The Walkers

If you haven't read the first chapter of this story then click the link here, https://shopping-feedback.today/horror/the-walkers-rl6olk0ii2 I hope you enjoy the story

I sigh staring at the river, "I forgot how fast it runs down this far. Up at Squeen it's pretty calm. Not that it matters much since they've got the one major bridge across the river in the whole country. Well I guess first though we should probably take care of these insomniacs. Guess we could just toss them in the river and let it carry them off."

Bob shrugs, placing his bag down, "I guess but wouldn't it be easier to kill them all? Make sure they can't come back after us at some point."

I nod, putting my own bags down. I reach into my personal bag removing my gun from it. I secure it against my back putting it between my pants and me having lost the one holster I had found ages ago. "It would be easier, you're right. But on the off chance there is a cure out there I'd rather not kill if I don't have to."

Bob sighs, deciding it wasn't worth the fight and grabs the closest body to him, "Alright then let's get started." He drags it to the river and half tosses half shoves it into the river until the current starts pulling it.

This goes on for a little while until we only have two bodies left. We hear a whistle coming from upstream of us. We both turn towards the noise waiting for the person who made it to reveal themselves. After a few seconds a man comes out from the tree line maybe fifty feet upstream of us. He is a rather shifty looking man in dark clothing. His eyes bear an uncanny resemblance to that of a cat but his posture is far more rodent-like. He seems somewhat older though you can tell he must have been twenty eight or nine when everything happened. "Well hey there boys. Looks like you two are doing good Samaritan work taking care of those insomniacs. I don't suppose you got any food for a poor beggar? Do a little more good work for the day."

I stare at him, my eyes slightly narrowed, "No sir. Lost it all last night running from the insomniacs." Unfortunately Bob subconsciously scoots a little closer to the knapsack.

The man reaches down to his leg sliding a knife out from a sheath that's almost as long as his leg. As he does I reach behind me pulling out my pistol pointing it at him as I turn the safety off. The man immediately puts the knife away, "Now now no need to be rash, I'm just hungry boys. Haven't eaten in two days, that's all. Maybe we can make a deal. Hmm… Maybe you boys want to cross the river? Is that what you're looking for?" Even his voice sounds weaselly, almost like he's trying to sound like a bad guy.

I slowly lower my weapon from pointing at his chest down to his left knee, "Perhaps we are. Why? Would you happen to own a boat?"

The man nods eagerly, "I do! Could hold us all plus your bags. Just give me a little food now so I've got the strength to row and I'll take you boys to it."

I continue watching the man for a moment debating, finally I decide, "Give him some jerky. Now you can have some food and as long as you do what you said you would there is some more in it for you on the other side. But you even think about trying to trick us and I'll blow your knee out and leave you for the walkers. Do we understand each other?"

Bob reaches into the sack pulling out some jerky and slowly walks up to the man making sure he never blocks my line of sight. As soon as he hands the jerky over he practically skitters back over to me. The man scarfs the jerky down barely stopping to breathe. I let out a short laugh, "I guess you were hungry huh? Well like I said, take us across the river and you'll get some more." I look over at Bob, "Now you finish tossing those bodies and then we'll get going. I'm going to keep an eye on our new friend here."

Bob nods and quickly finishes disposing of the last two bodies. He then grabs his bag and my own while I lower my gun for a second to hoist the knapsack straps across my shoulders. As soon as I'm done putting it on I put the man back in my sights, "Alright friend lead on."

The man nods and turns around walking down the shore line, "This way this way. Maybe you could put the gun away for your new friend? Not a fan of guns pointed at me. No I'm not."

I laugh again, "Maybe once we make it across the river I'll think about it. But until then I can't do that. Got to stay safe in these times. You know how it is." The man grumbles in response but continues walking.

Bob looks over at me as we walk, "You know I've thought you were a pretty soft hearted man this whole time, but apparently when push comes to shove you're cold. I mean you didn't want to kill those insomniacs but you were absolutely ready to end this man's life."

I shrug slightly, "I told you before, people are an infinitely worse threat than any walker. People are unpredictable and will do whatever they deem necessary for survival even if that means attacking unarmed individuals. I never take chances with people, it's just too risky."

We all walk for about fifteen minutes before coming up to a small row boat. While it will be big enough for us it will still be a slight squeeze. The man gestures, "See friend, a boat just like I said. A boat to take us all across and then new friend can give me more food." The longer this man talks the crazier he sounds but he did have a boat so that was good. We all climb into the boat one by one, setting all the gear in the middle with me, who still had the gun trained on the man. Together Bob and the man row us across the river.

Thankfully it wasn't far, but the current still put up a bit of a fight, but we made it across with no real issues. The sun was high up by now but already I had decided if this man had shelter we would set up camp and not worry about going any further today. Once we made it across I carefully reached into the knapsack pulling out some more jerky and handing it over to the man. Once again he rips into it barely taking time to chew or breathe.

We all got out of the boat and I ask the man, "Do you have a home around here? Some sort of shelter?"

The man nods vigorously, "Yes yes I do! Come! Stay! Keep us safe from walkers. Put gun away now? Since I helped you. No more gun?"

I nod making a point of showing me tucking the gun back behind my back, "There you go. No more guns as long as you behave."

The man cackles his eyes no longer looking cat-like but more delirious than anything. I wasn't really sure what had happened to him in the brief span we had been with him but it was unsettling. The man took off at a brisk pace into the forest singing to himself in an offbeat tune, "Home home. Where the drink is. Home home. Where I can drink." Me and Bob took off after him, having to push a little to keep up since we had the bags on our backs. After about ten minutes of us weaving through the forest we reach a small clearing that had a cabin occupying most of its space.

The cabin looks fairly old but was still in decent shape. Against the side of it sits what looks like an old distillery. The man practically shoves his way through the front door still singing to himself. The inside is an absolute disaster. There were bottles strewn everywhere and the walls look like they had been cut several times. The man pushes through the sea of debris towards something that resembles a kitchen throwing open a pantry door. He grabs the first bottle he finds, rips the top off, and tips it back drinking until it's gone. When he tosses it I see the bottle must have been half a gallon of some sort of alcohol by the smell of it.

He collapses to the ground panting. Me and Bob watch him for almost ten minutes as his eyes slowly refocus back to that more cat-like appearance. He slowly stands breathing deeply and runs his fingers through his hair, "I'm so sorry you had to see all that. Unfortunately in a fit of foolishness before I left this morning I packed none of my alcohol. Without it I've only got a couple of hours before the real me starts to slip out. A few years ago something finally broke in my mind being stuck out here and isolated from everything and everyone. I went mad. But I've learned that as long as I stay fairly drunk I can keep up appearances and perform tasks."

Me and Bob look at each other then back at the man as I said, "So keep you drunk and you're passable. Good to know. Now did you want some of that food I mentioned earlier? If so, a fire will make it much better. Get it good and warm."

The man regards us with keen now sharp eyes, "You have something besides the jerky?"

I nod, "Yeah we've got the last of a stew that needs to be eaten. More than enough for the three of us. So you got a place for a fire around here and maybe a pot?"

The man begins to scrounge around in his cupboards till finally he pulls out a large metal pot that doesn't seem to be in too bad of shape. "Come with me. I've got a small fire pit out back." He walks back out the front door leading us around to a small fire pit that has a metal bar suspended between two other pieces of metal below it. He carefully puts the handle of the pot on the metal bar. "There you go. Get a fire going and let us eat."

I look at Bob, "Get a fire going. I'll get the food out and get it into the pot." Bob starts gathering some firewood near the pit, tossing it in. Once he's got enough he uses his firestarter to get it going. I dump the last of the stew out of the container into the pot. It doesn't take too long for it to start bubbling. Unfortunately this man doesn't have any bowls either, well no clean ones at least. We just have to use the large spoon that Bob has and share it between us taking turns until the pot is empty.

I look at Bob, "Alright. I think the rest of the day is going to be a rest day. We'll stay here for the evening and head out come morning. Sound good?

Bob nods, "Yeah. Though a question for our friend." Bob turns to look at the man, "You wouldn't happen to know of any area with horses around here would you?

The man tilts his head back looking up at the sky. The sun is heading towards the horizon though with a couple of hours still left to go. He suddenly sits forward snapping his fingers, "I do actually! Though getting them may be a bit tricky. I can show you. Though first I need to dose myself or everything will fall apart very quickly." The man dashes off inside humming his offbeat song again.

I look at Bob, "Good thinking. If we can get some horses and get to a major road then we could make it there in about two days assuming we have no problems."

Bob groans, "You do know that now you have said that there will be problems right? You never mention how smooth things can go if you don't have problems. The universe doesn't care for it."

The man returns with a belch still to the tune of his song, "Alright! Properly drunk now or will be in about ten minutes. Off we go." With that he takes off into the forest, returning about ten seconds later while we're still gathering ourselves, "Come on then!"

Bob and I decide to only take our weapons with us, carefully storing our bags away in the man's home. The whole time he stands outside loudly singing his drinking song. After that we went off with him into the forest. We walk for about thirty minutes before the trees start thinning and soon we come to an open field. In it is about ten horses all running around enjoying themselves. There is also a fairly sizable group of walkers in the field as well, mostly just standing around. The man looks at us, "These horses used to belong to a rather large family that had many farm hands. All of them either turned or were killed in the beginning of everything. So now the horses run free as they can."

I continue watching the horses, "Do you know if they still react to humans well? Or have they gone wild?"

The man shrugs, "No clue. Though I do know you won't be getting any saddles on them. Tried a couple of years back during a crazy fit. Got kicked in the head for it. However bareback they might tolerate."

I nod thinking, "Any insomniacs in this area that you know of? Any regulars at least?

The man shrugs again, "Couldn't really tell you. I drink myself to sleep every night and well nothing wakes me."

I sigh, scratching my head, "Alright well you can head back if you want friend. We'll stay here till nightfall and see if we can get us a couple of horses."

The man nods, "Sounds good to me. My drink is calling my name anyways. Happy hunting I suppose. May Lady Fortune smile upon you." With a brief cackle he takes his leave.

Bob and I spent the next almost two hours watching the field waiting for nightfall. As soon as the sun fades away all the walkers collapse as one. Bob shudders slightly, "Everytime I see that it's so unsettling. Not something I think I could get used to."

I laugh at him, "When you say things like that it really does make it super obvious you're not from around here. However, from the looks of it I think we might be in the clear but let's wait a little while longer to be sure." We continue watching the field and soon it turns out my gut instinct is correct as a number of forms start shambling into the field.

Bob groans, "Really? Insomniacs again. These guys are really starting to get annoying." As we watch them I start to realize they are moving in something like a pattern. It's almost as if their brains still remember to protect the horses so they're patrolling. I point this out to Bob and tell him, "There are a couple of the horses though that they walk pretty far away from. So let's move as close as we can to the horses while still staying here in the forest. Then when they go farther away, step out and try to lead the horses off with us. I've ridden a few times and was taught a couple of tricks. So I'll work on trying to lure them off with us and you be lookout."

Bob nods and we slowly make our way along the line of the field. Thankfully the horses seen to have no intention of moving anytime soon. Our eyes have adjusted well to the dark and there is a half moon out giving us some light without just spotlighting us. Soon we reach as close as we can get without actually stepping into the field. The horses are now twenty feet away from us still paying us no mind. We watch the insomniacs slowly wandering away and make our move.

I walk up to the horses slowly, hands out with palms forward. Neither one of them spooks away from me, "Hey there. You two are beautiful, yes you are." I reach them and slowly put my hands along the middle of their faces, petting them gently, "How do you two feel about coming with me and my friend? We would love to have your help with our travels." I reach my hands around to their manes and gently tug, beginning to try and walk backwards. Surprisingly they actually walk with me though slowly. I suddenly hear Bob whispering, "They're coming back! Hurry!"

I let go of the horses, "I'll be right back you beauties. Wait here." With that I quickly dash back into the forest. I watch the insomniacs approaching doing a quick head count, "There are two missing. Keep aware." Bob simply nods. We watch the insomniacs hit the end of their route and just stop. "Oh what the hell? Please don't tell me they're onto us. After what was probably only ten minutes but felt like a small eternity they all groan at once and began walking away.

As soon as it's hard to see them again I step out to the horses, "Come on." I reach my hands up to their manes again and start walking them to the forest. This time they seem more compliant and actually walk. Soon we have them in the forest with us and walking back to the cabin. As soon as we arrive I tell Bob, "Go get the knapsack, dump it, and bring it here."

Bob looks at me with confusion for a moment then shrugs going to get the knapsack. When he returns I pull out my machete and use it to cut it in two. I take the two parts and fashion them into makeshift ties so I can tie the horses to the trees. "That'll keep them from running in the night. Now let's go check your map and then get some sleep. Our friend is passed out I assume?"

Bob nods, "Snoring like mad. No wonder nothing ever wakes him."

I sigh hoping I'll be able to sleep, "Alright well let's try to get some sleep. Though first let's take a quick look at the map to see how close the nearest major road is. Make sure to leave first thing tomorrow." We both head inside and immediately my ears are filled with only the sound of snoring. I make sure to move the rest of the jerky into my pack. It's a tight fit but it works thankfully.

Bob pulls out the map and starts looking, "Alright obviously I'm making a guess at our current position. But it looks like due west and we should hit a major road that goes pretty much straight to the capital. Would be the best bet. Probably going to have lots of walkers but with the horses shouldn't be an issue."

I nod clearing out a space amongst all the bottles and settling against a wall, "Good enough. Now let's get some sleep. Hopefully I'll be able to with this snoring." I manage to fall asleep quickly despite all the noise. I wake up one time briefly realizing I don't hear the snoring anymore. I open one eye to see Bob and the man talking but I decide I'm far too tired to worry about that and fall back to sleep.

I wake up as the first rays of the sun hit my eyes from one of the windows. Bob is asleep not too far from me and the stupendous snoring is back. I slowly stand up stretching myself and make my way to the one extra door in the house. I'd been told it was a bathroom guess it was time to find out. I open the door ready to jump back if I need to but it turns out to actually be a bathroom.

I step inside the room and proceed to relieve myself. Once done I turn to the sink to of course discover there is no water. Not sure what I was expecting when the toilet didn't flush. I take a moment to look at myself in the mirror kind of amazed that people don't run from me. My face has a thick shaggy beard, my eyes are so sunken in they almost don't look like they are part of my face anymore, and my cheeks don't look much better. My shirt and pants are fairly ragged at this point. They still cover up everything important but not much more. I have no real memory of what color they were because now they're just muddy more than anything. My eyes are my only real standout feature at this point, a stark ocean blue staring back at me.

I break from my own gaze before I start diving into introspection. I step out of the bathroom and go shake Bob, "Get up and pack up. It's time."

Bob groans and stands up grabbing his bag, "I made sure it was ready last night. Let's leave before this guy wakes up."

We head out and go untie the horses. I take a deep breath and jump up, swinging myself on the horse just barely. The horse rears up briefly but settles back down. Bob grins, "Now I'm finally going to impress you. You see, horse riding is still considered something fun to do where I'm from. I specifically took classes in both saddle and bareback because of course there was a time where people didn't have saddles so I had to learn it." With that Bob takes a deep breath and in one fluid motion actually swings up on his horse.

I clap for him, "I'll admit I am impressed. Good job for you." With that I turn my horse and start riding away from the sun into the forest. Bob quickly follows. We rode for about three hours before finally coming out onto the road. After that we let the horses take full control and they take off at a steady run. The rest of our day is spent dodging through groups of walkers. I start to notice by the third group that the walkers are focusing on me a lot more than Bob. I file it away as something to wander about later but for now we need to cover as much ground as possible.

If you enjoyed the story then please subscribe, leave a like, and if you want then feel happy to tip. I hope you enjoyed the story and there is plenty more to come.