Surviving Day by Day (Book 3): Still They Come (5 page)

Beth nodded, “So asking how long they will be gone is a stupid question.”
Niz simply nodded, “I will say that it shouldn’t be long, I didn’t bring anything to stay overnight.”

At that statement Beth laughed, “You really think men will think about that?”
Before Niz could say anything Ceara joined them with Charlie and Billy. She held her puppy in her arms, “Look Beth, isn’t he cute! Wanna hold him?”

Beth held out her hands, “He is pretty cute, you thought of a name yet?”

Ceara looked at the pup, “Nope, he will let me know his name in time.”

Beth looked at Niz, “All males?”

Niz nodded, “We didn’t figure you guys would want a whole bunch of new dogs a year from now.”

Charlie shuffled his feet, “Not sure we will all be here a year from now.”
All three women glared at him, but Ceara was the one to speak, “Geezes Charlie, try a little optimism.”

Billy pulled Charlie away, “Let’s let the women talk, you can show me your land.”
As Billy and Charlie walked off Tabitha joined Beth and Niz at the table, “Ceara take this mutt, it won’t leave me alone.”

Ceara got a nasty look, “He is not a mutt, his name is Mickey… remember?”
Tabitha waved, “Yeah I remember, just take him for a minute, I need a break.”
Beth handed Ceara’s puppy back and Ceara grabbed up Mickey, “Come on guys, I’ll introduce you to the horses.”

Tabitha signed, “Thank God, that dog is going to drive me nuts, teach me to be nice! So what are you guys talking about?”

Beth stood up, “I’ll get us some tea, you guys talk.” She walked off to let them talk.
Niz flicked with a loose piece of the wood on the picnic table top.

Tabitha leaned on the table, “I can figure a few things out on my own, I know that your chief is wanting to meet Alden. Kind of size him up, but here is what I don’t get and maybe you can help me out with this one. To date, your people have made all the decisions on how and when we do things. You want to explain just why that is?”

Niz wasn’t surprised by the question but had really expected it from Beth. She looked straight into Tabitha’s eyes, “We have survived in one location for almost a year now. We do that by protecting what is ours. I won’t apologize for it and there is no need for excuses. My father and several of our people knew Larry. When this shit hit the fan he came over to see my father. I don’t know what the talk was about but I can bet he told him possible scenarios and Alden was one of them.”

Tabitha watched her eyes for any deception and didn’t see anything but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any. “If that is true then why did you wait to make an appearance?”

Niz sat straighter, “I’m not use to being called a liar but as to why we didn’t come to you sooner. That is simple; we didn’t know you were here. We had men out hunting when they saw your group under fire and helped you out. They returned and reported to the chief. We didn’t know anything about you but with you being so close to Larry’s place my father sent Stray Eagle to check on Larry.”

Beth came back to the table carrying a tray of tea, “How are you two doing? You getting to know each other?”

Tabitha smiled and sipped the glass of tea Beth handed her, “We’re getting there.”

Still holding on to her glass, Tabitha looked at Beth then over to Niz, “Well that makes sense I suppose. To be honest with you Niz, I didn’t mean anything negative when I asked you that…. it’s just….”

Tabitha sat quietly remembering the battle and the loss of Heath. One thing was for sure and that is, that if Niz and their group had of known anything earlier, Heath and Maximus may still be alive. These people seemed honest and forthright but there was just the newness of meeting these people. The world had changed and things were changing before her eyes. Over the past month, she had encountered so many changes that she just needed one of them to be for the better.
Tabitha bowed her head with a subtle smile on her face, “I lost someone very important to me in that battle, so did Ceara, she lost her dog, Max. I had never been close to people; not until I met up with Alden and Ceara… or Red as I have always called her.”

Niz smiled shaking her head, “Because of her fire red hair mixed in with her feisty attitude.”

Beth sat down with the girls, “Yea, we do have a group all our own don’t we?”

Tabitha looked over while chuckling at Beth’s question then back over to Niz, “Beth hit the nail on the head as well as you did, Niz. For the longest time, I just kinda got settled in thinking that no matter what we seven would be together and through it all we would survive but then we lost Heath and I had to take a step back.”

Niz sat sipping on her tea and nodded her head in agreement. “We too have experienced loss… great losses in fact, but in life, there is death and the cycle continues. It’s alright to grieve and have those moments but please do not pass judgment until you have fully looked from all sides of the situation completely.”

Tabitha felt at first like she may have offended Niz, but then realized her point when she took a moment to think about it before engaging her mouth.

Beth was not hesitant at all, “It’s like that gut feeling one gets down deep inside when you know that the situation you are in or watching is not right. It is THOSE feelings that we have to get in touch with. We will learn more than when we speak without thinking first.”

Tabitha looked over at Beth, and with a surprising look on her face, “Like when Alden scouted out that group of bikers. Instead of running off and trying to take them down, Alden assessed the situation and planned out that battle right. He watched, listened, and patiently waited to find out their strengths and weaknesses, until the moment that we had to help him get back what was ours.”

Beth shook her head, “Exactly Tabitha!!! That is what Niz is talking about. If we hone in on those feelings and learn more, we may have reacted differently. However, we will not make those mistakes again.”

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Charlie was walking with Billy around the back of the barn. Simply showing him the repairs and maintenance they had done to the place. Tonto was laying in the shade of the barn watching the two young men. Charlie smiled and reached down to rub his head. Billy started to and Tonto let out a low growl. Pulling his hand back quickly Billy looked to Charlie, “Kind of a one man dog?”

Charlie grinned, “Naw man, he’s Alden’s dog and Alden hasn’t introduced you yet. He is safe as long as you don’t try to hurt one of us, and you damn sure can’t be a wanderer.”

Charlie and Billy continued their tour as the girls sat enjoying their tea and the warm sun. As Billy, Charlie, and Tonto rounded the barn Tonto stopped once more. The hairs on his back raised up as his ears stood straight. Charlie looked down at him and at the same time placed his hand on Billy’s chest, “Hold up,” Charlie said quietly.

Billy looked at him confused then whispered, “What’s up?”

Charlie watched Tonto as he answered, “He either hears or sees something that he don’t like and it’s over there on that ridge.”

Pointing to a small ridgeline Billy and Charlie kept scanning it with their own eyes. It was Billy who saw it first. “Shit man, there’s someone up there watching us.”

Charlie looked at him, “I don’t see anything, how do you know?” Billy pointed, “Wait for it.”

Suddenly Charlie saw a slight glint of sunlight off something. Billy tapped Charlie’s chest and whispered, “Did you see it?”

“Yeah, what the hell was that?”

“Binoculars, someone is lying up in those rocks looking down here.”

Tonto took a step forward and Charlie reached down to stop him, “easy boy don’t give us away.”

Tonto turned, looked at Charlie then took a step back and sat straight up still watching the ridge. Charlie looked at Billy, “Shit, I wish I had a pair of binoculars to see what’s up there.”

Billy nodded, “Yeah me too.”

*************************************************************

Niz had just taken a sip of tea when she got the glimpse of the glint. She knew they were being watched but didn’t want to alarm the others. Thinking quickly, she smiled at the girls,
“Well it’s getting a bit warm and Billy’s getting the grand tour of the barn. How about we ladies move in out of the sun and you can show me your kitchen.”

Tabitha smiled a little, “Sure, why not?”

Beth stood and grabbed the pitcher of tea and headed for the house. Tabitha picked up her glass and started to follow.

Niz let the screen door close, turned to the girls, “Do you have a pair of binoculars? I don’t want to worry you but we’re being watched…”

Charlie took a step back and motioned for Billy to follow him. Tonto actually crouched down and backed up slowly. Billy’s eyes went wide as he whispered to Charlie, “Holy shit dude did you teach him that?”

Charlie shook his head, “Naw, I told you, that’s Alden dog. He was trained in the army and has been with Alden for a long, long time.”

Charlie slowly opened the back door to the barn and they all slipped in. Ceara was sitting in one of the empty stalls playing with the puppies. Looking up, she started to squeal, “HI Char....” Charlie quickly put his hand over her mouth and placed a finger over his lips.
Ceara stopped and looked at him letting him know she understood. As Charlie let her loose she whispered, “What’s up? Wanderers?”

Both men shook their heads no. Tonto had moved to the front of the barn and was looking out the main door which was slightly ajar.

Charlie walked to one of the saddles hanging on a rail and pulled an old Winchester 30-30. Handing it to Billy, “It’s not binoculars, but it does have a real nice scope on it.”
Billy smiled, “That’ll do.” Billy moved to the main door and lay down in the dirt. He looked to Charlie, “Can you get Tonto to move so I can get a good look?”

Charlie looked at Ceara and she smiled back, “Go ahead, you’ve seen him do it enough times.”

Charlie snapped his fingers twice. Tonto’s head turned to him. Charlie snapped again and pointed to his feet. Tonto took one last look out the door then turned and walked over sitting right next to Charlie.

Billy watched as Tonto walked over to Charlie. Shaking his head, Billy turned his attention back out the door. Billy needed to scan the hills in the distance. Since they had moved, he was no longer getting the glint from whatever the others were using. Suddenly a small flock of birds took flight and Billy started to scan the area.

“Bingo.” He said quietly. “I got one moving along some rocks..... two more ducking up and down like jack in the boxes. The guy moving is the one with one of those old spyglass telescopes; the other two have rifles but no scopes.”

Billy scanned a little more than whistled, “Well now what do we have here? Our visitors have a four wheeler and one dirt bike.”

Charlie looked at Ceara, “More fucking bikers, damn it.”

*************************************************************

Tabitha walked over to the back door and looked outside. The leaves were barely moving but the sun was out in full force. “Sure Niz, I have a pair, they are in my room.” Beth turned and quickly went to go get them. Once she retrieved them, Beth came back in and handed them to Niz...

Quickly Niz walked over beside Tabitha and began focusing the binoculars so that she could hone in on what she was seeing. “Bingo!” Niz pointed with her index finger then handed the binoculars over to Tabitha. “Look straight ahead up in the hills. Do you see where the sun is?”

Tabitha nodded her head which indicated that she did indeed see the sun. “Now follow it over about five or so feet.... You see the light reflecting off the mirror of a bike of some sorts?” asked Niz very calmly and quietly.

Tabitha didn’t see it right away but as soon as some birds moved above where she was looking, she lowered them just a tad and that was when she saw the light flicker again. “Yep and it looks like there is less than a handful right now but we don’t know that for sure. They could be scouts …. finding out what we are all about, what we are doing and most importantly what we have that they could take.” Giving the binoculars over to Beth, Tabitha walked over and retrieved her cross bow along with her hunting knife. “I don’t know what is worse..... damn zombies or rotten people trying to harm people like us.”

Beth looked out up at the hills and saw exactly what both ladies had seen. Tabitha was gearing up and that was when Niz began speaking, “Now let’s remain calm. If we got out there and look like we are getting ready for a battle, I think that will do us more harm than good.”

Tabitha smiled slightly, “I am not going out there looking to start war but more like to freaking finish it.”

Beth grabbed her gun then placed it in her front waistband. “Ok now Tabitha, remember what we just talked about? Planning and thinking before acting..... we can’t afford to make any more unnecessary mistakes.”

Tabitha stood up as though she had just been hit by lightning. “You're right … I am sorry but what the fuck are we going to do?”

Niz chuckled. She then looked over her shoulder at Beth and finally ending up answering Tabitha’s question, “We will go out the back door then head on over to the barn as though we are going to go see what the rest of the guys are doing. We will calmly tell them what we have seen. There is no need to alarm anyone right now. We have to stay calm because those people up there are scared, probably hungry and those two things alone will bring a man to do harmful things that he may or may not regret later.”
After they had gathered their equipment, they all went out the back door making their way to the barn.

Once they had all gotten inside the barn, Tabitha was quick to notice how Tonto was. The hair on his back was standing straight up as he was sitting like a statue. “I think the guys already know.....”, whispered Tabitha to the others.

Ceara heard Tabitha and moved over to her, “Yeah, the guys saw them; sounds like you guys did too. I just don’t understand why they are there now? Do you think it’s just a coincidence that when we have someone leave that they are now making some kind of move?”

Charlie looked to Ceara, “I don’t think that is any coincidence, I think they will see us as weaker now, but we have to wait to see if they make a move.”

Ceara started to join Charlie but tripped over one of the puppies, “Damn it guys, you got to learn there is a time for play and a time to stay out of the way!”

She got up brushing herself off and joined Charlie, “But they are going to realize we know they are there if we stay hidden in here, right?”

Charlie glanced at Billy, “You think she’s right?”

Niz didn’t give Billy time to answer, “Yes, she’s right but that could play to our advantage but this is your camp so you guys make the choice. Here is how I see it possibly playing out. If we stay in here we have blind spots. That would allow them to sneak up on us. We don’t know that they are bad or not. They could just be watching to make sure we aren’t bad. So we could offer up a white flag.”

At that statement, both Charlie and Tabitha made a sound that could only mean ‘fat chance.’ Tabitha moved forward, “Niz, I know you don’t know Alden but we do, we hold up a white flag and it might as well be a red flag in front of a bull to that man.”

Niz gave a small laugh, “Well, we could do an envoy, meet them in the middle to talk?”

Charlie shook his head, “Nope, that just gives them the chance to take a couple of us out easily.”

Niz shook her head, “Ok, then you guys throw out some ideas.”

Charlie smiled, “Well, I don’t like being pinned down in here, so I say we go out back. I’ll saddle a horse and go straight back where our little spies can’t see me, then cut to the east to go find Alden and Colt.”

Billy smiled, “I like that idea, until then, you girls act normal... hang out clothes or things. Make it seem like we never saw them. I will go with Charlie to lead the way.”

Charlie shook his head, “Close but not good enough.” They all looked at him. “I agree someone needs to go get Alden, and maybe some extra help, but I don’t like leaving the girls here alone.” He glanced at the women, “No offense.”

Tabitha smiled, “None taken. So what then?’

Charlie looked at Billy, “You know the way, so you take a horse out the back of the barn and when you're clear and out of their line of sight you go for help. Tabitha you and the girls go on back out.”

He looked around and found an old wicker basket and some old rags. Putting the rags in the basket he placed the puppies in on top and handed it to Beth.

“You guys take this and go back out then act normal or whatever. Ceara and I will move to the loft and hopefully we can get a bead on you and cover you till help gets here. Assuming that you three are the only ones they saw. This gives us the edge.”

Tabitha smiled at Charlie, “Damn, you think like him more and more everyday”

Charlie looked at her, “Like who?”

Ceara smacked his arm, “Alden, you dumbass.” She laughed and looked at Tabitha, “We only have the one rifle.”

Beth handed Ceara the pistol, “I’ll try to sneak another one in here in a little bit.”

After throwing her crossbow over her back, Tabitha looked to Beth, “I think right now it’d be best that we conserve our ammo until we know what is going on.” Looking around at the hills Tabitha continued, “I know I wasn’t thinking before, but I am now and if we bring out any other pistols, guns or even worse our supply of ammunition, then that is kind of pinning a bull’s-eye on our asses.”

Beth smirked, “You’re right there. We must think about not only protecting ours but theirs as well. I know that the Indians have had this ground for centuries or that was what I read while in college and after seeing what we have all seen... history books are not far from the truth. Therefore we keep our ears and eyes open. If we need to defend ourselves, we go hand to hand and try not to use firepower.”

Tabitha shook her head then continued, “I didn’t say we don’t use it, I just meant I don’t know how much these creeps have seen. Hell for all we know they might think we are fully locked and loaded and I don’t want to give them any further information that they don’t already know.”

Niz smiled from ear to ear, “Now you’re thinking Tabitha, and to be very honest with you.... your mind is the most dangerous weapon that we have working for us. However, remember this..... with an up, there is a down and with a right, there is a left, so putting it simple... it is better to teach your mind to work for you then to have it work against you.”

Standing still, Beth kept looking out at the hills. She knew they had to stay put but not knowing what those other people’s intentions were, just made her a bit more nervous.

Tabitha continued speaking but in a casual voice, “Ceara, they are watching us and even if they are not, it is best that we think they are. We need to act as if nothing has changed or lead our visitors to think that we have no idea that we do know.”

Ceara shook her head then looked at the basket of pups in Beth’s arms. One of them was jumping up on the edge of the basket and Tabitha quickly picked up the little pup.

“Hey there!!” Petting the puppy calmed Tabitha down and when she finally raised the pup to meet her eyes he began licking her nose. Tabitha giggled, “Just like a man!”

Ceara reached over and picked up her little guy and started loving him too. Niz sat down on one a stool. She was kind of curious about the relationship between Ceara and Tabitha. She could feel the tension between them, and Niz felt like giving some advice to hopefully help with their loss.

Normally she kept her thoughts about passing of loved ones to herself but with the world the way it was now, Niz knew that if there was any tension between the girls that this too could lead to a mistake which could hurt all of them.

“You know members of our tribe have passed on to the other world well before any of this going on. Missing them sometimes is the hardest thing that I have to put myself through.”

Ceara held the puppy and thought of Maximus. How she missed him so much and would've traded anything to have him back.

A tear came down Ceara’s face, “I loved Max. He was a good dog and tried so hard to protect the members of his camp. Sadly though, he wasn’t able to.”

Tabitha didn’t like where this was going at all but decided to listen instead of reacting and that right there was a feat in and of itself because all she wanted to do was drop the pup and go to the hills.

Niz continued speaking to both of the ladies but she knew from Tabitha’s expression that it was not a good thing so she tried a different approach, “We lost so many, dogs, friends, families, old timers...... boyfriends..... it doesn’t matter what type of loss it was ….. loss is loss and there isn’t any other way to get around it.”

Tabitha still holding her pup suddenly and softly spoke up, “Heath was trying so hard to save Max and everyone else that was involved. Maybe if I would have not jumped out of the truck the way that I did ….maybe things would be been different now.”

Niz smiled and from that moment on, she knew exactly what to say and how to say it.
“Did Heath have family and friends that he lost, Tabitha?”

Tabitha nodded her head slightly, “He had a son, he didn’t think that he survived. We did talk about it a little but not much, cause it just hurt him too much and I didn’t want to see him in pain.”

“Well let’s say his son was attacked..... Something we don’t like to think about but if he was, then you have to have faith that they both are with the Great Spirit and are not having to find food, look for shelter and even worry about those onlookers that we have up there right now watching us.”

Ceara looked at her puppy then looked over to Tabitha, “I am so sorry Tabitha, it was my dog that he was trying to rescue. If I could take all of my actions and words back that caused harm to you; I hope you know I would in a heartbeat.”