Free Mad Swine (Book 2): Dead Winter by Steven Pajak

the lady,” I said. “Shut up and move.”
    “You just want to look at my ass when I walk away,” Lara said. The look on my face must have been comical because she burst out laughing. She turned away and fell in line behind Chandra and Justin, pulling the yellow sled behind.
    Bringing up the rear, it took all my willpower not to check out her backside. Instead, I focused my attention on our peripherals and our six, making sure that nothing would hit us from the sides or rear. A few times I caught Lara looking back at me, but I never made eye contact with her. This was not the time or place for flirting. People could get killed out here.
    The afternoon was not mild. The snow had stopped falling an hour ago and the temperature had dropped another ten degrees. The cold air stung my eyes and made them water. I should have worn goggles or sunglasses. I mentally added that to the top of my “should have” list so next time I wouldn’t forget. We’d only been moving steadily for a few minutes but my calf muscles were already feeling fatigued. It was difficult moving through snow this deep. And even though I had on two pairs of jeans and leather boots, the cold wetness was able to penetrate and find my warm flesh.
    Before long we entered a small clearing, probably no more than a quarter of a mile from our west wall. Kat held up a fist and brought the patrol to a halt. Justin, Chandra and Lara each crouched instinctively and turned to cover their respective flanks. I continued to move past them until I stood beside Kat.
    She slid out of her backpack and placed it next to the trunk of a large poplar. “What do you think?” she asked.
    “I think these trees are the same as the ones just outside our walls. Only we had to walk really far to get to them.”
    She shifted her grip on the Mosin. With her free hand she pulled down her scarf. My eyes immediately went to the scar on her cheek but I didn’t look away for fear I would embarrass her. “I thought you were smarter than that, boss.”
    “Enlighten me,” I said.
    “Why do you think those things have such a small presence on the west side but are thick as shit on the south and east?”
    “I don’t know…”
    Kat cocked her head and looked disappointed. “Because the trees make it more difficult for them to congregate. It’s harder for them to stack up effectively because the trees are in the way.”
    “And why would we want to clear the way and make it easier for them, right?”
    “Well, at least you’re a quick learner,” Kat said. She turned to the group and said, “This is the spot. Lara and Chandra start tagging trees. Nothing too big and nothing too small. Nothing that’s rotting. Justin, cover our left flank.”
    The most difficult task would be mine. It was only fitting that I do the chopping. After all, I did have the axe. I set down my back pack and unfastened the leather sheath that covered the head of the splitting maul. We had carried with us the portable chainsaw, but I didn’t like to use it because it was too loud and would drown out all sound leaving us deaf to our enemies’ approach. The buzzing of the chainsaw was also a crazy magnet, drawing the creatures from all over.
    “Don’t wander too far,” I called to Lara and Chandra as I stowed the leather sheath in my bag and pulled out a bottle of water. Lara turned and saluted. She said something to Chandra that I couldn’t hear and both women had a good laugh.
    Like a mother hen, Kat admonished, “Mouths shut, ladies. Be aware of your surroundings. This isn’t playtime.”
    While I waited for the women to mark my targets I scanned the area. Again the calmness of the surroundings stirred something in my gut. The scene was just too peaceful, too quiet. In the months since the initial outbreak the crazies were ever present outside our walls. If they weren’t, we were being attacked by Providence. Either way, our lives were constantly filled with violence and threats, making any semblance