Seeking Sanctuary (Walkers) (8 page)

             
There were several children.  I hate to see walker children, squealing and crying for food.  Even if it was me they wanted to eat.  I hated it even worse when I had to put them down, but it was the best thing anyone could do for them.  They're the ones I spent my last ammo on and then I missed one.  Have I mentioned how hard it is to hit someones head when you're looking down on it? 

             
I was out of ammo and Mason spent his.  We sat there like birds on a swing in a gilded cage.  I sent Lacy a message while I was running and she said help was on the way but the truck was clogged with dust and it'd be a few minutes.  Mason caught his breath and said, “Maybe I could lead them away.  I could run to the truck...”

             
“You leave me alone in this tree and I'll kick your ass.  We wait.”  He put his arm around me and we watched the herd below for a while, hoping help would come, hoping they'd get bored and wander away, hoping it was a dream.  It wasn't and I was tired of the whole thing.  I was thirsty, my ankle hurt, I was hotter than hell.  I was not much of a mighty, zombie killer any more.  I needed to buck up but I was tired, bone tired and wanted to go home.  When I realized what a whiner I was,  I reluctantly told Mason to do it.

            I watched as the walkers dropped like flies the allowed Mason to help me back to the camper.  Now I was enjoying my second bottle of tea and feeling the sweat congeal on my skin from the cool air conditioning, thinking I needed a shower. 

              A knock sounded on the door, so I came out of the bunk and let Clint in.  “We found a cache of weapons in that barn that would make an Army general lick his lips.  They must have been saving them for something.”  He took the offered bottle of water, then wiped the sweat from his brow.  “There's something for everyone so Riley and Randy has gone looking for a truck and trailer to haul them with.  We just can't leave them.”

             
I nodded at him and took his offer of help to go back to Lacy and Randy's camper.  It seemed we'd spend the night here, loading the weapons.  Mason and Howard used the tanker to fill up everyone's fuel tanks while we waited.  Flynn, Joe and Clint decided to see if there were any rabbits in the vicinity while the rest of us tried to stay cool.  We tried to part the outfits in the shade of the buildings but had to move them as the shade moved.  Still it worked out somehow.  The kids ran all over the place in sight of the rest of us, heavily armed and watchful.  I was dreaming of the time when we could let them run and not have to worry about keeping a watch out.  From what Ken has told us, the new place was that kind of home.

             
He'd taken pictures and drawn a map of the place and it was beautiful.  I so missed the mountains of Montana in the spring.  Wild flowers grew everywhere, the sky is the prettiest blue you've ever seen and the air fresh and clean. It wasn't unusual to see bald eagles, elk and deer in the middle of the day and the snow melt running in the creeks so cold and sweet it made your eyes cross.  It sure beat this unbearable heat of the south.

   
I had no idea where we were.  I had hoped we'd gotten out of New Mexico and into Colorado just because it put us a state closer to our destination.  But my luck had been running crappy lately and I figured if anything we were in Mexico.

             
Giving that some thought sent me in search of the maps.  Sarah shook her head at me for limping along in the heat, but I just smiled, waved and in general ignored her. I was studying said maps when the men returned with several rabbits and a few pheasants.  Since Nevada was the oldest of the kids, she helped Sarah in the kitchen of the Dukemobile making biscuits from the sound of it.  Bobby and Kevin sat on the observation deck back to back keeping watch.

             
A tarp had been strung between the vehicles for shade, where Jill sat nursing Tony, Lacy was reading, Howard and Sam were talking transmissions and George and Riley were quietly talking.  I didn't see Joe and Sandy but I knew they were busy somewhere, they always were.  I also didn't see the Monster but figured Mikey kept a tight rein on him and he'd show up when I least wanted him to. 

             
I finally figured out we were in southern Colorado, heading north.  I can't begin to describe how happy that made me.  If we kept up this pace we should be able to spend tomorrow night somewhere cooler.  Ken entered my mind then and announced his impending arrival at the same time the boys above did.  He'd found a small airfield close by and was using the fuel shamelessly.  He said he was almost disappointed it had no hippo.  He slipped the image of the hippo eating in the fenced in area we had spent the night in.  I smiled and relayed the image to George, Lacy and Mason.  I don't know why but that hippo bugged the hell out of Ken. I might ask him about that later.

             
We had several pheasants roasting on the fire when the guys returned with a truck to haul the weapons.  The smell was wonderful so it didn't take long for the truck to be loaded and dinner eaten.  We decided to stay the night and security was set up while Joe wrapped my aching ankle.   “You've got to rest this foot, JD. It'll keep getting worse if you don't.  You can sit a few of these adventures out for a change. The guys can handle them without you.”  I started to make a comment but Mason gave me the 'look'.  I wasn't going to say anything bad but I guess what I had to say wouldn't have made any difference anyway so I shrugged it off and settled against the back of the seat.  I grinned at Mason, patted Joe on the shoulder and sipped from my bottle.  We'll just have to wait and see.

             
“Keep it elevated as much as possible and try to stay off it for a couple of days.  If you need anything for pain, I have some Tylenol but I don't want to give you anything stronger unless absolutely necessary.”

             
“Okay, Joe, I'll be a good girl.”

             
“I'll just bring you your dinner so you won't have to walk on that foot.”  Mason said.  I just shook my head and thought about tomorrow and how much closer we were to home.  I had had enough of zombie hunting for a few days.

             
The next day was a breeze although I was keyed up just waiting for something awful to happen.  Call me paranoid. I couldn't believe the luck we had.  Before we knew it we were in Wyoming, driving hell bent down the road.  Occasionally we'd see or hear Kens plane but otherwise we just drove.  Except for when we stopped to eat or fuel up or take care of other business.  Bodily functions continued regardless of the danger.  We had more kids to contend with so that was a lesson we seemed to have to learn every day.  It was late in the second trouble free day that the new set of problems presented themselves.  I was hoping we'd make it through two whole days but it wasn't meant to be.

             
Ken had been telling me about a settlement he saw from the air.  It was in a valley surrounded by tall mountains and almost inaccessible.  We thought good for them, I hope they do okay when someone shot Ken from the air.  Well, his plane was hit by a missile of some kind and I watched, horrified as his plane, wobbling and spitting and sputtering landed hard.  It bounced along the ground close to the road we were on, hopping over brush and barely missing trees and gullies before it hit something and flipped over.  The dust was choking and for several terrifying minutes I couldn't reach Ken by mind or see him in the debris.  I saw several people running his direction and started there myself but Mason grabbed my arm.

             
“You stay here.  Don't forget your foot.”  With that said he disappeared into the choking dust.

             
“Stay.  Sit.”  Like I'm a dog, I thought. I'll be damned if I was gonna sit here with a sprained ankle when Ken could be dead.

             
He's alive and bitching.
George thought back to me.  Okay, he wasn't dead.   I saw Clint run that direction with a backboard and that's when I decided to do something.  Anything at this point was better than waiting.

             
I put my throbbing foot down and climbed, (it was more like falling) down from the truck before hobbling over the med trailer to wait with Jill and Sarah.  Jill was pale but holding little Tony to her chest as she strained to see what was going on.  A scream from the wreck site made us all jump and we had to hold Jill back. 

             
“They'll be here soon, hon.  Just hold on bit more.  We'd just be in the way. Dammit.”  Sarah said. 

             
Nevada and Bobby was in control of the kids who knew something awful had happened. We waited forever (turned out to be about half an hour) before we saw them carrying the backboard back to the medical trailer.  Mason did a double take when he saw me, then scowled big time but he knew better than to say anything.  I ignored him to look at the bloody mess on the board before they hauled him inside followed closely by Sandy, Lacy and Jill still clutching Tony tightly to her chest.

             
After Mason got things settled inside he and the other men came outside to wait with the rest of us.

             
“He was shot down by someone at that settlement.  We need to set up security just in case they decide to pay us a visit.  I really don't want to loose those weapons we just picked up but I'd trade them for safe passage through this valley.  I won't give up the rest of the vehicles though.  Anyway, we need to keep a sharp eye out.”

             
I looked over at the Dukemobile and saw the roof raise.  The boys were already getting it set up for security.   A scream made me jump a foot in the air and I turned to look at the med trailer.  A pale, shaken Jill stepped out, stopped and looked around.  Sarah put her arm around her and led her to the a tree with little shade and sat her down on a chair someone had placed there.   Melody gave her a cool bottle of water, taking the sleeping baby,and lay him gently in the small travel seat pulling the blanket over him to block the sun.  Then we all waited with her to find out Kens fate.

             
A little over an hour later, Lacy came out and walked slowly to our little group.  Grim faced she explained Ken had been lucky he wasn't hurt anymore than he was.  His right arm was broken above the elbow and the scream we heard was Joe setting it before putting a cast on it.  He had several bad cuts that were being stitched and a dislocated shoulder.  They couldn't tell if there were any internal injuries but he was a mass of bruises.  A nice bump on the head had him in and out of consciousness so it was gonna be a while before they could determine anymore injuries.

             
We'd stay put the rest of the day although I was all for leaving the valley behind.  I didn't want to have a visit in the middle of the night but Ken didn't need to be moved so we waited.  Sarah cooked up a little something for the kids but I wasn't hungry.  Mason brought me something anyway and I managed to gag down a biscuit with fried Spam.  Did the stuff ever go bad?  What kind of shelf life does a can of Spam have anyway?  I was all for trading safe passage through this valley for a case of Spam.  Hmm, there's a thought.

                                                        `              Chapter 7

              Mason  had just settled me down in a chair under the tarp, stretched between two trucks, with a nice, hot cup of coffee when the shouting started.  I recognized the  Kens voice and figured he was feeling better.  Maybe better was not the right word but he was going to be ok if he was yelling, right?  I revised that thought when I heard Jill yelling back at him. 

             
I sighed and stared at the foot that was propped up on the stump Mason had lugged over for just that purpose.  I was supposed to keep it up.  I was supposed to stay off of it.  But I couldn't let that noise continue so I dragged my sore self out of that comfortable chair and headed for the medical trailer.  Mason caught up with me holding my coffee in one hand while I maneuvered myself and my crutches up the steps into the trailer.

             
Ken had been laying in a hammock.  It was going to be used to keep the bouncing around in the trailer to a minimum until we could tell whether or not he had internal injuries.  We needed to get out of the general area just in case the shitty folks who shot him down wanted to finish the job.  We needed to get out of here and was only delaying our departure because of Ken.  I sighed again.  Well hell.

             
Ken brightened up when he saw me.  “JD, tell Jill that I am fine and need to check my wings.”

             
“Nope, can't do it.  You look like hell, and your wings are history.  So, why all the yelling?”

             
“I need to check out the plane and...”  he gestured wildly behind him and when I looked I could see Joe sitting at a small desk drinking coffee.  He nodded my direction, then blew lightly into the cup before taking a sip.  I frowned then looked back at Ken, “Joe, says I'm in no condition to be climbing all over the crash site. Can you believe it?”

             
“Yep, cause, Ken, man  you look like shit.  The plane is history so just forget about it.”  I was looking for a place to sit cause my foot was starting to throb.  Jill started to get up and let me have her seat when I motioned her to sit back down.  “We can sit here and argue about it all day and that plane is still going to be history and you are still going to look like shit.”  Where do people sit in this place I thought? “ We need to leave before the people who shot you down decide to come after us and take everything we have.  So straighten up and fly right.” I saw Joe stifle a laugh at my use of the flying term and Jill suddenly got very busy also.

             
“Oh cute, JD,” see he was paying attention, “you tell Joe I'm ok.”

             
“Remember the other day when my ankle really hurt and Joe said I had to rest it or it would get worse?”  He started to say something but I continued.  “You said and I think this is a quote, 'Now, JD you just let Joe take care of you because he knows what he is doing'.  That is what you said, isn't it?”

             
He started to say something, stopped, started again, then all the air went out of him.  "I mean, you did say that and I agreed because Joe does know what he's doing.  You were in a plane crash, fool, a plane crash caused by a missile being shot at you and all you want to do is cause more problems.  Now, my foot really hurts, we've wasted more time on arguing with you than was necessary and we need to leave.  Now.  So Jill, get little Tony, please, and make yourself comfortable so we can get this show on the road.  I want to go home.”  I turned to leave the trailer meeting Mason at the door.  He picked me up and carried me to the truck, settled me in and gave me my coffee.  Then he smiled, kissed the tip of my nose and whispered, “You're my hero.”

             
We'd seen several flashes of light coming from the mountain where the attack originated which kept us constantly on alert. When we finally got on the road we made it out of the valley with no more mishaps that day.  Well, that's if you don't count the backtracking we were doing again.  Sometime around evening we found ourselves in Montana.  Finally.  I was beginning to wonder with all the set backs we'd been experiencing if we would ever make it back.

             
Ken had been in so much pain that Joe finally sedated him.  Actually it was Jill that suggested very strongly that he be sedated because he was still yelling at her about his precious plane. Jill had a general idea of how to get to the new place but we found a nice spot next to a creek, with plenty of shade and decided to wait for Ken to get a bit better before we continued on.  I was all for continuing on but as usual I was overruled.

             
I sat by the small river with my fishing pole propped up next to my ankle.  It was propped up on yet another stump and I was thoroughly enjoying the sun and slight breeze that danced through my hair.  The temps were pleasant, probably around 70 which was wonderful after the stifling heat of New Mexico.  Low humidity made my skin dry but I didn't care, I was almost home.

             
I heard humming next to me and looked to see several women lined up on the beach in various states of undress, sunbathing.  Kids were playing on the beach downriver a bit and Bubba and the Monster were playing fetch.  I don't know when Mikey taught him to throw a stick but it kept both dog and monkey entertained for hours.  My ankle had quit throbbing so I figured if I was a good girl, I could walk on it in a few days.  By then, Ken should be easier to live with and we could continue our trip.  I can't remember the last time I went on a trip and didn't have any problems.  It seemed like our way of life now but I sure missed the old days. 

             
Ken awakened in the evening of the next day, hungry and grouchy.  Joe couldn't take it anymore so he gave him leave to sit outside with me, which I thought was cruel.  It was so he 'could keep and eye on the both of us', and after I helped him out and all.  I thought I was a lousy patient but Ken had me beat.  He wanted this and that and something else.  Then the sun was too hot, the seat too hard, and the coffee too sweet.  He whined and bitched until I couldn't take it anymore.   I got up, grabbed my fishing chair and hobbled it and me about 25 yards down the beach.  Then I hobbled back and snatched my pole, shot him a dirty look, then limped back to get my umbrella and by the third trip he finally asked me what I was doing.

             
“Getting the hell away from you.  The bitching and whining is driving me crazy.  You can't just sit and relax and enjoy the weather, and heal, oh no, that would  be too easy.  You have to bitch and complain about every little thing like you're the only one with problems.  Well, I've had it.  Sit here and enjoy your misery, I'm going fishing.  Way.  Over. There.”  Motioning with my bottle of water towards my new spot, I followed said bottle and reacquainted my butt with my chair.  The peace and quiet was so intense I fell asleep.

             
The smell of food dragged me out of a dream about lamps, (shrug) and I was wiping the drool off my chin when Mason brought me a plate of fried fish.  I looked towards my fishing pole and saw it laying half in an out of the river.  Well, hell.  Mason laughed  at me and we ate while he told me that Ken was apologetic about his behavior, Flynn and Randy had raided a neighbors farm for the canned tomatoes and macaroni which accompanied the fish.  We also had a nice, apple tart for dessert.  He recovered my pole and helped me to get into the medical trailer so Joe could look at my ankle and Ken could glare at me.  I just kept smiling at him which had him all confused but I didn't hear him complain about one thing the whole time I was there.

             
It was when I was getting ready to leave that he decided to apologize for his lousy behavior and promised to be better.   I nodded, blew him a kiss and retired for the night next to my favorite navy seal.   I was impressed with his inventiveness to make love to me and not hurt my ankle and rewarded him accordingly.  Then I slept like a baby.

             
We were eating breakfast the next morning when Duke jumped up to answer the sat phone.  He handed it to Ken, then turned toward the creek and put his hands on his hips.  I wondered about asking him about his weird behavior when Ken exploded.

             
“What the hell are you talking about?”  He yelled into the phone.  I didn't have to listen in, his mind was broadcasting like a sports announcer.

             
“The hell I will,” he yelled, “We're only a day away.”

             
I turned from him and limped over to Duke.  We both stood there staring at the river, neither one of us wanting to say anything.

             
“You took a vote?  Well, ain't that just great.  You all took a vote leaving us with no where to live and that's it?  Just like that.  Well, we'll just see about that.  Now, you just wait a damned minute...Hello?  Hello!”  I turned in time to catch the phone after Ken threw it.  He just looked at me with the most grief stricken look I've seen in a long time.  Well, maybe not that long ago, but it was horrible to behold.

             
He looked around at the faces of the group.  Taking a deep breath he said the words I'd already knew.  “They took a vote and decided the compound was just big enough to house them and no more.  We will have to fight them to live there and believe me when I say, we wouldn't win.  After what happened at the Lodge, I had it fortified to the rafters.  No one is getting in there and that includes us.  We're homeless, again, and I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am.  I thought I knew those people but I guess I was wrong.  I put our lives on the line, my son and Jilly's,  because of my bad choices and I don't know if I can live with myself because of it.”  He turned to go back to the medical trailer but Jill stopped him. 

             
“We both trusted them and now we have to face the consequences.”  She turned to me, tears in her eyes, then unable to bear the look on our faces looked down at the sleeping babe in her arms.  When a tear fell onto his little face, I stepped forward.

             
“We can all stand here and cry or we can band together and try to figure this out.  I say we think on it a bit, cry or whatever we're doing at the moment, then think about what we have to do next.  We'll talk about it after lunch.  Until, then we don't blame anyone for anything because we can't.  It's survival of the fittest or meanest or the most desperate.  They evidently need this to feel safe and our being there was going to upset that balance.  I don't know but I can't think about it right now.  I'm going for a short walk then I plan to help the ladies with lunch.”  No one said anything, so I started down the beach, looking for a quiet place to grieve the loss of another home, and the friends that took it from me.

             
We'd depended on them to find us a home after we left for New Mexico and they had.  Ken and Jill had been along to help and from what he described to us, they did a great job.  But they had decided that after a little over a week that they would do better on their own and I have to respect that.  Okay, so we have to find another place.  At least, this time we had several months to do it in.  That would help, but the work involved would be exhausting on all of us.  That couldn't be helped and I was quickly tired out just thinking about it so I sat on a stump near the river wanting nothing as much as a long nap. 

             
Mason sat beside me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me snug under his armpit.  I put my head on his shoulder and watched a leaf swirl in the water, catching momentarily on a rock before floating downstream to disappear around a bend. I sighed deeply.  Then Mason sighed too.  I smiled at that.  He was so tuned into my feelings that what I felt he felt.  It was weird to be so connected but I'd miss it if it was gone and right now I needed that more than anything.

             
We sat and talked for quite some time.  Admiring the beauty of the land around us and basking in the sun and slight breeze we talked out our disappointments and fear clearing our heads for what was to come.  After a while we went back to camp and I watched the ladies, each absorbed in their own thoughts, slap together a meal of sorts.   The kids were quiet too, sensing the adults had something of importance on their minds, so they read, or colored or fished in the river.  I was so proud of them.  The conversation started to pick up during the meal and the discussion was the type of home we wanted, or had in the past zombie-free life.  It was a way to heal after the setback we just had, so no one let the moment pass without contributing something.

             
Ken had drew maps and descriptions of the places he had thought would be good places before finding the one we lost.  We poured over the maps, discussed the possibilities to death long into the afternoon before finally deciding to discuss it more in the morning. I wanted a natural spring. It would provide needed water plus could be used to power mills to grind the wheat and electricity to run the green house and water the livestock.  I wanted a damned spring and that was that.  They didn't argue the fact just the location.  I was argued out by the time dinner rolled around and the discussion continued till almost dark.  The kids needed to be taken care of, and security set up for the night so we just stopped talking and took care of business.  I was looking forward to loving Mason all night cause I was wiped out from all the stress.  Sex is a great stress reducer and I was as tight as as guitar string.