The Returners (11 page)

It was mid afternoon before the small group was ready to set out and begin the trek to the town of Greenstone. They estimated it would take them between three and four days on foot. It all depended on how the traveling was or what they ran into for obstacles. They packed only what they needed for the journey, knowing there wasn't much room to bring sentimental items.

Everyone managed to get a few hours of sleep, everyone except Joe. He had gone out and dug a grave for Ray, even after all the bad things Ray had done Joe felt an obligation to at least give him a proper burial. He finished covering the shallow grave right as the group was getting ready to leave. Briella stopped and looked at the fresh mound of dirt. She didn't cry or say anything, just stared for a moment and then continued on.

They hadn't gone more than a few hundred yards when they heard the sound of twigs breaking on the ground. Immediately the group stopped and readied their weapons as they formed a tight circle. They weren't sure what they were up against, but they weren't taking any chances. After all, they were in the forest and it could be a number of things making the noise, but with the corpses from last night disappearing they couldn't take any chances.

Standing there they scanned their surroundings, looking for a glimpse of what had made the noise. It didn't take them long to find out what it was as another twig snapped and the reanimated corpse of one of the men from the raiding party came into view. It was Kyle, the man Emily had shot. He slowly moved forward, his movement as uncoordinated, ungainly and graceless as you could get.

"I've got this, " Joe said as he walked cautiously towards Kyle's corpse with his ax at the ready. There was no point in wasting a bullet or making any unnecessary noise to dispatch one Returner.

The rest of the group stayed back, watching as Joe carefully approached the Returner who had once been his friend. Once Joe was in striking distance he swung the ax in a high arc and then down. The blade connecting with the Returners neck, severing the head and dropping it to the ground. Blood spurted from the wound as the body fell to the ground.

Joe stood there looking down at the severed head, it's eyes looking up at him while it continued to gnash it's teeth together, making a sickening-scrapping sound. He swung the ax again, this time cleaving the head in two like a piece of firewood. Blood spattered through the air from the hit and now dotted his shirt. He grabbed a handful of dry leaves from the ground and wiped the blade clean as he walked back to the group.

"Done, I think we're in the clear. Did you guys hear anything else?" Joe's eyes and voice were emotionless as he spoke. Being stuck doing this time and time again did that to you. You detached yourself from any connection you may have once had with the person the Returner used to be.

"No, I think that was probably the only one. Lets hope anyways." Jacob looked around to see what everyone's reactions were, or if they had anything else to add, but no one spoke up. "Let’s keep moving, we need to cover as much ground as we can before dark."

The group continued onward towards their destination, keeping eyes and ears open for anything that might cause them harm. Moving as briskly as possible for several hours, working through thick forest, crossing streams and traversing dangerous inclines. After climbing one particularly steep bank and finally making it to the top they decided to stop and rest.

Traveling through the forest wasn't like walking along a cleared path, it took a lot of energy out of you. It was still early spring and they figured they might have two maybe three hours before it would be too dark to travel. If they didn't take a break now they might not get one. Being completely worn out would do none of them any good, especially if they had to defend themselves.

Before leaving they had gone over a few rules of traveling as a group. The first was no one went anywhere alone, even if it was just something like going to the bathroom. Secondly, no discharge of firearms unless there was absolutely no other option. The third was at least two people awake at all times, they would sleep in four-hour shifts. No one was going to get a lot of sleep, but it was a better alternative than getting over run by a horde of Returners, or having someone sneak up on them and cut their throats while they slept.

It was too easy for one person to fall asleep when on watch, but with two you at least had some company to keep you alert, and another set of eyes and ears to catch anything that might be cause for alarm.

"We'll take twenty minutes and then get going again. We don't have a lot of time left to travel today. This will keep us on a good pace and give us a good jump on the people from the camps if they are coming after us," Jacob said as he put his backpack down and leaned against an old fallen oak tree.

"Mom, I've gotta go to the bathroom," Emily said, tugging on her mother’s shirt. 

"Actually I've got to go myself Emily, why don't all three of us ladies go together," Briella said as she put her pack on the ground.

"That's probably a good idea," Jessica said, putting her pack down next to Briella's.

Joe and Jacob stood together and leaned against the fallen oak tree while the women disappeared together into the brush. 

"Jacob I just want to say thank you." Joe had wanted to tell him that for awhile, but the timing hadn't seemed right until now.

"Thank you for what?" Jacob wasn't really sure why Joe was thanking him. It should be him thanking Joe for saving their lives.             

"For trusting me and helping me get Briella. I know it must not have been easy to do, especially after what happened and Jessica being hurt. You didn't have any reason to help me, but you did." Joe held out his hand to Jacob.

Jacob took it and shook it, and then put his hand on the kids shoulder. "Listen Joe, this is a messed up world we're living in. Even more messed up than it was before, we can't just go around distrusting everyone. Sure there are bad people, but there are good people as well. Sometimes the good people get caught up in situations where they're forced to do bad things."

"Your right about that, that's for damn sure. I wish it wasn't that way, but sometimes you have to do things to survive." Joe shifted a bit as the conversation was starting to make him uncomfortable. He had never been good at expressing emotions or talking about difficult subjects.

"It's a shitty reality of what's happened." Jacob took his hand off the kids shoulder bent down and reached into his backpack and took out a water bottle.

He took a drink and then passed it to Joe. The two of them stood there waiting for the girls to come back. A few minutes later the women returned and sat down by them.

"We've got ten more minutes then we've got to get going," Jacob said as Joe handed him back the water bottle. He took another drink and then passed it to Jessica. The girls each took a drink and then passed it back to Jacob who put it back in his pack.

"How far do you think we've gone so far Jacob?" Briella asked as she stood up and stretched.

"Probably three or four miles, hard to tell walking through the forest like this with no clear path. I know Greenstone is roughly thirty miles from where we are right now," Jacob said as he grabbed his backpack and put it on. "I'm hoping we can get at least another mile or so before it gets so dark we can't go any further. So if everyone's ready let’s get going." Jacob hated sounding so bossy, but he knew the importance of  getting as much distance between them and the cabin was right now.

As they continued to trek forward, Jacob couldn't help but wonder what state Greenstone was in. A lot of things could happen in a years time. Had the epidemic slowed down or vanished completely? Being where they were and so isolated it was hard to tell what it was actually like out there. He often wondered why Returners ended up in the forest, was it because of the desertion of the towns, or something else that drew them?

It was a gamble for them to head to Greenstone, but considering the options it was the best possible choice. The small town would have shelter and the chance of finding food, weapons and anything else they might need. It was definitely a risk, but a risk worth taking. 

********

Chris Dodge knocked on the door of Ray's cabin. It was almost dark and neither he nor any of the other folks at the camps had seen him or Briella all day. Matter of fact, Joe, Kyle, Jimmy and Dave hadn't been seen for awhile either. Although it wasn't uncommon for Ray to take a few people and go off on scavenger missions, it was uncommon for Briella to not be at the cabin. Something didn't feel right to him as he turned the handle to the door and it opened.

"Hello, Briella, Ray,anyone here?" The cabin was silent. "Hello?" He closed the door and walked towards a large poll that had been erected in the center of the small village of camps. A rope hung down that was attached to a bell. He grabbed the string and pulled several times, the bell ringing out loudly, it's chime echoing through the air. The members of the small community quickly came out of their camps and began walking towards him.

********

The group finally stopped about an hour before dark. They had come across a perfect spot to set up camp for the night, a little nook on the edge of a small pond. There was an overhang that formed a shallow cave that offered them shelter from the elements. It also got them out of sight. This way they could have a small fire and cook food without worrying about being spotted.

They hadn't eaten since they'd left the cabin and everyone was starving. They filled a few small pots they had brought along with water, needing to boil it to make sure it was sterile. The last thing any of them needed was to catch Giardia, or some other water born parasite. That was just asking for trouble, trouble they didn't need.

It was still light enough out when they finished setting up camp for Jacob to break  out the telescopic fishing pole he'd found at the cabin and try his hand at fishing. Telescopic poles were handy for situations like this. The pieces slid into one another making the whole unit only about six inches long when broke down. Easy to throw into a backpack or knapsack.

Putting on one of the lures he'd found with the pole, he began casting the line into the water, hoping to catch a fish or two for them to eat. Anything they could forage or catch would make this trip easier as they were very limited on food. Emily joined him by the waters edge, standing next to him watching him cast.

"Hey Jacob," Emily said as he reeled in the line.

"Yeah."

"Do you think you could show me how to fish? I've never done it before," Emily said as Jacob reeled in the last bit of line from his cast.

Jacob handed her the pole. "See this little button here?" Emily nodded her head. “You move the poll like this." He showed her the motion she should use. "And when you move it forward you press the button and hold it down until the line hits the water. You don't have to cast it hard, the weight of the lure will take the line out."

"Thanks, I think I got it now!" She was always excited to learn new things. It didn't matter what it was, the need for knowledge was strong with her. That's what her mom had always told her anyway.

"Just make sure when the lure hits the water you start reeling the line back in or you'll get caught up on bottom." Jacob couldn't help but smile at her excitement.

Emily did what Jacob told her to do. On her first attempt the line only went a few feet and hit the water. Frustrated she reeled it back in.  

"That was pretty close, arch it a bit more and don't let off the button so quickly, I think you'll nail it," Jacob said as Emily poised to cast again.

Emily tried again and this time the line went out further. 

"Good job," Jacob said as he watched her real in the line and recast. “Maybe if we're lucky we'll have fresh fish for dinner.”

Jessica and Briella were peeling potatoes Briella had taken from her camp, while Joe tended the fire. The women were watching Jacob and Emily by the shore of the pond as they worked.

“I'm glad you thought to bring these potatoes Briella. It's been a long time since I've had any.”

“Well that's one thing we had a lot of at the camp. I honestly don't know why I grabbed them, just something in the back of my mind told me to.”

Jessica eyes kept going back to Jacob and Emily fishing by the shore. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"I cant believe how good Jacob is with Emily." It filled her with warmth to see her daughter so happy.

"He seems it, how long have you guys known each other?" Briella asked.

"Not very long, only a couple of days actually, but we connected instantly," Jessica said. 

"Kind of  like karma?" Briella's eyes drifted over to Joe who was working on getting the fire built up.

"I guess you could say that. I think it was one of those things that was just meant to be." Jessica replied.