Forsaken World (Book 1): Innocence Lost

by Watson, Thomas A.

  Ian pulled the buggy down the next draw before the cabin after they put the cameras and motion detectors up. Weaving around trees to try to find the most level areas to drive on, Ian noticed Dino was leading them. Taking his foot off the accelerator, Ian watched Dino slow his walk as his massive head looked down the main draw.

  “Yeah, he’s been studying something that way since we left the ridge,” Lance said softly, glancing around.

  “Dino didn’t act this way with the deer,” Ian whispered.

  Lance climbed out of the buggy. “The hair is standing up on his back.”

  “Let’s get back to the cabin.”

  “What’s next?” Lance said, easing up to Dino.

  Ian glanced down at the GPS. “Camera on the road a hundred and six yards ahead; then, we move to the tip of the valley into the field.”

  “I can see the road,” Lance said, patting Dino, and felt Dino’s body was rock hard. Ian climbed out of the buggy and moved up beside Lance. Looking through the trees down into the main draw, Ian saw the dirt tract they called the road.

  “You see anything?”

  “No, but Dino doesn’t like something.”

  Ian glanced at his watch. “It’s three o’clock. It’s Miller Time.”

  “I really don’t want what’s down there to follow us back if we can help it.”

  “I really don’t want to see what’s down there unless it follows us back,” Ian said.

  “Get in the buggy, and pull it up here. I’m going to ease forward till we’re at the spot for the camera,” Lance said, easing off, and Dino stayed beside him.

  Ian moved back to the buggy, bitching. “You get the massive fucking dog, and I get an electric buggy I can outrun on my bike.”

  Lance eased down next to the road but didn’t get on it until he was certain nothing was there. The trees were thick and all over their property, so they didn’t have long lines of sight. Behind him, Lance heard the electric buggy stop a few feet behind him. Until the buggy was almost next to you, you couldn’t hear it, and Lance loved that.

  Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Lance leaned his head back but kept his eyes down the road. “The tree is just off the road right here. I’m putting the camera up,” Ian whispered in his ear. Lance just nodded and glanced around, making sure Ian would be okay.

  Hearing the cordless drill spin up and break the silence, Lance almost took off running. Seeing that even Dino jumped did make Lance feel better. Ian eased up beside Lance, holding the bow and the quiver of arrows clipped to his waist. Lance glanced over and saw Ian’s AR hanging on his side from its sling. “The valley is two hundred yards ahead; let’s ease up,” Ian whispered, pulling out an arrow and nocking it.

  Nodding, Lance eased to the side of the road back into the woods. Dino stayed with him but slowly moved in front of Lance. They were halfway when Lance stopped and shook his head as Ian moved up beside him. “Stinker,” Lance whispered as Dino stopped but didn’t look back.

  “Yeah, I smell it, but it doesn’t smell like more than one or two.”

  Agreeing, Lance nodded and moved back behind Dino. Dino wouldn’t let Lance pass him, so Lance just stayed behind him. Seeing the clearing ahead of the field they owned at the head of the valley, Lance slowed his pace and stopped just inside the tree line. “That is bullshit,” he mumbled as Ian moved to his side.

  “Lance, isn’t that where we parked the Hummer when you and I went to check on the cabin?”

  Lance nodded and saw the bodies of the stinkers they had pulled off the trailer on the ground. “Yeah, and they haven’t moved forward because they can’t see where the Hummer went,” he said, looking at the three stinkers standing in the spot the Hummer was parked in. “How far you think? I’m saying forty-five to fifty yards.”

  “I’m thinking forty.”

  “Move up till you feel comfortable,” Lance whispered.

  “Let’s just cap them.”

  “If any are near, they will hear the suppressed shots.”

  “I want a fucking laser,” Ian huffed and moved back into the trees. Lance followed as Ian stayed in the trees, moving quietly, getting closer to the stinkers. Lance was starting to think Ian wanted to pull out his knife and take the stinkers down as close as he was moving to them.

  When he stopped halfway, Lance breathed a sigh of relief and brought up his AR in case the stinkers charged them. Two of the stinkers were men wearing jeans and t-shirts, and the other was a woman wearing a flowery summer dress. They were all looking down at the spot where the Hummer had parked.

  Ian pulled the bow back, aiming at the woman. Lance watched the arrow speed across the distance, hitting the woman in the base of the skull. She fell forward with a thud. One of the men turned to look at the twitching woman; the other man turned toward them.

  With his bow already pulled back, Ian released the next arrow, and Lance prayed it was for the one that was looking at them with its arms raised. The arrow sunk in the stinker that was looking at them, hitting it in the nose.

  They watched the stinker fall sideways, crashing on its shoulder, and Lance saw some of the arrow sticking out the back of its head. Twack sounded as Ian released the next arrow, hitting the last stinker that was looking down at the other two. The arrow sunk in his ear and stopped when the tip came out the other side.

  Like the others, the stinker didn’t waver on its feet; it dropped instantly. They sat for a few seconds, and Lance looked at Dino. Dino looked more relaxed but was still looking down the valley. “Where do we put shit?” Lance asked.

  “A camera somewhere close, motion detectors further out,” Ian said, following Lance out into the field.

  “Why didn’t Jennifer call us about the motion detector?” Lance asked, looking around.

  “It’s buried and only goes off when a vehicle passes over it,” Ian said, following him. Ian dropped the bow and pulled off his pack, pulling out a camera and his cordless drill. “We set up two motion detectors here that will pick up movement.”

  “Just hurry. Dino is still looking down the valley.”

  Using the GPS, Ian moved off just inside the tree line, pulling wire out of the ground. Lance cringed upon hearing the drill. He turned to the three stinkers and noticed the woman was still twitching. “Hey, you’re not supposed to do that when we stick something in your brain.” Seeing Ian moving up to the group of stinkers, Lance moved in front of him. “She’s still moving.”

  “She’s not getting up, so I don’t give a shit. It’s past four thirty,” Ian said, walking past the three, and Dino trotted off with him. Stopping beside a small tree just inside the fence, Ian mounted a motion detector.

  Moving over to the woman, Lance pulled out his switchblade. Looking close, he saw the arrow had hit the woman in the spine at the base of her skull. “Sucks to be you,” he said, pressing the button to make the blade pop out. Placing the tip on the back of her skull, Lance hit it with the palm of his hand.

  When the blade sunk in, the twitching stopped. Yanking his blade out, Lance wiped it on the woman’s dress and pulled out the arrows. Standing, he turned to see Ian mounting the other motion detector.

  “You found and killed stinkers and didn’t think about letting us know,” Jennifer snapped in his ear.

  Lance saw Ian drop to the ground, but Dino just stood in the opening in the fence they used for the gate, staring down the valley. Grabbing his transmit pad, he hissed into his throat mic, “Jennifer, it’s really fucking spooky out here right now, so please shut the fuck up.”

  Getting back to his knees, Ian screwed the motion detector in and trotted over to Lance. “I smelled something as the wind blew up the valley.”

  “We are getting the fuck out of Dodge,” Lance said, patting his leg. Dino turned and saw them leaving and trotted after them. Ian picked his bow up as he ran past.

  When they were back in the trees, they slowed to a fast walk. Seeing Dino only looking behind them, they picked up the pace. Jumping in the buggy, Ian threw up dirt, head
ing back to the cabin.

  Lance pressed the transmit button on his radio. “Jennifer, have the front gate open when we get there. You should be able to see us coming.”

  “She’s already outside,” Carrie called back in a tiny voice.

  Ian drove up the draw, reaching the flat area the cabin sat on. Jennifer was holding the gate open, and Ian pulled through and stopped. When the gate was locked, Jennifer jumped in, and Ian stomped on the accelerator. “What the hell were they doing just standing there?”

  “Shit, I don’t know. Maybe the woman told those two guys she was kinky,” Lance said as Ian pulled in the ATV shed.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Jennifer asked as they got out of the buggy.

  They ignored her as Ian plugged the buggy up. “She didn’t look like a whore to me.”

  “Are you kidding? That flowery dress screamed, ‘I’m a whore,’” Lance said, walking over and pulling the battery packs off the cordless drills. “I bet she’s gone down on everyone. She looked like she could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch from ten feet away; that’s what those two were standing around for.”

  Jennifer just stopped as her mouth fell open. Ian shook his head. “I’m not buying it.”

  “Fuck if I know,” Lance said, shrugging. “It’s as good a theory as anything else.”

  “Hold on,” Jennifer said, stepping between them. When the camera was hooked up in the valley, she had seen the bodies and figured out what the banter was about. “You think those stinkers were there to have sex?”

  “What else could explain why they were just standing with a woman in a field over dead stinkers?” Lance asked, walking out of the ATV shed.

  “That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth,” she snapped, walking past him.

  Ian walked out as Lance closed the shed doors. “I agree with Jennifer; that is one of your stupidest theories.”

  “How the hell would anyone know why they were just standing where we parked the Hummer?” Lance said, locking the shed. They headed to the back door and saw Dino waiting to be let in.

  Allie’s small voice came over their earbuds. “We see someone walking down the road where you put the last camera. On the computer screen with the map, it says, ‘Valley cam one.’”

  “Flower dress must have been a good piece of ass,” Lance huffed.

  Pulling out her key, Jennifer stomped her foot. “Enough of the porn talk.”

  “Well, they stink…” Lance’s voice trailed off as he stopped and looked over at the Hummer still hooked to the covered trailer.

  Ian turned, following Lance’s gaze to the gore-covered trailer and Hummer. “They smelled the ones you hit. There were blood stains on the ground where you parked, not to mention the ones we pulled off the trailer.”

  Lance spun on him. “Oh come on, I didn’t hit that damn many.”

  “Lance, you chased some down into the ditch.”

  Sheepishly, Lance gave a nod. “Well okay, and that’s what I was thinking, but the Hummer is still here covered in gore; why aren’t they here?”

  “Maybe it’s too far? They have to be close to smell others like them,” Ian said.

  Opening the door, Jennifer turned around. “Guys, when we got here, I used pots with water and put bleach in it. Then, I poured it over the trailer and Hummer. I guess I did that like twenty times.”

  “Huh,” they both said, looking at her.

  “We had those that fell off the bridge covering even the top of the Hummer and trailer with gore. I really didn’t think we needed to get it on us. Mom said bleach will kill anything,” Jennifer said, walking in.

  They followed her in and locked the door. Ian started taking off his gear, but Lance headed downstairs to master control. Giving a sigh, Ian followed with Jennifer behind him. When Lance got to master control, he stopped, looking at the screen.

  A lone male stinker was standing over the bodies. “That’s it; they smell each other. Like ants, they follow each other’s scent to food,” Lance mumbled.

  Ian stared at the screen and could see four more stinkers walking down the road toward the lone stinker. “I was secretly hoping you were right and flower girl was a whore.”

  Chapter 20

  March 19

  Lance woke up early and sat staring at the laptop. The parents didn’t contact them last night, and that worried them. Having a thought, Lance grabbed the mouse and opened his e-mail. He had downloaded all the messages but was shocked to see a message from his dad sent yesterday.

  Clicking it open and seeing an attachment, Lance saw it was a video. He saved then opened it and pressed play. His mom and dad were sitting in the spot he had last seen them.

  “Son,” his dad said with a grim face. “Don’t open a live video conference anymore. We had a military helicopter fly over us yesterday after we got off with you. They are demanding that all people report to the closest military base for protection. You aren’t allowed to bring anything, and you can’t be armed.”

  Sandy leaned toward the screen. “Baby, they were calling over a loudspeaker, saying they knew someone here was using satellite internet. The man we got fuel from said that’s how the government is tracking people who are in hiding. Baby, you can’t go to them.”

  “Sandy,” Johnathan said, patting her hand, then looked at the screen. “Son, if they are doing it here, then they are doing it there. If they were letting people stay armed, I would tell you to run for the nearest base, but if you do, you and the others will die there. I hope you get this message fast so you don’t download anymore. Turn off the internet as soon as you get this. Let Ian download his message from Mary and Bill, then turn it off. I’m sorry we couldn’t call you yesterday, but we had to move fast after the chopper left. By the time you listen to this, we will be on our journey home. We will make it, but you must stay safe,” his dad said and smiled. “You are the best thing to ever happen to us. I swear we will make it to you, but we will always be with you.”

  Wiping her eyes, Sandy leaned forward and kissed the webcam. “Momma will get home to her baby boy; don’t you worry about us. You stay safe, and remember; we love you more than anything.”

  The video cut off, and Lance was staring wide-eyed at the screen, panting in a panic. “No,” he mumbled, slowly standing up. “No,” he said louder, grabbing the mouse and clicking the video link, trying to call his mom and dad.

  “MOMMA!” Lance screamed, slamming the mouse down as he clicked the button. “NO, MOM, DAD, ANSWER!”

  A hand grabbed Lance’s wrist, stopping the repeated slamming of the mouse. “Lance!” Ian shouted and spun him around. “What’s wrong?”

  Tears ran down his face, but the shock didn’t let him cry. “Mom and Dad,” Lance mumbled in wide-eyed fear.

  Ian took the mouse and clicked the video Lance just watched. Breathing hard, Lance just stood there as Jennifer wrapped her arms around Allie and Carrie, staring at Lance. Seeing the video playing, they moved over and listened with Ian.

  When it was over, Ian went to his e-mail and downloaded his message. He turned to see Lance still in shock. “Lance, we have satellite and cell internet here; how do we make sure they are off?”

  With tears streaming down his face, Lance turned and looked at Ian like he was speaking a foreign language. “Huh?”

  “The internet. We have to shut it down before someone finds us,” Ian said, grabbing Lance’s shoulders and shaking him.

  “Yeah,” Lance said dumbly and walked over to the computer in the back corner. He pulled wires and unplugged some boxes and dropped them to the floor. Lance then just stood there, looking down at the internet receivers.

  A beeping started in the living area, and the others moved over, looking at the monitors beside the screen. One showed the map of the area with a blinking triangle for the sensor in the valley. Another screen showed eleven stinkers standing over the dead ones and two more walking up the road to join them.

  “More showed up,” Jennifer
said then turned to see Lance still staring at the receivers on the floor. “Is Lance going to be okay?”

  “Yes,” Ian said, wiping his eyes.

  “Bubba, is Momma and Daddy coming home?” Allie asked, crying.

  “Yes, Allie. It’s going to take them a long time, but they are coming,” Ian said, walking over to the monitor and turning the beeping off. Jennifer and Carrie wrapped their arms around Allie as she cried.

  “MOTHERFUCKERS!” Lance roared, and everyone turned to see him standing behind them, looking at the monitor showing the stinkers. “It’s their fucking fault!”

  “Dude, chill,” Ian said, moving over to Lance, but Lance spun around and stormed off to his room. Ian looked at Jennifer. “You and the girls start breakfast,” he said and followed Lance to their room.

  Opening the door, Ian saw Lance was tying his boots. “Lance, what are you doing?” Ian asked, moving over next to him.

  “Going to kill some motherfuckers,” he growled.

  “Come on, brother; don’t do this to me,” Ian said, sitting down beside him. “They will make it here.”

  Lance stood up and grabbed his tactical harness, buckling it on. He checked his magazines then looked up at Ian. “If the military would’ve left them alone, I know I could’ve changed their mind, but they had to fuck it up,” Lance spat out. “Infected are killing by the millions, and people are running around raping and killing any they miss. I’m going to kill them all.”

  Ian stepped back as Lance picked up his AR, racking the charging handle and walking out. “Hey, Lance, wait till I get ready,” Ian yelled, running after him.

  Lance stopped by the back door, grabbing the bow and quiver of arrows. Throwing the back door open, Lance stormed out. Ian skidded to a stop and looked at Jennifer. “Go close the gate after he goes through, and wait till I can follow him down, then get to master control.”

  Jennifer took off to the front door as Ian ran to his room. When Jennifer stepped outside, Lance was rounding the corner of the cabin in the buggy that didn’t have the trailer. Dino bounded out the front door as it closed and ran to the gate as Lance jumped out.