“Did you ever have any doubt?” Jose lightly chuckled.
“None whatsoever.” Artemis shook his head. “Alright, we got the kids, and the keys, now where are the vehicles kept?”
“They’re all parked in the front, closest to the barricade.” Jose replied as he brushed past Artemis to lead the way. “Follow me, and stay quiet.”
They all trailed behind Jose who led them all the way to the front street closest to the barricade. As they came up to the cars they noticed a few of the soldiers on patrol, all armed. They paused, ducking down beside a yellow hummer. Jose held a finger to his lips, and they all nodded their understanding. Hunched over they waddled along, using the vehicles as cover. They came up to a black range rover. Jose held his hand up to tell them to stop.
“Get in fast, stay down.” Jose whispered. The twins moved to get to the rear passenger doors. Jose held up one finger, then two and finally three and they reached up and opened the doors, moving as fast as they could. Jose jumped over into the driver’s seat and thrust the keys into the ignition and turned it, causing the engine to roar to life. The soldiers on patrol all turned towards them, their rifles pulled and aimed at the vehicle.
Throwing it into drive he took off, ramming the bumper of the car directly in front of them. Shots rang out. Wade ducked himself over his sister, using his body to protect her as Jose took a hard right.
“We have to get to the weakest part of the barricade or we’ll never make it out!” Jose cried out.
“Where’s that?” Artemis asked.
“The front gate. Hold on!” Jose took another hard right. “Look, there it is! We have about a hundred yards to go!” They saw a group of soldiers running to use themselves as shields. They all had weapons pointed at them. The soldiers were obviously betting that if their shots didn’t stop them their bodies would. Not everyone could just plow through a group of people. Jose pushed the gas pedal down until it touched the carpet.
“Brace yourselves!” Artemis cried out to the twins, who grabbed hold of each other with one hand and used their other hands to grab hold of the seat. More shots rang out in their direction right before they felt the vehicle jar slightly, followed by a large crash. Wren and Wade looked up long enough to see pieces of wood go flying through the air.
Jose didn’t slow down, he kept going as fast as he could down the streets of Baton Rouge. Wren and Wade sat up slowly, unsure of the safety of the situation.
“You did it!” Artemis cried out.
“We did it.” Jose corrected him.
“No, you got us out of there. Thank you for saving us.” Wren leaned up towards the driver’s seat.
“I wouldn’t thank me just yet. They’re probably right behind us. We’re gonna have to ditch this ride soon, find another car and keep going. Pray they stop chasing us.” Jose spoke as he continued to look in the rear view mirror in case they had already been caught up to.
“Take the car as far as you can. We’ll stop when we have to.” Artemis was also looking behind them. “They won’t chase us forever. Sarge is more of an instant gratification kind of man. He’ll give up at some point.”
“Where are we going to go now?” Wade asked. “We don’t have any of our stuff. We left everything back there.”
“First, we’re gonna find a ride. After that we will stop and look for food and supplies, most importantly weapons. But first we need to figure out a road to take that Sarge is gonna think we didn’t take.” Jose shook his head.
“Well, which way seems crazy to go?” Wren asked, looking to Artemis for answers.
“I don’t know. Texas seems logical, so does going east. I say we try to head towards somewhere like Kansas.” He replied.
“Kansas? Why the hell would we go to there?” Jose looked over at his friend like he was insane.
“It’s flat country. You can see for miles.” Artemis turned and looked to the twins. “But we have to vote on it, we’re a team, right?”
“Right.” Wade and Wren replied in unison.
“A team? Alright, I can be down with that. So what do you two think? Kansas?” Jose asked, looking at their faces in the mirror. Wren and Wade exchanged looks for a moment, before turning to give their response.
“We trust Artemis, if he says Kansas is the best place to go, then I guess that’s we’re going.” Wren replied.
“Yeah, turns out Oz is a bit jacked up.” Wade interjected. Artemis laughed out loud, a strong and deep belly laugh.
“You’re alright kid.” Jose stated as he smirked. He pointed out in front of himself. “Look, city limits!”
“We’re getting the hell out of Baton Rouge!” Artemis looked behind them, out through the back window. “I don’t see anyone following us, I think we’re safe.”
“I think we should try to find a place to bed down before the sun goes down.” Wren reached down to retie her bootlace.
“I think that sounds like a good idea. We’ll ditch the car though, far away from where we land. If they are following us, the last thing we want to do is to park this bad boy right in front of where we are sleeping.” Jose sighed.
“Agreed. No point in inviting trouble if we can avoid it, that’s for sure.” Wade nodded.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I parked the rover about four blocks south of here.” Jose said as he came in through the door. They had once again found themselves in a small mom and pop grocery store. They had pushed the shelves over against the windows, just as they had before. The situation made Wren uncomfortable, all she could see were things that reminded her of her Dad and brother. Artemis blocked the front door before joining them.
“I wish we had that little camping stove.” Wade sighed as once again he was shoveling cold beans into his mouth directly out of a can.
“You’re preaching to the choir.” Artemis smiled. “That sure was nice.”
“Once we get the hell out of Louisiana we’ll scope out another retail store. With any luck we can restock everything we lost.” Wren fidgeted.
“I think that sounds like a good plan. I don’t want to stop too much. I’m really afraid that Sarge sent men out after us.” Jose chewed is lip nervously.
“He’s probably busy fixing that hole in his fence.” Wade suggested.
“That would be the smart thing to do, if not that’s really just inviting trouble in.” Artemis nodded.
“Maybe we got lucky and he got his face ripped off by zombies.” Wren flourished her fork.
“Oh man, could we get so lucky?” Artemis chuckled. “It sure would be a nice change of pace, to have a bit of good luck.”
“Didn’t you guys say that the zombies were dropping dead? I’d say that’s a nice change of pace.” Wade shrugged.
“Aww, yeah about that. Before I found you on that fire escape, we had some news come through.” Jose scrunched his face. “It looks like anyone who was infected with the shot are just dying, but anyone they turned isn’t. They think that the virus mutated, but no one is really sure what’s happening.”
“So, there are still zombies?” Wren asked, her voice heavy with disappointment.
“It looks like it.” Jose nodded.
“None of it matters, it is what it is. We just need to keep go” Artemis interjected. “I’ll take first shift so the rest of y’all can get some sleep. Jose you take second.”
“No problem.” Jose nodded.
Night fell fast, as the two soldiers took turn amongst themselves to keep watch. Wren and Wade slept fitfully on the hard concrete floor of the grocery store. When they were gently shaken awake early the next morning they were shocked they had not been awoken to take shifts on watch.
“Why didn’t you wake us up?” Wren asked. Her feelings slightly hurt that now that they had Jose, Artemis was less inclined to rely on them.
“After the ordeal we went through yesterday, more specifically what you and wade went through yesterday we thought it best to let you get some rest. Jose already found us another car, so we need to stock u
p quick and head out of here as fast as we can.” Artemis explained.
“Alright.” Wade yawned. “Come on Wren let’s find something to put supplies is.”
They walked off in search of boxes or bags. Once Wren thought they were out of ear shot of the men she turned to her brother.
“I don’t like that we weren’t asked to take a shift last night.” She frowned.
“You heard what Artemis said, they had a reason.” Wade replied as he looked for bags.
“I heard an excuse not a reason. Now that we have another man, we’ve reverted back to being kids. I don’t like the idea that they fell we need to be protected. If we have to be protected, we’re a liability not an asset.” Wren crossed her arms.
“That’s stupid, Wren. They just wanted to make sure you and I had as much strength as possible. Kansas is a long way from here.” Wade replied as he pulled out a box with a triumphant smile. “Found a whole box of reusable bags! Thank God for the hippies!” He hoisted the box up and pushed past his sister, who reluctantly followed behind him.
“Okay, so from here we have to make it through Arkansas and part of Missouri before we make it into Kansas.” Jose had a map spread out of the floor. He and Artemis were bent over it.
“That’s a lot of road to travel without any gas stations.” Artemis frowned.
“We’ll just keep trading cars until we make it there.” Jose shrugged. “Everyone still wants to go to Kansas, right?” He turned to the twins in search of an answer.
“Yeah, Kansas.” Wren nodded as she walked over to where Wade was shoving goods into the sacks. She began to help, keeping an ear on what was going on behind them.
“If they’re on board, I’m on board.” Artemis said, causing Wren to breathe a sigh of relief.
“It’s a plan then. Onward to Kansas!” Jose stood up, grabbing the map up from the floor ha folded it carefully and shoved it in to his pocket.
“I have everything packed!” Wade turned and pointed down to nine sacks that were sitting on the floor, all full. “There wasn’t much left, it had already been picked over.”
“Hey man, nine bags ain’t nothing to turn your nose at that’s for sure.” Jose smiled widely. “Everyone grab what you can so we can get the hell out of here and back onto the open road. The sooner we leave the sooner we get to Kansas!”
Each of them grabbed what they could from the floor, and headed to the door. Once outside they spotted the car Jose had commandeered for them. It appeared to be a tiny car, one of the ones that had the commercials bragging about the excellent highway gas mileage it got. Artemis raised an eyebrow once he spotted it.
“Really?” Artemis asked, questioning Jose’s choice in vehicles.
“What?” Jose asked, innocently.
“That ain’t a car. That’s some kid’s toy!” Artemis pointed at the car. Wren and Wade both hid their laughter. “I’m a big man, and that is a tiny car!”
“It might be small but here’s the thing, we’ll all fit and it has a full tank of gas. We’ll get really far in this! You can laugh all you want, but at least we won’t have to stop again for a while!” Jose opened the hatch and began putting in the sacks the twins had filled.
“Okay, fine. But I’m driving!” Artemis cried holding out his hand. Jose rolled his eyes and tossed him the keys. They all got in before Artemis started the engine. Pulling out Wren gave a last look to the small mom and pop grocery store. Wade reached out and took her hand, squeezing it gently.
“Are you ok?” Wade whispered. Wren nodded, trying to put a happy look on her face.
The road out of Louisiana was long. Most of the roads were blocked, and they spent a lot of time driving through the neutral ground to avoid the traffic jams of empty cars. They passed a few zombies, but the further they got out of the city, the less they saw the living dead. Corpses littered both sides of the highway. Heaps of bloated, rotted flesh. They were so badly decomposed they were beyond recognition. To look at them one could no longer tell if they had been male or female. They barely appeared human anymore.
Wren chose to look upward at the huge fluffy white clouds that were floating gently across the sky. Anything was better than looking at the death that surrounded them. Every time she looked upon a decomposing corpse she thought of her mom, dad and Jamie. They hadn’t had time to bury them, so they were still where they died, rotting in their own right.
She hoped that perhaps people had come behind them, burying the dead. Perhaps the priest survived and was now taking on the responsibility of burying the dead. She resolved to this, repeating the idea over and over again praying that if she said it enough she would believe it.
Day turned to night, and night turned back into day. Jose and Artemis switched the driving responsibilities back and forth. One drove while the other slept. Wren found that she couldn’t sleep. She knew she was sleeping, but it wasn’t from her deciding to sleep. She was sleeping once her body reached the point of extreme exhaustion. It wasn’t so much sleeping as it was just passing out. Wade had been silent the whole time, doing nothing but looking out of the window.
He turned when it was time to eat. Wren would dig through the bags of supplies they had packed, hand everyone something to eat. They were never full, but the little they could eat took the sharpness from the hunger pains.
“Guys, tell me you see this.” Artemis’ voice pulled them from the fog their minds had entered into since leaving the grocery store. He had reached over and was shaking Jose awake. They all looked forward, and in the distance they saw several American flags flying.
“What is that?” Wade asked.
“I don’t rightly know, but maybe the real government is set up, up ahead.” Artemis shrugged.
“And we trust this? After what happened back in Baton Rouge?” Wren furrowed her brow. “We’re not even close to being in Kansas, we’re still in Arkansas.”
“I know that, but that doesn’t mean the government ain’t here.” Artemis replied. They continued to drive onward, inching closer and closer to whoever was flying the American flags.
They spotted several barbed wire fences, hastily built with tattered signs attached. No matter how much they looked or squinted the signs could not be read with any amount of accuracy. The car came to a sudden stop.
“Why are we stopping?” Wren asked.
“Up head are spike strips. I can’t keep going or I’ll blow the tires.” Artemis gripped the steering wheel tightly as he stared at the spike strips ahead.
“What do we do now, turn around?” Jose asked.
“No. I’m going to get out and see if I can’t find some sort of explanation.” Artemis shook his head.
“And you’re sure that’s the smartest things to do?” Wren asked.
“I’m still in my fatigues. If they’re soldiers they ain’t gonna kill another soldier. They can’t turn their weapons on American citizens either. None of us are infected. I don’t think we really have anything to worry about.” Artemis replied as he opened his door and stepped out onto the road. Wade reached out and took hold of his door handle, opening the door a crack before Wren reached out and grabbed him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Wren asked.
“I’m going out. He’s right. They going to have to see us to see we’re all fine.” Wade replied as he yanked himself free of his sister’s hold. Reluctantly she and Jose also left the vehicle, joining the other two in standing out in front of their car. They saw several watch towers ahead of them, built alongside the road.
“Get back in your vehicle and go back the way you came!” A voice yelled from nowhere.
“I’m a solider, my name is Artemis Bandeaux. I was stationed in New Orleans. I am unaffected as are my companions. Look, two soldiers and two kids.” Artemis held his hands up in the air to ensure that whoever was yelling could see he wasn’t reaching for a weapon.
“Get back in your vehicle, solider! No one gets in, no matter what!” The voice yelled again.
“Why?” J
ose asked.
“This is a free zone. We are authorized to use deadly force to protect this place. We will tell you one last time, get back in your vehicle. If you come any closer we will be forced to shoot you.” The voice called out, causing all of them to freeze where they were. Wren and Wade looked to one another.
“Can I please speak to your superior?” Artemis asked, his hands still raised.
“They’re not going to shoot us.” Wade scrunched his face. “They can’t shoot citizens.” Wade walked forward, Wren reached out to grab hold of his shirt when a shot rang out. Wade was dead before he hit the road, blood pouring from the back of his head. Wren screamed, her hands shot to her mouth as she looked at her twin.
Another shot rang out and Jose fell. He landed next to Wade, their eyes open staring at up and the sky. Artemis turned to throw himself over Wren to protect her in any way he could when another shot rang out. Wren felt a searing pain shoot through her shoulder as she fell, hitting her head on the road. She felt the pain radiate through her skull, a great weight pushing in on her she struggled to breathe.
Her hands clawed at the weight, trying to ease her breathing in any way that she could. She felt a shoulder and then a face, and lifting her head ever so slightly she saw that Artemis had jumped in front of her, trying to save her life by taking the bullet that was meant for her.
She fought the blackness that pulsated in her vision. Wren fought to keep her eyes locked on the clouds, but the darkness felt comforting. She had thought she would fear death when her time came, she never thought she would welcome it. A strange face appeared over hers, it was blurred like a smeared chalk painting.
It sounded like someone was talking to her, asking her name.
“Wren De…..DeLasalle….I’m Wren.” She whispered as the darkness overcame her, pulling her from the pain and the pressure, taking her to be with her family.
EPILOGUE
Wren opened her eyes, and quickly squinted from the brightness that suddenly caused her great pain.
“Wren?” A soft female voice called to her.
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