After a few hours, Cassie heard the firing of the rifle. She and Trey paused, listening for any more sound. There were no more shots, and shortly, Matt returned, dragging a small deer carcass with him.
“Look what I got!” he announced happily. “Dinner!”
“Awesome!” Cassie laughed, feeling relief. “Let me get a fire going while you get it ready to cook.”
“Sounds good,” Matt replied. “Trey, you want to help me with it?”
“Sure,” Trey accepted, following Matt several feet away from their tent.
“It smells quite horrible, a bit gross,” Matt warned. “I used to hunt with my dad when I was younger.”
Since they had no rope or available branches or anything to assist in the positioning of the deer, Matt instructed Trey to hold up one of the animal’s hind legs. Matt, starting at the bottom of the deer’s breastbone, began making a slit. He repositioned the knife, inserting two fingers around the blade, and cut down to the animal’s pelvis. Trey felt a little squeamish as he watched Matt cut out the animal’s reproductive organs.
“Dude, really?” Trey asked, making a bit of a disgusted face.
Matt laughed a little. “Can’t eat it…or at least I sure don’t want to.”
“Yeah, I don’t either,” Trey agreed.
Matt continued with the cutting. He split the rib cage, and then worked on splitting the pelvic bone.
“A saw would be great for this,” Matt commented. “We do need a string or something to tie off the anus.”
“I don’t think we have anything,” Trey replied. “What about a hair holder? Maybe Cassie can give us one off her wrist. She wears those things like bracelets.”
Trey was gone only a few moments and returned with a hair holder. Matt used it to tie off the anus, and then pull it, along with the intestines, into the body cavity. Next he opened the rib cage and cut out the diaphragm. Trey then helped Matt roll the animal over some so that the entrails fell out. Matt cut at some tissue and took out the windpipe and esophagus. He also took out the heart and liver, tossing them aside. They cleaned out the body cavity the best they could, and the two carried the carcass back to camp.
“Here, I’ve got these two pots to put the meat in,” Cassie told him, handing him the cookware.
Matt and Trey worked at skinning the animal and removing the head and legs. They had to keep the skinned part off the ground, and Cassie assisted in holding up the skinned part and cutting it from the rest, and then depositing it into the pots. It took a long while for them to get the meat all cut up. They eventually had it in steak-like slabs ready to cook. While Trey and Matt had gone to gut the deer, Cassie had made a little stove over the fire she built. She stuck large sturdy sticks all the way around the outside of the fire, and laid a cooling rack on top, so that the sticks supported the rack, and left the middle open to the flame. The fire was blazing by the time they plopped the meat onto it. While they cooked, Matt and Trey tossed the inedible remains of the deer out to where they had gutted it.
“It’s still awfully close,” Trey observed. “What if it attracts them? They’ll come onto our tent and attack us.”
“We’ll be moving soon. I didn’t see any creatures while I was out,” Matt assured. “If they come for what’s left, we’ll hear them, and we’ll kill them while they’re occupied with their free meal.”
Cassie cooked the meat well done to ensure any bacteria were killed. They ate every piece of it, savoring every bite. They ate some berries afterward, and then laid down in the tent for some sleep. They took turns keeping watch, as they always did when sleep beckoned them. It was dawn before the creatures found the insides of the deer and helped themselves. Cassie and Trey were already up, and Matt was still asleep, having had taken the first watch. The two sat quietly, watching from around their tent.
“Maybe they won’t notice us,” Trey whispered.
“I’m not counting on it,” Cassie whispered back, pulling out her gun. “I’m just trying to decide if we should start shooting, or wait for them to finish.”
“Matt said we should kill them while they’re eating,” Trey told her. “Let’s go for it.”
They stepped around the tent, stepping as quietly as they could, and utilizing the trees in an effort to stay hidden. As they got close to the creatures, they both opened fire. The creatures that were not immediately struck by bullets started moving toward them. They continued firing, and after a few minutes, Matt was running to join them. After many adrenaline pumping minutes, all the creatures had been taken out. They proceeded to pack up and start their walk.
“These woods have got to end soon,” Trey replied as they walked. “We’ve been walking south for a week and we’re still in the woods. We need to find a town or something and get supplies.”
“Agreed,” Cassie replied. “I think a storm is moving in again, too.”
“Yeah, well, what is it now? April? The storms will be more frequent,” Matt returned. “We’ll look for a house or building to stay in. Maybe we can rest for a few days.”
The storm hit rather quickly, and there wasn’t really enough time to stop and set up camp, so they trudged along in the rain. The lightning flashed and thunder cracked. Cassie worried about being struck by lightning and insisted they find shelter.
“I’m trying!” Matt snapped. “There’s not much I can do in the woods. Anyway, your chances of being zombie food are much higher than being struck by lightning. Just keep moving.”
“Oh, well, I’m glad you’re an expert on the statistics!” Cassie retaliated.
“Stop it!” Trey yelled. “I don’t want to listen to fighting on top of being soaked and hunted by dead rotting people!”
It stormed for hours, and by the end of it, they were emerging from the woods to see a highway. They ran to the abandoned vehicles on the road. They selected a pickup truck with a covered bed, which was empty, and crawled in with all their supplies. They dug out dry clothes and changed. There were buildings in sight just up the road, and after a short rest, they headed toward them on foot. There was a Wal-Mart, a grocery store, a few diners, some auto repair shops, some fast food joints, and a smoke shop. They went into the smoke shop, which was still fairly well stocked. They dumped as many packs as they could fit into their bags. The grocery store was next. It had pretty much been wiped clean.
“There’s some canned vegetables over here,” Trey replied as he loaded them into his bag. “Find anything over your way?”
The store was dark and shelves had been knocked down, so there weren’t too many aisles left. Cassie and Matt were a few feet away, rummaging through the rubble.
“I found some soups,” Cassie answered, packing the cans into her bag.
“There’s some noodles over here,” Matt called, holding up three boxes of spaghetti noodles for them to see.
They moved along to the Wal-Mart next. The store resembled the grocery store with the piles of rubble and overturned shelves. They moved through the rubbage, digging through the piles of shelves and debris for anything useful. They found some clothes, though not many, but some more appropriate for the upcoming warmer days. They found some socks and underwear and some shoes. The food had been completely cleared out. They found some candles left and some matches. Even the boxes in the back had been dug through, but not like the store itself. They found some flashlights and ponchos and sleeping bags in the back.
“Now, we just need a car,” Matt replied. “Kind of odd we haven’t come across any creatures here.”
“Good, maybe we can just hang out here for a while,” Trey suggested.
“Well, let’s go see if we can find some houses and a car lot maybe,” Matt responded.
They headed back out on the main road and walked past all the different businesses. One of the businesses happened to be a car lot. The three hurried to the building and went inside through the broken glass window on the front. There were still several cars on the lot, but the three had no doubt some had been stolen already. The o
nce blue and white tile floor was now gray and black with dirt and dust. Papers were scattered about all over the place. Chairs and desks were overturned. A man sat in a chair in one of the offices, and they could easily see through the dingy window the blood that had dried on his front and the wall behind him. They could see the gun on the floor near his chair. Matt tried the doorknob, thinking he could take the gun if it had more bullets. It was locked.
“I guess some just figured it was the end,” Matt replied, looking at the man. “Come on, let’s find the keys if we can.”
Trey didn’t mention that he thought suicide might be a pretty good idea, and he felt empathy for the man. He understood how the man could just choose to end it. If it weren’t for Cassie, Trey would have done the same thing. He still saw it as the most logical option, but Cassie was determined to find an escape. She was a fighter. She was determined to keep pushing forward until they found their new home, free from creatures. While Trey saw himself more to choose death than fight to survive against these things, his hopes started to build that Cassie might be right. After all, they had yet to see any creatures in this town so far.
Matt finally located the stock of car keys, each still conveniently labeled by the keychain tag. Matt started looking at the tags, and finally selected one. They headed out to the lot of vehicles to locate the Chevy Suburban. They walked through the rows of vehicles that still remained intact. It took a little bit of time, but they located the Suburban. It only had a quarter of a tank of gas, but Matt wasn’t discouraged. He had no doubts he’d find a hose to siphon gas from the other vehicles.
“This is just too odd,” Cassie pointed out after they located a siphon kit and were headed back to the dealership. “How have we not seen any creatures in this town at all?”
“I don’t know, but it does seem strange,” Matt agreed. “Maybe it’s a good place to bunk for some time.”
Once they had filled up the gas tank, they went searching for a house to use. They selected a small, square, one-level house that looked to have been built around 1940. They entered carefully and quietly, searching every room before getting comfortable.
“This is perfect,” Cassie beamed. “This place is completely devoid of creatures. We can just stay here.”
“Well, it may be devoid of creatures, but it’s also pretty devoid of necessities,” Matt pointed out. “There’s hardly anything left as far as supplies go.”
Cassie frowned. “Well, we may just have to go out a little farther to find food and stuff. We’ll have to do that anyway. It’s not like the shelves are going to be restocked in any place we go.”
“I guess it is pretty safe here,” Matt sighed. “We’ll stay for a while. Take a vacation from traveling.”
With that said, he plopped down on the couch and propped his feet up. Cassie grinned and sat down beside Matt on the couch. He placed his arm around her and held her close to him. Trey stretched out in a recliner that sat next to the couch. It was a two-bedroom house with one full bathroom in the hall next to the bedrooms. The bathroom wasn’t too much use to them, as there was no water or electricity. All the essentials, such as soap, toothbrushes, and toilet paper, were missing. Luckily, Cassie had restocked their hygiene supply so they could somewhat try to be clean. By this time, they were getting used to the very limited showers and the dinginess of their appearance.
They mostly just lazed around that day until dusk. Cassie used bottled water from their supplies to boil some noodles over a fire in the fenced backyard. Almost all the food had been taken, but Cassie just happened to find some spaghetti sauce in a cabinet. She warmed the sauce over the fire after the noodles were done, and poured the sauce over the noodles.
“Well, I guess it’s vegetarian spaghetti,” Cassie announced as she served their food. “Can’t really cook any hamburger meat, since there’s none in date, and it’s no longer frozen.”
“Ew,” Trey replied, knowing how the rotten meat would smell. “Did you throw the meat in the yard?”
“No,” Cassie answered with a bit of an attitude. “That might attract them to come here. They could come out of hiding if I did that.”
“So, I guess it would be wise to just not open the freezer door,” Trey returned. “Why did you even check in there?”
Cassie shrugged. “Brain fart, I guess.”
After their spaghetti dinner, they sat in the living room, smoking cigarettes and playing card games. Matt took a flashlight and had a look around the property before they went to bed. Feeling confident there were no creatures in the area, they decided to sleep in the beds. Cassie found extra sheets in a hall closet and changed both beds, which were both full-size. They had the best night sleep since the motor home.
They awoke with the sunrise, and Cassie made some soup for breakfast. It was potato soup in a can, so it wasn’t completely horrible, but it definitely didn’t fill them up. Whoever had lived in the house didn’t feel the need to take the salt or pepper, so Cassie sprinkled some on their soup. She had also found some hot chocolate mix in the cabinet and made that, too. After breakfast, Matt and Trey went to find more water. Cassie worked on the house, attempting to clean it up a little bit and dust. She got quite a bit accomplished before the guys returned. They carried in a total of ten gallons. They warmed up a gallon of the water over the fire pit in the back, poured it into three large serving bowls, and used wash rags to wipe their faces and scrub up a bit.
“Maybe we can work on finding some more water so we can actually bathe,” Cassie inquired hopefully.
Matt smiled. “We’ll go out again tomorrow.”
“We need to find a well, or a natural spring or something,” Cassie replied with a smile. “That would be the jackpot.”
Matt let out a short laugh. “Wouldn’t it, though? All people used to care about was money. Now money is worthless, and finding water is like striking gold.”
“Did you see any creatures when you went out?” Cassie asked.
“No,” Matt answered. “We went to the neighboring houses. There was nothing. I don’t get how this entire little town managed to not have any creatures, but yet everybody got out of here. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Well, I’ll take it,” Cassie replied. “It’s nice to not have to look over your shoulder every second.”
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Matt warned. “Remember how the stone house turned out.”
“I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts, but I haven’t forgotten,” Cassie returned.
Matt and Trey went out again the next morning, checking houses and stores for water. They loaded up every bottle and jug they could find. They boiled just enough to pour into the bathtub and wash in it, doing this for each of them. They still had a sufficient amount left over after bathing. A storm drifted in that evening, and Cassie sat out on the covered porch, smoking a cigarette, watching the raindrops. Trey came out shortly and sat next to her.
“Hey,” he greeted.
“Hey,” Cassie returned.
“Enjoying the oncoming storm?” Trey asked, attempting to break the silence.
Cassie nodded. “It’s a bit calming, actually.”
“What’s going to happen to us, Cassie?” Trey questioned.
“How the fuck should I know?” Cassie snorted.
Trey grinned. “Starting to sound like your old self again.”
Cassie returned the grin and shook her head. She handed Trey a cigarette. “I never thought I’d miss the farmhouse. I should’ve appreciated what I had, even though moving was a bummer.”
“Well, live and learn,” Trey sighed.
They sat through the storm, smoking their cigarettes in silence. Matt was sleeping inside, and Trey was glad to have this alone time with his sister, even if there wasn’t much of anything to say.
“I really miss Mom and Dad, but I’m really glad I still have you,” Trey told her after a long while.
Cassie smiled at him and put her arm around his shoulders, pulling him to her. “Me too, Trey.”
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The next morning, Trey awoke feeling a bit dizzy and nauseated. He climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom, leaning over the toilet. He dry-heaved some, but nothing came up. He suddenly felt sweaty and weak.
“Cassie!” he called from the bathroom.
Cassie came into the bathroom. “You okay?”
“I’m sick,” Trey stated. “I don’t feel so good.”
Cassie helped him back to bed, and then got a wet rag to put on his forehead. She dug around for a thermometer and aspirins. She found both and took his temperature.
“You got a fever,” Cassie informed when it beeped. She handed him the aspirin. “Take these. It’ll bring your fever down.”
She made him some chicken noodle soup from a can, and he managed to eat a little bit of it.
“I’m not feeling so hot, either,” Matt announced a little while later. “How’s Trey?”
“He’s still got a fever, sick to his stomach, but he’s sleeping now,” Cassie answered. “Maybe he got a bug bite or something. I can’t see him getting so sick that fast. I guess it could be a stomach virus.”
Matt held a thoughtful expression. “It’s not a bug bite. I haven’t seen any bugs, or rats, or birds, or any other living thing. The grass and trees seem to be alive, but it’s spring now, and the trees are still bare and the grass isn’t growing, so maybe those are dead, too.”
Creatures Page 8
