“So, what’s going on?” Shaun asked. The dark circles under his eyes were the only indication that something was wrong.
“Discussing the supply situation,” Steve replied. “Kyle rightly asked how we were set up with water and food.”
“Oh, crap!” Shaun said. “I hadn’t thought of that. Way to go, Kyle! Your question might have saved our lives.”
Kyle looked pleased at the compliment. “Maybe we could find an abandoned house and get water there?” he suggested.
“That isn’t a bad idea,” Mike said. “We might even find food and gas. Out in the country, people tend to keep a stockpile in case they can’t get to town in an emergency.”
“So, we drive until we see a prosperous-looking farm without any obvious undead wandering around?” Steve asked.
Mike shrugged. “It’s as good a plan as any, I suppose.”
“Do you want to lead us out, Mike?” Steve asked. “You grew up in the country. Maybe you will have better luck than either Shaun or me.”
“Sure, I can do that,” Mike said. He shifted the truck into drive. “Follow me.”
Chapter 12
It only took about ten minutes to find a farmyard that looked promising. A well-tended farm came up on the right side of the highway. Freshly mowed ditches gave way to pastures that still held grazing cattle and horses behind a well-maintained white three-board fence.
Mike slowed as he approached the farm’s driveway. “Guys, watch carefully for any of the undead. Call out if you see anything, okay?” He waited for each boy to acknowledge his request before he turned into the driveway.
He slowly drove the truck into the yard, carefully watching for undead. Nothing had appeared by the time he parked in front of the neat little bungalow that was the family home.
The yard was as tidy as the rest of the farm. Well-tended flowerbeds surrounded the house. A weed-free lawn, cut short, filled every part of the yard except for the parking and driveway areas. A five-hundred-gallon fuel tank stood beside a compact, red horse barn.
Mike found himself wishing he could stay and escape the craziness of the world. He turned to face the Scouts in his truck. “Okay, guys. Everything looks peaceful here, but we can’t assume it is or will even stay that way.”
“So, what do you want us to do, Scouter Mike?” Martin asked.
“Great question,” Mike said. “Since you guys have the most experience handling the undead, I want you four to keep the other Scouts out of trouble. Teach them what you know and, if anything happens while the other leaders and I are looking for supplies, get them to safety.”
“Safety, Scouter Mike?” Todd asked.
“Yes, safety, Todd!” Mike said. “You boys know how to take care of one or two of them. Work with the others to learn your tricks if only a few of the undead show up. If more come, get the Scouts into the vehicles. I want each of you older boys to get into the driver’s seat of a vehicle in case you need to pull out of the yard. Do you understand?”
“You want us to drive away from you?” Kyle asked.
Mike looked Kyle in the eyes. “Kyle, I know you can drive. Why is that a problem?”
“I’m not worried about driving, Dad. I just don’t want to leave you all behind.”
“I’m not asking you to leave us behind, Kyle. Just get the Scouts out of the yard and onto the highway. Go as far as you need to so you are all safe. If that is the end of the driveway, that is fine. Steve, Shaun, and I can outrun the walking corpses if we have to.”
“Oh. Okay, Dad,” Kyle said. “I guess we can do that.”
“As long as you don’t expect us to leave you behind,” Martin agreed.
Mike looked out the windows of the truck and noticed the rest of the vehicles were parked around the yard. They were already getting out. “Get out there guys. Teach them well!”
Mike and the four Scouts got out of the truck with the boys immediately rounding up a few Scouts each. Mike joined Shaun and Steve, who were standing aside and talking.
“Place looks pretty good, don’t you think, Steve?” Mike said.
Steve nodded. “As close to perfect as we are going to get. I’m a little worried about the boys, though. What are they going to do while we search for supplies?”
“You are thinking the same way I am,” Mike said. “I don’t want them going into the buildings. We have no idea what is in them.”
“So, what do we do?” Shaun asked.
“I’ve asked my crew to keep an eye on the other Scouts. Teach them a few things and, if we get into trouble, get them out of here.”
Steve nodded. “That is sound thinking. Your guys can definitely do it. They have all proven themselves capable. And since they are patrol leaders, the others are used to listening to them.”
“That was my thinking. Kyle, Todd, and Martin will each be responsible for boys and a vehicle. They will drive the others away if it gets too bad.”
“Is that wise?” Shaun asked.
“How much worse could their driving be over being swarmed by the dead?” Mike asked.
“That’s a very good point,” Shaun admitted. “So, what are we going to do?”
“Let’s start with the house and see what we can find,” Mike said.
***
The door of the house was closed but unlocked when the three Scouters checked.
"Unlocked? What do you suppose that means?" Shaun asked. "Do you think someone is home?" He casually swung an axe back and forth at his side as he spoke.
"There's only one way to find out," Steve said. He reached out and knocked loudly on the door.
Mike jumped at the sudden sound. "Steve, what the heck are you doing?"
"Giving the homeowner fair warning that we are here," Steve said.
"If they are still alive they would have heard us pull in," Mike said. "If they aren't, you have just let whatever is in there know we are alive and available as snacks."
Shaun swallowed and gripped his axe harder. "Maybe it's better to draw out whatever might be in there. I'd rather fight undead where I've got room to move than in the confined spaces of a house."
"Good point," Mike said. He took a step back and to the side of the door and lifted the shovel as if he were carrying like a club.
Steve looked at the two men and gave a wry smile. "I guess I've just volunteered to open the door, haven't I?" He took a deep breath. "You will forgive me if all I do is swing the door open and get out of the way." He reached for the doorknob.
Mike steeled himself as the door swung open. It banged against the inside wall of the house and a draft of hot air struck them in the faces. Beyond that, nothing. No moaning monsters. No unhappy homeowners. Not even a hissing cat greeted their intrusion.
Steve looked at the two men. "What do you think? Safe to go in?"
Shaun shrugged. "It seems all right." He smacked the axe handle lightly in his hand. "I can go first since I've got the axe."
"I'll be right behind you," Mike said. "I can use the shovel's length to keep anything off of you."
Shaun gave Mike a grateful smile. "Thanks, Mike!"
"I guess that means I'm bringing up the rear," Steve said. "Not that I'm complaining."
"You get to pick up and carry anything we find," Mike said with a grin.
"Ah, the pack mule! A role I was born to play," Steve said with a small smile.
"Let's get going," Shaun said. "Daylight is burning." He took a tentative step into the house..
During the initial steps into the house, everything looked normal. For the first time since finding the car accident, Mike felt a surge of hope. Nothing in the mudroom of the house was out of place or gave any indication of a rushed exit or emergency.
"Maybe we have finally managed to leave the undead behind," Shaun said..
"Don't let your guard down," Steve warned. "The last one we saw wasn't that far from here."
"You're right," Shaun said. "Probably just wishful thinking on my part."
Mike nodded. "If it turns
out that we did leave the dead behind and none of this is necessary, we can always come back and make amends for what we take."
"True enough, Mike," Steve said. “So, let’s treat everything with respect. No unnecessary damage.”
The men moved slowly through the house. A small two-step stair took them into the house's kitchen. Again, everything looked normal.
Steve opened the refrigerator. "Not much here." He held the door wide open for the other two men to see. The fridge light revealed a partial jug of milk, some eggs, and a sealed block of cheese.
"Maybe that's why no one is here," Shaun said. "It might just be grocery shopping day for them."
"Could be," Steve said, with a shrug. "If that's the case, it isn't good news for us." He looked at the milk, eggs, and cheese. "It's still better than nothing. We can pick this up before we go."
“And they still have power. I wasn’t expecting that," Mike said. "Let's check the rest of the house. Maybe we will get lucky and find more supplies."
The three Scouters quickly searched the rest of the house. It was empty of people, alive or dead. A freezer in the basement held what looked like enough packages of meat to be half a frozen beef and several dressed chickens as well as bacon and pork chops.
"We won't lack for protein for a while," Mike joked.
"We will have to keep this meat cold or it will spoil," Shaun said.
"Hey guys, we have really hit the jackpot!" Steve crowed from another room.
Mike and Shaun hurried toward Steve's voice. They found him standing just inside the doorway of what could only be a massive pantry. Three big shelves held canned goods, flour, sugar, and paper goods. Enough to keep the troop going for a couple weeks or more.
"Wow!" Mike said. "We are going to need some help to get all of this out of here. I'll go get some of the boys."
He only made it to the first step when he heard panicked shouting from the Scouts outside.
Chapter 13
Ricky was bored. The car accident had been interesting, if horrifying, and standing guard on the road had been something different, but ever since, everyone had been so serious.
Yes, the world might have fallen apart. Yes, lots of people might be dead, but were those any reason not to have fun? The other guys were all acting so afraid.
It was more than he could stand. Something needed to be done to get people laughing again.
Ricky spotted a big brick wall that separated the side of the house from the front yard, and a light bulb went off in his head. Time to distract everyone from their problems.
He climbed up the rough bricks until he could stand on the top, surveying his domain. Off in the fields a couple of cows jerked their heads up to look at him. A horse walked toward him, stopping at the fence to watch him.
Ricky glanced at the other Scouts. They kept doing their rope drills, not noticing him.
“Hey!” he called. Ricky moved along the top of the wall like a tightrope walker. As he got more confident in his balance, he sped up his movement until he was almost running back and forth across the wall.
The Scouts stopped their drills and gathered nearer to the wall to watch.
“Ricky, get down from there,” Martin called.
“Can’t,” Ricky said. “I’m watching for the undead.”
Martin shook his head but didn’t say anything further.
Ricky smiled. A couple of the Scouts were actually grinning a little at his antics. Time to make things even more interesting.
Ricky jumped up and landed, making a show of waving his arms and swaying like he had lost his balance. Some of the Scouts gasped and a couple clapped their hands.
That worked. Ricky jumped again, this time spreading his legs like a dancer trying to touch his toes in mid-air.
He managed the toe touch, but didn’t quite pull his legs down fast enough.
His butt banged onto the top of the wall – hard – and Ricky felt himself spinning out of control toward the ground.
***
Mike rushed up the stairs clutching the axe in a ready position. What could possibly be going on? Were the Scouts being attacked? Had the walking undead caught up with them?
He burst out of the house, ready for anything. Well, almost anything. The door slammed into Kyle who had been reaching for the doorknob, knocking him to the ground.
“Kyle! What’s going on?” Mike asked, reaching down to help him up.
Kyle rubbed his hand where the door had smashed into him and looked at his father. “Dad, Ricky has been hurt! Martin and Todd are looking after him right now.”
“No undead?” Mike asked.
“No, nothing like that, Dad. But Ricky is really hurt! Please hurry.”
Despite the boy’s urgency, Mike felt a small sense of relief to learn that the dead were not the cause of the panic. “Okay, Kyle. Take me to Ricky.”
Kyle ran ahead, looking over his shoulder at Mike occasionally. It wasn’t hard to figure out where the accident had happened. All of the Scouts were clustered in one spot. Mike assumed they surrounded the injured Ricky.
“Guys! Back off and give Ricky some privacy, please!” Martin ordered the other Scouts. Mike could see that the other Scouts were not listening.
“Scouts! Get back to work and give Martin, Todd, and Ricky some room!”
The sound of Mike’s voice made the boys turn, almost as a single unit. They looked at him with guilty eyes and started to wander in different directions.
Mike picked the four closest to him. “Guys, I want you four to go into the house and help Scouter Steve and Shaun bring up supplies.”
They nodded and changed direction.
“And make sure to announce yourselves before you go downstairs. I don’t want you surprising Steve.” Mike could only guess what might happen with everyone so on edge.
The other boys had stopped moving while Mike gave the first of the orders. Mike looked at them all in turn. “The rest of you, stay out of the buildings but look around for anything useful. I also want you to keep an eye on the road. We don’t want any unexpected company.”
That taken care of, Mike strode over to Martin, Kyle, and Todd who knelt around a prone Ricky beside a tall, brick wall. “What happened guys?”
Todd looked up. “Ricky was messing around on this wall, going back and forth on it and generally clowning around. He said he was keeping watch for the undead. He seemed okay, so I let him stay up there.”
“Yes, that sounds like Ricky,” Mike agreed, kneeling down beside the small boy. The three older Scouts had carefully wrapped a white bandage around his head several times, to cover a scalp wound, Mike guessed. “So how did he end up hurt on the ground?” Mike checked the pulse on his arm. It seemed regular. Then he carefully checked the his pupils. One was dilated and the other remained small.
It had been a while since Mike had taken his first aid, but that wasn’t good. It could mean that Ricky had a concussion. He realized Todd was talking.
“Sorry Todd. I didn’t catch what you just said. Could you repeat that for me, please?”
“I said, I looked over and Ricky was dancing and clowning around on the wall. I was about to tell him to cut it out when he slipped. I’m pretty sure he banged his head against the wall as he fell. He definitely smacked his head on the ground. Martin and I rushed over to check him out and found his head bleeding pretty badly. Kyle got the first aid kit and we dressed the wound, trying to be careful not to move his neck too much.”
“Good work, fellas,” Mike said. “I think you are right about him banging his head. His pupils aren’t the same size, which I think means he might have a concussion.”
“What can we do?” Martin asked.
Mike shook his head. “If he has a concussion, we need to wake him up. Kyle, do we have smelling salts in the first aid kit?”
“Let me check, Dad,” Kyle said. He rummaged around in the kit for a few moments before he handed Mike a small package. “Here you go.”
Mike snapped open the pack
age and held it under Ricky’s nose. For a few moments, nothing happened and then, finally, Ricky jerked his head away from the smelling salts and opened his eyes.
“Where…where am I?” Ricky asked.
“How you doing, Ricky?” Mike asked, kneeling beside him.
He tried to sit up, only to be held down by Scouter Mike. “Whoa there, Ricky! Just relax for a moment, okay?”
Ricky strained for only a second before he lay back down. “My head really hurts!”
“I’m sure it does,” Mike said with a reassuring smile. “Can you tell me if your neck hurts too?”
Ricky looked confused. “My neck? No, it feels fine.”
“Good,” Mike said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “Well, you just lay there for a little while and collect your bearings, all right?”
“Sure thing,” Ricky said. He relaxed and lay back.
Mike stood and stepped away from the injured boy. He beckoned for Todd and Kyle to come over. Martin stayed with Ricky as his fellows joined Mike.
“Guys, I don’t think Ricky hurt his neck or he would be complaining about it a lot more. However, I want him to lie there and rest for a little while before we move him.”
They both nodded.
“Anything else, Dad?” Kyle asked.
Mike nodded. “Maybe you could go into the house and get some blankets, pillows, and such? Put them into the back of the truck and make a cozy little nest for Ricky. I think that would be better than him having to sit up and get bounced around.”
“Sure thing, Dad,” Kyle said. He and Todd ran into the house.
Mike watched them for a second. He nodded at Martin, who sat vigil beside Ricky, keeping him lying on the ground and making him comfortable. Time to get the rest of the troop cracking on the collection activities. Their brief respite from the undead wouldn’t last.
Chapter 14
The convoy was back on the highway less than an hour later, this time carrying everything they thought they would need to survive. The farmyard had yielded a treasure trove of food, water, fuel, and other necessities that had every vehicle bulging with material.
Scouts of the Apocalypse: Zombie Plague Page 8
