Packing was quick. Ralph, being an old pro, knew what they needed. Nerit gave them a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks. She seemed pensive, but she smiled supportively whenever her gaze rested on them.
Katie was busy double-checking the small bag holding their ammo when Nerit came up and laid Katie’s phone on the table.
“I found this up on the roof. I thought you might want it,” she said in her warm, richly accented voice.
Katie glanced at it and hesitated. “There isn’t any service anymore.”
Nerit flipped the phone open to show Lydia’s lovely, smiling face. “For her.”
Katie looked at the older woman sharply; her hand closed the phone. Anxiety coursed through her.
“She was beautiful. And she loved you. I can see it in her face,” Nerit said tenderly.
Katie’s eyes filled with tears. “She was my life, but she’s not here now, and I’m just trying to live minute to minute. Lydia was always so damn strong and calm. I’m trying so hard to be like her.”
Nerit looked past her to Jenni. The other woman was rearranging one of the backpacks with a very dire expression on her face. “You’re doing a good job being strong and calm. And you like to take care of people. I can see that in you. Now you are going to take care of Jenni. And her son. I can see it in your eyes. It’s what you do.”
“Well, I can’t say you’re wrong,” Katie admitted.
Nerit took Katie’s hand in her old, leathery ones and pressed it between her palms. “You are a good person, Katie. Come back safe. I think I want to know you better and make you family.”
Katie flung her arms around Nerit in a tight hug. “Thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“’Nuf of that. Sun is climbing. If you are going to round-trip it today, gotta start now,” Ralph said from behind them. “I thinned out the zombies a bit in the back for you, Nerit.”
Nerit let go of Katie. “I’ll take care of the rest.” She headed toward the stairs, snagging her sniper rifle off the counter on the way.
Katie stuffed the bag of ammo in her backpack, shrugged it on, grabbed the cooler, and followed Ralph.
“Nerit will toss the decoy in five minutes. You head out the back door. She’ll cover you from up top, and I’ll cover you from the door. Keep your eyes sharp and head straight for the truck.”
Katie and Jenni looked at each other and in that gaze, steadied each other. They both wore heavy backpacks and each held a weapon. Katie had slung the cooler’s long strap over her shoulder. Jenni carried an extra backpack that she would drop if she had to. Katie gripped the truck keys firmly.
A few minutes later, a lot of noise erupted in the front of the building. A man’s voice talking loudly about the zombie infestation quickly drew the attention of the undead milling behind the store. As they headed around the side of the building, Ralph shouted, “Now!”
Katie threw open the door and ran. Ralph’s red truck was parked under a small carport about fifteen feet from the back door, but it seemed an eternity away. She could hear Jenni right behind her, and Jack bringing up the rear.
Shots erupted almost immediately. Out of the corner of her eye, Katie saw something drop.
A man came running around the truck, screeching with his hands thrown out to grab her. Katie raised her gun and fired, almost point-blank. The zombie’s head exploded in a volcano of gore, and he went down. More gunfire told her Ralph and Nerit were covering them.
She kept pressing the button to unlock the truck as she ran, and finally she heard the singsong sound of the alarm flicking off and the click of the doors unlocking. Jenni reached the truck first and opened the passenger door.
“Jack, in,” Jenni ordered. She threw her packs into the backseat before scrambling inside.
Katie reached the truck and started to open the door when she felt someone grab her foot. Looking down, she saw a baby grappling with her boot.
“Shit!” She pitched the cooler into the truck while trying to shake the baby off. There was no way it could bite through her boot with its tiny teeth, but it was hissing and trying to crawl up her leg.
“They’re coming back, Katie! Just go!” Ralph shouted. She heard the door slam shut.
Katie shook free of the mutilated baby, which looked like it was maybe eleven months old, and slammed her foot down on its head. Using it as a step, she slid backpack first into the truck.
Three zombies were closing in fast on her side, and she raised her gun and fired. The first one went down, the second spun around as the shot took it in the shoulder, but the third was on her.
At the last second, she frantically raised her gore-splattered foot and slammed it into the thing’s chest. Its hands scrabbled at her leg, but it didn’t seem smart enough to bend down and bite it. Its eyes were on her face, its hands straining for her. Its face was so mangled, she wasn’t sure if it was a man or a woman.
Over her shoulder, Jenni’s hand appeared, holding her gun. Katie twisted to the side as Jenni rammed the gun into the thing’s face and fired. Katie’s ears went numb.
Blood splattered everywhere. Katie jerked her legs all the way in and Jenni reached out and slammed the door.
Katie shrugged off her backpack and tossed it into the backseat where Jack was already perched, growling and barking out the back window at the swiftly approaching zombies.
More shots sounded, and Jenni looked anxiously out the passenger-side window. “I think the radio-in-the-dummy ruse is over.” She hit the button to lock the doors.
“There are more out there than we expected,” Katie said.
Katie’s fingers were shaking so violently, she could barely get the key into the ignition, but she finally managed to slide it in and twist. The engine roared to life and she quickly reversed.
She could feel as well as hear the thunk of several bodies hitting the back end of the truck. She shifted and aimed for two others who were blocking their way. They bounced off the deer guard in a graceful arc.
Jenni laughed and clapped her hands. “Nailed ’em!”
Moving swiftly down the gravel drive that cut behind the hunting store, the truck sent several zombies hurtling into the building or down a steep embankment behind the store.
Katie turned the truck onto the main road and floored it. “Get Ralph on the CB, Jenni.”
Jenni fumbled with the buttons before managing to turn on the CB radio.
“You girls safe?” a voice crackled.
Jenni grabbed the handheld CB transceiver off its holder and pushed the button. “Roger that! We are safe and en route to rescue point!”
Katie smothered a laugh that was born of both amusement and a little hysteria.
“We’re a little more infested than we thought. I think some of the bed-and-breakfast folks had a large crowd in town. We’ll try to clean them up as much as we can before you get back tonight,” Ralph answered. There was a long pause. “Katie, you didn’t get bit, did ya? That guy was right on ya.”
Jenni’s eyes widened as she looked at Katie nervously.
“I’m fine. Tell him I’m fine.” Except for the ringing in her ears, that was.
Jenni sighed with relief. “She’s okay. We’re both okay.”
“Good. Now, you girls take care out there. Come back safe.”
“Roger that. Over and out.” Jenni carefully put the CB transceiver back on its hook and fastened her seat belt.
Katie once more marveled at how well Jenni was doing. From dazed survivor to gun-toting mama, but then again, she had a feeling this might have been the most living Jenni had ever done.
“We’re gonna do this and come back,” Jenni said firmly.
“Yes, we are,” she agreed with determination.
But deep down inside, she had a horrible feeling things were not going to go quite as they hoped.
2.
Hell Has Highways
The drone of the road was steady and unwavering as the truck roared over the slowly warming asphalt. The sun wa
s climbing and would soon be an unmerciful torment of heat and light. Jack lay snoozing in the backseat with his nose tucked beneath his front paws, all doggy contentment and cuteness.
Jenni smiled at him and looked back toward the road. Ralph’s truck was a lot more luxurious than the white pickup they’d escaped from the city in. It was much bigger and sat higher off the ground; the seats were leather and very comfortable. They had listened to the emergency broadcasting radio network for a short time, but as Ralph had said, it was just bullshit. Jenni found it amusing that she understood more of what was going on than officials in high places because of her steady diet of zombie flicks, thanks to her asshole of a husband.
Glancing at Katie, she was relieved to see her companion looking cool and in control. They had used wet wipes Jenni found in the glove compartment to clean up the blood and gore from the zombie she had killed. The very sporty men’s sunglasses Katie was wearing made her look like a cop, Jenni thought, and she giggled. Katie peered at Jenni over the tops of the sunglasses and slowly stuck out her tongue.
It was a huge relief to know exactly how things were supposed to be now. Yesterday—oh, God, it was just yesterday! —Jenni had spent the morning swinging between sheer panic and a trancelike state. By afternoon, she had felt safe in Katie’s presence and confident that her new friend would protect her and help her survive. Jenni was comfortable with a heroine in the hero’s role. Her mistake had been in thinking that just because Katie was a lesbian, she was merely a man in a woman’s skin.
But last night, seeing Katie naked and overwhelmed with grief, Jenni had realized that Katie was all woman. She had been a damn fool trying to comfort her like she was a man. Jenni blushed at the memory of her awkward attempt to kiss Katie. She hadn’t felt any attraction to Katie, but Jenni was accustomed to putting aside her needs and her desires for the men in her life. First her father, then her brother, then her husband. She had shut up, put up, and dealt with whatever they wanted from her.
But Katie …
Jenni smiled at her affectionately.
Katie caught her look out of the corner of her eye and gave her a quick glance. “What?”
Jenni kept smiling goofily.
Katie just kind of laughed and turned her gaze back to the road. “You try kissing me again—”
Jenni laughed. “Noooooooooo!” She snuggled down in the seat and pulled the map onto her lap. “We’re looking for the handsome, black leading man, remember? I’ll kiss him.”
Katie grinned, but quickly sobered as they passed a sign for a town. “Checkersville. What do Ralph’s notes say?”
Jenni, also serious now, studied the map. “It’s got a small population. It’s Emorton we need to worry about. It’s a lot bigger.”
Katie let out a long breath. “We’re two miles out. Get ready.”
Jenni dutifully drew her gun and snapped off the safety.
They hit the small town at seventy miles per hour. Checkersville was four blocks long with a traffic light bisecting it. The town appeared completely deserted. At the end of the first block, Katie expertly swung the truck around a car stalled in the middle of the intersection.
“So far, so good,” Jenni said with relief.
“Don’t curse it,” Katie chided her as they started down the second half of the street.
A man broke free of a building ahead of them, running fast, and screaming, “Stop! Stop!”
Hearing human speech was so startling that it took a second for the women to react. The truck sailed past the man before Jenni yelled and Katie shoved down on the brakes, saying, “Get ready to open the door, Jenni.”
Jack raised his head blearily. The man ran toward the truck, sobbing and clutching one of his arms. It was a mangled mess.
“Go,” Jenni ordered in a strangled tone.
“What?”
“He’s infected.”
Katie looked into the rearview mirror, saw the man’s arm, and banged her fists against the steering wheel. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.”
The man drew nearer the truck, waving his good arm and looking relieved. Behind him, three battered running figures appeared.
“Just go,” Jenni sighed.
Katie glanced into the rearview mirror as Jack started bark at the approaching zombies. “Sorry,” she whispered as truck moved forward. More zombies shuffled into view.
“No!” the man shouted. His voice was full of disbelief, despair, and terror. “No! Don’t leave me here!”
Jenni considered shooting him, but hitting him in the head or anywhere vital enough to kill him instantly seemed just impossible, given the truck’s speed. She tried not to look behind her, but her eyes strayed to the side mirror. She winced when the man was caught by the zombies and dragged down. Her hand lashed out and grabbed Katie’s. Katie held it firmly and they both sat in silence while the town vanished behind them.
After a few miles, Katie withdrew her hand and put it back on the wheel as they drew near Emorton. Jenni consulted the marked-up map. “Ralph advised that we go down this side road. It will help us avoid the main part of town. FM 1342.”
Katie gave a quick nod. “Okay. Got it.”
Jenni looked at Katie again and thought of Katie’s words last night. They did share a bond. She felt it. She felt comfortable now with the warmth in her heart when she watched Katie. She had a new friend, a sister … a comrade. She could love Katie and not be afraid of being used or hurt.
Katie turned onto the farm road. As the town grew closer, the women became more tense, aware that larger towns were death traps. Jack softly woofed from the backseat, and Jenni turned to see that the dog was staring straight ahead with a very serious look on his face.
Three large buildings loomed ahead. Emorton Elementary, Junior High, and High School, all in a row. The parking lot was crammed with cars. High fences and locked gates surrounded the school buildings except for one section. Two cars evidently had rammed into the fence and toppled it. The crashed cars were abandoned and their doors were open. Jenni could see that the car doors were smeared with blood.
“Not good,” Katie said grimly.
“The school must have been the rescue center.” She studied the buildings as they passed. Blood and bits of bodies were littered across the courtyard in front of one of the buildings. The doors to what appeared to be the gym were wide open.
“Katie, floor it!”
Two zombies raced out of the gym toward the truck, and it was as if a dam had broken. A torrent of moaning, screeching zombies poured out of the building, a mix of adults and children, sprinting toward them. Slower, more mangled corpses lurched out behind the first wave, intent on joining in the feast.
“There’s a fuckload of zombies coming our way!” Jenni cried out.
Jack barked angrily at the approaching mob and looked at Katie worriedly, as if wondering why she wasn’t hurrying away.
Katie was driving as fast as possible along the road as it curved around the schools; on the other side of the road was farmland and no easy escape. The truck swiftly approached a knot of cars that had crashed into one another.
“They’re gonna cut us off!” Jenni was horrified at how shrill and terrified she sounded. But then again, she was terrified.
The first of the zombies scrambled past the wrecked cars and onto the road. They immediately charged the truck.
“We’re meals on wheels,” Jenni said with a bitter laugh.
“Chewy center is what it’s all about,” Katie said gloomily.
The truck plowed through the first zombies, but more were spilling out of the gap in the fence. As the truck barreled through them, Jenni saw yet another turn in the road—and more zombies coming through another broken section of the fence.
Ahead of them, a ragged line of cars clogged the road. People had obviously abandoned them in haste, probably dashing for the school. Now those same people were probably running for the truck.
“Damn stupid people!” Katie braked sharply.
“Just go!�
�� Jenni yelled . To the right, the fence hugged the roadway; to the left, there was a slight shoulder and an embankment. If they didn’t keep going, they were dead.
The zombies reached the truck and slammed their fists against metal and glass. Katie reversed, shoving her foot hard down the accelerator, looking very satisfied as the truck bounced over a few zombie bodies. She aimed the truck for the narrow path to the side of the blockade of cars.
“We might tip,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Go down! Off road through the field,” Jenni said urgently, trying not to look at the zombies banging on her window. “Before they break in!”
Katie didn’t say a word, just expertly dodged one crashed car and started down the embankment. The truck tilted scarily to one side and Jenni found herself clinging to the door handle to keep from falling into Katie. Some of the zombies were still banging on the windows.
The pickup reached the field, and the wheels plowed through the sun-hardened earth. Luckily, it was just a field of wildflowers and the truck was a 4x4. The zombies kept following. Some even clung to the edges of the truck bed. In the mirror, Jenni could see more zombies surging from the school.
Katie aimed the truck for the road on the other side of the field. “How are we doing?”
“We got stowaways and lots more trying to catch up.
There was a tremendous jolt as the truck struggled up the slope and back onto the road. Jenni saw two zombies fly off the back of the truck and onto the asphalt. One had managed to get into the truck bed and was staggering toward the back window. Jack was barking wildly.
“Stop!”
Katie obeyed immediately.
The zombie pitched forward and hit the back of the cab. It fell back into the bed, out of sight.
Jenni flung the door open, jumped out, and raised her gun. The zombie grabbed hold of the side of the truck and hauled itself up, straight into Jenni’s line of fire.
“Pop,” Jenni said. She pulled the trigger, and the zombie’s head did pop, like an enormous blister. The thing tumbled over the edge of the truck onto the road.
“Get in!” Katie was struggling to keep Jack in the truck’s cab.
As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 8