“Do you really think anyone would have made it this far?” She stared into the dark woods on either side of them.
“As the crow flies, we ain’t that far from where the shit went down.” Mitch pointed to their right and through the trees. “The amphitheater is out that way. The lake is straight ahead.” He pointed to their left and ahead. “The road is going to veer off that way and we’ll come in on the other side of the campgrounds.”
“You must know this area like the back of your hand.”
“Actually, I work another area of the park, but I love studying aerial maps.” He kicked the ATV into gear and slowly pulled away, Candy right beside him. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the handlebars. “We used to come down to this part of the park when we’d get bored.”
“We?” Candy asked, fishing. “Wife? Girlfriend?”
Mitch chuckled. “No, my buddy Darren and I. We liked to fish the lake.” He shot her a sideways look and smiled. “Catch and release, but it was still fun.”
Candy nodded and smiled back. “So, is Darren back at the part of the park where you work?”
Mitch lowered his eyes to the road and shook his head. “Nope. I had to shoot him tonight,” he said flatly as he continued on.
“I’m sorry…” Candy trailed off, unsure what else she might say.
“I’m not,” Mitch said absently, remembering what Darren was like. “It was a mercy.”
“He got infected?”
Mitch simply nodded. “Some crazy-assed naked woman running around the woods with a group of others, they got him and…” He turned and stared at her a moment, his face unrecognizable. “It only took a few moments. He got this fever, then he got really mad, then he just lost it. Like he didn’t even know who he was. Or who I was. Or anything.” Mitch shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wishing she could reach across the few feet separating them and hold him. “You know he’s in a better place now.”
Mitch simply nodded. “The dry creek bed,” he said solemnly. “Always was one of his favorite places.”
Candy turned and shot him a wide-eyed stare, her mouth hanging open. Did she just hear him correctly? She inhaled deeply, about to give Mitch a stern lecture, when he suddenly applied the brakes. “What’s that?” He motioned ahead with his chin.
Candy snapped her head around and peered into the headlights. She could see something moving in the roadway ahead, but she couldn’t make out exactly what it was. “Is it a person?”
Mitch’s hand dropped to his pistol and he unsnapped the retention device. He felt the cool plastic of the grip as his hand slipped over it and gently tugged it from the Kydex. He pulled it up and switched hands, then hit the accelerator once more, slowly pulling the ATV forward.
“Stay with me. There may be more than one of them.”
“I am not leaving my home, Richard! I think you’ve had too many beers with this strange man,” she argued. Then, lowering her voice, “And how do you even know that he’s really an ex-lawman?” She poked him in the chest with her finger.
“Harriet, I saw this with my own eyes! This isn’t something that Bill and I just cooked up to try to scare you with.”
“Good, because it isn’t working. Jason just got here, and I refuse to leave this house with my grandson just because you had one too many and got to telling monster stories around a damned campfire!” She stood up and began to storm from the bedroom.
“How do you explain the man by the side of the road? Why would he be covered in blood?”
“Do not start again with that, Richard, I’m not in the mood. I already told you what he told me, and I—”
“Harriet, dammit!” He jumped to his feet. “For once in your stubborn life, will you listen to me?” Richard’s face was now red and she stepped back from him. “I’m trying to save all of our lives here.”
“I don’t think I know you anymore,” she stated as she turned and started for the door.
Bill stepped into the doorway. “I can’t secure this place, Rich. There are too many windows.”
Harriet jumped back and glared at the man. “Why is he still in my house?” She pointed at Bill.
“Maybe because he saved my life,” Richard said as he stepped toward the door. “If it hadn’t been for him and his Jeep, I’d still be stuck down at the lake and most likely dead.” He crossed his arms and glared at his wife. “Or is that what you want?”
Bill looked from one to the other and couldn’t quite understand what was going on. “Is there a problem here?”
“Nothing we can’t handle.” Harriet reached for the door and slammed it in his face. “That man is no cop.”
“That man is a retired state trooper.”
Harriet opened her mouth to shout something at him when there was a light knock on the door. She ground her teeth together and glared at Richard. Reaching for the doorknob, she jerked the door open, “What?!” She found herself staring at an open badge wallet with Bill’s retired ID and badge in it.
“Just short of thirty years, ma’am,” Bill said softly. She stepped back slightly so that she could look at it more closely and allow her eyes to focus. “I’m not sure what’s wrong here, but I can assure you, the threat he’s telling you about is real. The people at the park have…well, for a lack of better words, lost their ever-loving minds. They’re attacking each other, killing each other, and some appear to even be eating each other.” Bill stepped into the room
