Generation Dead (Book 3): Beyond The Gates by Joseph Talluto Page A

town.  I emptied my pack and re-packed it, replacing the water and checking the gear for any wear that might give way at the wrong time.  Once the pack was satisfactory, I went through my weapons, cleaning my pistol and making sure the magazines were loaded.  The knives and tomahawk were cleaned and sharpened, and the sword was cleaned last.  Just in case, I went outside and squirted a little kerosene into the scabbards and fired them, taking some relief that the brief flames were not red. Jake and Kayla and Julia noted what I had done and followed suit.  We were a little surprised that Kayla’s knife and sheath burned red, indicating a presence of the virus.
    “Won’t be using that one to cut the bread anymore,” Kayla joked.
    “Any more ?” I asked, startled.
    Kayla winked.  “Gotcha.”
    Once everyone had settled in for the night, Julia whispered in my ear.
    “Why are we going there, Aaron? And don’t say because it’s what we do. That’s not good enough.”
    I thought for a moment.  “Those people died running away from something.  They died trying to warn us, anyone, about where they were from.  Something is going on at those coordinates.  Something someone is willing to kill to protect.  Think about it.  Someone is willing to not only follow those who ran and kill them, but also cross back into dangerous territory and return to wherever they came from.  Not once, even, but several times.  That borders on fanaticism, and that’s a dangerous thing to have in the middle of the zombie zone.”
    Julia thought about that for a minute, and I could see she was mulling it over.  I decided to finish my thought.
    “I can’t see those people with the coordinates as being anything other than a warning, and if there is a genuine threat, we should deal with it.  We’re likely the best equipped to do so.  If it’s nothing more than a bunch of kooks running around with twigs in their hair, we’ll kick the headman’s ass for wasting our time, shoot the murderer, and be on our way,” I said with finality.
    Julia giggled, then settled in to sleep. I figured I had finally satisfied her curiosity.

Chapter 20
     
     
    In the morning, I went over to the garage door and looked carefully in the windows cut by my uncle.  I knew if I didn’t and something happened, I’d hear about it forever. Sign not big enough for you, Aaron ? Uncle Charlie was not very tolerant of fools or foolish acts.
    Not seeing anything, I still drew my pistol, and with my free hand, turned the lock and pulled up the door. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but seeing an entire house turned into a tunnel wasn’t one of them.  As I passed under the garage door, familiar lettering looked down at me. CLOSE AND LOCK THE DOOR AFTER YOU PASS! Right. Guess that worked for both directions.
    The house had been gutted and reinforced, keeping the gravel from collapsing the roof. I walked in front of the van after I closed the garage door behind it. We passed a section that was nothing but shelves.  Supplies were scattered around with a small, neatly lettered sign: “Please take what you need, and replace what you can.  If you don’t need something, leave it here for someone else.”  I had a sneaking suspicion Uncle Charlie hadn’t written that particular sign.
    On the other side of the house another garage door was waiting.  This one didn’t look as professionally installed as the other one, since it likely wasn’t supposed to be here when the house was first built.  But I wasn’t going to argue the point, and I took the time to seriously look through the openings for any activity.  I didn’t see any, so I cranked the handle, unlocked the door, and hoisted it up.
    I was less shocked than I suppose I could have been, remembering what I had seen the night before.  Strewn all around me were dozens of skeletons and corpses working on becoming skeletons.  The carnage spread out over what once was the back yard of the house and up