Zombie Exodus: Aftermath - Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Continued from chapter 5 

As you move closer to the couple, still bickering, you raise your hands to appear non-threatening and call out to them.

"Hello there. I'm coming over to talk to you two."

The couple stops talking and looks up at you. Steven's head falls to his belt, and he feels for a gun or weapon that isn't there. His eyes never leave you. Serena adopts a more friendly expression and waves to you. "Hello! Wow, I can't believe someone else is out this far." At the sound of her own words, her expression goes blank, and she turns and looks through the clearing like she's searching for others.

You make it about five paces from them, and Steven holds up his hand, palm out. "Stop right there, please. No offense, but we don't know you, and I can't say I'm the most trusting type. Why don't you stay there while we talk."

You see him lean back like he wants to stand, but he remains seated. Serena whispers in his ear, and he shrugs and then says to you, "You can't be out here alone. Who else is with you?"

"I have a friend in the woods just as a precaution. Like you, I'm not the most trusting type," you say.

They share a look. Serena takes a bite of toast and then sets her plate on the ground. "Are you hungry? We don't have a lot, but we can share. Eggs and toast, at least. The eggs are from powder, but they actually do taste like eggs. The bread is only a few days old."

Even though you've eaten this morning, the thought of eggs and toast makes your stomach grumble. "I don't want to take any of your food. I came because one of my friends is sick, and we're looking for antibiotics. Would you happen to have any?"

Though Serena opens her mouth to talk, Steven interrupts. "We don't have any here. We come from a much larger settlement. They have antibiotics there. If you want, we can give you directions, and you can go there and barter for what you need. I can't guarantee they will give you anything, but there's a good chance you can get medicine for your friend."

"Is that the farming community I've heard about?" you ask.

Serena nods. "That's where we come from. We're out scouting for a few friends of ours who've gone missing for a few days. You haven't happened to see two men and women traveling together? One of the guys has a blue Mohawk, and the woman has a cast on her arm?"

You shake your head. "I haven't seen them. My friends were headed to the farming community when we got sidetracked. That's when my friend got sick."

Steven finishes his eggs and toast and places his plate by the side of the tent. "You still haven't told us about your friend's illness. Is that the one who's waiting outside of our camp here?"

From the back of their tent, you can see Jesse waving her arms to tell you not to talk. You get the impression she doesn't want you telling them about Cameron. You could tell Serena and Steven about him. Maybe they can provide some other kind of help. Or they can offer to bring you all directly to the farming community where he can get the medical attention he needs. If you tell them about the zombie bite, they may not want to help you.

"No, that's a different friend," you say. "We think it's pneumonia. He's back at our camp, so he doesn't infect anyone else."

Steven scratches his beard while Serena picks up the plates and scrapes any leftovers and crumbs into a small plastic bag. "Pneumonia can be tricky. If it's bad enough, he may not be able to survive on just antibiotics. He needs medical attention, which means taking him to our community."

Steven shakes his head. "Hey, umm…I don't even know your name."

"Violet."

"Well, Violet, you mind if my wife and I speak privately for a few moments? Maybe you and your friend can take what's left of our breakfast and share it outside in the forest? We need five minutes to talk."

"Sure, no problem."

Serena hands you a plate of what's left of the eggs, a piece of bacon, and a piece of toast. They even give you a glass of orange juice from concentrate, something you have not had in at least a year. You step outside the clearing, and Jesse rushes over to meet you. The two of you gobble the food on the plate, splitting everything equally, even the juice.

"What do you think this is about?" Jesse asks, shoving the last piece of toast into her mouth. "They seem like nice people, but they could be getting that rifle right now and planning to rob us."

"Of what? Your harmonica and my first-aid kit are maybe the two most valuable things we have."

Jesse shakes her head and lifts the front of her shirt to reveal the revolver. "I still got this." She brings her shirt back down to cover it.

You hear a whistle from back at camp and realize that's the signal to come back.

"Why don't you come in there with me?" you ask. "I don't think these people will rob or hurt us in any way. Serena is a sweetheart, and Steven is just paranoid like the rest of us."

Jesse shrugs. "I guess I will, but I'm going to stand behind you in case things go south."

The two of you walk back into camp and see the two strangers gathering their gear into backpacks. Steven disassembles one of the tent poles while Serena stands and faces you and Jesse.

"Hello there. I'm not sure you heard our names, but I'm Serena, and this is Steven."

"Hey, I'm Jesse. Thanks for the grub." She stands a few feet back and holds her hands over the waistband of her shorts right near where the revolver sits.

"You're welcome. So, me and Steven were thinking about how to help you best. We're not exactly in agreement," she says and glances at her husband with a smirk. "But we can offer a few options. It sounds like your friend has to go straight to the farming community to get medical attention. It will be a lot faster if one of us goes with you and shows you its location. Otherwise, it could take a few days more to find it, but your friend may not last that long. We are proposing that I take your friend and one of you straight to the community. Steven will continue to look for our missing friends, but one of you has to go with him. He can't search on his own. So that's the deal. You guys can decide how you want to handle this."

"Why don't Jesse and Steven stick together to search for your friends? I'll go with Serena to pick up our two friends so she can take us to the farming community."

"Wait, you have two friends? I thought it was just the injured one," Steven says, hands on his hips, voice raised.

"Cameron is the sick one. Portland is our other friend. You don't have to be worried about us," you say.

Jesse laughs. "No one in this world is afraid of Portland. She'd blow over in a strong wind."

"I'm sure it's fine, babe," Serena says and places her hand on his shoulder. "I trust my gut, and it's telling me everything will be fine."

Over the next ten minutes or so, the four of you pack up the camp while Steven gives a general path for how the search will go for their friends. Although he says he's telling you this in case there is an emergency, and you need to find him and Jesse, you realize it's really to inform Serena in case she has to go searching for him. Stephen's lack of trust never wavers.

As Steven and Serena wish each other goodbye, you and Jesse step to the side for a quick chat.

Jesse takes off her hat, fidgets with it, and puts it back on. "I can't believe you're making me go with this guy. He could chop me up into bits five minutes after we leave here."

"I don't get the impression he's going to chop you into bits. Besides, you're tough. I bet you can take him."

"Ha ha, very funny. Here they come," she says and turns towards Steven. "Ready to go, buddy?"

You and Serena say goodbye to them and start on the path back towards the cabin in the woods where you left Portland and Cameron. It's still early, but the sun shines high in a cloudless sky. It doesn't take long to make your way back to the cabins. Portland sits outside in the space between the three small huts. Seeing you and Serena, she stands and dusts off the back of her shorts.

Serena walked right up to her and extends a hand, "Hi, I'm Serena."

Portland shakes the hand and looks at you for answers. You fill her in on the details about their camp and their offer to take Cameron to the farming community.

"So where is the patient? Has he been coughing a lot today?" Serena asks.

"Coughing? Why would he be coughing if he lost his hand?" Portland asks.

You lead Serena to the far cabin where you left Cameron. The door sits half open, and you push it aside. No one's inside.

"Where the hell is he?" you ask, rushing back outside and looking through the campsite.

"I don't know! I was out here the whole time, except for a few minutes when I had to go to the bathroom." Portland has her hands on the top of her head, gazing through the woods frantically. "You don't think he turned, do you?"

"Why would he turn?" Serena asks. "You said he had pneumonia."

You look at Serena and say, "He doesn't have pneumonia. He got bit by a zombie, so we cut off his hand. The antibiotics are for the wound."

Her eyes widen in fear and shock. She runs her hands through her black hair and paces in a short line. "I can't believe you lied to Steven and me. All we wanted to do was help you, but you lied to us. I need to go back to my husband. Hopefully, I can still catch him."

Branches snap from behind the cabin, and the three of you freeze in place. Serena pulls a pistol out of the back of her belt. You and Portland each grab a fallen branch to use as weapons. Light footsteps come from the far side of the cabin. You can't see anyone from this angle, but you don't want to move. If Cameron turned into a zombie, maybe he would wander away.