Z-Day Series: Book 1 First Burnz
Page 18
Chapter 15
It was a big decision, but we all (Eventually) agreed to it, as I had found a mostly abandoned farm complete with animals and almost ready-for-harvest crops. It was about forty miles away from our current location, so it would take an hour at most to arrive there, with all of our supplies.
This journey would also be the one where we would pick up Spot, Ellie’s Dalmatian, as a chance to rescue him had not arose as of that moment. She was anxious to set off, as each moment we waited, he could be killed, and that would devastate her.
The S.W.A.T van could carry most of our supplies in the back, with a few bags under our feet in the front, and a few crates attached (With strong ropes) to the roof. These crates contained various bits of equipment, which we thought we need when we got to this farm. A few of the buildings needed patching up, and a few Zombies would need taking care of, cattle would need to be rounded up, and feed supplied, but we could manage. Probably.
The dull morning atmosphere was added to by the slim supply of Zombies, meaning that we had to focus on the task at hand, and shooting Zombies was not an option to distract our minds from the lurking belief which was latched tightly in our brains; we could never see the Library again.
But, as soon as we had started the engine of the S.W.A.T van, we had more things to think about than just sadness and goodbyes. For one, we had to collect Ellie’s dog, Spot, as, the longer we left it, the more chance that he wouldn’t be at her house, but escaped, or even killed.
The engine’s noise cut through the icy morning quiet like a knife, being the only running vehicle for miles. A few Zombies were alerted to our presence by this slight disturbance, but it didn’t really change our plan. Get to Ellie’s house, get to the farm, get settled in, get farming. Simple? Not really.
For one, Ellie’s house, when we got there, had been barricaded, probably by her parents, or possibly by some survivors who had used it as a base. Most of the supplies were gone, but a loud barking led us to Ellie’s own bedroom, where Spot had been locked in. The door didn’t look to be in too good a condition either, so Spot must have been scratching at it, trying to get out.
The key was still in the lock, covered in a little dried blood, so we unlocked the door, to unleash a flurry of black and white, also known as Ellie’s loving Dalmatian Spot.
Buddy, Molly, Lacy, and all of the puppies, soon accepted Spot, fitting him into their hunting routines as a runner, chasing down the Zombies, as they sometimes ran away from the four devils we knew as dogs. It was almost as if they feared them, like sheep maybe. Well, if it was herding they were practising, they would just be getting practise for when we were on the farm.
We also needed a few more supplies, so stopped off at Pets at Home for a second time, picking up new leads, dog beds and more dog food. The puppies had grown up fast, and could now be could now be counted for as proper dogs. They had a hunting formation of their own, and it worked as well. I was left wondering if, after boiling, the Zombie meat could be used as food, but it was like the idea of a cure; nobody would dare to try it, for fear of dying.
Spot was put in the back of the S.W.A.T van, alongside Ellie, Daniella, and all of the other dogs, as well as the many supplies, before we set off properly, getting on the motorway and driving as fast as we wanted, with no Speed Cameras or police to stop us.
We ended up pulling into a Service Station for free fuel, and a lunch break, since all of that fuel couldn’t just go to waste, could it? A thought that pollution must have gone down by so much flashed across my mind, but I ignored it, as it wasn’t exactly relevant.
One Zombie gave us a bit of a scare, when we went into the small shop by the Petrol Station. It must have been a worker there, as it still wore some of its old uniform, and crept up on us, almost biting Courtney, before she silenced it with one of her AK-47s.
We grabbed a few supplies from that shop, before heading back to the S.W.A.T van and getting on the road again. For the next half hour, everything was relatively normal, until we came to a really big traffic jam, where a few Zombies had attacked some cars, and, therefore, humans. Taking out the Zombies, me learning the trick of stuffing the end of your gun right into a Zombie’s mouth to silence your shot, we then proceeded to loot the cars, finding no survivors but a lot of dead bodies, and reanimated ones, as well as a practically new guitar and some medicine, just in case we needed it.
“Hannah could play guitar.” Daniella murmured, wiping away a tear. “She taught me.”
“We all miss her.” Courtney assured her.
“All of us.” I added.
“Who’s Hannah?” Teegan and Ellie both asked, before we told them the tale of our lives in the first few Z-Days.
While we did, we finished looting the cars, moved them out of the way, and then continued on our way. The dogs had a little exercise, jumping and running among the mostly ruined vehicles, as we had the idea to take the fuel from their engines and store it in the back of the S.W.A.T van. This actually worked, as we found containers to put it in, and we planned to use it on the tractors and various other farm vehicles when we arrived at the farm.
As the scenery flashed past the window, I had a lot of time to think, whilst changing gear for Courtney when needed. The roads were not in very good shape, as some had huge potholes, and others were just plain damaged.
The farm was a little way off the main road, down a bit of a side road, if you like. The road twisted and curved dangerously, the picturesque tranquillity of the mountain landscape hiding the true nature of the countryside; dangerously deceiving.
The farm, when we finally got there, was not in too bad a condition. A few of the buildings had been tore a bit, here and there, and a few Zombies walked around nonchalantly, but we took care of them, me and the dogs getting to work straight away and herding the animals to the sheds, just while we got things sorted out.
The livestock consisted of cows, sheep, pigs and chickens. There was quite a good selection as well, so we were in luck. Courtney and Teegan were working on repairs, Daniella was scavenging for equipment and setting up fences around the fields and enclosures, and me? I was putting the animals into the enclosures and fields as fast as Daniella could secure them.
A surprising discovery was a stable, where six stalls held six fine horses, two mares and four stallions. As there was only five of us, I was going to use one of the stallions to hold my supplies when I was away, herding the sheep, and another to ride, meaning that everyone else had one to ride.
Surprisingly, to me, anyway, nobody else knew how to ride a horse. I had taken riding lessons from when I was five, up to when this whole mess started, so I had to give them all a ‘Riding 101’ in a field. Daniella was a natural, but Courtney, Teegan and Ellie both took a while to catch on. I had them trotting in about half an hour, cantering carefully and jumping small jumps after another hour.
My hurried lessons resulted in a lot of falls, but also in success, as everyone could jump a normal fence at the end of a three hour period. It also ended up with all of the horses being named. My two were Alexander and Monty, both light bay, Courtney’s was Darkness, a full black Stallion except for a white patch just above the tail and one white ankle on its back right leg, Teegan’s was Prince, a chestnut stallion with a white blaze down its nose, Daniella’s mare was called Gwen, full white with a greyish mane, and Ellie’s timid mare was Mousie, a mouse-grey creature with less courage than a, well, a mouse!
And so, with named horses and the skills to ride them, and a repaired farm, and livestock, our farming days properly began.