Lost World (29 page)

There are more footsteps. Like someone is headed our way. My heart pounds, and I try to figure out what to do. If it’s safe. If I should stand up.

Gretchen’s hands are still clamped over her mouth. She shakes her head when I look her way, like she’s telling me not to make a sound. It’s stupid to stay here, though. They know we’re around.

I grab Gretchen and pull her close to me. “I’m Ginny. Do you understand?”

She nods so fast her red hair falls from underneath the hood of her parka.

I stand up, pulling her with me, then step around the side of the car. A big black man with a shaved head grins, revealing perfectly straight teeth that are as white as the snow we’re standing on.

“Howdy,” he says in the same booming voice. “Name’s Donovan.”

I stop next to Jon, but Gretchen stays behind me. Donovan looks me over, but there’s no recognition in his eyes. Good.

“Hi,” I say. “I’m Ginny and this is Gretchen.”

A man behind Donovan chuckles, then steps forward. “Richard.”

Richard is thin and wiry and close to sixty. He has a scraggly gray beard that probably matches the hair under his stocking cap. He grins like he’s amused, but I’m not sure why. There are several other men behind him and Donovan, and even a couple women. They’re all armed and look like they’re ready for action, but they don’t seem particularly threatening.

Jon steps close to me. “Sorry, you just never know who you can trust these days.”

“No apologies,” Donovan says. “It’s not an unusual reaction to us pulling up, believe it or not.”

“You said you had a town?” Gretchen says from behind me.

“We do.” Richard walks closer and tries to get a good look at Gretchen, but I doubt he can. She’s right behind me.

“Hope Springs,” Donovan says.

Gretchen steps around me. “Then it’s real?”

“You’ve heard of us?” Richard grins like he’s looking at an adorable toddler. He has a very grandfatherly feel to him.

“I came across a couple groups who said they’d heard about the town, but I wasn’t sure if it was true.” She smiles, and it lights up her face. “I prayed it was, though.”

“Well, looks like someone is still out there answering prayers,” Donovan says. “Even if it does feel like hell on Earth these days.”

“When can we go?” Gretchen asks.

20

I GIVE AXL A QUICK KISS ON my way to the passenger side of the SUV. Behind us, Angus and Darla load into another car, and in front of us, Winston and Parvarti climb into the Sam’s truck. It’s looking a little worse for wear after our escape from Millersville and we had to cover the missing driver’s side window, but it’s still drivable. And if everything goes as planned, we’re going to need it.

Brady opens the gate for us while Al and Lila stand guard, and Winston leads the way through. It’s only ten miles to Duncan, but we plan on taking advantage of the trip by cleaning out every store we can find. If we have to make more than one trip today, we will. Of course, we’ll have to see how bad the roads are. With all the snow we got yesterday, it’s going to be rough.

We drive in almost total silence. The snow is thick and the drive takes longer than it should, and more than once Axl has to tighten his hands on the wheel when the tires slide on the slick roads. Otherwise, we don’t have much trouble, and we don’t see a single zombie until we get closer to Duncan. I catch sight of the first ones stumbling through the snow around the same time that the buildings come into view. There are only a handful of the dead, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t more. This is a town, so odds are we’re going to hit a big group of them at some point.

We follow Brady’s directions, getting off the main road so we can cut through a residential area and get to the more commercial part of the city. The houses we pass are small but nice, and it doesn’t escape my notice that most of their front doors are open. Whether it’s from the zombies who died inside and wandered out or survivors raiding them, it’s hard to tell. I’d guess the first one, though. The snow covering the road is surprisingly undisturbed.

Soon signs come into view. Lowe’s, Costco, Home Depot. The Wal-Mart we pass is in a small, run-down shopping center with several other random businesses, one of which is a big thrift store.

“There,” I say, pointing out the window. “We need to check there.”

Axl glances toward the store, then looks at me with eyebrows raised. “Why’s that?”

“Simple. Regular stores only carry seasonal clothes, which means no winter stuff. But thrift stores carry winter clothes all year long. They may be used, but we’re not trying to enter any fashion shows right now, so who cares.”

“Ain’t a bad idea. We’ll hit it up on the way out.” He shoots me a grin, and I beam back at him.

When we pull into the Lowe’s parking lot, Winston backs the Sam’s truck up to the door. Axl parks at his side, and Angus next to us. The world is silent when we climb out, but we all have our guns drawn anyway. I’m tense as I look around the parking lot, checking for danger. A few zombies are headed toward us, but they’re far away right now and nothing we can’t handle. Parvarti can probably take them out with her bow before they get too close.

“You all know what we need,” Winston says, keeping his eyes on the zombies like he’s trying to figure out how long it will take them to get to us. “Work in teams of two, no splitting up. We go aisle to aisle, grabbing whatever we need. Get as much as we can.”

Angus spits and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sounds like a plan.”

No one else says anything as we turn toward the store. Inside, I grab two carts, pulling one and pushing a second as I head to the left with Axl right behind me. When I lay eyes on a huge display of seeds, my mouth immediately starts to water. Tomatoes and cucumbers, potatoes and carrots. Strawberries and other fruit, too. Just thinking about fresh fruit and vegetables makes my stomach growl. We’re going to have our carts full in no time. We load the whole display into my cart, then move onto the fertilizer.

“I wish I knew more about gardening,” I say, dumping a few small shovels and gardening gloves into the cart. “Think we could grow some of this now? Maybe set up a greenhouse or use heat lamps?”

“Be willin’ to bet we could. Just gotta find the right books.”

“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “A bookstore would be nice.”

We move silently down the aisles, using flashlights to look things over. Along the back wall, I find a display of deadly-looking gardening tools and load them into the cart. Axl takes one look at the thick blade mounted on a long pole and raises his eyebrow. I don’t blame him. I could take the top of a zombie’s head off with this thing.

“Shoulda gone to Lowe’s to get weapons,” he says, shaking his head.             

I snort in agreement. “Who knew?”

We hit the jackpot in the next aisle. Six kerosene heaters and cans of the fuel to make them work. Only they won’t all fit in our carts, which means it’s time to make a trip out to the truck. We stuff as much as we can fit into our shopping carts, then head outside to empty them. The sun is so bright I have to squint and shield my eyes so I can get a good look around. The zombies are still a good distance off.

“They’re slower than I thought,” I say as Axl hops into the truck and I start passing him things.

“Cold weather is helpin’ us.”

“Good thing.”

Angus and Darla come out of the store, their carts loaded down with barbed wire and nails and hammers and a bunch of other tools, and only a few minutes after that, Winston and Pavarti come out pushing a flatbed full of wood. We unload, then go back inside and refill, then repeat the process until my skin is so sweaty that every inch of my clothes clings to my body and I feel like my hands are covered in calluses. On our third trip to the truck, we step out just in time to see Parvarti release an arrow. It flies through the air and slices through a zombie’s head. The thing drops to the ground next to two others. Beyond that, though, more are headed our way.

“How many?” Axl asks, huffing as he wipes sweat from his brow.

“Ten, maybe?” I respond. “They’re spread out, though.”

Parvarti lowers her bow and heads back our way. “We’ll take them out when they get closer.”

She doesn’t even look at us as she heads to where Winston stands waiting for her.

“I’ve heard of ice queens, but I don’t think I ever met one until now,” I say, watching her disappear inside.

“She’s gotta deal with her shit the best way she knows how.”

So everyone keeps saying.

By the time we get all the stuff we need from Lowe’s, the truck is half full. I’m shocked by how much we were able to find, but more than anything, I’m excited by the kerosene heaters. We only found six, though. We want more than that, which means heading over to the Home Depot. Thankfully, they always seem to build these stores next to each other, so we don’t have far to go.

Bad thing is, the dead follow us.

We make it through Home Depot in record time. It’s as deserted as the Lowe’s was, and just as useful. We not only find another eight kerosene heaters and more fuel, but we also load up on even more seeds, barbed wire, and bottled water. We take the zombies out when they get close, but for the most part we leave them alone. I’ve seen ninety-year-old women who move faster than these things.

When we’re done at Home Depot, we head down the street to Costco.

My body is tight with tension when we pull to a stop outside the store. It reminds me of our trip to Sam’s Club and how all the people we picked up there are dead now except little Max. Nathan and Moira and Liz, as well as Dylan and Jhett. Not to mention Brad, that asshole who helped lead the men from the Monte Carlo back to us.

It almost feels like saving people is a waste of time.

“I hate going into stores that used to sell food,” I say as we approach the front door.

Darla nods, looking even less excited about the prospect than I am. “Not gonna smell good, that’s for sure.”

“Let’s just get it over with,” Angus grunts, pushing past me on his way to the door.

Axl follows his brother, and they work together, trying to pry the doors open while the rest of us stand in a semi-circle at their backs. More than twenty zombies are headed our way now, but it’s not just the dead that have me worried. With the truck loaded up the way it is, I don’t think all of us should go inside. It seems stupid to leave our supplies out in the open like this.

“A couple people should stay out here,” I say.

Angus looks over his shoulder as he pushes the door to the side. “Just ‘cause you got a weak stomach don’t mean you can get outta workin’.”

“I didn’t say I thought it should be me,” I snap. “I just think we’d be stupid to leave our stuff unguarded.”

“She’s right,” Winston says, glancing toward Axl.

He purses his lips and looks us over. “Parv, you wanna stay out here? Keep an eye out?”

She nods, barely reacting.

Then Axl’s eyes sweep over the rest of us and land on me. “Vivian?”

“Of course you’d tell me to stay outside.”

“You’re a good shot,” he says defensively. “You don’t gotta.”

Angus swears and heads into the store. “I’m gonna work on gettin’ us some food while you two fight about it.”

Axl frowns when Darla jogs after him, then Winston.

I roll my eyes and wave him toward the store. “Whatever. It’s fine. Let’s just get this over with so we can get out of here.”

Axl is shaking his head when he follows the others, leaving Parvarti and me alone.

She doesn’t say a word, not that I expected her to, and I don’t have a clue what to say to her. I feel like I’m with a stranger whenever we’re alone.

We stand in silence, watching the zombies stagger our way across the snow-covered parking lot. The town is utterly silent and empty and totally depressing. As much as I know we need supplies, I hate being in a town like this. It isn’t just the danger, it’s how real this whole thing seems in the midst of the stark silence.

“Was it Hadley’s?” Parvarti asks, making me jump.

I turn to face her, my heart pounding like crazy because she scared the shit out of me. I don’t have a clue what she’s talking about.

“What?”

“The test.”

Shit. I’d almost let myself forget about that.

“Thought you didn’t want to know,” I say, barely able to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

Her face is as expressionless as always when she shrugs. “Maybe I don’t, I can’t decide.”

“It was Hadley’s.”

She nods once, then tears her eyes away from me. “She’s better off, then.”

Meaning she thinks Hadley’s dead.

I glare at Parvarti, but she doesn’t even look my way. It pisses me off that she’s so sure Hadley is gone. What’s worse, she doesn’t seem to care. I thought they were friends.

Angus and Darla come out, each of them pulling a flatbed. I help them unload it while Parvarti keeps watch. We’ve just finished when Winston and Axl come out and I have to start all over again. They go back in, leaving Parvarti and me alone, but ten minutes later they’re right back out and I’m sweating again as I pile food and toiletries into the truck.

“Incoming!” Darla calls, pointing to a few zombies staggering toward us.

Parvarti heads over to meet them, coming back only thirty seconds later with one less arrow.

When the carts are empty, they head back in, leaving Parv and me alone again.

They’re gone for less than five minutes when the sound of a motor makes my ears perk up. “You hear that?”

Parvarti nods and scans the area. “Sounds like more than one.”