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"Yes, Mom," he joked as they left.
We followed them out onto the porch, and I watched them leave. When they reached the curve in the road, Matty turned back and waved one last time.
"He'll be fine, Honey Bee," Boone assured me.
"I know. I taught that boy everything he knows. That doesn't mean I can't worry about him," I said, leaning against him.
"What now, boss?" Caleb asked.
"Now, chores," I replied. "I want to check the fence. Make sure that the winter didn't cause any damage—it's time to turn the animals out for the day after milking. Collect eggs. All the things, boys, all the things." They groaned playfully but didn't hesitate to jump into the day's work. Even Gray hobbled after me, helping me with the animals while the others checked the fence line.
When we were done with chores, I spent the afternoon quizzing Gray on his medical knowledge while the guys inspected the house and the barn for any repairs that might need to be made. All in all, it was a wonderfully typical day that I had become accustomed to. Yeah, I think I'll keep them around.
Chapter nineteen
Scott
Iglancedovermyshoulder to ensure the herd was still following me. I had all winter to make my plans, and finally, the weather had warmed enough to start. This was the first step, and already, I had enjoyed myself far more than I thought I would. I had been patting myself on the back for months at my brilliance. Poisoning the camp stew had been an easy task. Leading them here had proved to be a little more complicated, and I lost a couple of them along the way, but the majority were still with me. As I neared the back of the property, I sped up to give myself enough time and distance to cut the fence wire. Zombie Eric growled at me just as I got the final wire cut, and I chuckled as I hurried out of range of his hands.
The zombie herd followed me through the fence. I silently made my way through the yard and then paused by the chicken coop briefly to make sure that they all made it through the fence. I was tempted to release the animals from the coop and barn to maximize the damage, but I stuck to my original plan. This step was all about causing confusion and fear. I wanted Bailey on edge. Once the final zombie passed through the fence successfully, I made my way over the gate, leaving my former campmates behind.
As much as I wanted to stick around to see how Bailey would handle them, I needed to put as much distance between myself and her house as possible. I wasn't ready to be discovered just yet. I returned to camp, covering my tracks and laying several false trails just in case someone decided to come after me. I entered my tent, feeling satisfied with the day's events.
"Well, sweetheart," I said, "I dropped your parents off with Bailey. With any luck, they'll—" I was cut off as a small zombie attacked me. I held her off long enough to plant my knife into her skull. I let the petite girl drop to the floor as my anger spiked. "Stupid fucking cunt!" She was alive and well when I left her bound in my tent. Looking around, I saw the corner of my table was bloody. The fucking bitch bashed her head against the table to kill herself.
I sighed with disappointment. She was showing so much potential as my new pet. I looked at her crumpled body as I unbuckled my belt. I may as well get one more turn with her before I get rid of the body.
Chapter twenty
Witchletoutalow, menacing growl that immediately got our attention as she lifted her head from Ethan's lap and looked around. She jumped off the couch, and her hair was standing on end as she stalked over to the window. Seconds later, a zombified hand hit the glass. Fuck! We all jumped into action, killing the lights and silently checking the ground-floor windows and doors to ensure everything was locked up tight. I hit the floodlights and ran upstairs, with the guys on my heels, to see how bad it was. I gasped as we peered out an upstairs window and saw the yard filled with zombies. There had to be close to thirty of them.
"How the fuck is this even possible?" Pike asked. "We checked the fence earlier, and it was fine."
"I don't know," I replied. I returned downstairs, grabbed my crossbow, and started loading up on knives. You could never have too many. Boone blocked my path as I took my first step toward the door.
"What are you doing?"
I looked at him in confusion. "Going to kill zombies."
"Not tonight, you aren't," he replied firmly as he lifted the crossbow off me and handed it to Caleb. "We can keep watch to ensure that they don't bust into the house or get to the animals, but going out there in the dark is asking for trouble." He flipped the floodlights off. "We will wait for daylight, and don't bother trying to argue with me, Honey Bee. If we have to tie you up, we will."
I rolled my eyes at his threat as I sighed and started unloading the knives onto the kitchen table. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. There were too many of them to go out there at night safely. We decided to take shifts keeping watch through the night and went to bed, but none of us could sleep. Not with the sounds of a zombie herd outside our walls. Once the sun started rising, we shuffled into the kitchen to make coffee. Lots of coffee.
"I'm coming with you," Gray announced while we were preparing to kill zombies.
"The hell you are," I replied. "You can barely hobble, and if you need to run, you won't be able to. I can't have you out there, or I won't be able to focus on anything but keeping you safe."
"She's right, bro," Pike said. "You know we want you out there with us, fighting the good fight, but you're still a liability."
"Fine," Gray grumbled. "When I get this fucking cast off, I'm going to make it my life's mission to eradicate all gophers from the face of the planet." I shared amused looks with the guys as I held in my laughter. Gray would not be amused. Once we were ready, he held Witch back as we silently left the house. There weren't any zombies on the porch, so we were able to make it into the yard without notice. That all changed once we were out in the open. Zombies were scattered around the yard, but you could almost see the wave of awareness spread through them as our presence was noticed. They all began to converge on us.
We tried to stick together as we put zombies down, keeping our backs to each other so that no one was caught off guard. I was shooting arrows as quickly as possible, and it was time to scramble right around the time I reached for an arrow and got nothing but air. We all moved in separate directions before we were overrun. I worried briefly about the others but quickly regained my focus as I found myself surrounded by three of the zombies. They were different than the zombies we usually came across these days, but I didn’t have time to analyze why as the closest one lunged for me.
I stabbed my knife into his head and used the body as a buffer with the second as I kicked the third back. I shoved the dead zombie back as I ripped the knife from his skull, knocking both down as I turned to deal with the other. Growling was the only warning I got as a fourth came out of nowhere and attacked. Before I could react, I heard the sound of a gun, and the zombie fell. After two more shots, the other zombies were down as well. I looked at the house to see Gray holding one of my sniper rifles in the window. We nod to each other as his focus moves to one of his brothers, and I turn to take down more zombies. He found a way to help, after all, and now I felt like I could focus better on keeping myself alive.
Once all the zombies are dead, I take stock of my men to ensure everyone is uninjured. Even though I was relieved that nobody got bitten, I didn't relax. Something was bugging me.
"Boone and I are going to check the fucking fence again," Pike announced.
