caravan got moving again. The rest of the drive to Midwestern Bus Sales was uneventful. The bus lot had models to view out along the highway as well as many others on a lot behind a chain link fence. They had left the slow zombies behind them by a few miles and there did not seem to be any in the vicinity of the bus store. The front window of the sales office was plate glass to allow a couple of buses to be displayed from inside the building, one of the sections of glass had been broken out, with glass both inside and outside the building. The group used the three parking spaces directly in front of this broken out glass and then cautiously dismounted.
Dora got up to the glass first and then turned to Steve and Bob behind her and said, 'You feel like someone is watching us?'
'It isn't just me then?' Asked Steve looking at Bob.
Shaking his head Bob said, 'No, it isn't. I feel like I am on a stage for an audience of invisible people. I just wish they couldn't see me too.'
'Huh, a good motto, like Jeff kept saying in the video; 'Don't see me, don't see me.' Hey Steve, probably not the time, but I didn't ask earlier, did anyone see Willy last night?'
He shook his head, 'No, I think he might have turned, got smart and just misses us.'
A cold, calculating look passed over Dora's face, 'We could use a spy among them, that could be useful.'
'Not if they can read each other's thoughts. It wouldn't work. Plus how could we motivate Willy? Give him a person or two every month as 'pay'?'
'Maybe just common decency? Or maybe he would just take blood instead of killing a person?' Dora stepped across the threshold of the broken window.
'Who is there?' called out a sultry male voice from inside the dealership.
Dora jumped back outside, hitting her head on the top frame of the window and cutting a gash into her scalp.
'Shit. Shit! Damn it! Mary is going to be so pissed at me!'
'I won't hurt you.' came the voice again.
Clamping a hand to the top of her head, Dora said nothing. Steve stepped forward and said, 'Who are you?'
'My name is Jake. I won't hurt you. I am not like the others.'
'So you are one of them, one of the dead?'
'I am infected, yes. I never wanted this. I can control my passion. You are safe from me. I can hold some of the others away too. I can smell her blood. Please clean her up.'
Blood was dripping through Dora's fingers and running down her arm, pooling in the jacket at her elbow. 'Fucking cut on my head, it had to be the head. I am bleeding like a stuck pig. Ischmel, I mean Ken! Get me some hydrogen peroxide and bandages!'
Turning towards Dora, Steve said, 'You better back out of here, go back to the suburban and get cleaned up, let me deal with this.'
Dora shook her head slowly, 'Me leader. You grunt. Me handle big, bad Jake.'
'Good leaders, respected leaders, share responsibility with their underlings and know when it is appropriate to do so.'
'Fine.' Dora said with ill grace, she stepped back about five paces towards the front of the suburban.
Ken hurried forward with a bottle, a clean looking rag and some bandages, he moved Dora's hand and soaked her head with the liquid, then pressed the rag to her cut, lifting it slightly he blanched and said, 'You're gonna need stitches. No doubt about that. Mary is going to kill us.'
Inside Steve called out, 'Okay Jake, what do you want? I got the bleeding woman out of here.' He kept his shotgun aimed in the general direction of where the voice was coming from.
There was a doorway leading to some offices just off the showroom floor, from there a tall, lanky man peeked around the corner. His upper body was barely visible, and it was covered in an army fatigue jacket that looked to be a size too small. The zombie's face was white and withdrawn, giving an impression of loose skin over dry bones. Jake's eye's appeared to be coal black and were seated deep within the sockets, an army helmet made of thick kelvar, covered his head, but a trace of gray hair was visible from the front. The most critical thing about Jake was the massive revolver he held in one hand that was pointed at Steve.
'At this stage in my life, I do not need guns to survive, however I find when dealing with you people it is easier if we start at a level that gives you an illusion of parity. So, you came here, to my place, you answer me first. Who are you and what do you want?'
'My name is Steve, my friends are Bob, Dora and Ken. There are others in the parking lot around the cars.'
'Good Steve, no lies between us so far. And what do you want?'
'We need two or three buses. I have some living to move out of town and we need something to move them. We looked this place up in the phone book and came over here.'
'Shall we lower our guns now?' asked Jake from behind his rock solid grip on the pistol.
'I am game if you are. You seem…reasonable. Can you give us the buses?'
'Without a doubt Steve, I could give you the buses, but what will you use to pay for them?'
Chapter 34
The two lowered their guns slowly, like they were in some sort of western movie, Steve let the shotgun barrel point downwards and Jake tucked his pistol into a massive holster that was hangin on the right side of his belt.
'I don't suppose you would give us the buses out of the kindness of your heart.'
'Kindness is in short supply these days.'
'That is a nice piece you are toting there, I don't think I have seen a revolver that large before.'
Nodding Jake said, 'You probably haven't, it is a Smith and Wesson five hundred. It fires a bullet weighing three hundred and fifty grains, achieving a muzzle velocity of over three thousand feet per second. I'd tell you which store I stole it from, but when I went back there the other two they had were gone. The recoil would have made the gun too much for an old man like me when I was alive, but now? Now shooting it ain't nothing. I'd compliment your shotgun but it looks like a cheap, mass produced gun sold at Wal-mart.'
'It gets the job done.'
'We do have different needs these days don't we?'
'Yes, which brings us back to the subject at hand. We need buses to move our people.'
'What can you give me for them?'
'We could leave you alive?'
Jake sighed, 'Threats? Steve, why don't you go have a little pow-wow with your folks in the parking lot. Be sure to go around back of the building first, where you can see first-hand what happened to the last group that came in and tried to make good on that threat. It will be real educational.'
'How about I just take your word for that?'
'How about you go look, and then talk to your people. I am a snag you were not intending to have to deal with. At least you didn't come in shooting. So you must have had some dealing with what the humans call 'super zombies' before.'
'Alright Jake, when we are done, we'll just call out, okay?'
'Suits me fine.'
Steve backed off slowly, with Bob by his side they stopped when they got back to the cars, parked about fifteen feet away.
'We far enough so he can't hear us?' asked Bob.
'Probably not, he probably has super hearing too, but it doesn't matter, we only have to decide if we want to deal with him in good faith or go in guns a blazing.' said Steve.
