“Clear.” Johnny said, placing his pistol back in its holster.
“We might as well just stay in here for the night. Riding through the woods in the dark is going to bring a lot of attention.” Roosevelt stated.
“I agree. Let’s make camp up top in case one of those things somehow manages to get in here. That way we can both get some sleep.” Johnny replied. The pair climbed a fixed wooden ladder up to the loft. Hay stacked in piles along the back wall promised a moderately comfortable night of sleep for the two weary men. They took off their packs and rifles before removing their pistol belts and taking seats on a stack of hay.
“Hungry?” Roosevelt asked, already pulling a bag of jerky from his pack.
“I got some too. Did you happen to grab some water for your pack while we were at Ricks?” Johnny asked. Roosevelt removed a bottle of water and held it up in the shine of the flashlight for Johnny to see.
“Nice. I got some too. I only grabbed four bottles. Figured we could find more along the way or use those water purification tablets to drink from a creek or river.” Johnny said. Roosevelt remained silent, stuffing his face with strips of the dehydrated meat. When they finished eating, they laid their packs on the floor and kicked back on the piles of hay using their newly acquired coats for blankets. It didn’t take long before the two men fell into a deep dream filled sleep.
“Tracy!” Johnny screamed, the nightmare causing him to jump to his feet with his pistol pressed out and ready to fire. Even in the freezing morning temperature sweat poured down his face as if someone had dumped a cup of water over his head.
“Johnny man calm down. It was just a dream.” Roosevelt said, his heart thumping in his chest from the sudden outburst. Johnny spun on him, pistol still raised.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Roosevelt shouted pushing his palms out in front of his chest. Realization dawned on Johnny and he quickly tossed the pistol to the ground like it was something disgusting in his bare hand.
“Jesus Christ! I almost shot you.” Johnny said with wide eyes, not believing he had done such a thing.
“But you didn’t. We’re all good bro. I’m fine.” Roosevelt replied in an attempt to make his friend feel better.
“Nightmare?” He asked. Johnny nodded his head once and then ran a hand over his face before taking a seat next to Roosevelt.
“She keeps showing up in my dreams man. Every single night I watch her get devoured by those damn things!” Johnny growled. Roosevelt just sat there, not completely sure of what to say. He had his own issues at night, but they weren’t anywhere near as bad as Johnny described.
“I would say you should try some kind of sleep aide but I’m afraid that would be too dangerous if we had to haul ass in the middle of the night for some reason.” Roosevelt finally replied.
“Let’s just get the hell out of here. I need to occupy my mind with something other than my dead wife.” Johnny stated.
“Can we eat some breakfast first?” Roosevelt asked.
“Yeah man do what you do.” Johnny said before releasing a long deep breath that could be seen in the freezing air. He leaned forward and unzipped his pack. Pulling out a half-frozen bottle of water he began to smash it against his hand to break up the thin chunks of ice.
“Damn Johnny keep it down! We haven’t even looked outside yet. Those things could be out there.” Roosevelt scolded as he pulled out one of the MRE’s. Johnny cringed and berated himself for already doing something else stupid before the day ever got started.
“My bad.” Johnny said in a low tone as he twisted off the cap to his water. He tilted the bottle up against his chapped lips and drank deeply until the partially frozen water was gone, leaving only bits of ice in the bottle. Roosevelt waved off the apology and opened his food.
“Definitely not eating this shit!” Roosevelt stated as he tossed the Cheese Omelet MRE to the floor and pulled out a full bag of jerky. He tore into the meat like one the infected did a living human, only stopping once to have a quick sip of water. He finished the entire bag of jerky in record time and then stood up to stretch his back. He released a seven second burp as he stood there stretching and then looked over at his friend.
“And you told me to be quiet.” Johnny stated with a chuckle. Roosevelt shrugged and then tilted his water back chugging down the entire bottle. He knew it would probably be frozen when they woke up, so he slept with two of his bottles under his coat.
“How come your water isn’t half frozen?” Johnny asked after noticing his bottles of water.
“Kept them under the coat while we slept.” Roosevelt replied.
“Good idea.” Johnny said poking a finger at his friend a few times.
“You ready to go?” Roosevelt asked, leaning down to grab his gear. Johnny stood up and shouldered his own pack and rifle before following Roosevelt down the wooden ladder. They each used bungies to strap their packs and rifles to the front and back racks of the wheelers and then used the paddles on their holsters to attach their pistols to the brake lines on the handlebars for quick draw access as they rode.
“You check outside yet?” Roosevelt asked as he climbed on his ride. Johnny nodded.
“No not yet.” Johnny replied as he yanked the pistol from the mounted holster and moved toward the rear door. He listened for the sound of shuffling feet for a few short seconds before pushing through the door with his pistol pressed out in front of him. Roosevelt watched as Johnny’s shadow
