by White, A. L.
Al didn’t see the truck coming from the side street as he worked his way around the abandoned cars. It was all he could do to just watch for any debris that might be in the road. At the last minute he saw something move in the corner of his eye. Letting his foot off the gas pedal and pushing the clutch in, he watched the truck go in front of him, stopping when it collided with a blue Honda abandoned on the side of the road. Pushing the brake in, turning the motor off, Al ran from the bus. Taking a quick look back toward the other bus, he motioned at Joe to come forward. Joe sprang out of the truck, running towards Al carrying an old hunting rifle that he had found during the last stop.
“What is it, Dad?” Joe asked out of breath.
Al shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “Unless zombies can drive there may be a person in there.”
They made their way closer to the truck; Al noticed that Joe was paying more attention to the goods in the bed of the truck than to whatever was driving it and back handed him lightly against the chest. Al motioned towards the cab, which brought a knowing nod from Joe. When they reached the window, they saw a young girl was slumped over the seat, covered in blood.
“Back up,” Al said, “We don’t know if she has been bitten or not. Maybe we should just drive on and put some distance between us and her.”
Joe nodded in agreement with his father and backed away until he ran into someone causing him to jump, dropping the rifle.
“Aunt Zoe you scared the life out of me! What are you doing out here? I told you to stay in the bus!”
Zoe looked him in the eye with that un-approving look that he had been told so many times by his father about, and she said. “Boy, move out of my way!”
Joe slid out of her way, embarrassed about the whole exchange, as Zoe walked over to the truck door and looked in.
“This child is still alive! Pull her out of this truck so I can get a good look at her.”
Al shook his head no; that was going too far when she was plainly going to put the rest of them in danger.
“I said come help me get this girl out of this truck! I didn’t think I was talking to myself, Albert!”
Al gave in like he had his whole life and helped take the girl from the truck. There was so much blood that he couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“She has lost a lot of blood, Aunt Zoe,” Al said to her. “I think she is a lost cause.”
Zoe just kept poking and prodding around trying to find the wound. There was a nasty cut crossing her forehead, but it didn’t look deep enough for the rest of the mess. She decided the top had to go if she was going to prevent anymore loss. Clipped to the back of her hip was a knife that she took from the hardware store in Wisconsin. Reaching back, she unclipped it and placed the blade under the bottom of the shirt and ripped upwards toward the collar. There it was, Zoe thought, if there wasn’t so much blood, I would have seen it right off. Something had taken a chunk off the girl’s muscle off her shoulder, just above her breast.
“Joseph, run back to the bus and grab as many towels as you can carry.” Noticing the boy still standing there, like a deer in headlights, she added. “I am not going to tell you again, boy. Move!”
Joe snapped out of his dazed state and ran towards the bus as fast as he could.
“Mind you, tell those children to stay put for now!”
“Aunt Zoe, we can’t deal with anything like this. We don’t have the equipment,” Al stated.
Zoe went on to look at the wounds as if he wasn’t there. It looked to her like the bleeding by the shoulder had stopped for the most part. She didn’t know how it had stopped, but it had. The lesser wounds were another story; they were still bleeding badly.
“Albert, I do believe she will live through this just fine. Where is that boy with those towels? While you’re looking for him, grab me a jug of water and bring it back with you.”
Al was nearly floored, there was no way he was leaving her alone with a possible soon-to-be zombie. “I will not leave you alone, Aunt Zoe. Not with this!”
“Why? You figuring if she changes you will run over there, grab that rifle and shoot her before she takes to biting me? Get me that water, please, and hurry Joseph up.”
Al went to get the water; there wasn’t any use in arguing with her right now. If the girl started looking worse off, he would put up a fight Aunt Zoe would not forget anytime soon. Deep down he knew that wasn’t true. The only person who ever proved to be a match for Zoe was his grandmother.
With the towels and water, Zoe started cleaning up the blood and putting pressure on the wounds still bleeding. When she was satisfied, Zoe stood up and looked back at her boys, “Lord help them if anything happens to me; they are two lost souls.” She smiled at Al and pointed towards the bus, “I think for tonight, just to be safe, she should be put in your bus. Doesn’t hurt to be a little cautious while we are being merciful.”
“I don’t want to drive with her behind me like that; and with it getting dark, Joe will have to drive your bus.”
Zoe understood that; she couldn’t see so well anymore after dark, and there was no one Al would have to watch his back other than Joe. “We should sleep right here for now. We can leave her in that bus, and everyone bunk down in our bus.”
For the first time since they ran across this girl, Zoe was making some sense to him now. Even though it was probably more her way of saying, ‘OK, I understand your concerns, even if you are wrong. Al didn’t care; he would take that as a minor win. Any win with Aunt Zoe was a vote of confidence from her in your judgment. Not something earned easily.
“Joe, grab one of the pieces of plywood that we brought to put across the seats to make a bed. Put it across the very back seat so that we can see if she is lying there in the morning. I don’t guess if she changes over night there is any possibility of her opening the door, and I don’t want to get a surprise when I open it to go in.”
Joe nodded his head as he took off to get the plywood. “Bedding, too?” he asked.
“Just a blanket for tonight,” Aunt Zoe replied.
Zoe took in a long look at her nephew, remembering for a moment how glad she always had been to spend time with him. She was the one who would always tell him what was on her mind one way or another; good or bad. This was going to be one of those times when she had to let him know that he had disappointed her. Thinking a little longer about it she decided that maybe it hadn’t been all that bad. Albert had spoken his mind when he thought she was endangering everyone. That was better than him letting her drive them off a cliff. Perhaps this whole ‘end of the world thing’ was finally toughening him up a little bit.
“Al, once you guys get her settled, I will have the children help me get a fire started so we can eat before it gets dark.”
That was all she said to him as she passed him on the way back to the other bus. Al had known that look his whole life and it never ended that way before. Even while he was somewhat happy with himself, he couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong with her.
***
Virginia watched them pull Lori from the truck and work on her wounds. Then saw them pick her up and take her into the lead bus. Perseus, watching intently, let out a moan seeing this.
“That’s Ok boy, Lori isn’t like us. She will do better with those people than she will alone with us.”
For a moment Virginia truly believed that she felt that way. The pain of losing anyone else was not an option in her world right now, she told herself. There had been no tears since her mother was taken away and there would be none. Still, it was odd that they put Lori in one bus, while the rest went to the other. She watched silently as they cooked their food on an open fire made in the middle of the highway. After eating they all retired to the inside of the bus and there was no more movement.
Sometime over the course of the evening Virginia decided she would see her sister one more time. The plan involved going after dark, which would have driven Bob nuts. She wasn’t all that crazy about the idea he
rself, if she was being honest. Not giving herself away as being there right now, seemed to make it a little better. With the dogs, she would know if anything else was out there with her so it could be something she could pull off. Zeus and Perseus could keep watch while she went in the bus to say goodbye to Lori. At least this time she would get to tell someone goodbye.
Chapter 4
Most of the day had been overcast as a snowstorm came in from the northwest. The nights were so dark that Virginia couldn’t even make out the buses on the street, let alone the farmhouse just off to the side of the barn. Having decided to say goodbye to Lori was one thing; getting to Lori was another.
The safest way to get to Lori would be to go by route of the street. The quickest way would be to go across the field. The only problem with going that way would be the dogs. Virginia had never really thought about the fence along the highway. Would she have to climb it or she could simply step through it? The more she thought about it the less of an option it became. Being brave with the dogs in pitch black night she could do; being brave without, not so much.
Having had the decision made for her, Virginia gathered up the few things she wanted to bring with her. Mainly the crossbow, arrows, and an emergency flair she had found. Leading the way downstairs, it was comforting to see Zeus moving like his old self. Today was such a scare, that for an instant, Virginia thought about leaving him in the safety of the barn. Perseus could handle himself should anything come up; there was no doubt about that. What he couldn’t do without Zeus was avoid falling back into being a puppy, and Virginia couldn’t risk that at night.
Zeus led the way past the house and down the street; Perseus stayed next to Virginia’s side. Once her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she could make out Zeus in the lead, moving slow and steady down the middle of the street. The whole time it seemed like her heartbeat was so loud that it could be heard from a mile away. She felt only a little relief when the gravel beneath her feet transitioned to pavement. From there they were very near the buses.
As they approached the first bus, Virginia felt for the door and lightly pushed it open. As the door folded into itself, Virginia shook her head and wondered if the door to the other bus would open so easily. If there were any two’s nearby, they would be in this in an instant.
Telling the dogs to stay, she loaded an arrow into the crossbow and climbed the stairs. Unfortunately, like the strangers, she had no idea if Lori had changed or not. For now, it seemed being safer was the proper thing to do, no matter who it was in the bus.
At the top of the stairs she could hear Lori breathing heavy from the back of the bus. With each step she wondered if her sister would make it. Knowing that if she had been bitten that she would not survive didn’t stop her from thinking about it. When she had reached the makeshift bed, Lori’s figure could barely be made out. She didn’t know if Lori would make it, but she could tell easily that she had not turned. She didn’t even sound like she was in process of turning.
Virginia placed the back of her hand on Lori’s jaw and held it there for a few minutes, until the first tear tried to escape from her eyes. She wanted to check the other bus out, to see if it was better locked down than Lori’s had been.
“Perseus, come on boy, guard Lori,” she called out to Perseus as she climbed down out of the bus. Once he was inside Virginia pulled the door closed as best she could.
Zeus led the way to the other bus and stopped in front of the door. Once again Virginia lightly pushed the door into an open position and then froze to see if she could hear any movement inside. Hearing none, she once again climbed the steps with the crossbow at the ready. Once at the top she stood there listening again for movement. The only sounds were a light snoring and the normal, deep breathing of sleep.
“Zeus,” she called out and Zeus went up the stairs as Virginia pushed the lever, closing the doors.
The air grew colder as the sun came up and the first to stir looked up into Virginia’s eyes and the crossbow aimed at them. He made a sudden reach for his rifle and then thought better of it.
“Joey, if she wanted to kill us we would all be dead by now,” Aunt Zoe stated.
Virginia made a shush signal with her finger raised to her lips and pointed outside. There were around ten zombies, milling around the area where the fire had been. Virginia could see the look of alarm in their eyes when they turned back towards her. In a low voice she said, “Whatever you do, don’t shoot that rifle off now.”
“He doesn’t have any bullets,” Zoe replied, causing Virginia to smile at the thought of carrying a gun around with no bullets in it.
“They will move on unless we give them a reason to stay.”
Zoe and Joey nodded their heads that they understood.
Looking over the contents of the bus Virginia felt sorry for them. There were little or no supplies to be seen. They all looked like they were as cold as she was, despite the blankets wrapped around them. If she needed more proof that everyone left alive was just walking dead and did not yet know that they were dead, this bunch was it.
“Can anyone tell me why this girl is on the bus pointing an arrow at us?” Al asked in a groggy voice as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.
“That would be a good question, Albert,” Zoe replied, “Well?”
“I came down to say goodbye to my sister. I saw you put her in that other bus,” Virginia replied.
“You mean when we saved your sister, don’t you?” Joe asked
“Will she live?” Virginia asked Zoe.
Zoe looked into Virginia’s face then closed her eyes and shook her head no, “I really don’t know, child. We don’t have any medicines to give her.”
“We have them back at the bunker and it is a lot warmer there, or could be, than it is here.”
“How old are you girl?” Al asked looking concerned.
“I will be fourteen in a month--if I am still alive. Who knows with the way things are if I will make that or not?”
Al didn’t like the fact that this girl seemed to be holding all of the cards right now. He had a very specific plan to reach Florida. Contrary to what Aunt Zoe kept saying, that plan didn’t include picking up wounded people with troubled children. This child here was going to be a lot of trouble one way or the other he thought.
“If you’re planning on staying here, this bus is in a bad place,” Virginia added. “You might want to move it off of this main road and hunker down for a few hours.”
To prove her point Virginia pointed back up the road at the zombies. What had been a few milling about aimlessly was now up to about twenty or thirty, moving more directly.
“They stick to roads mostly when they move in large groups. We have always called them herds when their numbers get higher.”
They moved closer to the windows to get a better look. The girl was right about the numbers going up. It was like they were at a gathering spot waiting for others to join them.
“How many have you seen together?” Zoe asked.
“So many that it has looked like a river of dead moving slowly past.”
Al sat back down in his seat and bit his lower lip the way he had while in deep thought since he was a little boy. “I think we will be safe in the bus,” he stated.
“You will look like a packaged meal, but, suit yourself,” Virginia replied.
“What do you mean, child?” Zoe asked.
Virginia put down her crossbow and petted Zeus’s head. Without looking up she said, “Picture this bus surrounded by the dead for as far as the eye can see. When you can see that in your head take a few minutes and imagine that same group hungry. When you have imagined that, picture five alive, and moving creatures in this bus. Now when you can see all of that you just need to put it all together.”
Al may not have been able to see what she was talking about, but Zoe saw it plain as day. They would be trapped inside the bus with little food and less water for who knows how long.
“This place of yours would be safe fo
r all of us?” Zoe asked.
Virginia thought about it a few minutes. The truth was that she didn’t know for sure what they would find back at the bunker. Lori had been there and looks like she had barely gotten away. It was a bad sign that there had been no sign of the others. Not even the smoke from the chimney was visible.
“If it is clear, there is no place safer that I can think of. We would have to go take a look before moving everyone there.”
“Good, we will all just wait here for you and your dog to get back,” Al added.
“I don’t think you should stay on the road. Maybe you could move over by the farmhouse or into the barn,” Virginia said pointing towards the farm.
Al looked the farm over and got an idea. Why couldn’t they just wait out this “herd” in the farm?
“Maybe that is a good spot to hold out at,” he said finally.
“You can do whatever you think is best for you guys. I like to pick places that there aren’t a lot of places for them to find a way in. They are not very smart, but they do seem to stumble upon weak spots when they want in.”
Zoe was losing her patience with Al mentally fencing with this girl. From what she could see outside of the bus, they were losing precious time.
“OK child, what do you suggest we do?” Zoe asked.
Virginia thought for a few seconds then said, “We should take the vehicles over to the farm for now. I think we can fit one of them inside the barn to keep you and the children safe. Then we can take the truck over to the bunker and make sure it is clear. Once we know it is clear, or have cleared it, we come back here to get you guys and my sister.”
She looked at Zoe, Al, and Joe for their reaction. Seeing the lost looks on their faces made Virginia wonder if she was going to regret helping them out.
Al finally shook his head no, “This is all crazy!”
“Albert let’s just get the buses moved and take a look at her place. We know what is behind us; you can see them plain as day. I don’t know what is ahead of us, and neither do you. Right now, the safe bet would be to follow our new friend here, so get us moving!”