Walkers (Book 1): The Beginning (3 page)

     "If you'd open the garage doors, you can jump into the school bus till we get to your storage shed." he nodded and stood ready to open the doors.

     "I got em on signal now, J.D." Duke said, staring at the screen of his small laptop. He'd put homing devices on each of the Goonies motorcycles so we could keep track of them. They had had a tendency to show up at the oddest times.

     "They're still at the manor house. Must be too early for em"

     "Well, they are about to get a rude awakening. I'm ready when you are, Duke."

He nodded then raised his mike, turned it up, and yelled, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. I've had a flat, you have to come BACK and get me." He yelled into the mike.

     I yelled back at him on my mike "I told you not to use this channel, you twit." Duke winced at that then smiled and replied, "I don't care what you said, I'm broke down and you can't leave me here. You have to come BACK and help me."

     We waited for a minute while Duke studied the computer screen, then he gave thumbs up and a big smile indicating the Goon Squad was moving out.

     "Ok, I'll send Howard back for you and we'll meet up at the rest area, north of Jackson. Just stay off this channel till then."

     "Ten four." Duke replied, and after a few tense moments he laughed and yelled "They went for it. Let's go."

     Mason opened the garage doors, and then jumped into the open doorway of the bus where he rode till we arrived at the storage area where he kept his bike and trailer. It was a pretty ,black, Honda Goldwing. He had several plastic totes on the trailer which were covered with a camouflage tarp. I thought that was a good idea and was determined to remember to get a few of them as soon as possible.

     The caravan then headed west. We avoided as many towns as possible but there were times we had no choice but to go down the middle of town. We quickly learned that the herds of walkers congregated in areas of the big stores rather than downtown. Howard would position his wrecker in front and just smack the walkers if they got in the way. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it worked. The big store was at the other end of town. So we had to take a number or shortcuts. The weather remained sunny and hot.

     The scenery started to thin out later in the day. Where there was tall pines the land was starting to roll and we lost more grass. The dessert would be coming up soon and less civilization which meant fewer walkers. The humidity combined with the heat was unbelievable but the inside of our individual outfits were air conditioned and that made all the difference in the world. We were seeing more flat, naked land and a lot of dirt near noon, and somewhere north of Waco, I signaled Mason to pull over into a vacant lot next to a filling station. When we got settled, we gathered in the RV, drinking cool water and pop from the fridge.

     "Duke, do we have anything on the where abouts of the Triplets"?

     "They went off the computer screen about an hour after we left this morning. They were headed north at a pretty good clip, so I'm gonna take a guess that we won't have to worry about them anymore.   "I don't know, they're just stupid and lucky enough to stumble upon us when we least expect it, so let's pretend they are still following us for a few more days."

     "Works for me" he said, then took a deep swallow of the pop.

     "Mason, what do you do when it rains?" I asked, as I flipped the sliced spam in the skillet.

      "I usually just hole up somewhere. The last time I tried to run in the rain, I took out a walker because I couldn't see for the rain on my face shield. Banged up my ride and had to find another. I lucked out on the Goldwing but I don't ride when the roads wet. Why?"

     "We need to fix something up so we haul your stuff when the weather turns nasty. That way we can keep goin. You okay with that?"

     "I got a hitch on the wrecker and there's one on the bus. Why don't we look out for another trailer." Howard said.

     "Why don't I just get a truck and I could put my stuff in the back and the bike on the trailer? The trailer has a set of ramps so I'll be good to go. I'll keep an eye out since we won't be seeing rain for a bit and when I find a truck that'll do I'll just load the cycle up and go. But who wants to drive the truck when I'm on the cycle?” Mason asked as he washed his hands in the sink.

      "Lacy can drive if you don't mind. What about you Lacy, you willing to drive his truck when he's on the cycle? Might get a bit lonesome for you. "

     “Long as it has a cd player and some tunes I'll be fine. I'll need a walkie, tho, so I know what ya'll are doin.

     "Ok, we got that figured out. Do you want to keep goin or hunker down here for the night. It's up to you".

     Everyone looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

     "Ok, well, why don't we plan to leave here in about an hour, which will get us farther down the road. Then we stop before dark."

      After a short meal, the guys went to the gas station and pilfered what they could. Out came several bags of potato chips and dip. Nibbling on the stale chips, everyone settled in and we were on the road once again. I wanted to get onto the interstate because these two-lane roads were too easily blocked by road jams. We'd gone quite a ways when I noticed Mason racing back towards us from around the corner ahead, so I stopped and rolled down my window. The blast of the hot, humid air nearly took my breath away as Mason stopped by my window. His perspiration soaked hair was stuck to his face, and he shook like a dog to dislodge it so he could see me.

     "We got a fine road block ahead. It's on a bridge and there is no way we're gonna get through there. We have to find another route."

     "I saw a rock road back about two miles, maybe it would take us around the road block."

     I got up and went to the table and spread the road map out on top. Mason came in and went to the tiny fridge and removed a bottle of water.  Duke climbed up on top to keep watch as we tried to figure out what road to take. Suddenly, there were three short raps on the roof. We bent to look out the front window and coming towards us was a herd of walkers. We quickly rolled up the windows and locked the doors, shut off the engine, and closed the curtain on the rear window. I noticed Howard as I was closing the curtain,  slipping Mandy and Sarah into his truck, closing the door and with a nod at us slipped into the bunk and closed the curtain.We knew that Duke would be ok on top as long as he stayed down and since we didn't have the time to get him inside we had no choice but to leave him there. I knew he hated the walkers enough to be glued to the roof of the RV.

     We waited in the gathering heat quietly but tension was thick enough to cut. Lacy rocked gently back and forth...her way of dealing with it. Mason looked at her and then me. I shook my head and gave him thumbs up. She'd be ok, she was good that way. Occasionally there was a slight rocking motion as the walkers would bump into us. Once there was an attempt to open the door but only briefly. Just enough to make you want to wet yourself.  Soon all was quiet and then two fast raps on the roof. When no one made a move to open the door, there was a knocking similar to shave and a haircut, two bits. Mason chuckled and glanced out the window before he opened the door and admitted a pale, sweaty Duke.

     "Water", he croaked, and collapsed into the bunk. Lacy got him a bottle of water while I moved to start the RV and air conditioning.

     "Well" I said "that certainly makes the day memorable"

     "Any more memorable and I'll just shit my pants and get it over with." he said and then finished the water. "Let me know what you decide, I need to check on the girls." Out the door he went.

     "Ok, let’s go back to that gravel road. It looks like it crosses the bridge and then meets the highway about 10 miles on down. What do you think?”

      Mason looked at the map while rubbing the cool water bottle slowly across his forehead.

     "Why don't I take the bike and check it out just in case it's blocked to. Wouldn't want to run into that herd with no way to turn around"

     "You sure you want to do that? The road is there so there must be farms along the way, I'd think if we have to turn around we should be able to find a place. It's up to you but it was just a thought."

     "Let me go talk to others and see what they have to say but we need to do something other than watch walkers walk by. We can't go forward so we need to do something. Besides, I don't think Duke could take it."

     "Go ahead, I'll take another look at the map and see what I can figure out."

     Mason left and Lacy sat staring out the window.

     "You ok, kiddo?" I asked quietly.

     "I'm tired of all this crap, sis. I know everyone else is too but damn...when does it end? I'm scared all the time. I want a shower and a bowl of ice cream and the nightly news." I gently caressed her shoulder but couldn't think of a thing to say. We have had this conversation numerous times and there just wasn't much left to say.

     "I don't know about the nightly news kiddo, but I'm working on the rest of it. I want the same things except maybe a bubble bath and large hamburger with everything but pickles...still we'll get by."

     "I know thanks." she sniffled, then got up and went to the bathroom. Just then Mason returned.  "They say take the road and see what happens. They don't want to wait and see if the walkers come back again either. Duke is still shaking and the girls are pretty shook up. Doing anything at this time would be better than sitting here."

     "You gonna be ok on the bike?"

     He looked up the road at the roadblock, grinned and said "I'll be right back". Then he got on his bike and took off down the road.

     Lacy came back from the bathroom.   I asked her to tell everyone else we were turning around and going back to the rock road. Howard was behind Duke and the bus so I figured it would take a few minutes to get us backed down the road two miles. We had just gotten to the gravel road, when I noticed a pickup with a motorcycle on a trailer headed our way. I grinned as I realized Mason had gotten himself a new ride. It was one of those extended cab, double duty, dual tires, and macho rigs. Yep, it suited him just fine.

     He led the way down the road. The land was flat, mostly sand with scrub oak. The road was pretty good and we made good time. Around a curve ahead we saw an old two story farmhouse. We slowed to a stop and stared at the gate which was covered in more warning signs than I'd ever seen in one place. Just then, an old man stepped out from behind a slanted, weathered, old shed with the biggest gun I've ever seen in my life. It was pointed at Mason. Well, he did look meaner that the rest of us, but still.

     "Keep on goin. You ain't welcome here." He shouted, bringing the rifle to his shoulder and sighting down the barrel. His hair was dirty and shaggy, which went well with the scraggly beard and teeth so green I could see what was left of em. I could swear I could smell him and wrinkled my nose at the thought.

     "We intend to mister, but we were wonderin if the road ahead is clear.” Mason shouted.

     "It’s clear, git." He motioned the gun to the direction indicated and swung it back on Mason again.

     Mason slowly began moving down the road with the rest of us taking up the rear. Lacy said that dirty old man stood there "pointing that canon at us" until she couldn't see him anymore. The bridge was a nightmare. It looked like it was built during the Spanish-American War. Several of floor boards were broken leaving big holes in the floor and I could swear it swayed while we were on it. We decided to take it one at a time. By the time we got back to the highway, we were all exhausted. Mason pulled up behind an abandoned convenience store and we assembled beside him. It reminded me of the circling of the wagons at the end of the day like in the old westerns, but we didn't park one behind the other, just next to each other so we could leave quickly without being stuck behind someone.

     "Ok, that’s it, I'm done. It's been a long day but we made good time, still I can't move another inch." Sarah second the motion and began to throw some grub together.

      Mason saw a concrete water tank next to a windmill full of warm water. That began a lottery to see who got the first bath and who got to hold the curtain. I was at the table examining the map when Howard and Bubba came in, ruffled my hair, got a bowl down and poured some of his water in it for Bubba.

     "Right interesting day, but I'm glad it's done. Bubba said he didn't need any more drama and was hitting the sack early. I think he might be right, so we're just gonna grab a pop tart and head back. You plannin an early morning, kiddo?"

     "Think so, I want to be headed north tomorrow at this time, we should be seeing less civilization by noon at least."

     "We could handle that couldn't we Bubba? Come on boy, let’s find us a nice tree then hit the sack." Bubba stood on his hind legs and begged to be picked up. Howard tapped his chest and the dog jumped into his arms. Touching his hat in farewell, they casually walked over to a cusp of oaks.  Mason came later, still damp from his dip in the tank. "You gonna tell me where we're headed? I may not want to keep heading west."

     "Well,  me and Lacy want to go home... Montana, southwest corner. Winter sounds wonderful about now and all that cold weather has to affect the walkers. I'd understand if you want to go somewhere else but that's where we're headed."

     He thought on for a few moments then said, "Always wanted to go to Montana. I love the mountains too. Sounds perfect to me. Thanks for inviting me along. I appreciate it."

     I nodded; secretly pleased he wanted to come along. I don't know what it meant, me being so happy about it but I wasn't going to give it much more thought. I just nodded at him and finished  the kitchen cleanup. Me and Lacy got the big bed so she helped Mason make the bunk up. He had wanted to sleep in the truck, but the RV had solar panels and we'd be able to run the air all night. I think that was the deciding factor for him. Lights went out in the four outfits slowly and we were left with just crickets for background noise. It sure beat motorcycles and car alarms I thought as I started to relax.  Then I went to sleep in a flash and didn't dream a thing that night.