The bodies covering the stairs moved less under the girl’s weight than they had when Buck and I climbed down, but more for Randall. He seemed to slip a little more with each step, his eyes widening as the bodies shifted and his grip on the railing tightening. Good thing Hank and Lisa were at his side. Mike, on the other hand, traversed the dead with no problem, his serious expression twisted in concentration as he studied the bodies in front of him before taking another step. He was in front and reached me first. I doubted he needed it, but I held my hand out so I could help him over the dresser anyway.
Once he was on the other side, he turned to face the stairs. “You’re almost there, Lexi.”
His sister looked up, focusing on him instead of Kiaya as she continued down.
Randall slid forward, only staying upright thanks to Lisa, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.
Kiaya and Lexi reached the bottom and were over in no time, and less than a minute later, the others had made it as well. Once we were all in the parking lot, all we could do was sit and wait. It was too hot to hang out in the cars with them off—and we couldn’t waste gas—so we settled for sitting around them. Randall, Hank, and the kids on the ground, sitting in the shade of the SUV, and Lisa and Kiaya on the hood of my Civic while Buck stood in front of the car, hand on his gun. I sat at first, but it wasn’t long before I got up and started pacing. I could actually feel the minutes ticking by, and with each one, Devon’s words echoed in my ears.
…if I’m not back within an hour, you get the cars loaded and go…Don’t wait for me…
I couldn’t drive away from him. I just couldn’t.
But how long could we afford to wait?
The car alarm had been silent for close to ten minutes, and there was no reason to think the dead wouldn’t eventually find their way back here. We had to get out of here before that happened, but I wasn’t ready. Not yet.
I was pacing in front of the car when Kiaya cleared her throat, grabbing my attention. She nodded behind me, back toward the motel, and I turned. Miller was on his way down, picking his way over the bodies. For once, he wasn’t dressed in his uniform, which was a strange sight. Even more odd was the bag slung over his shoulder.
“Son of a bitch,” Buck muttered.
Lisa was staring at the corporal as well. “What the hell do you think that’s all about?”
“One guess,” Kiaya said. “Rowan.”
My gaze snapped to her. “What?”
“He thinks Devon is out of the picture, and he’s going to try and be the hero.”
Lisa reached back to twist her long hair around her hands and let out a snort. “Hero? Miller?”
I said nothing as I watched him reach the bottom of the stairs and climb over the dresser. He jogged our way, an expression of mock sympathy on his face and his eyes focused on me.
“It isn’t looking good,” he said when he’d stopped in front of us. “I’m sorry.”
“We don’t know anything yet,” I said.
“I know,” he replied, the corners of his mouth pulling down.
“What’s with the bag?” Kiaya asked, nodding to the red backpack slung over his shoulder.
Was he planning on going with us? He’d made such a big deal about staying here, about how stupid we were to even try, and he hadn’t even come out to see if we needed help or to say goodbye, and yet now he was planning on joining us?
He was more of an ass than I’d thought.
“I figured you could use some help, especially if Devon doesn’t make it back.” Miller grimaced like saying it hurt, but his eyes didn’t match the expression. “I’ve been thinking about it and decided you’re right. Sticking around here is a death sentence. I figured my military training might make me useful.”
“I thought the people here needed you,” I snapped. “That’s what you said before.”
“I tried to talk some sense into them.” He shook his head. “They’re all too afraid to leave. They think the motel is their best chance of survival. Those people are hopeless.”
I couldn’t disagree with him on that point. The people here weren’t going to make it long because they weren’t willing to change, and to survive this new reality we had to change. It was the only way.
Still, I couldn’t stomach the idea of this guy coming with us, especially if Devon didn’t make it back. Miller seemed to think his shooting skills and training were a good substitute for Devon, but they couldn’t even compare.
I looked to Buck, then to Lisa and Kiaya, but no one said anything. They were just as unsure about what to do as I was. None of us liked him, but I’d long ago accepted that there was safety in numbers. Plus, Miller would be one extra gun, which would be helpful even if Devon did make it back—please, God, let him make it back.
I exhaled, shaking my head before I’d even managed to get the words out. “You can come, but I want to be clear about something. You have to help. No matter what.”
“Of course,” Miller said, grinning.
It looked totally out of place in this world.
20
We couldn’t sit here long, but I wasn’t willing to leave. Not yet. I had to give Devon more time to get back to us.
“What are you doing?” Miller said, twisting in the passenger seat to face me. “Go.”
I had to tear my gaze from the road in front of us so I could look in the rearview mirror. Behind me in the back seat, Hank’s eyes were huge, and next to him, Buck was quiet but just as tense as I was. My focus shifted again, this time to the SUV at our backs. Lisa sat behind the wheel with Kiaya in the passenger seat, and I could tell that, like Miller, they were wondering what was happening. Hell, even I was wondering, because I’d made a promise to Devon. Staying here was stupid. I was putting everyone at risk by waiting for him and making his sacrifice worthless on top of it. I couldn’t even imagine how scared Randall and the kids were right now.
But how could I drive off without first taking a look around? What if Devon was trapped somewhere? What if I could save him?
“Rowan,” Miller said, his voice tenser than before, “we have to go.”
My gaze moved back to the road. Zombies had appeared in front of us, stumbling from between a few buildings. There were only three of them, but there would be more. For all we knew, the entire undead population of this town had been drawn outside by the sound of the car alarm. If they were all together now, moving as a horde and on their way here, we would find ourselves in a situation like what we’d faced in Amarillo. Then we’d be screwed because the odds weren’t good that another terrified teenage boy would rally long enough to save our asses.
“I’m going,” I said, mostly to myself.
I put the car in drive and pulled onto the road. On instinct, I turned left instead of right, not heading out of town, but in the direction we’d seen the dead stumbling when the alarm started going off. I would have to be careful, have to be ready to turn around and speed out of here at the first sign of trouble, but I had to do it. Had to take a quick look around. Just in case.
“Where are you going?” Hank asked from the back seat, his voice shaky the way it had been in the motel when we had our talk.
“I need to double check before we go.” My gaze flicked up to the rearview mirror, but instead of focusing on Hank, I looked at Buck. “He risked his life for us. I can’t go without trying to find him.”
His gray eyes flashed with understanding, and they only held mine for a few seconds before he nodded. It was all I needed to feel more confident in my decision.
“I’m ready in case,” he said, holding up the M16.
“I still can’t believe you had that this whole time,” Miller said as I pulled onto the road.
“We didn’t know who was in the motel, and we didn’t want to show our hand in case there was trouble.” My hands wrung the steering wheel as I turned onto another street, and I didn’t look at him. “Now, shut up and help me by keeping an eye out.”
Miller crossed his arms an
d grumbled, “It’s property of the United States Army, you know.”
“There’s no more United States Army,” Buck barked, his Texas twang thicker than usual. “Hell, there’s no more United States of America. What we got here is the United States of fuckin’ Zombies, and if you don’t shut the hell up and help out, you’re going to find out firsthand how scary that can be.”
I tore my gaze from the street one more time so I could shoot Buck an appreciative look.
Miller only grumbled something under his breath.
We lapsed into silence as I drove up and down the nearby streets, my hands tight on the wheel and my gaze constantly moving. The SUV followed a few car lengths behind, staying close but not crowding me. I scanned the road in front of us, then the houses we passed and beyond them as far as I could see. Here and there a lone zombie would stumble, but for the most part there was no movement. And no sign of anything living.
Where was he?
“We’re drawing some attention,” Miller said, nodding out his window.
I looked past him and found a group of zombies headed our way. There were a lot of them, too many to count right now, but they were thirty feet away from us and slow. Not a threat, assuming we got out of here soon and didn’t get cut off by a big horde. Which meant I had to make a decision.
“Five more minutes,” I said, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
Miller’s jaw clenched like he was holding back what he wanted to say. Not that I cared. He was tagging along, an afterthought, and not part of our group. He had no say in what I did.
I turned left, heading away from the dead Miller had pointed out. My knuckles ached from my grip on the steering wheel, and I was leaning forward like it would help me find Devon. My legs were trembling, and the tremors only got worse the farther down the street I drove. Five minutes, and I would have to throw in the towel. Five minutes, and I’d be forced to drive away if I wanted to keep all of us safe.
I wasn’t sure if I could do it.
The seconds ticked by, slipping away like sand in an hourglass. I drove, wringing the steering wheel. Miller said nothing, and Hank and Buck didn’t talk either, but they were looking. I could hear them shifting around in the back seat, moving from side to side so they could get a look out the window. Nothing was around, though. Nothing but the dead.
“Five minutes,” Miller said, and I knew he was telling me it was too late. Telling me to leave. Telling me Devon was gone.
I let out a long breath, trying to blow away the emotion clogging my throat. Tears sprang to my eyes when I turned left again, this time not so I could make another pass, but so I could drive away from Shamrock. Away from Devon.
I blinked the tears back so I could focus, and while they obeyed, my body wouldn’t. I was as stiff as a board, as tense as a knot pulled tight. Leaving him felt so very wrong, but it was something I would have to do.
I’d driven another block when a streak of movement to my left caught my eye, making me slam on the brakes. Devon flew from between two houses, charging toward us at full speed, waving his arms like he was trying to get our attention.
Only a few seconds later, a group of the dead staggered into view, hot on his trail.
“Open the door!” I shouted.
Buck slid across the back seat, M16 in hand, and shoved the car door open. To my shock, he stepped out, and the bang of gunfire sounded only a second later. Devon was running across the front yard of the nearest house, panting and sweaty, and behind him the zombies began to go down. One hit in the head, another in the neck then the head, a third had its skull blown off in a burst of black goo and blood. Devon ducked and jerked with each gunshot like he thought he might be the next to get hit, but Buck’s aim was good.
When Devon reached us, he dove into the open back door, gasping.
Buck slid in behind him and pulled the door shut. “Go!”
The tires squealed against the pavement when I slammed my foot on the gas. A grunt sounded from the back, but thanks to the pounding in my ears, I couldn’t tell if it was Buck or Hank or Devon. I just knew we were on our way and all okay. We’d made it.
I would have shouted for joy if I thought I could get a word out.
As we sped down the street, I glanced in the rearview mirror to make certain the SUV was behind us, and once I was sure, my gaze focused on Devon.
“You’re okay?”
He was still trying to catch his breath, so he only nodded in response.
I exhaled, and all the tension melted from me.
No one spoke until we’d made it out of Shamrock and were once again on Route 66. That was when Miller turned in his seat. “Took you long enough to get back.”
“Shut up, Miller,” Buck and I snapped at the same time.
In the back, Devon was grinding his teeth as he glared at the corporal. “What the hell are you doing here, anyway? I thought you said driving across the country was a suicide mission.”
“I had a change of heart,” Miller grumbled.
“Right.” Devon snorted. “More like you thought I wasn’t coming back and saw this as your chance.”
“My chance for what, exactly?” Miller said, glaring back at Devon.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Devon wasn’t wrong, but I still didn’t want to discuss it. Especially when we had another fifteen hours or more in front of us.
“Drop it,” I said, glancing back at Devon.
He exhaled slowly, then sucked in a deep breath. He did it again, then two more times, and I was beginning to think he wasn’t going to be able to get control of himself when he finally let out one final breath and said, “I want to stop soon. In the middle of nowhere.”
“The middle of nowhere?” Miller shook his head. “Why?”
“We need to teach people how to shoot. I should have done it as soon as we found out about the dead, but late is better than never.”
“What’s the point?” Miller asked. “As long as we stay in the cars, we’re okay. A couple zombies are no match for a car.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Devon said. “I want to be prepared for anything.”
“I just don’t—”
“Shut up, Miller,” Buck said for the second time since leaving Shamrock.
“You joined us,” I reminded him, “which means you aren’t in charge anymore. We’re stopping.”
Miller sat back, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. He reminded me of a pouting toddler. What an ass.
A rustling sound from the back drew my attention, and I glanced over my shoulder just as Devon managed to wiggle his way out of the uniform shirt Miller had loaned him.
“Here’s your shirt.” He tossed it at the corporal.
Miller grunted when it hit him in the face, then grimaced. “It smells like shit.”
“No,” Devon said, “just like the dead.”
Miller’s face scrunched up more, and a second later air whooshed through the car when he rolled down the window. He tossed it out, and I watched in the rearview mirror as it flapped then hit the ground, twisting a few times before being run over by the SUV and finally vanishing from sight.
It looked like Miller was separating from the military for good.
“Here,” Devon said only about thirty minutes later. “This looks good.”
I slowed the car and pulled to the side of the road, and behind me Lisa did the same. Fields surrounded us pretty much as far as the eye could see, and in front of us the road seemed to stretch on forever. There wasn’t a car in sight and no buildings anywhere nearby. It was the perfect place to stop.
Devon had the door open before I’d even turned the car off and was climbing out. I left the keys in the ignition and jumped out as well, and he was already headed to the back of the car when I caught up with him.
“Hey,” I said, grabbing his arm.
He turned with little prompting, and my throat tightened when our eyes met and I thought about what might have happ
ened. We barely knew one another, and I had no idea what this thing between us was or where it would go, but I liked this guy. He was good and strong and an asset to our group. We needed him.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” I managed to get out.
“You were supposed to leave me,” he replied even as he grabbed me by the belt loop and pulled me closer. “But I’m glad you didn’t.”
“I had to look for you. I couldn’t drive away without knowing for sure.”
“I know,” he said, his voice low.
He reached up and ran his hand down the side of my face, tucking some hair behind my ear. Neither of us said anything as we stared at each other, but we didn’t kiss. Part of me wanted to, but another part couldn’t take that step. Kissing in the privacy of the motel room was one thing, but in front of everyone meant taking this to a whole new level, and there was too much going on right now to even think about it. Plus, the idea of a post-apocalyptic romance seemed absurd. Who jumped into something like that when the world was falling down around them?
The doors of the other car were thrown open, and a second later Lexi shouted, “Devon!”
I stepped back as the little girl came running, and something about the way she slammed into him, throwing her arms around his legs, made my heart constrict. Kiaya was only a few steps behind her, not running as fast but not moving slowly either.
She had a huge grin on her face when she hugged him. “I knew you were okay.”
“It was a close call,” he said as he gave her a one-armed hug. His other hand was resting on Lexi’s head.
“Devon!” Randall joined the group by wrapping Lexi, Devon, and Kiaya in a huge hug.
Lisa stood behind him, smiling in relief, and even the normally serious little Mike had a grin on his face. It was good to see. He was so young but had taken on so much. I hoped we could take some of the responsibility from him.
Buck had the M16 slung over his shoulder when he stopped next to me, and on the other side of the car, even Hank had managed to smile. I was grinning as I watched it play out, thinking about how much had changed and how fast, and it suddenly hit me that not all the changes were bad. Like this one. Finding myself surrounded by a misfit group of people who’d been nothing but strangers a few days ago. It was a comfort, and it gave me hope that not all was lost. Even if we had to fight to get there, the future still had potential.
Far Series (Book 1): Far From Home Page 27