SEASON TWO – CHAPTER 11

1ST EPISODE (Written 6/7/2015 7:38 PM)

Roxanne would soon be returning to the Town of Mamou after seeing that Shoes had her health back. "You've been spying on me, using up all your strength. Don't deny it. I have felt you there in the trees, the wind, the moonlight," Roxanne said one day. She turned and looked at Shoes, "Did you scare off Lance? He was not a threat to me."

"Spying is a harsh word to use for someone who gave you life again. Did you think I was going to deplete my supplies keeping you alive and then send you out into the world without protecting my investment?"

Roxanne put her hand on Shoe's shoulder, "You have taught me well momma and I know how to survive."

"Yes, but can you make the right decisions that involve people? I didn't teach you how to spot a liar, how to tell good people from bad, those who would take advantage of you, evil from good."

Roxanne looked at her and sat down, "It's strange that you should mention evil for I seem to have the ability to sense it now. I can stand outside a building and tell if evil is within. Or watch a person and not feel any evil from them. I can tell which roads to avoid because evil is up ahead." She shook her head, "I don't know where the ability comes from but I have listened and heeded its warning." She looked away, "People find me strange so I try to stay away from them. I don't want their superstitions or fears of the unknown to be my downfall."

Shoes smiled and reached over to pat Roxanne's hand. "Then I taught you without realizing that I had. If you keep that ability and the ability to hear an animal's thoughts, then you will be safe in your journey. I have watched Mutt as he has watched you and he is one with you. His spirit has joined yours and he is more aware of it than you are."

Roxanne changed the subject, "What do you know of the people who I have met?"

"I know nothing of the people who you have met. You give me too much credit. I am not a witch I am a priestess of potions, that's all. A medicine woman. Sometimes I would take a potion before I sleep and it would give me visions of you, whether true visions or not I do not know. But I do not travel the night," she lied "and I am not spying on you."

Later Roxanne asked Mary to accompany her when she went for firewood but Shoes asked that the girl stay behind, saying that she would teach Mary how to prepare a squirrel. Roxanne hesitated, suspicious of Shoes motive and saw that Mary was nervous. "It's alright," Mary said. "Go."

Shoes watched Roxanne pick up her machete and walk to the woods behind the house then she turned to Mary who was setting the table. "You know that I care about the girl and that she was my ward for the winter." Mary stopped and put her hands on the back of wood chair. "Yes," she answered as more of a question than a statement.

"Has her innocence of people led her into danger? I feel confusion coming from her and a lot of it. She's in turmoil. Was that fool who flew over here looking for her? Is he tracking her?"

Mary hesitated, "I can't betray Roxanne and the things she doesn't want to talk about."

"Are you afraid that she will put a hex on you?"

Mary laughed, "No, but I have heard…..I have heard…" she looked away and lowered her voice, "that she can be ruthless if she feels that she is crossed."

Shoes smiled, "Oh, have you? That's good to hear. A woman must be ruthless in this new world. Knowing that, I won't worry about her as much. Has she found out what happened to her, who did it?"

"Yes, but you don't need to worry about them either. They're dead but Roxanne is still being cautious, not believing all that she is told. She suspects everybody and everything. It's very hard to earn her trust. She will take in loners, like she did with me, but she will not join others as a group. She will not let anyone take her in no matter what kindness they show her. There are some who fear for her and her stubbornness."

CHAPTER 11 - 2ND ENTRY:

Lucky buzzed the Tackle Shop in the helicopter and continued south into the bayou. The chopper was low on fuel and he knew he would need to put it down soon. The controls did not respond properly and he was not able to gain much altitude, staying just above the treetops. He hoped to catch some sight of a shack in the bayou with smoke coming out of a stove pipe, or someone in a pirogue but he was fighting with the controls too much to get a good look at anything, and eventually turned back.

He flew back up the north road past Lance's old house and set the chopper down near the marina where he had followed Roxanne. It's only use would be to help block the road along with other vehicles between the businesses on each side of the road. He had given Brandon instructions to watch for his return and to pick him up in the jeep that they were able to get started. He took his gear from the seat and started walking back toward town hoping that he would not need to walk the 10 miles and that Brandon was able to follow close behind.

There was still more at the fairgrounds that he wanted to inspect in the following days, but the place spooked his men. Some of his crew were ex-military and it saddened them to see walkers in uniform and there was the suspicion that the army had fired on innocent civilians. If Lucky went back he would need to select a crew of lesser emotioniHiHis

.

Morgan may be interested in going after he heard of the circumstance since he wanted to keep a log of people who did not turn after dying. He would have plenty of bodies in one place to inspect if he could stand the smell of death.

Lucky had walked a mile when he saw the jeep approaching. He thought it strange that he had not encountered any walkers from the noise of the chopper, but both Roxanne and Lance had said that the town went against the norm when it came to walker activity. He believed the town was void of more danger because the citizens had either been moved out of town or had gathered at the Mansion. It appeared that no one had hunkered down in their own home to wait it out because many of the stores had not been ransacked. The less people who were left behind resulted in fewer gangs and fewer humans to turn walker. If Earl was right about the bridges coming out of Baton Rouge then all they had to worry about were stragglers coming through the woods. He liked this place and with more investigation maybe it could be the first village to repair itself and thrive again.

Brandon pulled up and turned the jeep around on the highway to let Lucky get in. "Well, did you find her?"

"What?" Lucky was startled.

"Roxanne. Did you find her? You didn't take the chopper over the town to search for hot spots of walkers or to look for good places to scavenge or to get the layout of the town. You went directly to the bayou. Did you see what you were looking for?"

"I was fighting the controls the whole time. Could barely hold it above the treetops and didn't want to take the chance on a forced landing in town. If I was going to go down, I'd rather it was in the swamp where the trees and mud would cushion my fall." He shook his head, "We're not going to be able to use it, I'm sad to say."

"Morgan and Caleb caught some damn thing called an Alligator Gar," Brandon said. "Smokey said it tastes like catfish. The whole group will be fed tonight and we're building a make-shift grill for community gatherings instead of everyone cooking on their own. Come join us and forget about the helicopter and fairgrounds for tonight."

CHAPTER 11 - 3RD ENTRY: (Written 6/8/2015 1:34PM)

Shoes woke up in the middle of the night and saw that only Mary was still on the pallet on the floor. She threw a small blanket over her head and shoulders and saw Roxanne standing in the moonlight on the porch. She waited to see if Roxanne was communicating with night creatures but Roxanne must have felt her there for she turned her head to look to the side. The movement told Shoes that Roxanne was not in deep concentration and she walked out to join her.

"Worried about tomorrow?" Shoes asked. "You made it here safely. I'm sure you can make it back without Cowboy to guide you."

Roxanne smiled, "Oh, she let me make my own errors when I first left here, circling the same cabin twice, letting it take weeks to find my way out and she never complained. I won't have a problem this time and we have a much lighter load."

Shoes lit a cigarette from one of the packs that Roxanne had brought her. "What's this man's name? The one you cursed as he flew over in that contraption."

Roxanne hesitated and turned to look at Shoes although she could not see her face between the blanket folds at night. "Lucky," she answered.

Shoes was still, then she reached up to take the cigarette from her mouth. "Lucky?" They were silent, both knowing about the four-leaf clover tattooed on Roxanne's back.

"I've seen what's there, Shoes. I had Mary describe it to me"

"Do you think he put it there?"

"No," Roxanne shook her head and turned to look out over the bayou. "Even without memory I would feel evil seething from him and it's just not there. He said that we once had a relationship and now he is pursuing me."

Shoes started to chuckle and they both burst out laughing together. It woke Mary in the cabin who listened in on the conversation. "A man pursuing my girl! How interesting," Shoes said. "Don't let him frighten you, young one. Men are easily handled and most are fools when it comes to a woman. You could use him to your advantage and he would never know it."

"I have no interest in him. There is another who is kinder, gentler; I can feel the compassion in him. I'm uncomfortable around Lucky and have seen him make too many mistakes. I like the rest of his group, or at least the small portion who I have met. Would in fact like to travel with them but that would mean traveling with Lucky. I have not decided if I could tolerate him for a long period of time. They have a riverboat named Jenny and it seems to beckon to me. I would like to be on her but that would mean close quarters with Lucky. I have Mary to think of and want what is best for her. I was not going to board Jenny as long as I had Cowboy with me, but now that she's gone the possibility is greater. Cowboy belongs in the wild and that's where she has returned."

"You have a lot to think about. If this man Lucky led you into danger once, he could do so again. But perhaps you were too trusting of him before." She paused before continuing, "Don't get yourself pregnant."

Roxanne gasped, "For Heaven's Sake, Shoes! Taking on a man is not how I see surviving in this world! I am not interested in any man as a lover."

"Shit happens. I'll give you a potion to take with you but if that should ever happen, try to get back here for the birthing. Here is the only place an infant would be safe."

CHAPTER 11 - 4TH ENTRY: (Written 6/9/2015 1:55 PM)

Morgan walked among the bodies piled up around the ground where the helicopter had once been. He was looking for bodies that had not been shot in the head and had not been consumed by walkers but was finding it to be a lost cause. Since the walkers who were still standing or roaming the area had been locked behind the fence for so long they had continued to feed on the pile of bodies. He could not tell which had been attacked by walkers and had died because the bodies were consumed, leaving only bones and clothes. There was some movement within the pile, but that was from the bodies on the bottom that had turned walker and he saw no reason to dig through.

Lucky came out of one of the buildings and said, "Looks like that one was used for Blue Ribbons in Bakery. Nothing there of any use."

"I don't think that you are going to find a military stash of supplies, Lucky. The fairgrounds was to be used for pick-up, evacuation and the military wasn't planning on staying here to store in supplies. I'm coming up with nothing, too," he said and kicked at the bodies. "Can't tell if any of these people died and didn't turn." They heard the grinding of a motor and turned to see Ivan behind the wheel at one of the buses.

"Would be nice to get something out of this place that works other than the jeep" Lucky said. "Looking at the map last night, Rte. 123 is the main street that goes past the Mansion then leaves town and eventually goes into Texas. Some are talking about Texas as a back-up plan, but I'm not going further west. My back-up plan has always been Jenny." They heard the motor grind a 2nd time and almost catch. "I know that's why Ivan is working so hard on a bus, even a small one. I don't think they want another situation like the one at the paper mill, backed up against the river with no working boats to be had. To be quite honest, that's fine with me if they want to split off. I liked having just a small group on Jenny, just the few of us traveling." He stopped and looked at Morgan. "Does that sound selfish, cruel or insensitive?"

"It's a big responsibility, all those people," Morgan said. "We always thought that we needed more people to be a better fighting force, but I found that it just gave me more people to worry about. So I know where you're coming from. If you think that sounds selfish, then we both are. Toby no longer has his tugboat but I still consider him to be the leader of the paper mill folks. That's where he sent everyone and that's where we eventually went, so I consider the mass majority of these people to be his responsibility. Don't get me wrong. These are good people, but if this place is overrun and the group splits up, me and Caleb are still with you and Brandon on Jenny."

Several nights later Caleb was on night duty when his father came to relieve him. Neither Morgan, Lucky or Brandon had elected to claim a house on the 2 residential streets that they were building a community around and had continued to stay on Jenny. "All quiet?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, but something's not right. The sounds are different, the night is different," he shook his head. "Maybe a storm is coming in."

"No, tell me what you heard and feel," Morgan said. "I need to be aware and I trust your instincts."

"Well, I thought I could hear the dip of a paddle in the water, but there was no one there. Then I thought I saw a ripple of water, but there wasn't anything on the surface. Then this one cloud seemed to form on the surface of the swamp and traveled up to the treetops. Just one small cloud and it drifted out of the swamp, past Jenny and up river," he looked confused.

"The ripple could have been an alligator below the surface and you never would have seen it. The cloud was probably swamp gas and drifted away with the breeze. The swamp can be eerie at night," Morgan said, "and all the sounds that we are familiar with during the day sound different at night."

They were silent, standing together looking out over the canal when Caleb finally spoke of what was on his mind. "I think its Roxanne. I think that she's back."

CHAPTER 11 - 5TH ENTRY: (Written 6/10/2015 11:43 AM)

"It will not take us as long to get back," Roxanne said as they poled the pirogue. "We have an empty load and I'll use a faster speed on the motorboat this time." Mary was quiet, had been since they first arrived at Shoes cabin and had continued to remain so throughout the visit. "I know you were bored, but you learned more about survival. Shoes is a good teacher."

"It's a harsh life. I wouldn't want to live that way, not even to be safe from walkers."

Roxanne turned and looked at her, "If the town is overrun and Jenny is not available, the bayou is where we would run to. If we are separated when the town is hit and you flee with someone else, you know where I am," she continued to paddle again. "If we are together we would not need to make the bayou our permanent home. There is a trading post further down river which stands on solid ground and has paths that have been traveled by traders to other towns. If we stay on the canal we will eventually come out on the gulf. So you see, we will have several options."

"You said if Jenny was not available. Does that mean that you are ready to join Morgan, Lucky and Brandon to travel with them on Jenny? This is news to me!" Mary said. "You've always seemed so removed from them, so skeptical of their plans and you can't stand Lucky! Where did this come from?"

"Let's just say that I'm keeping my options open. Survival doesn't always give you a choice."

After a couple of hours they began looking for signs of the red paint on the motorboat and where they had hidden it. When Roxanne pointed and said, "There! I see it," a brown head popped up from beside it. "Cowboy! Sweetie, I'm so glad to see you!"

But as they landed the pirogue they knew that something was wrong. Roxanne was clearing away some of the debris in the path when Cowboy bared her fangs and started to growl. Mary gasped, "It's not Cowboy, it's a different coyote! Or she's been bitten and is infected. Be careful Roxanne."

"No," Roxanne said as she knelt down in the path six feet from Cowboy. "She's telling me that she's been hurt and that I should be careful with her. See the tip of her ear? Another animal did that," she slowly reached her hands out although she was too far away to touch the coyote. "Show me where Cowboy so I can help. Can you stand?"

Mutt had come up beside Roxanne with her head and tail down. He started sniffing the surround ground and slowly advanced toward Cowboy keeping his head down. Cowboy watched Mutt and let him come forward until the two were able to sniff each other's face. Apparently Cowboy gave Mutt permission to examine her for Mutt began to circle Cowboy sniffing her body. When the coyote stiffened and turned her head to look at Mutt Roxanne knew that an injury was there. Mutt did this twice and then returned to Roxanne to sit down.

"Okay Cowboy I understand," Roxanne said. "There are 2 places plus the ear. Can you stand? Are your legs bitten?" The coyote got up without difficulty and slowly came over to Roxanne to settle down in front of her. Roxanne reached out and cupped Cowboy's snout, talking softly to her and put her head against the coyote's. Mary watched from the pirogue and was mesmerized by the scene, afraid to move and to break the spell that Roxanne had on the animal.

"Do they think that you are too old now to run with them? Did they smell my human scent on you and turn you away? It's all right, my precious. You are mine and I am yours," she had tears in her eyes. Finally Roxanne raised her head and asked Mary to bring her satchel. "I will heal you and I will be as careful as I can. Do you understand?" Cowboy sniffed Roxanne's face and then put her head down.

CHAPTER 11 - 6TH ENTRY (Written 6/12/2015 8:08PM)

Over the next two days Roxanne would often stop the motorboat to check on Cowboy's injuries more afraid of infection in the swamps than anything else, but the coyote was healing nicely. She still would not let Mary touch her, but Mary had always been friendlier with Mutt since Roxanne had warned her when they first met that Cowboy was not a pet.

On the second day they came to the landing at the plantation and it was there that Roxanne said they would change to the pirogue and tow the motorboat behind them. "But why?" Mary asked. "By pirogue it will be 2 hours and dark by then. If we use the motorboat we can be there in an hour."

"I don't particularly care to announce our arrival by using the motorboat. If we use the pirogue we can slip in during the night and go directly home. I want to get a feel for this new crowd and what they have done in our absence. I don't want a bunch of people standing on the shore and gawking at me as they hear a motorboat approach."

Mary did not argue as they transferred to the pirogue with Cowboy and Mutt and secured the motorboat behind them but she thought that Roxanne spent too much energy in trying to stay hidden from people, thus remaining a mystery. People became suspicious of the unknown and she hated to think of Roxanne as being cast out due to her own actions. She knew that Roxanne was sensitive about her scars, but plenty of people were scarred by not having proper treatment for the simplest of wounds. Perhaps when they arrived home she would talk to Roxanne about some phony story they could make up for the "S" on her cheek.

It was dark by the time they poled to the area where Jenny was docked. Roxanne had warned Mary not to talk for the last hour since voices carried on the water. She guided the pirogue to the heavy brush and watched Jenny through the foliage for 20 minutes when she sensed that Mary was becoming impatient. They had used a black tarp to cover the motorboat once they had changed over to the pirogue with Roxanne saying that it would camouflage the red paint at night.

Now Roxanne leaned back and whispered to Mary, "I only see Caleb on look-out but he keeps looking this way. He's suspicious of something or else he expects us back and is looking for us to arrive."

"You never travel by night!" Mary whispered.

"I have a plan." She tied a rag around both snouts of the animals and told them to stay down, putting a blanket over them. Then she told Mary to wrap a rag around her mouth and nose, doing the same herself. She told Mary to watch for her signal and then to pole in a crouched position then Roxanne took a jar of white crystals out of her duffle bag and opened it.

With a swinging motion Roxanne threw some crystals far out into the water. Mary watched as the crystals made a sizzling sound and a fog started to rise on the water. She threw a few more and the fog thickened. Mary looked over at her thinking that she really was traveling with a witch after all. A few more crystals and Roxanne gave the signal to pole. She followed Roxanne's lead which took them right into the mist that had a horrible odor to it. She realized why they had covered their mouth and nose as she crouched down to pole, not being able to see where they were going.

Somehow the mist followed them, or Roxanne was still throwing crystals but Mary was too occupied trying not to gag to notice. Finally they were through it and she recognized the canal that their cottage was on. The air was clear and she sat up to rip the rag off her face so she could breathe fresh air. Roxanne tossed back the blanket she had over the canines and removed the make-shift muzzle that she had put over their snouts. Both animals snorted and shook their manes. Roxanne signaled to Mary to remain quiet as they continued to pole again but Mary thought she heard voices in the distance and knew that someone had joined Caleb on deck. She couldn't wait to see Caleb again, but knew that most of her journey and discoveries couldn't be shared with him.

CHAPTER 11 - 7TH ENTRY:

The next morning Mary was eating a late breakfast when Roxanne came in from examining the truck. "It's been driven, and driven hard. I know damn well who has used it!" Mary could see that she was mad.

"I don't think that things belong to one owner anymore, Roxanne. If they used it then it was necessary. People share now. If they don't then it's taken from them."

Roxanne looked at Mary and knew she was right. It was just that Lucky got under her skin. She pulled out a chair and sat down, "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me this morning. Nervous I guess. We don't know these people or how many there are, but I think it's more than either of us have been with in a long, long time." She paused, "In fact I can't remember being with a group of any size. I don't know how I will react. I only know that I'm nervous around people. I don't know how many they intend to introduce me to and I don't want a major event. I only know Earl and Lance." She paused again, "Lance…..I wonder how he will take to being back here in Mamou. He left because he said the town was evil, or hiding evil," she shrugged her shoulders.

"It doesn't look like Max has been here for a long time," Mary said to change the subject.

"Maybe someone adopted him. Someone with a kid." They looked at one another and laughed, knowing that Max was not a lap-cat.

Cowboy came into the room and Roxanne called for her to come over so she could check the coyote's scars. "They are looking good girl, but I want you to lay off being my protector for a while longer. We must each look out for one another and now it's my turn to look after you. Give it a week," she laughed. "I'll let you know when the week is up. But you can still be a look-out, just inform me of any danger approaching and we will take care of it. Don't you try to be a hero."

"Roxanne," Mary hesitated. "There's something I want to talk to you about regarding these people. Do you…..do you think that you're nervous because of your scars?"

Roxanne fidgeted and looked away. "Yes, I'm sure that is part of it. Since it is summer I can't hide the scars on my wrists with long sleeves. My limp is still noticeable although it is much better. But there is nothing I can do to hide the scar on my cheek and all eyes go to that. I don't like questions and Lucky said that I was abducted. How do I explain that? I can't, nor would I want to."

"I don't think that anyone will be asking questions, Roxanne. People stopped asking questions a long time ago because we all have a horror story. The question of 'what happened to you' has changed to questions of how to survive. How to construct things, avoid danger, mend things, medical questions. People are more interested in how to stay alive and what you know to help them stay alive. They don't care about the scars of how you gained that knowledge, they just want the knowledge. So if anything Roxanne, they will listen to your suggestions or advice because they'll feel you have the scars as proof that you know what you're talking about."

Roxanne smiled, "I hope that you are right, Mary. But there is something else we need to talk about. I have always indicated that I was taken in by a group in the bayou who healed me. I have never mentioned Shoes to anyone or that the group is only one old woman. I don't expect you to lie for me nor do I want to put you into a difficult spot. I guess it doesn't matter but I always thought it best to tell people that I belong to another group, especially in the beginning when I didn't know anyone. I wanted people to think that I was protected, that there was a gang out there who would come looking for me if I was harmed or disappeared. I couldn't trust anyone, not knowing who or why I carried these scars."

"According to Caleb, you already have that gang, they're just not in the bayou."

"You think?" Roxanne raised her eyebrows.

"According to the stories that Caleb has told me, the four of them are the people who would fight for you, have fought for and with you. If we are to join anyone, it would be them. I don't know about the paper mill crowd, but I trust those four. Lance," Mary paused. "I don't know about Lance. He makes me nervous. He keeps looking around as if he expects to see ghosts or a walker who was once a family member or a friend."

CHAPTER 11 - 8th Entry (Written 6/14/2015 9:40 PM)

It started to cloud up and a heavy rain came in before Mary and Roxanne could go to town to check out the progress, if any. But they had 3 walkers straggle in from the road and they knew that whatever they were doing in town that it was bringing in more walkers. The road leading to Roxanne's cottage was a dead end going north to more cabins on the water and ending at a field of wild grass. It worried her that walkers were showing up in her part of town and wondered what the area around the Bait Shop was getting.

"Do you think that Max is leading the walkers in?" Mary asked. "Do you think that we should go into town and check on the rest of them, see if they need any help?"

Roxanne stood on the front porch and watched the heavy downpour. She shook her head," Max is not around. His presence hasn't been here in a long time. I believe that Max has moved on but is not harmed. Perhaps he felt that this place was no longer safe."

She turned to Mary, "I don't want to go out in this rain and take the chance on the truck getting stuck especially if the walker traffic is heavier on the roads. There were supposed to be what...30 new people? I don't think they need our help. Just be patient." She started to walk into the house and then a thought came to her. "Missing Caleb?" she asked.

Mary blushed, "Other than you he is my only friend".

"There's another walker coming through the village toward Jenny," Caleb came into the dining area of Jenny and reported to the three men. He was wearing a parka and was soaked from the downpour. "Everyone is in their home so I don't think he's a danger but we should keep an eye on him so he doesn't surprise anyone when they come out."

"Caleb, it's not necessary that you keep watch outside. We can see both the road and the canal clearly from here," Morgan said. "I'm sure that Roxanne is hunkered down under a tarp in her pirogue if she was on her way back from the bayou."

Caleb took off his parka and hung it by the door. "She's already here. I'm sure of it."

Lucky and Brandon stopped cleaning their guns and looked at each other. Morgan had told them of Caleb's experience the night before. "Caleb, swamp gas can cause what you saw," Lucky said. "It can also cause lights that drift up and then disappear. Also it could have been a prelude to today's weather."

Caleb stood at the window and watched the walker approaching until a squirrel ran across its path causing it to veer off toward the canal. "Yeah, I know. Smokey explained it to me." The squirrel ran up into a tree and the walker pursued it to the water's edge. "But sometimes I think that I learned more from Roxanne than just how to use a staff and crossbow." In its attempt to reach up for the squirrel one leg of the walker stepped off the bank into the canal. "Sometimes I think that she trained me to have a 6th sense, or trained me how to use my 6th sense because I know that she is home." Suddenly Caleb jumped back, "Yikes! Did you see that?"

An alligator had suddenly lunged out of the water and grabbed the walker's leg, pulling it off. Both men jumped up to see what had startled Caleb and saw the walker holding onto a tree limb trying to regain its balance on one leg. There was another splash of water and the alligator lunged a second time to grab the walkers other leg, this time pulling the walker into the water and both of them disappeared below the surface. There was some rapid motion below the water level then they watched as a ripple went back toward the bayou.

"I guess we better warn the neighbors that alligators may be coming out to sun themselves," Morgan said.

CHAPTER 11 - 9TH ENTRY: (Written 6/18/2015 6:51PM)

Roxanne was standing on the back porch with the binoculars when Mary came out to join her. "You've been out here a long time," Mary looked out at the downpour.

"There's a sailboat out there. The sails are torn and half down but no one is at the helm and I haven't seen any activity. It's just drifting." She put the binoculars down. "I would like to secure it before someone else sees it. Now that there are other people settling in town we can't assume that everything is ours for the taking. We may need to fight for what we want and I consider the sailboat to be in our backyard but we must get to it before it's spotted by others."

Mary objected to going out in the bad weather but Roxanne was already gathering their things. "We need to take the motorboat since the pirogue is too dangerous on turbulent water. Plus we will need to tow it and the motorboat has the power to do that. It will be tedious since we need to tie the two boats side by side and create a bumper between them. Since the sailboat is the larger boat I will be guiding you while you provide the power of the motorboat. Do you understand?"

Mary was nervous but nodded her head. Roxanne smiled, "It will be a learning experience for both of us. I have seen it done, but have not done it myself. The worse that could happen is that we'll both get dunked."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Mary grumbled as she took the rope that Roxanne handed her. The rain lessened somewhat as they got into the motorboat with Roxanne at the helm. Although they could see the sailboat they had to travel parallel along the inlet that led from Roxanne's cottage and then do a U-turn into the canal to go back upriver.

They pulled up alongside of the sailboat and Roxanne yelled out a greeting, "Ahoy, anyone aboard?" She stood up and grabbed the railing of the sailboat and put her other hand on her holster, ready for any rush from the cabin. "Ahoy, anyone there?"

Not receiving an answer Roxanne grabbed the railing with both hands and pulled herself up and over the haul into the boat. She steadied herself then pulled out her gun when she saw that the door to the galley was partially open and swaying with the motion of the boat. She glanced back at the wheel and saw that it had been tied into place to keep the rudder in position. Either someone had fallen overboard or they were still on the ship. She found the ladder and put it over the side so that Mary could board if she needed her help. Roxanne slowly descended the steps to the galley and saw that the door was blocked by debris and would not open further. She kicked at it to see if she got a response but the only sound was the rain and a few items rolling around on the floor.

Mary was nervous once Roxanne disappeared below but she knew better than to give her position away by yelling out. If anyone was on board Mary could mount the ladder and enter the cabin without anyone knowing that she was there.

Roxanne could see that no one was in the cabin but the door to the bedroom was closed. She thought that if anyone was in there that they had not chosen a good place to fight because they would be boxed into such a small area. She walked up to the door and listened then she stood back and picked up an empty can off the floor and threw it at the door but there was only silence from the other side. Finally she went to the door and tested the handle to find that it was unlocked. She quickly threw it open and stepped back in case anyone rushed her. She briefly saw a woman lying on the bed before the door swung back again to block her view.

Roxanne opened the door again and stood there to take in a quick assessment before advancing toward the bed. The woman appeared to be unconscious but was still breathing, although it was very shallow.

CHAPTER 11 - 10TH ENTRY: (Written 6/19/2015 11:52 PM)

Roxanne leaned over the railing, "We have a survivor," she told Mary. "A woman and she is very weak. Toss me a bottle of water but don't leave the boat. There are life preservers on the boat and I'll use those to make a bumper. Turn the boat around so that we are facing the same direction and I'll be back to tie the two together."

Roxanne took the water back to the red-headed woman and managed to bring her to consciousness so that she drank. When the woman realized that she had water she tried to grab the bottle from Roxanne's hands. "Wait," Roxanne soothed. "Drink slowly or you will throw it back up." The woman's eyes seemed to focus on her but there was more confusion than fear in them. Roxanne gave her more water and explained that she was safe now but to be patient while they towed her back.

She went back topside and secured the life preservers into place, then tied the motorboat in 3 places to make the 2 boats as close to being 1 that she could. "Remember," she called out to Mary, "Let me lead you to the inlet while you provide the power. Take it slow. Do not rush things." She lowered the rest of the torn sail so it wouldn't interfere with her vision or that a sudden gust of wind would take them off course. The skies were still heavy with rain but the humidity was high making the slicker stick to her skin.

Mary got the hang of it after a few jerky starts and was able to smooth things out. She realized that only a small amount of power was necessary since the bigger boat drifted further once she cut back on the motor. She was nervous about docking it since the sailboat could take her past the pier and continue drifting into the reeds. She knew it would be harder to get the motorboat out of the reeds if the sailboat pulled her in when suddenly they came to a stop.

When they had approached the pier Roxanne had the same apprehension as Mary so she quickly jumped onto the pier to secure the sailboat and keep it from drifting away. Once she had it tied down she got back on the sailboat and went to the other side to call down to Mary. "Can you untie the motorboat and dock it by yourself? I want to check on our lady again. I don't think that we should try to move her in this weather. Come aboard when you're ready."

Roxanne went back to the galley and began going through the cupboards to see what supplies the woman had, but everything was depleted. By the amount of debris on the floor she guessed that the woman had been through a storm. She checked the closets to find men's clothing and assumed that the woman had not always been sailing alone. She sat on the bed and put her arm under the woman to give her more water when Mary entered the cabin.

"Did you check her for bites?"

"Why, no I didn't. I didn't see any blood on the sheet, but you're right. I should have done that." The woman was wearing shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt with a sports bra so the examination was simple although she started to fight Roxanne's efforts. "Heat up a jar of one of my soups," Roxanne asked Mary. "The one with clover and sow thistle. You know which one I'm talking about?" Mary nodded but did not move and continued to stare at the woman. "What's wrong?" Roxanne asked. "Do you see something that I don't?" she looked back at the woman.

"Do you think that red hair is natural?" Mary asked. "And if it isn't where the hell is she getting the dye?"

Chapter 11 - 11TH ENTRY: (Written 6/20/2015 4:39PM)

The woman appeared to be dehydrated and suffering from sun stroke. She was in and out of consciousness for the next two days and Roxanne spent the nights on the sailboat in case she should waken and become confused. She applied lotion on the burns and kept a continuous feeding schedule of liquids.

Mary was anxious to get back to town and even suggested that they transport the woman and hand the responsibility over to the townspeople, as she now called them. Roxanne was at the well drawing more water when she became impatient with Mary. "I don't want them to know that we are back and start asking questions. We don't know who this woman is; don't know her name and I would like to get her healthy before turning her over to them."

Mary looked at her puzzled, "She's just another lost soul Roxanne. She's no one special. None of us are special anymore."

Roxanne pulled the bucket from the water and sat it on the well. "I don't want my methods criticized," she sighed. "Some people see my herbs as weeds and think that I am backwoods in my knowledge. Others are superstitious and would think me a witch. I don't need a posse at my door who will want to run me out of town or burn me at the stake."

"If people think that you are a witch it's because you hide yourself from them. You give them reason to be suspicious. No one travels alone or chooses to live alone and you insist on doing both."

"You are starting to sound more like the riverboat gang every day," Roxanne said as she took the bucket and started toward the house. Then she looked down her driveway to see Caleb and Morgan approaching, "Oh-oh."

"Hello!" Morgan called out. Both were smiling as they walked toward her and Caleb waved. Roxanne looked over at Mary to see her grinning and thought that perhaps she should have a talk with Morgan about not leaving the two of them alone together. Age fourteen in a ZA was more like being eighteen in the normal world. Roxanne put the bucket down and waited for them.

"We've been checking the house about twice a week since you left," Morgan said, "but bad weather kept us away. How long have you been back?"

Roxanne ignored the question, "What is happening in town? The walker activity is much heavier and I've had to dig a trench on the other side of the road for all the bodies. Don't like digging trenches," she shook her head. Caleb and Mary continued to stand there and smile at each other until Mary signaled that Caleb should follow her. Roxanne swiftly turned, "Where are you two going?"

"Just on the porch," Mary said. "To sit in the shade."

Roxanne turned back to see that Morgan had taken off his hat and was wiping his brow. "I'm sorry, I've been rude," she said. "Why don't we go on the porch too." While Caleb and Mary sat in the porch swing Roxanne and Morgan sat on the steps with their backs to the couple.

Morgan began to give her an update. "We were able to get a jeep started from the fairgrounds and Lucky managed to fly a helicopter for a short time, but it's not safe to use it. He set it down at the marina further up the road and we will use it to block that section."

Roxanne had been leaning over with her elbows on her knees but sat up at the news. "You went into the fairgrounds?" she shook her head. "The marina is ten miles away. You are spreading yourself too thin. Concentrate on walls around the immediate community then go further as you secure things. No one will be checking that area on a regular basis and I was getting my supply of gas from that marina. Have you made it more difficult for me?"

"I think the purpose was that Lucky didn't want to attract walkers to our area by landing it closer. Anyone on the road now can get past it although Earl is convinced that no one will be coming out of Baton Rouge, including walkers. "

"And the fairgrounds?" While Morgan was telling Roxanne what they had found and the condition of the place, Caleb and Mary slipped off the swing and went to the back of the house.

Chapter 11 - 12TH ENTRY

"I knew that you were back," Caleb said as they walked around the corner of the house, "but no one would believe me. Whoa!" he said and came to a stop when he saw the sailboat. "Did Roxanne bring that back with her? Does that mean that she plans on sailing out of the bayou?"

Mary looked over at the sailboat. "She didn't say why she wanted it, only that she wanted it before anyone else found it. It was just drifting in the canal. But you may be right. It hadn't occurred to me that she would seek another method of escape since the pirogue can only be used in calm waters. She's tricky like that, but I would have thought that she would tell me of her intent." She shook her head. "She was just telling me that I was getting more like your group every day, so perhaps she trusts me less."

Caleb turned to her, "I missed you while you were gone. There's no one else around who is our age and I don't like to talk about Roxanne with anyone except you and my dad. In fact, I caught both Brandon and Lucky looking at me strangely the way they sometimes look at Roxanne. I'm learning a lot from her like how to listen and feel the night." He shrugged, "But maybe it's this place. Lance is convinced that the town is haunted by spirits and refuses to do night duty."

"You ain't seen anything until you go deep into the bayou," Mary said. "I don't know how she was able to live there last winter. Maybe it's different in the winter but the place I was in was active all the time with snakes, insects, alligators and I felt like all the wildlife was trying to push me out. It's not a place for people and the night was worse with strange sounds of screaming and screeching as animals hunted." She shivered. "I don't think that I will go back again."

"Did you meet her family, her bayou family?" Caleb questioned. "Lucky will want to know all about them. He even flew a helicopter over the trees looking for her."

"Yes, we know. Her medicine woman called it a 'contraption'. They both started to giggle until Roxanne came around the corner with Morgan.

"And what is so funny?" she asked but Morgan had spotted the sailboat and started walking toward it for a better look.

"Nice, Roxanne" he said. "But is it operational?"

"Morgan stop!" Roxanne commanded. He was startled and turned to look at her. She sighed and said, "I may as well tell you. There was a woman on board when we found it. She's been ill for two days but is getting better. I never took her off the boat and have been treating her there. I was about to take her more water when you arrived. You can come with me if you like but she hasn't been conscious long enough to know me or where she is, so she may be frightened." She turned to Mary, "Could you get me the bucket from the porch and then the two of you stay here on the back porch where I can see you." She saw Mutt come out of the house and nodded, "Mutt will watch over you."

As they climbed on board Roxanne said, "I haven't found any identity of who she is but she wasn't always traveling alone. I found men's clothing although she could have found the sailboat as I did, just drifting in the water." She opened the bedroom door to find the woman was standing. They were both startled and the woman grabbed the sheet although she was fully clothed. Roxanne slowly set the bucket on the floor and put her hand out. "It's alright, we are friends. You have been very sick with a fever and were dehydrated. Apparently you had been drifting for some time or you had been out of provisions for a long time. I'm Roxanne and the man behind me is Morgan."

The woman sat down on the bed, still holding the sheet in front of her. Roxanne became suspicious but knew that she had searched the place well. "Do you have a weapon?" Roxanne asked. The woman did not answer but looked from one to the other in confusion. "I'm going to take off both my knife and gun," Roxanne said, "and put them out of my reach to show that you can trust me." She put them on the dresser and then slowly moved to the other side of the room but the woman was still suspicious, looking over at Morgan who could reach the dresser. "Morgan, could you go out of the room please and shut the door behind you?"

As soon as Morgan left the room the woman jumped up and grabbed the gun off the dresser, pointing it at Roxanne.

CHAPTER 11 - 13TH ENTRY

"You are not going to shoot me because you know that you need help," Roxanne calmly said. "And you know that you have been ill. If we wanted what you have we would have killed you and not bothered to keep you alive." She looked at the coat hanger that the woman had taken apart and had wrapped around her wrist with two prongs extending through her fist to use as a weapon. Roxanne smiled, "That's a very good weapon. I never would have thought of that, but don't you think that you should sit down before you fall down? I wouldn't want that gun to go off and have you shoot me by accident."

The boat shifted against the pier and the woman had to grab the dresser to keep from falling. She finally made her decision and put the gun back on the dresser, then sat down on the bed breathless. Roxanne took a cup of water from the bucket and sat on the bed with her, helping her drink. She touched the woman's forehead, "The fever is almost gone but it won't help to exhaust yourself. Perhaps we can move you to the cabin where I can continue to treat you. I'm sure you are sick of this boat by now. Do you remember my name? It's Roxanne."

The woman nodded. "I remember you coming in and out, sometimes giving me something bitter to drink. Sometimes you were washing me. I'm Karen."

"Lay back and let me get this wire off of you. I'm going to let Morgan come to the door. He's a gentle man. You need not fear him." Roxanne got off the bed and opened the door. "Morgan, this is Karen." Morgan watched as Roxanne unraveled the coat hanger from Karen's grasp. "Do you think that between the two of us we could get Karen off the boat and into my house?"

"You have a good healer in Roxanne, Karen," Morgan said. "She was able to help the pain in my leg when it didn't heal properly." He turned to Roxanne, "If we can get her onto the pier I will be able to carry her into the house, but going upstairs we will need to carry her between us."

Mary and Caleb were watching from the porch when they saw Morgan get on the pier and then Roxanne came into view from the galley assisting the woman to topside. "Damn," Caleb said. "I've never seen such red hair!" "It's not real," Mary retorted, "can't possibly be. That's out of a bottle if I ever saw one. Can you believe that someone would be so vain as to keep their hair dyed when the rest of us are trying to find food, water and shelter?"

"Where does she come from?"

"We don't know yet. She hasn't been well enough to talk."

Once Roxanne managed to get Karen onto the pier Morgan swept her up into his arms. "She's light," Morgan said. "Just skin and bones. I'll be able to make it to the house easily." Caleb held the door open for them. "You take her legs, Caleb and walk up the stairs backwards." At the top of the stairs Roxanne said to put Karen in her bedroom and that she would sleep downstairs until they found another bed. Both Cowboy and Mutt were curious and were constantly around their feet trying to sniff the new addition to the household.

"Get away you two!" Roxanne ordered. "You'll have plenty of time but I do not want either of you in this bedroom without me. You are not to frighten her."

As Morgan laid Karen on the bed she opened her eyes and turned to see the two animals watching her from the doorway. "We ate fruit and fish for as long as we could but some people started to lose their pets and we knew it was the natives," she said.

Morgan and Roxanne looked at one another. "Where were you sailing from?" Morgan asked.

"From the Bahamas," she said faintly and put her arm over her forehead. Roxanne got a rag and soaked it in water, wringing it out before putting it on Karen's forehead.

"And you made it all the way to Louisiana from the Bahamas?" Morgan was astonished.

"Louisiana?" Karen was momentarily alert at the mention of where she was and then became faint again. "We were trying to make it to a bunker in Florida. Our last contact was six months ago."

CHAPTER 11 - 14TH ENTRY: (Written 6/21/2015 8:32 PM)

Roxanne had asked Morgan not to say anything to the group until Karen was well and could answer more questions. She did not want a run on her house and knew how inquisitive Lucky could become, often pushing things too far. She let Mary take the truck into the community during the week and she reported back that they were blocking the town walkers from reaching their residential streets. "I don't know if that's the right solution since they need to go on foot to raid the surrounding stores, but I guess it's better than waking up to a herd. Still, you would think that they would concentrate on killing off the walkers, or leading them out of town and then taking over the stores as residences. That way they would have the main road leading west out of town at their disposal. As of right now they're actually enclosing themselves on a dead end street with only Jenny and a few boats at their disposal. I guess they can still use Route 236 and go around the helicopter, but if a herd is on that road and they can't get to the short-cut to Route 123, then they're boxed in."

Roxanne was sitting on Karen's bed when Mary gave her the update. Karen was sitting up and now able to eat solid food, listening to Mary's report. "You mean there's a town here with people?"

"Just in the last month," Roxanne answered. "Until then it was just Mary and I and we were well supplied by raiding the empty houses and stores. All that has come to an end as this new group has bigger demands. When you are well enough you can choose to join them for more protection than Mary and I can provide for you."

"I found a bed for you," Mary told Roxanne. "Morgan and Caleb helped me, but maybe you won't want it up here now that Karen may be moving out. I was sure that you were tired of the couch since you can't stretch your legs out." But Roxanne agreed that a bed sounded good and they brought the frame up to put it together, pushing Karen's bed closer to the window looking out over the canal.

Mary never told Roxanne that Karen had asked about Roxanne's scars and how she had gotten them. Mary told her that it was an accident and when Karen replied, "That's no accident", Mary answered "That's all you need to know." But it hadn't escaped Roxanne that Karen was often watching her and she felt the same type of scrutiny from Karen that she had received from Lucky. She made sure that she never dressed or undressed in front of Karen and that all she saw were the wrists and facial scar. Finally Roxanne could stand it no more and turned one day to put her hand to her cheek, "Let's just say that there are people to be aware of in the ZA. But not these people, not this place. You have no reason to associate my scars with where you are now."

"I heard of horrible things happening, have seen some myself but not until much later in the ZA. We were sheltered in the Bahamas for almost a year after the US was infected." Karen paused and looked away. "But then we let in the wrong people. One of our fishermen found a boat drifting in the ocean with a family on board. By then we had passed a law that we would not accept any more people. The Island could sustain only so many people but he felt sorry for them, thinking that they were just sick and needed nourishment. By the time he towed them to shore one of them had died and turned. When it became late in the day his family went looking for him, not knowing that he had been bitten and had turned, he infected them. Well, you know how it goes from there."

Morgan and Caleb visited once more and then it was agreed by all parties, including Karen that she was well enough to see the community. Roxanne told Morgan to come back the next day with Lucky and Brandon in the jeep and they could show Karen around.

Karen was both apprehensive and excited about meeting people and to see more of what type of shelter was being built. She had seen people attempt to build a fortress around their home and saw each one fail but those people had not banded together to build just one stronghold that everyone could defend. She liked the idea but was apprehensive that it could be done.

Mary had brought all Karen's belongings in from the sailboat and washed them. As Karen carefully dressed for the meeting she felt as if she were getting ready for a date. She was coming down the stairs when she heard the jeep arrive and was just opening the screen door as the passengers got out. She gasped and froze in her tracks when she recognized one of them. "Lucky?"

Lucky stopped and looked over at her, "Karen? Oh my God, is that you?" Everyone watched as they ran to each other. Lucky picked Karen up and swung her around as they both laughed.

END OF SEASON TWO