Bill slowed the Jeep and turned to him. “So, this road doesn’t actually go to your house?”
“No, it goes near my house.”
“How near?” Bill asked, not sure he really wanted to know.
Rich shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a mile.”
Bill sighed. “So, are we supposed to drive this through the virgin woods to your house? Is there another connecting road, or are we supposed to just leave the Jeep on the trail and hoof it through the trees in the general direction to your house?” Bill’s frustration levels rose with each possible scenario.
Rich grinned. “Whichever you choose. I’ll let you decide.”
Bill cocked his head to the side and stared at the other man. “Why don’t you give me a clue here. Just how hard is it going to be to get there?”
Rich shrugged. “Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve got a pretty well-worn path to this trail. The Jeep might get a few scratches going up it, but it should make it just fine.”
Bill nodded as he put the vehicle back in gear and pushed on. “Okay,” he muttered, “if you say so.”
Rich didn’t say much more until Bill cleared the top of a pretty steep climb. He reached out with his hand and patted his shoulder. “Stop here a second.”
Bill pressed the brake to hold the Jeep and asked, “What?”
Rich pointed to the top of what Bill might consider a small mountain. “See those lights up there?”
Bill had to lean forward and look to his left. At the top of the tree-covered hillside were, indeed, a few yellow lights laid out horizontally. “Yeah, I see them. What is that?”
Rich smiled broadly. “That’s my house.”
Chapter 13
Bob struggled with the small bag he carried as the three of them made their way back up the hills toward his brother’s RV. He knew he had to get the kids to safety before he’d be able to come back with reinforcements and search for Lucky. As he staggered along behind Buck and Skeeter, he fought not to gasp for breath. His shoulder throbbed and he felt weak in the legs, most probably from blood loss or low blood sugar, but his thoughts continually wandered, temporarily taking his mind off the pain. He wondered if Lucky was still alive out in those woods, and if she were, he wondered if there truly was any hope for her.
Buck paused and cast a glance over his shoulder at his dad who seemed to be getting slower with each passing minute. “You okay, Pops?” He tried to keep his voice low.
“Fine. Just keep moving.” Bob waved his son on.
Skeeter never slowed as the two interacted and Bob made a mental note to try to increase his pace. Buck quickly closed the gap to be by her side and Bob smiled as his son and the sullen girl shared an unspoken moment. He allowed himself to remember back when he and Lucky were younger. He remembered how they were once inseparable. He wasn’t sure what had happened these past few years. He wasn’t sure if the hurtful things Keri had yelled at her mother before she attacked her were actually true or not, but something in the pit of his stomach told him that it was.
He thought of his daughter and her madness. He remembered the red of her eyes and how she attacked her mother with such pure hatred. He felt his heart breaking as he thought of her now, laying in the floor of the RV, tied up like an animal, waiting for him to come back and take her to a doctor and pray that they could do something to help her.
Bob hadn’t realized he had stopped until Buck stood beside him again, gently pulling his arm. “Come on, Dad, we need to keep going,” he whispered.
Bob shook his head back to the here and now. “What?” He looked down at Buck, his mind not registering. “Oh, sorry,” he replied as he stumbled off again on their journey.
“If we go straight back to the motorcoach, it’s not so far. We detoured through a lot of camps and stuff on our way down.” He urged his dad to pick up the pace.
“Psst,” Skeeter called from the line of cars dotting the side of the road. “Over here.”
Buck and Bob both turned at the same time to see Skeeter standing next to an old beater of a car. She was holding up a key and smiling. “Mom always made my sister keep a spare under the fender in case she locked herself out.” Her smile slowly faded as she realized that her sister should have already made it back to the car if she had been able. She tried to shake it off and handed the key to Bob. “Driving up to the coach would be a lot better than walking, right?”
Bob nodded and took the key from her. “Right. Good job, Skeeter.” He patted her back as he pushed past her to slide behind the wheel. “Everybody pile in.”
Bob fired up the old car and switched on the lights. He quickly pulled the beast of a car out of the line and with a slow fourteen-point turnaround, got it turned in the other direction and headed up the hill toward Jerry’s motorcoach and the hot springs.
Buck kept a sharp eye out the window and listened for anything out of the ordinary. “I’m not seeing anything.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” Skeeter asked.
Bob shrugged. “Right now, I don’t know. There were so many people at that concert, and so many campers scattered throughout the park, they could be anywhere.”
“Let’s just get to the coach as fast as we can, Dad,” Buck said softly. “I have a really bad feeling.”
“You’re not the only one.” Bob replied.
Skeeter turned and stared out the rear window. She squinted into the darkness and pressed her face closer to the rear glass. “Oh, no…” she moaned.
Buck turned around and stared at her in the back seat. “What’s wrong?”
Skeeter turned back to the front and the expression she wore sent a cold shiver down Buck’s spine. “Behind us,” she whispered, her face pale.
Buck rolled down the window on the passenger door and stuck his head out to better see behind them. He could clearly see numerous figures sprinting up the hill behind them through the dust. “Oh, shit! “He pulled his head back inside and turned to his dad. “You better floor it.”
Bob shook his head. “This car can’t handle these roads, son. The suspension wouldn’t be able—”
Buck cut him off midsentence. “There’s a couple dozen of the zombies hauling ass behind us, dad! If we don’t move this thing, they’ll catch us before we make it to the coach!”
Bob’s eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. His foot pressed down on the accelerator and the car threw gravel as it gained speed up the hill. As the old rusted beast crested the top of the hill, the front tires threatened to lift from the ground, but Bob let off the gas long enough to keep traction. He turned the wheel and the car slid along the road, barely staying within the carved roadside ditches. He punched the accelerator again and the car shot off across the next flat parcel, bottoming the suspension as it hit the base of the next hill.
“How much farther?” Skeeter yelled from the back seat.
“Not much,” Bob yelled back. “We parked the coach at the top of the next rise. I think.”
“There was a big hot spring that we parked next to,” Buck added as he continually glanced behind them.
“Hot springs?” Skeeter asked. “There’s dozens of those around here. How do you know which one it is?”
Bob shook his head. “It was right off the road.” He turned the wheel again and slid the car through another corner. “That coach wasn’t getting far off-road. It’s too damned big.”
Buck leaned an arm across the front bench seat and faced her. “This thing is a house on wheels. But where we parked it, there’s plenty of room for Dad to turn it around and get us going back the other way.”
Skeeter’s eyes widened. “The other way?” she screeched. “You mean…like, toward the zombies?”
Buck smiled. “Like I said, this thing is a house on wheels. If they get in the way, it will be like hitting a squirrel with a normal car.” He grinned even bigger as his mind created a mental image.
Skeeter wasn’t convinced as Bob slid the car around another corner and accelerated up another short rise. “This
should be it.”
“How can you be sure?” Buck asked. He turned back around to the front and saw the rear of the motorcoach start to come into view. “Oh, thank God. I never thought I’d be happy to see that monster again.”
“You kids move quick,” Bob ordered. “I’ll pull up to the side door and you haul ass inside. I’ll lock the door behind us.”
Buck turned to him as he pulled up alongside the coach. “How do we know it’s still clear inside?”
Bob paused and stared at him. “Fuck.” He stepped from the car and pulled his pistol. “Get behind me. Be ready to lock that door. They could be here any second.”
Bob threw open the coach’s door and stepped inside. Flipping on the light, he scanned left and right with the pistol and glanced under the pullout bed. All clear in the forward area. He shot back to the bathroom and paused only a moment when he saw all the blood again. He opened the bedroom door and flipped on the light and heaved a sigh of relief to find it empty except for Keri on the floor, the comforter still over her.
“All clear,” he called.
“Door’s locked,” Buck said. “But I can see them coming up the hill!” Bob glanced at Buck who was pointing at the kitchen window.
Bob stepped to the window and could see dark figures sprinting up the hill, never slowing as they ran faster than people should be allowed to run. “Son of a…” Bob reached for his pocket and the keys to the RV.
Nothing.
Patting himself down, he turned to Buck, a look of surprise on his face. “Keys!” Buck simply shrugged. “I don’t have the keys.” Bob scrambled around the RV looking for them.
“I’ll check Mom’s clothes,” Buck said as he sprinted to the bathroom.
Bob ran to the front of the RV and checked the ignition. Not there. “They’re not up front!”
“Umm, are these what you’re looking for?” Skeeter asked, holding up a set of keys with a rabbit’s foot dangling from them.
“Yes!” Bob thrust his hand out. “Where did you find them?”
“Next to the pullout bed. And a wallet.” Skeeter handed him the wallet.
Bob patted his rear pocket and rolled his eyes. “You kids strap in and hold on. This won’t be smooth.” He glanced up at Buck and realized that the rear seat had been folded out into a bed. “Just lay down on the bed or something. And hold on!”
Bob started the huge engine and released the air brakes. Flipping the lever that pulled up the self-leveling system, he waited a moment for the light to turn green, all the while keeping an eye on the road for the quickly advancing figures. The system was only ninety percent complete and Bob muttered, “Screw it.” then threw the gear selector into DRIVE. Turning the large steering wheel, he began turning the RV around. He watched the area around their makeshift campsite light up in the huge halogen headlights as the behemoth turned and he stopped to back up. As Bob began backing up, he saw the first of the figures begin to crest the hill.
“Here they come! “He backed the motorcoach up as fast as he could, then slammed on the brakes, threw it into drive once more and gunned the accelerator.
The huge diesel engine in the rear of the coach belched black smoke as it lurched forward and the first of the infected leaped to attack the fleeing machine. The RV jumping forward wasn’t expected since it had been backing up when they ran to make their leaping attack and the sudden forward motion considerably closed the gap. The first attacker hit the large fiberglass section directly above the windshield with a sickening ‘thwack!’ and rolled away. The next set of attackers didn’t get a chance to leap at the machine and were rudely introduced to the very large stainless-steel bumper as Bob pushed the motorcoach forward and down the dirt road as fast as he dared.
More than once the coach lifted suddenly and something large could be heard thumping along under the machine as it rolled under the chassis, only to lift the coach once more when introduced to the dual rear wheels. Bob swore as he tried to navigate the huge coach down the winding dirt road while attempting to avoid the fast sprinting attackers.
“Language, Dad,” Buck teased, trying to lighten the mood. He suddenly felt much safer since they were locked securely inside the coach and his dad was once more behind the wheel. He could hear the zombies impacting the huge machine and either glancing off or bouncing around under them as they forcefully pushed their way down the mountain.
Bob ignored his comment as he kept his eyes glued to the road and the task at hand. “There’s so damn many of them. And I can’t take these curves too quickly, they’re too sharp.”
“Try not to lose too much speed, Pop,” Buck warned. “We don’t want to get swarmed by them.”
“Captain Obvious back there,” Bob quipped. “You’re worse than your mother when it comes to backseat driving.”
Buck nodded. “Yeah, but who’s the zombie expert in the family?” He hooked his thumbs back at himself. “This guy, that’s who.”
“This ain’t the movies, junior,” Bob said through gritted teeth as he tried to avoid a rather large and bloody body who stayed right in the middle of the road. When it impacted, the splatter sprayed the windshield, making it impossible to see. Bob flipped on the windshield wipers and hit the button to spray the glass, but it seemed to only smear the goo worse. He was effectively blind. “I can’t see shit!”
Buck leaned forward to see and felt his stomach fall. “Oh, no.” He jumped off the bed and ran forward. “Slow down.”
“I am! I couldn’t see much farther down the road because of this big fat guy and…shit!”
“Keep spraying!” Buck urged.
Bob continued to spray and run the wipers until Buck waved his hand. “I can see over here!” he shouted. “I’ll be your eyes! Go! Go!”
Bob gritted his teeth and pressed down on the accelerator. “How fast?”
“A little more, okay. Hold it. Ease to your left a little. A bit more,” Buck directed. “Now back to the right. More…now straighten it out.”
Bob’s nerves were shot, but he continued to drive. “How many are on the road?”
“A lot, but they’re shooting back and forth, like they’re looking for a way in,” Buck answered. “Okay, now slow down a hair, cuz we have a sharp curve coming up. You’ll be turning left. This is almost a ninety degree turn. Slow down a little more, okay, good…in three, two, one, TURN!”
Bob twisted the steering wheel and Buck fought the lean so that he could keep his eye out of the tiny opening in the glass. “Good! Now straighten it out,” he yelled excitedly. “Straight shot now, Dad, gun it!”
Bob accelerated and Buck directed him to ease one way or the other as the unevenness of the road pulled them one way or the other. “I’m really not liking this. I need to be able to see,” Bob nearly yelled.
“And if you smear this worse, I may lose this little opening that I can see out of. But it’s your choice, Dad.”
Bob stared at him a moment and knew, if he risked clearing the windshield just so he could see and they lost their only line of sight, it would be entirely his own fault. Buck wasn’t blaming him for wanting to try, but Bob would blame himself if they ended up dead in the water. He came back for the RV to get these kids out of here and to some place safe. If he screwed this up…
“No. You be my eyes. We’ve made it this far.”
“Then keep going straight. We’ve got a gentle downhill slope for a while. And I’m seeing cars up ahead.”
“Then we must be close to the concert.”
Skeeter spoke up, startling both of them, “Can we keep our eyes open for my sister then? I would just like to know.”
Bob glanced at her and nodded. “If you can see her through any of this, sure.” He motioned toward the windshield.
Skeeter made a face and shook her head. “If there’s nobody behind us in the side mirrors, I’ll go outside and clean some of that off,” she volunteered.
Bob and Buck both stiffened at the thought. “No, that may not be such a good idea.” Bob shook his
head.
“Yeah, just because we can’t see them in the rear mirrors, doesn’t mean they aren’t there, or can’t come out of the woods,” Buck added.
Skeeter didn’t like that answer, but she accepted it. She glanced out of a side window and sighed, her mind racing. “You know,” she said softly, “with the windshield all gunked up, you could have driven right past your wife and never known it.” She turned and faced Bob’s eyes staring at her in the rearview mirror. Shrugging, she added, “I suppose it’s even possible she could have been one of those speed bumps we ran over coming down the hill.” Skeeter’s voice never inflected an ounce of remorse or any other emotion, but she knew exactly what she was doing. She was playing upon his guilt and any other emotions he may be struggling with.
Bob’s eyes bore into her as she stared back at him, and he ground his teeth. She noted the skin near the side of his nose quiver and knew that her words had the desired effect as he fought with his inner demons. “Fine.”
“Dad!” Buck exclaimed from the passenger seat. “You can’t possibly be serious.”
“Skeeter, find something to clean the windshield with, I’ll keep us going until you have everything ready. Then I’ll stop this thing just long enough to jump out and clean what I can. You two can keep watch,” he stated. “At the first sign of anything moving, we’re all back inside.”
Skeeter was up and digging through the cabinets as soon as he spoke. She held up a bottle of glass cleaner and roll of paper towels. “Got it.”
Bob felt a cold chill run up his spine as he eyed the items in her hands. He goosed the accelerator then stomped the brakes. Everybody inside pitched forward as he set the parking brake. “Out! Now!” he ordered as they bolted for the door. “Remember, the first sign of anything, you holler and we scramble back in.”
Skeeter was the first one out and was rounding the front as Bob came up behind her. “Buck, watch this side. Don’t let anything close.” Buck nodded as he cocked the crossbow and stepped away from the door to give a wider angle of view. Bob grabbed the cleaner and towels from Skeeter and pointed to the other side of the RV. “You watch that side,” he ordered as he began spritzing the glass.
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