“Fill up quickly!” Emmett said. “We have at least two dozen infected heading our way. If you need to piss, hold it. We can stop in a more secure location.”
“This place was hit hard,” Alexis said.
“No, this is how Lame Deer always looks,” Troy said. “There’s a reason they call it Lame Deer.”
“Oh,” Alexis said.
“What should we do about food?” Helen asked through the passenger window of the minivan.
“This may be our best chance to forage,” Lucas said.
“Okay,” Emmett said. “Greg, Lucas, Alexis you’re with me.”
“I think I’d be better here,” Alexis said, “for when the infected show up.”
Emmett eyed her. He really didn’t want to let her out of his sight, although it may be safer out there than inside the gas station.
He sighed. “Just be careful. You two ready?”
“Yeah,” Lucas said. He had the Glock handgun tucked into his pants behind his back and held a large wrench.
Greg nodded. He was armed with the ACR and had a hammer tucked into his belt.
“I’ll go first,” Emmett said, brandishing his machete. “Let’s keep it quiet. Lucas, you follow, and Greg, keep the rifle handy in case it gets intense.”
They walked up to the front door of the gas station and Emmett banged on it. He waited a few seconds, then opened the door. Two infected stumbled out. He and Lucas made quick work of them. Emmett led the way inside, pulling out his flashlight. Scanning, he saw that most of the contents of the shelves had been taken. There were a few items scattered around the floor, though. He grabbed a grocery bag from behind the counter and handed one to Lucas.
“Grab all you can,” Emmett said, picking up a candy bar off the floor.
It only took them a minute to collect everything, and it was a measly find—only two grocery bags half full of junk food and a couple of sodas. They exited the gas station and he noticed immediately that there were six new corpses on the ground. Alexis was a little ways from the vehicle with two infected coming at her. Emmett drew his Beretta and aimed at the closest one, but stayed his hand. One day he wouldn’t be around and she needed to be able to handle herself. He watched as she took down the first one with a piece of rebar, stabbing it through the eye. Then she pulled her knife. He shuddered. That would put her dangerously close to the infected. Again he waited as she plunged her knife into the infected’s eye and it dropped to the ground, tearing the knife from her grip as it fell. She quickly bent down and jerked the blade from its skull, then wiped it off on the infected’s shirt.
“She’s quite a woman, isn’t she?” Troy said as Emmett walked over to his truck.
Emmett grunted, narrowing his eyes at Troy, who didn’t notice because he was watching Alexis. She walked back over, and Troy went back to the truck he was driving.
“Everyone filled up?” she asked. They all confirmed. “Well, what’re we waiting for? We’re burnin’ daylight!”
She climbed into the passenger’s seat and smiled sweetly at Emmett. She was telling him she could handle herself, which he knew but tended to forget sometimes. He just wanted to protect her. Was being overprotective that bad, he wondered. He guessed it probably was.
“Hey,” Troy said, coming back over.
“What do you want?” Emmett asked, climbing into the driver’s seat. Everyone else was in their vehicles and ready to go.
“You mind if I ride with you?” he said, glancing over at Alexis.
“Not a chance,” Emmett said.
“But—” Troy began, his smile fading.
“Get your ass back to your truck, now,” Emmett said, and his tone left no room for negotiation.
“What was that about?” Alexis asked as Troy left.
“Nothing,” Emmett said.
“You said a bad word,” Olive said.
“Yes, I did,” Emmett said. “Sometimes it’s necessary to get your point across.”
“So I can say it if I need to?” Olive said.
“No, you have to be at least twelve,” Emmett said.
“What?” Alexis said. “They shouldn’t even be saying that at twelve.”
“It’s just a donkey,” Felix said.
“Yeah, like a jackass,” Olive said.
Emmett looked back at her as she smiled innocently, and he started laughing.
“You’re a handful,” Emmett said, “that’s for sure.”
Olive continued to smile.
Troy sulked back to the truck and climbed into the passenger’s seat. Seth was in the driver’s seat now. Emmett stuck his hand out the window and rotated it in a small circle, then pulled out of the gas station and they headed back up the street. On the next block, he saw a small grocery store with only four infected out front. They did need food and this was a small town, so it would be their best option. He pulled the truck into the parking lot.
“We’re gonna go check this out,” Emmett said.
“I’m coming,” Alexis said.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Emmett said.
“You two okay in here alone?” Alexis asked the kids.
“It’s bulletproof, right?” Felix asked.
“Yeah,” Emmett said, handing Alexis the suppressed ACR.
“Then we’re good,” Felix said.
“We’ll be right back,” Alexis said.
“Don’t take too long,” Olive said.
They climbed out of the truck and met Greg, Lucas, and Troy, who’d already taken care of the four infected.
“Figured you’d want to hit this,” Greg said.
“Looks like a good spot,” Lucas said.
“There’s a small hardware store out back,” Troy said. “We could hit that first and get some better weapons.”
“Good idea,” Emmett said.
As he walked past the side of the store, an infected came around the back. It cocked its head, looking at them right before Emmett’s machete entered its skull. Continuing, they arrived at the front of the tiny hardware store.
“Okay,” Emmett said. “Same as last time. Greg, Alexis, backup. Lucas, Troy, let’s keep it quiet.”
They all nodded. Emmett banged on the door, waited, then tried to open it, but it was locked. Peering through the glass of the door, he didn’t see any infected inside. Greg stepped up, brandishing the hammer, and Emmett stepped aside as Greg went to town on the door. After a few swings, he was able to batter a hole big enough to stick his hand through and unlock the door. Greg opened it and nothing came out. Emmett entered, machete held ready. It wasn’t hard to check the whole store since it was just one small room. The place was clear of infected and was exactly what would be expected of a small-town hardware store. A few minutes later, they left, hauling everything they could carry. They hadn’t only taken what they could use as weapons but also what might be useful further down the road.
Walking back to the vehicles, they dispersed the weapons among the adults. They’d found enough to arm everybody. The rest were put in the back of the trucks. Troy and Lucas armed themselves with axes, and they moved to the front of the grocery store. Emmett banged on the front doors and then waited. After a minute, Greg opened the door. Emmett, Lucas, and Troy were in a line in front of the door, with Alexis off to the side, able to take a shot if need be.
Infected began to pour from the store. Six of them pushed through the doors immediately. They took down three quickly, but the other three instantly took their places. Alexis fired as Greg tried to shut the door, but there were too many infected pushing against it and it wouldn’t close. Greg took a few steps back and began to fire as well. Emmett had already dropped his machete and drawn his Beretta. He took down two. Lucas and Troy kept killing the infected when they made it past the doorway. As soon as it had started, it ended, with the last one coming through the door taking an axe-head to the face from Lucas. Over a dozen infected lay on the ground around the doorway.
> “That worked well,” Troy said, smiling.
“That it did,” Emmett said.
These people were really starting to improve, not at all like when they’d first found them cowering in the elementary school. He replaced his partial magazine with a full one and picked up his machete.
Emmett entered the grocery store. The lighting was dim so he clicked on his flashlight, and the others did as well. They stayed in a group as they slowly moved through the store to the back. Once there, Emmett picked up an empty bottle of wine and threw it on the floor a little ways away. It shattered and they waited, but nothing came out.
“Buddy up and spread out. Grab anything edible that won’t spoil,” Emmett said.
Greg and Lucas moved off, grabbing a discarded shopping cart on their way. Emmett walked back to the front and grabbed a cart. Alexis followed, her head on a swivel. Troy trailed after her like a lost dog. The grocery store had definitely been raided, but a lot of items had fallen on the floor and no one had picked them up.
“You want to actually help?” Emmett said to Troy, throwing a dozen cans of baked beans into the cart.
Troy looked at Emmett. He’d been following behind Alexis while Emmett pushed the cart ahead and gathered all the items.
“Oh, yeah,” Troy said, grabbing a bag of chips off the floor. “So Alexis, what did you do for fun before this?”
“I mainly just studied,” Alexis said.
“What’d you study for?”
“My paramedic licensing exam. I’d just passed before all this went down.”
“That’s awesome—one of the professions that’ll actually be helpful with things as they are now.”
“What’d you do?”
“I worked in a bank.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“I’m really good with numbers.”
“Then how about you figure this one?” Emmett said. “What does a guy who won’t shut up plus a guy with a gun equal?”
“Uhhhh,” Troy said.
“Either a dead guy or a quiet guy,” Emmett said, looking Troy right in the eyes.
“Yes, sir,” Troy said, going back to picking up items.
“Dad,” Alexis scolded quietly when Troy moved off.
“This is no time for conversation,” Emmett said.
“You won’t let him ride with us either,” Alexis said. “Don’t you like him?”
“Don’t worry about that. Just watch our backs.”
“Fine.”
Emmett eyed Troy as he fervently picked up items now with twice the speed as before. It’s not that he didn’t like the kid. He just saw what he was doing here and he didn’t like it. The boy needed to slow down and back off a little, maybe focus on more productive things like staying alive.
They collected three carts full of non-perishable groceries, which they loaded into boxes and then stacked those in the back of the trucks. Spending a few minutes, they handed out food to everyone. With the supplies they’d collected, it was almost like before they were captured. Almost. He was still missing all his other guns and gear, especially his M4. This ACR was nice, but it wasn’t the same.
“Everyone is ready,” Seth said, coming from the other truck.
“Good, time to head out,” Emmett said, glancing at the group of a dozen infected heading their way from the south end of town.
Loading up, he drove out of the parking lot and the rest of the caravan followed. He grabbed a protein bar from the dash and handed one to his daughter. By the time he finished his first bar, Alexis had devoured two protein bars, a bag of chips, and a can of tuna.
“What?” she asked, noticing his look.
“I’ve never seen you eat that fast,” Emmett said.
“I’ve never gone that long without eating,” Alexis said.
“Good point,” Emmett said, taking a bag of chips.
He glanced in the back. The kids were asleep again. Watching them, he couldn’t help but yawn. How long had he been awake? Twenty-four hours? Forty-eight? Or had it been longer? He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten a good night’s sleep in a real bed. It hadn’t been in Safe Haven, had it? When he thought about it, he realized it very well might’ve been. That meant it had been over two days since he last slept. No wonder he was so tired. Maybe he’d have to try what the kids always drank. What was it called—a Monster? That seemed fitting, given everything that was going on.
Alexis was leaning against the window, looking out, and Emmett watched as the small town passed from view, replaced by gumbo hills. The different layers of clay gave the hills the look of a multilayered cake cut in half. Green ponderosa pine trees adorned some of the hills—thick in spots, sparse in others. He’d always liked this part of the country. Honestly, it was a lot like Texas in some places. Soon, Alexis joined the kids in slumber. Emmett’s eyelids started to grow heavy, but he willed them to stay open. He’d had to endure a lot worse than this in the corps, so he could handle a few days without sleep now. Eyes straight ahead scanning the horizon, he settled in and the miles began to pass by.
24
A Warrior’s Funeral
Post-outbreak day eight, morning
“James!” Connor yelled, dropping to a knee and aiming toward where his brother had gone down.
Where had that shot come from?
Connor glanced at the tree line. The shot had come from closer than that. He noticed Tank turning to look behind one of the vehicles, and Connor followed his gaze. There! The first woman Connor had shot through the legs was aiming a handgun at Tank. Crosshairs settling on her, he squeezed the trigger and a bullet tore through her chest. Tank fired right after, hitting her again. Connor fired a second shot, hitting her a third time as she fell, and he fired twice more once her body rested on the ground. His knuckles were white on the foregrip of his ACR and he looked around, making sure there was no one else. None of the bodies moved. Standing up, he ran to where his brother had fallen. Tank was already there, kneeling by James.
Connor arrived and looked down at him, tears threatening to break loose. James’s eyes were open, so at least he was still conscious. Connor looked down at his chest, expecting to see his shirt stained red. It wasn’t. In fact, he couldn’t even see James’s chest because it was covered with the body armor they all wore.
“Damn,” James said, sitting up. “That hurt a lot worse than I thought it would.”
“You careless—” Connor said, punching James hard on the shoulder. “I thought you were dead!”
“I did, too, for a second,” James said. “I forgot this heavy thing I’m wearing stops bullets.”
Tank laughed. “Well, I’m glad we found ’em because it just saved your life.”
“Me too,” James said, standing up and wincing. “I’ll have a nice bruise, and I think I reopened my side.”
“A little higher and that shot would have killed you,” Connor said.
“I know,” James said. “Why am I always the one getting shot?”
“You must be a bullet magnet,” Tank said.
James looked over to the last vehicle in line, standing stock still. “No, that can’t be…”
~~~
“Your truck?” Tank asked. “Yeah, I tried to tell you that when you were going all gung-ho with the SAW.”
“But… I…”
“I thought you saw it,” Connor said.
James took a few steps towards his bullet-ridden white Dodge Ram.
“Oh, he SAW it, alright!” Tank said, chuckling.
Connor burst out laughing, but James barely heard them. All he could see was his majestic truck, which was now nothing more than a bullet-holder. He walked over to it, taking in the horror of the shattered windows, crooked brush guard, holes in every surface, blood on the driver’s and passenger’s seats, and crushed tailgate. He hadn’t seen it when he was firing wildly. It was the farthest back and partially hidden from view. He did a circ
le around it, taking it all in. Not all of these bullets were from him. In fact, most of them weren’t. His truck had been shot back at the original ambush a few days ago when Emmett was driving it, but these ones on the east-facing side weren’t from him either.
“Dude,” Tank said, walking up. “It’s just a truck.”
“No,” James said. “It was more than that. We covered so many miles together. I have so many memories from that seat.”
“We definitely need to get you a girlfriend,” Tank said, “because that shit is creepy.”
A realization dawned on him. He scrambled into the passenger’s side, careful not to sit in the blood. Opening the center console, he searched inside. Buried beneath all the other stuff he kept in there, sitting like a gem in a treasure chest, was his iPod. It was undamaged. At least he had this. Grabbing a grocery bag from the holder in his door, he took all the items from inside the center console and glove box, putting them into the bag. He then went to the backseat and lifted it. Shards of glass were scattered everywhere. They’d taken the ammunition and food but left the emergency car kit, tarp, tow rope, and other such items. He grabbed those, too, taking it all over to the LAPV.
Going back, he tried to open the tailgate, but it was smashed shut and he wound up crawling in through the shattered topper window. By some miracle, their duffels of clothing, Kryptek backpacks, and other camping gear were still in there. The Reclaimers must’ve just been looking for the guns, ammunition, and food. Tank helped him unload all the stuff and put it into the LAPV while Chloe organized it. Connor set up on the hood of his truck, watching the tree line where the man had disappeared. It was a solemn moment for James, cleaning out the first truck he’d ever bought. He’d had it for over half a decade. He stood back, gazing at it, with Connor and Tank at either side. Movement drew James’s eyes to something slithering on the floor. Was that a snake?
“Squeezer!” James exclaimed. He ran back to the truck and reached down for the snake, but it coiled around itself and hissed. He jerked his hand back. Squeezer was pissed.
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