I smiled, closed my eyes, and rested my head on his chest. His heart, still pounding from our narrow escape, beat strong. My head rose and fell with each breath he took. “Try it.”
He didn’t.
“Hang in there, guys,” Jase said. “We’re coming up on the dock.”
I grudgingly rolled off Clutch and sat up. Clutch pulled himself onto a seat. It took several long minutes while we waited for boats to be moved before we could get to the ramp. When we stepped onto the rocky soil, Tyler was waiting for us with a hard look. “Take ten to regroup and load into your Humvee. We’re heading out to the first house we find and staying there tonight.”
None of us replied or acknowledged. We simply trudged up the rocky bank. At the top, I turned around to see the Aurora lit up like its namesake.
After I reclaimed my rifle from Joe, I headed back to our Humvee with the Charlie Coyote on the hood. Jase already had the engine running.
Two hours later, after the sun had long since set, we lay on the living room floor of an old two-story farmhouse with nineteen seventies decor. My eyes burned from smoke, and my skin still felt hot, even in the cold house. Exhaustion forced me into a sleep that I don’t think my mind would have otherwise allowed. Not with all the fresh images of flames, lost friends, and burnt corpses filling my head.
When I awoke some time later, I found Clutch and Jase awake, one sitting on either side of me and leaning against the wall. I pulled myself up, squeezed in between them, and wrapped an arm around each of them. With my “family,” I felt safe. But the devil was in the details. Sure, I felt safe right now, but we had no home, no food, and no weapons. Nothing except for what we had on our backs, and outside it was snowing.
NEW EDEN
Chapter XXVIII
Thirty-two Fox survivors remained after the fire, but more should have survived. Most of those who died were lost below decks when they went in to grab their possessions. It was a funny thing how, even at the end of the world, people were so attached to their possessions that they risked their lives for them.
The final casualty, Don, was found dead this morning when he didn’t wake. Doc figured the man had succumbed to an internal injury since his lower back was bruised and distended. His daughter, Alana, refused to let go of him and had to be dragged away. She screamed until she fainted.
The snow covered everything in a light blanket of white, making the world look deceptively clean. The house smelled like pungent smoke since no one had washed up last night, and we only had the smoky, filthy clothes on our backs. It took nearly an hour to hook up the only surviving portable generator to the well pump, and another four hours for everyone to wash up with ice cold water.
We didn’t get on the road until noon, and we had no breakfast or lunch served. Vicki, with some help from Joe, had collected wild leaves and made tea to curb everyone’s hunger. About a dozen of us, who always wore “every day carry” packs, had protein bars and water filters. I’d given one of my bars to Benji but none to anyone else. It wasn’t because I was selfish. It was because we needed to maintain our strength so we could find food for the others. It didn’t stop people from eying me with disdain as I zipped up my backpack and slid it over my shoulders, though.
Clutch and Tyler had constantly told people to always carry emergency bags, but few actually did. I wanted to tell each and every one of them to fuck off, that I’d gladly give any one of them a bar if they were willing to go find food. Except they didn’t want to earn the bar. They just wanted the handout.
“Let’s load up,” Tyler announced to the room full of people, without making eye contact with anyone.
I frowned. Always before, Tyler had an underlying warm tone to his words. Since yesterday, everything he said was hard and to the point. He kept his arms crossed over his chest, and he didn’t even respond when Vicki hugged him. It was like he’d completely closed himself off from everyone.
“I’ll take the lead vehicle,” Tyler said. “Griz and Jase will take the scout vehicle. They will advance ahead of the convoy and recon any houses for food. Clutch and Cash will cover our flank. We’ll head north until we can safely cross the river. We’ll stop outside the first town we reach today to split up and search for food. Any questions?”
“Why don’t we stay here?” someone asked. “Have the scouts go for food like they’ve always done.”
“Since we know the area around the river has already been picked clean, we need to move on. There’s nothing here for us.”
“What’s our destination?” Frost asked. Diesel sprawled around Benji, both napping next to the older man. Frost had never given the dog any food meant for people, but when the Aurora burned so had all of Diesel’s kibble. The dog, just like everyone else, no longer had anything to eat. Already, the griping had started. Complaints that the dog would take precious food.
Complaining about a dog wasn’t a serious issue, but it revealed the mood of Camp Fox. If relationships were collapsing the first day on the road, we wouldn’t last three days before everyone was at one another’s throats.
“We’re heading back toward Fox Hills since we’re familiar with the area and the herds should’ve passed through there at least a week ago. We’ll stop along the way at any place that’s safe and has food, including every military base and armory so we can replenish our gear.”
“What if we don’t find food,” someone else asked, and several others chimed in agreement.
Tyler didn’t even pause. “Then we go hungry.”
After Tyler’s uncharacteristically harsh response, no one else voiced any more questions.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone had split into four Humvees, one HEMTT, and the two gas trucks. With fewer people and no gear, all other vehicles were left behind simply because we didn’t need them anymore.
Less than an inch of snow covered the ground, so we didn’t have to deal with shitty road conditions on top of everything else. Griz and Jase pulled out first in Bravo team’s Humvee—the one with a pinup girl painted on the hood—and disappeared out of sight. Clutch and I had time to wait since we would be the last vehicle to head out. I was glad I was with Clutch rather than Tyler since Tyler’s mood had been so sour since the fire.
Not that anyone was in a cheerful mood.
I drove, and Clutch stood behind the .30 cal. We’d decided we would switch positions every hour so neither of us would get too cold. This morning, we’d counted our rounds that we kept in the Humvee. Just over two hundred for our rifles and fourteen hundred for the machine gun. Not bad, but I would’ve liked to have had ten times that for a cross-country trip.
Tyler led the convoy and he kept us slow, below thirty miles per hour. That speed allowed plenty of time to prepare for any zeds that discovered us, and made it easy for Clutch and me to alternate positions. The slow progress also allowed for a chance to admire the beautiful day outside. Snow dusted the trees lining both sides of the winding river road. A gentle breeze pressed against the branches, sending maple seeds spinning to the ground like tiny helicopters. The sense of peace was surreal, given all the chaos in our lives over the past several days.
Jase reported in on the radio every thirty minutes. He and Griz had found a dented can of creamed corn under a kitchen counter at one farm. Two other farms offered nothing, and all three farms had clearly been looted. Whether the looters were still alive or not, we couldn’t know, so Tyler warned Griz and Jase to proceed with caution.
The road map showed that the closest bridge over the Mississippi was near Parkerstown. If the zeds had cleared out of town, Tyler announced we’d camp there for the night after searching every store and house. With a large sporting goods store, it offered the possibility to restock gear. That was, if it hadn’t been looted yet.