The First Days: As the World Dies (10 page)

3. Return to Hell’s Highways

    

    The next hour was rough. Jason slid between the front seats into the back seat and ended up with a lap full of doggy. Jenni leaned around the side of her seat, held his hands, and spoke in a tremulous voice as she recounted her story.

    It hurt Katie just to hear Jenni's words. Jason's sobs from behind her told her how much those words devastated him.

    Jenni broke down more than once as she told the story.

    "…I woke up to the Benji screaming out "Mama" and there were…noises…"

    "…I thought Mikey was still with me, but I was alone on the front steps…"

    "…Tiny fingers…under the door…your father would never get the front door weather-stripping…"

    At times, Jenni's voice vanished into anguished sobs of despair and Katie would reach out, eyes still on the road, to touch her shoulder.

    Jason whispered, "No, no, no", but really did accept and understand what was being said. His family was gone and he had probably known it all along. But to hear how it happened was cutting deep. He seemed so young, no older than fifteen, and he would have to grow old quickly to survive.

    When Jenni told of Katie's rescue of her, Jason's hand- a boy's hand still, not quite a man's- touched Katie's shoulder and he whispered, "Thank you.

    Thank you!"

    It took all of Katie's willpower not to cry.

    Finally, Jenni told about the store. About Ralph and his Israeli wife who used to be a sniper and their newfound safe haven.

    "And the hunting store is safe?"

    "As safe as this world gets now," Katie answered. "Which reminds me, I need to check in."

    Soon, Ralph's voice filled the cab.

    "Yeah, we cleared out most of the town. No one in sight now. Awful mess though. All those bodies. I'll have to figure a way to get them away from the store so the stench won't be so bad. We're ready and clear for ya. Found Bill, our deputy sheriff was holed up down the road at the Parker place. He managed to get here on foot. Mighty brave of him. He wasn't bit. So he's safe.

    We'll put him and yer boy up in the living room on cots."

    "That's good news. You don't know how badly we want to get home."

    Katie couldn't help but smile at the thought of reaching the store.

    "How's the gas?"

    "Honestly, we're coming in on fumes. We..ah…forgot the back up canisters."

    "Noticed. Well, stay yer course. Stay steady. You should make it back okay if you do. We'll be on the lookout for you."

    "Thanks, Ralph. We'll see you soon," Katie said and handed the CB transceiver to Jenni, who promptly secured it back to the dashboard.

    Glancing into her rear view mirror, Katie saw Jason rubbing his eyes and nose. Jack was pressed up against him, whimpering softly, licking at his face. That brought a small smile to the boy's face and he hugged the dog tightly.

    "Listen, both of you. We need to keep our heads together the rest of this trip. We can't lose it now."

    Jenni looked at Katie plaintively and sighed. "I know. I know. I blew it."

    "We just got lucky. But it could have gone down so much worse. You even left your gun behind."

    Jenni took a breath and let it out slowly. She ran her hands over her bedraggled ponytail. "I…I just wanted him to be alive."

    "And I am," Jason said. "But I don't want to lose my only family member. My only Mom."

    Jenni looked at him and gripped his hand over the back of her seat tightly. "I'll not lose it again. I'll be strong."

    Katie pushed her sunglasses up on her nose and sighed with relief. "We just can't let our emotions rule us. We just can't. We have to keep calm."

    She could see out of her peripheral vision that both of them were nodding. A little of the tightness in her belly lessened, but her hands still felt shaky inside.

    Glancing at the fuel gauge she exhaled slowly. It was going to be tight.

    No deviations.

    No detours.

    Straight on.

    To safety.

    To their new home.

    And then…

    The truck crested a hill and for a moment Katie couldn't draw a breath.

    "Fuck," Jason blurted out.

    "No," Jenni whispered in horror.

    "Gawddammit!"

    Katie slammed on the brakes.

    Running full speed was the enormous crowd of zombies from Emorton flowing down the next hill, rushing toward them. It had to be the same crowd that had pursued them just hours before. Children, old people, young people, adults, all bloodied, all chewed up, all screaming, moaning, screeching as they raced down in an enormous crowd that filled the narrow farm road and spilled out into the trees.

    Jenni began to sob. "No, no, no."

    Katie pounded her fist on the steering wheel. "They fucking followed us.

    They fucking followed us!"

    "What are we going to do?" Jason asked, his voice edged with panic.

    Jack began to bark.

    Katie grabbed the CB. "Ralph, Nerit…we have a situation."

    "What's wrong?" Nerit's voice said calmly, but tinged with worry.

    "There was a shitload of zombies in Emorton. They pursued us when we went through the town. Evidently, they kept running after us in the direction we had gone. Right now, they are about a mile away and closing fast. They are filling the fucking road all the way into the trees."

    "Can you gun it and get through them?" Ralph's voice asked.

    Katie looked at Jenni and Jason. They both looked afraid, they both looked desperate, but they all knew the truth.

    "No. We can't. Too many. They might flip us." Katie rubbed the back of her hand over her mouth and tried to swallow. Her mouth was so dry. "We have to…we have to turn around."

    "Katie…" Ralph's voice was soft.

    "Sorry, Ralph," her voice caught, "we wanted to make it back."

    "Turn around. Go to FM 1226. Keep out of their sight. They'll keep going straight on hopefully. Take FM 1226 to CR 1113. That'll bring you back here," another voice said.

    Probably the cop.

    There was some discussion over on the other end.

    "…not enough gas…"

    "…drive out to them…"

    "…risky in Ashley Oaks…"

    "We're doing it," Katie finally said, then handed off the mouthpiece to Jenni.

    The zombies were closing fast. She could see they were desperate to get to the truck, roll it, break it apart, and eat what was within. A few in the front stumbled, fell, and were crushed beneath the onslaught of those behind.

    Katie reversed, swung the truck around, and aimed back in the direction they had come, and floored it.

    "Pray for us," Jenni said into the mouthpiece.

    "Just keep moving…until you can't no more. We'll come get you," Ralph said.

    Katie's eyes flicked to the rear view mirror and the enormous wave of zombies cresting the hill behind them. She pushed the gas pedal to the floor.

    They had to keep calm. They had to keep strong. They had to survive.

    It was as easy as that.

    

    

1. By the Pricking Of Their Thumbs…

    

    Jenni furrowed her brow and traced the farm road they were on with her finger. They were speeding away from the road that led to Emorton at top speed. Jason leaned over and pointed to a little dot on the map marked Ashley Oaks. Jenni frowned a little, then glanced over at the boy. She could see his eyes narrowing as he concentrated.

    "That adds approximately ten miles to our trip." He glanced at the gas gauge. "Possibly doable."

    Jenni nodded. Jason was good with figures and she trusted him. "Ralph will come get us."

    "We need to not be too far out when we do hit empty," Katie said. "We really don't know what the situation is out here. We're hoping for a low number of zombies but Emorton taught us a fairly bitter lesson."

    Jenni could feel the heat of the sun pressing down on her and she glanced toward it. It was lower in the sky. They were running out of time. She felt it.

    "What does it look like?" Katie asked.

    Jason took the map and studied it. "No towns except the one Ralph talked about. At least not in the direction we're going."

    Jenni barely glanced at the occasional house or trailer along the road.

    Most of them looked boarded up anyway. No cars anywhere. The world was as good as dead now it seemed. At least here in rural Texas.

    She was trying hard not to panic. Trying hard not to feel overwhelmed.

    She reached out and gripped Jason's hand tightly in her own. Yes, they had left the relative safety of the hunting store, but they had saved Jason. She had done her duty and that gave her a strange sense of calm. But now they had to stay alive. They had to figure this all out. Otherwise, their rescue of Jason would be fruitless and they would die out here. Yesterday, on that doorstep, Jenni had almost given up. Almost given in, but not now. No, not now.

    The truck roared down the narrow country road. The scenery flashed by the windows. Katie's knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel.

    They all felt it, Jenni knew. They were running out of time.

    The tearing of cellophane sounded behind her and Jason wordlessly handed her a Danish. She took it and began to eat ravenously. The day was slipping by faster than she liked and they had forgotten to eat. Jason then handed one to Katie and they all ate in eerie silence.

    If they catch us and tear us open, will they enjoy the sugary goodness inside, Jenni thought grimly.

    The vision of all those zombies running toward them was too horrible to think about, yet she couldn't help but think about just that. What if something inside of them let them know that the truck had pulled off the road onto the one they now traveled?

    "I gotta pee," Jenni said abruptly. It had hit her suddenly. She had the urgent need to go and felt annoyed by Katie's sharp look in her direction. She was a little surprised when Jason and Katie both said, "Me, too."

    "Looks clear," Katie continued.

    The road was so narrow that the truck almost took up the whole width.

    Katie stopped in the middle of the road, lifted the shotgun off the console and looked at Jenni. "You first. Take your gun. I'll cover."

    Jenni frowned and shook her head. "This is fucking annoying. Not being able to go without an armed guard."

    Jason cleared his throat and said, "What about me?"

    "I'll cover for you. Jenni can cover for me." Katie gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm a lesbian. It's okay."

    "Really?" Jason's eyes somewhat lit up.

    Katie just shook her head and flung her door open. She slid out muttering something about all men being alike.

    Jenni found it uncomfortable going, squatting in the tall grass and summer wildflowers, while Katie hovered over her, safety off on the shotgun.

    She tried hard to concentrate on the far horizon, staring across the wide valley of farmland. It was then that she realized she could see across to the country road they had been on previously. And the crowd of zombies was still racing in the direction they had last seen the truck. If one of them should look over and see the bright red truck perched high on the hill across the valley…

    She yanked up her pants. "Katie," she whispered and pointed.

    Katie looked, studied, and realized what the dark swarm of ant-like creatures on the far road was. "Fuck." She motioned to Jason. "Empty your bladder now. We're outta here."

    Jason realized what they were looking at and hopped out and took care of business without a single complaint about the two women hovering at his sides. Jack bound out as well, looked at Jason, and decorated all four tires with a nice little stream and left a tidy little brown package behind the truck in the middle of the road. He immediately followed Jason back into the truck, giving Jenni a doggy grin that told her he had found satisfaction.

    "Hoping a zombie steps in it, huh," Jenni said with a little smile.

    She could have sworn Jack's smile got bigger.

    Casting a wary glance at the distant running throng that was steadily working its way across the road in the far distance, she whispered a silent prayer. Katie shifted into gear and they continued down the road, a thin line of trees and the valley of farmland separating them from certain death.

    "What if one of them looks this way?" Jason's voice sounded a little on the high end of the scale.

    He's terrified, Jenni thought. And she had to admit she was, too.

    "Pray that they don't," Katie answered.

    Then, much to their relief, the road swerved around a corner and put the view of the zombie throng behind them.

    She couldn't help but turn around in her seat and stare out the back window. Jack and Jason were doing the same thing. The dog looked at her and gave a light woof and Jenni wasn't sure what that meant or if it was comforting.

    "This cannot get any worse!"

    All three J's immediately turned their attention back to the road in front of them. The truck was slowing down.

    A narrow bridge lay before them deftly blocked by a large overturned farm truck and the large haul of hay bales it had been dragging behind it.

    Inside the overturned truck cab, two zombies where flailing against the glass, going wild as they spotted potential meals. The driver was badly mauled and was not much a threat due to the severe lack of one arm and half of its other arm. The female zombie lying virtually on top of him with only a throat wound visible was a bit feistier.

    "Bet he was trying to save her and she ate him," Jason said.

    Jenni just kept blinking. There was no way across the bridge.

    Next to her Katie was rhythmically banging her head against the pale white knuckles of her hands.

    "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck," she was muttering.

    "We have to go back," Jenni said softly.

    "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck," Katie kept on.

    "Maybe we could wait until the zombie army passes by the intersection back there, then hightail it back to the gun store," Jason suggested.

    "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck"

    Jenni looked behind the truck, then up ahead. There was no choice.

    "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckaduck," Katie finally finished and looked up. "Okay, do we sit here and wait for-"

    The female zombie finally managed to locate an opening in the bashed up cab and was squirming out.

    "That answers that," Katie decided.

    "Woof," Jack said. He was staring at the back window.

    "Uh…we have zombies," Jason said looking out the rear window.

    Jenni whipped around to see three old women, well, what had used to be old women, still in their flowered summer dresses, running toward them.

    Behind them was what looked like two field workers.

    "I think we picked up…um…a zombie parade," Jason said mildly.

    "Probably from some of the farmhouses back there."

    "fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck," Katie said as she began to turn the truck around on the narrow road. It took some maneuvering and long enough that they ended up with really scary old women zombies banging on their windows.

    Jenni flipped off the safety on her gun and tried to internally steady her nerves as the female zombie from the wreck finally wormed her way out and started for the truck.

    "Go," Jenni shouted.

    The truck finally was turned all the way around and it roared down the road, effectively taking out two of the farm workers.

    "Tell Ralph," Katie said.

    So Jenni did.

    Ralph's voice was somber when he answered after hearing the situation.

    "Take FM 195. You'll end up in a town named Ashley Oaks. They're doing a lot of construction there. Fixing up the town. Renovations of the downtown.

    Get there and see if you can hole up with a group of survivors there. I've found some chatter on channel 9 few minutes ago. Tune into that channel.

    Trucker made it to Ashley Oaks and he put out the word there is survivors there. I was hoping you were going to make it home, but you better try for them. They're closer."

    Jenni looked at Katie hopefully and Katie nodded. "Ralph, we're gonna try for it. That's a big ol' ten-four, big buddy!"

    Jason winced at his stepmother's words and Jenni wrinkled her nose at him.

    "Get the map. Check it out."

    Jason immediately grabbed it at Katie's command. He studied it, measuring with his fingers, looking at the gas gauge and calculating in his head. "It'll be really tight."

    "As usual," Katie sighed.

    Jenni looked at Katie worriedly for a second, then grabbed the CB. "Uh, Ralph? Please tell me…the survivors in Ashley Oaks…they're not in a mall…right?"

    Katie's laugher rang out and Jenni pouted at her.

    "Why don't you just ask if their leader is a black man?" Katie grinned at her.

    "Nope and nope," Ralph's voice came through, bemused but worried.

    "Keep us informed. I'm worried sick."

    "Ten-Four. Can and will do. Over and out," Jenni said trying to sound like she wasn't scared out of her mind. But every time she looked at the gas gauge…

    She looked across the valley at the distant dark cloud of dead flesh moving across the road in the distance.

    "I have a feeling we can't sit still. I'm gonna just go for it and turn onto FM 195," Katie said as the sign announcing the junction with their new destination flashed by.

    Considering the scarceness of the tree cover, Jenni had to agree. They were some distance away. Hopefully, they could just turn up onto the new road and disappear over the hilltop.

    The truck turned and sped up the hill. It was a long, steady climb and Jenni couldn't help but turn and stare out the back window. The shaggy brown hair of her stepson and the back of the German Shepherd's head were the frame for her view. The dark ant-like zombies were quite scarce now.

    Probably the stragglers of the bigger group.

    The red truck crested the tall hill and Jenni could clearly see the entire valley and the hills beyond, painfully beautiful, serene, and majestic. And then they were descending the other side.

    Jason turned around white-faced.

    "What?" Jenni asked.

    "Didn't you see?"

    "Uh…no."

    "The tail end, maybe ten or twenty, turned onto this road."

    Jenni rested her forehead on the back of her seat and sighed.

    From beside her came a steady string of…"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck"

    

    

2. Salvation This Way Comes

    

    Katie couldn't stop cursing, nor did she want to. This was getting ridiculous. She just couldn't believe how downhill their plan had gone. But every time she started to curse herself for leaving the safety of Ralph's hunting store, she would catch a glimpse of the kid with the shaggy brown hair in the backseat of the truck and knew it was worth it.

    Jason's rescue hadn't just been important to Jenni, but to Katie as well.

    She had felt helpless after saving Jenni. Yeah, they had survived, but she had failed too many. Lydia, the kid at the convenience store…how many others had she bypassed without notice?

    And now they were speeding at top speeds toward a possible camp of survivors while a throng of zombie kids with their parents and teachers jogged along behind them in an unrelenting pursuit of flesh. Her flesh. And Jason's. And Jenni's.

    She glanced back at the dog that looked back at her questioningly. If they wanted Jack or not that had yet to be seen, but they wouldn't get him if she had her way. Jack went back to chewing on some jerky Jason had given him, eyeing Katie suspiciously.

    She looked away from the rear view mirror and at the straight shot of road they were on. The terrain was flattening out a bit. They were heading westward and the hills were fading into the background. Slowly, their destination shimmered out of the horizon.

    Tall red buildings hovered over a modest expanse of town. Katie could clearly see the downtown area partially ringed by tall red-bricked buildings that seemed out of place with the flatness of the rest of the town. The farm road they were traveling would lead them straight into the center of town.

    But where were the survivors?

    Time to find out.

    Katie grabbed the CB and flipped it to channel 9. "Survivors in Ashley Oaksl, this is Bright Red Truck heading your way. We're a party of three with a dog companion."

    "Bright Red Truck, what direction are you heading in from? FM 195 or Route 6?" It was a woman's voice. Calm. Reassuring.