A Girl a Dog and Zombies on the Munch by David Robbins

Author:David Robbins [Robbins, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781950096138
Publisher: Mad Hornet Publications
Published: 2020-03-22T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

It wasn’t smart to try and take the shotgun and the rifle, both. It would be awkward. Neither had a sling. Lugging them would tire Courtney more readily and she needed her strength for the miles of hiking ahead.

Courtney chose the shotgun. At close range it was a cannon. Besides, she wasn’t a marksman. Or markswoman.

Sansa offered to bring the rifle but Courtney told her to leave it.

“I really want to,” Sansa insisted.

“It would slow you down,” Courtney said, giving Gaga an affectionate pat.

“You have a gun. I want one,” Sansa wouldn’t let it drop.

“It weighs more than you think,” Courtney tried again.

“Let me try,” Sansa said. “I want to be able to protect myself.”

“Fine. But when you can’t carry it anymore, just set it down. We’ll find something easier for you.”

The rifle was as long as Sansa was tall. She looked comical holding it but Courtney didn’t say anything.

Spike’s bike was gone. Nor was there any sign of Gramps or Rufus

“Where you think they got to?” Sansa asked.

“No telling,” Courtney said. But she would bet they had headed north to the compound, which meant there was a good chance she would run into them again.

An eerie stillness prevailed. The only sounds were the slap of their shoes on the asphalt.

No zombies appeared.

No mutates, either.

Courtney constantly scoured the horizon for signs of a green cloud. They were spared that horror, too.

“It’s a nice day, don’t you think?” Sansa remarked at one point.

“Sure,” Courtney said. “Nice.”

She was a lousy judge of distance but by her reckoning they had gone a couple of miles when the forest gave way to a stretch of farm country.

“I’m hungry,” Sansa said.

“Makes two of us.” Courtney noted. Her stomach had been growling for a good while.

Sansa pointed at a farmhouse off to the east. A dirt track wound across fields toward it. “I bet they have food.”

“If anyone is home,” Courtney said.

“Can we go? Please?”

“I’d rather stick to the road.”

“Okay.” Sansa didn’t hide her disappointment.

They hiked on.

The talk of food made Courtney hungrier. She was imagining a plate heaped with eggs and home fries when Sansa let out a squeal of delight.

“Look!”

A junction appeared ahead. So did a building. A sign proclaimed it was Abernathy’s Market.

Courtney stopped.

“What’s an...,” Sansa said, and pronounced the rest with uncertainty, ...”Abernathy?”

“A person’s name.”

“Never heard it before.” Sansa grinned. “But there just has to be food at a market, right?”

“Maybe more than food.”

“You mean trouble?”

Courtney nodded.

“I don’t see anyone.”

“Me either,” Courtney said, Which meant nothing.

Thanks to the oppressive overcast and tinted windows, the interior was cast in dark shadow. No lights were on. An older pickup occupied a lone space in the parking lot.

Hefting the rifle, Sansa started forward.

“Wait,” Courtney said.

“But I’m so hungry!”

“Me first. You follow but stay back, just in case."

“I bet there’s candy,” Sansa said dreamily. “I love candy.”

Courtney went slowly, the shotgun level at her waist. In a field adjacent to the lot lay a body, the flesh mostly gone, the bones gleaming white. The owner? she wondered.

Half a dozen crows were perched on the roof, silent sentinels watching their approach.

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