The sounds of the board being stripped from the doorjamb traveled down the hallway.
“I still don’t want you to go, Cooper,” Ashley said. “You don’t have to.”
“I know. I don’t want to go, either.”
“Then don’t.”
I sighed, irritated with the repeated conversation. “They didn’t have to let us stay here. We can do this one thing for them.”
“This one thing?” Ashley said. She usually didn’t confront me, so her tone was a surprise. “This one thing could get him killed.”
“Cooper hasn’t lost a race in three years, Ashley. He can run forever. Have some faith.”
Ashley frowned. “No.”
“Bryce and I are going out there. If Cooper doesn’t lead them away, we could be killed.”
“That’s your choice.”
“God, you’re a spoiled brat.”
“Well you’re a bitch! Who died and made you team captain?”
“Uh . . . Ashley,” Cooper said.
“Team captain? This isn’t cheer camp, Ashley! It’s common knowledge in a situation like this, no one can survive alone. We have to work together. Quit being stupid.”
“Miranda?” Cooper said.
“Jesus Christ in heaven,” Doris said, holding her hand to her chest.
It was then that I heard the distinct crunching of plastic, and a scratchy moan coming from the tablecloths covering Jill. Evan stumbled back, flattening himself against the wall. Bob stepped in front of him protectively; the rest of us stood watching in confusion and amazement.
No matter how many times I told myself it was true, seeing someone I knew to be dead moving around was unbelievable. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t call out to Bryce. I could only watch as Jill slowly wriggled out of the tablecloth. Her milky eyes glanced around the room, and then she awkwardly attempted to stand.
“Whoa, shit,” Cooper said, pulling Ashley behind him.
“What do we do?” Doris said.
Evan let out a cry and then moved to the door, frantically clawing at the doorknob.
“No! They’re outside the door!” The words came from my mouth in slow motion. When I started the sentence, Evan had already reached for the bolt lock and in the next second the door was open. He poked out his head and the next moment he stood up straight, pushing the door closed. Something was pushing back, and the familiar moans accompanied arms of various sizes reaching inside.
Skeeter’s rifle went off upstairs, making the grayish arms reaching in even more desperate.
“Evan!” Bob said, rushing to help him. They struggled together to get the door closed, but there were so many on the other side pushing against it. They knew we were inside, and they were hungry.
April ran into the hallway to wake up the children, making Jill take notice. She took a step in the direction of the hallway until Ms. Kay stepped around the corner.
Before Ms. Kay could react, Jill charged and tackled her to the floor. The old woman’s screams sent us all into a panic, but the only way out was up. Bob planted his feet on the ground.
“Go, Evan! I’ll hold the door, you go!”
“No!” Evan said.
Instinctively, I grabbed Evan’s shirt and dragged him into the hallway, following April and her children up the stairs. Doris, Ashley, and Cooper were trailing behind. Bob yelled and then cried out in pain. His screams were matched by Ms. Kay’s, and quickly after, Barb’s.
Skeeter opened the door at the top of the stairs, and Cooper shut it behind us.
“What the hell?” Skeeter said.
“Jill!” Doris cried. “And the back door is open! They’re all coming in!”
Skeeter’s expression metamorphosed from confusion to determination. “The biters out front will follow the rest to the back. Y’all can get down off the roof and out of here. I’ve got to take care of Jill.”
Cooper grabbed Skeeter’s shirt. “The whole downstairs is full. You can’t go down there!”
Skeeter furrowed his brow. “I made a promise to my wife. I’m going to keep it.”
Bryce opened the window, helping April and her kids to the roof while he spoke. “Skeeter, Coop’s right. Jill wouldn’t want you to get yourself killed.”
Skeeter cocked his rifle. “My two favorite things—my wife and my guns—are downstairs, boys. I’m going.”
Skeeter opened the door and immediately started shooting his gun. Eric locked the door behind him, and Gary helped him to move a file cabinet in front of the door. What was left of Annabelle was lying on the floor beside the window. We all had to step over her to get outside.
Just as Skeeter said, most of the dead ones had followed the rest to the back to get inside the church. Gary and Eric hopped down first, and Bryce and Cooper helped everyone off the roof before jumping down themselves. The whole process took less than a minute, and Skeeter’s rifle was still blasting inside the church.
The sun had broken completely free of the horizon, and I watched the last living citizens of Fairview spread in different directions. My group jumped into the Bug and I drove away, my heart beating so fast it could have taken flight and beaten us to the ranch.
“Way-way-wait!” Bryce said, pointing to the oncoming lane. “Slow down!”
Everything inside of me wanted to do the exact opposite, but I pressed my foot on the brake, next to a green pickup truck. A guy about our age was sitting inside.
I rolled down my window. “What are you doing? This town is crawling with those things!” He didn’t respond. “Hey. Hey!”
He looked up.
“Have you been bit?”
He shook his head, and then leaned against his window to look down at the mess on the road. There was a girl in a hospital gown, skin and bones, lying on the street, a large bullet hole in her skull, parts of her brain spilled out onto the pavement.
He rolled down his window, too. His eyes were swollen. He’d been crying, probably over the girl in the street. “I’m out of gas.”
I glanced around. We couldn’t leave him here to die. “Get in.”
Chapter Fifteen
Nathan
JOY SLOWLY KNEELED ON THE floor to help Walter with his boots. He was sweaty from the near jogging he did on the return trip. She grunted each time she pulled, until she finally had them both off.
Walter sat back in his chair. “Can I get a glass of water, dear? I’m parched.”
“Yes,” Joy said, curious. “You look like you were chased back.”
Zoe watched us from the other side of the room, glancing out the sliding glass door once in a while. After Joy’s comment, Zoe’s eyes seemed to scan every blade of grass outside. The door looked over the patio, and into a room on the other side of the house. The bedroom opened to the backyard with a sliding glass door, too, but was concealed by the ugliest curtains I’d ever seen.
“It’s okay, Zoe. They’re all still on the highway.”
Joy sat two glasses of water on the kitchen table, and then she put her hands on her hips. “Well? I think we’ve been patient enough, right, Zoe?”
Zoe turned away from the glass just long enough to nod, and then returned to her watch.
Walter cleared his throat, and then gestured to our bags. “We got some supplies. It was getting late and sugar britches over there wouldn’t leave without his pantyhose.”
Joy frowned in confusion, and then waited for me to explain.
