“I think after what you’ve been through, you’re allowed. Let’s get this loaded and maybe look around for a trailer we can hitch to the back. It’ll make transporting this stuff easier,” Ethan said and smiled. He’d seen the man pull out his wallet from time to time to look at the family photograph within. Ethan had seen the sorrow stamped on the man’s face.
Two hours later they had the small solar refrigerator and other supplies strapped to the bed of the Jeep Gladiator. They had even found several more five-gallon fuel tanks and picked them up as well. They would add fuel stabilizer to the fuel for future use. The back seat was filled to capacity and they swung by the gas station to fill up the Jeep and tanks. There were zombies milling around and Ethan shot the closest ones, not bothering to waste ammunition on ones that posed no immediate threat. It wasn’t like the movies or at least part of it wasn’t. Unless one of the things snuck up on you or your friend turned into a zombie all of a sudden and bit the shit out of you, you could kill the things pretty easy.
Unless there were a shit ton of zombies coming at you and you trip and drop your fucking weapon, he thought darkly, remembering the other day. But now, he could turn into a killing machine. He didn’t discount the zombies that were very fast, there were a few of those and they had to watch out for them. He wondered what made some of the creatures faster and more agile? Were they that way in their normal life, before they were turned into zombies? Did being turned into a zombie activate different parts of the brain like the ability to trigger adrenal glands?
“I was thinking maybe I should get a truck as well. We can double up on our runs. The ambulance sucks way too much gas and I figure we could use that as a dry storage,” Ethan said.
“Good idea. Over on Shelby Street in the next town over is a dealership, we can swing by there and you can pick out a new pickup truck,” Reggie said and grinned. Ethan returned the grin.
“How did you know about the dealership and the next town?” Ethan asked.
“Looked it up before we lost internet. When we first got here, I knew I wanted to stay. I figured I’d best learn everything I could about where we live. Especially, what would be available store wise. What supplies we could scrounge and so on. I’d scrolled on my phone while the boys slept, didn’t want them to wake and not find me nearby.”
“Glad you did. I didn’t even think to do that. I just figured I’d drive around and find out. But thinking on that now, it would have been a waste of gas and time. Guess my mind was on other things,” Ethan said and shrugged. He looked out the window as Reggie got back onto the highway leading out of town. It would be nice to have a new vehicle after abandoning his car in Huntsville. It would also be nice not having a big payment every month. He watched as zombies milled about aimlessly. They shuffled and stumbled and he was tempted to shoot them but he had to remind himself of their finite resources. He was sure there were others who would eventually take them out. He needed to keep his mind on task.
Half an hour later, Reggie pulled down another street and the dealership came into view. A wide smiled spread across his face when he saw the assortment of trucks. He saw the Ford F-150 XL, a metallic black and he was in heaven.
“That one,” he said and pointed. Reggie nodded and grinned. Reggie pulled up beside the truck and other than a light layer of dust, the truck was pristine. Ethan got out and walked around the truck and tried to open the door, but it was locked. He kicked at the tires and nodded to himself.
“Let’s get you them keys,” Reggie laughed. There were a few zombies roaming around the cars, it was reminiscent of lost customers. Perhaps that was what they had been? Reggie pulled the Jeep around to the showroom and got out. He held his AR-15 at the ready, looking around. They walked to the doors and tried them. Unlocked. Going in, Ethan sniffed the air. It smelled of car deodorizers, old coffee and xerox toner and paper but no dead bodies.
“Where do you think they keep the keys?” he asked, looking around the large room. There were desks and cubicles where the wheeling and dealing took place. He’d never enjoyed buying cars. He always wanted to shoot the sales person.
“Don’t rightly know, but we can go from room to room and find ‘em,” Reggie said.
“Don’t you twitch a hair or my boys will blow your heads off,” a man said and Ethan froze, cursing softly.
“We just came by to get a truck. We didn’t know anyone was here,” Ethan said, keeping his tone neutral. He could feel the adrenaline starting to rise. Was it him or the wolf?
“Figured you’d come steal is what you thought, now, didn’t ya. Y’all two can turn around but don’t you move them hands, Danny here has a trigger finger,” the man said. Slowly, Ethan and Reggie turned around. A man with a large gut stood just inside the door to an office. There was a toothpick that twitched around in his mouth, his bright blue eyes narrowed. He held
