Roxanne's Story (Book 1): Survival in the Zombie Apocalypse (41 page)

Lucky shook his head as they climbed the steps to the top of the levee, “Remember the collapsed ride at the Park that she climbed over and disappeared on the other side? When something intrigues her, she can’t shake it off and like a cat she can’t contain her curiosity.” They reached the top of the levee and Lucky said, “Mutt, find Roxanne” motioning for Mutt to run ahead.

Mutt took the steps carefully and then began to trot toward the cabin, but he did not appear to be in a state of anxiety over Roxanne not being with the group. Everyone followed except for Toby and Smokey who were still tying up the tugboat. At the cabin Lucky checked inside and said that the crossbow was gone. She had left that behind before her shift on the portico and had taken her gun, staff, knife and pick-axe. “Well at least we know she was here after her shift,” Lucky said. He looked down at Mutt, “Mutt, where did Roxanne go from here? Mutt, find Roxanne.”

Mutt put his nose to the ground and followed the cabins, crossing Morgan’s porch and the grounds to the white picket fence. He went under the fence and then crossed the road. “Damn it,” Lucky said. “She left the grounds. Gretchen you, Terry, Morgan and Caleb stay here and when Smokey catches up send him our way. Larry you come with Brandon and me.” Both Lucky and Brandon were carrying their staff and had their holsters on, but what ammo they had in their guns was the end of their supply. Larry carried his rifle with an axe on his belt loop but was also limited on ammo.

They followed Mutt to the road and into the dry sugarcane on the other side that had never been harvested, Mutt still not appearing to be nervous. They were almost through the field of sugarcane and were about to enter an open area before reaching the forest when Mutt stopped in his tracks still sniffing the ground. Lucky motioned everyone to stop while he watched Mutt make several different detours and come back to the same spot again. Mutt took a few steps then raised his head to look down another row and softly growled. Everyone flattened to the ground, Lucky motioning Larry to circle around to that row. Then Mutt put his head back to the ground and proceeded on his original course toward the forest.

Brandon and Lucky got up to follow and glanced down the suspicious row to see Larry studying the ground. Once they broke through the sugarcane and entered the open area, Mutt became agitated. Lucky saw the disturbed ground and although the sun was lowering he went into a cold sweat. “There was a shake up here,” Lucky said to Brandon. Larry caught up to them and knelt down. “Someone was in that other row. I saw boot prints and knee prints. Looks like they came up behind her.” They didn’t need Mutt for this area because Lucky could see that someone had been fighting, and then dragged toward the forest. They heard noises behind them and turned to see Smokey break through the sugarcane with his rifle.

As they went into the forest they needed Mutt to guide them again and Lucky could tell that Roxanne was no longer being dragged away but he couldn’t find her footsteps either. As they continued the ground began to turn wet and soggy and he was able to pick up footsteps again. “Three men,” Lucky said. “One much heavier than the others, probably carrying Roxanne.”

The terrain became worse as they proceeded and several times they became stuck in the marsh. “Stay in their tracks,” Smokey said. “Step exactly where they stepped. These guys know what they’re doing. They’re not stragglers looking for a safe place. The swamp is their backyard.” They finally reached a stronger area of hard ground bordering a waterway and that’s where Mutt stopped. He became frantic, running up and down the bank, trying to pick up the scent again and when he couldn’t he began to whine pitifully. “They had a skiff,” Smokey said. “No telling which way they went since all these waterways twist and turn and some even circle back on themselves. It’s almost dark. We could get lost in here ourselves and we need to see our way back across that marsh. Lucky I’m sorry, but for tonight the trail ends here.”

Mutt sat down and started to howl, something they had never seen him do before.

It seemed that no matter what plan of action Lucky suggested, that Toby shot it down with logic. It was well past dark when they returned to the house and filled everyone in on what they had found. Mutt went directly to the windows overlooking the front lawn and sat there watching.

“We can get the rubber raft from Jenny and use it to search the waterways” Lucky said. They were all sitting at the dining room table with candlelight. Larry was holding Gretchen’s hand at the table but Morgan was still standing with his arm across Caleb’s shoulder. Caleb had taken it hard since he had not had a chance to bond with Roxanne again and they had only found each other such a short time ago.

“I wouldn’t suggest that Lucky,” Toby said. ‘There’s too much hidden underwater in those swamps and something could easily puncture the raft. Besides, Smokey’s size would take up the room of two people and you need room for you, Brandon and Mutt plus you need room to bring Roxanne back. Smokey’s size would lower the raft considerably.” Smokey tried not to look surprised at the suggestion that he go with them instead of Toby but felt that Toby must have a reason and would tell him later. It put him in a bind though and after that he did not know if he should make any suggestions. It appeared that the Captain had other motives.

“I assumed that you would go with us Toby,” Lucky said, “since you know this area.”

“No one knows the swamp Lucky,” Toby shook his head. “Unless you’ve lived in it and from what Smokey saw, these people are not strangers to the swamp. None of these buildings had a skiff or rowboat stored in it which means that the previous owners never went into the swamp.”

“Okay, we take the rowboat off Jenny and carry it through the woods to the swamp,” Lucky suggested. “That eliminates any problem of puncturing a hole and the rowboat will easily carry Smokey since we used it to load supplies in. Smokey, Mutt and myself will go.”

“I would like to go to,” Brandon spoke up. “Don’t like the idea of just you two going and I can’t just sit here and not look for Roxanne. You and I can sit on one seat and row together while Smokey is in the last seat, Mutt on the floor between us.”

Toby shook his head, “And where would you put Roxanne?”

“What are you saying Toby?” Lucky asked becoming agitated. “Are you saying that we shouldn’t look for her?”

“You said the banks were hard dirt at that point,” Toby reminded him. “I think you should take a day and search along the banks but neither I nor Smokey know the swamps and none of you will come back if you get lost in there.”

Lucky stood up, “I’m sorry Toby, but Brandon and I operate by a different set of rules. We don’t leave a member behind. We don’t leave anyone on the battlefield and the three of us have been together for a long time. Roxanne kept us alive with her crossbow and she found Jenny. Roxanne has a sixth sense of danger, of a presence near when no one else can feel it, she is paramount to our survival and if you and Smokey do not want to help then Brandon and I are going to carry the rowboat to the swamp in the morning and go out alone.”

“Lucky,” Toby said softly. “Roxanne was captured even with that sixth sense of hers because these people are experts at camouflage. They can camouflage their smell, they can melt into the foliage in fact they can
become
the foliage. They can hunt and stalk their prey for days without food or water. You never see them, you never hear them and you never smell them until they have a knife at your throat.”

The conversation was interrupted when Mutt suddenly stood up putting his paws against the glass and began to whine. Lucky rushed over to the window but the moonlight was not strong to see further than the front lawn. “Anything?” Brandon asked. Lucky turned and grabbed his staff, “No, but I trust Mutt and if he sees something I think we should go down.” Everyone except Terry grabbed their choice of weapon and rushed outside with Mutt running ahead across the lawn.

Lucky saw a zombie emerge from the sugar cane to cross the road and approach the house. Mutt didn’t bother running under the picket fence as he usually did. Instead he took a flying leap at the top of the fence and with the slightest touch he used the fence to leap again and fly into the zombie. He went down with the zombie and while growling viciously Mutt tore into the zombie’s neck.

The team climbed over the fence to see Mutt continuing to tear out the zombie’s throat and throw the meat aside like some wild animal whose young had been threatened. The growling continued as he did this but when the group drew within a few feet of him Mutt put his front paws on the body of the zombie and leaned in towards them. He bared his teeth, daring them to come any closer, growling with meat still hanging from his mouth. Everyone backed off in shock since Mutt had never shown any reason to fear him in the past.

Brandon slowly hunched down and put his hand out. Mutt gave a deep throated bark, baring his teeth which covered Brandon’s hand with saliva and zombie meat. “Easy Mutt,” Brandon said softly. “Easy boy. Let me check to see if it got Roxanne. Let me check its hands and clothes.” Mutt closed his mouth but did not back off. “Let me check it for Roxanne, please Mutt? Roxanne?”

Gretchen covered her face in her hands and started to cry. Morgan pulled Caleb into his arms and would not let him look. The rest were frozen in place. Brandon looked behind him and saw that Toby had carried a lantern with him. “Let me have that.” Toby carefully walked forward not wanting to startle Mutt into a frenzy and handed the lantern to Brandon. Brandon held it high and looked back to Mutt, “Let me look Mutt, please? Let me look.”

Mutt stared at Brandon for a moment longer and then licked his chops. He slowly backed off the zombie and sniffed its neck, then he nudged the zombie’s head to see if it moved. Satisfied that it was dead and safe for Brandon he backed off and sat down to let Brandon approach. Lucky stepped forward and knelt down to check the zombie’s hands while Brandon held the lantern. “No fresh blood, just dirt and mud.” They both leaned forward so Brandon could shine the light over the body. Lucky touched the shirt and ran his hands over the zombie’s arms. “No human blood. These are splatters from Mutt ripping its throat out.”

They stood up and stepped back, “Why would Mutt attack like that?” Brandon asked. “Never saw him do that before. The way Mutt tore into him I thought for sure it had something to do with Roxanne.” They looked over at Mutt who had again approached the zombie and was sniffing it when suddenly he grabbed one pant leg of the zombie in his teeth and began to pull at it growling, trying to rip the material off the zombie. He started to shake the leg back and forth in his teeth until you could hear the leg being torn out of its socket.

“Mutt, get away,” Brandon ordered and stepped over the body to examine the leg in the light. He hesitated and then reached down to pull at the material, “Oh, Jesus” they heard him whisper. He stood and turned with something dangling from his hand, “its Roxanne rawhide headband.”

“It was tied to his ankle,” Brandon said. “I don’t understand,” he looked up at Lucky.

Lucky reached out and took the rawhide, putting it in his shirt pocket. “They knew about Mutt and Mutt wasn’t here all day. That means they have been watching the place. They put it on the zombie’s leg so Mutt would catch the scent and take us on a wild goose chase.”

They turned and began to walk back toward the house, “I told you these guys were good”, Toby said. He started to drop behind and grabbed Smokey’s arm as a signal to slow his walk. As the others drew away Toby said, “I want you to go with them Smokey because there may come a time where you will need to physically force Lucky to give up the search. I’m not strong enough to do that. I don’t think Lucky will be rational on this search, won’t know when to give up and turn around. With both you and Brandon gone I will be the only one who knows anything about boats. If we are swarmed I’m all on my own to get them out of here. I’ll give you two days out, not more than that and you best mark your way at every bend and turn or you’ll be lost. Two days out and two days back, that’s four total. If you haven’t found a sign of her in two days you knock Lucky out if you have to.”

Lucky and Brandon peeled off from the group and went toward the levee. “We’re going to get the rowboat tonight and will put it in the front yard so it will be available first thing in the morning,” Lucky shouted back to them.