I turned off the engine and we sat for another five minutes. As we waited, Lana pulled her emergency credit card from the pocket of her coat.
“I’ll get out and leave the door open on my side. You pop the gas door. Ivy, you get out and leave your door open too. You undo the cap while I put the card into the machine. I’ll put the hose in and gas us up. If we see any of them, we get back in the car and go. The pumps have breakaway hoses, so we just go. Got it?”
We all nodded, too cowed by her decisiveness to say anything against her.
This did not sit well with her, apparently. “No one is going to say anything else? Offer a different plan?”
“It sounds good to me,” I said.
“Why don’t you pop the trunk?” Dan said. “I’ll grab the crowbar. It’ll do for a weapon until we can get a better one.”
Lana shook her head. “It’s probably wedged under the spare. I don’t want you wasting time doing that here. Maybe we can find a nice open spot on the road to do that. No,” she said, “gas only this stop. Dee, you and Dan keep watch this way. Ivy and I will watch each other’s backs. If you see one of them, get our attention and we’ll hop back in.”
I didn’t like Lana risking herself by getting out and said so.
“If the tank was on your side, then you could risk your ass. It’s on ours, so Ivy and I do the deed.” She took a breath and then opened her door, sliding out to go straight for the gas pump. She put her credit card in, her head swiveling every direction at once. I realized I was watching her and not our surroundings, and whipped my head the other direction to stare out my window.
Surely we couldn’t be this lucky.
Ivy said something I couldn’t hear. I risked a look over my shoulder to see her talking with Lana about something, I didn’t know what. Lana’s face was pale, two spots of color high on her cheeks. She was terrified. So was I.
I turned back to my watch and saw a kid standing kitty-corner from us. “Lana,” I snapped.
“I see her. We have five gallons. I’m going to keep going. Ivy, get in.”
“I’ll wait with you.” Ivy made a noise. “There’s another, just coming around the far end of the gas station. They ain’t moving fast, just staring mostly.”
“Lana, get in the car. Now.” The little girl hadn’t moved, but the one Ivy’d seen was, a big lumbering man in overalls, half his face hanging off his jaw. He looked like a movie zombie.
I cursed, looking back over to where the little girl was.
Had been.
She was running at us.
“Lana! Now!”
“Almost ten now,” she said. “Ivy—”
Ivy yanked the hose from the tank and jumped in, slamming the door shut behind her. Lana slid in soon after, her door almost shut when the man in overalls stuck his whole arm inside with us.
Lana screamed and I lunged across the seat to grab the door handle, yanking it hard.
The man yanked back, inarticulate grunts making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. He already sounded like he was eating us, though the eating part of him was clearly broken.
He fell against the car in his greed to get at Lana, trapping his own arm in the door.
“Drive. Drive!” Dan said as the little girl hit the car, her milky dead eyes glaring through the window at Owen.
I couldn’t drive. I was holding the damn door and if I let go …
“I’ve got it,” Lana snapped. “Go. If you go fast, he’ll fall and I can get the door shut.”
“Lana—”
“Do it!” Her grip was tight, but I was afraid I’d lose her. She was leaning away from the guy’s grasping arm and yelling at me to move, move, so I let go, praying I hadn’t just killed her.
I started the car as she screamed, as Owen cried, as Ivy cursed up a blue streak, and when I punched the gas, sure enough the man fell out.
He fell out but snagged Lana’s coat and pulled her halfway out of the car before I could slam on the breaks. Ivy and Dan grabbed what they could of her as Lana screamed for me to go, go, go.
“I can’t!” I groped for something to grab, latching onto her pocket, knowing it wasn’t strong enough to keep her in the car if the man pulled on her hard enough.
“He’s got her coat but he’ll be up in a second. We got her. Go.” Ivy nodded at me and so I went, though not as hard as the first time.
Ivy grunted and her hands slipped. The pocket I held ripped, a long tearing sound that nearly stopped my heart. I slowed the car, intending to brake, to jump out and beat the asshole off her, but then Ivy shouted, “He let go. We’ll pull her in. Go!”
I did and they did and Lana was safely inside, her face beet red from her exertions. She was panting and crying and all I wanted to do was stop the car and hug her, but I couldn’t because they were pouring out of their hidey-holes.
They’d been hiding. Waiting.
Dear god.
We rode in silence for a good long time and then Lana said, “Next time it’s your turn to get gas.”
I laughed because she wanted me too, but inside I vowed to never let her near danger again if I could help it. It had to be her that got to the boys in the end. I was just bonus material, but they needed their mom. They needed Lana.
I would get her there or die trying.
18
Then
Lana managed to get us three-quarters full and that got us another four hours, until I was falling asleep at
