Generation Dead Book 2: What You Fear (17 page)

After that, everyone relaxed.  I just shook my head at the whole situation, watched as the tavern patrons went back to their tables, and oversaw the loading of the zombie corpse onto a small cart to be buried out of town.  Seven men with serious looks on their faces went off to the east to see if there were any more zombies to be killed from that morning massacre.  I ignored the looks I got from the assembled settlement folks and wandered into the trading post.

Inside was like nothing I had seen before. 
A collection of junk, the likes of which I hadn’t figured could be piled into one place were there.  There was everything from sewing kits to guns, jewelry to books.  Tools were piled in one end, while a selection of clothing covered another.  Pots, pans, lamps, and artificial limbs hung from the ceiling.  I had to duck under a canoe paddle to look over the assortment of knives and hatchets that covered the top of a glass display.  Inside the display was a small assortment of toys and child games.

“Help you?” 

One of the displays seemed to be speaking to me, although on closer inspection it turned out to be a small woman seated behind the counter.  She looked to be anywhere from thirty to three hundred, and her eyes blinked twice at a time, when she bothered to blink.  Her blue hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her black eyes looked as if they belonged on something that used to be living.

I straightened to my full height and her eyes expertly looked me over.  They took in my clothes, my weapons, and I could see the calculations going on in her head as to how much I might have to spend.  If I had to guess, she probably already knew how much money I had in my pouch.

I smiled slightly.  “I need a refill of kerosene, if you have it, and the use of a boat to the capital.”

Blue took my container and wal
ked over to a plastic jug that held a clear liquid.  Placing my bottle under the spigot, she expertly filled it without spilling a single drop.

She brought it back to me and placed it on the counter.  “Two coppers.  Don’t have any boats to rent, but my son can take you for a small fee.”

I paid the inflated price out of my vest pocket where I kept only my coppers.  I did that so people wouldn’t see if I had any more money.  However, with this woman, I figured it was useless.

“How much?” I asked, bracing myself for the price.

“Two silvers.  Beats walking,” she added.

I shook my head. “I don’t want to buy the
boat; I just want to get to the capital.”

“Two silvers and you’re there.  No
silver and you can fight some more little girls.”  That line was delivered with a smirk and I almost fell for it.

“Better that
than getting scalped in here.  No thanks.”

The woman got off her stool and put her hands on her hips.  Her lean body was tense, and I knew she had gotten through the original Upheaval with her wits and
her will to live.  She could probably fight pretty well, too, something I really didn’t want to get into. 

“You calling me a thief?” She asked quietly.

I shook my head. “You haven’t stolen from me, so I’m reserving judgment on that charge.  But I’m not paying your rates because I think they’re too high.  You want to get into trouble because someone tells you the truth, then you’ve got a lot a fighting ahead of you.  The stuff you have in here tells me you used to be a collector, and still go out from time to time.  But somewhere along the line, you realized people would be willing to pay for just about anything from the old places, and you set up shop.  But since you have a son, the raids are much closer to home.  Am I right?”

The woman’s mouth opened when I spoke, and all she could do was nod.  I smiled and left the shop, figuring I had a decent walk ahead of me.  I knew I would regret not spending the money on a simple ride, but I had my pride, and that was more important than how my feet were going to feel in a little while.  At least I told myself that as I left the settlement.

Chapter 38

About an hour later, I stepped into another world.  A huge forest stretched to the south of me, and across the river, I could see another large forest. The trees were large and well developed, telling me this area was forest even before the Upheaval. 

As I walked along the road, I could hear little noises coming from the woods. The big trees stretched their canopies over the road, so it was shaded and dim where I walked.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see movement as something large tracked my progress.  I immediately thought of the cougars we had at Starved Rock, and knew
nothing here would be as friendly.  Just for luck, I whipped up my rifle and fired three quick shots at the trees, the booming reports echoing across the river and down the road.  Animals scattered in all directions, and whatever had been stalking me had gone to ground.  I was happy.

Dusk began to make its presence known in various ways, and I really didn’t want to get caught out after dark, especially in this area.  I knew I was decently close to the capital, but I also knew I wasn’t going to make it before dark.  I walked until I reached another road, and decided to find a place to stay for the night.  I didn’t have much in the way of choices, there were dozens of torn up buildings and homes.  I needed to find somewhere that still had intact windows, someplace that was free of intruders, and somewhere I could light a small fire. 
Lately, the nights had been getting downright cold.

Just as the sun slipped the horizon, I happened upon a place situated on the edge of a forest.  I would have missed it if I hadn’t nearly walked into the sign by the side of the road.  It rea
d
Cook County Forest Preserve Watchman’s Hous
e
.  It was a small ranch style house made of brick.  It was tucked back nearly into the woods, and the preserve had made a good effort in reclaiming it.  Trees grew right up to the house, and the weeds were tall enough to need walking around.  I made my way up the old driveway and fought my way through the weeds to look in the windows of the house.

Nothing seemed out of place. 
Actually, it seemed very well kept and tidy.  I went to the back door and tried it first, smiling as the door clicked open.  Like a lot of places, the front door was typically locked, but the back door stayed open.  I went inside and checked things out.

The place was dusty, but not nearly as much as I thought it should be.  All the furniture was where it should be, and I couldn’t see any signs of a hasty exit. The kitchen cupboards were all bare, as was the fridge, but I wouldn’t have eaten anything from them anyway.  I took a couple of pieces of small kindling from the box by the fireplace and started a small fire.  There wasn’t much wind outside, so I figured the smoke wouldn’t alert too many people.

I stretched out in front of the small flames and closed my eyes, replaying the events of the day.  I hoped Jake, Julia, and Kayla were okay, and I wondered if I would see them tomorrow.  I reminded myself that I needed to get to the capital first.  After a while, I drifted off to sleep.

Sometime in the night, I awoke.  I sat up and
listened; trying to figure out what it was that had bothered my subconscious enough that it had awakened me.  After concentrating for about ten minutes, I rearranged my weapons a little and went back to sleep.

In the morning, I unpacked and repacked my bag, taking a minute to burn off any zombie residue from my blades and sword.  I even roasted the sheaths a little to make sure there wasn’t any of the virus lurking around where it didn’t belong.

Finally, I geared up and left, closing the place up as tightly as I had found it.  As I was leaving, I glanced down at the grass by the rear window.  Superimposed over my own footprint was another, slightly larger. 

I scowled as the implications hit me.  Someone had been here last night.  They had approached the house and looked in.  I checked the ground carefully, trying to find other tracks, but it was as if they had floated in, looked in the window,
and then floated away.  A chill crept into down my neck and I wondered again about the ghosts that haunted all over these parts.   I checked the loads on my rifle and pistol and headed west.

Chapter 39

A half day later, I was at the outskirts of the capital on the southern side.  I was slightly amused at my course of travel.  It took me past my father’s old subdivision, past the business building where he had a base for a time, past the house where he discovered he wasn’t alone in the world, and over the ditch, Uncle Charlie had dug so many years ago as a defense against the hordes.  He’d probably shake his head at the irony of it all. 

I walked down the hills, hea
ding for the hotel on the riverfront.  I didn’t want anything more than a place to lie down, a hot shower, and a good meal.  Check that, if Julia was in town, I wanted something else, first.

At the hotel, the manager recognized me and found me a room right away.  I asked if any of my companions were here and he said he hadn’t seen anyone. Unconcerned, I went to my room and took a good shower, cleaning off the fights of the previous days.  I changed into clean clothes and sent my old clothes to be washed. For lack of a good reason not to, I put all my gear back on and went down to the street to get something to eat.

I wasn’t interested in anything heavy, just a sandwich or something.  I wandered down to the vendors and grabbed a chicken sandwich.  Sitting on the edge of the main pier, I ate and contemplated what I had learned over the previous days.  Obviously, Ben was still gunning for me, and was willing to cause another apocalypse to get it done.  I didn’t know where that was going to take me, but I knew for sure I had to do something soon.  I had been playing defense long enough, and I hoped the hanging men were enough deterrence for the rest of his crew.

I was lost enough in my thoughts that it took a while for it to register in my head that there was something wrong in my vicinity.  I looked to the left and saw there was no one walking along the river, even though it was a warm evening and the sun was starting to send multicolored shafts across a darkening sky.  On my
right, it was the same thing.  I began to get that old familiar felling, and it was telling me one thing, and one thing only.

Move.

I wadded up the paper that held my sandwich and tossed it in the air above my head.  As I did that, I slipped off the pier and onto the grassy, sandy land that led to the actual water of the canal.  I knew that whoever was behind me would be distracted by the sight of something white sailing over my head, and when they refocused on me, I’d be gone.  It was a neat little trick Jake taught me a while ago, and it worked well most of the time.

Today was one of those times.  I ducked under the pier and ran quickly under the walkway before grabbing a support beam and bodily lifting myself up into the small space between the floor planks and the support joists.  Anyone looking for me would have a tough time of it.  On the other hand, if they found me, I had two options.  Surrender, or die fighting.  I wasn’t fond of either, but here I was.

My efforts were not wasted.  Above me, I heard the thump of several booted feet and a few exclamations of surprise.

“What the hell?  He just disappeared!”

“Get over the side. He had to have dropped off down there!”

“Shit.  Did you see he was fully armed?”

“Just get going.  We’ll call your mamma if you die.”

A large man dropped into view, landing heavily on his feet.  He was armed in the fashion of the president’s bodyguards, and I was curious as to why he was calling.  He looked around, heading out a bit into the grass,
and then came back.  While he was out in the weeds, I got out of my hidey-hole and waited for him to return.

“Captain! Captain!”  The man called out.

“Speak up.”

“He’s not out in the grass, sir.”

I took that moment to step out from the pillar I was hiding behind.  I leveled a pistol at the man as his eyes got huge.  I motioned for him to keep talking to his officer.

“Sir!”  The man called again.

“Give me something, soldier,” the officer in charge yelled.  His voice was a little strained, as if a simple operation suddenly had become quite complicated.

“I found the man,
sir,” the soldier said.

Suddenly,
the Captain was all ears.  “Really, are you sure?”

“Yessir!  He’s under the walkway pointing a really big gun right at me!”

The captain immediately changed his tune.  “Mr. Talon?  We’ve been ordered by the president to escort you to his home.  Please don’t do anything rash.”

“What’s this about? 
Normally, he just sends a runner with a message.”  I was very curious about the escort.  Either something serious was happening or I was in some very deep shit.

“He’ll have to explain that to you, sir.  Please come with us.”  The captain was being very polite, and I figured I hadn’t done anything lately.

“Be right there.”  I holstered my weapon, much to the relief of the guard in the grass.  I walked over to one of the numerous ladders along the river walk and climbed up.