“I’d still like to go back,” Dan says, shifting his weight uneasily in the seat.
“Listen, Dan, you’re a lot safer with me right now. I’m going to—”
“Drive me back!”
Dan surprises himself by almost shouting.
The girl on the backseat grunts, but doesn’t wake up.
William pulls over and stops the car. “Fine, get out then.”
“I … I can’t walk home from here,” Dan says, looking out nervously.
“I’m not going back,” William says. “It’s way too dangerous. That street is crawling with zombies by now. For every minute we spend here in town, we increase the risk of getting eaten.”
Dan looks hesitantly from William to the street outside. No zombies in sight right now, but that might change any moment.
“My uncle has a safe place just outside town,” William goes on, his voice softer now. “There’s a spot open, if you want to come. Personally, I think it’s a hell of an offer, but of course you’re free to get out and walk back home.”
Dan’s phone rings in his pocket. He finds it and looks at the display. “It’s … it’s my dad.”
“Before you answer it, please tell me if you’re coming or not? ’Cause I’m about to go.”
“Could you wait just one minute?” Dan pleads. “I’ll just make sure they’re okay.”
William pushes his tongue into his cheek and scans the street. “One minute,” he says.
Dan answers the call. “Dad?”
“Dan, where are you?”
“I’m in a car. A guy picked me up.”
“You all right? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Dad. How about you?”
Dad gives off a sigh of relief. “Good, that’s great to hear. We’re also fine. Finn has calmed down now that he can’t see Lone anymore.”
“What about your shoulder?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“But Dad,” Dan says, lowering his voice. “Did you … did you get …?”
He can’t get the question out, but he can tell from the silence his dad guesses it.
“It hurts a little, but I don’t think the skin is broken.”
Dan feels a glimmer of hope. “So, no blood?”
“No, but I’ll probably get a bruise.”
“I think that’s okay. As long as you’re not bleeding.”
Dan senses William sending him a sharp look.
“Perhaps,” Dad mutters. “Guess I’ll just have to wait and see, because I won’t be going to the ER anytime soon … the street is riddled with them.”
“Make sure you close all the windows,” Dan says, feeling a drop of sweat making its way down his back. “Don’t give them any chance to get inside.”
“I already checked all the windows.” Dad is quiet for a moment, then he says: “I’m sorry we didn’t believe you, Dan.”
“That’s all right. I get it, Dad.” But he still feels a great amount of relief, despite the circumstances. It feels like a great burden has been lifted from him; as if it isn’t only the zombies his dad is acknowledging, but also the fact that Dan had no fault in what happened to Jennie.
William clears his throat and points to his wrist.
“Listen, Dad, I don’t think I’ll be able to come home right now,” Dan says.
“Who picked you up? Was it someone you know?”
“No.” Dan turns discretely away from William. “He … he says he knows a safe place outside town.”
A couple of seconds before his dad replies: “Does he strike you as someone you can trust?”
“Yes,” Dan says without really considering the question.
“Then go with him, Dan.”
“But are you guys—”
“Don’t worry about us. It’s way too dangerous for you to come back right now. The whole street has turned into chaos. I can see it from the living room window. Some of the neighbors have come out to try and help, and they … oh, Christ …” Dad is quiet for another moment, and Dan thinks he can hear a distant scream. “Don’t come home yet, Dan,” Dad says, even more firmly. “We need to wait till it’s safe.”
“All right,” Dan mutters.
“What’s it gonna be?” William asks.
Dan glances at him. “I’m coming with you,” he says.
William doesn’t waste any time, but immediately slams the accelerator and pulls back out into traffic.
“I need to go, Dan,” Dad says. “Your grandma needs help with Finn, he’s become restless again. Call me once you get to the place, okay?”
“I will.”
“Right. Talk to you soon, son.”
Dan disconnects and puts the phone away.
William turns left at an intersection and speeds up. “Your old man sounds like a reasonable guy.”
“Could you hear what he said?” Dan asks, feeling a little awkward.
“Yeah.” William sends him a brief smile before looking out into the street again. “This part of town looks okay. At least for now.”
“It only just started,” Dan mutters, almost to himself.
William looks at him again. “You don’t seem like you had the best day.”
“I didn’t.”
“What happened? You said something about running over a zombie?”
“It’s a long story.”
William sneers at him. “Dude, cut out those movie lines and tell me what happened. We’ve got plenty of time.”
Dan breathes in a couple of times, then he begins talking. “I wasn’t the one driving, but I was in the passenger seat. It was a little girl. We had to do it. She was—”
“Sorry, shut up for a moment,” William interrupts, turning up the radio, which Dan only now realizes has been on at very low volume the whole time.
“… latest reports from local police indicates some sort of terrorist attack, possibly involving biological weapons. Our current intel puts the number of wounded at thirty people, but many more are …”
“Goddamnit,” William murmurs, turning down the radio again. “Biological weapons? They have no idea what’s going on.”
“They’ll find out soon enough,” Dan says quietly. When he senses William looking at him, he goes on: “I saw how it began. I tried to stop it.”
William is trying to look simultaneously at the road and Dan, as Dan begins to tell his story. He lays it out as briefly and concisely as he can. How he, Jennie and Thomas arrived at the old lady’s house. How they discovered she had tried to
