walkers the survivors (9 page)

    
Sarah and George pulled that wagon all over the campgrounds.  We loaded up on stuff and had to make four trips back to the cabin to unload it all.  Soon we filled the wagon with walker and had to got the ravine to empty it. He wasn't kidding about the ravine, it was deep.  I looked once and saw all the bodies, some still moving and refused to look any more.  We backed the wagon up to it, tipped it up and the bodies rolled out.  I knew I'd found another scene for my nightmares. 

    
By the time we were done it was lunchtime.  Sarah found a couple of cans of cooked chicken and made chicken and noodles and some homemade bread.  We didn't wait for the guys to come back cause we didn't know how long it'd take them.  Sally didn't seem worried so we didn't figure to worry about it much either.  As long as they'd been there I figured Pete had cleaned out the walkers from most of the cabins and houses in the area so it would be a recovery mission more than anything.

    
Mercy was trying to put the kids down for a nap but it wasn't easy.  They wanted to play, so out of frustration, we left them alone.  Soon, it got quiet and when we peeked inside we saw the girls piled up in the bed with Bubba right in the middle.  We sat around the big table in the dining room talking about nothing in particular when we heard a loud explosion.

    
"Oh, for heavens sake, now what?"   I said, running to the front porch.  I could see dust rising in the direction of the cliff dwellings and reached for my guns, strapping them on as I ran in the direction of the caves.  I heard  Sam, Lacy and Sandy close on my heels as we ran past the ravine.  Skidding around a large boulder we ran into Mason and Flynn loaded down with weapons.

    
"What the hell?"

    
"Hey, ladies, I figured you heard the explosion.  Pete had a surprise rigged up for trespassers but we got most of the stuff out before it went off.  I think he was paranoid and rigged the place for walkers.  Like they'd steal anything."  We just stood there open mouthed as they paraded by, Randy, Howard, Riley and Joe following behind all loaded with weapons.  "Clint will be along with a pick up truck full of stuff in a bit."  Bobby tagged behind looking like he'd been in a dust bowl with a rifle on his shoulder grinning like a cat in cream.

    
"That was sure a big kaboom, wasn't it?  Old Pete set a timer on it and it was way off, or it would have blown up yesterday.  Whew whee, I'm sure hungry."  He kept going, so we turned and went in their direction, excess adrenalin making my legs weak.

    
When we got to the big cabin, the guys had unloaded their weapons cache on a table in the corner.  Pete had been busy collecting guns and ammo from the looks of it.

    
"This isn't all that bastard took, he had boxes of jewelry, paintings, artwork, fancy coats, statues and drugs.  I don't know what he planned to do with all that stuff since it wasn't going to feed or protect him.  I left the other stuff there since it won't do us any good. Ah, there's Clint now."

    
We went out and met Clint driving a new extended cab pickup the prettiest cherry red you've ever seen.  The bed was full of stuff, including carpet, bedding and pillows.  I think we have enough of that for now.  The carpet would make the floors warmer in the cabin and a lot of pillows never hurt anything.

    
Bobby came out with hair dripping to watch the proceedings. "Boy, that Sarah sure likes baths.  I ain't been this clean since I was a baby."  He was barefoot again and I realized we'd have a Huckleberry Finn on our hands if we didn't do something soon.

    
"Yeah, tough when people care about ya, huh?"

    
He smiled real big, "Oh, it ain't so bad.  I guess it's in her jeans.  At least that's what my mama always said."  I thought about that for a minute and laughed. He meant genes not jeans and I thought he may be right.  Too prove it Sarah stepped out on the porch and said, "You all might as well go down to those springs and bathe before supper.  I'll get ya some towels."

    
"My mama said something else I thought was weird.  She said, 'I rest my case.'"  With that he went back inside and we all laughed.

             
                                                       
CHAPTER 9

    
We watched as the 'guys' made plans for the trip tomorrow.  Bobby was helping by telling them where the different stores were while Mason looked their location up in the phone book.   Every once in a while, Bobby would stand up and gesture wildly about something, then he'd sit back down to point at the map again.  We were sitting around the large dining room table watching the whole thing with amusement. 

    
I wouldn't be going but I didn't mind.  I was still tired from the trip so they could go without me but I'd be ready to go on the next trip.  Sally was drawing a 'pit-sure' for her Bobby with markers Sarah found in the office.  We had plans for the 'pit-sure' she was drawing for her Bobby. Lacy came in with a handful of branches and when Bobby looked up to see what was going on Randy distracted him again. 

    
Lacy slipped out with the picture hidden in her shirt about the time the guys announced they had everything ready for the next day.  We thanked Bobby for the help and then slowly walked him to the Dukemobile, giving Lacy time to put the picture on the wall.  Stopping in front of his parents camper, I asked Bobby if he wanted to sleep in it  since it was basically his.  "No ma'am, if I had wanted to I would've done it already but I don't ever want to go in there again.  I'd appreciate it if you and Mason took it.  You need something to sleep in other than the truck.  Ma and Pa didn't die in there or any thing so it's ok."

    
I thanked him for the camper then we walked him over to the Dukemobile telling him that we wanted to show him the new room we made.  Lacy nodded at me to let me know she had done her thing so we led him inside.  He loved the Dukemobile and spent every waking minute there asking non stop questions about everything, so he was eager to step inside. It was when we ushered him to the back that he got suspicious.  I slid the door open and waited for him to enter.  He just stood there with his mouth hanging open.

    
The quilt that was on his parents bed was folded  across the end of the bed.  A replica of the Space shuttle hung from one corner of the room with fishing line, while the other corner held several shelves with small cars and trucks, all taken from his camper.  On the table next to the bed was a framed picture of him and his parents on  a beach somewhere and on the wall next to it was Sally's picture.  It was a small hand outlined with purple ink and inside the hand were two stick people holding hands and the words 'Bobby' over the taller stick person, 'Sally' over the shorter person.  Little red hearts were drawn all over the rest of the picture.  The frame was small branches glued together with a red hearts taped over each corner.

    
"That's my pit-sure I drawed for you Bobby." Sally said pointing to it.  "Do you like it?"

    
Bobby, who hadn't taken his eyes from the picture near his bed turned and looked at Sally with eyes shining, and in a voice that shook with emotion he whispered, "It's the greatest picture I ever saw, Sally.  Thank you."  She turned and looked at us, bent over as she put her hand next to her mouth and loudly whispered, "I knew he'd like it cause he likes me."  Then she ran to the front of the RV.  Bobby stood next to the other picture and slowly reached out to touch it, running his finger gently over the face of his mother.  His shoulders were slumped and his head bent but he managed to say, "I thank you, with all my heart." his voice hitching a bit at the end.   I looked at everyone else and we all had tears in our eyes.

    
"You won't ever be alone, Bobby, unless you want to be.  Duke will man the controls during the day and Flynn at night so there'd be someone here all the time.  So if you want to be alone all you have to do is close the door.  The bathroom is yours too and if you get lonely just come out and sleep on the couch if you want."  Flynn nodded his agreement because he probably didn't trust himself to talk right then either.  "Well, we'll just leave you alone so you can get ready for bed.  Goodnight, Bobby."

    
He didn't say anything as we left.  We were a quiet bunch as we walked to the cabin.  My throat was so clogged I couldn't swallow.  I hadn't realized it would affect me that way and was relieved I wasn't alone.   Mason and I decided not to sleep in the camper that night, since I needed to do some things to it first, like reinforce the door, paint the bottom of the windows etc.  So we slept in the trucks' bunk again, waking early for the big day.

    
Guys being guys they were ready and biting at the bit to be gone.  They'd take the semi leaving the trailer behind, all of them riding in the bunk.  Then they planned to return with  several trucks and trailers loaded with supplies.  I figured they'd be gone all day so we stood and waved at them until they disappeared around the entrance to the valley.  Duke stayed behind along with Howard and Joe to keep an eye on the rest of us.  Duke wanted some of the solar panels on the houses in the area removed and brought to the cabin so Joe and Howard would be busy most of the day.

    
I'd go with the guys to the houses to see what supplies and food stuffs were available and bring back what I could find with Clint's fancy truck.  I helped them to dismantle some of panels after making two trips with the truck of mostly dry goods like paper products and laundry soap.  Bobby elected to help me that day.  Before we entered the first house I showed him how to beat on the door and listen for noises from the inside. Then stand to one side and shoot whatever comes out.  You did that with pantry's, closets and garages.

   
It was while we were struggling to put a baby bed in the bed of the almost full truck when Bobby asked, "Does it bother you?"  Not wanting to answer that loaded question until it was clarified, I asked "What?"  Closing the bed of the truck I leaned against the hot tailgate.  "Going into peoples house and taking stuff.  Does it bother you?"  Oh.  "Oh, that.  Yeah, it did at first cause I was raised not to steal, but then I got to thinking that the owner might want the stuff to be of use rather than to go to ruin from disuse and it got easier to do it.  I still think about it when I enter someone's house like this one, and I say thank you when I leave to make myself feel better."  He looked at the house and nodded.  I quickly grabbed the can of spray paint and painted a giant X over the door so we'd know the house had been searched.

    
We were sitting in the truck and drinking some water, when Bobby said, "Pete didn't seem to care about the stealing cause he was taking stuff that was worthless, like booze.  I took some stuff too and felt bad cause ma told me I would go to hell for stealing."

    
"This isn't stealing, Bobby."

    
"Why?"

    
"Stealing is taking something of value from someone who needs it.  This stuff is of no value to anyone but us.  The people this stuff belonged to is either dead or wish they were.  They don't care anymore."

    
"How do you know they don't care."  Wow, tough kid.

    
"I don't and if they come back and find the stuff gone and want it back, I'll load it up and bring it back with a bunch of apologies.  Till, then I'm not going to loose any sleep over it."

    
He seemed to think about it while I drove the mile or so back to the cabin.  When we arrived he said  "Me either."  And that was the end of that. 

    
We'd put a lot of the things in the garages of the places so we could get to them easily.  Locking the rest of the house to insure no walkers got back inside.  Three houses lost their solar panels that day and Duke helped to direct the placement of them on the cabin. 

    
The Dukemobile along with the other campers were moved closer to the cabin.  Duke had an idea about how to route hot water from the springs through some pipes into each camper, generating heat.  It was just a bunch of gibberish to me so I ignored most of it.  He wanted to put some solar panels on the roofs to add more power to the cabin. I was getting worried about all the power he was wanting.  I mean, a few lights and the Dukemobile along with the cabin was bout it, right?  He wanted panels on the wash house too so we could have a washer and dryer handy.  I think he was just power hungry but that I could be wrong. 

    
I'd found some boards and reinforced the camper door then painted the lower windows and after finally getting the tip out out where it belonged I braced it so it wouldn't sag.  After cleaning and transferring our stuff from the truck . I was ready to make the place my own for the next eight or nine months.

    
After a nice lunch, we went back at it again.  I left the ladies to put up the baby bed and some curtains while Bobby and I hit the next house.  I let him lead the way this time and after pounding on the door extremely hard and hearing no noise, he quietly opened the door and jumped back beside the house to wait for...whatever.  I nodded at him and he crouched low before entering the house.  It was dark because someone had closed all the blinds and curtains, so that was the first order of business.

    
When the front room was cleared, including the coat closet, Bobby headed to the kitchen and I caught him with his hand on the fridge door. "Stop."  He did.  "First check to make sure the electricity is on, then open the door slowly."  He frowned at me then at the fridge. "The stuff in the fridge probably went bad a year ago, Bobby, so you really do not want to open that door.  If the electricity is on then the freezer is you best bet.  But as a general rule, the fridge is history and will only stink up the place to the point of you finding your gag reflex and believe me you don't want to know about that."  He slowly removed his hand, like any fast movement might  mysteriously open the door, then placed his palm on the front of the door.  Shaking his head, he backed slowly from the door like it would attack him.  I smiled and started opening cabinets.

    
I watched from the corner of my eyes as he knocked on the pantry door, then put his ear it, then knocked again.  When he was satisfied, he slowly opened the door then jumped back, ax raised when the broom that had been leaning against the door inside forced the door open almost hitting him in the face.  He glanced at me to see if I was looking, while I continued to put cans of baby formula in my box, then he picked up the broom, set it aside and started to the next door which looked like it went to the basement.

    
"Hang on, always do things in pairs if you can.  Let me get into position."  I stood in font of the with my crossbow and nodded to him.  He proceeded to beat the hell out of the door then looked at me and shrugged.  I nodded to open the door and just as he reached out to grasp the doorknob, a shot rang out.  My arm felt like it had molten lava running through it as I staggered back, unsure for a moment what had occurred.  My ears were ringing like crazy.  The bow was now laying on the floor, my arm useless as I leaned against the stove fighting nausea.

    
Bobby grabbed the bow and as the door slowly opened he aimed it.  Both of us were breathing like we'd run a race, fear immobilizing both of us but I think the pain is what had me stuck to the stove like week old grease.  A noise from the front room had me spinning around only to see Joe, yea, sneaking up on us.  Bobby pointed at the door, Joe nodded and pulled out his gun.  Grabbing a clean tea towel from the fridge door handle, he handed it to me, while continuing to the door.  He looked at Bobby but said nothing so I guess it was ok that he was standing there with a crossbow shaking like crazy.

     
I folded the towel and pressed it to my upper arm.  Ow! Ow! Ow!  I heard another noise and saw Howard sneak around the corner when he saw the blood.  He tried to lead me from the room but I was stubborn and wanted to see who shot me.  He sighed, let go of me and pointed to the dining room table giving me the evil eye. Dammit!

    
"Wait!  Don't shoot, it's Mikey."  said a muffled voice from the other side of the door.  I'm not sure who he was talking to, neither did Joe evidently cause he pointed his gun at the ceiling when Bobby yelled.  "Bobby?"  I heard a small voice coming from the darkness of the basement. "Yeah, it's me Mikey.  Come on out and meet my friends.  They won't hurt ya." 

    
I was starting to see stars and the room started to spin about the time I heard Joe say, "JD, are you all right?" from about a million miles away and then nothing.

    
I woke up on Howard's lap with a very tight something around my arm.  "Ow!" I said and his arm tightened around me.  "Hold on JD, we're almost to the cabin.  Joe will fix you right up."  I managed to say, "Goody can't wait" before the darkness swallowed me again. The next time I woke, Joe was cutting my arm off.  OK, maybe that's an exaggeration but it felt like it.  "Ow, dammit Joe."  as I tried to pull back from the pain, he pulled back. "I swear JD, you're like a child.  Hold still, and I'll be done here in just a minute.

    
JD?  What's wrong?  I'm on my way, baby.

    
I'm ok, just got myself shot in the arm by a baby.

    
Baby?  What the hell are you talking about?

    
Never mind, I'll be fine as soon as Joe gets through torturing me.

    
We'll be there in a few minutes, hang on.