Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
BEN
Ileft the guys to make sure the way out was clear, then crept toward the front doors. Every step placed just so, every breath measured. The doors came into view down the aisles. Still barricaded, just like we’d left them.
Good.
A sound broke through the quiet.
Soft.
Dragging.
Slightly off to the right. I angled toward it, seeing that an infected now stood near the entrance, its back half turned. Its head was twitching in small, broken movements as if it couldn’t decide where to look.
I scanned the area, but it seemed to be alone. Good.
I crouched by the barricade. Applying just the right amount of pressure, it slowly began to move. The metal shelving unit shifted enough to create a narrow gap.
I quietly moved closer to the infected without making a sound and drove my knife through the side of its head, caught it in my arms, and dragged it clear of the entrance.
The van sat exactly where I’d left it. There was movement in the distance, but not too close.
At least not yet.
We had a little time, but not much.
When I got back to the room, they looked much worse than they had when I left.
Lucas was upright—barely—leaning against the wall, breathing hard, eyes open but unfocused. No sign of the filmy grey that covered the infected’s eyes.
Adrian was down, lying flat on his back. No movement whatsoever.
“Of course, this wouldn’t be easy,” I muttered.
I crossed to Lucas first, grabbed his shirt, and hauled him forward. His skin was burning up, but his breathing was steady.
“You still with me?” I slapped both of his cheeks.
“…fuck…yeah.”
“You’re walking, or you stay here,” I said with no sympathy.
I had neither the time nor the desire to coddle these boys. If they couldn’t handle this, then maybe they weren’t the right ones to help me protect Taryn.
He grunted.
Good enough.
I shoved his arm over my shoulder, propping him up against the wall.
Kneeling, I pressed two fingers to Adrian’s neck. His pulse was fast but still there. I hooked my hands under his arms and dragged him up. He was dead weight and no help whatsoever.
I hauled Adrian backward first, boots scraping across tile, then shifted and heaved him up just enough to get his weight over my shoulder.
It wasn’t easy, but I got it done.
“Move,” I snapped at Lucas.
He stumbled forward, nearly dropped, then caught himself on the counter.
“Are you going to make it?” I didn’t think I’d have time to come back for him if he couldn’t make it out on his own.
Another grunt.
I kept going, Adrian’s weight getting heavier with every second that passed. I wasn’t as young as I used to be.
The back hall stretched on for what seemed like forever.
Finally, we reached the doors, and I slid through with Lucas right behind me.
I saw it before it saw us.
“Don’t stop,” I muttered to Lucas.
I lowered Adrian enough to reach my knife just as the infected turned toward me. I stepped in, driving the sharp point through his eye, dropping him before he could take a step.
Lucas stumbled, hitting the side of the van, and two infected barreled from around the corner a few seconds later.
“Get in,” I snapped.
I threw Adrian into the back first, and he hit the floor hard but didn’t react. Lucas grabbed the doorframe, trying to pull himself in, but was moving much too slowly.
I rushed in his direction and moved in front of him just as one of the infected lunged.
The knife came up again, and I stabbed her directly under the chin.
It collapsed.
The second one was already on me. Hands grabbing at my clothes, teeth snapping. I drove my shoulder into its chest and shoved, hard. It flew back and hit the pavement, trying to claw its way up.
I pushed Lucas into the van and slammed the door shut. Moving around to the driver's side, I reached for the handle, but just as I was about to open it, another infected lunged forward, slapping its hands against the hood, leaving behind streaks of blood and something darker.
It stared at me, its head twitching, and jaw working like it was chewing on something.
“Yeah,” I murmured. “Not today, you bastard.”
I yanked the door open, slid inside, and slammed it shut. Turning the key in the ignition, I threw it into drive.
The thing on the hood didn’t move fast enough as the van lurched forward. There was a dull, heavy thump—then nothing.
I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw more coming. They must have been drawn in by the noise.
I hit the gas harder.
The road out was a clusterfuck. One car sat crooked in the lane ahead, its driver's door open, and the engine still idling.
Something moved behind it, and I swerved, clipping the car's edge. Metal screamed, and the van jolted, but I kept going.
“Fuck,” I jerked the wheel again to dodge three infected that lurched into the road.
In the passenger seat, Lucas sagged against the window, eyes barely open.
In the back, Adrian hadn’t moved. Not once.
The town blurred past in pieces. Empty stores and abandoned cars. A woman standing in the middle of the road, swaying—then turning too fast as we passed.
I kept going without slowing down, stopping, or looking back.
My hands tightened on the wheel as my head pulsed. It felt like pressure was building up behind my eyes.
My vision sharpened, and the edges became too crisp. All the lights we encountered felt overly bright. Even Lucas and Adrian’s breathing sounded too loud.
I could feel the heat rising in my body.
“Not now,” I shook my head to clear it. “Come on, Ben, you can do this. Just a little further.”
I tried to focus on the road and on getting these two men home. But the heat kept creeping in, low and rising.
I wasn’t sure how much longer I had before I joined them.
The road cleared the further out we got. I didn’t let up on the gas until the house came into view.
I pulled up short of the gate and sat there for a second. I slowly scanned the perimeter, making sure nothing was out of place. It looked as perfect as it had when Adrian and I left.
I stepped out of the van. The air felt different here. Cleaner. Like the world hadn’t caught up yet.
It would.
It always did.
I moved to the gate, unlocked it, pushed it open just enough to get the van through, then stopped to close it behind me.
I drove up to the house and killed the engine. My chest tightened when I saw Taryn’s old bike leaning against the side of the house.
“Hold on, little girl,” I whispered. “I’m coming.”
I glanced at Lucas. His head lolled against the window, eyes barely open. Adrian hadn’t moved since I loaded him into the vehicle. I hoped he was still alive.
I got out and went around to the passenger side first, yanking the door open. Lucas blinked at me like he was trying to remember where he was.
“Taryn?” he rasped.
I narrowed my eyes. Why was he calling my daughter's name?
“Get out.”
He tried but didn’t get far.
I grabbed him under the arm and hauled him out, throwing his weight over my shoulder. I got him to the front door and leaned him against the wall just long enough to unlock it.
Three locks.
Deadbolt.
Knob.
Keypad.
All still secure.
I pushed the door open with my shoulder and dragged him inside. I dropped him onto the couch and went back for Adrian.
He was worse. Still completely out and dead weight from the second I got my hands on him.
“I’m really way too old for this shit.” I took a deep breath.
My arms burned, and my shoulders tightened.
I got him through the door and dropped him onto the floor just inside, kicking the door shut behind us. Then I locked everything, more out of habit than anything else.
I stood there for a second, trying to catch my breath. Lucas was barely conscious, and Adrian was completely gone. Both boys were burning up.
If they turned—I wasn’t dealing with that in the open.
“Up,” I grabbed Lucas again.
He groaned and tried to push me off. Luckily, he wasn’t strong enough to swat flies off a pile of shit at the moment.
“Not a suggestion, boy.” I dragged him down the hallway. Past the kitchen to the back room, which was mostly used for storage.
A double bed and shelves loaded with dusty, long-unused holiday decorations occupied the room. The door to the room was solid, and that was the most important thing.
I shoved it open with my shoulder and hauled him inside, dropping him on the bed. He slid sideways, barely catching himself.
“Stay there,” I barked out.
Like he had a choice. The boy was hanging on by a thread.
I went back for Adrian.
His condition had worsened in the few seconds I was gone. I hooked my hands under his arms and dragged him across the floor, with his boots dragging behind me as I pulled him down the hallway.
Every step I took felt heavier.
Heat began building again. I ignored it and kept moving, getting him into the room and dropping him beside Lucas.
Two bodies. One problem.
I stepped back and looked at them.
“Listen,” my voice was low and sharp, demanding attention.
Lucas’s eyes cracked open.
“If you feel yourself going,” I narrowed my eyes, “beat on the wall or yell, and I’ll put you out of your misery.”
A beat.
“…Ben…find…Taryn…”
“Don’t argue,” I snapped. “Worry about yourself for now.”
He didn’t have the energy to respond.
Good.
I stepped out, pulled the door shut, and locked it. Then I dragged a chair from the hallway and wedged it under the knob.
Not to keep them in, but to slow them down.
If it came to that.
“Hold it together,” I muttered.
Not sure if I was talking to myself or Lucas.
My head pulsed again, harder this time. I pressed my fingers into my temples and felt the heat radiating from my face.
“No,” I said under my breath. “I don’t have time for this.”
Not yet.
I straightened slowly and forced my breathing to level. Forced my hands to steady.
I still had work to do and a daughter to bring home. Plans that needed making.
Because if they turned—I needed to be ready.
And if I turned, no one would be left to stop me.
I bowed my head to do something I swore I’d never do after my second wife died. “Lord, please bring my child home safe and give me the strength to make sure she does.”
Before, my prayers had gone unanswered, but I hoped this time would be different.