sleeping on it, Danny wouldn’t take a turn. He couldn’t.
Why do I always find myself in garages? he thought as he approached the tool bench beside the little living area. Even on the cruise ship, he was often in a makeshift garage that had been set up for the helicopters. Danny had wanted to be a helicopter pilot growing up and got to live his dream for only a short while. Thanks to a complete absence of fuel, their helicopter had eventually been stripped down for parts to be used elsewhere.
On the tool bench was spread a map of the area. The garage and its immediate surroundings were marked with a red circle, while larger blue, green, yellow, and purple squares jutted out around it like dandelion petals. Danny followed the coloured blocks to their outer edge, where he located the quadrant they had finished searching. Picking up the next coloured pen in the sequence—purple—he drew a box around the area. He then picked up green and placed a tiny dot on the painting supply store that was in the next search area. The grid around the garage had been paying out quite a number of supplies and they might return to it on their next hunt. Looking at the rest of the map, Danny scanned the areas where they had already been. Unfolding the map would reveal dozens of red circles in the middle of colourful squares that spiralled out from them. They liked to stagger their scavenge sites this far out, so that other humans couldn’t just follow the emptied places back to where they lived. Checking the map, Danny figured it would take at least two days but more likely three for them to get back home to the container yard.
“Map’s been updated,” he told the others as he walked over to help them move the supplies from the smaller carts to the larger ones. It didn’t take long before it was all ready to go, the shopping carts themselves strapped to the backs of the large carts while the flat bed trolley hung off the side of one. The next morning, the horses would be harnessed together to the carts and they could head out.
“I’m going to check on Shaidi,” Danny said as he headed outside. The others were settling around the living area, spreading out their sleeping mats once more.
Outside, the streets were quiet and dim. The sun had sunk below the horizon, but still threw rays of coloured light onto the few clouds drifting by overhead. Garbage clung to the curbs, but not much. The place was a ghost town. Small animals skittered about, often just out of sight. Insects droned as they always did, only they were more noticeable not having to compete with the sounds of traffic, TVs, and conversations. Danny knew it wasn’t safe to stand around on the street by himself for too long. Zombies and dangerous humans weren’t the only threat out there. A wild pack of dogs could easily be deadly, and they once spotted a pride of lions that must have escaped from a zoo and had managed to survive. There was no telling what other animals had escaped. Then there were the rats. Rats were carriers of the disease, and it made them extra aggressive, more prone to biting.
A deep hiss drained the blood from Danny’s face and drew his attention behind him. A block away, a long flat snout was making its way around a corner.
“Danny,” a voice whispered from above.
Danny looked up and spied Shaidi staring down at him with her cat-like eyes.
“The way up is over there,” she pointed toward the far side of the car dealership, thankfully away from the scaly beast that was lumbering into an intersection. It would spot Danny soon enough.
Dashing in the direction that Shaidi had indicated, Danny didn’t bother to look back. He knew well enough what was coming. Just around the corner was a ladder. The bottom had formerly had a cage locked over it, but the lock lay broken on the ground having met Shaidi’s bolt cutters. Scrambling up, Danny reached the roof in no time. He quickly made his way to Shaidi’s side and looked back down on the
Why do I always find myself in garages? he thought as he approached the tool bench beside the little living area. Even on the cruise ship, he was often in a makeshift garage that had been set up for the helicopters. Danny had wanted to be a helicopter pilot growing up and got to live his dream for only a short while. Thanks to a complete absence of fuel, their helicopter had eventually been stripped down for parts to be used elsewhere.
On the tool bench was spread a map of the area. The garage and its immediate surroundings were marked with a red circle, while larger blue, green, yellow, and purple squares jutted out around it like dandelion petals. Danny followed the coloured blocks to their outer edge, where he located the quadrant they had finished searching. Picking up the next coloured pen in the sequence—purple—he drew a box around the area. He then picked up green and placed a tiny dot on the painting supply store that was in the next search area. The grid around the garage had been paying out quite a number of supplies and they might return to it on their next hunt. Looking at the rest of the map, Danny scanned the areas where they had already been. Unfolding the map would reveal dozens of red circles in the middle of colourful squares that spiralled out from them. They liked to stagger their scavenge sites this far out, so that other humans couldn’t just follow the emptied places back to where they lived. Checking the map, Danny figured it would take at least two days but more likely three for them to get back home to the container yard.
“Map’s been updated,” he told the others as he walked over to help them move the supplies from the smaller carts to the larger ones. It didn’t take long before it was all ready to go, the shopping carts themselves strapped to the backs of the large carts while the flat bed trolley hung off the side of one. The next morning, the horses would be harnessed together to the carts and they could head out.
“I’m going to check on Shaidi,” Danny said as he headed outside. The others were settling around the living area, spreading out their sleeping mats once more.
Outside, the streets were quiet and dim. The sun had sunk below the horizon, but still threw rays of coloured light onto the few clouds drifting by overhead. Garbage clung to the curbs, but not much. The place was a ghost town. Small animals skittered about, often just out of sight. Insects droned as they always did, only they were more noticeable not having to compete with the sounds of traffic, TVs, and conversations. Danny knew it wasn’t safe to stand around on the street by himself for too long. Zombies and dangerous humans weren’t the only threat out there. A wild pack of dogs could easily be deadly, and they once spotted a pride of lions that must have escaped from a zoo and had managed to survive. There was no telling what other animals had escaped. Then there were the rats. Rats were carriers of the disease, and it made them extra aggressive, more prone to biting.
A deep hiss drained the blood from Danny’s face and drew his attention behind him. A block away, a long flat snout was making its way around a corner.
“Danny,” a voice whispered from above.
Danny looked up and spied Shaidi staring down at him with her cat-like eyes.
“The way up is over there,” she pointed toward the far side of the car dealership, thankfully away from the scaly beast that was lumbering into an intersection. It would spot Danny soon enough.
Dashing in the direction that Shaidi had indicated, Danny didn’t bother to look back. He knew well enough what was coming. Just around the corner was a ladder. The bottom had formerly had a cage locked over it, but the lock lay broken on the ground having met Shaidi’s bolt cutters. Scrambling up, Danny reached the roof in no time. He quickly made his way to Shaidi’s side and looked back down on the
Similar Books
