“Maybe,” I pointed at the small groups of necrotics we passed, “this is all that is left.”
Holly’s smile vanished. “That’s a scary thought.”
It was crazy to think that the infection could have spread this fast, but the simple fact was that most people were easy targets. Despite the perception in the media, most people don’t own guns or have any weapons in their homes. When the necrotics came knocking, normal people made easy snacks, and if they ran into one of the fast ones, well, it was game over.
One of the fast ones would be too strong to take down with a bat or a hammer. That was if they even waded into the battle. They might just sit back and let the slow ones cut you down. Did the fast ones even eat? What was motivating them? Right now it almost felt more like an alien invasion than a zombie novel.
Looking out at the hordes of undead, it was a reminder of just how important our weapons were. Not to mention the Bronco. With no other cars on the road, if there were people out, the Bronco made us a target. The last thing we needed to worry about was running into people. Shooting down people just trying to survive wasn’t a position I wanted to be in, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if it came down to it.
I didn’t relish the thought of trying to walk to Flagstaff, so filling up the Bronco was a must. If the pumps weren’t on, we’d have to try and figure out the system or move on to the next station before we were swarmed. We also couldn’t count on the police being absent forever. By now, we would have shown up on a satellite for anyone that was looking. We’d had enough excitement since waking up. I didn’t want to add a helicopter chasing us down into the mix.
Being on the run wasn’t exactly what I expected. Although I’d always imagined I’d be running from the cops or a giant alligator, not zombies. Running from necrotics was scary. One mistake and you’re one of them. In the movies it always looks so glamorous. They glossed over all the downsides, like the constant threat of imminent death, and the running. God, I hated the running.
But hey, at least I had company at the end of the world. If you told most guys my age that they could spend the end of the world with a real-life version of Alice from Resident Evil, they’d say screw the risks, I’m signing up for that. Of course, the version they were enjoying in their head was a little more erotic than what we were doing now. They also didn’t cover that in the movies. No one had sex when they were living in a constant state of terror.
Not that I wasn’t tickled pink to be riding down the zombie-filled road with a hottie that kicked more ass than I did. I mean who wouldn’t be excited about that? It was more of a how can you be excited when the world is spiraling out control. I kind of liked the world the way it was. I mean without power, TV, and Netflix, how did you survive? I’m a simple man, but I still needed a few essentials to get through the day.
Holly probably felt the same way. She probably wanted hot showers, breakfast in bed, wine, and of course her precious two day delivery. Then again, she might prefer coffee and a trip to the gun range. I mean could you imagine how horrible life would be without coffee and hot showers? Unbearable, unthinkable, catastrophic. That’s exactly where we were headed if we couldn’t get Holly back to a lab.
“If gas is out, maybe we call the Hilltop for help?” I gave Holly a serious look. It was a shit idea, but when the other idea might be walking through the zombie wasteland it was worth considering. “This is bigger than whatever is going on between you and Director Chen. Holly, this could really be the end of the world.”
Holly's hands bunched into fists at her side. Her face looked more panicked than angry. “We can’t do that. You don’t know what Director Chen wants from me.”
That was true, and he’d gone through some pretty substantial trouble to try and whisk Holly away under everyone’s noses. There had to be a reason for that, and I wanted to know what it was, but I wasn’t going to force Holly to tell me. She’d earned more than a little trust from me. If she didn’t want to talk about it, I wouldn’t push her, even with the world on the line.
“I’ll never know unless you tell me. If you want to tell me.” I spared a quick glance in her direction, trying to convey the fact she didn’t have to say a word.
Holly stared out the windows, looking everywhere except my direction. Just when I thought she wouldn’t say anything, her voice broke the heavy silence that had settled between us. “He thinks I’m property. His property to be exact.”
“What? In a creepy I won’t let you do anything without my say so kind of way, or the you turned him down and he’s willing to burn the world down to get what he wants kind of way.”
The corner of Holly’s mouth twitched up for just a second before returning to more of a scowl. “More of the we played Russian Roulette with your DNA so now we think we own you kind of way.”
So there was more to Holly than meets the eye. “You’re still a person. Despite what that asshole thinks, they don’t own you.”
“You’d be surprised what people think they can own.” A single tear streaked down Holly’s cheek. “It’s not like they ever asked me what I wanted. They just turned me into this.” She looked down at herself with a disgusted expression on her face.
“Yeah, it must be rough. You are super smart, fast, and strong. Not to mention drop dead gorgeous. I’m sure the world is collectively weeping for the woes that have been heaped at your feet.” I couldn’t help myself. As far as I could tell, nothing was wrong with Holly. She was badass. She just needed a little help extracting herself from a bad situation. Fortunately for her I had some experience with that.
Holly cracked the smallest of grins. “Gorgeous, huh?”
I dodged around a necrotic while eyeing the gas station up ahead. “Don’t kill the messenger, but it’s true.”
“You say that now, but when I’m pacing on the ceiling at four a.m. things are going to feel different.”
I lost all interest in the road in front of me. “Wait, you can walk on the ceiling?”
Holly burst out laughing. “No, but the look on your face is priceless.”
Pretending to pull out a phone and dial, I looked over at Holly again. “Never mind, Director Chen, I’ve got her right here. You didn’t tell me she was full of bad jokes. I’ll bring her in now.”
“Asshole,” Holly snickered.
“Let me guess, you’ve got two of them. God, I can’t even win against you when it comes to the number of assholes I have.” I started angling the Bronco toward the pumps. “Ready to give this a go?”
“I’m still trying to figure out how the two assholes thing would work. Doesn’t seem like much of a benefit.”
“You say that like you’ve never experienced street taco Tuesday before. Anything you can do to get that over with as soon as possible is worth it.” I flashed a grin at the disgusted look on her face. “Just saying.”
“Gross.” Holly shook her head, giving me the stink eye the entire time. “Better head to the next station, those pumps are chained off.”
Ten seconds later, I was able to see the chains myself. Maybe we’d be better off trying to hit one of the bigger chains like QuickTrip. I doubt they took the time to do more than batten down the hatches before fleeing out the door. The Bronco slipped back into gear, and we rolled past the station. The necrotics weaving down the street turned to follow us.
Holly pointed further down the road toward a glowing red and white sign. For the first time tonight I wondered if our luck was changing. That or they just decided to put a QuickTrip every ten feet like McDonald’s or Starbucks. Either way, the station might just be our salvation. Hopefully, the pumps worked. If not, we’d have to get creative. I was going to leave the getting the pumps working up to Holly, while I got to remain here and keep the Bronco secure.
“We’ll try my card at the pump, but you might have to go inside and get the pumps working somehow.” Not my best sales pitch, I had to admit, but I hoped it was enough to do the trick.
Holly gave me a flat look. “How am I suppos
ed to do that?”
I waved my hand in a dismissive gesture. “You’ll figure something out. I mean you’re a doctor for God’s sake, how hard can it be to work a cash register.”
“Depends on who’s trying to pay.” Holly cut me a withering gaze. “Just don’t leave me behind.”
“Hey, just because you fantasized about doing it to me doesn’t mean I’d repay the favor.” I kept my tone light, but we both knew what she was saying. I hadn’t exactly shown Holly my best self since we met, but I was trying to do better.
Reaching out, I grabbed her hand. I didn’t know what made me say it. I only knew that in this moment it was exactly how I felt. “I’d never.” Turning, I looked her in the eyes. “For better or worse, we’re in this together. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
Holly’s eyes widened, and why wouldn’t they? It sounded like I was making a declaration of love instead of offering to escort her to our secret base in Flagstaff. I didn’t exactly mean for it to come out like that, but it had, and here we were.
To her credit, Holly didn’t miss a beat. She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Thank you.”
It was hard for me to be sure, but those words carried a weight with them. Maybe it just felt nice for her to finally be able to tell someone her secret. It couldn’t be easy living your life feeling like you couldn’t trust anyone. If I were in her position, I would have thought everyone was spying on me for Chen, especially the guy that saved me from the hospital. It didn’t really matter how long it took. I knew that I wanted Holly to see me as more than that guy. I’d do whatever it took to save her, so she could save all of us.
I killed the engine, and the rumbling purr the Bronco was making died instantly. It might not do much for the necrotics that were already following us, but I hoped it would stop us from picking up any new stragglers as we got closer to the station. The Bronco coasted up to the pumps, and I hit the brakes. Within seconds, Holly and I were out of our ride.
I pulled out my card and swiped it. The damn thing buzzed like an angry hornet before even asking me for my postal code. Holly’s gun went off as I blinked at the screen. The two most dreaded words in the gas industry appeared on the screen. See Cashier. We all knew what that meant. The card had been declined, or the pumps weren’t working.
I tried the card again hoping against hope that it had just been an error. The card reader rewarded me by making the same high pitched beeps. It was like they wanted everyone to know you didn’t have any money. I was waiting for the ATM to start saying Get the fuck out of here you broke mother fucker, instead of just flashing zeros at me.
“Faster would be better,” Holly groused as her nine millimeter continued to fire.
My stomach started to burble, and I knew we were out of time. “It’s not working, time to move.”
The Desert Eagle leapt into my hand, and I fired off a few rounds at the necrotics shambling toward Holly from behind. She flashed a quick smile in my direction before making a break for the lobby. She fired at the glass door and ran inside as people started screaming. I had to make a choice now. Stay and guard the Bronco, or make sure Holly was ok, the choice was easy.
After my big speech a minute ago, I kind of didn’t have a choice. Darting around the Bronco, I shot four more necrotics before popping in a new magazine and running for the door. People were still screaming in fear, but now more than a few shouts of anger had joined the mix. Yeah, your hiding place was ruined, but you better not fuck with my girl.
“A guy goes to one little basketball game, and the world turns to shit,” I mumbled to myself as the glass crunched under my boots. As much as I was feeling sorry for myself, I doubted anyone else cared. The world had moved on; the time for apologizing was over.
I stepped inside and fired a shot into the roof. “Everyone stay on the fucking ground. The first person to move becomes an example of just how much shit I’m willing to take.”
Chapter Four
Holly Bowmont
Maybe I should have tried the door before blowing a hole through it with my gun, but time was a factor. Stepping into the QuickTrip to the sound of panicked and screaming people wasn’t exactly something I had been counting on. We hadn’t seen a single living person since we woke up, and I’d been looking. I refused to count the Renfield as a living person. Anyone that worked for the necrotics was dead to me.
So when the screaming started I almost stopped and turned around. The last thing I wanted to deal with was more people. People that could betray, people that could cut, people that would only let you down in the end. At least I had Max. Not that we’d had the most auspicious of beginnings, but he was growing on me. There weren’t a lot of people in the world that would turn down the chance to have Chen eating out of their hands, but Max did it without hesitation.
With some effort, I pulled my thoughts away from Max, and focused on the task at hand. The screaming didn’t help, but if the people were panicked enough, they wouldn’t think about attacking. I might have been over people for the moment, but I also didn’t want to kill anyone. By the look of things on the street, every human life was important now.
While I hadn’t been expecting the QT to be hiding a bunch of necrotic refugees, I was kind of happy to know there were still people out there. Ignoring the shouts and the scared looks, I ran through the store to the counter. Shoving down the guilt at destroying these people’s sanctuary was surprisingly easy. They’d have to find another place to hide now, but it wasn’t my problem. All I had to do was get the pump working so we could leave. It couldn’t be that hard right, high school kids could do it.
Running around the counter, I found a monitor hooked to a drawer. This had to be the register, now I just needed to figure out how to turn it on. Reaching out, I started searching for buttons or looking for the computer that ran the checkout system. “Come on, pump six.” Muttering to myself didn’t seem to help, but I continued to do it as I tried to find the on button.
Despite my best efforts, the screen remained black. The damn thing just wouldn’t turn on. Maybe it was locked, and you needed a key of some kind to get in? The screen wouldn’t do more than go to the company’s logo. There wasn’t a place to type in a password. I was pretty sure I could hack it, but we didn’t have that kind of time. Maybe high school kids were smarter than I was giving them credit for?
I caught a hint of movement out of the corner of my eye and saw a man approaching the counter. He carried himself like he’d been in more than a few fights and was confident he’d come out on top. Everything about him came off as aggressive. The tattoos on the side of his head and the sneer on his face didn’t do much to dissuade me of my initial opinion.
With the kind of sunny disposition you’d expect from a man with shoddy prison tattoos on his face, he growled, “Bitch, what in the fuck is wrong with you?” The man’s face seemed to find a darker shade of red with every word he hurled in my direction. His hand came up as if he was rethinking about running and leaping over the counter and choking the life out of me. “You’d better have a way out of here for me, or I’m going to fuck you up real good.”
It takes two to tangle, my dad always told me after I’d gotten into a fight. He was always of the opinion that everything could be solved with words, while I liked to think that sometimes people just liked to shout because they knew no one would make them stop. In this case, the guy probably saw an easy target, but he was about to learn I was anything but easy. Looking up from the blank screen, I fixed him with my best fuck off look and reached for one of the guns strapped to my thighs.
“Always nice to encounter such a gentleman.” There was a part of me that couldn’t help but egg him on. There was something very satisfying about putting a man who thought he could take advantage of you just because you were a woman in his place. He started forward, and I pulled the gun free and tapped it on the counter to get his attention.
I stared at him long enough for my meaning to be clear. He must have gotten the gist from my gl
are, or at the very least he wasn’t willing to chance attacking me just yet. What he didn’t know was I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him if I had to. Getting into a fist fight with a man that big and brutal looking didn’t seem very appealing, but that didn’t mean I had to kill him. Men tended to stop fighting after you shot them just about anywhere.
Plus if I started shooting people, I might not be able to find anyone to activate the pumps. I couldn’t see people volunteering to help the lady that just murdered a man in front of them. At least I hadn’t had to test the theory. The man took a step backward, giving me enough room to start scanning the people crouching down behind the aisles. It didn’t take too long to spot the familiar red shirt that might just lead to our salvation. Before I could ask the girl to help me, Max skidded to halt just inside the door.
He looked around wildly for a moment and then fired his gun into the ceiling and screamed, “Everyone stay on the fucking ground! The first person to move becomes an example of just how much shit I’m willing to take.”
“Not exactly helpful, Max.” I cast a quick glance in his direction. No one was going to help us if we scared all of them to death. That or they would be too embarrassed to stand up with a big wet spot on their pants. The media liked to highlight the we charged the gunman moments, but in reality, when the bullets started flying, most people just fell apart.
It was time to calm the situation down a bit. If that was even possible after someone fired a gun into the ceiling like in a bad bank heist movie. Hopefully, people would pay more attention to me than the man shouting demands. “What we really need is someone to unlock the computer for us.”
Max must not have taken the hint. He scanned the people huddled on the ground and growled, “So who’s got the key?” He started moving up and down the aisles looking for anyone that could help.
I’d already spotted the red-shirted miracle worker, and I hoped she’d help us get out of here before events spiraled out of control. And why was Max asking for a key? Was there some kind of switch that activated the computer? “Max, we don’t need a key, we need to get this register on.”
Rise of the Necrotics (Book 6): Gas and Go Page 3