by Chelsea Luna
“Oh, shit,” Nicky muttered.
Cage touched his nose and pulled away bloody fingers. He stared at his red-stained hand for half a second before he sprang at Adam.
“Nicky!” Rachel screamed. “Help me!”
“Guys,” Finn said.
They rolled on the ground, punching and kicking. Adam was on top and then Cage. Adam was stronger, but Cage was quicker. Arms and legs thrashed as they tumbled around like they were fighting in a UFC matchup.
“Hey, guys!” Finn waved his hands in the air.
Nicky cursed and jumped to his feet. This wasn’t going to be good for his injured shoulder. He just wanted to lie back down and run his hands over Lindsay’s ass. But, no. Now he had to be a referee. He had to find a way to break them up without getting popped in the face. Nicky feinted in—he didn’t want to get hit with an errant punch—and seized Cage. Dude was much heavier than he looked and a shot of white-hot pain flared in Nicky’s shoulder.
Rachel jumped in front of Adam.
Cage thrashed against Nicky’s grip. A new surge of pain ignited over his wound. “Dude, stop! You’re killing my shoulder.”
Cage went limp. “Sorry.”
“Guys,” Finn said.
Rachel pressed her palms against Adam’s chest. “Calm down.”
Adam nodded, breathing heavily.
Nicky’s gaze followed Adam’s hand as it slid down to her waist. Was it like that now? Or was Adam purposely making Cage jealous?
Adam licked his lips. “I’m sorry.”
“Guys!” Finn screamed.
Everyone turned. The kid's face was flushed from screaming. He threw his fist out and pointed behind them.
Nicky stepped around Adam so he could see. Down by the creek, where Rachel and he'd had their discussion the night before, was a group of people.
No, not people…freaking zombies. Quick movers, too. About ten deadheads had already cleared a quarter of the distance. Dammit.
"We don't have any bullets," Adam said. "Get in the truck. Hurry!"
Nicky yanked Lindsay to her feet. Cage shoved Finn in the truck cab. Rachel stood in between the impending zombies and the truck.
"What are you doing?" Nicky yelled.
"I'm waiting for you all to get in the truck!" She raised her bat in the air.
Adam moved beside her with his lead pipe.
“I told you she’s crazy,” Lindsay said. “She has a death wish.”
"Who's going to drive?" Nicky ignored Lindsay—Rachel was just protecting the group and, by the looks of how fast the zombies were, they were going to need her help.
"I'll drive!" Cage slid into the driver's seat.
Two zombies reached Rachel and Adam before the others. Ice-blue eyes twitched from person to person—like they couldn’t decide who to eat first.
Rachel swung and connected with the creature's jaw. The second creature leaped for the truck bed, but Adam whacked it in the air when it jumped. The zombie fell into the truck bed and Nicky brought his axe down on the creature’s neck. “That was like a combo move. We’d get bonus points for that if this was a video game.”
The engine roared.
Nicky smashed a child zombie crawling into the truck. "Get in the car!"
Adam lifted Rachel into Nicky’s arms. Lindsay screamed as three more zombies reached the truck. Adam hopped inside and knocked away an arm groping for Lindsay.
The fast movers surrounded them. Hands reached in. Nails scraped across the truck’s paint.
One zombie climbed over the back gate.
“Get him, Nicky!” Adam swung at another climbing over the side.
“Dude, I’m getting them all!” Nicky buried his axe into her skull. A shock of pain radiated through his injured shoulder.
"Go, Cage! Go!" Lindsay pounded on the window.
The truck sped over the bumpy grass. The momentum shifted and Rachel slid across the truck bed. Nicky snatched her by the arm before she toppled over. “Careful, now.”
“Thanks, Nicky,” Rachel said.
Three zombies raced beside them. One of them leaped onto the moving truck. The thing jumped like a damn spider monkey. Nicky jammed the bottom of his axe into a zombie’s nose. “Faster, Cage!”
The truck’s engine groaned when Cage shifted gears. Finally, the truck was too fast for the zombies to keep pace with.
Nicky slumped to his butt. "That was too close."
"Agreed," Adam said.
Nicky pointed at Adam. "You, Cage and Rachel need to get your shit together. We can't keep doing this. Everyone was so busy arguing that we didn’t notice a pack of deadheads. That’s a sure way to die."
“I'll smooth things over with Cage,” Adam said. “I shouldn’t have hit him."
Nicky shrugged. “He shouldn’t have said that to you. But this whole thing ends now.”
“Agreed.” Adam poked his head into the cab’s window. “Take 94 West to Illinois. We’re looking for I-80.” He settled in beside Rachel. “Be on the lookout for a car and any place where we can get supplies.”
Rachel’s eyes trailed down to his bloody knuckles. “You’re hurt.” She held his hand up to her face. “We don’t have a first-aid kit.”
“I’ll be all right.”
“I’m starving,” Lindsay said. “I’m so hungry I feel light-headed.”
Nicky took a box of graham crackers from his backpack and gave each of them a sheet. It wasn’t enough, but it was something. Adam ate a few bites before giving the rest to Rachel, who refused, so he handed it through the window to Finn. Nicky was about to volunteer to eat it, but Lindsay shook her head.
“Are you tired?” Rachel asked Adam. The wind blew blonde wisps of hair into her face.
“Not really,” Adam said. “I’ll sleep tonight.”
“I’m sleeping now.” Lindsay laid her head on Nicky’s lap.
Nicky wiggled his eyebrows at Adam. His racing heartbeat sped up again with Lindsay’s proximity. She was so hot.
Cage maneuvered the pickup around a five-car pile up. Zombies were scattered along the rural road, but not enough to be a threat.
“If I close my eyes,” Rachel said, “it almost feels like I’m taking a drive.” She leaned back to let the sunlight fall on her face. A smile played on her lips. “It’s almost like everything is normal.”
Adam inched his hand over and hooked their pinkie fingers.
Nicky closed his eyes to give them privacy, but he could still hear them.
“I know you don’t believe it,” Adam whispered. “But we’re going to make it to Las Vegas.”
“I hope you’re right,” she said.
“It’s going to be hotter than hell once we get there.” Nicky ran his hand over Lindsay’s butt while she slept on his lap. “July in the desert? It will be like walking into a freakin’ oven.”
“We should radio that Delta Force sergeant when we stop. See if he’s close to Nevada yet,” Adam said.
Rachel sat up straight. “The walkie-talkie!”
Nicky patted his backpack. “No worries, muchacha. I had it in in my bag the whole time.” He tapped his finger against his temple. “Now who’s looking like the smart one?”
Adam smiled. “It will be good to have a contact once we reach camp.”
“Do you think they’ll have the casinos running? A few blackjack tables or something—you know, to keep morale high? I’m getting the gambling itch.”
“I doubt it.” Rachel grinned.
Nicky lowered his voice and glanced down at a sleeping Lindsay. “What about strip clubs?”
“Probably not.” Adam stretched his arm around Rachel.
“That sucks.” Nicky scratched his head. “That sounds like a misuse of resources, if you ask me.”
~ ~ ~
The farmlands of southwestern Michigan gradually turned into an urban sprawl of strip malls and fast-food restaurants as they crossed the border into the tip of Indiana. It was only a short distance before they entered Illinois, which meant they
weren’t far from Chicago.
Adam crawled over Rachel and stuck his head in the cab’s window.
“But the Lions never won a Super Bowl,” Cage said.
“They were going to this year! They drafted that new tight end.” Finn shook his head. “It’s a conspiracy. Oh, hey Adam.”
“Hey, Finn. Cage, how are we doing on gas?”
“Less than a quarter tank.”
“We should stop somewhere to get a new car. We’re getting close to Chicago and that’s the site of the initial outbreak. I don’t want to get caught without gas or have to fight off a horde exposed in a truck again.”
“Okay.”
“If you see a gas station or, like, a—”
“Grocery store?” Finn asked.
“Yeah, that would be great,” Adam said. The kid was probably starving—Adam was, too.
Finn pointed to an upcoming highway sign. The next exit had a QuickShop Mart.
“Let’s go there.” Adam backed out of the window. “Nicky, wake Lindsay up. We’re stopping at a grocery store.”
“Thank God,” Nicky said. “I’m so hungry.”
Cage veered the truck off the exit ramp and drove around a cluster of stalled cars. The QuickShop Mart was ahead on the left. A handful of cars were parked in the lot in front of the grocery store.
“Let’s take that one,” Rachel said.
“That blue soccer mom van?” Nicky made a face. “No way.”
“We need the space.”
“I was thinking more like that one.” Nicky pointed to a white Mustang two-seater.
“Ooh—cool.” Finn stuck his head out the window.
“We can’t all fit in there,” Adam said.
“Fine.” Nicky sighed. “Pull next to that blue dinosaur, Cage. Nobody back here wants to have any fun. I need to find a cooler group.”
Cage parked two spaces away.
Adam handed the gas can to Finn. “Let’s check the grocery store first. If it’s not safe, we can run back to the truck.”
“Should we split up?” Lindsay asked.
“No,” Adam said. “No more splitting up. We stay together and protect each other.”
Everyone moved to their designated spots. Rachel stood beside Adam at the front of the group and Lindsay and Finn were in the middle with Cage and Nicky in the rear.
Adam led them through the grocery store’s automatic front doors. They were extremely vulnerable right now—they had no ammunition. Hopefully, the place wouldn’t be crawling with deadheads. Elevator music hummed over the speakers. Three zombies roamed near the checkout area. Adam motioned for everyone to hide behind a bug spray display. He scanned the rest of the store—two more zombies were in the cereal aisle.
Five zombies total.
They could handle five.
Adam turned to the group. “When I say so, Cage and I will take out the zombies by the register. Nicky and Rachel cover Finn and Lindsay.”
Finn made a face. “But—”
Rachel balked. “Me? You want me to stay back?”
“Look who got demoted to babysitting duty.” Nicky stuck his tongue out at Rachel like he was twelve.
“Nicky’s arm still isn’t healed,” Adam said. “We need two people to fight and someone needs to help Nicky defend Lindsay and Finn in case something comes through that front door.”
“I can defend myself,” Finn muttered.
Cage glanced at Rachel. “It’s a good plan.”
Rachel pressed her lips together. “Fine.”
“We’ll rotate. Okay? Next time you’ll go,” Adam promised. “Ready?”
The group moved to the center of the store. The overhead fluorescent lights glared off the linoleum floors. Two of the zombies turned, snarled and raced toward them. Adam and Cage met the zombies head on. Adam swung his pipe across the woman’s matted forehead and Cage knocked down the other.
The familiar crunch of a cracking skull filled Adam’s ears. Cage moved on to the slower zombies and finished them off, too.
“Do you see any more?” Cage asked.
“Nope,” Nicky called back.
Adam walked down the front of the aisles and checked down each lane. “Hello? Is anyone in here?”
A slow-moving zombie teetered down the toilet paper aisle, but Adam didn’t see any more deadheads. Tension faded from his neck and shoulders—the building was empty. They had the entire store to themselves.
“Shall we start shopping?” Nicky wiggled his eyebrows. “I’ll get a cart.”
“A cart?” Lindsay asked. “There’s not enough stuff in here to need one.”
Nicky rode the cart down the aisle like it was a scooter. The store had been ransacked, but there were still items they could use.
Most of the perishables were gone and only a few of the nonperishables were left. They found six cans of food on the shelf, none that were very appealing during the pre-zombie apocalypse days—lima beans, water crescents and two cans of ravioli—but they gladly threw the items in their cart. They’d lost their can opener, but they could pry open the cans with Rachel’s hunting knife. They also found hot dog buns, a box of fruit juice, a roll of salami, hummus spread, toothpaste and a few rolls of paper towels they could use for toilet paper. They scored huge with two 5-gallon containers of water that must’ve been too heavy for raiders to carry.
Lindsay grabbed sugar, flour, baking soda and a few other ingredients and tossed them in the cart.
Nicky raised his eyebrows. “What are you going to do with that?”
“I can make cookies if we ever find an oven.”
“An oven?”
She shrugged. “Maybe the hotel rooms in Vegas will be suites.”
Rachel rolled her eyes.
They turned the corner to the last aisle—the meat and seafood section. Adam nearly rammed the cart into the back of Lindsay when she abruptly stopped.
A zombie had crawled into the meat bin and was devouring what was left of the raw ground beef and steaks. Discarded Styrofoam containers and cellophane wrap littered the floor. The zombie pressed its face against the glass and licked the blood splatters.
“I’m going to get sick.” Lindsay grabbed her stomach.
“I can’t watch this,” Rachel said.
“Do you want me to kill it?” Cage asked.
Rachel shook her head. “We can’t take any of that meat anyway.”
They backed out of the aisle and around the corner, but the zombie was too focused on the raw meat to notice them. The sound of the creature slurping the meat was louder than the elevator music.
Adam handed the cart to Finn and reached for Rachel’s hand. “Are you okay?”
Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them. “Why are they so hungry for...”
“I don’t know.” Adam didn’t want to think about it. The horrifying images of his mother, his best friends, Tony and Joey, and of course, Selena would resurface if he did.
“They were living, breathing people and now look at them.” Her face paled and, for a minute, Adam thought she might get sick. Rachel vomiting because of a bloody scene?
Adam put his arm around her shoulder and coaxed her away. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We were lucky today. We found food.”
“Lucky?” She blinked. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
He fought the urge to kiss her. He should’ve done it last night when they were on the top of the truck, but she’d been through too much. He didn’t want to take advantage of her feelings. If and when she was ready, she’d let him know.
“What are you thinking about?” Rachel asked.
Adam kept his arm around Rachel as they walked by the cash registers. He liked the way she’d leaned into him, like she needed his support. He wanted to pick her up and carry her, but that was out of the question. “Things are looking up. Once Nicky hot-wires the van outside, we’ll be on our way to Vegas with a cartful of food.”
Rachel smiled. “I may have to agree—”
The
automatic doors opened to a stranger pointing a semiautomatic gun at them.
Chapter Six
The familiar sight of a gun barrel filled Cage’s vision. He moved Finn behind him. Adam, Rachel and Nicky pulled out their weapons. Cage already had his tire iron in hand.
The gun holder was a man in his mid-twenties with short red hair and a splash of freckles. His finger was on the trigger, but his eyes fell to Finn and the tension in his forearm eased—that’s when Cage knew he could trust the man.
“The gang followed us to Illinois?” Nicky cursed. Lindsay cowered behind him—they really needed to give her a weapon and teach her how to be useful.
The redhead’s eyes twitched to the side. To something Cage couldn’t see.
“What gang?” the man asked.
“You know, the gang. Wait—you’re not in the gang?” Nicky said. “Sweet.”
The man’s eyes flickered to the side again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cage loosened his grip on the tire iron. The metal felt sticky in his palm.
“Can you lower your weapon? We’re not a threat,” Adam said.
The redheaded man’s eyes moved across the six of them and then down to the half-full cart of groceries. After a moment’s hesitation—where Cage was sure the man deliberated robbing them—he lowered his gun.
“Dean! What are you doing?” a female voice shouted from outside the store.
The redhead—Dean—twisted his muscular neck. “It’s okay. It’s two guys, some teenagers and a kid.”
A petite redhead with wild curls appeared around the corner. She glanced at each of them before nodding at Dean.
The man slung his semiautomatic onto his shoulder. “I’m Dean Hammel and this is my sister, Monica. You all are the first humans we’ve seen in days.”
~ ~ ~
Cage found an empty spot on the floor behind the customer service counter at the front of the QuickShop store. As a peace offering, they shared a meal with Monica and Dean. In exchange, the newcomers gave them a box of nine-millimeter bullets they’d scavenged from a gun store. The only gun they had between the two of them was the semiautomatic.
Finn sat on top of the bright blue counter as the lookout. The zombie from the meat bin never climbed out of the case and the automatic doors beeped when they opened so they’d hear anyone who entered the store.