Zomb-Pocalypse (16 page)

Silas and I thank them and head out. Silas pulls the truck closer, and the weird little dog follows us in. The room is tidy and smells a bit like moth balls. It has two double beds, and I walk over to the furthest one from the door and drop my bag before flopping down.

I just want to sleep, but Silas has other ideas. He comes and sits down beside me on the bed. My eyes pop open as I stare up at him, wondering, not for the first time, if I’m completely safe with him.

“I should check your arm,” he says, and I feel guilty for doubting him.

I carefully pull my arm out of the hoodie sleeve. After washing his hands in the bathroom, he unwinds my bandages and takes a look.

The wound is an angry red. The crude stitches that I have been abusing all day look worse in the light, and I wince thinking about what kind of scar I’m going to have if this thing ever heals. Silas pulls a small bottle of vodka from his bag and pours a generous amount over the cut.

I let out a whimper from between my clenched teeth when the soul-searing burn finally fades to “just” a terrible sting.

Silas takes a quick swig from the bottle before stuffing it back in his bag and coming up with some fresh bandages. I’ve seen him do some pretty tough things with his hands over the last day and a half, but they are surprisingly gentle as he winds fresh cotton over my stitches.

“Make sure you take some more antibiotics,” he warns me, digging them out from my bag and leaving them on the nightstand with a bottle of water from his pack.

I watch him until he disappears into the bathroom without another word. I hear the shower turn on and wince. The water has to be ice cold. He comes out much cleaner than he went in and finds me sitting on the bed with my backpack and hoodie back on.

“You going somewhere?” he asks, like he doesn’t really think I am. I watch him do a double take when I nod.

“I still haven’t found Ryan.”

Silas sighs at the mention of Ryan’s name. I know I’m like a broken record that keeps repeating itself, but I can’t help it. Ryan is the only thing left in this world that makes sense to me. He’s going to help me find my parents, and I care about him.

“Can I borrow the truck?” I ask, and Silas shakes his head.

“It’s not like you didn’t steal it,” I retort, mad that he’s denying my request.

“It’s not that. It’s hotwired, do you know how to get it going again?” he asks, and I hate that he’s right, again.

“No,” I admit, feeling helpless.

I watch Silas pull the vodka from his bag and take a couple long pulls from the bottle.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I have an idea,” he says finally, surprising me. I had thought he was going to lay down some hard truths like I should stop my search for Ryan.

I look up at him expectantly as he pulls a can of spray paint from his bag. “We should go back to the pharmacy and leave this guy a note. Let him know where you are. You could search that whole town until the zombies get you, and your paths might never cross.”

His idea is genius. In a world where you can’t simply pull out your phone and text someone in real time, Silas’ idea is the next best thing.

“When can we go?” I ask excitedly, once again grateful that Silas is willing to help me.

“Might as well get it over with so I can get some sleep,” he grumbles, but I’m beginning to see that he isn’t as gruff and uncaring as he would like me to believe.

“Leave the dog,” Silas warns when we head to the door and the dog starts to follow. The memory of my neighbor getting attacked and eaten when her dog barked comes back to me, and I shudder.

“No problem,” I respond. I’m sure Silas had been expecting me to argue by the surprised look he gives me.

We get in the truck, and Silas starts to fiddle with the wires again.

“Silas,” his name is out before I fully realize what I’m about to ask.

His hand stills and he looks at me expectantly. “Did you change your mind?” he asks, and I feel a tug of annoyance towards him.

“No, not that.”

“What then?” he prompts, and I can tell that his attention is already drifting back towards the task at hand.

“Can you teach me how to hotwire a car?” I blurt it out in a rush, glad that I am able to get up the courage to ask him.

Silas doesn’t do a thing for my confidence when he bursts out laughing.

“It’s not funny, Silas. Knowing how to do this stuff really saved our asses today,” I point out, and that sobers him.

“Alright blondie, slide on over,” he says, shifting in the seat so I will be able to see around his knees.

I don’t even hesitate as I slide in nice and close and lean in expectantly.

“First thing first,” Silas says, and I can tell he likes his role as teacher. “We lucked out hard core today. This basic wiring only works on late nineties model vehicles. Anything new would be way beyond what I would be able to teach you. If you’re stuck and you need a vehicle, aim for an old beater.” I nod my head and make a mental note.

Silas points to the wires. “I’ve already done the work here, but the first thing to do would be to always carry a flathead screwdriver. You use the screwdriver to remove the screws in the top and bottom of the steering column. Then, use the screw driver to pry off the panel.” Even though the panel is no longer there Silas mimes doing it, just as he says.

“You need to expose the ignition cylinder and this big group of wires here.” Silas pulls the wires further into view so I can’t miss them. “The color of the wires can vary. However, two constants are usually red and yellow. You need to strip the plastic coating off the wires.” He demonstrates with the screwdriver and I nod, so far so good. This is making sense to me.

“Then you want to twist the wires together. If it doesn’t work, you’ll have to fiddle around and try a few different color combo’s red, yellow, and blue.” He demonstrates and nothing happens. “Red, yellow, green…” Silas trails off as it sparks and the ignition roars to life.

I grin up at him. “Thanks Silas,” I say and mean it from the bottom of my heart. Silas hands me the flathead screw driver.

“I’ve got an extra. You can keep this one.” I take the screwdriver like it’s a championship trophy. Silas might get on my nerves, but two days with him and I am learning valuable life skills that nobody else has ever bothered to teach me. I’m not just some dumb teenage girl to him…well, maybe I am, but at least he wants me to be a dumb teenage girl with useable skills.

“This is a simple in and out, no mistakes,” Silas warns as we head back into town. The zombies have settled down in our absence. We see them here and there, but the truck speeds by too fast for them to catch up.

Silas turns on Main Street and pulls up in front of the pharmacy. I, personally, am sick to death of this particular building. Silas gets out with his gun drawn, and I join him as he puts down three zombies that have wandered too close.

“Let’s hurry,” he says as he pulls the spray can out of his bag, and hands it to me, pointing to the sidewalk in front of the store.

I think for a minute before hastily scrawling out my message.

 @ Motel on Hwy. Jane.

I finish up and dive into the cab of the truck. Silas has shot seven more times while I was creating my manifesto. Even with the silencer, we are attracting way too much attention.

Silas jumps in, and we are off like a shot. We speed past the zombies and I begin to feel the smallest shred of hope. If my luck can hold a little bit longer, Ryan will be able to find me.

We are back at the motel within fifteen minutes. I’m lying on my bed, pumped full of antibiotics, in twenty.

“Do you want something to eat?” Silas asks, and groggily I shake my head. Silas makes a disapproving sound and tosses me a couple protein bars.

“You need to eat or those antibiotics are gonna melt the lining of your stomach.” I don’t doubt him. I’ve been having a stomach ache since I first started taking these pills, so I unwrap a bar and bite into it grudgingly. Today has been one adrenaline rush after another, and I’m exhausted.

“I just want to sleep,” I say, watching as he pulls a couple beer cans from his bag and pops their tops simultaneously.

“Eat first,” Silas grunts at me as he chugs beer and then lets out an enormous belch.

I wrinkle up my nose at him. “So where were you headed anyway?” Silas surprises me by asking.

I think about shrugging like Silas probably would if I asked him the same question. But, I owe Silas my life now, and today he did kind of show me a different side of himself.

“We are going to New York,” I say.

Silas chokes on his beer and coughs for a solid minute before looking at me with his crazy lady expression. “New York will be packed full of zombies,” he says at last, and I nod. I’ve been thinking about that nonstop, but there must be a safe way to reach the camp. Why else would the military have put one there?

“My parents were in New York when everything started,” I admit. Unlike everyone else, Silas doesn’t give me a sympathetic look at this news. I like it.

“My friends and I were on our way to a cabin in the woods when we came across a camp of survivors, set up by the military.” Silas looks interested now.

“They told me about a similar camp outside New York City that is filled with thousands of survivors.” I pause for a minute to compose myself. “I know it’s a long shot,” I say before Silas can say it.

Silas nods at that.

“…but I have to try.”

“Well, I hope you find them,” Silas says after a minute, and salutes me with his beer can.

I drift off to sleep a few minutes later after turning my back on Silas eating cold ravioli straight from the can without a spoon. The dog is curled up by my leg, and I enjoy the warmth he generates.

It’s the dog barking that wakes me up much later. The room is pitch black, and there is rapid pounding at the door. The door shakes on its cheap hinges, and I’m instantly transported back to the horror of this afternoon when the zombies were breaking into the house that Silas and I were holed up in. I involuntarily let out a scream. I know it’s girly, but it’s the middle of the night and I can’t help it. It’s a knee-jerk reaction to waking up abruptly in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. I really should work on that.

The pounding on the door intensifies when I scream, and Silas gives me a look. “Good job,” he mutters, and I can’t think of anything to say.

I watch, frozen with fear, as Silas creeps over to the door and peeks through the hole. He surprises me by sliding the lock out and throwing the door open. I want to yell at him, but he must be sure he can handle the number of zombies outside. The door bursts open and my jaw actually drops when Ryan comes running in like a crazy person.

“Jane?” he yells frantically, looking in all directions as his eyes adjust to the dark room. He turns towards Silas and raises a pistol to his temple. “Who the hell are you?” he demands, “What have you done to Jane?” 

Silas brings his own pistol up and levels it at Ryan’s chest. “Jane is fine, and besides constantly save her life, I haven’t done a damn thing to her,” Silas snarls.

I’m suddenly afraid that I’ve found Ryan only to see Silas kill him. I spring off the bed and jump into Ryan’s arms, knocking his pistol off guard. Thankfully, it doesn’t fall though, or Silas would probably yell at me.

“Stop it, you two!” I shout at them both, and then I’m wrapped in Ryan’s warmth. Silas has tucked away his pistol, and Ryan has me in his arms and is no longer paying any attention to Silas.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I cry, tears streaming from my eyes. The dog barks and dances around our legs.

Silas lets out one of his annoyed sighs and shuts the door, “How are you two still alive with the amount of noise you make, traipsing around in the dark, not carrying weapons…” I tune out his list of my faults and just enjoy Ryan’s embrace.

Silas makes sure the curtains are shut before he turns on his lantern. I blink as the room lights up, and I can actually see Ryan’s handsome face for the first time in days. Apparently, so can Silas because he scowls at us both and keeps muttering.

“I have so many questions,” Ryan says, pressing a kiss to my lips that makes me go weak in the knees.

Silas walks up and Ryan pulls me behind his back like he’s trying to protect me, which makes Silas scoff.

“Really?” Silas taunts him.

“He’s harmless.” I tell Ryan, and even as I speak the words out loud, I’m not sure if they’re true.

Ryan pulls away from me a little and looks me over like he’s reassuring himself that I’m actually still in one piece. My Federal Boobie Inspector shirt gives him pause, and his mouth goes slack.

“Where on earth did you get that shirt?”

Chapter Fourteen

“You lied to me.” Ryan’s words are quiet, but the accusation is impossible to ignore. Worse is the hurt in his eyes and the tone of his voice.

“What?” I stammer. There’s been so much going on during the last two days. For a minute, my mind struggles to follow the direction of the conversation.

“You told me you got out,” he reminds me, and I feel the pit of my stomach start to ache.

“Ryan,” I stare up at his handsome face. I can tell he’s mad, but at least he isn’t Silas’ brand of mad.

“I had to. If you had tried to save me, you would have been killed.” Ryan looks like he wants to deny it, but he and I both know that he truthfully can’t.

“You must have barely made it out of there as it is. If half the zombies hadn’t been distracted by me in the pharmacy, you would have had a real problem on your hands,” I remind him gently, and he has the grace to acknowledge what I’ve said as the truth with a curt nod of his head.

“When I saw you on top of those shelves, my heart almost stopped,” he admits to me, and I hug him close again. The thump of his heart against my ear is comforting, and I relax for the first time in two days.

Ryan pulls away from me and looks at Silas who is sitting on his bed, minding his own business, and puffing away on a lit cigarette.

“Who is this guy?” he asks, and it sounds a bit rude to my ears.

“Ryan, this is Silas. Silas, Ryan,” I awkwardly introduce them. Ryan politely puts his hand out, but Silas pointedly ignores it. I watch an angry flush enter Ryan’s cheeks.

“Silas was staying in the apartment across the alley from the pharmacy and helped me.”

Ryan looks like he doesn’t want to believe it.

“Did you see the message at the pharmacy?” I ask, and Ryan nods. “That was Silas’ idea.” I watch Ryan digest this information.

“I’m glad you had someone when I wasn’t there,” he says at last.

I smile, admiring him for taking the higher ground.

Silas grunts, accepting his due of the compliment before ashing his cigarette out in one of the four beer cans littering his nightstand.

Ryan gives me a look, and I shrug helplessly.

“What now?” Ryan asks, suddenly looking unsure. I look at him, not sure what he’s asking me.

“We stay here till morning,” I say at last. There is no way I’m leaving this room in the dark unless I absolutely have to.

Ryan glances towards Silas like he thinks Silas is going to kick him out. Honestly, I have no idea what Silas is thinking, but I shake my head anyway.

“I paid for half this room. You’re staying.” I say firmly, not sure when I became the one to make decisions.

“Fine,” Silas says suddenly, “But he isn’t bunking with me.” Silas is so random that I laugh.

Ryan frowns at me like I’m a crazy person.

“What do you mean you paid for this—?” Ryan asks in confusion.

“Do you need help bringing that woman from the car accident inside?” I interrupt him as I suddenly remember the reason we were even in that cursed pharmacy.

Before he speaks, the look on Ryan’s face tells me that the woman is no longer with him.

“What happened?” I ask softly, leading him towards my bed.

“I looked for you, but I couldn’t find you, and Helen was bleeding out back there…” I can sense Ryan’s guilt. On one hand, he wanted to look for me and felt like he had betrayed me when he stopped looking to help the woman. On the other hand, perhaps the time he spent looking for me is the reason she isn’t here. Now I start to feel guilty.

Ryan pulls off his shoes and his pack and stretches out on the bed. I lay down beside him and curl into his side.

“Then what?” I prompt. The dog jumps up and snuggles against my side. Ryan raises an eyebrow but doesn’t ask where I got the little mutt.

“We stayed in a house on the end of the street. There were a lot of zombies around, but we kept quiet and they lost track of us eventually. I tried to fix her up as much as I could, but I think she lost too much blood. I woke up to her trying to bite me, so I had to put her down.”

I feel ill listening to Ryan’s story, and I know he doesn’t feel any better about it either.

“Was she bitten?” I ask, finding it strange that she turned into a zombie.

Ryan shrugs. “I have no idea. With all her car accident wounds, it was hard to see if she had any scratched or bites.”

“You tried. That’s the important thing,” I reassure him, but I know he doesn’t believe me.

“I risked our lives for nothing…”

I use my good arm to stroke his hair in a calming fashion. “Let’s just get some sleep. Things will look better in the morning,” I suggest, my heart aching when I realize that I’ve instinctively spouted off one of my Mom’s favorite pieces of advice.

I hear Silas snort in disagreement, but I ignore him and shut my eyes. Ryan is here now. Tomorrow has to be better.

Ryan and I wake up to find that Silas is gone. I change the dressing on my wound with Ryan’s help. His face is grim set as he sees what happened to me when I jumped out that window. I pop a couple antibiotics and force myself to eat, heeding Silas’ warning not to get my stomach lining eaten out by the pills.

“Should we get back on the road?” Ryan asks, he doesn’t seem at all concerned that Silas isn’t here anymore.

I nod.

We step out into the cool, crisp morning air. I look around, but I don’t see any zombies. I do, however, see Silas’ “borrowed” truck still parked at the motel.

“I’m going to go say goodbye to the couple that gave us a room last night,” I tell Ryan, and he nods.

“I’ll pull the truck in closer and meet you in there,” he tells me, giving my hand a quick squeeze before he walks off.

The dog pads along at my feet, and I stop to pet him for a second. The office smells like moth balls as much as it did yesterday, but I’m used to it after spending the night in room three, so I barely notice.

Silas is sitting with Jep, and the two of them are cleaning their guns. Agnes is humming as she crochets on the couch in the lobby.

“Good morning dear, how did you sleep?” Agnes says with a smile, looking up when I come in.

“Very well, thank you,” I say politely. Silas looks up at me and doesn’t even crack a smile. I sigh inwardly.

“Good morning,” I say to him, but he only grunts in response.

“Morning little lady,” Jep says cheerfully. I give him a smile, thankful that the entire male population isn’t like Silas.

“We’re leaving,” I say bluntly, not sure how to ease into it.

Silas doesn’t even look up. Frustration bubbles up in my chest. “Can I talk to you for a minute Silas?” I ask, which finally gets his attention.

“Why don’t you two go back into my office to talk?” Jep suggests, pointing to the door that we saw Agnes come out of yesterday.

“Thank you,” I say politely, giving Silas a look that says he better not leave me hanging.

The office is a small, windowless room with a large desk stacked haphazardly with papers. There are two chairs, but I lean against the desk instead, waiting with my breath held to see if Silas will follow me. He does.

“What?” Silas asks, and everything about him is surly.

“Why are you mad at me?” I demand, and Silas looks offended.

“I ain’t mad at you. You found your guy, now you’re leaving. What’s left to say?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Will you come with us?” I can tell by the raise of his eyebrows that my offer genuinely surprises him.

“You don’t want me,” he says, shuffling his feet and running his hand through his short, brush cut hair.

“Yes, I do,” I say, and I’m surprised at how much that has become the truth over the last few days. “You’ve saved my life more than once, and you’ve taught me things that no one else has.” Silas looks like he’s going to interrupt me.

“You’re a good person, Silas, and I can see that. No one should be alone in this thing. I want you to come,” I say honestly, and am discouraged to see that Silas is already shaking his head.

“That’s a nice offer, Jane. One of the nicest anyone has ever given me, but I won’t be alone. I’m going to hang around here with Agnes and Jep for a few days and build up their supply of food and things before I go.

I stare at Silas like he’s grown an extra head.

“That is a very nice thing to do,” I tell him, and I mean it. I reach out and tentatively wrap my arms around his waist. He stiffens at my touch, but I don’t let go. After an awkward minute, Silas wraps his arms around me and gives me the hug I’ve been waiting for.

“Do you need any help?” I ask him. I like Agnes and Jep, and helping an elderly couple with limited mobility get a little more prepared for the zombie apocalypse seems like the right thing to do.

“Nah, I’ll be okay. You need to go find your parents. I’m gonna clean out that grocery store and bring them back everything they’ll need.”

I smile at Silas. “Then what?”

Silas shrugs. “Then I’ll find somewhere else to go.”

An idea hits me, and I grin at Silas. “I have an idea,” I tell him excitedly and try not to be offended when he winces. “Hey!” I slap him playfully on the shoulder. “New York is only another day’s travel from here…I’ll go look for my parents and stop by on my way back. You can help Jep and Agnes and come back with us when you’re done.” I hold my breath, waiting for him to shoot me down.

“Okay,” he says, and I blink.

“Okay?” I echo, and Silas nods.

A smile splits my face, and I hug Silas one more time. “This will be great,” I say, and I mean it. I turn to walk out the door, trip on the dog who has followed me in here, and then turn back to Silas.

“Silas…one more thing,” I say hesitantly, and he looks at me like he knows what’s coming.

“Will you watch Fluffy for me?”

Silas’ face is priceless. “Fluffy?” he echoes.

I nod. “The dog,” I confirm.

Silas looks down at the dog, and I see a slew of emotions cross his face. “Fine,” he finally grunts, and I smile. Silas is turning into a softy, though I wouldn’t dare share that opinion with him.

“Thanks.”

My hand goes to the knob, and I open the door to find Ryan waiting for me in the office with Agnes and Jep.

“Jane,” Silas calls, and I look back at him in surprise. He is leaned casually against the desk. “Be careful,” he says, and I give him a smile.

“Three days tops,” I tell him, and he nods.

“Ready to go?” I ask Ryan, turning my attention back to him.

“Born ready,” he replies, making me laugh. I’m in a giddy mood because things have worked out and we are getting back on the road. I cross the room to give Agnes and Jep a hug goodbye.

“Be safe you two!” Jep calls after us, and we both reassure them that we will.

Fluffy tries to follow me out the door. I reach down to pet him once and then shut the door in his face. Being on the road during the zombie apocalypse is no place for a little dog.

We make our way out to the truck, and I stop and stare at it. Something is different.

“What’s that thing in the back of the truck?” I ask as I stare at the big, red metal tank in the box of the F150. It’s wedged up close to the cab of the truck, and I’ve never seen one before.

Ryan grins at me. “That is our Hail Mary!” he exclaims proudly, and I send him a confused look. “I found it when Helen and I were hiding in that house. It’s an external gas tank. It used to contain diesel fuel, but I pumped it out and filled it with gas instead.”

I give Ryan a smile, though I still don’t really understand why it’s so great.

Ryan laughs as we climb in the cab. “You don’t get it, do you?” he asks. Coming from Silas that would have been an insult. But I don’t detect any negativity from Ryan, so I give a quick nod of admittance.

“It holds extra gas so we can go a lot further than we could before. We can fuel up from the tank in the back.”

I’m starting to pick up what he’s putting down, and a real smile lights my face this time. “That’s amazing,” I tell him honestly.

“It holds one hundred and five gallons. We can go to New York and all the way back to Megan and Abby on that.”

Ryan is smiling and seems to be in a great mood, so I decide to go for it.

“Hopefully there is enough for a small detour back here to pick up Silas on the way back,” I say casually and then watch the smile melt off his face.

We’re driving down the highway now, and I worry that he might refuse to come back.

“I promised him,” I say to hopefully cement the decision.

“Jane...,” Ryan says, as if he’s struggling to find the words. “You don’t know anything about that guy, he could be dangerous.”

I turn in my seat and stare at him as he drives.

“Are you serious?” I ask him incredulously. “We didn’t know you when we adopted you either,” I point out.

Ryan frowns, he doesn’t like that I’ve shown him to be a bit of a hypocrite. “That’s different, I wasn’t dangerous—” he tries to say, but I cut him off.