They made their way to the first door, and John indicated to Jack that he should stay on one side while he stepped to the other side. Then, with a nod, John opened the door and stepped in, rapidly checking the corners.
“Jack, come.”
Jack stepped into the room.
“Watch that door.” John nodded at a door to Jack’s left. John quickly checked the room. Bed, closet, drawers, small desk, and chair. Nothing living or dead.
The next room ended up being a bathroom with another door on the other side. That door led to yet another bedroom. This one was also devoid of life. They stepped out of the door into the hallway and found that they had completed the search of this wing.
The other wing revealed a grandiose master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. The room was so large that it made the king-sized bed look tiny.
Nobody was home. They went back downstairs and found Mike and Nat waiting for them. Downstairs had proven to be similarly abandoned.
“All right, let’s head back outside and find out if that barn holds anything of interest,” John said, and they left the farmhouse. They were met back at the vehicles by BB, Bill, and Michelle, who quickly reported on the large shed.
“The back half of the building is for cows — but those are all gone. They had a couple of big vehicles in the front part. One of those was probably a semi with trailer, which they probably used to move the animals,” Michelle reported. “I see that there is a chicken coop around the far side of the house but can tell from here that it’s empty too. Yep, they up and took everything with them.” the farmer added with a knowing nod.
On a signal from John, Tammy and Abi joined the group.
“I say we do a thorough search of the house. Maybe there are some clues in there,” Tammy suggested.
John nodded. “OK. We’ve got a few hours of light left. Let’s get inside and out of this rain.”
The rain had intensified momentarily, driven by gusts of wind. It stung their faces, so they hurried off towards the farmhouse.
“Hey,” Nat called for the group’s attention before they got very far. She indicated a small shed behind the house. “What about that? I can go check it out.”
Again, John nodded. “Take somebody with you, though. That goes for all of you. Buddy system.”
“I’ll go with you, Nat.” Jack offered.
John hesitated a moment. He wanted to send somebody else. But the shed looked anything but threatening, and the place truly seemed deserted. “OK,” he said as the rest of the group walked up to the farmhouse.
NAT AND JACK WALKED around the house. Jack had a good look at the shed as they approached. It was a small wooden building, painted green with white highlights. It appeared to be in immaculate condition, just like the house and barn.
“These folks took care of their place,” Nat commented, obviously thinking along the same lines as Jack.
They crossed the grass lawn and stepped up to the shed. The door had a simple but ornamental latch made of wood. Jack lifted the hatch and the door started swinging forward on its own. He let go of the latch to grab the door, and it slipped down, slapping the wood of the doorframe with a loud clack. The sound felt like a gunshot in the otherwise silent world.
Jack and Nat looked at each other with wide-open eyes, shocked by the noise. They hesitated for a moment and listened for any sound, but all they could hear was the rain.
They stepped inside the shed and out of the rain, glad for the reprieve from the weather. Despite the stormy skies, it was light enough to get a good look into the interior of the shed. A ride-on lawnmower stood in the center of the shed. Gardening tools were neatly hung up on one wall and a workbench leaned against the opposite wall. Jack saw an assortment of paints and other building-related items along the far wall, together with a bike. He walked to the back of the shed to get a closer look.
“This is a nice bike...” he said as he checked it out.
Just then he heard a high-pitched yelp behind him. He stood and looked over top of the lawnmower. A figure lunged across the open doorway. Nat was nowhere to be seen.
Jack ran around the mower and through the door, his hand already on the pistol at his side. Nat was on the lawn, holding off a stocky, black-haired figure on top of her. Jack did not hesitate. He took two steps and shoved the person off Nat with the heel of his foot, drawing his pistol at the same time.
The figure got on its hands and knees and faced Jack. The all-too-familiar wide-open eyes confirmed Jack’s suspicion. He sighted down the barrel and shot the zombie in the top of the head, sending skull fragments flying. The sound of his pistol shattered the silence. It was accompanied by the sound of crows as an entire murder took to the air from nearby trees, preferring the rainy skies to the angry thunder of the weapon.
Jack stepped up to the zombie first, pistol aimed as John had shown him. But it was permanently dead. It looked to be a Latino.
Turning around, he approached Nat, who was still lying on the grass. She had raised herself to her elbows and looked up at Jack, possibly seeing him for the first time.
“Wow. Thanks, Jack...” she said.
Jack felt the color rising in his cheeks. “Hey, no problem.”
He tried to sound casual but sensed that his voice
