Chapter 39
Remy
When I returned to the boat with Vince in tow, Boden asked what I needed with a mule, and I told him he’d help me bring back bigger game in the upcoming hunts. That was good enough for him, and he didn’t press me further.
Over the next couple weeks, I started getting my things in order.
I couldn’t venture off in winter on my own without proper supplies, but I also couldn’t take so much from the Barbarabelle that it would leave them all in a lurch.
On top of all that, I had to go about it stealthily as not to draw attention, because I didn’t want Boden or Stella finding out and trying to stop me.
So I began with a few emergency caches around the boat and on the land nearby.
In the back of a closet near the infirmary, I hid away a makeshift first aid kit with ointments, threads, needles, and bandages.
In the ceiling tiles of the kitchen, I put a medium-sized tin box and filled it with salt, dried meats and vegetables, flour, anything nutritious and portable that wouldn’t be immediately missed.
The extra gear was harder to stash away, because it was larger.
My solution was to move a lot of it to the shed next to the stables on land, claiming that I was diversifying our storage in case of emergency.
From the bowels of the steamboat, I moved a quarter of all our extra gear – including, hatchets, folding saws, firestarter kits, snowshoes, canvas tarps, tents, bed rolls, canteens, portable stove, and rope – into the shed with help from Edie.
Nobody questioned it, and I was easily able to set aside what I’d need so I could grab it all after I saddled up Vince.
By the time the first snow fell in earnest, I had everything I needed. I waited another day, just to be sure that it would stick around, and that there was enough of it to slow everybody down.
In the middle of the night, when Boden was asleep most soundly, I slipped out of bed. I’d already written my note a few days ago, and I’d been carrying it around in my pocket until the time was right.
“I had to go. I’m sorry. Don’t follow. Take care of yourself and Stella and Fae.”
It was simple, too simple maybe, but I didn’t know what more to say. I left it on my side of the bed, along with the silver band that Boden had given me after Emberwood burned. Something to symbolize we belonged together, that we were married.
As I stood in the quiet darkness, his back to me and the moonlight revealing his strong silhouette, a wave of guilt and resolve washed over me. But I had made my decision, and soon enough, the open wilderness would swallow me whole.
I slipped out of our room, with Ripley padding silently on the carpet behind me. Sometimes, she needed coaxing to get up for the day, especially when the temperature turned cold, but she didn’t require any then. Like she somehow sensed what we were doing and how quiet and fast we needed to be.
My steps were calm and deliberate, but inside, my heart was racing. By the time I reached the stables, it was pounding so hard, I felt lightheaded, but I didn’t slow.
I rigged Vince with a decker and a padded seat. Not built for comfort, but he’ll carry the gear and let me ride when the snow’s deep or when we need to hurry.
And, then suddenly, I was done. All my gear was loaded, and Ripley was pacing out in the moonlight to keep from spooking the livestock. I had no reason to wait anymore. Nothing holding us back.
I climbed onto Vince, and as soon as we were out of the stables, I urged him to go as fast as he could. Given the snow and the darkness, it was more of a cautious trot than the exuberant gallop I’d imagined, but with the cold wind whipping in my face, it was exhilarating enough.
Once we were finally running, all my regret and hesitation melted away. That’s not to say that I didn’t love Boden, Stella, or Fae. I loved them with everything I could. I loved them more than myself. But that’s why leaving only made sense. They would be safer without me.
The first few days we spent covering as much ground as we could, but some point before dusk, Vince would let me know when it was time to stop for the night.
As the last traces of daylight faded behind the snowy pines, I guided Vince off the trail into a sheltered hollow beneath a stand of firs. After all the work he’d done all day, my main focus was on making sure that Vince was comfortable.
I removed the decker and gear bags from the mule’s broad back. My fingers were stiff in their gloves as I shook out the wool blanket for him and checked his hooves for packed ice. He snorted, tossing his head, but stood patiently as I rubbed him down and scattered oats for his supper.
After that, I set about making my own camp. The ground was frozen, so I stamped out a patch in the snow for my sleeping roll and spread a canvas tarp underneath for extra insulation.
I hoisted my bags with my provisions up into the branches of a sturdy pine, looping the rope several times to keep it out of reach of any hungry bears or even human thieves that might happen upon us.
While I did all that, Ripley sometimes went off to wander and hunt on her own, but she always came back once I got the camp stove going.
Her favorite part of the night was when I melted snow and made broth with the dried meat.
Most of it went to me, since she supplemented her diet with squirrels, rabbits, and birds.
But I still shared with her, because it was basically impossible not to when she pressed her giant head against me.
I thought of Boden, Stella, and Fae often, but I never let my thoughts linger on them. My worries and my guilt couldn’t help them.
Before I had left, I been worrying about the cold nights and struggling to keep warm if I couldn’t find shelter, but it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, one night, when Ripley was fully pressed up against me, I had to take off my sweater because I was too warm under the blankets.
But soon I realized that the warmth was actually a problem.
I’d waited until the snow seemed fully set before I left, in part to deter followers, but also because zombies were largely absent during the winter.
Some I think migrated south, others seemed to hibernate almost, standing frozen between the trees until spring thaw came.
While the rising temperatures might protect me from hypothermia, it also meant that zombies were on the move once again. When I woke up on my fourth morning away from the boat, snow was melting from the branches, and I could hear zombie death groans in the distance.
I packed us up in a hurry and got back on the road in record time. Both Ripley and Vince kept glancing back over their shoulders, their ears on high alert for the calls of the zombies, but they rushed onward.
Unfortunately, all of us were so busy looking over our shoulders that we didn’t notice what was right in front of us. Not until a small horde of a dozen zombies came shambling out of the dense brush.