Chapter Twenty-Three
LUCAS
Everyone had been silent since we left Ethan’s house.
Ben drove slowly through town, the van rumbling louder than I liked in the empty streets. Storefront windows reflected the headlights back at us, pale and hollow.
The large retail store on the corner had its doors propped wide open. The parking lot was filled with vehicles. Shopping carts cluttered the lot like abandoned skeletons. A few people were hauling televisions and other electronics into their cars.
What the hell did they think they were going to do with them?
“Looks like Black Friday,” Ben muttered. “What a bunch of dumbasses. If you were going to grab things, it should be medicine, food, and water. Not a fucking TV.”
“Maybe they wanted to stream The Walking Dead,” I muttered.
No one laughed.
Adrian sat in the passenger seat, his laptop glowing softly as his fingers moved across the keyboard with mechanical precision. He zoomed in and out on the map as if he could force it to give him the answer he wanted.
He’d been doing that every few minutes since we left Ethan’s house.
Ben glanced his way. “Still got her?”
Adrian didn’t answer right away.
He slowly nodded. “She’s nearby, roughly ten miles away, and hasn’t changed position for some time."
My stomach tightened.
Why I cared was beyond me. I think it was the memory of that snaggly-toothed little girl. I definitely didn’t give a damn about the vicious bitch she was now.
Or so I told myself.
Behind me, Ethan sat with his elbows on his knees, staring at the floor of the van. The kid hadn’t spoken since we left his house.
I couldn’t blame him.
Finding your mother dead and watching your father get his brains blown out would do that to you.
Across from him, Lila kept sneaking glances in his direction, as if she wanted to say something but clearly didn’t know where to start.
A week ago, she’d been making moon eyes at him in class. Now she was trying to keep him from falling apart.
Ben turned down a smaller road behind a row of houses.
“Ten miles,” he said. “We’ll have Taryn before dark.”
Adrian didn’t look convinced.
Out of nowhere, someone ran into the road.
“Jesus—” Ben slammed on the brakes.
The van’s tires smoked as Ben squealed to a stop, almost throwing Adrian and his computer through the front windshield.
A figure staggered into the headlights, waving both arms. “Stop!”
I was out of the van before it stopped rolling. “Lane?”
The kid grabbed the hood and bent over, breathing hard. Blood streaked the front of his shirt.
“Are you alright? What’s going on?”
“My dad,” he sobbed, between breaths.
That told me exactly what had happened.
“Turned?”
Lane nodded. “He locked himself in the garage first.” Tears ran down his face. “Thought he was going to be able to keep us safe.” His voice cracked, “Then he started trying to break the door.”
A headache pulsed behind my eyes again. “What about your sisters?”
“They’re with Mr. and Mrs. Carter next door. They aren’t sick, and so far neither are the girls.” He hung his head.
“Do you want me to take care of your dad?” I didn’t want the boy to have to do it.
His head snapped up, “Kill him?”
“He’s already dead, son.” I went to lay my hand on his shoulder, but he stepped back quickly.
"No, I can’t let you do that," Lane said, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “What if there’s a cure? I heard on the radio that the military is setting up camps. Maybe there are doctors who can help.”
I wanted to protest and tell him there was no way that was going to happen, and I couldn’t imagine a more dangerous place than a military camp with so many people. But the boy looked like he’d reached his limit, and I didn’t want to crush the hope in his eyes.
Maybe I’d reached my limit, too.
Ben leaned halfway out the window. “Unless he wants us to take care of his dad, we need to leave.”
I frowned at him.
“I need to get my daughter,” Ben growled out. “Now.”
I turned to Lane, “Do you want to get your sisters and come with us?”
“The hell you say,” Ben snarled. “I don’t have enough supplies to support the whole town of Ashford.”
Lane shook his head immediately. “I’m staying here for now. We have plenty of food, and the girls will be more comfortable.”
Good kid.
“Why did you flag us down?” Adrian leaned forward so he could see Lane.
“I wanted to find out what’s happening in town. It was chaos when I passed through on my way home. Since then, everything has quieted down. Your van is the first I’ve seen in hours.” He turned to me, “I did try to get help for all of you, but everyone was either sick or busy with their families.”
“I have no doubt that you did,” I reassured him.
“Can I get out?” Jonah asked. The boy had been quiet since we’d left the school.
“Why?” I questioned.
“My house is near here.” He climbed out of the van. “Just on the other side of the Carters.”
“I’ll walk him. His house is right there," Lane said, pointing at a blue house.
“You don’t want us to drive you?” I asked as he climbed out of the van. “Make sure it’s safe?
“We’re losing time.” Adrian didn’t even look up from the laptop.
Lane nodded as if he understood.
That made one of us.
“I’m staying too,” Ethan spoke as he followed Jonah out of the van.
We were all a little surprised.
“My parents are dead. The least I can do is help Lane with his sisters.” He looked at me. “I need to stay busy.”
I nodded. Ethan seemed to have aged ten years since we left his house. I truly hated to leave them, but both boys were over eighteen and had the right to make their own decisions.
Lila spoke up next. “I’m staying too.”
I frowned. “What about your parents?”
“My mom had a conference in Dallas, and my brother is dead,” her voice caught. “I’m alone now.” She shrugged and wiped the tears from her face. “And I’m sure Mrs. Carter could use a hand with the girls. She’s really old.”
“The Carters are both in their late forties,” Ben said wryly.
“Yeah, old.” Lila looked confused.
I found myself smiling, amazed that my face still knew how to form that expression.
Ben cleared his throat, “I’ve got some stuff we can drop off before we retrieve Taryn.” I was surprised by his offer.
“We’re good for now, Mr. Calder,” Lane said politely.
Ben nodded. “I’ll check on y’all in a few days.”
Maybe the guy did have a heart.
“If you’ve turned, I’ll put you down,” Ben rolled up his window.
Maybe not.
I got back into the van, keeping them in my sight as Ben pulled the truck away.
Five kids.
A week ago, their biggest problem had been homework and football games. Now one of them was dead, and the other four were facing circumstances that were beyond anything we could have prepared for.
As soon as I helped Adrian find Taryn, I’d come back to check on the kids. I was afraid things were going to get exponentially worse before they got better… if they ever did.
Up front, Adrian tapped at the computer again. Then he went very still.
“That’s not good,” he murmured, mostly to himself.
Ben frowned. “What?”
Adrian turned the screen so that we could see. The blue dot marking Taryn’s location flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then disappeared altogether.
Silence filled the truck.
“No signal,” Adrian sighed.
“You lost her location?” I disliked how upset I was.
Adrian narrowed his eyes. “For now.”
I’m sure she wouldn’t stay lost for long.
Adrian had been watching over her, keeping her safe, for as long as I can remember.
The thought made my chest burn with emotion.
Maybe it was for the best that I hated her, since she was always meant to be with my best friend.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the seat.
I must have dozed off because I awoke at the sound of Adrian’s voice.
“Where are we going?”
Ben was turning into the parking lot of a strip mall. “I want to stock up on more ammunition.”
He braked sharply.
RIVERS TACTICAL & OUTDOORS
“No. We need to get to Taryn.” Adrian frowned at Ben.
He nodded in agreement, “Yes, we do.” He raised a brow, “But what if we run into trouble? We used most of our ammo back at the school, and I don’t want to have to drive home to get more.”
Ben killed the engine and climbed out of the vehicle.
Adrian sighed, but climbed out too. “You’re right.”
“Fuck it,” I muttered and followed them.
The bell jingled as we pushed inside. It was more than obvious that the place had already been hit.
Glass cases were smashed, and boxes of ammunition were scattered across the counter.
Ben and Adrian both had their guns at the ready, and I followed suit.
“Hello?” Ben called. “Reed, are you here?”
A man stepped out from the back, followed by another holding a shotgun.
“Store’s closed.”
Ben frowned, “Who the hell are you?”
The first man smirked, “The owner. Who the hell are you?”
“Reed Benson owns this store. I’ve never seen you before.” Ben narrowed his eyes.
The guy shrugged, “Not anymore.”
Adrian spoke up, “We’re not looking for trouble.”
“Maybe we are.” Shotgun guy said.
The air in the store went tense.
“Put your guns down, and we’ll talk.” The man nodded at Ben’s rifle.
“That’s not going to happen,” Ben growled.
“Well, that’s unfortunate.” The shotgun guy started to raise his rifle when a sudden burst of gunfire hit him. He dropped the rifle and grabbed his arm.
What the fuck? Adrian shot him in the arm.
The man screamed before falling behind the counter for cover.
“Are you fucking crazy?” I growled before jumping behind an overturned gun case with Adrian and Ben.
“I told him we didn’t want trouble,” Adrian murmured, glancing cautiously around the case.
A shotgun roared a second later, and wood splintered behind Ben’s shoulder.
Ben fired twice.
The shotgun man collapsed against a rifle rack, and the other man dove behind the counter again.
Shots were going off rapidly, and I felt disoriented. The noise was so loud that my ears were ringing, and smoke filled the room.
I saw a third man stumble out of the back room amid the chaos.
“There’s another one of them,” Adrian whispered urgently.
Suddenly, the new guy lunged at the man kneeling behind the counter. We couldn’t see what was happening, but we heard a scream of terror before one of the gunmen suddenly appeared with the third man's teeth lodged in his shoulder.
We all started firing. There was zero chance he wouldn’t turn, so it didn’t matter if we hit him at this point. Plus, he was obviously an asshole, so no regrets here.
Ben grabbed my arm and nodded toward the door.
Before we reached it, we heard scraping from the outside.
Adrian slowly rose and glanced out of the large window. “Shit.”
Ben and I shifted so we could see.
Shapes moved. Dozens of them.
Probably drawn by the gunshots.
Adrian turned the deadbolt.
The sight of him through the glass caused the infected to surge, pushing the ones in front until they were smashed against the door.
Ben rose and started grabbing ammo from the floor, and I joined him. Stuffing as many boxes as I could in my pockets.
“Time to go.” Adrian stooped and grabbed a box I’d dropped.
“There’s another exit in the back!” Ben started in that direction.
I heard a creak and winced as the glass in the door cracked and the horde poured in.
“Move!”
We rushed out the door, slipping and sliding on the blood from the men we’d shot as we ran past.
I could hear the infected moaning and looked behind me to see that they’d fallen on the two men, ripping and tearing into them to get to their organs.
I felt the vomit coming up and stopped right outside the door, bile spewing out of my mouth.
“Come on,” Adrian grabbed my arm, pulling me around the building.
All of the infected had entered the store hoping to get a part of the meal, so we were able to load into the van. Ben gunned the engine, and the vehicle roared forward.
Suddenly, the infected poured out of the shop behind us. Too many.
Ben spun onto the road and floored the gas.
In the side mirror, the swarm flooded the parking lot like ants from a kicked hill.
I was beginning to think the people who had died were the lucky ones.