No one said anything as they loaded and drove off. Clary didn’t have to stop; they knew his Jeep when he came up and already had the cylinders down so there was no need to stop. Clary looked in his rearview and thought how it was going to take a little getting used to having to see an airplane parked in the middle of the base on a daily basis. Joe and Bob were standing next to the plane, checking the equipment and making sure that everything was in top running order. They had Timmy, Austin, and Phillip playing tag around the wheels, keeping themselves entertained on the base that was new to them.
Clary asked, “So what’s with them working on the plane? Are you guys not staying here? I’m sure we’d grow on you.”
Earl answered for Scott, “We had already had the plan from the minute we got here. See, if ya’ll were just a bunch of pricks we decided that we’d just go somewhere else. We were sure that we could find somewhere else to go that we could work on making a big ol batch of this new shit and I could work on the zombie lung while we are getting the right amount ready. Everyone thinks it can be improved or something. I don’t know what kind of miracles they were expecting me to come up with when we were in Chicago. I mean, you can’t make mud out of dirt and water is what I say.”
Scott ignored the statement and added, “I agree with most of what Earl back here said. We won’t waste our time where we aren’t wanted. It makes very little difference to me if this is the first state that is cleared out of the dead if we aren’t wanted. I’ve never spent much time in Iowa, so other than Shaun doing a convincing job of getting us to come here, I don’t have any reason I need to stay. Before we met him, we’d discussed going to California or Florida and working our way north or east. We thought it might give us the best chance at surviving. Shaun mentioned the base and resources you had here and that you could get Mark the equipment and time that he needed to concoct this.”
“You realize you say that like a man that might be more interested in staying than leaving. It is a long way to go to California or Florida from here. I know that isn’t anything for a plane like you’ve got, however if you need to fuel up or have issues, you won’t know what to expect.”
Earl cleared his throat, “Look, let’s go test this shit, you guys quit being assholes to us, and we’ll go on and kill a whole bunch of them zombie fellers and feel real good about ourselves. Now how does that sound to ya’ll?”
Clary nodded, knowing not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and gave Greg a look in the back seat which Greg was pretty sure meant to be on his best behavior and to be quiet. Shaun said, “So do you know where we are going to go try this stuff out at?”
Clary pointed forward and said, “I’d rather start it a few miles away then do it right here. Last thing we need, obviously, is a fresh horde attacking the base.”
“You are just filled with confidence here aren’t you, Mr. Clary?”
“Seeing is believing, Earl.”
Shaun watched as they drove. The idea that this could one day be over was about enough to bring a tear to his eye. The idea that they could live in peace as long as there were no others around like whom they’d had to deal with before; he could handle an existence like that. Righting the wrongs of his father would lift a weight incomparable to anything else from his shoulders. Shaun tried to keep his leg still but the excitement was impossible to hide. Clary patted Shaun on the shoulder and the boy that usually didn’t go out of his way to say anything about his emotions whispered, “I hope this fucking works, Clary. I want to see the end of it while we still have so many left.”
“Probably won’t matter how many times people tell you the same thing, is there? You won’t get over it until every single one of those things are lying on the ground face up and dead,” Clary preached.
Greg was years ahead of where he should have been for his age. There had been horrible circumstances for all of them which made them age much faster than any of them wanted to. He said, “Or until Shaun’s looking up from the ground.”
“Yes, Greg, thank you for stating the obvious. I wasn’t sure if that feeling of missing you and being glad to see you was pure or just gas.”
“Man, I tell you, if I eat me any Italian or Mexican food and a handful of other countries’ shit, man you won’t want to be around me. I can clear a damn room with it. Chili ain’t no friendlier either. They should call that shit enemy, cuz other than feeding people, I ain’t never made no new friends on chili days. It just gets brutal, you ever gas yourself out of a room, now that’s hard to handle, and no one to get mad at.”
They ignored Earl, pulling to a stop in a field. Scott looked around the clearing seeing there were no dead anywhere. Scott said, “We were wanting to test this, right? Don’t we need someone besides the five of us to test it
