“Calling the school to let dad know what's going on.” Picking up the receiver she pushed the call button. “Survivalista calling the Pigeon Survival School, over.”
The radio crackled, “Yogi here, go Survivalista.”
Susan snickered from the door, “That's so seventies.”
Indie ignored her. “Yogi there's a new development I can't explain it over the radio, just tell dad I'm heading back. Survivalista out.”
“All right, Survivalista, be careful. Yogi out.”
Indie hung up the radio and turned it off.
“You're going back to the school, why?”
Indie looked at her friend. “Call it a feeling. I think something bad's coming, worse than what we've already seen.”
“Indie, you can't know that. The government is taking care of the problem and making sure things don't get worst.”
Walking to the closet Indie pulled out a second hand held radio. “Here it's already set on channel eighteen, if I'm wrong you can call me and gloat.”
Susan snatched the radio. “Fine, I will.” Turning on her heel she stalked to the front door, flinging it open. She stopped dead in her tracks. “Indie!”
The hint of panic in Susie's voice had Indiana running to the door. She froze as she looked across the street. Ms. Weltner, the old lady who lived directly opposite, stood outside her house. Dried blood leaked down her face from a cut on her forehead. Indie had never seen the woman without perfect make-up and hair. Her white hair was half up in rollers, the other half stuck out at odd angles from her head. Cold cream was smeared randomly all over her face. The slack, vacant stare on her face made Indie's stomach quiver. The old woman shuffled aimlessly down the front walk, barefoot in her nightdress and bathrobe. Her front door hung open. The prissy old lady usually locked it behind her, even when she walked to her mailbox not ten feet away.
“Do we help her?” Susan whispered.
“No. Remember the report.”
“But she's bleeding.”
Indie took a good look, shivering. “It's congealed. We'll go inside and call nine-one-one, they'll be able to help her.” She grabbed Susan’s arm, pulled her back into the house and shut the door, locking it. Susan stood peering out the window as Indie picked up the phone from the hall table. She dialed, only to get a busy signal. “Susie, it's busy.”
“It's nine-one-one, how can it be busy?”
Indie shook her head, dread creeping into her belly. “Come on, the Jeep is in the garage. I'll take you home.”
“No.”
Indie raised her eyebrows.
Susan closed her eyes. “I want to come with you, maybe you're right.”
“What about AJ?”
“I’ll call him.”
Indie nodded, Susan's family wasn't all that close. It didn't surprise her one bit that her friend would worry about herself first and family second. “Fine, but you need better clothes.” Heading up to her room, Indie rifled through her dresser, tossing several items on the bed.
“Seriously? These are Army surplus,” Susan whined from behind her.
“Susie, we're going to a camp in the middle of the wilderness, not a day spa. If you think this will be a walk in the park then let me take you home.”
“Fine.” The bathroom door clicked shut.
Grabbing an old army knapsack from the bottom of her closet, Indie shoved some extra clothes inside and picked up the radio Susan had left on the bed. Going back downstairs, she peeked out the front window. Ms. Weltner just stood at the end of her walkway, swaying back and forth as if she was going to topple over at any minute. Indie tried nine-one-one again only to still hear the annoying beep. This couldn't be a good sign.
Walking back to the living room, Indie glanced at the TV. The reporter looked haggard, as if she was close to her limit. “We repeat, if you see anyone with these symptoms, do not approach. Call the number below or your local authorities. Again, those symptoms are vacant stare, glazed or milky eyes, and a shuffling gait. People with these symptoms are prone to attack ferociously and without provocation. They will hit, kick, scratch, and bite. If they scratch or bite you, go to a hospital immediately as the virus can be contracted this way.”
Indiana picked up her cell phone sticking it in her pocket, then lifted the remote and turned off the TV. “Susan, hurry up!”
Chapter 3
“So, this survival school?” Susan asked hesitantly. “Will we be sleeping in tents or on the ground?”
Indiana glanced at Susie, then back to the road. Her friend had never really been interested in the survival school. Then again, unless it had to do with boys, fashion, or gossip, Susie didn't really care. “It's more of a compound. There's a bunk house and cabin. I'm sure mom will let you stay in the cabin.”
Susan stared out the window. “What about you?”
“This time of year, the cabin, since the weather’s still kind of unpredictable and it's freakin’ cold.”
Wrinkling her nose, Susie crossed her arms over her chest. “I don't get why you like all this outdoor crap.”
Indie shrugged, slowing down as red and blue lights appeared before them. The sheriff climbed out of his car. Pulling to a stop Indie rolled down her window and smiled. “Sheriff Perkins, what can I do for you?”
He grinned, showing tobacco stained teeth, and glanced between her and Susie. “Where you ladies headed?”
“Up to the school.”
“Neither of you have been sick, or eaten anything that might have been contaminated?” The girls looked at each other and shook their heads. “Are you carrying anything that might have been contaminated or come in contact with anything or one?”
“Only food we have is some MREs dad's had for a couple months.” Her mind flashed to Ms. Weltner. “But you might want to send someone to check on my neighbor, Debbie Weltner.”
His eyes widened. “You didn't touch her or get to close.”
Indie shook her head. “We saw the news report, and tried the numbers but all of them were busy.”
He nodded. “All right, I'll send someone over. Tell the folks up at the school that the towns are on lock down. No meat products are to be transported.” He turned his head and spit. “Waste of time sitting out here, no one’s carrying that stuff. Everyone’s chucking it, bears are having a field day in the dumpsters. Between everyone panicking and hospitals being overwhelmed...” He sighed and suddenly looked a lot older.
“I'll make sure they know, Sheriff.”
He nodded again. Turning to look up the road, he frowned. Indiana followed his gaze.
“Isn't that Old Man Benti?” Susie asked, shifting in her seat.
The grizzled form stumbled and shuffled down the road. The sheriff placed his hand on his gun. “I think you ladies should get going. I'll deal with Mr. Benti.”
He stepped away from the vehicle and Indie rolled up her window. As they pulled away she heard him yell. The old man's head jerked awkwardly, and he started shuffling faster toward the sheriff. Indie drew in a startled breath as they passed him. His leg was twisted at the wrong angle, causing him to drag it—hence the stumbling. Blood ran down his face from a large gash on his head to clump in his matted beard.
Indiana yanked her gaze back to the road as Susie strained against her seat belt to look behind them.
“Shouldn't we do something?”
Indie glanced in the rear-view mirror. A primal urge to flee lodged itself in her brain. That wasn't right. While she wasn't even close to a doctor, she knew he shouldn't be walking around. Not without a stick or crutch or barfing agony.
“No.” She gripped the wheel firmer and they turned a corner. “He's headed toward the sheriff. Perkins will be able to help more than we can. Besides, he told us to leave.”
“Yeah.” Susie sat forward, hesitantly at first, then with more conviction. “Yeah the sheriff can help him.”
A few minutes later they came across a truck, the driver side smashed against some trees. Branches crisscro
ssed through the windows.
“How did he walk away from that?”
Indie shook her head and swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. “I don't know, but let’s get out of here.”
****
They rolled to a stop in front of the old metal gate. She glanced over at Susie. “Wanna get that?”
“Get what?” Susan put on her dumb blond look. She glanced toward the rusted metal. “That?”
Rolling her eyes, Indie groaned and threw the Jeep into park. “Never mind.” She yanked off her seat belt. She climbed out, unhooked the gate, got back in, drove through and then got out again to re-lock it.
As she climbed back in, Susie asked, “Are we going to hike in?”
“No. Too much stuff to haul, too cold, the snow’s too deep and god forbid you break a nail.”
“So how do...?”
“Hang on. It's going to be a bumpy ride.” Indie grinned, putting the Jeep into four-wheel drive.
Susie grinned back. “How long have you wanted to say that?”
“Since I got this baby.” Indie eased the Jeep onto the maintenance road designed for ATV's. Bare trees and bushes slapped the sides of the vehicle. Indie winced as twigs scrapped against the side creating a hideous screech. She was just glad her dad had used the ATV to plow and the snow filled in the worst of the ruts.
“There goes your paint job.”
Indie spared her a glare, instead focusing on easing the Jeep along. After what felt like an hour and a million scratches later, the path opened into a clearing. Pulling off to the side, Indie threw the Jeep into park and killed the engine.
“Okay. Now we walk.”
“Wait! What?” Susie stared at her, wide eyed. “I thought you said it was too far.”
Unbuckling her belt, Indie shoved her door open. “There's less than a mile left and it's only accessible on a four wheeler or by foot. I'll leave the MREs, guns and ammo. We can come back for them.”
Susan scrambled out in pursuit. “Indiana...”
“Susan, you knew what this was when you signed up,” Indie snapped, falling into trainer mode. If Susie didn't drop the attitude she was going to have a real hard time dealing. Granted, she wasn't going to have it as hard as a trainee, but living off grid wasn't a picnic. And who knew how long they'd be out here. “Get your bag and let's go.”
“Fine.” Susie grumbled, grabbing her pack. “You know, you're turning into a bossy bitch.”
Indie kicked her door shut, taking in the scratches and deep gouges. Shaking her head she looked at Susan. “I have to be out here or no one takes me seriously.” Hefting the three bags, Indie headed for the path, with Susie following.
By the time they'd reach the compound the sun was starting to set. Indie was surprised that Susie had kept up the pace she'd set. As they pushed through the last bushes, Susan stopped.
“Oh my God! This is not what I expected.”
Indiana nodded. “That's how most people react the first time here.”
The school sat smack dab on the edge of a small lake, with deep forest surrounding it on the other three sides. There were several buildings, a bunk house, storage and a large cabin which sat looking over the lake. A large wall of solar panels faced the sky, supplying power to the buildings. Huge barrels gathered rain. The place looked more like a farm than a survival school. Even covered in snow it was impressive. Neat paths had been shoveled between the buildings. It was the very picture of order and calm.
As they walked toward the cabin Susie voiced her surprise. “I imagined sleeping in tents and rubbing sticks together.”
“We do that too. It depends on what you want to learn. We offer minimalist survival classes. That means you bring a pack with only certain things or weight limit and you have to live off that for a few days to a week.”
“Why would you do something like that?”
“To challenge yourself.” Indie glanced at Susie. “To learn what you're capable of, what you can take and where your limit is.”
Susan bit her lip, looking around. “I never thought about it like that.”
Pushing open the cabin door, Indie dropped the bags next to some boots and called, “Mom, you here?”
Tera jumped up from the couch. “Indie, I was so worried.” She rushed toward them and caught Indiana in a hug.
“Mom you're crushing me.”
Tera stepped back. “Sorry.” She looked as though she just realized Susie was there. “You brought Susan?”
“Yeah.”
“Things are that bad?”
Indie and Susan exchanged a glance. “They're freaky, Mom.”
Tera's brows pinched together. “All right then. I'll get Susie settled in the guest room and you can go explain things to your dad. He's in the office.”
“Okay. Be back in a bit.” Stepping back outside, Indie tugged her jacket closer. The temperature had dropped with the sun. Jogging over to the bunk house, she let herself into the rectangular shaped building. Walking between the rows of beds, she made her way to the back, to the small room her dad used as an office while up here. He sat at his desk talking with Mr. Anderson and Ryan, who looked up as she entered.
He smiled. “I knew you'd make it. We were just going over what these two know so far. You said there were some new developments.”
Indie nodded, leaning against the wall. “The people who the doctors thought were dead are coming back to life.”
The guys exchanged a glance. “What?”
“The doctors are saying that the virus is putting people in death-like comas. When the people wake up, they are in this thing called an animated catatonic state. It's creepy. The victims are all vacant, and...” Indie shook her head. “They look like zombies.” Realizing what she said, she tried to backpedal. “I'm not saying they're dead...”
Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against the wall.
“I think you need some sleep, hon.” Dan said, standing.
Indie nodded, “In the morning, someone needs to go unload my Jeep. It's at the ATV lot.”
****
Staring out at the still frozen lake, Indiana kept replaying how Ms. Weltner had acted and Mr. Benti. How had he gotten out of that truck and walked on a clearly broken leg? Were they zombies?
She jumped when Ryan dropped down beside her. “Jeez, give me a heart attack.”
“Sorry. You okay?”
She shrugged, looking back toward the lake. “You already think I'm crazy.”
“True.” He smirked as she gave him a quick glare.
“Not nice.”
“Come on, tell me what’s wrong.”
Indie shook her head. “Things just aren't adding up. I mean even if Mr. Benti was in that weird state. He couldn't walk on a broken leg without being in pain. I can't even figure out how he got out of the vehicle with the trees all meshed.”
“People do amazing things when hyped up on adrenaline.”
“You didn't see them.” Indie shook her head. “It was like something out of a George Romero movie.”
He chuckled. “I never should have let you watch those movies.”
Indie grinned. “I'd already watched most of them.”
“But you got all freaked and buried your face in my arm.”
Indie smirked and shrugged. Ryan shook his head, looking at her.
“Indiana!” Susie called running toward them. Skidding to a halt, she almost slipped. Righting herself, she looked from Indie to Ryan. “I just heard your dad say they couldn't get a hold of the sheriff.”
“He's probably busy.” Ryan said.
Indiana frowned at him. “Last time we saw him he was stopping cars to check for meat.”
“And wasn't very happy about it either,” Susan added.
“Still there could be a logical explanation for him not replying.”
“Yeah, like Mr. Benti attacked him, he's laying in the hospital and the town’s gone all vigilante.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes at Indie. “You are so not all
owed to watch zombie movies anymore.”
Standing, she stuck out her tongue at him, brushed off her pants, and headed toward the cabin.
Chapter 4
“Dad, the last few bunks are full. Anybody else is going to have to pitch a tent.” Indiana flopped down in the chair next to the desk. Dan nodded absently, looking over some maps.
She could sense the tension radiating off him. Over the past month and a half people had been turning up at the school. Mostly ex-trainees and their families. They relayed the latest news which kept getting weirder and weirder. Information had leaked to a news station that the virus victims who had returned to life had done so after being autopsied. The CDC had been spoon feeding the media what they wanted reported. From what folks were saying, everything was going all to hell, and fast.
“Mom's worried we won't have enough canned goods to feed everyone. Also, she's getting low on baking stuff. We never expected to have this many people at the school at one time.”
Her dad snorted, leaning back in his chair. “Some survival school this turned out to be.”
Indiana frowned. “We were supposed to teach people self-reliance, not take care of them. It's amazing we've held out this long.”
“Yeah well, these aren't trainees, they're regular people who are scared and not sure what’s going on.”
“All the more reason to teach them to take care of themselves, in case this lasts.”
“All right, Miss Smartypants, what do you suggest?”
Indie sighed, closing her eyes. “How about wild edibles? With this unseasonably warm weather the snow’s pretty much melted and plants are already coming up. It could be a class and get food to supplement what we already have.”
“Sounds good. Run me through it.”
Indie grabbed a pen and notepad off the desk. “Ok, it should be a basic class. Things most people know, already easy to identify plants I know grow around here. Let’s do dandelions, they're all over. There are some cattails near the lake, mostly dead but I might be able to use them for a demonstration. Burdock and daisies grow along the path and by the ATV lot, if any have come up yet. But those are plants almost everyone already knows. Oh, and maybe I could find some garlic-mustard.”
Her dad nodded. “That sounds like a good start.”
Ripping her list off the pad, Indie stood. “I'll get Ryan and Susan to help.”