that if the older girl had been able to escape, then maybe she could, too.
“I don’t know,” Hale replied honestly. “I hope so. But we have more immediate things to worry about. I’m going back now. Will you come with me?”
Tina looked at her brother as if to get his blessing, and received a curt nod by way of a response.
“Yes,” Tina said, as her eyes swung back to make contact with Hale’s. “We’ve been stuck here for the better part of two weeks now. We made two attempts to leave, but ran into Chimeran patrols both times, and were forced to return.”
“That’s right,” Mark agreed. “We were going to head out last night when a couple of drones came sniffing around.”
“That was my fault, I’m afraid,” Hale confessed. “I was forced to kill some Chimera on the way in, and they came looking for me. But the search seems to have died down—so maybe we should head out tonight. Before the weather starts to improve.”
The youngsters looked at each other, then back again. “Maybe tomorrow,” Mark said dubiously. “But not tonight.”
“Why not?” Hale wanted to know.
“Because the zombies are coming tonight,” Tina answered soberly. “That’s what we call them anyway… They come through here every four days, and tonight is the night.”
Hale frowned. “What do they look like?”
“They look kind of human,” Mark replied cautiously. “Only they have eyes like yours. And they always arrive in large groups. They’re dangerous,” he added, “but not very smart.”
Tina nodded. “Maybe that’s why we’ve seen other types of Chimera herding them along.”
Hale guessed that what the youngsters referred to as zombies were officially classified as Grims, not that the name mattered if one of the horrors got close enough to attack. Because once a Grim sank its teeth into a victim, it was difficult—if not impossible—to escape. The grotesque, naked horrors had been seen to emerge from Spinner pods, but beyond that very little was known regarding the creatures.
That other Chimeran forms would herd the Grims from one place to another was something new, and would be of interest to Intel. Assuming, of course, that he could figure out a way to tell them without being court- martialed.
“Okay,” Hale agreed. “We’ll hole up for the night.”
He turned to look out through the open doors at the gray skies beyond. It was getting dark, and the temperature was dropping.
“I left my pack under some trees. I’ll get it and be back in half an hour.”
Mark nodded gravely. “We’ll be here.”
When Hale returned, Mark and Tina hurried out to brush the tracks away as all three of them backed into the barn.
“Do you have packs?” Hale asked. “And snowshoes? Because you’re going to need them.”
“Yes we do,” Tina answered brightly. “We found a lot of stuff up around Draper. The whole town was deserted.”
“And the Reaper?” Hale inquired mildly. “How did you get that?”
“From the Chimera,” Mark answered proudly. “We followed one of them to a clearing, saw he was getting ready to butcher a corpse, and shot him in the back. I had a bolt action hunting rifle then—and the bullet went right through him!”
“I shot him, too,” Tina added earnestly. “Six times.”
“Good for you,” Hale said, though he wondered at the enthusiasm with which she spoke. “This would be a good time to gather your things, so we’ll be ready in the morning. Just necessities, mind you,” he added sternly. “That means one change of clothes, food for three days if you have it, and all your ammo. If we run into trouble I’ll expect you to help out.” Both youngsters nodded agreeably.
“So where do you sleep? Up in the loft?”
“No,” Mark replied. “We found a better place! Come on… We’ll show you.”
He followed Mark toward the huge pile of hay, but he already knew where the youngsters had been sleeping. By removing bales of hay, and taking advantage of tunnels intended to conduct cool air into the center of the pile, Hale and his sister, Susan, had been able to create hidden rooms inside the enormous stack.
And sure enough, after following Mark up some stair-stepped bales of hay, he watched the boy drop his gear down a vertical shaft and follow it down. Tina stood off to one side and aimed a flashlight into the depths as Hale worked his way down through the chimneylike hole, then turned to crawl the length of a horizontal tunnel. The passageway delivered him into a generously sized chamber that had clearly been occupied for some time.
Mark’s flashlight provided what illumination there was. Two sleeping bags were laid out on the floor, backpacking gear was piled in one of the corners, and various odds and ends sat perched on ledges and protrusions. Thanks to the insulation provided by the surrounding hay, it was at least ten degrees warmer inside the hideaway. “We can’t use lanterns,” Mark said as Hale put his weapons down, “for obvious reasons.”
Hale nodded silently, and regarded their surroundings with some concern. As comfortable as it might be, in an emergency it would be very difficult to escape from the refuge quickly. And that could prove fatal.
“Tell me something,” he said, as Tina entered the room. “When the Grims come—that’s what we call the zombies—do they stop at the ranch, or just keep going?”
“Oh, they stop,” Tina answered quickly. “Sometimes they use the hand pump to bring up some water, and sometimes they just walk around.”
That was troubling news. Hiding in the cave had been iffy enough, but hiding in the middle of the haystack, knowing that a whole lot of Chimera were going to gather around the barn, seemed nothing short of crazy.
“This place is really nice,” Hale said tactfully, “but I think we should sleep somewhere else. Fully dressed and ready to fight, if necessary. It won’t be as comfortable, but it will be a lot safer.”
“Can I take this?” Tina inquired as she picked up a book and handed it to Hale. “It’s really good—but I’m only halfway through it.”
Hale took the book and aimed his flashight at the cover. That was when he saw the title
The youngsters packed up after that, and all three of them moved up to the loft, where Hale made use of his father’s brace and bit to drill a line of head-high holes in the outside wall. It wasn’t the best place to be, not in Hale’s opinion, but the light had started to fade by then and he had doubts about finding a better place to hide before darkness fell.
Dinner was cooked over Army fuel tabs in an old metal wash tub, with candles for light, and a jar of Mary Farley’s strawberry jam for dessert. Then, with all their gear packed and ready to go, it was time to take turns sleeping on a pile of horse blankets. They smelled to high heaven, but were softer than the wood floor, and provided some much needed insulation.
Hale noticed with admiration that Tina lay with her shotgun nearby, and was still wearing the pistol and shoulder holster as she slid into her bag.
Mark volunteered to take the first watch and Hale agreed, knowing that even if the trip back went flawlessly, he would need all his strength and have all his wits about him.
“They’re here.”
Hale was awake instantly.
“There’s fifty-three of them, if you include the escorts,” Mark whispered.
It should have been pitch black, but there was light coming from somewhere, and it was moving. Hale nodded, got up, and tiptoed over to the east wall.
Tina was awake as well, and sat crouched next to her pack.
Conscious of the fact that one or more of the Chimera could be directly beneath him, Hale put his right eye to one of the holes made earlier, and looked out onto a scene that made his skin crawl. There was plenty of illumination, thanks to the Chimeran battle lamps that had been placed here and there, and the shadows they threw loomed large on the snow and the house beyond.
The Grims were lined up in front of the old hand pump, which produced a squeal each time one of them
