The Rot: Book 3

Chapter 16

The two individuals studied us for a few seconds. They were mumbling to one another. I couldn't tell what they said due to the gas masks they were wearing.

They were both wearing camouflage fatigues and plain, gray T-shirts. One was slightly taller than the other. Not wanting any wandering biters to pull us outside and tear us apart, Rue and I slowly walked toward them.

"Stay there!" The taller of the two barked.

I took it upon myself to try and break the tension, "Look, I was just trying to find my friend. That's why I was snooping around in your place."

"What?" The shorter of the two asked me.

"I'm just searching for my friend. I saw him in your basement."

"What are you going on about?"

"My friend Mick. He's in your basement."

"We don't have a damn basement. You nuts or something?" The taller one asked.

Before I could respond, Rube cut me off, "Uh, can we stop reaching for the sky here? If you're gonna rob and/or kill us, just get it over with."

"Yeah," I added. "Well, except for the whole, 'killing us' thing. That would suck."

The two men lowered their rifles. The taller one motioned for us to put our hands down. "Okay. You two are good."

"We won't be killing you or anything like that," the shorter one said. "You two better get away from that window, before the rotten ones see you standing there."

The taller of the two removed his gas mask and took a breath. He had a slim face, a full, dark-brown beard, and a head of thick, brunette hair. He noticed me looking at the hatchet holstered on his right hip. "Everything okay?" The man asked me. He had a deep, gravelly-sounding voice with a bit of a southern drawl.

"Yeah. Well, you two aren't serial killers or cannibals, are you?" I responded.

Rue slapped my shoulder. "Reid. Seriously?"

"You can never be sure. Especially in this day and age."

The two men started laughing. "No, we're not," The shorter one said. He had that southern twang to his voice also, but he was a little higher pitched. He had a rounder face covered in light brown stubble and a shaved head.

I introduced Rue and I, "I'm Reid, and this is my lifemate Ruby."

Ruby slapped my arm again. "I am not with him."

"Well, that's a shot to the ol' confidence. Thanks, Rue."

The two men chuckled. "I'm James. You can call me 'Jim' if you want, and that's my younger brother, Mark," The taller of the two said. "Where are you headed?"

"Actually, right down the road," I answered Jim.

"We were cut off by a group of stenches," Ruby added.

"That's a good name for them," Jim laughed.

"We didn't notice you two when we got here," Ruby told the brothers.

"We were resting in the back office here and heard you guys trying to open the door," Mark replied.

I looked into the office and saw their backpacks sitting on top of a desk. They were full to the brim, too.

"Where are you to going?" I inquired.

"Just passing through," Jim answered. "Trying to get back to our families."

"Yeah, we-" Mark tried to add before he stopped. A worried expression draped over his face.

"What's wrong?" James asked his brother.