"Did you hear any gunshots during the attacks?" Ed asked.
Adam said, "I heard three, I think."
Glen nodded. "Yeah, there were three or four shots from Tim's house. Then I heard one other later on as we got to the truck."
They hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we escorted them inside and arranged for food and drinks. By then, word of the escapee's arrival had spread. Molly's grandparents, Verlie and Morgan, found her and were overjoyed that she'd escaped a vile death. Vivian assigned a room to Glen and his boys and Suzie agreed to bunk with Brittney Holescheck. I called for an immediate meeting of the leadership committee.
As soon as we were all seated and brought up to speed, I broached the reason for the meeting. "There are possibly fifteen zombies running around Tim's place in Nebraska. They all turned about mid-day, and I bet they'll hang around there for several days before they get hungry and wander off. I propose we send a dozen people there and wipe the zombies out. If we don't, they'll feast on other humans and multiply. We have the opportunity to eliminate them now, and I believe we should. When that's done, we can bring back the items that were taken from us. How do you feel about it?"
Several remained silent but nodded their agreement. Eventually, everyone committed. Ed looked around the table before speaking, "It's going to be somewhat dangerous, but it's the right thing to do." He turned to me. "When do we leave?"
"Early tomorrow morning. Let's pull out at seven and be there between ten and eleven. I think we should ask Mitch Robard, the Jones brothers, Jesse Pitchford, Dean Thibodaux, and Glen Whycoff, if they want to go since those people were their kin."
Ed said, "Agreed. I assume you're going and I want to go, that's eight. My recommendations for the others are Martin Sr. and Jr., Vince Gonzales and Verlie."
I looked down the table. "Some time ago we agreed to limit the number of this team's members who went on missions like this. I'd like to have all of you with us, but instead I'll ask you to keep this place running while we're gone. After we gather everything of use at Masters’ place, I expect to be back the following day before supper."
I went back to my room and told Kira what had transpired. I expected her reaction. "I want to go, too."
I shook my head. "Not this time. Six of the people Ed chose are top marksmen, and the others are good enough. The last six are all relatives of the people who were at Tim's place. I'm sure they'll want to know firsthand what happened to their loved ones. Dean Thibodaux surely has feelings for his wife even after she shot him and chose to leave. If he declines, you can take his place."
She nodded and kissed me on the cheek. "I understand. I don't have to like it, but it makes sense."
I left then to talk to the people picked for our little foray into Nebraska. Everything went as anticipated until I spoke to Dean.
"Look, Tom, my relationship with Rhonda was rocky for the last year or more. That's why I became attracted to Brittney. She's calm and cheerful and pleasant to be around while Rhonda had become downright mean and combative. Nothing pleased that girl. I don't hate Rhonda, but there's no attraction left between us. The reason she left here was simply to get away from me. As far as I'm concerned, we're the same as divorced, and I'm done with her."
"So you don't want to go and see what's happened to her?"
"If you'd asked me to help wipe out a random bunch of zombies, I'd volunteer in a second. But if you want to give people who have feelings for a particular person a chance to go, ask someone else." He turned to leave then turned back. "I hope you don't harbor bad feeling toward me because of this."
I shook my head. "No, I'm okay with you telling the truth about how you feel about her. In fact, there's someone else eager to take your place."
We gathered by three trucks as the sun rose. Rain had stopped falling an hour earlier, leaving the air fresh and clean. Sunbeams struggled to break through thin, dark cloud cover as they created pink and grayish-blue tones across the horizon.
Before I could get in a truck, Glen Whycoff hollered for me to wait. His oldest son, Allen, stood beside him carrying a rifle. "Do we have room for Allen to come? He was close to his aunt and uncle and he's set on coming along." Allen stood silent but cast a determined look.
I extended my right hand to the young man. "There's room. Get in the Expedition."
We clasped hands, and he grinned. "Thanks, Tom, I'll do my part." I'd coached Allen on the rifle and pistol ranges and knew he wouldn't be a liability to the group.
Within the hour, the sun shone brightly, and the highway surface had dried. Speed limit signs still proclaimed “70 MPH,” but we never felt safe running above sixty. Most of the time, we were limited to fifty due to debris on the roadways. Whole trees had fallen across lanes, abandoned or wrecked cars and trucks still blocked some traffic lanes, and in some stretches, rotting zombies littered the roads like the bones from a slaughter house had been jettisoned from an airplane.
My wrist watch showed almost eleven when our convoy closed in on the Masters’ farm. We parked a quarter mile from the lane leading to the compound and formed two groups. Kira was with me as were Glen and Allen. Mitch, Junior, and Vince, rounded out my crew. Our group went past the lane and found