The three of us were on high alert as we walked toward the houses. I keyed the radio. "We got number fourteen. It was Rhonda."
Glen came back over the radio. "We found number fifteen in a closet inside the main house. The panels in the door were broken. It appears Nate committed suicide rather than be bitten."
Ed walked toward us speaking into the handset. "That's all we expected to find but be careful. There could be others here. There were in the past."
I hugged Kira as I replied. "We need to clear the sheds and the barn, then ransack this place and load what we want. I want to be out of here ASAP." Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed close-by. Rain was imminent. I smelled it clearly in the moisture laden air.
Minutes later, we stopped to eat cold sandwiches and potato salad from ice chests we'd lugged along. We moved inside the barn as rain drops began to spatter the dust in the barnyard. No one had much to say. We'd lost human friends in one of the worst possible ways imaginable.
The rainfall was sporadic, and the remaining afternoon was spent loading two trailers and pickups between showers. I'd counted on the two trucks and trailers Tim and Nate had taken from us being onsite, and they were. One was still full and saved us a lot of precious time. After the carnage we'd experienced, everyone was willing to work flat out in the cool temperature to load up and be on our way. Near dusk we finished searching and loading and stopped to eat again. Most of the food items had been found in a large room in the barn, and those susceptible to freeze damage were stashed in the main house. Ed took possession of the weapons and ammunition like they were his grandkids and carefully loaded them in his truck.
The danger of driving at night had decreased measurably since the zombie hordes had been decimated so savagely by us and by whatever changes the zombie curse had undergone. Thirty minutes after nightfall, we left the zombie carnage as our trucks and trailers slipped and slid down the rutted and muddy dirt lane. The potholed macadam from the Masters’ place took us south until we turned east toward Deliverance. For most of the trip, we were surrounded by scattered rain storms that didn't help cleanse anyone's mood.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Before midnight, we passed through the gates at home and parked. At the office, I posted a meeting notice on the bulletin board for the leadership committee to assemble at two the following afternoon. An hour later, Kira and I had checked on the kids, snacked, bathed, and then snuggled on the couch to talk. Both of us were jacked up due to the stupidity of the group who chose to follow Nate and Tim. They were doomed from the time Joe and Ronnie were released from our secure confinement. We sat in silence touching until I said, "I looked at the door to the room where Joe and Ronnie were confined. The wood was splintered like a mortar round hit it. When they made the transition to zombies, it looked like they kicked and beat the door to smithereens. They must have attacked whoever was in the room, and after those victims turned, the attacks spread until all the others were caught."
Kira rested her head on my shoulder, "It's a wonder the five who made it here were able to escape."
"Yes. And it was pure luck that Suzie happened to focus on Molly hiding in the weed cover. If she'd been left, the zombies would undoubtedly have found her, or she would have died of starvation and exposure."
I kissed Kira, "I'd better get to bed. What's left of tonight is short, and tomorrow's going to be a long day. Are you ready?"
"No. I'm not relaxed enough to sleep. I'll read for a while."
After a late continental breakfast the next morning, I sat in our room at my laptop. The more I'd thought about our upcoming move the more advantageous an earlier uprooting appeared. An agenda slowly took shape for submittal to the group. As my ideas flowed, I occasionally tested them on Kira. At first, she rejected the suggestion of an immediate move from Deliverance. Slowly, after much discussion, she accepted my reasoning; and as we spoke, she added good suggestions to fine tune the move. She didn't look forward to the disruption, especially in cold weather, but saw the logic of acting quickly. Focusing on my work was hard with three rambunctious kids wanting dad's attention. I played with them for a short time before Kira took pity on me and gathered them to visit her friends.
At five minutes before two, the leadership committee assembled. They hadn't been briefed on the purpose of the impromptu gathering, and the entire group appeared curious.
"You've been asked to meet because I've given a lot of thought to our upcoming move away from here. All of our talks have been based on the premise of an early spring move. I'm now thinking there are many disadvantages to that timing." Several frowns indicated I clearly had their attention.
"Tilling the overgrown raw ground is going to be a major undertaking. Then getting crops planted during the spring season will require perfect weather if we wait until the ground is prepared. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the ground won't be ready, our crops could fail, and there may be a food shortage. It's a risk I'm not in favor of taking." Several members spoke at once as I passed the meeting agendas around.
Andrea Michaels was upset and questioned me the loudest, "We discussed this at length this summer and fall. The option that was
