Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary (23 page)

But
eventually we got moving, checking out the service roads. Our plan was to fully
explore one side of the forest and any neighboring countryside that was easy to
reach, then cross back over US-385 and check the opposite half. Later, far
later, we would make excursions into the neighboring towns.

A
strange thing, which we all noticed and discussed, was the complete lack of
zombies. There wasn’t a one to be found, and that was, quite simply,
impossible. People everywhere died and reanimated on that first day. Yet, the
only zombies in the national forest seemed to be those that attacked the church
camp. No, it was definitely not possible. There were more of them – there had
to be – but their constant wandering had resulted in a lull. Sooner or later,
the things would return.

“I don’t
like not seeing zombies,” said Briana. “Sounds bad, but it makes me wonder
where they’re hiding.”

“They
could be plotting against us.”

She
snorted. “A bit short on the brain cells for that.” She began to pull on her
hair. “Weird though.”

“Enjoy
it while it lasts sweetie. You know how our luck seems to go.”

“Oh,
joy.” She gave me a smile. “This is a nice place, very pretty. I can picture us
living in a little cottage, frilly drapes, a white picket fence, a ten foot
stone wall encircling it all with barbed wire on top.”

“Maybe a
mine field outside,” I suggested.

“Nah,
that would just keep us up all night, and we’d probably blow up some poor
coyote on accident. Then I’d feel bad.”

“Can’t
have that,” I agreed.

Briana
was correct in that it was a nice place, very picturesque. However, it would
get cold soon, and there’d likely be lots of snow. Probably be even prettier
then.

“Hey
guys,” crackled Lizzy’s voice over the radio.

“What is
it?” asked Briana, lifting the device from her lap.

“A pair
of houses, left side, a bit ahead. I saw them through the trees.”

I hadn’t
noticed but slowed, keeping a look out. It wasn’t until I reached the driveway
servicing both that I spotted them.

“What do
you think?”

Briana
shrugged. “We need to take a look. Maybe they have some bottled water.”

Water
was our biggest concern. There was no shortage of streams and creeks in the
area, but I didn’t like using these. There was no telling if they were clean or
contaminated. I, for one, did not want a horrible case of the runs or stomach
cramps. Boiling water worked as a means of purification, but we’d only been
able to do that a few times due to time constraints. Granted, once we settled
down we’d be able to do it regularly. Still, it was a pain.

“Are we
going to check it out?” asked Mary. She’d come bounding out of the Grand
Cherokee the moment Lizzy stopped with only a cursory glance to make sure the
area was clear.

“Unless
anyone objects,” I said. No one did. “Lizzy, ready to do a sweep?”

“I’m
coming this time,” said Mary.

“No, you
are not,” declared Lois. “You stay put and let Jacob and Lizzy do it.”

“But…”

“I said
no.”

Lois
wasn’t all that talkative, the polar opposite of her younger sister who never
shut up, but when she did say something, she tended to mean it.

“You can
stand watch with Briana and Lois,” I suggested.

“What
about us?” asked Timothy. They’d gotten out of their new truck, well after
everyone else.

“Stay
here and keep watch, all directions. Briana will explain it to you.”

With
Lizzy beside me, we called out for zombies. Nothing happened, so we stepped
through the open front door. There was a lot of debris in the living room.
Leaves had blown in, and some sort of animals, possibly raccoons, had been
there. There was crap on the floor as well. The room itself was simple with
only minimal furniture, but there were some photos on the mantle above the
fireplace. Most showed a man and woman, both wearing uniforms.

“Park
rangers lived here,” said Lizzy, “looks like anyway.”

“Maybe
we’ll find some weapons or camping gear we can use.”

We moved
to examine the other rooms. Lizzy went first, as was her habit. I’d previously
pointed out that since she was so short I could shoot over her head, making
this the optimal system. She’d threatened to kill me if I ever tried that,
after directing an impressive series of curses my way for making the suggestion
in the first place. The woman did not like to be teased about her height, so,
of course, I did so anytime the opportunity presented itself.

“Nothing,”
she said, satisfied.

“Kitchen
was a mess.”

Something
had gotten into the pantry and ripped apart several cereal boxes. There was no
trace of the cereal. Several jars had also been smashed. Their contents were
scattered about, currently serving as platforms for fungus growth. There was
also the beginning of mold on the walls. It didn’t look particularly bad, but
the environment was taking its toll. It wouldn’t be long before any structure
made with drywall was uninhabitable, meaning pretty much every house in the
United States.

“Still
plenty of food for us to take,” she said.

“A few
days worth for the church people.”

She
shook her head. “Not a chance. We found it. We eat it. They want to sit and do
nothing, let the lazy fuckers starve.”

“Just
making an observation Lizzy, and I agree with you, completely and absolutely.”

We went
outside and rejoined the others.

“House
is clear. All other doors were closed and locked.” I shut the front door as
well, out of habit. “Let’s check the other one.”

“Are you
real people?” called a voice from above.

More
than a little startled, I turned toward the sound. A second story window had
been opened. There was a face peeking out, wearing dark sunglasses.

“We’re
real,” answered Mary. “Are you real too? I’m going to guess you’re not a zombie
since you’re talking to us.”

“They’re
zombies?”

“What?
You didn’t know?”

“Do you
need help?” I asked.

She
hesitated. “Yes, please.”

“Door’s
locked,” said Briana.

“Can
you… What’s your name?”

“Miranda.”

“Okay
Miranda, I’m Jacob. Anyway, can you unlock the door for us.”

“It’ll
take me a moment to get there, so bear with me. I’m blind.” Her final statement
was uttered quietly, almost apologetically.

The
woman vanished, and we all looked at each other in surprise. I hadn’t expected
to find any blind people alive, especially not living alone as Miranda appeared
to be. Our new, less than ideal world was harsh and violent, especially for
those unable to function normally.

It took
several minutes for her to reach the door and open it. Once she did, she
stepped outside, one hand on the wall, and took a deep breath.

“I
haven’t been outdoors since it started. It’s kinda rank in there.”

“God,
yes,” gasped Briana, as she stepped up to the door. “Is there something dead
inside?”

Miranda
looked as if she was ready to cry. “I had no running water, and the toilet
wasn’t working.”

“Poor
thing,” said Susan. She moved forward. “Why don’t you let me help you get
cleaned up?”

The
young woman nodded gratefully. “If you could. I’m normally able to do things
myself, but this is my aunt’s house. She works here. I was visiting and didn’t
really know where everything was. And she said to stay inside, so I did. Then
the power turned off, along with the air conditioning.”

“There
were power outages everywhere, most in the first day,” said Lizzy. “Whole damn
world is like this. Also, they are zombies, just like in the movies and books,
that will try to eat you if they can.”

“They
only take a few bites,” corrected Mary. “They’re hungry most of the time, but
they get full real quick. It’s pretty weird.”

“We can
explain it all later,” I interrupted. If I didn’t cut this short now, we were
likely to accomplish nothing except confuse and frighten her further. “Briana,
why don’t you help Susan take her to the other house. The bathroom there looked
to be good. Miranda, do you mind if I check out your aunt’s house to be certain
everything is clear and to take any supplies we may need?”

“Go
ahead,” she said. “There’s not much food or water left, that I could find.”

It
suddenly occurred to me how gaunt and dehydrated she looked. I should have
noticed sooner. I should have seen that immediately.

“Mary,
grab some water bottles and food for her too, will ya?”

She
darted off, happy to be of use. I think she would rather be fighting zombies,
but this was the next best thing. Plus, Lois wouldn’t complain.

“An
axe,” exclaimed Lizzy.

She
pulled the rusty thing from a wood pile and brandished it menacingly. Lois
began to laugh.

“What’s
so funny?” asked Cherie.

It took
a moment, but I began to chuckle as well.

“Come
on,” said Lizzy. “You have to get it.”

“I do
not,” replied Cherie, frustration coloring her voice.

“Think
Lizzie Borden,” said Lois.

She had
enough knowledge of history to crack a smile.

*
* *

Due to
the discovery of Miranda and the need to spend time identifying and dealing
with her particular needs, we decided to remain there for the night. Her aunt’s
house was truly filthy, so we slept in the ranger’s home. A very detailed
search was completed, and all the food was gathered and split between the cars
as normal, with Susan and Timothy getting extra since they had none to begin
with. We also found some guns and ammunition under a bed – I mean, really,
there are better places to store such things – including a proper, high quality
hunting rifle. That was worthy of celebration. I could now bring down deer and
other large animals instead of just shooting rabbits. I was rapidly turning
into quite the hunter.

Susan
was particularly pleased at the amount of food we’d recovered. They had been
going without at the church camp due to their dwindling supplies, but among us
she could expect to eat far better. She also commented that they could have
found this place if they’d only thought to look, along with saving Miranda
before she’d gotten so close to starving to death.

Poor
Miranda. Looking at her, it was clear she’d had a really bad time of it, so to
help out we collected all her personal stuff from her aunt’s house. Briana and
Mary washed her clothes and created a toiletries bag for her with toothbrushes,
soap, and so on. Miranda was grateful and sort of clingy. She enjoyed having
people around and often started talking anytime we fell silent. I’m guessing
she didn’t want to be alone any longer, or even to have the sense of being
alone. Understandable.

We also
shared our knowledge of zombies with her, specifically the dangers they posed.
There was no way she could survive on her own, and I wasn’t about to dump her
with the church group, so she would be coming with us. For her part, Miranda
seemed more than happy to tag along, and Cherie said she could ride with her,
explaining that she’d been getting tired of having no one to talk to during our
often extended drives.

At the
time, I took Cherie at her word – being alone in a car for hours on end is
boring – but now, long after this occurred, I think she was helping Miranda in
order to craft a personal image of how kind and generous she was. That, and to
have Miranda as a steadfast ally. Cherie always thought ahead, far more than I.

Lizzy
and I tried to come up with a way for Miranda to defend herself, but there was
nothing. If the zombies moaned or groaned, she could at least swing a bat at
the sound, yet they were silent. The best strategy we could conceive was to
just keep her out of harm’s way to begin with. It was far from optimal.

As to
the house, we had no intention of staying past the night, although we might
stop back again at some point. There was the mold issue, which the others
agreed couldn’t be overlooked for long. Plus, without heat, the winter cold
would likely wreck the place in short order. Still, while we were there, we
took some precautions. There was a tool shed, and we found several loose
boards. We nailed these over the windows. There wasn’t enough to cover them
completely, and the lack of light from doing so would be a pain in the ass, but
we could put up enough to keep any zombie from scrambling through. It would
serve.

The
early part of the evening was spent with people taking turns washing. There was
a pond nearby, and while the water was anything but crystal clear, it served
well enough to soap up. Sponge baths had become, and remain, the most common
method of getting clean. How I miss a large tub, full of hot water, maybe some
bubbles and a rubber duck floating about.