THEM (Season 1): Episode 1 by M.D. Massey Page B

wasn’t too much danger of running into the undead, except maybe in old abandoned buildings or deep in the woods. They tended to shy away from direct sunlight, but of all the occult species out there they were among the least averse to light. So, you still had to be careful traveling alone outside of a safe zone or settlement. I moved stealthily out from my position, staying low and within the tree line as I approached the area where I’d seen the movement.
    Soon I could hear it—the low moaning sound that indicated a group of zombies—and they were headed this way. Better to be still then retreat, since zombies had shitty eyesight but typically an uncanny sense of hearing. I hunkered down and watched as a group of nine and a few stragglers moved at speed across the road and into the woods in front of me, about twenty-five yards ahead. From the looks of it, they were hunting whatever I’d seen a few moments ago.
    Now this was a messed-up situation. For one, it was highly unusual to see a herd of zombies out hunting in the daylight. Chances were good whatever they were chasing had screwed up and spooked them in their den. Probably a loner out scavenging for food; pretty dumb way to survive, these days. Most canned goods had gone bad by now, so the only way to get past subsistence living was in the settlements inside the safe zones. Even I had to come in to barter and restock every now and again, and also just to speak to a living, breathing person. Isolation would make you dead or nuts eventually, and could be deadly as any undead creature. So whoever was about to get zombie humped was either dumb, crazy, or on the run.
    Once I was sure the last deadhead was past me, I began stalking the group from about thirty yards west of their movement, moving quietly to avoid garnering their attention. Zombies were slow and easy to avoid, but a group that large wouldn’t give up the chase easily, and they could run you down if you weren’t close to a safe house or settlement where you could seek shelter and safety. Besides that, getting injured was always another danger. People tended to panic when they were being hunted by the undead, and all it would take was a twisted ankle to make a person zombie food. No bueno.
    Within five minutes I could hear the group’s movement slow. I eased my pace and stalked closer to see what was up. Peeking through some dense brush, I could see an old trailer home in a clearing with all the undead milling around it. For a moment there was little indication of what had brought them here, but then I saw it: a bit of hunter’s camo poking up above the roofline. Someone was up on top of the mobile home, and they were obviously flattened out and praying that the deadheads would give up and move on. Fat chance. More likely, they’d find a way into the trailer and camp out till dark, making it impossible for whoever it was to escape.
    There’d been many a time when I’d run across folks in similar predicaments, and more often than not they were corpses by the time I’d found them. I had no idea who it was or what their disposition would be toward me, but it was an unspoken rule among the civilized living that you never left another human hanging out to dry. Of course, there weren’t that many civilized folk in the Outlands, so typically if you got into such a situation even if there were people around they’d wait for you to die and then raid your gear.
    Unfortunately for me, however, I had a conscience, so chances were fair to good that I was going to help this person, if it didn’t put me in any undue danger. Shit, who was I kidding? I was about to put my ass in a sling for this unfortunate asshole. They’d better be grateful about it, because I was already in a foul mood as it was.
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[6 ]

DEED
    I looked around to see if there was anything about the surrounding terrain or structures I could use in my favor. Truth be told, there wasn’t shit that I could use to my advantage. Of course, I