THEM (Season 1): Episode 2 by M.D. Massey Page B

tethered the animals and got Gabby down from the saddle to check her wound.
    Right away I could she was out of it, and besides that she was mumbling incoherently, something about not being a monster and needing to find el diablo , or un diablo , or something like that. I decided she was just having a fever dream, so I checked her wound and saw it was leaking badly, and the bandage was soaked. Just as I was about to change her bandage, I heard a crash from inside the gas station and saw two deaders milling around inside. They’d probably been in limbo mode until we pulled up, but I could see they were getting agitated and trying to get to the door, which was nothing but shattered glass and a pull bar.
    I had no idea how many more deaders might be around, so I decided to just wrap Gabby back up and move on quickly, rather than risk being attacked and overrun. Besides, we were only a few miles from the spot where Gabby had indicated that La Araña was camped; the quicker I got her there, the better. I looked over at the store and saw that the deaders were now fighting each other to get out of the gas station door, and would soon be on us. Frustrated and feeling quite useless, I quickly secured her back in the saddle and moved out, leaving the deaders from the gas station moaning and shuffling in slow pursuit far behind us.
    Within minutes of leaving the gas station, we came to an old blacktop road that looked like it could take us north into the wooded area Gabby had pointed out to me earlier. I headed us up that way and followed it as it wound through the area, finally coming to a dead end at an old dammed-up creek. Thus far I’d seen not any sign of the old woman, and nothing to indicate the presence of a single other soul living out here, either. It was getting close to dark, Gabby was delirious, and if I didn’t find a place to hole up soon we’d both be toast. I backtracked up the road a bit and took a side trail that looked like an overgrown country driveway. Bingo. It ended in a circular drive for a home that someone had cleverly built from an old prefab metal silo.
    The silo house looked like it’d once been fortified, but now the front door hung off the hinges and the entire place looked abandoned. However, the windows were still boarded up, and if the place was clear of undead, it might make for a more or less secure place to hide overnight. I left Gabby on the mule and dismounted, then entered the building with my HK at the ready.
    I noticed ample evidence of a bloody struggle as soon as I entered the home. It was clear that someone or something had broken down the door, and there were large blood smears on the entryway floor. From the looks of it the blood was weeks, maybe even months, old. I paused to listen, but heard nothing to indicate any movement inside the house. Silence was no indication of safety in the Outlands, however, so I moved as quietly as possible as I continued to clear the rest of the first floor.
    Following the circular flow of the layout, I entered the living room next. There I found more blood everywhere, furniture pushed up against the windows, and broken glass and china all over the floor. Further in, I reached the kitchen area and found a single corpse lying facedown on the table, long dead from a gunshot wound delivered at close range to the back of the head. It was a teenage boy, maybe thirteen or fourteen; I noticed he had a paperback copy of The Hobbit wedged in his hands. Probably never even saw it coming.
    Just past the kitchen I came to a laundry room and a family room, both empty and devoid of movement. With the bottom floor clear, it was time to head upstairs. I took a quick peek outside to make sure Gabby was alright; she was still in direct sunlight, so for now she’d be as safe as possible under the circumstances. Once I was certain she was okay, I headed up the stairs with as much speed and stealth as I could muster.
    The top of the steps opened into a hallway that forked