Free Savage: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel by Iain Rob Wright Page B

Perhaps they were right.  Our little band of
brothers , Garfield thought.  Closest I’ve ever had to friends.
    The group would need to get the largest vehicles it
could find and pray that the batteries still had a spark, and that the petrol
in the tanks had not evaporated.  The foragers would be leaving behind
their sleds, so whatever vehicle they found would also act as the carriage for
whatever supplies they managed to scrounge.  Guns and
ammo, hopefully.   And Doritos…
    The morning tide was out and there was nothing but
moist sand and seaweed beneath the front section of the pier.  It had
started to rain and the smell of salt was thick in the air.  Garfield
would be glad to be rid of that familiar smell for a few days.  He missed
the old smells of car exhaust and greasy spoon cafes, but those things were no
more.  They had been replaced by the stink of death.
    Anna headed towards Garfield, holding something in her
hands.  When she got close enough, she offered the item to him.  “For
the road,” she explained.
    Garfield took the can opener from her and
smiled.  “Good thinking.  I’m so used to bringing canned food back
that I forgot I’m going to need one for the journey.”
    “No point finding a tonne of food if you can’t get at
it.  Sometimes it’s good to carry something other than a whole bunch of
weapons.  How many do you have on you right now in that magnificent coat
of yours?”
    Garfield shrugged.  “Weapons?  I’m not
sure.  Seven, maybe…no, eight.”
    Anna laughed.  “Well, I hope that you won’t need
any of them.  You be safe out there.  There’s no way of telling what
you’ll find.”
    Garfield knew well enough what he would find in the
towns and cities.  “I expect to find the dead.”
    “For starters,” said Anna.  “But I worry more
about any people left alive.  Take it from me, the living are just as
dangerous as the dead.”
    Garfield nodded – he knew that well enough
already.  Several times on the road he had caught hungry-eyed men spying
Poppy from a distance, hoping to take her.  A handful of them had tried,
but Garfield had dispatched each one without mercy.  He would not allow
Poppy to be used and spoiled like a can of beans.  Her innocence was more
precious than anything else left in the world, and Garfield would kill a
hundred men to protect it.  Finding the pier and the relative safety of
the group living there had been a true blessing.  Poppy had been safe from
the leering gaze of feral men ever since.  But she’s fighting me all
the time to go back out on the road.  She doesn’t remember how bad it
was.  She looks at the past through rose-coloured spectacles.  Not
that I blame her after all she’s been through.
    Garfield bent over and placed the can opener inside
the shin pocket of his cargo pants then straightened back up.  “I plan to
stick to the countryside as much as possible.  With a bit of luck I’ll be
able to bypass any trouble.  There’s no need to worry.”  Anna looked
at him oddly for a moment, as if she wanted to say something.  “What is
it?” he asked her.
    “It’s…it’s just something the injured man you brought
back said.”
    “Oh, yeah.  How’s he doing?”
    “He’s been pretty stable over night, but just after I
patched him up he said something strange.”
    “What did he say?”
    “He said…” Anna stopped and chuckled to herself. 
“You’re going to laugh at me, but he kept saying the word ‘Roman’ over and over
again.  It went on for nearly an hour before he fell unconscious.’”
    Garfield smirked, but not because he thought it was
particularly funny.  “Don’t people say all sorts of things in that kind of
condition?  Couldn’t the pain have made him delirious?”
    “Yes, it could have.  In fact, that was probably
the reason.  Gave me a bad feeling, though.  Whoever shot him is
still out there.  Be careful, okay?”
    Garfield had thought about the group that might be