“I’m sorry, but I can’t allow that. Step away from the exit,” he said, his face set into a stubborn mask.
Amy groaned with rising frustration. What to do, what to do?
Simone reached her side and added her pleas to Amy’s. “Come on, Joey. Let the poor girl through. I’ll walk with her and make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble.”
Joey hesitated. “I don’t know. It’s against the rules.”
“We won’t tell. I swear it,” Amy said.
Joey shook his head. “Officer Brown will kill me.”
“He doesn’t have to know it’s you,” Amy said. “We’ll tell him we snuck out.”
“Please!” Simone said, fluttering her lashes. “I’ll go on that date with you.”
“A date?”
“You heard me. You’ve been asking forever. Now’s your chance.”
Amy danced from one foot to the other, hoping that Joey would agree despite his fear of the rules and Officer Brown.
“You’re going to get me into a lot of trouble, you know that, Simone?” Joey replied.
“Ah, but I’m worth it,” she replied, flashing him a million-watt smile.
He sighed and stepped aside. “Make it quick, ladies, and don’t tell anyone it was me.”
“Thanks,” Amy cried, barging through the set of double doors and into the late afternoon sun.
Together, she and Simone ran toward the parking lot. They arrived at the same time as Alex. The two trucks rolled into the lot and stopped side by side. A passenger door opened, and Alex stepped out, his rifle slung across his back.
He spotted Amy and smiled. “Hey, Sis. Did you come out here to greet me?”
She flung herself into his arms. “Of course, I did. I was worried, sick. You should’ve been back ages ago, and then I heard about the horde of zombies on your side of town.”
“Whoa, slow down, Sis. I’m fine, I promise,” Alex said. “Still me. No zombie bites.”
Amy studied his face and spotted the tension that he was trying to hide from her. “I’m not buying it. What happened?”
“It’s a long story,” Alex said.
“Well, I’ve got lots of time,” Amy said, leading him to a nearby bench.
Simone disappeared into the crowd, making a bee-line for Molly and Jax. The three were friends and had gone to Radcliff High in the past. That suited Amy since she preferred to talk to Alex in private.
They sat down on the seat, and Alex told Amy everything that had happened. He didn’t sugar-coat any of the events, and Amy gasped with shock when he reached the part about the zombie kid.
“I’m so sorry, Alex. That must have been terrible for you. Are you feeling okay?” she asked.
Alex shook his head. “I wish I’d moved faster. I could’ve saved him, Sis.”
Amy reached over and grasped his hand. “Listen to me, Bro. It’s not your fault, and I’m not just saying that to make you feel better. This is life. Bad things happen, and they’ll keep on happening until we die.”
“Wow. Great pep talk,” Alex replied with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s true. One day, I might lose you, or you might lose me. Anything could happen. It’s the apocalypse, after all. That doesn’t mean it’s your fault. You did the best you could. Find peace in that.”
Alex sighed. “I’ll try.”
“My point is —”
“There’s a point to all of this?” Alex asked with a wry smile.
Amy slapped him on the knee. “Be serious. I mean it.”
“Okay, okay. Go ahead.”
“The point is, we might not have a lot of time left, so let’s not waste it. I want us to find Dylan. She’s part of our family now, and I want us to find a home too. A place where we can be happy, no matter how long we’ve got left.”
“You’ve done a lot of thinking about this, I see,” Alex said.
“I have.”
“And you’re a hundred percent sure you want to leave? I mean, it’s safe here, and the people are nice. We could stay. Or, I could look for Dylan on my own.”
“No. I’m going with you. This is a great place, and the people are pretty nice, but it’s not our home. We have to find the right place for us.”
“What’s all this talk about leaving?” a new voice asked right beside them, causing them to jump.
“Er, Officer Brown. I didn’t see you coming,” Alex said, his cheeks flushing bright red.
“That’s kind of the point.”
Amy looked up into Officer Brown’s face and decided to shoot straight with the man. “I’m sorry, Sir. You’ve been good to me, and so has everyone else here. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be alive today, but we can’t stay for much longer.”
“Why not?”
“We’ve got people out there, and we need to find our own home,” she answered.
“You’re mind’s made up?” Officer Brown asked.
“It is, Sir,” Amy said with a determined tilt to her chin.
To her surprise, Officer Brown smiled. “I get it, Miss, and I won’t stand in your way. When you’re ready to leave, I’ll return your things, and you can be on your way. All I ask is that you wait until the horde has left the vicinity. I cannot risk drawing them back. Deal?”
Amy stood up and stuck out her hand. “Deal.”
Officer Brown chuckled as they shook on it. “Your sister is a lot tougher than she looks, Alex. Don’t underestimate her. You’ll come up short.”
“I hear you, Sir,” Alex replied.
“There will be a memorial for Tony tomorrow morning in the gardens. I hope you’ll both attend.”
“We’ll be there, Sir,” Alex said.
Amy nodded her agreement. “Of course, Sir.”
Officer Brown looked at Amy. “I’ll see you later, Miss. In the meantime, your brother can help us unload our take for the day. Like it or not, life goes on, and people need to eat.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Amy watched Officer Brown leave with a twinge of regret. It would’ve been nice to stay in the community, but she knew that leaving was the right thing to do.
She hugged Alex goodbye and found Simone in the crowd. “Ready to go?”
“Yes, I’m done. Besides, we wouldn’t want to get
