"So how long's it gonna be till we get there?" he asked.
"It hasn't even been a couple hours yet, and you already want to know if we're there yet?" she said with a smile.
"Well... how long?"
"Hmm, maybe two weeks. If we make good time."
"Okay," he said, "Day One."
"Day One," she agreed.
They walked south along the direction of Highway 11, but made sure to stay a few side streets away from it and keep to the quiet residential roads. They stopped periodically for a drink of water, pouring from a jug into a big pitcher she brought, then into a plastic cup for each of them. She tried to plan ahead and ration out the water, deciding how much they could use each day, and for what. Walking as far as they were in the blistering heat, they would go through it pretty quickly. If they were lucky, it would maybe last a week.
They passed a playground tucked in between some neighborhoods in the early afternoon. There was a little girl in a pink Sunday dress sitting on a swing, her back to them.
"Who is that?" David asked.
"I don't know."
The girl gently rocked back and forth as her head rolled around on her shoulders.
He left his mom's side and ran to her.
"David!" Sarah yelled after him and followed.
They both stopped in front of the girl and stared.
She was beautiful and young, about five years old. Her long blond hair shined in the sun and flowed down her back. A huge chunk of flesh was torn out of her neck and blood ran down and stained the pink fabric and white lace of her dress. Her face was pale and her eyes looked glossy, but she was still alive. She hummed a soft tune to herself as she faded in and out of consciousness, not even noticing the two of them standing in front of her.
"Can we help her?" David asked.
"We can't."
Blood steadily pumped out of her wound, matching the beat of her fading heart.
"Can we help her, Mom? Please?" Tears rolled down his face.
"No, David. Don't look at her." She grabbed him by the arm and tried to pull him away, but he resisted.
"Please, Mom! Help her! Why can't we just help her?" he cried, and Sarah bent down and just held him.
The girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped forward and fell onto the ground.
David looked at her, snot running out of his nose. "Why?"
"Because she was bitten. And now she's dead. There was nothing we could do for her."
"We could've taken her with us," he reasoned.
"No, we couldn't have." She pulled his face up to look at her. "I know this is hard, sweetie, but we're going to see things like this on the way. There's going to be a lot of people we can't help, and there's nothing we can do about it. If there is, we will. We will, honey. If you really want to go to Noah's Ark, you have to be strong and keep walking, no matter what you see. Do you understand?"
He sobbed for another moment, then slowly nodded at her.
"Do you still want to go?"
He nodded.
"Well then we have to go now." She picked him up to his feet and briskly pulled him back across the park, throwing a glance at the dead girl on the ground.
She hadn't seen many people turn, but she knew it didn't take them very long to do so after they had been bitten. After a bite, the person would quickly come down with a fever and turn, and even if the person died from their wounds first, that still somehow didn't stop them from being reanimated. And she didn't like to be there when it happened.
They continued on and remained quiet for a while. David cried along the way, though he tried to hide it. Eventually he calmed down and stopped.
Just as they passed a quiet suburb lined with tall trees on either side of the street, casting a cooling canopy of shade over the road, he spoke up: "Do you think things will ever go back to the way they were?"
"I don't know," Sarah admitted. "I think maybe if some people can get to a safe place, maybe someday things will go back to the way they were."
"People like us?"
"Yeah, people like us."
"People like that girl?"
"David."
"Do you think there are more little girls out there?"
"Definitely."
"Are any of them gonna be safe like us?"
"I don't know. I hope so."
"I hope so, too," he said. After a few moments of silence, he reflected. "If that girl wasn't bit, would you take her with us?"
"No, sweetie. She had parents to take care of her. We couldn't take her away from them."
"But they weren't there. They left her all alone."
She was about to say that they were dead, too, but she stayed quiet.
"Would you ever leave me all alone?" he asked.
She stopped and faced him. "I would never do that to you."
"What if you get bit?"
"That's not going to happen."
"What if I get bit?"
She kneeled down and hugged him. He threw his arms around her, too. They trembled a little, and she knew he was scared. "That's not going to happen. I won't let it."
Though he had calmed down, he remained on the verge of tears since the park, and now they came out of him again. "Do you promise?"
She squeezed him tighter. "I promise."
They continued on south past Highway 221 and made it to the top of a hill overlooking a rail yard ahead. Old boxcars sat abandoned on the tracks, rusted with age and neglect. A number of buildings lined the yard, some of them small security offices or switch houses, and some of them long warehouses. And at least half a dozen zombies were down below, milling about.
Sarah considered doubling back and consulting the map for a different way to go. If they wanted to make it to Durham, they would have to be as careful as possible and couldn't let themselves take unnecessary risks. But they would have to walk a long way to find another route over the train tracks, and it looked like the zombies were spaced out enough that they could slip through.
"Do you think... you could clear them out?" she asked him.
He squinted his eyes and put his hands on his hips, giving the zombies a hard stare-down. "Hmm, I think so."
"Can you do it from here?"
He shook his head. "I can only make them go away from us if they're close."
"I don't know," she said. "I think we'll have to find another way."
"I can do it,"
"David, no. It's too dangerous."
"Mom... I can do it." He held out his hand to her.
She stood there for a moment, reluctant, but she took it. He squeezed and led her down the hill into the yard. A cacophony of deep moans and raspy grumbles filled the air, like a ghastly version of birds singing in a tree.
The two of them came to the fence surrounding the yard and walked through the open gate, hiding behind a boxcar. She crouched down and peeked underneath it, observing the shambling legs moving about on the other side. She could count at least eight of them from where she was.
From the top of the hill, she saw that there was only one way through the yard and to the gate leading out on the other end. There was a path around a stack of crates on the other end of the boxcar that led past a security station and out to the gate. The zombies were spread out fairly evenly, with only a couple crossing the path they would need to go.
Sarah looked at David just in time to see his face scrunched up.
"What is it?" she whispered.
He sneezed.
All the legs on the other side of the boxcar stopped.
He looked at her with wide, apologetic eyes and covered his face with his hand. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked back under the boxcar to see the legs circling around both sides to where they were.
"Can you make them go away?" she whispered frantically.
He nodded at her, but his eyes were still wide.
"Are you scared?" she whispered.
He nodded.
The zombies came around the sides of
the boxcar and into view. They paused in surprise when they saw the two of them crouched down, then their moans turned to the familiar sounds of the hungry dead. Their bulbous, unblinking white eyes went wide and saliva dripped out of their hanging mouths. They shuffled toward them, their arms swinging at their sides, picking up speed.
David's head swung in both directions, looking from one approaching group to the other. His heart rate increased, and though he was trying very hard to repel them, he couldn't maintain his concentration.
The zombies were closing in, moving faster.
Sarah grabbed him by the head and pointed it directly at her. "Look at me!" she said. "Only look at me. Calm down. I love you."
His wide eyes softened and the tension in his face eased.
The zombies had broken into a run, but then they suddenly slowed and shuffled to a full stop. One was right behind her and reached out when it came to a stop. It wrapped its hand around her throat.
Its cold, torn flesh sent chills down her spine, and she tried not to shake in repulsion. She continued to look at David and said, "It's okay. I love you. We're fine," though her voice was a bit shaky.
The zombie's hand lingered around her neck and it stared down at her in a moment of great confusion until David calmed himself again, then its hand loosened and its fingers slid off. It turned around and walked off with all the others to resume their endless rambling around the yard.
Sarah rubbed her neck and made sure David was okay. When she knew he could stay calm, she took his hand and the wagon handle, and they made their way through the rest of the rail yard. They squeezed past each zombie and he tried to keep calm. If he faltered for even a moment, one of the gray-skinned flesh eaters was always within arm's reach. Occasionally, one of the zombies would stare at them for a moment while they passed, but then it would continue wandering.
They cleared the yard and went through the open gate at the back of the complex without anything following them. They continued on into the downtown core of Roanoke, slowly and carefully making their way around wandering zombies in the street. David would use his power if one saw them or strayed too close, but the ones they encountered downtown so far were fairly scattered.
They came to a gas station with a mechanic's garage beside it. One zombie loitered near the pumps, but he turned it away. The shutter doors of the garage were unlocked, and they slid open with ease. The garage was empty and they wheeled the wagon full of their supplies in and closed the shutter. Light came through a window in the side wall and gave them enough to see. They didn't have too much light left in the day and they needed to decide on a place to stay for the night. The shutter door to the garage didn't lock and would leave them vulnerable in the night, but it would do while they stopped for dinner.
She poured them both some water and they drank from the plastic cups. She pulled out the portable gas stove from the wagon and set the pot on it. She opened a can of ravioli for them to split and heated it, then pulled out some raw green beans to munch on.
When they finished, they packed everything up in the wagon again and raised the garage shutter a crack to take a look at the street to see if the coast was clear. There were a couple zombies milling about at the far side of the nearest intersection, but otherwise it was safe.
They went back out onto the street and continued south as the sun began to set. They were near the edge of town, but they wouldn't be able to make it out before it got dark. One of Sarah's biggest fears for the journey was just making it through downtown and out of the city. Memories of the last time she and her husband were downtown haunted her and she tried to block them out of her mind. After they got out of the city, they would be going through quiet suburbs and she could breathe a sigh of relief.
They wound their way through the streets, examining street signs and remembering the route she made on the map.
"Almost there, kiddo," Sarah said.
David yawned dramatically. "Good, 'cause I'm spent."
She laughed. "Where did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That phrase?"
"What phrase?"
"Never mind." They rounded the corner of a building. "Just be glad we—"
The street in front of them was filled with zombies. Hundreds of them.
Sarah and David stopped dead in their tracks.
The zombies nearest to them slowly twisted their heads and saw them. Their eyes went wide in excitement and their jaws sprung open. Standing between the two of them and the edge of town was a sea of gnashing, jagged teeth. The zombies started to move and then broke out into a clumsy run.
"David?" she said. "Can you do anything?"
"I... I think so."
"David?"
"I... I..."
"RUN!"
She yanked him by the arm and they ran, the wagon bouncing behind them. The sea of zombies spilled out from the street and rushed in waves after them. The wagon jerked and twisted across the pavement until it lost its balance and tipped sideways. The glass jugs fell to the ground and shattered, and their supplies were strewn across the road.
They left it and sprinted for a hotel at the end of the street ahead.
David started to hyperventilate but she wouldn't let him stop.
The zombies kept up behind them, angry, frenzied, starving. They had only one instinct in their brains, and they wouldn't stop until they killed and consumed.
David was becoming heavy on her arm. He was fading and slowing down. At any moment his legs could have given out and he would be dead weight to her.
But the zombies seemed to have infinite stamina.
She began to panic, knowing they were right behind her. She didn't know if they would make it. She looked at David and saw his eyes were half-closed. Her chest heaved in and out.
The hotel loomed in front of them. They were almost there. Less than a hundred yards and they would be safe.
Fifty yards.
He became heavier.
Forty yards.
She started to lose her grip on his wrist.
Thirty yards.
The zombies were almost nipping at their heels now. She could have outrun them, but he wasn't as fast, and he was getting slower.
Twenty yards.
The entrance to the hotel was so close and inviting.
Ten yards.
His eyes closed and he passed out. Her grip slipped over his hand, and he crashed to the ground face-first.
She yanked him by the collar and hauled him along the ground as the first wave of zombies closed in. She moved backward toward the hotel, pulling him in one hand and reaching in her waistband for the pistol with the other. She pulled it out and fired into the crowd. She was frantic and shaking. The shots flew wildly in all directions, some of them striking their targets, others missing completely. The bullets didn't do much to them; they couldn't feel pain and they just kept running. One of the bullets drilled into the bridge of a zombie's nose, shattering it and damaging its eyes. It continued to run and awkwardly landed on one of its feet, sending it crashing to the ground.
Sarah bumped into the doors as she fired more shots. A zombie ran at her and she fired another shot at it.
The gun erupted and sent a bullet into the top of its head, sinking into its brain. The zombie dropped immediately and its rotting flesh tore off on the pavement as it slid across.
She yanked one of the doors of the hotel open and dragged David inside. She slammed it and pulled him across the lobby. The zombies crashed into the doors from outside and sent a reverberating bang through the empty lobby. She looked around, trying to find somewhere to hide. There was a hallway straight ahead that led to a set of elevators, the door to one of them partially open.
The front doors rattled like an earthquake shook them, and they budged open a few inches and slammed shut. It wouldn't be long before the zombies figured out how to pry them open and got in.
Sarah dragged David's unconscious body toward the open elevator with both hands. Streaks of bloo
d came from his knees and smeared along the tile floor.
She slipped through the crack into the elevator and pulled him in, then wrenched on the door. It was very heavy and stubbornly moved along its track, grinding as it went.
The front doors of the hotel were pulled open and the horde filled the lobby just as the elevator door shut completely.
She could hear the thundering sea of footfalls outside the elevator sweep across the hallway, and she held her breath, hoping they didn't hear her shut the elevator.
But their footsteps settled and their frenzied groans abated, no doubt wondering where the two of them went.
David was still out like a light. Whether he was even alive, she didn't know. But it was pitch-black in the elevator with little oxygen, and they were surrounded by hundreds of zombies with nowhere to go.
7
Checked Out
It was hard to breathe. She checked on him, fiddling with various parts of his body in the dark to try to wake him up. He gave no response, but she felt for a pulse and a faint beat pumped against her fingers. She felt his bloody knees. The skin was torn up pretty badly from her dragging him across the street.
The zombies still filled the lobby outside the elevator, and their collective moans were deafening. They grated on her nerves and made her anxious. She tried to block them out, but it felt like their dead fingers were scratching in her ears. There was no hope of them leaving anytime soon, anytime before they asphyxiated. She didn't know what to do.
His knees were still bleeding and she could feel tiny bits of asphalt wedged into his flesh. She took off her tank top, leaving her in just a bra. She hooked her foot into the shirt and pulled on it with her hands. The fabric strained and it took all her might before it finally ripped. She ripped it all the way through, then stepped on it and ripped it on the opposite side, pulling it apart into two pieces of fabric. She took one of the pieces and started to wipe his knees to clean them.
He suddenly came to and started screaming. He was disoriented and had no idea what was going on, only that he was in pain.
She clamped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The zombies rushed up to the elevator door and banged on it. The metal strained and sounded almost like it was buckling in. He kept screaming under her hand as she finished up cleaning the second knee as best as she could.
Zombie Apocalypse Series Books 1-3 (Zombie Apocalypse Series Box Set) Page 6
