Free Hamsikker 2 by Russ Watts

kitchens. The whole place is pretty self-reliant and runs without much interference. Subject to enough rain, we potentially have a never-ending supply of water. The solar power would keep us going a while, and we have gas and a back-up generator running just fine. As long as we were careful, we could live there for months, if not longer.”
    “See?” Dakota let out a triumphant smile.
    “But…” Javier shook his head. “But…”
    Dakota’s smile began to fade, and Javier sighed, purposefully making a big deal of it. It felt good to crush the woman’s hopes. He could derive a good deal of pleasure from someone else’s pain. He didn’t always need to use his fists. “The fairway was actually still in good condition, considering we didn’t maintain it over summer. The grass was green, just thinning in patches where it had turned brown and sour. The cedars smelt beautiful, and the outside world, as horrible as it was, was hidden from us by the trees, and, of course, the fence. A twelve-foot high perimeter fence extended all the way around the course – until this morning. And that is your problem. I was remiss not to check it, and I never thought the TV tower would come down like it did. I’m sorry about that, truly I am. Patching up the fence with those zombies around is not going to happen, no matter how much we want it to. With all the commotion, there will be even more of them back there now. There are millions of them out there. How many do you think are behind us, right now?”
    Javier watched as Dakota looked at Mara for backup.
    “Don’t look at me. I’m with Gabe on this.”
    “ Millions , Dakota. We need to keep moving forward. Right, Hamsikker?” Javier knew he had done enough. He planned on letting Jonas explain to his wife why they were doing the exact opposite of what she wanted.
    “Dakota, have you forgotten about Janey? Have you…”
    “Have you forgotten I’m pregnant? I felt sick enough this morning, but riding around in the car for the last hour hasn’t exactly helped me feel any better. You…” Dakota blinked back tears. “Never mind. Just do what you want to do.”
    “Dakota?” Jonas felt helpless as she walked away. He couldn’t put her attitude down to the pregnancy. There was a small part of him that wanted to go back too. It had seemed so good.
    “Leave her be.” Erik shoved half of his uneaten snack bar into his pocket. “She’ll hammer it out with Pippa, that’s what she does, and she’ll come around. We’re making the right decision here. We can’t go back.”
    “So where do we go?” asked Javier. He knew the answer, but he didn’t want to spell it out for them. He had already planted the seed in Jonas’s mind earlier. Javier slipped an arm around Rose’s waist. “I’ve got my Mara to think about. We’ve all got family to take care of.”
    “And the rest,” said Mrs. Danick suddenly.
    “The rest?” Javier had forgotten about Mrs. Danick. She had been walking around the van, trying to shake off the pins and needles in her legs, listening to the conversation, but saying nothing.
    “I might have fifty years on you, young man, but I’m not senile yet. What about the rest? That place was a paradise compared to what’s out here. Yet you’re happy to give up on it, just like that. Tell me, where were the bankers and the lawyers? Hm? Where were the golf nuts, the corporates, the sleazebags, and all those rich types that frequent those places? You telling me that they forgot about their wonderful golf course? You telling me hardly any of them showed up asking for help? This all seems a little too… contrived to me. Why are you so quick to move on?”
    “Mrs. Danick, I hardly think…”
    “Shut up, Erik, you big oaf. You’re smart, but even you can’t see the bigger picture here.”
    “Listen, now is not the time to start arguing amongst ourselves,” said Jonas. “Why don’t we take five to…?”
    “You need to clean your ears out, too,