Revenence: Dead Silence, A Zombie Novel (24 page)

"Don't be a twat, princess.  It's not my fault that my memory is better than yours."

Daphne was slowing down up ahead.  There was an abandoned police cruiser sitting empty in the ditch to their right. 

"Checking it for loot?" Shari called.

Daphne parked the ATV and approached Shari on foot.  "Can I see your crowbar?" she asked.

"Sure," Shari said, turning to rummage through her bag.  "Are you gonna pop the trunk?" she asked, handing Daphne the crowbar.

"Yeah," Daphne said.  "I wanna see if they have any of those spike strips in there....you know, the ones they use to stop people during high-speed chases?  It might make our work a little easier once we find those sadists."

Shari raised her eyebrows and nodded.  "Good thinking.  I'll see if there's anything in the car itself."  She dismounted and walked to the cruiser, opening the driver's side door. 
Not much in here,
she thought.  A half a pack of cigarettes, a couple books of matches that read
Vinnie's Gentlemen's Club
, an unopened bag of chips.  She took the matches and chips, then got out of the car and closed the door quietly.  She saw Daphne was holding some kind of net with spikes on it. 

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's a net.  I think it works like the strips.  Should be easier to carry and travel with, though.  We need to check every cop car from now on, 'cause we can lay these things out for zombies, too.  If we put a bunch of them together, we can form a perimeter."  She opened the trunk on her ATV, stuffing the net inside.  "Did you find any goodies inside?"

Shari shook her head.  "Nah, just odds and ends in there."

Daphne looked sharply to the north, the direction they had come from.  "Did you hear something?" she whispered.

Shari paused, listening.  "No, why?"  Daphne remained silent, focusing intently on the sound.  After a moment, Shari heard it.  It was the low, distant rumble of an approaching motor.  "I can hear it now," she said.  "Do you think it's those guys?"

"No," Daphne replied.  "It only sounds like one vehicle...motorcycle, I think."

"Should we get back on the road?"

"Well," Daphne said, "I'm thinking maybe if this person's agreeable, we can ask them if they've seen or heard of those sadists coming through the area.  Maybe get some useful information."

"And if they're not agreeable?" Shari asked.

Daphne smiled widely, her blue eyes twinkling.  She kissed her titanium blade.  "Then we'll make them wish they had been!" 

"I think the skull face might be a little confrontational," she had explained.  Daphne smirked, nodding.

"I think you're probably right," she agreed.

As the figure on the motorcycle drew near, they saw that it was a man dressed in camoflage.  When he noticed the two women on the side of the road, his expression became one of concern, but he didn't draw a weapon on them.  He slowed his bike and came to a stop about twenty feet away from Shari and Daphne.
             

"Howdy, ladies," he said, eyeing them suspiciously.  "Somethin' I can do for you?"  Shari noted his right hand, which grazed his jacket pocket.

"We were just looking for somebody," Shari said.  "You alone, or part of a group?"

"Why do you wanna know?" he asked.

Shari put her hands up.  "We're not here to threaten you," she said.  "We were just wondering if you were part of this group we're looking for."  Daphne had her eye firmly fixed on him, waiting for him to go for a gun.  She was ready to propel a finely-pointed wooden stick into his eye before he could ever get a shot off.

The stranger's expression changed into one of what Shari interpreted as relief.  "I'm looking for a group, too," he said.  "Maybe it's the same one you're looking for."

"Were you the one who was on lookout duty in that town?" Shari asked.  "Are you Adrian?"

"That's me," he confirmed.  "What kinda beef do you two have with those guys?  They slaughter your settlement, too?"

"No," Daphne said indifferently.  "I guess you could say we're vigilantes."

Adrian snorted in surprise.  "No shit," he said.  "Having seen these monsters at work, I can respect the fact that you want to take them out based on principle alone.  Believe me when I tell you, they're animals."

"Sadists," Shari interjected.

"For sure," he muttered.  "Sadists, for damn sure."

"I'm Shari, and this is Daphne," Shari said.  She gazed south down the road.  "So is this the way they came?"

Adrian nodded.  "I'm trying to keep a safe distance.  They're headed to the Wal-Mart about half an hour south of here."

"So," Shari said, "do you mind if we travel together?  Me and Daphne here can help you inflict hell onto those sadists.  What do you say?" 

"Well, I'm the one with a personal stake in this," he said, "but I'm not too proud to turn down the help.  I trust you ladies can hold your own?"

"I can shoot like nobody's business," Shari said, "whether it's with my bow or my AK.  And Daphne here has a real gift for throwing sharpened pieces of wood into sadists' skulls before they even know she's there."  Daphne nodded modestly in confirmation.

"Alright," he said, "but don't forget what I told you.  These guys are animals.  Don't put anything past them, okay?  And don't feel bad shooting them in the back if you can.  They have no honor, so we need to have no mercy.  Just do whatever you have to do when the time comes."

Shari pulled the hood back down over her face, put on her sunglasses, and mounted Eva.  "No mercy, got it."  She glanced at Adrian, who seemed a bit startled by her visage.  His expression of alarm melted into an amused smile.

"Wow, I get to travel with two bad-ass broads," he said, chuckling.  "It's like something straight out of a comic book!"  He got back on his bike.

"Hold on," Daphne said.  "I'm gonna try to siphon some more gas, top off my tank before we go."  She took a section of tubing from her bag and opened the gas cap on the police cruiser.

Shari took out a smoke, lighting up. 
Might as well take a few puffs while she's gassing up,
she thought.  She saw Adrian looking at her, and offered him a puff.

"You smoke?" she asked.

"Normally, yeah," he said.  "But right now, I don't want to do anything that might mellow me out.  I'm full of rage, and I want to keep it bottled up until I'm ready to take it out on those fucking sadists."

"I can understand that," Shari said.

"Hey Adrian, you need any gas?" Daphne called.  "It's still going strong, and I'm about full."

"Yeah, I might as well while we're here," he said, shifting his bike into neutral and walking it over to the cruiser.

Shari took a few more puffs, then put it out when she saw Daphne shake the excess drops of gas out of the tube and replace it in her bag.  Adrian started his motorcycle, Daphne started the ATV, and they continued south as a trio.

"Take care, and good luck," she concluded after she had finished her message.  She slid the radio back into her bag, closing the zipper.

They were about half an hour north of the Wal-Mart, which was outside of town to the south.  Shari expected that they would find the sadists there if they didn't run into them sooner.

"So," came Kandi's voice from her left, "what do you think of Adrian?  Particularly his rugged, masculine good looks?  Wouldn't mind having a go with him, would you?"

Shari rolled her eyes. 
Don't be such a pig,
she thought. 
The guy's daughter just disappeared, alright?  As in, just earlier today.  I doubt he's thinking about fooling around right now.

"Well, you heard him," Kandi continued.  "He's turned on by traveling with what he called, 'two badass broads.'  It's the stuff mens' fantasies are made of."  Shari ignored her.  "Well, under different circumstances, he'd probably go for it, that's all I'm saying," Kandi said defensively.

They rode on, past maturing corn and soy fields, through wooded areas, and through the occasional small village.  Shari caught frequent whiffs of marijuana.  It seemed to grow unchecked in every ditch, field, and yard. 
At least I'll never have to go without that,
she thought. 
Not a good trade for the end of the world, though.

Kandi sighed beside her.  "Yes, dear, but in a world full of storm clouds, we've got no choice but to keep our eyes, at all times, on the silver lining."

Up ahead, Daphne stopped her ATV, and Shari and Adrian followed suit.  Daphne twisted around to face her two companions. 

"We're just outside of town," she said.  "I'm thinking that instead of just plunging in, maybe we should take a different approach."

"What did you have in mind?" Shari asked.

"Well," Daphne replied, "I know a back road that detours around the outside of town, then leads back to the highway on the opposite side.  We can cut them off, maybe lay down the spike net we found."

"Spike net?" Adrian said.  "Like those ones the cops use?"

Shari nodded.  "We found it in the trunk of the police cruiser."

"Huh," he said.  "Good find."

Daphne continued.  "While we're at it, maybe we can use some other traps, too.  I've got about four dozen wooden spikes in my backpack.  We can use them to make some punji traps."

"How do we know we'll have time for all this?" Adrian asked.

Daphne smiled.  "You don't know me very well.  I can dig a dozen punji pits in about fifteen minutes."  She paused.  "I've hunted...a
lot
.  And besides, even if they're not still in town, we can catch up with them, cut them off at some point down the road.  I know those types, they'll most likely stick to the main highways.  They know that's where they're more likely to find settlements...and that's where they can steal weapons, ammo, food, and females.  It won't be hard to stay on their trail.  At some point tonight, they'll stop to sleep, if they don't do it while they're in town.  And that'll buy us time to set up."

"Just one thing," Adrian said.  "How do we make sure they head for the traps without possibly getting shot in the process?"

Shari turned to Daphne.  "We're both pretty good-looking chicks, aren't we?"

Daphne eyed her questioningly.  "Yeah, why?"

"I think we can use that to our advantage...the two of us, at least."  She turned to Adrian.  "No offense, but you don't make a very pretty lady."

He rubbed his beard and smiled.  "Is it the facial hair?"

Shari snorted.  "I think they'd rather have their way with us than kill us...at least to start with.  If we play our cards right, those sadists will never know what hit them."

"You know, princess, if you used your binoculars, rather than your rifle scope, you wouldn't have to worry about the temptation to prematurely ejaculate lead," Kandi said, amused as she knelt beside Shari.

She stood and descended the ladder back down to the ground, where Daphne and Adrian were waiting.  She gripped the rungs tightly, trying not to look down.

"Not scared of a little water tower, are we princess?" Kandi teased as she climbed casually down after Shari.  Shari rolled her eyes, ignoring her.

"They're still in town," she informed Daphne and Adrian as she stepped back down onto solid ground.  "Out in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart, throwing cocktails at zombies, watching them burn.  Having a good ol' time.  I only saw two of them out there, but it looks like a couple dozen ATVs parked out front."

"It's getting close to sundown," Adrian noted.  "You think they'll be back on the road tonight?"

Daphne shrugged.  "Probably not, but we should get going, either way.  We've got pits to dig and traps to set."

Adrian pressed the butt of his palm into his forehead.  "I wonder what's happening to my daughter right now."

Shari grabbed his shoulders, looking him in the eye.  "It's best not to wonder.  It won't help.  Just focus on the plan, okay?  That's the best way...the
only
way...for you to help her."