Dan sat up when he heard the news about a tractor. “If you guys have some way of moving of these sheds, I would arrange them in a circle around the fire.”
“That’s a good idea,” Travis said. “My shed is in the right place.” He pointed toward the largest one, which was facing the fire. “But that would better to have all of them facing each other. Then everyone could be better guarded.”
“Not only that,” Max added. “The fire would be less visible and more likely to keep everyone warm at night.”
Dan nodded. “So why don’t you move them?”
Nobody answered, but Dan knew. Melanie had probably come up with some reason why they couldn’t move anything. Whatever that reason was, he didn’t know, but it was probably something stupid and pointless. He didn’t know her, but was starting to get a sense of what kind of person she was; just a control freak with an inferiority complex. He knew the type.
“I am beyond tired,” Max said, breaking the silence. “I did my watch, I need to turn in.”
“I’ll take next,” Eric said.
“Dan, Drew,” Travis said. “I’ll grab you some blankets and sleeping bags for the night. We can search for some cots tomorrow.”
Dan stood, shaking Travis’ hand. “Thanks, man.”
Travis stared him in the eye, seeming to take on a more relaxed and happy stance. “It’s good to have you,” he said. “We need more skilled people.”
After laying out a large pile of sleeping bags, blankets, and other things from the Hummer, Dan and Drew lay quietly in the shadows of the shed. There was only the flickering light of the fire outside, and the small amounts of warmth that came with it. Dan had taken a few Vicodin, and was beginning to feel the comfort of it as he stared up at the wooden ceiling.
“So,” Drew said. “What do you think?”
“They seem like good people,” Dan said. “Most of them anyway.”
“Yeah. I’m not real sure about this place, though.”
“Me neither,” Dan agreed. “I don’t think they know about the other things out there. The shamblers and stuff probably can’t get through, but the Stalkers and whatever else we haven’t seen yet…”
“Right,” Drew said. “Those fences aren’t very secure against anything that can jump. And those fuckers could jump. Hell, even the coyote things could climb.”
“Well, if what the preacher said was true, maybe all of those things are dying.”
Drew snickered. “Probably not. How the hell would he know, anyway? I doubt he’s even left that church since the shit hit the fan.”
He was probably right. There was plenty of canned food there in the church, and likely tons of water. If those people—Mason’s people—had taken over the town when the shit happened, he was probably locked in there. Or, more likely, he locked himself in there. There was no way he could really know anything, which made Dan wonder how he knew about the Stalkers in the first place.
“Tomorrow we should show Max the Apocalypse Compendium,” Drew said. “I bet he has some kind of reference guide, too. Most genius types do.”
“Did he seem kind of weird to you?”
“Maybe a little,” Drew replied, his voice getting quieter as he drifted off. “But no weirder than any one of us.”
Dan awoke freezing. He was bundled up tightly in his sleeping bag, but still the chill bit at him like a thousand bullet wounds. His teeth chattered and his toes were numb, making it all much worse. Drew was gone, and the door to the shed was open as it had been left the night before.
Hesitantly, he sat up, pulling on his hoodie and boots, and went outside. The others were hunched around the fire, waiting for a pot to boil so they could make coffee. He looked over at the Hummer. Drew was in there, rustling around, looking for something. Dan ignored him, going to the fire to crouch around it like the rest of them.
“Mornin’ Dan,” Travis said. “Cop a squat and get some flames on those fingers.”
“Jesus Christ it’s cold,” Dan said, taking a space between Travis and Max.
“Cold as a mother fucker,” Cliff said. “But this coffee’s almost ready.”
Eric handed him a cup from across the fire. “Once the water’s done, you’ll get the jug.”
“The jug?” Dan repeated.
Eric held up a jug of instant coffee; something generic and unrecognizable.
“Mmm,” Dan said. “Prison brand.”
“Hell yes,” Cliff joked. “It’ll put some hair on your ass.”
“I have enough hair on my ass,” Dan replied.
He looked up at the kid, Toby, who stared at him from across the fire. Toby was grinning strangely. Dan winked, flashing a crooked grin himself.
“Where did you come from?” Toby asked.
“The road. Me and Drew have been out there for a while.”
Lena grabbed the pot of water, pouring a portion of it in everybody’s cup. She looked up at Dan as she hung it back on the hook that was suspended above the flames.
“Travis said you were from Martinsville,” she said.
“Outside of it,” Dan replied, taking the jug of instant coffee when it was his turn. “To the south, right between Martinsville and Bloomington.”
“By the State Forest?” Lena asked.
Dan nodded.
“I know some people out in that area. Did you know Dennis Langley?”
“Yeah,” Dan said, taking a sip of his coffee. “He didn’t make it.”
Lena hung her head, pursing her lips. “I didn’t think so,” she said. “He and his wife were both sick already.”
“He was a good guy,” Dan said. “We made sure they didn’t get eaten, though.”
“Did you burn his house down?”
Dan nodded. Lena smiled sadly. “Good,” she said. “Thank you.”
Max cleared his throat. Dan hadn’t gotten a good look at him before, but could now see that he was slightly overweight, sporting a boyish face with equally boyish brown bangs. He had a look about him, though; one that wasn’t plastered on by thousands of hours of gaming as he would have suspected.
Lena was pretty. She was obviously older, about forty nine or fifty from the age of her kid. Still, she had a nice face, despite the presence of a few age lines and some gray hair. What stood out were her eyes; green and emerald-like.
Travis appeared just as he did the night before; a giant Jerry Garcia with the same hair, beard, and glasses the dead rock star always wore. Eric was the same size, with a reddish beard and short messy hair. He had a kind face that was freckled and slightly red from the sun.
It was an interesting group.
“So you have guns?” Lena asked.
Dan sipped his coffee again. “Yeah. Quite a few. Do you know how to use one?”
Lena shook her head. “No,” she said. “But I can learn. I need to protect my son, and myself.”
“I hope I can change that attitude,” Dan said. “I mean, since you’re a group, you have to protect each other.”
Lena nodded. “Yeah.”
“It’s not always easy to look out for everyone else,” Travis said. “Especially when there is someone nobody trusts, and who trusts no one else.”
“
Goddamnit!”
Drew cursed from the Hummer.
Dan stood, going over to him. Travis followed.
“Fucking shit,” Drew said, throwing things around in the back seat.
“What’s wrong?” Dan asked.
“The fucking drugs are all gone,” Drew cursed. “I needed a speeder, but they’re all gone.”
Travis sighed, turning his head toward Melanie’s office building. “I figured this would happen.”
Dan’s anger swelled. Nobody fucking takes their shit. He balled his fists, stomping his way to her door. He banged on it as hard as he could, continuously. After a minute or so, she tore the door open, her eyes blazing, and her brow turned down like an angry hag.
“
What!?”
she snorted.
Dan pushed her out of the way, shoving the door and storming past her. She grabbed his arm, and the dog growled and barked. Dan kicked it out of the way, twisting his arm to break loose of Melanie’s grip. He then grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the door.
“
Don’t fucking touch me!”
she hissed.
He grabbed her throat, slamming her against the door. “Where the fuck is our medicine stash?” he asked, calmly.
She tore loose, smacking his hands out of the way. “
I
will keep all the medicine,” she proclaimed. “And I want all of your guns locked away in here, too. This is
my
group, not yours. I make the rules. If you don’t like it, then get out.”
Dan narrowed his eyes, slowly leaning in closer. “I asked you a question,” he whispered. “Where. The. Fuck. Is. Our. Shit.”
“Melanie,” Travis reasoned, “we need the medicine accessible. Just in case someone needs it. I am the doctor, not you.”
She turned to him with an insulted look. “I will dispense it,” she said. “I was a pharmacist.”
“You were a pharmacy
tech,
” Travis said. “You filled bottles. It doesn’t give you the knowledge or authority to control the meds. They belong to Dan and Drew, but they were nice enough to make them available when they are needed.”
Melanie scoffed. “They probably stole them, just like everything else.”
“Look, bitch,” Dan said. “Give me the fucking case back. Now.”
“Everything is stolen nowadays,” Travis reminded her. “Just give them back.”
“I don’t want people popping pills all the time,” she said.
“Nobody’s popping pills,” Travis said. “And if they did, who cares?”
She stared at him for a moment, her breathing becoming heavier and angrier, but she relented.
“Fine,” she said, turning and disappearing into the main area.
Dan shot Travis a quick look. The man folded his arms across his chest, shaking his head.
Melanie returned shortly, dangling the case from its strap. She tossed it at him angrily. “There’s your fucking drugs, asshole.”
Dan glared at her. She turned and stomped away slamming the door behind her, leaving them in the foyer. Drew snorted, walking away.
“As soon as you’re ready to go,” Melanie shouted from behind the door, “I want you both out of here.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Dan said, walking out.
“What a cunt,” Drew said, he and Travis following Dan back to the fire.
“What was that about?” Eric asked.
Travis shook his head. “The usual,” he said. “Come on, Dan. Let’s see what you got and we’ll decide what else we need.”
Toby ran over to Dan, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. “Will you stay here with us?” he asked. “We need more people to fight the monsters.”
Dan chuckled, ruffling his hair. “We’ll see,” he said.
He gave Lena a quick look. She was smiling at Toby. “We’ll see.”
“You have a lot of controlled substances,” Travis said. “But I guess nobody’s really controlling them anymore.”
Dan smiled. “Just me, I guess.”
They sat in Travis’ shed. It was large, clean, and sported Travis’ bed on one side, and his medical instruments on the other.
“Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Tramadol, Adderall. Jesus, you got a fucking cartel stash here.”
“Something for everybody.”
“You don’t have many antibiotics, though,” Travis said. “We need some of those. You never know when someone’s gonna get an infection.”
“Speaking of infections,” Dan began, “what do you know about this shit?”
Travis shook his head. “Not much,” he said. “The last I heard was something about a virus. It did different things do different lifeforms, depending on their physiology. I’m not sure what to make of it.”
“Well, we met a preacher who mentioned that he thought the dead themselves were coming back to life.”
Travis laughed. “We both know that’s not possible,” he said. “But there is something to it. Obviously, the dead people weren’t really dead. Whatever the infection is just made them look dead—most of them anyway. It must have been lying dormant for all these months and then now came awake again.”
“We ran across a horde of rotters on the highway,” Dan mentioned. “They weren’t the usual infected. No mold, no growths, or mutations. They were just decomposed.”
“What else have you seen out there?”
“Things,” Dan said. “Monsters. Animals. Even weirder shit.”
He didn’t mention the shadow people, nor the Robert creature for that matter. It was just too bizarre of a story, all of it.
“I saw something new the other day,” Travis said. “It was standing off in the distance. It was just pale, thin, and doing nothing but standing there. I’m not sure what it was.”
Dan nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “We saw one of those last night. I’ve never seen one before, either.”
Travis produced a small pipe from his desk. He held it up as if to offer Dan a pull from it. Dan shook his head. Instead, he lit a cigarette.
“That shit’ll kill ya,” Travis said, lighting up the bowl and taking a big hit, then choked out the words, “
This is the stuff.”
“Drew has plenty of that, too,” Dan said.
Travis blew out the smoke. It was pungent and pleasant, but not Dan’s style.
“It’s what the doctor ordered,” Travis joked. “Been smoking it since I was fifteen.”
“What’s Eric’s story?” Dan wondered.
Travis shrugged. “He’s always been a good kid,” Travis said. “But he’s quiet. His wife left him a few years ago, and he’s been even quieter ever since.”
“Why did she leave?”
Travis set his pipe down on the desk. “Complete lack of drama, probably. Eric’s too submissive. He’s too easily controlled by aggressive women.”
“Aren’t we all?” Dan joked… not really joking.
Travis slid Dan the bottle of Adderall. “We don’t really need this, I don’t think,” he said. “But what kind of guns do you have?”
“Just about everything,” Dan replied. “What do you like?”
“Well,” Travis began, “what we need is to go hunting. All we have are small arms, really. Nothing big enough to take down anything larger than a coon. It’s been a while since we’ve had any meat that doesn’t come out of a can.”
“There are a few good bolt-action rifles in the Hummer,” Dan said, pocketing the Adderall. “Drew and I can go hunting today. I’m pretty good with a sniper rifle.”
“I’d use something a little quieter around here, just so you don’t attract any unwanted attention. Take Eric. He doesn’t like guns, but don’t let him fool you. He can shoot. I haven’t seen many deer. But if you can bag one, I’ll clean it. I’ll even share the backstraps with you.” He grinned widely.
Dan liked Travis.
“So what kind of shit were you into?” Drew asked Max as the two of them sorted through the Hummer’s stash.
“Mostly the darker comic books,” Max replied. “Spawn, The Punisher, Hellraiser; basically anything featuring large amounts of violence and breasts.”
Drew chuckled. “Titties and gore,” he said. “That’s my style. Any video games?”
“Of course,” Max said, as if it were a stupid question. “Grand Theft Auto—San Andreas, Vice City, and the big number five, Silent Hill, Call of Duty, Battlefield; basically anything with violence or breasts.”
Drew burst out laughing. Max seemed like a pretty cool guy. He could see himself hanging out with him in the real world, despite the fact that he was a little less social and a lot more awkward than most of his friends.
“Well,” Drew said. “We can supply the violence you crave. But as far as the breasts, you’re on your own there.”
Max smiled, somewhat. “I’ve seen a few,” he said. “Not any spectacularly large and bouncy ones, mind you, but breasts nonetheless.”
“I prefer the small, perky ones.”
Max nodded, sticking out his bottom lip. “I think I would prefer those as well. All the ones I’ve seen were akin to an elephant’s scotum. Not my proverbial cup of tea.”
Drew found what he was looking for; an MP5, a nice and medium-sized 9mm shit spewer that Max would probably enjoy using. He pulled it out of the pile, holding it up for Max to see.
“Ah,” Max said, wide-eyed. “Heckler and Koch MP5 9mm with retractable stock and early handguard. That’s some fine German engineering right there. I see it has a nice suppressor on it, too.”