“Your neighbor, she looked just like mom after she woke up.”
“Why didn't you say anything?”
“I don't know. I was trying to process it and you were in Miss Bossy mode so I just...”
“Pulled your usual, keep it inside until you blow?”
Susie smiled tightly and nodded. “I'm a little worried. Mr. Anderson was bit and he's getting worse, what will they do if he turns into one of those things? All it takes is a tiny scratch to transfer the virus, right?”
“The news said it was possible. Dad told us he'd quarantined Ted in the office until they decide what to do with him.” Indie’s voice sounded detached and void of emotion. She was looking off into space, her eyes slightly glazed.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“Hmm.” Indie snapped back to look at her. “Yeah. Sorry. Just tired and stressed.”
“Okay.” She didn't buy it, this wasn't like her friend. Indie could be bossy, and self-absorbed at times, but she was always there for her friends. But if she didn't want to spill the beans then Susan decided to change the subject. “So. You and Hottie Hillbilly.”
Indiana shrugged, tearing into the candy. “Dad had to open his mouth.”
“Is he why you broke up with Todd?”
“No. Todd was a dork. I only went out with him because it was the thing to do. Cheerleader, jock... Mom was thrilled.” Indie rolled her eyes and leaned against the head board. “Sorry.”
“It's okay. I've come to grips with what happened.”
“How?”
Susan shrugged looking down at her hands.“It wasn't my mom anymore.”
Indie nodded. “I shot Ms. Weltner in the shoulder, she didn't even feel it. Even though I know she was already dead, I still feel bad.”
“Don't be. They’re not people anymore,” Susie said, standing and walking out the door.
****
A shout from the bunk house had Indie and Susie exchange a glance before jumping to their feet and running across the grounds. A crowd had gathered around the doorway, but no one seemed to want to venture in. A loud thumping came from the back of the building. Anna stumbled out toward them clutching her arm which was bleeding pretty badly. There was a crash, Dan ran toward the door, his shirt ripped and looking worst for wear. He was followed by a gun shot, then a second. A few moments later, Ryan stalked out. He shoved the pistol into Dan's hands and walked away.
Torn, Indie looked from Ryan's disappearing back to her father. Dan gave her a subtle shooing motion and she turned and headed after Ryan. She found him at the edge of the lake. Stepping close, she slid her arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight, and buried his face in her hair.
They stood like that for a while, then Ryan turned to look out at the water. “That was the hardest thing I've ever done.” Unsure what to say, Indie stroked his back and he continued. “Anna didn't realize he'd turned until it was too late. She wasn't supposed to go in alone, and we were only a few minutes too late. Your dad intervened, but I think he got scratched. Anna ran for it, Dan got out of the way, I hesitated...the door gave out then...” His arms tightened around Indie.
“You don't have to say,” Indie murmured, running her fingers up and down his spine.
He shook his head, then looked down at her. “We should bug out.”
“What? No.”
He grabbed her shoulders. “Listen the more people that are around us the more of a chance there is to get infected. I get you don't want to leave your family, but Anna got bit. It's going to keep repeating until everyone's gone.”
Indie pried his hands off her shoulders. “You're upset right now. We'll talk about this later.”
Running a hand through his hair, Ryan stalked toward the water, then turned back toward her. Indie tensed as he grabbed her again, but when he pressed his lips to her forehead she relaxed.
“Okay. I need to take a walk and blow off some steam.”
She nodded, biting her lip. Ryan kissed her again, then headed toward the woods. Indie watched him go, thinking about what he'd said. Then she headed off to find her dad.
Chapter 8
Indie poked at the fire then settled back against Ryan.
“When I said we should bug out I didn't mean like this.”
“I know,” she replied, taking his hand. “None of us wanted it to happen like this.”
“I can't believe we're reduced to this.” Susie pouted on the other side of the fire. “What the hell was everyone thinking?”
“Susie, you can understand what they were thinking, can't you? It's hard to kill a friend or family member. It goes against everything we're taught, heck, our nature.”
Susan shook her head. “Each of us has done what we needed—”
Ryan interrupted her. “And none of us has felt good about doing it.”
Susie glared at him, then fell into a sulky silence.
Indie sighed. This situation was changing them all. “We need to make a game plan. Living off the land during the summer will be easy, but...”
“Forget it! I know you're having fun, it's just camping with your boyfriend, Indiana, but I want to go back to town.”
“Hell no!” Ryan roared, jerking up. “We need to stay away from people.”
“We need information. Maybe there's a cure or the military is evacuating.” Susie yelled back.
“Guys, arguing isn't helping.”
“Going back to town with those things everywhere is a death sentence.” Ryan said, glaring across the fire pit at Susie.
“What if they've figured out a way to get rid of them? What if there's help?” Susan protested. “We should at least see what town offers.”
Indie exchanged a glance with Ryan, who shook his head. “I think going down there is a mistake.”
In an attempt to pacify everyone Indie suggested, “Why don't we sleep on it? In the morning we can make plans.” When it looked like neither would let it drop, she added, “Even if we decide to go to town it'll take a few days to hike out. We can't do anything tonight.”
“You're right.” Ryan leaned back and putting his arm around her shoulders.
Susan didn't say anything, just crossed her arms and flopped back against her pack.
****
Susan felt the anger bubbling under her skin. Indiana and Ryan were fine with living like this, but there was no way she could. They didn't get it. Roughing it for her had been living at the cabin. Sleeping on the ground, eating roots, berries and what they scrounged off the land. No way.
She didn't care if those things had taken over the town, she needed civilization. There had to be other people, military help, something.
Indie stood. “I'm going to bed.”
Susie nodded, but didn't reply as Indie climbed into the tent with Ryan right behind her. She could hear them whispering back and forth. They were going to side with each other. They knew what was best, or at least thought they did. Glaring at the tent, she made her decision. She pulled out her map and looked over it in the dying firelight. A good poke and a few more twigs gave her enough light to see by. The map looked like a mess of green, brown and blue covered with random circles and lines.
Closing her eyes, she tried to pull everything she'd ever learned about maps from her subconscious. With a sigh, she opened her eyes. Names printed on spots of blues she recognized as lakes and ponds. A few of the thicker lines had road names, and none of them looked as far as Indie had made them out to be. Only problem was she had no idea which way to go. Eagle Bay was by Fourth Lake, in theory that would be south. But which way was south? Pulling out the compass, she watched the needle spin, then wobble to a semi-stop. The needle pointed north so she just needed to go in the opposite direction. This wasn't anywhere near as hard as Indie made it out to be. Folding up the map, she tucked it into her pack, then stuck the compass in her pocket.
Pulling out a pad and pencil she wrote a quick note and pushed it through the tent flap. She zipped everythin
g she had into her pack and heaved it on to her shoulder.
****
Indie awoke with a piece of paper stuck to her face. Pulling it from her cheek, she blinked to focus her eyes.
Indie, I know you two are going to veto my plan so I'm taking off. If you guys want to play house in the woods, it's fine by me. Sorry. This isn't my thing.
Xoxo
Susie
“Crap!!” Indie scrambled up. “Ryan.” She shook his shoulder. “Get up. Susie took off by herself.”
“What?” He groaned, rubbing his eyes.
Indie waved the note in his face. “Susie took off in the middle of the night.”
“Good, now we don't have to worry... Ow!” He jerked up, rubbing his leg where Indie kicked him.
“We have to go after her.”
“Why? She clearly doesn't want our help.”
Indie clenched her teeth, trying hard not to yell. “Because she isn't going to have enough food or water to get to town on foot.”
“Her problem, not ours.”
“Ryan!”
“This is survival, Indie...” He trailed off as he looked up at her.
Hot angry tears slipped down her cheeks. “You and Susie are all I have left. I will not let her kill herself by walking into the woods unprepared. So get your ass out of that sleeping bag, get dressed and help me break camp. Now!”
Slack jawed, Ryan stared at her, then climbed out of the sleeping bag. Indie stalked out of the tent. She was being a diva and knew it. But she had no idea if her parents were even alive or if they had been turned into those creatures. She wasn't going to lose the two people she had left. Susie didn't know what she was in for. Pooling their resources made this a walk in the park compared to going it alone with nothing but a pack. Not to mention what would happen if she actually made it to town and ran into those things.
Wiping her eyes, Indie scanned the area where they'd set up camp. Susie couldn't have made it too far, even with the full moon last night it would have been hard to see. Hopefully she hadn't fallen and broken her leg or something. Drawing a deep breath, Indie began to prioritize. Eat breakfast, break camp and find Susie's trail. Survival 101, keep your strength up. Feeling more composed, she ducked back into the tent.
Ryan looked up from rolling his sleeping bag. “Sorry I was being such an ass.”
She put her hand up, stopping him. “Don't, okay? Just help me find her.”
He nodded, tying up his sleep bag as she grabbed her jeans and pulled them over the shorts she slept in.
“I'll scrounge us up some grub.”
Indie nodded, pulling on her shoes. Ryan ducked out of the tent. Indie sighed then rolled up her own sleeping bag.
****
Not surprisingly, Susie had left a trail a blind monkey could follow. She'd left footprints, broken branches and smashed underbrush in her wake. After trudging through the woods for a couple hours, the smell of wood smoke wafted toward them on the breeze. Following the scent, they soon heard Susie's unmistakable high-pitched giggle. Indie exchanged a glance with Ryan before continuing forward. Cautiously they crept closer, stumbling to a stop at the edge of a clearing.
Susie sat next to a fire pit, across from an older man, who was vaguely familiar to Indie, and a set of twin boys about their age who held shotguns. Susie glanced over her shoulder at them, as the boys lowered their guns.
“What are you doing here?” Susie asked in a snotty voice.
“Good to see you too, BFF,” Indie muttered, stalking over to where Susie sat on a fallen log.
“Come on, kids,” the older guy said good naturedly. “We've got enough for everybody.” He lifted the lid on the pot sitting in the pit and the smell of venison stew crept up, making Indie's mouth water. Slipping off her pack she plopped down beside Susie. Ryan followed, sitting on Indie's other side.
Stirring the pot the guy said, “I'm Fred, the boys are Eugene and Earl.”
“Indiana Macari.”
“Ryan Anderson.”
Fred leaned back studying her. “You're Dan's girl, right?”
Indie nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. Since leaving the school, she'd been so focused on keeping everyone alive and going she hadn't given into thinking about what might have happened at the school. Had anyone else survived? Had they stopped the infection, before it'd gotten everyone? After Ryan's dad, Dan had slapped a B.O.B. in her hands and told her to bug out until it was clear. She'd wanted her parents to come with her, but they'd refused, taking responsibility for all the others. Instead, she'd taken Ryan and Susie. Indie stared into the fire wondering if her dad had gotten infected from the scratch he'd received. Anna most assuredly had been. Would anyone do anything or would it happen again and again?
Fred cleared his throat, and Indie's head jerked up. “Don't worry, if anyone can survive a zombie apocalypse, it's your father.”
Indie blinked away the moisture that gathered in her eyes.
Ryan glanced at her then said, “We're not sure if anyone survived. We did a supply run to see what was going on in town and my dad got bit. He...” Ryan swallowed. “He turned and bit one of the women, scratched Dan. We lost radio contact a few days ago, so we don't have a clue if they're okay or not.”
Fred nodded, “Towns full of zombies, now.”
“It's like Dawn of the Dead down there,” Eugene pipped up.
“Yeah, they’re all gross and decomposing,” Earl added, groaning and doing a bad zombie impression.
Fred gave the pot one last stir then declared, “Soup’s on. You three got bowls or something?”
Indie dug around in her pack and pulled out a metal cup which she handed to Fred. As he filled it, she pulled out a plastic spork. Fred handed her cup back full of hot stew and took Susie's next.
“Thought you were a vegetarian,” Indie murmured, blowing on her food.
“After eating roots, berries and the occasional twig, I'm done.”
Indie smiled, taking a bite. It wasn't great but having real food after living off the land and MREs was a delight. After wolfing down her stew, she sighed and put her cup on the ground between her feet.
“So, where are you headed?”
Indie glanced from Susie to Ryan but both ignored her and kept eating. “Not sure. Where are we?”
“About ten miles south east of where you started.”
Propping her elbows on her knees, Indie pressed her head into her hands. What to do? She badly wanted to go back and see what happened at the school, but she also didn't want to endanger Susie or Ryan.
“You're all welcome to come to our place. I'm sure we can make room.”
Ryan leaned toward her. “I think we should take the offer, regroup and figure out what to next.”
“Fine. Yeah, it's a good idea.” Wiping out her cup, Indie muttered, “I just wish I had my Jeep.”
“Where is it?” Fred asked, starting to pick things up.
Indie glanced at him, startled anyone had heard her. “ In the parking area at the school. Just inside the gate.”
Fred scratched at his cheek. “Maybe we can work something out.”
****
Indie peered through the cab of the truck at the old farm house. Fred, Eugene and Susie sat inside and had left the slider open. She had a clear view through the back and front window from where she sat in the truck bed. The place had seen better days. It was in need of a fresh coat of paint and some major TLC. They'd nailed chicken wire to the upper floor windows and metal stall doors with chicken wire under it to the lower floor windows.
“Nice work.”
Earl shot her a cocky grin. “Using the stall doors was my idea.”
She gave him a small smile, turning back toward the house. A tingle of worry skittered down her back. She stood, looking over the cab. Nope she wasn't seeing things. The front door hung open, swaying in the breeze. Fred eased the truck to a stop. As he did, something moved in the shadows just inside the door. Leaving the truck running, Fred go
t out. “You all stay here, if anything happens get the hell outta here.”
“Yes, sir.” Eugene slid into the driver seat.
Fred met Indie's eye. He gave her a quick nod and slowly walked toward the house. A knot of unease tightened in her stomach. Shrugging the shotgun off her shoulder, she laid it on the cab roof. Reaching into her pocket, she took a few shells and pushed them into the gun. She had just finished when a nasty looking decaying zombie stumbled over the threshold. Fred froze, staring as the creature fell down the front steps. As it hoisted itself to its feet, Indie clicked the safety off. She focused the sight on the zombie and squeezed the trigger. A deafening boom left her ears ringing and the recoil made her shoulder ache. But that felt like nothing when she saw the zombie's head exploded like a watermelon full of firecrackers. Indie's eyes darted to the door. A fresher looking dead guy weaved on his feet, shambling out onto the porch and down the steps. It took her a second to register the strong resemblance between Fred and the zombie.
“Those bastards got Freddy,” Earl yelled from behind her, his words barely filtering through the noise in her head.
She chambered another round, but Fred rushed forward getting into the shot. The shrill ring in her ear kept her from hearing what Fred was saying, but it looked as if he was trying to reason with his zombified son. The dead man just moved closer, a look of pure hatred on his face, teeth gnashing like a feral animal. As Freddy grabbed his dad, Indie moved for a better shot. Not getting a clear angle, she gritted her teeth, and decided to chance it. Instead of going for the head, she aimed for the biggest part of his leg. It wouldn't stop him, but might slow him down. Praying she didn't shoot the wrong body, she took the shot. The slug ripped through the zombie’s calf, causing it to lose balance, and Fred was able to wrench his arm free. As he stumbled away from the creature that used to be his son, Indie reloaded, and chambered a round and aimed for Freddy's head. The slug caught half his head, ripping it apart, and a second later the body flopped to the ground.
The ringing made Indie want to put her hands over her ears, it was almost painful, but it wouldn't have done any good anyway. Instead, she focused on Fred. He had to be in shock, he just stood staring at the corpse at his feet and absently rubbed his arm. A hand closed around her wrist and she spun to see Earl next to her. He was livid.