Louise stowed the map in the side door pocket and yawned widely. “What do you think, Bee?” she asked, looking out of the window. The trees flew by in a mass of brown and green.
Bee sighed. She turned around another bend in the road. “I don’t . . .“ she began then had to slam on the brakes. “What the hell?” she exclaimed. The van came to a screeching halt.
A man stood in the middle of the road. He was older than the women. Bee thought him to be in his late sixties at least. The man was tall and lean, wearing jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt. He tapped the brim of his weathered baseball cap and nodded to the women. A friendly looking golden retriever stood by his side, panting in the warming air.
“What do you think, Louise?” Bee asked. She waited a beat then glanced at her friend. “Oh, Louise,” Bee sighed. “Not now, dear.”
Louise sat unmoving, face downcast and hands folded demurely in her lap. Bee moved her friend’s hair and sighed again. Louise’s eyes were vacant, lost to wherever she went inside her head.
Bee peered back at the man and his dog. He tipped his hat again and waved at her companionably. His face was in the shadow of his brim and Bee could only see the man’s chin and lips. His mouth curved into a friendly smile.
“Nothing for it, I suppose,” Bee said. She waved back and grabbed her bat just in case. She exited the van and stood just out of reach.
“Hello,” Bee said, smiling with false sincerity.
The man took off his cap. “Hi there, ma’am,” he spoke, holding his hand out. “My name is Rodney and this here is Scout.” He gestured to the golden.
His face was kind and Bee felt her anxiety quell at once. She’d always been a good judge of character and she could tell this man meant her no harm. “My name is Barbara Jean but everyone calls me Bee.” She shook his hand. His grip was strong but not bruising and his palm was warm and dry. “My friend’s name is Louise,” Bee gestured at the van. Louise sat unmoving and unseeing.
Rodney frowned slightly. “Forgive me for prying, ma’am, but your friend doesn’t look so good.”
Bee sighed. “She isn’t.”
Scout barked and Bee looked at him. “Hi, Scout,” she said, bending to pet him on the head. “I didn’t mean to ignore you but it’s been a hell of a day.”
“I had an uncle like that. He was in the wars. When they shipped him home he’d go through times where he wouldn’t move or speak. Then he’d snap out of it like nothing had happened with no memory of the time between.” Rodney said, gesticulating at Louise. “Has she been through something traumatic?”
“You could say that,” Bee responded. The raging and bloody face of Louise’s father flashed through her mind, thin and feral. She suppressed a shiver. Bee opened her mouth to explain. Taciturnity was not in her nature.
He held his hands out to stop her. “No need to go into it ma’am,” Rodney said.
Bee smiled gratefully, suddenly close to tears. She held them off, not wishing to cry in front of a stranger. “Call me, Bee, please,” she said, touching his elbow lightly.
“All right, Bee,” Rodney said, smiling.
A moan sounded off in the distance and Bee gripped her bat tightly, holding it away from her body. Crouching slightly, Bee glanced in the direction of the sound. Her knee complained but she ignored it. Dog-tired as she was, a noise like that sent her adrenaline into overdrive.
Rodney looked wary and Scout growled quietly. “My home isn’t far from here.” He said, grasping Bee’s shoulder. “If you all don’t mind driving me and Scout back, I can find room for you there.”
She felt no fear from this man and was glad to have some company. Louise, much as she loved her, was more burden than friend these days.
A wind whistled through the trees, bringing with it growls and grunts that could only come from one thing. The leaves skittered across the ground, dancing over their feet. Bee looked at Louise, sitting unmoving in the passenger seat. They needed help; Bee had prayed for it and if God saw fit to bring this man into their lives who was she to argue?
“Okay,” Bee said, patting Rodney’s hand with her own. “Let’s get moving before any of those things come along.”
“Well all right!” he exclaimed exuberantly.
Bee’s mouth quirked in a half smile.
Rodney looked embarrassed by his outburst. “Me and Scout have been alone here for quite some time,” he said as way of explanation.
“I understand,” Bee said. “Now let’s get moving.”
She opened the sliding door; Scout jumped in and Rodney followed more sedately. Bee shut the door and hopped back behind the wheel. Rodney told her to keep going straight and Bee continued down the road.
“Turn left there,” he instructed.
Rodney sat crossed legged in the only clear spot in the van. The rest of the space was taken up with boxes of supplies and blankets. Scout sat next to him panting, tongue hanging out.
“Okay,” Bee agreed.
Just before the turn, she glanced back in the rearview mirror. What she saw made her tighten her grip on the wheel. A group of zombies stood in the road. They were six in all and wore
