by Gill, Bonnie
"Who packed your backpack?" I ask.
"Star and Jeffery," she says.
"Can I put some snacks inside? Just in case?" I ask her.
"Yes."
We go into the kitchen and check the pantry. Inside, we find some pop-tarts, mini muffins, little bags of chips, and pudding cups. There's more, but these are the only things I take for her bag. I know this isn't the healthiest food for her, but at least she won't go hungry if we get separated. I have nutritious items in my bug-out bag and will share it with her if need be.
"Do you want to help me pack up some of this food to bring with us in the truck?
She nods.
I grab a box from the garage and place canned foods, instant potatoes, and macaroni and cheese into the box. We also fill another box with snacks and drinks. I'm excited that we have more food.
I load the boxes into the truck. Vinny and Joey are loading the chickens into the box truck while Mrs. Garcia supervises them. They slam the door and turn to face me. All the blood drains from Mrs. Garcia's face. She crosses herself. "Good lord," she says.
I turn around to see the creepy twin gabbies running at us from down the street with hundreds of zombies behind them.
"Get in the vehicles," I yell into the radio.
Everyone runs out of the house and sprints to their vehicles. Car doors are opening and slamming. I'm glad we went over who goes in what vehicle. Jeffery, Tiffany, and Goliath are in the back seat. "Where's Star?” I ask Jeffery.
"She was in the bathroom. We told her to get to the car," he says.
Everyone else is in their designated vehicle. I start the pickup truck. The twins are closing in. I drive the truck up to the front door. She only has to clear five-feet. "You guys need to leave," I say into the handheld radio.
"I'm not leaving until Star is in your truck," Joey says.
The evil twins stand in the front yard with their arms crossed over their chests. They stare at my truck as hordes of zombies move in. There are already several between us and the front door.
Gunfire breaks loose.
Joey is shooting from his car window. Gabbies fall to the ground. There are so many.
When Star comes through the door, the gabbies are reaching for her, but she does some serious Walter Payton moves. She yanks the truck door open and jumps inside. "Sorry. Sorry. Nature called," she says.
The street fills with gabbies. We're surrounded. If we get out of the vehicles, we're lunch.
"What are we going to do?" Star asks.
"Push forward. Maybe Vinny can cut us a path with the box truck," I say.
Star relays the plan over the radio. There's blood dripping from her hand.
"What is that?" I ask.
She looks at her hand. All the color drains from her face. "One of them must have scratched me when I was getting into the truck."
"Is she going to turn into a zombie?" Jeffery asks.
"No. Star, clean it up right away."
She hands the radio to Jeffery. "Can you man the radio while I clean my wound?" she asks.
"Sure." He eagerly grabs it from her.
Vinny has moved about ten-feet down the street, Joey is almost touching his bumper, and Dean is next in line. I pull through the yard, plowing over several gabbies.
I brake and put the gear selector in reverse. I floor it, trying to run over the zombie twins. They dart out of the way. I get back in line.
I reach toward the back for the radio.
Jeffery hands it to me.
"Somebody shoot those evil twins," I say.
"I can't see them," Vinny says.
"Me either," Joey says.
I reach for my pistol in the console. "Star can you get a shot off?"
"I can try." She reaches for the weapon, but her hands are shaking so much I don't know if she can hold it, much less hit a target.
"Never mind," I say. Zombies smash their faces against our windows. There's no way I can shoot them. The other three vehicles are pulling away from us. My truck rocks from the gabbies bumping into it.
"What's going on back there?" Dean asks over the radio.
"Not much. Just taking the scenic route," I say.
"Stop messing around and file in," Dean says.
A gabbie is on the hood of my truck. It's a lady in a jogging suit with juicy written on her butt, and brown stains down her legs. "Hold on everyone." I slam on the brakes. The juicy zombie rolls off. I push forward and see the others about a block ahead of us. Hundreds of gabbies crowd our vehicles.
"Please hurry, I'm scared," Tiffany cries.
Yeah, I'm scared too. "Let's sing a song. A hundred ugly zombies on the truck, a hundred ugly zombies. Bash one in, and send it to the ground, ninety-nine ugly zombies on the truck," I sing.
"That's stupid," Jeffery says.
"I like it," Tiffany starts singing the song. “Ninety-nine ugly zombies on the truck.”
I run over a plump zombie, and it feels like we just went over a squishy speed bump. I look over at Star and see her face is pale, and her mouth is open. "Are you okay?" I ask her.
"Yeah, I'll be good. We're not sure if we turn when we're scratched, right?" she asks.
"True," I say. But none of us have been scratched yet. "How do you feel?"
She sucks her bottom lip in and bites it. "I feel okay."
"I need you here, with me. Don't check out. Don't think about it." I drive around a pile of zombies sprawled on the ground, their guts splattered on the road. The last thing I need is to get stuck.
The moaning is so loud we have to yell to be heard.
Tiffany is still singing in the back, and Jeffery joins in with her. “Ninety-five ugly zombies on the truck.”
We gain some ground and are almost to Dean. I hand the handheld radio to Star. "You're fine. Don't think about it."
She poured Peroxide on it and bandaged it. I should've told her to use bleach.
My windshield has zombie sludge on it, and I use my wipers, but it just smears brown sludge all over. The smell is seeping into the truck from the gabbies. We're almost to the corner. I give the truck a little more gas. An extra-large zombie jumps in front of my truck. Bang. The super-sized zombie flies back. My truck stops all momentum.
"We're stopping by my house first, and then Maria's," Joey says over the radio. "It's on the way."
I finally clear the last group of zombies, but they’re fast on our tail. It won't take long for them to catch up.
"Copy," I say. There's no way I can refuse to let them leave notes for their family.
Star unwraps the bandage and dumps alcohol over her hand. It drips onto the floorboard.
"Is Miss Star going to be okay?" Tiffany asks.
"Yes," we both say.
We pull onto Joey's street. He stops in front of his house and jumps out of the SUV. He has a small shovel and a piece of paper in a baggie. He lifts a soft-ball size rock next to his mailbox and digs a hole. The gabbies come around the corner. He buries the note, covers it with the rock, and jumps back inside his vehicle. We pull away. One down, one more to go.
We turn the corner and drive three streets before make a right turn. Hopefully, the zombies won't figure out what we're doing. We floor it down the street and turn back onto the main road. More than half of the group didn't make the first turn, and they see us. We race down the street to the mobile home park. Joey comes back on the radio. "You guys keep going. We'll catch up," he says.
"Copy," Dean says. I know for a fact Dean is letting out a string of cuss words.
"Copy," Vinny says.
Vinny passes the turn off to the mobile home park. Joey turns the SUV into the entrance.
"Raven, follow us," Dean says. He knows I don't want to leave them behind, but I have two kids with me, and my sister is wounded. I can't help them. I drive past the turn-off.
"We'll wait for you on Grass Lake Road," Dean says.
I follow them for about two miles before they pull over. "Do you need anything?" I ask Star. "Antib
iotics?"
She shakes her head. "I already took some. It stings really bad."
"What do you need me to do?" I ask.
"I've done everything I can think of," she says sadly.
"Okay. If you think of something else let me know." I get out of the truck and walk over to Dean's truck. Helga waves at me.
"What's up?" Dean asks.
"Star was scratched. She says it hurts."
Dean slams his palms on the steering wheel. "Is she sure it was a gabbie?"
I shrug.
"Damn, can we do anything for her?" he asks.
"Not that I know of. She put peroxide and alcohol on it. I'll keep you in the loop. I really don't want to freak out. How long are we going to wait for Joey?"
"Until they show up or the zombies come," Dean says.
It's not going to take the gabbies long to catch up. Maybe twenty minutes. That doesn't give Joey, Mrs. Garcia, and Ben much time if they get cornered.
"They have the address and map to the house. They can meet us there," he says.
I hate leaving them behind, or anyone for that matter. "Okay. I'm going to check on Star."
"Let me know if you need any help."
I get back into the truck. "Is everyone okay?"
Tiffany and Jeffery respond that they are.
"Good. We're going to wait here until Joey or the zombies come." We wait for ten minutes. I grab the radio. "Joey, how're things going?"
Nothing.
"Their radio may have run out of batteries," I say to Star. I know she's freaking out inside, and I don't blame her. It's all I can do to keep it together and drive.
Star looks worse. Her skin is kind of damp and white.
"Let me see your scratch."
She peels back the bandage. The scratch is only an inch long, but it's already pink and puffy. "It's getting infected. Do you remember which vehicle they packed the antibiotic IV's in?" she asks.
I shake my head. "Does anyone know where the medical kit from the vet’s office is?" I say over the radio.
Helga's voice comes over the radio. "It's in Joey's truck." Great.
"If Joey doesn't catch up to us, we'll need to make a stop at an animal hospital for Star," I say over the radio.
Joey's voice comes on, "What's wrong with her?" He's winded, and I hear moaning in the background. If I didn’t know there was a zombie apocalypse going on, I’d think he was watching porn.
"Nice to hear from you. Are you going to make it out of there ok?" I ask.
"We're surrounded. We dropped the note, but it might be some time before we can leave. You didn't say what was wrong with Star," he says.
"She was scratched. She's fine. The antibiotics are in your vehicle." I get another idea and exit the truck.
I run over to where Dean and Vinny are talking. Daria is on her way to my pickup.
"You and Helga should switch with me and Star," I say to Dean.
He lowers his brows. "I thought she was going to be okay?"
"She doesn't look good. I don't want anything to happen while I'm driving." I don't say that she may turn into a zombie and attack the kids, but he gets it. His truck isn't an extended cab and doesn't have a back seat.
"Good idea." He picks up his backpack from the floorboard. "Come on Helga. Let's ride in Raven's truck with the kids." Helga gets out of the truck and follows him to my vehicle.
I walk back with them. The gabbies are a few blocks away. We'll have to leave Joey, Mrs. Garcia, and Ben.
We switch vehicles, and I make sure I bring plenty of ammunition. Star gets into the passenger side. She drank almost a full bottle of water already.
"We have to leave you guys. We'll meet you on Forty-Five in Bristol," Dean says.
"Copy," Mrs. Garcia answers.
I adjust Dean's seat and start the vehicle. Vinny pulls out first, then me, then Dean.
"Look on the map for an animal hospital," I say.
"They don't put things like that on maps. We should pass one, or at least an urgent care," she says.
We take back roads so there’s nothing to see but old, harvested cornfields for quite a while. I don't like this one bit. We should've left yesterday.
Vinny's driving over the speed limit. If a zombie jumps in front of our vehicle, we'll crash. I don't say anything because I want to hurry. The faster we find antibiotics, the better. I turn to Star. "How about a drug store? Do you think they'll have something that will work?"
"Yeah, possibly." She pulls out the alcohol and dumps more on the scratch. She winces.
"You don't have the urge to eat my face, do you?" I give her a big smile.
She smacks me in the arm. "No, but keep it up, and I might."
We drive for about ten minutes. Star presses the button on the handheld radio. "Joey, you okay?"
Nothing. My heart sinks.
"We're probably out of range," Dean says.
"Okay," she says in a quiet voice.
We don’t pass a drug store, so Vinny pulls the box truck into an urgent care's parking lot. There are several cars parked outside, and I see movement behind the glass door.
25
Dean, Vinny, and I get out of our vehicles. "Who wants to go in?" Dean asks.
"I'll go. Someone has to stay out here with the vehicles," I say.
"Daria and Dean can stay outside. I'll go with you," Vinny says.
I head back to the truck, grab my wrench, and stuff my pockets with magazines. I pull on a pair of leather gloves and grab my rifle. "Stay here. What should I look for?" I say to Star.
She flips through pages in a medical book she had in her backpack. "The urgent care won't have IV's. We'll need to administer it intramuscular."
I give her my blank look.
"An injection. Look for Rocephin. It should come in a box with the water for mixing. Also grab syringes, alcohol wipes, antibacterial cream, and gloves. Oh, and see if they have any probiotics. I don’t want my stomach all screwed up from the antibiotics."
"Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of. Thank you."
I run back to Vinny, who's waiting at the door. He gives it a little shove, and the door moves about an inch. Good, it’s open, so we won't have to break the glass and make more noise. Inside, gabbies are moving toward us. There are five of them. Not too bad. “If we can get them outside, it'll make things easier,” I say.
When the zombies reach the door, Vinny pushes it open. Three of them burst out and come at us with their teeth chomping and arms out. I slam my wrench into a nurse’s head. There’s a crunch noise. her mouth is opening and closing like a fish out of water even as she falls.
Vinny bashes another with his bat. Dean shoots the last one in the eye.
"You guys good?" I ask.
"Yeah, let out some more," Dean says.
I open the door, and three more pile out. There are at least four more inside. The sneaky bastards were hiding. A large male in jeans and a red flannel shirt grabs my coat and moves his mouth to my left arm, I bring down the wrench with my right hand. The wrench sinks into his skull behind his ear with a squishing noise. I shake my arm and kick him, then take my foot and slam my boot into his head when he hits the ground. I pull my heel out of his face.
Vinny and Dean kill the other ones. We do this three more times until there are no more gabbies in the waiting room. Vinny reaches into his pocket for a flashlight. "Ready?"
I follow him inside. The smell coats the inside of my nose and mouth. I'll never get used to the death poop odor. We make our way to several exam rooms, flinging open the curtains as we pass. I see a cabinet with medical supplies and smash the lock with my wrench. I pull down my backpack and scoop everything inside. I don't see any Rocephin though.
I open another cabinet and see several antibiotic names I'm familiar with. I grab those and some syringes.
Vinny keeps watch and shines his flashlight on the contents of the cabinet. "Did you find what we need?"
"Not yet."
"Ho
w about that cabinet?" He flashes his light onto a different one.
I break the lock on the new cabinet and see a bunch of boxes. "Bingo." I grab ten boxes and some tubes of different creams.
Vinny takes my pack and puts it on his back. We hear gunshots outside. "We need to get out of here."
We run to the entrance and peer out the door. Six undead are walking around. Daria hits one with a tire iron. Dean and Star use their baseball bats. Helga is swinging a rolling pin? Where did she get that? A large group of zombies shamble toward us from down the road.
Vinny hands me the backpack. "I'll cover you."
"Okay." Vinny and I run out of the door at the same time. A gabbie with long arms reaches for me, and Vinny swings the bat to knock them away. I reach the truck, open the door, and toss the backpack inside. "We're good."
Vinny jogs toward the box truck.
"Everyone into their vehicle," Dean yells.
I run to Star and help her fight off the gabbies that block her way to the pickup. There's a little old lady with glasses hanging on a chain around her neck. She’s wearing a nightgown and one fuzzy slipper. I swing my wrench and hit her in the face. She goes down easy. The other group is getting closer.
Star races to the truck and hops inside.
I slide into the driver's seat, and turn the ignition.
Star digs through the backpack. "Oh good, they had it. I was a little worried that they wouldn't." She pulls out a box, a syringe, alcohol pads, and gloves. She finds the iodine and some gauze. "Keep your eyes on the road. I know what I'm doing."
"No problem," I mumble.
We pull out of the parking lot. About a block behind us, the road is filled with gabbies. I'm glad it's not the way we're headed. Then it hits me, Joey, Mrs. Garcia, and Ben will have to drive through them on their way to catch up with us.
Star looks in the review mirror, and her mouth drops open. "Oh my God. How are they going to make it through that?" Yeah, she's thinking about them too.
We follow Vinny for about ten miles when he pulls over at the checkpoint on forty-five. "Joey, you out there?" he asks on the radio.
There's nothing but silence.
"We need to get going. There's no telling what we'll run into on the road. I don't want to leave them, but we need to get there before dark. They know where the house is," Dean says.