Candy looked up and smiled briefly at Sarah's acknowledgement.

"What are you guys talking about?" Candy asked.

"We're discussing whether or not we should set the victims in the house free, which would be the right thing to do, or shot them all and take whatever leftover food they have," Joelle snapped.

"Hey, this is how things are now. We can't miss an opportunity to stock up on supplies," Sarah insisted. "You saw those people Candy, do you really think they'll turn out to be model citizens if we let them live?"

Candy lowered her gaze and stared at the table.

"They're people; caring, breathing, kind people, and we can't just execute them because you think they have all lost their minds," Joelle argued.

"If some guy tied you to a chair and left you in a room and only came back to saw off your limbs for food don't you think your mind would crack a little? One guy in there doesn't even have his legs any more. How the hell is he going to raid for supplies or even take care of himself?" Sarah retorted.

"I don't know," Joelle said. "Maybe he can learn how to start a vegetable garden and they can grow their own food."

"It's winter time, they can't grow shit!" Sarah proclaimed.

"I want to save them," Candy said, her voice almost a whisper.

"What?" Sarah gasped. "You can't be serious."

"They deserve a chance at life. You didn't want to shoot me after I was raped," Candy said.

"That's three against one," Joelle smirked. "Save your bullets for the zombies Sarah."

"Whatever," she sighed, and gulped the rest of her coffee down. She got up and headed for the bathroom. "You guys can cut them loose and feed them canned food, and I'll stay right here where it's safe." She slammed the bathroom door behind her.

Joelle put her hand over Candy's palm.

"You did the right thing," she said.

"I hope so," Candy replied.

They ate their breakfast in silence and gathered their strength for the task ahead.

Alex, Joelle, and Candy walked back into the house. A strange quiet prevailed, and had they not known about the victims locked inside the spare bedroom, they would have guessed that the house was empty.

Alex spotted the plate of cooked flesh on the table and the open beer bottles. A cold shiver curled up his spine, making his stomach revolt, and his hands tremble.

Joelle saw his aversion to the meat, which they now knew was most likely human and pushed him past the living room.

Candy took her beer and started drinking where she had left off.

They went through the kitchen and down the hallway, staying in close single file, and stopping at the last door. The door was already ajar from when Sarah had broken in, and they could see four people: two men and two women sitting in chairs and staring out the only window facing a sea of dead wheat.

"Hello? We're here to help you," Joelle said and entered the room.

The foul stench of excrement and sweat hung in the air.

Joelle went to the man whose legs were missing and used a kitchen knife she'd taken from the Winnebago to cut the straps around his chest and arms. Once he was free he leaned forward and looked at her in awe.

"You're free," she said.

Alex came from behind him and lifted him out of the chair. The man was lightweight and easy to carry. He jerked his head around to stare at Alex. Alex averted his eyes and carried him into the living room where he put him on the couch.

Joelle went to free the next person, a young man with nothing more than nubs at his biceps and both of his legs gone below the kneecaps. His eyes were closed and he wasn't breathing. She cut through the ties binding his hands and he toppled to the floor, lifeless and dead.

Alex came back into the room. He moved past Candy, who stood in the corner of the room gripping her shotgun.

"Go into the other room and watch over that guy. I don't want him to hurt himself," Alex said.

Candy obeyed and hurried out of the nightmare room.

"Can you help me with the last two, Alex?" Joelle said.

Alex stepped over the dead body on the floor and went to the nearest woman, a brown haired lady missing an arm and wearing a black Metallica T-shirt. Her belly was swollen and she eyed him as though he meant to cause her harm. She spread her legs for him and turned her head. Alex gagged at the sight and used his machete to cut her straps free.

The pregnant lady immediately launched forward, and ran toward the window. She clawed at the glass and made a mewing sound.

"It's okay," Alex said. "We're here to help you." He got closer to the woman and grabbed her around the waist. "I only want to help you."

She spun around and opened her mouth to bite him.

Alex jerked back but she had the upper hand and sank her teeth into his forearm.

He screamed and used his free hand to wrap his fingers around her scrawny neck. He squeezed as hard as he could.

Her eyes bulged and her face reddened as she struggled to breathe, but despite her lack of oxygen she continued to clamp down on his arm with her teeth.

The handle of Joelle's kitchen knife slammed into the side of the woman's head.

She immediately let Alex go and gripped the side of her skull.

"Dammit," Alex said, shaking his wounded arm. "That fucking bitch." He aimed his rifle at the woman's head.

She recognized the rifle for what it was and looked toward the window.

"Alex, don't do it," Joelle pleaded. "She doesn't know what's she's doing."

"Sarah was right," he said. "We should put these people out of their misery."

Before Alex could shoot her, the woman raced for the window and hurled herself at the glass. She smashed through it, and fell to the ground outside.

"Holy shit," Alex muttered, opened mouthed. He gazed out the broken window and saw the woman crawl into the wheat field. She disappeared among the dried out crops and Alex lowered his rifle.

The remaining survivor started to rock in her chair. She was dark haired and dark skinned and began to speak. Unlike the others, her limbs were still intact, but just like the other woman she was pregnant.

"So . . . so hungry," she whined. "Feed me . . . feed me now."

Joelle dropped her knife. She backed away from the dark haired woman and out of the room.

Alex watched Joelle as she sobbed and raced down the hallway. A moment later he heard her scream and the front door slammed shut.

Alex left the room and ran into the living room. Candy was gone. Joelle was gone. The only one who remained was the man with the missing legs. He was off the sofa and had his face buried in the pile of meat Kermit had prepared. He chewed as fast as he could and continued to stuff more of the flesh into his mouth as Alex walked in. He lifted his head and growled at him like a dog giving a warning.

Alex headed for the front door. He stepped outside and saw Candy and Joelle running for the Winnebago. Joelle was dragging her foot, but still managed to go at a good clip. He shut the door behind him and went to catch up to them.

A few minutes later they were safe behind the Winnebago's steel walls and speeding down the desolate snow covered roads.

Chapter 25.

They reached New York five days later. The snow had put a damper on their travels, making the roads slick and difficult to navigate, but the cold deterred the zombies from moving quickly and for that they were thankful. Out of food and low on gas, they had just reached the New York state line when the Winnebago blew both front tires. There was a loud POP and then a sudden drop as the vehicle slammed into a snow bank.

Sarah gripped the steering wheel to keep from flying through the windshield but her arms weren't strong enough. She was thrown forward and at the last minute her seat belt jerked her back.

The others weren't so lucky.

Alex was lying in the bunk he now shared with Sarah when the front tires blew. He was thrown out of bed and onto the floor. As the Winnebago hit the snow bank he slid forward and crashed into the steel pole holding the kitchen table in place.

Joelle sat at the kitchen table and gripped it for support, but she couldn't hold on and slammed into the back of the driver's seat.

Candy was in the bathroom sitting on the toilet. She was launched forward and hit the door; water splashed everywhere.

As the Winnebago came to a halt, Sarah eased her grip on the steering wheel. The entire front end of the vehicle was covered in snow. She unstrapped her seatbelt and found herself unable to walk without wobbling.

"Is everyone OK?" she asked her crew.

Alex groaned from the floor. He slowly crawled out from under the kitchen table.

"I think I'm okay," he said. "Nothing feels broken."

Joelle eased out of her seat. Her body was still shaking but her voice was steady and firm. "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know," Sarah confessed. "One minute we were fine, and the next we're on the side of the road. I must've run over something."

"I heard the tires blow," Alex said. He went to the storage closet and grabbed his rifle. "I'll check it out, stay here."

"I'm coming with you," Sarah said, and withdrew her .357. "You might need backup if somebody shot out the tires."

Joelle shook her head. "We're in the middle of nowhere New York. There's nobody out here. We probably just ran over a piece of metal or a leftover car part or something."

Alex headed for the door, Sarah followed.

"If I see anyone, I'll shoot first and ask questions later," Sarah told her.

Candy burst out of the bathroom. "What the fuck is going on? I was trying to take a shit."

"Everything's fine," Joelle said. "We just ran into something."

"Well try to be more careful next time," Candy scolded. "The bathroom is drenched. I'm taking a shower." She closed the bathroom door and a second later the shower started. "It's fucking cold!" Candy shouted.

Sarah laughed hard. "She must've gotten toilet water up her ass."

"Just go outside with your lover boy, okay?" Joelle sighed.

Sarah stepped outside and her laughter was quickly cut short when she saw the damage done to the Winnebago. Both front tires were shredded and the hood was under at least three feet of snow. There was no way to repair the damage, and even if they could, the road ahead was a metallic mess of abandoned cars blanketed in a thick sheet of white.

Alex came from the side of the snow bank. "It looks like you ran over something sharp. I don't see any footprints anywhere so I think that we're safe for now," he said.

"Great," Sarah said. "Without the engine running we won't have any heat, and the water tank is almost empty."

Alex lifted his rifle and looked through the scope at their surroundings. "And we're almost out of food too. We'll have to search the area and see what we can find. I might be able to shoot a rabbit or a deer if we're lucky."

"That would be nice. I wouldn't mind some fresh meat for a change," she said and nudged him.

Alex continued to scan the area with his telescopic scope.

"Do you see anything worth checking out?" Sarah asked, rubbing up against him for warmth.

"No, nothing. There's a house a little ways from here but it looks as if most of it collapsed. Maybe we should check it out tomorrow."

"That sounds good," Sarah said. She looked up at the gray sky; the sun was fading fast. "We'd better get back inside better it gets dark."

"Yeah, it's going to be freezing tonight without heat," he replied.

Sarah played with his belt. "I don't think you'll have any trouble staying warm tonight," she teased.

Alex bent down and kissed her.

Joelle chose that moment to step out of the Winnebago.

"Holy shit," she said, assessing the damage. "How are we going to get to the cabin now?"

Sarah broke her embrace with Alex. She looked at his crotch and gave him a wink.

Alex's face reddened.

"I guess we'll have to wait until the snow clears," Sarah said. "Or I could just start shoveling the road."