Roads Less Traveled (18 page)

“I’m going to hand this bike down to you. Just grab the back wheel and help me lower it, okay?” Mia instructed, already pulling the bike over the edge. Ashton jumped into action and rose up on his toes, taking the wheel in both hands and pulling down as she lowered the front end. When the bike was off the roof, Mia jumped off the bumper and helped him set it on the ground.

“I assume this is yours,” she chuckled just as he jumped on the seat. He smiled and nodded, gripping the handle bars in both hands.

“Well put the kickstand down or something, I need you to help me with the next one,” Mia said as she climbed back onto the bumper. They repeated the process, the second not going as smooth as the first since it was a larger bike than his, but after several minutes of tugging and pulling they were able to get it to the ground as well.

Mia sat on the bumper a few moments, resting and taking another look around the parking lot. She noticed Ashton’s eyes stray towards the front of the car, then look quickly away. She figured it would be best if she got him started. Just get him on the road and give him something to occupy his mind, a goal to work towards.

“C’mon buddy, let’s hit the road,” she said as she mounted her bike and clapped him on the back. He swung his head around and stared at her, startled from his thoughts, then feigned a smile and nodded. Mia leaned over and grabbed the gun sling, pulling it up and sliding it over her shoulder.
Be nice if I had a gun rack on this bike,
she thought. She smiled and nodded back to the boy, then pedaled off.

She had already instructed him earlier, after he had told her of the bikes, that when they left, they would travel the interstate as far and as long as they could. He was to stay behind her at all times and under no circumstances stray off. If he had to stop, for whatever reason, he was to tell her. He had listened to her instructions without interruption, and had absorbed everything readily. She wasn’t sure what kind of time they would make, but she knew it would be faster that walking or driving. On bikes, they could maneuver around stalled or jammed cars, or they could stick to the berm. Two things she told him to watch for: zombies hanging out of or crawling from under cars, and zombies actually walking on or close to the road. “Wouldn’t be cool to have my new little buddy snagged by an arm sticking out a window,” she had told him.

It would be about forty-two miles to I-81, then another four or so to the exit for route 55. From there they would cross the state line into West Virginia, then hit the back roads and escape into the woods if need be. She would have to cross over a hundred miles of deadland, then rocky, mountainous terrain, as well as protect the kid she had found, before reaching her destination. She only hoped there would be someone there when they arrived. She hoped her last words to her friend hadn’t been lies, and that she really would be seeing her down the road.

Chapter Twelve

October 8
^th

“Okay, try it now,” Jake shouted from under the hood. Ben turned the key in the ignition and listened as the engine turned over once, twice, three times, then chuckled as the motor coughed, sputtered, then died, and a string of obscenities flew from Jake’s mouth. They had packed a few essentials into the old pickup the day before, planning an excursion into Matias to stock up on supplies and, if they had time, search for survivors. But when they started to leave, the old girl had decided she didn’t want to go. And Jake, being the self-proclaimed mechanic of the bunch, had volunteered to fix her. A day later, the truck still refused to start.

“Shit,” Jake swore and threw a dirty rag on the ground. He walked away, rubbing his forehead with the back of his arm, and kicked at the ground. Ben hopped out smiling and shaking his head at Nancy, who stood on the porch observing their progress.

“No luck?” she asked. Ben simply shook his head and joined her on the steps.

“Nah. Jake’s determined, but I say we just take the Jeep or Escape into town. Between you and me,” he said to the older woman with a wink, “I don’t think he knows what he’s doing.”

Nancy chuckled and patted Ben’s shoulder, then turned and went back in the house. Ben skipped off the steps and jogged over to his friend, who was in the midst of a swearing attack.

“Hey man, why don’t we just talk to Kase about taking her car? Or we could take yours, whatever,” Ben offered. Jake studied him for a moment, his hands on his hips and cheeks flushed.

“Stupid ass piece of shit. Probably the goddamn alternator, which, if we ever do get to a part’s store, it
won’t
be in stock, you can bet your ass on that,” Jake hissed. Ben nodded along even though he knew Jake didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“It’s no problem; we’ve got two other vehicles here. We’ll see what we can find, and if you get her running, great. If not, that’s fine too. Seriously, it’s no big deal. C’mon.” Ben reassured his irate buddy as best he could, then turned towards the house. Kasey was in the barn doing the morning feeding, Kyra was in one of the upstairs windows keeping watch, and Zack was most likely in the study with Nancy, monitoring the radio. Jake yelled over to Ben just before he went inside.

“Alright. I’ll talk to Kase, see what she thinks,” he said and watched as Ben simply threw his hand in the air and closed the door behind him. Jake cussed a few more times under his breath and stared at the truck a minute longer before stomping off to the barn.

I’d heard most of the exchange between the two, laughing to myself as I mucked stalls and filled the mangers with hay. I’d been keeping the horses in the barn and adjoining lot, in case things went to shit and we had to make a break for it. I was mucking the last stall when Jake appeared in the doorway. Needless to say he was still pissed. I looked up from the shovel load of manure and smiled.

“Morning. What’s up sunshine?” I said cheerfully. All I got in response was a grunt. He leaned against the old wood, making a face and wrinkling his nose. I chuckled and went about my business. He followed me around as I worked but didn’t say much. I had a feeling the aroma of horseshit wasn’t settling well with him. After I finished filling the mangers, we went out the back door and stood in silence, watching the four mares, who were lazily picking grass in the far corner.

“So, what’s on your mind Jake?” I asked quietly, my arms crossed and eyes fixed on the horses. I heard him sigh and shuffle his feet.

“Can’t get the truck runnin’. If you want to go into town, we’ll have to take one of the other vehicles,” he finally grumbled. I chuckled again. I liked Jake; his personality was much like my own. However, I’ve always found it amusing to watch the emotions of youth get in the way of good sense.

“Well, I still want to go to town. And yeah, we have two other vehicles. So what’s the problem?” I chided. Out of my periphery I saw him eyeball me and cross his arms, which caused me to smile and chuckle again. I patiently waited for his reply, curiosity getting the best of me. He would either blow up and cuss, or come up with a blame-someone-or-something-else excuse. I would settle for either one; they would both be entertaining as hell, and this little “game” we had started playing with each other lately was a good way to relieve stress.

“Well if the damn thing wasn’t so old, I would’ve had it runnin’ by now,” he started, then immediately clamped his mouth shut when he saw me grin.

“Goddammit Kasey,” he muttered, then smiled himself. I slowly turned my head and grinned at him, forcing his smile to widen. I even got a chuckle out of him.

“Alright, alright, you win again,” he sighed and held his hands up. I laughed and stepped out into the barn lot.

“C’mon, help me get them in,” I said as I turned my back and started over towards the mares. Jake grunted an affirmative and together we led the disgruntled ladies inside.

* * *

“You’re breaking up, repeat that Cedartown,” Nancy was saying into the mic as Jake and I entered the study. She sat in my chair with Zack standing over her right shoulder. Ben was perched in the chair I kept in front of the desk looking like he’d had an accident in his drawers. Kyra was absent, so I assumed she was on duty upstairs, where she was supposed to be. I was on my last shred of patience with that girl, spending the last couple days avoiding the prom queen when I could. She was alright, friendly enough to everyone else, but damn.

Static filled the room as the person on the other end tried responding to Nancy. I could pick out a few words, but for the most part it was garbled. Nancy sighed and leaned back in the chair. I picked up the map and looked for Cedartown.

“It’s just about ninety miles away, must be why we can’t pick them up,” I said and tossed the map back on the desk. Zack rubbed his face and I saw Ben shaking his head. I saw the look on Nancy’s face, and I didn’t like it.

“What’s wrong?” I said, more a statement than a question. Jake was glancing back and forth from me to Nancy as she held my gaze for several seconds before answering.

“They’re not too far out. I’d been talking to them for about fifteen minutes before you came in. They were just attacked, and I’d say their antenna or something got knocked out,” she said wearily. I nodded and set my lips in a grim line.
Dead bastards,
I thought just before Zack interrupted my thoughts.

“It wasn’t zombies, Kase,” he said in that intensely smooth voice. I raised my brow and looked at Ben, then back to Nancy, and finally stared at Zack, waiting for an explanation.

“Goddammit people, just spill it already!” Jake finally erupted. The suspense had been killing him too, so it seemed.

“Apparently the survivors in Cedartown were set upon by convicts. That’s what the lady said, convicts. A bunch of men dressed in orange jumpsuits and armed to the hilt. The last thing I could make out was that the convicts had broken into the building and were killing all the men. Then nothing but static,” Nancy said, frowning and shaking her head.

Silence filled the room as the gravity of the situation hit home. I grabbed up the map again and relocated Cedartown, then slapped the paper and cursed inaudibly when I saw the source of our new enemy: Cedartown Correctional Facility.

“Jesus,” I whined and slammed the map back onto the desk. It was my turn to rub my face as I slowly realized why the escaped prisoners would be killing the men. Ben reached out, took my hand, and squeezed. Jake rubbed his chin but remained silent. Nancy got up and left the room, making a little noise in the kitchen as she put on another pot of coffee.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Zack asked. I met his eyes and nodded once.

“Yeah,” was all I had to say. Ben covered his face with his free hand and sighed deeply.

“What? What are we thinkin’?” Jake asked. Zack and I just stared at each other for a moment before he turned to Jake.

“I’d say they escaped one way or another when all this shit happened. Doesn’t matter how they did it, but now they’re going from one town to another and rounding up the women. Hell, for all we know, they’re moving though the countryside as well. That doesn’t matter either. What does is matter is that they’re loose, they’re on the move, and no survivor is safe. The men will be killed and the women taken. Like we didn’t have enough to worry about with the fucking hordes of undead prowling around,” Zack explained, trailing off at the end.

“Shit,” Jake whispered. We studied each others’ faces as dread and alarm settled deep into our bones. Nancy finally joined us with a tray of coffee cups and retook her seat behind the desk. We each took a cup and busied ourselves with the steaming brew as Nancy once again took up the mic and scrolled through the channels, this time looking to warn anyone she could of the new threat.

* * *

It was lunchtime before we finally prepared to leave. From my bedroom window I could see Jake and Ben huddled together in front of the garage, no doubt discussing the trip and what we had learned regarding Cedartown. Zack stood in the doorway and watched as I turned back to the task at hand: loading my rifle and stuffing all the extra shells I could carry into my ammo belt.

“I’d like for you to stay here with the girls…hold down the fort until we get back. The horses are in the barn, and keep the garage door shut. Also, double check the front and back doors, make sure they’re bolted and locked. Keep the noise down to a minimum. If someone comes sniffing around while we’re gone, kill them. If there’s more than one, stay quiet and see what they do. If they try breaking into the house, do what you can. I trust your judgment, or I wouldn’t be leaving you in charge,” I instructed.

I worked the bolt, sliding a shell into the chamber, and flipped the safety on before slinging the rifle on my shoulder. Zack nodded, his face set in grim, calm determination. I stepped out of my room and went across the hall to where Kyra was keeping watch in Zack’s bedroom. She turned and looked at us as we strode over to the window.

“You leaving?” she asked. I nodded and motioned towards Zack.

“He’s in charge while we’re gone. Make sure you keep the gun loaded, and don’t leave this window unless Zack tells you to. Oh, and don’t shoot unless he tells you to either,” I said, pointing my finger at her to emphasize. She nodded a little reluctantly. I could tell she resented me, or was jealous of my friendship with Ben, with whom she was obviously taken. I wasn’t sure which, and frankly, I didn’t give a shit.