“I don’t know. It seems okay. The place is fortified, and Tara said we could have some of the supplies. We could live here for a couple of months. Maybe see through the winter,” she said.
“Kentucky winters aren’t so bad,” Alex said. “It’s usually mild with not a lot of snow. If we’re planning on riding out the season, this would be the place to do it. Maryland, on the other hand, is a lot colder.”
“What about the zombies?” Amy asked. “They’ll run right over this place.”
“Not if they don’t know we’re here. The walls are pretty high, and the windows are covered. As long as we keep quiet and stay out of sight, we’ll be fine,” Dylan said. “They’ll walk right by us.”
“Yeah, and if we need anything, Radcliff is close by,” Alex added.
“Okay,” Amy said. “But it’s going to be one long boring winter. I mean, no television, music, or anything.”
“Boring is still better than dead,” Dylan said.
“So, we’re decided?” Alex asked. “We’re staying here for the winter?”
Dylan nodded. “I’m in.”
“Me too,” Amy said.
“Good. Why don’t you guys get some sleep while I take the first watch?” Alex said. “I’m sure we don’t want any more nasty surprises today.”
Dylan shook her head. “No, thanks. Not me.”
“Me neither,” Amy said.
The girls trooped upstairs while Alex mulled over their conversation. He was sure they were doing the right thing by staying. The route to Maryland was long and dangerous. They’d have to face constant dangers. However worthy the cause, he owed it to his mother to keep Amy safe. She was all he had left and far too young to brave such perils.
Alex looked up when Saul appeared at the table. “Not tired?”
Saul shook his head. “Not really.”
“I’ll take the first watch to make sure nothing creeps up on us,” Alex said.
“Alright,” Saul said. “But, you’ll need ammunition for those guns of yours.”
“Do you have any?”
“Follow me,” Saul said, leading the way to a door next to the pantry in the kitchen. It opened to show a flight of stairs that led down into the basement. He raised his lamp above his head to reveal a clean, well-ordered space filled with even more supplies.
Alex shook his head as he surveyed the plastic-wrapped pallets of water, canned food, dried goods, toiletries, and toilet paper. Boxes of candles, matches, batteries, flashlights, and other odds and ends rounded it out. “You thought of everything, didn’t you?”
“Not everything. I couldn’t get my hands on more medical supplies. Tara and I will need to raid a pharmacy on the way to Fort Detrick. You should do it too if you’re planning on staying the winter.”
“Is Tara okay? I know she’s disappointed in us.”
“She’ll be fine. She’s a lot stronger than she looks,” Saul said. “And I’ll get her to Maryland even if it kills me.”
“She’s important to you,” Alex said.
“She’s everything to me,” Saul answered.
Alex fell silent. Saul’s simple statement said it all.
“Over here,” Saul said, beckoning to a cage bolted to the far wall.
Row upon rows of guns lined the racks, and the bottom was filled with boxes of ammunition. There was a selection of knives, machetes, hatchets, and even a couple of metal poles with sharpened points.
“Holy shit! You don’t play around, do you?” Alex marveled.
“No, I don’t. We’ll need this if we hope to survive the zombie hordes,” Saul said, unzipping a bag to reveal a mass of grenades.
Alex shook his head. “Can I ask you a question?”
“That depends on the question.”
“How long were you in the army?” Alex asked.
“I joined when I was eighteen. That makes it about sixteen years.”
“Special forces?”
“Maybe.” Saul’s smooth expression gave nothing away, but Alex guessed the man had spent several years in a special forces unit.
“Career army, huh?”
“It was the only life for me,” Saul said.
“Me too, but I’ve only done six years, and my goal was to become a mechanical engineer. I was working toward that when we were called to active duty.”
“Mechanical engineer, huh? That’s interesting,” Saul said. “I was never much good at anything but killing.”
“Imagine my surprise when I found out we were fighting zombies. Our own people turned against us,” Alex said. “I saw terrible things during the early days, but I guess you’ll know all about that.”
“I do,” Saul said, stepping aside so Alex could reload his rifle and sidearm. “I don’t think any of us can forget the things we’ve seen.”
“I guess so,” Alex replied, tucking two full magazines into his pockets. “Right, I’m loaded up.”
“Take this,” Saul said, handing him a pair of binoculars. “There’s a balcony on the second floor that provides a good view of the surroundings. You should be able to spot trouble coming a mile away.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll catch some shut-eye while you guard. Wake me for the second shift.”
“Will do,” Alex said, following Saul back up the steps. The soldier disappeared to his bedroom, and he let himself out of the house to do a patrol.
The light outside was bright after the dim lighting inside, and it took several minutes for his eyesight to adjust. He did a quick round of the yard, and peeked through the gates, but saw nothing. The area was deserted.
Alex lingered outside for an hour, enjoying the sun on his face, before trudging back inside. He walked upstairs to the balcony and picked a good look-out point. There he made himself comfortable in a chair and leaned back with his feet propped up on a stool.
“Man, I could get used to this,” he muttered, studying the countryside through the binoculars.
He had an excellent view of the road and to the South-East lay Fort Knox. A gray smudge in the air confirmed it, and he felt a pang of sorrow for all the souls who’d died there the previous night. Feeling sorry for them was one thing, though. Letting their reanimated corpses discover the safe house was another, so he kept watch throughout the long hours of the day.
When night fell, the others awakened, and he heard them moving around inside
