'I don't even know where I am going. South, but where and why?' Her mom had moved to Florida, but Katie hadn't seen the woman in two years and had never visited her there. Getting behind the wheel of the car she pulled out carefully and nodded in satisfaction at the almost full tank of gas she had to travel on. She didn't have any trouble getting back to the highway and after debating one last time she headed south, 'Where the hell else do I have to go? Mom will sure be surprised. If she's alive.'
The day went by quickly, she made excellent time and left Illinois by the time the sun was setting that evening. She had been forced to detour around several of the larger wrecks and there were only a few sections of highway she could drive over forty five miles an hour, but in general she was surprised at how well things went. She didn't see many zombies at all, not even in the larger towns and cities she passed through. 'It's like they all left. Maybe they headed for greener pastures?'
She had stayed on highway fifty seven until she was almost out of Illinois, then turned off on highway twenty four, which she thought should take her almost the rest of the way to the coast. She had stopped twice for fuel, the first time she had been lucky, the power was still on and she was able to figure out how to get the gas pumps switched on to fuel up. She had also found an empty gas can behind the counter of the convenience store and filled that up as well. The second refueling had been on the highway, next to two sedans that were pulled just off the road. One of them had a tube with a manual pump stuck into its gas tank, there was another two and a half gallon can there too, filled up, but just sitting there. Katie didn't see anyone close by and stood there for a minute, looking into the heavy brush by the side of the road, wondering if it was some sort of ambush.
Cautiously she had gotten out of the van and examined the pump and can. It looked simple enough and Katie dumped the fuel from both cans into the van's gas tank, then pumped the rest of the fuel out of the red sedan to fill the cans again. She repeated this a few times until the van was full again and both the gas cans were filled as well. Then she threaded the hose out of the sedan and stowed it in her van.
As night fell she left Kentucky and passed into Tennessee, she wasn't feeling drowsy, but didn't want to travel at night either. The thought of finding a house or hotel to spend the night in didn't appeal to her, so she decided to pull over into a rest stop instead. The rest stop was completely empty, not a single car in the lot.
'And fuck if mine will be the only one either!' Kate thought, driving the van up onto the sidewalk. There was a central building that advertised vending machines and bathrooms, and behind that there were a series of sidewalks and picnic tables, as well as several play areas for kids. Katie pulled the van around to the back of the building and parked it with the passenger's side inches away from the stone wall. Satisfied that she was as hidden as she could be she pulled out her flashlight and shotgun and went in to use the bathroom.
The building was not locked and appeared to be empty. The lobby was simple and open, with an information desk and a huge map of the state hanging on the wall, which included a 'you are here' pin along the highway to indicate where the rest stop was. The vending machines were across from the lobby desk and doors to either side of the desk led to the bathrooms. Katie entered the women's room and shined her light around looking for threats. 'It's cleaner than the one in Chicago, but doesn't have a shower.' It was also empty. Katie was surprised to find that the water was still on too. Before heading back to the van she used half the paper towels to clean herself up, and then looked herself over in the mirror.
"I look like shit."
"You sure do." said Randy from behind her.
"You've been better too."
"Won't get any worse now." he agreed.
"So what is it like, being dead?"
"I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you afterward."
"That might not be too high a price to pay. It's not like I have anything left for me here now."
"Poor little Katie, all alone in the world!"
"No shit."
"You never sighted in your new gun."
"I didn't really have time. I sure as shit ain't going to do it here and now. Maybe in the morning before I leave." Katie said to his mirrored reflection. She didn't dare look back, for fear that he would disappear.
"You shouldn't forget, you'll need that gun before this is over."
"Before what is over?"
Randy waved his hands, gesturing around himself, "This. All of this."
"There isn't any 'this' anymore. It's already over."
"Not quite yet." Randy came up behind her and put his arms around her waist, then rested his head on her shoulder. Slowly he kissed the side of her neck, then nibbled on her ear.
Katie closed her eyes and enjoyed the embrace for a moment before shaking him loose, "You're not real."
"What do you want me to say?"
"How can this be real? I saw you jump. I heard you hit. You didn't even scream."
"I couldn't give away your position and I knew you wouldn't shoot me if I turned."
"I would've." she said flatly.
"There's the Katie I know and love. But you see? I do love you and I thought I should spare you that. It was the very least I could really."
"You could have taken me with you."
He shrugged and stepped back from her. "We walked different paths."
"Such bullshit. You'd think, because you are in my mind, I would do this to myself. I should make you answer me straight."
"I don't think you are ready for straight answers."
"And you're the decider?"
"No, I'm the spotter, I pick the targets, you shoot them. I call down the artillery, you cover my back."
"Pulling rank again?"
He stepped back further into the darkness, "You outranked me."
"But I wasn't the forward observer, in the field you had command."
Randy was barely visible now, he lingered for a moment and said, "It was never about control."
Katie's eyes flickered to her own for a moment, leaving his reflection, when she looked back he was gone and not there to hear her whisper, "It was always about control."
Chapter 17 — Max
Max stared at the small video screen on the backpack. When they had been shown how to operate the bomb they were impressed with the interface, which they could unlock using the codes provided by the military. The controlling computer allowed them to actually scale up or down the bomb and set a time delay and was incredibly easy to use. The screen they were looking at now didn't show any of the same options. It showed Draper, his large grin with white teeth gleaming in contrast against his black skin. The group had bundled back into the truck and driven to the interstate before stopping and investigating the beeping noise coming from the pack. The video had paused about halfway and Bill had restarted it from the beginning using the interface on the touch screen.
It showed Draper sitting in one of the rooms on the ship, his back to a gray colored wall.
"Sorry to do this to you." Draper did look slightly guilty, averting his eyes for a moment from the camera that was recording his words, "First things first, if you are seeing this message it means you opened up the pack to take a look at why it is beeping. I set an alarm to get your attention, I hope now is not a bad time. This device is still a bomb, it is still very dangerous. No offense to any of you, but it is naïve to think the military would put a nuclear bomb in the hands of people who are essentially civilians. No disrespect is meant to Sergeant Ostling and his fine record of service. Before you get riled up let me tell you what you do have. For the record we have one too, so you are not the only Guinea pigs on this run."