“Damn Bud you could have warned me before you just dumped that shit on there.” Johnny whined.
“Stop crying, you big titty baby.” Roosevelt said as he took a seat to decompress his back. Bud wiped away the crusty dried up blood and used the ends of the gauze to probe the wounds for shrapnel. Finding nothing he took one last look at the angry wound making sure there wasn't any infection in or around it. A few minutes later Bud was finishing up the dressing. He had taped a thick layer of gauze over the wound and then got up to throw away his small plastic trash bag.
“You’re all set.” Bud said as he stepped back from the trash can and removed the rubber gloves. Johnny thanked him and stood up from the table.
“Now where can I get some sleep around here?” Johnny asked, his sore shoulder sending waves of searing pain down his arm.
“Follow me. You can have the guest room till it’s your turn for guard duty.” Bud said.
“Night Rosie.” Johnny said, waving his good hand over his good shoulder as he followed Bud.
“See you in the morning bro.” Roosevelt replied as he got to his feet. He walked to the front door and stepped out onto the porch sipping his steaming cup of coffee. Darkness blanketed the landscape beyond the porch light as he stared out into its inky void. The night was calm and quiet now allowing him to relax a bit as he continued to watch the area and take slow sips of coffee. He looked up at the sky and the stars beyond seeing the dim white light of each one winking back at him. He spotted the red planet shining its faint red glow and smiled inwardly. He could not believe that only two weeks prior he had been on that planet studying ancient ruins of a long dead civilization. He shook his head at the absurdness of it all. He had gone from being on Mars doing something he had dreamed of his entire life to being back on Earth struggling to stay alive in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Thoughts of Ruby came smashing into his mind as he stared up at the sky. It dawned on him that he hadn’t thought of his dead wife since they left Florida. He didn’t have time to as they were fighting to stay alive every day now.
“I miss you bad baby.” He said in a soft voice as he thought about all the fun times they had shared. Before he could get too far down the rabbit hole of his wife's memory a loud roar shook the night. Roosevelts head snapped down toward the forest beyond. He heard that same strange roaring earlier in the day.
“What in the shit is that?” He demanded, watching the darkness for any movement. Grunting and crunching leaves and twigs followed the loud roar as Roosevelt tried to get a bead on whatever it was but it sounded as if it was coming from every direction as the noises echoed off of the surrounding homes and buildings. The noises began to fade into the darkness leaving Roosevelt standing there with his pistol drawn and a confused look covering his face. He stood there for a long time waiting for the creature to return but it never did. Around three a.m. his watch started to chirp letting him know that it was Buds turn to take watch so he could sleep for a few hours. He and Bud had decided to let Johnny skip guard duty and sleep so that his wounds could heal properly. He turned to head inside but Bud was already coming out the door, a steaming cup of coffee in his left hand and a thin cigar in his right.
“You sleep alright?” Roosevelt asked, trying to get past the pleasantries as fast as possible. Bud gave a short nod and took a long pull from his stogie.
“Always do.” Bud said, dismissing Roosevelt's attempt to chat first thing in the morning.
“Heard that same roar again a little while ago. It was close this time. I could hear the leaves and twigs crunching under its feet as it moved around out there.” Roosevelt said, pointing his chin to the dark forest. Bud turned his gaze toward Roosevelt.
“You sure it was the same thing we heard yesterday? It couldn’t have been a cougar or mountain lion?” Bud asked. Roosevelt shook his head emphatically,
“No definitely not. It was the same exact sound we heard on the road yesterday.” Bud slowly nodded his head and turned to look back out toward the dark forest.
“Alright well go ahead and get some rest. I’ll wake you up if it comes back.” Bud said before taking a sip of coffee. Roosevelt thanked the older man and finished his own cup of coffee before turning towards the door. He headed inside and sat his dirty cup in the kitchen sink before making his way back to the couch for some well-deserved sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Five
5:22 a.m. January 5, 2049
Sweetwater, Tennessee
Roosevelt woke to the sound of clanging metal pots and the bright beams of sunlight peeking through the window and into his face. He sat up on the edge of the couch, wiping the sleep from his eyes and smacking his dry lips. Once he started to feel halfway normal, he stood up and headed for the bathroom.
“Hey, if you shake it more than twice, you're playin’ with it! Hurry up! Breakfast is almost ready.” Bud sounded from out in the hall.
“Yeah, yeah, I know.