by Lora Powell
I knew what Shawn was saying. We either had to get as far away from this city as we could before the van died. Or we needed to find a place here to try to stop.
"We have to go," it sounded like Maya was crying again. "There's too many of them. We have to get out of here."
When no one objected, Shawn nodded and began following signs back to the highway. It was painfully slow going, trying to keep from becoming swarmed, and I kept looking at the needle of the gas gauge. The little piece of white plastic rested firmly on E.
We finally spotted the way out, but it brought no relief. We still had our zombie entourage, and the van was still dangerously low on gas. When a clear path opened up in front of us, Shawn sped up to try to gain us some distance from the horde.
A box truck that had been abandoned half way up the on ramp caught my eye. Specifically, the writing that had been hastily spray painted across it's back.
"Stop!"
Any message that had been important enough for someone to risk their lives to leave here, was worth slowing down to read. I hoped.
The van halted abruptly. Shawn looked my way, alarmed by my sudden outburst. Murmurs from behind me let me know that none of the others had noticed the sign.
I pointed.
The writing had been sprayed quickly, some areas had too much paint, others had too little. But it was still easy enough to make out.
Safe haven. South. 5 miles.
Another zombie bounced off of the back of the van, causing Shawn to step on the gas again. But we had had enough time to read the words.
"What do you think?"
"Can we trust it?"
We were all thinking the same way. After our last interaction with strangers, we were reluctant to trust any more. But, looking around the van, I realized that all of the people present were strangers to me less than a month ago. I looked behind me, at Devon's pale face, and beyond to the top of Maya's head.
"What if they have a real doctor? And medicine? I think we should go. We can stay back and take a look around. If we don't like what we see, we'll get out of there."
We were already traveling south along the highway. I looked to Shawn, who looked thoughtful. As if feeling me looking at him, he turned to meet my stare.
"Yeah, ok."
More answers to the affirmative made the decision unanimous.
"Ok," Shawn said again. As the numbers of zombies dwindled, he was able to drive faster.
The landscape changed a bit over the next mile or two. We left the city behind and the view from the highway became more rural. There were still occasional zombies wandering along the road, but not enough to slow us down. We were driving past what used to be some sort of a farm, when the engine began to sputter.
"Not now, come on." Coaxing the van along, he was able to drive us another hundred yards down the road before the engine died completely.
The silence was deafening as we coasted to a stop in the middle of the road. We had know this was coming, but the reality of the situation was much worse. Bill was still unconscious and there was no way we would be carrying him very far.
Then a zombie crashed into the side of the van.
The only sounds from inside were harsh breathing as we all contemplated the newest hurdle in front of us. Outside, the zombie snarled as it clawed at the windows with bloodied fingers. The glass squeaked as it worked it's way along the left hand side of the van.
"Now what?" Devon's voice was troubling, like he had given up.
"We stick to the plan."
Surprised, I looked to my left.
"We can't be more than two, maybe three miles from whatever that place is. Someone should still go check it out. If there really are people there who can help, they can help us get Bill to safety."
He was right. We couldn't just stay in the van indefinitely. "Ok." I turned around to look behind me. "Shawn and I will go find this place and see if they can help us. Maya, Fallon, and Devon, you guys stay here and keep an eye on Bill." I didn't say that I doubted Devon could walk that far without stopping, I didn't want him to feel bad, so I lumped him in with the other two as Bill's protectors.
I handed the knife that Fallon had given me back earlier back to her. She looked solemn as she took it.
"Ready?" I gripped the machete and turned back around.
"Yeah, let me get rid of the zombie." He picked up the tire iron from where he had left it on the floor.
The zombie had worked it's way around and was now growling at me through my window. Rex alertly watched it from his spot by my feet as the creature fixed it's bloodshot eyes on me. Shawn's door opened and the zombie immediately switched it's focus to the person who had just become an easier target.
The zombie was older and it tottered around the front of the van unsteadily. As soon as my door was clear, I jumped out too, but Shawn had already taken care of the zombie with a hard whack to the head.
"We will be back as soon as we can," I ducked my head back inside the van. Three pairs of eyes watched me. They all looked scared, and I couldn't blame them. To be honest, I was terrified of walking miles through unfamiliar, zombie infested territory, but I didn't see any other options.
I shut the door firmly and met Shawn in front of the van. The only sound we made as we walked away, south along the highway, was the click of the dog's nails on the pavement.
FORTY-SEVEN-DAY 23
Sticking my head around the corner, I stifled another groan. "They're still out there."
I ducked back out of sight.
It felt like much longer than the approximately twelve hours that had passed since we left our friends. But then, so much had happened in that time.
Making progress had been a lot harder than I'd anticipated. There were enough zombies around that we never made it far without running into another one. That first mile down the highway had been hard fought, and all of us ended up covered in zombie gore.
The machete was starting to feel more like a large chunk of lead in my tired hands by the time we saw the next sign.
Safe haven. 1 mile.
The words had been sprayed over top of the sign for the exit to our right. A semi circle of badly decayed zombies lay not far from the bottom of the sign. I hoped that whoever had painted the words had escaped without being bitten.
Trudging down the off ramp, we noticed that an arrow pointing right had been painted on the stop sign. Looking that way showed what looked like a strip mall just visible in the growing darkness.
A zombie shuffled our way from the middle of the intersection. It gurgled a growl through it's torn out throat and moved at a snail's pace on mangled limbs. It was almost a relief to encounter one of them that was a minimal threat after the struggle of the last couple of hours.
When Shawn used the now filthy tire iron on it, the zombie's head caved in like an overripe melon. Slinging the clinging bits of rot off of the weapon with a grimace, he joined Rex and I back under the stop sign.
According to the painted directions, we had to be nearly to the 'safe haven'. The plan was to find the place, stay back, and watch for a while. If we got a creepy murderous cult vibe, we would leave and not come back.
That had been the plan, anyhow, but the best thought out plans sometimes failed. We had barely walked another hundred yards before someone shouted from within a small group of trees. "Stop! You are entering a restricted area. Identify yourselves!"
I couldn't find the source of the voice, no matter how hard I stared at the trees. It was weird, because they weren't that thick. I should have been able to see whoever was speaking. Beside me, Shawn shifted from foot to foot, also unable to see the source of the voice. It made us both nervous.
Movement from higher up, probably ten feet off of the ground, was what finally gave the speaker away. There, perched on top of a small metal contraption fixed to one of the trees, stood a man. With a rifle casually trained in our direction.
Seeing the person who belonged to the shouted voice made me feel a little bette
r, but the gun immediately negated those feelings. "Um, we followed the signs..."
The man stood watching us for a few seconds before he spoke again, "Is it just the two of you?"
I looked sideways at Shawn. I was reluctant to reveal our friends, especially in their compromised position.
He took over. "Yeah, it's just us." I wasn't the only one who felt the need to protect our friends.
"Either of you bit?"
"No."
"You sure about that?"
Looking at us, I wasn't surprised that the guy felt like he needed to ask again. We were a mess. Even the dog's hair was clumped and matted together with dried zombie blood. Good boy that he was, he hadn't hesitated to tear his way through the zombies.
"We're not bit, I'm sure." I raised my voice to be heard clearly. Darkness was falling rapidly now and the man was becoming harder to see.
"Alright then. My shift here is about over, just have to wait for Charlie to replace me. I'll walk you in if you wait."
The man swung over the side of his perch and began descending using a ladder that I had missed until that moment. He jumped to the ground and began walking toward us.
I didn't miss that Shawn took a step, putting himself partially in front of me, but the concern seemed to be unnecessary as the guy stopped a few feet away and held out a friendly hand. "I'm Colton."
He probably wasn't any older than me. Dressed in hunting camo, he looked at ease with his surroundings, and us.
Shawn took his hand. "I'm Shawn. This is Bri."
The smile that Colton directed my way looked genuine. "Nice to meet you two. We don't get too many new arrivals anymore." He looked down at the dog who was watching him intently. "And who's this guy?" He started to reach towards Rex, but thought better of his actions when a low rumble rolled up the dog's throat.
"This is Rex," I reached down to pat the dog.
"Everyone will be happy to see him. I can't tell you how long it's been since I saw a dog."
Just then, a woman's raspy voice called out, "Whatcha got, Colton?"
Swinging around, I saw a short form approaching through the gloom. As she got closer, I saw a middle aged woman, also dressed in camo and armed. She moved with a pronounced limp.
"Charlie, this is Shawn and Bri. And Rex. They followed the signs in."
"Either of you bit?" Her pack-a-day for thirty years voice was oddly soothing. Maybe because it reminded me of my grandmother.
"No." I couldn't help but smile a little at the woman.
"Well, ok then. Nice to meet you, but I need to get on watch. You can follow Colton in and he'll get you set up for the night." Turning away, she limped to the stand of trees.
"Ready? It's not far, just to the strip mall up ahead," Colton gestured with his hand.
Eyeing Shawn, I moved to follow. Other than running in the opposite direction, we didn't have much choice. They hadn't given us any reason not to trust them so far.
The walk had been nerve-wracking. I kept second guessing our choice to go with this stranger. If Colton noticed, he didn't remark, just kept up a steady stream of chatter the whole way.
As we walked across the parking lot to the strip mall, I noticed a few more people on guard, even one on the roof. They all called out greetings to Colton, but didn't seem alarmed by two new faces. I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or not.
Stepping up onto the wide sidewalk that ran in front of the stores, Colton led us right to the front door of an outdoor store near the middle of the row of stores. The windows and glass door had been covered on the inside, blocking any view of what was going on inside. Colton knocked on the door lightly, waited a second, and then pulled the door opened.
A man and woman eyed us as we hesitated just inside the door. "This is Shawn and Bri. Is Maggie around?" Colton leaned his rifle next to the door as he addressed the pair.
The man nodded at us. "I think she's in the back. I'll go get her." He turned around and disappeared into the dark store.
Here and there, lanterns had been lit casting circles of light that seemed to strategically show the way through the maze of shelves. A couple of people watched us, but stayed back. I caught a glimpse of a little girl's head peeking around a corner before she smiled and waved, I think at the dog.
"Maggie is in charge around here. She'll want to meet you and explain how things work herself." Colton flashed a reassuring smile at us.
I moved a little closer to Shawn. So many people staring at us was making me more nervous.
"I hear we have newcomers."
"Hey Maggie, this is Bri and Shawn. They found our signs."
The woman walked through a circle of light, briefly showing brunette hair and a blank expression, before coming to stand a few feet away from us. "Hi. I'm glad you made it, we just have a few questions and then we'll settle you in for the night."
Maggie had asked the expected questions, showed interest in the fact that we still had a dog, and then explained that all new people were quarantined for twelve hours. Just to be safe. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, until she mentioned the quarantine.
We had already left our friends for too long up on that highway. We couldn't leave them all night. But our lie that we were alone had made it impossible to say so. Instead, we found ourselves herded into an office at the back of the store. They shut us in, leaving several bottles of water and more food than either of us had seen in a while.
The night had been long. I felt guilty as I ate too much and guzzled an entire bottle of water without taking a breath. The ones that we had left behind needed us, but the guards that had been posted in front of the office door were armed. We weren't sure how they would react if we tried to leave the office before Maggie said so. I could guess and it wasn't pretty.
So we spent a mostly sleepless night leaning up against each other, sitting on the office carpet. Now, morning had come. The small window high on the back wall of the office let in the light. I hoped that the rest of our group didn't think that anything bad had happened to us.
I wasn't sure yet if it had, or not.
"I don't know, this group doesn't feel like the other one," Shawn talked for the first time in a while. "The other group came in with guns drawn and shouting orders."
"I don't like being shut in here," I grumbled.
"Me either, but I get it. I've been thinking, they have to protect themselves too. I saw a kid. It's not unreasonable for them to want new people to stay separate until they're sure that they aren't sick. Yeah, they kinda hustled us in here in a hurry, but I don't blame them."
"They don't know about the others waiting for us," I added the thought that had weighed on my mind all night. "We're going to have to tell them as soon as we can. If we're going to stay."
He thought for a minute before answering. "I think we should stay, at least for a while. They have food, maybe they'll have the meds we need too. I think we can trust them as much as we can trust anyone we don't know."
"Yeah. Ok." I didn't really see any other choice. If our friends were still ok, they wouldn't be for much longer. And while these people had hurried to lock us up, they had been polite and provided us a safe place to spend the night and plenty of food.
I entertained myself for the next hour by feeding bites of a granola bar to Rex. When that was gone, I tried to figure out how to fold the wrapper into an origami bird. I failed miserably.
I had just chucked the wrapper into a corner in agitation when I heard Maggie's voice outside the door.
FORTY-EIGHT-DAY 23
"I'm sorry to have locked you in here so quickly, but it's necessary. I hope the night wasn't too uncomfortable," Maggie addressed us from just inside the door. An unfamiliar man watched us with interest from over her shoulder.
"We're fine," Shawn answered her a little abruptly. We still couldn't be completed sure that this group was safe.
"And you're both still feeling ok?" Maggie searched us for any indication that we may be infected. Covered in dried gore
like we were, it would have been difficult to be sure at first, but enough time had passed by now that we would have been visibly ill if we were infected. "You seem ok."
"We're fine," I repeated Shawn's words.
The first smile that I'd seen from her spread across Maggie's face. "That's good news. You are free to leave quarantine. Let's get you cleaned up and I will show you around." Stepping to the side, she indicated toward the open door.
Glancing to the side, I shared a meaningful glance with Shawn. It was time. We needed to make a final decision. He nodded almost imperceptibly.
I inhaled to steady my nerves and hoped that we were making the right choice. "We haven't been completely honest with you." When suspicion bloomed on Maggie's face, I hurried to explain. "There are more of us. We left them up on the highway, and we really need to get back to them. Several of them need medical attention."
Maggie was quiet for a few seconds as she seemed to be thinking through what I had just told her. Finally, "Why did you feel the need to hide this?"
Shawn stepped in to answer, "Not everyone left alive out there can be trusted, you know? A couple of our group are in bad shape. We weren't sure if we wanted to tell you about them. The plan was for the two of us to find you and decide if you could be trusted, first."
Maggie nodded slowly, "I understand. That's smart. How many are in your group?"
"There are four more. Two aren't in any shape to walk."
Maggie looked to the man who had been silently looming through the conversation. "Gather a group to go out, two trucks." She turned back to us. "Let's go get your friends."
* * *
The metal bed of the pick-up was nearly hot enough to burn my skin. Crouching in the back, I did my best to come into as little contact with the metal as possible, no easy task as the truck dodged a small group of zombies.
The sun was already brutal and I could feel my hastily scrubbed face and hands trying to burn. Beside me, Shawn shielded his eyes with one hand and Rex panted heavily, eyeing our companion warily. Colton was also in the bed of the truck, rifle nearby.
Maggie was behind the wheel. She had slid open the back window to be better able to hear our directions. Following us was another pick-up, three armed men watching alertly from it's bed.