The Walking Dead: Blood

Chapter 21: Jolene

Chapter 21: Jolene

Danny and I walked through the woods slowly and quietly. Each of our shotguns was fully loaded with a couple extra rounds in our pockets. "See anything?" Danny asked me.

"Not yet." I said back to him.

"I know it's around here." Danny had his unsettling voice back in place. His eyes were squinted with anger so they were basically nothing. "It's gotta be close."

We walked a few more feet and I came across a can. I poked it with the barrel of my gun, then picked it up. It read, "Chicken Noodle Soup. Savelots Brand."

Danny and Andy had told me about these bandits. The majority of them used to work up at the grocery store called Savelots down the way. They apparently got mad when they were hungry.

We walked a bit further down the path until I saw the top of a red camping tent. "Here!" I whispered loudly to Danny.

He chuckled. "Oh sh**! You found it?" He looked at me with a malevolent expression.

We hid behind a large bush. I aimed my gun through the branches and looked through the scope. I couldn't see anything. Not any bandits anyway.

They had set up a few tables up and set lots of Savelots boxes on top of them. They were covered with a large tarp. I shook my head at Danny and we approached the camp.

We each found a tree and his behind it. We aimed our guns at the potential bandits that would be here. "Looks empty." I whispered to Danny.

Danny was the first one to walk into the open. He started walking toward the tent. "Watch my back, Lee. I'm checking out the tent."

We each pointed the barrels of our guns at the tent. Danny approached it as slowly as he could. The flap of the door was open a little. Danny took it in his hand and gave it a tug. There were a few sleeping bags inside, but no bandits. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Clear." Danny said. He looked a bit disappointed.

I lowered my gun. "This camp's too small. It can't be their main base." Danny told me.

"That's what I was thinking."

Danny turned towards the boxes. "Take a look around anyway. There's probably some sh** around here they stole from us."

I walked over to all the boxes covered by a tarp. They all had the words Savelots printed on them. There were a few cans sitting around. They were empty, but it looked as if someone had been eating out of them recently. A poked around a bit more and found a red gas can. I picked it up, but it's lightness told me it was nothing but fumes.

I reached into one of the boxes and rummaged through the empty cans. "What's in the boxes?" Danny asked.

"They're all from Savelots." I responded.

Danny put his hands at his sides and began talking in retrospect. The first few days, they told folks to gather to the Savelots by the interstate. Anything worth taking?"

"Not unless you like having a bunch of empty cans and boxes around."

"Heh." He chuckled. "I think I'll pass on that one."

I put the butt of my shotgun to the box and pushed it out of the way. I noticed what looked like an empty milk bottle. I pushed a few more boxes out of the way and found a box with the logo of the St. John Dairy on it. "Boxes from the dairy here!" I yelled to Danny.

Danny's eyes widened a small bit. "Probably the food we've been givin' 'em. F***ers crossed the line." I could see him clutching his gun a bit harder.