Apocalypse Asunder (20 page)

“Now what?” Austin asked tightly as he shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position as he pushed it back to the stops.  He was much bigger than the car was really designed for.  He was clearly willing to make do though, however much he filled the space and had to hunch his head to fit in beneath the cramped roof level.

“Two options, possibly with some room to modify them a little if we want.” Jessica said as the reality that they might be okay began to settle in.  She glanced at the dashboard.  The fuel gauge showed about two-thirds of tank.

“Hit me.”

“Option one, we scavenge up some basic supplies like gas cans and water and stuff and head south.”

“And the other one?”

“We find a better vehicle, something big enough to carry more than just us, and see if we can get back to the SUV and grab all the stuff we already found.” Jessica said.  “
Then
we head south.”

“Do we have to decide now?” Austin asked.

She glanced over at him.  He was holding his left side and controlling his breathing in an attempt to keep from alarming her or Candice, but he was hurting.  She eyed him as critically as she knew how.  His color was good, so if he’d started bleeding somewhere, it wasn’t too bad.  His breath was slightly labored, but already easing as he was able to rest his injuries.  Tough guy or not, however bad she felt for him, she’d seen him worse.

But if he wanted, needed, a break . . . that was fair.  More than fair. 
“Hell,
I
need a break.”
she thought tiredly.

“No, we can take some time.” she said aloud.  “Maybe we can look around and find a quiet spot, and catch our breath.”

“Maybe find something to eat?” Candice asked hopefully.

Jessica smiled, trying to keep the moment light and funny rather than desperate.  “Some food would help, definitely.  We’ll keep going east, try to get away from the heavier zombie concentrations, and see what turns up.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Austin nodded.

“Why don’t you take something?” Jessica asked him.  She knew he had some first aid stuff in one of his pouches or pockets; and that there were some pain pills in it.  She knew because she’d given him the pills; from a big family sized bottle she’d pulled out of a bathroom cabinet six weeks ago.  They were only acetaminophen, to be fair, but they would probably help.

“It’s not that bad.”

“Bad enough.” she disagreed.

“The pain lets me know what’s going on.”

“And it slows you down.” she said.  “Anything really bad is still going to get through the pills.  A couple might take the edge off though.”

“Is that an order?”

She blinked at him, then smiled hesitantly.  “If it needs to be, then yeah.  Pop some painkillers and take a breather soldier.  We’re not all the way out of the woods just yet.”

“This looks like it might be promising.”

“Only one way to find out.” Austin said.

“You feeling better?” Jessica asked him.  He’d drunk three of the sodas and taken some pills, and sounded better, but she was still worried about him.  Sugar, caffeine, and pain killers only went so far.  But he lifted the MP5 with sure movements when she glanced at him.

“I’m fine.”

Hiding her frown, Jessica returned her gaze back outside the car and looked over the little garage again.  It looked intact and closed up tight; not even the windows were broken out.  Neither did she see any sign of damage on the doors or walls to indicate anyone – anything – had been beating on it.

The structure wasn’t very large, even though the roll-up door fronting the garage portion was a double wide.  There were two bays, and both were occupied with vehicles.  There was also a battered, old Ford truck and a well-worn Buick four-door parked out front of it that were similarly unmolested.

“Alright, let’s circle it once and see if anything happens.” she decided.  “If not, we’ll get out and have a longer look.”

“Good call.” Austin nodded, rolling his window all the way down and laying the stubby little submachine gun across the sill.  Jessica drove into the lot and slowly around the side, then the back, of the garage.  It was just off SR-40, west of Ocala.  According to the map in Austin’s pocket, the only things of note in this direction away from Ocala were a couple of fairly small towns to the north and south west; but due west was nothing but rural Florida, some sort of state park, and then along the coast another one.

She supposed she and Candice and Austin were probably still in the Ocala zip codes, but they’d driven far enough west to leave the zombie infested city behind.  The garage was free-standing and spaced a couple hundred feet from anything else along the road; but there
were
other buildings in view.  Just north was a small and fairly uncrowded looking subdivision of single story houses, and a little further west other buildings with tall commercial signs promised other businesses.

The garage was apparently on the outskirts of whatever little piece of civilization they’d come to, and Jessica was happy to stay distant.  She just wanted a spot to rest up for a little while, and where they could find a better car than the beat up little Toyota.  Preferably something larger, since she knew what she wanted to do after they caught their breath.

Circling around the far side of the garage, Jessica slowed and stopped as she reached the front again.  Aside from wind rippled overgrown grass and weeds beyond the paved lot, nothing seemed to be moving.  Nothing pressed itself against the windows, watching them with dead hungry eyes.  Neither did anything appear from elsewhere, lurching toward them with outstretched arms.

“Looks quiet.” Austin said.

“Let’s hope it is.” she nodded, putting the car in park and setting the brake.  Turning, she looked at her daughter.  “Okay Candice, you stay right with me, alright?”

“I’m not staying in the car?” the girl asked, wearing an expression of surprise.

“No.” Jessica shook her head.  The SUV had been a safe place for Candice to stay, with its heavily armored construction and dark windows that could stop bullets and withstand pounding hands; but the little Toyota was no more than a speed bump for any zombie who wandered up.  Jessica had no illusions about glass holding one off, and any average sized adult who was now pulseless and hungry could reach past the midline of the car from outside.

“You’re staying with me.” Jessica said.  “Stay close, keep your eyes open, and be careful.  Don’t touch things, stay between me and Austin, and just . . . remember the rules.”

“Got it.” Candice nodded.

Jessica shut the engine off and pocketed the keys before checking around outside the car twice.  Still clear, so she got out and started to draw the Taurus, then reminded herself about the ammunition situation and reached behind her for the Shield.  Clutching it in both hands, she turned in a circle, then in another one while crouching so she could look beneath the cars.  The area still seemed quiet.  Austin was out by the time she rose, his head swiveling steadily as he took everything in.  Candice opened her door and slid down out of the seat, moving to join her mother.

Once the girl was with her, Jessica headed toward the garage.  Austin came around the Toyota and moved with her, staying about six steps back with the MP5 leveled.  She checked through the windows when she got near the building, then reached out and tried the door.

“Locked.” she said, glancing around the area again.

“Want me to have a go at it?” Austin asked.  He’d automatically turned to put his back toward her, watching the parking lot and road.

Jessica started to disagree, then stopped herself.  The cache of extra ammunition they’d started with – and added to from what had turned up in house searches back in Georgia – was locked in the wrecked SUV in Ocala.  She could break a window, but as far as forcing the door . . . she’d need tools and some serious sweat to pull that off.  Or bullets; which were loud and not exactly inexhaustible.  Especially not with the bulk of what they knew about locked in a wreck in the middle of the zombie infested city of Ocala.

“Yeah, okay.” she agreed.

When she stepped back, she almost tripped over Candice.  The girl hopped back quickly though, and Jessica kept her feet.  Austin moved past her as she turned, taking up his rear watch duties.  She heard the knob rattle, then a heavy, splintering thump as he hit the door somehow.  Jessica kept her eyes on the road and parking lot, steadily sweeping from one side of the building all the way around to the other for any sign of zombies, as Austin hit the door a second time.

Whatever he was doing to it, the third impact did the trick; the sound of the door flying open and slamming against the interior wall was unmistakable.  A quieter, more muffled thud came next, then he spoke.

“Going in.”

Jessica started to object, then stopped herself.  Arguing was silly.  After her latest sweep of the building’s exterior, she turned and moved in after him.

The interior was dim, but not dark; plenty of sun was streaming in through the windows, and more from the garage next door.  The carpet was worn and all but threadbare, but basically clean and tidy.  Well, except for a thick layer of dust.  But beneath that she saw care had been taken to maintain it despite its age.

The room was obviously some sort of waiting area; hard plastic chairs, a couple of low end tables with magazines, and a small television set mounted up high in the corner behind the little counter.  That was where the register was, along with some little cardboard stands holding brochures for AAA and some travel-tourist locations.  A small mini-fridge stood on the floor at the end of the counter, with a cardboard box of snacks on it.  A sign stuck to the box read “$1.00 each.”

Dominating all of it, however, was the massive bloodstain.  It covered the wall behind the counter, rust brown and bumpy in texture with long since dried and crusted over blood and bits.  Jessica stopped just inside the door, staring, then kicked herself mentally and turned to face out of the door.  Staring at the remains of the inside of someone’s head wasn’t beneficial; or safe.  “Candice, you okay?”

“Fine.” the girl replied.

“Suicide.” Austin said.  “There’s a shotgun back here, and a box of shells.  Body doesn’t look like it’s been disturbed.  Shop clothes, nametag on the shirt says ‘Evan’ . . . I think this maybe was the owner.”

Jessica shrugged slightly; whatever had happened, ‘Evan’ hadn’t wanted any part of it or what came next.  “No threat?” she asked.

“No threat.  Hold tight while I check the bathroom and office.”

Jessica had seen the marked doors, and remained where she was in the doorway to the outside as Austin opened the others.  Everything remained quiet outside as she heard hinges creak and door tongues click and scrape behind her, then Austin spoke again.

“Clear.  Pull that shut and let’s check the garage.”

Jessica stepped back slowly, giving Candice time to anticipate her movements.  When she had room, she nudged the door closed with her foot and pushed it fully shut with her left hand so it latched.  Only then did she back another couple of steps and turn to face Austin.

He had his hand on the doorknob of the last door in the room, the one that separated the office and waiting area from the garage bays.  The large interior window in the same wall let her see out into the garage; showing what she took for a typical mechanic’s scene that was as quiet as everything else was.  When she was ready to back him up, Austin opened the door and went through.

He moved quickly, his head and the gun in his hands swiveling and turning rapidly with almost machine-like movements.  By the time Jessica reached the doorway and took her first direct look at the bays, Austin had moved right, toward the big bay door and the back of an older, but seemingly well maintained, Cadillac with its hood up.

As she watched, Austin checked across the inside of the garage doors at the rear of the Cadillac, then moved behind it.  Jessica bit her lip momentarily, then spoke.  “Austin, I can’t cover you from here.”

“Hold tight.” he said without looking at her, continuing his sweep.  Jessica frowned, but waited with the pistol at the ready as he checked around the other vehicle in the garage – a late model pickup truck that was raised up on a hydraulic lift – and finally circled around and back to her.

“Clear.” he said, straightening from his ready pose.

She didn’t bother to ask if he was sure; confirmation was what he got from her on things like this, not the other way around.  He knew what he was doing.  So did she, mostly, but she was still new at it.  Austin was the expert.

“Step two, let’s have something to eat.” she said, clicking the safety back on the Shield and slowly replacing it in the holster.

“Chips and crackers?” Austin asked.

“Yeah.” she shrugged.  “Unless you saw something better in the office.”

He shook his head as he went back into the office, headed for the outside door.  “Nope.  I’ll go grab some drinks out of the car.”

Jessica looked around the shop area again, then at Candice.  “Stay right here.” she told her daughter.  “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Candice flinched, hesitated, then slowly nodded.  “Okay.” she said carefully, glancing around.

Jessica went into the office and grabbed the entire box of snacks off the mini-fridge.  Returning to the shop, she dragged an old empty milk crate over to the floor just outside the office and deposited the box on it.

“Sit down honey, eat something.” she said, starting to fold herself downward.

Candice grabbed for a package of ‘cheese’ filled pretzel snacks immediately, and had it open and the first handful in her mouth before Jessica could even lower herself to the floor.

“Slow down, don’t choke.” Jessica admonished as Candice crunched loudly.  There had been no dinner in the attic, no breakfast either, and it was closer to noon than dawn; but they had something to eat now, and things were safe for the moment.  “The food’s not going anywhere.”

Candice mumbled something that sounded apologetic, but kept chewing.  Jessica looked at the packages of peanut butter crackers in the snack box, but changed her mind and selected a bag of Chex Mix instead.  Even as hungry as she was, she was tired of peanut butter crackers after the past few days.  She turned as Austin came back in carrying a number of sodas clutched against his chest in his right hand.  His left still held the submachine gun, though it was pointed down at the floor.

“Here.” he said, leaning down so Jessica could reach for the bottles.  Between both of them, they got the drinks transferred to the floor without dropping any, and he sank down to sit cross legged with the MP5 at his side.  He apparently wasn’t bored with peanut butter crackers yet, she saw, because he immediately reached for three of the five packages in the box.

For the next few minutes, there was nothing but the rustle and crackle of wrappings being removed and torn, and the crunching and chewing of junk food.  Despite her admonishment to Candice about not bolting the food, Jessica herself went through the bag of Chex Mix quite quickly.  She followed it up with a bag of corn chips, and then started on a package of Hostess cupcakes.  Candice ate the pretzels, half of a bag of barbecue potato chips, then started on some Oreo cookies.

Finally, her stomach full enough with empty – but
welcome
– calories to sate her for the moment, Jessica sat back from the impromptu feast and looked around again.  She knew almost nothing useful about cars, but there seemed to be a
lot
of parts and tools scattered around the engine compartment of the Cadillac.  And a shop light was hanging beneath the truck up on the lift, and an open tool chest was there along with more parts laying about on the floor.

“Think either of these are running?” she asked.

Austin shrugged and followed her gaze over to the vehicles in the bays.  “Maybe, but my guess is they were being serviced.”

“We need something better than the Toyota.” Jessica thought out loud.

“Something with more cargo room, sturdier, right?” he asked.

“Exactly.”