Maria’s initiative.
“Thanks, guys,” I say.
I join them at the front of the car and see for myself. It’s a small victory to see Luke must have gotten out and run. The car points away from the main road. I can only assume he continued on foot in the same direction.
I take one more look around the car for, I don’t know, maybe a footprint or some other clue to show me what I already know. That’s when I hear a familiar voice say, “Lose something?” Rudy!
I run and tackle him. “You’re alive!” In my excitement, I wouldn’t be surprised if I kissed him.
“Of course I am. I told you I was going to create a diversion. Sorry it took so long. I had to wait ‘til dark and ‘til the Zebs calmed down a bit. You guys got them worked up into one hell of a frenzy. What did you find in the house?”
I release Rudy from my clutches and see Bruno at my feet, so I bend and scratch his chin. “No sign of Luke. The place looked like they left in a hurry. Luke must have seen it was empty and left. This is the car he was in.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t find your brother, but we gotta keep going. We’re already getting noticed.” He gestures at about twenty Zebs coming our way. “Get your weapons out and let’s go.”
I take out my bayonet and start jogging to keep up with Rudy. The orange dust has been pretty much cleared from the street by the hordes. I can’t help but feel a great relief and probably happiness that Rudy’s with us once again. Yes, I feel safer, but there’s that other thing.
I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. You know, like the fact we’re running for our lives, and I should be looking for signs of my brother. I start to hear strained breathing behind me. Oh, Maria. I check on her and she isn’t looking very good.
She must notice my gaze. “I’m… fine… just… keep…going.”
Yeah, she sounded great. “Rudy?”
“Got it. We’ll take a break for a second. Maria, can you keep walking?”
“Of… course…I…can.”
“She’s just saying that,” Guille chimes in.
“Okay, everybody stop,” Rudy says. “We’ll hang here for a minute.”
We stand for a few seconds, when we see we’re noticed by some zombies coming from behind a few houses. They aren’t fast, but they sure are relentless. Maria’s wheezing concerns us, but not as much as the moaning of a Zeb. “We gotta go,” Rudy says. “Just walk at a decent pace.”
Maria sucks in a long breath as if she’s about to say something, probably to object. Rudy doesn’t give her a chance. “Save it, Maria. This is what we’re doing.”
I eye Rudy and mouth the words, thank you. He rolls his eyes and focuses ahead. My mind overreacts to his eye rolling, and I wonder what he meant by it.
A few minutes later, Rudy points, “Up there’s a school. Maybe it’ll be a safe place to rest a bit longer.”
We walk closer, and I notice an overpass bridge with some commotion taking place on it. “Rudy, check it out.” I see a tractor-trailer stopped with a guy on top waving a weapon. It looks like a long pipe. I see a swarm of Zebs trying to get at him.
“Are we gonna help?” Guille raises his bat.
“It’ll take another large distraction to get those things away from the truck,” Rudy says. “Then some serious coordination and effort to get that guy safely off. I’ve got one Roman candle left. We’re all gonna have to do this to make it work. You too, Lea.”
My stomach sinks when he singles me out, but he’s right. I need to pull it together. Hopefully, my job will be something doable. I listen to Rudy’s plan as I study the guy on the truck. His build and posture… “It’s Luke!”
Chapter Eighteen
Rudy’s plan is simple. He creates a disruption while Maria, Guille, and Bruno watch and defend his back while zombies from all sides take notice. Oh, and I go and find a car on the bridge and rescue Luke.
My response to Rudy is, “Are you nuts? You want me to save my brother? I can’t
“Thanks, guys,” I say.
I join them at the front of the car and see for myself. It’s a small victory to see Luke must have gotten out and run. The car points away from the main road. I can only assume he continued on foot in the same direction.
I take one more look around the car for, I don’t know, maybe a footprint or some other clue to show me what I already know. That’s when I hear a familiar voice say, “Lose something?” Rudy!
I run and tackle him. “You’re alive!” In my excitement, I wouldn’t be surprised if I kissed him.
“Of course I am. I told you I was going to create a diversion. Sorry it took so long. I had to wait ‘til dark and ‘til the Zebs calmed down a bit. You guys got them worked up into one hell of a frenzy. What did you find in the house?”
I release Rudy from my clutches and see Bruno at my feet, so I bend and scratch his chin. “No sign of Luke. The place looked like they left in a hurry. Luke must have seen it was empty and left. This is the car he was in.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t find your brother, but we gotta keep going. We’re already getting noticed.” He gestures at about twenty Zebs coming our way. “Get your weapons out and let’s go.”
I take out my bayonet and start jogging to keep up with Rudy. The orange dust has been pretty much cleared from the street by the hordes. I can’t help but feel a great relief and probably happiness that Rudy’s with us once again. Yes, I feel safer, but there’s that other thing.
I shake my head to bring myself back to reality. You know, like the fact we’re running for our lives, and I should be looking for signs of my brother. I start to hear strained breathing behind me. Oh, Maria. I check on her and she isn’t looking very good.
She must notice my gaze. “I’m… fine… just… keep…going.”
Yeah, she sounded great. “Rudy?”
“Got it. We’ll take a break for a second. Maria, can you keep walking?”
“Of… course…I…can.”
“She’s just saying that,” Guille chimes in.
“Okay, everybody stop,” Rudy says. “We’ll hang here for a minute.”
We stand for a few seconds, when we see we’re noticed by some zombies coming from behind a few houses. They aren’t fast, but they sure are relentless. Maria’s wheezing concerns us, but not as much as the moaning of a Zeb. “We gotta go,” Rudy says. “Just walk at a decent pace.”
Maria sucks in a long breath as if she’s about to say something, probably to object. Rudy doesn’t give her a chance. “Save it, Maria. This is what we’re doing.”
I eye Rudy and mouth the words, thank you. He rolls his eyes and focuses ahead. My mind overreacts to his eye rolling, and I wonder what he meant by it.
A few minutes later, Rudy points, “Up there’s a school. Maybe it’ll be a safe place to rest a bit longer.”
We walk closer, and I notice an overpass bridge with some commotion taking place on it. “Rudy, check it out.” I see a tractor-trailer stopped with a guy on top waving a weapon. It looks like a long pipe. I see a swarm of Zebs trying to get at him.
“Are we gonna help?” Guille raises his bat.
“It’ll take another large distraction to get those things away from the truck,” Rudy says. “Then some serious coordination and effort to get that guy safely off. I’ve got one Roman candle left. We’re all gonna have to do this to make it work. You too, Lea.”
My stomach sinks when he singles me out, but he’s right. I need to pull it together. Hopefully, my job will be something doable. I listen to Rudy’s plan as I study the guy on the truck. His build and posture… “It’s Luke!”
Chapter Eighteen
Rudy’s plan is simple. He creates a disruption while Maria, Guille, and Bruno watch and defend his back while zombies from all sides take notice. Oh, and I go and find a car on the bridge and rescue Luke.
My response to Rudy is, “Are you nuts? You want me to save my brother? I can’t
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