One Plan After Another

"Uh..."

Gavin and Madison were left speechless by Doris's words.

Winnie slapped a hand over her face.

"Mom!"

Winnie let out a low growl in her slightly hoarse voice.

"It wasn't the boss's fault. Our whole family agreed to go to Dallas!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she dragged her mother toward the RV, repeatedly calling out to Gavin as she went.

"Boss, I'll get my mom to stew some meat for you. Her stews are amazing, so just wait and enjoy~"

"Mom, please stop crying and hurry up and make breakfast! I'm starving. Stop crying!"

Watching Winnie and her mother disappear into the RV, Madison rolled her eyes in exasperation and walked over to Gavin.

"That kid's more like her mom than her mom is. You know what I mean, right?"

"Mm-hmm."

Gavin gave a noncommittal response.

Madison sighed and said with a touch of emotion, "As for what her mom said, don't take it to heart. We had nothing to do with their family members' deaths."

"Besides, if they'd stayed in a big city like Houston instead of driving toward Dallas, they might not have survived at all."

"We didn't hurt them. We saved them!"

As he spoke, Madison looked at Gavin with concern, afraid their boss might be having a breakdown.

Gavin stared at the worried Madison, then shook his head with an amused smile.

"What are you thinking? I don't care who lives or dies. I'm just thinking about what comes next."

"The zombies' movements are too easily affected by living people. If even a few survivors are still alive in the other towns beyond Ennis, who knows how their various actions might throw the zombies' distribution into chaos?"

Gavin picked up the binoculars and looked across the lake. Then he lowered them and continued, "Get Eugene and William. We're all going into the RV. No need to wait for Doris to invite us."

"What can we do out in the open? We don't even have a tent or folding chairs. Stand here and use the air as target practice?"

With that, Gavin pulled open the RV door.

Doris, who had been sobbing over the stove, hurriedly turned around and looked at Gavin in alarm.

Winnie quickly rushed over and grabbed Gavin's hand.

"Boss, are you going to talk my mom around for me? That's great!"

At Winnie's exaggerated behavior, Gavin pulled his hand away and tousled her hair.

"Stop making faces. I'm not in the mood to hurt your mom. It's just not safe outside, so everyone needs to get into the RV."

With that, Gavin glanced around the vehicle.

The interior of the Ford F450 was laid out clearly. There was a sofa and dining table at the front, a gas stove and microwave directly opposite the entrance, and a shower, bathroom, and bed at the rear.

Doris had knocked her head against the gas stove and passed out when she'd climbed aboard earlier.

Now, after Gavin nudged Winnie over to her mother, he sat down without ceremony at the dining table and propped his arms on it.

Outside, Madison called for Eugene and William to get in. Then he climbed aboard and sat across from Gavin.

The seat at the dining table was a little cramped for him. After shifting around a couple of times, he finally got up and moved to the sofa, where he could stretch out his legs comfortably.

When Eugene climbed aboard, he kicked William and inspected the RV's layout at the same time, grinning as he said, "This RV is awesome. I used to want one myself."

"But I had my eye on a travel trailer. Those have more space and cost less, though even the cheaper ones were still out of my price range. America's a shithole. To hell with the White House. Fuck!"

With that, Eugene sat down across from Gavin without hesitation and began fiddling restlessly with the rose on the table.

William stood hesitantly in the aisle for a long while before Madison called him over to the sofa.

By the gas stove at the far end, Winnie saw everyone sitting there in silence and instinctively pressed her lips together. She tugged at her mother and whispered, "Mom, hurry up and cook!"

"I know. I know. Wuwu..."

After a bunch of big men barged into the RV, Doris was too frightened to keep crying. She busied herself with the ingredients in a panic.

Winnie squeezed in beside Gavin, squashing herself onto his seat, then leaned on the table and asked him, "Boss, what are we talking about? How to deal with the sick people outside?"

"We're talking about how to keep the zombies outside from dealing with us!"

Gavin joked, then tapped the table and looked around at everyone.

"I estimate the Ennis Zombie Horde is about sixteen kilometers away. At the earliest, they'll probably reach our vicinity in around two hours."

"There are only a few likely scenarios. I'll go over them."

Gavin rapped the table hard. Even Doris, who was cooking, couldn't help listening.

"First, the zombies will most likely pass through Palmer Town along the road. If that happens, we don't need to do anything. We just watch their movements, make sure the bulk of them have passed, and then hit the road for Ennis."

"But if they spot us and give chase, we'll have about three options."

Gavin drew an arc on the table with his hand.

"First, if the zombies spot us before they pass the lake, we can drive around it and try to use the lake to draw them away from the road. Then we can get back onto the road on the far side of the lake and head for Ennis."

"Second, if the zombies surround us from both sides of the lake, we can drive toward the forest and try to outrun them. Then we'll go through the forest on foot and skirt Ennis, heading toward Corsicana to check on the situation."

"Finally, if we're completely surrounded by zombies, so that even the forest is full of them, we'll jump into the artificial lake and try to pull as many zombies into the water as possible."

"Zombies can't swim, and they'll move much more slowly than we will in the lake. We can pick the direction with the fewest zombies and swim our way out."

"Of course, there's quite a bit of open ground around us. Even if the zombies get close, there's a good chance we can lose them by crossing it, though that'll involve some risk."

"I'll decide what to do based on the situation at the time. All you need to do is listen carefully to every decision I make and stick close to me!"

"I've explained it as simply as I can. If anyone's still confused, go to the driver's seat, look at the surroundings, and use your brains to picture the routes I described!"

With that, Gavin leaned back in his chair and looked around at everyone.

After hearing his plan, Eugene grinned thoughtfully.

"No wonder that black fatty calls you boss. You're like some disease-fearing john, always coming up with one scheme after another. I'll give you that!"

"Eugene!"

Madison immediately slapped his thigh and growled at him.

Eugene hurried to the window and waved both hands at Madison.

"Don't be so sensitive! I was praising him, goddammit. I admire the guy. I didn't mean anything else!"

"See that you don't!"

Madison snorted and leaned back on the sofa, falling silent.

After the silence had stretched on for a while, Doris—who was tying up a large piece of meat with string nearby—couldn't help asking in a trembling voice, "So, have people really all turned into zombies? I mean, could it be that only Ennis is like this?"

"Don't be stupid, Mom. Dad was bitten to death by those things. You saw it yourself!"

Winnie interrupted Doris and spoke to her disapprovingly.

"Besides, haven't you watched TV shows? The zombies in those shows are everywhere in the country. You can't get through to Grandma or Granny, either, can you?"

"I... I... Wuwu..."

Doris started crying again.

Gavin rolled his eyes, pulled out a cigarette, and grabbed Winnie's arm.

"Enough. Let your mom cook. I'm still waiting to eat."

Then he glanced at the listless William.

"And you!"

Gavin turned his head and continued berating William.

"If you still can't let go of your dad and little brother, then do something to take your mind off it, like keeping watch for us with the binoculars, just like Doris. You're a Dallas cop, for fuck's sake!"

After that, Gavin handed the binoculars to Eugene and gestured for him to pass them to William.

Eugene stood up and shoved the binoculars into William's arms.

"Get on watch already, man. Can't you even handle that?"

Then Eugene dragged William to the back of the RV and stationed him by the window beside the bed.

Once William was taken care of, Eugene returned to the table and shook his head with a cold laugh.

"I don't trust that kid with my life. I might as well keep an eye on things outside too."

"I'm not worried about you, Eugene. Do whatever you want. I think I need to rest for a while. I didn't sleep at all last night."

Gavin replied and patted Eugene's arm. Then he left the table, went to the passenger seat, and reclined it.

"Old Mac, let me know when the food's ready~"

He called to Old Mac, then settled into the passenger seat, rolled down the window, and lit a cigarette.

Old Mac nodded, then went over behind Doris and asked, "Hey, ma'am, do you have any rice? My boss likes to have rice with his stew!"