Survival

Chapter 51 Statues

"Take these," he said after they broke apart. "We'll see how much of this place is contaminated and see how far into town it has spread."

They grabbed as many of the keys as they could find at the front desk and set off to inspect the rooms. All were vacant except for one with a deceased cleaning woman. The vacuum had tipped down onto the ground, still plugged in. Whatever hit these folks had been instant.

The next hotels and homes they checked had the same results. It was easy enough to tell by the fully stocked shelves and stores that no one had needed to scavenge. They had all passed away without the chance to try and fight for their lives.

"This has biological warfare written all over it," Alex said. "It's sick."

"Alex, we don't know that for sure."

"It's quite likely," Peyton replied.

Gravel crunched behind them as they walked in a straight line. Peyton whirled around and his eyes scanned the area. A black dog emerged, and he let out a brief sigh. Just an animal.

"So it doesn't spread to animals, then," Alex thought aloud.

The gravel echoed again with heavier footsteps, and a small boy in a pair of overalls came out of the bushes. "Travis, come on back!" He stopped wide-eyed in his tracks when he saw the group of three adults.

"Hey, buddy. Is that your dog?" Peyton asked as he lowered himself to the boy's level.

The boy nodded and clutched the canine's fur tightly with tight fists.

"My name is Peyton, and these are two of my friends, June and Alex. We don't want to hurt you. We just had a few questions about this town. What's your name?"

"I'm Nicholas."

"It's lovely to meet you Nicholas, and you too Travis. Can I pet him?"

Nicholas nodded as he watched Peyton's every movement. Aware of this, Peyton gave him a small smile, not enough to scare him or seem unfriendly.

"Do you live in Pagosa Springs?"

His eyes shifted from side to side. "Sometimes."

"Is it safe to drink the water and eat the food here?"

He nodded. "Travis and I do most of the time."

"Are there any other people around here?"

"Just smelly statues." Nicholas began to pet the dog again. His eyes shot to Alex and June. "Is this real? Are you here to tell me this is just a bad dream?"

Peyton bit his lip and shook his head. Poor kid had no idea what was going on either. "We're going to stay here for a few days and rest. We'll be cooking up a few meals once we catch some fish if you want to join us for some food later."

The boy stared at Peyton's hair. "Okay, that sound pretty good."

"Can I can meet you back here when the sun gets a bit closer to the mountains?"

Nicholas shook his head, and a smile grew on his lips. "I haven't had hot food in a real long time. My daddy used to cook for me, but he's a statue too."

"It's hard for statues to cook. We'll make enough for you and Travis."

The boy wandered down another road with Travis. Alex had a scowl on his face when Peyton came back to them. "What good will that do us?" Alex said.

"We'll rest here, get as many clues as we can about what went on in this region, and feed a small boy in desperate need of food and companionship."