LUST
The Seventh Deadly Sin
Chapter XXV
We made it back to the Aurora just before sunset. Once we’d killed and disentangled the zed in the prop blades, the motor had started. It had run rough—some things were probably bent up inside—but it’d gotten us back to Camp Fox.
We’d returned to receive five minutes of fanfare, but then it was right back to work. Our problems were nowhere over yet. We found ourselves in an endless debate about what to do next. The herds had moved on, but a couple hundred zeds had stayed behind, watching us from the bridge that crossed the river. That number wasn’t even counting the hundred dead or nearly dead scattered on the ground that had been trampled by the herd. Those would be easier to clean up but still posed some risk to walking to the vehicles.
The next morning, Griz led another Pied Piper boat, but the zeds we’d dubbed the “bridge bastards” remained undeterred. Over the next few days, we tried scouting runs to the north using the river since we couldn’t get to our vehicles. Traveling under the bridge was dangerous, and we had to speed under each time. With no land vehicles parked to the north, we were limited in our search radius, and the riverfront had been picked clean by other boats on the river like the Lady Amore.
We’d brought a pontoon full of scouts to the nearest river town to empty the grocery store, but bandits had beaten us to it. They must’ve been right behind the herds because every place we went showed signs of being recently picked clean. Every vehicle we came to that looked like it could run was missing its keys. Likely, the only reason bandits hadn’t come across our vehicles yet was the bridge bastards.
Without access to vehicles, we were running on borrowed time. We couldn’t get the fuel or food we needed without making land runs. Relocating from the Aurora was deemed not an option. Tyler had queried the residents, and no one had wanted to leave. They felt safe there and were tired of looking over their shoulders.
So another option presented itself, one the residents embraced and the scouts balked at. Of course, none of the residents planned to get their hands dirty. They planned on watching us from the safety of the barge.
“We’ll have to burn them at sunset, so the smoke won’t be seen,” Griz said before leaning back in his chair.
“It’s risky,” Clutch added. “We could set the whole countryside on fire.”
Tyler shook his head. “Not if we control it. We’ll set up boundaries.”
Clutch’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me. Exactly how are we going to dig up ground and not get torn to shreds?”
“Fine,” Tyler replied. “We’ll skip the boundaries. So what if the fire spreads? It won’t reach the Aurora.”
My eyes widened. “It could spread over miles and miles. We could destroy everything around here. Any food, animals, everything.”
“Why does it matter?” Kurt asked. “There’s no one left out there but bandits, anyway. A fire would destroy a lot of the rotting corpses and clean up the countryside.”
Clutch clenched his fist but stopped himself before he hit the table. “Sure, the fire will take out all the zeds in this area, but it could also destroy any plants and wildlife. We’d be dealing with the same issue we have now, and that’s no food.”
“We still have the grain,” Tyler said. “Deer are faster than zeds and can run. We’ll hunt them later.”
“It sounds too dangerous,” I said.
“It’s safer than using up our ammo on them,” Kurt said.
“I disagree. We can’t waste our gasoline,” I said. “I think it’s safer to shoot them, but I’d prefer to find a third option.”
“Gas will start going bad before we use it all up,” Kurt replied.
Griz stood and poured himself a cup of tea. “The people need to be free from zeds. Being watched by zeds day in and day out wears on morale. They need the break. Even if it’s only for a few months.”
“And when spring comes?” Clutch countered.
“We have no idea if they’ll even come back,” Kurt said, rolling his eyes and sighing in exasperation. “Every month, they rot away more and more. They can’t last much longer before their bodies completely fall apart.”
“We’ve been saying that for months now,” Clutch said.
Jase finally spoke up. “You’re not thinking straight. You’re all too desperate to live without zeds. Going after a couple hundred zeds is really dangerous. We’ve never done anything like this before. We’d have to burn them to the point that they can’t physically move, or else they could still survive.”
“Then we need to make sure they are thoroughly burned because not going after them is even more dangerous,” Tyler said. “Every day we can’t get to our vehicles and start land searches, the bandits clear out more of the surrounding area.”
“Well, if this boat is the new permanent location for Camp Fox, we need to make sure it’s not going to float away in the spring floods. The residents need to kick up their efforts at turning this from a temporary base to a home,” Griz said. “We’ll have to focus completely on building up our food reserves. Vicki thought we should build a greenhouse so we can grow vegetables this winter.”
The banter was giving me a headache, and I rubbed my eyes. We could argue these points until the zeds died off, even if it was twenty years from now. None of these discussions would keep us from starving. “Even if we find enough food to last the winter, we’ll need acres and acres of land in the spring to feed everyone. How can we do that if everyone stays on the Aurora? Who’s going to farm it?”
“Staying on the Aurora long term is too risky,” Clutch said. “Griz makes a good point about the spring floods. How the hell are we going to anchor the towboat and barges here so we don’t get washed away or broken apart in the spring?”
Tyler came to his feet and leaned forward on the table. “We’ve been rehashing this for too long. This isn’t a democracy, and the matter is no longer up for discussion. As commanding officer of Camp Fox, the Aurora is hereby renamed Camp Fox, so deal with it. Since it’s no longer our temporary location, we need to strengthen the infrastructure to support us long term.” He pointed at the window. “We’re burning those bridge bastards outside tomorrow and converting this camp into a sustainable fortress. Anyone who isn’t one hundred percent on board with me as CO—commanding officer—is free to leave right now.”
There were no retorts, and I assumed everyone had been stunned into silence like I had been. I stared at Clutch, who was looking right back at me. I was sure I looked as frustrated as he did. In the corner, Jase sat with his head in his hands. I didn’t know the answer, but this plan had too much complexity and too many risks to feel right.
“You heard the captain,” Clutch said, the sergeant tone coming through his voice. “We’ve got a bonfire to plan and a base to protect.”
* * *
At fifteen hundred hours, twelve scouts in full gear loaded onto two pontoons and headed around the southern edge of the island to stay hidden from the bridge bastards. Zeds lingered on the small island, and we skirted around them rather than kill them, to not draw the bridge bastards’ attention. As we broke away from the island, I thought about the plan. It was a simple plan that seemed like a wasteful use of precious fuel and ammo while putting eight people at risk. The plan? Pen the zeds in on the bridge, and burn them. Shoot any outliers.
My pontoon, led by Clutch, was tasked with sneaking onto the eastern shore, where there were more trees to hide our approach. Trees could also hide zeds, but they tended to shuffle their feet, while we could move nearly silently. We were counting on the zeds’ tendency to herd together and hoping that one of those herds weren’t lingering in the woods. Our pontoon’s job was to lay gasoline on the east end of the bridge while the west team distracted the zeds.