“Over here,” Tester said. His gaunt frame leaned against the eastern door and he had his ear pressed to the wood.
“Move,” Tye said. He hit the door and yelled as loud as he could. “Milly! Robin!” Ingo and Tester yelled also, and the three men kicked and pounded the door.
The door swung inward and Tye, Tester, and Ingo were thrown backward onto the ground. Milly, Robin, and a large cat burst through the door and they slammed it closed. Milly leaned on the door as Robin inserted a key and locked it. They stood in stunned silence for a few seconds, grabbing for breath, and then Milly rushed to Tye, and Robin to Tester. Milly slapped Ingo on the back. Milly and Robin were panting and trying to catch their breath.
“Are you all right?” Tye said.
“They attacked, and we were overrun. Then we heard your voices and ran to them,” Robin said.
“Are you guys OK?” Milly said.
“Hungry and weak, but eager to get the hell out of here,” Tester said. Robin handed him a Colt, and he racked the slide.
The cat watched them, its tail curled and whipping back-and-forth.
“That Turnip?” Tye said.
Milly nodded.
Tester said, “Can we save the kitty talk for later? Let’s go.”
“We need to wait here. The virals’ mental capacity is greatly diminished. They’ll forget about us and move on,” Milly said. “You guys need to eat something. Don’t worry, we’re safe here.”
“We still need to get out of here,” Tye said.
“We’ll wait for nightfall and sneak out,” Milly said.
“What about the dogs?” Robin said.
“They’ll wait if they can. If they can’t, they won’t,” Milly said.
“But what if…”
“Robin, they’ll be there or they won’t. There’s nothing I can do about it,” Milly said.
A crow sat atop of the courtyard wall squawking, its cries shrill and annoying.
“Larry?” Tye said.
“Yup,” said Milly.
“The one-eyed bird you’ve told us all about?” Tester said.
“The very same,” Milly said.
“And Axe?” Tye said.
Milly told her story as they ate a fast meal of dried venison and stale bread. Robin interjected with her parts as she handed out the clothes and weapons they’d brought. Each man got a kitchen knife, Tye the six-shooter and Tester already had the Colt. Ingo flung the old rifle over his shoulder, but appeared to have no use for it.
Milly flinched as she bent over, and Tye said, “You don’t look so good. You think it’s a good idea to hit the road right now?”
“I’m fine.” She shook her head and said, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap at you. My nose is throbbing, it feels like someone’s using a cheese grater on my ribs, and my arm is a useless lump, but I’ll live.”
Tye did something then he’d never done before. He put his arm around Milly’s shoulders and pulled her tight the way his father had comforted him when he was a young boy. “That’s what I’m saying,” he said. “Maybe we should lie low in the house for a while. What’s a few more days?”
“Everything. We need to be at the guidestone by fall equinox on September 22nd. Nothing has changed,” Milly said. “I’m not waiting another six months. We’ve waited far too long already.”
Tye shook his head. Their captivity hadn’t lessened her drive to follow the turtle. If anything, she seemed more resolved. He’d worried everyone would want to go back to Respite, but nobody even brought it up. They’d come too far, been through too much, to turn back now and he sensed everyone knew it.
“I’m never going near that house again,” Milly said.
They tested the keys and found they could open two other courtyard doors, and there was a brief dispute as to which door they should take, and whether they should split up. “We need to get to an outer door and then we’ll shoot our way out. We’re staying together,” Tye said.
“How are we getting over the outer wall,” Milly said. “It’s twelve feet high.”
“We’ll climb that wall when we come to it,” Tye said. “We’ll take the west door.” It was opposite the one Milly, Robin and the cat Turnip had come through, and thus was the furthest away from the last known viral location.
Robin unlocked the west door and Turnip padded into the darkness ahead of them. Milly entered the hall, followed by Tester, Ingo, and Robin. Tye trailed behind, his six-shooter at the ready. The faint sound of dogs whining echoed through the armory and Milly said, “Turnip, find Helga, Salt and Pepper.”
They didn’t see any virals, so Milly lit a torch. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and dust clouds rose from the floor. Turnip stopped at an intersection, sniffed each passageway, then continued on straight. The dogs cried louder, and Tye picked up his pace, pushing his friends forward. They reached a locked door and waited for several minutes as Robin searched for a key, and they were forced to backtrack because she couldn’t get the door open and didn’t want to draw attention by breaking it down.
They fumbled around in the dark as Turnip led them to another door, and this time it was clear the dogs were close, their wails loud and constant. Again they had no key, and Tye said, “Milly, can I borrow Peter’s axe?”
She handed it over.
Tye chopped at the door, being careful not to hit the metal supports. He flipped the axe over and used the dull side to pound out the lock, and it broke away after several strikes. Tye and Tester pushed the cracked door open, and the party slipped through. They ran down a wide hall, made a left, three rights, and found the dogs. They bounced and cried, licking Milly and Robin’s faces as they knelt.
The sounds of the lost coming
