That thought forced me to realize the apocalypse in full. No electricity. Water and food supplies would be an issue. Maybe. There had been so few . . . survivors that Allison and I had encountered so far, that grocery stores would be ours for the taking. Possibly. Hopefully.
At the intersection, I made a right heading eastbound on West Ridge Road in the westbound lane where less disabled cars cluttered the street.
Still had to swerve back and forth, and onto the median at times, but for the most part, we were moving, and making good time. Finally.
At the flashing lights, I turned left onto Stone Road. I lived in the apartment complex on the right, but decided against stopping home. I didn’t want to waste any more time. Too much had already lapsed. I needed to get to my kids. Last time I’d checked my phone, there was nothing from my daughter. That made me more than apprehensive.
Allison silently looked at me as we flew past the complex. She must have known what I was thinking, too. As we came upon the Ridge Road Fire Department, two men ran into the middle of the street. Both waved an arm and a baseball bat in the air, as if they thought we were going to stop.
I dropped my foot on the accelerator.
“What are you doing?” Allison screamed.
“They have weapons!”
“We have weapons.”
They jumped to the left and the right out of the street as I blew past them.
“Chase, they’re human. They need help.”
I wanted to argue. Instead, I thought of the man in the mall parking lot. He died so we could raid the stores. Despite coming up empty handed for the most part, he’d been eaten for us. I remember how that made me feel.
My feet punched the brake. Tires squealed. Couldn’t see it in the darkness, but knew black rubber was laid down over the pavement. Could smell the burn.
I checked the rear-view mirror.
Both men ran at the security truck. I’d have left them had I assumed it was aggressive. The horde of fast zombies behind them, gaining on them, told me otherwise. I laid on the horn. The sound blared like a goose in heat.
They didn’t need the warning. They seemed to realize they were being pursued. They, together, reached the rear of the truck and jumped over the tailgate. I didn’t wait to make sure they were all set, before flooring it. More squealing. More rubber laid down. And we were out of there.
Allison looked over her shoulder, slid the small window between us open. “You all right?”
“Oh my, God, thank you. Thank you for stopping.”
“You almost killed us. What the fuck were you --”
Allison closed the window.
“Not very appreciative,” I said.
“But alive,” she said.
We rounded the corner. Mt. Read Boulevard was the next intersection. Cars were backed up. Lights on. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn people were inside them just waiting for the light to turn green.
The flashing red made it clear. No one was waiting. And people were not going to be inside those abandoned vehicles. I was not about to give up the truck. It was one of the best things to come from attempting to raid the mall. I drove up over the curb. Our passengers bounced around in the back of the cab. Even with the window between us closed, I heard cussing. I went onto grass and straddled the sidewalk.
There was no stopping us now. Seemed like only a few more blocks and we’d be at my ex’s house. It was more like a couple of miles. They lived in Charlotte. Big house by the lake. Once we got there, though, I’d have my kids. Safe, and sound and with me. Then we would be able to plot our plan out of the country.
Part of me allowed a sense of goodness, and hopefulness, and a bit excitement to sink in. Until a loud bang shattered the euphoric feeling.
I gripped the wheel, but because of how fast I was driving, lost control of the truck right as we reached Mt. Read.
The crash sent my head forward. It slammed against the steering wheel. And darkness swallowed me whole.
Chapter Eighteen
“We’re not mall security, or cops.”
It was Allison talking. My eyelids fluttered open. Closed. Then parted slightly.
A dark face outlined in a halo of streetlight loomed in front of me. Over me, I realized. I was lying down. The grass felt wet. The ground hard, and cold. I smelled smoke. Gasoline.
“Chase?”
“Everyone okay?” I said.
“You drive like an asshole,” a man said.
“Everyone, but you.” Allison held my hand.
“I need to sit up.” I pushed up onto an elbow, shook my head slowly. My vision blurred. I closed my eyes.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I will be.”
“You still drive like an asshole,” the man said.
“This is Josh,” Allison said, “and his brother Dave.”
“Thanks for stopping for us.” It was Dave. He held out his hand. I didn’t reach to shake it. Feared if I tried, I’d lose balance, my elbow would wobble, and I’d wind up flat on my back again.
“You’re welcome,” I said.
“We’re going to need to keep moving. The fast ones weren’t all that far behind us. Not far behind at all.” Josh made sense. Dave, I wasn’t a fan.
“Help me up,” I said.
Dave and Josh grabbed an arm and hoisted me onto my feet. Allison had an arm around my waist. “I’m good,” I said.
They let go. I didn’t fall. Wanted to lie down. It would have to wait. That old saying, there’d be plenty of time to sleep when I’m dead, came to mind. I didn’t speak it out loud. No sense stating the obvious.
“So what’s our plan?” Dave said.
“We’re going to get my kids.”
“We are?”
I shook my head. “No. She and I are. I gave you guys a ride. The truck’s totaled. You’re on your own.”
“On our own to do what? To go where?”
“Chase, we’d like to come with you. There’s safety in numbers,” Josh said. “Right now, I don’t see any benefit to splitting up. I mean, we could, you know. But there’s no point.”
I took a moment and I closed my eyes again. Just felt better that way. Eyes closed. World lost on the opposite side of the eyelids. I saw nothing but darkness, but that darkness was more than comforting. It felt tranquil.
“He sleeping?” Dave said.
And the tranquility shattered. If Dave was going to journey with them, he needed to learn to keep his mouth shut. I couldn’t handle someone without a filter for their words.
“There something seriously wrong with you?” I said.
Dave came at me. Fist raised. Josh stepped between us. I wanted to deck the guy. The way my head spun, and his size--at least a hundred pounds more than I was--part of me was silently thankful for the interjection.
Josh pushed Dave back. He turned and looked at me.
“This isn’t going to work,” I said and waved my hands flaunting discouragement. I was not interested in them tagging along. This was about my kids. And, the more I thought about it, Allison. These guys would slow me down. I didn’t need to explain my every move to them. I wasn’t going to be looking for permission or a general consensus on what to do next. The shots were mine. I was calling them.
Josh put an arm around my shoulder. He whispered, “Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Are you kidding me?” I shrugged his arm off my body and took a step back. “We’re being chased, hunted, by . . . by fucking zombies, dude. Zombies. I don’t have the time, the patience or even the fucking desire to give you a second. My kids are home with their zombie-fuck of a mother and her husband. They are in danger. They are holed up somewhere inside that house waiting for me to come and rescue them. Me. Their daddy. A second? Give you a second? Buddy, you and your friend there--”