Sanctuary Read online

  ​“And you all know the rest.” She said as she sipped at a warm cup of coffee.

  ​“Well, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. We haven’t had much trouble.” Bryce said.

  ​“Thank you.” She replied genuinely.

  ​“Dinner’s ready.” Byark called out in place of Lauren, as she preferred not to speak in front of anyone she didn’t know well.

  ​Lauren made a plate for Matt and Alejandro; as Matt was out front on watch and Alejandro was in Bryce’s room, keeping an eye on Eddie. She brought them their meals before returning and making a plate with everyone else. They had cleaned the living room table and thrown a clean bed sheet on it to serve as a table cloth, and a light-hearted comedy was playing on the living room television, an attempt to lighten the mood. Most of them would have normally disagreed with Tara watching the R rated film but given all that the girl had already seen and been through, they didn’t see the point. As the others began greedily stuffing down the fresh meat, Bryce noticed that Catori was just slowly picking away at the vegetables. “Is something wrong with your food?” Bryce asked.

  ​“No, not at all. It’s just… I’m a vegetarian.” Catori replied, embarrassed that she was turning down food from her hosts.

  ​“Well, that’s fucking dumb.” A drunken Randy blurted out, causing a look of distrust to spread across the woman’s face.

  ​Bryce reached over and grabbed her plate, sliding the fresh cooked fish and the few, small bites of squirrel onto his own. He then scraped all his vegetables onto her plate and handed it back to her. “Thank you.” She said with a surprised smile.

  ​Byark grabbed Bryce’s plate and scraped some of the meat off onto his own before scraping half of his vegetables onto Bryce’s plate as well. Bryce gave him a confused look as a huge grin spread across his face. “What? I like meat.” Byark said, causing Bryce and Catori to laugh before he quickly joined in as well.

  ​“Fucking idiots. You’ll never survive being a soft ass that doesn’t eat meat.” Randy said, picking up his plate and slapping Nathan on the shoulder. Randy moved to the couch and sat in front of the TV, his sidekick quickly following behind him.

  ​“Ignore them, we’re glad to have you here.” Bryce said. Catori looked up from her plate again to match his gaze, smiling with a hint of a blush.

  ​Byark slapped Bryce on the shoulder and smiled before returning to his meal.

  ***

  ​After everyone ate and cleaned up, most of the group retired for the evening, while a few others sat down to finish the movie. Bryce took the opportunity to talk to Alejandro and walked into the bedroom. The injured man was still unconscious, and Alejandro was sitting in a chair by the bed, sipping on a glass of tequila. “We should talk man.” Bryce said as he closed the door behind him.

  ​“About what?” Alejandro took another sip from the glass.

  ​“I’m just going to come out and say it, I know you’ve been seeing things that aren’t there.” Bryce said bluntly.

  ​“Don’t pretend you know anything about me.” Alejandro said, instantly getting defensive and hostile.

  ​“You’re right, I don’t really know you or what you’ve been through, but I know you’re going through some shit that you need to talk about man. The things you’ve seen before the outbreak and after are horrible, and PTSD is dangerous.” Bryce continued, not willing to just let the man’s dangerous actions go on.

  ​“Turn around and leave. Now.” Alejandro said, setting down his glass and standing up.

  ​“No. We’re friends but I can’t just sit back and let you endanger yourself or the others in this group.” Bryce said, firmly standing his ground.

  ​“So what? You want me to leave?” Alejandro stepped closer to the bigger man.

  ​“Not at all man, I just want to make sure you’re okay and that we don’t have to worry about you.” Bryce responded, not showing any sign of faltering.

  ​“So, what? You want to take my weapons then? Go ahead and fucking try.” Alejandro came face to face with Bryce.

  ​“No. I don’t want to fight you man, I’m just trying to help…” Bryce realized Alejandro’s hand was hovering over the 9mm strapped to his waist.

  ​“How are you going to do that buddy?” Alejandro unstrapped the holster.

  ​“Are you going to shoot an unarmed man?” Bryce raised his hands to show that he wasn’t a threat. “A friend? Is that who you are? Look at yourself man, look at what you’re doing.”

  ​Alejandro took a few steps back, looking as though he had just been punched in the gut. He turned toward the small mirror on the cabin wall to see his own feral and deranged expression in shock. “You’re right. I don’t even know what’s real anymore… I can’t trust myself and neither can you…” He detached the holstered gun from his waist and handed it to Bryce before storming out of the room.

  CHAPTER 12

  ​The next morning, Bryce and Byark dug a grave for the dead man from Catori’s group. Afterwards, everyone from their small and growing community, except for Randy, Nathan, Alejandro, and an injured Eddie, came to the gravesite to pay their respects as Catori shared what she knew of the man and said her goodbyes.

  ​After the small funeral, Bryce approached Catori and asked if they could talk privately. “Look, I know you’ve been through a lot and this is probably the last thing you want to do right now, but I want you to take me to the ranch…” He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

  ​She looked taken aback for a few seconds, seeming to carefully think over his request. “Why do you want to go there?”

  ​“You said that you guys had a lot of supplies and that you weren’t able to take them when you left, we need those supplies.” Bryce said. “Besides, if there’s that many infected grouped up and attacking people, their next stop might be this place. I believe we should deal with that problem head on, before they’re at our doorstep.”

  ​Catori looked lost in a distant thought for a few seconds. “Makes sense, let’s get it done.” She said with a confident smile, and Bryce was happy to see that she was already making a valuable addition to their group.

  ​“That’s what I like to hear, I’m going to get the team together. Pack up your stuff and meet us at the vehicles in thirty. Do you need a gun?” Bryce said with a nervous excitement running through him.

  ​“I’m not really much of a marksman, but I’ll grab Eddie’s revolver just in case.” She replied honestly.

  ​Bryce nodded and walked off to pack up his gear, gathering the members of the group that he wanted to come with him after he was finished. Bryce gave Byark, Sarah, and Matt the rundown of what they were doing and told them to get ready. He then called Grunt to his side and made a quick stop to find Lauren. “Most of us are going to the ranch Catori and Eddie worked at to stock up on supplies and clear out the infected. I need you to keep an eye on things. I know Nathan’s on watch, but I don’t trust him or Randy for a second and Alejandro is… not well. I need you to handle things here.” He said as she made eye contact with him.

  ​“Who?” she responded nervously, and Bryce quickly realized she was asking who was going with him to the ranch.

  ​“Byark, Catori, Matt, Sarah, and of course Grunt.” Grunt looked up at him with his head tilted to the side and his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. A look of worry spread across Lauren’s face as she looked down at the grass below her feet. “Thank you.” Bryce said, lightly touching her shoulder before turning to walk away.

  ​He only got a few feet away from her before she called out after him. “Be careful and keep them safe, it’s on you. I’ll take care of things here, but you bring them back. All of them.” Bryce turned back to face her, letting a slight smile cross his face. He nodded confidently to let her know that he would do as she had asked.

  ​He met the others at the GMC and Navigator, deciding they should go over the plan. “I’ll drive the truck and Byark will drive the Navigator. Those th
ings are probably still feeding on the livestock, so I don’t want to get too close. We’ll sneak onto the property and get a good view before we start taking them out from a far. I know some of you are pretty badass in an up-close fight, but I don’t want to take any chances. Only engage in close combat if you have too. After the fighting’s done, we’ll pull up the vehicles and start loading up anything we can. I want to get out of there as quick as possible. Does anyone have anything to add or any questions?” He paused for a few moments and the group looked around at each other, each of them starting to shake their heads. “Good, let’s get this shit done.”

  ​The group piled into their respective vehicles and Bryce drove up to the gate where Lauren waited for them. As they pulled off the property, Bryce noticed Tara rubbing their new horse’s nose with a huge smile on her face, and he could make out the expression of an excited giggle. Things are really coming together. We can do this, we can survive together. An overwhelming sense of accomplishment flooded through him.

  ***

  ​After a short drive they reached the small road that led from the main highway to the ranch. They pulled off the blacktop and easily hid the vehicles in a small outlet next to a hillside mountain path to avoid any unwanted attention. They all piled out of their vehicles and started making their way down the road, sticking to the tree line to help hide their tracks and presence. Bryce took up the front with Grunt walking at full attention by his side and Byark watched the group’s rear as they moved.

  ​They heard rustling in the wilderness debris a few yards away from them and they all raised their weapons, slowing to a crawling pace as they scanned through the forest for the source of the noise. Bryce spotted the culprit before anyone else and noticed a young buck peeking through the tree line at him. If the others were able to see his face, they would have probably been able to make out the obvious look of surprised recognition that swept across it. The young buck must have recognized him too as it slowly walked closer to him, letting some of its body show through the thick trees. Bryce could see a large wound on its shoulder that seemed to still be healing, given the large scab and slight pink scar tissue surrounding the wound. Maybe I saw him in the woods after all. Bryce inspected the animal closely, seeing that not only was the wound healing up nicely, but that the animal also showed no signs of being infected by the sickness that was plaguing the human race.

  ​Catori moved closer to Bryce so that she could see what was drawing his gaze so intently. She cracked a small twig under her foot, causing the deer to jump from the sudden noise and movement. The buck ran off in the opposite direction of them. Bryce turned back towards the group to see a look of confusion on their faces, with the exception of Byark who just looked curious. “I saved that buck from an infected that was biting it a few weeks ago. That was the first time I saw an infected person and the first time that I killed one. How is it still alive and normal if it was bitten?” Bryce said, more thinking out loud than anything else. The others seemed to not get the point he was making and continued to look confused, except for Byark of course who rubbed his beard in silence, already knowing the point Bryce was trying to make given their previous conversation while under the influence of mushrooms. “Have any of you ever seen an infected animal?” Bryce asked the group.

  ​“I haven’t.” Sarah spoke up.

  ​“Me either.” Matt added.

  ​“Animals can’t get infected.” Catori stated when she finally caught on.

  ​“No, I don’t believe they can. For as much as this sickness has seemed to change human beings, it seems that it must not cross species.” Byark chimed in.

  ​“I hope that’s the case.” Bryce said as he looked down at Grunt’s face, feeling as though the dog would assuredly be bitten by one of the feral mutants at some point in the future. “Let’s keep moving.” Bryce waved the others on and they continued to trek forward.

  ​After continuing down the dirt road for another half mile, the group came upon a wooden gate with a carved board in place above it that read, Jameson Family Ranch. They slowly and stealthily passed through the open gate and continued down the path for a few moments, quickly stumbling upon the carnage covering the area. Bryce could make out stalls and pens that were riddled with the corpses of pigs, sheep, and goats that were still being feasted on by infected and swarming flies alike. There was a fenced off pasture with dozens of dead and mutilated cows that were also victim to the demented and mutated creatures, the poor animals having been slaughtered while they sat helpless. He could see a few human figures littering the property as well, and from the distance they were at, it was hard to tell if the corpses were infected that had been felled or the humans that had tried desperately to defend the ranch. He assumed there was a diverse mix of both. After taking a few moments to take in the scene and to fully realize just how many infected were still littering the property, Bryce hesitantly voiced his concerns to the group. “There are more of them than I imagined. This may not be worth the risk…”

  ​“Even if none of us get hurt, we’ll be using up a lot of ammo.” Sarah said.

  ​“Well, there’s a lot of ammo inside the main house and at least a few guns.” Catori informed the others.

  ​“What kind of guns?” Bryce asked, not having realized before that they could acquire more weapons and ammo.

  ​“Like I said before, I’m not much of a gun person. Shotguns and rifles I think… maybe some revolvers, typical country boy ones.” Catori said.

  ​Bryce took a moment to weigh their options, knowing they needed the supplies but also knowing they were taking an immense risk and that he was responsible for the small group’s safety. Byark spoke out before he finished mulling over their situation. “We have to do this; these things will be heading straight for us once they’re done here. If we’re all cramped inside the fence, we might not be able to hold them off.”

  ​“You’re right.” Bryce said, looking out at the dozens of infected before them and considering their plan of attack. “Unfortunately, your bow is our only long range, silent weapon at the moment. Let’s get a little bit closer and find something to put our backs against so nothing can sneak up on us. That way we can spread out just enough to not be in each other’s way. Once we’re in position, take out as many as you can with your bow before you run out of arrows or they catch onto our presence. After that, we’ll use the guns to clear out the rest.”

  ​The group quietly snuck around the edge of the property and made their way to the side of the cow pasture. They then climbed through the wooden fence and spread out with their backs to a large row of hay bales that ran down the fence line for a dozen or so yards. Once everyone seemed ready for the coming fight, even though they were all nervous as hell, Bryce gave Byark the thumbs up and watched intently as the other man drew back an arrow.

  ​Byark sent arrow after arrow arching over the pasture into the bodies of the infected, purposely spreading out his targets to thin and spread out the creature’s numbers. Many of the beasts went down in single shots, while others would cry out in pain and look around them frantically for the cause of their injury, another arrow swiftly ending their suffering. The surrounding infected started noticing the deaths of the others as they heard their cries and saw their bodies fall limply to the ground.

  ​One of Byark’s arrows missed a deformed creature’s head, it’s intended target, and bloodily pierced through its collar bone. Byark sent one of the last few arrows in his quiver at the creature, but either from sheer luck or exceptional instincts, it spotted him and began sprinting in his direction. The infected creature let out a horrible wail of agony and aggression as it rushed towards them, the arrow intended for the creature plunging limply into the grassy soil where it once stood. One by one the other infected across the ranch turned their attention towards their wailing compatriot, leaving their meals behind as they started towards the group as well. “Light ‘em up!” Bryce yelled to the others as he raised his rifle and started picking away at the
approaching creatures, purposely aiming for the ones that weren’t nearest to them to avoid multiple people aiming for the same targets.

  ​Byark used the rest of his arrows before switching to his axe and shield, waiting patiently for the infected masses to reach them. Catori sent round after round at the infected, missing most of her shots with the unfamiliar revolver. Giving up on the weapon, she pulled out her makeshift spear just in time to impale the head of an infected man that was running around the hay bales behind them. Matt and Sarah were surprisingly accurate, landing almost all their shots, most of which turned out to be fatal.

  ​Bryce scanned the gruesome battlefield to see that they were clearing out the infected nicely, but that too many of them were closing in on their position. Byark and Catori expertly slaughtered the incoming infected that were too close for the others to shoot without risking more of their numbers advancing on them from the gap in fire.

  ​Just as the infected numbers seemed to be thinning to a very small and manageable remainder, two of the creatures closed in on Byark while he was cleaving the face off another infected, managing to rush him while he was distracted. He managed to turn and slash out with his axe just in time to cleave deeply into the infected woman’s neck, causing her head to flop back as only a partially severed spinal cord and bits of flesh held her head from being decapitated from her body. The corpse of the infected woman smacked into the grassy pasture just as the other creature slammed into Byark with its weight and momentum, sending him painfully sprawling to the ground. The axe flew from Byark’s hand and just before he could bring up his shield to defend himself, the creature bit down hard on his dominant arm and started thrashing its head back and forth. Byark cried out in pain and upon seeing this, Grunt rushed to his aide and bit into the creature’s shoulder, thrashing as well as he used his four legs to back away and drag the infected man off his friend. The creature opened its mouth and released Byark’s arm, violently snapping back and sinking its teeth into Grunt’s left ear. The dog and the creature whipped around frantically on the ground as neither would release their painful grip of the other. Bryce immediately raised his rifle to shoot the infected man and free his canine companion, but the pair moved so quickly and sporadically that he couldn’t risk a shot without possibly hitting Grunt. Matt closed the distance between the wrestling pair and swung his aluminum bat with great force at the side of the infected man’s head, connecting with a loud crack and causing the bat to reverberate so hard that he nearly dropped the vibrating weapon. The creature launched back into the grass, horribly ripping most of Grunt’s left ear off with it as it did so. Grunt let out a saddening cry of pain that instantly made Bryce’s heart sink in a way that only an innocent animal’s cry of pain could.