Part 15 (2/2)
”No harm in trying, mate. Besides, we killed a whole bunch of fiends, got to shoot the h.e.l.l out of things, and had a pretty spectacular time.” Deacon almost always looked on the bright side of facing the fiends.
”Here is the plan so far,” Jonathan began. ”We are heading to the gas station where I am hoping we can get enough gas to fill up several cans. I am not sure how easy gas will be to find out on the road or how good any of it will be. We will take the truck so we can bring back any extra supplies we can come across.”
”That's it?” Deacon asked. ”I really expected something a bit more exciting. You know, like, aHey guys, today we are going to fight off a hundred fiends as they rise out of the ground in an old cemetery.'” Deacon said the last part in an upbeat impression of Jonathan.
”I'm tired of exciting,” Guillermo exclaimed. ”I just want a quiet life from here on out, so let's not do anything exciting, get the gas, find your family, bring them back, and never go out there again.”
”I doubt it will be that easy.” Jonathan turned to Deacon, ”Also, fiends do not rise out of the cemetery. The people there could probably be considered lucky.”
Deacon gave Jonathan a sarcastic look before saying, ”Let's mount up and move out then, mates. We haven't got all day.”
Deacon climbed into the driver's seat of the large truck while Guillermo took the pa.s.senger's seat. Jonathan climbed into the cage in the bed where he sat on a bucket seat they had taken out of the neighbors car and bolted down. Several rifle cases and ammo boxes were back there, also, as well as four empty five gallon gas cans that had been emptied over the last few months. He would be able to shoot in any direction while inside the safety of the cage.
”This is great,” Deacon said enthusiastically. ”It's like I'm Han Solo, and you're Chewy,” Deacon said as he looked at Guillermo with a smile.
”I have a cousin named Chuy. At least, I had a cousin named Chuy,” Guillermo said flatly. He enjoyed Chuy's stories about how he would drink tequila, fight thirty guys at once, and then kiss all of their girlfriends before walking away unharmed. He really hoped that he was still alive.
”Awesome,” Deacon said to himself. He started the engine and rolled toward the gate.
The gate slid open and the big Tundra rumbled through. The block was clear for the most part. A few fiends could be seen roaming about further out into the town, however. Deacon looked into the rearview mirror and watched as the gate shut behind him. He could see Jonathan sitting vigilantly on a bucket seat, rifle in his lap.
As Jonathan sat facing the rear, he watched his home shrink into the distance. They had turned a corner before it could shrink completely. The fiends out in the street turned to follow them as they drove past, but none could keep up with the truck despite their cruising speed.
”You mind if we drive past my place once? I just want to see it again,” Guillermo asked. The work was not easy, between running the business and doing the landscaping, yet he loved every second of it.
”Tell me where to go. We can stop if you want. I'll go in with you.” Deacon only knew these guys for a short while, but he would gladly follow them to h.e.l.l and back. Friends.h.i.+p meant everything to the former firefighter, as he knew all too well that friends were closer than most families.
Chapter 22.
Smoke drifted lightly into the sky from behind the garage that Guillermo used for his landscaping business. Although he knew he couldn't find much use in the building now, his heart leapt into his throat at the thought of it being on fire. It was not on fire, however, as he noticed upon pulling up next to it.
”What's going on here?” Guillermo asked, more to himself then Deacon, as he knew Deacon would know just as much as he did at this point.
”The smoke is coming from the yard around back,” Deacon pointed out.
The truck stopped, and Deacon put the transmission in park. All three of them looked around, examining the area before anyone could step out. Jonathan lifted a small hatch on the top of the cage and climbed up for a better view.
”Looks clear,” he said to the others.
”Let's do this,” Deacon said as he opened his door.
Guillermo stood in front of his garage. The Alvarez Landscaping sign hung proudly over the door to the small office. Most of his work day was spent on a job somewhere, so having a cozy office wasn't important to him. Besides, he used his cell phone for his company, allowing him to do the full extent of his job from anywhere.
”It feels good to be here again,” he said. Guillermo missed this place. His eyes began to water, but he held back the tears. His business was thriving before this all happened, and now he would never know how far he could have taken it. He never wanted to be a rich man, yet he wouldn't have complained about it, either.
”Let's head around back to see what's burning,” Deacon said. ”Jonathan, let us know if you see anything. We're not going far.”
The smell of burning flesh wafted past their nostrils with the breeze. Deacon and Guillermo looked to each other, both unsure of what this meant. They slowed their movement and crept along the wall of the garage. Guillermo had taken the lead, as he felt it was his responsibility.
As he looked around the corner of the building into the yard he saw a small pile of burnt bodies. He estimated between fifteen and twenty all together. From the looks of them, they were burned last night. Glancing quickly around the yard, Guillermo confirmed that whoever had done this was gone now.
”Someone's cleaning up the neighborhood?” Guillermo wondered out loud. After examining the bodies, he felt confident they had been fiends and were not other survivors.
”There must be another group close by,” Deacon suggested. ”Do you think they could still be around?”
”Well, I'm no tracker, but it doesn't look like anyone was here for very long,” Guillermo responded. He moved around the yard looking for any obvious signs of who was here or where they may have gone.
Deacon walked back around to the front of the garage and told Jonathan what they found and that they believe there is another group of survivors. As Jonathan thought about this, he found that he was rather excited to think there could be others close by. This increased the chances of his family surviving. It also increased the possibility of survival of the entire human race.
He was always pretty sure that if they managed to survive then others must have as well, but this would just confirm that. Jonathan began to think about what could be accomplished by a small group of survivors. A portion of the town could be blocked off and cleared out, allowing lives to be rebuilt; as their community grew they could expand the blockade. Jobs could be established to provide food and clothing.
Upon returning to the truck, Guillermo tossed one bag of fertilizer and two bags of fresh soil in the bed. He had done wonders with the small garden in the bas.e.m.e.nt greenhouse already, and looked to do so much more. Thanks to Guillermo, the plants were producing more in terms of both quant.i.ty and quality.
Deacon dropped off one more bag of fertilizer and various seeds and gardening tools, as well. He was happy to do some labor again. Of all the things he missed, working with his hands was at the top of that list. Working on the truck and Jonathan's car was like a blessing to him. ”Just what the doctor ordered,” he had said on several occasions before flipping his welding hood back down in front of his face or firing up a cutting torch.
”Could you guys see anything from up in the apartment?” Jonathan asked.
”Someone was up there. Not really sure how they found the place unless they knew about it. None of the plants survived, so I doubt they found much to live off of. They probably only camped out for a day or two. Just long enough to pile up a few bodies and hit the road again. We couldn't really see any signs life out in the city from up there,” Deacon explained.
”Roger?” Jonathan asked, hoping to hear that there were signs that he was alright.
”Perhaps. It was a small group if it was more than one person. If it was Roger, and I a.s.sume he is the only one who would know to go up there, then it is safe to say he's surely still in town,” Deacon responded once more. ”Moving on.”
”Was there any gas here?” Jonathan asked.
”No, sorry. With a gas station a few blocks away, I never really kept gas here. Just a few empty cans,” Guillermo responded.
The Tundra fired up, and Guillermo looked at his garage. Deep down he hoped he never saw it again, but on the other hand he hoped he did. Most of all, he hoped it would be of use to someone someday.
They rolled into the gas station and pulled around back to where the tanks were filled. A couple of fiends wandered the parking lot and moved sluggishly toward them. Climbing out of the cage and dropping to the concrete, Jonathan turned and grabbed his gas siphon pump and an empty can.
”Don't fire your weapons. It's only a few of them. We should wait until they get around the side of the building and out of view of the street. Take them out silently,” Deacon suggested.
After pulling the cap off of one of the gasoline tanks, Jonathan began pumping the flammable liquid into the can. The manual pump resembled a bicycle tire pump. The gas was sucked up into the tube, and then pushed out into the gas can with each motion.
Deacon and Guillermo took care of the fiends as they came along. Only the ones that saw them drive back there came around. Alone, or in small groups, the fiends were easy to handle. The two men did check periodically around the corners to make sure a large group wouldn't walk back by chance, but for the most part they tried to stay out of view.
With their gas cans filled and put away into the truck, the group decided to check inside of the gas station for supplies. The building was dark and dusty. Most of the shelves had been emptied. Guillermo had said that he was in here a few times himself scavenging. Their needs now were different, though, and with different needs came a new perspective on what is useful.
While scanning the empty candy bar rack, Deacon said, ”This is awful. Not a single Take 5.”
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