We were heading towards the meadows when we saw Patrik's dead body. I guess management has officially switched hands. We didn't get very far when we saw Dexter. I suppose his is the new leader of the Mavericks. He gave us all a ride to our next stop. I went foraging for food while the others set up camp. Dexter came with me since I was drifting out of sight. I looked everywhere and began uprooting ramps before walking several yards and collecting mushrooms. I brought it all to camp and started collecting water. The water was filtered through an upturned five gallon bottle cut from the bottom. It was layered with cheesecloth, a piece of t-shirt, activated charcoal, a layer of fine sand, coarse sand and topped with large pebbles. Several were made and we started filtering the water using the purification tablets too. Dexter pulled out a fancy fat straw and drank from it. I signed, "That might work right now but when it gets cold it will crack and will be useless without any visible signs. While you are writhing on the floor you will wish you knew how this is done." Adam translated on my behalf. He and Dexter had a few exchange of words and he stared at me for a few minutes. I went to get some sleep.
When I woke up Dexter was talking on the walkie talkie. I walked over and explained that the it is unwise to use it here since drones fly around in this area. I felt the vibrations and I raised my hand and everyone unpacked everything and disappeared into the bushes. Dexter turned off his radio and followed us in. He watched as a fly robot activated a laser scanner to check for signs of life. We quietly moved away and when we were clear of the place. I saw Dexter give the order to shoot it down. Jake told him to save his ammo and let it go. Dexter cancel the order and watched as it zoom away. We explained that shooting it down would mean the soldiers would come looking. The population is low as it is. Some of them are there by force. We should show compassion and let them live. Dexter stared at us weirdly and walked back to his vehicle. We walked till we reached the ghost town and began the set up. The birdies stayed at the motel the rest of us spread out to the houses. I chose a pharmacy. I was sleeping behind the counter when I felt vibrations.I got up and looked out to see soldiers had come and they were killing vampires.
One of them looked different. While the others looked bat like. He looked human like with papery skin. He had red eyes and he wasn't blood thirsty like the others. The vampires waited till the soldiers ran out of ammo. Then they charged forward. The men in arms used grenades and ran for cover. I remember the path the young ones had booby trapped so I exposed myself and made them chase me instead. I jumped at the opportune moment and they all fell into the hole. Some got impaled. Others were stuck. I quickly climbed down to see soldiers staring at me with curiosity. I filled a dirty water bottle with gasoline and poured it on the vampires. Then I pulled out a flared. I took a deep breath before igniting it. As the flare fell in I felt a tremor as the vampires screamed in pain. I signed to ask them if anyone was injured. They signed that they were alright. I gave them a thumbs up before walking back to the ghost town. Dexter was there and so was his people. I signed asking what trouble he was up to. The soldiers watched from a distance as the two groups sat down to discuss terms.
Jake on our side and Dexter on the other side. We sat with ours and while Dexter sat on the opposite side as he spoke the terms of engagement. We mostly used sign language. Only three people in our group spoke. The rest chose to use their hands. He asked us if we would trade food in exchange for weapons. Jake mentioned the no gun policy. Dexter asked if we could join forces. Jake shook his head. A large group will attract attention. He can have food but in return we want information and a promise that we will not be harmed. Dexter agreed and Jake got up to get going. We all waved at Dexter as we left for the forest. He hopped on his jeep after I gave him a packet of jerky, mushrooms and berries. I waved goodbye and kept walking. Todd was already sleeping while Aaron was busy filtering water for drinking and for cleaning whilst the others either cooked or slept. Some went busy with laundry as I went foraging. I picked up berries and checked the maple trees to see if we could collect any sap. I checked the black walnut and birch trees too. Once I collected enough to carry I brought it to camp.
It took eight trips but it was worth it. Then I fished with my bare hands. The guys set a trap for deer and waited. Trevor pulled out the big pot and we started boiling down the sap to make syrup. We ate fish and mushrooms before going to sleep. When I woke it was time to walk again. Most of the sap was now syrup and were bottled up. Next stop was the farm. We would stay there pretending to be farm hands. Till the soldiers went the other way. In exchange for our help the family gives us eggs, bread, milk, cheese and a few hand me down clothes. As we were heading towards the farm we were ambushed by vampires. Everyone was trained to fight so we used machetes to hack them to death. They bit Kyle and Todd but we killed them all. The clouds parted and heated the air. The vampires were killed instantly and we distributed the stuff Todd and Kyle were carrying. Then we dug a hole and drop them in there after I had rubbed them with pine resin so they were highly flammable. Ted threw in a flare. We stayed for a minute to pay our respects and we walked towards the farm. The family of five were happy to see us.
They let us in and we took turns taking a shower. Then half of us went to sleep in the barn while the other half helped milk the cows and goats. I collected the eggs and helped the old man pick apples. Then I helped the wife to cook lunch and ate chicken and dumplings soup before taking a nap. I woke up to see them trade eggs and apple for sacks of wheat. We got some too in exchange for three maple syrup bottles. We stocked up and left for the next camp. I saw a drone following us and clapped my hands five times. We dispersed into the trees. The drone was following me. Jake used a rock to smash it and we went to the crumbled mansion in the forest. The birdies climbed the trees and kept an eye out for trouble. The rest of us chose the labyrinth in the basement as a camp. I noticed one birdie was shivering so I gave him my coat. He smiled as he made himself at home. I got indoors and closed the door. Trevor was warming up the soup the Hendons had given us. I went to sleep as I tried to figure out what is the next move. I felt Alex flip from side to side as he had a seizure. I flagged the others and they quickly decapitated him. I got to see his fangs were elongated. His eyes had started to lose colour. The others stepped forward to check for bites. The birdies were summoned and they were searched too. Only Vincent refused to let us check him. We had no choice but to evict him. He banged on the door until I smelled burning flesh. We came out to see ashes on the porch.