Whatever It Takes (16 page)

As the stories quieted around the table, Percival’s thoughts drifted from the past to the future.

“We need to talk about where to go next, and how to get there,” Percival said.

“The ‘how’ is sitting outside,” Morrbid said. “The where, how about crossing around to the north of Nashville and heading over to Knoxville?”

“Yeah. We met a group of half-dozen people in Atlanta that said they were going to Knoxville. Maybe they’re still there.” Jessica put down her hand of cards to the dismay of the rest of the players. She collected the pot.

“I don’t like that idea.” Roy Joy fidgeted in his seat as he shuffled the cards. “Nothing good there.”

“Can’t know without checking, and Knoxville’s a good sized town. We can stick to the outskirts and find plenty.” Percival anted up; two brass shell casings.

“I think going into a city any bigger than Prosperity or Hankerville is dangerous.” Sarah accepted her cards as Roy Joy dealt.

“Traveling period is dangerous,” Karl countered. An explosion outside punctuated his words. “Bigger cities have bigger risks and bigger rewards though.”

“This city is disastrous,” Roy Joy said. “Words on the wind from the lips of my friends say as much.”

“Might be different now. Word travels kind of slow these days,” Morrbid said. He checked his cards and tossed another piece of brass into the center. “Call.”

“Yup, and we did meet folks headin’ that way.” Jessica tossed a piece of brass into the pile.

“It’s not good. We should go somewhere else.” Roy Joy’s voice took on a slight whine as he pushed his cards toward the center. “Anywhere else. What ‘bout Portland?”

“Small town, nothin’ there.” Karl added two pieces of brass to the growing pot. “Call and raise one. We passed through it on the way here.”

“We could stop back through it on the way to Knoxville.” Sarah added enough brass to meet Karl’s raise. “I don’t think you’ve got a good enough hand, Karl.”

Karl just smiled.

“Can we just go back to the Campus? I really want to see the Campus.” Roy Joy dealt out a card as those still in the game called or folded out.

“We will. Right after our trip to Knoxville. With the hummer and the amount of diesel we’ve got, it shouldn’t take more than a day to get there and a couple days to look the place over.” Percival watched Roy Joy deal out another card. He glanced at his hand; pocket jacks. He tossed in the appropriate amount of brass. “I call. Really this won’t be much different from our other town visits. And we’ve got a vehicle. So, leaving will be easier too.”

Roy Joy frowned and dealt the last card for this play; a third jack.

“Call,” Andrina said.

“Raise you four.” Karl added four pieces of brass. “I think we’re done discussing this.”

“Too rich for my blood.” Jessica pushed her hand forward. “I think if we can find others, nice folk like y’all, this trip’ll be worth it.”

Carlos and Sarah folded out of the game as well.

“We already know people were headin’ that way. They might still be there for all we know.” Morrbid pushed his hand toward the center. “I’m out.”

“They might be dead friends,” Roy Joy muttered.

“Well, Percival, what’s it going to be?” Karl stared across the table at Percival.

“I think it’s settled. We’re going to Knoxville, leavin’ tomorrow morning.” Percival made a show of looking at his cards.

“Not what I meant. You still in?” Karl loomed over his hand.

“Yeah.” Percival tossed four pieces of brass into the center pile.

“Not me.” Andrina backed out of the game.

“Show ‘em,” Karl said.

Percival flipped his cards over and Karl let out a groan.

“Maybe next time, old man.” Percival grinned.

“Hmph.” Karl shook his head. “I think that’s going to be the night for me.”

“Lose a few bits of brass and he quits,” Percival taunted.

“Eh, this is a young man’s game anyways. You stay up and play and plot our course, I’ll drive early tomorrow morning.” Karl stood up from the table.

“Deal.” Percival smiled and accepted the deck from Roy Joy.

“I’m done too.” Roy Joy followed Karl away from the table.

Percival shuffled the cards and dealt the next hand.

Percival decided he stayed up too late and that the road wasn’t smooth enough. That, or the shocks weren’t good enough on the Humvee. He had stayed up late with the others, playing poker and talking. It felt like the zombie apocalypse hadn’t happened. For a night, in the barracks, it hadn’t.

The survivors had pealed off from the game, one by one, until only Percival and Morrbid remained at the table. Together they plotted out a dozen routes from Hankerville to Knoxville. In case roads were blocked, or a situation seemed too dangerous, they wanted a backup plan for getting around to their destination. The sun was just breaching the horizon when they finished.

Percival had remained conscious long enough to help shut everything down and load the Humvee. He then squeezed into the back, nice and close to Sarah, and fell asleep. He slept through the looting of the Dodge Spirit, and the decision to leave it behind for later expeditions.

When Percival did finally wake, on a more permanent basis, they were nearing Knoxville. Karl wove around stopped cars, sometimes even taking the Humvee off the road for sections of the drive to keep from getting stuck among sections of highway entirely stopped up with cars.

He pulled the vehicle off a few miles north of Knoxville. The city could be seen on the horizon.

Percival climbed out of the Humvee and stretched. He still felt tired, but figured that would pass. He secured his helmet. A subdivision nearby seemed the natural place to start their search and possibly find a safe-house to call home for the next few days.

Percival got his duffel bag from the back of the Humvee and stocked it with a couple MRE’s, extra ammunition for his rifle and pistol, and his sledgehammer. He’d become rather attached to the melee weapon over the past couple days.

The rest of his team piled out of the vehicle and gathered their supplies. Karl was careful to lock the Humvee and gathered a handful of branches to cover it up with. The idle passerby would probably not notice the military vehicle off to the side of the road. Or, at least, Percival hoped they wouldn’t notice.

Each member pulled on headgear, several people had swapped from piecemeal head protection to hazmat helmets. Percival led the team toward the collection of homes. He had his rifle slung loosely around his side. He had the distinct feeling that he was being watched. It was the same feeling he’d gotten when they first encountered the stalkers. It was a feeling he didn’t like.

“Hey, Karl. When was the last zombie you saw?” Percival asked.

“A couple miles back,” Karl said.

Percival couldn’t see Karl’s face, but he imagined the man frowning. The tone the teacher had taken certainly wasn’t a happy one.

“What’re y’all worried about?” Jessica moved past Percival and walked toward the first of a row of houses.

“The last time zombies dropped off the face of the planet for a few miles ‘round we wandered into a nest of stalkers.” Percival walked after her.

A moment later, the rest of the team followed him.

“Right. The nasties that hunt people. Thought that was just a tale you were telling to scare us.” Jessica walked to the front door. She held her shotgun loosely in one arm and turned the knob. It was locked.

“It was supposed to scare you.” Percival walked up to the door and gave it a stout kick. “I’ve got the same feeling I did when we approached the dealership.”

The door sprang open.

“Zombies don’t nest, and when they swarm, they certainly don’t do it quietly before the attack.” Morrbid pushed past Percival and Jessica to enter the house first. “We’ve seen enough of ‘em to know their behavior patterns. Even the spitters ‘round the military depot made a lot of noise before attacking.”

Percival watched Morrbid clear the first room and moved in after him. The feeling of being watched dropped away as they searched the house. It seemed as though the zombie apocalypse had never reached this house. The table was set for four, and the fridge was still stocked. The contents of the fridge were spoiled.

As they searched the second floor, they found the beds made and undisturbed. It was as though they’d stepped back in time four months to before the big outbreaks of the zombies. It seemed like they had just broken into this home of four people who had just stepped out.

It left Percival with an eerie feeling. He walked out of the house. Sarah, Roy Joy and Andrina were waiting.

“It’s weird. It’s like no one’s come through here since the outbreak. No looting, no disturbed beds.” Percival shook his head.

“Some places get overlooked. It happens.” Roy Joy was pacing in the yard, muttering overly loud. “Not to you, not to me. But some get overlooked. Passed up.”

Percival looked from Roy Joy to Sarah.

“Has he been like that the entire time?”

“I think something inside him broke when we got here,” Sarah said. Her face was plastered with concern.

Percival frowned. “Anyways, there’s nothing here worth taking and it’d be difficult to defend anyways.”

Sarah nodded.

Andrina turned and walked over to Roy Joy as the rest of the searching party came out of the house. Roy Joy quieted under Andrina’s quiet words.

Percival turned away from the house. The feeling of being watched had returned. He didn’t like it. There were too many buildings that could hide the stalkers here. He suspected that Jessica and Morrbid didn’t believe him and thought that the suburb they were exploring was simply empty of zombies. Like it had been evacuated beforehand and no one came back afterward.

Maybe they’d seen the same thing somewhere between Alabama and Hankerville, Tennessee. He shook his head, tossing the thoughts out.

*

The evening passed with the search of two more houses. Neither were as pristine as the first, but both were just as empty of obvious signs of struggle.

With the sun setting, the team decided to risk staying in the fourth house after searching it.

Percival led the way. The front door was locked. Percival lifted his foot to kick.

“Stop!” Roy Joy shouted.

It stole the power from Percival’s kick and his foot thudded ineffectively against the door.

Roy Joy walked up to the door, pushing Percival out of the way. He huddled over the doorknob and a moment later, opened the door.

Percival didn’t have the proper angle to see what Roy Joy had done to open the door, but the man was so full of surprises it wouldn’t have been much of one to learn he’d been a locksmith and a mechanic before the end of the world.

“Be careful…” Roy Joy murmured so quietly it was difficult to hear him through his gas mask.

Percival gently pulled Roy Joy back and slowly pushed the door open. In the waning twilight of the day, he needed to use the flashlight attached to the front of his gun to illuminate the way.

The front door led into a small entry hall with a stairwell leading to a second floor against the right hand wall. Three doors provided exits from the building, and if this home was set up like the previous three, the doors would lead to a study, dining room and living room.

Percival swept his flashlight over the walls, illuminating pictures. He paused on one. A man in a suit stood behind a blonde woman in t-shirt and jeans and a little boy in a baseball jersey. He had his hand on each of their shoulders and was smiling the broad proud smile of a father and husband who loved his family more than anything.

It took Percival a moment to realize he recognized the man in the photo. He stared for a moment and swept his rifle back around to Roy Joy. “Oh shit. This is your home, isn’t it, Roy Joy?”

Roy Joy didn’t answer. He just milled in place on the porch.

The similarities between the man in the photo and the man standing on the front porch were difficult to ignore. Percival wasn’t sure that this would be the best place to stay. He turned back toward the innards of the house. They simply didn’t have time to search more and they broke the locks on all the other houses.

“Roy Joy, we’ve got to stay here.” Percival looked back to the man and past to Andrina. “Would you talk with him?”

Andrina raised an eyebrow.

Percival directed his flashlight to the photo on the wall. Andrina’s eyes lit up in recognition almost immediately.

“Yes, I’ll talk with him.” Andrina put her pistol away and gently led Roy Joy off of the porch. She dropped her voice low enough that Percival couldn’t make out what she was saying.

Percival looked to the rest of his team, Jessica and Morrbid in the entry hall, Sarah, Carlos, and Karl outside on the porch.

“We need to clear the house. I want it done peacefully though. No breaking down doors or shooting at shadows, okay?” Percival knew that the latter request was pointless, no one had shot at something that wasn’t actually there since the first expedition. He looked at Carlos. “Stay out here and watch after Roy Joy and Andrina.”

Carlos gave a little sloppy salute and trotted off the porch after the other pair.

“Why do we need to be careful?” Karl asked.

“This is Roy Joy’s home. Was his home. It’s probably why he didn’t want to come back to Knoxville.” Percival turned his flashlight to the picture.

Sarah and Karl nodded. Roy Joy had traveled with them long enough that he was another member of the team. He was practically extended family.

“Why? Just another house now.” Jessica walked to the left-hand doorway. “He left it, how long ago?”

“This isn’t up for discussion. My team, my group of survivors, my rules, my say goes.” Percival turned his flashlight onto Jessica.

She reflexively raised her hand to shield her eyes.

“Fine. For the record, y’all, we think it’s a dumb thing to do. It’ll slow us down.” Morrbid turned away from Percival and moved between him and Jessica, cutting the light off. “We’ll take this way. Y’all can take that way, we’ll meet back here.”

“Right. No looting either.” Percival didn’t honestly think there would be anything worth looting, there certainly hadn’t been in the other two houses, but he didn’t want stuff taken by his team from Roy Joy’s house.

Jessica let out another groan and Morrbid shuffled her away through the door. If there were any further complaints, they were out of earshot of Percival.

Percival turned back to Sarah and Karl. “Karl, would you mind joining Carlos? I don’t entirely trust him. He’s got a bit to prove.”

“Sure. A second set of watchful eyes out there wouldn’t hurt anyways.” Karl turned and stepped down off the porch.

“You’re doing a good thing, preserving this place for him. Not sayin’ it’s the right decision, but it is a good one,” Karl said over his shoulder before heading out into the yard to join the others.

“I think it’s the right decision.” Sarah followed him through the right-hand door.

Percival smiled at her and nodded. He swept his flashlight around the darkened room. As he had expected, it was a living room with a large window looking out over the street.

The room was decorated like many other living rooms that Percival had seen. Two couches formed an ‘L’ that faced the far wall, and a big, flat-screen TV. A coffee table rested between the couches and the TV, still meticulously set with magazines and a molding bowl of fruit. A recliner finished the scene, set off to the side to encapsulate the entertainment area. A fireplace, complete with mantle, was nestled in the wall left of the doorway. Various family photos and trophies adorned the mantle.

“It looks like he never missed one of his boy’s games. Roy Joy’s in practically all of these t-ball and little league photos,” Sarah said. She stood near the mantle place, flashlight trained on the photos.

“I wonder what happened to them.” Percival walked up behind her and looked over her shoulder at the photos.

“Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been good. I mean, I doubt he’d leave them behind. He’s not left any of us behind, and we’re not family.”

“Doubt we’ll ever know. He doesn’t seem very talkative about it.” Percival nodded and turned away from the mantle. He walked toward the other door that provided an exit to the room. The next room was a dining room. It contained a long table that could easily seat eight people, but only had four chairs at it. The table was set for three.

It seemed as though the table were waiting for an entrée and diners that never came. Percival, for some reason, found the sight incredibly sad.

The walls were adorned with more photos, though these were older. They had Roy Joy and his wife attending a high school prom, then other functions and finally, wedding photos.

Percival was staring at one photo with Roy Joy and his wife cradling a baby when a shriek from another portion of the house split the peaceful scene. It took a moment for him to react.

He looked to Sarah. She nodded, a silent understanding that they needed to find the source of the shriek, and fast.

Sarah bolted for the door they’d not come through, ignoring the double-doors leading out to the backyard and the single door that led back to the entry hall. An animalistic growl announced the presence of a stalker.

Percival reached the doorway as the beast leapt at Sarah from behind the island counter in the kitchen with an inhuman screech. He brought his rifle up faster than he thought possible.