“Keep in mind, you should build a small pit to keep the fire from spreading. You can also build a wall of rocks, if you want to help block light or reflect the heat onto yourself. In this world, I wouldn’t build a fire at night, unless it’s to save your life at that moment,” Alex explained.
They kicked dirt over the fire to put it out, and climbed back onto the RV together. Candace and Billie were sitting in matching poses on the couch, waving their newly painted nails around in the air. Henry bounded back, and Billie shrieked for him to be careful. The fire lesson had led to lunchtime, so Alex began pulling sandwich makings from cabinets and the fridge. Easton sat at the kitchen table, checking the road atlas again. He traced the route that Alex had highlighted as the best route to Montana.
“We haven’t gotten very far,” he commented to Alex.
“No, we haven’t,” she replied.
“Do you think that’s a problem? I could take some of the driving over for you?” Easton said.
“No. I think we’re ok. My sister Max is coming from the East Coast. We will get to Montana before her anyway. I’m hoping my brother is there now. We can take our time, do this safely,” Alex said, as she handed Easton a plate with two sandwiches on it. He looked up at her and smiled. Alex was remembering he needed just a little extra to eat being a big teenage boy.
After serving the three younger kids lunch, and convincing Billie she needed to eat to keep her strength up and her nails wouldn’t be ruined if she were careful, Alex sat at the driver’s seat to eat her meal. She watched out the windshield for anything strange. Occasionally a car would pass the rest stop on the highway, but no one seemed to think it was necessary to stop at the rest stop.
The generator had a few more hours of power soaked up, so Alex packed it up, and started up their RV beast to get on the road. She did not want to travel at night, on the off chance they would need to move cars again. It was hard enough to fight the infected when you could see them clearly. As they drove further north, more trees were showing up. There was no saying what could be hiding in the shadows of the large trunks.
The roads were congested with crashed cars, but there were long spans of empty road. Alex wondered where everyone had fled to, as they were trying to escape the plague. It followed them to their cars, and to this empty stretch of highway. Easton sat in the front seat watching out the windows as Alex drove. At times he would call out, and point to infected bodies, wandering through the trees, or the empty areas near the highway. They would all turn in their direction, but they couldn’t catch the RV, and they would lose their interest as they got down the road.
“What is that?” Easton asked, a few hours into their drive. Alex had seen what he was pointing out, but she did not want to say anything until they were closer. It was a blocked section of the highway. However, before, the blocks were always just cars. This time, things were worse, much worse.
“I think, well, it’s a horde,” Alex said uncertainly. She could see cars beyond the infected, but they weren’t blocking the road. The splashes of blood on the ground told the story of why so many had gathered in this spot.
“I think someone must have recently come through here, and it attracted all of these dead,” Alex said.
“Can we just run them over?” Easton asked.
Alex looked at the group starting toward the RV. On first glance, she counted 30, but as they moved, she was sure there were more behind the first wave. She knew the RV was a beast, but she couldn’t be sure it would withstand the battery of over 30 bodies. Looking in her mirrors, she didn’t see a way to flip the RV around, without the infected getting to them anyway.
“Maybe, if we move slowly through. They can’t get in. Make sure all windows are closed and locked,” Alex said. Easton checked his passenger side door first, locked it and headed into the RV. He called a confirmation as he got the kids settled on the floor, away from the windows. Alex moved the RV forward slowly at first, then sped up to 15 mph. She thought maybe some of the bodies would rebound off, and land out of the way of the RV if she was going slightly faster.
The first crunches of bodies hit the front of the RV and Alex winced. Some of the bodies fell below the tires, and the RV bumped over bones and flesh. The kids cried out as they bumped over a larger body, causing them to fall over each other.
“Hold on!” Alex called.
Alex had been correct in the count of infected when she started her count. She was also right about a second wave behind the first 30. Suddenly the RV lurched, and Alex had to hit the brakes. They collided with five bodies at once, and the RV felt like its wheels were spinning in place. A pounding on the window caught Alex’s attention, and she saw an infected that hadn’t been hit, trying to break into her window to get to her. The face of what used to be a woman was gruesome, with a strip of skin missing starting on her left cheek, down her neck. Something had dined on her recently.
“What’s wrong?” Easton asked at her side.
“I think we’re caught up on some of the bodies we ran over. We are going to be swarmed if I don’t get us moving forward.”
“What can I do?” He asked.
“Nothing right now, just sit tight. Keep an eye on the kids,” Alex said. She threw the RV into reverse, and put her foot down hard on the gas pedal. The RV rocked again, but the sound of squealing tires tore through the air.
“Shit,” Alex mumbled. She put the vehicle back into drive and slammed down on the gas pedal again. The RV lurched forward slightly, but slowed again. The infected from her window was again working its way back to the window as Alex switched back to reverse again. When the RV didn’t move again, Alex realized she was going to have to get out of the vehicle to clear the obstruction from the tires.
Leaving the RV running, she put the beast into park and walked into the back of the RV. Easton waited for her and watched as she strapped her weapons on, and checked the shotgun. He reached for his bat and knife, but Alex stopped him.
“No, I need you to stay in here. Get behind the wheel. When I call to you, move the RV forward. I’m going to try to clear the tires,” Alex said. Easton hesitated with his bat in his hand. He clearly did not like the idea of Alex being outside alone.
“Go Easton, get in the driver's seat. We talked about this, you said you’d listen and do what I said needed to be done.”
“I didn’t know you would put yourself in a situation like this,” Easton said as he motioned to the windshield, where more infected could be seen. They were shuffling toward the RV, knowing there was a blood-filled meal inside if they could get to it.
“I will be fine. Just hit the gas when I call to you, got it?” Alex said sternly.
Easton nodded and turned toward the front of the RV. Alex took a deep breath and went to the kids. She looked down at her children’s pale, scared faces and decided that being blunt and honest was the only way to go.
“I’ve got to go outside,” she said.
“Why?” Billie asked.
“There’s something keeping our tires from moving, I need to clear it out so we can get moving.”
“There’s a lot of them out there,” Billie said.
“Yes. But I have my weapons, I will be careful. Stay with Candace back here ok?” Alex said as she hugged them both. They agreed as they hugged her back tightly. She looked over their heads and saw Candace watching with tears in her eyes. Alex reached out, squeezed her shoulder, and mouthed the words it will be ok.
Alex stood at the door, preparing herself. She checked out the window on the door to see what she was walking into. She saw a few infected on that side, but far enough away that she could get out, and close the door quickly. She would have to dispatch whoever was within reach and then check under the RV. In one hand she held the machete she had collected from the thieves, it would be good to clear out the tires area she thought. She was feeling secure with her 9 mm on her hip and shotgun on her back.
The RV door swung outward, and Alex jumped down. She slammed the door behin
d her to protect the kids and turned back to the infected that had noticed her. She wielded the machete as if it were an extension of her arm. The first infected that came within reach quickly fell as she sliced into the skull with the machete. The blade was perfectly sharp after Alex gave it some attention.
A few moments later, Alex had cleared her side of the RV, enough that she could crouch and look around the tires. It was as bad as she thought it would be. The bottom of the RV was dripping with blood and flesh hanging from the undercarriage. She started looking at the tires and found the wheel wells clogged with pieces of infected. Arms, legs and a head were shoved into the wheel well, preventing the tires from turning.
Alex coughed, and swallowed back the bile that threatened to erupt from her throat. She reached in, grabbed the nearest body part, and yanked it free. A few others fell with it, and loud splat sounded under the RV. Alex looked around her and saw more of the infected finding her on that side of the RV. She peered at the wheel well again, and decided that side was clear enough. She ran to the other side to work on the other wheel.
Rounding the back of the RV Alex slammed into a body. Rebounding back, she almost slipped on a puddle of guts and blood, but caught herself in time to avoid being jumped on by the infected. It was a man in overalls, his long hair was falling over his face, but his black eyes glared at her through the strands. His fingers were covered in blood and were claws that swiped at Alex’s face, and clothing.
The overall man moved clumsily, dragging his right foot behind him at an awkward angle. Alex rounded to his limp side, noticing that his ankle seemed to be broken. When he tried to turn to the right, he fell into Alex. She took the chance to step back and slam the machete blade into his head. She pulled it back with a sickening sucking noise, and the body fell at her feet. Breathing hard, Alex turned the corner around the side of the RV only to be faced with a dozen more infected.
“Damn it,” Alex muttered as she pulled her 9 mm. She had wanted to take care of things quietly, to not attract attention to herself. However, she was not going to have a choice. She took aim on the nearest head and blew it apart with her first shot. Stepping forward she took two more out. Now that she was on the driver’s side, she could see Easton watching her in the mirror.
Alex spun to her left when an infected grabbed at her shortened ponytail. Using the machete, she chopped at the arms first, wanting them away from her. She struck the infected in the head, and the infected flew backwards with the blow, ripping the machete from her hand. A list of foul words flew through her head as she grabbed out her bowie knife with her free hand.
Her body moved like fluid, her instincts strumming in every muscle of her body. The years of training with her father, and the years of self-defense all causing her limbs to move together to protect herself. To protect what was hers. Her mind was a blissful blank as she chopped through bone and ended undead lives. If she allowed any thoughts to drift in the horror would be too much for her bear.
Alex shot the last infected through the eye, and she stood still, chest heaving as she gulped in the air she hadn’t been getting during her fight. She looked around and saw the dozen bodies lay in strange angles around her. For a moment, her sanity tried to escape believing she wasn’t the person that had killed all of those things. Nevertheless, she gripped it and pulled it back into place, confirming to herself that she had done what she needed to do.
“Alex?” Easton’s voice came from the driver’s side window. He had cracked the window slightly and was watching her with worry on his face. Alex gave him a reassuring nod, and she turned to retrieve the machete she had lost. Tightly gripping the handle of the knife, Alex yanked, but it was deeply imbedded. She braced a foot against the head of the infected and with one final yank, the machete came free with a spray of brain matter.
She walked to the back of the RV again, and crouched down to look under the body. She grabbed at the pieces stuck around the tire, yanking them out piece by piece. After it felt cleaned out she moved to the front of the RV. The front tires, now less clogged, as the bodies fell under and were chewed up by the backset of tires. She looked at Easton through the side window and motioned for him to move the RV forward. Alex released a huge sigh of relief when the RV lurched forward.
Looking up at Easton, she motioned for him to keep going and Alex around the back of the RV to the side door. Candace swung the door open, and Alex jumped into the RV while it was still moving. Covered in blood, she held up her hands to stop the kids from hugging her.
“I’m alright,” she reassured them.
“You were amazing,” Candace said.
“Oh, well thanks I guess,” Alex said, unsure if she should be flattered or not.
“Your father taught you all of that?” Candace said as she motioned outside.
“No, not all of it. I’ve taken self-defense for a long time too.”
“Mommy, I didn’t know you could fight like that. Why haven’t you ever shown us?” Billie asked. Her color was coming back, and she wasn’t as lethargic. Alex was grateful that the meds were doing the trick.
“I never had a reason to show you honey,” Alex told her.
After she gave Easton instructions on driving, where to head, and to be as careful as a 16-year-old boy could be, Alex stepped into the small bathroom to change her bloody clothing. She looked at herself in the mirror, and was temporarily dismayed at the amount of blood in her long hair. She would have to shower….again. Water was scarce, so maybe they could find somewhere natural to bathe soon. For now, she just tied a bandana around the messy bun on the top of her head.
Easton kept the RV at a decent pace and both hands on the wheel. Alex slid into the passenger seat and watched his driving for a moment.
“How are we on gas?” She asked.
“We are getting to half. Probably need to fill up the next time it’s safe,” Easton said.
“Yes. Smart.”
“I’m not stupid,” Easton said defensively.
“I’m not saying that East. I just want to make sure I’m teaching you to survive. You are catching on,” Alex said.
“Oh ok. Sorry.”
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked him.
“Watching you fight….I just felt….useless,” Easton said, never taking his eyes from the road.
“Useless? No. You were in here to move the RV when needed,” Alex said.
“Well yeah. But I mean, there’s no men here, and I’m the closest thing….”Easton trailed off. A red flush started on his neck, and spread across his cheeks.
“Oh, this is a masculine thing?” Alex teased.
“No, maybe, I don’t know.”
“Well you can get rid of that right now Easton. I’m more capable than most women you would have known, or will ever meet. It’s not about a man or woman. It’s about everyone doing what is needed at the moment it’s needed,” Alex said.
“I don’t feel like I’m doing enough.”
“If you weren’t behind the wheel, then I would have had to get in and out of the RV to try and move it. Trust me, if I put you somewhere, doing a duty, it’s because I need your help and that’s what I need from you,” Alex explained.
Easton sat in brooding silence, and Alex left him to it. She was too busy studying the area as he drove. There were still cars on the road in places, people speeding one way or the other. They had a few vehicles pass them, and Alex figured if they did not want to bother them, they wouldn’t bother anyone either. They were headed into a small town soon according to their route, and Alex was on edge. She did not want any more confrontations, but the need to know what was going on in other parts of the country was in her mind.
“Where are we stopping tonight?’ Easton asked.
“It depends what this next town is like,” she replied.
“Do you think there will be more people alive?”
“I assume everyone has to stop traveling at some point. Eventually we are going to see more uninfected people,” Alex said.
The sun was starting to dip low in the sky as they headed into the small town. To Alex’s surprise, there were lights on in many windows. This town still had power. There were people moving between buildings, everyone armed to the teeth from what Alex could see. Some would stop and watch the RV as it passed, but no one made a move against them. Easton pointed out a sign for camping and RV park, and Alex agreed that he follow it.
Pulling into the RV park, they found a gate chain shut. The park was full of RV’s and Alex could see people behind the gate. She waited a moment to see if anyone was going to come to the gate. When no one did, she figured the best bet was for her to get out of the RV and show herself. She told the children to stay in the back out of sight, but left Easton to sit in the driver’s seat. In case a quick getaway was needed, she told him. And she wasn’t lying, she was nervous about a large group of people.
Stepping out of the RV, she lifted her hands so everyone could see she wasn’t holding any weapons. People inside the park seemed to scatter like ants as she walked forward, but she kept a docile neutral look on her face, to encourage someone to talk to her. The rack of a gun stopped her in her tracks. Turning to the left of the gate, she found herself looking down the double barrels of a shotgun.
Chapter 16
The shotgun pointed directly at Alex’s face. She stood in stony silence, studying the gun, and then the woman holding it. She was in her 50’s at least, with short spiked dark hair, sprinkled with gray. Her eyes were an unforgiving hazel, and they followed Alex’s own eyes. The two women were sizing each other up in their own minds. However, the older woman had the upper hand with the firearm pointed at Alex.
“Hello,” Alex said, breaking the silence.
“Go back to wherever you came from,” the woman said.
“I can’t be doing that. We are just looking for a place to stop for a night. Hopefully conversation with some kind folks,” Alex said.
Sundown Series (Book 1): Prepared Page 15