Roads Less Traveled (11 page)

“Jesus,” he whispered when he glanced to the left, seeing what had made Jake turn off Main Street. There was a mass of zombies, all milling around and bumping into one another. Just before they were out of sight Ben noticed their eyes turning towards him. There were at least a hundred of them, and Ben prayed they’d have their business finished at Pete’s and be long gone before the swarm caught up with them.

This new street seemed to be quiet and free of the undead. Mike moaned again and Ben realized he had forgotten about the guy. He risked a quick glance and saw that Mike was now sweating profusely. His skin was shiny and pasty, and there was spit running down his chin. He was also starting to smell. Ben jerked his eyes away and focused on Jake’s brake lights. He felt the thump-thump before realizing he had hit something.

“Shit!” he shouted and slammed on the brakes. Ben looked all around and saw nothing. Just as Jake started yelling at him over the radio, he looked up at the rear-view. A little girl lay in the road, her arms flopping and one leg kicking slowly and clumsily.

“Ben, goddammit!!” Jake was screaming. Ben thought about picking up the mic and answering him, but he was too shocked. He had just hit a little girl. He threw the truck in park and almost fell out the door. He didn’t notice Jake had stopped as well and was running back towards him.

“Ben! Ben!” Jake was still screaming as he ran. Ben stumbled over to the little girl and kneeled beside her. She stared up at the sky with vacant eyes. Her mouth hung open and half her face was covered with blood. Her arms continued to flop, each thrash causing gray matter to ooze from her hair. One leg was twisted and bent at an unnatural angle while the other kicked lazily.

“Oh no, no, no, no,” Ben began to whisper. His hands shook as he tried wiping the blood from the girl’s eyes. She didn’t flinch or give any other indication that she felt him brushing her hair away from her face. Ben’s shoulders began to move up and down as hoarse sobs crept out of his chest. He didn’t hear Jake slide to a stop beside him, and didn’t feel Jake as he grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly.

“Come on! Ben, we have to go! We don’t have time!” Jake screamed in Ben’s ear. He looked at the girl, but all he saw was a deadhead dressed up in a pink jumpsuit with half her face eaten off. He gripped Ben’s shirt and pulled him away, jerking him back on his ass. Ben threw his hands up to push Jake off, then got a hard slap in the face. Jake grabbed him by the collar and pulled him on his feet, standing nose to nose with him and breathing right in Ben’s face.

“That kid’s dead, man! She’s a fuckin’ deadhead! Now let’s go!” Tiny sprinkles of spit sprayed Ben in the face as Jake screamed. Ben shook his head violently.

“No, no I killed her! I ran over her!” he cried back. He tried to shake free of Jake, who was starting to drag him back to the truck. Jake cuffed him again across the cheek and spun him around, forcing him to face the thing lying in the street.

“Look at her! Goddammit Ben, look at her! She’s already stopped floppin’ around cause you cracked her skull open! And while you’re at it take a look down there!” he yelled as he pointed down the way they came.

The horde was now turning the corner and beginning to lumber slowly towards them. Ben stared at the little girl, then at the mass of zombies approaching. He wasn’t sure if it was the swarm, or if it had been Jake’s repeated hits, but whichever it was finally spurred him into action. He turned and ran alongside Jake to the truck, grabbed the door handle and was about to jump inside when he realized Mike was dead.

“Shhiiiiit…” Ben swore and grabbed Jake by the arm. He cussed in return, then shook his head and took off towards the Jeep. Ben climbed inside and hoped the seatbelt and sleeping bag would restrain Mike until after this current mess was over.

He struggled to regain his composure and was just able to pull the truck into drive and catch up with Jake as the Jeep took yet another sharp turnoff.

“We’re almost there Ben. Hang in there,” Zack said over the radio.
Yeah, simple he said. No problem, he said,
Ben thought as sweat poured into his eyes. They sped past a burning Volkswagen crammed full of people. Ben couldn’t tell if they were alive or not and decided he didn’t want to know. The Jeep took another corner, pitching right as Jake turned left. Mike had begun to moan again, but this time it was not the sound of the dying. It was the sound of the dead. He struggled clumsily against the seat belt and snapped his teeth, over and over, craning his neck towards Ben as far as the sleeping bag would allow. Tears clouded Ben’s vision. He swiped one hand across his face, rubbing sweat into his eyes.
This is hell,
he thought.
I died three days ago and now I’m in hell.

He jumped a curb and fishtailed the truck around as he followed Jake back onto Main Street. He could see the edge of town now and he risked another glance in the rearview mirror. The street behind was littered with vehicles, some burning, some turned over. In grassy lawns on either side he could see zombies wandering aimlessly, searching for fresh meat.
Almost there,
he thought. Ben noticed even the voice in his head sounded panicked. He hit the accelerator and brought the truck closer to Jake’s bumper. They were driving fast now, and he wanted to get the hell out of this place and this truck. That’s when it suddenly dawned on him: they should have listened to Kasey.

The houses were thinning as they left the city limits. Jake whipped the Jeep to the right and drove straight through a yard, knocking over a couple of garbage cans and a yard gnome. Ben pulled to the curb and stopped. He watched as Jake and Pete both ran over to the house, which he assumed was Peter’s. The older man fished in his pocket and found what looked to be keys. He unlocked the door and they both ran inside, Jake in the lead with his rifle raised.

Ben’s head throbbed and his eyes stung. He thought he would go mad listening to the thing that had been Mike sitting beside him. The sound of Ben’s breathing was harsh, and his teeth felt like they were going numb.
I’m hyperventilating
, he thought. Seconds ticked by, then minutes. He couldn’t see any movement from within the house, and couldn’t hear anything over the noise Mike was making. Just as he was about to either grab the mic and scream into the radio, or grab his pistol and blow Mike’s head off, Jake burst out of the open doorway.

He ran across the yard, tripping once and falling to his knees, then scrambled back to his feet and rushed around the front of the Jeep. Ben watched the open front door, but there was no sign of Pete. He caught a red flash out of the corner of his eye and realized Jake was speeding away. Mike’s moans thumped through his head as Ben began succumbing to mind-numbing exhaustion. He shifted the truck into gear and pulled out, leaving Pete’s house behind. All else he blocked out; the thought of leaving a man behind, the sight of car after car left abandoned or burning, the ever-increasing numbers of living dead.

He drove this way for miles, on auto-pilot; the only thing guiding him was the bright yellow rear end of the Jeep ahead. Jake called over and over on the radio, but all Ben heard was muffled words, like he was listening to someone talk through a sock. Bright red lights in front of him signaled his foot to brake. Zack and Kyra opened his door and unfastened his seat belt, then pulled him gently from the truck. Kyra led him to the passenger side of the Jeep and helped him in next to Jake. She shut the door and gave a thumbs-up to Zack, who had already climbed in behind the wheel of the truck. The last thing he remembered, and vaguely at that, was Nancy reaching from behind and squeezing his shoulder, telling him everything would be okay.

* * *

They drove until dusk. Kyra kept a watchful eye on the map. Nancy kept a watchful eye on Ben, who had slept soundly the entire way. Jake had been in constant contact with Zack in the truck behind, keeping tabs on Mike. They were coming up on the Pennsylvania/Maryland border when Jake slowed to a stop.

Ben struggled to open his eyes. He could faintly hear the sound of doors opening and shutting. He grimaced when he tried to sit up in the seat; a kink in his neck and a knot in his back from sleeping in an awkward position conveying their discontent at being stirred. He rubbed his face and twisted around to look out the back window. The other three were gathered around the left side of the truck, talking to Zack as he slid out.

The nightmares of earlier started creeping back into his mind: the little girl lying mangled and bloodied on the road; zombie after zombie dragging themselves across lawns and streets; people – survivors - burning alive in trapped vehicles. Instead of being consumed with agonizing panic this time, he gradually became livid. The longer he stared at the others and Mike, the more he was filled with absolute rage.

“Let’s just dump him then,” Zack was saying as Ben eased his way out of the Jeep.

“Well we’re not leaving him alive. Or dead alive. Shit, whatever. Someone needs to shoot him,” Kyra said to Jake. Ben was walking resolutely in their direction, but they were too involved in their debate over Mike to notice him approaching.

“Yeah. Zack, you slide in on this side and kick him out. I’ll take him on the other side once he’s clear of the truck,” Jake said. Nancy caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Ben as he was opening the passenger side door.

“Ben!” she shouted with surprise. Everyone snapped their heads in his direction, and watched as he grabbed the sleeping bag with both hands and jerked Mike out onto the ground.

“Dude, what are you doin?!” Jake yelled as he ran around the front of the truck. Ben was seething. He fumbled with the pistol at his side and finally jerked it free of the holster. He gripped it with both hands, his arms shaking violently, and pointed the barrel at Mike’s forehead. Ben stared at him, listening to his moans and snapping teeth. He was starting to get tunnel vision again when he heard Jake’s voice beside his ear.

“Do it,” was all he said. Very calm, very firm. The gun was firing and recoiling in Ben’s hand before he actually realized he had pulled the trigger. He was dimly aware of screaming, then realized it was coming from his own mouth. Over and over he fired until the only sound filling the air was clicking. Rattled breaths replaced the screams as his finger jerked the trigger. Jake gripped Ben firmly by the shoulder and grabbed the gun with his other hand. The hammer came down on his thumb, but he held it there.

“It’s done Ben. It’s done,” he whispered. He lowered his arm and pulled the gun from Ben’s hands. He pulled the hammer back and released his thumb. A tiny trickle of blood slid down his knuckle. Ben stood beside him, trembling and gasping. Jake shoved the gun inside the waistline of his jeans and led Ben back to the Jeep. He motioned for Kyra and Nancy to stay back when they moved towards him and shook his head.

He tucked Ben in the backseat, fastened the seat belt around him, and talked quietly to his friend while the others watched. Nancy and Kyra looked on anxiously, wringing their hands and glancing nervously at one another. Zack busied himself with shutting the passenger door of the truck. He glanced down at Mike, whose face was riddled with holes, before returning to the women. Jake had shut the door and was headed back.

“Grandma, you feel like drivin’ a bit?” he asked. Nancy nodded and embraced her grandson tightly. She turned and got in the truck, shutting the door without a word. Jake sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

“I need a break. Zack, do you want to drive a while longer, or do you need a rest?”

“I can go a few more hours,” Zack answered. Jake nodded and started around the front of the pickup.

“I’ll ride with Grandma. Kyra, you should check Ben’s computer and see if Kasey is on. Even if she isn’t, let her know where we are and that we’re drivin’ straight through now. I want to be out of Maryland and into West Virginia by mornin’.”

“Ok, will do,” Kyra replied as she and Zack went to the Jeep. Jake hopped in beside Nancy, pulled the door shut and rolled down the window. He sank back against the seat and blew out a breath as they pulled out.

“You okay, hun?” Nancy asked. Jake turned his head away and looked out the window.

“Yeah,” he said in a low voice. “I’m good.”

Nancy reached over and patted his knee, then hit the gas. Jake drifted off to sleep as the trees blurred by and were swallowed by darkness as night fell.

Chapter Nine

October 5
^th

I had sat in my study all night, drinking coffee and watching the computer screen. Occasionally I would fiddle with the dials on the radio. After I received Kyra’s message, I plotted their location on my map, and knew they should be in range. After a few unsuccessful attempts to raise them, however, I gave up and sent an e-mail instead. I nodded off after that and didn’t wake up until morning. The squawking from the radio and Gus jumping against my leg jerked my eyes open and scared the hell out of me. I scrambled in my seat and pulled the mic off the hook.

“Uh, yeah this is Kasey. Go ahead,” I said, unsure of who was calling for me and what the proper radio lingo was in this situation. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and shoved Gus away with my knee. He was very interested in the voice coming out of the big black box.