30
They had looked at maps, checked the weird writing in the notebooks and then decided to just go with their gut. "Well, we will need somewhere for stock. These farms look good but everyone else will be thinking the same thing." Dwight tapped the map.
"Maybe… we do know there are other fractions getting around out there I agree with D-Dog" Dean said with a nod of his head "Maybe somewhere more in the country than pastoral land."
"What about this area here … the B&B was a good idea, some other holiday areas or batches maybe?" Kathy suggested "Like… anything like that?"
"There is something I remember from an old case… it was really … do you remember that guy that drowned and we investigated because of the large insurance policy?" Ghost tapped the map "remember? Turned out it was a natural death but the meth lab in that little barn wasn't so good?"
"Yes!" Danni turned to face him with excitement "There was a couple of cabins we saw from the boat… not seen from the road. We didn't know they were there until we got onto the lake!"
"Well… if we thought of this, someone else might have too." Dean interjected, "I suggest someone goes ahead and checks before we uproot the entire shebang."
"Dean has a point" Danni agreed "I think maybe Ghost and me go ahead on the motorbikes, take a gander and then we will know better what to do."
"And if it's occupied, or if you don't come back or…"
"Hey!" Danni held up her hands "Of we don't' come back we got ate. Or captured. Clearly it is not safe then!"
"Then why risk two?" Geoff stood as Mary tried to grab for him, his anger evident "Why don't we just stay here. It's been a good place, we've been here ten months without a problem … Christ… it will soon be a year since the whole thing kicked off … it can't last much longer."
"Don't be a twat!" Geoff laughed "this is the new world ya idiot. Look around … this is it. We need to get somewhere more permanent. At least more secluded. We are too close to London and Cardiff … we need to go inland, look for somewhere we can bunk down for the next winter at least."
"At least" Robbie finally spoke, then rose and walked to the window to stare out at the children paying in the garden with Mark watching over them, Manny looking tough as well as he pretended to be on watch too.
"We have to be serious here… this is not an ideal thing sure but … we have to move forward until we either hit a wall or find somewhere that feels sifter than this" Kathy sighed, adjusting the baby who had gone limp with sleep.
"Here love, give Al to me" Douglas offered and she looked at him with relief as she rose to go pee. God, she had thought after the birth it would go away but she forgot the need to drink so much fluid for breastfeeding.
She sat the loo and went over the different arguments but knew their decision had to be to move forward, check out that lake and the houses there. Somewhere deep down she knew this was their best bet for a winter coming.
God. A year… a year since it all went to hell. Really?
She didn't know how to feel about that.
.
.
.
.
.
Ghost went while they were still arguing, knowing the way and by the time they realized the sound of the bike was fading in that direction it was too late for Danni to follow. Well… that tears it right?
He returned by dawn's first light. Tired, excited and full of news
A camp. There was a camp there and the cabins were good, someone had been there and recently left. There were fences, there were hedgerows to hide it from the road and the lake seemed to be fresh water. Clear and he could see fish when standing on the end of the pier.
Kathy felt excited as they packed up and moved out within the next 24 hours, heading into an unknown future where the Lake Compound offered at least the hope that someone else had been there, others had felt it safe and it was clearly free to use.
As they barreled along the road Kathy wondered who had been there before them, leaving probably within months … maybe even weeks of their pending arrival.
Of course… she never thought it might be who is was.