I knew I needed to calm down. I took a deep breath and grabbed the keys. I managed to get the car started this time.
Lasa was sitting in the floor board between the seats. Her eyes were shut tight and she was squeezing the stuffed animal.
All I saw in the rearview were dead faces coming at us. They were coming towards the driver side of the car as well. The only clear path was to the right.
There was an empty field there and just across it, the road was clear.
I thanked God we were in a Jeep. I turned the wheel hard and drove fast through the field.
I saw the zombies in the rearview try and turn their bodies quickly in the new direction of their food. Some of them fell trying to turn that quickly.
I managed to put a good amount of distance between the Jeep and the herd.
I got onto the road which wasn’t as clear as it had appeared at first. Still with a little bit of daylight left, I didn’t have to turn on the headlights and that saved a bit of notice.
I managed to get to the gate without too much difficulty. There was no one there now. There were a few dead bodies as we exited the base. There were also body parts strewn about and zombies feeding on the bodies. I felt even sicker than I had been the last few days but ignored the chunk rising in my throat.
We had to find a place before night fall. That was the mission. The further we got from the base, the less dense the herd of zombies had become. After a while, I managed to find a good area with a few trees to pull over at. There were no zombies around.
Lasa was still in the floorboard with her eyes shut tight. Tears were streaming down her face.
“Lasa,” I said gently.
She looked at me and sniffled, “I want my mom.”
I touched the top of her head, “I know sweetie, I’m sorry.”
“Are we staying here?”
“For the night. We’ll move on in the morning.”
She nodded and said nothing more. Poor child had lost her whole world. We were in a similar boat but I wasn’t the five year old whose world had been pulled out from under her. I hoped I could take care of her. Maybe we’d help heal each other. It was a long shot dream but if nothing else maybe we’d be a comfort to each other in this mess.
I got her Jackie’s blanket I’d taken from my car and wrapped her up in it. I was surprised by how quickly she fell asleep.
I didn’t sleep at all. I had to protect Lasa from any zombies. I didn’t even feel tired because for the first time in a month I felt like I had a purpose. I wasn’t just surviving.
Epilogue
The time passed slowly that night. My senses were heightened and I felt electric and alive. I felt alive for the first time in a very long time.
No zombies came near the vehicle during the night. I couldn’t even hear them in the distance which felt strange and made me paranoid.
Lasa woke up shortly after the sun came up. She yawned and stretched her arms. It was a few moments before the reality set in. I could tell by the way her face changed.
“Morning,” I said softly. “You hungry?”
She nodded. “And I really need to pee.”
I got my gun and got out of the car. I led her to an area where there were a few bushes. I made sure the area was secure before she did her business. After she was done, we walked back to the Jeep.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
I shrugged, “I don’t know. Let’s just worry about breakfast right now.”
We both climbed back into the back seat. I gave Lasa some hand sanitizer. I dug in my bag for the breakfast bars I had taken before leaving the other house. I hadn’t touched any of them. Staying with the Browns meant I had plenty of food to eat so I left them in my bag just in case. I was glad I did.
I handed a bar to Lasa.
“Apple, I love the apple ones.” She said and peeled off the wrapper.
I dug my hand in again to get one for myself and instead grabbed a piece of paper. I took it out to look at it. It had a badly drawn map on it. Though it was terribly drawn I knew what it was and I could follow it.
I smiled when I saw it.
“What?” Lasa asked.
I shook my head a little, “I just came up with a place for us to go.”
“Is it safe?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that truly. We should’ve been safe where we had been. I didn’t know if safe was an option in this world.
“I think we’ll be safe.”
She nodded, “if that’s the best you can do.”
I laughed a little. I ate my breakfast bar. We both drank a little bit of water.
I climbed over the seat into the front.
“You ready?” I asked.
Lasa nodded, “yeah. Do you think I’ll like it there?”
I looked at Lasa’s face in the rearview, “I think we’ll both like it there.”
I kicked the engine into life and put her in gear. I turned around and headed west following Daniel’s map.
I was feeling hopeful that we were headed to someplace we could call home. I had watched so much loss, so much death. It would be foolish to believe that there would be none in the future. Yet, I had hope. That Cate was alive somewhere in Arizona, that Daniel and I would maybe
