Hamsikker 3 (5 page)

“How did you meet Bishop?” asked Jonas.

Lukas swerved the truck around a tanker that had smashed through a fence and come to rest on the side of the road, its rear end still sticking out and partially blocking the way. Checking his mirror, Lukas saw a zombie crawl from its wreckage as they passed. It raised its arms feebly, but was soon disappearing in a cloud of dust as they left it behind.

“That’s a long story. At first, when the dead started appearing I stayed in my apartment with my roommate, Powell. We figured it would be best to stay put, and let it all blow over. I kept in touch with my parents, but…Dad got bit on his way home from work. Mum said she was going to look after him as the hospital was closed, and she kept trying to call for help, but none came. I spoke to her before the phones went down, but the last time I spoke to her she said Dad was getting worse. Told me he even bit her when she tried to help him…

“So, anyway, I stayed put, and waited, and waited, and waited, and it just kept getting worse. It wasn’t hard figuring out what had happened to my parents. We knew we couldn’t stay there forever, so in the end we decided we’d have to get out. Chicago was like a war zone. Thinking back, I don’t know how we managed to get as far as we did. We just lived from day to day, trying to get out of the city. It took weeks. Powell almost made it, but…after what I saw, I don’t think I want to go back, ever. What people can do to each other amazes me; there are some real sick fucks out there.”

Jonas noticed Lukas was gripping the steering wheel tightly. Maybe it wasn’t best to talk about this while he was driving. Jonas needed Lukas focused on the road, not distracted by dredging up bad memories.

“So where do we go from here?” Jonas asked. “I mean, I have a rough idea of how to get north, but if we hit a road block, I’m afraid I don’t know the area very well.”

“If we keep heading this way we’re likely to hit Madison, and that is
not
a good thing,” said Lukas. “It could be real tricky if we get sucked in. We need to give it a wide berth. Of course, if we head east we’re going to hit Chicago or Milwaukee. The whole area is teeming with zombies. There are millions of them, literally. You do
not
want to end up in Chicago, I promise you that.”

“We go west, and we’re eventually going to run into the Mississippi,” said Dakota. “Let’s face it, there
is
no easy way to do this. All we can do is keep going north in as straight a line as possible.”

“True. I guess if we run into trouble, we deal with it then. Hopefully Bishop will spot it before it spots us.”

Jonas noticed that Lukas had visibly relaxed and could hear that the tension had gone from his voice. The mention of trouble up ahead had Jonas thinking again of Javier. He wouldn’t worry about detours or running into trouble. He would have gone as fast as he could. He would’ve taken the easy option and made Quinn or Erik drive. Javier wouldn’t put himself in trouble. Jonas knew they had to get to Thunder Bay as fast as possible.

“Stick with it, Lukas. We’re on the I90, right? So we go hard and keep our fingers crossed we don’t run into any problems. I need to get there, to my sister. We’re already way behind him.”

“Once we’re past Madison, the road should open up a bit. I’m hoping it will be a bit easier then.” Lukas drove the truck around another crash, a three vehicle pile-up that had ended badly for all the occupants judging by the amount of bloodstains on the vehicles’ windows.

“If we can avoid Minneapolis, I reckon we could make the border by tonight. Why not?” Lukas wound down his window and adjusted his side mirror. He was concerned that if anything began to follow them, he wouldn’t be able to see them until it was too late.

“Yeah, why not?” said Jonas. “It’s about time lady luck smiled on us for a change.” He felt Dakota shift in her seat next to him, and she moaned uncomfortably. “You okay? I can try to move over a bit, but…”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just wiped out. I felt fine when we got up earlier. I think I’m not used to the driving. It’s like I’m getting motion sickness. I just feel a little queasy.”

Dakota wound down her window, too, letting more fresh air into the truck. She pushed her hair behind her ears and turned to Jonas. “I’ll be fine.”

Jonas could tell she wasn’t fine. There was little he could do about their mode of transport, though, and the best he could do was to reassure her and get them to Janey as fast as possible. Once they were there, they could relax. There was no plan after that. Janey was it. He and her boys were all he had. There was the small matter of getting Erik, Quinn, and Freya back from Javier too. He was going to have to rely on a little luck in tracking them down. If Javier changed his mind and took them elsewhere, then Jonas knew he would never find them. After what had happened to Pippa, Jonas wanted desperately to make sure Freya was okay. He knew Dakota felt it too. They were responsible for her, for what had happened; once they had found Janey and her children, Jonas intended to go looking for Javier. He wasn’t prepared to abandon his friends again. He owed it to Erik and Quinn to make sure they were okay. He owed it to himself. Jonas couldn’t rewind time and change what had happened, but he could try to do something about the future. The next time that he met Javier, he would be ready.

It was a long way to Thunder Bay, and Jonas had plenty of time to think up fantastic ways of killing Javier. They drove in silence for a while, enjoying the peace. No zombies bothered them, and Lukas drove well, navigating the road with relative ease. It was a short while later that he was forced to stop.

“What’s up?” Jonas noticed they were slowing down, and looked at Lukas peering over the wheel.

“Bishop,” replied Lukas without taking his eyes off the road ahead.

Bishop suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. He was sat astride Black Jack, casually waiting for the truck to catch up to him. Lukas drew them up carefully and stopped by a blocked culvert. Dirty sludge spilled onto the side of the road, and weeds grew in thick clumps. Bishop drew Black Jack up alongside the open driver’s window.

“How’s it going in here?” Bishop asked, squinting as he looked ahead into the sunshine. The road disappeared around a bend and then was hidden behind a series of small houses.

Jonas looked around for trouble. Bishop wouldn’t have stopped without good cause. It looked as though they were going to pass through a small town, but Jonas could see nothing unusual.
There were a few dead bodies in the field beside the road, but dead people were more common sight than the living these days, and they weren’t moving.

“Fine, just fine,” said Dakota, trying to raise a smile. She had no intention of bringing up how sick she felt.

“What is it?” Jonas knew Bishop hadn’t stopped for a chat. Something had made him stop; something that was causing him to look concerned. Jonas hoped he wasn’t about to tell them they were going to have to go back.

“I know, Annalise, I know.” Bishop drew in a deep breath. “Up ahead. There was some sort of road accident. It’s a real pretty mess, folks.”

Jonas’s heart sank. They were going to have to find a way around. How long would that take? It could cost them hours.

“You’ll be able to squeeze past,” said Bishop, obviously noticing the look of worry rapidly spreading across Jonas’s face. “There’s a hole in the wreckage that I reckon you’ll be able to get through. As long as there ain’t too many of them zombies, you’ll be fine. Just stick to the western side of it and aim for the church tower you can see in the distance there.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” said Lukas. He rolled his neck around his shoulders, and then gripped the wheel, determined not to let anything interfere with the plan. “If there’s a way through, I’ll find it. If not, I’ll make one.”

Bishop grunted. “I know, I know.”

Jonas saw Bishop look away and mutter something under his breath. It sounded like he was agreeing with something, as if he had someone perched on his shoulder, but besides Black Jack, there was nobody else out there.

“Thing is,” said Bishop, “I’m going to have to leave you here. Wasn’t my intention to leave you so soon, and I’m real sorry. I know you need to get over the border in a hurry.”

“Bishop, I’ve seen that look on your face before,” said Lukas. “Like just before you went out and came back with these two.”

Jonas watched as Bishop looked from Lukas, to Dakota, and then finally to him. He felt Bishop’s eyes bore into his, and then he understood. Bishop wasn’t just leaving them for the sake of it. There was something he had to do. There was someone out there in the town ahead, someone who needed help. Bishop wanted to help someone on their way again.

“Who is it?” Jonas asked. “How many?”

“I’m not sure,” said Bishop. “At least one, maybe more. I can’t just pass by, though. I have to know. At this point in time, there’s no time to sit down and formulate a rescue plan. I’ll just do what I can and figure it out as I go. It’s real nasty in there.” Black Jack snorted, and Bishop calmed her, stroking her black mane. “Once you’re past the crash, go straight past the church, and you’ll find yourself back on track. Don’t get sucked into the town center. It’s a mess. Okay?”

“Where are we?” asked Dakota.

“Up ahead that’s Janesville,” said Bishop. “There’s no reason for you to get held up, though. Lukas here will take care of you, right?”

Lukas nodded. “That I will.”

“So, we should be okay after we get through Janesville?” Dakota meant it as a statement, but it came out like a question.

“Avoid Minneapolis,” said Bishop firmly. “After that, you’ll be fine.”

All the time they were talking Jonas kept thinking, how was Janey doing? Were Mike, Chester, and Ritchie all okay? Had she stayed at home like she’d promised, waiting for him, or had she given up like he had given up on her all those years ago. Jonas thought of his father, of his mother, and how happy they had been all together. He was pleased his father had died when he did. Janey was better off without him; they all were. Jonas had left Janey once, but he wasn’t about to leave her anymore. Bishop was right. Once they were past Minneapolis, they should be fine. The population was more thinned out beyond the city, and as long as they could get through Duluth, there was a good chance he’d see Janey and his three nephews either tonight, or at worst, tomorrow.

“Bishop, what do you need us to do?” asked Jonas.

“I need you to keep moving, Hamsikker.” Bishop fixed his gaze on Jonas. “You’ve a pregnant wife beside you, and a sister who needs you. You don’t need to be a part of this. I’ve done what I can for you. I’ve got you where you need to be.”

“That’s just it, Bishop, you haven’t.” Jonas licked his lips. The sun was streaming in through the window, heating up the cab, and he could understand why Dakota felt sick. Even with the windows down, the air inside was stuffy, and his throat felt dry. He wasn’t about to give up on Bishop easily. “We need to get to the border. So until we do, we’re in your hands. And if you need to do something here, then we’re with you.”

“Jonas, I don’t know, I think we should keep going,” said Dakota. The thought of heading into another diseased town full of the dead was more than Dakota could take. She couldn’t do it anymore. Her whole body was telling her to rest, and now Jonas was going to drag her into another fight? “I can’t do it. I can’t…”

“I’m not asking you to,” said Jonas, taking Dakota’s hand in his. “You’re going to stay in the truck with Lukas, well out of it. I’m not putting you in harm’s way again. But if Bishop says someone in that town needs our help, then we can’t just leave.
I
can’t leave. Remember at my father’s funeral? Where would we be now if Erik had driven off? Where would we be now if Bishop had passed by? I have to do this.”

Dakota didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She knew it was important to Jonas and he never liked to leave anyone behind. If he could help Bishop, then perhaps Bishop would stick around it a bit longer. It was true that they needed all the help they could get, and the border was still a long way off.

“Go.”

She jumped out of the truck, letting Jonas out, and then got back up beside Lukas.

Jonas walked around to Bishop, thinking over in his head what they needed to do.

“Lukas, get my wife somewhere safe. I’m relying on you,” said Jonas as he jumped up behind Bishop onto Black Jack.

“The church,” said Bishop. “Park up out of sight at the rear of the church. We’ll find you there. If we’re not back in an hour, get going.”

“We’re not going anywhere without either of you,” said Dakota. “Jonas Hamsikker, you get your ass back in this truck in an hour, or so help me God, I’ll come looking for you.”

Jonas knew she meant it. “I promise, I’ll see you soon,” he said. “Love you.”

Lukas briefly nodded, and then Jonas watched the truck head on into the town. He trusted Lukas to stick to the plan, and he trusted Bishop when he said there was someone who needed help. But Jonas wasn’t sure he trusted his own promise to Dakota. He couldn’t afford to mess this up now and resolved to follow Bishop on this one. It was best if Bishop took the lead. Whoever Bishop had come across had better be worth saving. Jonas felt for the revolver Bishop had given him and wished it were an axe. He had always been better with an axe. They proceeded into Janesville, and Jonas steeled himself. He could sense it. He could feel it. There was a fight coming.