107 Chapter One Hundred and Six - One Man’s Trash (1/2)
They'd travelled first along a few backroads, some of which had now been mostly reclaimed by grass and greenery making them difficult to traverse along. They'd had mixed success with the smattering of properties located there, but as they were not looking for food as this was the most unlikely thing for them to find, their pickings really weren't bad overall. With Shaun insisting on travelling with them, their task had become somewhat easier; he could directly pluck the pipes and radiators from the walls rather than them smash them up like yobs. If there was any water lingering in them, Tyler evaporated it with his abilities, while the others sought in every corner for salvage.
Abandoned properties are more at risk from the elements; one bungalow had a few broken roof tiles allowing the rain to seep in damaging carpets and wood flooring as well as causing mould to grow on other fabrics. The smell of that place had been heavily musty, but it had not been the only property to be exposed to the elements. One house had several smashed windows and doors within, the patio doors had been broken from the inside. It was most likely that a zombie had broken out from inside.
Apart from metal pipes, nails and nuts, they gathered up curtains and other fabrics. These could be repurposed, perhaps or used to thicken their own window coverings this winter and help keep any warmth inside. Harry located a bunch of candles and tea lights in a loft along with a toy train set and building blocks. They'd been covered in plastic bags, so didn't need much cleaning up.
This hidden cottage was a fairly old property, built many centuries ago and still had its large fireplace in the living room and wood burning range oven in the kitchen. They stayed there that night, reheating several flasks of squash and bean soup over a fire and the next morning they used all their ability and strength to steal the oven. They planned to try install it in the second property in order that the occupants could live there more comfortably in winter.
On a farm, the found a truck that still had some fuel in its tank and a horse box which could be attached to it. This was quickly filled with items from the farmhouse itself, though there was not a great deal to take. This place had clearly been found and stripped of any essentials so mostly what they took was metal, paint and some rusting tools hidden in a barn.
As they were about to leave, they noticed an old tree that had lost vitality and was simply dry wood waiting to fall. They took the time to chop it down and into movable chunks, placing it into the smaller truck's open bed.
It wasn't completely smooth sailing either, but there was only one encounter that could be considered life threatening. That was a mess of mutant felines whose territory they had travelled into. They decided to flee, Ren Zexian covering their backs and sweeping aside the vicious cat pride, while they left the barns and farm property labelled them as a loss.
Otherwise the number of zombies they encountered was minimal, just a few wandering groups that were low in number, heading in similar directions towards the south. It was clear from their rambling, unhurried pace and that there were no large mobs that there was nothing of interest in this area for a zombie; there was no food for them.
They encountered just one trapped zombie in still lingering in its original home. It had turned to face them, its hunger clear, but as it moved, its dry skin cracked and began to flake. Its muscles had decayed to the point where they even fell from its rattling skeleton, falling to the ground like small sacks of dust, thudding and crumbling. Tendons tore, hanging loose and as the bones had little or nothing to keep them together, they broke away from the main body, the zombie literally collapsed like an unstable house of cards. Desiccated organs and a thin, long strand of intestines scattered as it fell and the remaining light in its eyes faded.
Tyler vomited off to the side, while others swallowed rising bile several times before coming to their senses. It was not as if they hadn't seen and smelled other disgusting sights during this era, but this had still been quite a shocking thing to behold. The zombie had been trapped since the end, unable to feed, without the ability to evolve, its end had been inevitable.
They drove off of the narrow country roads and onto a main road, skirting around the odd abandoned vehicle until they encountered a dual carriageway. Wide and with several cars and lorries left ignored to rust, they took advantage to seek fuel for the two vehicles they were currently using. Some of the trucks had clearly been siphoned clean, but eventually they found half a tank of diesel in a large family car. It couldn't fill the hungry tank that was within their van, but it was not an insignificant find either.
Consulting old paper maps, they plotted the quickest route home. It had been two days and nights since they left their base and their finds were enough to celebrate with. Winston carefully manoeuvred the truck through a narrow opening between an abandoned car and another car that had swerved into the central barriers separating the sides of the carriageway roads. Shaun was sitting in between him and Dexter, who happened to lazily be glancing out of the window, but not really observing the sights, just thinking of his girl back home.