Slowly max maneuvered the SUV around cars. After three accidents, they found clear road and Max stepped on the gas a bit. As they flew down the freeway, sometimes they would see other vehicles moving. Griffin suggested flagging someone down, but Max wouldn't even consider it.
"We've been carjacked once. I'd rather not do that again," Max said.
"Carjacked?" Griffin exclaimed, leaning forward between the front seats. His sudden movement jolted a sleeping Sarah who yelped, as she was pushed into the window. Max had to muffle a laugh at the look of indignation on her face.
"We were carjacked in Charleston. Stuck in gridlock traffic. A guy with a shotgun decided he wanted my pickup," Max explained. Griffin looked at her in surprise.
"You let him take the truck?"
"Stop acting all shocked. I have Jack. I couldn't risk him getting off a shot and hitting her," Max said quietly. Of course, she made the right choice for her daughter.
Suddenly Max slammed on the brakes. Her whispered curse was drowned out by Griffin who almost flew into the front seat area.
"Seatbelt," Jack said in a sing-song voice from the backseat. Her smile died quickly when she saw what had stopped Max in the first place.
The freeway was blocked again by wrecked vehicles. That wasn't Max's real concern. The infected taking notice of the SUV was what made her stop suddenly. Griffin's head wasn't far from hers, studying the situation. Along with Turner, they all stared out of the front windshield. The three of them each played scenarios in their head for the best way to handle the situation.
"What is going on?" Sarah asked, trying to pull Griffin back. When she saw the infected making their way through the accidents, she cried out and shrunk back in her seat. Max just shook her head in disgust at the woman's constant panic.
"We might be able to make it around there," Turner said, pointing toward the far shoulder that fell off into trees.
"If we can't, we will be trapped by the trees," Max replied.
"Any better ideas, Max?" Griffin asked.
"Not really. I can't go fast enough to run them down because the cars are in the way," she said, thinking out loud to the men.
"So, the shoulder is the only option. If we have to fight, we get out and fight," Griffin said, leaning back into his seat now to check his gun. Turner started doing the same, though they all knew he was running low on ammo.
Max pulled the truck toward the shoulder and crept off the road onto the grass. The infected were increasingly interested in the moving target and their uncoordinated bodies made the efforts to change direction and come at the truck. Max sped up, keeping the traction on the tires in the damp grass. As they approached the edge of the last accident that fell into the shoulder, Max slowed to slide the truck through.
She let out the breath she was holding when they fit through the space with the side mirror of the crashed car scraping along the side of their truck. It wasn't enough to stop them, but the noise was loud and grating. The infected that hadn't already been interested in them now were moving faster, hoping to peel open the can of a human meal.
"You made me scrape my new stolen car," Max mumbled.
"Bill my insurance," Turner shot back.
As they rounded the accident, an infected bounced off the fender as Max pushed passed him. A slam into the back door had Jack crying out, an infected pressing its face against the glass, teeth gnashing. Max pulled away quickly only to be faced with a group of five that stood in their path back to the road. She slowed to a stop and studied them. In her mirror, she could see the two they passed coming toward the truck from there.
"What do you think? Fight?" Max asked. She put the SUV in park and looked back at Griffin. He somberly nodded his head, both of them knowing there wasn't much choice.
"Save the ammo, I think this few we can do by hand," Max commented as she pulled her tomahawk from by her leg.
"Easy for you to say, you have that thing," Turner replied.
"Then you stay in the car, dear," Max shot back.
"Not likely," he said with a snort.
The three of them exited the car at the same time, slamming doors to keep Sarah and Jack safe inside. Sarah had been told quickly that if something were to happen she was to protect Jack and drive them out of there. Secretly Max knew she would never actually trust the woman with such a task, but Griffin had started the lecture. Max figured it was one of these moments he wanted her to be nice to Sarah. So she just didn't say anything. Instead, she told herself that there was no way she was dying and leaving her daughter in the clutches of the brainless scaredy cat.
Outside, Griffin quickly took up a position as the head of the attack. Max was typically used to having that position or fighting alone, but she let it be. She took up a place to protect his one side, while Turner took up the other side. The three of them attacked the nearest infected as a group. Max chopped directly in the collarbone of an approaching infected. The male fell to one side awkwardly. Without waiting Max stabbed him directly in the temple. She pivoted just as an infected fell to the side of the one she finished, Griffin taking out its knees.
"Got it," she called, and she stabbed it while Griffin turned to the next infected that threatened them. Griffin and Turner seemed to fight in sync, something they picked up in the Army. Max didn't fit into their pair, so she took her own stance and partially watched their backs. She had just finished off the second infected on her side, when she saw the movement coming around the truck, coming up on Turner's blind spot.
"Turner," Max called, as she threw her tomahawk at the infected. The sharp blade embedded into its forehead. Turner watched as the infected fell at his feet. Max followed to retrieve her weapon quickly.
"Holy shit," Turner breathed.
"Don't let anything she does shock you," Griffin said, breathing heavily after their fight. Looking around, they realized they had ended eight infected, and cleared the path they needed to get back to the road. Both men had black ooze on them, so Max quickly took them to the back of the truck to change their clothing before getting back into the truck.
"You two aren't ruining the inside of my new car either," Max joked.
As the evening started to fall, Max began looking for a place to camp. She figured they would still sleep in the truck, but she was outvoted when they came upon a no-tell motel. Max argued she didn't want to deal with bedbugs and roaches on top of the infected. She thought she would at least have Sarah's agreement in that argument. However, she shouldn't have been shocked when she just sided with Griffin.
There were cars in some of the spots in front of rooms. They pulled into a spot, and Turner leaned over and laid on the horn. The sound was loud and echoed between buildings. Max watched closely and saw a number of upstairs curtains twitch.
"There are people here," Max said softly.
"I'm not surprised. But I'm sure there are some downstairs rooms open," Griffin said. "Turner, let's go check the office."
The two guys ran toward the office, both staying low with their weapons at their sides. Max could almost imagine them during wartime. Now they were at war again, but it wasn't against a foreign enemy. It was a very local one that could be anyone. Max watched until they entered the office, watching them clear the front room and disappear where she couldn't see any longer. Suddenly Sarah cleared her throat from the backseat.
"So, you and Griff?" Sarah asked, probing for information.
"Are old friends," Max finished.
"Just friends?"
"Well I don't call him Griff, so there's that," Max said, her attention on the office. She was almost wishing for an infected horde at the moment. Anything but the conversation she knew Sarah wanted to have right then.
"It just seems you two are more than friends. But if you say you aren't, I'll believe you," Sarah said, a note of triumph in her voice. Max forced herself not to care. Griffin wasn't hers to fawn over or fight for. She could see Jack watching her very carefully, waiting to judge her emotions Max guessed. All Max felt right th
en was uncomfortable.
"Here they come," Max said, in the need to change the subject. Griffin and Turner ran for the SUV, Turner holding room keys above his head with a goofy grin on his face.
Max backed the truck up to the two bottom floor rooms the guys had found keys for. They were directly next to each other, sharing a connecting door. It was a good set up for the night, Max had to finally admit to Griffin.
"Wow, the great Max was wrong about something?" He teased. Max looked at the adequately clean, if not a bit rundown, room.
"Don't need to be an ass about it," Max replied.
"Nothing about being an ass when I'm shocked that you actually admitted you were wrong."
"I admit when I'm wrong, when the occasion warrants it," Max argued.
"Really?" Griffin's voice was full of accusation.
"What? What is it you are wanting to accuse me of, Griffin? I'm not the one that walked away eight years ago," Max said the last sentence in a hissed whisper. She hadn't even really meant to bring it up. But the constant teasing and ribbing at her expense were starting to wear on the last nerves she really had. Griffin's face went red and was full of anger. It was so surprising to Max, she took a step back.
"Eight years ago? I walked away? What in the living hell are you talking about?" Griffin demanded. As his voice rose, Turner walked into the room with a bag that would make up dinner. He looked at the two of them and started to back out, but Max stopped him with an impatient wave of her hand.
Turning her back on Griffin, Max walked out of the room. She went straight to the SUV and started digging for the bottled waters they had for dinner. The crisp air of evening washed over her heated skin. She felt like the barely adult of eight years before, humiliated and angry. She breathed the air into her lungs, working to clear her mind and heart of the age-old emotions that were surfacing. Just being around Griffin again dredged up so many unanswered questions.
She stood looking up at the stars that started to appear. Why had he acted so surprised when she accused him of leaving her? It was the wrong time to bring up the past, Max knew. She wondered if they would ever work out the history between them. It was clear that Sarah wanted to start something new with Griffin. He was free to be with whoever he wished. Max wanted to clear the air before they got the compound. The last thing she needed was a big altercation in front of her family
Max returned to the room to find the group sitting on the chairs and bed in the room, eating their dinners. Jack patted the bed next to her and Max joined her. Her daughter handed her a plate with a sandwich, pickles, and a bag of chips. Max leaned over and kissed Jack on the forehead. Her daughter was always taking care of her in the small ways she could. It warmed Max's heart.
With dinner trash disposed of, the group broke up with men in one room and women in the other. Jack curled up in bed pretty quickly and fell asleep. Sarah had picked up a magazine in the deli and was leaning back on the other bed reading. Max pulled toiletries from her go bag, ready to get a little bit of a sponge bath. She took a couple of water bottles into the bathroom and set up to wash up as best as she could.
A short time later, Max exited to find Sarah gone. Her magazine was laying open on the bed she intended to take. Jack lay quietly in her bed, breathing deeply. Max set her boots on her side of the bed, slipped her knife under her pillow and had her tomahawk on the small cheap bedside table. As she climbed under the tacky orange comforter to lay next to Jack, Max turned out the lantern. She turned to breathe in the scent of her daughter as she tried to not let her mind go to Sarah sneaking into the men's hotel room to be with Griffin.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
"Max, Max, wake up," Griffin said, as he pushed Max's shoulder. Max shot out of bed with her knife in hand. Griffin jumped to get away from the blade and fell to the hotel room floor.
"Whoa, hang on! It's just me, Max!" Griffin called from the floor. He looked up at Max in her T-shirt and panties and stared. She looked down at him, bringing her heart under control. Then she realized that Griffin was staring at her half-dressed body. Dropping her knife, she grabbed her pants from the foot of the bed and stabbed her legs through the holes.
"What the hell, Griffin? You scared the crap out of me," Max exclaimed, as he climbed to his feet. She pushed her feet into her boots as Jack climbed out of her side of the bed.
"Momma?" She inquired. Max jumping from the bed had jostled her.
"It's ok, baby. Get dressed and we'll do breakfast before we leave, ok?" Max said. She walked to her daughter and smoothed her hair slightly. Jack just smiled sleepily at her and went to brush her teeth.
"Max, where's Sarah?" Griffin asked. Max whirled to look at him. She glanced over at Sarah's bed, still made and not slept in.
"Why would I know where your bed partner was?" Max shot at him. She moved around the room, pulling items out to put on the table for breakfast.
"My bed partner? What are you talking about?" Griffin said. Just then Turner walked into the room, pulling his shirt over his head.
"I think she's implying Sarah slept with you last night. And unless I've learned to sleep much deeper in the apocalypse, I believe that's false," Turner interjected.
"What? I thought..." Max trailed off. She went to the window and looked out, relieved to see that the SUV was still there. However, she then noticed that the room key they had put on the windowsill next to the door was gone. She turned back to look at Griffin and Turner.
"I mean, I assumed she was with you. I was in the bathroom, Jack was asleep. When I came out Sarah was gone. She didn't tell me she was leaving. After the questions she asked yesterday, I assumed she went to you," Max said, feeling that her assumption now sounded foolish.
"What questions?" Griffin asked.
Max looked at the floor, bouncing from foot to foot nervously. "Well, um, she asked me about us. She wanted to know if we were a thing. I told her no. And she was happy about that."
Griffin's face looked incredulous. Max knew what he was thinking. Who was thinking about a new romance during a zombie plague? Well, Sarah did. And it had given Max a jealous feeling in her stomach, that then affected her thinking. She felt incredibly ridiculous to have let her training go so far, that she didn't check to make sure Sarah was where she assumed. With the hotel room key missing, she now had to figure Sarah went outside for a reason and took the key to get back in. But she hadn't come back all night.
"Ok, I get it. I shouldn't have just guessed. But it's what I thought. I mean why would she just leave and not tell me or you guys where she was going?"
"I don't think we should be arguing about this right now," Turner said, turning to look at both Max and Griffin. He was carefully trying to play the mediator. "Sarah is missing. We don't know if she willingly left, or if she's hurt or was attacked."
"He's right," Griffin said. He moved toward the door. "You and Jack pack up and get everything loaded. Turner and I will go looking to see if we can find any sign of her outside. We'll meet you at the SUV in twenty minutes."
Griffin walked to the door, passing Max without so much as a sideways glance. He was obviously furious with her for not being more careful about Sarah. Max huffed a sigh. I'm not a babysitter, she thought to herself. She was defensive, but also a part of her felt extremely guilty for not making a better decision when she noticed Sarah was gone the night before. The boys walked out and the slamming of the hotel door made Max jump and her thoughts to change to packing and finding Sarah.
Jack had already started packing up the food they had brought. Their go bags were packed and ready, as was their standard practice everywhere they went. Together they loaded the supplies back into the back of the SUV. Max, trying to get back on Griffin's good side, even went to their hotel room and retrieved the toiletries they had used and any clothing they had left behind. There wasn't much, but it was what they had.
Mother and daughter climbed into the truck and waited. There was no visible sign of Griffin or Turner. Max knew they were skilled in fighting a
nd defending themselves. Nonetheless being apart made her nervous and anxious. She would rather be fighting alongside them, so she knew what was happening as it happened. Jack's fingers tapped the backseat window as she watched and waited. Max shook the truck with her knee bobbing up and down with nerves.
Suddenly Max saw what she wouldn't have wished upon anyone. Sarah's blonde head suddenly showed on the opposite side of the road the motel sat on. Across the street was a field of high weeds and reeds, which Max had originally assumed was some sort of marshy land. Sarah was limping, her head looking backward often. It was as if she were being pursued. Max decided quickly that she had to go get the woman.
"Jack, stay inside the truck no matter what, got it?" Max said as she readied her weapons.
"Ok. Are you going to go get her?"
"Yeah. I think she's hurt," Max responded.
"Bit?" Jack asked, her voice tinged with fear.
"Maybe, don't know. Stay here," Max said. With that, she popped open the driver's door and slammed it shut. Jack instantly hit the lock button as Max always told her. The sound of the clicking was the indication for Max that it was at least somewhat safe to leave her for the moment.
Max took off running across the parking lot to the road where Sarah was now trying to walk. As she got closer, she slowed, gauging Sarah's movements. She almost looked like an infected. As she watched her stumble across the road, the weeds on the side of the road parted in a half a dozen places. Sarah let out a scream that only seemed to call the infected to dinner. The scream wasn't the sound of an infected, causing Max to increase her speed again.
"Max," Sarah whimpered as she almost fell to the asphalt.
"Hold on, Sarah," Max said, as she threw an arm around Sarah's waist and hoisted her to her feet. The hiss of pain told Max she was right, and Sarah was injured somewhere.
"Hold onto me, we need to get you to the truck before they catch us," Max said, a little breathless. Sarah didn't answer, but her arm around Max's neck tightened.
As the women staggered their way across the street, Max could hear the hissing and growling from behind them. She knew instinctively that they weren't going to make it to the truck without a fight. They were just reaching the sign for the motel. Max moved Sarah to the pole and leaned her against it. As she released her, she realized the arm around Sarah's waist came away sticky and warm. Looking down, Max saw her arm covered with blood.
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