Roxanne's Story (Book 1): Survival in the Zombie Apocalypse (43 page)

Gretchen had fried up some squirrel and they ate that along with some club crackers that the plantation seemed to have plenty of. Mutt gobbled his so quickly that they were afraid he would choke. “I’m relieved to see him eat,” Brandon said. “He wouldn’t eat at all last night or this morning. I’ve been watching him since he chewed into that zombie, not knowing if he’d get sick and die. But he seems alright.”

The boat had drifted under a tree with Spanish moss hanging from it when Mutt leaned over and started pawing at the reeds and leaves caught up into the water. Brandon saw something black in the water and yanked Mutt back into the boat, “Stay away from there Mutt. It’s just a snake.”

“Snakes have gone into hibernation this time of year, along with the alligators,” Smokey said and leaned over the boat to see what Mutt was trying to get. He looked puzzled for a moment and then reached in to pull out Roxanne’s staff. “Looks like we’re on the right trail,” he said holding it up for everyone to see.

Lucky was elated when he saw Roxanne’s staff. Mutt immediately began to sniff at it but Roxanne’s scent was gone. Not having any room in the boat for it Lucky took two of the rags and tied it to the side of the boat. “She left it as a signal. We know she was alive at this point. Let’s push on.”

But his joy was crushed an hour later when the waterway came to another dead end. They tied the rags to bushes as they had done before and tried another opening in the swamp but that also came to a dead end. Smokey could see the frustration building up in Lucky, “I don’t think we are going to find their campsite today Lucky. We’ve made too many wrong turns and will need to start searching for our own camp soon.”

“We brought a lantern,” Lucky said. “I can either hold it while Brandon rows or perhaps we can find a way to mount it on Roxanne’s staff. But I would like to continue on to make up for lost time. Roxanne has been missing for two days and we haven’t traveled further than part of the first day that she was taken. We’re falling behind instead of gaining on them.”

Smokey shook his head, “We made too many bad turns in daylight and the chances of that happening increase as it gets dark. Traveling at night could lead us further away from her and we would never know it. There’s a landing up ahead of solid ground that we can camp on tonight. I suggest we make for that and let everyone stretch their legs.”

As they pulled closer to the trees they could make out a symbol of a skull and crossbones painted into the trunk. “Bacalou,” Smokey said. “Haitian voodoo believes it is an evil spirit depicted by the skull and crossbones. They are marking their spot, saying that we are entering their territory. They probably hunt here and it’s like a “No Trespassing” sign. There’s nothing to fear unless you believe in their tradition. It doesn’t mean that these are the people who took her. Several tribes and some hermits live within the Bayou and they don’t associate with one another.” He looked over the boat as they touched land, “Be still a moment,” he said as he slowly put his hand above the water.

Lucky and Brandon looked at one another but did not see any danger nor had they heard any splash or seen the water disturbed. With a quick movement Smokey slammed his hand in the water and brought up a catfish. “Dinner” he said with a smile.

As they were setting up camp for the night and getting the fire started Mutt explored the surrounding area trying to pick up a scent. They had seen the change in Mutt who now stayed aloof from everyone even Caleb who had tried to befriend him again. He may follow Brandon more often than anyone else but he did not respond or take orders from Brandon. He did not come forward asking for food but stood outside the circle waiting for someone to offer it to him and then would take it back to his spot to eat it. He no longer acted like part of the family and did not seem to have an affinity for anyone. He tolerated them but he was becoming a stranger.

Smokey used his machete to cut two small trees and carved them out as poles, keeping both ends blunt so either end could be used on the floor of the marsh but neither end would be sharp to cut their hands while pushing the boat forward. No one spoke that night and pretended to be engrossed in Smokey’s task, but each had their thoughts of finding Roxanne.

As they rose the next morning it was not spoken aloud, but it was on everyone’s mind that this was the second and final day of their search. Lucky was forming a speech in his head of how to approach Smokey to extend the search if they did not find Roxanne by nightfall. Smokey was wondering if the day would end in blows and whether he would need to tie Lucky up and toss him into the boat to bring him back. And Brandon, Brandon was realizing for the first time just how much he loved Roxanne. He looked at Lucky and then quickly looked away so Lucky would not see the resentment in his eyes. He felt that he and Roxanne were more suited for each other because they thought alike during their three month trek but both had blindly followed Lucky because of his past training. He believed that he and Roxanne would have fared better without Lucky and now that she was missing he realized his feelings for her were deeper than that of a sister or teammate.

Mutt waited until Smokey got in the boat and then jumped in after him, followed by Lucky and Brandon who pushed the boat away from shore. They made two more wrong turns that morning and Lucky began to lash out at Smokey. “Do you know what you’re looking for Smokey? Do you know how to spot broken limbs, overturned leaves, and trampled foliage? I’m busy rowing this damn thing. I can’t spot everything and I’m counting on you to see things that I may have missed.”

Smokey held his temper, “These people are better than us. We’re amateurs compared to them. If they want to hide we will never find them. And they’re faster than us in this rowboat because a pirogue can skim along the waterway with ease.” Mutt suddenly sat up and began to sniff the air. Everyone looked around but nothing appeared to be any different. Lucky and Brandon stopped rowing to let the boat drift and to listen to the natural sounds around them. “I smell it now,” Smokey said. “An old campfire.”

They decided to stand up and use the poles hoping to see over the foliage and to also watch Mutt to see if he turned toward the scent. Once they passed a certain area Mutt turned around to look behind them. “I didn’t see anything back there, did you Smokey.”

He shook his head, “No, but it’s the right bank. Let’s turn and travel up against the bank as close as we can. Perhaps we’ll see something on the other side of the foliage, but nothing looked trampled.” They made a pass at it but still did not see anything although the smell of smoke was stronger when the turn of Mutt’s body indicated that they had passed it again. “See that Cypress tree jutting out into the swamp,” Smokey pointed. “Go behind there. Perhaps a landing is hidden behind the tree. It’s the only place we haven’t checked.”

There was only a small muddy bank behind the tree, small enough for one person to get his foot on it. Lucky stood up in the boat and held onto the Cypress tree to keep his balance. “I see it. Nothing more than a narrow path, but I can see something white at the base of a tree further down the path.” They swung the boat around so Lucky could get out first and lead the way. Before Brandon could get out of his seat Mutt took a leap past him and brushed against Lucky’s legs to dart ahead.

After tying up the boat Smokey arrived on the scene to find Lucky frozen in place with a bloody white shirt in his hand. He could see additional stains of dried blood against the tree and on the ground at the base. He quickly glanced around and could see large areas of dried blood near the dead campfire. Brandon was kneeling down behind the tree studying something where Lucky had found Roxanne’s shirt and his face was ashen. He looked up at Smokey and shook his head. Mutt was frantically running in and out of the area trying to follow a scent but always circling back again.

Smokey walked up to Brandon to peer around the tree and saw that there was additional blood on the back of the tree plus a vine on the ground that had been used as a rope and was blood stained as well. Lucky had not moved and now Mutt began to sniff Roxanne’s shirt dangling from Lucky’s hands. When Mutt started to whine Brandon grabbed the shirt out of Lucky’s hand and stuffed it underneath his, “Don’t torture the damn dog with it!” he said in anger.

Brandon’s outburst brought Lucky out of his stupor and he began to look around him as if he didn’t know where he was. Smokey was sifting through the ashes of the fire, “This is two days old,” he said standing up. “They’re too far ahead of us to catch up to them. We only have a half day left before finding a campsite ourselves.”

“What the hell is this?” Lucky asked spreading his arms out to indicate the stains on the hardened ground. “A ritual of some kind?”

Smoke shook his head, “No, no ritual that I know of. This is just lawlessness in a ZA where there are no laws any longer. Or crazy people. Before the ZA some chose the Bayou instead of a Mental Institution, or was released from one and came here to be away from people.” He looked around him and said “I think we better look for a grave. If they did not attend to her wounds she could have bled out overnight.”

There was only one trail leading from the landing and that did not go very far before ending in the marsh. “I think this is just a trail used by animals and alligators to access the waterway. I can see some old nests out there in the reeds. I don’t see where they would have crossed this. There’s just not a good foothold, especially if you are carrying a body. Let’s see how far we can walk along the bank before it turns to swamp again”. They spread out but did not find any footsteps in the earth to indicate that anyone had left the immediate area of the campsite.

“They took her with them,” Lucky said. “That’s a good sign that she was still alive. Let’s go further up the canal. We still have three hours of daylight and I’m not ready to give up on this. Maybe they made a mistake. Maybe they didn’t think that we would follow this far. Maybe Roxanne was able to leave another clue.”

Smokey stood looking at a Cyprus tree extending out into the water and turned to Lucky. “If she died they would not have carried the body with them. They would have disposed of it here and they would have chosen the quickest way to do that whether it was moral or not. That means dumping it in the river.” Both Brandon and Lucky turned white at the thought. “I’m not going to do it, but if you want to be thorough at this location I suggest one of you wade out and check the roots of that cypress tree. Or get in the boat and we’ll row out and one of you can lean over into the water to see if her body is wedged into the roots underwater.”

Brandon took a deep breath feeling that he was losing all grips on reality. He took a step sideways to grab a sapling and held on to steady himself. “I’ll do it,” Lucky said and started for the boat. They all got back into the boat in the same positions and in a few strokes on the oars they drifted up to the cypress. Lucky took a deep breath and then leaned over the side of the boat as far as he could to plunge his torso into the water. It felt like forever to Brandon before Lucky came up for air with a splash and shook the water off him. “Nothing. It was dark but I’m sure I would have seen the white skin of a bleached body that has been in the water for two days.” He started to shiver.

“Going to be frost tonight,” Smokey said. “The two of you better get your coats out. That’s another danger for Roxanne because she left her coat on the portico as the day heated up. With loss of blood and a frost she could easily die of hypothermia.”

“Why do you keep talking about her as if she is dead?” Lucky shouted getting his coat out. “I’m not giving up until I find her or her body.” He took up his pole and turning his back on Smokey he stood up to skim the boat across the water again.

Smokey shook his head, “Lucky, that was a lot of blood back there. And all over the place, not just in one spot. I don’t think it is their intention to keep her, but to kill her if they haven’t already. Let’s say one of them wanted a wife, they wouldn’t have damaged her that badly. Roxanne is sport to them………”

“Stop it, stop it, stop it!” Brandon interrupted putting his hands over his ears. He removed them just as quickly and let out a sigh. “Just stop it. I can’t stand to hear any more of this,” he whispered. “Let’s just row. I think we all have our own thoughts to deal with right now and I don’t want any more visions put into my head.”

Smokey let them alternate between rowing and standing up to use their poles without giving them any more directions. He let them take the easiest waterway and let them feel that they were accomplishing something, but he knew it was useless. They came to another dead end and he marked it in silence. They did not stop to eat that day although Brandon gave Mutt some dried fish. Mutt had not sat up in the boat since they had left the site where Roxanne had been held.

The sun was quickly lowering when Smokey said that they needed to search for dry land to camp for the night and was surprised when no one gave him an argument. As Lucky and Brandon set up camp Smokey pushed out in the boat and got out his fishing pole. Before long he had dinner for them but he continued to fish to give the two men some time together. Being in the boat with them for two days gave him the opportunity to study them and he could see that tension was building between them. Two men traveling with the same woman for three months, it wouldn’t be strange if both of them fell in love with her. He knew that Lucky and Roxanne were supposed to be a couple, but he didn’t think that Mutt liked Lucky much and Smokey had always felt that animals knew how to pick out a human better than another human did and before Roxanne disappeared Mutt had started to follow Brandon.