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Lifting his bag onto his back, he tightened up the straps. The beast weighed a freaking ton. He didn’t argue or show to the ladies that he was struggling.
He simply started to walk in the direction the map indicated.
They had been walking for around an hour in complete silence before Lucy filled it.
“What would you do if you suddenly jumped in an ocean full of sharks?” Lucy asked.
“Shit myself,” Malachi said.
Lucy burst out laughing.
“Did the sharks magically appear?” Sasha asked.
“No. You knew they were there.”
“Why would anyone jump into shark-infested waters?”
“I don’t know. Curiosity?”
Sasha chuckled. “There are a lot of things in this world I’m curious about, but swimming with sharks is not one of them.”
“What if we have to take a boat out and sail the seas to get to new land? What if we are tossed overboard? What if there’s a great white shark going to kill us?” Lucy asked.
“One, we’re not on a boat. Two, we will pillage this entire land before we even have to cross any ocean. Three, calm down.”
Lucy took several deep breaths. “You’re right. It’s crazy to think about being with lots of sharks.”
Again, Malachi couldn’t help but think the kid was adorable. Who would think about jumping into shark-infested waters at a time like this?
The sound of a stick snapping made him pause.
He held his hand up behind him, letting the other two know not to move. Not to make a sound.
The noise came from right in front of him.
Grabbing his gun, he made sure it was loaded, ready to take any necessary shot.
He wasn’t willing to take chances.
“Do not shoot,” a man said from several feet in front of them.
“Who are you?” Malachi asked.
“I’m one of the tree people.”
“Tree people?” Sasha moved up to his side with Lucy behind her. The younger girl was trying to look around her big sister to see what was going on.
“I see you’ve got a gun so can I come closer really slowly?”
“How many of you are there?” Malachi asked.
“Just little old me, you know. I don’t have anyone with me. I don’t pose a threat to you or your wife, or your daughter.”
Malachi wasn’t going to correct him.
“Come out with your hands in the air.” He couldn’t believe he was shouting the same thing a cop had once said to him.
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Sasha asked.
“It’s a better idea than bumping into this guy.”
The man slithered around the tree. He was partially naked and had a full-length beard that came down to his chest.
Malachi still held the gun even though the man was unarmed.
There seemed to be a craziness about him. “Tree Man comes in peace.”
“That’s your name?” Lucy asked. “Tree Man?”
“Kind of cool, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, totally cool.”
Sasha kept a hand on her sister, not allowing her to go forward to talk to him.
The man before them seemed a little unstable.
“What are you doing in the woods?”
“I’m surviving. You move through the woods, you got a better chance of surviving unless you get eaten by a bear or a wolf, or a coyote.” The man started to giggle. “Coyote.”
“I think we should leave,” Sasha murmured.
“Are you trying to find the special place?” Tree Man asked.
“Special place?”
“You know. The haven? The sanctuary. The place where all non-infected humans are going. There’s going to be a war, you know. Men fighting men. There’s even a price of death. A man fighting death. A zombie.” Tree Man put his hands out and stuck his tongue out.
“This guy is freaking me out,” Sasha said.
“A safe haven?” Malachi asked. “Are you serious?”
“It’s where I’ve been heading but I can’t make it north. I had to stop for camp. I got bit by a dog. Can you believe that? A stray fucking dog I was trying to feed and it bit me. Crazy fucker!”
Malachi knew crazy when he saw it, and this man was giving him all the signs, but at the same time… “If you come with us, you will take us to this safe haven?” he asked.
“You can’t be serious?” Sasha asked. “This man has axe murderer, serial killer written all over him.”
“Yes. I will help you. I know these forests like the back of my hand.” He held his hand up and frowned. “What’s back and what’s front?”
“He’s crazy,” Sasha said. “There is no safe haven.”
“But what if there is?”
“What if there’s not? You’re willing to risk all of our lives to follow this loon?”
“I have a cabin,” the man said. “It’s pretty cool. It has running water. Nothing to shave with though. I’ve got supplies. Lots and lots of supplies.”
“What can it hurt?” Malachi said.
“I don’t know.”
“Do you trust me?” he asked. “I’ve never done anything to hurt you and I’m not going to start now.”
Malachi was a good reader of men, and this man wasn’t a threat.
