Chasing Colorado: (The Zombie Zovels #2) (15 page)

“Back where?” I said, playing innocent.

“Oh, c'mon, back at the barn, with the photo? You know what I'm talkin' 'bout. You looked like you'd seen a ghost.”

“Oh..
that
,”

I looked up at him to find he was staring back at me, waiting for an answer. Maybe I could ignore him, like the way he ignores me most of the time. But he continued to stare and didn't look as though he was about to give up.

“Do you remember when I told you about, Ozma, the little girl Lane and I were looking after?”

“Um... yeah, her parents got killed... you shot one of them, right?”

“Right.
Well
... turns out the guy I shot, Thom....well, he um, he's..uh, he's Josh's brother.”

Drew looked just as shocked as me.

“What are the odds of that.” he said, taking another swig. “And Josh doesn't know?”

“No, no one does, only Lane knows I killed Thom, I just told everyone Ozma's dad got attacked the same as her mom.”

“Has Josh ever mentioned a brother?”

“No, we weren't that close.”

Drew gave me a look that suggested I was lying.

“We weren't, I mean, we're not. Josh has a crush on me.. or whatever.”

“And you're in love with Lance?”

I glared at him. “Lane! His name is Lane, not Lance.” He already knew that, was he trying to wind me up?

“I forget,” he said, playing dumb. “I'm not good with names... So you and Lane are together-
together
?

“What does that mean, together-
together
?”

“In love, soul mates, whatever you want it to mean.”

“I wouldn't go as far as saying we're soul mates. I don't believe in that crap.”

The side of Drew's lips curved up.

“What? Oh, please tell me you don't believe in all that stuff?”

He didn't reply but the strange smirk on his face said it all.

“You? Really? The southern, crossbow boy believes in fate and destiny?”

“I've seen it happen.”

“Really!” I said, standing up and brushing myself off. “Okay, mountain man, I'm going inside, it's getting a bit dark for my liking.”

“Mountain man?” He chuckled to himself and I left him to finish off his dinner, and picked up the bag and walked back up the steps and into the cabin.

I sat on the bed trying to figure out the gas lamp for a good ten minutes before Drew came into the cabin and made sure the door was securely latched shut. He came over to me and fiddled around with it and then he picked up a camping lighter from a shelf in the kitchen and not too long after the lamp glowed and lit up the room, it was still dim but it was light nonetheless.

I crawled over the bed and pulled the curtains shut and Drew did the same to the kitchen window.

“Do you think we'll be safe here?” I asked, worrying.

The thought that we could wake up surrounded by another group of deadbies was freaking me out.

“Safer than out there. But there aren't that many deadbies outside, I think there's mainly stragglers out there now.”

“I want a tree.” I murmured to myself.

Even though the cabin was cozy and the bed was comfortable, I still wanted to climb up a tree for the night.

“What?” Drew asked not hearing me properly.

“Uh, nothing.”

I sat on the edge of the bouncy bed wondering how we were going to do this. I lifted my legs up on the bed and laid back on the pillow, oh how I had missed a bed.

“How ya feelin'?” he asked, moving around the cabin, picking things up and looking in the cupboards.

“Okay, my legs ache, but that's only 'cause I'm not used to all this walking.”

“You don't feel sick or anything?”

“Um, no... why?”

“Just wondering, I found a bucket if you do feel sick.”

“Nice.” I said as he placed the bucket beside the bed.

Then he dived over the top of me and landed on the bed beside me, the whole bed wobbled and I bounced around on the mattress. I waited until the tidal-bed-wave had passed and turned to look at him.

“What? We're both adults here. You can have that side, that way if any of 'em get in they'll get you first.” he joked, resting his arm behind his head trying to get comfortable.

“You're not worried about catching rabies from me?”

“Nah, just don't bite me in your sleep.”

“No promises.” I said, slipping off my boots and rearranging the blankets and covers, but Drew was on most of them and I had to yank them out from under him while he lazily watched me struggle.

He didn't bother to remove his boots, and he stayed on top of the covers.

“If we're going to be sharing a bed you can at least tell me your full name.” I said.

“Why?”

I shrugged, not really knowing myself why I wanted to know, eventually, I muttered, “I dunno, you might be the last person I ever speak to so...”

After a few moments silence, he said “Drew Joseph Caraway. And yours?”

“Alexia Lynette James.”

“Alexia, that's a nice name.” he said, the compliment lingered in the air and we both shifted around until we were comfortable.

I finally got comfortable on my side, facing Drew. He stayed on his back, staring up at the ceiling, he wasn't asleep, though, he was just staring vacantly. Most likely thinking up ways to get rid of me. He was probably planning his escape, waiting for me to drift off to sleep. I knew he had only stayed with me thinking we might meet up with the others, but that hadn't happened, and I didn't think he really wanted to be stuck with me. I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up and he was gone,
or
I wouldn't ever wake up again and he'd finish me off.

Or he wouldn't be able to finish me off and he'd just vanish into the night. Maybe this was how it ended for me, left alone in the dark to die alone.

I watched him for a few thoughtful minutes before I reluctantly closed my eyes. But I didn't go to sleep straight away, every time he moved my eyes sprang open to see what he was doing. After a while, my eyelids got too heavy and I fell asleep for the night.

Day 5

Itchy throat and the sun's playing havoc with my sensitive eyes.

I woke up to the sound of clattering pots and pans. I squinted my eyes open, the curtains were open and the sunlight was streaming through the windows, blinding me. I squinted and turned away from the sun rays that were hurting my eyes. I rolled onto my back and looked over at what was making the noise. Thankfully it was only Drew, he'd already filled the empty rucksack he had found yesterday with supplies.

“Thought you'd be long gone.” I said, slowly sitting up.

If he had heard me he didn't bother to answer me.

My back was full of knots and there was a major ache in my lower back. Was it the virus spreading or was it the bed? I sat there for a few minutes, reaching around and rubbing my back the best I could.

“Back problems?” he asked, picking up the lighter beside the gas lamp and dropping it into the bag.

I nodded while stretching my back out.

“Same here, that bed is now my worst enemy. I ended up in the rocking chair, it was surprisingly comfy compared to this wooden contraption.”

“Great, I'll just add sore back to my list of problems.”

Drew looked to be in a hurry and was already packed and waiting to go and I had only just woken up. Before I did anything I found Josh's bag and dug out the water bottle and used a plastic cup to have a drink. I gulped it down like I was in the Sahara desert dying of dehydration.

“Feeling thirsty?”

“No shit.” I muttered. “And my throat feels even worse this morning.” I rubbed my throat and felt both my glands that still felt a little swollen.

“We need to start moving, the sun's up, and it's a beautiful day.” he said, looking at his pocket watch.

“Care to share some of those happy pills you're on?”

“The warm weather puts me in a good mood, I hate the cold.”

He was right, it did look hot outside today. I grabbed a few things I thought would be handy, including a pair of aviator sunglasses, and met him outside on the decking. He was sitting in the rocking chair having a smoke, waiting for me.

“We had some late night trick-or-treaters.” Drew said.

I looked at the bottom of the steps and saw two deadbies on top of each other.

“I hope you dished out the candy equally.”

“Of course,” he replied, loading his crossbow. “If we keep movin' I think we can make it over those hills in a couple of days.”

“Don't you mean mountain?”

“It's not that big.” he said, looking up at me and squinting from the sun.

“What's on the other side?” I asked.

“Desert and not much else, it's going to be a hard journey but it's doable.”

“Did you miss the part where I'm dying, I don't think I can cross a desert as well-”

“I'm starvin', you hungry this mornin'?” he asked talking over me.

“Um.. a bit, I don't really know how I feel?”

He brushed past me, hopped down the steps, slung the rucksack over his shoulder and picked up a fishing rod that was leaning against the steps.

“What's that for?”

“It's a fishing rod. What do you think it's for?”

“I know what it's for, why do you want it?” I asked as he handed it to me to carry.

“Come on.”

“Why, where are we going?” I asked, watching Drew veer off to the right, which was the opposite way to the road.

“Where are you going? The road's this way, I don't want to get lost.” I said, trying to juggle the pitchfork and the fishing rod.

“I don't get lost.” was all he said with his back to me.

I followed him deeper into the trees. I really hoped he meant it when he said he didn't get lost because the trees all looked identical and the hilly landscape was throwing me off course. If he disappeared on me I would be lost for sure.

So it turned out Drew knew exactly where the river was, it took us around thirty minutes to find it. I was so excited to see water, I probably looked like a child seeing Disneyland for the first time. I desperately wanted a wash. I tried to drop a few subtle hints but Drew was more interested in fishing, which is what we ended up doing.

Apparently heading for Colorado wasn't the most important thing at present, breakfast was. I only hoped he would let me have five minutes privacy after we had finished fishing so I could freshen up.

“Isn't fishing on your list of things to do before you die?” Drew asked, hooking a worm on the end of the hook.

“No, I never got around to making a list.”

“It's never too late.”

“I have about three-four weeks left, not really enough time to swim with dolphins or go skydiving.”

“How about first kiss?” he asked with a cheeky smile.

“Yep, first kiss all done and dusted.”

“What about-”

“I covered that already.” I said quickly cutting him off, knowing where he was going.

He laughed and handed me the fishing rod. I'd never held one before. Obviously, I'd held it on the way from the cabin, but I'd never held one otherwise. I didn't know the first thing about fishing.

“Whoa! You're gonna hook me if you do it like that.” Drew said, holding his hands up.

“What? That's how they do it on TV.”

“Yes but you're a beginner and I don't want you to hook yourself in the head or me. Hold it to the side.”

I held the rod up and turned it to the side. Drew laughed.

“Okay, we're meant to be learning how to fish, not baton twirling.”

He reached around me and held onto the rod with me. I was very aware of how close he was, and I think he was as well.

He tried to speak but had to clear his throat first.

“So we're gonna do a side arm cast to start with. You need to hold onto it here to keep it balanced,”

He gently moved my hand. My hands were still wrapped in bandages from the cuts, and the dressings went halfway up my arms, I probably looked like an Egyptian mummy.

“Like this?”

“Yep you got it, now move it to the side, and release,” he said, moving the rod with me at the same time.

The line flew out over the water and the worm plopped into the water, and we both realized he still had his arms around me.

“This just got weird, didn't it?” he said.

“Yeah, it did.” I laughed, and Drew let go of me.

We both had a chuckle and then he sat down next to a tree with his back to it.

“So what, I have to stand here all day and you get to sit over there having a cigarette?”

“Yes but when you've caught a fish I'm gonna gut it and cook it for you and all you have to do is stand there for a little while.”

“I thought we weren't meant to eat anything from the rivers?”

Drew yawned and looked around. “I think it's all right, we're pretty far out here, I don't think many deadbies have gone swimming in this particular river. Anyway, you're already infected, I don't think a bit of fish will cause you to keel over. I'm the one that should be worried about getting infected, and I'm not worried about eatin' a few fish, so you worry 'bout catching breakfast.”

I stood with my back to him, looking across the river. After five minutes I was getting bored of standing.

“I think all the fish swam away.” I said just as the line started to move. “Oh, it's moving!”

“Looks like you got a nibble.” Drew said, standing up and coming over to me.

“What do I do?”

“Start reeling it in.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, if you think you've got a bite.”

I started reeling and the bushes rustled behind us.

“What was that?” I looked over my shoulder.

“Shh.. stay here.”

“What do I do with this?” I asked, but Drew was already in stealth-mode, running off and leaving me.

I carried on reeling the line in and to my surprise, there was a fish on the end of it. I had no idea what type of fish, or if it was even edible. I didn't know what to do with it so I stood there like a lemon waiting for Drew to come back.

“Alex!” someone screeched.

I spun around at the sound of my voice and saw Stacey running toward me.

“Stacey?”

I knew it was Stacey, it just didn't look like her. Her hair was a wild jungle of knots, and her face was covered in dirt. Her jeans were muddy and wet, her pink hoodie was tied around her waist, and her white vest top was no longer white. Her arms were covered in scratches like she had been running through bushes. She looked like a crazy-bush-woman.

She ran straight at me and I quickly chucked the rod onto the ground with the fish still attached to it and opened my arms as she dived into them.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked, hugging her back and rubbing her back.

“Those men chased me, I thought they were never going to stop. I had to hide in a muddy river.” she replied between sobs.

“The same men?”

“Yes.” she whimpered.

I quickly scanned the trees for Drew.

“Did they chase you here?”

“No, the zombies did.”

“Did you see any of the others in our group?”

“No.”

Just as she said it a deadbie walked out of the trees.

“Stac, move,” I said, pushing her aside and behind me.

“It's gonna get us,” she squealed and shot off to my right.

“Stacey, come back!”

I started to back away, but I couldn't go back any further because the river was behind me. I dodged out of its way and grabbed the knife I had on me. It turned around and started coming for me again. I gripped the knife, wondering where Drew had gone.

I looked around for Stacey but couldn't see her.

I blew out a breath, and started to count to three, but just before I got to three an arrow whizzed past my head and straight into the deadbie's skull.

“You all right?” Drew asked, running past me to get his arrow.

“I'm fine, Stacey was here.”

“What?”

“She just ran out of the trees and said she was been followed by zombies.”

“Where is she?”

“I dunno, she got frightened and legged it over there.”

Drew was about to go after her when another one appeared. Its skin looked paler with a green tint to it which meant it was close to dying. It was male, short, with wispy hair that looked like the sort of hair really, really old people have in the movies. Its top lip was missing and I could see all its teeth, and I was amazed it only had one front tooth missing. But it was still ugly, like something that belonged in nightmares.

I stepped back as it lurched toward us. I looked sideways at Drew waiting for him to shoot it, but he wasn't moving.

“What are you doing? Kill it already!”

“Nope.”

“What do you mean
nope
?”

“This one's practice.”

“Practice? What the fuck, Drew?”

“Okay, so what you're gonna do is bend your arm, hold it up and push against it as it comes to you, push your weight into it. Then using your other hand, stab it as hard as you can.”

I could hear him fine but panic was setting in and I wasn't really hearing anything he was saying.

“Drew! This is no time for a training lesson.” I said as we both started walking backwards.

It was getting closer than I felt comfortable with.

“This is the perfect time.” Drew said with a hint of laughter.

“I'm not good with the knife.” I insisted. “I'll probably stab myself.”

“Well you're gonna learn not to stab yourself, it might save your life.” he smirked.

I glanced sideways at him. Save my life, really?

“This is no time for joking around, Drew.”

“I'm not, that came out wrong. I meant, you know, before we get to Colorado, this could save your life on the way, learning to use the knife.”

“I don't want to learn how to use the knife. Just give me the pitchfork and I'll take care of it.”

“No, no pitchforks allowed. Now remember, he might bite. Those teeth look sharp, minus the one he's missing.”

“Drew!”

“He's a weakling, and he's nearly dead, he's perfect to practice on. Now pay attention, he's comin' for ya.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” I said through gritted teeth, getting ready to fight because Drew had moved back a few more steps out of the way.

The deadbie lunged for me and I ignored all my instincts that told me to run from its outstretched nasty claws. Instead, I blocked its attack by pressing my arm across its collarbone, then I managed to push it back a few steps by pushing my weight against it, all the while trying not to get my face bitten. I shoved it against a tree and tried to stab it in the head, and
try
was not the right word, more like a 'beginner's guide of what
not
to do when killing a deadbie'.

“It's not working, this is impossible!!!”

“Try for the eye, one quick strong motion” Drew said, coming up beside me holding his crossbow up to it just in case I completely failed.

“What? You're insane!”

“Just trust me.”

I looked back at the biter, it groaned, and gnashed at me, it smelled like something that had just crawled out of the sewer, and I was wrestling with it. Ugh.

I had to turn my gag reflex off as I gripped the knife tighter and plunged it into its eye socket, after minimal force the knife slipped through and I fell onto the ground with the rank deadbie beside me.

“Ewww!” I moaned, pulling the knife out and wriggling away as fast as possible.

“Well done.”

“Well done? I nearly got my face bitten off. Stabbing a deadbie in the head is harder than it looks.”

“Deadbies bones are weaker in general, but that was a good attempt.”

“Weaker in general? Have you ever tried stabbing one of them in the head before?”

“Yeah, and anything's possible if you put enough force into it.”

“Well I'm a girl and that was hard work for me.”

Drew laughed. “I never took you for one of the girly girls.”

“Shut up, I have a disadvantage. I'm
sick
.”

“You don't look that sick.”

“Not yet, but my arms ache.”

“As long as you can hold a knife you can fight, you need to learn... I heard you decapitated one with a shovel.”

“Who told you that?”

“Lane. He likes to talk. He, um, talked a lot about what you two used to get up to.”

“What!” I said shocked.

“Not that,” Drew said, trying not laugh. “Just the killin' stuff.”

“Yes but I used to have longer weapons and I used to hack...ugh, never mind. I don't like getting that close to them. And a little prior warning next time would be nice if you're just gonna leave me to get eaten.”

“I wanted you to learn to be able to defend yourself.”

“Why? You leaving me?”

“No,” he said confused. “I don't... why would you think that?”

“You don't have to stay with me.”

“I'm not leaving you, Alex.” He stared at me for a moment, holding me hostage with his striking blue eyes. “I promise you, I'm not going to leave you, but I want you to be able to defend yourself. I don't know what's over the next hill, those men could find us, a horde of deadbies could find us, I just wanted you to have a little practice with the knife. I don't plan on leaving you, you're good company.” he grinned, and at the same time we both heard a scream and turned around to see Stacey staggering toward us.

I had almost forgotten about her.

She was holding her shoulder, and when she removed her hand I saw a nasty wound, it was bleeding really badly and looked deep. It must have just happened because I was sure she wasn't bleeding a few minutes ago when she first turned up.

“It bit me!” she squealed.

Then she started whaling and freaking out. The culprit deadbie appeared behind her. Fresh blood dripped down its chin, staining its T-shirt. It started running toward us with its arms out. Drew shot it before it got anywhere near us.

“Stac, calm down.” I said, not really knowing how to deal with her when she was like this.

Then she started screaming.

“Stacey, shut up!” I said, rushing over to her.

“It bit me!” she said again.

She started hyperventilating and chanting 'it bit me, it bit me', over and over as she sank to the floor on her knees.

“Stacey, please calm down!” I pleaded with her, I didn't want her drawing any more of them to us.

“Don't tell me to fucking calm down!” she yelled.