North Bound: A Traveler's Journey

[soldierboy234]

Darren Hahn moved quietly down the dirt road he had found the day before, heading for the hopefully deserted town of Hyatt, Montana. He had slowly been making his way north since the beginning. Since his unit of the Louisiana Army National Guard had been overrun trying to hold the hordes of undead back. Since the few remaining guardsmen that had survived had split off, trying to find their families and get away. Since the virus that had reanimated the dead had spread and festered like a sore, killing millions. He spotted the town, and continued his march, hoping he had found a safe haven before the winter set in. If this place wasn't too bad, he'd go back to the stash he had buried and bring it here. It was being guarded by Private Bryce, his platoon's medic. It wasn't much; a few cases of MRE's, some canned goods, ammo, a few weapons he'd picked up along the way that would be useful.


Robin Cole stood on the rooftop of the store her father had owned. The place still had a lot of edible foodstuffs inside, which made it a target for every scavenger out there. Not to mention, her and the two girls in the store, hiding. They were all of age; Robin herself was 19 and Cheryl and Jennifer, twins, were 17. So far, her older brother, Matt, had fought off every attack. But ammo was scarce and he was starting to lose it; she supposed it was loneliness. She spotted the walker a mile or two out. Right away she could see it was a live one. Didn't have the slow shuffle. Plus he clutched an M-4 in his hands. She looked down at Cheryl, who moved to the skylight and whispered down, " Walker. " Jennifer relayed the message to Matt, who stood inside his perch, which was a boarded up window with a crack in it. His weapon of choice was his daddy's bolt action 30.06 hunting rifle. There were a few other weapons in their meagre arsenal, scavenged from the town.

Darren stopped when he spotted a small flash from the town. Either a scoped weapon or binoculars; probably the latter, since he was still there. He let the M-4 hang from its sling and raised his hands; it had been a while since he had talked to anyone but Clarissa Bryce, and she didn't speak much. He approached until he reached the store. " Stop right there, Mister! " yelled a female voice. " No harm mean, miss. Just passing through; looking to find a safe place to stay before winter sets in. " said Darren. " You're armed. That generally means unfriendly. " said the woman. " Guy's gotta defend himself, especially in this day and age. " he replied. " You can find shelter in any building in the town but this one. " said the girl. " I suppose that would do. Anyone among you need medical attention? " he asked. " You a doctor? " she asked. " No, but I have a friend nearby with some medical training. And some antibiotics. " he said. " Got plenty of meds here; pharmacy's still pretty well stocked. " said the girl.
" Look, we can stand here and debate all day, or you can decide to trust me and let us in. Your choice. But I don't much like the idea of standing out in the open with monsters about. " he said. " Fair enough. Go get your friend. Come on back; we'll check you out. " she said. " His friend is here. " said another female voice from behind him.
" I told you to wait at the drop. " he said. " Grabbed what I could; started hearing some moaning on the wind. " said Clarissa. He nodded; he'd told her to vacate the drop if she made contact. They were up on ammo, but a fight with the dead was the last thing they needed. The doors opened and a rifle barrel peeped out. " Come on in. " said a male voice. The young man was on the edge of snapping. Combat stress; Darren had pulled two tours in the desert, and he recognized it right away. The fact that the boy had lasted this long spoke of a strong constitution. They walked inside, and two teenage girls, both stunning, closed it behind them. " Now drop the meds, and get back outta here. " said Matt. " Not gonna happen. We'll leave. But we're takin our stuff. " said Darren. " I said drop the packs and leave. You can keep your guns, but-" Matt never finished his sentence. Darren moved and grabbed his rifle, while Clarissa whipped out a Beretta 9mm and put the muzzle against Matt's cheek. " Easy now. Let go of the piece. " she said. Matt complied. When he had both hands out to his sides, Darren put the rifle down on the ground, after he'd unloaded it. Clarissa frisked Matt, to make sure he had no hidden weapons. " Okay. Now that we're all friends here, we'll drop our hardware too and we'll all have a chat. " said Darren. Matt nodded. " What unit you with? " he asked. " There's no organized military out there; except for the ones who fled to the bunkers with the government. But we were Louisiana Army Guard. We made our way out here on foot. " said Darren. " Wow. " said Matt. " I'm afraid we only bring bad news. Most of the cities and towns we passed on our way here are gone. Or infested. Not many safe areas left. Most of the active military and reserve units are gone; those that survived are doing it by less honorable means. So we avoid them. You all are the first ones we've seen in about three months. " said Darren. Clarissa handed Matt two pills. " It'll help take the edge off. " she said. Matt shook his head. " Relax. I'll take these, if you want. It won't put you to sleep. " she said. Matt took them. Clarissa pulled her pistol out and put it on the floor. Darren put all his own weapons on the ground. " Come on. We'll cook and you can meet the rest of the gang. " said Matt.

[soldierboy234]

Darren took the plate of beans and bacon, accompanied by a slab of elk meat. Hyatt had been a farming community, so most of the people there knew how to preserve meat. Not to mention Matt had just killed a wild pig and a couple of elk. So Darren savored the first meat he'd had in months that wasn't jerkied.

" So what's your story? " asked Robin as she watched them eat.

" We were in a company in our hometown. Our mission was to assist local law enforcement in dealing with the crisis. Didn't amount to much. We lost contact with our chain of command in the first four hours. Our CO did what he could, but he wasn't trained to handle this kind of thing. By the time we reestablished our link with our Brigade Commander, it was too late. Their defenses had been overrun. Ours were getting more and more contact with the dead. Our last orders were to shoot to kill, which they had been afraid to issue to us when it all started. Even then, it wouldn't have mattered, but more of us may have survived. So I took who I had left and headed up here. Figured the open plains would have more room to move around in. So far I was right; not many up here. " said Darren.

" Still didn't do us much good. " said Matt. The effects of the pills Clarissa had given him had calmed him down considerably.

" You've done a good job up here; the girls are still breathing. " said Darren.

" Listen, a bunch of guys like you came through here a few months ago, claiming to be sent by the government. They tried to rape the girls. I killed two of them and scared the other four off. They're still out there; we hear them every once in a while. I don't trust you exactly, but you didn't do a lot of things you could have, so I'll take you at your word that you're friendly. " said Matt.

" I'll take you at yours, too. Tell you what. Tomorrow you and I will go to the stuff we have stashed about two miles from here. You guys get some sleep; I'll pull watch duty tonight. I take it the roof is where I can do that? " asked Darren.

" Yeah. " said Matt.

" Okay. " said Darren. He strapped on his gear and climbed the ladder to the second level. He took a blanket with him.

" Can he see out there? " asked Robin.

" He has a set of night vision with him. He can see like a cat. " said Clarissa.

[soldierboy234]

Darren scanned the perimeter he'd set up around the building with his NVG's.

" See anything? " asked a soft female voice behind him.

" No. Looks like they're avoiding this area. " he said.

" They're not; they just haven't found us in a large number yet. " said Robin as she sat down behind the ledge of the building.

" Let's hope winter sets in before they do. " he said.

" Is that why the two of you headed North? " she asked.

" Yeah. We heard they were susceptible to the cold; that they froze solid once a good winter set in. So we grabbed what we could and headed north. " he answered.

" I'm glad you showed up; we hadn't had any outside contact for a while. What have you all seen out there? " she asked.

He sighed. " It's not pretty. Society has broken down. There's small pockets of resistance here and there, but for the most part, we avoided them. They're more like old baronies from the Dark Ages; one guy puts himself in charge. Rape and murder are pretty common in those zones. " he said.

" What about the police? The military? " she asked.

" Hell, we got wiped out in the first days. The politicians didn't have the balls to give the kill order. So we tried to restrain and arrest them. We lost a lot of guys to that decision. " he said.

" So we're on our own. " she said.

" Pretty much. " he said. He looked at her. It had been a long time since he'd seen anyone besides Clarissa, and she was like a sister to him. But he had been raised that a man doesn't touch a woman without her permission. So he would behave himself.

" So how did you stumble onto this place? " she asked. She had noticed him looking at her, and it left her feeling funny in her middle, a feeling she had never felt.

" Just found a dirt road and started walking. " he said.

" I'm glad you're here. " she said.

[soldierboy234]

Darren scanned the perimeter he'd set up around the building with his NVG's.

" See anything? " asked a soft female voice behind him.

" No. Looks like they're avoiding this area. " he said.

" They're not; they just haven't found us in a large number yet. " said Robin as she sat down behind the ledge of the building.

" Let's hope winter sets in before they do. " he said.

" Is that why the two of you headed North? " she asked.

" Yeah. We heard they were susceptible to the cold; that they froze solid once a good winter set in. So we grabbed what we could and headed north. " he answered.

" I'm glad you showed up; we hadn't had any outside contact for a while. What have you all seen out there? " she asked.

He sighed. " It's not pretty. Society has broken down. There's small pockets of resistance here and there, but for the most part, we avoided them. They're more like old baronies from the Dark Ages; one guy puts himself in charge. Rape and murder are pretty common in those zones. " he said.

" What about the police? The military? " she asked.

" Hell, we got wiped out in the first days. The politicians didn't have the balls to give the kill order. So we tried to restrain and arrest them. We lost a lot of guys to that decision. " he said.

" So we're on our own. " she said.

" Pretty much. " he said. He looked at her. It had been a long time since he'd seen anyone besides Clarissa, and she was like a sister to him. But he had been raised that a man doesn't touch a woman without her permission. So he would behave himself.

" So how did you stumble onto this place? " she asked. She had noticed him looking at her, and it left her feeling funny in her middle, a feeling she had never felt.

" Just found a dirt road and started walking. " he said.

" I'm glad you're here. " she said.

[soldierboy234]

Darren and Matt left early the next morning on the five mile hike to the supply dump. They carried empty rucksacks, to load as many supplies as they could carry. Mostly ammo; the meds and food and water Darren and Clarissa had stashed would stay there. There were plenty of supplies at the grocery store.

" So what did you do in the Guard before all this? " asked Matt.

" Infantry. Clarissa was a medic. My unit was guarding a MASH unit near our hometown. She was one of the medics. We managed to escape when the walkers overran us. " said Darren.

" I think my sister likes you. " said Matt.

" I hadn't noticed. " said Darren.

" She does. Could be that you're the first man she's seen in a long time besides me. Could be that you're a real hero. You could have taken us all and we couldn't have fought it. You didn't. " said Matt.

" Not my thing. " said Darren. He looked ahead of them; the supply dump was marked by a red streamer tied to a tree.

" There it is. " he said, when he had sighted it.