Man Eaters (7 page)

“Hold your breath, then slowly squeeze the trigger. Never jerk it. A slow, even stroke, but make sure the butt stays against this curvy part of your shoulder or the kick could really hurt.” Roper pressed the gun butt to Dallas’s shoulder. “Keep it here.”

Dallas missed the first one. Then narrowly missed the second one. The third ripped through the can.

“Well done. Now, you teach Einstein what I taught you and then we’ll go over handguns.”

For the next thirty minutes, they shot at cans and bottles until there was nothing left of either.

“Nice job, you two. We’ll pick up more ammo along the way. Folks out here all carry guns.”

“You gonna show us the rope?” Einstein asked.

“No. What I do took years to learn, and thousands of hours of practice.”

“Show us.” Einstein looked at Dallas, who smiled.

“Yeah. Show us.”

Roper unclipped the rope from her belt. “Fine. Take off.”

“What?”

“Start running.”

Einstein started running and Roper whirled the rope over her head...once, twice...three times around before she released it in the direction Einstein was running. The rope fell around his shoulders and she yanked her end of it, securing the rope around him. Another yank pulled him off his feet backwards.

“Whoa,” Dallas said, “That was awesome.”

Helping Einstein out of the rope, Roper blushed. “Thanks. I’ve had plenty of practice.”

“Well, you’re very good. Can’t say I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.

They rode on for another hour in single file, each quiet with their own thoughts. They kept at a walking pace until they came to a flat area about three quarters of a mile in diameter.

“We can go around or ride hard through,” Roper said.

“Let’s ride hard through,” replied Dallas regripping the reins. So far they’d tried to ride along the tree line to avoid being spotted by helicopters. There were none, but that didn’t mean they weren’t out there. They’d only crossed the freeway once and it was dotted with cars that had either stalled or had the driver shot in the head.

“I’m sorry you had to see that back there,” Dallas said as they made their way up to the plateau.

Roper turned. “Know what has always made me feel better? Riding. Come on!” With that, she took off across the plateau, Merlin’s hooves beating into the grass.

Dallas looked over at the wide-eyed Einstein. “Well...in for a penny, in for a pound. Come on!” Spurring Morgana on, Dallas rode as hard as she dared, feeling her fillings jar in her teeth as her butt slammed down into the saddle. Once she settled into the rhythm of the horse’s gait, it was a much smoother ride.

Not so for Einstein.

As he and Gwen’s uneasy alliance struggled across the field, gunshots rang out in the distance. Suddenly, Einstein had decided to allow Gwen full reign, and the horse took off like a shot, dumping Einstein onto the ground and into the tall, wheat-colored grass.

“Oh crap.” Roper said, turning Merlin back to the field.

“Wait.” Dallas cocked her head before pointing to the sky.

“Oh shit.”

Choppers.

Staying beneath the cover of the trees, Roper looked hard at Dallas. “I can get him.”

“I’m sure you could, but we’re not risking it.” Cupping her hands around her mouth, Dallas yelled, “Stay down!” to Einstein, who had just stood up and was dusting himself off. He dove back to the ground and began covering himself up with grass.

Hopping off Merlin, Roper quickly undid his saddle and started taking everything off.

“What are you doing?”

“Look at the grass we rode through.”

Dallas did and noticed three very distinct lines cut by the horses.

As Roper worked to remove the bridle, the helicopter came over the small hill like a gigantic dragonfly looking for food. As it passed over the field, Dallas held her breath. Then it slowly turned, and came back. Roper pulled a rifle out and aimed at the chopper.

“What are you doing?” Dallas asked.

“They kill the kid, we kill them. Quid pro quo.”

Dallas reached back and pulled her rifle out as well. “Where am I shooting?”

“The rudder. If we bring it down, we have a better chance of taking out the shooters.”

Placing the butt against her shoulder, Dallas waited as Roper slapped Merlin’s haunches and sent the horse back into the field.

As soon as the chopper turned toward the horse, the Blackhawk veered right and took off, destination unknown.

Lowering her rifle, Dallas said, “That was brilliant.”

“Nah. We just needed them to see what might have made those tracks.”

Five minutes later, they were all back in the saddle and heading southeast.

“You okay, kid?”

Einstein rubbed his butt. “Can you break your ass?”

Dallas and Roper both laughed.

As they rode parallel to the interstate and frontage road, they saw where Roper’s neighbors’ red camper had crashed into a gully.

“Oh…no—”

All the windows had been shot out.

“We need to check for survivors,” Dallas said. To her surprise, Roper shook her head.

“No. If anyone were alive in there, they’d have gotten out when the chopper left. They’re all dead or long gone. They took a chance and it didn’t pay off. Keep moving.”

Dallas couldn’t miss the harshness in Roper’s voice. In less than twelve hours, she’d seen her neighbors turned into those things, and others killed by a military that was supposed to protect them. The bitterness was tangible.

So, keep moving they did.

When they found a safe place to stop in a small patch of ancient oaks, they watered the horses before opening the trail mix and water for themselves.

“We’ll need to get on the other side of the aqueduct and then go into town,” Roper said before tossing some trail mix back in her mouth.

“I don’t like the idea of being that vulnerable crossing the aqueduct,” said Dallas.

“Agreed. It’s safer if we go on foot. We can leave the kid with the horses. We won’t be able to carry as much, but we’ll be safer in town on foot.”

Dallas turned to Einstein. “You okay with that?”

He nodded. “I don’t see that we have much choice. We need water and we ought to get it every chance we can.

“Good. We’ll ride to the nearest cover, leave you there, and set out on foot. It’s a small town and it’s possible it hasn’t experienced the kind of looting that’s probably happening in the cities.”

“Well, we know it’s very possible the man eaters have made it this far, so be on your toes.”

“Roger that.”

Twenty minutes later, Dallas and Roper made it to the small town of Wilsonville. It was so still and so deserted, Dallas half expected tumbleweeds to roll by.

“Ghost town,” she whispered to Roper.

The small, wild west-kitchy town did, indeed, appear unpopulated. There was no movement in the streets, no one working their businesses, nothing at all to indicate that this was once a thriving small town community.

“Don’t be fooled. There are eyes out there looking at us, sizing us up. Don’t forget the four Billy Bobs. We need to assume everyone is hostile until proven otherwise. It’s survival of the fittest now, Dallas.” Roper stopped and removed her sunglasses. “Look me in the eye and tell me the truth. Do you truly believe you can shoot another human being?”

Dallas thought for a moment. Her whole adult life had been about saving lives, not taking them. Did she have what it took to murder someone? “I’m not sure.”

Replacing her glasses, Roper nodded. “Good to know.”

“It’s not that I—”

“No need to explain. It is what it is and we are what we are. I’ve hunted with my granddaddy and killed some beautiful creatures that were no danger to me. Killing a man or woman who poses a threat? Piece of cake. If you can’t pull the trigger, I can, and you can take that to the bank.”

Dallas pulled the rifle around to the front. “Well, you may know I’m unsure, but they don’t.”

As they wound their way through the small streets, Dallas did, indeed, feel watched. It was incredibly disconcerting, like a bug on your back you can’t quite reach to flick off.

“They’re watching, huh?”

Roper cocked her head as she listened. “Yep. So look. We’ll have to do a bash and snatch of the mini-mart over there.”

“I can’t believe they haven’t been looted.”

“That’s the difference between country folk and everyone else. We’re not quite as ego-centric as others. We tend to take care of our own. Come on.”

Dallas followed her to the side of the mini-mart facing a parking lot. There was no movement to speak of—just an eerie silence that penetrated her leather jacket like a coastal fog.

After smashing the window and hearing the alarm go off, they went in, list in hand, and rifled through the goods to locate their necessities.

“Watch the windows,” Roper said as she filled her backpack with boxes of energy bars.

As Dallas stood guard, she saw movement. “They’re coming.”

“Man eaters?”

“I don’t think so. Townies, I think.”

When Roper’s backpack was full, she took Dallas’s and began filling it up as well.

“Yep. There are ten...fifteen, maybe, and they don’t look very happy about our presence.”

“Do they have weapons?”

“Yep. A couple of rifles, some baseball bats, even a pitchfork. You’d think we were Frankenstein or something.”

Roper stopped stuffing the backpack and stared at Dallas.

“Oh. Right. We may not be...but they’re certainly on their way.”

“Maybe we ought to be as well.”

Dallas looked both ways. “I count fourteen men, and they’re waiting for our exit.”

Roper rose and handed the heavy backpack to Dallas. “Got any good ideas?”

She shook her head. “Plumb out.”

“We’re not leaving without supplies and we can’t shoot our way out.”

Dallas stepped up to the front door and waved. No one waved back. “We can expect trouble, that’s for damn sure.”

Roper stood next to her. “I imagine we’re surrounded. Well, I’m not gonna be taken out by a bunch of town folk.” Roper headed toward the back of the store. “There are only four out here.”

“What are you suggesting? We try to make a run for it?”

“We could try telling them the truth...that the danger is on its way.”

Dallas shook her head. “If they don’t buy it, then what?”

Before Roper could answer, a beat up Chevy pick up gunned it into the side of the shop, sending glass and wall debris flying everywhere.

“Get in! Get in! Get in!” Einstein yelled as bullets pinged off the side of the truck. Roper and Dallas jumped into the bed of the truck without question and he backed up, whipped the truck around, and nearly ran over three of the townies as he sped out of town.

“Okay, okay, slow down!” Roper yelled through the busted out cab window.

When Einstein finally slowed to a stop, he turned, eyes wide, sweat dotting his upper lip. “I left the horses where you left me and wanted to keep an eye out...you know...just in case. When I saw these guys gathering at the other end of town I ran down and checked about a dozen parked cars before I found the keys in this one.”

“And that would be why your nickname is apropos.”

“They didn’t seem too keen on having us pillaging their shops.”

Roper mussed up his hair. “You done good. We were trying to figure out how to get out of there. Thanks.”

Einstein was beaming. “That was the bomb-diggiest thing I’ve ever done, man.”

Dallas smiled at him. She really liked this kid, with all of his nerdisms and gearhead ways about him he’d saved their bacon. “It really was great, Einstein. I’m proud of you. See? You do carry your weight.”

“Well, get back in, because there are a couple of Hummers cruising around the outskirts of town. I think they’re doing the vaccine thing because there are houses here with a red X next to the sprayed number.”

“The whole vaccine angle makes no sense. Let’s call this what it is. Somehow, someone turned our citizens into zombies and if we can’t get it stopped, we’re fucked.”

Roper rubbed the back of her neck. “That’s what I don’t get. If they don’t really have a vaccine…then what, exactly, are they shooting into people?”

All three stared at each other, answerless.

“I wish I knew, but we need to get back to the horses. Those Hummers will be here any minute.” Einstein drove as close as he could to the horses before stopping and helping Roper with the backpacks. “Damn, these are heavy. What all is in here?”

“Water, energy bars, vitamins...most of what was on our list.”

“We scored.”

Roper examined the horses’ hooves before loading Lancelot down with the supplies. “I’ve been thinking. I’m not so sure daytime is the safest time for us to travel. With the military patrolling the road, and the choppers in the air, we’re really vulnerable.”

Dallas opened one of Lance’s saddlebags and pulled out a bottle of water they all shared. “I was thinking that earlier. During the day, they can patrol land and air, but at night, just land, and we have the advantage of seeing headlights long before they get here. It’s not a bad idea.”

Taking a swig of water, Roper handed it to Einstein. “It’s a little riskier with horses, but it’s safer than travelling during daylight.”

Dallas looked at Einstein. “Your thoughts?”

Einstein studied the bottle a moment. “I’m pretty sure the reception you got in town will be replayed everywhere we go. One thing we know will happen for sure is survival of the fittest. Pretty soon, people will start wanting what we have. People will turn on each other, so we’ll not just be fighting the undead but the living as well. If they can’t see us, they don’t know what we have and can’t come after us.”

“It’s settled, then. Let’s find a place to lay low until sundown, and then we can hit the road at night.”

“It’ll be cooler then as well. The horses will need less water and fewer stops.” Leading the way, Roper and Merlin sauntered along as if they were out for a Sunday ride. When Dallas pulled up next to her, she said, “We got lucky back there.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we did. The kid’s all right though, isn’t he?”

“He’s also right about people degenerating. We’ve already seen that more than once. We’re going to need to be very careful in the future about all of our contact with other survivors.”