Killing the lights as I parked on the side of the store, I approached the entrance and, using the night vision gear, did a quick sweep of the interior. No live people, no zombies. I went back outside and scanned the area. There was an old white wooden building behind the store. It was empty of anything worthwhile. There was no need for the night vision apparatus now, dawn was fast approaching. I sat on the front steps and waited.
She drove into the parking lot shortly after sun up, made eye contact with me, and smiled. When she got out of her jeep, she looked skinnier than the last time we met, but at least her hair had grown out a little more. It helped make her look more feminine. She ran up and hugged me tightly.
“When you didn’t show up last week, I was kind of let down.” She said.
I shrugged apologetically. “I had all kinds of crap to do around the farm and I don’t have any help.”
“You’re girlfriend doesn’t help you?” I shrugged again. I was not going to tell her Julie was busy tending to Macie and monitoring the radio in case Fred called. She scoffed. “Well, that’s bullshit if you ask me. I’d help you.”
“I’ve no doubt you would. Are you hungry?” I asked. “I brought some food. We can have a picnic breakfast.”
She eyed me coyly. “You wanna fuck before or after?”
I chuckled. “You know I can’t.” She grinned back at me.
She responded with a carefree shrug. “Your loss, I guess we’ll eat then.”
She helped me get the grill set up and we laid a blanket out on the asphalt. We had the steaks grilled in no time. I brought a small skillet and fried some eggs as well.
After we finished eating, Andie laid back, pulled her shirt up, and rubbed her belly.
“I’m stuffed!” She exclaimed.
“How are you guys doing for food?” I asked as I eyed her skinny torso. She scoffed again.
“The Captain eats really well. The rest of us, not so much. Some of our group had canned a lot of stuff prior to this shit going down, but they fucked it up somehow. Most of it was contaminated. We have some gardens we harvested, but not enough. We’ve been hitting abandoned houses like crazy. It’s hit or miss.”
“What about cattle?” I asked.
“Yeah, we have some. We used to have a lot, but coyotes killed some and a bunch of them developed some kind of disease.”
“You don’t have any donkeys?” I asked. She looked at me questioningly. “A donkey will kill a coyote.” We used to have one at the farm. It died and Rick had never replaced him. After coyotes killed our chickens, I found a couple of them one day and transported them to our farm. We haven’t had any problems since.
“Oh. Well, we don’t have any donkeys.” She continued. “The Captain is worried. He doesn’t say it, but he’s worried. I’ve known him my whole life, I can tell. Anyway, rations have been cut. He sends foraging crews out every day.”
“What area are they concentrating on?”
Andie looked over at me. “They’ve been working in and around the Eagleville area, but it doesn’t mean the Captain has forgotten about you. He thinks you guys are well off. By the way, he’s been talking about meeting with you again.”
“Did he say what for?” I asked.
“Yeah, he wants to have a poetry reading with you.” I arched an eyebrow. She kept a serious expression for about three seconds, and then she started giggling.
I smiled. “Okay you got me.”
“I think he wants to pick your brain about food and stuff.” She said.
I nodded and changed the subject. “Have you guys been in contact with any doctors, nurses, veterinarians, anyone like that?” I asked.
She scoffed. “We ran into a doctor and his wife not too long ago. They thought they were the shit for some reason. The doctor’s wife demanded the Captain pay for her husband’s services.” Her features darkened.
“What happened?” I asked.
“The Captain took a hammer to her. He broke a couple of her fingers. He thought it would make the doctor fall in line, so we left them at their house. When a crew went back the next day, they were gone.” She looked at me. “The Captain was so pissed, he beat a few of us. We went back to their house and he set fire to it.”
“Nice guy.” I quipped, and then remembered setting fire to the cannibal’s home. I found myself uncomfortable with the corollary.
“You have no idea.” She said quietly. She pointed at the sky. “When I was a kid I’d do this. Lay in my back yard, stare at the clouds, and imagine what the shapes were. Look, there’s a horse.”
I laid back and looked at the cloud she was pointing at. It looked more like a fat cow to me, with oversized bunny ears.
“I suppose every kid has done this.”
“Yeah.” She sat up suddenly. “But we’re not kids anymore, are we?”
I sat up as well. “Not anymore.”
Andie sighed and looked over at me. “You want to ask more questions.”
“Yep, where is the compound?” I asked.
She pointed. “Go that way for a few miles. There’s a road called Rocky Glade. There is a dead end road that runs off of it called Ward Road. The land has been in the family since the Civil War.” She turned back at me and grinned. “Are you going to pay us visit?”
I grinned. “More like I want to know where the Captain lives so I can stay away.”
She scoffed. “Oh, I understand all too well. So I have a question for you.” I looked at her. “Since you won’t fuck me, how about a blow job?”
I looked over at her and chuckled. “I can’t.” I said. “My girlfriend would be very unhappy with me.”
Andie rubbed her belly some more. “She’ll never know.”
I shook my head. “I’m a terrible liar. She’d know. Also, I’m in love with her, so I’d feel like shit if I knowingly did anything to hurt her. You don’t have anyone else?”
She shook her head. “Nobody would dare touch me. So, enough about me being my Uncle’s little whore. Tell me about your girlfriend.”
“Uh, well, she’s a little taller than you and weighs maybe ten or twenty pounds more. She has dark brown chestnut hair growing past her shoulders.” I thought of her hair and how much I loved brushing it after she washed it.
“She has pretty blue eyes and some freckles on her cheeks that really turn me on.” Not to mention her lithe body, I thought. “All of that is wrapped around a pert and beautiful girl with a feisty disposition. We met after everything happened and fell in love.”
“How old is she?” Andie asked.
“Same as me, sixteen. I’m turning seventeen in November.”
“I turn sixteen in January.” She said. “I know what you’re about to ask. Besides the baby, I’m the youngest one of our group. There was one boy my age, but he disappeared.”
“There’s a baby?” I asked. She nodded. “Were there any problems during childbirth?”
Andie shook her head. “Nope, it just popped right out. It’s a little boy.” She scoffed. “God only knows who the dad is.”
I thought about the baby and wondered how he was doing, if he was going to survive. It also made me think of Macie’s baby.
“Okay, one last question. The last time we met, did you set me up to be ambushed?”
Her mouth dropped open. “What? No! You were ambushed?” I nodded and related the story.
“Zach, I didn’t have anything to do with that, I swear. You say two people were killed and one of them was a woman?” I nodded. “We haven’t lost anyone since the last time we spoke. Why would you think I’d do something like that?”
I shrugged. “You seem pretty cool Andie, and I like you, but I hardly know you. And, as Julie has said more than once, I know nothing about women.”
She glared at me. “She’s right.”
Andie insisted I kiss her before leaving. This time it was not a surprise ambush kiss. I knew what I was doing. She grabbed my butt and pulled me against her when we did it. I instantly became aroused and felt guilt
y as hell about it as I drove away. She also gave me a present, a picture of her. It was a wallet size photo. It looked like a school yearbook picture. I stuck it under the visor.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked myself out loud. Julie was the love of my life, and here I was kissing another girl. I could rationalize my actions. There was no tongue involved, but still. Plus, I had to admit to myself I was rather enjoying the sponge baths I was giving Macie.
“You are a stupid idiot Zachariah Gunderson.” I said and ended my conversation with myself. I put a CD in the stereo and made a point of travelling a different route as I returned home.
Chapter 15 – Rocky Fork
“We’ve not heard anything from Fred?” I asked. Both Macie and Julie shook their heads.
“It’s been three weeks now.” Macie said. She was putting on weight again and no longer had the pallor of Casper the Ghost. Still, Julie and I were concerned about her. Since the baby’s death, she had not mentioned him once and cried frequently.
We were sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. I drummed my fingers absently, and finally looked over at Julie. “You want to go for a ride?” I asked.
“Sure. Where are we going?” She said.
“Andie mentioned a man with two kids living on Rocky Fork Road. I’m betting he doesn’t like the Captain. I say we introduce ourselves and see if he’d be a good ally.”
Macie held up her hand. “I want to go! I haven’t been off of the farm in weeks. I’m going stir crazy.”
I looked over at Julie. She nodded in agreement. “Are you strong enough?” I asked. Macie nodded readily. “Okay, let’s get ready and load up.”
I had Julie drive while I kept watch. Macie was in the backseat. I had her armed with my Ruger twenty-two. When we reached Rocky Fork Road, we drove slowly, looking for any tell-tale signs of life. Macie suddenly pointed.
“Look! Are those goats?” She asked.
Julie stopped the truck and I looked them over with binoculars. “I think someone lives there. The goats are chained to a post stuck in the ground. Let’s pull in. You two stay in the truck and I’ll try to make contact.”
We stopped at the head of the driveway and I got out. We had our standard plan going, if I was being threatened, Julie and Macie would take action. I walked up to within ten feet of the house.
“Hello!” I shouted and then waited. As I stood there waiting, a scrawny little kid wearing nothing more than underwear ran out from the side of the house. He looked like he was no more than five or six. I waved. His eyes widened and he ran back the way he came, giving me a good view of a fresh skid mark.
A short time went by before a man appeared from the rear of the house. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, average height, brown hair which may have been cut by an expensive stylist once, and a youthful face sporting a month of whiskers. If I were to guess, I’d say he was a yuppie with expensive suits in his closet along with an assortment of leather shoes.
He was also armed with a blue steel revolver. I immediately held my palms out, but was careful not to raise them over my head. I heard a truck door open behind me and knew one of them was about to shoot.
“Easy now,” I said. “We’re friendly.”
“Who are you and what do you want?” He asked warily.
“I’m Zach, Zach Gunderson.” I motioned toward the truck with my head. “They’re my friends. We spotted your house and thought we’d say hello. There aren’t very many of us left these days, and so we wanted to make contact. Oh, and we’re not with the Captain’s group.”
His wariness changed to a quizzical expression. “Are you the guy who has been painting those rules everywhere?” He asked.
“Yep, the one and the same.” I replied with a friendly smile. He looked at me a minute in silence and then stared at the girls. He still held the revolver, although it was not pointing at anything.
“Listen, if we’re intruding just say so. We’ll be on our way.” I must have broken him out of his reverie.
“Oh. No.” He stuck the revolver into his waistband and extended his hand.
“I’m Toby Eason.” We shook hands.
“Please, come join us. It’s just my two sons and me. We were about to eat lunch. We don’t have much, but you all are welcome to join in.” I nonchalantly gave the signal. Julie and Macie exited the truck, walked up, and introduced themselves. Toby grinned broadly as he shook their hands. The two boys had been peeking at us from the side of the house. Finally curiosity got the best of them. They walked up, stood beside their father and gawked at the two girls. Toby noticed and laughed.
“We haven’t seen any women in quite a while, especially not as beautiful as you two.” He pointed at the two boys. “The youngest one is Joshua and the oldest one is Caleb.”
I shook hands with the two boys. “My name is Zachariah, which is also a name in Jewish history. These two are Julie and Macie.”
Toby glanced side long at me. “Are you Jewish, Zach?” He asked.
I shook my head. “I happened to remember Caleb and Joshua being two spies of Moses who urged him to trust in God and enter the land of Canaan.” He looked at me oddly.
“I went to school with him.” Macie said. “Trust me, he’s a genius.”
“Oh.” Toby said. “Well, I’m cooking a chicken on the grill in back. Please join us.” We started to follow him but I stopped suddenly, causing Julie to bump into me.
“Where are our manners?” I said. I looked at Toby. “When is the last time y’all had some watermelon?” I went to the back of the truck and hoisted a couple of big ones out. They were mostly still ripe. Toby and his boys gasped in unison.
When we saw the diminutive size of the chicken, or whatever it was, we begged off.
“I’ll be honest Toby,” I said. “The girls fixed up a rather big breakfast. I don’t think I’ll be hungry again until sometime next week.” Julie and Macie readily agreed. Toby saw through my lie, but went along with it. He knew there was not enough to go around.
“You don’t mind if we eat while we talk do you?” He asked.
“Not at all.” I carried the watermelons over to a picnic table and carved out some slices. The two boys watched as if I were serving up Manna from heaven. I handed each of them a slice and they devoured it. Macie gave them spitting lessons.
I briefly told our story to Toby and he listened intently. He grinned when I told him the history of Macie and me.
“So, let me get this straight. You two,” He pointed at Macie and me. “Are former sweethearts, and you two,” He pointed at Julie and me. “Are current sweethearts, and yet, the three of you live under the same roof?”
“Yep.” Julie said with a grin. Toby laughed. He cut up the mystery bird for his boys and took a small bite for himself.
“My wife and I moved here when she was pregnant with Caleb. We’re both psychologists. Anyway, when things started getting bad, we boarded up the windows, nailed the doors shut and hid out in the basement. We had a lot of food stored up, but it didn’t last very long.” He nibbled a small piece of meat.
“We’d peak out the windows in between the cracks of the wood and watch the neighborhood. It was tough watching our former neighbors and friends walking down the road with that infection ravaging their body.” He frowned. “Since both of us were psychologists, we thought we could handle the mental aspect of being shut up in the house, isolated from the rest of the world. We were wrong. One day, my wife took one of our cars and left while I was giving the boys a bath. She’d had enough I guess. I haven’t seen her since.”
“How long ago was that?” Macie asked.
“About six months ago.” Toby said. His face briefly clouded up at the memory. “Anyway, we have plenty of some stuff, and very little of other stuff. Down the road is an overgrown farm the Captain and his crew didn’t ravage. It has plenty of corn in the fields, despite the most fervent attempts of the crows and other wildlife.” He looked at us. “Crow meat is not very tasty, just in case y�
�all were wondering. My scavenging forays have had limited success. I’ve found some stuff, but I’m worried about my kids, so I don’t go far. I don’t think I’m getting them the proper nutrition.” He pointed down the road. “There are stray cows running around. I killed one about a month ago, but had no idea how to butcher it. I made a big mess and the coyotes dragged most of it away during the night.” The three of us exchanged glances. I nodded.
“Toby, we don’t have a lot, but I think we can help out a little bit. And if I may say so, I’m a master butcher.”
Julie scoffed. “You can’t butcher a cow without my help Zach Gunderson and you know it.” She threw a watermelon seed at me.
I shrugged. “She’s got me on that one.”
It was after four when we said our goodbyes and got in the truck to leave.
“This might work out okay.” I said. “With Toby’s help, we can start rounding up a lot of stray cattle. I wonder if he’d be willing to relocate closer to the farm.”
“Well, after the way he ogled Macie and me, I’d bet he’ll move tomorrow if you ask him.” She turned onto Rocky Fork Road and the evening sun hit her in the eyes at one point. She adjusted the visor and Andie’s picture fell onto her lap. She picked it up.
“What the hell is this?” She asked.
“Oh, it’s a picture of Andie.” I said innocently.
“Why do you have it?” Her tone was not friendly. She was now alternating between looking at the road and giving me the stink eye.
“She gave it to me. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, so I took it. It’s not like I hid it in my wallet or anything.” I glanced back at Macie. She was looking out of the window and acted as if there were something really interesting going on out there.
Z14 (Zombie Rules) Page 10
