“It makes you human, Jason.” She pulled the coat over her shoulders and fell into step behind him. “That’s more than I can say for our test subjects right about now.”
Henry pulled the door shut on the truck and slapped at Wally’s arm. “Come on.”
Wally gave him a confused stare. “Come where? Man, we got a shit-ton of stuff to put away.”
“It’s unloaded. Let the others stock it.” He pulled Wally aside and lowered his voice. “If we hurry, we can get one more load. I know we can.”
Wally’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “She’ll flip shit on us, man. Why you always got to be pushing like this?”
Henry pointed out the door. “There’s a whole warehouse store full of stores. If there really are marauders out there, that’s like giving them a written invitation to move in, settle in, put up defenses, and then stir up shit with us. You know that as well as I do.” He clamped his mouth shut as a trio of workers shuffled by carrying a shopping cart with a broken wheel. Once they were clear, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “The more of that stuff we can grab and bring back here, the less chance of them staying. Maybe they’ll load up on dry goods and bail.”
Wally was shaking his head slowly. “This isn’t a smart move man. If Candy—”
“She won’t even know until we’ve gotten back.” Henry pleaded with him. “You know I’m right. We can grab the grand majority of what’s left and be back before they’ve finished putting stuff away.”
Wally groaned and gave him a sideways look. “How do you always talk me into this stuff?”
Henry broke into a toothy grin. “Because you know I’m right.”
“Yeah? Well, I don’t wanna be there when you ain’t!”
Henry started the engine and pulled forward while Wally manned the large gates. As the truck drove by and Wally pulled the gate shut, he muttered, “I hope to hell we don’t regret this.”
Chapter 12
Hatcher watched as the men worked to remove the logs blocking their way. The winches could barely move the large trunks and they used two Humvees to pull the logs back. One truck was chained to the other and Hatcher shielded his eyes when the large tires spun in the loose dirt.
He was actually surprised when the logs broke loose and began sliding. He watched as the men tugged, pushed, and rolled the trunks to the side of the trail, and when there was ample room to get the trucks through, they tossed the chains in the rear and prepared to leave. He tried to guess the distance to the hot springs area and wished they had grabbed the topomap from the wall of the Visitor’s Center.
“What’s wrong?” Hollis asked.
“I know it hasn’t been that long, but the terrain looks off to me.” Hatcher shook his head as he stared out the open window. “Some things that I think look familiar suddenly aren’t again when I spot something else.
Hollis grunted. “You wouldn’t think the terrain would change that much.”
“Exactly.” Hatcher continued to stare, his mind trying to connect the few landmarks that still stood out.
Hollis slowed the truck again and cursed under his breath when the lead vehicle came to another stop.
Captain Hollis slammed the door as he departed and muttered epithets as he walked around the lead vehicle. “What is it now…,” his voice trailed off as he stared at the next road block.
Hatcher appeared at his side and whistled low. “I’m guessing this is where part of that mountain came to rest.” He chuckled to himself. “No wonder nothing looked right.”
Hollis turned to him. “How much farther?”
Hatcher shrugged. “A couple miles up that mountain.”
Hollis groaned as he stared at his watch. “Fine.” He turned and cupped his hands to his mouth. “Alpha and Bravo, grab your gear and let’s get moving. Charlie stays with the trucks and maintain radio contact.”
Hatcher followed him to the rear of the Humvee and each man grabbed their respective ruck. “We won’t be back before dark.”
“I’m beginning to realize that.” Hollis shouldered the pack and tighten the cinches. “We’ll just have to do the best we can.”
“There are other trails that lead to the same area.”
Hollis shook his head. “Odds are, they’ll all be covered with debris of some type. I can’t risk backtracking this late in the day in the hopes that another route is clear.”
Hatcher reached for his arm. “Hey. We can bunk in the Visitor’s Center. There’s two access points and minimal windows. It’s defendable.”
Hollis stared at him. “I have no intention of staying overnight.”
Hatcher raised a brow and turned toward the mountain. “You may not have a choice. It might be better to hunker down tonight and start fresh in the morning.” Hollis inhaled to retort when Hatcher held a hand up to stop him. “I’m not saying we don’t recon the trails and look for damage while we still have light.”
“It would take too long and—”
“If I can get one of the ATV’s running, I can do it. I’ve outrun the infected with them before, I’m sure I can do it again.”
Hollis shook his head. “Maybe if we’d thought to bring a drone or some other form of aerial surveillance, but going it alone on an ATV? That’s suicide.”
Hatcher crossed his arms and studied the man. “I know these mountains. Maybe the terrain has been altered, but I still know the trails. Wildlife will take the shortest and easiest route to where they’re going. If I stick to the game trails, I should be able to recon the areas, find the worst of the damage, and be back before you know it.”
“Too risky.”
“But it’s not too risky to march us all up the mountain and pray we make it back in the dark?”
Hollis ground his teeth and pursed his lips. He wanted to
