Animals Page 23

  Gordon was a few years younger than the rest of them but they quickly learned that he was a stone-cold killer. He went out alone and speared nearly all of the undead at the front gate and took it upon himself to patrol the perimeter fence. A tree had toppled over and a whole section was down. They had been lucky all the undead were attracted to the bonfire and hadn’t wandered along the fence line. Using one of the side by side four wheelers and its winch, he and Skull made the repairs. Gordon gained their wary respect and Richard let him do whatever he wanted. The kid was taking care of things and as long as he didn’t get too big for his britches, he would let him think he was running the show. It was easier to have him voluntarily do all the work than try to get somebody to sober up long enough.

  Richard didn’t trust Gordon completely. He still remembered him as the spoiled, overweight tattletale who would say anything to get what he wanted. He wasn’t sure how much of the story Gordy told was true but the kid had got hard, that was obvious. He wasn’t the same whiney brat. Before he committed his men to an all-out assault, especially if they really did have trained attack animals, he wanted one of his guys to check it out. He wanted a second opinion.

  One of his best men was Smoke, the only guy he trusted to watch the back gate. He’d been worried about some of the angry residents that he’d kicked out coming back with guns but so far they hadn’t. He didn’t have much ammo left, not enough to have a gun battle with anyone. The whole development had been advertised as an environmentally friendly green community and had attracted a lot of progressive families. Richard didn’t care one way or another how anyone voted but wished there had been a few more NRA members living here. At least there would have been more guns. All they found were a few pistols and the rifles from his dad and uncle. It had been weeks since he’d run them out though and they were probably dead by now. It was probably safe to stop guarding the rear entrance. Richard told Smoke to sober up and go with Gordy, he wanted a full report.

  The ride down to the park only took a few hours on the quad. It could easily go fifty miles an hour on the clear sections. Gordon had been full of bravado when they left but the closer they got, the more the old doubts and fears crept back in. He couldn’t let it show, couldn’t display weakness in front of the older boy. He had his nickel-plated revolver; he wasn’t afraid of the undead. They were pretty slow, the cold weather seemed to be affecting them and, in a worst-case scenario, he could always shoot Smoke and let them attack him while he got away.

  They parked a good distance from the back gate and snuck up through the woods. He knew Swan and Donny hunted at night so the only thing they had to worry about was the roaming fence checker. They waited and watched for a few minutes and when no one came from either direction Gordon pulled the wire snips from his pocket and cut the retaining clips down low. They slid under the wire, stayed crouched in the tall grass and ran across the field. Smoke was amazed at the gazelles and antelopes who raised their heads and watched them.

  “I didn’t even know this place was here.” he said. “They let the all the animals run loose?”

  “Yeah.” Gordon replied “There’s bears and panthers and wolves so keep low and keep quiet. We can see the main house from that hill up there. That’s as close as I want to get.”

  They stood by a lone tree on the rise and shaded their eyes, trying to see the house a half mile distant. As they watched, the Twins came into view riding their polar bears. They had come from their river traps with a basket of fish.

  “No fragging way.” Smoke said. “They set those things on you?”

  It took Gordon a moment to remember the lie he’d told then nodded his head.

  “Right after they killed my lion.” he said, “And look, see that crazy looking girl with the wolves? She’s the worst of all of them. She’s going to be my personal slave. I’m going to beat that bitch every day.”

  Donny followed her out of the house with Yewan padding beside him.

  “I don’t know, man.” Smoke said. “We can’t fight against that. I mean, look at them. I’m sorry they turned on you Gordon but they’d wipe us out.”

  One of wolves raised his head and sniffed the air then looked in their direction.

  “Get down!” Gordon hissed and they both dropped below the waist high grass.

  “Think they saw us?”

  “I don’t know.” Gordon said, “But let’s get out of here.”

  They ran hunched over and tried to stay out of sight.

  “We’re going to pass on this one.” Smoke said as they neared the fence. “I’m telling Richard he’s going to have to do without these girls.”

  When they stood upright both were surprised to see Harper examining the fence where they’d cut their way in. She whirled and had her blade in her hand while they both stared at her in shock. Bert stomped a hoof at them and while Smoke gaped skyward at the towering giraffe, Gordon pulled his pistol and aimed it at her.

  “Drop it.” he said, and a smile crept across his lips. “Or I’ll shoot.”

  What kind of good luck was this? His Harper had appeared like a gift wrapped present.

  “I’ll chop your face off before you can pull the trigger.” Harper spat.

  Smoke glanced over at Gordon. “This was your girlfriend?” he asked.

  Harper snorted in derision.

  “That’s what lazy ass has been telling you?” she asked, “Can’t wait to hear what else he’s said. I wouldn’t date that back stabbing piece of crap if he were the last person on earth.”

  Gordons face reddened as Smoke looked back and forth between them.

  “She just needs to be disciplined.” he said, and moved the gun over to aim it at Bert then watched as her eyes got big.

  “I said drop it.” his grin came back, “Or I’ll shoot.”

  “Don’t Gordon.” she said and color drained from her face because she knew he was capable of it. He would do it just out of meanness. “Please.”

  She lowered the blade, let it drop to the ground and raised her hands.

  “You’re coming with us.” he announced, “Cuff her, Smoke.”

  “A feisty one. I think I like it.” he said, and unhooked the handcuffs he wore dangling from his belt loop.

  Harper tried to pull away as he neared.

  “Knock it off.” Gordon yelled and took a step closer. “I’ll blow him away and you know I will.”

  Something moved in his peripheral vision and he looked back at the giraffe just in time to see its big head swinging right for him. Gordon didn’t have time to react before he felt a sledgehammer blow slam into him. The gun went off as it flew out of his hand and he went sprawling backward to bounce off the fence some eight feet in the air. Smoke started to yell something but the words were abruptly cut off when Bert kicked out with a twelve-inch hoof nearly as big as his head. There was a nasty, wet crunching sound as a surprised face turned into splintered bone and bloody gristle. Smoke’s neck snapped as his head was nearly knocked completely off. He was dead before he crumpled to the ground in a boneless heap.

  Yewan and the wolves arrived first with Donny and Swan close behind. Gordon was trying to suck in air but all he could pull in were tiny little gasps. If he hadn’t been wearing his armor, his ribcage would have been splintered like matchsticks. He grasped at the fence to pull himself up but a snarling face inches from his froze him in place. He eased back down and Lucy’s growl was replaced by Swans. She looked wilder than ever and her teeth were bared. Gordon was afraid she might snap and bite his nose off.

  “I didn’t…” he started to say but her growl grew more insistent and Zero moved to within an inch of his face. The warm air of their snarls blew across his cheeks and he closed his eyes. He was going to die, ripped to shreds by the wolf girl and her pack. His bladder let go and Swan jumped back.

  “Gross, Gordy.” she spat, “You’re a disgusting pig.”

  “Call them off, Swan.” Cody said when he came up, panting from the long run.

  A gentle ha
nd on their necks was all it took and the wolves went over to sniff at the dead boy.

  “Donny, can you and Vanessa help Harper catch Bert. The shot scared him, I don’t want him to hurt himself.”

  Donny nodded and took off on a path to intercept the spooked giraffe. Vanessa swung herself onto Ziggy’s back and they raced away to cut him off before he slammed full speed into a fence or broke a leg in the marshy areas near the river.

  “What do you want me to do?” Swan asked.

  “Stay here and look scary.” Cody replied.

  She smiled, pulled a tomahawk and squatted in front of Gordon.

  Cody saw the handcuffs and tossed them to her. She snapped one end around Gordon’s wrist, the other through the chain link. Cody scanned the horizon for the polar bears and Otis. When they’d heard the gunfire, they’d ran the other way.

  “Big babies.” he muttered.

  He saw Bert’s tall head disappear over the rise and sighed. It might be a while before they got him calmed down. The bears were probably inside the house, they’d be fine. He turned back to Gordon and crossed his arms.

  “I told you I would let Swan and Donny carry out judgement if they caught you inside the fences.” he said, “I think your five minutes were up a long time ago.”

  Gordon struggled to his feet, and grimaced at the pain. He felt like he had busted ribs, armor or not.

  “They made me.” he blurted out. The first words that came to mind. “Him and his buddies.”

  He pointed at Smoke who couldn’t defend himself. Once the lie was out, Gordon knew he had to sell it before Harper came back. He had to get them to let him go before she told what really happened.

  Cody held a hand up to Swan who had pulled her other tomahawk and was staring at Gordy with a smile.

  “Who is they?” he asked.

  “Them.” Gordon said, pointing at Smoke again. “It’s a big gang. When you threw me out, I found them up north. I told them about the animals and they thought it was cool.”

  “I bet.” Cody said. “How big is this gang and what did they want? Why did you come back?”

  “I told you, it was nothing bad. Honest. They couldn’t believe you were living with the animals, they just wanted to see, that’s all. They wanted to meet you.”

  “Why did you fire the gun, then?” Cody asked examining the pistol.

  “It was the savage ones.” Gordon said, thinking fast. “We went under the fence to get in and one of them must have followed us. It was going after Harper so I shot at it to save her. It spooked Bert though and he attacked.”

  Gordon looked completely sincere and he almost believed the story himself. It was a good story. Now he had to get away before Harper could come back and ruin it.

  “Uh huh.” Cody said doubtfully.

  “Honest, Cody. I’m not mad at you guys anymore. I found a good group. We’ve got electricity and everything, we just came here on a peace mission and one of our guys got killed. If you let me go, I can smooth it over. You don’t want trouble with these guys, believe me.”

  “Yeah. I think we’ll wait to see what Harper has to say.” Cody said and shrugged the buffalo hide cloak a little higher on his shoulders. The December winds were biting and the first of the big snows looked like it was moving in.

  Gordon kept talking but nothing he said could convince them to free him. He finally ran out of lies and stood there waiting for his judgement. When they saw the rest of the tribe returning, Harper riding high above the rest of them on Bert, Swan and Cody went out to meet them. He needed to hear her side of the story. As soon as their backs were turned, Gordon pulled the snips from his pocket and clipped the wire holding him in place. He was lucky Swan hadn’t put the cuff around one of the bars. He rolled under the fence and ran for the four-wheeler. He ran like he’d never run before and he heard their shouts behind him. He threw himself inside it, hit the switch and stomped the gas pedal. The machine roared to life and shot down the road. He had the pedal floored and was going fifty before he dared to turn around to look over his shoulder. The wolves were falling away fast but the panther seemed to be gaining on him, its’ sleek black fur a shadow on the road. Gordon urged the machine faster, willed it to hurry before he felt those claws rip him out of the seat. He hunched low over the steering wheel and when he looked back again, the black cat was nowhere to be seen.

  He didn’t slow down until he was miles away.

  38

  Murray

  There wasn’t much they could do about Gordon although Donny and Swan wanted to try to track him. Harper told them what really happened and they hoped losing one of their members would scare the gang off. They decided the best thing to do was stay vigilant and keep preparing for winter. When Gordon had stolen the golf cart, he destroyed all of their solar chargers so their trips into town took a lot longer and they could carry less in the saddlebags made for the bears and wagons they pulled by hand. In the spring they would figure something out. Murray thought they could rig up some big carts for the bears to pull if they worked with them through the winter to train them on the harness. On a few trips they came back empty handed. They had to abandon the run because of wandering hordes moving slowly down the main road.

  No one said much about the dead boy they had buried in a shallow grave. None of them knew anything about him so the makeshift service they held had been short. They didn’t have much, if any, sympathy for him. He’d come on their land, tried to kidnap one of their tribe and failed. He had paid for his mistake in a currency all too common in this harsh new world.

  The days got shorter, the nights grew colder and time went by quickly as they laid in supplies for winter and everyone started getting excited about Christmas. They didn’t talk about it but beneath the festive decorations and boisterous board games by candle light, there was a quiet fear of repercussions from the death of the boy. Gordon had found someone to take him in, maybe even the gated community he’d talked so much about, but he had returned for a reason. Scouting for an attack, most likely. They couldn’t have planned on taking Harper; it had been a crime of opportunity. She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. If they were the kind of people who would kidnap a thirteen-year-old girl, who knew what else they were capable of. Revenge for sure, especially with the tale Gordon would have spun for them. Cody had no doubt he’d told them some ridiculous story of slow murder and torture of their friend.

  How many more were there? Could they be reasoned with if they knew the whole story? Maybe. Maybe not. All they could do was be vigilant.

  Murray had expressed concern over the changes in the group to Cody but he shrugged it off, told him they had to be tough or perish.

  “Maybe we should try to tone it down a little.” he’d said. “Tobias and Annalise have been using that tattoo gun nonstop, they want to add some to their faces next.”

  “As long as they charge the batteries back up, I don’t care.” Cody said. “The old world isn’t coming back. Every time Vanessa leads some of the zom’s away from the front gate, she looks for other survivors. Donny and Swan have traveled for miles in all directions and we’ve been in town eight or ten times. Everybody is dead, there’s no one else around here except Gordon’s gang and they want to hurt us. They failed this time but they’ll probably try again when it warms back up. We need be fierce and look fierce. Maybe it will scare them off.”

  Murray was worried that they were becoming wilder, losing their culture, but nothing could be further from the truth. They were losing the twenty-first century culture of smartphones, unlimited channel TV’s and twenty-four-hour connectivity to social media but those were frivolous things. In the new world, they didn’t have time for electronic distractions. Murray had rigged a bicycle up to an alternator so they could charge the car batteries and it gave them a little power when they needed it. He’d had enough foresight to download tens of thousands of books on every imaginable subject and they spent free time reading. Each of them was rediscovering how their early ancestors ha
d lived and survived by their wits and skills. Cody had Vikings, Indian and African warriors, a ninja, and a pioneer woman in his tribe. Murray was his mechanical wizard and he considered himself a mountain man like Jeremiah Johnson. They discovered new skills and taught each other. They learned from their cultures and brought ideas to the table from all of them.

  Every day was filled with work, patrols and training. Cody was learning how to hunt. Harper was teaching Donny to sew. Swan taught Murray and the triplets to become deadly accurate with throwing knives and the bond between them and their animals became closer. They honed their fighting skills, practicing for hours with spears, war hammers, battle axes, blades and arrows. They knew they were no match for a grown man in hand to hand but the weapons and the animals evened the odds. They hoped it would be enough. They hoped they would frighten anyone away who were looking for easy conquest. From the history they read and from what they’d seen so far, they didn’t think anyone they met would be kind and helpful. The world had lost its thin veneer of civility, there was no fear of the law and the strong would take from the weak.

  Murray tossed another log on the fire, rolled around the triplets and the foxes playing some strange game that included a lot of giggling and went to stare out of the window. It was nearly noon and still snowing, thick and wet, adding to the three or four inches already on the ground. It had moved in late last night and everyone was excited to have a white Christmas. They had given up on decorating a tree and putting presents under it. Between the monkeys and the panther, it was constantly being knocked over or the gifts torn open. It and all the presents were currently in the garage and they were going to bring it in after dinner. If they were all in the room, they could probably keep the curious animals away from it and keep it standing for a while. At least until gifts were exchanged.