Transformation: Zombie Crusade VI by J.W. Vohs, Sandra Vohs

aren’t the only thing changed for the bad-ass. Wanna arm wrestle?” Luke playfully held out his arm and tensed his bicep under his jacket.
    Zach had already felt the strength of Luke’s new muscles in training. “I only arm wrestle humans, not—” He stopped short when he saw Courtney step into the ring of light cast by the flames of their fire. “Hey, Court, what’s up?” he called out with exaggerated friendliness.
    The young girl seemed nervous. “Sorry to interrupt you guys, but Terry has that man from the settlement near Fouke here to talk with you—the scout who’d spent time in Texarkana.”
    Gracie smiled brightly at her young friend. “You don’t have to apologize for completing an errand I sent you on, honey. Bring them over here.”
    Terry approached the fire with a scarecrow-thin, shabby-looking character at his side. “Captain Seifert, this is Jonah Watkins; he’s got some information about the Texarkana area.”
    Luke nodded to the young soldier and the stranger as he waved for them to sit. He addressed the stranger first. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Watkins. Are you hungry?”
    The old man didn’t know what to make of the young captain wearing mirrored sunglasses after sunset. “No, I’ve had a fine meal, uh, Cap’n. I ain’t had steak like that since before the outbreak.”
    “Glad to hear it,” Luke replied. “So what can you tell us about Texarkana?”
    Watkins’ eyes seemed to grow larger in the firelight. “There’re a lot of eaters in Texarkana!”
    Luke sat back and frowned. “I’ve been traveling since this whole mess started, and the cities seem to be deserted everywhere. At first, the infection exploded in the cities. It didn’t take long for the number of infected to outnumber the survivors, but pretty soon the creatures couldn’t find enough people to eat so they had to move on.”
    “Well, Cap’n, I can’t say nuthin’ ‘bout the rest of the country, but them critters is thick ‘round the city.”
    “Any idea why?”
    “Maybe. Seems like every person in north Texas headed toward the Red River Army Depot when the outbreak got serious. It’s about five miles down I-30 from Texarkana, and it’s a damn big facility. Problem is, all the government did there was store vehicles and work on ‘em. Weren’t many soldiers there, or weapons, and they was overrun mighty quick when the infection spread. But people musta had it in their heads that an Army base would be a good place to bug out to, ‘cause I’m tellin’ ya, thousands of ‘em came this way.”
    Luke wasn’t surprised that people would flock to an Army depot. And he wasn’t surprised that they found no safety there. “What happened to all of those refugees?” he asked, fairly certain that he knew the unhappy answer.
    “Most of ‘em got et purty quick, but plenty others hid out in the parts of town that didn’t burn; wasn’t nuthin’ for ‘em out at the base from what I hear. A few of the smart ones found places they could fortify along the river, but winter’s been purty hard on everyone in these parts.”
    “So you think there are still people alive in the city?”
    “Yeah, some, but food’s gettin’ hard to come by and the eaters still hunt this whole area alla time.”
    “How many eaters do you think are in Texarkana?” Luke had no idea if the old guy’s estimate would be anywhere close to actual numbers, but he had a feeling that Jonah Watkins knew what he was talking about.
    “Well, I wouldn’t say they’s just in town; them things find plenty of wild cattle and other meat out in the country. But sooner or later some moron hidin’ out in town shoots a gun, or a fire sets off, and the eaters come in to see what alla fuss is fer.”
    Luke’s expression was unreadable in the shadows of the campfire, but the tone of his voice indicated that he was all business. “How good are you at counting the creatures, Mr. Watkins?”
    “Purty good, I think. I just try to pick out ten eaters and