For A Few Corpses More - Pt. 12

               Bronson had been walking ahead of Dine, doing his job. He was keeping his eyes open and looking out for potential problems. His hand was on the strap of his rifle, his other hand rested on his belt near the handle of his .45, readied. There was the threat of what could come from ahead and what might come from behind. Bronson had considered it carefully. Dine had matched his paces one for one, both men trying to walk softly amidst the dried leaves.

               Dine was watching Bronson move in front of him with his rifle and black broad-rim hat, he hated that hat. His drill instructor had always told him that there was no room for cowboys in core. Dine didn’t like cowboys. Bronson was only as good as he was because of what the military had taught him, what they gave him. Dine’s hand was twitchy, his own taught instincts trying to take hold. He didn’t need his gun, just a fist and a small bit of surprise. The thought was there.

               “Are you going to say anything,” Dine asked moving up closer beside Bronson. There were still several feet between them, keeping a distance.

               “I think we understand each other pretty well, Captain.”

               “No, I don’t think so,” Dine corrected. “De Soto told me that you were down for this; that you’d work for us. That’s not what I’m seeing so far though. If you question my orders, she thinks she can too. If you knock Pierce around then he doesn’t fear me like he’s supposed to. You won’t pull the goddamned trigger like you’ve been taught to. You’ve gone soft.”

               Bronson paused and turned to look at Dine. He just looked past him though and turned left, continuing their perimeter.

               “I’m not a hired gun, I’m a guide.” Bronson sniffed the air and looked around them as he slowed. “My job is to lead you to the Vita Nova and keep everyone alive, safe from the dead and whatever else we encounter.” He motioned with two fingers the change in direction of their path, they began walking. “I heard what De Soto said, you’re in charge. I do my best not to undermine you or put your authority in question, but De Soto didn’t buy me, he purchased a service.”

               Dine stopped, smelling it now. He brought his rifle up at the ready, looking around. The two men were both quiet for a moment until it came into view, the carcass of a half-eaten deer. It’s ribs exposed, the tormented face of the animal that had been dinner to something vicious stared blankly with glossed over eyes at the two men.

               “Ghouls,” Dine asked.

               “Yea, old enough though that they won’t be in the immediate area.” He knelt down beside it. “Look at this though, the different angles of the bites.” He pointed at several points on the deers body, swatting away flies as he did. “There were several, moving in a pack and eating together.”

               “Is that odd?”

               “Usually see that in more populated areas. Places this far out are the areas we like because you mostly have loners.”

               Dine gazed back towards the camp, then up to the sun that was getting ready to retire for the evening.

               “Do we need to move the camp?”

               “Nope,” Bronson stood. “We make sure everyone stays awake for their guard duty and we should be fine.” He adjusted the collar around his jacket. “And it’s going to be cold tonight. We should head east a bit, check that way and then make sure they got enough wood for tonight.”

               “Right,” Dine said lowering the rifle to his side again.

               “Go ahead and finish whatever it is you want to get out, Captain.” Bronson encouraged Dine to say his piece before they got back to the others. He stepped over a large fallen branch and took the lead again towards to finish their circle.

               “I meant what I said at the beginning of our trip. If you become a liability, I won’t hesitate.”

               “Dine, you don’t seem like the type that repeats himself a lot, and I’m not the type that you have to repeat much to. I said it before and I’ll say it the last time, understood.”

               “Can you do it though? If Pierce got turned or tried to do something stupid, I’m sure you’d have no problem putting a bullet in him.”

               “There you go judging me again,” Bronson inserted.

               “What about your partner though? I know you care about her, and she’s a female. Will you hesitate? Can you do it? I’ve seen men do more than hesitate and pay pretty dearly for it. So I have to know if I can count on you if that happens.”

               Bronson paused and looked at Dine.

               “I won’t hesitate,” he said plainly, “even if it’s you, Captain”

               Turning back, Bronson continued on to finish their perimeter. Dine popped his neck to the side after Bronson turned. It was a spasm of some sort, a nervous tick. Dine followed a ways behind Bronson, the hard case. Dine wasn’t a fan of people who thought they were harder than him. Neither one spoke again until they got back to the camp.

Patches of gold and purple matted the sky as the sun began it’s nightly ritual. The perimeter had been checked and supplies had been counted and divided up as best they could. There was a small fire that Bronson started after some discussion about how safe having a fire would be tonight. The heat from the sun was on its way out and they each shed some of the protective layers of their armor, becoming more comfortable for a while before the slight wind became too chilled. Nyx always felt cold, she was close to the fire and still wrapping her shawl close to her arms and shoulders.

               “Not to be a downer, but unless you guys are hiding a large crate of supplies somewhere we may have a problem.”

               Pierce nodded in agreement, pushing the logs around with one of the sticks from the fire. Bronson was quiet, but Dine had an answer.

               “We need supplies,” Dine admitted, “Which means we need to make a stop somewhere that we could possibly find something, without running into too much resistance.”

               “A big city, right,” Pierce asked.

               “Too risky; we need somewhere smaller, but not too small. There is a place near-by called Ephrata. I think it’s our best bet without taking us too much off of schedule.”

               Bronson finally spoke up, “but not the safest.”

               “We can handle it.”

               No one spoke for a while after Dine’s praise, they were all considering the future.

               “So, when do you want to leave,” Nyx asked curiously.

               Dine picked at the last bit of his food, though it was hard to call it that. He tightened his hand, fingers pulling on each other until they popped.

               “I want to leave here a bit before dawn. We’ll take shifts tonight, like last time, but without a hitch.”

               Pierce eyed Dine for the remark made at his expense. He said nothing though, choosing his battles.

               “Pierce will take first watch, Nyx second, I’ll do third and Bronson can take the last.”

               Nyx and Pierce nodded. Bronson didn’t object.

               “Then we’ll head out, drive to Ephrata and leave the car just outside the city. We’ll stick together and look for water, canned goods, anything we can use. If nothing else there are a lot of bodies of water around here, we can boil water.”

               “I haven’t seen anything around here that I’d trust to eat,” Bronson mentioned. “I’ve been keeping my eyes open for berries and other things, but so much of the plant life is dying or just not producing like it should. Though, I know there are stories of apple orchards still producing around this area. This place has definitely fared better than many of the other territories we’re used to. I’m confident we’ll find something.”

               “We will, and we’ll be quick about it, and we’ll move on.”

               “Let’s just be careful, if we can find other sources that would be great, even if we have to steal it from someone else, it might be better than taking a risk on untested flora, and I doubt you want to take the time to let us hunt.”

               “I don’t, we aren’t starving yet,” Dine stood.  “We get the Vita Nova, set off the call beacon for Tower, and I see us back on Elysium city in three days; and when that happens, the drinks are on me soldiers.”

               With the encouraging words taken care of, Dine headed away from the campfire. He was feeling around for the container that held his pills and didn’t hear Nyx follow behind him.

               “Dine,” she called out to get his attention. “I’m not one of your soldiers, I don’t work for you.”

               “Your point?”

               “Talk to me, are you alright?”

               Surprised, that was the word. He was surprised at her question. It was unexpected and he wasn’t sure how to answer it. He was sure that she would come over and talk to him about Bronson, to spare him or something like that. He studied her for a moment, fingers slowly opening the metal container.

               “Why do you ask?”

               She paused, watching him as he pulled the two pills from the octagon shaped metal. She wondered how many more of his magic pills he had left.

               “Your condition, the way you were shaking the other day without your pills. Or, were you shaking because of something you did? I’m not sure how this even works.”

               “Yes, there are disadvantages to smashing someones head in, yeah. It’s like overstressing, pushing yourself until a blood vessel pops. It can be painful, but it doesn’t cause the pain, the pain is from the experiments.”

               “I’m sorry,” she was sincere. “I didn’t know they were, I mean, I guess…”

               “Don’t, someone had to volunteer. The core has been good to me, they made me stronger, a better soldier.”

               Nyx nodded and looked away.

               “No one wants this to happen more than me,” she said. “I’ve never even had the opportunity to live here, I want to one day.” Her eyes looked up at the sky. “I just worry how much you’re willing to sacrifice.”

               “Maybe you should be.”

               Her head fell, she turned to leave.

               “I wouldn’t blame you if you left. I’ll do it by myself if I have to, might be safer for you, just creep out, no one would blame you.”

               “Goodnight, Captain.”

               She hoped he read her tone in that last part. Dine saying that didn’t sit well with her, Bronson had told her the same thing but it was different, she wouldn’t take it from Dine. Nyx went to bed angry.

               Pierce was sharpening his knife against a small wet stone. Nyx was already laying down, wrapped up tight, trying to sleep. Bronson was quiet, leaning against his pack with his hands running down the length of his black ponytail. He was thinking, his hands moving absently. He had a lot on his mind. Dine wasn’t too far into the woods where he couldn’t see him, staying close. He was thinking about Dine a lot lately, trying to gage how all of this might play out. His rifle was next to him. He pulled it close and began taking it apart. He would clean it tonight, it needed to be cleaned.

               “That’s a really nice gun, 7 mm. rifle right, with a custom scope?”

               Bronson nodded as he removed the barrel.

               “You seem like the type that makes a lot of customizations to your weapons, I hear you’re kind of a sharpshooter.”

               Bronson nodded once more, wiping the cloth down the side as he removed the stock of the gun.

               “What um, what did you do in the military before the world went to shit and all?”

               There was no response. Bronson continued to clean the weapon.

               “You should be on watch, hard to do when you’re chatting.”

               Pierce raised an eyebrow and then sighed out loud. Grabbing his gun, he stood. He paused, looking to where Dine was still standing off in the darkness. He wondered if he should go talk to him, it only took a second for him to dismiss that idea though.

               Bronson looked at Nyx. Her back was to him, whether she was asleep or not he decided not to bother her. He finished cleaning his weapon instead, giving Pierce and Dine one last look before leaning back fully onto his pack. He placed his hat over his chest and went to sleep.

               Small flames from the campfire licked at the darkness, violently rising and falling like a wave, trying to stay alive in the chilly air. The trees helped block the wind, but the cold air still prodded them.

               Bronson heard his name. He had slept more than he thought he would, used to not letting himself sleep too hard or long, even when he wasn’t planet side. What was strange was that Bronson hardly ever dreamed. When he did he couldn’t remember them. Tonight he had dreamed though, a nightmare.

               His name was said a second time, with more disdain. Dine was standing over him when things finally came into focus. He sat up quickly, his hand was had acted on instinct. He had to remove it from the grip of his .45; mostly sure there was no threat. It was just time for his watch.

               “You’re up?”

               He nodded in response to Dine, he was up. Bronson stood and dusted himself off, placing his hat back on. He and Dine exchanged a nod before Bronson picked up his rifle and walked off, the changing of the guard. Dine took a spot near where Bronson had been laying down and closing his eyes without hesitation. Dine knew he was in good hands. Bronson would protect him from anything that would approach their campsite, and why would he worry about Bronson doing anything to him? Dine thought that Bronson fancied himself a cowboy, a hero. He wouldn’t hurt him in his sleep. Dine pondered these things as he drifted off to sleep.

               Bronson started by walking the perimeter he and Dine had established. He kept the camp within sight though as he made his way around, ears open and observant. The cold air helped him stay alert. After he was convinced that the area was safe he went to sit by the fire for a moment. Bronson didn’t mind the time alone in the quiet night, it allowed him to think and reflect.

               The light that the fire still cast though made him too much of a target. He needed to fall back, put his back to a tree where he could see the most of the camp around him. Bronson did so, because he was a good sentry.

               He leaned his head back against the tree and pulled the rifle up next to him, the barrel leaning against his cheek. He felt its cold embrace, metal on his growing five o’clock shadow. There was something else though. It was also cold. Bronson’s finger came to rest on the trigger, his thumb removing the safety. His body rose from being seated, eyes darting back and forth.

               As far as uncomfortable feelings went, he ranked this one pretty high. The hairs were standing up on the back of his neck as the scope on his rifle searched through the darkness. He didn’t see anything though. The darkness held no answers to this feeling. He couldn’t see the figure that watched him off in the distances with the glossy yellowed eyes.

               Bronson was still uneasy. He saw nothing though. Perhaps his nightmare had thrown him off more than he thought. He wished there had been water near-by to splash on his face, to make sure that he was awake, but the water they had was too precious to waste on that. He stood in silence instead--his grip tightening around the rifle—he guarded them until just before dawn.

               When they were all up it didn’t take long to pack and be ready to move. Bronson though was taking an extra precaution, getting rid of the evidence that they were there. He brushed over their boot prints that were near the camp and cleared out where the fire had been. Anyone finding the camp—if they were even good enough to notice a camp had been there—would think that it had been there longer ago then what the truth was. Dine thought this added security was not needed, but he didn’t stop him either. Bronson was still uneasy from last night. The last thing would be the tire tracks and he gave Pierce a specific set of instructions on how to get out and which way to lead the tracks.

               “Let’s pick up the pace,” Dine commanded in his drill sergeant voice. “Pierce, load up the packs and check the gas cans in the back. I want to be on the road before the sky starts getting light.”

               Pierce grumbled something about the sun not even being stupid enough to be up yet. The night was still cool but that would change soon, the sky was starting to lighten in color just slightly at the edge in the East. Nyx paused, taking note of the level of Bronson’s caution. Even for him, this seemed overly cautious.

               “Everything alright?”

               “Yea,” he nodded to her. “I just want to make sure the rest of our trip is a smooth one.”

               She nodded in agreement.

               “We should go. Dine is over there checking his map impatiently.”

               Nyx smiled at her partner who nodded in return. Dine stood facing them but his eyes were focused on the black and green lines of the holographic map in front of him. The white line that had been drawn to show their best path to Ephrata was being scrutinized. Nyx saw that behind Dine, by the SUV, Pierce was opening up the door on the back begrudgingly to fulfill Dine’s orders.

               Bronson was looking at the map with Dine, both not speaking. Nyx tried to think of something to say to break the tension. Just when she thought she might have something her voice caught in her throat. What was that? In the darkness she saw something move next to Pierce.

               “Oh, shit!”

               She wasn’t sure if her words came out or not as Pierce fell back and made a noise as he hit the ground. A figure had lunged out at him from the back of the SUV where he had been checking. It was on him and the two were rolling on the ground in a struggle. The guttural hiss confirmed Nyx’ fear as she pulled her machete from the sheath. Bronson and Dine were right behind her.

               “Get it quick!”

               Nyx almost slid to a stop with the blade raised and ready. There was no sure shot though, they were still struggling. Pierce’s knee and elbow were raised, trying to force the demented ghoul off of him. The tip of his elbow barely keeping the dead drooling maw from his face which was turned away, pushing further into the dirt trying to get away when he was on bottom.

               “Do something!”

               Nyx screamed. It all happened so fast. Dine pulled at the old purple sweatshirt the walker was wearing, his strength lifting it high as he spun it away from Pierce. Bronson grabbed Pierce’s legs, pulling him away as this happened, to safety. When the ravaging creature was up straight Nyx took her shot at its pale neck, swinging hard with both hands on the handle. In the dark she wasn’t sure how close she had actually come to hitting Dine but she knew she had struck her target.

               She was reassured by the two thuds from the bouncing head to her left. Dine had stepped back and dropped the body, cursing, sure he had seen the blade come through the back of the dead neck and almost touch his. Dine’s boot kicked the head away to make sure, it bounced a few more times and collected dirt and sprinkled dried dead blood as it moved.

               “Are you alright,” Dine asked her, a hint of concern.

               “I’m good, it’s dead.”

               Bronson was looking over Pierce, fumbling for the small flashlight from his backpack.

               “Are you hurt? Were you bitten?”

               Pierce winced first; then his hands came up feeling his chest, forearms, then the back of his head. He groaned and then nodded to Bronson as the small flashlight with the bright blue light came on.

               “Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. He just scared the shit out of me.”

               “Don’t think you were the only one,” Bronson offered him a hand and took the light out of his face. He kept the light near Pierce though so he could check himself. He used it more for brushing himself off and catching his breath though.

               “Is he alright,” Dine asked after taking a good look around, expecting to find more walkers.

               “I’m good, I’m good now.”

               Nyx was glad to hear Pierce wasn’t hurt. She removed her own flashlight and was looking around before asking her question, one that was on all of their minds.

               “Isn’t it odd for it to just hide back there,” she posed the question but another struck her. “How did it get in quietly enough that we didn’t notice?”

               “Both good questions that I am not sure of the answer to,” Bronson admitted.

               Dine exhaled a sigh and looked around the vehicle, he checked it once more.

               “More reason to get out of here, we can theorize about ghoul behavior on the way.” Dine looked to Pierce. “Are you still okay to drive?”

               “Yeah,” Pierce agreed, “let’s get out of here.”

               They each climbed in their seats in the black SUV, each being more cautious now. Bronson was almost sure now that his feelings from the night before of concern and unease had just been justified, even if they hadn’t been answered. They each knew that the ghouls would be an issue, the dead controlled so much of the Earth’s surface, and this was a sign of what Ephrata could hold for them.

               The engine turned over and Pierce made one of his usual quips about making sure all of the kiddies were buckled up. He backed the car back onto the road and adjusted the sleeves of his jacket before heading off down the dirt road back towards civilization, trying not to think about the pain and itching from the bite just under his sleeve.