Mason stared at a neat diagram of Wasson Lodge and the surrounding area. On it, both roadblocks and several forest trails were marked. So was the line of tripwire and the camp’s sandbag positions.
He looked up. “You sure nobody saw you while you were there?”
“No way,” Russ said emphatically. “I’m real good at that sneaking around shit.”
“How about the group at the YMCA camp? What did you find out there?” With the two camps in apparent cooperation, Mason needed to know the size of their group. They wouldn’t be too happy when Mason took the lodge.
Russ hesitated. “It’s well guarded, so I didn’t get that close. I didn’t want to risk being seen.”
“I told you I needed you to find out the size of their force too,” Mason said, glaring at him.
“It’s okay, Mason, I did that,” Russ said hurriedly. “I just mean I couldn’t get close enough to map out their positions. There’s thirty-odd people there, as best as I can tell.”
Mason frowned. Thirty people was far bigger than his own crew. He needed to be careful tangling with a group that size.
“Yesterday, they brought up a digger and built foxholes along their perimeter,” Russ continued. “They got people guarding the lake front too. I spotted them this morning on recon.”
“What’s got them so paranoid?”
Russ shrugged. “Just protecting what they got, I guess. There’s other groups roaming around, all looking to find somewhere good to set up camp.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” Mason’s two other scouts had come back with similar reports. There was plenty of land available, but the good locations were being snapped up fast.
“Mason, storming the lodge will be a piece of cake,” Russ said earnestly. “We’ll take it over before they even know what’s hit them.”
It was obvious how much Russ wanted Mason to take his gang to the Cohutta. It would increase his standing in the gang considerably. From the reports Mason had received from the scouts he’d sent to the Daniel Boone and Shawnee national forests, the situation on the ground was similar there. There was a bonus on going to the Cohutta, however. Walter.
He looked at Russ. “All right. Have you figured out a place we can stay when we get there? Somewhere no one is going to see us?”
Russ thought for a moment. “Old Fort. It’s another town ten miles south of Ocoee.” He grinned delightedly. “Shit, Mason. I can’t wait to see Walter’s face when he sees us again.”
An unpleasant smile came over Mason’s face. “He’s got some serious payback coming his way. So do his two friends.”
CHAPTER 29
With the heat of the afternoon sun on his bare back, Cody guided the two-man kayak into one of the dozens of secluded bays dotting the area around the shores of Lake Ocoee. After a few more strokes of the paddle, he let the boat glide through the reedy shallows until it scraped up to the shoreline. Once Emma had stepped off, he got out and dragged the boat out of the water until the entire hull rested on a patch of scraggy grassland.
It was another scorching day. Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, Emma stood ankle deep in the water. “Good work, sailor. Let’s get out of the sun and rest up awhile before heading back to camp.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” Cody said, giving her a goofy salute.
The two were on their afternoon break. Earlier, Walter decided it mightn’t look good if all three headed out together in search of their new camp. Cody had immediately volunteered to stay behind, and as soon as Walter and Pete left, went off to find Emma. Ten minutes later, they were on the lake.
The two headed over to a nearby tree and sat down, thankful to get into the shade. Settling down on the grass shoulder to shoulder, Emma stretched out her long, tanned legs in front of her. Cody did a poor job of keeping his eyes off them.
She peered into the plastic bucket that she’d carried over. Inside were two catfish and a wide mouth bass they’d caught earlier.
“I’m so glad you invited me out here,” she said, flicking a fly off her face. “I haven’t gone fishing since I was a kid.”
“Me too.” Cody hesitated a moment, deciding what to say next. Until now, neither of the two had brought up the subject of the morning’s meeting. They had been too busy enjoying themselves, diving off the kayak and into the lake’s cool waters as well as fishing. Neither of them had wanted to bring the subject up and spoil the fun.
He sensed that now was the time, though. “What did you make of today’s meeting?” he asked. “Me, Walter, and Pete have a big decision to make soon.”
A look of concern instantly came over Emma’s face. “I know. When I joined Chris, I was all on my own. It’s different for you three.”
“We’re not sure yet what to do. It’s a hard call.”
She squeezed his arm. “If you decide to leave, take me with you, okay?”
He stared at her in surprise. “You mean that? You’d come with me?”
“Of course! You really think I want to stay here if you leave?”
A warm emotion stirred inside Cody. “Emma, I guess I better tell you…we’re leaving soon. Right now, Walter and Pete are out scouting for a new camp.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Cody nodded. “They’re looking at a few spots over on the north side of the lake, then they’re going to check out a place in the mountains south of here. After that, we’ll make up our minds which location is best.”
Emma frowned. “How come you didn’t go with them? Don’t you want a say in the matter?”
“It would have looked too obvious if all three of us left together. We don’t want anyone to know our plans until we’re ready. Anyway, I thought it’d be better to spend more time with you. I wasn’t sure whether you’d choose to come with me or not. This is all happening pretty fast.”
Emma put her hand on his bare leg, leaving it to rest there. “Well, now you know,” she said softly.
He stared at her, feeling the energy between them intensify. There was no mistaking it. His heart beat fast as he leaned his head slowly forward and kissed her. Immediately, Emma placed her other arm around his waist, pulling him in closer.
They kissed long and hard while time melted away. Cody wasn’t aware who broke off first, but eventually they both pulled back.
Emma was the first to speak. “I’ve been looking forward to that for quite a while,” she said, smiling.
“Me too,” Cody replied, smiling as well.
They kissed again, even longer this time, then Emma pushed him gently away. “All right, sailor. You ready to row me back to camp?”
“Uh, sure,” Cody said, disappointed she wanted to leave so soon. For him, things were only getting started.
“I was thinking…maybe we ought to flunk off work this afternoon and spend time in your trailer. I’d invite you to mine, but I’m not sure how Liz might feel about that.”
“Sounds like a great idea. Let’s just hope Comrade Chris doesn’t find out about it. He might put us in front of a firing squad.”
Emma giggled. “I guess that’s the risk we’ll have to take. These are dangerous times.”
Cody stood to his feet and reached down, offering her his hand. After he pulled her up, Emma picked up the bucket and the two walked back to the kayak. Around them, the late afternoon sun sparkled off the pristine blue surface of the lake. A little lightheaded, Cody pulled the boat back into the water and the two got in.
Rowing hard, they headed back in the direction of the camp. Flunking off the rest of the afternoon with Emma seemed like the most perfect plan in the world to Cody right then.
CHAPTER 30
Deep in the Cohutta, Walter powered his Tundra down a narrow twisting road. Next to him sat Pete, while stacked full to the brim in the truck bed was a selection of camping gear, ammunition, food, and water they’d taken with them to set up an initial camp. Just in case.
They headed south, in the direction of the Tennessee-Georgia border, toward a location twenty
miles south of Camp Knox known as Jack’s River Falls. According to a brochure Walter had found at the lodge, it had been a popular hiking area prior to the pandemic, with dramatic scenery and a series of stunning waterfalls.
Earlier, they had been on the north side of the lake to discover that all the good spots had been taken. On top of that, there were many roving gangs in the area. At one of the camps they stopped in at, they were told that Route 74 was getting more dangerous with each passing day. Starting off with such a small group, Walter knew they had to be careful. He hoped that being in a remote area, Jack’s River would prove to be a more tranquil location. Since they’d left the lake area, there’d been no passing traffic or signs of any survivor settlements yet, giving him reason for optimism.
“Cody was pretty quick to pull out of this trip,” he remarked to Pete. “That’s not like him to miss out on the excitement.”
Pete chuckled. “There’s a good reason for that. In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s a certain other person at the camp he’s been hanging around with lately, other than us old timers.”
“Been too busy to notice. Tell me.”
“Ever since we arrived here, he’s been spending time with that girl, Emma. Can’t blame him either. She sure is pretty.”
The creases on Walter’s face broke into a big smile. “Damn, the kid’s got taste, don’t he?”
“Yup. Told me he’s been hot on her since the first day he set eyes on her.”
“He never said nothing to me about that,” Walter said with a mock scowl. “How come I’m the one to get left out of the loop?”
Pete grinned. “Because you didn’t get put on burial duty, that’s why. See, us gravediggers like a good old gossip while we’re busy disposing of bodies. Helps keep our minds off the work at hand.”
The Tundra emerged out of thick forest and into a small valley. To either side of the road was open farmland where the forest had been cut back, and Walter spotted several ponds. “Even better than I thought,” he said, pleased.
They passed a group of farm buildings on their right. A few hundred yards farther, the road dipped down to where a simple concrete bridge spanned a large river. “That’s the Conasauga,” he said, driving down. “On the other side is the state of Georgia. Least, it used to be. Those boundaries don’t mean a damn anymore.”
Crossing the river, the valley floor opened up with even more farmland on either side. “Not a single soul in sight,” he said with a relieved sigh.
“Man, this is great!” Pete exclaimed. He punched Walter lightly on the shoulder. “I think we’ve found the perfect place.”
“This is it, all right.” Walter pulled up to a stop. “The area is called the Alaculsy Valley. Though you can’t see it from here, we’re at the bisection of two major trout streams, the Conasauga and Jack’s River.
“There’s so much space,” Pete said, gazing to either side. “I think we need to start recruiting pronto.”
“For sure. How about we put you in charge of that?” Walter opened the door to the truck. “Let’s take a look around. We need to find somewhere good to hide our gear.” He grinned at Pete. “I think Cody’s going to be real happy when he sees this place. Who knows, he might even invite his girl out here too.”
CHAPTER 31
Colleen watched while Jonah loaded the last of the supplies into the bed of their spanking new, silver Nissan Frontier, parked outside the Sun Ray Hotel. At dawn that morning, they had headed out and gotten something a little more rugged, as she had described it, ditching the rented Ford Taurus.
“Perfect for the ruggedly handsome guy,” Jonah had said at the Nissan showroom, grinning cheekily at her.
Neither of two had driven a pickup before. Back in Dublin, the couple owned an old Toyota Corolla, a real banger. The Frontier was something different altogether. A compact four-door pickup, it was more maneuverable than a full-size truck, yet still had the strong off-road capabilities that would be required of it – according to the brochure, anyway.
Jonah climbed in behind the wheel and started the engine. “Ah now, that’s a proper motor,” he said for about the umpteenth time, listening to the immaculate purr of the engine. “I can’t think why we didn’t have one of these back home, love. We must have been crazy.”
“I can’t either,” Colleen replied dryly, getting into the front passenger seat beside him. “Other than being short twenty thousand quid.”
Jonah grinned. “Yeah, I suppose there was that. All right, I’ll drive, you navigate. Take it from the top. Where do we go from here?”
Colleen rested her Armalite M-15 on the floor, the rifle stock jammed between her legs. Reaching forward, she opened the glove box and took out the road map they’d found at the showroom.
“We need to drive north on Kirkman until we get to the 408, then head east and pick up Interstate 4. That’ll take us all the way to Daytona Beach.” She folded the map again. “When we get there, I’ll give you more directions.”
Jonah grinned at her. “Right, let’s hoof it. Can’t wait to get to somewhere cooler. It’ll do wonders for me jock itch, been driving me crazy lately.” He slammed his foot on the accelerator and with a mighty roar, the Nissan shot up the road.
A few minutes later, they reached the 408 and headed east toward downtown Orlando where, at a complicated cloverleaf junction, Jonah took the correct exit, bringing them onto the I-4 heading north. To either side of them, Orlando was a ghost town. It appeared that they were among the very last survivors to leave the city.
Colleen leaned back in her seat and stole an affectionate glance at her husband who, with an eager look of anticipation on his handsome freckled face, cradled his muscular forearms around the steering wheel like a gorilla.
Though perhaps not endowed with the most critical faculties in the world, Colleen knew why she loved him so much. Jonah was tough and fearless. With a heart of pure gold, his amiable disposition and effervescent personality had ensured that in the four years since he’d first chatted her up while they stood in line at a lunchtime deli counter, Colleen in her trim office outfit, Jonah in workman’s overalls, she’d never once been bored with the man. He had, however, often driven her crazy on more occasions than she could recall.
Turning her gaze toward the miles of sprawling freeway ahead, she took a moment to assess their situation. Over the course of the past few days, it had gone from bleedin’ woeful, to one where they at least stood a chance, their destiny firmly in their own hands. The pickup was stocked to the brim with every conceivable item they would need for their survival, and thanks to Dr. Bradley’s detailed description on how to drain gasoline from underneath a vehicle, they had a tank full of gas and the tools to drain more along the way.
Though there was no direction home, with Jonah’s brawn and her brains, she felt confident they could survive this. It was merely a question of staying tough and not making any stupid mistakes.
CHAPTER 32
All morning, Cody was kept busy digging post holes for the new perimeter fence. It was another sweltering day. The sky was blue, the sun punishing, and the work grueling. Knowing that he would be leaving the next day, his heart wasn’t in it, and his mind constantly floated onto other matters, specifically, their new camp. And Emma.
The previous day, the two had spent the entire afternoon in his trailer, not emerging until suppertime, when they had walked separately up to the lodge.
In the dining room, Pete had given him a sly wink. His trailer was next to his, and Cody guessed he’d heard them talking. “New place looks good,” Pete whispered to him. “Day after tomorrow, we’re outta here.”
Later that evening, he and Walter filled Cody in on the details. Afterward, Pete had said, “All right kid, seeing as we’re leaving tomorrow, is there anything in particular you need to talk to me and Walter about? Spit it out, kid. Nothing like a bit of gossip to pass the time, right Walter?”
Gratefully, Cody took Pete’s cue to tell the two all about Emma, relieved when nei
ther had objected to her coming with them. On the contrary, both had been delighted to sign up their first recruit for the new camp.
***
He was pouring gravel into a post hole when he heard the shrill sound of whistles from somewhere nearby. Whistles had been issued to the guards on duty and was the camp’s emergency signal.
Clutching his rifle, Cody sprinted up to the lodge. His assigned battle station was a sandbag position on the southwest corner of the building. The previous day, several blinds had been built with interlocking fields of fire. Eddy had bowed to Walter’s superior tactical knowledge and allowed him to mark out the positions.
Before Cody reached his post, the whistles stopped blowing, ending with a series of short pips indicating the emergency was over. He arrived to see three strangers at the front of the building. Two were men, each standing beside a Harley Davidson motorbike, while a woman stood next to the bigger of the two men. He was extremely tall, perhaps six foot five.
As he got closer, Cody got the chance to observe him better. He had tightly-cropped black hair and wore motorcycle leathers. Lean, with piercing black eyes, he looked tough as nails. Slung over his back was an automatic rifle, and on his left hip he carried a pistol.
The most distinguishing feature about him, however, was his grossly disfigured face. Both cheeks had deep scars etched across them, a long slash ran across the top of his forehead, and yet another set of scars crisscrossed his chin.
Similarly armed, his companion was far smaller. Bucktoothed, of average height, he had sandy hair cut pudding bowl style, a small goatee, and wore baggy jeans and a short-sleeved camouflage shirt. His pale blue eyes stared around at the gathering group warily.
The woman appeared to be armed with only one pistol, which she carried in a shoulder holster over a tight-fitting T-shirt. She was incredibly beautiful. Long legged, she had shoulder-length hair with expensive-looking highlights, and smooth translucent skin with slightly hooded eyes that hinted of something Asian.
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