Its head blew apart like a rotten cantaloupe with one squeeze of her trigger.
Booker aimed, lining up his shot and taking out two with one bullet.
Swinging around, she scanned the surrounding area to make sure more weren’t coming up from behind. At the moment it looked like they didn’t have anything to worry about, but she wouldn’t let her guard down.
Firing again, Booker took down another.
Caitlin followed suit.
“Coulda done this with our knives,” Booker called, ejecting the spent casing.
She aimed at a particularly mangled corpse in a tattered sundress, and barely flinched at the thunderous clap of her revolver.
“Yeah but then we’d get Geek-slime all over us,” she said, turning her attention to a male missing half his face.
Booker chuckled just before firing again. “Nothin’ keeps you from gettin’ what you want.”
“Better fucking believe it.”
They both fired their weapons in unison at the last two Geeks several yards away.
In the resounding silence, Caitlin spun, double and triple checking the dusty plain around them.
The sounds hadn’t brought more out of hiding.
She held her breath, listening for any hint of a larger herd stumbling towards them.
Nothing.
She waited, just to be sure, counting the seconds.
Booker stepped around the back of the Jeep, slinging his rifle over his shoulder, seemingly anticipating the same thing she was.
A full minute passed and not a single Geek could be seen.
Turning on her heel, Caitlin grabbed Booker by the front of his shirt, kissing him hard. They fell back against the left passenger door, his hands wrapping tightly around her waist.
Pulling back, she started for her side of the Jeep, dragging him with her.
“Now, where were we?”
* * * * * * *
The buses and tents were just dots in the distance, but they announced something Caitlin hadn’t felt in a long time.
The sensation of home.
Booker drove them over dry fields and uneven ground, doing his best to avoid the larger dips.
She still felt like she was on a poorly designed rollercoaster.
“Jesus, Booker,” she muttered, bracing against the Jeep’s frame as they bounced.
“Don’t blame me, blame the damn wheat fields,” he said, turning the wheel.
A crowd had already started to gather near the front of the camp, waving as they approached.
“Guess they missed us,” he commented with a grin.
Caitlin found herself smiling at the thought.
Rolling up in front of everyone, Booker threw the Jeep into park as Caitlin hopped out.
Galloping footfalls were the only warning before she was enveloped in a massive hug, nearly tipping over.
The red hair in her face was a big hint.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Nicole said, squeezing her tight. “I hated not going with you.”
Caitlin turned, doing her best to return the hug. “I know.”
“You were supposed to be back yesterday,” Nicole said, finally releasing her. “What happened?”
Climbing out of the driver’s side, Booker scratched the back of his neck.
“Yeah, we uh…” He glanced at Caitlin. “We lost track of time.”
Caitlin smirked.
Lost track of how many times they could make each other fall apart, was more like it.
“But we found good supplies,” he added, rushing to gloss over his mild embarrassment. “And a few places that might work for a winter hold out.”
Several others had approached—Luna, Vanessa, Steve, Max—all of them greeting the two with hugs and handshakes, happy to see them both alive and unscathed.
A few of the younger kids had come over to spy on the commotion and Booker grinned.
“Hey, y’all like soccer?” He asked, popping the back of the Jeep. Bringing out a black and white ball, he whistled to them before chucking it over. “Gotta share it though, a’ight?”
The children hollered in delight, immediately starting to punt the ball around camp.
Booker looked over at Max. “The second that ball takes out a clothesline, Trish is gonna have my head.”
Max laughed. “Nah, she’ll just glare at you and make a lot of comments about appropriate places for games.”
With Fancy happily wagging her tail, Caitlin reached down to scratch her behind the ears as she filled Nicole and Max in.
“A high school, huh?” Max asked, clearly trying not to betray too much excitement.
Booker hummed. “It’s a big’un too. Plenty of square footage. Probably a working kitchen, locker room showers, the works.”
“And,” Caitlin cut in. “It’s crawling with Geeks. We counted at least fifty in the yard alone.”
“Looks like it might’ve been a relief shelter of some kind before it got overrun,” Booker said as they started unloading the crates of goods they’d brought back. “Spotted a few Red Cross vans, a couple of groaners in uniforms… Sheriffs most likely. Dunno how many groaners were inside too.”
“But it could be cleared,” Nicole said.
“Maybe,” Caitlin said.
At the same time, Booker grinned and stated, “That’s what I said.”
“I told him we should add it to the options but not bank on it,” Caitlin said, hoisting up a box of dried goods they’d scavenged from a broken-down delivery truck. “Everyone can vote on it if they want.”
As they began carrying supplies from the Jeep to the center of camp, Caitlin scanned the crowd, suddenly overwhelmed.
So many people.
Voices. Sounds. The crunch and scrape of shoes in dry grass.
It was all a jolt to her system.
Lingering near the opening of one of the tents, she spotted a familiar face.
Seth smiled at her, waving a little as they walked up.
“Welcome back,” he said. “Got any good stories to share?”
Caitlin flashed a half-grin. “Oh, you know, the usual. Dusty backroads, sleeping in a Jeep, Geeks trying to eat your face. Just a typical day, right?”
He chuckled. “Well I’m sure you handled it like a pro.”
“Sure did,” Booker said proudly.
