I moved and was without internet for a few days. However, hopefully things'll get back on track as I get settled in!
7.
It was a cute little cabin with dormers and cherry red shutters. Barely visible from the road, peeking through a cluster of mature oak trees. Bulma slowed their pilfered jeep at the iron gate and the engine lolled.
Mrs. Brief squinted at the map before looking around the deserted county road. "Is this the place?"
Bulma nodded in affirmation, though Goku noticed her eyes didn't hold the same confidence he'd grown used to. She was always barking orders, telling them what to do and when they could do it. For a woman with no martial arts or survival training, she'd been awfully efficient when faced with this strange new way of life.
She never seemed happy though. Always frowning, always serious. Even now, sitting in the jeep, staring at the cabin in the distance that looked perfectly safe to him, the weight of everything seemed resting on her shoulders.
On the other hand, Goku was kind of… enjoying himself. Besides the whole having-to-kill-Lurkers thing, it was fun. A bit like camping. He and his grandpa would go into the woods for days, hunting and fishing and playing survivalist. Goku would pretend he was off with Raditz, his brother, who was stationed in some exciting part of the world Goku would probably never get to see himself. But this, moving from one place to the next, scavenging for food, making camp fires, it was a bit like one of their wilderness campouts on steroids. It made it more exciting, even, because it felt so real.
He didn't say that he liked things out loud, of course. Bulma would most likely yell at him.
"Goku," Bulma's voice commanded. "Contact the safe house and let them know we're at the gate."
Goku got out the radio and did as asked, his eyes switching from the Lurker headed in their direction. Out here in this farm country Lurkers were few and far between. A few Lurkers were nothing. He and Bulma could take out four or five easily enough. The problem arose when they traveled in groups. A dozen or so could corner you, which was probably why Bulma was always looking for someplace safe.
So the three occupants of the jeep sat, listening as the radio static was interrupted and a voice, this time bright and feminine, said,
"Wait by the gate. We'll meet you there."
After a few moments, three figures approached. Two women, both carrying guns, trailing a tall man. The early afternoon sun glistened off his bald head. Bulma opened the driver's side door and Goku quickly followed suit.
One of the women stopped short of the gate, her blonde hair badly wind blown around her face. Her arms were crossed and her face pinched in distrust. Goku snapped his gaze to the second woman. An equally frowning, petite Asian. Probably only a year or two younger than himself. The man was the only one not glaring at him, so Goku concentrated on him.
"I'm Goku," he greeted.
"Tien," the man replied. The women flanking him kept their lips bit together. Their expressions didn't soften and no name betrayed them. Goku turned to find Bulma also frowning. He wanted to roll his eyes.
"This is Bulma and…" his voice trailed. He wasn't sure what Bulma's moms name was, so he settled with, "Mrs. Brief."
"You're traveling by car?" Tien asked, his gaze flicking to the jeep still thrumming. Goku turned to find the Lurker was close. He should take care of it soon.
"We are," Bulma interjected. "But the main roads are at a standstill. It's getting impossible to get through the further east we go."
The bald man, Tien, nodded. "Look, I'm sure you understand why we haven't opened the gate just yet. You have weapons."
Bulma glanced at her shotgun and Goku's shovel. "It's the only way to survive out here."
Tien exhaled through his nose. "You can come in for a bit, but this can't be a permanent situation."
"We can help," Bulma offered. Goku caught a bit of desperation crack her voice. "I'm good at supply runs. Goku's dynamite with that shovel of his. We can pull our weight."
Tien looked back to the Asian woman and one corner of her mouth lifted into a soft grin.
"We let you two in," she said. "And we could use a few more faces around here. I'm Chichi." And with that, she stepped forward and unlocked the gate. Sliding it open, she inclined her head. Bulma moved quickly, hopping in the cab and pulling the jeep inside. Chichi and Tien closed the gate and did the lock behind her. The Lurker from the road was close now. Snarling and snapping its teeth from the opposite side of the metal fence.
Bulma stepped forward and drove her knife through his skull. The Lurker fell to the ground in a lifeless heap and Bulma quickly wiped her knife off on her pants. A shiver betrayed her spine and, for the first time in ages, she felt a bit of … relief. The cabin seemed well guarded. An iron gate circling its perimeter, it was nestled in an area with a relatively sparse population. It seemed untouched despite the chaos outside.
Even if it was only temporary, Bulma decided she could maybe even manage a decent night's sleep tonight.
Once inside, Chichi introduced the new trio to her father, who was probably the booming, intimidating voice they'd heard on the CB earlier that day. Ox, it turned out, was hardly intimidating. Instead he was jolly and friendly and smiled at them in greeting.
He offered them food and blankets, and Bulma almost leapt with joy at the mention of a shower.
"It's just tied to our well. No hot water though, unfortunately. The water heater was electric, and… Well, that's all seemed to have gone down."
Some of Bulma's excitement dwindled, but she figured given a bit of time and some proper tools, she could rig something up. But this was only temporary, she reminded herself, running her fingers through her wet, tangled hair. She only glanced down once at the drain the filthy water made her cringe. And even if Ox had offered something permanent, that wasn't the plan. They were headed to Kame House. She soaked her hair in conditioner and breathed in the scent of lavender and vanilla. She wanted to cry a bit.
After drying herself with a clean towel and changing clothes, Bulma joined the group around a large farm-style table. Her mother was shelling peas at the sink, laughing with Ox and a small boy. Goku and Tien were talking in hushed whispers by a boarded window in the sitting area.
Bulma's hair was still wet and for the first time in weeks she felt… clean. Rested. At peace.
The blonde woman was seated at the table, her rifle propped against the chair at her left. Bulma realized she hadn't yet learned her name. Though everyone else seemed to trust them, she was smart enough to realize that friends didn't come easily. Not anymore.
In a world where supplies were hard to come by, it wasn't easy to be too trusting. Bulma's mother announced that dinner was ready, and the group of eight sat around the table, eating a hot meal. Goku devoured more than his portion, but no one seemed to mind.
"How's the road?" Ox asked.
Bulma's fork hovered a few inches from her lips. Had Ox really not been out of his cabin in weeks? "The road is… about as bad as you'd expect. We haven't seen a friendly face since we left West City."
"Where were you heading?" Tien asked.
Bulma and Goku exchange a glance. They hadn't given her a reason not to trust them. In fact, they could, and probably should, have left them locked on the other side of that iron gate. Bulma swallowed a mouthful of food before replying,
"There's an island we know about. It's isolated, the inhabitants are friendly. It should be safe. All we know about the pandemic is that it seems to have started in the mountains, and it's transferred by the exchange of bodily fluids. Blood or saliva through a Lurker biting you, usually. Beyond that, we're just guessing."
"I don't care how it starts," the blonde said. "All I want to know is how to stop it."
"My father was called to the CDC. They're stationed near the coast, on the way to the island. I don't know if they're still working, but if they are they've got to be close to finding a cure. Or at least a vaccine or… something." Her father was brilliant. He'd never come across a problem he couldn't solve, an issue he couldn't fix. Despite all his faults, Dr. Breif was certainly capable.
"What about the brain?" Chichi asked.
Goku frowned. "What about it?"
"Well, it seems to be concentrated in the brain. Damaging their heads seems to be the only way to stop them."
"Yeah. It's like they're able to be reanimated by something in the brain. So the remedy should be chemical. But I think on an island, with its inhabitants isolated, it should be untouched. It's lovely here, and safe for the time being, but it wouldn't be as safe as, say… an island."
"No. It's plenty safe here," the blonde said.
Ox smiled affably. "What Lunch means is, we've had a good run here. It's protected. We don't want to risk ourselves out on the road."
Bulma and Goku exchanged a nod.
"Well, we don't have to decide anything tonight," Mrs. Briefs said. "Stop talking about death and brains and enjoy your dinners."
