Surviving Day By Day (Book 1): So it Begins (27 page)

The sun was shining through the trees as it was now rising brightly and the chirping of the birds was actually very nice hearing. Making her way over to the coffee pot Tabitha remembered about the night before and the “newcomers”. She thought that the guy was kinda cute and had a nice tight package but the chick, well she just was all confused on her feelings
with her
.

Realizing that she had to lose some of her billy bad ass attitude
or they would never get anywhere. S
he walked over to Beth and extended her hand. “My name is Tabitha, not Tab or Tabby, just straight Tabitha and since we are in the same boat I wanna apologize for my outburst last night. It wa
s totally out of line, but hey…”

Beth interrupted Tabitha with a smile on her face, “Don’t worry about it Tabitha. I probably would
have
done the same thing if I would
have
been in your shoes.
”

Beth motioned for Tabitha to join her, “
In fact
,
when I found out through a text message from Chad what had g
one on I was completely shocked, but I was very angry. My first and foremost thought was protection. A
ll I
wanted to
do was run to try to get out of town so that I could save my family.”

Tabitha then realized that at that very
m
oment
Beth must of lost someone because that smile went to a frown and a tear began to form in her eye. Tabitha quickly perked right up, “Hey, let’s not talk about that right now….”

Going
over
to the fire
Tabitha picked up the coffee pot
,
refilled
everyone’s cup then grabbed her own
cup
and
poured her one herself. In hopes of putting a smile on Beth’s face, Tabitha playfully walked over to Alden, “Sooooooooo Alden what’s cooking?”

Alden grinned a little, “Well kiddies I think toast a
nd coffee will be on the menu.”

Reaching down he picked up a small flat piece of metal that had wire hooks folded in. Unfolding those wires stood up and interlocked with each other forming a small open square structure. “Charlie, bring me that bread.”

Charlie got up and headed to the camp box and brought out a loaf of bread. Alden took four pieces and placed them on the wires then placed the whole contraption on the coals of the fire. It took only a minute and he turned the bread, a minute more and he pulled the first four pieces off. “Come and get it” he called though they were already all standing there.

He placed four more pieces on the toaster. It took only minutes and he had enough for everyone to have at least three pieces. Ceara was picking them up and placing them on a plate. Charlie looked at them then at the group, “Great, who does he think we are Elwood blues,” mimicking Dan Akryod from the movie “Four pieces of dry white toast.”

Alden walked over to the truck and reached in the back and pulled out a small plastic bag and a little picnic basket. He walked back to the table and placed the items down. Opening the basket he took out four little jars of jam and a small plastic knife and set them down, “Take your pick and when you’re done if you need to there are some small toothbrushes and toothpaste
.
I’ve acquired
many things
from my many stays at the Holiday Inn over the years for you all to brush your teeth with.”

Ceara grabbed the grape jelly before anyone else could grab it. She made a grape jelly sandwich and took a big bite then leaned over to Charlie and whispered, “Holiday Inns over the years my ass, I bet he raided every hotel between his home and here.”

Charlie kind of laughed, “Maybe.”

Ceara sat eating her sandwich just watching everyone. “So are we going to be able to find those cabins? It shouldn’t be that hard right, I mean we know where they were attacked…. well Alden will remember and from there they should be able to back track from there right?”
Beth took another drink of her coffee and eagerly
walked over to where Ceara was.

“The cabins are actually pretty nice and there were only a couple of the infected that Colt and I had to take down when we first got to the cabins. The only thing that
worries
me is that with all of that gun fire and commotion yesterday
;
it that may have brought more in. But if we
are able to
get back to the cabins
,
I think with a little work that we could all make them livable dwellings. They
will
of course
,
have to be scouted out again and then we would have to dispose of the carcasses so that won’t draw anymore
of the subjects or wild life.”

Beth reached down and grabbed a plain piece of toast then took a couple of bites. After swallowing them she without thinking continued, “Then of cours
e will be that horrific smell.”

Colt stood and walked to the fire and poured his coffee into it,
he still wasn’t sure about this group,
“I’m guessing that with the loud ass whistle that just let every monster in a two mile radius know just where this camp is, that we’re packing up?”

He went back to the table, “Me and Beth don’t have anything but what’s on us, what do you need help with? I’m sure we
can be of use with something.”

Charlie was listening to them while he ate his toast, “Packing up shouldn’t take
too
long seeing as how we’ve been sleeping in bags on the ground under tarps.”

He turned and looked to Tabitha, “We can pick up your ride on the way too if you still got gas.”

His faced turned to a frown and looked to Alden, “That brings another question up Boss. We are going to need to get some extra gas sooner or later in case we have to leave. I mean
,
I don’t want to jump in hit the gas
,
and go say
…
five hundred feet
before it goes putt putt poop.”

Finishing off her little bit of coffee Tabitha answered, “Well I have got some gas tanks in the back of my ride up the road a ways. Come to think about it if I remember right they’re full I think or at least one of them is. I parked it back by the entrance not far from where our camp is
.
T
hat’s when Alden came across me. I didn’t come with much more than the car and I got my five finger dis
count when I got that as well.”

Alden threw the last of his coffee on the fire, “Colt
,
you and Beth put the fire out. There was a couple of metal trash cans in the shower house fill’em up and dowse it with that. Charlie you and the girls get your stuff packed up
;
I’ll get my truck ready. Ceara, you take Beth with you. Tabitha can ride with Charlie
till we find her car
.
”

The camp became a buzz of activity as everyone went to complete their assigned tasks. Colt and Beth brought the water out and dowsed the fire then scattered the ashes around in the fire pit to insure it was out. Tabitha was helping Ceara get her gear to her car. Even Tonto joined in pulling on the rope that was attached to the tarp that hung out from Alden’s truck ca
using it to collapse right on Alden’s
head as he was bent over storing things in their appr
opriate place. “DAMNIT DOG!!!”
Alden yelled as the others tu
rned and started to laugh.

Tonto just sat there with the rope in his mouth. Tabitha looked to Ceara, “I’m getting t
o like that dog more and more, “ the
two just chuckled
and continued packing up
.

Within fifteen minutes the camp was done and everyone was loaded. Alden’s truck pulled out first then Ceara’s
jeep
followed by Charlie’s van. The sun was up full and shining bright. Looking in the side mirror of the van he turned and looked to
Tabitha
, “And the adventure continues.”

The small band was soon becoming a close knit
family;
They had shared meals, and drinks and stories with each other. But more importantly they had fought side by side. They
were now moving on to what they all hoped would be a safe home ….
Though
each one still had their doubts….

The caravan
traveled less than two miles before they came across Tabitha’s little car. Ceara tapped her horn once quickly, to let Alden know to stop. He pulled up next to a blue
98 firebird
. He got out and scanned the area; Tonto jumped out and moved to the side of the road his nose down sniffing, then went to the other side and repeated it.

Finally he stopped in the middle of the road, away from the caravan and sat with his eyes scanning back and forth. Colt called to Alden, “What’s he doin?”

Alden looked back at Tonto, then to Colt, “Who
him? He’s checking for IED’s.”

Tabitha got out of Ceara’s car and walked to her own. Alden was peering in the back window. “Are those filled with gas?”

Tabitha rolled her eyes, “Well Yeah.” She said sarcastically.

“Well then I would sure appreciate it if you finished that cigarette back over by Ceara’s car. Give me the keys and I’ll open
it up.”

Tabitha handed the keys to him but just stood there smoking. Alden glared at her and reached up pulling the butt out of her mouth and tossing it on the ground
,
stepping on it. Before she could say anything he opened
the driver’s side door and the fumes poured out hitting them in the face
.

He turned and smiled
,
“
I just saved you from becoming a crispy cupcake. Let’s open the
other
door and let thi
s thing air out a few minutes.”

He turned and headed back to his truck. Tabitha chuckled as she stepped ba
ck and looked at Alden’s back mumbling
, “Ya think?!”

Putting her hands in her back pockets
,
Tabitha walked over to the
passenger
door, both doors open she
walked away
from the vehicle quickly, “Damn!!!! FUCK!!!! Thanks Alden!!! I didn’t think about all of that shit. But I would care to venture a guess that I wouldn’t be the only crispy cupcake….we’d all wou
ld have been roasted cupcakes.”

She headed about ten feet or so back a ways from the car so she could get some fresh air.
Colt sat in Alden’s truck watching everyone, he wondered about Alden and
what that man had been through,
what he had seen in his years. The guy was far from a novice at the survival stuff and it seemed like he had a little bit of everything they needed.

After a few minutes of letting Tabitha’s car air out they all climbed back in to head to the cabins.
Alden looked to Colt, “You got any thoughts on how to get there?”

Colt knew the man already had a plan but if the man was willing to meet him in the middle then so would he, “I thought we could head out the way you guys came in and go south to the entrance that Beth and I took. That way if there is anything Beth wants out of her car
;
she can get it without us needing to hike to it. I would say the cabins aren’t more than five miles from where we left her car and we took one turn but that would be on the map. To be honest
,
I don’t remember any other turns before we saw the cabin sign.”

Alden nodded, “Had the same thought myself on Beth’s car and paying attention to the turns helps a lot. You said there was a sign pointing to the cabins?”

Colt nodded, “Wouldn’t have found it otherwise.” For the first time Colt smiled at A
lden, Alden returned the smile.

Fifteen minutes later they were pulling up to Beth’s car, Alden threw the truck into park, “Ok you go see if sh
e needs anything out of there.”

Colt jumped out and ran back to Charlie’s van, Beth had already climbed out, “Beth do y
ou need anything out of there?”

“Yep,” w
asting no time
,
Beth went to the back seat to see if anything had fallen out of her bags which were already in Colt’s Land Rover. It was a good thing that she did because laying there on the floor board was her
own
childhood stuffed puppy dog named
Chappy
.

Chappy
had been with her all of her life and there was something about that dog that always reminded her of safety. Gently picking up her old friend Beth clutched him tightly
to her chest
. Closing her eyes just for a
m
oment
,
Beth brought
Chappy
up to her nose and took a deep breath. The smell reminded her of home, of her family and most importantly of her sister. A tear began to appear in her eye and the memories rushed in quickly.

Not too long ago she had laid Mary
’s own
stuff animal, Puppy
,
in her
dead arms, she had grabbed her own as a last thought when she left her childhood home.

Colt came over and peeked in the window. Seeing how Beth was and realizing that they needed to hurry up he tapped the window. Opening her eyes
,
Beth brushed the tear off of her cheek, “Coming…” she said.

Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and up in the passenger side was an atlas. With
Chappy
tightly in her left hand she snatched the atlas with the other and then exited the vehicle. Hurrying over to Alden she handed him the atlas, “This may come
in handy for future reference.”

Then after she was finished
,
she quickly ran back to Charlie’s van to
the passenger side and got in.

Alden pulled out heading up the road, within ten minutes they found the turn to the cabins. Colt pointed them out as soon as he could se
e them, “There they are Alden.”

He pulled up and stopped turning off the engine
,
just
sitting in the truck as he scanned what he could in front and to the sides. The trees were cut back nicely giving them a wide view and large open space. The three cabins were arranged with two to the back and one up front. Alden smiled at Colt, “Well son let’s check this out. When we get out though stay right by your door. I’ll let Tonto out and he’ll do an initial search. You’ll know if he spots anything unusual. He won’t bark, he’ll back up and just sit and stare. Don’t go near him let me do that.”

Colt looked at Alden then turned and looked at Tonto in the back, he was just sitting there panting his tongue hanging out with almost a smile on
his. “What? Would he bite me?”

Alden began to open his door, “Yeah he might…. If you’re lucky…. otherwise he’ll just drag you to the ground and rip your throat out.”

Alden stepped out and opened the little side door. Tonto jumped out and sat right in front of him almost like a soldier at attention waiting his orders. Pulling his forty five from its holster Alden walked to the front of the truck and then towards the cabins. Tonto was right beside him. As they reached the gravel drive he stopped and scanned the area again.
He
could see a shed off to the left of the first
c
abin
,
it sat back a about fifty feet and was almost covered with trees and bushes on three sides. If Colt hadn’t mentioned it he wouldn’t have noticed right o
ff.

Reaching down he petted Tonto’s head
;
then with his hand he motioned from the first cabin then the third in an arc. “Search
,”
was all he whispered. Tonto was off in a flash
,
he got to the first cabin his nose to the ground. He went first to one side then to the other, and then he continued around the back, ending up on the front porch. He turned three times and went to the next two cabins and repeated the same scenario always ending up in the porch and turning three times. When he finished he trotted back to Alden who turned to the caravan. “Okay Cup
Cakes…. Bring em up.”

Tabitha got out and looked around. “Kinda peaceful if you ask me.
”

Looking up at the sky the sun rays were shining down and the wind blew gently through the trees. She got lost if just for a
m
oment
in all of the splendor
and
beauty
,
but was brought back to reality when the smell of
rotting
corpses passed by her nose. Raising her eyebrow and grabbing her nose Tabitha looked around and saw the dead bodies just lying on the ground. Walking over to Ceara
,
Tabitha chuckled and whispered into her ear, “Nothing like the smell of rotting fles
h to welcome you home …….NOT!!”

Standing there alongside of Ceara
,
Tabitha spoke right up, “So, Alden…. you got any plans on what to do with the bodies? If you want we can do what we did last time or just hall their nas
ty ass’s way out in the woods.”

Noticing that Beth had just gotten out of the van, Tabitha made her way over to her. She noticed that Beth was holding onto her stuffed animal and thought that it
must have some
sentimental meaning. Tabitha felt bad for carrying on the way that she did the night before; she spoke up, “Hey Beth! Damn girlie!! These are some nice digs here….. We all can have our own little houses on the prairie so to speak.”

Beth turned to Tabitha, “Well, I think that with a little work and some time that we could make this our safe zone where we can quarantine us away from the rest of the world.”

Beth then walked over to where Colt was standing, “I would like to continue our conversation sometime but I want to say that once again I am so sorry for not telling you
the truth from the very start.”

Colt looked at Beth and tried to smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, “Beth, what is past is past… nothing will bring Jessica back
,
but I will tell you this. If it comes out that you had anything to do with it I will never forgive that.” He shrugged, “Not like it really matters if you have my forgiv
eness or not but it is a fact.”

Colt
walked off to
join
Alden, “Well we can go see that shed now or wait till later, up to y
ou.”

Ceara made a face at Tabitha’s comment but the girl was
now
off talking to Beth
,
so Ceara went to Charlie. “Do you think we will all stay in one cabin at first? Not really sure how we could let ot
hers know if there is trouble.”

Looking around at the woods, “It wouldn’t be hard for them to know
we are here or sneak up on us.”

Alden looked to Colt, “Yeah
,
show me this engine thingy as you so aptly put it,” putting his hand on Colt’s shoulder and grinning the most mischievous grin.

The two walked off behind the first cabin. Charlie looked at Ceara. “I’m not sure what He’ll want to do,” nodding toward Alden, “but if I know him he’s already got that planned out plus the next few days’ wo
rth of making this place safe.”

With his hands in his pockets he walked over to the first cabin and up, the steps peeking in the window he turned to Ceara, “Hey come here
,
these places look sweet they got be
ds and couch’s and everything.”

Ceara walked up next to him and looked
in;
Charlie turned and opened the door slowly. The smell from the dead bodies hit him, “OH HOLY HELL THAT’S RANK.”

Stepping back waving his hand in front of his face, his face was scrunched up as the smell of rotting flesh hit Ceara. With her arms flailing she bolted off the porch a few yards away, bent over with her hands on her knees and began to vomit. Charlie walked over and patted her gently on the back
, “
Good thing you didn’t have sausage and waffles,” he said chuckling.

“I say we bypass this one and pick another before the others find out just in case we get our own.”

Maximus was sniffing around and suddenly turned towards the cabin and bolted in
. Ceara screamed, “MAXIMUS NO!”

It was too late he was up and inside. As Charlie followed Ceara back into the cabin they both pulled their shirts up over their noses.
Maximus was in the front room chewing on one of the bodies. Ceara screamed again, “MAXIMUS NO!!!! GET
THE HELL AWAY FROM THAT THING.”

Maximus stopped and looked at her and put his head down. As Ceara reached for him Maximus suddenly laid down on his back and started rolling in the guts. Once again up came Ceara’s br
eakfast or what was left of it.

Tabitha stood there taking in all of the comic relief that was taking place. Somehow no one was paying any attention to her and she thought to herself, “Ok Tab….take note….. they are over there
,
and Red is upchucking
,
so that tells me that cabin number one is gross and those that
picks
their nest must clean their nest.”