Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary (17 page)

Their
indecision had been costly. More and more zombies appeared, drawn to the noise,
and streets that had been largely empty moments ago were now clogged with
walking corpses. There was no clear route out.

“We have
to help them,” stated Lois, her countenance grim.

Not
waiting for the others to give their opinions, she jerked the door open and
waved. They obviously saw her because the car turned and sped straight for the
house.

“They’re
going too fast,” snarled Lizzy. She forcibly pulled Lois back inside, ignoring
her squawk of indignation. “Damn idiots!”

Panicking,
the driver shot forward to what she prayed was safety. Bouncing off the curb,
the woman lost control and slammed headlong into the side of Lois’s car.

Lizzy
took one look at the mass of zombies approaching the house, then another at the
wreckage and the dazed and bleeding people within, before shoving Lois behind
her and barring the door.

“We
can’t leave them Lizzy!”

“Too
late,” observed Mary, from her vantage by the window.

The
zombies had surrounded the car. Smashing windows, they reached inside and
dragged the occupants out, the broken glass slicing deep into their flesh. All
four were bitten repeatedly, their screams soon falling silent.

*
* *

The trio
remained in Scotty’s house, unsure what to do and trying hard to maintain some
sort of morale. Mary proved to be the most resilient, and with Lois still
alive, she was dealing with the loss of her parents better than anyone could
expect. She’d always been closest to her sister, and Lois was the one she went
to with her problems or if she needed somebody to talk to. Still, she was prone
to long moments of quiet and the occasional bout of despair.

Then
they heard the rumbling of Stan’s convoy. It was clear that a large number of
automobiles and trucks were approaching, and they couldn’t pass up the chance
to escape. So Lizzy checked to be certain her gun was loaded, pocketed the
little bit of extra ammunition they had, and stepped outside.

“We need
to move fast.”

Mary
looked skeptical.

“None of
that. I know you’re like three times faster than me.”

“At
least.”

“But
still and all. Wait.” She stopped and turned down another road instead. “The
zombies can hear that too, and they’ll be going the same way. We may run into
the ones ahead of us while more are coming up behind.”

“Never
would have guessed that,” said Mary. “Oh, there they are.”

The
monsters had come into view and seeing more ready prey targeted the women instead.

“We need
to run,” said Lois.

“Wait a
second.” Lizzy was trying to listen. “The cars are moving faster than I
thought. We do need to run!”

She
hurried off at a fast pace, the fastest she could sustain, and Mary quickly
darted ahead with long, easy strides.

“Don’t
get too far away,” ordered Lizzy, already breathing hard.

“They
are way slower than us. We can avoid them.”

“Not if
you get surrounded. Pay attention to me girl.”

“Mary!
Stay closer,” demanded Lois. She did not leave Lizzy’s side.

Her younger
sister gave a brief nod and let them catch up, somewhat, but she stayed in the
lead and chose the route based on the obstacles and number of zombies she
spied.

“They’re
passing us!” shouted Mary. The sound was beginning to decrease. “Should I
sprint and try to get them?”

“I…”
Lizzy didn’t know. It might save them, but could she allow Mary to run off
alone. She was in excellent condition and could probably do it, but the risk
was so great.

A mob of
zombies that had been tracking the convoy spotted them and turned. Mary
screamed and rushed back toward the others.

“Not
that way,” she said, veering down an empty street.

Lizzy
and Lois took a good look at the fifty or so dead bodies approaching and moved
to follow Mary. The thirteen year old’s first thought was to return to the
house, but there were more barring the way. Then she remembered the dress shop.
It was nearby, and she guided the others there. Bolted into the side wall was a
narrow metal ladder leading to the roof. Mary shot up it gracefully and stood
fifteen feet above the street. From there she was able to see the vehicles of
Stan’s convoy in the distance, until they vanished from view.

“Mary!”

She
looked down. “Zombies are coming. Get up here before they see you.”

The
small indentation that ran alongside the building, housing a pair of steel
dumpsters, provided Lizzy and Lois with a modicum of concealment, but that
wouldn’t last long. The pair quickly pulled themselves up and collapsed in
exhaustion.

“Are any
coming?” asked Lizzy. “Cause I don’t know if I can shoot anything right now.”

Mary
glanced over the edge. “Nope. I don’t think they know we’re up here.”

“Then
away from the sides and be quiet, so they don’t spot you.”

“Cars
are gone.”

“I
figured as much.”

“What do
we do now?” asked Lois.

“I, ah,
let me think.” She was quiet for a bit. “We need to get back to the house, but
maybe we can find another car first. Then we can get away if we need to.”

“Or
follow all those other ones. They were moving very slow. We can probably catch
up,” pointed out Mary, “even if we leave a few hours from now.”

“How
many zombies in the street?”

The
teenager crept to the side and peered over. “About a dozen, all spread out.
None are by the ladder.”

“See any
cars with keys in the ignition?”

“Lizzy,
I don’t exactly have any binoculars or a telescope you know, and I can’t see
that far by myself.”

“Sorry.
How about any that look like we could take em?”

“I don’t
know. What do I look for?”

Lois
joined her sister. “It is really, really hard to tell Lizzy. I think we’ll have
to check them one by one when we get down.”

“Damn,”
she muttered. “Okay, here’s what we’ll do. We are going to rest some, maybe
longer, and then we’ll try to find a car or just go back to Scotty’s house if
we can’t.”

*
* *

Later,
as they were preparing to descend, Mary spotted a Jeep Wrangler, with two other
vehicles following it, coming up the same road.

“More
cars!”

“Not so
loud,” snapped Lizzy. She quickly spotted them as well. “Yes!”

“Didn’t
you say…”

“Not
now.” Lizzy checked the area beneath the ladder. It was still clear. “Down
fast, and then we run for them. This might be our only chance, so no stopping.”

Chapter V

We left
the state park first thing on the sixteenth day, continuing north. We
encountered no problems, and by late afternoon we had made it to
McCook, Nebraska
. With the exception of having longer
stops to siphon gas, along with searching abandoned cars for any supplies we
could use, our speed was more than satisfactory.

Coming
across an empty house several miles from the town, we decided to stop for the
night. Lizzy and I checked to be certain it was clear, with Briana providing
close cover. Simon didn’t want to leave his wife and son, and I doubt Julie
would have allowed it anyway. She was still blaming everything on me, and while
I knew, logically, that Juliette’s death was not my fault, not directly, I felt
bad for the little girl. Likewise, Cherie made no offer to assist, nor did she
provide any excuses. I didn’t think she was a coward, but she clearly wasn’t
going to take chances if someone else would do it for her. Lois seemed somewhat
timid – Lizzy confirmed this later – and Mary was too young, so I didn’t even
consider their possible assistance.

“This’ll
be better than sleeping in the cars.”

“First
of all Lizzy,” I replied, “you’re in a Jeep, not a car. Do not call it a car.
Do not think of it as a car. Granted, it’s only a Grand Cherokee, but it still
bears the Jeep name.”

Mary
began to giggle. So did Briana.

“Second,
we have to make sure it’s secure before going to sleep. Don’t want anything
coming in while we’re snoring.”

“That’s
easy,” retorted the woman, “and with all of us, we can keep watches.”

I looked
down at her, and she glared right back up at me.

“Good
point,” I conceded. “The two of us had been alone for quite a while. We hadn’t
been able to do watches.”

“There’s
a creek in the back too,” said Briana, “and we have buckets.”

“Why’s
that so important?” demanded Lizzy.

“Sponge
baths,” we answered in unison.

Mary’s
giggles shifted to laughter, although it seemed forced. She was probably trying
to not think of Juliette, something none of us could do.

“We’ve
taken buckets of water before and used tubs to get washed up. It’s not as good
as a proper shower or bath, but you can get clean,” I explained.

“Me and
Lois are first,” said Lizzy. “I’m calling dibs.”

Julie
let out a sound that was something between a hiss and a curse and stomped into
the kitchen, dragging her son along by the wrist.

“Simon,”
I suggested, “why don’t you go and see if there are any canned or dry goods we
can cook for dinner and anything we can take with us tomorrow.”

“Sure
thing Jacob.” He sounded grateful for an excuse to join his wife before she
started yelling for him.

“Only
two rooms with beds,” said Briana, “and both are little twin beds at that.”

“Mary
and Michael get those,” I decided. “Let them have a good night’s rest. We’ll
stick the Bransons in one room and Lizzy and Lois in the other so Mary can keep
an eye on them and make sure they behave.”

“Lizzy
never behaves,” said Mary. “She’s incorrigible.”

Her
glare shifted to the petite teenager.

“What
about the three of us?” asked Cherie.

“We get
the living room,” answered Briana quickly, “with me on the couch, you in one
chair, and Jacob in the other.”

With the
layout of the furniture, it put Briana between me and Cherie. Cherie gave her a
knowing smile and nodded. That only made Briana’s face darken.

*
* *

The
following day, with the underlying tensions not improving in the slightest, we
left US-83 and took some back roads as we made our way to US-385. That highway
would take us the final leg to the
Nebraska
National Forest. You know, the terms
Nebraska and forest really don’t go together, and yes, I realize that’s a
somewhat meaningless comment. Anyway, progress slowed dramatically at that point.

We had
to cross two interstates, I-76 and I-80. Both proved difficult. At the first,
the interchange was blocked by an overturned semi. We were forced to follow the
access road for several miles before we finally found a crossing. The large
number of zombies walking up and down the road did not help matters. We saw no
survivors.

The
second was worse. Not wanting to waste additional time looking for an alternate
route, we decided to go off road and simply traverse the interstate. I made a
mistake, however, in permitting Lizzy to take the lead. Now that she was no
longer bound by the court order that took away her license, the woman was
behind the wheel all the time. She loved speed. She loved adventure. She was
more than a little reckless. In this case, she picked a steep spot, as steep as
you find in that part of the state, and zipped over the access road and right
up the grass. Her Jeep slid a bit but made it without too much difficulty.

I
shifted to four wheel drive, moved to the side where it was less angled, and
joined her. Cherie came along behind me. But Julie, pissed at the world Julie,
tried to follow Lizzy’s example instead of taking the easier route. Their SUV
made it most of the way up the slope, but then the tires began to spin in the
mud. It slid back down and ended up in a ditch.

It took
an hour, most of that in a heavy drizzle – it had been raining on and off all
day – to get them free. Michael sat with Cherie in her truck, so they managed
to stay dry. The rest of us ended up wet and covered in mud. Poor Mary had the
worst of it, standing atop a wrecked church van so she could alert us to any
approaching danger. The general attitude of the party deteriorated along with
the weather. Julie wouldn’t speak with Lizzy or Lois, other than to call them
perverts – yes, the name calling had begun – nor would she talk to me.

Complicating
everything further were the omnipresent zombies. Twice I had to stop what I was
doing to shoot groups that targeted us. Fortunately, the numbers were
manageable, and they had been spread out. The gunshots did get their attention,
bringing yet more our way, but we managed to free the SUV and were gone before
it became too dangerous.

Around
that same time, the siphoning of gasoline became an issue. Lizzy decided to
emulate Mary and would stand atop a vehicle to keep watch. Julie took offense
to this strategy and declared, loudly, that the “crazy, sinful dyke” – her
exact words – was risking everyone’s life by displaying herself so wantonly.
Julie was starting to break down. She was becoming more irate and irrational by
the hour, and it didn’t take long before no one was speaking to her, aside from
her family.

Then
there was Cherie. With Briana staying close to me at all times – I found that
quite annoying by the way – and my lack of interest in her, Cherie had shifted
her attention to Simon. She spoke with him regularly, generally when Julie was
asleep or sitting with Michael. Anytime one of us drifted close enough to hear,
the conversation turned out to be something innocent. Still, Briana was certain
Cherie wanted to steal him away.

“He’s
not exactly property,” I told her.

“The
next best thing,” she argued. “You don’t break up other peoples’
relationships.”

“It
takes two.”

She
snorted and jerked on her hair, twisting it about before dropping her hands in
her lap.

“Want to
watch a movie?”

Our
favored leisure activity had become common knowledge almost immediately. Not
being the sharing sort – and I did have a lot of personal things on the hard
drive – I had promised Michael and Mary that we’d find them some laptops or a
portable DVD player of their own so they could watch movies as well. I wasn’t
certain when this would happen, but we were going to have to take the chance
and really search a town sooner or later. Everyone wanted something, and Lizzy
in particular still needed clothing.

“No
distracting me. I’d rather complain about Cherie.”

“Whatever
makes you happy,” I sighed, staring out the windshield at the darkness. We were
parked in a field, a few hundred yards from the highway.

“You
really don’t want to talk about her, do you?”

“Not
particularly Briana.”

“Fine
then.” She slumped down in her seat. “She’s such a bitch.”

So much
for getting off that topic.

“Julie’s
going to find out and probably shoot her.”

“Julie
has no gun,” I pointed out. “Simon carries it.”

“She’s
raving nuts.”

“True,
and getting worse.”

“Exactly,”
said Briana. “So, if Simon gets tired of Julie being crazy, he may drift away
and go to Cherie. Then we get a crazy and angry Julie, more than already. I’ll
bet she wants to carry a gun then. Probably use it too.”

“Well… I
think we should do what we can to ensure Julie is never armed.” So much drama,
and while she had an excellent reason to be upset considering the death of her
daughter, now was not the time for a mental breakdown. “Try to keep an eye on
her, when you can. She hates you less than most of us.”

*
* *

The
beginning of the twentieth day found our little group nearing the outskirts of
Dalton, Nebraska
, about sixty or so miles south of the
national forest. Almost three weeks to do what, under normal circumstances,
should have been a single, long day’s drive. It’s funny how that sticks in my
mind. You’d think the fact the dead were walking about trying to eat the living
or that the world seemed to be largely devoid of the breathing would be at the
forefront. Perhaps the lack of electricity and all the luxuries we were used to
would be a better gauge of our decline. But no, the fact it seems to take
forever to get anywhere is what I focused on.

“Jacob, check
it out.”

I led
the way. Lizzy was no longer permitted to take point.

“By the
bend up ahead, is that a police car?”

I saw
what Briana meant and slowed as we drew near. “Looks like a police van. Maybe
there’ll be something useful we can take.”

I stopped,
and the others followed suit.

“What’s
going on?” asked Lizzy.

“Briana
spotted it. Might be worth examining.”

Lizzy
took a good look at the van. It hadn’t crashed, and there were no skid marks.
Whoever had been driving may have pulled off intentionally.

“Doors
are closed,” she said, “think anyone’s inside?”

“One way
to find out.” I drew my pistol and started down with Lizzy at my side.

“Be
careful,” called Lois.

“I’m
always careful,” protested Lizzy.

“Yeah,
right,” added Mary.

Grumbling,
she grabbed the back handle and jerked it open. My gun was ready, but nothing
came out.

“Wow,”
whispered Lizzy.

I
nodded. This was the jackpot.

“Briana!”

She was
on the road keeping a look out for zombies.

“What?”

“We
don’t have a shortage of guns anymore.”

“Really?
How many are there?”

“Dozens!”
yelled Lizzy.

Some of
the weapons were stored in racks bolted to the inside walls of the van with
others packed away in boxes. We took all of them. The pistols were 9mm
automatics, each with a spare clip. First thing I did with these was to offer
one to the others. Julie refused – I had to include her, despite my concerns,
to avoid giving offense and causing even greater conflict – and Michael was
deemed too young by his parents. Mary got one though. Having gone shooting with
Lizzy in the past, she already knew how to operate the weapon.

There
were also several 12 gauge pump shotguns. They were the pistol grip combat
variety, which was a shame since I thought they’d be better used for hunting.
Still, each car now had one. Unfortunately, there were no rifles. I’d have
loved to find a scoped sniper rifle, which would be ideal for shooting large
game or zombies, but I didn’t voice any complaints. The firearms we found,
along with the cases of ammunition, were more than any of us could have hoped
to stumble across.

The
bulletproof vests were discussed at length before we decided to take a few.
Briana and I each selected one and stashed them in the Jeep. Lizzy took one as
well. There were none that would fit Mary comfortably – she was too tiny – and
the others didn’t see the need. To be fair, I wasn’t sure if they’d be of any
practical value myself, but they didn’t take up very much space and could be
dumped if they turned out to be worthless.

The
short range radios were of the greatest immediate use. They used normal
batteries, and the instructional pamphlets listed an effective range of five
miles. That was ideal for keeping in touch while driving. No more stopping just
because someone wanted to ask a question.