“I dang near shit myself,” Reggie said and laughed.
Ž
They were getting close to home and Zahara was weary of the road. Now that she had a place to call home, that was all she wanted to do was to get there and never leave. Shay was asleep across her lap and she looked out the window into the rural North Carolina landscape. Shay had a nightmare the previous night, her run in with Mr. Lister had shaken the little girl. She’d slept between them last night. She felt the heat of rage try to bubble up but she tamped it down. She didn’t need to change in the truck. A soft smiled pulled at her lips. Shay had called her mommy. Her heart ached and swelled at the same time. She’d also called Xander, papa. Xander had gotten a funny look on his face and a sweet smile had lit him up from within.
She knew Xander was a little uncertain about the readymade family, but she thought he was getting used to the idea. There was so much to do once they got back and her mind went again to the loft area for Shay’s bedroom. They would fix it up nice for her and then over the next few days, head to town and pick up supplies. Last night the lights had flickered on and off. Then stable out and was back on for a while. They had put on a movie in the DVD player for Shay. Xander had made dinner and they had settled in for the night. There were some crazy-ass people out there. One less now. If she could have torn the bastard up for hours, it would have been too fast. She sighed and put him out of her thoughts.
They had shifted to back roads now and she was glad to see less and less people and zombies. She’s seen the desperation of the living as she passed and she knew their lives would be difficult if they didn’t pull their shit together and start working toward building up defenses. Waiting for someone to help was a non sequitur, there was no one coming. She thought perhaps werewolves would fare better, but they could still be killed by the zombies. It took vigilance. She had watched as people filled their trucks or cars with supplies. She’d seen the fear in their eyes as they’d passed. Once people were stuck in one place, with no cars and such, they’d have to figure out a way to get out and trade. She thought that if small communities worked together, they might just make it. Xander had talked about meeting their neighbors. She thought that might be a good idea. As much as she didn’t like people, Rose and Reggie had taught her that there were actually good people out there. Even Ethan was a good guy, though she’d never admit that out loud.
She shifted on the seat; her legs restless. She wasn’t used to sitting for so long. She wondered what Ethan and Rose were doing right now. She wouldn’t admit she missed them either.
“There’s a little country store ahead. I want to stop and see what we can get from it and I want to stretch my legs,” Xander said, bringing her out of her thoughts.
“Me too, my brain feels fuzzy. Looks like only about half a dozen gooey gomers,” she said and figured they could use her sword. No need to waste bullets. The infected were looking more and more decomposed as the days passed. She hoped at some point they would just rot away. She couldn’t even imagine what New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles looked like. Millions of infected, maybe millions of zombies. Where could you hide? The smell alone would be so noxious and the environmental conditions after, catastrophic. She was sure the large cities would be hotbeds for cholera, typhoid and any other nasty bug.
There were three vehicles parked at the little country store. She looked at the plates, Florida, Colorado and North Carolina. She wondered if the first two had been on vacation when the shit hit the fan? Xander slowed the truck down and Zahara eased Shay’s head down on the pillow. She’d let her sleep; she didn’t need to see this. They would lock the doors; she’d never again leave Shay vulnerable like that. She shivered at the remembrance of finding her gone from the truck. Reaching behind her, she drew the sword from behind the bench seat and looked at Xander. He smiled tiredly at her and nodded.
Easing the door open, she pushed the lock button down and then shut the door quietly. She went after the first zombie and quickly cut the head off the woman. Part of her lower jaw was missing and it made for an easier slice. She flicked the bits of gore from the blade and saw Xander coming from around the truck, machete raised. He was swift and cut then sliced through the zombies. She noticed that one of the zombies was faster than the others, Zahara quickly moved and she felt her adrenaline spike. She didn’t need to get complacent and she shifted and ducked and then came up behind the two. She swung with all her might and caught the man, perhaps a week gone, behind the base of the skull. She cursed softly when the blade stuck in the bone of the skull and she had to use her foot to kick him off her blade.
She barely missed getting raked with filthy nails from the next gomer and hopped nimbly to the side and brought the sword up and caught the creature under the jaw. She jerked back and swung again; the head flew off the staggering body. She looked for Xander but he had finished and was walking toward her, scanning their surroundings. Neither wanted a sneak
