The convoy came to a stop before us, and I craned my head out the window to see why. “Do you see anything?” I asked Clutch.
“Everything looks clear up ahead,” he replied.
Tyler’s voice came over the radio. “Contact across the river in the trees. Looks like a single troop with eyes on us.”
I scanned the tree line across the river, but didn’t see anyone. “Do you see him yet?”
A moment passed. “I have him,” Clutch said. “Looks Army issue.”
“Scout vehicle to proceed with extreme caution. Make contact only if you’re confident he’s Army. Report back in ten.”
Griz’s response came. “Roger. Scout vehicle closing in now.” Then he tacked on, “If he’s military, he’s a damn beautiful sight.”
I scowled at the idea of Jase and Griz heading blindly into a possible ambush. Tyler and Griz had far more faith in an altruistic military structure than I did. I’d figured that the world collapsing didn’t exclude the military. Still, we needed food, shelter, and protection. If this guy was the real deal, then we couldn’t not make contact.
After a few more minutes, the convoy moved forward again. The next hour was tense as I kept waiting to hear from Griz, but there still was no response by the time we reached Parkerstown. Rather than leading us into town, Tyler brought the convoy to the huge store not far from the river.
We parked in the open parking lot. Several snow-covered cars sat, but there were no fresh tire tracks or footprints in the snow. The glass entrance doors were shattered, leaving the building wide open. Joe and Bryce pulled their Humvee close to the entrance. They stepped out and after a minute of looking inside, they walked through the doors.
They emerged about fifteen minutes later. One pulled out his handheld radio, and Bryce’s voice came through. “All clear. Not a single zed on initial pass. The place looks to be cleared out of ammo and guns.” With the exception of Clutch’s handheld radio he’d had with him when we’d burned the bridge bastards, all the other handhelds were all still on board the Aurora, making Clutch’s a valuable commodity.
“Roger that,” Tyler responded. “All right everyone, we’re camping in here for the night. All scouts report to the front to make a full clearing pass. Everyone else, stay in your vehicles until I give the all-clear.”
The two gas trucks couldn’t get the same frequencies as the military vehicles, so Tyler stopped by each to relay his orders.
“That means we’re up,” Clutch said as he climbed down. We still had our rifles, but the scouts off duty when the fire broke out on the Aurora couldn’t get to their rifles in time. Many still had their machetes and swords, but were at a definite disadvantage if shit hit the fan now.
I grabbed my rifle and stepped outside. My boots left sooty prints in the snow. When Clutch joined my side, we headed slowly toward Tyler.
Scouts now made up about half of Camp Fox. Before the fire, three out of every four Fox survivors were scouts, and nearly all were Guardsman. Manpower had been Fox’s greatest strength. But when civilians ran out during the fire, many scouts ran in to save who and what they could. So many had been lost. Camp Fox wouldn’t intimidate any enemy now.
As we approached the huge store, I noticed the pile of burnt bodies near the building. Still covered with snow, I could only assume—and hope—they were zeds. I stepped through the doors. Glass crunched under my boots.
Inside, we walked under a ceiling of antlers that led to a wide-open space of clothes and merchandise. Much of it had been knocked over and shoved into piles. “Spread out,” Tyler said. “Stay in pairs and yell if you come across a tango.” He pointed to each team and then in a direction for them to head. After he motioned for us to head toward the boat section, Clutch and I started walking.
As we searched our section, I couldn’t help but admire the rows of new boats and jet skis. “This place is a goldmine.”
“I agree. There’s plenty of gear still here that we can use,” he said. “But I’d bet any food is as far gone as the ammo. We’d better find something for everyone by tomorrow or else their moods are going to turn shitty.”
“Shittier, you mean,” I said with a smirk, and we continued our search.
After making sure the store was absolutely, positively clear of zeds, Camp Fox was reestablished for the night in the hunting area toward the back of the store. The entrance was blocked off with a Humvee.
As people settled in new clothes and sleeping bags, Tyler tried to reach Griz and Jase on the handheld, but the signal was weak in the building. He decided it wasn’t worth the risk of going outside after dark, and set up his sleeping pad and bag next to the wall.
“Do you want Clutch and me to go check on them?” I asked hopefully. The idea of being safe and comfortable while Jase and Griz was who-knew-where and caught up in who-knew-what seemed like a betrayal, and the guilt was eating at me.
Tyler didn’t look up. “No. Get some rest.”
“They might be looking for us.”
“We need to keep everyone as centrally located as possible. I can’t risk sending out scouts at night. I’ll try to reach them again in the morning.”
I never moved and watched him for a moment. He had his hands in his pocket and he seemed to be staring off into nowhere, though his jaw was clenched tight. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.”
I stood there for another long moment and finally sighed. “Okay. Sleep tight.”
I started to walk away, but then Tyler said something I couldn’t hear.
“What’s that?” I asked.
He nearly collapsed as he sat down. He rubbed his temples before looking up. “I screwed up.”
I frowned and took a seat next to him. I placed a hand on his shoulder. “How so?”
“The fire.” He leaned back against the wall. “It’s my fault.”
Confused, I cocked my head. “How is it your fault? The plan was solid. No one knew the bridge wouldn’t hold.”
“I ordered the mission. It’s my fault.”
Clutch, who’d just walked up, handed Tyler and me each a plastic bottle with a price tag still on it. “Water,” he said. “It may still have a bit of charcoal taste, but it’s okay to drink.”
“Thanks,” I said and waited for Tyler to continue. When he didn’t, I did. “Someone had to take charge on the Aurora or else we would’ve kept debating until it was too late. You may have ordered the mission, but I volunteered for it. If you’re looking for blame, it falls on every single person in this room. We’re all in this together. Wins, losses, they belong to all of us.”
Tyler’s lips pursed and he looked off to the side.
“You know something?” Clutch asked after taking a drink from his own bottle. “If you didn’t feel the weight of making tough decisions, then I couldn’t ever respect you. I’ve got to admit, I didn’t like you at first. I wanted to kick your ass, to tell the truth, but you earned my respect. You’re the right leader for Camp Fox. You’re not afraid to lead but you’ve also held onto your compassion. That’s rare nowadays. You’re exactly what we need.”
Tyler’s brow rose and the tension seemed to bleed from his features. “You mean that?”
Clutch held up a hand. “Jesus. Don’t expect a hug or anything.”
Tyler chuckled, and it was the first time I’d seen his smile for some time. “You two had better get some rest. Who knows how long a trip we’ve got ahead of us.”
Reluctantly, I set up a sleeping bag next to Clutch, and we waited for Jase and Griz to show up. Vicki warmed up the camping area by lighting fires in small charcoal grills.