return tomorrow or the day after that, at the latest, then we might have to consider moving on. Initially he thought I just meant Apocalypse Girl and myself, and was heavily resistant to the idea when he realised I meant the entire group. After a while, however, and the odd remark about how nice the place would look with bits of us all strewn over the place while the girls are being raped by a thousand former prisoners he relented and said that if it came to that he and the older guys would stay back and buy us some time to get the fuck out of here. He also showed me where he kept the keys to the Ute He also showed me where he keeps his stash, saying “I'll be fucked if those bastards get anything good from this place.”
We discussed quite a few other plans and ideas, but other than The Kid's suggestion only Archer had anything useful to say. He threw in the potential for carnage and pain amongst the prisoners ranks should we send the cows stampeding towards them. Other than a timely arrival of a horde of Dead, that would have to do. Anyway, a horde of Dead would have a host of its own problems.
Apocalypse Girl and I decided to reinstate our personal watch system, just in case some of the bandits try getting into the barn late at night thinking everyone is asleep. As it turned out I was nearly dozing off on my own watch when I heard an odd noise in the night. I silently woke Apocalypse Girl with a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. Together we listened to somebody wandering around upstairs. The noises began getting closer to our room, and soon somebody began gently turning the handle to get in.
I hid directly behind the door, Apocalypse Girl taking position flat against the wall on the other side as it swung open to admit someone. I saw a shadow go over to the bed before I quietly shut the door and coughed. The shadow spun around in fright. It was The Twin, looking scared shitless. Turned out she had overheard Farmer talking with his 'wife' about how he planned to go over to the bandits camp and basically turn over the other women in our camp for immunity for himself and his 'wife'. Farmer still didn't know where they were, exactly, but once The Kid comes back he can get the location from him and make the deal. We all had trouble sleeping after that.
January 11th Year 1 A.Z.
dawn
Patrolling with Junior and The Twin, while Apocalypse Girl kept an eye on Farmer, I spotted The Kid running full pelt towards us once we arrived at the clay pits. The workers were just now finishing up gathering the last of the clay needed for our Dead wall, under minimal guard. Huffing and puffing, The Kid slowed down once he reached us, and walked alongside us as we patrolled, giving a full report on his activities in the bandit camp.
He found it easily enough, anybody would considering the amount of noise they are making. Several hundred men at least, most armed with various types of blunt weapons, drinking heavily and partying loudly, celebrating their freedom with the end of the world. This made it ridiculously easy for The Kid to insinuate himself into their ranks, and as bottles were being handed around by all and sundry, spreading his infection was a much simpler task. All he had to do was just keep moving, taking a swig from any bottle offered him. In the end he was so afraid of actually getting too drunk from it that he just touched his lips to each bottle, but that was more than enough. He entered the camp from one side, passed through the middle, and left out the other. Then he made a beeline straight for the commune as the screams began from the far side of the camp. Straight into a horde of Dead heading in the direction of the bandit camp. This is where things got really interesting, because the Dead showed absolutely no interest in The Kid whatsoever. Other than tracking his movements, and lurching towards him any time
Learning to Kill: Stories