Jon screamed as he tried to push the creature away from him, but its jaws grew ever closer to his face. He could smell its sharp, dead breath. Spittle sprayed onto his cheeks and into his brown eyes. It snapped its jaws, teeth yellow and brown and only a couple of inches from his face now. Jon mustered the last bit of strength he had to push it off of him, and he was preparing to crack it in the skull with the shotgun when a blast went off in his right ear and the zombie hit the ground.
He followed the direction of the shot to see Brooke still sitting on the ground. The pistol she’d dropped was in her hand which shook. For a moment, he thought she was in shock from what she had done, but then she aimed the gun again, this time past Jon. She fired, and Jon turned back as a zombie dropped to the ground behind him.
Terrence took out the last couple of zombies, then worked to catch his breath as he walked back toward the vehicle and Brooke.
As Jon stared back at Brooke, a blur caught his attention in the corner of his eyes. Max hopped off the roof and down onto the hood of the car. Jon stepped over to Brooke and offered her his hand.
“Put your arm around me.”
Brooke accepted it, using her right hand to pull herself up. Max came over to help her stand, but Jon pushed him away.
“Get in the fucking car,” Jon said.
“It was an accident,” Max said, his arms out. “I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
Terrence grabbed Max’s arm and pulled him away. “Come on. Get in the car.”
“But I didn’t—”
“Get in the fucking car!”
It was the first time Jon had heard Terrence raise his voice, and from how Max reacted, it didn’t appear to happen often.
Jon helped Brooke over to the car, opening the passenger side door for her. He held her hand as she got in.
A chorus of snarls pulled Jon’s attention away, and he turned his head to follow the sound.
“Was that what I think it was?” Terrence asked.
“All our gunfire must have caught the attention of more of them,” Jon said. “Let’s get away from this fucking nightmare house and regroup up the road.”
27
Jon watched the taillights of the car turn red after they had turned back onto the highway. He slowed down and pulled up beside the vehicle. Shutting the engine off, Jon dismounted his bike. At the same time, Terrence stepped out of the still-running car. He went to Jon, sticking his hands out and grabbing his shoulders.
Apparently, he knew what Jon was going to do.
“Let me fucking talk to him, Terrence,” Jon said.
“That’s not going to do anyone any good and you know it.”
Jon kept his eyes on Terrence, but pointed at the back seat of the car. “That asshole almost got all of us killed.”
“But, he didn’t.”
Jon stared past Terrence into the back seat. Max glanced at Jon, but quickly turned away. Jon drew in several deep breaths before shrugging Terrence’s hands off of him.
“I’m good, let me go.” Jon turned around and put his hands on his hips.
“I’m not saying he won’t be punished for that shit he pulled back there, but there’s a certain way we handle things in Hope’s Dawn. Without order, we only have chaos.”
“Look around you, Terrence. This whole world is in utter chaos.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be.”
Jon shook his head.
“We had two witnesses from the camp,” Terrence said. “I can promise you that Max will be punished for this. You can leave the camp as you planned, knowing that.”
Jon looked to the front seat. Brooke was staring out at them, too, but said nothing. Then she turned away, her eyes leaving Jon and going to the scenery outside her window.
“How is she?”
“We’ll get her to the doctor as soon as we get back to camp,” Terrence said. “But from what she’s describing, it sounds like a sprain. She got lucky with that fall she took.”
“Good.” Jon patted Terrence on the shoulder. “Thanks back there. You’re one hell of a shot. No way we would have gotten out of that situation without you there.”
“Likewise, brother. I just wish you were sticking around our camp longer.”
Jon looked at Brooke again, saying nothing. Then, without looking at Terrence, he said, “Let’s just get back there.”
The sun had started to settle as the afternoon blended into the evening. Jon followed the vehicle back toward the camp with his mind racing.
So many thoughts passed through his mind. How he wanted to kill Max. The image of Brooke falling off the roof, and him thinking that she was going to be seriously injured or even die from the fall. The zombie that had almost bitten his face off before Brooke had taken it down. And, most of all, Brooke herself.
He couldn’t leave the camp, not with her in the shape she was in. He would have to stay at least a few more days to make sure she would be okay.
Jon thought of Lucas, as well. The boy already had to face life in this new shitty world without a father. He couldn’t lose his mother, too, and the incident with the roof had been a close call. Thinking of Spencer, his own son, Jon knew he needed to hang around to be sure that Brooke would be okay.
He was deep in thought when he noticed Terrence pulling away from him. Jon glanced on to the horizon to see the smoke billowing, coming from the direction of the camp.
“Shit.”
Jon twisted the throttle, staying behind the car as they sped down the highway. Jon’s mind didn’t race on this one. He knew exactly who had been at the camp and why
