Walkers (Book 1): The Beginning (12 page)

     Although, to be fair it was really a city. Malls and warehouses were along the interstate. I indicated the local Wal-Mart store and we pulled into the lot and around to the docks. Trailers were dropped at both docks so Howard backed up to one, while Flynn the other. Mason hurriedly hooked up both. Then weapons in hand we opened the door and went inside. Mason locked the door and at my look said,  "We've already cleared the building and this way it stays cleared. Go shopping but take someone with you."

     Flynn grabbed a pallet truck and a pallet then moved it next to an empty box that was five feet square, loaded it onto the pallet, and then motioned me to follow him. Ok, beats the cart all to hell. We came into the store near the frozen food section which was disappointing and smelly. We located the shoe section and the shopping was on. I picked out winter boots, then coats, and all the other winter accruements.

     By the time I had made the rounds, I had filled four of the pallets with stuff and my butt was dragging. I spent some time at the jewelry department for Lacy's engagement rings but I couldn't decide which ones to get so I got them all. I mean really, why not? Flynn was taking his time returning so I got watches too and was headed to the feminine hygiene isle and yep, you got it, ran into a walker, well, almost. It was lying on the floor, dragging what was left of his legs behind him leaving a slimly trail behind him like a slug only a different color.

     I'm backing up slowly when I back into a solid wall of muscle. Mason, I thought, until I caught his scent and knew I was in trouble.

     "Well, what have we got here, Dell? Looks like a little pussy has slipped in to do some personal shopping. Isn't that right sweetheart, doing some shopping?" No, I was standing on my head whistling Dixie. Fool!

     His arms were like steel as he squeezed me to him and his breath told me he had spent some time in the alcohol isle. Maybe too much time, although I could see where it would take some effort to find soap and deodorant.

     "Dell" walked up behind the walker and cleaved his head in two with a machete putting the thing out of its misery. He was about my height but a good 350 pounds. He must have forgotten to use his deodorant that morning cause he smelled almost worse than the walker. Stepping over the thing on the floor, he wiped the blood from the machete on his pants, yuck!, and waddled over to us.

     "I ain't had me no strange pussy in months" he said and his breath made me turn my head away.

     "No shit, dead meat, you probably couldn't run fast enough to catch any". He back handed me hard enough to split my lip, then 'the vise' grabbed a hand full of hair and growled, "You better be nice, bitch, if want us to keep you alive for a while."

     All this time I'm thinking to Mason, 
Get your ass in here now, and shoot these asshole. Isle 7, feminine hygiene. Where the hell are you?

     I'm coming around the isle now, when I tell you to, drop.

     I said to 'the vise', "Let me go now and I promise to kill you quick". He laughed like I knew he would.
"DROP
" I heard and I did. Well, I went limp and I don't think 'the vise' thought I'd do that. Then a surprised look came over "Dell" and he crumpled to the floor on top of the walker with a very large knife sticking out of his back. 'The vise' followed soon after.

     "Dammit, why do I always end up on the floor and bleeding?" I mumbled and grabbed some sanitary wipes from the shelf next to me and tore open the package. Mason helped me up and Flynn walked up and kicked 'the vise' in the head. "Assholes". Then he shot each of them in the head with my bow, before handing it to me as he walked by. Shaking his head at me he winked. Then he took a wipe and cleaned a spot on my cheek.

     "You missed a spot, Brat." Then he gently rubbed his knuckles over my cheek.

     "Almost done here?" asked Mason, sounding a bit put out. I jumped because I was a little distracted by Flynn "A... yea, I mean, sure, almost, this section, few minutes." I shook myself and got a look at the 'vise' as I held the wipes to my lips. Then I really looked at him and was violently pissed. I started kicking him as hard as I could and with every kick yelled, "Stupid! Asshole! Idiotic! Dumbass! Shithead!" Mason pulled me back then looked from him to me. When I saw the expression on his face I yelled "MEN!!" at him and turned and almost ran head first into Flynn. He threw his hands up in surrender and quickly stepped to one side as I stomped back to the rear of the store, snatching a ball cap with Hawaiian motif off a shelf as I walked by.

     Howard took one look at me and started to say something but looked behind me and quickly shut his mouth. I climbed into the semi and pouted as I watched the men talk in whispers, nod go to their semis. Howard got in, quickly glanced in my direction then started the rig and we pulled out. Nothing was said as we drove back home. My lip had quit bleeding but felt like it was as big as a grapefruit.

     Before I knew it, I was crying. I stared out the window and let the tears flow. Howard was very quiet as he handed me a handkerchief and I sniffled all the way home. My trailer was unhooked next to the school bus and left locked. The other trailers were backed up to the side of the lodge to be unloaded in the next few days.

     I went inside and straight to my room, ignoring the questions and strange looks. I'd let the boys answer the questions. I just needed some time alone.

     The "vise" was actually Dean Connelly who had worked at the lodge one summer when I was visiting. We quickly became an item and I fell in love. He didn't    He kept at me till he got in my pants,  then dropped me. He was keeping a tally on how many girls he could screw during the summer. He had some kind of bet with his best friend. From what I heard, he won, by one point.

     No one knew about it and it wasn't something I was particularly proud of either. Being made a fool isn't easy to accept, I guess I still hadn't accepted it yet, but now he was dead, and I was glad. He would have known that I was living at the lodge now. When we met I was living in NW Montana. He would have found us and I couldn't have handled the fact that it would have been my fault. He was dead; it was time for me to move on. But not till I was over being mad. It was my right, I was enjoying it and by God, I was going to do it till I quit. So there.

     It was hunger more than anything else that got me out of my room that night. I was in the kitchen digging through the fridge when Lacy came in. I straightened up as she hugged me.

     "You ok?" she asked

     "Yea or will be. Seem to say that a lot anymore."

     She turned me toward her and winced when she saw my face.

     "Looks that bad, huh? Fat bastard could backhand. But no more" I threw my hands up, waving a chicken leg in the process. "Cause that fat bastard is a greasy old lard spot right in front of the vaginal cream."

     "I was just wondering...what?" Lacy gaped at me.

     I reached out and slowly raised her chin until her mouth closed, then patted her cheek. I grabbed the plate of chicken and a pop and went to the kitchen table where I sat, with my back to the wall.  Yep, not over that one yet.

     She finally turned around and looked at me, then shook her head a bit and got herself a pop.

"So, you gonna tell me who the dead guy on the floor is? Or how you mouthed off to the fat bastard causing him to back hand you? Or better yet, how you kicked the shit out of the dead guy on the floor after he was dead and couldn't appreciate it?"

     "Listen sweetie you're gonna have to settle on one question and stay there cause I don't really want to talk about it. However, because you’re my favorite sister I've decided to answer one question. So which is it?" Damn that chicken was good. Wonder what kind of spice that is.

     "I'm your only sister. The dead guy on the floor".

     "Shit, I was hoping it was the fat guy who back handed me."

     "Concentrate here JD, who was the dead guy on the floor? Mason said you kicked him and called him names. Who was he?"

     I sighed and put my chicken down. Then I washed it down with the pop and told her the story of Dean. I didn't hold anything back and when I was done I was pissed all over again. I grabbed a thigh and ripped a hunk off, and while I chewed and looked at her.

     She looked at her hands, and then reached over to get a wing, when I smacked her fingers.                                     "You had yours."

     "So that's it? You kicked the shit out of him, oh dear that brings up an awful image...anyway, not because he was gonna rape you but because he screwed you over four years ago?"  I raised my eyebrows at her and then I saw the light bulb over her head come on.

     "That rat bastard! He thought he was gonna get to screw you over twice? Dickless, spineless, motherless, sumbitch!" Yep, my Lacy could cuss. Makes me proud. She started pacing, back and forth until Randy came in the room, winced when he saw my face then frowned when he saw Lacy pacing. She saw him and actually growled at him, while I sat silently chewing my chicken like it was the most natural thing in the world. He slowly backed out of the room. Well, maybe he's ok after all. Takes a wise man to know when he should just go away.

     She sat next to me and put her arm around me, patting me gently on the knee. "It's all right, sis, you just rant all you want. You deserve it and I might help. No wonder you were so mad when you got home. I would be too." I chewed the last of the meat off the bone and put my head on her shoulder.

     "I'll be ok; I just had a lot of adrenaline that had no place to go. But the thought of him lying there, dead, his head all kicked in and pissed pants right in front of the condoms is a lot better than the picture I had of him before."

     "Now tell me what the guys said about these two morons and if they had any friends there." I got up and put my things away and washed my hands.

     The reason Mason was taking so long to help me was he was fighting his own battle with two other morons outside. After he finished them, he came running to help me. Howard had to deal with one guy he said was an Elvis wanna be, but that the guy was probably talking to Elvis now. Turned out there were five of them but they weren't sure if there were any more. We left too quick to find out.

     Seems like all the guns going off was attracting a lot of walkers, which the guys could see in the rear view mirrors. I shrugged like I could care less, hugged her and saying something about how tired, I was I went to bed. I took an aspirin because my face hurt and my lip had started bleeding when I was eating but I didn't care. I crawled into bed, curled around my body pillow and dreamed about giant roaches chasing me with a bikini top locked in their pinchers.

     Don't ask.

                                                                     
CHAPTER 12

     Several weeks after the last trip, we woke up to snow. Several inches were on the ground already and a steady, slow, feathery snow was gently falling. When I stepped out to get some wood, the quiet enfolded me. I stood and just listened. Everything else was doing the same thing it seemed. Even the birds were snuggled in their nests and you could almost hear the snow fall.

     The furnace was working well, but we decided to set a fire in the fireplace of the great room anyway. Something about a fire on a snowy day just seemed to soothe the soul. You could almost believe it was several years ago when your biggest worry was rising gas prices and the next new electronic gadget. Sitting with your stocking feet propped on the coffee table, you could feel the warmth tickle your toes. Sounds of crackling wood and someone in the kitchen rattling pots and pans brought a smile to my face. Texas was a long time ago.

     I padded into the dining room and grabbed a cup of coffee. Inhaling deeply, I wondered into the kitchen. Sarah was kneading dough while a sleepy-eyed Mandy sat swinging her feet, and waiting for breakfast. She'd drawn a happy face in the dew on the outside of her glass of orange juice. I scooted onto the seat next to her and bumped her shoulder with mine. She giggled like she was supposed to. Before I could say anything Mason slipped into my head.

     Hey, smarty pants, why don't you come up here and let me show you something special?

     I choked.

     Coffee spewed from my nose all over the table and my shirt. Tears ran down my face as little Mandy beat me on the back with both hands. Sarah brought me a paper towel and added her pounding to Mandy’s. I could hear Mason chuckling in my mind.

     Once I had learned to breathe again, and assured Sarah that I was fine, I excused myself with a fresh cup of coffee to my room. Before I could close my door I glanced across the great room area to Flynn’s room as he walked by his doorway in his undershorts.

     I almost choked again. My God, that man was fine. Broad shoulders tapered down over six pack abs to the smallest waist I've ever seen on a man. The muscles in his thighs rippled with each step. I just stood there staring, like a teeny bopper, probably drooling down my tee shirt if the truth be known.

     Masons door opened and he stepped out, on his way downstairs I assumed. Then he saw me and stopped. I narrowed my eyes at him, stuck my nose in the air and slammed my door. Smartass!

     No sooner had I sat on the window seat to enjoy the view and my coffee when a knock sounded on my door. I ignored it. It came again, then once more. "Come on; open the door, sweetie, I want to tell you something."

     "Go away, sweetie," I shouted, "I'm busy".

     "No you aren't",  he shouted back

     There went my solitude. Might as well let him come in now.

     "'Come in then."

     "I'm sorry about the choking. Really, I didn't mean for that to happen. I really have something outside my window I want to show you. Please?"

     I looked at him a minute and he did look sorry so I thought it couldn't hurt.

     He led me around the great room and into his room. Then we walked over to the window and looked out.