"The first zombie passed by here a week ago," I commented as I stood in the back of the truck, watching the scenery in boredom after three hours of zig-zagging across the terrain to the south. "There's also a couple of rabbits around if you want to hunt."
"I'll be fine for a day or so. Besides, I can see a Stronghold in the distance. There's a chance they might know something about these unranked zombies or seen some travelers passing through."
I peered ahead but only saw the road, zombies, power lines, shrubs, a band of trees, a couple of farmhouses, and some mountainous hills in the distance. The landscape was an absolute nightmare for anyone playing hide and seek against a Terror. Since he had said "in the distance", I didn't expect to spot the settlement for a while longer.
"Let's hope they don't mind visitors dropping in unannounced."
"It looks like a smaller place. We can stop by the gate and see if they're willing to chat."
"I guess there's no harm in trying. We haven't found anything besides scent trails so far."
Shrubs turned into poorly irrigated fields as we approached the Stronghold. A short horn call echoed across the landscape as the sentries alerted the locals to our presence. Daniel slowed down as we got closer.
I remained standing with one hand on a handle on the roof in an attempt to prove I was unarmed, although they probably wouldn't believe that the two wrenches in my hoodie pocket were weapons even if I told them they were.
This place had an unusually tall fence with a series of roller bars on top. It wasn't Nightstalker proof, but it would probably stop feral Runners. The guards in the towers had arrows nocked onto their bows, but they were idly pointed at their feet. I didn't see a gun, but those were probably hiding out of sight.
The truck slowed to a stop as we reached the handful of people near the gate. I took a deep breath, picking up the usual Stronghold scents and trails from regular zombies.
"Hello," a man greeted us. "Welcome to Ranger Stronghold. How are you doing today?"
"Doing well," Daniel replied. "We just came down from Graydon Stronghold to check if you've seen any weird zombies lately. One showed up there, and a second one overran Odessa Stronghold."
"Are they okay? We didn't hear anything about that, but we've seen a couple of zombies that weren't acting quite right." The man looked concerned, and various people lingered behind the fence to listen.
"There were a few losses, but most of them are safe. Graydon Stronghold helped them clear out the zombies so they could return. You've seen other zombies?"
"There was one that walked funny and had loud screams about two weeks ago. Three days ago, a really fast one chased some foragers."
"We found the one with the loud screams. Do you know where the fast one went? Have you seen any unusual travelers lately?"
The man frowned. "We saw the fast zombie west of here, but what does that have to do with travelers?"
"We're helping a scientist figure out where the strange zombies are coming from, and we think there might be a group changing zombies into these odd ones. We're trying to gather as many details as we can."
A woman took a step forward. "There's a group making these weird zombies? Is the scientist at Graydon? Wasn't Wyatt the scientist there?"
"Nina is an expert on zombies, and she's helping Wyatt. We're staying at Graydon for the moment. Can you tell us more about the zombies you saw? And exactly where the fast one went?"
"They were zombies," the man said with a shrug. "We try to avoid them. We lured the fast one down that road," he pointed, "but it's probably gone by now."
"Why is she in the back?" another woman asked, looking at me quizzically.
I gave her an unimpressed look; we were trying to track down a zombie, not looking for comments from the peanut gallery.
"We don't always get along in close quarters," Daniel said, "and she likes her personal space. We won't stay long since we want to see if we can find this zombie and return to Graydon before the sun sets. Do you remember if any other zombies were acting strange?"
"Not that I can think of. Did that screaming zombie really make it to Odessa Stronghold? It was headed north. Did it pass by Graydon?"
"It chased a few of Graydon's hunters, who lured it away. We didn't know it ended up at Odessa until they showed up. One of the gate latches broke."
"Huh. We'll have to double-check ours. But best of luck finding those zombies. I hope people don't make more of 'em."
"We're hoping so as well."
"Stay safe and have a good day. Send our regards to Wyatt," he said, stepping back. The farewell was polite but unmistakable.
"Thanks. I'll let him know."
Daniel turned the truck around and headed down the indicated road.
"That was a shorter trip than I anticipated," I said. "But that wasn't exactly the kind of news I wanted to hear."
I kept half an eye on the group behind us. As the welcome group went inside the fence, those who had been standing nearby quickly surrounded them. The guards chatted amongst themselves as they removed their arrows from their bows.
"At least we know there's a third unranked zombie around," Daniel replied. "We just have to find it. Let's hope it didn't wander too far in three days."
"Are there any Strongholds west of here?"
"No. There are a couple of large towns in that direction, so it might have gone in there. The Strongholds and travelers avoid that area due to how many zombies are around."
"I'm hoping it fell into a ravine or gully and didn't get that far," I said as I scanned the fields and kept checking the air.
~
"Can you push that car out of the way?" Daniel asked.
I jumped out of the back and jogged to the partial roadblock formed by abandoned vehicles. When I grabbed the bumper and lifted, the plastic crumpled and cracked against my palms unpleasantly before my hands finally found metal. My muscles strained as I picked up the back end, stepped to the side, and dropped it, not caring that the passenger tire sat on the edge of the washed-out ditch.
I went to the front and did the same thing, which created enough room for the truck to squeeze through. As Daniel drove by, I jumped into the back and frowned at the vehicle-cluttered road ahead.
"I'm not sure how many vehicles are in this area, but I think the owners parked them in the worst spots possible," I told him. "There are at least four more traffic jams ahead, and we haven't even reached the edge of the town."
"The farther we go, the worse it'll get. Did that zombie pass by here?"
"I think it walked through that washed-out area, but yes, it came this way. It smells kind of like a Runner, but not quite."
"At least we're on the right track. Finding it in the city could be a challenge though."
I growled at a couple of zombies who were overly excited to meet the first visitors to come this way in years. "That Stronghold is lucky those big rocky ridges stand between them and here. I didn't realize they were so close to these towns, nor that so many zombies were still hanging out in the urban areas."
Daniel wound his way around the vehicles. "I thought they would have started dispersing after all these years, but apparently not."
I shrugged. "It makes sense, if you think about it. The buildings still have more human afterscent than the road does. If any bones or remains get wet, the smell just sinks in more, even years later. And there's bound to be dozens or even hundreds of people who died where zombies and predators couldn't reach the body."
It was a rather morbid thought, but only a fraction of the human population had survived the outbreak. Many had turned into zombies, but finding dried corpses or bones was nothing new.
Daniel changed the topic. "Should I honk the horn to see if we can lure that zombie out?"
"Go for it, but at this rate, I'll be driving, and you get to clear the path. There's several Runners around, and they always have issues with my sunglasses."
Daniel hit the horn several times. The fifth time, the horn cut out, and the song Who Let The Dogs Out began blaring from under the hood.
I gave the hood a long look. "I presume Nicky installed the horn?"
"Apparently," came the sour reply.
Well, we now had the answer. Nicky let the dogs out, presumably to distract Daniel while she installed the new horn.
"What happens if you hit it again?"
The song suddenly cut out as a normal truck horn beckoned the zombies onward. Four honks later, music once more burst forth, only this time it was the Macarena. I shook my head, wondering what Nicky had been thinking when she set this up. I certainly wasn't about to start dancing, although the catchy tune had definitely caught the attention of the nearby zombies. The music cut out as Daniel hit the horn again and ceased tormenting our zombie audience with unusual music selections.
When we reached another roadblock, Daniel stopped the truck and got out. "I'll clear the way if you want to drive. It'll be faster, and if we're driving, there's a better chance of the unranked zombie noticing us."
He left the door open as he jogged ahead. I jumped down and claimed the driver's seat as he shoved vehicles against each other, creating a path for the truck with far more ease than I ever could.
While waiting, and in an almost depraved sense of curiosity, I tapped the horn five times to see what the next song was. Party In The USA began playing. Daniel glanced back at me in disbelief, as if unable to believe I had done that. Two Runners appeared from among the buildings ahead, racing toward us as the music echoed across the landscape.
We were having a party, all right...