“Nothing,” Raven responded. She’d learned better than to share her opinion. The woman reached her brother’s libido if not his heart. “Let’s get going,” she said.
They approached the truck and Raven saw Monique peering back anxiously. Her brother inhaled sharply and Raven frowned. She saw a long future ahead of them and was reluctantly realizing that Monique might play a starring role. The woman hadn’t asked them to help her find her family in more than a week and Raven thought she knew why.
Henry waved and he had a damn goofy look on his face. Raven knew that look; he was smitten.
“Damn it,” she muttered, swinging her axe gently at her side. Their boots crunched across gravel.
“What?” Henry asked absently. He shot a sidelong glance at her.
“Noth . . .” Raven began. She was prevented from answering by a long and ragged scream. “What the fuck?” Raven exclaimed breaking into a jog.
“It sounded like it came from there,” Henry said, pointing.
The road had wound them down through the hills and they were nearly on flat ground. Just ahead of them was a gentle curve in the road, lined by tall spruces and furs. The scream sounded like it came from just around the bend.
Raven reached the truck first and yanked open the driver’s side. In the intervening time since the haphazard trip with Liz to the Mom and Pop, Raven had taken to driving like a fish to water. She’d become proficient under Henry’s instructions and patience.
“Move over,” she hissed at Monique. Raven’s expression was fierce and she bared her teeth.
Monique quailed and scooted into the middle. Henry climbed in through the passenger door and put his arm around her.
Rocky barked and licked Raven’s face and Neptune stayed on her accustomed spot on the dash, peering out of the window.
“What’s wrong, Moni,” he asked, using the nickname he’d picked out for her, much to Raven’s annoyance.
Monique didn’t even glance at Raven, having learned to leave her the hell alone most of the time. “I was frightened for you,” she spoke, clasping Henry’s hand and pulling her body closer to his.
“It’s okay,” he said, stroking his hand across her brow to soothe her.
Raven put the truck into gear and headed down the bend. “There’s more danger ahead,” she said. “Are you going to help us, Moni?” she asked, mordantly spitting out the woman’s nickname.
Monique opened her mouth then closed it, glaring at Raven. She scowled and pulled Henry closer but did not answer.
Raven glared back, glancing between Monique and the road.
Rocky barked, shattering the charged silence.
“Okay, ladies,” Henry said loudly. “Let’s take it down a notch, yeah?”
Raven scoffed and turned the wheel slightly, keeping with the curve in the road. It led them into an intersection. The highway sign read they were at the crossing point of Highway 7 and Speedway 99. In that intersection there were two people fighting against a large undead man. It didn’t look like they were winning. The undead grappled with an older man. He had a flannel shirt on over deeply faded blue jeans. Cords stood out on his neck and he fought a losing battle to keep the zombie’s snapping jaws from his face. A rifle lay in the road, looking like it had been bent by a giant hand. The barrel was curved back almost upon its own stock.
“What the fuck?” Raven murmured.
A woman with short white hair that had streaks of faded color smacked the zombie on the head with a dented aluminum bat. A blue van idled near the trees. Raven could see the silhouette of another woman inside, still and unmoving. Her hair fanned out in front of her face. Raven couldn’t make out her expression.
“Pull over!” Henry exclaimed. “We have to help them!”
Raven was already doing so. “Rocky you stay here,” she said, pushing him toward Monique. “I know you’ll stay here Monique,” she spat.
Neptune meowed and crouched tensely on the dash. Raven gave her a pat on the head and jumped out of the truck. She heard Henry slam the passenger door and he was at her side. They ran for the grappling pair.
“Stand back,” Raven told the woman with the bat.
She looked like she wanted to argue but Henry grabbed her shoulder firmly and pulled her out of the way. “We’re going to help you,” he said.
The zombie wore black tactical pants and heavy looking boots. Its hair was covered in drying blood and thicker chunks of muck. It snapped its jaws, inches from the man’s face.
Raven hooked her boot in the open cargo pocket and vaulted up to grab its shoulder. The zombie’s attention was focused on its next meal and didn’t take any notice of Raven. The man’s eyes widened but he said nothing. His face was ashen, but a slight smile curved his lips. Raven drove her axe into the zombie’s skull, burying it deeply in the tissue. Slowly, the Zombie went limp, staying on its knees long enough for the older man to scuttle back. He stood and hurried to the woman, pulling her into his arms. The zombie fell face down on the asphalt. Partially congealed blood pooled around him from the wound in his head.
Raven pulled her blade free in a spray of ichor and brain matter. A chunk of tissue hit her in the face; it stuck to the skin of her cheek. Raven cursed and wiped it away. Looking around for Henry, she scowled. He stood beside the strangers, conversing lightly. Raven couldn’t make out his words but his body language was relaxed and his hands moved in wide gestures.
“Where the fuck were you?” she yelled, striding toward him.
Henry jumped, glancing at her and backing up a few paces in the face of her fury.
Smiling sheepishly, he spoke. “You totally had
