Chapter 4 - Night Chat
Hearing someone, or something, passing through the woods, Tamsin pressed her hand on the hilt of her falchion and dodged to the side vigilantly. When she noticed that it was moving much faster and making more noises than any zombies or animals, though, she rolled her eyes and leaned against a tree.
Seconds later, Bo stumbled out. She wiped one leaf off her head with her right forearm, and then bent to her side to pick the burs of cocklebur off the lower part of her pants. She tossed them to the side and prepared to continue her journey, until she met Tamsin's raised eyebrows.
"Hey!" The brunette exclaimed excitedly after pausing for a split second. "I thought you left and I was looking for you!"
"I did, and you shouldn't have," Tamsin hissed as she started to walk. When she noticed that Bo was walking along with her, only a few feet behind, she stopped. "Why are you following me, hmm?"
"I am not," Bo said. She took out a bottle of water from her backpack, and downed it. "I mean...I am heading to Creeksville, but the interstate is blocked by millions of old cars. Apparently this is the only way for me to go and-" She stopped abruptly, staring at Tamsin while something occurred to her. "Hey, are you going to Creeks-"
"No I'm not, and stop following me," Tamsin said as she increased her speed.
"Yes, you are! Otherwise you wouldn't be on the same road with me!" Bo blurted, rushing to catch up with the blonde. "Why didn't you tell me that we were heading to the same place?!"
"Why should I?" Tamsin retorted, but reluctantly stopped to wait for Bo to catch up.
"If you had told me, we could have teamed up and-"
"I've already told you, sweetheart. I don't do team ups, period."
"Why not?" Bo argued, panting. "It's safer to stay together than travelling alone because, ya know, zombies took over the world and they are-"
"-dangerous?" Tamsin cut her off with a scoff. She turned to Bo and smirked. "Believe me, sweetheart, zombies are not what I worry about."
"What do you worry about then?"
"You really want to know?" Tamsin asked, her head tilting to the side slightly.
"Of course," Bo said, nodding.
"Okay, here's the thing I really do worry about. If you follow me long enough, you are gonna eat and drink everything I have."
Bo couldn't help but huff out a chuckle. "I'm not a parasite, Tamsin. I can hunt, fish, and gather. I know how to collect water and take care of myself."
"Wow, really?" Tamsin asked. "Then why did I have to save your cute little ass from a tiny child zombie and two crazies?"
"I-I was looking for anything useful in those empty trailers and...I guess I let my guard down when they attacked me. And the crazies...I mean, who would have expected that there were humans out there who would eat humans?"
"Smart people, like me, would," Tamsin smirked.
"I thought cannibals are only in...horror stories," Bo complained.
"Well, ten years ago, zombies are only in horror stories," Tamsin said, "but hey, look around you now."
Bo barely managed an eye roll, before she stopped walking. She sat down and leaned against a tree. "Can we take five?"
Tamsin growled in frustration and stopped. Whatever, she thought, I could use some water.
Bo let out a deep breath and raised to look at the sky. "Who would have believed all this..." she murmured. "Ten years ago, when I first heard about the outbreaks, I thought it was just...some dumb kids making up stories online again, ya know..."
Tamsin squeezed a scoff through her nose while gulping her water.
"I mean," Bo continued. "All the media were saying that it was a sick prank...I remember the guy from the local morning news. He was like...zombie outbreak? Please! What's next? Little green men visiting our planet? Witches flying with brooms outside your window?"
Tamsin shook her head. "Right, everyone should just trust the media because they always tell the truth and nothing but the truth."
"What else should I have believed then?" Bo argued. "People turning into zombies and eating other people?"
Tamsin sighed and put the cap back to her bottle. She threw it back into her bag, and murmured, "enough good ole' days, sweetheart. Let's get moving."
Bo immediately stood up and got her things together. "Hey, why are you going to Creeksville? Are you looking for someone too?"
"Yeah, totally, I'm just that desperate, looking for someone in a ghost town once conquered by walkers," Tamsin scoffed.
"Then why are you going to Creeksville? Are you...studying zombies or something?"
"Do I look like someone who would do that?" Tamsin countered. She paused for a while, before she added, "whatever, I guess I could tell you since you are too stupid to be in my way anyway."
"Okay?" Bo stared at the blonde with a grin while ignoring Tamsin's bitchy comment.
"I'm looking for something in Creeksville."
"What are you looking for? Ten year old trash stomped by millions of zombies?" Bo teased.
Tamsin shot her a cold stare. "Do you even know why Creeksville is such an important place?"
"Of course I do. It's one of the zombie outbreak origins," Bo said.
"That's right. It's one of the many cities where the first batch of humans were turned mysteriously by that fucking zombie virus, and started to attack the healthy humans. That makes it important because…?"
"It's significant in history?"
"Ugh huh, like anybody still cares about that textbook shit," Tamsin said, her head dropping in frustration. "It's one of the first cities where zombies appeared, a lot of scientists, medical professionals and government employees stationed there and studied them. There were hospital records, epidemic experts' journals, and records of where and when and how the very first zombies appeared. "
"But, why would you be looking for those things?" Bo asked, frowning.
Tamsin threw her hands in the air in frustration. "You do know that some stubborn scientists haven't given up on hope right? They still want to figure out a way to defeat them."
"I won't be surprised if there are still people like that."
"Anyway," Tamsin continued. "There are those, and they want records of the zombies that they could study. For me, the more important thing is that they are willing to pay a fortune for them."
"Oh, okay," Bo nodded. "So you are a bounty hunter who is searching for records about zombies. Got it. Well, I hope the things that you are looking for haven't been chewed and swallowed by the zombies then."
Tamsin pushed a "pfft" sound through her throat. "Can you stop asking questions now?"
"Wait, I have this one last question. Where are you from?"
"Why should I tell you and why can't we skip this stupid smalltalk session?"
"Why can't you answer my question without making snarky comments?"
"Whatever," Tamsin grunted.
"So which settlement are you from, Tamsin?"
"Do I look like I live in one of those government aided, crowded settlement with who knows what shady business behind them?"
"They are not as crowded as you think, Tamsin. There isn't shady business behind them either," Bo protested, finding the blonde's comments funny.
"Really? Then tell me, why are they handing over free stuff to everyone? What do they get out of it? Tax relief? Besides, the real governments had falled years ago, under what department and whose order are these settlements operating?"
"It's the new, without border settlement organization that is running them, Tamsin," Bo explained. "They are just trying to get everyone to stick together, you know. There aren't many people left, after the zombies, epidemic outbreaks, wars and everything. Sticking together is the only way to survive."
"Blah, blah, blah," Tamsin murmured. "I am with nobody and I still make it alright."
"Or maybe you could be better if you were living with the others."
"Ugh huh." Tamsin rolled her eyes. "Walk faster. If you can't catch up, I'm not gonna wait for you."
Hours later, they took a break near the creek they had been following along. Bo took out a sealed bag, which was decorated by a printed green symbol consisting a tree, a bird and a human, from her bag. She opened it and devoured the small chunks of pita-like bread in it, while Tamsin ate her peanut butter and cracker for her snack.
The blonde took her time to eat, and drink, before she noticed that the brunette was looking at her with a weird look.
"If you are begging for food, sorry, no extra," Tamsin said as she licked the remaining peanut butter off her fingers.
"No," Bo murmured. "If-if you don't mind, could you watch out for me for-I'd like to wash myself for a bit cuz..."
Tamsin took in the blood stains on the brunette's dirt and sweat streaked clothes, as well as the dry blood on her messy hair. She sighed, before she gave Bo a brief nod. When she noticed that Bo wasn't moving, she raised and asked, "what? Need someone to scrub your back or something?"
Bo chuckled and shook her head. "Thank you," she said, nothing but sincerity in her voice.
"Just go, I'll make sure that no zombie shall bite your cute little ass," Tamsin slurred while drinking her water.
Bo nodded and headed to the creek, while Tamsin watched her walking away.
Tamsin sighed and turned back once Bo was behind the bushes taking off her clothes. She wondered why she had let the brunette travel with her. Maybe travelling alone was too unbearable after weeks of walking in the late summer weather, and bickering with Bo was a fun she couldn't miss. Maybe she had felt some sort of responsibility falling on her shoulder the moment she saved the brunette's life. Or maybe, there was something else?
Refusing to ponder that question, Tamsin yelled, "make sure you scream when you see zombies, okay?"
Bo answered her with a loud "Mhm", and it somehow made Tamsin chuckle.
Bo took off her boots and put them under a tree on the side of the creek. Then, she took off her pants and threw it into the water. Pulling her tank top off, she threw it into the water as well.
She paused before she unlatched her bra hook. After years of bathing in the wild, she would still become self conscious whenever she needed to take off her underwear and expose her naked body outside.
She immersed herself into the water first, before she quickly took off her bra and panties and put them with her clothes pile under water. She squeezed them with the bottom of her feet gently, letting the fresh water wash away the dirt, blood and sweat while washing herself.
She sprayed the cool water to the back of her head and rinse off the dried blood first. She watched the pink stream run down along her body, before she kneeled down and washed her body.
She cleaned her clothes as much as possible, before she took them out and wrung them dry. She then hung them on a tree branch above.
Sitting down in the cool water against a rock, Bo drew her knees to her chest and put her arms around her shins. She buried her face into her knees and took a deep breath.
She was shaking in fear when she thought the fact that she had almost been eaten by some crazies occurred to her. She thought that that sort of things only existed in horror movies which she had watched with her friends while eating popcorns and drinking soda. However, it did almost happen to her, and she wouldn't have made it if Tamsin hadn't saved her. Once again, she made out fine, in one piece, and still breathing.
For how long, though? How long would it take before she was alone again? How long would it take before something would chomp her, and eat her alive?
A crunch of crispy twigs pulled her out from her train of thoughts. She immediately stood up and searched for her weapon. It didn't take her long to realize that she had lost her baseball bat to those cannibals when they had caught her. She cursed and rushed to the bank, splashing water everywhere.
Tamsin appeared in front of her with her unsheathed falchion in her right hand. Bo was immediately dragged out from the water, into the blonde's arms and then behind the bushes.
"What? More cannibals?" Bo whispered, ducking her head as low as she could. She peeked at the other side of the creek through the bush branches but couldn't see anything other than the moving leaves among the trees and bushes there. It appeared to her that someone was walking through the woods.
"No, a bunch of flesheasters are heading this way," Tamsin told her in a voice so low that it was barely audible.
"Really? How do you know that?"
"You can't smell that?" Tamsin asked in a whisper, her eyes narrowed at the brunette.
"Should I be able to?" Bo whispered in a hiss, before she turned to stare at the other side again. This time she was able to see something behind the plants, occasionally a corner of crude clothing or a limb covered in old skin lesions.
In a short while, the noise of a group pushing through the woods became louder and louder, and eventually, several zombies tottered out.
They stopped, growled, and looked around, their attention caught by the running water.
One of them was distracted by the reflection of himself. He crouched down and hurled his arm at it, until he realized that it wasn't a real person. He grunted in disappointment as he stood up.
They were about to leave, before a female zombie noticed Bo's hanging clothes. She sniffed excitedly and stepped into the water.
The others joined her, wading towards Bo and Tamsin.
"This is your fault!" Tamsin hissed at Bo. She tried to come up with a combat strategy, but was interrupted by more zombies appearing on the other side of the creek. They staggered out from behind the trees, one after another, before they followed the female zombie into the water and headed over to Tamsin's side.
"Alright, time for plan B," Tamsin told Bo as she grabbed the lower side of Bo's hanging clothes and pulled them off. She shoved them to Bo and took a glance at the slowly moving herd of dozens of zombies. "We run, and this time I definitely will not wait for you!"
Bo tried to put her clothes on, but was so distracted that at some point she tried to squeeze both feet through the same side. She knew she probably should make a decision right now, whether to run away without clothes, or to get devoured with her body properly covered. She almost laughed at herself for having to make a decision. Would anyone really care if her nipples were showing while a big group of zombies were heading towards her?
Bo was about to run without her clothes, before Tamsin dragged her back and shoved her down behind the bushes. The blonde held her from behind with one arm around her waist, and covered her mouth with the other hand.
Bo froze, wondering what had happened. She carefully looked through the bushes in front of her, and saw a person appear on the other side of the creek. She could see their face because it was hidden under the hoodie of their jacket, but she could tell that they must be muscular from the bulky figure.
That person made a whistle like sound, and the herd stopped. They all turned around and looked at them. That person slowly walked away and disappeared behind the trees.
The herd followed, leaving the water and getting back to the other side. They eventually disappeared too, leaving the rotten smell behind.
Tamsin and Bo held their breath until the herd were far gone. The two women stood up and moved back to where they had left their backpacks.
Tamsin started to gather and pack her things, and Bo putting her pants on while silently thanking all the deities she had ever known for letting her survive again.
After zipping and buttoning her pants, Bo asked, "what was that? That...that whoever it was who got the zombies away from us?"
"How the hell would I know?" Tamsin replied, organizing her backpack.
"Is that person in danger?" Bo asked. "I mean, there were 20 something zombies and that person just-they followed them."
"I don't know, and I don't give a fuck," Tamsin said, a smirk on her face. Afraid that Bo would go find out, she added, "it's not your business either. If someone wants to be with the zombies, they are totally allowed to be with them, okay?"
"You think that was a human?" Bo frowned.
"Human or not, I don't care," Tamsin said, shrugging. "You wanna play detective, be my guest."
Bo shook her head. "I have to find Kenzi first."
"So...Kenzi is the one you are looking for in Creeksville, huh?" Tamsin asked, immediately hating herself for being interested in that.
"Yeah," Bo said. "She's in Creeksville, and...I'm looking for her. She's basically my sister."
"Basically?"
"We are not related. We grew up together and she's my closest friend," Bo stopped when she realized that Tamsin had a weird look on her face. "What?"
Tamsin pointed at Bo's chest with her chin, before she turned away.
Bo looked down and realized that she had been too busy talking to put on her bra or her tank top. She chuckled and quickly threw them on.
"Did my breasts make you uncomfortable?" She teased, finding a slightly blushed Tamsin hilarious.
"Nope," Tamsin replied as she put her backpack on and started to walk. "I just don't want to hear you whining about 200 mosquito bites on your chest two hours later."
They arrived at a small town outside Creeksville after midnight. Although Tamsin had planned to continue traveling at night since it was much cooler than the day, she decided to stop when she found out that Bo was beyond exhausted.
They checked the supermarket on the main street, and a few small stores, but found nothing useful.
They walked along the main street, and eventually decided to camp outside the town hall building since it was cleaner than all the other places they had been.
Tamsin built a fire pit with bricks and rocks she found nearby, while Bo collected wood panels from the windows and doors. They smashed them until they broke into smaller pieces that were great for lighting a cooking fire.
After cooking their dinner, Tamsin went to pick some fresh tree branches with leaves on, and threw them into the fire to create smokes to keep the bugs away.
Bo shoved the debris on the ground away with her foot, before she laid down her sleeping bag. She glanced at the flag whose color had faded, and the abandoned car and tents in the parking lot, her heart seized again by the fact that the world has ended and the majority of humans raced had died. It somehow made her hate the moon in the night sky. It was as bright as ten years ago, as if it wasn't aware of what had happened at all.
She sat down on her sleeping bag, tapping her feet on the ground while watching the blonde laying down her sleeping bag. "Tamsin," she called. "Seriously, which settlement are you from?"
"Why do you want to know so badly?" The blonde stopped in frustration.
"It's nice to know a few things about the person you travel with, you know," Bo explained. "Or...is there some reason you won't share?"
Tamsin sighed. "I'm not from any government settlement, okay?"
"So, you are a lone wolf?"
"More like someone who is smart enough not to stay in any government aided shit," Tamsin grunted. She let out a deep sigh, and decided to give up. "Have you ever heard of a place name Brazenwood?"
"Brazenwood? You mean that community crammed with outlaws, criminals and-" Bo almost bit her tongue when she saw the blonde's teasing gaze and raised eyebrows.
"I-I didn't mean..." Bo mumbled. "I mean...from what I've heard, Brazenwood isn't exactly-"
"-safe? Normal? Or there's some other adjectives on your mind?" Tamsin cut her off, though her teasing tone betrayed her.
Bo chuckled too, feeling relieved that the blonde wasn't feeling offended. "So how's Brazenwood?" She asked, "I don't think I've ever met anyone from there before."
"It's alright, too good for your slow ass though," Tamsin said as she playfully hit Bo's head with the makeshift pillow the brunette made from her other pants out of her bag.
Bo grabbed it and smiled at the blonde. "Thank you, Tamsin, for saving my life and everything. I mean it," she said.
Tamsin's heart raced for the blooming smile on Bo's face. The light from the flames rendered the brunette in warm, glowing charms that made her hold her breath.
Clearing her throat, she turned away and stood up. "Whatever, just stop babbling, will you?"
Bo grinned and lay down on her sleeping bag. It was warm enough for her just to sleep without any covers. And for a very long time, she strangely felt safe again.
She stared at the blonde who sat right next to her but was looking away, her heart fluttering for something that she couldn't quite grasp.
Slowly, weariness consumed her, and she drifted into her dreams.