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“Are any of us okay with what’s going on?”I asked as we changed direction.“How I feel or don’t feel doesn’t change what needs to be done.”
“Amen to that,” Cody said under his breath.
The four of us got into a Humvee and headed back out, returning to the same body pile as before.Roland checked the snow for any indication of how many of the greys we were possibly dealing with, but there were too many tracks to tell.In face, I couldn’t spot any single set of tracks leading away into the trees.
The thing that killed them had either flown or returned to the fence using the trampled path of the undead.But we hadn’t seen it last night, only heard it.
Staring at the bodies, I tried to wrap my head around this thing’s motives.The greys controlled the dogs.The dogs attacked us humans.We turned undead, and the greys killed us by ripping off our heads.
Why create something only to kill it?It didn’t make sense to me.Was it a hunting thing?Like a game farmer breeding program?
Pushing aside the thought that I might be future prey, I focused on what a hunter might do.While I wasn’t one, I’d dated a guy who had been.He’d talked about baiting and blinds and trails.Hunters followed game or lured them in while staying hidden, waiting for the perfect shot.
Was that what last night had been?His yell had drawn the undead from the fence.Had he been waiting in this tree line to pick them off?I frowned, remembering how they’d dealt with the undead at the tank.They hadn’t hidden then.They’d simply jumped into the fray, and heads had started flying.
I scanned down the line of trees, trying to make sense of the situation.Nothing was adding up for me.Where had the undead come from if they hadn’t been baited in?If they’d been from Enid, they would have attacked farther north.The piece of fence they’d attacked was on the southeast side of the base.
I looked south and saw railroad tracks and railcars.The undead could have come from there, possibly.
“We should check those,” I said with a nod.“Maybe the undead came from there.”
“Why do we care where they came from?”Cody asked.“They aren’t what we’re looking for.”
“When I lose something, I retrace my steps,” I said, gesturing at the trodden path leading from the trees to the fence.Then, I gave Roland a shrug.“Maybe I’m not the only one who likes backtracking.”
“Exactly what I was about to suggest,” Roland said with a nod.
We returned to the Humvee and followed the path back to the fence.From there, we could see the individual tracks leading to the rails boarding a stone quarry.
At the first set, we found another small pile of bodies between the cars, heads stacked on top.
“Good call, Andie.Looks like this is the right spot.”Roni clapped me on the shoulder as I cut the engine.
“You two stay with the Humvee,” Roland said.“We’ll work our way up the tracks.”
“All yours,” Roni said.
We got out with them and stood guard as they advanced down the line of railcars.They moved quietly and quickly, scanning above, below, and in between the metal cars.I thought of the undead we’d passed who’d hidden in the warehouse and wondered if some might be hiding in the cars.Or maybe a grey.
Roland and Cody seemed to have the same thought.When they reached one that wasn’t locked from the outside, they slid the door open.The low rumble of the rollers drifted our way.I scanned the other cars and the field around us.Nothing moved except for the four of us.
Yet, tension coiled inside of me.I told myself the greys hadn’t killed anyone the last time and that it wouldn’t make any sense to kill anyone now, but it didn’t help.What if some of them were in one of these cars?What if the pile of bodies was the bait to lure us in?Every question fed that ball of worry inside of me.
Cody and Roland’s forms slowly shrank with their distance.The grass blew in the cold breeze, and shadows cast by clouds danced over the patchy snow.
Growing up in California, I was used to noise and warmth.I missed both more than I would have ever thought possible.Especially sound.There were no birds chirping or dogs barking.No planes flying overhead and traffic whizzing by.In the absence, a person could hear the wind as it rushed past an ear and teased dormant vegetation.That was it.Silence reigned.
A soft thump nearby had me whirling toward the railcars.My gun was up before I even registered the long braids of black hair that framed a vaguely familiar face.
As he slowly straightened from a crouch, I recognized his impressive size.He was the one who’d told me they’d found the baby.The really big one with the penetrating gaze, who was, even now, watching me with the intensity of a predator.
I’d witnessed his impressive speed before and knew he could remove the gun from my hand before I could blink.Yet, he didn’t lunge at us or make any other sudden moves, for that matter.He seemed to be waiting for us to make the next move.
Taking a calculated risk, I quickly lowered my weapon.Was it my imagination, or had his lips moved just a little at the corners?
He inclined his head at me then glanced at Roni.She still had her weapon trained on him.
“Roni,” I said softly.“Ease up.”
