When Jenni told how Katie had rescued her, Jason’s hand—a boy’s hand still—touched Katie’s shoulder, and he whispered, “Thank you.”
It took all Katie’s willpower not to cry.
Finally, Jenni told Jason about the hunting store, about Ralph and his Israeli wife who used to be a sniper.
“And the hunting store is safe?”
“As safe as this world gets now,” Katie answered. “Which reminds me, I need to check in.”
Soon, Ralph’s voice filled the cab.
“Yeah, we cleared out most of the town. Awful mess, though, all those bodies. I’ll have to figure a way to get them away from the store so the stench won’t be so bad. Turns out Bill, our deputy sheriff, was holed up down the road at the Parker place. He managed to get here on foot. Mighty brave of him. He wasn’t bit. So he’s safe. We’ll put him and yer boy up in the living room on cots.”
“That’s good news. You don’t know how badly we want to get back.” Katie couldn’t help but smile at the thought of reaching the store.
“How’s the gas?”
“Honestly, we’re coming in on fumes. We … ah … forgot the backup canisters.”
“Noticed. Well, stay yer course. Stay steady. You should make it back okay if you do. We’ll be on the lookout for you.”
“Thanks, Ralph. We’ll see you soon,” Katie said, and handed the CB transceiver to Jenni, who promptly secured it back to the dashboard.
Glancing into her rearview mirror, Katie saw Jason rubbing his eyes and nose. Jack was pressed up against him, whimpering softly, licking at his face. That brought a small smile to the boy’s face and he hugged the dog snugly.
“Listen, both of you. We need to keep our heads together the rest of this trip. We can’t lose it now.”
Jenni looked at Katie plaintively. “I know. I know. I blew it.”
“We just got lucky. But it could have gone down so much worse. You even left your gun behind.”
Jenni took a breath and let it out gradually . She ran her hands over her bedraggled ponytail. “I … I just wanted him to be alive.”
“And I am,” Jason said. “But I don’t want to lose my only family member. My only mom.”
Jenni looked at him and clasped his hand over the back of her seat firmly. “I won’t lose it again. I’ll be strong.”
Katie pushed her sunglasses up on her nose, appearing grim. “We can’t let our emotions rule us. We just can’t. We have to keep calm.”
She could see out of her peripheral vision that both of them were nodding. A little of the tightness in her belly lessened, but her hands still felt shaky despite her firm grip on the steering wheel.
Glancing at the fuel gauge, she exhaled slowly. It was going to be tight.
No deviations.
No detours.
Straight on.
To safety.
To their new home.
The truck crested a hill and for a second, Katie couldn’t draw breath.
“Fuck,” Jason blurted out.
“No,” Jenni whispered in horror.
“Gawddammit!”
Katie slammed on the brakes.
Running full speed toward them was an enormous crowd of zombies. It had to be the zombies they’d first seen in Emorton—children, old people, young people, adults, all bloodied and all chewed up, all screaming, moaning, screeching as they flowed along the narrow farm road and spilled into the trees.
Jenni started to moan. “No, no, no.”
Katie pounded her fist on the steering wheel. “They fucking followed us. They fucking followed us!”
“What are we going to do?” Jason asked, his voice edged with panic.
Jack barked.
Katie grabbed the CB mic. “Ralph, Nerit … we have a situation.”
“What’s wrong?” Nerit’s voice said coolly, but tinged with worry.
“There was a shitload of zombies in Emorton. They pursued us when we went through the town. Evidently, they kept running after us, and right now, they’re about a mile away and closing fast. They fill the fucking road all the way into the trees.”
“Can you gun it and get through them?” Ralph’s voice asked.
Katie looked at Jenni and Jason. They both looked afraid, they both looked desperate, but they all knew the truth.
“No. We can’t. Too many.” Katie rubbed the back of her hand over her lips and tried to swallow. Her mouth was so dry. “We have to … we have to turn around.”
“Katie…” Ralph’s voice was soft.
“Sorry, Ralph—” Her voice caught. “—we wanted to make it back.”
“Turn around. Go to FM 1226. Keep out of their sight. They’ll keep going straight on, hopefully. Take FM 1226 to CR 1113. That’ll bring you back here,” another voice said.
Probably the deputy.
There was some discussion over on the other end.
“… not enough gas…”
“… drive out to them…”
“… risky in Ashley Oaks…”
“We’re doing it,” Katie said, then handed off the mouthpiece to Jenni.
The zombies were closing fast. She could see they were desperate to get to the truck, roll it, break it apart, and eat what was within. A few in the front stumbled, fell, and were crushed beneath the onslaught of those behind.
Katie swung the truck around, aimed it back in the direction they had come from, and floored it.
“Pray for us,” Jenni said into the mic.
“Just keep moving … until you can’t no more. We’ll come get you,” Ralph said.
Katie’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror and the zombie horde cresting the hill behind them. She pushed harder on the gas pedal.
They had to keep calm. They had to keep strong. They had to survive.
It was as easy as that.
CHAPTER SEVEN
1.
By the Pricking of Their Thumbs …
Jenni furrowed her brow and traced the farm road they were on with her finger. They were speeding away from the road that led to Emorton. Jason leaned over and pointed to a little dot on the map marked ASHLEY OAKS. Jenni frowned some more, then glanced over at the boy. She could see his eyes narrowing as he concentrated.
“That adds approximately ten miles to our trip.” He glanced at the gas gauge. “Possibly doable.”
Jenni smiled slightly. Jason was good with figures, and she trusted him. “Ralph will come get us.”
“We need to not be too far out when we hit empty,” Katie said. “We really don’t know what the situation is out here. We’re hoping for a low number of zombies, but Emorton taught us a fairly bitter lesson.”
Jenni could feel the heat of the sun pressing down on her and she glanced toward it. It was lower in the sky as the day wound to a close. They were running out of time. “What does it look like?” Katie asked.
Jason took the map and studied it. “No towns except the one Ralph talked about. At least not between us and Ashley Oaks.”
Jenni barely glanced at the occasional house or trailer along the road. Most of them looked boarded up. No cars anywhere. The world was as good as dead now, it seemed, at least here in rural Texas.
She was trying hard not to panic. Not to feel overwhelmed. She gripped Jason’s hand tightly. They had saved Jason. She had done her duty, and that gave her a strange sense of calm. But now they had to stay alive. Otherwise, their rescue of Jason would be pointless. Yesterday, on her own doorstep, Jenni had almost given up. Almost given in, but not now. No, not now.
The truck roared as it turned down the narrow country road Ralph had directed them to. Katie’s knuckles were white as she gripped the steering wheel.
They all felt it, Jenni knew. They were running out of time.
“I’m starving, Mom.”
“There’s food in the bags next to you,” Jenni answered. She glanced out the window, toward the hills and the fields covered in spring flowers. It was such a pretty day.
Behind her, Jas
on rummaged through the backpacks they had brought with them from the gun store. The tearing of cellophane sounded behind her, and Jason wordlessly handed her a Danish. She took it and began to eat ravenously. The day was slipping by fast and they had forgotten to eat. Jason handed a pastry to Katie, and they all ate in eerie silence.
If the zombies catch us and tear us open, will they enjoy the sugary goodness inside , Jenni wondered grimly.
The vision of all those zombies running toward them was too horrible to think about, yet she couldn’t help but do so. What if they figured out, somehow, from some instinct, that the truck had pulled onto this road?
“I gotta pee,” Jenni said abruptly. The urgent need had hit her suddenly. She was a little surprised when Jason and Katie both said, “Me, too.”
“Looks clear,” Katie added.
Katie stopped in the middle of the narrow road, lifted the shotgun off the console, and looked at Jenni. “You first. Take your gun. I’ll cover.”
Jenni grumbled as she released her seat belt. “This is fucking annoying. Not being able to go without an armed guard.”
Jason cleared his throat and said, “What about me? I gotta go like right now.”
“I’ll cover for you, too. Jenni can cover for me.”
Jason looked at her warily.
Katie gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m a lesbian. It’s okay. I’m not interested in your boy parts. I won’t look.”
“Really?” Jason’s eyes somewhat lit up. “I saw a movie with lesbians once.”
“I’m sure you did.” Katie rolled her eyes and flung her door open. She slid out, muttering something about all men being alike.
Jenni found it uncomfortable to squat in the tall grass and summer wildflowers and try to pee while Katie hovered over her with the safety off on the shotgun. She tried hard to concentrate on the far horizon, staring across the wide valley of farmland.
Suddenly she realized she could see the country road they had been on before—and see the crowd of zombies, still racing along. If one of them should look over and see the bright red truck perched high on the hill across the valley …
She yanked up her pants. “Katie,” she whispered, and pointed.
Katie looked, studied, and realized what the dark swarm of antlike creatures on the far road was. “Fuck.” She motioned to Jason, who was standing nearby, trying to pee. “Empty your bladder now. We’re outta here.”
Jason glanced up and saw what had the women so spooked. “That sucks.”
Meanwhile, Jack decorated all four tires with a nice yellow stream and left a tidy little brown package behind the truck in the middle of the road. He followed Jason back into the truck, giving Jenni a doggy grin that told her of his satisfaction.
“Hoping a zombie steps in it, huh,” Jenni said with a little smile as she climbed into the truck.
She could have sworn Jack’s smile got bigger.
Casting a wary glance at the distant zombie throng, Jenni whispered a silent prayer. Katie shifted into gear and they sped off with only a thin line of trees and a valley of farmland separating them from certain death.
“What if one of them looks this way?” Jason asked, his voice sounding a little higher than usual.
He’s terrified, Jenni thought. And she had to admit she was, too.
“Pray that they don’t,” Katie answered.
Much to their relief, the road swerved and put the zombie throng behind them instead of alongside.
Jenni couldn’t help but turn around in her seat and stare out the back window. Jack and Jason did the same. The dog gave a light woof; Jenni couldn’t decide if it was comforting or not.
“This cannot get any worse!” Katie half yelled. Jenni felt the truck slow and spun around to look out the front window.
A narrow bridge lay before them, completely blocked by a large, overturned farm truck and its bulky haul of hay bales. Inside the overturned truck cab, two zombies were flailing against the glass, having spotted the pickup full of potential meals. The driver was badly mauled and was probably not much a threat due to the fact that it was completely missing one arm and half the other. The female zombie with only a throat wound visible was a bit feistier.
“Bet he was trying to save her and she ate him,” Jason said.
Jenni kept blinking, trying to force what she was seeing to change, but it was all too clear. There was no way across the bridge.
Next to her, Katie was rhythmically banging her head against the pale white knuckles of her hands, saying, “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.”
“We have to go back,” Jenni said softly.
“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.”
“Maybe we could wait until the zombie army passes the intersection back there, then hightail it back to the gun store,” Jason suggested.
“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.”
Jenni looked behind the truck, then ahead. There was no choice.
“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. Fuckaduck,” Katie said with finality, and sat up. “Okay, do we sit here and wait for—?”
The female zombie had finally managed to locate an opening in the bashed-up cab and was squirming out.
“That answers that,” Katie decided.
“Woof,” Jack said. He was staring at the back window. Jason turned to see what the dog was looking at and said, “Uh … we have zombies. …”
Jenni whipped around to see three old women—well, what had once been three old women—still clad in flowered summer dresses, running toward them. Behind them were what looked like two field-workers.
“I think we picked up … um … a zombie parade,” Jason said mildly. “Probably from some of the farmhouses back there.”
“Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck,” Katie said again as she started to turn the truck around on the narrow road. Her careful maneuvering took long enough that by the time the truck was pointed away from the bridge, the scary old women zombies were banging on the windows.
Jenni flipped off the safety on her gun and tried to steady her nerves as the female zombie from the wreck finished worming her way out, stood up, and started for the truck.
“Go!” she shouted.
The truck roared down the road, effectively taking out two of the farmworkers.
“Tell Ralph,” Katie said.
Jenni reached for the CB.
Ralph’s voice was somber when he responded after hearing of their situation. “Take FM 1995. You’ll end up in a town named Ashley Oaks. They’re doing a lot of construction there, fixing up the place. Renovations of the downtown. Get there and see if you can hole up with a group of survivors there. I’ve found some chatter on Channel Nine few minutes ago. Tune in to that channel. Trucker made it to Ashley Oaks and he put out the word there is survivors there. I was hoping you were going to make it home, but you better try for them. They’re closer.”
Jenni looked at Katie hopefully, and Katie nodded. “Ralph, we’re gonna try for it. That’s a big ol’ ten-four, big buddy!”
Jason winced at his stepmother’s words, and Jenni playfully wrinkled her nose at him.
“You watched way too much Smokey and the Bandit, Mom.”
“Jason, get the map,” Katie said. “Check out Ashley Oaks.”
Jason immediately grabbed the map and studied it, measuring with his fingers, looking at the gas gauge, and calculating in his head. “It’ll be really tight.”
“As usual,” Katie sighed.
Jenni looked worriedly at Katie, then grabbed the CB. “Uh, Ralph? Please tell me … the survivors in Ashley Oaks … they’re not in a mall … right?”
Katie’s laughter rang out. Jenni just pouted at her.
“Why don’t you just ask if their leader is a black man?” Katie said with a grin.
“Nope and nope,” Ralph said. From the sound of his voice, Jenni could tell he was both amused and worried. “I’m guessin’ they’re downtown somewhere. Probably near the renovations. Keep us informed. I’m worried sick.”
“Ten-four. Can and will do. Over
and out,” Jenni said, trying to sound like she wasn’t scared out of her mind. But every time she looked at the gas gauge, she feared that they were going to be stranded and have to fight their way to safety on foot.
She looked across the valley at the dark cloud of dead flesh moving across the distant road. The sign announcing the junction with their new destination flashed by as the pickup rushed down the road. Jenni hoped they’d make the turn before the zombies noticed them.
Katie turned the truck onto FM 1995, which sloped up a hill. It was a long, steady climb, and Jenni couldn’t help but turn and stare out the back window. Between the shaggy brown hair of her stepson and the back of the German shepherd’s head, she saw a handful of zombies. Probably the stragglers from the big group.
The red truck crested the tall hill, and Jenni looked ahead to see the entire valley and the hills beyond, painfully beautiful, serene, and majestic. And then they were descending the other side.
Jason turned around, white-faced. “Mom, did you see?”
“What?” Jenni asked.
“Didn’t you see?”
“No.”
“Maybe ten or twenty zombies started running across the field toward this road.”
Jenni rested her forehead on the back of her seat and sighed.
From beside her came a steady string of fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.
2.
Salvation This Way Comes
Katie couldn’t stop cursing, nor did she want to. This was getting ridiculous. She just couldn’t believe how downhill their plan had gone. But every time she started to curse herself for leaving the safety of Ralph’s hunting store, she would catch a glimpse of the kid with the shaggy brown hair in the backseat. She knew it had been worth the risk.
Katie had felt helpless after saving Jenni. Yeah, they had survived, but she had failed too many. Lydia, the kid at the convenience store, the family at the camp … how many others had she bypassed without notice? Lydia always teased her that she wanted to save the world, and she was right. Katie wished she could save the world, but knew in her heart that she couldn’t. All she could truly do was keep the people and the dog she had rescued alive and safe.
As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 10