Walking Amongst Them (Among Us, Book 2)

Calling Shots

We were up before dawn. Adam and Ben, who'd taken watch last night, were trying to nap a little bit with Abby who we left asleep. We needed to pack up the van the best we could while still leaving room for everyone to sit.

Last night we'd spent a while going through the grab bags and repacking them. Our weapons supply was running low. With my bow gone, and the only guns on hand being the ones we'd grabbed in the heat of the moment, we weren't very well stocked.

Sam suggested we check around the town to look for any weapons, but Beck had pointed out it was a sleepy small town. We wouldn't be finding any gun stores here, and to search through all of the homes in hopes that someone had left something useful laying around would have been a waste of time.

I finished stacking the last of the canned goods in the back of the van and shut the door with a loud thud. Trish was helping Beck strap things to the top of the roof, while Sam and Michael stood by the engine with Clarke, checking all of the belts and liquid levels. She was telling them what to look for and explaining herself every step of the way.

"We're going to need to stop somewhere sometime soon for some oil. We're low and it wouldn't be a bad thing to have some of it on hand," she was saying as I neared.

Sam looked up at me as I approached and smiled warmly, "Good morning Sunshine. Did you get the cans and stuff in or did you need a hand?"

I shook my head, "No it's all loaded. I think we just need to load up a few blankets and then we're good to go. Did we want to have breakfast here?"

"Whatever you think is best."

I pursed my lips, "We should probably eat before we go. There's no telling when we'll be able to eat again."

Sam's smile grew bigger, and it seemed like he was almost proud of my answer, "You heard the boss, Michael. Go make food. Make Becky help you, he's been seeming a little more grumpy than usual."

Michael rolled his eyes, and from the other side of the van we heard Beck grumbling, "I heard that, Samantha."

Sam looked to me again, a full on grin this time, "I'll help with the blankets."

"What should I do?" Trish's voice floated to us, before she appeared, hands on her hips as her short hair fell into her eyes.

Sam and I looked at each other and shrugged, "You could help with food if you wanted," Sam said slowly.

She made a face, "There's so many of us. I mean, there were more of us at the compound but there's," she ticked off her fingers really quickly, "nine of us. Plus the dog."

"Wolf," Sam corrected.

"So?" I asked.

She sighed, giving me a look that reminded me of the first time I'd met her. "So," she said, ignoring Sam and gesturing with her hands, "something's bound to happen. There's too many people."

"Too many people?"

"You don't get it, Kodi. Why do you think there was only so many people allowed out at a time? Because the bigger the group is, the bigger a target they are, the harder it is to keep everyone fed, and the more chances there are that someone could get hurt. This is a big group. Too big."

"Well what do you suggest, Trish? We tell some people to get lost?" Sam asked, all humor gone from his eyes as he leveled his gaze with hers.

She sniffed and raised her chin, "All I'm saying is something bad is going to happen. I can feel it."

Trish didn't wait for us to respond to her before she turned and walked away, in the direction of the church. I looked to Sam and he shrugged.

"We have a large group, but it's nothing we can really do anything about it. The way I see it now, is we're family. And family sticks together."

"Do you think Cody will ever find us?" I surprised myself by asking.

Sam tilted his head, watching me carefully, "I think he'd do anything to find his way back to us."

We walked together back to the church, and found that the rest of our group were up and walking around. Adam helped us walk the blankets to the van, and after the back row was all but filled, we called it quits and joined everyone for breakfast.

"So I was thinking, and I already ran it by Beck and Michael," Adam started when everyone had their food and was sitting, "but I think we should bunk in this church for a few days. It'll give us an opportunity to scavenge for some stuff, and I just think it's the right move . . ."

His words made sense. If we left now, our goal was to find another town and look for things there. But we already had a place to stay and it was easy to protect. We hadn't seen any zombie life so far, and the sleepy town did have a lot of homes to look through. Even if we weren't looking for weapons, we still might find some useful things.

Like maybe a change of clothes, or an actual bed.

Trish crossed her arms, done with her food and leaning against a wall.

"I think that would be fine. I'm down. We could also send out a scouting team to find the next town too," she suggested, "we don't have to make a rush of things. It's not like we're on a time frame."

Beck looked over to me, "what do you think, Kodi?"

I shook my head, "Whatever's best for the team," I said, "and it sounds like that might be staying for a while."

Clarke shifted her weight to her other leg and cleared her throat, "I think it's a good choice too. It would give me time to check out both of the vans for problems and choose the one that's better. Plus if there's anything that needs fixed, I have a parts van right here."

Sam clapped his hands, "I think it's settled then, and I'm glad you suggested it, Adam. We'll stay for as long as we need to get everything in order. There's no need to rush, so we won't."

Abby raised her hand and Sam nodded, pointing to her. "Yes, Abby."

She took a deep breath and then said, "I have to go potty."

Ben laughed, "Another thing I should bring up, is I found the generator, and it looks like it'll work. So if anyone wants a shower . . ."

"I call dibs on the first one," Trish said, quickly, "and I want to be on the scouting mission that goes to the next town over for weapons."

I ate another bite of my canned fruit and looked out the window of the church. For the moment, everything in our little world was alright.