Blood & Dust (Lonesome Ridge Book 2) (7 page)

“We should check, just to be sure,” Abby said as she shoved a shell into her shotgun.

“Yeah,” was all Connor said in response.

They walked up the stairs, making as much noise as they could. They paused at the door and waited. The only sound they could hear inside the building was a strange, rhythmic creaking noise. Connor frowned and peeked around the door. More blood, more gore, but no movement. He tipped his head toward Abby and she followed him inside, covering their rear. He moved toward the sound and found a wide-open room to the right.

“They’re gone.” An old man sat in a rocking chair in front of a cold fireplace. “Have been for days now. Just me and my girls left.” His hunched shoulders twitched in a tiny shrug. “Was, anyway.” The old man’s voice was soft and scratchy, almost impossible to hear. Connor knelt in front of him and looked up at the man.

“Who’s gone?”

“Everyone. All of ‘em. The dead that came, they moved on, up through the hills. Took some of my children with them.”

Connor shot Abby a concerned glance. “How do you know?”

The man stared at Connor with milky eyes. Not the gray of the undead, the sheriff noted. “I heard them, boy. Just like I heard you comin’ from a mile off.”

“Were you bitten?” Abby walked up behind the old man. She held her knife in her hand, but kept it down at her side.

“I was,” he said without fear or concern. “On the arm.” He pulled his arm out from under the blanket that was draped over his lap. Sure enough, he had a big chunk missing. “My Megan, she was hungry, just before you came, so I fed her. Poor girl. She deserved better. Had plans to marry Harrold Jakes, she did. Now she’ll never get the chance.”

The color drained from Abby’s face and she clenched her teeth together. The knife quivered in her hand.

“Might as well finish the job, boy. Or have the girl do it.” The old man was still staring at Connor with those eyes. “I’ll be turnin’ soon enough. Can already feel it. Burnin’ through my bones, eatin’ me alive. Just as well, anyway. All I had was my girls. Nothin’ left now.”

Connor raised his eyes to Abby. She swallowed and raised her knife. She positioned it just beside the old man’s ear. She wrapped her stump around the chair so it wouldn’t rock and pulled the knife back. With a deep breath, she plunged the sharp blade into his ear. He jerked and twitched before falling still. Abby pulled the knife out and wiped the goo off on his blanket.

They checked the rest of the house, but found nothing. “He was weird,” Abby said as they headed back out onto the porch.

Connor’s brow furrowed as he looked back at the house. “He was. We have to go after them, all of them.”

“Yeah,” Abby said, imitating Connor’s sentiment from earlier.

CHAPTER 9

“They’re back, Jasper. They’re back!” Nel Crane shouted from the wall to the deputy nearby. Jasper was standing a dozen feet away, talking to a carpenter about a wall support he was putting up. The young man abandoned his conversation and raced up the ladder that led to the watchtower. Two figures on horseback plodded along the dirt road that led into town. Jasper recognized them immediately. Connor and Abby, both upright in their saddles, both alive.

“Go get Hannah,” he said to Nel and the man scampered down the ladder.

The young woman arrived at the gate at almost the same time Connor and Abby reached the other side. “They’re back?” Her face held a mixture of hope and fear that made Jasper’s heart seize. He scrambled down to the ground as Nel went back to his post.

“They are,” he said with a big smile.

Hannah still held onto her concern. “Are they…” She let her question trail off. She didn’t know what she really wanted to ask.

Jasper’s grin grew and he gripped her arms gently. “They’re fine,” he said. “They look a little tired, but they both look fine.”

Hannah drew in a ragged breath and she nodded, finally letting a small smile creep onto her face. Jasper kissed her on the cheek and threw the gate open.

Connor and Abby trotted through on their horses. After the gates were shut behind them, they slid to the ground. Hannah flew at Abby and wrapped her arms around her older sister. They hugged each other so tight, they were an unmoving statue for a few minutes.

Jasper turned from the pair to look at the sheriff. “So, how’d it go?”

Connor’s normally hard face was covered with dust and small specks of blood. His brow crinkled and he gave Jasper a small shake of the head. He glanced up at the people gathered around them. “Let’s head back to the jail house and talk there.”

The joy Jasper had felt at seeing them return faded as quick as it came. “I’ll send for Robert,” he said and pulled a young man aside. The messenger jogged off and Jasper took the reins of Abby’s horse.

“Hannah,” he said. “Why don’t you take Abby and help her get cleaned up? The sheriff and I’ll take care of the horses.”

Abby gave him a grateful smile and the girls walked off toward the center of town where they shared the home of the former doctor.

Connor and Jasper walked down the middle of the road toward the stables. “How’re things here?” Connor asked after a bit.

Jasper shrugged. “About the same. We got the wall finished, now we’re starting to shore it up. Everyone knows about the train. We tried to keep it under wraps, but that guy sure likes to talk. He was immune to Miss Susy’s sweet talk and found his way to the saloon in no time. Nothing special to report, though. It’s been quiet, which is good. Everyone’s just been waiting for you to get back.”

“That’s good. We need quiet for a change.”

“That we do,” Jasper said as they reached the stables. “That we do.”

A young man was at the door when they arrived. “Sheriff,” he said with a little bow. “Glad you made it back. Can I take care of your horse for you?”

Under normal circumstances, Connor generally liked to care for his horse himself. A man needs a good horse and the best way to make sure his horse stays good is to never trust him with others. But Connor was so tired, he let the man take both horses. He’d known the boy since he was a wee child, so he trusted him as well as he would trust anyone.

The two men walked back to the jail house in silence. Connor was too tired to talk right away and Jasper wasn’t going to push. In the jail house, Connor headed upstairs to clean up while Jasper settled himself on the corner of the desk.

Robert came in a few minutes later. “Where’s the sheriff?” he asked when he saw Jasper alone.

Jasper cocked his head toward the stairs. “Changing and washing up a bit.”

“Ah,” Robert said as he plopped down into the chair. “Any word on what they found?”

Jasper shook his head. “Hasn’t said anything yet. Doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not.”

Both men turned to the door as Abby and Hannah entered. Abby was wearing a clean dress and had washed her face and other exposed skin, but her expression was drawn and tight. Hannah’s joy at seeing her sister had dissipated into silence. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“What happened?” Robert sat foreword in the chair and looked at her with interest.

Abby just shook her head. “We’ll wait til Connor’s here.”

Silence hung in the air while they all waited. Jasper shifted uncomfortably as his eyes flitted to Hannah. He was on the verge of walking over to hold her when Connor arrived and booted Robert from his chair.

“So,” Robert asked. “What’s the deal?”

Connor took a deep breath and told everyone what happened from the moment they found the train to the time they left the house. Jasper’s heart kept sinking further into the pit of his stomach, and every time he thought it couldn’t go any deeper, it somehow managed.

“So what are we going to do?” he asked when Connor was finished.

Connor and Abby exchanged a glance. “We’re going after them.” Jasper and Robert both opened their mouths to speak, but Connor held up a hand to stop them. “Not either of you. I need you both here.”

Jasper wanted to protest, he felt he should protest, but he was secretly grateful. He stole a look at Hannah. The tears had spilled over her lashes and rolled unchecked down her face.

“Abby and I are going. Just the two of us. We were going to take others, but I’ve decided against it. We’ll move faster with less people and Abby has proven herself. Jasper, you’re staying here. I need you to be the acting sheriff while I’m gone. I can’t leave this place without a sheriff for who knows how long. And Robert, I need you to help him. They respect you. If you back him, they’ll listen.”

“You two can’t go alone,” Jasper said. “There are too many of those things out there. They could get the jump on you. If one of you gets bit, that’s it. It’s over. You need a group. A dozen at least.”

Connor shook his head. “No. The moer people we have, the more people will be in danger. And the less you will have to protect the town. Lonesome Ridge is the top priority right now. You need to keep it safe.”

“I know that, but you guys need to be safe, too. Why not take Nel and Bates with you, at least? They’re good men and crack shots. They’ll watch your backs.”

Connor crossed his arms. “No, Jasper. I’m not putting anyone else in danger like that. This is my choice, and this is still my town until I leave. Everyone is staying put. No more arguments.”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed and he grumbled under his breath something about Connor being ridiculous and careless, but he let the matter drop.

Connor looked at Robert, who had stayed silent through the whole exchange. “Robert, I need you to help Jasper in any way you can. Run patrols, calm down the troublemakers, that kind of thing.”

Robert straightened and nodded. “Aye, you have my word, sheriff. I’ll keep the kid in line, keep things on track. I won’t let you down.”

Connor met Jasper’s eyes. “Jasper?”

The young man’s heart was pounding in his chest, but he nodded. “Of course, Connor. I’ll do my best.” Just a few weeks ago, he was an outlaw, following his brothers into some awful schemes, and now he was going to be acting sheriff. He wasn’t sure if this was a blessing or some strange, cruel trick that was doomed to go wrong.

Hannah threw her arms around Abby and sobbed. “You can’t go, Abby. You just can’t.”

Abby’s dark hair contrasted sharply with her sister’s blond locks. “We talked about this, Hannah. I have to go. Those things have killed too many people, too many families. We can’t let them roam free. They’ll destroy everything.”

“But why you? Why do you have to go?”

“Because I need to. I have nothing else.”

“But you have me.”

Abby pushed her sister back and gripped her shoulders. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes dripped. “Of course I do, and that’s why I have to go. I have to protect you. I have to protect your future.” She tossed a wink to Jasper. “I have to protect my nieces’ and nephews’ futures.”

Hannah’s mouth snapped shut and color crept up into her cheeks. Jasper felt what she felt and he coughed and turned from the girls, wanting more than anything to end that conversation as quick as possible. “Uh, sheriff, so, uh, you sure you don’t want to take anyone else with you?”

Connor snorted a small laugh, but he said, “No. I was considering Nel and Bates. They did well at the farm. But the more people we have, the slower we’ll move and the more we’ll put in danger. If it’s just me and Abby, we can move quicker, don’t have to stop as much. Safer that way.”

Jasper nodded, but he couldn’t find anything else to say. The group broke up and they all went their separate ways, preparing for the next departure.

CHAPTER 10

Dusk settled over the small group of undead as they shambled near the homestead the young man had spotted. His name was Bill and his sister was Norma. Jeremiah wanted to be fond of them, but they seemed to follow Charity’s commands just like all the others, without question or concern.

Jeremiah’s lips twitched into a frown as he watched a few select members of the herd move forward. The rest would stay behind, hidden by a small copse of trees. It was dark enough that the attackers could move in the shadows with ease, and the children playing in the yard in the light of the house were unaware of the dangers skulking toward them.

“Kill the animals and children,” Charity commanded in a voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry. “Bite all of the adults, but do not kill them. We need them.”

After the loss of so many potential undead at the last attack, Charity had come up with a new plan. Bite and subdue. Let the disease take them and turn them. It would take much longer, and it would be a lot more painful for them, but it was safer than risking the loss of more converts. And she really didn’t care how much it hurt them in the long run. Their pain would be over soon enough.

Jeremiah didn’t much like the plan. He remembered being bitten, he remembered the pain and horror as the disease worked its way through his body. But Charity was the boss and he was just one of her many followers. At least, he tried to be.

A stream burbled nearby, out of sight of the house and the unsuspecting children. “Hey.” Jeremiah gripped the upper arm of a woman shuffling by. She was shorter than him by a lot and a little on the chunky side. Her gray, dull eyes turned to examine him. “I’m gonna go take a bath.” He bobbed his head toward the stream.