“You’re a big fat liar, Ethan,” Reggie said and he laughed. Ethan shrugged and grinned.
“I’d have almost sold my soul for that F-15.”
Ž
Zahara was tired, it was late afternoon and they’d made fairly good progress. They were at a rest stop off Highway 64, somewhere near Winchester, Tennessee. She and Xander were sitting at a picnic table looking at their new road atlas. Her head was throbbing from the stress and heat. The 57 Chevy had no air conditioning. That was one thing the big rigs had, AC. There would be no more of that, riding around like that. Somehow, it didn’t bother her. She’d only done it to hunt, but now, she felt content to just kill zombies, if and when the need arose, it had several times that day. She was proud of Shay, she seemed to be adjusting to her new life. She called Zahara, Zaza. Like mama but her own version. Zahara liked that.
They had made a few stops at gas stations, not letting the tank get below half. They had passed many farms and small towns. There had been zombies all around and some they could bypass easily while other had been more difficult. They were now looking for a place to stop for the night but there were slim pickings. She thought Winchester might have a place or two, it was bigger than Belvidere. If they were on the interstate, she was sure they could locate some place easily, but they were on rural roads. She was fairly sure they would be to the cabin by tomorrow. It was just time consuming to have to backtrack if roads were completely blocked and they’d come across those. With the GPS now gone, they had to stop and consult the road atlas. She didn’t drive, though she could, Xander had insisted she keep a watch out for trouble.
Earlier that day, when they’d come into edge of Belvidere, Tennessee, they were driving on one of the many back roads that were like spiderwebs. Most of the roads were rutted and in bad shape and the truck had rocked along and Zahara’s bones were tired of it. Once they got through Belvidere, they could pick up Route 16 which would mean better roads. They just had to get through Belvidere. It was like many of the small towns, with only a few homes, a few shops and a gas station or two. There were fields of corn and other green things that Zahara had no clue as to what was growing nor any interest. She saw zombies wandering in the fields and thankfully, the roads were clear.
When they got to Main Street they slowed down. Ahead was some kind of roadblock. She groaned internally and looked over at Xander.
“We aren’t going to go around, are we?” she asked.
“No, we’d be pushed back at least two hours, if not more. I want to get to Winchester and see about finding a place for the night. Once we get to Route 16 and then onto Highway 64 North. I don’t want to backtrack because of bureaucracy and fear. I’d hate to have to shoot someone who isn’t a zombie,” he said but she didn’t think he sounded sorry about shooting someone and she hid a grin. She pulled out her Sig Sauer and checked the magazine and looked down at Shay.
“Is it dangerous, Zaza?” Shay’s eyes were wide but Zahara didn’t see any fear. She leaned and kissed Shay’s forehead and shook her head.
“No, we just gotta talk our way through. It should be fine.”
Xander showed and rolled down his window. A man raised a shotgun, he was standing behind two trucks that were parked nose to nose.
“Stop right there, mister. This road is close. Y’all will have to turn and go someplace else,” the man shouted.
“You within range?” Xander asked softly.
“Sure am. I see a couple of goobers over to the left, behind the trees. Your ten o’clock.”
Xander set his Glock 19 in his lap, hand on it and ready. He could easily kill these people but he really didn’t want to. He just wanted to get through and find someplace to settle for the night.
“We just want to get through. We’re heading to Winchester and just want to pick up Route 16. We’re tired and just want to get our daughter to a safe place.”
“Sorry, we just don’t want no more infected comin’ through. We lost most of our people. It’s been somethin’ terrible.” The man with the shotgun shifted uneasy as he looked over to the men behind the trees.
“We’re not infected. If you want to escort us through, we’ll not get out of the truck and we’ll be gone as fast as we can get through your town,” Xander said. If they shot and killed these men, that may bring more people. They still had the task of moving the trucks out of the way.
“Mister, I’m sorry.”
Xander put his weapon down and opened the door. He held his hands up and the two men to his left raised their long guns up and stepped out from the trees.
“Don’t come no closer, mister,” the man shouted, panic in his voice.
“I’m just coming forward to talk, don’t shoot. You’ll hit my kid,” Xander said, hoping that would stop them from firing. If he saw that they were going to truly pull the trigger, he’d change in an instant and tear them apart. He didn’t think they wanted to shoot. These weren’t stone cold killers; these were just regular men trying to protect their loved ones.
The man with the shotgun was just a few years older than himself. Xander kept his hands raised and walked slowly forward. He
