they have a staging area or a base off that way.”
"There's supposed to be a FEMA Camp down that way," I said. "I read about them before the zombies hit us. Some kind of detention center or something."
"They were building them before this happened?" asked Gunny, surprised.
"Yeah," I answered. "I've been hearing about them for years."
"Then I doubt that they were designed with our best interests in mind," said Gunny, frowning.
“Then I’m glad we’re going the other direction,” I said, matching the frown.
Picking up the binoculars again, I began scanning the shoreline for movement. I was hoping that the noise of the chopper hadn’t drawn any zombies into our area. Once I was satisfied that the area was still clear, I put them back in my pack and untied the mooring line. Gunny didn’t wait for an invitation and started paddling towards the shore. I joined him, as soon as I closed my pack.
Minutes later, we climbed out onto the rocks and pulled the raft ashore beneath the bridge. Odin hopped out of the raft and started sniffing around. His ears weren’t up and he didn’t seem bothered. When he stopped and started to relieve himself, I had to chuckle. The dog had his priorities in order. If there was anything dangerous nearby, he'd be acting much differently.
Once we secured the raft, I shrugged into my pack and hefted the weight of the gear. I snapped a d-ring through the handles of my duffle-bag of food and ammo and had Gunny secure it to one of the straps on my rucksack. It meant more weight on my legs, but it also kept my hands free to shoot. Besides, I was planning on commandeering the first vehicle that would start to get us to the Humvee.
Once Gunny was ready, I headed up the hill towards the road. The hill wasn’t steep but it was rocky, making the footing treacherous. Especially with nearly a hundred pounds of gear on my back. By the time we reached the highway, I was sweating profusely. Odin bounded up the hill like he was out for a morning walk, without a care in the world. I took that to be a good sign. If there had been zombies around, he would have smelled them.
Gunny came up onto the road next to me, looking as fresh as a daisy. He didn’t even look winded. Giving him a dirty look, I started looking around. I didn’t see any movement anywhere near us, but there weren’t any vehicles close by, either. The closest one was in the middle of the bridge. We’d passed it on the way in a few days ago.
I didn’t know if it would start or not, but I didn’t want to risk exposure on that bridge. There was no place to hide and no cover. The movement would be noticed, for sure. No, it was better to continue on down the road. We had passed lots of abandoned cars on the road. I was just hoping that at least one of them had gas in it and would start.
Instead of walking in the road, I moved off to the left and walked in the ditch. Gunny followed my lead and kept pace with me. Odin walked back and forth from the edge of the road to the tree line, following along with us. His nose was constantly working and he seemed to be alert and ready. At least, I hoped he was. He was our early warning system. Our lives could easily depend on his nose and ears.
We walked in silence for the better part of an hour. The sun was creeping higher in the sky and we hadn’t seen a single zombie. I was just starting to think we might make it after all, when Odin stopped in his tracks and the hair stood up on his back. He gave one short growl and went silent. Gunny and I froze in place and immediately crouched down.
Just ahead of us the road turned to the
"There's supposed to be a FEMA Camp down that way," I said. "I read about them before the zombies hit us. Some kind of detention center or something."
"They were building them before this happened?" asked Gunny, surprised.
"Yeah," I answered. "I've been hearing about them for years."
"Then I doubt that they were designed with our best interests in mind," said Gunny, frowning.
“Then I’m glad we’re going the other direction,” I said, matching the frown.
Picking up the binoculars again, I began scanning the shoreline for movement. I was hoping that the noise of the chopper hadn’t drawn any zombies into our area. Once I was satisfied that the area was still clear, I put them back in my pack and untied the mooring line. Gunny didn’t wait for an invitation and started paddling towards the shore. I joined him, as soon as I closed my pack.
Minutes later, we climbed out onto the rocks and pulled the raft ashore beneath the bridge. Odin hopped out of the raft and started sniffing around. His ears weren’t up and he didn’t seem bothered. When he stopped and started to relieve himself, I had to chuckle. The dog had his priorities in order. If there was anything dangerous nearby, he'd be acting much differently.
Once we secured the raft, I shrugged into my pack and hefted the weight of the gear. I snapped a d-ring through the handles of my duffle-bag of food and ammo and had Gunny secure it to one of the straps on my rucksack. It meant more weight on my legs, but it also kept my hands free to shoot. Besides, I was planning on commandeering the first vehicle that would start to get us to the Humvee.
Once Gunny was ready, I headed up the hill towards the road. The hill wasn’t steep but it was rocky, making the footing treacherous. Especially with nearly a hundred pounds of gear on my back. By the time we reached the highway, I was sweating profusely. Odin bounded up the hill like he was out for a morning walk, without a care in the world. I took that to be a good sign. If there had been zombies around, he would have smelled them.
Gunny came up onto the road next to me, looking as fresh as a daisy. He didn’t even look winded. Giving him a dirty look, I started looking around. I didn’t see any movement anywhere near us, but there weren’t any vehicles close by, either. The closest one was in the middle of the bridge. We’d passed it on the way in a few days ago.
I didn’t know if it would start or not, but I didn’t want to risk exposure on that bridge. There was no place to hide and no cover. The movement would be noticed, for sure. No, it was better to continue on down the road. We had passed lots of abandoned cars on the road. I was just hoping that at least one of them had gas in it and would start.
Instead of walking in the road, I moved off to the left and walked in the ditch. Gunny followed my lead and kept pace with me. Odin walked back and forth from the edge of the road to the tree line, following along with us. His nose was constantly working and he seemed to be alert and ready. At least, I hoped he was. He was our early warning system. Our lives could easily depend on his nose and ears.
We walked in silence for the better part of an hour. The sun was creeping higher in the sky and we hadn’t seen a single zombie. I was just starting to think we might make it after all, when Odin stopped in his tracks and the hair stood up on his back. He gave one short growl and went silent. Gunny and I froze in place and immediately crouched down.
Just ahead of us the road turned to the
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