“We need to stop,” I said, though I wanted to do nothing of the kind. We’d almost lost Lana at the gas station. There was no telling how worse things could get if we got out of the car. But we needed food and water and sleep.
“Let’s stop at the next farm,” Ivy said for the hundredth time. “I’m telling you it’s the best solution for our problems.”
I nodded, then yawned so hard it hurt my jaw. “Okay, I’m down. I can’t drive anymore.” We had the crowbar thanks to Dan digging it out from under the spare. We also had a couple of golf clubs that had been in the trunk. They had a nice weight to them, and I was guessing we could bash some heads with them if we were lucky enough to find zombies willing to stand still while we beat on them.
“Take the next dirt road then,” Ivy said. “We want one off the highway. More isolated, less chance of a bunch of them being around.”
We drove about five miles before we found the first farmhouse. We pulled into the drive and parked in front of the house. I turned off the engine and we sat, waiting for one of them to appear.
“What are we doing, Daddy? I’m hungry,” Owen said. His shyness at the strangers in the car had worn off and now he felt free to be himself. Being Owen involved a lot of questions and a fair amount of whining. I reminded myself that Jackson and Tucker had done their fair share of whining when they were little.
I had to remind myself of that every time Owen found something new to complain about.
“Maybe you should honk the horn,” Ivy said.
“If there are any in there, it’ll let them know we’re out here,” Lana said.
“It’ll also let any living people know we’re out here. I don’t want to get shot.”
Ivy had a point, so I beeped the horn once.
We waited.
I didn’t want to get out of the car, golf clubs or not. It was too open and the crazies had already proven their hide-and-seek prowess earlier. Dan had said it was good to know your prey. It was good to know your predator too. I tried to think like one of them, but I wasn’t sure how much they actually thought. Did they think in complete sentences? Was it all fragments up there? How did they know to call our names? To cry, to act sad, to act crazy? To sing songs?
“Barn’s all locked up. And look. There’s one of the gas tanks I was talking about.” Ivy pointed at a small white tank set up off the ground on a metal scaffold. There was a lock on it that we’d either need the key for or bolt cutters. We might find the former inside or the latter in the small metal shop off to the left side of the house.
I didn’t relish entering either one.
“I’ll take point,” Dan said. “We go up to the house and try the door. If it’s locked, I’ll break the window and get us in. We’ll board it up somehow to make sure we have a safe place to sleep. Lana? Will you stay in here with Owen?”
I didn’t want to leave her behind any more than I wanted her to get out of the car. Both options seemed terrible, but at least she’d be in a locked car she could drive away if things got scary. Outside, there was no telling what would happen.
Her eyes sought mine and then she nodded. “Be careful, Dee. All of you. Please be careful. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
I nodded and kissed her. She returned it, her hand on the back of my head possessive and fierce. When I pulled away, she had tears in her eyes.
I had tears in my own.
“I’ll be back,” I said.
“I know.”
Her confidence got me out of the car. I gripped the club with sweaty hands and tried to look every direction at once.
Lana slid over the seat to the driver’s side and then got Owen in the front seat with her. She gave us a thumb’s up.
I returned it and prayed I’d see her again.
Dan went up the steps to the door and turned the knob. It swung open which made Ivy smile. “Nobody ever locks their doors in the country,” she whispered.
If I lived out here I would, but I didn’t say that, too busy worrying we would be grabbed the second we walked inside.
We weren't.
I shut and locked the door behind us after one last wave at Lana. The kitchen spread out before us, and a living room sat to our right, the two rooms separated by a China hutch. There was a hallway in front of us, another to the far left off the kitchen. Ivy stayed at the door and Dan and I crossed the room together to check out the rooms ahead. Two bathrooms, three bedrooms, all clear. We looked under the beds and in the closets.
Back out to the living room and this time Ivy and Dan went together while I stayed by the front door. I peered out to see Lana and Owen in the car chatting. The windows were fogging up. “Lots of hot air in here,” either Tucker or Jackson would joke and then point fingers at us. “Dorks,” I whispered, then turned back to keep watch.
A shout drew me toward the far hallway, where a steep set of carpeted stairs descended into a basement. “What’s going on?”
Grunts. Thumps of metal on flesh. I gripped my club tighter and wondered if they needed me down there or if I’d be in the way.
“Guys?”
“All right! We’re okay. Got two of them.”
Dan came into view looking grim. The front of his jacket was spattered with blood. Ivy followed, looking the same. When he
