Several minutes later a deer and her fawn came through the brush and froze, scenting the air. The doe made a soft grunting noise then she and the fawn took off in the opposite direction. Xander and Zahara continued their walk. It was nice and he felt himself relaxing. All he wanted was to get back to his cabin. Retirement had come early and he couldn’t say he was sorry. He slowed and placed a hand up. Something ahead was moving and then he saw two zombies bouncing off trees. They were slow, as though caught in a quagmire. Two shots later and they were down. Moving past the dead, Xander and Zahara made their way slightly west and saw reflective eyes in the trees around them. Raccoons. He hoped the animals didn’t dine on the dead.
Through the trees they saw a light and moved toward it. It was more than likely the neighboring farm. From the edge of the forest, they saw three staggering figures. They were walking around the front of the house, drawn to the light like moths. He and Zahara stepped through the trees and underbrush. Quietly, they walked up to the zombies and shot each one in the head. Then Xander called out to the house.
“Hello the house? Anyone home?” He looked down at Zahara who was looking around them. Xander searched the windows but didn’t see any movement within.
“Let’s go knock on the door. If someone’s alive, we can let them know we killed the zombies out here.” They heard barking from within but didn’t hear any voices. Carefully, Xander climbed the steps, looking around him. On the side of the porch a fat man came lumbering around the corner. His face had started the process of decomposing. Xander lifted his weapon and fired and the man tumbled off the porch, taking part of the balustrade with him, causing a loud crack of broken wood. Xander winced at the loud sound and it set the dog to barking harder.
Both heard a thump and Xander called out once more.
“Hello? Anyone home? We’re going to open the door. We are just checking to make sure there aren’t any zombies in there. If there isn’t, let us know and we’ll be on our way.” They waited but heard nothing. Zahara jerked when a shadow moved passed a window that was obscured with a curtain.
“I don’t fucking like this,” she hissed.
“Yeah, I got a feelin’ there are zombies in there. I’m going to open the door and we’ll see what comes out. Let whatever is in there come fully out. This house is nice and might be used in the future by someone who might need it.”
“Like Reggie?” Zahara said, a wide grin on her face. He snorted and then laughed, thinking that Ethan would definitely want Reggie here rather than at Rose’s house. Reaching forward, Xander tried the doorknob and the door was unlocked. The dog was still barking and they waited for someone or something to come out. Nothing happened and Zahara was about to walk in when a man came at her and she fell back, her arms raised. The man was lightning fast and was snarling. Xander was having a hard time getting a clear shot as the man and Zahara fell back and down the stairs. Then there was a soft pftt and the man dropped and Zahara rolled him off, snarling. Her eyes were glowing bright gold.
“Fucking zombies!” she snarled, her voice deep with the wolf trying to surface.
“You okay, did it bite you?” His heart was in his throat and it had scared the shit out of him.
“No, no bites. Fucker.” She lifted her hand and he helped her up, looking back over his shoulder in the open door.
“Let’s proceed carefully, there might be more,” he said unnecessarily.
“No shit, Sherlock,” she hissed, her eyes narrowed to slits.
Moving through the house they checked each room. They could hear the dog barking and it appeared the owner had locked the dog in a room. Xander knocked on the door and the dog barked frantically and scratched at the door. He opened the door cautiously and the dog shot out. It was a medium sized mutt. It ran through the house and Xander figured the dog ran out into the night. He flipped the switch in the room and saw nothing else there. They moved systematically through the house and shut lights off as they went. There were no more zombies or the living in this house.
“Head back to Rose’s?” he asked, looking at his watch. It was just after midnight and he was tired. They could head in a different direction and check for zombies on the way back.
“Yeah, I’m dead dog tired,” Zahara said, a soft laugh in her voice.
Ž
Bobby sat on the front porch smoking a cigar. It was late and he was tired but couldn’t sleep. He and Avery had gathered up supplies and had brought them back to his home. He’d then ordered Avery to get rid of the bodies off his lawn while he kept guard. Avery had bitched and moaned but eventually did what he was told. It really didn’t matter, the whole street stunk of rotting corpses.
After leaving the store he’d driven to Reggie’s house. He was hoping to talk to him about that werewolf. If he could capture that thing, he’d have one hell of a guard dog. He’d passed by fields of burned ground and chard lumps of bodies. He’d nearly missed Reggie’s house when he drove by the rubble. It
