“We need to leave,” I said. “Aaron tried to have me killed and he’s going to go after Natalie.”
Jerry put his hand on the window and nodded, “And Ian?”
I nodded but didn’t speak.
He sighed, “I knew it. If I let you go through,” He started.
I closed my eyes and hit my head against the back of the seat. If he let us leave, Jerry and his family would be in grave danger. Maria and the kids would probably be the first to go to punish Jerry for letting us go.
I looked at Natalie and could tell she had come to the same conclusion.
“Open the gate,” Jerry instructed.
I could tell the other two, Mike and Richard, didn’t want too. They didn’t make a move.
Jerry shouted, “I said open the damn gate. Do it or I’ll replace you both.”
Mike and Richard then moved to it and got the gate open for us to exit.
“Jerry,” I began.
“Don’t worry about us just go. I’ll tell him I thought you two were on a run. He thinks I’m slow anyway. Worse comes to worse, I won’t be head of security anymore.”
I smiled at him and put the car in gear.
“Thank you Jerry. Be safe.”
I began to drive slowly off as Natalie pointed out into the distance that Aaron was headed through the playground towards us with a gun in the air.
I sped up and took the corner hard. Before we had exited the front of the apartment complex, I heard the shot ring out and the back glass shattered.
Natalie screamed. I was worried as Milo didn’t seem to react at all too it. I didn’t have time to stop to gather how bad it was. I took a right hard out of the complex. I could hear yelling behind us and I knew there would be a search party after us with orders to kill on sight.
Left would have been the better way to go but I purposely took the long way around to throw them off as to where exactly we might be headed.
I drove fast, way too fast but I wanted to put as much distance between us and the safe haven before they were able to get a tracking team in a vehicle and on their way after us.
I was hoping we would be able to rest in the van for the day at the house before heading onward but that was no longer an option. We needed to switch vehicles and keep moving. If they were able to find the Mustang parked on the street, they’d find us in no time.
As I continued to drive, I asked Natalie if she was alright.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just scared.”
I nodded, “I know. We’re not entirely in the clear yet but we will be. Check Milo please.”
She leaned back into the back seat. I heard Milo’s collar tags cling together.
“He’s fine. There’s glass on him but I don’t see any cuts.”
“Good,” I said.
I hated driving with the lights on but it was necessary. The lights tended to attract zombies but I needed to be able to see the other cars that were stranded in the road. When we got closer to the house, I would be able to turn them off since there weren’t many cars in the middle of the road there. That would also be good as maybe the zombies would ignore us in the neighborhood without the lights.
“What’s the plan?” Natalie asked. “They’re going to know this car.”
“Ian and I had a van stocked and ready to go at any moment. That’s where we’re going. We’re going to pick up the van, replace the Mustang in the garage and keep driving a little further.”
“Okay, good. That’s a good plan. I was worried we’d just keep driving in this and eventually they’d find us and that dramatic escape would be pointless.”
“Trying to escape oppression is never pointless, even if you’re not successful.”
“I guess,” She said.
“Besides, they won’t find us.”
“How do you know?” She asked.
“Because Ian and I used to lie on the reports Aaron would have us do.”
“What do you mean?”
“We used to tell them that we went East for all our runs, not West. They’re going to be looking for us going East. At least at the start. Even still, we need to keep every precaution just in case.”
“Why did you guys stay so long when you obviously didn’t trust these people?”
I sighed, “That’s my fault. I was hoping to get Emma to come with us. So I wasn’t ever ready to leave because I was never actually able to discuss leaving with Emma to see if she would be up for it. Also I felt good helping feed everyone.”
“Isn’t Emma with that Aaron guy?”
I nodded but didn’t want to answer. I suddenly felt my blood turn hot and boil as rage began to set in again. I knew deep down Emma had no idea what was planned for Ian, Natalie, and my fates but a part of me wondered. A little bit of doubt crept in that maybe she had been privileged to that knowledge to test her loyalty and she didn’t say anything because it would be the only thing to keep her from the crosshairs.
Perhaps it was just easier to think that way since I left her there. Either way, I’d probably never be able to ask her. “I know it’s wrong to say this but it was really cool watching you run over that Laura lady,” Natalie stated. She and I both began to laugh.
I didn’t slow down at all and kept checking the rearview. There seemed to be no one behind us. Natalie would sometimes turn and look out the busted back window to see if there was anyone.
Milo had lain down in the seat and gone to sleep.
I prayed that Jerry and his family would be alright and not have to pay for Jerry letting us go.
I tried to figure out when and where it had all gone wrong but honestly I didn’t know. We had stayed there too long, I knew that. But when we got there Laura and Aaron had seemed like such God sends. They had such a great idea and were so welcoming. Around the three month mark though is when things had begun to change. They would no longer allow new people into the safe haven. Even Maria’s sister was turned away when Maria tried to get her a place. I don’t know what had happened to her sister after that and I never dared ask Maria if she knew for fear it would be too painful to talk about.
I had also heard stories that people had been turned away and killed by zombies just outside the gates. I never quite believed that though because why would anyone continue to stay at a place like that if they had seen such things? Maybe I didn’t want to believe it but given what Aaron and Laura had done and tried to do, maybe it was true. People were scared and fear makes people do dumb and sometimes evil things. Like not helping someone who’s being robbed or raped for fear of what might happen to them if they help. It’s a terrible emotion that is all too easy to give into.
I saw the abandoned Dairy Queen off the side of the road and turned off the lights. I slowed down and made a right into the neighborhood where the van was.
I turned around in the cul-de-sac and stopped a few houses down. I grabbed the keys to the garage and the van out of the dash board.
“Natalie, you’re fifteen. Did you ever learn anything about driving?”
She nodded, “Yeah, a little. My dad started showing me when I was thirteen.”
“Okay, I’m going to get the van out of the garage and park it on the road. Can you put the Mustang in the garage and then I’ll help you get Milo and our bags?”
“I think I can do that,” She said.
As I got out of the driver’s side door she asked, “You’re not going to leave me here are you?” There was genuine fear in her voice.
“Natalie, I’ve brought you this far why would I leave you now?” I asked. “Besides, we’re in this together now.”
I could see her smile and she seemed to give a sigh of relief.
I heard a growling behind me. The zombie giving its position away before it was able to grab me. I put my knife in its skull. He had a friend behind him and I took her out too.
Natalie had moved to the driver seat.
“Okay, we must move quickly,” I stated.
I ran to the garage. It was a bit of work to get the key i
n the lock. I could see in the moonlight a bit but it was difficult with the lock being so small. I also kept stopping to do a visual check around me for zombies just in case one was a better hunter than the last one and managed to keep quiet before making a meal out of me. Finally I got it open.
I got in on the driver’s side of the van and turned her on. I was happy she cranked up. If this was a movie, she would have stalled or the battery would be dead or something even though she had run like a dream every time Ian and I checked her out.
I almost forgot the two things of fuel on the work bench. I got out of the van and got them. I put them in the back behind the bed and got back in the van.
I backed out and pulled over next to the curb. I watched the Mustang move into the driveway and disappear into the garage. I turned off the van and got out. I knew it wasn’t the best idea to turn off the van since cranking it would take up more fuel but I couldn’t risk it. Someone could be around and a running vehicle was exactly what they were hoping to come across. People were desperate and thievery was not uncommon. After all, we had all become thieves really since the zombies took over. We took food that didn’t belong to us, houses, vehicles, anything and everything we needed to survive until the next day.
I met Natalie in the garage and got my bag and Milo out of the back. Natalie took her bag.
“The keys?” She asked.
“Just leave them. We won’t be coming back for it.”
“That’s a shame. It’s such a sweet ride.”
I laughed, “Yep, because that’s what’s important right now, having a sweet ride.”
“Hey, if we’re going to die at least it would be in style.”
“Your priorities are a little out of whack you know.”
“Well, I’m fifteen, so give me a break.”
I chuckled at her and closed the garage. We then headed to the van.
I let Milo in the back as Natalie got in the passenger side. I ran around and got in the driver side.
I cranked the van and started driving. I exited the neighborhood at a normal speed. The need to go fast wasn’t as pressing. I just wanted to put some distance between us and our getaway car to be on the safe side.
“You can go sleep in the bed in the back if you want,” I told Natalie.
She shook her head, “No, I can’t sleep right now.”
Milo could. He was already on the bed and asleep as we drove on.
“Where are we going?” Natalie asked.
I sighed, “I wish I knew.”
Chapter 7
We drove about ten more miles when I pulled into an abandoned parking lot near an old department store. I parked the van.
“We should probably sleep in shifts,” I said. “I’ll take watch first.”
“No, I’m not tired. I’ll do the first watch,” Natalie stated.
I looked at Natalie for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’ll get all the windows set up.”
“The windows?” She asked.
“Yeah. Some of them have curtains already and Ian and I picked up some sun shades for the windshield and the front windows. Don’t want anyone or anything to be able to see in.”
She nodded, “Good idea.”
I made work of closing the curtains and put in the window shades. After I was done with that I put on my pj’s.
“So, you going to be alright?” I asked.
She looked at me hard and I smiled. She had after all been on her own.
“I guess I forgot who I was talking too.”
I began to make my way back to the bed where Milo had already gone to sleep.
“Cate?” Natalie said.
I stopped because the tone in her voice was a little concerning.
“Yes?”
“I think it’s time I tell you what happened to me out there.”
I moved back up the front and sat in the driver’s seat.
“Okay,” I began, “Only if you’re ready to tell me.”
“I’m not ready but I’m never going to be ready,” she said and sighed. “It was me, my parents and my two baby sisters Lisa and Rachel. We left our house about three months into the apocalypse because it was no longer safe to stay. We had an SUV and my dad brought our camping gear. We only had a four person tent though because my dad never got around to buying a new one after Rachel was born,” she paused. She took a sip of water and then continued, “We were up in the mountains in this forest area. I was in the back of the SUV supposed to be asleep but it was too hot to sleep that night. My mom was on watch when these guys came up to our campsite. I heard my mom scream and I looked out the window to see they had managed to sneak up on her before she could shoot them. She was prepared for zombies, not the living. My dad and sisters came out of the tent and I moved to exit the SUV but my dad just locked eyes with me and shook his head. He wanted me to stay where I was. I could hear the guys. They wanted our food, car, and tent. My dad said he’d be more than happy to give them some food but pleaded for them to understand that he had a family and needed what little resources we had. They killed my mom first, I watched as they shot her in the head.”
She stopped. I couldn’t say anything; I was horrified by what she had been through. I thought for sure whatever had happened to her family had to do with a zombie attack, I never thought it would be something like this. Something beyond any human decency. A zombie attack would be tragic enough but this was something far worse than that. It made sense though, why she acted the way she did when Ian and I first found her. She had seen horrors that I could never imagine.
After a long time she started to speak again. “Before my dad could say or do anything they shot Lisa and Rachel. They weren’t looking at my dad and he looked into the SUV and mouthed the word ‘Go’. I didn’t want to, I wanted to help and I reached for the door but he shook his head at me and mouthed ‘Go now’. I heard those guys say ‘Now you’ve got nothing you need all that stuff for’ and shot him. They were laughing and started gathering food and looking for the keys. I got into the front seat started the vehicle and took off. I’ve never hated myself more than that moment. I should’ve done something. I had several guns with me in the car. But I just froze and my whole family died.” She was silently crying.
“Natalie there was nothing you could’ve done,” I said.
“I don’t think that’s true,” She said. “A week later, I was staying in a parking lot like this. I was just staring into space. I hadn’t eaten that whole week. I just stayed in the SUV, wishing I was dead. Then I saw them. Those guys, they caught up to me. They recognized the car, they were pointing at it. That’s the last thing I remember until I came too out in the parking lot with zombies coming after me. They smelled the blood.”
“You were bleeding?” I asked.
She shook her head, “No, but I was covered in blood. I killed them.”
“Natalie, you had to protect yourself.”
“Maybe, I don’t know if they were going to hurt me I was just so angry. They killed my family for no reason other than they could. I thought maybe everyone had become that way now. Ruthless killers. I didn’t know if trust was something that was part of the past. That’s why I tried to attack you and Ian.”
I nodded, “I figured as much. I’m so sorry Natalie.”
She wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Me too but it’s done now. I can only move forward and try to survive. That’s what my dad wanted, that’s why he told me to go. Though, I don’t think he’d be very proud of me these days. I killed 3 people.”
I sighed and rubbed her thigh, “You and me both. It’s not a good thing but we did what we had to do. Sometimes survival is an ugly thing.”
She nodded, “Yes, it is. But then sometimes you meet people who make all this bullshit worth it.”
I nodded, “People worth fighting for.”
“Like Ian,” she said.
I smiled weakly, “Ian indeed.”
“Why weren’t you two a cou
ple? It was very obvious you liked each other.”
I sighed and shook my head and told the lie I kept telling myself. “The world now just doesn’t seem like a place to try and start a relationship.”
“But isn’t the world now even more reason to hold on to that kind of thing if you can come across it?”
I shrugged, “Maybe for someone who is stronger.”
“You’re strong,” she said.
“In some ways, not in others though.”
She nodded then asked, “Where is your family?”
I sighed, “Well, I wish I knew.”
She looked at me confused and I continued on. “Well, my parents died a few years ago. That was tough but I’m kind of happy they didn’t see this. I mean I’m sure they would’ve been fine because my dad was tough, he taught me everything I know but still it’s so ugly out there, it’s conflicting how I miss them terribly but are so happy they missed the zombie apocalypse. My sister Shelly,” I stopped as I suddenly felt very emotional and was fighting back tears. I think it was a combination of what Natalie had told me and the not knowing that plagued me every day.
“What about Shelly?” She asked softly.
“I honestly don’t know. She was on Guam when it happened.”
“Guam?”
“Yeah, her husband was in the Air Force and stationed there. The last conversation I had with her before we lost service she was trying to catch a flight to California. We were going to meet there somehow,” I said and began to laugh. “It seems like such a stupid plan now.”
“Not stupid, hopeful but not stupid,” Natalie interjected.
I sighed, “Yeah. I know based on that conversation that my niece Jackie and brother in law Adam didn’t make it but I don’t know what became of Shelly. I hope she’s okay.”
“Me too,” Natalie said. “What happened to your niece and brother in law?”
“I don’t know for sure. My sister didn’t go into detail but it sounded like they must’ve been attacked. ”
“Damn, that’s awful.”
I nodded, “Yeah but Adam kind of had it coming. He was cheating on my sister. She was planning on leaving him and she was supposed to fly out here but we hadn’t bought the tickets yet.”
Plague of the Dead (Book 2): Plague of the Desert Page 7
