you breakfast. I hope you aren’t allergic to fish,” she handed him the container. “It’s still warm.” Lance started to open the door and go in but she interrupted him. “The light is better out here to eat by. The house is still dark. I hope it didn’t frighten you that Mutt and Cowboy wanted to greet you and provide safe passage. Those two are incorrigible and want to be involved in everything. It also shows that they trust you.”
Lance shook his head and sat down to take the lid off the container. “Actually it was rather nice to have them there,” he lied. “I’ve only seen a few pets in my travels and none of them trust people anymore. I couldn’t get anywhere near the ones I saw. How did you come by yours?”
“I met Cowboy in the Bayou,” she hesitated not knowing how to introduce her friendship with Mutt. “I lost Mutt for a while. We are getting to know one another again. Max was at the house where I sought shelter and I believe that he will stay there once I move on. I don’t believe that he is dedicated to anyone and he is self-reliant.” She reached out to pet the cat but Max moved away. Now that the sun was up his orange eyes did not glow as much and Roxanne felt more at ease. She had dreamt last night that Shoes had taken the form of a cat to be near her and she had not been able to shake it off.
Roxanne and Lance were on their bellies on a rooftop two blocks from the school. She was looking through a pair of field glasses that she had found at the house. Apparently the younger woman who once lived in the house was also a bird watcher. “I don’t know, Lance. Did you notice that the front doors are chained? We don’t know if they were chained to keep zombies out and people are living in there, or if the doors are chained because the building is full of Z’s.”
“I’ve been watching the building for a long time,” Lance said. “I’ve never seen anyone come to the windows, human or zombies.”
Roxanne looked down at the street, “Regardless, we won’t be going in the front with that crowd down there and then break through those chains. I don’t have the equipment to break through those. Have you checked the back?”
“There is one set of doors around back and those I could see are chained, but there’s less zombie traffic. I thought I could break a window and disappear inside before they spotted me. As long as they don’t see me go in they shouldn’t follow.”
Roxanne got up, “Show me how to get around back.”
Lance looked up at her, “But doesn’t it bother you? All those children?” Roxanne’s eyes became very dark as she stared back. “No” was all she said and walked away.
“I don’t know Lance. That’s a lot of ground to cover without being seen,” Roxanne observed. They were standing with Mutt at a break in the fence surrounding the playground and a ball diamond at the back of the school.
Lance looked down at Roxanne’s leg, “Are you worried about your limp?”
She nodded her head without looking at him. “Going in will be no problem with empty packs, but coming out we could be loaded down and slower.”
“You see those two trailers outside the school?” Lance pointed out. “I made it to those once but before I could get to a window two zombies came around the corner and I had to make a run for it.”
“Those two?” she nodded at two zombies moving between the two trailers. “I’ve been watching them. They never change their pattern; never go out into the yard. It’s just round and round the trailers. Look above the trailers and you’ll see a window on the second story that is partially open. From here it looks as if it is directly above the trailers. It would be safer if we got on the roof of the trailer and went in through that window.”
“But that would take time, climbing up on the trailer roof and who’s to say that there is any foothold to allow us to do that?” Lance questioned. “Most trailers are built with a smooth exterior.”
Roxanne smiled, �
��See that tree outside the fence on the adjoining property? Keep your eye on that tree.” Lance was about to ask her what he was supposed to see when he spotted a dark form moving in and out of the foliage of the tree. A few birds squawked and flew off signaling that there was danger near when Max calmly dropped from a limb to the trailer roof. He walked over to the end of the trailer and with calculated accuracy he jumped to the windowsill and went inside. Roxanne started to chuckle.
“Did you teach him that?” Lance was startled. Roxanne shook her head, “No, but he has the same set-up back at our house, however I didn’t think that he had traveled this far from his territory. Come on. If he went in then it should be safe.”
They gathered their things and began to walk outside the fence line. “We’re not cats”, Lance said. “No telling how high the first limb will be on the tree or if we can reach it, or if that limb Max walked out on will hold us.” Two Z’s in the yard heard their voices and came over to the other side of the fence and began to follow them. Their growling became louder and they started to shake the fence more viciously. “They’re going to be under that limb waiting for us to fall.”
