As it was, it was a serious zombie-killing recreational vehicle, decked out in all the latest Z repellant gear. I had to admit, seeing it roll over the hill like that, it was impressive. But I had no more time to look on in wonderment and admiration, as we were here to do a job. I brought my rifle up and kept it trained on the far side of the road, while Tommy kept his gun on this side of the road. There was a house up the road to the east we hadn’t checked out, but there was nothing to be done for it.
The big rig slowed to a stop and I could see Nate at the wheel. Even fifty yards away I could see Duncan’s stupid grin as he got close to his mystery woman and saw she was very pretty. Nate pulled the RV to a stop past the woman’s truck and angled it so it blocked the road. Anyone on the far side would not be able to see what was going on and any ambushers riding in from the east would be blocked as well. Pretty smart.
Tommy and I waited until Nate got out of the RV, followed by a fairly jumpy Duncan. We started walking to the scene, keeping our weapons ready. I could hear Nate’s voice and the woman’s but couldn’t make out what they were saying until I got closer.
“But my friend is back there and she needs help!”
“Not my decision to make right now.”
“Oh, God, please! You look like you two could handle the zombies, just pull that truck close to the building and let her jump down! Why won’t you help?” The woman seemed nearly hysterical.
Nate sounded compassionate, but cynical, if that was even possible. “Like I said, it’s not up to me.”
The woman turned to Duncan, who clearly enjoyed the attention. “Please,” she said, placing a hand on his arm. “My friend needs help. I drove out here to see if there was anyone in these homes that could help and the truck broke down. She’s been with me since the beginning and I can’t just leave her.” I couldn’t see her face, but I was willing to bet she was nearly crying. I was almost convinced myself.
Duncan nodded and the woman seemed to brighten, but slumped her shoulders when he said, “We’d love to help, but it ain’t up to us.”
The woman took a step back and cursed. “Well, dammit! Who the hell is in charge and why aren’t they out here?”
I stopped walking and was positioned about ten feet behind her. “Turn around,” I said as the woman jumped slightly at the sound of my voice. She spun about and stared at me, not sure where the hell I could have sprung from. I could see her quick inventory of my weapons, followed by a quick personal inventory of my physical features. What she saw was probably not comforting. A six foot-two, broad shouldered man in his thirties, wearing a vest full of ammo, a belt with a pistol and knife on it and holding a fully loaded battle rifle. A funny look flashed on her face, but it was gone before I could get a read on it.
I introduced myself. “Name’s John Talon, these renegades are my crew. You’ve met Nate, the big guy over there and Duncan, the skinny fellow. Tommy Carter is the gent to the rear. Who might you be?”
The blonde tossed her hair back with a shake of her head and said, “I’m Janna Thorne. Are you going to help my friend, or not?” Her tone was belligerent, which could be excused as worry for her friend.
“We’ll see,” I said, motioning for Nate and Tommy to go back into the RV. Duncan went back with obvious reluctance and Nate had to pull him in just so he could shut the door. Tommy wandered over to the truck and was poking around in it.
I faced Janna. “Tell me about your friend. Where is she, what’s the best route to get to her, how did you get away, etc. If I am to help and I haven’t said I would, I need as much information as possible.”
Janna’s eyes lit up with hope at the possibility of helping her friend, a good sign that she was sincere. She spilled out her tale so quickly I was nearly lost three seconds after she started.
In a nutshell, she was working as a hairdresser in a small town when the Upheaval hit. She was able to fight her way to her parent’s house, only to find they had been infected. Her little brother was killed by zombies when she was trying to get him out to safety and she spent the last couple of years on the move. She met her friend Gina out on the road and the two stayed together for obvious survival reasons. They got surprised by a large group of zombies and when she jumped from the roof to a dumpster, the dumpster tipped over and before she could right it, the zombies chased her away from her friend.
“What’s with the scissors?” I asked, just out of curiosity.
Janna smiled at me. “They work as weapons. I’m used to them and they easily penetrate zombie skulls if you know what you’re doing.”
I had to agree. One pair of the scissors seemed to have blades over seven inches long, longer than my knife blade.
“All right,” I said. “Climb aboard. We’ll see what we can do for your friend.” I held out an arm at the RV, which Nate had started and was waiting for us.
“Thank you,” she said, clasping my hand with hers.
“Don’t thank me yet,” I said, taking my hand back to open the door. “Your friend is still in danger.” Janna stepped inside as Tommy came up to the door.
“Truck really broken down?” I asked under my breath as he passed by.
“Battery cable came off. Might be on purpose, might be on accident. Can’t tell.”
“Keep your eyes open. I don’t trust this at all.”
“Ditto.”
25
We moved slowly into town, as I told Nate to take it easy. I wanted to give the appearance of a group just looking to see if things were okay before they stopped. If we were being watched and the hairs standing up on the back of my neck told me we were, then I wanted to present as much of a humble front as possible. It was one thing to try and trap someone. It was another when the person you trapped turned into a much bigger animal than you thought..
I felt like we had a huge target on the side of the RV and were getting closer to the order to fire. Trouble was, I had no idea who might be waiting for us. I just had the feeling. In all honesty, if it was an ambush by zombies, I would probably feel better.
Janna and Duncan sat at the kitchen table and he tried to get more information from her. Zeus the cat came down from his perch to meet the new arrival and he was currently lounging on the table in front of Janna. She idly stroked his back while telling her tale. She had been travelling with two friends, as it turned out, but the guy she was with had been killed. She didn’t go into any more detail. I was standing by the side window, watching the town move past.
We drove past several homes and turned onto High Street, which looked like it would take us through the center of town. We passed Harrisburg United Methodist Church and it looked worse for wear. All of the homes looked like this town had had a rough go of it, since it was so close to the interstate and all the blocked cars. When people fled their cars, where did they go? Right to Harrisburg. Who followed them? You got it.
As we passed Sycamore Street I noticed a truck sitting in the middle of the street. It seemed wildly out of place. The truck was of a military style, with a high cab and bias-ply tires. The back was canvas covered and it was just sitting there. It seemed to be a vehicle capable of hauling a lot of stuff over heavy terrain, so why anyone would leave it seemed odd to me.
“Nate,” I called up front. “Stop here. I want to take a look at something.”
“You got it.”
The RV slowed to a stop and Tommy immediately went to the ladder to the roof. Duncan reluctantly broke away from Janna and picked up his rifle. Nate stayed at the wheel, ready to gun it and get us out of there if need be.
I went over to the door and waited and in a few seconds, Tommy thumped the roof to let me know it was clear to go out. As I went, I heard Janna talking to Duncan.