Running Wild

by Kristen Middleton

  I grit my teeth. “The only thing you are, Austin, is delusional.”

  His eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his skull, he was in such a rage. He stormed towards me and I backed away, this time thinking that maybe I went too far.

  “No, please!” I cried, desperately trying to escape.

  Then, amazingly enough, my much needed miracle happened; another seizure caught him off guard and he fell over. I watched in awe as his body writhed helplessly on the ground with each fierce spasm.

  “Austin?” I whispered hoarsely.

  He didn’t answer me and I didn't hesitate any longer. I moved towards him as quickly as possible while he continued to thrash around on the grass. My hands shook almost as violently as he did while I struggled to get what I needed; first the keys, then the cell phone, and finally the gun.

  I stood up and aimed the gun at Austin's head, desperate to be rid of him for good. But standing over him, I just couldn't bring myself to do it; although his feelings for me were twisted and he was probably already insane, I didn't have it in me to kill someone still breathing.

  “For the last time,” I said backing away from him. “If you can understand me at all, don't even think about following me.”

  Then I turned and limped as quickly as possible towards the spot we'd left the truck.

  ~~~

  Amazingly I made it back to the vehicle without Austin or any zombies interfering in my escape. Saying a silent thank you to my guardian angel, I climbed into the truck and locked the door.

  Leave and then call Bryce, I thought.

  I looked at the manual shift and frowned; damn stick shifts. I hadn't had any experience using a clutch except for the time I drove a friend home from a party who'd been drinking. Luckily, she'd been lucid enough to explain the basic concept of how to drive a stick, but it had been over six months ago and that time hadn't been a picnic either.

  “Come on bitch,” I mumbled, trying to get it into gear and moving successfully without having it stall on me.

  After a few more attempts I managed to get the truck moving smoothly and into the correct gear. When I finally made it to forty miles an hour in fifth gear without problems, I sighed in relief.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Bryce,” I said breathlessly into my cell phone.

  “Oh, thank God. Are you okay?” he asked.

  I sighed. “Well, I have a headache and a sprained ankle. Other than that, I’m doing okay.”

  My dad got on the phone. “Cassie, where are you, honey?”

  Hearing my dad’s voice, I had to blink back fresh tears. “To be honest, I really don’t know. I’m driving somewhere south on interstate thirty-five. There’s a lot of fields and farmland. I was too busy trying to get away from Austin to really find out.”

  “He’s a dead man,” he growled.

  “Actually, that’s closer to the truth than you could possibly imagine,” I said.

  “Good, it will save me the trouble. Where is he now?”

  “I left him back at this old farmhouse. He was having some kind of weird seizure, and I took off.”

  He sighed. “Did he…hurt you?”

  I didn’t want to worry my dad any more than he already was. “Not really. Look, I’m going to keep driving until I figure out where I am. I don’t want to run my cell battery down again, so I’ll call you back.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Dad, mom called my phone earlier. Austin lied to her though; she has no idea what’s going on.”

  “Get me that phone number so I can call her.”

  “I’ll look on the incoming call log and text it to you.”

  “I love you honey. Call us back as soon as you can. We’ll come get you.”

  I nodded. “Okay, I love you too, dad.”

  He hung up before I could ask to speak to Bryce; I so wanted to hear the sound of his voice again.

  It was just after four o’clock in the afternoon, according to my cell phone. My stomach was growling, my mouth so dry I would have pulled over to drink from a pond if I’d found one. But there was nothing, just trees, farmland, and an endless road.

  I took out my cell phone and scrolled down the call list to get a phone number for my mom. Now, I know that driving and texting is a dangerous combination and I don’t usually do things that reckless, but my head was still pretty fuzzy. As I tried to steer the truck and text the phone number, the one my mom had called from, to my dad, I slammed into the back of an old Cadillac that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

  “Shit!” I shrieked, watching as the car began to fishtail back and forth.

  The driver, a very elderly man wearing a cowboy hat, gained control of it. Then he laid on the horn, stuck his hand out the window, and flipped me off.

  I was both embarrassed and relieved to have found another living person on the road. I followed behind him at a safe distance for another mile and then he motioned for me to pull over to the side of the road. As I pulled up behind him, he got out of his car and shuffled towards me, cussing the entire way. He was tall, very thin, and dressed sort of like the “Marlboro Man”.

  Great, I thought, another cowboy.

  His fists were clenched and the look on his face was anything but friendly. When he stopped outside my driver’s window, he snorted and shook his head.

  “Well, now this makes sense,” he barked. “Teenaged girls shouldn’t be allowed on the road. None of them can drive worth squat.”

  My jaw dropped. “That’s not fair. Look, I’m sorry for hitting you, it was an accident. But you don’t have to get all huffy about it.”

  The cranky old man raised his hand, making a yapping motion with his fingers. “Are you still talking? Listen, that’s the problem with young people these days. I’ll bet you were even on your phone when you hit me. Come on, tell me I’m wrong?”

  I wasn’t about to admit he was right, so I just stared at him defiantly.

  His eyes narrowed as he pulled out a small container of chewing tobacco from his pocket. “You know, you could have killed me and my girlfriend. You’re just lucky she’s such a heavy sleeper. She’d have kicked your butt from here to Hong Kong.”

  Just then, a woman got out of his car and walked over. The look on her face was both troubled and apologetic. She stared at the old man’s face and sighed. “Henry, you’re not giving this young girl a hard time, are you?”

  Henry’s entire demeanor changed. He went from a total crab ass to “Pepe Le Pew”.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” he said tenderly. “Go back to the car and rest. I can handle this.”

  “Hi, I’m Mary,” she said, holding her hand out to me. She looked a couple decades younger than Henry and reminded me of the southern lady with the cooking show, Paula Deen. “I’m sorry for any trouble this old fart has caused you. I know he can be a little…ornery.”

  “Actually, it’s my fault. I rear-ended you,” I admitted, although grateful for Mary’s kindness.

  He spit out a brown wad of chewing tobacco and scowled. “You’re darn tootin’ it was your fault. You and your parents are going to pay for these damages, too. Get them on the horn and tell them I prefer cash.”

  “Henry,” sighed Mary. “This isn’t even your car.” She looked at me again. “We took it from the parking lot of the retirement home I worked for. Henry, here, was one of the tenants.”

  I bit back a smile. “Oh, he said you were his girlfriend.”

  Mary threw her head back and roared with laughter. “Oh, lord! He tells everyone that. I tell you what, this old man’s so frisky; he makes Hugh Hefner seem under-sexed.”

  Henry tilted his cowboy hat and grinned adoringly at Mary. “I’m eighty-nine with the libido of a twenty-five year old. Come on Mary… live on the edge for once.”

  She let out a ragged sigh and shook her head. “Those darn free samples of Viagra. Some salesperson dropped off a bunch during Bingo last week and Henry got his hands on some. Now he won’t keep his mitts to himself.” />
  He took out his chew tin again and started pinching more of the brown stuff between his gnarled old fingers. Before he placed it in his mouth, he smiled wickedly and said, “Good times are coming your way, Mary. You ever hear that expression “save a horse and ride a cowboy?” I haven’t put my horses out to pasture yet, by golly, I am one mean steed.”

  “Okay,” I said raising my own hands; this whole conversation was making me queasy. “This is interesting and all, but if everyone’s okay, I really should be going.”

  Mary looked at me and frowned. “Are you okay, dear? You’re looking a little pale.”

  I was indeed getting very lightheaded. “Actually, I’m not feeling so good.”

  The last thing I remember before the darkness set in was the sound of Henry, groaning in dismay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I woke up in the back of their Cadillac, listening to Johnny Cash. The air conditioner was on and the leather felt cool against my warm cheek. Trying to ignore the urge to puke, I slowly sat up.

  “Oh good, she’s awake,” said Mary, smiling brightly at me from the front seat.

  “Water, please?” I croaked. My throat was so dry it hurt to swallow.

  “Of course, you poor dear,” she replied. She bent down in front of her legs and came back with a large bottle of water.

  “Thanks,” I whispered gratefully. The cool water soothed my dehydrated throat and I couldn’t stop drinking the bottle until it was completely gone.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” said Mary. “We had to take you with us on account of some zombies that were heading our way right when you were passing out. Don’t worry, though, we grabbed your gun and cell phone. There didn’t appear to be much more than that.”

  Henry muttered. “No, mustn’t forget the girl’s cell phone.”

  I ignored his sarcasm and thanked both of them instead. “Where are we going?” I asked as Mary handed me the phone and Ruger.

  “We’re heading towards Nashville,” said Henry. “Meeting my grandson, Tiny, out there.”

  Tiny?

  “Well, where are we now?” I asked, looking out the window. The roads were all identical, nothing but farmland.

  Henry pulled out an unlit cigar from his mouth he’d apparently been chewing on. “We’ve just passed through Canton and are heading south on interstate seventy-four. We should be in Nashville in… oh… roughly eight hours. If we don’t run into any more trouble or crazy assed drivers,” he answered with the hint of a smile.

  “Honey, is there somewhere we can drop you off? I mean, you’re certainly welcome to stay with us,” said Mary. She bit the side of her lip. “That is…if you don’t have anyone left.”

  “My dad and some close friends are heading towards Atlanta,” I said. “I suppose they can just meet us in Nashville; if you don’t mind me tagging along, that far.”

  Henry opened his mouth to say something but Mary cut him off. “Listen, we’d love your company. What’s your name, honey?”

  “Cassandra Wild,” I said. “You can just call me Cassie.”

  Henry snorted. “Wild, huh? Well, if that just aint another sign from God to stay off the damn road.”

  “Now Henry,” murmured Mary. “Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy.”

  My stomach growled. “You…you wouldn’t happen to have anything to eat?” I asked. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had food.

  “Actually,” said Mary. “We were on our way to find something to eat ourselves. We didn’t exactly have time to prepare for a road trip.”

  “There’s a diner coming up soon. Might be some food there,” said Henry.

  Mary snorted. “Or we might be the food.”

  I sat back and called my dad to let him know what was happening. He agreed to meet up in Nashville; they were also, finally, on the road.

  “You talk to mom?” I asked.

  He released a ragged breath. “I did. She said your sister’s in some kind of coma. Allie woke up once and was acting very erratic, so they had to subdue her by putting her to sleep. Now she’s in a coma again and hasn’t woken up.”

  “Oh, poor Allie,” I whispered. “Is there anything they can do for her?”

  “Well, I guess there is some kind of experimental drug, but the scientist who was working on it is missing. They aren’t sure if he’s alive or what the hell is going on.”

  “Did he get the vaccine?”

  “No, he didn’t. In fact he was against the vaccine from the very beginning. That’s why he initially began experimenting with some of the components in the drug, to find something that might counteract any negative effects the vaccine created.”

  “Great, and now he’s missing?”

  “Yes. They’re searching for him, though. He has an underground bomb shelter located somewhere in Atlanta, but he was always secretive about its location. The good news is that he was still alive when the zombies started waking up. Unfortunately, nobody’s heard from him since.”

  “God, I hope he’s still alive and they can locate him.”

  “Me too and we aren’t the only ones. I guess the facility where the CDC is located is getting bombarded with survivors and their family members needing help.”

  “I’m sure they’ll figure something out.”

  “Hope so.”

  “Dad…can I call mom?”

  I just wanted to hear the sound of her voice, to know she was really alive and not just a voice in my dreams.

  “Sorry honey, maybe later. The cell phone she’s been using is being shared by a number of people, so calls are limited. Your mom told me to tell you she loves you very much and to stay safe. Don’t take any risky chances. She wants both of you girls alive,” his voice cracked. “So do I.”

  “I’ll do the best I can,” I answered.

  Dad cleared his throat. “Call me when you get to Nashville and we’ll meet you somewhere, safe. Also, thank that couple for me too. I owe them, big time.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Dad, can I talk to Bryce really quickly?”

  He paused. “Well, he’s driving the other vehicle right now. He gave me his cell phone to use, just in case you called.”

  “Oh, okay. Um, who’s driving with him in the van?” I asked, biting the side of my lip. I know it was petty, but the thought of Eva being anywhere near Bryce still irritated me.

  “Let’s see…Eva, Paige, Kylie, and Kristie,” he answered then snorted. “I think there’s a romance brewing in the mist.”

  My heart thumped loudly in my chest. “What…what do you mean?”

  “Well… Eva and Bryce. She follows him around like a puppy dog and if I didn’t know it any better, he’s eating up all the adoration. Every time I turn around she has her hands on him and they’re laughing.”

  I closed my eyes and tried not to throw up all over Henry’s backseat.

  ~~~

  We sat in silence as we drove the next several miles to find edible food. Eventually, we came to a truck-stop diner called “Gramma’s Grub”. Although there were a few cars in the parking lot, it looked pretty uninhabited.

  “This place use to serve the best steak and eggs,” sighed Henry as he shut off the ignition. “It’s surely a shame that I’ll probably never get to enjoy another meal here or tease one of those purdy little waitresses. Yessiree, the owner sure knew how to keep his customer’s happy.”

  Mary’s eyebrows raised and she punched him playfully on the arm. “Purdy waitresses huh? I thought you were saving yourself for me, Old Timer.”

  He turned to her with such a startled look, that I thought he may have filled his Depends. When he eventually composed himself, he let out a deep raspy chuckle. “Mary,” he said clearing his throat. “I just love it when you talk dirty, my little puddin’.”

  Mary laughed heartily and patted him on the back. “Hen, you better stop. You’re going to make me pee my pants and I don’t have any spares!”

  He rubbed his jaw and smirked. “Speaking of getting out of your pants…”


  I interrupted him before he could finish. The banter between them was making me a little ill. “Hey, I have a great idea. Let’s go inside that restaurant and see if there’s any food left.”

  “Now that sounds like a good idea,” replied Mary.

  “Let’s go ladies,” said Henry as he opened his door.

  We all got out with our weapons raised. I still had the Ruger with a few bullets left, Henry had an old Winchester shotgun and Mary took out some type of Samurai sword. I chuckled as she removed it carefully from the scabbard and raised it, ready for battle.

  “Where’d you get that Katana, Mary?” I asked.

  She winked. “From this wonderful garage sale last summer. It’s a beaut isn’t it?”

  I nodded. “Yes, very impressive. Have you used it on any zombies?”

  Mary nodded proudly. “Oh yeah, things so sharp it’s like cutting through butter.”

  “You better at shootin’ then you are at driving, young lady?” asked Henry, eyeing my gun.

  I nodded. “Probably. I do miss my war hammer though. It came in handy when I ran out of ammunition.”

  He nodded. “War hammer huh? I’ve seen those things before. Yes, they would certainly do the trick and right nicely, I reckon.”

  The smell in the diner was a mixture of spoiled food, feces, and death. I raised the gun and looked around nervously.

  “Mary, get down on your knees!” shouted Henry, raising his own gun.

  She gave him a disgusted look. “I told you before, I don’t…”

  Henry’s gun went off a second after I pulled her to the floor. There was a loud thud as the zombie’s body dropped. Mary let out a low moan and her entire body began to tremble.

  “It’s okay,” I whispered, squeezing her shoulder.

  Henry cackled loudly and spit out his chew. “Gotcha…you son-of-a-bitch.”

  I stood up and limped over to the zombie who was now resting in peace on the other side of the room; a naked bald man with a swastika tattoo on his chest. His body was so rotted and gnarly that I had turn away before I added to the disgusting sight.