THEM (Season 1): Episode 3 Read Free

was going to need as much firepower as possible in order to take out that pack.
    I divided up the load between Donkey and an old draft horse that’d seen better days, and saddled an Appaloosa that was a bit feistier than the remaining two. I had no idea of how well Bobby could ride, so I figured it was best to leave him something he could handle. I saddled the other two and packed our gear while I waited for the kids to come back from their final sweep.
    Bobby jogged up and looked at the horses. “Oh, boss, I don’t need a horse. In fact, it’d do me more good to eat it than to ride it.” As he said that last bit, I couldn’t help but notice that the Appaloosa was getting a little skittish around him.
    “See what I mean? They won’t let me near them—I smell too much like a wolf. Gabby had to lead those horses back while I played sheepdog rounding them up.” He hitched a shoulder and laughed. “Why they let her get near is a mystery though—I guess she smells a lot more human than me to these things.”
    I nodded. “Can you run all the way back?”
    “Yeah, but I really do need to eat something first.”
    I reached into a saddle bag and tossed him a large package wrapped in old yellowed butcher paper. “Jerky. Have at it.” About that time Gabby ran up, looking a bit more winded than Bobby but none the worse for the wear.
    I took them both in and smiled, trying to put a bright face on despite our current situation. “Alright, you both know we’re moving at night, and while I’d rather wait till morning I suspect most of the deaders around were attracted to the movements of the pack pulling through here and back after the raid. I’m counting on the fact that they’ll have pulled most of the deaders in the area slightly north of the route we took coming in. So, I intend to head back the way we came and hole up at the winery safe house Gabby and I were at just a few days ago. From there we can rest and regroup a few hours, then head due south straight to the Facility to meet up with Captain Perez. Any questions?”
    Bobby raised a hand. “For future reference? If you make any more jerky, can you leave the pepper out? Gives me gas, and let me tell you, you do not want to walk behind me for the next few hours.” He waved a hand in front of his nose and gave Gabby a conspiratorial wink. She giggled, and I knew all would be well with these two, in spite of everything they’d been through recently; folks in this world were nothing if not resilient.
    - - -
    W e reached the winery about an hour before first light, and other than a few close calls with wandering deaders we’d arrived relatively unharmed. As I suspected, for the first twenty miles or so most of the Z herds were clear of our route, presumably following the pack and their prisoners. If I was right in my assumptions, the ’thropes would be making a forced march back to Austin, following Highway 290 the entire way. I kept telling myself that I was making the right call, heading to the Facility in order to get the edge I’d so desperately need to free Kara, but there were multiple times during the night when I had to talk myself out of turning north to intercept the pack.
    We entered the grounds without incident and secured ourselves in the bunker to catch some sleep before we headed out to the Facility. From what Gabby told us, it was fairly close to the northern edge of the old military preservation. Prior to the War, the Army had used Camp Bullis for field training exercises and to train 18 Deltas, Special Forces medics... and apparently also for some other freaky shit as well. There were vast expanses of densely wooded areas on Camp Bullis, and I was sure it wouldn’t be too terribly difficult to hide a secret underground installment there. Why they hadn’t located it at Camp Stanley was beyond me, but perhaps even the Spooks didn’t know about the Army’s little foray into supernatural DNA splicing. And, who knew what the hell the CIA had