"Of course," Ashley said. "How could we possibly star in a horror movie without something catalyzing like that happening?"
"Catalyzing?" Cooper said with a smile.
"Shut up," she replied, barely acknowledging his playful teasing.
The truth was, Ashley had done significantly better on her SATs than I had. She'd always been a straight A student, even taking college courses in high school. She'd inherited our dad's intelligence, but my mom's inability to handle any amount of stress. She was an emotional ball of nerves and tears. Cooper once told me that his mother was the same way, and that's why he was one of the few guys in school that didn't find her high-maintenance. One late, drunken night when everyone else had passed out, Cooper shared with me that he actually found her neediness and constant need for assurance comforting, which was just . . . odd, and maybe a little co-dependent, but they were perfect for each other. Cooper understood Ashley, and made her happy like no one else could. They clung to each other because they believed it, too.
I don't know. I guess it was sweet. Even weird people deserved to be happy.
"Well"--I breathed, hating what I was about to say--"look on the bright side. There is a gas station in Shallot."
"But we're so close," Ashley said. "Let's just drive around and go home."
"We can't make it home."
One of the dead ones seemed to notice the Bug, and she took a slow step toward us. She was young, and her long, blond hair might have been as beautiful as Ashley's if it wasn't ratted and covered in blood and . . . other things. Her movement drew the attention of another dead one, and then another. Soon, several were walking slowly but with purpose. Their eyes were milky and lifeless, but their mouths were open. Some of their upper lips were quivering, like a growling dog. The blonde reached out to me, and a low but excited moan pushed from her throat.
I pulled back on the gearshift and pushed the gas pedal to the floor. A few days ago, I had parked the Bug in the middle of nowhere to avoid door dings, and now I was driving it like a go-kart. I whipped us back and away from the approaching dead ones, and then followed the road on the right into Shallot, praying that there wasn't another herd behind the hill, and we wouldn't be boxed in.
"Whoa!" Bryce said, as I cut across a median. Everyone's head but mine hit the ceiling.
"Sorry!" I said, grabbing the wheel with one hand over the other quickly as I turned to keep control.
"Ease back, babe," Bryce said. "We're okay."
The town was vacant, and I sighed in relief to see a grocery store ahead, with a gas station directly behind it. I pulled around to the station, and we all climbed from the Bug, stretching and taking a moment to breathe.
I was relieved that even in the early hours of the morning, it was warmer than the day before. The previous day's rain had brought with it a cold front, and I was worried Ashley and I would be miserably cold before we made it to Dad's. For just a second, I thought about pulling out my cell phone to check the forecast, but then I realized I hadn't had service since yesterday. None of us had.
Bryce walked around us with his eyes to the ground, checking the tires.
"Did I break her?" I asked.
"No, but you have to be more careful."
"I was scared. I wasn't sure what was behind the hill. Did you see those ruts in the field?"
"Yeah," he said simply, his eyes moving from the tires to our surroundings. Once he was satisfied that we weren't in immediate danger, he noticed my struggle with the gas pump. "Not working?"
I glared at the nozzle plugged into the Bug. "I was all excited because this thing is ancient. It doesn't even have a place to run a credit card."
"I'll run in. Maybe there's a switch to trip."
He gave me a quick peck on the lips and jogged across the small lot to the station. He pushed open the door and jumped over the counter. He searched the register and surrounding area with a focused frown, and before I could register a thought, my legs broke out into a sprint toward the station.
"Bryce!" Our eyes met, and I was sure his reactive expression matched mine. He turned to face the dead one that had walked up behind him.
Just as I opened the door, the word no erupted out of me. Bryce pressed his forearm against the man's chest to keep the snapping teeth at bay, and then reached across the counter to a pen that was attached to the cash register with twine. He yanked it away from its anchor, and in the next moment stabbed the man in the face. The man kept coming at him, so he stabbed him again; this time the pen went through the corner of its eye, and he collapsed against Bryce.
Movement on my left caught my eye, and dead ones, two females, one adult and one child, were slowly shuffling toward me. She was obese, her skirt dragging the floor around her ankles, and she was covered in dark, dried blood and dirt. The skin on her face and her lips were all gone. She'd been chewed on before she'd come back. I couldn't see a wound on the girl, but her eyes were milky white like the woman's.
"Bryce!" I screamed.
He pushed the man off of him and jumped back over the counter, yanking my arm as he pushed the door open and pulled me toward the Bug.
"Go! Get in!" Bryce swung his free arm around wildly as he commanded everyone standing around the Bug.
Everyone scrambled to get inside the car but me. I stood on the driver's side with the door open, watching the dead ones claw at the glass on the double doors of the station.
"Miranda!" Ashley screamed.
"Look at them," I said softly, my voice calm and full of wonder.
They couldn't get out. Even though the doors would open a little when they pushed against it, they weren't coordinated enough to continue pushing and walk. The doors would come back against them, so they clawed at the glass like it was a wall.
The woman's swollen belly bumped the door, and I recoiled, realizing she wasn't fat, but heavily pregnant.
I sat in the seat and closed the door, still breathing heavily. "Did you find a switch?"
Bryce shook his head. "We can't make it to your dad's?"
"I don't think we should try. We might get stranded."
"It's too dangerous to go on foot. We need to figure out how to get inside and turn on that pump."
"I have this," the guy we picked up said. He held up a handgun.
I frowned. "Did you see those things around that car earlier? They're attracted to noise."
He didn't flinch. "We could search the houses for something quieter. Baseball bats, scissors, kitchen knives. Bryce took that one down with a pen."
"That could take days," I said.
He shrugged. "You got somewhere to be?"
"Yeah, I do, actually."
"Not until you get gas in this car, you don't."
I turned to face forward in a huff. He was right, but I didn't like his smart-ass comment. I glared at him in the rearview mirror. He was tall and looked ridiculous sitting in the back, his knees nearly as tall as his head. His dark eyes were deep set, and his face was still sprayed with that girl's blood. Combined with his buzz cut and muscles, he looked like a serial killer, and I'd let him in my car. For all we knew, he could have killed that girl before she turned.
"What is your name, anyway?"
"Joey."
"What's with the haircut, Joey?"
"I just got back from Afghanistan."
"Oh," I said. My response was more acidic than I'd intended. I was trying not to show my surprise, or sudden admiration.
"Dude," Cooper said. He wasn't holding back the fact that he was impressed. Cooper shook Joey's hand. "Appreciate you, man. And I suddenly feel much safer."
"Don't," he said. "I only have what's left in this clip."
"Still," Cooper said. "You're a badass."
I wasn't sure if Bryce was as impressed with Joey as Cooper was and just trying to hide it like me, or if he wasn't impressed at all. I caught him rolling his eyes at Cooper's words, and I elbowed him. We exchanged smiles. It wasn't uncommon for us to know what the other was thinking. We'd bee
n together so long and had spent so much time together it wouldn't surprise me if Bryce knew what I was thinking before I did. That was probably why marriage wouldn't be on the table until well after we both graduated. We were accused frequently of acting like an old married couple.
"No one move," I said, watching a dead one pass slowly across my rearview mirror. It was heading to the highway.
We all sat like statues. The females in the station were still pawing at the doors, and I hoped they didn't draw the new dead one's attention. He was dragging a broken ankle, even slower than was typical. Ashley began to turn to look, but Cooper stopped her, just as Bryce stopped himself from telling her no.
The dead one passed. Rattled, we stepped back out onto the cracked concrete. The sun was getting higher in the sky . . . and hotter. I peeled off my jacket and tied the arms around my waist into a double knot. There were only a few straggler clouds that broke up the blue sky. It was bluer than it had been in a long time, or maybe it had just been a long time since I'd noticed. A gentle wind blew the leaves on the trees, making it sound like lazy waves pulling away from the sand.
As beautiful and calm as it was in this tiny town, being outside was a risk, and the absence of cars on the road or even the occasional stray dog made even a perfect day fearsome.
Several gunshots rang out in the distance, echoing and bouncing so many times we didn't know which direction they came from. It was too far away to be in town, but everyone but Joey looked around, uneasy and unsure how to react.
"Let's get the shit we need, and get out of here," I said.
Everyone agreed with a nod, and we set off toward the grocery store, more cautious knowing there were still dead citizens of Shallot making their way to the noisy car on the highway. Joey walked with both hands on his gun, holding it in front of his body while he walked sideways like you'd see in a movie. It was kind of sexy, but I still thought he was an arrogant asshole. My mother liked to share what she learned while drowning in the dating pool, and the one thing she said over and over was that it took a certain personality to be a soldier, a cop, or a firefighter. None of which I was attracted to, but for whatever reason, watching Joey move like an action hero made something inside of me squeal like a fan girl.
Cooper had emptied his duffle bag and was carrying it with one hand, and holding Ashley's hand with the other. We all stopped just outside the door, fidgeting and nervous. I hated not knowing what to expect, especially when something that wanted to eat us alive could be inside, and I imagined everyone else had the same thoughts.
Joey glanced down at Cooper's duffle bag. "Water, weapons and ammo, food. In that order."
We all nodded.
Joey crouched down, and Cooper did the same. He looked like a little boy trying to emulate his favorite super hero. He stepped his foot inside the nylon handles and dragged the bag along with him.
What are you doing? Joey mouthed, immediately reacting to the noise the duffle bag made as it slid across the floor with each step Cooper took.
Cooper held up his hands. Hands free, he mouthed back.
Joey rolled his eyes and shook his head. Cooper looked like a scolded puppy, stepping back out of the duffle bag's handle before picking it back up. A few moments later, we heard a noise come from the back.
Four pairs of eyes grew wide, and Ashley immediately attached herself to Cooper's side. Joey disappeared down one of the short aisles. We all stood around, not sure what to do.
Joey returned, his posture more relaxed, and his gun at his side. "Must have been an animal. I didn't find anything."
"Let's get to work," Bryce said. He took a miniature basket, the perfect size for that miniature store, and I followed him as he made his way up and down the aisles. He grabbed water bottles, canned goods, Ramen noodles--which was a staple for us as college students, anyway--a couple of large screwdrivers, various sizes of knives, a meat tenderizer mallet, an umbrella, and a few brooms.
"You gonna clean someone's house?" I teased.
Bryce unscrewed the bristle end and then picked up a knife. "Spear."
I nodded and smiled. "Impressive."
He winked at me, and then we met everyone else at the front of the store.
Joey had several boxes of condoms, a first-aid kit, matches, a box of trash bags, and four bottles of water in his arms.
Bryce saw the condoms and was instantly defensive. "Seriously?"
Joey wasn't fazed. "Each one can hold up to two liters of water. Seriously."
Bryce's shoulders relaxed, and then he looked to me. "We can just wheel this to the Bug. I'm sure no one will say anything."
"Funny," I said.
As we returned to the car and practiced our Tetris skills loading it up with our finds, the boys began talking about searching the houses and garages for gas cans. Joey suggested that if we had to, we could syphon gas from one of the vehicles.
"Depending on what we find and how quickly, we're talking about spending a few nights here."
"No," Ashley said. "Miranda, tell them. We need to get to Dad's."
I looked to Bryce. "Dad is probably worried sick about us."
Joey didn't wait for Bryce to answer. "We're not going anywhere until we get gas, and I think we can all agree that we need more than just a tank full. Let's be smart about this. We have resources here. Let's use them before we move on."
Bryce made a face. "When we found you, you'd run out of gas."
"Exactly," Joey said. "Learn from my mistake. It's no fun being stuck in a car with those things trying to get in, and this car is a convertible. It won't protect us."
"Those things can't even work a swinging door," Bryce snapped.
"You wanna risk it?" Joey said.
Bryce looked at me, and then back to Joey, shaking his head. "No."
"It's settled, then. We search until we can fill the tank and as much extra as we can. You guys can break up into groups if you don't want to let the girls search alone."
"I'll go by myself," I said.
"No," Bryce responded instantly.
"I'm not helpless. I can handle a gun."
Bryce reached for my fingers. "Maybe I don't want to go by myself." He used his most charming smile, the one I could never resist. I nodded, and his hand squeezed mine.
Joey rubbed his neck. "First thing's first. We need to set up camp. The ideal place would be away from other houses. On the outskirts of town, maybe."
"Okay. That's like two blocks away," Ashley said.
"Let's walk. We'll find something," I said.
Joey kept talking as we walked. "Several exits. Good visibility."
"Now you're just being picky," I said.
Joey smiled at me. I tried not to, but I smiled back.
Ashley was right. It only took about twenty minutes to find a location that fit Joey's description. It was a yellow house on the end of a long line of houses, but it had a large field in front of and behind it, and there were two lots between it and the next house. It also had a fenced-in backyard and the small windows running along the ground screamed basement.
We climbed the steps to the porch, and I knocked. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. "What?"
"Let me clear it first, drop off what we have, and then we can go back for the rest."
Bryce held his arm out to his side, gesturing for Joey to go in. I made a face at him. Joey was just trying to keep us safe, and Bryce was being kind of a dick about it.
Joey was inside for quite a while. Just when I thought about mentioning that we should go in and check on him, he appeared in the doorway.
"It's clear."
"You have blood on you," Cooper said. "I mean, more than before."
Joey pulled up his shirt to wipe his face. A full set of abs was revealed for just a second before he let his shirt fall back down into place. "Well . . . it's clear now."
"I didn't hear your gun," Bryce said.
"I used a fork."
Cooper nodded, an impressed smile flashing across his face.
"Well played."
Chapter Sixteen
Nathan
"KIDS?" I ASKED.
"The corner house. Four . . . no, make that five. Three boys and two girls. Teenagers, by the looks of 'em. They're alive."
I lowered my gun and motioned for Zoe to stay in the house. "Then we should probably introduce ourselves."
As I crossed the street and walked down the block, I tried to keep my posture relaxed, and my gun down. I could only see one kid, one of the boys, his dark hair wiry. He was a ball of testosterone and muscles like I was at that age.
I stopped on the street corner and held up my hand. "Hey there. We're friendly. No need to worry."
The boy didn't speak, he just watched me. Another girl, blond, pale, and exceedingly beautiful, took a step out from behind him, her eyes fluttering between her people and me and Walter.
Walter walked up beside me and stopped.
"Are they from Shallot?" I asked.
"Nope."
"Uh," I began. "You guys okay?"
Another girl stepped out. This one was shorter, with long, auburn hair. Her brown eyes looked right through me. "We can't get the pumps at the gas station to work."
"You're out of gas?" I asked.
The kids looked at each other. They were either really smart and didn't want me stealing their ride, or they were too scared to speak. I didn't think for a second the latter was the case for the redhead. I doubted she'd ever hesitated to speak what was on her mind in her life.
Walter's screen door slammed and I turned to see Zoe standing next to Joy. She clearly wanted to leave the safety of the porch to be closer to me, but Joy kept a gentle hand on Zoe's shoulder. I couldn't hear what she'd said, but it seemed to calm my daughter.
I turned back to the kids. "You guys just passing through, then?"
"Yes, but like I said, we need gas. The pumps at the gas station aren't working," Red said. "Do either of you know anything about it?"
I took mental notes of everyone in their group. The tallest one had a nice face. The second tallest looked like he'd had some military training. I could tell by the tall kid's shoes and his hands that he was a rich kid, but his eyes said he was a good kid. The other boy looked like a jock, possibly a frat boy. He watched the soldier and the redhead a lot. The soldier was the one to watch for sure, although the other two could definitely do some damage. Even with all the muscle and manpower, it was the redhead that seemed to be the boss. Oddly, she seemed to be the most trusting out of the five.
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