Zompoc Survivor: Odyssey (4 page)

With my shoulder blades twitching, I stalked up to the gate and looked it over to see how it was secured. A chain was padlocked around one side, and a wire as tied to the chain itself. I followed the thin wire with my eyes as far as I could but it disappeared into the brush a few yards away from the fence. The wire itself was under a little tension, so I suspected it was weighted to prevent someone from simply cutting it to bypass it. Anything that ran into the gate would probably sound some kind of alarm, but little things like birds or the wind didn’t seem likely to.

Since I didn’t want to risk drawing any infected, I figured the best thing to do was to ring the doorbell. Before I could chicken out, I reached out and grabbed the top of the gate and moved it back and forth a few times, then darted to the left side, toward the gate’s hinges, and knelt down beside the wall where I wouldn’t be immediately visible to someone coming down the path.

A few minutes later, I heard the slow, measured sound of cautious footsteps approaching. A man in blue jeans and a gray button down work shirt came into view, his scuffed and worn work boots making only the faintest of sounds as he crept up on the gate. Most of his face was obscured by the stock of the rifle he held against his shoulder and a John Deere ballcap. Weathered hands were wrapped around the rifle’s stock and fore end, and I could see the corded lines of muscle under her skin as he slowly lowered the gun. The gun’s receiver looked familiar, and I guessed he was carrying one of the original versions of the M14, the rifle the M39 I’d lost in Kansas City was based on.

“Howdy,” I said as he straightened. The gun came up and pointed in my direction. The man’s eyes were wide in his narrow face, but he didn’t pull the trigger.

“Stand up where I can see you,” he barked. I got to my feet slowly and grabbed the shotgun by the barrel with my right hand. As I straightened, I held it out away from me with the stock in the air.

“If I had meant to shoot you, I would have done it before I said hello,” I said as I stepped away from the wall. “I just figured you were a pretty good shot from a distance, so I didn’t want you to think I was infected or anything. I’d hate to get shot by mistake.”

“You damn near did anyway,” he said as he lowered the rifle again. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Dave. I’m a survivor, just like you. I saw your sign down by the road. Figured I’d come by, see if I could help out, or maybe trade a bit. What’s your name?”

“Del,” the man answered cautiously. “I didn’t put up no sign. Nearest road’s about five miles from here.” His eyes narrowed, and I could almost hear the alarm bells going off in his head.

“It looked pretty old, and it said ten miles down. Look, Del, I’m not asking you to take us in or anything. Hell, you don’t even have to let us in the gate. We’re not looking to stay in the area. I’m just looking for some information, and I’m willing to trade for it.”

“Us? Who’s with you?” he demanded, his eyes scanning the road and the brush behind me.

“My daughter. She’s parked down the road a little ways.” I didn’t like the way his eyes shifted or the speculative look he got on his face. Then he turned his head to look back up the road he’d come down, and I heard a woman’s voice.

“Del, you all right?” the woman asked. She walked into view a second later, a thin woman with plain brown hair and dark circles under her eyes. Her floral print shirt clung to her spare frame, and her denim skirt covered her narrow legs to mid-calf, where a pair of cowboy boots took over..

“I’m fine, Penny,” he answered.

“Who’re you talking to honey?” she asked when she caught sight of me.

“His name’s Dave,” he said. “Him and his daughter are just passin’ through, and he was looking to trade for some information.”

“Hi, ma’am,” I said as I slung the shotgun and waved with my left hand. They exchanged a look, and she nodded.

“Why don’t you have your daughter come on up, and we’ll see if we can help each other out,” Del said. His wife smiled at me as I stepped back and pulled the radio from its pocket on my vest.

“Amy, it’s Dave. You got your ears on?” I said.

“Sorry, left them in my other purse,” Amy replied a few seconds later.

“Smart ass,” I said. “We’re mostly good here. Come on up.”

“Mostly?” she asked.

“Yeah, mostly,” I said as I turned away from Del and Penny. “But an ace up your sleeve wouldn’t be taken amiss.” I pitched the last part low enough that it wouldn’t carry more than a couple of feet.

“Roger that,” Amy said. “I’ll be right there.” I turned to face Del and Penny to find that Del was opening the gate.

“Why don’t y’all come up and have a bite to eat with us,” Penny said.

“We wouldn’t want to impose,” I said. “I know times are…well, strange, and every little bite of food helps.”

“Nonsense,” Penny said with a smile and a wave of her hand. “We’ve got it to spare, and it’s been more than a week since we’ve seen anyone out here. All we can get on the radio is that awful government station and the Solomon Bible University Gospel Hour out of Tulsa.”

“You still have power?” I asked as I heard the truck coming up the road.

“For a few hours a day,” Del said as he swung the gate out and gestured for Amy to drive on in. She stopped at the edge of the road and looked to me.

“Sorry, she’s just learning to drive,” I said. “Hop in, we’ll give you a lift the rest of the way.” Del had Penny climb in the back with Amy, and took the passenger seat to guide me the rest of the way up the hill. The road forked two times on the way up, and Del informed me that the first fork led down to the gardens his grandfather had carved into the side of the hill, and the second went to the barn and animal pens at the base of the hill. Then we hit the top of the hill, and I let the truck roll to a stop and just stared in awe at the view. A two story house dominated the plateau before me, with a thick stand of trees on the north side. To the south, we could see for a couple of miles. Rolling fields were edged with lines of trees and narrow gray roads, a postcard perfect tableau. Trees blocked the view to the west, but to the east, the only thing between us and the horizon was a windmill and a waist high metal tank that was filled with water.

A boy about Amy’s age was standing on the front porch with a double barreled shotgun in his hands, looking us over with a frown on his face. Off to the south side of the house, I could see a dog on a chain that was connected to a tree. A circle of dirt marked his territory, and he sat looking at us from the edge of his domain. When we got out of the truck, his tail thumped in the dirt behind him a few times, then went still. Del came around the truck and gestured for the boy to come over.

“This is Tad, he’s my oldest,” he said as the boy approached. Tad was a wider version of his father, with plenty of baby fat still rounding out his cheeks and a sullen, almost drowsy look about him. He stuck out a hand and clamped onto mine with an almost painful grip. “Tad, this is Dave.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said with a smile that didn’t make me think he was.

“That’s quite a grip you have,” I said as I extricated my hand from his clutches. His hand wasn’t soft, but hard work wasn’t something he seemed to be as familiar with as his father.

“He’s gonna grow up to be stronger than his dad,” Del said with a smile.

“You said he was your oldest?” I said.

“His brother and sister are at their lessons,” Penny offered as she and Amy came up. “They struggle with math and English, especially his sister. But, what can you expect of a girl?” Her laugh was a staccato sound, almost a nervous reaction to her own attempt at humor. “But, she needs to master the basics to help run the farm.”

“I hope we’ll get to meet them later,” I said. “This is my daughter Amy,” I said as she stepped up beside me.

“Hi,” Tad said as he stepped up close to her and held his hand out. “I’m Tad.”

“I heard,” she said as she took his hand to shake it. Instead, he pulled it up to his face and did a clumsy job of kissing the back of her hand.

“You can take your guns off,” Del said with a smile. “There’s no zombies left out this way, unless some wander in from the road. Tad killed about thirty of ‘em, and I did for the rest. Besides, guns in the house make the little lady nervous.” He laughed, and Penny ducked her head with a smile.

“Sure, Del,” I said, letting my Missouri accent creep a little further into my voice. “We’ll just toss them in the truck.” Amy followed me to the rear of the truck, wiping the back of her hand against her pant leg as she went. I opened the back up and undid my assault vest.

“Are you sure about this?” she said softly as I unbuckled the gun belt.

“Not exactly,” I admitted. “But I’m not hearing banjo music.”

“Me, either,” she said as she undid the holster on her hip. “I’m getting more of the creepy stalker vibe. Especially off of Don Juan over there.” I chuckled at the barb and eyed the black utility vest I’d lifted from the deputy’s cruiser, wishing I could find an excuse to put it on.

“You and me both,” I said. “Rule eight and rule twelve definitely apply here.”

“I’m thinking all of them from four through nine are in play,” she said as she slipped her little .22 revolver into the cargo pocket on her right leg. I tucked the holster for the revolver into my waist band and pulled my shirt out to cover it.

“How many guns have you got?” Tad asked as he came along the side of the truck. 

“A couple each,” I said as his eyes went wide at the array of firearms. “Most of it is side arms, though.” We slid our gear into the bed of the truck and closed the tailgate and the camper shell up. Both of us still had at least two knives visible, but I also knew Amy had a ZT Spike hidden away on her somewhere. Again, I felt that naked sensation of being unarmed and every step away from the truck and my sword made my palms itch. Tad escorted us inside and set his shotgun in a rack on the wall beside the front door. He led us to the front room and invited us to have a seat. A couch and a love seat made an L on one side of the room, while two recliners sat on either side of a table with a lamp that stuck up from the back of it. A pair of bookshelves sat on either side of the doorway we came in through, and a dormant television sat under one of the windows. A broad fireplace took up the far wall, and thick rugs covered the hardwood floor in the open space between the seating arrangements. The TV, once the center of the room, was now on the outskirts.

“Polly!” Del bellowed. “Get down here and help your mother with lunch!” As the sound of footsteps came closer, Penny stepped into the room with a pitcher of tea and some glasses on a tray.

“Would you like some tea while you wait?” she asked. “I’m sorry there’s no ice, we just use it to for storage.” She poured a glass and handed it to Tad, who took it and sat down on the love seat without a word. Then she offered Amy and me a glass. Maya would have been proud of her girl as she smiled and offered the woman a sweet “Thank you!” I followed her example with a little more reserve.

Tad patted the love seat beside him and said “Take a load off your feet,” his gaze on Amy. She nodded to him and sat on the couch. For a moment, I considered sitting next to Tad to mess with him, but instead I sat next to Amy and took a sip of my tea. It was a little bitter with just a hint of honey to it.

“So, how many zombies have
you
killed?” Tad asked me as his father walked into the room with a glass of tea in his hand. “I’ve killed thirty three.” I hesitated, debating on whether I should play the game or let him have his pride. Not wanting to wound his ego, I shook my head.

“I haven’t really been counting,” I said, which was partly true. I hadn’t been in a position to keep track of zombie kills, usually because most times that I ended up fighting them recently, it had been against nearly overwhelming numbers of the damn things.

“So far, the best guess is about three hundred and fifty,” Amy said. I did a double take and felt like my jaw was sliding halfway down my chest.

“Total?” I asked without thinking. She nodded with a smug grin on her face.

“Yep,” she said. “Guns and sword. And that was before the night we left KC.”

“Who the hell was keeping track of
that
?”

“Everyone,” she said. “Willie had a hundred and eighty, Kent was right behind him with one-seventy-five.”

“You were in Kansas City?” Del asked.

“No way,” Tad said. “The radio said Kansas City burned to the ground.” His tone was challenging, and he looked more than a little put out.

“It was on fire, but it hadn’t burnt to the ground, at least not as of a couple of days ago.” I gave them a very abridged version of our trip so far, leaving out my brushes with Keyes and the DHS, and glossing over the details of our run in and escape from the Disciples of the Anointed.  By the time I was done, even Tad had lost a little of the dejected look on his face. Del had shown a lot more interest in the story, and had asked a few questions that I’d had to dodge as I went along.

“Lunch is done,” Penny said from the doorway to the dining room as I told him about the road out of the city. We followed Del and Tad in to find five place settings at the table and several covered dishes.

“Are we going to get to meet your other two kids?” she asked. Penny shook her head and let out a long suffering sigh.