“And you can probably guess that I was a high school student.” The teen shrugged like he wished he had something more interesting to add.
“You?” Miller asked, focusing on Buck.
“Lived in Shamrock my whole life,” he said, “worked as a mechanic ‘til three years ago when I retired.”
We lapsed into silence, all of us focused on Miller except Devon—although he did glance back at the guy—but the corporal had his mouth clamped shut, telling me he wouldn’t be saying anything else.
I sighed. “Well, it’s nice to have everyone with us.”
Buck gave me a strained smile before I turned back around.
It was midday and the sun was high, shining down on the landscape as it flew by. Here and there I spotted a figure, usually pretty far off, but for the most part, the world felt deserted. We never saw another car or living person, or even any signs that anyone had been by any time recently.
The small towns, diners, gas stations, and truck stops we passed were another story. They had an abandoned feel to them, but more often than not, they weren’t totally deserted. Zombies could be seen moving through the parking lot or even trapped inside cars the way they had been at the motel in Vega, and those that were outside would turn and stumble toward us when they heard the car. There weren’t enough to really put us in danger, though, and before they’d even reached the road, they had disappeared from sight. Still, seeing them had my insides tightening into an intricate web of knots. This was what the future held for us. I’d known it even before we left Vega, but seeing it mile after mile made it all too real.
We passed abandoned cars on the side of the road, some with doors or trunks open like they’d been searched, and empty checkpoints. Devon didn’t even bother slowing at those, and by the time the sun had begun to set, I had stopped trying to search for a sign of life when they came into view.
In the back, Miller snored. His head was leaning against the window, while next to him Hank’s was resting on Buck. The older man was awake but didn’t seem to mind, and he acted like sleep was the farthest thing from his mind.
When I spotted St. Louis in the distance, the arch illuminated by the moonlight but the city as black as a cave, I couldn’t help thinking about Kyle. Were his parents alive? His brothers and sisters? Kiaya had taken his phone, but as far as I knew, no one had ever returned her call. I wasn’t sure if that was a comfort or not. At least if they were dead, they weren’t wondering what had happened to him, but I hated thinking his whole family was gone even though I’d never met them.
It was nearing dawn by the time we passed the Welcome to Indiana sign. We still had nearly two hours of driving before we reached Indy, but my heart still leapt. Soon, we’d be there, and then we could be on our way to Troy. It wouldn’t be long now.
Then, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, the city was looming in front of us. The sun was coming up by then, painting the horizon in bright colors that made the day in front of us seem promising and less scary.
We’d been driving in utter silence for so long that I jumped when Devon said, “I’m going to have Lisa lead.”
He slowed to a stop as I rolled my window down, waving for Lisa to pull up beside us. Her window was already down when she did, and Kiaya was leaning over her so she could see out the driver’s side window.
“Lead the way,” I called to them. “We’ll stay close.”
Kiaya nodded in response, and the way her jaw was clenched made it look like she was too tense to talk.
The city was to the right, and the closer we got, the more ominous it looked, contrasting with the bright horizon. The utter stillness surrounding it raised the hair on the back of my neck. It was so dark, so empty looking. No lights in the buildings or on the streets, and no headlights from cars, even. It was like the entire population of the world had disappeared. Of course, that would have been awful, but probably a lot less scary than what had actually happened. The people were gone, but in their place were monsters intent on killing anything still living. It was worse than a horror movie.
There were signs of the living as we drove, little things that told me we weren’t the only ones alive, but we didn’t see any people. Even the dead were a rare sight. It was odd, considering how close we were to the city and how many homes we drove past, but I was grateful for it just the same. The fewer zombies we saw, the better.
“How far to Troy from here?” Devon asked as he followed the SUV through the suburban neighborhood.
“About two hours,” I said. “We’ll grab Interstate 75 when we reach it and head north. It’s a straight shot.”
He nodded, his head barely moving, but said nothing.
Less than ten minutes later, Lisa pulled to a stop outside a house. It was two stories and white, with an overgrown front yard that had probably been well-maintained until recently. I leaned closer to my window, peering up at the house as I searched for any sign that someone inside might still be alive. We all knew it was a long shot. Even if Kiaya’s sister had survived the virus, she might not have survived the aftermath. The dead coming back would take anyone by surprise, and I was sure a lot of people had been too unprepared to even have time to fight back.
The thought of Kiaya having to see that made me almost physically sick.
“You’re going in?” Miller asked when I reached for the doorknob.
I shoved the door open without looking back at him. “I’m not making Kiaya face this alone.”
Devon and Buck followed, and even Hank climbed out. Kiaya and Lisa had already exited the other car and stood waiting for us at the walkway leading to the front porch, and I was glad to see Randall and the kids had remained inside. Kiaya looked like she might be sick, and Lisa’s expression was twisted with concern as she watched us approach.
A door slammed behind us, and I looked back to find Miller standing beside the car, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.
He was seriously getting on my nerves.
“I think we should go in first,” Lisa said, focusing on Devon and Buck. “We don’t know what we’re going to find.”
She’d read my mind.
“Yeah.” Devon exhaled as he looked toward the house. “Good idea.”
“I have to see her,” Kiaya said.
“What if she isn’t her?” Lisa asked. “Or worse, she’s been ripped apart? Can you handle that?”
Kiaya looked suddenly ill. “I don’t know.”
“That’s why I think we should go in first,” Lisa said gently.
After a second, Kiaya nodded.
I moved to her side. “I’ll stay with you.”
“Okay,” she said, her voice low and tremulous.
We walked with Devon, Buck, and Lisa to the front porch, and Hank followed but hung back when they moved to the door. Devon and Buck had their guns up and ready while Lisa tried the knob. I flinched when it turned and the door clicked open. I couldn’t imagine it being unlocked if someone inside was still alive. It was simply too risky.
“Here goes,” Lisa said before pushing on the door.
She pulled her gun as it swung open, then she, Buck, and Devon stepped in. I leaned forward, trying to get a look, but the interior was dark. It was silent, too. From out here, I couldn’t smell anything that indicated whether there were bodies inside, but that didn’t mean much. If they’d died upstairs, we might not be able to smell it all the way out here.
Devon, Buck, and Lisa disappeared, and at my side Kiaya shifted. I had my knife out, but she’d pulled her gun. Just in case. She was trembling, and the little light that had broken over the horizon shone off the blade of my knife as it shook, emphasizing that I wasn’t doing much better. We were both so jumpy I doubted we’d be much use if a zombie did come charging, so I looked back to make sure Hank—and maybe even Miller—were ready to jump in if there was trouble. The teen had a knife out, fortunately, but the corporal was unarmed.
Why the hell didn’t he pull a weapon?
No noise reached us
from inside, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. If the others were still quietly searching or if they’d finished and were now trying to decide what to do. Minutes passed, and Kiaya got more and more restless. I could tell she was running out of patience, and while I couldn’t blame her, rushing in right now was a bad idea.
“They’ll be back in a minute,” I said, hoping to calm her.
She didn’t respond, but it turned out it didn’t matter because only a few seconds later footsteps became audible. They were headed our way, and even though they sounded even and not at all labored, I tensed and prepared for a fight. Just in case.
Devon stepped into view, followed by Lisa and Buck, but the shadows made it impossible to read their expressions. Then it didn’t matter, because they were moving aside, and I caught sight of someone else behind them. Not just anyone else, either. A teenage girl who resembled Kiaya so much it was like she’d been cloned.
“Zara!” Kiaya dropped her gun, and it clanged against the cement, then she rushed forward, throwing her arms around her sister.
The younger girl hugged her back, sobbing. “I was so scared.”
“I emailed you. I told you I’d get here,” Kiaya said.
“But it took so long, and there were zombies.” Zara let out a hiccupped sob. “Zombies, Kiaya.”
“I know,” her sister said soothingly. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay.”
Zara pulled back so she could focus her tear-filled eyes on Kiaya. “How?”
Kiaya looked back to where the rest of us stood. “I don’t know, but we’re going to figure it out.”
“I dragged my foster parents out of the house after they died,” Zara was telling her sister.
The two of them were sitting on the couch in the living room holding hands, and I couldn’t stop staring at them. They looked so similar, more like twins even though Kiaya had to be at least three years older.
“I felt bad. They were nice people, but I didn’t know what else to do. The phones weren’t working and there was no electricity, and I couldn’t just leave them in the house to rot.” She swallowed, and genuine terror shimmered in her brown eyes, which were a carbon copy of Kiaya’s. “What if I had?”
Her sister gave her hand a squeeze. “Don’t think about it. You’re okay, and that’s the important part.”
“How did you find out about the zombies?” Lisa asked, drawing the younger girl’s gaze to her.
“I saw some people walking down the street. I almost went out, but there was something so strange about them.” Zara paused once again to swallow. It seemed to be the only thing that was holding back the tears shimmering in her eyes. “Someone else did go out, though. One of the neighbors, an elderly woman. The people on the street attacked her. They tore her up, and I could hear her screaming for help. I didn’t know what to do or what was going on. I didn’t—”
A hiccupped sob shook her body, and she covered her mouth as her tears finally broke free. Kiaya wrapped her arms around her sister, whispering soothing words, while the rest of us stood or sat in silence.
We’d come inside for multiple reasons, only two of which were to allow Zara the chance to pack some things and to see if there was anything useful in the house. So far, though, all we’d done was listen to Kiaya’s sister tell her story. I was trying not to be impatient, but it wasn’t easy. I was ready to be on the road.
I wasn’t the only one, either. While Lexi, Randall, Hank, and Mike sat in the kitchen eating chocolate pudding, Devon stood with his arms crossed, frowning. Like me, he was trying to hide it, but he was more than ready to address the next and most pressing issue, which was our need for another car and more gas. We’d made it this far thanks to what we’d siphoned along the way, but we had to be getting low now.
Lisa was more laidback, although that wasn’t a surprise, as was Buck. Miller, however, looked ready to jump out of his skin as he paced the room, occasionally stopping to glare at the sisters. It was his irritating marching that helped keep me in check. It was obnoxious, and I had no desire to come across the same way.
Zara was still crying, and Kiaya still had her arms around her when she looked up, meeting my gaze. I could tell she knew we both needed to get on the road and that I was dying to move on, but there was a helplessness in her expression that also said she had no idea what to do. It seemed at odds with the Kiaya I’d gotten to know. The one who had answers for the most random things—like how to siphon gas out of a car—and had done such a good job with Lexi. Zara was family, though, and if there was one thing I’d learned about Kiaya, it was that her family and her past were her weakness.
Hoping to help, I cleared my throat.
Zara, still sniffling, lifted her head, and I gave her a sympathetic smile.
“I’m so sorry you went through that. I can’t imagine being alone through all this.”
She sniffed and nodded but said nothing.
“I don’t want to rush you, but we’re on our way to Ohio. To my house.” I stopped short of telling her we were going to see my mom because the truth was, I had no idea what we were going to find. “We need another car, though.”
“There are two cars in the garage,” Zara managed to get out, her voice still shaky and her eyes wide. “But that’s where they are.”
“They?” Devon asked, dropping his arms to his sides.
“My foster parents,” Zara whispered. “I’ve heard them banging around in there. They’re zombies.”
The last word hissed from her mouth, and Devon and I exchanged a look. Zara had dragged them to the garage, and they’d turned, and she’d probably thought she was safe since they were no longer living, but she’d been wrong. They could open doors; only she didn’t know that. She was damn lucky they hadn’t managed to get inside already.
Devon pulled his gun, and I turned to Kiaya, holding my hand out. “Give me your gun.”
Kiaya finally released her sister, and Zara’s eyes got huge when she saw her sister pull the weapon out from behind her back. She handed it to me, and I nodded to Devon. Buck and Lisa had their weapons out, too, but as usual, Miller was unprepared. He had stopped pacing, though.
“It’s going to be dark in there,” Devon said, looking us over, his gaze landing on me. “I want you and Lisa to stay at the door with flashlights. Buck and I will do the shooting since we have more experience.”
I nodded, as did Lisa.
Zara already had several flashlights out, thankfully, so all Lisa and I had to do was swipe them up off the kitchen counter and hand me one.
Meanwhile, Devon had turned his attention on to Kiaya’s sister. “Which door leads to the garage?”
Zara pointed a shaky finger toward the kitchen, and I turned. There was a door right next to the table where Randall, Hank, and the kids sat.
“Out here,” Lisa called, waving for them to hurry. “Come on.”
Mike was the first one up, and he grabbed Lexi and hauled her from her seat before taking off. Randall and Hank were right behind them, and the four of them rushed into the living room. When Lexi pulled from Mike’s grasp and threw herself at Kiaya, Zara’s eyes got huge.
I was already turning my focus to the kitchen.
Devon and Buck moved to the door, their guns up, and Lisa and I followed. I tried to mimic what I’d seen other people do in movies, holding the flashlight in one hand and the gun in the other so they were both up and aimed forward. It wasn’t as easy as it looked, and I doubted my aim would be any good, but it made me feel better anyway.
Devon paused at the door and looked back. “Everyone ready?”
Tense nods followed the question.
Once again focusing on the door, he sucked in a deep breath before turning the knob and ripping it open. Lisa and I lifted our flashlights, trying to aim into the dark garage, but the beams were cut off when Devon and Buck rushed in. It was only momentary, though, and then the room was lit up. Two cars sat in the garage, parked side by side, as well as other random items. A few bikes, a lawnmower,
boxes stacked on top of one another. I barely had time to focus on them, because something to the left moved, grabbing my attention.
I shifted the flashlight, and the zombie came into view. It was Zara’s foster mom, or had been, at least. Now she was dead and rotting, her gray skin looking doubly sickly in the dim light as she rushed forward. Her hands were up, her mouth open, and her milky eyes somehow focused on Devon. A moan ripped out of her, but it was cut off by the crack of a gunshot. The sound bounced off the walls and came back to slam into me before fading away, and her head jerked back. Behind me, Zara screamed as the zombie dropped to the ground.
A growl came from the other side of the garage only moments later, and I joined Lisa in panning my flashlight around, our two beams bouncing through the darkness as we searched for the other zombie. Something moved, scratching against the floor, but the thing didn’t appear.
Devon and Buck stood at the ready, guns up, but still nothing happened. Other sounds, shuffling and moaning, echoed through the room, but that was it.
“Where is he?” Devon muttered.
We waited in silence for a few more minutes before Buck let out a sigh. “We’re gonna to have to go in.”
Devon nodded, his body so tense it seemed like his head barely bobbed. He took a step forward, and Buck followed. Lisa and I moved as well, holding the flashlights up as we went. I had to stay to the side so Devon didn’t block the beam, but once we reached the car, I realized how impossible it would be. There was less than a foot of space between the garage door and the back of the car. The men would have to go first since they had guns, but they’d be going in blind. It was bad, too risky.
I looked around, trying to decide what to do, and my gaze landed on the car. It was the best chance we had.
“Wait,” I hissed, and everyone froze. “Just hold on.”
I headed back to the front of the car, but before I could do anything else, I had to put my gun away. I stuck it in the waistband of my pants, wincing when it brushed the still healing cut, then climbed up on the hood. The car groaned beneath me, and I slipped as I scrambled forward, but managed to make it on top in no time. Once there, I turned the flashlight to the other side of the garage.
Far Series (Book 1): Far From Home Page 29
