Chapter 7

They'd spent two days catching up on sleep, healing and trying to wrap their minds around the situation at large. Emma had devoted parts of her mornings and evenings to patrol the area, but it seemed like the zombies hadn't ventured into the forest, at least not yet. Animals remained unaffected by whatever had caused the outbreak which was good news for their little group of five.

It was still strange and slightly awkward to have breakfast together. Emma thought it somehow felt a little too much like they were all one happy, albeit traumatized, family. This morning Mary Margaret had made pancakes after giving Ruby a surprised look when she'd presented her with a couple of eggs and a Tupperware box containing flour.

"Why in the world did you bring eggs... and flour?" She asked as she looked into the plastic box.

Ruby gave them all a sheepish look. "I just grabbed what I could find."

Emma huffed, amused at Ruby's bashfulness. "Admit it Rubes. You just wanted some of Mary Margaret's pancakes."

"Well, after hearing Henry going on and on about them for months even I would have packed eggs and flour - given the chance." Regina said as she eyed her son who was searching the table for something.

Emma shared a smile with Regina, knowing what he was searching for as she herself had already scanned the table for it.

"Where's the syrup?" Henry's voice had a slightly whiny quality to it and Emma immediately saw Regina's eyes turn to their son, silently admonishing him.

At his mother's look Henry frowned and bit his lip before reluctantly tucking into the pancakes on his plate.

"I guess Ruby, aka Syrup Girl, forgot to bring it... Strangely enough." Emma teased, earning her a slap on the arm from a frowning Ruby.

Chewing his pancakes slowly Henry sighed. "Too bad. Pancakes just aren't the same without the syrup."

They'd fallen silent as they ate, all of them knowing what the day had in store. Emma and Ruby would take the car to get the supplies they would need. They'd revised their first plan of going into town and had instead decided to take their chances at a local farm. Hopefully the probability of running into zombies would be smaller and they felt sure that what they needed could be found there. If the owners were still alive and living on the farm, they'd talk to them. Maybe they could team up? Pool resources? If not... well going in to town would be their next, and last, option.

...

As Emma got in the car next to Ruby she looked at the cabin where Henry stood on the porch, eyebrows drawn together, Mary Margaret's hand resting on his shoulder. Regina had walked to the car with them and was currently leaning in through the rolled down window, steadily meeting Emma's eyes.

"Make sure to come back in one piece Sheriff." Regina's voice was sharp, like the old Mayor's voice she'd used to scold Emma with a few days ago. Somehow now it felt more comforting than hurtful and admonishing. Emma smiled.

"Of course we will. We'll be careful. I promise Madame Mayor."

Regina rolled her eyes at the title, but her face and rigid shoulders told another story. She was obviously worried.

"I'll make sure to get some syrup for Henry... and the other kid."

Ruby shot her an angry look. "Get over yourself Ems, you want syrup as well. I used to serve you breakfast and I'm very familiar with the need to get more bottles from storage after your visits to the diner."

Regina chuckled. "So the need to drench breakfast in syrup is yet another bad habit Henry got from you."

Emma turned her eyes to the heavens and sighed dramatically, putting on a show for Regina before she rolled the window back up. As Ruby turned the car around Emma met Regina's eyes, smiling encouragingly although she felt her own muscles tense at the possible danger they were heading towards. She hoped this trip would be successful, that they would return unharmed with what they needed, and that they wouldn't have to leave the cabin in a very long time, if ever.

...

Somehow the farm looked deserted even though only a few days had passed since the zombies had showed up. Emma and Ruby watched a dog run across the yard towards the car. Barking, tail wagging back and forth and with ears flopping, it happily jumped at the door on Ruby's side of the car, causing her to giggle.

"Hey big guy!" She opened the door to pet the excited dog. He sniffed her hands before she ran them through his thick fur.

Emma scanned the yard, house, garage, barn and the open fields around them. She had thought the owners of the farm would still be here. If they'd turned into a threat or not, she didn't know, but she found it suspicious that the dog was running around as if nothing had happened. If the people living here knew about the zombies, which she supposed everyone did by now, the dog shouldn't be out here. Or maybe it should have, but with the purpose of guarding the place - warning whoever was alive of trespassers. She now suspected that the owners must have left - alive or undead she didn't know, but if they were here the dog wouldn't have greeted them like this - would it?

The dog had calmed down as Ruby kept talking and petting him and as nothing had moved since they'd parked the car Emma motioned for both of them to get out. They had their weapons at the ready as they moved towards the porch of the house. The dog tried to get Ruby's attention - he nipped at her shirttails before he took a few steps across the yard, then he turned back to do it all over again when he noticed that they weren't following. Emma smiled and shook her head at his playfulness.

The door was unlocked and as Emma stepped into the kitchen she heard Ruby tell the dog to stay put outside the door. Hopefully he would bark if someone or something came close. The warm welcome they'd gotten might not be ideal for a guard-dog, but at least it was noisy enough to draw attention to stealthy ambushes.

Finding bags wasn't too hard and they filled them quickly - emptying the cupboards and loading the car. They made their way back inside, going from room to room, gathering anything seemingly useful. Emma found clothes better suited for Henry in a room that looked like it belonged to a teenager - colourful posters on the walls promoting video games, movies and a barely dressed actress. She heard Ruby in the room across the hall - a very cosy master bedroom with a promisingly filled wardrobe. Emma smiled at the fleeting thought of Regina's sense of fashion most likely not being met by what they found.

Next were the bathrooms and then they made their way to the garage. The dog was happily jumping at Ruby's side, wagging his tail as he performed a strange little dance in front of the door leading into the garage. Ruby opened the door, Emma close behind with her gun aimed at the interior of the darkened building. The smell that greeted them made them both recoil in horror and that's when Emma saw it - the cause of the stench.

What she assumed to be the owner of the farm was lying on the floor just inside the door, head blown to pieces, with the gun still in his hand. Two bodies were hanging from the rafters, a woman and a teenaged boy. They were both hung by snares around their necks and shot through the head - Emma didn't even want to consider in what order. She could barely look, she felt queasy and turning her head to look at Ruby she was sure the younger woman was about to pass out. The dog was sniffing the farmer's feet, shifting from paw to paw and whining as his big brown eyes went from the body of his former master to Ruby and then Emma.

"He tried to tell us. He was heading towards the garage when he tried to get my attention. I thought he just wanted to play." Ruby's voice sounded weak, her words whispered and hoarse.

Emma grabbed the back of the dog's collar dragging him away from the dead body and back out the door. Her eyes roamed the interior of the garage and she decided that the few usable things in there weren't worth the trauma of spending one more second close to the evidence of the tragedy that had played out here.

They closed the door behind them, walking in silence towards the barn while trying their best to erase the last couple of minutes from their minds. Emma wanted to run to the truck and leave. She wanted to get back to Henry. Back to Regina and Mary Margaret and their safe little cabin. She didn't want to think about zombies or men desperate enough to kill their family, their children, to save them from becoming undead. She wanted to forget, to erase everything she'd seen and lived through.

She spotted movement at the side of the barn and turned sharply, her gun aimed at whatever it was that had moved. Ruby stiffened at her side. They were both nervous and the tension in Emma's arms made her hands shake uncontrollably. They walked closer, trying to get a better look and as they both got a clear view they relaxed, relieved sighs leaving them.

Next to the barn was a chicken-run with what Emma guessed to be seven hens and one rooster. The hens cackled and went about their business, oblivious to the chaos that had erupted in the world around them.

"Yay for future pancakes and omelettes!" The smile didn't quite reach her eyes, but Emma was grateful for Ruby's attempt to divert their attention from the horror in the garage and the scare of the hens.

"You try to catch them and put them in boxes, or whatever you can find. I'm gonna go look for some chicken wire and maybe some seeds, or whatever the hell you feed those things." Emma knew she sounded gruff even though she tried to joke, but right now she couldn't help it. She just wanted to get back to the cabin as fast as possible and she was sure Ruby felt the same way.