Alaskan Undead Apocalypse (Book 4): Resolution by Sean Schubert Page B

for the weather. He slowed down a bit while his rig climbed
the sloping road.
    As they drew closer to Whittier, Danielle
noticed that the big Blazer’s speed reduced significantly but her
heart rate increased steadily. Everywhere she looked she imagined
she saw Kameron’s ghoulish face staring back at her. Danielle was
terrified by what they might encounter; what she might encounter.
    When they reached a familiar turnoff from
Shotgun Cove Road, the two trucks came to a rolling stop. William
looked over his shoulder at his passengers and announced, “I think
this is close enough. We don’t know what we’re driving into. Maybe
we should park up here and walk into town.”
    From the Suburban, idling next to him with
its passenger window open, a female voice barked, “Why the hell
would we do that? I don’t want to walk down there.”
    “What if we get trapped?” William asked. “It
might be easier to get out of tight corners on foot. If we leave
the trucks up here, we’d still be able to get away.”
    The other driver, Nakissha, called back, “If
we don’t let ourselves get into any tight corners then we won’t
have to worry about it. Anything gets in front of me, I’ll run it
down.”
    William protested, “But we don’t know for
sure what—”
    “Then they better stay outta my way. I ain’t
takin’ no chances.”
    William breathed deeply but said nothing. He
looked through the windshield and pondered their next move. He
didn’t like the idea of walking any more than Nakissha did but
something told him that the road would not be easy.
    He could sense the tension in his car and
the worried looks. No one wanted to walk. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll
follow you. Don’t go too slow, but don’t stop...ever.”
    The Suburban, its wheels spinning on the
gathering ice, drove off without an acknowledgment. William was
quickly and tightly on the vehicle’s tail but not feeling entirely
comfortable. It felt like someone was looking over his shoulder all
the time. Maybe it was the mountains, still thick with trees
appearing as if they had been piled atop one another all up the
distant slopes. It could have been the Sound’s dark currents with
its blanket of misty haze hovering close to the surface.
    When they came within sight of the enormous,
vacant Buckner Building to their left, his discomfort approached a
mild panic. He detested not knowing what to expect. It was like
going over the first big hill of a rollercoaster; only he had no
idea if there was even track still laid out in front of them. He
was heading into unknown territory, which was anything but normal.
He was a planner and rarely set out to accomplish anything without
significant preparation.
    Regardless, he found himself following
Nakissha into the unknown. They passed the Buckner Building,
thankfully without incident, but when they came to one of the few
intersections of roads through the diminutive downtown side of
Whittier, things changed. At the intersection, a clog of vehicles
had been formed around a former ambulance that had been turned into
a taxi cab for the small community. The Funbulance, as it was
called, was resting on its side with three other vehicles smashed
into it from three different directions. Around this jam, other
cars and trucks and even a four-wheeled ATV had formed a tight and
immovable obstacle, forcing Nakissha and William to make hard right
hand turns away from the mess.
    Unfortunately, turning that direction took
them away from their objective. Moving dangerously fast on the
untested road, Nakissha’s Suburban fishtailed again, but this time
she wasn’t able to reign in the momentum of the vehicle. Feeling
the tires lose traction, she tried to gain control but
overcorrected. By the time she was able to deal with the problem,
it was too late.
    The big, rusty Suburban crashed into first a
car and then a pair of ovens that had been removed from the nearby
Whittier Manor apartment complex, which was a stout