Claire laid her head on my brother’s shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her. I was sure he felt awkward about it and was only trying to be nice, for Claire was definitely not his type. He usually liked girls who took on the action, not the ones who ran away from it, squealing about chipping their nails or breaking their expensive heels. But then again, who knows? Maybe he needs a girly kind of girl right now to balance out all this blood and nastiness. Opposites still attract, right? Or maybe it’s just a bad case of nerves. I knew whatever it was; we had no time for soap operas. We had more important fish to fry, like finding the freeway, for starters.
***
Once we were finally on the highway, I felt a bit safer. Val’s Jeep now led the way and we drove for a few hours in absolute silence. I would’ve loved to have thrown some tunes on, but I was sure all the DJs had been gobbled up by zombies.
Then, out of nowhere, I noticed my sister slowing down, and her brake lights flashed as she pulled over to the side of the road.
“What the heck?” I yelled to my brother.
He jolted awake when I stopped behind her and cut the engine.
“It’s Val. She’s pulling over.”
“Why?” Claire asked. “It’s dark outside. Stopping isn’t a good idea, right?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she needs a potty break or has a flat or something.”
My brother jumped out of the car and dashed toward her Jeep, yelling, “Are you mad? No stopping unless I deem it safe!”
Claire and I rushed over to the other Jeep, then stopped the moment we reached Val.
She was on the side of the road by a sign, puking into the bushes.
Jackie’s hand rested on her back. She shot us an apologetic look, then went about rubbing Val’s back.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly the moment the heaving stopped.
She nodded but didn’t seem to want to move from the spot.
My brother and I scanned the area as we waited for her to finish. The long stretch of deserted highway posed no imminent threat, or so it seemed. Nick tapped his gun, signaling that we should get a move-on; I was glad for that, because I didn’t want to stick around either. The full moon reminded me of werewolves, and a chill pricked my spine. Get it together. Werewolves are fake, just something for teenage girls to giggle over, unless they prefer sparkly vampires. But zombies were real, and my sister was about to turn into one.
“Sorry, guys,” Val eventually said, standing.
“It’s okay,” Nick said. “I’m the one who should be sorry for yelling at you.”
Claire touched Val’s shoulder. “Is there anything I can do?”
She straightened and flipped her hair out of her eyes. “I’m fine, guys. Thanks for asking. Let’s just get outta here. Sorry for stopping.”
“Wait,” I said, holding a hand up to stop her. “You shouldn’t be driving in your condition.” I knew she needed rest.
Val motioned for Jackie to get back in. Once Jackie did, Val jumped in the Jeep and slammed the door in my face. Her behavior was moody and sporadic, and it went beyond the normal female oddities. Turning the key, the engine cranked but refused to turn over.
“Why won’t this thing start?” she asked. She tried a few more times and the engine finally fired.
Nick peeked his head in the open window. “Dean’s right. You’re in no condition to drive. Also, we need to re-wrap that nasty wound of yours.”
She smiled. “I’m fine, baby brother.”
“That’s for me to decide,” he said.
“Listen, each Jeep is stocked with a first aid kit,” Val said. “I made sure of that. So don’t worry. I’ll have Jackie wrap it up as soon as possible.”
“Let me slap on a dressing from the medical kit, and then Dean’s driving while you get some sleep.” He motioned to the back seat.
“Are you worried I might hurt Jackie?” Val asked. Before Nick could answer, she continued, “Listen, the first thing I did was give Jackie a gun. If I try to bite, she can just shoot me.”
As he reached for the keys, Val threw the car in reverse.
Nick jumped back. “Val! You about ran me over.”
Tires squealed, and she sped off ahead of us. Clearly, the girl had a mind of her own, and she didn’t like being told what to do.
I tapped Nick’s shoulder. “C’mon! We gotta catch up!”
He jumped in the driver seat, looked over his shoulder to make sure Claire and I were in back, and stomped on the gas.
I let out a breath, my gaze focusing on the road ahead. “Why’s she acting like that?”
Nick gripped the steering wheel tightly. “She’s stubborn. It runs in the family.”
My heart jumped when I saw Val exit the freeway into the next city.
“Oh my gosh!” Claire said as my brother swerved into the opposite lane. “What’s she doing? She’s driving like a maniac! She’s gonna kill my cousin!”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her. We have plenty of gas, food, and water,” Nick said. “There’s no reason to venture into one of those cities. I’m gonna have to kick her infected butt when we catch up to her!”
“Not if I get to her first,” I said.
He pulled off the ramp and turned left into the city. A sharp jolt rushed through me as we ran over a deep pothole, then another. Nick didn’t slow down one bit and rushed to keep up with Val. The place seemed deserted except for a few stray zombies stumbling aimlessly down the street, groaning in unsatisfied hunger. There were no streetlights and no traffic—just eerie silence, darkness, and walking corpses.
Nick looked over his shoulder at us, “I don’t like this one bit.”
“Neither do I! Venturing into the city is beyond stupid. I really don’t want to follow her, but what choice do we have? We can’t just desert them.”
We watched as Val carelessly swerved around a corner, past an abandoned subway station.
Nick beeped the horn.
“Stop!” Claire screamed, popping her head out the window.
“Try cutting her off,” I said.
He sped up and swerved around her as my seatbelt strained against my shoulders. The headlights fell on the other Jeep, illuminating Val’s face for a brief second.
In that second, I saw the dangerous look in her eyes. I yelled for her to pull over.
She suddenly turned left and came to a halt in the empty lot of a grocery store where shopping carts were scattered all about.
“All right. She stopped,” Nick said. “Let’s go talk to her! I’m dying to see what she has to say.” Frowning, he pulled next to her and parked the Jeep.
Claire jumped out after Val. “Val!”
“Claire,” my brother yelled. “Don’t go out there without a weapon!”
“Got the stun gun,” she replied.
I didn’t believe in giving lectures, but Val needed a good talking-to, and I was going to give it to her, whether she wanted it or not. I opened the door, but my brother yanked my arm to keep me inside.
“Wait! You can’t go out there unarmed either.” He reached down and pulled a gun from a strap on his ankle. “Take this. I’ve got another one.”
Nick was right—again: Walking out in dangerous territory without a weapon would have been suicide, so I grabbed the gun. “Let’s go see what Val’s little problem is, and then we’ll get back on the road again. And she’s NOT driving again, no matter what.”
“Exactly.” Nick nodded.
“Hey, sis,” I yelled.
Like a madwoman, Val grabbed a loose brick and whipped it through the window. Glass shattered with a boom, making me lower my head to protect my face. My sister was losing it big time, and I realized Nick and I were going to have to wrangle her back because she wasn’t playing with a full deck.
“What are you doing?” Nick yelled, waving his arms in the air.
Jackie came from behind and shook my shoulder. “Your sister’s talking all crazy. She says you have a cure for her zombie bite, but she h
as to turn into a zombie first. She’s going mad or something!”
“We do have a possible cure,” I said, “but she’s right about having to become a zombie first.”
She nodded slowly, as if trying to process the words. “The cure…it’s in that black bag you were carrying over your shoulder when I first met you. Isn’t it?”
“Bingo. Hey, you got a weapon?” Nick asked her.
“I lost my gun when I almost went over the banister,” she said, “but Val gave me another one.”
“Good.” Nick said.
“Let’s wrangle my sister back into the Jeep,” I said.
“Crap!” Jackie yelled.
My heart leapt when Val suddenly darted inside the store, disappearing into the darkness stretching beyond.
Chapter 11
Nighttime had descended a few hours earlier, and the streets ahead of us seemed devoid of life. A narrow slice of the moon peeked from behind thick clouds that looked almost black against the night sky. Without lampposts to show us the way, we knew anything could be lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush us. Luckily, though, the light of the stars cast just enough light to illuminate our way. My breath misted before me as I jumped out of the car. I left the door open and hurried past overflowing trashcans, toward the entrance to the small building into which Val had disappeared a minute ago.
“Shoot anything that looks suspicious,” Nick said. “I don’t care how many bullets you waste, just stay safe. We have plenty back in the Jeep.”
Even though his back was turned on me and he couldn’t see me, I nodded and hurried after him. I didn’t know what kind of goose chase my sister was leading us on. Why she had decided to pull off the highway and lead us into a creepy, deserted ghost town at night, only to break into a grocery store, was beyond me, but for her own sake, I hoped she had some viable reason. Nick, however, wasn’t as understanding and patient as his little brother.
“C’mon, Dean. Move your butt. We haven’t got all of eternity,” Nick said, motioning me forward.
“Wait!” Claire said. “We’ll never see a thing in there.” She whirled around and headed back to the Jeep, then returned with what looked like an overstuffed purse full of flashlights, which she passed around.
Nick met her gaze. “What do you mean, ‘we’? You’re not going in there with us.”
“What? Of course I am.” As though to prove a point, she walked past him, calling over her shoulder, “It’s your sister, isn’t it? You guys might need my help.”
I raised my brows at Nick. I’d assumed Claire hated Val, but either they’d suddenly bonded over killing a few zombies, or else she really did dig Nick and was just trying to impress him. I didn’t know her all that well, but from what I had seen so far, I was ready to bet my most precious friend and possession—the gun in my hands—on the latter.
“Just be careful. She’s been bitten!” Jackie yelled after her.
Claire stopped and turned. “I know. Nick told me everything back in the Jeep.”
Yeah, definitely the latter. She probably thinks they share something special now that Nick has confided in her. Shaking my head, I let out a long breath and took off through the parking lot. I stopped abruptly in the doorway of the market when I heard Val’s screams echoing through the air. The air smelled of damp earth and rotting garbage, but there was also something else: the scent of death.
I gritted my teeth as I looked at Nick, “Val’s going to alert every zombie from here to kingdom come if she doesn’t be quiet.” If I’d have had a roll of duct tape, or if we’d have been fortunate enough to stumble into a hardware store where they sold the stuff, I would have been highly tempted to use it. My sister’s big mouth was going to turn us all into zombie bait.
The bobbing beams of our flashlights swept back and forth as we hurried up the cereal aisle. I only knew we were in the graveyard of Rice Krispies and Golden Grahams because the sign over our heads said so; there was nothing left on the shelves but layers of dust and debris and a box ripped right down the middle of Tony the Tiger’s striped head. Then something scurried past to our right and I craned my neck and swept the flashlight over a dark head with long hair. I nudged Nick, then sped up to catch my sister. “Val, c’mon! We gotta go!”
The filthy linoleum, carpeted by an inches-thick layer of dust and grime, barely made a sound as I dashed through the darkness, then stopped. A sickly scent hit my nostrils, making me want to puke. I moved my flashlight around and illuminated the darkness as I scanned the area to spot the culprit…packages of rotting meat.
Val held up a blue box with a picture of noodles and fancy writing. She didn’t even turn as she said, “Look! It’s smashed. Rodents have been nibbling it as well, so this one’s a no-go.” She tossed the box on the floor, and it landed with a loud thud, then pulled out a giant, moldy piece of steak from its wrapper. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what it was and I didn’t know what possessed her to pick it up in the first place. “Is this going to be my new choice of food?” she asked.
“I sure hope not, Val,” I whispered.
Ignoring me, she rolled her eyes and threw the steak away. It plopped onto the ground a few feet away and remained stuck to the ground. “It’s expired! You can have it, miss!” Val yelled, her voice reverberating from the walls. “And get some clothes on. Who comes to a store dressed in a robe anyway? When you’re done snacking, go home and cook your man some brains or something.”
“Who’s she talking to?” I whispered to Nick.
“I dunno,” he said. “But it’s kind of freaky. I bet she’s hallucinating.”
My attention remained glued to Val as she held up a can and rolled it in her hands, continuing her monologue. “And this one’s dented. This store sucks! Where’s the manager?”
Footsteps echoed behind me a moment before Claire and Jackie appeared and Claire’s hand wrapped around my upper arm.
“What’s going on?” Jackie whispered.
I shook my head, signaling that I had no clue, and turned my gaze back to Val, who was still regarding a can as though it was a famous painting hanging in an art museum.
“Are you trying to memorize the ingredients or something?” Claire asked, her voice oozing with sarcasm. “Surely you’re not counting calories now, are you?”
In one swift move, Val lunged at Claire, hissing like some kind of vampire chick in a horror flick. Claire’s arms flew up to protect her face, but Val was stronger. In a single motion, she tossed Claire to the ground and landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. I had to admit, it kind of freaked me out, almost to the point that I wanted to summon the men in white coats to bring their paddy wagon and lock her up in a straightjacket. After the initial shock, I finally unglued myself from the spot and leapt forward, but Nick was quicker on the draw. He wrapped his arms around her and dragged her up in an iron grip as she kicked and screamed.
“She’s trying to kill me!” Claire yelped.
I rolled my eyes. “No, I don’t think so. I think she just didn’t like what you said. If you knew anything about zombies, you’d know to keep your mouth shut rather than provoke their short temper.”
Val’s eyes bulged in her skull, and she looked like a serial killer. “You’ll be the first to go, Claire! You didn’t watch my back, so now I’m going to eat yours.”
Nick held her tight and I was thankful for that.
Claire gasped, hiding behind me. “She’s mad, freaking crazy! Get that monster away from me,” she chanted over and over again. “Get her away!”
“She’s not a monster,” I whispered. “…yet,” I wanted to add but didn’t.
“My gosh! It’s like she’s possessed or something,” Claire said.
“Okay, okay. I’m fine! Let me go,” Val said quietly. She had stopped struggling and seemed reasonable again, but I didn’t trust the sudden calmness.
“You sure?” Nick asked.
She nodded, her gaze sweeping over Claire, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker in her
eyes. I wanted to shout at Nick to watch out when he pulled away a few inches. Like a wild beast, Val lunged forward again, her hands cutting through the air inches from my face. Claire buried her face in my shoulder, and her hands clutched the shirt at my lower back.
“What’s wrong with you?” Nick said through gritted teeth, grabbing hold of Val again. “I trusted you, and you’re acting like a psycho again. Calm down, Val!”
I smacked my tongue and peeled Claire off my shirt, and then I shot my brother a look. “You can’t trust a zombie. Wasn’t that the first lecture you ever taught me? Funny that you’d forget it now.”
“I’m not a zombie,” Val hissed. “I’m just a girl on a mission.”
Yeah, right…the mission of eating a friend. I flashed my beam in her eyes and then gave Nick a sideways glance.
“What?” he asked.
“Her irises are dilated, her eyes bloodshot. The skin on her forehead is beginning to crack.”
“The virus is kicking in,” Nick said. “She doesn’t mean to act like a maniac. I hate to tell you this, but it’s only gonna get worse, so you’d better get used to it.” He pushed Val past us. His knuckles had turned white where his fingers had sliced into her arms.
She struggled, her legs tangling with his, making it impossible to inch forward.
“Move it, Val,” he whispered, “or I swear I’ll tie you up and drag you out of here. You won’t like that little trip through the express lane. Trust me.”
“How are we going to get her back in the Jeep?” I asked.
“She’ll either cooperate, or else I’ll knock her out using pressure points.”
Val hissed and spat but didn’t argue. Slowly, she began to take one pace at a time.
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