Authors: Sonny Collins
“Oh, my gosh!” Nancy suddenly gushed. “Look over there on the shore.”
George sat up and took in a deep view of the scene before them. There was someone jumping up and down, waving at them. It was a young man. Looked to be a little older than them, maybe college age. And George couldn’t help but notice the guy was also magazine cover handsome. He turned back to Nancy and could tell she had noticed it as well. There was a smile on her face from ear to ear as she turned the boat and headed toward this stranger.
“Think this is a good idea?” George asked.
Nancy gave him a frown. “Don’t you like knowing there are other people that have made it besides us?”
“I suppose…”
The boat pulled up near the shore as the young man came walking out to it. He looked so relieved to see them as he spoke. “Hi. My name is Tom.”
***
Nancy couldn’t help but notice how the dynamics had changed over the past week as George became more sullen and Tom quickly took over as the Alpha male. It had really not bothered her much, considering Tom did seem older and much wiser. He had quickly taken over the cabin next to hers and tried to talk George into moving in with him, but that was not going to happen. Her young friend obviously did not like being referred to as a kid. And although George had not said anything, she could tell he felt threatened by the older man. Which was odd considering the fact that Tom did everything in his power to make friends with their young companion.
The only time George seemed to show any interest at all in Tom was when he was telling them about what had been going on back in the cities. Apparently the zombies really did only come out at night - something about the sun sending them into a frenzy. They stayed in dark places until the sun set well below the horizon. Then they went out in search of fresh food - raw meat of any kind. Tom said many survivors were being killed by the creatures, but also dogs, cats, whatever animal happened to get in their sights.
She glanced across the lake from her cabin window. It was lucky they had found Tom that day. He was able to warn them that a group of zombies did exist on the other side. Many full-time residents had lived on that side of the lake and had been turned when the cloud swept over the area. Nancy realized how fortunate her and George had been that no one was living at Camp Heart. Their little piece of paradise might not have been so peaceful if there had been some caretakers or spring guests.
She then noticed Tom and George heading for her porch. At least George was being civil to Tom, even if he wasn’t trying to be friends. She stepped out the door and smiled at them both.
“Thought we might go hike up on the ridge above our cabins here. I seem to remember there was an old logging road up there,” Tom stated. “Do you want to come with us?”
Nancy was glad for any chance to get out of her cabin. She loved hiking, but since the world had changed so much, she had not dared venture beyond the camp alone. “I would love to. Now that you mention it, I remember my folks telling me about that road. It starts over near the store and winds up the mountain before going over and joining the old highway.”
Tom grinned. “That’s why I figured it might be worth taking a look at. If the road is still useable, we might be able to bypass the town and head west.”
There was panic in George’s voice. “Why would we want to do that? This is the safest place for us to be. There is no reason for us to ever leave here. We have food and water and really good shelter.”
Tom turned to him. “Come on, buddy. You know those zombies are not going to stay on the other side of the lake forever. Sooner or later they will run out of meat and start searching in our direction.”
“We can shoot them. I found a rifle in the closet of my cabin.” George was serious.
Nancy tried to calm him. “Even if all three of us had guns, we could not stop a bunch of zombies. They are already dead.”
“There has to be some way to kill them. We can chop off their heads like in the movies.”
“Do you really want to get that up close and personal with one of those things?” Tom asked.
“He’s right, George. We need to have a back-up plan in case those monsters do start coming in our direction,” Nancy said. “We didn’t say we were leaving right now. You could be right too and those zombies never find us, but just in case they do, we need to have a plan ready for escaping them.”
“I don’t know,” George stuttered as he began backing up. “If we leave here it could mean we’d be outside after dark with no place to hide.”
Nancy saw the fear in his eyes. She knew the only place he felt safe at night was in his cabin. That was the reason he wouldn’t even visit with her or Tom after dark. George suddenly turned and started walking back to his place.
“Aren’t you going with us?” Tom hollered after him. There was only silence.
Nancy grabbed Tom’s arm. “Let him go. He needs to cool off and think about what we are saying.”
“Doesn’t he realize I just want to keep all of us safe?” Tom asked, turning back to Nancy.
“I know. So let’s you and me go look at that road.”
She did hope George would see reason. His attitude had been bothering her a lot lately. As much as she liked him, she still felt a bit leery of him as well. And even though Tom had made no advances, there had been a sparkle in his eyes whenever hers met his. Was she just hoping for something that wasn’t there?
***
The two of them were starting to tick him off, George thought to himself as he watched Nancy and Tom laughing at some inane joke. They had suddenly become inseparable since their little hike up the mountain. He watched them from the cover of some trees as they walked down along the shoreline of the lake. Although he didn’t like the idea of spying on them, he couldn’t help but feel that they might be conspiring against him, and therefore his deed was justified.
George knelt down behind some shrubs as Tom glanced in his direction. He wasn’t certain, but felt he might have been spotted. It was time to make a quick decision. He stood up and walked down toward them.
“I thought I saw you,” Tom smiled.
“Yeah, I was just out looking for some berrys. Found a few up near the creek. Not enough to bother with yet. And they were still kind of sour,” George explained.
“Maybe when they get ripe I can make us a pie,” Nancy suggested with a grin. “Then maybe you won’t be such a stranger. We haven’t seen much of you this past week. What have you been doing?”
George nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other before answering. “Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed I go out in the canoe to fish every morning. Then I’ve been doing a little hiking up the mountain.”
Tom gave Nancy a shrewd glance. “And we know you are always back at your cabin before dark.”
In George’s mind, Tom was mocking him for being afraid of the night. He decided not to let the older guy get to him. “You know how it is. Like you mentioned before, no one wants to get too close to a zombie.”
“So you do listen to me,” Tom grinned.
“Only when you have something worth saying.”
Nancy must have been very perceptive, because she jumped in quickly. “Now let’s not get into a verbal joust between you fella’s.” She turned to George. “You need to quit being such a loner. Please say you will join us for lunch?”
George had missed her cooking. “Sure.” He then glanced back at Tom. “I was just kidding. Truce.”
Tom gave him a playful pat on the shoulder. “We have nothing to fight about, kid. Besides, there is something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you.”
Could it be the fact that he was stealing Nancy away from him, George wondered. He knew to keep that tidbit to himself as he slowly smiled. “Of course.”
They all three began walking back to Nancy’s cabin as Tom began explaining his theory that the further west they went, the better their chances of finding more survivors. He believed that the strange plague cloud that had stormed across the nation lost strength as it moved over the mountains and out to sea. His consensus was that not as many people had become infected with the deadly virus as it diminished.
“Do you have anything to back this up?” George inquired.
“I’m glad you asked that,” Tom replied. “Over the last two evenings, Nancy and I have been fiddling around with the radio in her cabin. Last night we heard talking. It was very weak, but it was out there on the air-waves. And we both clearly heard the announcer telling any survivors to come to Sacramento, California because there was a large colony of them there.”
George was truly a bit stunned. “Why were you in Nancy’s cabin last night?”
“You’re not listening to us,” Nancy broke in. “There is a large group of survivors out west. We should be figuring a way to join them.”
It still wasn’t registering to George. All he could think about was the fact that Tom had probably spent the night with Nancy. They had more than likely even been sleeping together. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins as he clenched his fist tightly.
“Kid, are you okay?” Tom asked.
“If you call me ‘kid’ one more time, I swear I’m going to hit you.”
Tom backed off. “No one is trying to piss you off, George. What has you so riled up?”
Nancy pulled Tom further away from George. “I think it’s us.” She looked away. “It is my choice who I choose to be with.” She glanced back at George. “And the way you are acting right now is why I could have never even thought of a relationship with you other than being friends. And I’m not even so sure about that at times.”
“This is insane,” Tom sputtered. “Are you telling me George has a crush on you?” He turned back to George. “Is that the problem?”
“What do either of you care what I think. You’ve already made up your minds to run off together and leave me here alone.”
Tom reached out to him. “That’s not true. I want us all to be friends. I’m sorry I didn’t notice how you felt about Nancy. I just assumed the two of you were more like brother and sister. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Well guess what? You did.” He then stormed off to his cabin.
***
“What are we going to do about George?” Nancy asked.
Tom was sitting on the bed, thumbing through a book. He looked up and sort of grimaced. “What can we do? The kid has made up his mind that we are somehow the enemy. He hasn’t spoken to us in days. Maybe he just needs some more time to cool off.”
“I feel so bad for him,” Nancy sighed, plopping down next to Tom. “But from the first time we met I felt there was something just a little off with him. I had really hoped to find a kindred spirit because of the fact that we both chose to come to the same place. Right from the start I knew he had come here to hide. George is not just afraid of the zombies, he’s afraid of the world.”
“Some people prefer to be alone.”
She leaned over and kissed him. “Luckily that does not apply to you or me. I’m not sure how I would have handled things if you hadn’t come along.”
Tom pushed her hair back from her face. “You would probably be in bed with George right now.”
Nancy gave him a playful slap. “Wash your mouth out with soap. He is way too weird for me. Even though I like the guy, he has a lot of growing up to do. And he would have to make more than a few changes to satisfy me. He really does need an attitude adjustment.”
“Maybe I should go over there to his cabin and beat some sense into the guy,” Tom laughed.
“That’s the thing. I don’t want to see him get hurt either. There is such a sadness about him.”
Tom stood up, pulling her to his side. “Then go over and invite him to join us for dinner. I promise to be on my best behavior and ignore any barbs he might throw my way.”
“You really are a good person,” Nancy stated. She then headed out the door.
“Tell him to bring us some of those berry’s he’s been picking the last few days,” Tom hollered after her.
Nancy just smiled as she walked through the camp to George’s cabin. The sun was low on the horizon and she knew it was probably a waste asking him over. He never left his cabin after dark. But it was worth a try. And she could offer to let him spend the night at her place. There was a sofa bed in the living room. She suddenly found herself hopeful that George had gotten over his jealousy and they could all be friends. She honestly did like the guy.
“What are you doing here?” George asked curtly as Nancy approached his cabin.
“Me and Tom thought you might want to come over and have a meal with us,” Nancy replied.
“Don’t know what gave you that idea,” George said as he came off his porch to meet her.
“Come on, George. We are just trying to be neighborly. How long are you going to hold a grudge over some ridiculous fantasy you might have had about me? I never led you on about anything other than being friends.”
George grabbed her arm tightly. “So now you are calling me ridiculous? What about the two of you shacked up together, acting like you care about me, when all you care about is getting some from each other.”
“George, you’re hurting. Let go of my arm.” She twisted away from him. Then she saw something in his eyes she had not seen before. Sheer hate.