“I’d like that, “she says.
Walking out of the restrooms, the guys are there waiting for us. We decide not to look for anything to eat since Tara and I got stuff at the fueling station. We will just eat in the trucks as we drive. I am fine with it. It will put us home that much earlier. We pass a gift shop that has been ransacked, but Sally and Tara go in to see what they can find. I wait outside with Mack keeping watch. Turning to the right, I hear what sounds to be moaning.
“Mack, do you hear that?” I ask starting towards the sound. He is right next to me as we move slowly towards it.
“Yeah I do, and I don’t like it,” he says.
Stopping at a turn, we go left and see at least twenty zombies behind a folding gate. Shit, this isn’t good. This is why we did not see anything in here. Somehow, someone locked them all in here.
"Mack, we need to get out of here. Now that they know we’re here, that gate isn’t going to hold,” I say turning around and jogging towards the others.
“Guys, we gotta go now, there’s zombies locked up around the corner, and that gate isn’t going to hold them,” I say quickly
Turning around, we run through the building and head outside. Slowing down, we walk quickly to the trucks. Tara grabs her stuff and two of the special bags and heads to the truck with her mom. We head out of the parking area slowly going around the vehicles that are in our way. It takes us ten minutes, but we are back on the highway, going just as slow. Todd makes himself comfortable and closes his eyes.
“Mack, when will we be close enough to use the walkies to get hold of the house?”
“I’d say here in a few hours. It’s going to feel good to hear them, huh?” he asks.
Letting out a heavy breath, I say, “Yeah, it is. I’ve really missed them. And can’t wait to get home. I hope that everything has gone smooth there while we’ve been gone. “
“The last time I talked to Nate, everything was fine. Hank had everything under control,” he says.
Mack slows down and we watch a herd of deer running across the highway. We have to stop the herd is so big.
“Mack, what on earth could make that many deer run like that?” He doesn’t get to answer me because a horde of zombies start coming out of the woods on the side of the road. A few of them have taken down a smaller deer and are eating it.
“Oh my God, Mack, are you seeing this?”
“Yeah Egypt, I think they are getting smarter. Which isn’t good for us,” he says. Speeding up, we go past the carnage, swerving to miss the few zombies that are crossing the road. After that, it’s smooth sailing for a while. Mack and I make small talk about the things that will need to be done once we are back. The only thing that is not brought up is us. I mean, will he stay with me? Or go back out in the RV. I do not want to bring it up. I will let what happens, happen. The others at the house do not know about us and everything that has happened. There is time for all that later. We drive a few hours in silence. It is nice that we do not always have to talk.
“Egypt, look,” he says, I can hear the excitement in his voice. Looking over I see a sign saying welcome to Ohio. I never thought that I would be this happy to be in Ohio. Laughing, I cannot sit still. We have four hours to go give or take. Todd wakes up wondering why we are all excited and Mack tells him. You can tell Todd is happy to be getting close. It is getting dark out. One of our rules is we are not to drive at night. But today we are going to break it and keep pushing through. All of us want to get home. No one more than myself, my kids, family and you cannot forget about my dogs. I have missed them all.
“Todd, have you ever been to Ohio?” Looking over my shoulder at him.
“Nope, I’ve been in Georgia all my life. Until now that is,” he murmurs.
“Yeah, it’s a big difference weather-wise. We’re in September now, so it’s starting to get cooler. I’m going to miss Georgia weather that’s for sure,” I say laughing. I am not really a cold-weather person, but what can you do? And all that snow. It is going to be tough this year, though. The RVs have heaters in them and the house has a furnace plus fireplaces. The kids are going to be cooped up more, but we will get through it.
** An hour away from home**
“Mack, let’s stop on the side of the highway somewhere. I gotta go and I don’t want to chance it at a rest stop.”
“I agree while we’re stopped you can try the walkies to the house,” Mack says smiling. That man knows the way to my heart! Pulling over, we stop and all get out. It is eerie quiet on the side of the road. I walk back to the other truck and tell Sally what I am doing. She decides to do the same- waking up Tara and making her go, too. We walk to the back of the truck and take turns. Not the nicest way to go, but it’s safe.
“Egypt, will they let us stay there at the house we’re going to?” Sally asks as we walk back to the trucks. Looking over at her shaking my head.
“That’s my house, Sally. What I say goes. So yes you can stay with us as long as you don’t put anyone in danger. We’ll be there in about an hour or a little bit longer. She gets back into the truck with Tara. I see the guys up in front of the other truck, making my way they are all talking and laughing. It is good to see everyone a little happier than in the past few weeks. Mack hands me the walkie and I take it with shaky hands. Mack lifts me up on the hood of the truck. He stays in front of me as I push the button. Taking my hand off I cannot do it. Mack takes it from me, pushing the button….
“Anyone out there, over,” he says.
“Mack is that you? This is Nate over,” Nate says.
“I have someone that wants to talk to you, over,” he replies.
He hands me the walkie and for the first time in my life I do not know what to say, but at the same time I have tons to say.
“Nate, it’s mom, over.”
“MOM is it really you? Mack said he got you, but…” he says. I hear his voice give a little. Nothing in the world can hold a mother’s love in for her sons.
“It’s me, Nate, we’re about an hour away. You going to be ready for us?” I ask.
It’s quiet for a few minutes looking over at Mack he just shakes his head.
“Sorry about that, Mom, everyone’s here.” I can hear everyone talking in the background they sound excited. Tears start to well in my eyes and make their way down my face. I smile.
“It’s nice to hear everyone there. Nate, we’re coming home be ready. Over and out,” I say, smiling. He must not have turned it off because you can hear everyone talking about what needs to be done. I think I even heard my mom say something about food. It’s going to be two in the morning when we get there. Laughing, I wipe the tears off my face. Mack helps me jump down and we all pile in the trucks and head home.
We make it into Salem. It is so dark with no street lights or anything. It is like I have never seen this place before. Houses are burnt to the ground. The ones that are left are boarded up and then some of them are just trashed. We pass a couple that have candles or something lighting them up.
“Mack, you see that? There're people inside.” He looks to where I’m pointing
“They are trying to make it like we are. I sure wouldn’t stay in the city, though. Very risky,” he says.
Mack slams the brakes so hard that I go flying into the dash. His strong arm comes around my chest to stop me. Looking over at him like he’s crazy.
“What the hell was that for, Mack?”
“Look out ahead of us,” he says. Slowly turning my head, I do as he asks. I do not want to because every time Mack says something like that it is never good. Turning my head, I see the biggest horde of zombies that I have ever seen. Looking around I cannot believe what I am seeing. Slowly opening my door I slide out. Looking over at Mack, he does the same thing. Todd stays in the truck. Walking over to Mack’s side we wait for Sal. Once he gets to us, they are waiting for me to tell them what is up.
“We need to try and get closer, to see what’s going on. They haven’t noticed us yet,” I hear Mack
talking into the walkie and puts it on the seat of the truck. Nodding to them we make our way to the zombies. I cannot really see much other than what’s right in front of us.
“Mack, we need to get up high,” I whisper to him. I think we could talk normally with the sounds the zombies are making. Nodding, we follow him to one of the old buildings. Slowly going in, we make our way to the stairs. Not hearing anything we make our way up to the roof. Once outside, the noise is almost too much. I want to grab at my ears, but I know that I can’t. We make our way to the edge of the building and look over. Holding back a scream with my hand over my mouth, I cannot believe what I am seeing. Watching for a few minutes, there must be a thousand down there! They are slowly making their way North. None of us talk as we run as fast as we can to the trucks. Once we are there, we are too out of breath to do much more than grab water and drink it down.
“Guys, we need to talk about this we really do. But at this point, I think we need to just get home. And call a meeting. TONIGHT!” Looking at them they know they can say whatever they want.
“Agreed,” Sal says. Both of us look at Mack, waiting to see what he says.
“We need to get the hell out of here now!” he says.
We pile in the trucks and head for home. We have to go around the horde which puts twenty minutes on us. No one talks, even though Todd really wants to know what we saw. Hell, I don’t know what we saw but whatever it was it is not good. We hit Berlin Center and it just smells like home. Smiling to myself I cannot wait to get behind the gates. All this new stuff can wait for a few hours. Lacing my hands through Mack’s he gives it a squeeze.
Chapter 19
Watching out the window as we drive on the familiar roads, I am so happy to finally be home. There were a few great times away from home like Mack, but other than that I would love to forget everything else that happened. I do understand that I really cannot forget, but at least I can push it all to the back of my mind. Only coming out when it has to. I think it has, believe it or not, made me a stronger person. Feeling the truck slow down, I look up to see my road Berlin Station. Sitting up straighter, I watch as we make the turn.
“This is it, Todd, a few miles more,” I say grinning at him. Grabbing the walkie, I hit the button.
“Nate, three minutes out, be ready,” I say
“Got ya, Mom, we’re ready,” he says.
As we go down the little dip in the road, there are a few zombies milling around. This is the first we have seen any since we left Salem.
“Nate, we’re coming in hot and with company that will be staying with us, over.”
“Ten-four, Mom,” he says.
Sitting up closer, I watch as the house comes into view. Mack slows until we are stopped in front of the gate. Looking at the house, I see two people up on the roof deck, and two people standing at the gate. They must be standing on something. That is new but good. I’m so proud that they are doing what I have told them. Even if I am not here.
As the gate opens, my heart starts racing. I am home! I can see my family watching out the windows of the house. In front of the garage there is Nate, Liam, Hank, Tabitha, and Pete. A small cry comes out of me. Mack stops as fast as he can. Shoving the door open I jump out, running to them. They all meet me half way. At this point, I do not know who I am hugging or what we are saying. I cannot really see because of the tears falling from my eyes. I have never been this happy before. After about 15 minutes, I step back and just look at my family and I know that I am going to be fine. We are together and for now, we are all safe. Looking at Liam and Nate they have both gotten taller. They are growing up into fine young men. Looking over at Tabitha with her long hair and her tummy as big as it is with my first grandbaby. Then there is Hank and Pete. They look about the same.
Feeling bad for the others, I turn around and they are all by the truck, they gave me this time with my family. It is what I needed the most and they knew it. Motioning with my hand, I tell them all to come on over. Mack comes over to my side, but not too close. I introduce the others to my family. Tabby, really pays attention to Tara. Smiling, I watch as everyone welcomes them to our group.
“Hank, we need to find a place for them to stay tonight. We will get it sorted tomorrow. I know they are tired. We have been awake almost 24 hours.”
“It’s being taken care of for the night, Egypt.” Shaking my head I look at Mack and he smiles that smile that makes my head spin.
Turning to them, I say, "Guys, Hank will get you settled for the night. We will talk tomorrow. I am going to go see the rest of my family. Mack can you go with Hank?” With that, I walk towards the house and the rest of my family. The door opens and as I walk in, I am tackled at the knees from Rufus and baby Herk. Dropping down, I hug them to me and do not let go for what seems like days. Finally after a lot of kissing and hugging they wiggle to get away from me. They stay right with me as we head into the kitchen where I know the rest of my family waits. Looking around, I see who I need to wrap my arms around.
Crying out, I rush to my mother. She looks a little bit thinner than the last time I saw her. She holds me until I settle down. I do not get to say anything else before I am passed around the family with hugs and whispered words. I do not think there is a dry eye in the house. Pete, Mack, Sal, and Hank all come in and sit at the table. My mom pushes me to sit down. Aunt Nancy and Gabriella start putting food out for us. Looking at the spread, it is nothing hot this late or should I say early in the morning. But it is good to eat. After we all get what we want, I sit back and watch everyone finish up.
“Guys, there’s something we need to discuss before we can all get to bed.” Looking around, I know I got their attention. “Let’s go in the command room so that the gals here can clean up.”
Standing up, I start to the garage that we use for the command center. Looking around, Nate is watching the screens. Walking over to the seating area, I sit in the loveseat. Mack comes over and sits next to me. Everyone else finds somewhere and sits down waiting for me to start.
“First, I want to say thank you, Hank, for taking control while I was gone.”
“You’re welcome, Egypt. That’s what I’m here for, but I’m glad you’re back and taking back over,” he says laughing.
“OK, let’s get to the point. I’m tired and really want to sleep in my own bed.” Everyone starts laughing and I have to admit it does sound a bit whiny. “When we came up on Salem, we had to take a roundabout way here,” I say looking at everyone.
“Why’s that, Egypt?” Pete asks.
“The road was blocked by zombies. We ended up getting out and getting to higher ground to see what was going on. All that I can tell you is that there were thousands of them. And I mean thousands.” I sit there as everyone starts talking at once, I don’t have the energy to stop them.
“Egypt, what are you saying?” Hank asks over everyone else. Everyone gets quiet again to see what I’m about to say. Looking over at Mack, he laces our fingers together. Looking over at Pete, he’s grinning with his eyebrows raised.
“They are all headed in the same direction. They're coming this way it looks like.” I get cut off with everyone yelling and talking at once. Damn this is what I get with all this testosterone in one room. Standing up I’ve had enough.
“I know what I saw. And I’m telling you they are coming this way. So this is what’s going to happen if everyone will shut the hell up.” Everyone stops talking at once and looks over at me. Hank is grinning, but watches me like a hawk.
“Tomorrow we will go scout out Salem and see if they are in fact heading this way. In the meantime, we need to reinforce the fences around this place. Hank we will need to talk tomorrow about a few ideas I have.” Looking at my family and friends it is great to be home.
“OK, Egypt. I’m heading to bed, why don’t you guys sleep in? We will meet up midmorning,” Hank says. He gets up and heads into the house.
“Mack, did you get the others situated for the night?” I look over at him, h
e looks tired.
“Yea, they are in the RV with Sal and me,” he says. Nodding, I stand up and stretch. The others all go their own ways. Looking over at Mack, he walks over and wraps his arms around me. Laying my head on his chest.
“Mack, will you stay with me?” I cannot look at him, so I stay how I am.
“Are you sure? There’s nothing more that I’d love to do, Egypt,” he whispers in my ear.
“Then it’s settled,” I say, taking him by his hand we head into the house. Turning my head, I tell Nate goodnight and if that little goof does not have a huge grin on his face. As we walk in, I hear him laughing. Mack chuckles behind me. Hitting the kitchen it is dark with only a dim light on. The living room and hallway are the same. Coming to the last door, I turn the knob and open it. Looking around the room, there is no need to turn on the lights, there are candles everywhere. The dogs run in ahead of us. Turning around, Mack shuts the door and locks it.
"Don’t look at me like that. I was with you,” he says grinning. He walks over to the chair and throws our bags down on it. Walking over to the patio door, I open it up so the dogs can go outside. Making my way to the bathroom, I start taking off my clothes, throwing them on the floor behind me.
From the corner of my eyes, I can see Mack stopping what he is doing and watching me. Grinning, I turn on the shower and wait for it to get hot. I know he will wait a few minutes, but he will join me. Sliding in, I let the water move over my body. It washes away all of the bad we have seen today. I do my hair first to get it out of the way. And then shave. I take my time on that, a little because I now have an audience watching me. Slowing, I grab for the soap and squeeze some on my hands. Grinning a bit, I rub my hands up and down my body.
Suddenly the shower door pops open and Mack is just standing there. He is fully naked. I let my eyes travel the length of him. Swallowing hard, I look up into his eyes and I know what he wants, but he will not come in if I don’t tell him to. Reaching out, I grab his hand and pull him in.
The Outbreak Series (Book 2): Outbreak The Living Page 13