She thought about all of this and more as she kept walking, using the abandoned cars both for cover and landmarks to keep heading in the right direction.
Every now and then a zombie would inadvertently get too close and she'd put it down but there was no fun in it anymore. She was invisible and they weren't much of a threat individually anyway.
The only way she could change the world would be to find her baby. Nothing else mattered to Darlene.
An eighteen-wheeler, overturned in the median, offered shade for a few minutes. The doors to the cargo area had been ripped off and scattered.
Someone had placed a mattress and furniture inside, perhaps to live for awhile.
Darlene had her Desert Eagle out, scanning the area for movement. If someone was still living in the truck, they'd have spotted her a mile away.
The back of the truck was packed with more furniture, stacked high and some still in boxes. It was a furniture delivery truck someone had come upon and made the most out of it, although living in the center of a highway wasn't the best spot.
If it was up to Darlene, she would've moved the furniture into the trees on either side of the road and set up a camp instead of being so exposed.
It was the quickest way to die, and as she got closer she saw she was, unfortunately, right.
It looked like at least three bodies just past the mattress, but it was hard to tell with so many parts and so much dried blood.
Darlene decided not to explore. She didn't think finding supplies was worth seeing the faces of the dead so close and personal.
Had these people been ambushed inside the truck as they were setting it up, trying to find a semblance of order and home? Darlene hoped whoever they were they had been dead before their brains had had a chance to comprehend they were about to die.
Darlene wondered why she was feeling so nostalgic and worried about the world around her lately. She knew part of it was her missing baby but the other part was the death of John and everyone else she knew. Not just her father in Maine but everyone she'd met in her lifetime before and after the world had turned upside down.
"Suck it up, Cupcake," she said out loud, something her father used to say when she was a kid and whining about how unfair her life was. Major events for a five year old like not getting to stay up past bedtime or getting a second helping of ice cream.
What's done was done. Whoever had been here was gone and they weren't coming back in one piece. Darlene needed to get back to the uncaring bitch she was when John was killed and keep moving north to her baby and whatever fate threw in her path. Whatever it was, she would kick the shit out of it.
A zombie got too close and Darlene kicked it in the kneecap, smiling at the satisfying sound of bones shattering. Before it had hit the ground, she'd begun kicking to destroy it. When she was happy with breaking both legs and arms, she put it out of its misery with a stomp to the skull, ending its undead life.
She'd worked off some of her excess energy and distracted herself from so many thoughts about life and death.
Darlene tried to turn off her brain while she continued on her journey, wandering in a straight line up the highway but keeping an eye and ear out for enemies. She filled her head with happy thoughts of growing up and her dad, meeting John Murphy for the first time. Making love to John and when she knew she was pregnant.
Up ahead she could see at least sixteen vehicles had piled up, blocking the road. Zombies were packed in, trying to move. It looked like they'd been here for a long time.
There was no easy way around it, either. On both sides, sound walls or whatever they were had been erected. She'd seen them on most highways but never bothered to ask why they were there, assuming to block out the noise of the cars. Right now all she knew was the walls were creating a dam with the cars and the zombies were trapped. In her way.
Darlene knew they wouldn't attack her but it was still gross. In order to cross to the other side, she'd need to walk among them. They'd push against her. Wipe whatever disease was growing on them onto her as she moved.
She no longer worried about getting killed by a zombie but she worried about getting sick and dying because she had no meds or even an aspirin.
Darlene climbed on top of the middle car in the pack and stomped her feet three times.
The zombies stopped shuffling as much, drawn to the sound but not knowing who was doing it. Darlene stomped one more time to make sure those in the back were paying attention.
There were over a hundred zombies. No way could she kill them all without tiring out, or slipping and falling in all the gore. Her machete was going to get too dull to use soon.
She decided to draw them to one side and then rush back the other way.
As a little girl, she would watch the football games with her dad on the old orange couch in the living room. Each and every Sunday, while the neighborhood girls were playing dolls and dress up, Darlene had her Patriots jersey and matching hat and was tucked next to her dad. They'd eat pasta and too many potato chips while they watched; screaming at the TV whenever something didn't go their team's way.
This was going to be like a football play. Draw the defense to the left and then cut right for a quarterback sneak.
"Hey, boys, let's play a game. It's called follow the leader. I get to be the leader today," Darlene yelled. They could still hear her words even though she probably looked like another zombie to them.
She ran across the cars, banging along as she went and adding extra steps to make as much noise as possible. Three cars down, she got too excited and almost went through the rusting roof of an old classic but recovered.
The pack was moving with her but there were too many to move all at once, and even if she got them to the far left they might give her enough room for an escape.
The last car, pinned against the wall, was a red Kia with the sides dented in. It looked like it had been a piece of shit before the zombie apocalypse. The windows were smashed out.
Darlene reached in with her foot and pushed it against the steering wheel. At first nothing happened but then the horn woke up and blared.
That got the attention of the rest of the zombie's and they crowded in.
"Come and get it. Dinner is served, you rotting bastards," Darlene yelled and honked the horn a few more times until she was certain it had gotten everyone's attention.
She turned and ran back across the roofs of the cars as quickly as she dared, trying not to be so damn loud as she moved.
She got about three-fourths of the way back and she saw a break in the horde. She jumped down, elbowed a zombie that got too close and sprinted down the road, easily dodging a few strays as they went to see what all the fuss was about.
By the time she stopped running, Darlene was in another stretch of open but cracked road and she could see a ruined skyline in the distance. This must be downtown Jacksonville and her final destination.
She could sense her child and he was only a few miles away.
Chapter Thirteen
Bri lost sight of the couple but it didn't really matter, because Hayden had a bead on their whereabouts. He stopped a couple of blocks away and looked up.
"Talk to me, my zombie tracker," Bri said. They were near a too-large church that took up a city block and only feet from a main thoroughfare. Across the street from the church was a parking garage, and Bri could see a few zombies wandering around inside. She wondered if, left alone, they'd walk up every ramp to the top and then fall off the side. If she had the time and energy, it might be a cool way to eliminate a bunch of them at once: create a noise that lured them to the top level and kick them off.
Hayden put up a finger to quiet her.
"Do you really need your ears to find them?" Bri asked.
Hayden shook his head. "No. I also don't need your words echoing through downtown and them hearing, either. Just let me do my thing." He grinned, trying to keep her from getting mad. Too late.
"Your condescending tone sucks. Fine. You want me
quiet? You won't hear my voice from now on. Not a word," Bri said.
"Thanks," Hayden replied, either trying to be sarcastic or her comment going over his head.
"You'll forget what my voice sounds like," Bri said.
Hayden looked like he was about to say something but sighed and walked away instead.
"Did you figure out where they went?" Bri asked.
"Please stop talking. I'm asking you nicely. They will hear us. It's not only the pair out here, either. Many survivors are hiding downtown, and, if they see me, they'll attack," Hayden said.
Bri kept her mouth shut. As much as she liked to be right, she hated the thought of being alone with the baby and Hayden gone. If an attack came, she'd be killed as well, as either a zombie sympathizer or mistaken for a smart zombie.
The baby shuffled in her arms but remained quiet, staring up at her and seeming to smile.
"What's the matter with you?" Bri whispered to the baby. His facial expressions were odd at times, as if he perfectly understood everything going on around them. It was creepy.
She looked up to see Hayden already on the move so she followed, keeping her mouth shut and ears open for anyone. Bri knew she was pushing him away again by constantly picking at everything he said and did but she couldn't help it.
Hayden was the best thing to ever happen to her and losing him would be the worst thing. Ever.
There was an abandoned bus station at the end of the block, several buses turned over or opened like they were sardine cans and someone had cranked them apart. Bri could smell the smoke and an underlying grotesque smell lingering and she covered her nose.
Hayden was ignoring the bus station and heading up the block so she followed.
Two zombies appeared from behind a bus and made their way towards Bri, who began to run to catch up with Hayden, who turned to most likely yell at her for making so much noise but saw the zombies.
"Wait here," he said and jogged over, putting both zombies down with little effort. He returned to Bri and smiled. "The people we're following are on the next block. I think they've stopped for the moment."
Bri didn't bother to watch Hayden take care of the zombies. She'd asked him if it felt weird to kill his own kind, which made him mad.
"You're my own kind more than they are," he'd said. Bri had dropped it after but couldn't watch him put a zombie down now. It wasn't like he seemed to enjoy it. It was more like... it didn't bother him at all. Bri thought that was scary in itself.
Hayden put up a finger to tell her to not follow, which irked her. He'd already said it. She wasn't a child and she didn't need his constant explanations about stuff she already knew.
He ran down the street and about halfway up the block he ducked into a shattered doorway, all of the glass from the store windows on the sidewalk.
The baby was squirming in her arms and she didn't know why. It wasn't like he ever ate, slept or went to the bathroom..
The few zombies in the area were far away and, as long as Bri didn't draw attention to herself, she'd be fine. All she could do was wait at the corner and hope Hayden didn't take too long.
But he was taking too long and she was getting nervous and antsy. What if the people had seen Hayden coming and ambushed him? He could be hurt right now and she'd never know.
She took a step towards the building, making sure nothing was sneaking up on her or that the people weren't looking out to drag her inside .
What's taking so damn long? I'll give you five more minutes and then I'm coming in, Bri thought.
Hayden appeared on the sidewalk just as Bri took another step closer. He frowned at how close she was but didn't say a word, looking up and down the street before waving her over.
"Where are the people?" Bri asked, afraid Hayden had killed them. She didn't know why her thoughts had gone to that and she felt ashamed.
"Inside. They are scared. I need you to talk to them, too. They don't trust me because I'm a zombie to them. One of the bad guys. I'm hoping you and the baby will set them at ease," Hayden said.
"For what purpose?"
"They're living inside the football stadium with a bunch of survivors. A really nasty female zombie owns them. She currently has this woman's little girl and we need to get as much information as possible to rescue everyone," Hayden said.
"Why?" Bri asked. This wasn't their problem. Survival should be their only focus, and getting away from this new threat and the stadium made the most sense.
Hayden looked confused.
"Let them fend for themselves. We have our own worries and survival to think about," Bri said.
"They are in trouble. There's no telling what this zombie will do. We need to destroy her before she becomes even more powerful. She's the presence I felt when I stared at the football stadium. She'll know I'm close and know about the baby. You think she'll let us leave the city without trying to get the baby for herself?"
Bri looked down at the baby and then her feet. "Not our problem," she said softly.
"You're wrong," Hayden said and began walking back to the storefront. "Please come and help me calm them down before they attract unwanted attention."
Bri was pissed he'd told her she was wrong, even if she might be. He had no right to go against her. He wasn't her father.
She remained where she was as Hayden went inside. A few seconds later he realized she wasn't following and returned to the street.
"Please come inside and help me. Why won't you? Why is everything an argument with you lately?" Hayden asked.
He was really pissed.
"Fine. I'll go and talk to them. Not like it will do any good because they're probably going to attack us anyway. Everyone we meet is evil. It's like all of the good people were killed a long time ago and we're living in Hell," Bri said.
"How dramatic," Hayden said and shook his head before going back inside. "I hope they haven't left since it took so long for you to help me."
Hayden wasn't even trying to hide his anger and distain now.
Bri followed him through the ruined building, past broken furniture and quite a few bloodstains. It looked like someone with a lot of anger and a lot of strength had demolished everything in its path.
The couple was trying to move a heavy filing cabinet and metal shelving someone had piled against the back door. When Bri entered with Hayden, they both began to plead for their lives.
"Shut up. Jesus Christ, you're both so fucking loud," Bri said. She put up her free hand and smiled when they finally stopped jabbering.
"Are you a zombie?" the male asked.
Bri glared at Hayden. Lord knew she wanted to be one. "No. I'm as human as you are."
"Is that a baby?" the female asked.
Bri nodded and pulled the tiny blanket down a couple of inches to expose his stoic face. The baby stared at the couple.
"Yes. He's the reason we need your help," Hayden said.
Chapter Fourteen
The muffled sound of fighting brought Tosha up and into a fighting stance. She shook her head to wake fully, expecting the door to the room she was hiding in to burst open at any moment.
What was happening in the stockroom?
Something heavy fell and it sounded close, but it was hard to tell.
Tosha wasn’t known for her patience. She went to the door and opened it a crack, her foot behind it in the event someone or something tried to force their way inside.
A short man, hair long and stringy with wild eyes, ran past on the main aisle of the stockroom. He was carrying what looked like two packed duffle bags and had two rifles slung over his back.
The stockroom erupted in noise all around Tosha and she closed the door behind her, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever was going on before she could go back and hide. She didn’t want to be surprised with whoever was out here.
She luckily turned her head to the right just as a zombie reached for her. Tosha grabbed the zombie by the arm and swung it around, slamming it against the concrete wall. She tripped it and
stomped on the head twice but couldn’t do anything more because three other zombies were right behind.
Tosha ran into the main aisle and went in the direction of the guy she’d seen as zombies exploded out of aisles, grasping for her. The stockroom was crowded with them.
She got four aisles away, pushing through a few zombies, and saw the ladder leading to the roof. She saw light from above.
By the time she fought her way to the ladder and began climbing, the trapdoor on top had been closed and she heard something heavy being dragged on the roof.
Tosha climbed to the top of the ladder and put a hand above her head, trying to open the door. It budged an inch but the guy had put something heavy on top. Tosha began to bang on it.
“Asshole, open the hatch and let me up. I’m alive. You need to help me,” Tosha yelled.
“Go away, zombie. Nice try,” the guy yelled, his voice muffled but still understandable. “You led them into the mall to kill me. You’ll never turn me into a monster. You’re the damn monster.”
“Is there a smart zombie down here?” Tosha asked. She looked down to see the stockroom floor crowded with zombies, all reaching up silently at her. Her feet were only inches from their grasp.
She didn’t have enough ammo on her to clear the floor and she knew there were so many more she couldn’t see. If she climbed down, she was going to get swallowed up before she could clear a path.
“Open up the hatch, dude, or I swear, if I die, I will come back as a fucking ghost,” Tosha yelled and pounded on the hatch again.
“There’s no such thing as ghosts. Only zombies,” he shouted back.
My sister would beg to differ, Tosha thought. She wondered where Mathyu had gone off to now. Not that she’d do any good for Tosha. She was there for comic relief, someone Tosha could vent to while she stared quietly.
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