When the realization hit me that it was really Jase, something snapped inside, and tears poured out. I hugged him so hard. I grabbed his jacket hard enough that I swore I should’ve been able to tear it. I kissed his cheek over and over. In between sobs, I was able to cry out, “You’re alive! How?”
“When we met up with the New Eden guys, they wouldn’t allow us to radio you in case we were connected with the bandits they were following. Once they figured out we were all right, we couldn’t reach Tyler on the radio. So we joined up with them to find you. It was pretty easy to find the Camp Fox vehicles sitting out in the parking lot. When I saw Tyler…”
He sighed and shook his head. Hali came over and stood by us. Jase gave her a look before continuing. “I thought we were too late. Then, those guys came out wearing our fatigues, the New Eden CO figured out the ambush right away. He sent several of us around the back of the store to look for survivors, and that’s when we saw Deb and Vicki run into the woods. Griz and I went after them while a few soldiers stayed behind to get anyone else. It took us a while to round up everyone hiding. I’ve been searching the woods forever for you.”
I stared at him for a moment. Then I punched him in the arm before embracing him again, unwilling to let him go in case he was an illusion. “I thought you were dead.”
He guffawed. “I was going to say the same thing. Don’t scare me like that ever again.”
Over his shoulder, I saw other familiar faces emerge from the woods and I smiled.
Diesel led the way for Benji and Frost. They walked up to us, and Jase patted the boy’s shoulder while the dog circled us, seemingly unbothered by the recent violence. “It turns out Benji is pretty dang good at hide-and-seek.”
Griz was walking with Deb and Vickie.
“Thank God,” I said on a sigh. “I thought we’d lost all of you.”
“We’re Camp Fox,” Jase said. “We’re too tough to die.” He looked around. “Where’s everyone else?”
I frowned. “They’re gone.”
“Gone where?”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “They’re dead.”
It was Jase’s turn to frown. “Wh-what?”
The others had also heard me. Vickie and Deb clung to each other. Hali walked into Jase’s arms. Griz gave us his back. Benji started asking his grandfather complicated questions.
Clutch came over, and Jase’s face lifted.
Clutch stared at Jase, his mouth opened wide, as he looked him over in disbelief. After a pause, he stomped forward and pulled Jase into his arms. Each had their eyes clenched shut as they hugged each other.
“You’re all right,” Clutch said, his voice unsteady and muffled by Jase’s coat.
Marco jogged up to us. “We have to hit the road. There are zeds heading this way from both the east and the west. All that artillery noise and smoke probably drew their attention.”
I jogged out to look down the road and saw a few dozen zeds making slow but steady progress toward us. When I looked the other way, I saw several dozen more. “They must’ve been too decrepit to migrate,” I wondered aloud.
“All right, Frost, how about you help Benji and the others load up.” Clutch waved his arm toward the Humvee I’d been loading up. The one with the coyote head painted on the hood. “Scouts, let’s double time it and grab any beans and bullets we can.”
“Beans?” Benji asked. “Why beans?”
“Food,” Clutch corrected. “Find any food you can.”
I smiled. “We’re going to need a second Humvee.”
He slowly returned my smile when he realized the meaning of my words. “Yes, we have too many people for one Humvee.”
Several hours later, we were back in Iowa on the first leg of our trip west to New Eden. When the sun crept low in the sky, we set up camp near the Des Moines River for the night.