Deadland's Harvest (part 2 of the Deadland Saga)

Purgatory (Chapter 8)

Griz emerged from the single bedroom and covered the corpse with a sheet. "May God grant you peace," he said.

A thump against the door behind the body answered.

I jumped.

Tyler and Griz moved first. Griz grabbed the corpse's jeans and pulled the body to the side. Tyler stood at the door and knocked. The thumping became fevered. He gripped his sword in one hand and held the doorknob in the other. "Ready?" he asked Griz, who nodded in return, his machete held out in front of him.

Jase and I stood to each side, each holding our machetes ready. Tyler turned the knob and kicked the door open, sending the zed tumbling back. Stench wafted from the room. A zed, who'd been a teenaged boy, tried to pull itself up by grabbing on a black comforter. It looked to be about Jase's age. Its hair was even the same color, and a lump formed in my throat.

Griz rushed forward and slammed his machete through the zed's skull and it collapsed face-first on the floor, and I refused to look at it again. Tyler entered the room and looked in the closet and under the bed. "Clear," he called out.

Griz and Tyler hustled from the room, and I slammed the door shut behind them, as much to block the smell as to close us off from the zed that reminded me a bit too much of Jase. I breathed through my mouth, but the stench of putrid death always seemed to burn through my pores.

"All right. The house is clear. We'll camp here for the night," Tyler said. "Let's secure the perimeter. Griz and Jase, you guys check the doors and close all the curtains. Cash and I will check the garage. Once everything is secure, we can scout the house for supplies."

No one lingered in the foul-smelling basement. My leg was beginning to ache, but I forced myself not to limp as we walked through the small kitchen and toward the garage. On the wall near the door, a key rack hung on the wall, and I smiled. I shuffled through the sets of keys and pulled off a key chain that had a Chevy logo on it. I held it up and gave it a happy little shake.

Tyler returned my grin. "Let's hope the battery's not dead."

Undeterred, I followed him. Dead batteries had become a common occurrence, and I'd grown adept at jumping cars, but I'd always had a running car with me. We didn't have that tonight, and I suspected there weren't any new car batteries lying around.

Tyler opened the door slowly and carefully, just in case we'd missed a zed while checking the house earlier. Fortunately, silence and fresh air greeted us. A white four-door car sat in the shadowed garage.

I opened the car door and slid the key into the ignition and turned. The engine started without a hitch, and the gas gauge climbed halfway. I let out a whoop. "Looks like we've got ourselves a ride."

I turned off the car and stepped out. Tyler gave me a high-five. "It's about time we got a break."

He checked the garage door to see that it would open easily, and we headed back in the house. In the kitchen, Griz had several cabinets open and small stacks of canned food sitting on the counter.

Jase emerged from the bathroom with a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "I'll have a camp stove built and going in no time."

"The car runs," Tyler said. "We'll head out at dawn. If the airport isn't viable, we'll drive back to the park."

"Fingers crossed the airport is clear and has something I can fly. It will save us time."

Tyler wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a hug, and I found myself leaning into his warm comfort. "It will," he assured. A moment later, he squeezed before letting go, and then led the way down the hall.

As Jase worked on making dinner, we searched every room for anything that could be of use. Over the next thirty minutes, we loaded the trunk with all the food, pills, and supplies we could find.

After we dragged two mattresses from the upstairs bedrooms into the living room, I plopped into a chair at the table and sighed as I rubbed my calf.

Tyler took the chair next to me, grabbed my leg, and massaged it. "How bad is it hurting?"

I shook my head. "Not bad. It just feels good to sit."

Even though Tyler touched me often, I knew he had no romantic feelings for me. Physical human connections helped ground him, and his touches didn't bother me once I realized that he was just seeking comfort and wasn't flirting. I was surprised that he hadn't taken any women to bed yet. It wasn't for lack of admirers. Tyler had plenty of those.

Tyler rarely touched me when Clutch was around, which was wise. Clutch wasn't in any way the jealous type, but it didn't take much for the two to get on each other's nerves. With their tense relationship, even something as simple as a harmless touch could set them off.

We watched the sun disappear beyond the horizon. With the smell of food cooking overpowering the ever-present scent of decay, the tension in my muscles slowly bled away.

"We'll rotate two-hour single shifts tonight," Tyler announced. "That will give everyone at least six hours of sleep."

"Dibs on first watch," I said.

Griz grumbled. "Just because you're a woman, I'll let you have it. I've got second shift, then." He put down a plate in front of me.

I leaned forward. "Spaghetti?"

"Yeah," he said, taking a seat across from me. "The pantry had a pretty good selection. Jase cooked the noodles in sauce and water, so it might be a bit gummy."

Jase guffawed. "You're lucky to have a hot meal." he handed Tyler a plate and then sat down with his own. "I'll take third watch, I guess."

Griz clasped his hands. "Lord, thanks for this food that we're about to eat. And thanks for another day where we get to eat food and not get eaten."

"Amen," we all murmured.

Silverware clinked against plates as we all dug in. Sitting around a table, eating spaghetti, felt like home. It almost felt like the apocalypse hadn't taken place around us.

Almost.