Xander wondered if he would visit his neighbors? He’d never met them and of course didn’t even know if they were alive. Only time would tell. As breakfast wound down, Zahara went up to get Shay. Xander was now getting antsy to get on the road and get home. He got up from the table and took his dishes to the sink. He was torn again about leaving and staying but he had to get his new family home. It was a funny feeling to have an instant family, but he couldn’t feel sad about that. He went to the living room and picked up a sturdy cardboard box. It was filled with loaded magazines for their weapons. If they ran into trouble, they wanted full loads when needed. Zahara had sharpened her samurai sword and the machete and had placed them behind the bench seat in the Chevy.
An hour later they stood by the truck. Ethan stepped forward and gave Xander a hug. He’d been surprised, but slapped the man on the back. Rose stepped up and hugged him, then Reggie stuck a hand out. He looked into the man’s eyes and saw an honest man before him. A man who would help Ethan care for this family. He watched as Zahara got just a little misty eyed and hugged Rose. She punched Ethan and shook Reggie’s hand. All the adults hugged Shay and she got into the truck. The other children were still asleep and had said their goodbyes the night before. The sun was just tinging the eastern horizon and the morning was already humid and warm.
“If I can find a radio, I’ll try to reach out and contact you. You do the same. I’ll try at the first of each month at 7 p.m., if and when I do. My call sign will be Wolfman,” Xander said and Ethan snorted.
“Fine, I’ll be Zombie-killer,” Ethan said shook Xander’s hand before he got into the truck. For a moment, Xander looked at each of the faces and then he looked at Zahara. Her face was soft in the low light and he smiled at her. She reached over and squeezed his arm and he lifted a hand in farewell. He pulled out of the drive and turned the truck and left the farm behind. He and Zahara had agreed to kill any zombies they saw until they hit the ten-mile mark. That would mean less zombies for Ethan and Reggie to worry about.
Shay had a large pillow and was laid across Zahara’s lap. She was sound asleep and it was quiet in the cab. They were seven miles out when they saw a small group of zombies. Zahara rolled down her window as Xander slowed down. It was like shooting fish in a barrel and she dropped the six zombies. When they got to Route 72 East, there were few abandoned vehicles. It was far enough from Rose’s farm that Zahara didn’t bother shooting the zombies that were roaming in between the cars. The thought of a cow catcher floated through Xander’s mind. In some areas along the road were hundreds of zombies clustered together. At the sound of the truck’s engine, they started moving toward the road. Their truck was faster and easily passed them.
“Maybe slow down, not so they can catch up, but so they walk in this direction. It will be taking them farther away from Rose’s farm,” Zahara said softly, her hand stroking Shay’s hair.
“Good idea. As long as the road ahead is clear, I just don’t want to get bogged down.” For twenty minutes they let the zombies follow and then Xander picked up speed. They were on roughly high ground in places and he looked down into the shallow valleys. There were a lot of rural areas with homes spread out. Then he’d see small bedroom communities with swimming pools and playgrounds. They were far from the road, but he could still make out forms wandering around. He knew they were not human.
Their world truly was dead. He looked down at the sleeping form of Shay and wondered what her future would bring. Maybe he would reach out to his neighbors. In ten years, she would be nearly a grown woman and he didn’t want her life to be a lonely one like his had been.
“Up ahead,” Zahara said and he looked off to the north where she was pointing. It was a massive group of zombies and they were heading for the road. If they got stuck in the middle of that, they’d be screwed.
“Shit. Is Shay buckled in?”
“Yeah, what are you thinking?” Zahara asked.
“I’m gonna speed up and see if I can get past the bulk of them. We might be hitting some turbulence,” he said and the truck picked up speed.
“I’ll pick off the ones in front, maybe clear a path. It’s gonna be bumpy.” Zahara shook Shay awake.
“Curl up, it’s gonna get a little rough. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe,” Zahara said as Shay sat up. Her eyes widened as she saw the massive group ahead. Zahara rolled down her window and stuck several full mags in her back pocket. She began shooting as they got closer and bodies began to fall. Xander had to slow the truck to move out of the way of several oncoming zombies. He didn’t need to disable his truck in the middle of this horde.
“Should we use some of the napalm?”
