Kick at the Darkness (13 page)

Warmth bloomed in Parker’s chest. “Really? You will?”

He nodded. “I can’t just sit around hoping to not get eaten. At least we’ll have a goal. A destination. Without something to work for, I think I’ll go crazy. And it makes sense to stay together. Right?”

“Right. Definitely.” Parker exhaled, some of his tension draining away. This was something, at least. A plan. “So we go east?”

“We go east. Well, we should go a bit south first. There are preserves and parkland below the eighty-five. I think we’re safer in the forest. We can bypass San Jose.”

Parker nodded. “Stay away from populated areas.” He tried to picture the US map in his mind. “If we keep in the parkland, we’ll hit Yosemite, right? Then up to Tahoe and into Nevada?”

“Yeah. We should try to find a map.”

“They had some at that gas station. Sorry. I should have grabbed one.”

“We’ll find one. We should fill up again before we leave the area.”

“Will the bike be okay off-road?”

Adam smiled with something that looked like pure affection. “She’ll be good.”

“Does she have a name? This love of yours?” Parker teased.

“Mariah.”

“
Mariah
? As in, Carey?” As soon as the name left his lips, he blanched. Memories flickered through his mind—grasping hands and eyes sticking out too far; that awful noise starting in her throat, and her teeth smashing together. He shuddered. “God, I can’t believe that was…what? A few days ago? She was so scared. I told her everything would be okay. And the other girls…” He could hear their screams and see their blood spurting as the creepers tore into them.

“I know.” Adam leaned closer, pressing their shoulders together. “I know,” he quietly repeated.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Parker ran a hand through his greasy hair. “I mean, of course it’s weird. What day is it?”

“Sunday, I think.” Adam shook his head. “I was so worried about my thesis proposal. This weekend I had so much work to do on top of grading.”

“More C-minuses to give out?”

His lips twitched. “Mmm-hmm. A ton. I was holding one in reserve for you, though.”

“I totally would have gotten an A on my next assignment if I kept that class.”

“I bet you would have. When you set your mind to something, I bet you can do anything.”

Parker shifted and looked away, not sure what to make of the praise. “Um, thanks.”

“So let’s do this. Let’s get you to Cape Cod.”

“It’s that way.” Parker pointed to a range of hills to their right.

“No. Would you look at the map? It’s
that
way.” Adam nodded in front of them.

“I did look at the map!” He coughed up another wad of phlegm, spitting it onto the ground. Ugh.

Adam held it out. “Look again.”

Snatching the folded paper, Parker huffed. “Oh my God, fine. I bet you five hundred bucks I’m right.”

“You’re on. Not that five hundred dollars will do me any good.”

Parker examined the map and zeroed in on the swath of preserves south of the Bay area. “See? We’re right here.” He jabbed his finger on one of the green zones.

“No. We’re
here
.” Adam pointed to a spot three inches away. “There’s the Stanford golf course. There are the foothills. This is us.”

“Oh. Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Uh, do you take AMEX?”

With a laugh, Adam folded the map and handed it back. “Yeah, I’ll bill you. You’re sure the pack isn’t too heavy?”

Parker zipped the map into the front pocket, which was lined to keep contents dry. “Nah. It’s fine.”

“I wish I could go home and get my saddlebags.”

“Saddlebags? Like for horses?”

“Yeah, but plastic and designed for the Harley. But we can’t risk it. There were too many creepers near the gas station today, and that was on the outskirts.”

“I’m fine with the pack.” He swung it on over the machete and approached the bike. “Okay, show me one more time.”

Adam handed him the keys. “Flip the ignition switch. Put in the key and turn it.”

“They really had to
hide
that?” Parker grumbled under his breath. “Okay, got it.”

“Make sure it’s in neutral and the run/stop switch is on run. Push the start button.”

The engine came to life, rumbling under Parker. He pointed to the hand controls. “And I twist the throttle, and that’s the brake.”

“Right.”

“Let’s hope I never have to drive.”

Adam clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s hope. Well, I guess we’re off.”

“How far can it go before we have to refuel?”

“She gets about two hundred miles. Maybe a little less if we’re going over rugged terrain.”

“Oh yes,
she
.” He leaned down. “My apologies, Mariah.”

“All right, all right. Scoot back.”

It felt good to finally have a plan, even if it was only to find their way east without being eaten. They made their way through the hilly preserve and onto the dirt roads that cut through the Santa Cruz mountain area. Parker felt more at home than ever on the back of the motorcycle, his arms securely around Adam. He kept watch for any signs of life—or death. He thought of Dave and his companion in the SUV, and wondered what they’d found down the coast. He hoped they made it.

Unlike the streets of Palo Alto, the back roads were unnervingly empty. No tangle of cars, no bodies, and—so far—no creepers. They stopped by a small river and coasted down to the grassy bank. The gray sky was still heavy with the threat of rain, and the air was thick. But for the moment, they remained dry.

Parker kneeled by the water and refilled their bottle while Adam sat on a large, low rock and spread out a little picnic of chips and trail mix. They perched together on the rock and ate silently for a minute. Parker blew his nose, glad they’d found more tissues at the last gas station.

“My kingdom for a Big Mac,” he said. He still wasn’t super hungry, and his throat was tender, but he craved the taste of hot food.

“With extra-large fries. Chocolate milkshake.”

“Oh my God. I might never have another Shamrock Shake. Think this whole thing will be cleared up by March?”

“Probably,” Adam deadpanned.

They rode on, but before long Parker’s eyes were heavy, and he started listing to the side, having to jerk himself back awake as Adam applied the brakes. Parker rubbed his face. “Shit. Sorry, I’m really tired. I felt so much better this morning.”

“Not surprising. That bug really drained you. Let’s find a place to camp.”

“No, no. I’ll be fine. I want to keep going. We’ve only made it to the state park. We should be in Yosemite by now.”

Adam shook his head. “You need to rest and get your full strength back.”

“But I already cost us two days.” Two days further away from seeing his parents again. “I can keep going.”

“It won’t do you any good if you fall off a moving motorcycle. Don’t be an idiot.”

Tensing, Parker was immediately on the defensive. “I’m not an idiot.”

Adam pressed his lips together. “Not yet, but you will be if you insist on not stopping when you need more sleep. Your body’s still recovering.”

He wanted to argue, but Adam was right. “Fine,” he grumbled. “I just…I feel so…ugh.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Useless. I shouldn’t have gotten sick. And now I’m slowing us down even more.”

Adam lifted his eyebrows and regarded him skeptically. “Yes, Parker. You shouldn’t have gotten sick. Because you totally
chose
to get the flu at the same time we had to run for our lives. Yep. Completely your fault. You really need to think about your life choices.”

Parker huffed out a laugh. “Point taken. Fine. I’ll rest. Let’s find a place.”

Fortunately they stumbled on a ranger station before long. Adam followed the arrow off the main road and pulled the bike up outside a squat, small building. He cut the engine, and seemed to be listening intently. After a few moments, he nodded and led the way inside. Parker was too tired to comment, and let him do his thing. He seemed to have a good sense for when people were around, so Parker was going with it.

Inside, the station was one room with a kitchenette on one wall, two twin beds with wooden frames against the other, and behind a door, a bathroom with bathtub and shower. Parker went to use the toilet, which felt like absolute luxury. He wanted to cry when it flushed. He turned the taps and there was running water. He wondered how long water still flowed in a situation like this, and vowed to enjoy it while he could.

He sat on one of the beds, managing to take off his shoes before flopping back. It was Adam’s turn in the bathroom, so Parker would just close his eyes for a few minutes before he had a shower…

It was dark when Parker bolted up on the thin mattress.
Where? What?
He caught his breath as he remembered. Ranger station. Right. He rubbed his face. He’d slept for hours, apparently. There was a little kerosene lamp burning in the kitchen, and the dark curtains had been drawn and duct-taped against the window frames. The blankets on the other bed were mussed, and he could hear the shower running.

A shower
.

The need to get clean again was suddenly all-consuming. Parker felt like his whole body was itchy with grime. With a burst of energy, he knocked on the bathroom door. “Hurry up. I need a shower too.”

“I’ll be out soon,” Adam called back.

Okay. Cool. Totally fair. But Parker paced in front of the bathroom door. He was so
dirty
, and not in an ironic, Christina Aguilera way. He froze for a moment, struck by a memory of being a little kid and singing along to that song on the radio at the top of his lungs while Eric laughed his ass off and their mother looked scandalized in the kitchen doorway, one hand to her glossy lips and the other on her waist. She’d told him sternly not to let his father hear that song, but had smiled soon after when she let him lick a wooden spoon, cake batter dripping from it.

His throat tightened.
Mom
.

“Stop it,” he muttered. “She’s okay.” Ugh, he was going to cry, and he needed to stop thinking. He knocked again. “Seriously, hurry up. Stop bogarting the hot water.”

Adam’s muffled, laconic response came a moment later. “You know that the more you bug me, the longer I’m going to take.”

“Dude! Don’t make me come in there.”

“Go ahead. I dare you.”

“Oh yeah?” Adam had already seen him naked, so what did he care? He opened the door, already stripping off his clothes. “Dare accepted.”

Through the clear shower curtain, Adam whirled around and stared. Then he laughed, his head tipped back, and Parker decided he wanted to hear more of that sound. He pulled back the curtain and stepped in. “Come on, shove over.”

The hot water was like heaven coursing over him. Parker closed his eyes and moaned softly, tipping his head back under the stream as Adam shifted to give him room. When he opened his eyes, Adam’s smile had vanished, and his throat worked as he handed Parker a little bottle of shampoo. His voice was tight. “There’s even conditioner.”

“This is perfect.” Parker lathered up his hair, and then scrubbed his body with a bar of soap. “Jesus, I never thought soap would be so amazing. I guess I’m going to find out all the things I’ve been taking for granted my entire life.”

Adam’s voice cracked. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he repeated.

“I feel so much better after sleeping in a bed. You were right.” Parker rubbed his scalp with another round of shampoo.

“Can I get that in writing?” Adam asked playfully.

“Well, you were right this time. Doesn’t mean you will be next time. No guarantees in life, Adam.”

Adam’s smile faded, his lips pulling down and his eyes hooding with clear sadness. “I guess not,” he murmured.

They looked at each other through the steam, and before he could think better of it, Parker hugged Adam tightly, pressing their bodies together. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” Adam was warm and breathing and
alive
, and Parker soaked it in with a kind of need he’d never felt. After a few heartbeats, Adam hugged him back.