We all just kind of looked at Cynthia. For once I didn't have a witty comeback. I was surprised that Cyn was serious about searching for Carter.
"Cyn, do you really want to take Carter out?" Angie asked.
"I am," Cyn answered. "Carter's more dangerous than the biters."
Cynthia did have a point. Carter really didn't seem like the type of guy that would be willing to coexist. Not that I was about to invite him over for milk and cookies. Fuck that shit. We didn't have those things in our supplies anyhow.
"Cynthia, that's nuts," Ang said.
"Is it? Is it really?"
"Yeah. Not only are you going to risk dealing with the stenches that could be outside, but you're gonna search for that fucking psycho? What if he gets you first?"
Cynthia sighed. "Angie, what else can we do? Wait for him to show up? Move again?"
"Hell no," Mick interjected. "Hell, we almost didn't make it out of that warehouse."
"The prick will probably just follow us again anyhow," I added.
"That's why we need to fortify this place a little better," said Angie. "Make it damn near impossible for Carter or the eaters to get in here."
I tried to see both Cyn and Angie's points. The two of them were right. But both of their plans were dangerous as well. Go out and try to deal with Carter? Or go out and fortify the outside of the building? Like picking between two bowls of shit. What a lovely image.
"We can try doing both," Janice said.
"What?" I asked. Janice said it so quietly, I didn't hear her the first time. A steady diet of heavy metal cranked up to eleven will do that to a person's ears.
"I said we can try both," Janice repeated herself.
Mick rubbed his beard as he thought about it. "Yeah."
"What? Half of us work on the office while the rest of us go wax carter like some kind of a fuckin' hit squad?" I asked the group. I didn't like where the conversation was heading.
"I guess so, Reid," Cyn answered.
"Wow," I sighed.
"'Wow' What?"
"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling."
"About what?"
"All of it."
Everybody sat in silence for a bit. I know I damn sure didn't know what to say.
"I'll help fortify the office," said Nicole. "We can use some of the equipment in here and stack the stuff up in front of the parking lot doors. The eaters shouldn't be able to move the stuff away."
I was relieved to have something else to talk about besides killing Carter. Don't get me wrong, Carter did deserve it, I just didn't like talking about it. "Stack up enough crap in front of the door? I like it," I told Nicole.
"Who's gonna carry it out there?" Mick asked with a little smirk.
I was in no mood for getting a hernia. "Dammit, Mick. Screw your logic."
"Not only that, Reid, what if we're carrying something out there and Carter happens to see us? We'd be sitting ducks."
"Good point." Maybe we did have to split up after all.
"I wonder if Carter has any of his lackeys with him?" Cyn asked.
"Possible," I replied. "But, the prick might have killed them too."
Cyn chuckled, "Wouldn't surprise me." She stood up, "I'm going outside."
"For what?" Ang asked her sis.
"To see what I can see, Ang."
"I'll go too," I said.
Angie had a worried look on her face, "Please don't."
"Ang, I'm just going out back for some air. Don't worry," Cynthia said.
"Yeah right," Angie scoffed.
"Come with me then."
"Nope. You stay here."
"Nope."
"Aww. You two are making me miss my foster family," I said.
"Really?" Cyn asked me.
"Fuck no."
"Ass."
Cynthia and I moved the exam table from the back door and we cautiously stepped outside.
"Okay, Reid, where do you think that asshole is hiding out?" Cynthia asked me.
I pointed to the block across the street to our right, "I'm pretty sure he's around there," I answered. "That's where I saw him run off, Cyn."
"Hm. Interesting. Wanna go for a walk with me?"
"Not really."
"Wuss."
"I'm not in the mood to get shot today, Cynthia." Getting a hernia, getting shot, it's things like that that just ruin my week.
"We won't go very far."
"Especially if Carter shoots the hell out of us."
Cynthia was trying not to smile. "I just love your 'can do' attitude, Reid."
"Thanks." Before I could turn around and go back inside, Cynthia grabbed me by my right wrist and pulled me down the alley. "What are you doing?"
"What's it look like?"
"Hopefully taking me someplace private for a little 'alone time,'" I replied, giving Cyn a wink.
Cynthia frowned at me, "Down boy."
I have no idea why I didn't just stop walking with Cyn. I could have just pulled my hand away and told her to piss off. But, I figured there was no stopping her and I guess I didn't want her getting into some shit all by herself.
The house across the street from the office was a plain, white bungalow. The front door was closed and the windows were intact. The window to the right of the front door had its dark red curtains down.
Cynthia and I approached the house cautiously. "I doubt Carter's lurking this close to us," I whispered.
"You're probably right about that, Reid," Cyn replied. "But let's just check it out."
I sighed, "Fine."
"Don't be scared."
"Sorry, I left my courage in my other pants, Cyn."
Before Cynthia and I walked up to the front door, I looked around to see if there were any biters outside enjoying this lovely morning. All I could see was a single dead thing a few blocks away from us, and she was busy stumbling around a street corner to notice Cynthia and I.
"So, what are we doing here, Cynthia?" I asked.
"I just want to see if any of these nearby homes are Carter's hideout," Cyn answered.
Before Cyn could walk onto the front porch, Ang and Mick walked out of the alley behind the office and saw us. "Hey!" Angie shouted.
"Uh-oh. Busted," I muttered to Cynthia.
"Yep," Cyn replied.
Ang and Mick jogged up to us. "What the hell, Cyn?" Angie asked.
"We were just taking a leisurely stroll. Nice day out," I said.
"Shut up, Reid," Ang said angrily.
"Alright then."
"Ang, we were just checking out this house. That's all," Cynthia told her sister.
"For what?"
"Carter." What the hell did Angie think? Cyn and I were checking out property values in the neighborhood? Sheeit.
Angela sighed, "For fuck's sake."
"Cyn, we should really talk things through," said Mick. "Before going off and doing something really dumb. Like, you know this?"
Cynthia thought about it for a sec. "You're both right. Ang, I'm sorry."
Cyn would have to wait to see if Angela would forgive her as we had a group of stenches heading our way. Three dead things to be precise. The biters had been wandering down the road in front of the dentist's office. The dead things saw Mick, Angie, Cynthia, and I standing there.
"Oh shit," I sighed as the stenches started charging towards the four of us.
The biters darted down the road as we readied our weapons. Angie, unfortunately didn't have anything to use at the moment, so she had to get behind us.
The first of the biters, a man with the entire right side of his face chewed away, charged up to Mick. Mick swung his chain at the dead thing, hitting it on its head, cracking open its skull, and dropping the biter.
The second of the three corpses, a woman in a dingy, red, bath robe, almost grabbed Mick's right arm, but he was able to kick the biter in its chest and send the corpse flying backward. While the undead creature laid on its back, I chopped down with my axe, driving the blade into the corpse's forehead.
That left Cyn to handle the third and final biter. This stench was a real charming thing, too. He had his lower lip eaten away, revealing his gnarly, rotten, bottom teeth. For a minute, I actually thought about inviting the dead thing back to the dentist's office so he could have some work done.
Cynthia waited for the eater to lunge towards her. When he did, she stepped to the creature's right and stabbed her knife into the side of the stench's head.
Angie looked at the three dead things lying on the ground, "See why we have to plan things?" She asked her sister.
"Yeah, Ang. I do," Cyn replied.
"Let's get back to the office. Before Carter shows up," Mick said.
I agreed, "Yeah. It feels like we're being watched out here."
The four of us hurried back to our shelter so we could all discuss our next moves. When we made it back inside and sat down in the lobby, Angie made Cynthia apologize again.
"Okay, Ang. I said I was sorry," Cynthia said.
"Ang, don't be so hard on your sister," Janice told Angie.
I turned to Mick, "Hey, Mick, Janice said 'hard on.'"
Mick and I laughed like a couple of idiots. The ladies all groaned. But, there was zero chance in hell I was going to pass that one up. Beavis and Butthead would be proud.
Then, it came time to get down to business.
"The way I see things, I think we should deal with Carter first and foremost. Then we fortify the office," Cynthia said.
Angie wanted to do the exact opposite of what her sister wanted. "I think that we should fix this place up first. That way, if Carter lures more stenches to us, they won't be able to get in. Then you can go out there and try and take him out, Cyn."
"Both plans make sense," Nicole told the sisters.
"What to do? What to do?" I sighed. "Dammit."
To be honest, I didn't want to do either plan, really. But, since I was fresh out of underground bunkers for us to hide in, we had to come with something.
"What about this? Cynthia and I will go back out there and try to deal with Carter. The rest of you stay behind and fix up the office? Just don't barricade the back door in case Cynthia and I have to get back here in a hurry," I said.
"That might be the best thing to do," Mick replied.
"If you two go out there to find Carter, can I come along too?" Janice asked Cyn and I.
"I don't know," I answered. "You might be needed back here, Janice. What do you think, Cyn?"
Cynthia had think for a minute or two. "Janice might be needed here, but we might need her if we get in trouble out there."
"Well aren't we in quite the pickle? This sucks," I said. I was getting pissed off. Psychopaths and dead things outside, making life difficult for the rest of us.
"Hypothetically speaking, when would all of this be taking place?" Nicole asked the group.
"It is only the early afternoon," Cyn replied. I could tell she wanted to go back out there and resume her search.
"Are you up for going back outside to look for Carter?" I asked Cynthia.
"You know it."
I saw that Angie had a worried expression on her face. To try and put her mind at ease, I said, "Don't worry, Ang. Cynthia and I will only check out a couple of houses and then come back."
"That is if Carter doesn't get you guys first," Ang said. I just love optimism.
"Give us an hour or two, Ang. We'll be fine," Cynthia said, trying to reassure her sister. It didn't really work. Angela was still irritated.
Ang sighed, "Whatever."
Before Cynthia and I left the office again, I asked Janice, "You coming along?"
Janice shrugged. "What do you guys think?" She asked the others.
"It's up to you, Janice," Mick answered. "I think we can keep things under control here for a little while."
"Yeah, just don't throw any wild parties while we're gone. I'll feel really left out if you did," I said.
Mick snapped his fingers. "Damn, Reid, you're onto us."
"Janice, grab your wrench and meet us out back," Cynthia said.
"Will do," Janice responded.
When the three of us were back behind the office and ready to go, Cyn and I decided to head back to the white bungalow and go from there.
"What exactly are we doing?" Janice asked us.
"No idea," I replied. "This is Cynthia's idea."
"I just want to check out a couple of these houses. I have a sneaking suspicion that Carter might be hiding out in one of them," Cynthia answered Janice. "He has to be close."
Rather than hop on the front porch and try to open the door, the three of us decided to climb into the backyard. I went up to the side windows and tried to peer into the house, but it was of no use as those windows' curtains had been closed there as well.
"I can't see a damn thing in there," I told Cyn and Janice.
"I think we should try the next house. Continue on until we reach the end of the block, and then turn around and get back to the office," Janice suggested.
Cyn and I both nodded. "Sounds like a plan," Cyn replied.
The three of us headed around to the back of the house and stopped right in our tracks when we saw him: Carter was walking through the backyard of a home a few houses down from where we were. He walked up to the back door and went inside the home.
"I don't think he saw us," Janice said.
"Didn't look like it," I replied.
Cynthia looked at Janice and I and then pulled out her knife, "Now's our chance."