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“Nope.” Rick smiled at her. “But it’s the best we’ve got. And, I have to say, we’ve gotten pretty good at winging it so far, so I think we can do it here, too. Now come on, let’s not make them suspicious by taking too long up here.”
Jane nodded, took a deep breath and followed Rick out and down the hall to the stairs, trying to put on a brave face in spite of the pit of nauseating fear that was roiling in her gut.
Chapter 11
The Waters’ Homestead
Outside Ellisville, VA
A series of cloudy, overcast mornings finally gave way to one that was both clear and frigid. The lake shimmered as the bright morning sun, unhindered by even the hint of a cloud, rose swiftly in the sky. A light breeze sent a shiver through the trees, disrupting the hint of warmth offered by the sunlight and reminding everyone that even with the occasional warm day, it was still autumn.
Frost crunched lightly underfoot as three figures slowly made their way through the yard outside the Waters’ home. Dressed in thick coats, long pants, boots, hats and thin gloves, they each carried a rifle at the ready. They swept their weapons from side to side in slow, lazy arcs as they scanned the trees and buildings, searching for any signs of life or movement. They didn’t speak as they went along, relying upon mouthed instructions and hand signals to guide their steps. The silent search and patrol around the perimeter of the house, outbuildings and edge of the forest surrounding the property took about twenty minutes, and while tensions were high when it started, there was a relaxed atmosphere by the end.
“Looks clear.”
“Yep. No sign of anyone.”
“Anyone alive, you mean.”
Dianne shivered slightly, though not because of the cold. Tina’s morbid assessment reminded her that, while the property looked to be clear of any intruders, there were still multiple corpses lying between the trees and across the gravel driveway.
“Yeah, thanks for that reminder.” Dianne glanced over at Mark as she replied to Tina, watching as he took a few steps toward one of the bodies. “Mark, don’t get too close, okay?”
Mark didn’t turn, either ignoring her or too wrapped up in what he was seeing to have heard her.
“Mark!” She shouted at him and he jumped, whirled around and took several quick breaths.
“What, mom?!”
“Don’t get too close, okay? We need to do one more sweep before we figure out what to do with them.”
“There’s seven of them,” Mark replied as he stepped back from the corpse and walked back over to Dianne and Tina.
“You been keeping count, eh?” Tina looked at him with a sharp eye.
He nodded. “Yeah… three on the driveway and four more in the woods. They’re kind of spread out in the woods, though.”
Dianne sighed and looked at Tina. “How about you two go get some shovels from the barn and check on the animals? I’ll start checking the bodies for anything we could use and get them rounded up so we can get them under the ground.”
Tina nodded and pulled on Mark’s sleeve, guiding him away from the bodies in the driveway that he was staring at. Once they were a fair distance away, Dianne sighed and slowly walked over to the three bodies lying in the gravel. She used the tip of her rifle barrel to prod at the body, testing its stiffness both to verify that the man was deceased and to see how hard it was going to be to get him under the ground.
Both his clothing and body were stiff, and his flesh was nearly frozen solid from the frigid overnight temperatures. The gravel around his chest and head was stained red for a couple of feet in every direction, and Dianne realized that he must have bled out on the gravel while his friends ran for their lives. As she looked closer, she saw that there were spatters of blood all across the driveway leading out to the gate, and based on their position most of them couldn’t have been made by any of the three who were dead.
Dianne walked slowly across the drive, her eyes darting between scanning the trees for any signs of threats and following the trail of blood. One of the nail boards was askew and several of the nails near one end were slightly bent and there were small patches of black rubber and red stains on them, indicating that someone had put his full weight on the nails during his escape.
“Ouch. That had to smart.” Dianne whirled at the voice only to breathe a sigh of relief and chastise the one who had spoken.
“Jason! What are you doing out here? You scared the piss out of me!”
Jason moved slowly, still feeling the effects from his injury and near-death infection, but while his body was lethargic his eyes were bright and quick. “Figured you could use some backup out here.” He hesitated, turning back toward the house for a moment. “Plus… there’s only so much oatmeal a man can eat before he has to escape.”
In spite of their morbid surroundings, Dianne couldn’t help but chuckle. “I think Sarah’s plan to cure you by force-feeding you her version of it is working.”
Jason smiled and laughed, then glanced down at the bodies. He prodded one of them with his rifle just as Dianne had done. “How many’ve we got to bury?”
“Seven, according to Mark.”
Jason watched Dianne intently as she looked down at the barns, thinking about her eldest son. “He’ll be okay, Dianne. He’s o
