Everyone was quiet as we gathered our things. We were all exhausted, filthy, and emotionally numb—none of which make the best of conversation starters. But I knew if I thought about the people I'd never see again, and the horrific way they'd died, I'd stop being able to function. And if that happened, we were all dead.
When we started toward the logging trail, I broke the silence. "I'm going to take point," I said. "I want Lilly and Les behind me, then Kieran and Mom, then Melanie, and Rob will bring up the rear."
"You know," Lilly said. "Any other day, and I might be tempted to make a smart-ass comment about the sexism of putting the women between the men."
I looked down at her and she gave me a tight smile. I knew she was only trying to lighten the mood a little, even though there was nothing that could make what happened any better, or what we were about to face any less dangerous. Still, I played along.
"I'll keep that in mind the next time we're kidnapped by a psycho and have to attempt a desperate escape," I said as I reached over and ruffled Les's hair. Lilly had cleaned some of the soot off his face, and now he was the only one of us that wasn't streaked with ash. I looked back at Rob. "Ready?"
He nodded.
"All right," I said. "Let's go. And remember—we follow the trail but stay as far from it as possible without losing sight of it."
Heads nodded in agreement. This wasn't going to be easy, but at least everyone was on the same page. Rob gestured with the weapon he'd made, indicating that we should move. As Melanie had pointed out, most of us were carrying sharpened sticks, but Rob had added fish-hooks to his. If they didn't bend, they'd tear through flesh, widening whatever wound he made. It was pretty ingenious, actually. I took a firm grip on my spear and stepped off the path and into the woods.
It was slow going, even for such a small group, because we had to choose each step carefully. A bit of noise was expected, especially considering we were Zombies and stealth wasn't exactly one of our strengths, but we tried to make as little as possible. Primarily because we didn't want to alert GW to our whereabouts, but also because if we were to have any chance of bringing down any wild game for food, we'd need to be quiet. I doubted it would happen, but there was always the off-chance we'd get something other than bad luck for a change.
More than once, I held up my hand, halting the progression while I strained my ears, trying to decide if the rustling and branch-breaking was us, an animal, or GW coming to kill us. At least I was thankful that the infection seemed to keep Les quiet. He wasn't normally a fussy kid, but anyone would be cranky after what we'd been through . . . not even counting the lack of food and sleep. Come on, I was cranky. The infection, however, had made him lethargic enough that he barely made a sound.
We walked all day until the sun began to go down. The woods quickly became dark and shadowed, making it harder and harder to see. So finally, we stopped and I gestured for everyone to come closer. We needed to make a decision.
"Do we move closer to the trail and hope the moon will be bright enough for us to keep going, or do we stop here and make camp?" I asked, looking around the circle.
"Let's stop," Kieran said. "After what happened . . ." He stared at the ground until he was able to continue. "We all need a good night's sleep. We'll make better time tomorrow if we're rested."
Nobody disagreed. "Okay, we'll huddle together to keep warm," I said. "We can't risk a fire." I hated the thought of Les and Lilly being cold, but if the choice was between cold and alive, or warm and dead, I'd take the first option. "We'll keep guard in shifts." I glanced at Lilly and she nodded. "Lilly and I will take first watch."
