The First 30 Days: A Zombie Novel

by Lora Powell

  The trip that had taken us hours to make the day before was flying by in minutes under the humming tires of the vehicles. I knew we had to be getting close to where the van had finally given out on us. I could only hope that our friends were still waiting for us.

  "Hey. We got trouble," Maggie called back.

  Switching my gaze from watching the disappearing group of zombies running after us, I looked ahead. My breath sucked in in horror.

  The straight stretch of highway ahead was all too familiar. It was where we had left the van. But I couldn't see the van, because dozens of zombies crowded it from every angle. You could hear their distant shrieks even over the sound of the engine.

  "That's the rest of our group."

  Maggie nodded her understanding and slowed to allow the second truck to catch up to us. When the other driver pulled even, she indicated the swarm of zombies ahead.

  "This is good news," Colton moved to stand just behind the cab of the truck. When I eyed him with an expression that said he was crazy, he elaborated. "The zombies wouldn't be so interested in that van if there wasn't anyone inside."

  He was right, but I didn't have much time to think that over, because the truck was slowing to a stop. Less than fifty yards from the van, both trucks swung around to face back the way we had come, and stopped completely. The zombies at the edges of the swarm noticed us and some immediately broke free of their group to attack easier prey.

  I jumped to my feet as several of the freshest zombies sprinted full tilt, snarling. It would only take a matter of seconds for them to cross the space between us. Shawn and Rex had also lunged to their feet and I grabbed a hold of the dog's collar to keep him in the truck.

  "Fire at will," Maggie ordered as she climbed into the back of the truck. The men in the second truck had already taken aim, and the first of the charging zombies fell. My ears started ringing as the rifle Colton seemed to always have nearby fired too close, but that was fine by me because the zombie nearest to our truck fell in a spray of it's brains.

  The gunfire drew the attention of more of the zombies. A second wave of them, this one mostly made up of older and slower creatures, began working our way. They didn't come as fast, but there were more of them, and my heart pounded in my chest as the mindless predators came closer to the trucks. By then, the armed members of the new group had fired a lot of rounds. More than one of them was reloading.

  One rotting zombie managed to dodge enough bullets to make it to the side of our truck. Grabbing my machete, Shawn brought it down square on the zombie's forehead as the creature swiped over the side at him.

  Heat waves shimmered off of the road. The stench was nearly overwhelming. A few more shots, and the last of the zombies shuffling through their fallen brethren went down. There was only one of the creatures left, a single zombie who had paid no attention to it's own kind running off. It still snarled and clawed at the van's windows.

  As I watched, the opposite door of the van swung open and Maya climbed out. She stumbled a bit, before straightening up and striding around the van determinedly. The zombie crumpled to the ground as she stabbed it.

  I missed what happened next because I was climbing down from the back of the truck. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I started sprinting.

  FORTY-NINE-DAY 23

  I tripped over the body of a zombie and nearly face planted onto the pavement. Jerking back upright, I slowed to a more reasonable jog.

  The ground was littered with corpses in varying stages of decay, but I barely noticed them. My entire focus was on the van.

  It's original color was unrecognizable with the thick layers of dirt and zombie blood covering it. Maya leaned up against the side, just in front of where the sliding door now stood open. As I got closer, I could see just how bad she really looked. Her hair was plastered to her skull from sweating in what must have been unbearable temperatures inside the van. Already to thin, stress and dehydration had sunken her features in more until she resembled some of the zombies that I was carefully stepping over.

  "You have impeccable timing," her voice rasped.

  "We couldn't get back any sooner. Bill?" I skidded to a stop next to her, afraid of her answer.

  Relief nearly took me to my knees when a hint of a smile tried to form on her cracked lips.

  "He's been in and out of consciousness. He's a little confused, but I think if we can find a place for him to recover, he'll be alright."

  A full blown grin stretched across my face. I indicated the group that was approaching, carefully driving the trucks closer over the piles of zombies. "I think we've found just the place. They have plenty of supplies, and someone said they even have a nurse."

  Maya grinned back at me. Knowing that Bill was not only still alive, but he had improved a bit too, galvanized me into stepping closer to look in the open door.

  "Took you long enough," Devon waved at me without lifting his head from where it rested on the back of his seat. Frankly, he looked too sick and exhausted to lift his head. Fallon hovered next to him. The look she sent me was full of things that she didn't want to say out loud.

  "Hey guys. I am glad to see you." I leaned in the door and peered into the back seat. Bill wasn't awake, and he still looked awful, but the steady rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.

  The first of the pickups stopped with its lowered tailgate about ten feet from the front of the van. Shawn and Colton jumped down, and Maggie stepped from behind the wheel.

  "How's Bill?" Shawn looked from me to Maya.

  "He's alive. I think he's going to make it," Maggie smiled again at saying those words.

  "That's good," Shawn broke out in a smile of his own. It occurred to me that we all were smiling more right then than any of us had in a while. "Guys, this is Maggie and Colton." He indicated the two who had stopped a few feet away from us.

  "Hi," Maggie stepped forward. "Looks like you folks could use some help."

  Maya glanced sideways at me. When I nodded slightly to her, she held out her hand in greeting. "I'm Maya. We're really glad you all came along when you did."

  Moving our group from the van into the back of the two trucks didn't take long. We had essentially zero belongings. The hardest part was helping Devon and Bill. Despite doing his best to hide the amount of pain he was in, Devon's condition had deteriorated badly since we last saw him. He needed help to move and once we settled him in the truck, he leaned over in an obvious effort to control his dizziness.

  Bill started out asleep, but there was no way to move him without jostling him around. By the time the four guys lifted him into a truck, his eyes were opened. Climbing into the truck after him, Maya shushed his efforts to speak with assurances that everything was ok.

  The addition of the rest of our group had filled the trucks. Colton still rode with us, but this time he climbed into the cab next to Maggie. He rolled his window down and kept an eye out for dangerous zombies that way.

  Between Bill laying flat out back there, and Devon having to keep one long leg stretched out in front of him, the rest of us crowded into what felt like a sliver of truck bed. I leaned tiredly up against Shawn and let my head rest on his shoulder. It had been days since I'd really slept.

  The adrenaline from trying to survive had kept me going, but now it was starting to feel like we had the chance to breath, just a little. This new group had supplies, weapons, they even had the next best thing to a doctor. And they had proven helpful instead of insane. It became increasingly difficult to keep my eyes open as the realization hit me that we were finally safe. Or, at least, as safe as a person could be during an apocalypse.

  I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Shawn was lightly shaking my shoulder. The truck had stopped in front of the door to the shelter, and a man and a woman were already helping Devon down.

  "We require that all new people go into quarantine for twelve hours. But don't worry, you will be provided food and water, and I'm going to go get our medical peopl
e to come take a look at your wounded right away," Maggie told them before she began issuing orders to her people. They scurried to follow orders.

  "It's ok," Shawn answered the questioning look Fallon sent us. "Bri and I had to quarantine over night."

  It felt like I was walking through a fog as I trailed behind my group. When we reached the same room that Shawn, Rex and I had spent the previous night in, I noticed with barely there interest that it had been converted quickly into a hospital of sorts. Medical supplies, including a bag of IV fluids that managed to perk up my interest, waited, along with an entire case of new water bottles. A pile of blankets lay in one corner, and a couple of people hurried to make a makeshift bed for Bill to be placed on.

  The room quickly became crowded with all of the people trying to fit inside at once.

  "You two don't need to quarantine again. Why don't you let Colton show you to someplace you can rest, you look dead on your feet, and we will take care of your friends." When she noticed my reluctance to go, Maggie added, "It's too crowded in here. We need room to be able to treat their injuries. And it won't do anyone any good to be cramped for the next twelve hours."

  "Bri, that makes sense. Let's get some rest. We can come check on them in a few hours."

  In the end, it was Shawn who convinced me to be led from the group. The others were so busy drinking water while watching the guy who must be the nurse checking over Bill, that they paid no attention as we left the room.

  Back out in the dark main area of the store, we passed at least a dozen new faces who watched us go with varying degrees of friendliness. I was too tired at that point to really care, or do more than half heartedly respond to anyone who greeted us. The shelving in the store was like a maze as we followed Colton into the interior.

  "This will be your area," he indicated a cleared out space with four cots standing inside. "I'll send someone by with some basic supplies for you, when you're ready, I'll take you around and you can pick up anything else you need. All of these beds are empty, so feel free to take your pick." Reaching down, he turned on a battery powered lantern and handed it to Shawn. "Get some sleep, guys." Colton turned and disappeared back into the dark store.

  The bed closest to me was calling my name. I'd never been so tired in my entire life, I was actually feeling physically ill I was so exhausted. Without a backward glance, I took the two steps needed to get close enough, and collapsed face down on the cot.

  FIFTY-DAY 24

  A low murmur of voices was what finally woke me up. Prying my eyes open, all I saw was black. In my disorientation, it took several seconds for me to figure out where I was.

  In Maggie's group's safe haven. On a cot. And apparently, under a blanket that I didn't remember covering myself with.

  With a groan, I pulled the blanket off of my face. The area around me was illuminated softly by the lantern. Now that I wasn't nearly dead on my feet with exhaustion, I was able to look around and actually see.

  The space was slightly rectangular, with just enough room for the four cots lined up in it. The walls had been made from the store's shelves. Though most of them were empty, one shelf had a few items on it. The trusty backpack that had saved me in more ways than one lay on the floor at the foot of my bed.

  I had tumbled onto the cot on the far left of the space. The one right next to mine had a rumpled blanket on it, but whoever had slept there was no longer on the cot.

  Swinging my feet to the floor, I stood up. Stuck in the perpetual darkness of the converted store, it was difficult to tell exactly how much time had passed, but it felt like I had been asleep for a long time. Right now, all I wanted was to find the rest of my group and check that they were doing ok.

  Moving to the doorway, I peered out into the maze like walkway. Lanterns left here and there lit up the space well enough. I could see that more cubicle type spaces had been formed along the hall. Not knowing which direction to try, I took a guess, and turned to my left. I silently kicked myself for not paying better attention when Colton first led us to our space.

  As I passed the doorways to other rooms, it was obvious that a few of them had been home to someone for a while. Belongings lined the shelves. A few cots had someone sleeping in them. I continued down the dark walkway.

  Ahead, the path split. I stopped, looking both ways. The path to the right was dark and quiet. The one to the left had light showing at the end, and I was pretty sure that the voices I heard were coming from that direction. My decision made, I walked toward the light.

  The narrow path opened up and I was relieved to have run into people. I hadn't noticed just how tense I was at being alone and in the dark, until I wasn't any more. Even better, I recognized Shawn's back as he bent over the struggling dog, trying to briskly dry him with a towel. Two more people, one of them slightly familiar, were talking together to the side. They waved a greeting when they saw me.

  Catching sight of me, Rex doubled his efforts to escape, and managed to pull free. Grinning a toothy, canine smile, the dog bounded across the open space and leaped up on me.

  "Hey, buddy." I rubbed the dog's wet ears. He smelled like wet dog, which was a marked improvement from smelling like rotten zombie. "You got a bath."

  "Yeah, I thought everyone would be happier if he wasn't covered in zombie," Shawn tossed the damp towel over one shoulder as he reached us. "Speaking of being covered in zombie..." he reached out and pinched a piece of my filthy hair between two fingers.

  I grimaced. "Getting clean would be good, yeah."

  "You are not going to believe it, but they have showers here."

  I felt my eyes light up. I never thought I would see anything like a shower again. "Lead the way."

  Bumping my shoulder good naturedly with his, Shawn turned and started in a direction I hadn't been yet. "I managed to convince Maya to take a break. She's in there now. I think Fallon, too."

  Startled, I looked at him. "Maya and Fallon are out of quarantine? How long did I sleep?"

  He glanced over his shoulder, "A day. Both of us, I haven't been up for too long, either."

  I fell silent as I thought that over. I had never slept for so long before. But then, I'd never been so desperately tired before, either.

  "So, Bill's doing ok? He must be if Maya left his side."

  "Yeah. He's awake. He's not moving around much, yet, but he's talking. Now that they've got the dehydration under control, he's making sense again."

  A weight lifted off of my shoulders, but Bill wasn't the only one who had been in bad shape. "And how's Devon's leg?"

  Shawn stopped to turn my way. "That's not going as well." He frowned, "The nurse is doing everything she can. She says the infection is spreading."

  That had been my fear ever since the first time I saw the cut on Devon's leg. It had been bad from the start, and we had been on the move through wet, filthy conditions almost nonstop. The look on my face must have matched the stricken feelings I was having, because Shawn pulled me close for a hug.

  "They are doing the best they can. It's not over yet."

  "I knew this was a possibility."

  "We all did. Bri, you have kept all of us alive in more ways than one. We would all have been gone a long time ago without you. Don't you blame yourself, no matter what happens."

  I let myself relax into the hug, needing the comfort. I knew that he was right, but a part of me couldn't help but think that I could have done more. That there was always more that could be done, no matter what.

  "Alright, no offense, but you need that shower." He eased back and smiled at me.

  I sighed and smiled back. I did stink.

  Shawn led me through a back hallway that seemed to connect this store to the rest of them in the mall. We passed a few doors, before he gestured to an open one.

  I stepped inside, and was surprised to find myself in a gym. Amazingly, there were actually a couple of people there using the weight machines. The highest windows had been left uncovered, and the light felt bright after the d
arkness of the store I had woke up in.

  "It's this way," Shawn led me toward the locker rooms. Water was dripping from inside the girl's room. "I'll wait out here if you want me to."

  "Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks." I wasn't super excited about walking back to the main store, through the dark, alone.

  Rex balked at following me into the locker room, he was probably afraid I'd give him another bath, so I entered the room alone. It looked just like any other gym locker room, except lanterns provided the light. The whole effect was kind of creepy, so I hurried to get clean and get out of there.

  The water sounds came from the shower room. When I peered around the corner, I found Maya with a towel wrapped around herself, looking tired, but better than the last time I saw her. Fallon was at the far wall, rinsing her hair under a bucket looking contraption.

  "Hi, guys," I announced myself.

  "Bri!" They greeted me at the same time.

  "This place is great!" Fallon gushed.

  I smiled at her exuberance. It was the most animated she had been in a while. "It kinda is, isn't it."

  Maya startled me when she hugged me suddenly, uncaring that she was clean and I was far from it. "Thank you," the raw emotion in her voice brought an answering lump to my own throat.

  I squeezed her back.

  Clearing her throat, she backed up. "I need to get back to Bill. I don't want to leave him alone for too long."

  "I'll stop by to see him once I'm cleaned up."

  "He'd like that," she smiled at me and disappeared around the corner.

  "Well, the water's cold, but it's a shower. Want me to show you how this thing works?" Fallon chirped from where she was using a towel to dry her hair.

  "That would be great."

  FIFTY-ONE-DAY 24

  I managed to find a pair of jeans and a shirt that almost fit me in the pile of clean clothes that had been left in the locker room for that purpose. Dressing quickly, I did the best I could to get the tangles out of my hair and got out of there. Once both Fallon and Maya had left the locker room, my earlier feelings that it was too creepy had returned with a vengeance.