Dead Country: Crossroads (Sequel)

Chapter 27: Rough Introduction

Trying not to make much noise as we approached was impossible. There were so many branches and twigs in the way that we snapped something with nearly every other step. Roots posed a tripping hazard as they intertwined with what seemed like every other tree.

A quiet entrance would have been ideal, but if the survivors were jumpy, or even trigger happy, it might have been for the best that we gave up our position. Before we even got halfway I noticed some people watching us. I ignored them as I glanced over my shoulder at Emma and held out my left hand. She grabbed it as if she knew what I was trying to portray to the strangers.

When we finally got to the clearing, we could see another house and a larger building. There were tents scattered throughout the area and even some sheds too that didn't seem like they belonged. Vehicles were all parked bumper to bumper on the perimeter of the clearing acting as a barrier, which I thought was quite smart.

I wasn't sure what was going to happen as some people noticed us and others ignored us. It was like they were used to seeing survivors showing up out of the blue.

Eventually an older gentleman with medium length salt and pepper hair walked toward us. Emma and I kept holding hands as I took notice of the man's black hiking style jacket. His beard was long, but not long enough to say he didn't trim it. As he stopped in front of us I looked into his dark brown eyes, hoping we hadn't walked into a bear's den after avoiding zombies and an ambush along the way.

He smiled and nodded at first, which made me curious.

"Welcome," he greeted, his voice not overly deep. "Glad you could make it."

I couldn't fathom why he was being so nice, so I decided to cut to the chase and see what happened.

"Are you the pilot?" I asked, hoping not to be rude before I took action.

"Of what?" With such a warm welcome, I wondered why he was playing stupid. The helicopter blades could be seen poking out from behind the large structure in the distance.

"The helicopter," I replied. "We followed it here." Bluffing a bit wasn't a bad thing since I could see the evidence quite clearly that we had indeed had a bit of luck on our side.

The man smiled as if caught in a lie. "Yes, yes I am."

Despite him confessing quite proudly, I let go of Emma's hand as I threw a fist directly into his left cheek. He stumbled and fell to the ground, holding his hand up as if to protect himself from another punch.

"I take it I deserved that," he concluded without debate.

"You sure did," I assured him. "I've been waiting to do that since last summer when you guided two hordes into the path of my house. You're lucky my dad and I were resourceful."

Some people from the camp stepped closer as if to come to the man's aid, but he waved them off.

"It's fine," he assured them with a wave of his hand. "I'm all right. Carry on."

They hesitated at first, but eventually left us alone. The man stood up and brushed himself off, then cupped his face as he moved his jaw.

"You pack quite the punch kid, your dad would be proud."

"Either that, or he'd be rolling in his grave."

I noticed the subtle movement in his eyebrows as if he had regretted his comment.

"He didn't make it?" The man asked.

Shaking my head I answered, "No." I looked down at the ground, my hand starting to throb from the punch.

"I'm sorry to hear that. My herding didn't contribute to his death did it?"

I shook my head again as I looked up and made eye contact with the man. "No, it didn't," I replied calmly. "If that were the case, you'd be dead right now."

He forced a knowing smile as her grimaced through the pain.

"Well, now that you got that out of your system, what brought you here?"

"Like I said before, we followed your helicopter." I crossed my arms as I started to relax.

Emma still stood just behind me to the left, choosing to remain silent for the time being.

"But what for? So that you could punch me and tell me your dad died? Clearly you came here for more than just that."

The man wasn't stupid. After punching him in the face and knocking him to the ground, I was surprised by how calm he was. It was like he cared more about us teaming up than getting even for me catching him off guard; even if I thought it was payback.

Knowing I would have to tell him sooner or later, I decided to confess. "This might seem like an odd request considering what I just did, but I came here for your help."

He chuckled as if he wasn't going to believe me. Grimacing as he grabbed his jaw, it looked like I had landed a good punch for the first time in my life.

"All right," he nodded in acceptance. "And what might you need help with?"

"Getting my mom back."

His smile faded as his eyebrows dropped. He looked down as if remembering when he lost his own mother and could relate to my request.

"How about I give you both the tour?" He offered. "After that we can eat and then have a proper conversation." Looking directly at me he added, "Just the two of us."