Jenni rubbed her nose and narrowed her eyes as a few shambling figures appeared in the far distance.
“Look at his leg,” Nerit said from nearby.
Jenni glanced over to see the older woman squatting down by one of the torn off limbs. The skin was shredded and muscle and tendons were ripped from the bone.
“Shattered,” Bill said after a moment.
“Human teeth couldn't do that,” Nerit agreed.
“What does that mean?” Felix's voice was tight with his fear.
“I'm thinking bullet,” Bill answered. “I think someone shot him in the leg. ”
“I betcha Shane did it,” Jenni offered, and watched as one of the far away shambling creatures tumbled to the ground. It struggled to get back up resulting in an almost comical series of pratfalls.
“Maybe,” was all Bill said. “We better go see if we can find Shane. ”
Nerit continued to stare at the shattered bone thoughtfully. She prodded the limb with the edge of her gun, then began to look around on the ground around her.
Bill called in to the fort for a vehicle to be brought around while Felix began yanking the bolts out of the zombie heads to be cleaned up and recycled for use later. Jenni kept her eyes on the figures in the distance.
“What's going on?” Katie's voice sounded worried.
“Heading out to see if we can find out what happened to Shane!”
Bill gave her a thumbs up.
Jenni could see the worry in Katie's expression and knew that her friend was probably feeling some sort of misplaced guilt. Jenni didn't mind Phillip being in pieces. She kind of wished Shane was out here, too. She returned her gaze to the figures wading through the shimmering heat. The one that had fallen was still not able to get back up on its feet. They were still some distance away. Jenni wasn't too worried.
Nerit continued to look around, shoving the decaying bodies out of her way, obviously intent on finding something. Bill pulled up on his belt again and stared down the road where the zombies were moving relentlessly toward them.
“Helluva day,” he said at last.
The school bus roared around the corner, Ed behind the wheel.
Felix said, “Thank God. ”
Jenni understood his relief far too well. She was keeping a cautious eye on the walking dead slowly approaching their position.
She liked them slow like this. It was easier to kill them and it was more like the old zombies movies. She hated it when they were fresh and fast.
She was the last one on the bus and gave Katie a little wave. The worry in Katie's expression was touching. It was a good feeling to know that people actually gave a damn about what happened to her.
“Another day. Another dollar,” Felix muttered as he slung his long body onto a seat.
“We don't get paid,” Jenni reminded him.
“Oh, yeah. This job sucks. ” Felix grinned, and winked.
Jenni winked back and grabbed hold of the bar over her head. Ed shifted gears and the mini-bus roared forward. She watched the approaching zombies with irritation. She didn't feel like dealing with them today. The dead would only complicate things as they tried to figure out what happened.
Nerit sat across from Jenni, her rifle on her knees. Her hand was gripping the back of Felix's seat as the mini-bus bounced down the road. She looked eerily calm, as usual. Jenni envied her.
“Nothing is ever simple,” Bill decided. He let out a weary sigh.
“Never is,” Felix agreed.
“We just do our best,” Nerit said. “Do our best and hope. ”