The Longest Road (Book 1)

by Thompson, A. S.

  “We are running low and the guys would probably like some,” Collin said as he rejoined Dan and Michelle, shining his light on the plethora of different types of liquors. “What the hell…”

  Unlike his hick companions, Collin went for the top shelf. He grabbed a few bottles of Kettle One and Level vodkas, a couple handles of Jamaican rum, three 1 liter bottles of Don Julio tequila, and two bottles of Gentlemen Jack Daniels, Billy’s favorite. Most of the bottles had the annoying little plastic anti-theft devices, but Collin was sure that those could be broken off easily.

  Hearing sounds of bickering, Collin turned to the other two. “Hey, guys, hurry up. We should be getting back soon,” Collin called out to them in a loud whisper.

  “Okay, give us a minute. We’re comin’, hold yer horses,” Dan shouted back loudly.

  Rather than wait, Collin took off and found a section for health and first-aid. He could still hear the arguing two aisles away. Like most of their supplies, the cousins were running low on vitamins, supplements, and other first-aid supplies. In the last few spaces of his cart, he packed in a jug of Vitamin C and a bottle of antacids, but he still wasn’t satisfied.

  Grab what you can,Collin thought.It could be a while before a score like this comes along, if at all…

  He picked up one of Wal-Mart’s newly implemented “Go-Green” bags that was on the ground nearby and filled it with the rest of what he needed. He tossed in Vitamins A-Z, protein bars and powder, and other supplements he didn’t care to notice. He also grabbed an array of medical supplies, including hydrogen peroxide, an industrial sized tube of Polysporin, bandages, and gauze.

  “Now I’m happy,” Collin whispered to himself. “Better safe than sorry.”

  Having a steady stock of medical and first aid supplies was crucial. There were no functioning hospitals or ER’s that he knew of, and they weren’t traveling with anyone who had any real medical experience. Even the smallest injury or infection on the road could compound or grow into a serious or life-threatening issue.

  Collin flung the bag over his shoulder and began pushing his cart toward the exit. Dan and Michelle had stopped fighting and followed the faint beams from Collin’s flashlight. Dan was in the lead with a pissed off look on his face. Apparently, Michelle had won the argument.

  From out of nowhere, an infected man dressed in what appeared to be a Wal-Mart jumpsuit tackled Michelle to the ground. A name-tag reading “Hal” was barely legible through the smears of dried bloodstains.

  Hal’s impact knocked Michelle’s gun away and shattered a bottle of Jim Beam. A few shards of glass sliced Michelle’s butt, but left only minor scratches.

  “Ahh! Help me! Help me! Dan!” she shrieked. Her screams could have put B-list actors to shame.

  Dan turned back immediately. “Michelle!” he screamed, tearing off back to her position.

  Dan grabbed the man by the shoulders and tried to pull him off, but Hal threw back one of his mangled arms and caught Dan right on the chin. Dan stumbled back in a concussive daze and landed next to some car cleaning supplies.

  Collin heard her yells and knew something was wrong. “Shit! What is it now?” he cursed. He threw down his “Go Green” bag, readied his rifle, and sprinted one aisle over to the source of the screams.

  The former Wal-Mart employee turned his attention from Dan back to a helpless Michelle and began snapping his mouth at her. The stench from his breath and rotting body was nauseating. With all of her might, Michelle held him as far back from her as she could, but he slowly overpowered her, inching closer to her neck.

  Dan scrambled to his feet, still dazed, and grabbed for his gun. He pulled the trigger three times.

  Click-Click-Click.

  Suddenly, he remembered he had drained all six shots during his run-in with the cutout earlier. He panicked and looked around to see if he could use anything as a weapon.

  “Dan!” Michelle screamed. “Fucking do something!”

  Dan was speechless. He stood there in complete shock, staring as the infected man got closer and closer to his girlfriend’s neck.

  From twenty feet out, Collin stared down his scope, but he didn’t have a clear shot. It was too dark, and the man was too close. He flung the rifle around his back and charged at the man. The weight and force of Collin’s body was successful in dislodging Hal’s grip on Michelle. Unfortunately, the collision sent them both to the ground nearby. Collin’s rifle flew off his shoulder and came to a rest two feet away.

  The beast felt no pain and sprang up instantly. It looked over at Michelle, who was being helped up by Dan, then swiveled its head back to Collin, its new target.

  Collin lay on the floor, body aching, winded. Before he could get to his feet, Hal dove on top of him. Former Marine instincts took over, and Collin used his foot to deter the attempt. Collin’s bent leg was the only thing separating him from the snapping jaws of Hal.

  “Don’t just stand there, damnit!” Collin yelled. “Do something!”

  But neither Dan nor Michelle came to Collin’s rescue.

  Collin shifted his weight and pressed his left leg against Hal’s shoulder, using his right hand to hold Hal’s other shoulder. With his free hand, Collin desperately reached for his rifle, but it was a hair out of reach.

  Blood and mucus-mixed saliva dripped from Hal’s hungry, open mouth.

  1627 hours

  “You guys hear dat?” Frank asked at the faint pops of gunshots.

  “Sounded like Dan’s .45, I think,” Steve said, assessing the gunfire. “Collin said everything was okay. Let’s finish, then we can go check it out.”

  Steve and Frank continued to strategically hang the crude noisemaking contraptions. It wasn’t pretty, but served its purpose.

  Mike led the girls across the street and called over to his brother. “Who fired?”

  “I think it was Dan,” Steve shouted back. “Mike, do you ever use your radio? We’re going to finish, then go check it out. Wanna come?”

  Mike used his hand to shade his eyes from the sun. “No, not really, and hell no. I should be sleeping right now. You’re lucky I brought back clothes. Wake me up later.”

  Steve couldn’t help but laugh at his brother’s lackadaisical nature. And Mike was right—he did at least contribute. Sometimes.

  The girls giggled and brushed past Steve like he wasn’t even there. They dropped off their bags at the truck, then turned and blew Mike kisses.

  “What’s that all about, bro?” Steve asked, staring at the two Texans.

  Mike threw his arm around Steve. “That’s love. Well, at least lust,” he said, before turning and walking back to the RV.

  Steve turned to face Frank, who had just finished applying a five-inch stretch of duct tape to the stone wall, securing the last of the lines. Their sections of rope looked like a web that a spider on acid had spun. The cowbells, wind chimes, and other noisemakers dangled at different heights, and were spaced closely enough together that anyone from a crawler to a walker would hit them.

  The motion of Frank leaning to stretch his sore lower back lifted the front of his shirt, exposing his massive beer belly. At the sight of thick hair and pimples, Steve immediately turned away in disgust. The overweight hillbilly continued to stare at his creation with high esteem, oblivious.

  “We used ta set up gator traps and coon snares like this here stuff—”

  Sensing a long, boring tale, Steve quickly cut him off. “Great job, Frank, looks good,” he said facetiously. “Let’s go check out Wal-Mart.”

  “Yeah, I done thot so myself. Now hold up, I got-sta piss,” Frank replied.

  Steve didn’t bother waiting and pretended like he didn’t hear Frank’s request. He didn’t want to be near Shrek any more than he had to. On his way out, Steve picked up his rifle from the hood of the RV. Behind him, Frank struggled to walk and snap his overalls on at the same time.

  ###

  The rancid odor from Hal’s mouth made Collin’s eyes water, but he held on tight. His t
ensed muscles shook and gave slightly from exhaustion, allowing the man’s teeth and rancid breath to fall within inches of Collin’s throbbing aorta. At any moment, Collin knew his muscles would give, so he pulled his free hand back to assist his other. Remembering his early hand-to-hand combat training, Collin managed to squeeze his other leg under the man’s torso. With all his might, Collin thrust upward and threw the man back into a shelf.

  In less than a second, Collin reached back for his rifle and popped off three rounds. The first two went into Hal’s chest, and the last one went into his frontal lobe. The former Wal-Mart employee went limp and dropped to the ground. Collin pushed himself back up against the opposing shelf, completely exhausted.

  Dan picked up Michelle’s gun, and both hurried over to him.

  “Shit man, you okay?” Michelle asked, jaw open.

  “Yeah, I was headin o’er to get her gun, but it’s darker than a damn dung-beetle’s asshole, and when I done got der, well shit, you know, you done shot it,” Dan said, obviously lying to cover up his cowardice.

  Collin sat silent, mentally recapping the events that just transpired.They didn’t even try to help, he thought. He stretched out his cramped muscles and gave out a sigh of relief.

  “We should probably get going. Who knows if there are any more,” Collin said, springing to his feet.

  “Yeh, that’s probly a good idea, I reckon,” Michelle responded, still shaking from fear.

  Dan and Michelle hurried to their carts and pulled up next to Collin’s. After shouldering his rifle, Collin picked up his “Go Green” bag of medical supplies and began pushing his cart toward the entrance.

  Ten feet from the bent metal gate, Collin stopped. Through all the commotion he forgot about the tiny hole they entered through. “Shit!” he cursed.

  “What?” Michelle asked.

  “We have to find another way,” Collin said, panting. “There’s no way we can lug all this stuff through.” He looked all around him. His mind broke down the store into sections.Left: Nothing. Warehouse: Too risky.

  “There’s more of them comin! We’re trapped!” Michelle whimpered.

  Both hicks looked to Collin for their next move.

  Collin shook off the distraction and continued his scan.Right: What’s to the right?He squinted his eyes to make out a sign above a door at the end. Suddenly it became clear.EMERGENCY EXIT

  “Follow me!” Collin exclaimed.

  Without hesitation, Collin bolted straight for it. As they hustled past the checkout lines and customer service stand, the faint lighting cast shadows against the shelves. Collin’s cart burst through the emergency exit, sending all three into the security of the outside. Never before had they welcomed such a blinding sun and triple digit temperatures.

  “We made it!” Michelle cheered.

  Once Collin had slammed door shut and barricaded it with a nearby dumpster, their anxiety lowered to manageable levels.

  “If there’s anyone else in there, they’ll be hard pressed to break out of this door,” Collin said, giving one final shove against the dumpster.

  All three regained their nerves, but walked briskly around to the front side of Wal-Mart. Dan and Michelle took the lead, looking behind themselves periodically to make sure they weren’t being followed. Collin was well over their company. If he had been with anyone else, anyone at all, he would have done his best to reassure them. But Dan and Michelle had fallen from Collin’s good graces.

  As the Wal-Mart shoppers turned the corner, they saw Steve and Frank.

  “What happened?” Frank asked, wobbling over to his companions.

  “Yeah, Cully, what’s up? I tried you on my radio, but I think it’s the batteries,” Steve said, taking off his earpiece.

  Michelle and Dan rolled up next to Frank, but moved to the shade under the overhang. Steve walked ten feet further and joined Collin, who slumped onto the curb. For the next five minutes, each group discussed their version of what had happened.

  Trying to save face, Dan made up a bogus story about how he had singlehandedly saved Michelle. He went through a very animated play-by-play of the encounter with Hal, explaining how he was the one who tackled him, wrestled with him, and eventually shot off the rounds that had put the infected warehouse worker down for good.

  As Dan told his version, he glanced over to Collin and gave a rather guilty expression, one that pretty much told Collin, “I know I’m full of shit, but please don’t tell the others.”

  Collin rubbed his eyes, and then moved to his temples. He was beyond exhausted, but he couldn’t help but chuckle at Dan’s blatantly fabricated story.Let it go, man,he thought.You’re alive and that’s all that matters.

  Steve overheard most of the hicks’ conversation and caught on quickly. “There’s no way, Cully,” Steve said, shaking his head. “What really happened?”

  Collin recapped the highlights as Steve listened intently.

  “Nice. Two in the chest and one in the head, huh?” Steve asked, sounding impressed. “That’s some mercenary-type shit, man. Zombies of the world beware!”

  Collin gave a slight chuckle. “What can I say? I’m just that good.”

  Steve helped Collin up, giving him a few pats on the back for his heroics. “Good thing you’re alive. Otherwise, I’d be putting a bullet in the back of their heads for getting you killed.”

  After Dan finished telling his story, the three hicks took off back to the loading dock. Dan and Michelle took their food-filled carts and “accidentally” left the gasoline-filled one.

  Collin and Steve hung around a little longer, waiting until they were out of earshot.

  “I’m not going to lie, you had the perfect opportunity and blew it,” Steve said in a low voice.

  Collin stared at him, perplexed. “What are you talking about?”

  “You could have just let ‘em die. We’d have been so much better off!”

  “Damn! You’re right!” he said, slapping his forehead in exasperation. He signaled for Steve to retrieve the other cart. “Next time, for sure. That’s the last time I save their asses.”

  1700 hours

  A glowing red sky signaled the arrival of dusk. Collin and Steve turned the corner into the loading dock. The three rednecks and two Texans rummaged through their carts with looks of bliss.

  “Are they serious?” Steve asked as the others feasted on a variety of candy, cookies, and other unhealthy foods. “Do they really expect to survive on Oreos and booze?”

  Collin threw up his hands. He simply didn’t care about them anymore—not that he really had to begin with.

  Both cousins pushed their carts toward the side door of the RV, intent on unloading the groceries. As they arrived, Mike came out with yet another lit joint. Before they could ask Mike to empty the carts, the munchies took over. Instinctively, he started carrying in the groceries, eyeballing them with intense hunger.

  Steve departed, leaving Collin and Mike to take care of the food and drinks. He wheeled the gas-filled cart to their tank and poured around thirty gallons into the RV. He didn’t do it secretly, but he also didn’t ask permission to take the lion’s share. The RV was simply bigger, and thus demanded more gas. As it was, the members of the other car were far too busy to notice.

  He finished and wheeled the rest over to Dan. “Here, for your car, and some for your generator, too,” Steve said, leaving the cart near the truck’s bed.

  The others were far too interested in the food and booze to say anything, but Dan gave a quick nod in understanding.

  Steve stopped Collin at the side door of the RV and gave him his report. “All right man, we are all set up defensively. Cans and chimes outside, the concrete wall to the right. It should be good enough to stop anything from crawling over. It’s not the best set up we’ve ever had, but it’ll work. And I gotta tell you, that Shrek guy is a fucking redneck tool.”

  “Good job. Believe me, I know. I just had to put up with two inbred idiots myself,” Collin replied, laughing in agreement
. “By the way, where the hell are Bill and Alex?”

  Collin was about to call for them over the radio, but stopped as he saw them round the corner. He signaled for them to gather inside. Alex, Billy, Collin and Steve sat around the kitchen table while Mike continued to put away the food and drinks. Immediately, Billy and Alex took off their equipment and each downed a bottle of water; the heat and exhaustion from the re-con had worn them thin.

  Billy wiped some sweat from his forehead and cleared his throat. “Okay, well, I got good news and—”

  “What’s the bad news?” Collin quickly asked.

  “I don’t think we’re alone here. I found a few fresh bodies. No zombs, but all the signs point to infection.”

  “Yeah, I saw pretty much the same. But I did get to gun one down,” Alex added, looking happy at the memory of his most recent kill.

  “I thought I heard a shot,” Billy responded, leaning over the table to give Alex a high-five.

  “Yeah, brains blasted all over the wall. It was gnarly!”

  Desperate to hear what could possibly be classified as good news, Collin interrupted. “Okay, got it. Focus for a sec, boys. What’s the good news, Bill?”

  “Oh, yeah. Umm, nothing,” Billy said with a slight grin. “This town seems to be pretty much fucked.”

  Somehow Collin had known this was coming.What good news could there possibly be in this world?he thought.

  “Hey, quick question,” Alex said suddenly. “Who the hell is Harry Jones?”

  “Harry who?” Steve asked.

  “Jones.”

  The rest of the group shook their heads, but Steve leaned back and thought about it. “Jones, Jones. The name sounds familiar, but I can’t remember where I heard it.”

  “Whatever. I’m just asking ’cause there was this sign back in town…” He went on to explain how he saw a paragraph of graffiti sprayed on the front of a run-down general store. He quoted the writing verbatim, describing in vivid detail a very sexually degrading scenario involving Harry Jones’s mother and a half-dozen incarcerated men. The townspeople really didn’t like this guy.