Fighting to Survive (53 page)

Nerit drove, Travis
at her side, Bill and Jenni in the back. It was far too luxurious for
Nerit's taste, but it drove well and would get them to where they
needed to be. If the bandits did arrive, Nerit's crew had a vehicle
they could take off the road with relative ease. She was glad that
the Mann's had bought the top-of-the-line H2. It would survive
off-roading with ease.

“
I
could so get used to driving something like this.
”
Jenni grinned. She was happy to be out of the fort and doing
something and not just sitting around waiting for something to
happen.

“
Up
ahead is where they went off the road, Nerit,
”
Bill said solemnly.

Travis sat in the
front seat, rubbing his brow. He looked haggard, the stress eating
away at him.

“
Keep
a look out,
”
Nerit said.
“
We
don't need them sneaking up on us.
”

“
Who?
Zombies or bandits?
”
Jenni turned and looked out the back window.

“
Both,
”
Nerit answered.

As the Hummer glided
over the bridge, Travis looked down into the river to see a zombie,
in fishing gear, wading through the water still clutching its fishing
pole.

The skid marks on
the asphalt told where the truck lost control and gone off the road.
Nerit pulled over. They all cautiously disembarked. There was a deep
gorge on one side of the road. It appeared the truck had slid right
down into it. As they drew near the edge of the road, they saw that
both the camper and truck were logged firmly in the trees that grew
up out of the deep crevasse in the earth.

“
It
fuckin' stinks of the dead,
”
Jenni moaned.

“
Let
’
s
check it out,
”
Nerit said, and started downward.

Bill was already
poised to respond quickly to every threat. He slowly rotated as he
walked, taking in all that was around him.

Nerit reached the
camper first. She walked slowly, each step carefully measured. Travis
was right behind her, looking far more at ease with a gun in his
hands than anyone had ever seen him before. He looked alert and
ready.

Gazing
into the back of the camper, Nerit said,
“
One
dead. Young female. Broken neck.
”

Bill
sighed sadly behind them.
“
Probably
the best thing for the poor kid.
”

Nerit
began to slowly descend toward the truck, the roots of the trees
providing a natural staircase for her to use. She hesitated, then
slowly squatted down where she stood.

“
Two
male bodies at the bottom of the gorge. Both bound, gagged, appeared
to have been raped, then shot execution style in the back of the
head,
”
her voice said with no emotion.

Bill
frowned and motioned to Jenni.
“
Follow
me down. I want to get a closer look.
”

Nerit held her
position as the other two made their way to the bodies. Travis kept a
watch on the road with a troubled expression on his face.

Bill
took his time examining the bodies and moving around the crime scene.
Scrutinizing every detail, he slowly came to some terrible
conclusions. With a sigh, he motioned to Jenni and they both
struggled to get back up to the road.

“
What
do you think?
”

“
Honestly,
Nerit, I think they were punished for failing. It's very methodical.
Very intense. It feels...angry.
”

Nerit
nodded.
“
The
young girl, the loss of an asset: the loss of the truck, another
asset. But worse, I think they weren't supposed to attack anyone from
the fort. They were watching us. Probably trying to determine our
strengths and our weaknesses. Maybe even determining their approach.
Either they would have attempted to deceive us into letting them in
or would have just launched a surprise attack. But now the element of
surprise is gone.
”

“
This
is what you were thinking the first night,
”
Travis said after a beat.

Nerit
nodded.
“
I
just needed the proof.
”

“
So
now what?
”
Bill followed the others toward the truck.

“
We
return to waiting. Keep alert. They will wait now. Wait until they
feel we are vulnerable. We are at stalemate.
”
Nerit opened up the door to the Hummer and slid in.

Jenni
looked back down the road at figures lumbering toward them. The
zombies were far off, but coming. She slid in as well.
“
Great.
This sucks. One more thing to worry about.
”

Bill
slammed his door shut as Travis climbed into the front seat.
“
Nothing
is easy now, is it?
”

“
No,
not at all,
”
Travis answered grimly.
“
Not
at all.
”

1. And a Move is
Made

A wave of zombies
hit the fort two days later. One of the guards explained that she had
been leaning over to pick up her thermos when she heard a growl.
Looking down, she saw a zombie turn the corner and began to beat on
the trucks making up the first perimeter. She had raised her gun to
pick him off when suddenly thirty zombies rounded the corner and
began to rabidly attack the perimeter.

“
Good
for sniper practice,
”
Nerit said when she was informed. She lit a cigarette and walked out
to view the newcomers.

Travis
and Curtis stood side by side on a guard platform watching the crowd.

“
Not
from this town,
”
Curtis told Nerit.
“
I
don't recognize them.
”

“
Think
they are migrating?
”
Travis asked.

“
Maybe
following food,
”
Nerit said thoughtfully.

Bill
yawned as he joined them and looked out.
“
Well...shit.
”

“
Understatement,
”
Travis said with a smile. Katie slipped up behind him and slid her
arm around his waist. Turning, he kissed her forehead.

“
Gawd,
the reek of them,
”
Katie murmured.

“
Looks
like farm workers,
”
Bill decided.
“
Clothes
are pretty screwed up, but looks like farm workers.
”

“
Could
be from anywhere,
”
Curtis added.

Nerit
pointed to one of the male zombies.
“
A
WalMart worker. Where is the nearest WalMart?
”

“
Lemme
think. About an hour south of here,
”
Curtis answered.

“
Migrating,
”
Travis sighed.

“
Maybe
someone corralled them toward us,
”
Nerit said in a thoughtful tone.

“
When
Jenni and I were on the road, a crowd of zombies chased us and just
kept following the road we escaped on. When we came back, they were
still pursuing us on that road,
”
Katie said to Nerit.
“
Someone
would just have to give them a little lure in the right direction.
”

“
In
our direction,
”
Curtis snorted.
“
Great.
”

“
Think
the bandits are that smart?
”
Travis wondered aloud.

Bill
shook his head.
“
Who
knows? There are different breeds out in this area. It's remote.
Country mentality is strong outside the towns. A lot of hardheaded,
old-time mindsets.
”

“
Women
are property?
”
Katie was thinking of the girl Katarina and Bill had seen tied up in
the back of the truck that had nearly run them down.

“
You
can beat your wife as long as it
’
s
on the county courthouse steps with a stick no thicker than her
thumb,
”
Curtis said softly.
“
Old
country law that never got erased from the books.
”

Bill
nodded.
“
Assholes
live everywhere. Just in the countryside, they got more privacy and
more leeway. Makes a lot of stuff easier.
”

“
We
still have some pockets of survivors to pick up, right?
”
Katie put her hands on her hips and tilted her head toward Travis.

“
At
least eight. We've been picking them up in order of proximity or if
their supplies are low. We're also trying to send in double teams.
Ones to rescue, others to get supplies from the stores. Winter is
still months away, but we have to be ready.
”
Travis stared down at the rabid crowd below.
“
We
got a few groups that got bad infestations around them, too.
”

“
I
think we need to bring them in as soon as we can,
”
Nerit
said.
“
Each
time out, change tactics. They're watching us. Let them stay
confused.
”

“
I
hate to be the devil's advocate, but maybe we should sit tight,
”
Curtis said softly.
“
We
got our own to take care of.
”

Nerit
gave him a long look.
“
They
are our own. We've been in contact with them for quite some time.
”

Curtis
sighed and nodded.
“
I
just feel like we should be trying to be safe inside and not going
out there.
”

Travis
shook his head.
“
We
may not want to admit it, but we are building a new world here. We
need good, solid people to help us continue it. We need some of those
people out there. One is an RN, another is an electrician.
”

“
We
have no choice, but to get them,
”
Katie said firmly.

Curtis
was staring at Travis intently.
“
What
if people die going out there?
”

“
We
are all taking risks,
”
Bill answered for Travis.
“
To
do what is right.
”