picked my way through the cars, looking for the one that seemed the most promising. Dead bodies scattered the road, most of them gnawed to the bone by zombies. I opened the door to a minivan and nearly retched when I saw the car seat in th,e back. Something really terrible must have happened to make the parents leave their baby.
Moving on, I thought luck struck when I climbed up the steps of a school bus. Coolers had been packed and stashed in the front seats. The cold kept the smell of rotten food to a minimum. I dug through it, looking for something edible and hopefully not full of E Coli or other horrible germs. I pulled out a jar of peanuts. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get us through the next few hours. A case of water had tipped over, the bottles rolled all over the bus. I grabbed four and jogged back to the car.
We devoured the nuts and drank all of our water within the hour. I should have known my luck would run out. The low fuel light was sure to come on within the next few miles. I knew I’d be able to find gas and even a way to get it relatively easily. But when the SUV suddenly started shaking and the engine overheated, I had no idea what to do.
“Piece of shit!” I cursed, hitting the steering wheel.
“What do we do?” Olivia whimpered.
I looked around us; we were on another stretch of country road with nothing ahead of behind us. “Get out and walk until we find another car.” I gathered up the map and the flashlight and got out. Olivia nervously gripped the shotgun.
“What’s the compound like?” Olivia inquired as we walked.
“It’s…it’s nice. And safe. It used to be a bomb shelter so most of it is underground. There’s food, water, medicine and clothes. And even heaters and warm water for showers.”
“Is it like a big room with cots set up?”
“Not at all. You’ll have a roommate, or two or three maybe. The rooms look kinda like dorm rooms. And there’s a cafeteria and a couple of game rooms.”
“Is it run by the government?”
I almost laughed. “No. Well, maybe you’d call them that now. It’s run by American soldiers.”
“Oh, that does seem safe.”
“It is. It’s the safest place I know of, or can think of.”
“So,” she said quietly. “Why aren’t you there?”
“We go on missions. To look for people or get supplies. I got separated from my…my friends,” I explained, though I didn’t consider Alex a friend at all. Along with reuniting with my real friends, I couldn’t wait to punch Alex in the face.
A high pitched scream echoed behind us. Olivia froze in fear. I spun around, taking a defensive stance. The crazy had a piece of a metal pipe through his leg but he raced toward us as if it was nothing. He wouldn’t have been a problem. There was only one S1.
But there were a shit ton of S2’s behind him.
“Motherfucker!” I yelled, really hating the way S1’s were zombie magnets. My eyes darted back and forth from Olivia to the zombies. She was defenseless. Yea she had the gun but I doubted she be able to hit the broad side of a barn, besides, it wouldn’t be long before it was out of ammo. I couldn’t count on her to help me out or take care of herself. I took her hand. “Run!”
We raced down the road, across a field and into the woods. The zombies would eventually catch the S1 and hopefully he’d be enough of a distraction for them to lag behind. All we had to do was get to another road with a pile up, a town with cars, or even a safe place to be bunkered in for a while.
Olivia couldn’t keep up with me. She wheezed and gasped for air, putting her hands on her knees and bending over. I had to really work to keep my patience with her, especially when I realized she had dropped the shotgun while we were running. I pushed her forward yet again, not feeling safe enough to slow down. Finally, when the trees became thinner, I slowed to a walk. She had just caught her breath when we emerged from the forest into an over grown
Moving on, I thought luck struck when I climbed up the steps of a school bus. Coolers had been packed and stashed in the front seats. The cold kept the smell of rotten food to a minimum. I dug through it, looking for something edible and hopefully not full of E Coli or other horrible germs. I pulled out a jar of peanuts. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get us through the next few hours. A case of water had tipped over, the bottles rolled all over the bus. I grabbed four and jogged back to the car.
We devoured the nuts and drank all of our water within the hour. I should have known my luck would run out. The low fuel light was sure to come on within the next few miles. I knew I’d be able to find gas and even a way to get it relatively easily. But when the SUV suddenly started shaking and the engine overheated, I had no idea what to do.
“Piece of shit!” I cursed, hitting the steering wheel.
“What do we do?” Olivia whimpered.
I looked around us; we were on another stretch of country road with nothing ahead of behind us. “Get out and walk until we find another car.” I gathered up the map and the flashlight and got out. Olivia nervously gripped the shotgun.
“What’s the compound like?” Olivia inquired as we walked.
“It’s…it’s nice. And safe. It used to be a bomb shelter so most of it is underground. There’s food, water, medicine and clothes. And even heaters and warm water for showers.”
“Is it like a big room with cots set up?”
“Not at all. You’ll have a roommate, or two or three maybe. The rooms look kinda like dorm rooms. And there’s a cafeteria and a couple of game rooms.”
“Is it run by the government?”
I almost laughed. “No. Well, maybe you’d call them that now. It’s run by American soldiers.”
“Oh, that does seem safe.”
“It is. It’s the safest place I know of, or can think of.”
“So,” she said quietly. “Why aren’t you there?”
“We go on missions. To look for people or get supplies. I got separated from my…my friends,” I explained, though I didn’t consider Alex a friend at all. Along with reuniting with my real friends, I couldn’t wait to punch Alex in the face.
A high pitched scream echoed behind us. Olivia froze in fear. I spun around, taking a defensive stance. The crazy had a piece of a metal pipe through his leg but he raced toward us as if it was nothing. He wouldn’t have been a problem. There was only one S1.
But there were a shit ton of S2’s behind him.
“Motherfucker!” I yelled, really hating the way S1’s were zombie magnets. My eyes darted back and forth from Olivia to the zombies. She was defenseless. Yea she had the gun but I doubted she be able to hit the broad side of a barn, besides, it wouldn’t be long before it was out of ammo. I couldn’t count on her to help me out or take care of herself. I took her hand. “Run!”
We raced down the road, across a field and into the woods. The zombies would eventually catch the S1 and hopefully he’d be enough of a distraction for them to lag behind. All we had to do was get to another road with a pile up, a town with cars, or even a safe place to be bunkered in for a while.
Olivia couldn’t keep up with me. She wheezed and gasped for air, putting her hands on her knees and bending over. I had to really work to keep my patience with her, especially when I realized she had dropped the shotgun while we were running. I pushed her forward yet again, not feeling safe enough to slow down. Finally, when the trees became thinner, I slowed to a walk. She had just caught her breath when we emerged from the forest into an over grown
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