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That way we wouldn’t have to move her far.”
    “I think one of you two needs to explain what the fuck you meant about that blob fucker targeting Gus,” said Boggs. He wasn’t trying to hide the anger in his voice and he was clearly speaking to me and Gus.
    I looked at Gus and focused on sending him a message. We need to tell them .
    I’ll do it , he echoed my thought.
    “Last night we discovered my heart’s not beating.”
    “What the fuck?” said Nate, who was perched beside Susan. “And you’re still walking and talking?”
    “Ayup. I feel fine, in fact.”
    “The creature out there. It was some sort of hunter. It went after the dead. When it saw Gus, well, it thought he was one of them.”
    “Fucked up,” said Boggs. “Gus? Do you feel like you’re a danger to us?”
    Gus sighed heavily. “No. But, if it comes to that, I’ll speak up.”
    “Fair enough,” said Nathan.
    “And what was up with the dead kids?” asked Bobby.
    “I’m not sure. Till now it’s just been the Runners and Roamers. They were…something else.” I wasn’t sure how else to explain them. “They were smart, and you heard them. They could speak.”
    “I want to leave here,” said Abbey. She suddenly sounded younger than her years. I looked over at her and she looked so scared. “I wanna go somewhere safe.”
    I had no answers for her.
    Gus walked to Susan. “How’s she looking?” he addressed Nathan.
    “Not good. She’s pale. At least she’s sleeping.”
    “Boggs? How are you feeling, brother?”
    “Better.” He held his shirt up so that we could see his already healing wound. “Just a little weak.”
    “Good. I want to head into town; find a new rig. I don’t want to leave Susan or Abbey alone, though. Think you’re up to staying here with them?”
    “I don’t like it; splitting up again.” Boggs paused to think. “But I think it’s our only option.”
    “Nate? Do you want to come with or stay here with Susan and Abs?”
    “I need to stay here, man. I can’t leave Susan like this.”
    Gus put his hands on his hips and looked at the floor. “As much as I’d like to have you covering my back, I admit I’ll feel better if you’re here to tend to her. Zoe, I’ll need you with me.”
    “Of course.”
    “I can come too,” offered Bobby. “I’m not the best shot in the world, but it makes sense to have at least three of us.”
    “Thanks, Bobby,” I said. “We should get going.”
    “But how will you get there?” asked Abbey.
    “We’ll be walking a bit, Abs. Hopefully we’ll be back within a day or two. You all have enough supplies down here to last a couple weeks. Nate, Boggs, if we’re not back within four days I think you should risk leaving. Even if it’s just to another building nearby.”
    “Bobby, come help me pack the backpacks?” I suggested.
    “Ya, sure.”
    We walked to the supply shelf and retrieved three backpacks. They were already full of emergency supplies, but we emptied them and sorted what was inside. We wanted to travel light, so focused on ammo, water, and dried fruit and nuts. We also added some emergency thermal blankets; the thin metallic kind. I added a hatchet to each pack as well.
    “We’re ready, Gus,” I mumbled while loading my pistol.
    “You girls still have room in your packs?” he asked.
    “Ya.”
    “Do me a favor and empty mine out; split it between your two packs. I want to fill mine up with tools for salvaging a car.”
    “Sure. No prob.”
    Bobby and I set to work while Gus sorted through a small tool box. It took all of five minutes for him to prepare. He rolled the metal tools in between strips of towels to keep them quiet on the journey. We made our good-byes brief since evening would soon be upon us.
    ***
    We headed north-east at a brisk pace. We did our best to keep quiet, not speaking unless it became necessary. I kept my mind focused, which wasn’t easy after the morning’s events. Seeing my baby in her state of decay was beyond