“My parents live down the street from us and had
already considered Andi an adopted daughter. Plus, they
know the truth about why Andi’s mom left.” She
concentrates on weaving the truck and trailer as things
become congested as the freeways intersect.
“I hate driving in traffic. I love living in the city, but I
try to avoid rush hour.”
“Another question. Why are we getting my parents and not yours?” I watch as we begin to go over the interchange
and the freeway begins to thin back out again as we head
away from the city.
“You know, the people who never leave when there’s a
hurricane because they can just outlast it? Well, those are
my parents. They would rather die than leave the home that
they’ve lived in and worked to pay for. Ironically, they just
made the last payment in January.”
“Of course they did, because that’s just typical of life.”
I snort sarcastically.
The cars in front of us start to slow down, but there
doesn’t seem to be a reason.
I lean over and switch on the radio, hoping for a traffic
alert.
Our side of the freeway is still moving, but the other
side is completely stopped. I don’t have to roll down the
window to hear the screams coming from the other side of
the divider.
“We need to find a way out of this traffic now. I don’t
think that’s a normal wreck.” I pick up the walkie talkie
radio to alert the others when it crackles, startling me.
“Haley, Emma. I’m going to get on the shoulder and
see how quickly we can get past this mess,” Dawson says
urgently.
There’s no chance to brace for the sudden change as the
truck accelerates. I grab the ‘oh, crap’ handle to avoid
hitting the door.
The other side of the highway is filled with stopped cars and as we speed past, I can see the people running from
their cars, while a few people chase them, albeit slowly.
An innocent person who hasn’t left his car is pulled out
and several of the infected people stop to munch on him. I
can’t see what happens to him, but I don’t think he
survived.
Further on, as we race along the outer shoulder, we
come up on the original scene that has caused the
congestion.
An accident has happened and the EMTs have arrived,
but it looks like the victims and the paramedics all become
zombies.
“Well, now we know they can multiply. If someone
doesn’t stop those things, then we’ll have a mob on the
loose,” Haley comments as we clear the traffic jam and hit
open road again.
“I think we might need to avoid major roads after this
because if every accident causes people to turn into
zombies, this could spread really fast.” I hold on as Haley’s
speed doesn’t return to the normal limit.
“Hey, ladies. I think we should continue on as quickly
as we can. I’ve got a feeling that the sooner we get to our
destination, the better,” Cole chimes in over the radio.
“I’m good with that, as long as we don’t run into the
cops,” I respond.
“At the moment, they’re going to be busy chasing
zombie people.” Dawson’s laughter comes through the
radio.
“This family is crazy,” I radio back.
The next few hours pass without traffic or problems as
we pull over in a small town to eat and gas up. There’s no
point in using our extra gas while stations are still manned
and have something to sell us.
The large truck station has a place to park the trucks
and trailers while we go in to eat lunch.
We barely finish eating our food when two people
begin to talk loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in
the building.
“Let me tell you, I’ve never seen anything like it before.
One minute they were taking care of some lady that had
been plowed in to, but when they put her on the stretcher,
she was already dead. They covered her face with a
“Dude, we were sitting there waiting for them to let us
through and she sat up and took a bite out of the guy
wheeling her cart.”
“You should have seen her get up off that cart and start
trying to eat people.”
“Yeah, all of the ones wanting to help were just
standing there. The police men didn’t want to hurt anyone,
and you could tell that they were unsure about who to
shoot.”
“They just stood there until they were attacked by the
eaten people. They started shooting, but it was too late for
them. They became the zombie people, but their guns
didn’t seem to interest them anymore.”
“We were just sitting there and they started toward the lines of cars where we were parked. I got so scared, I put
my foot on the gas and tore out toward the exit, U-turned,
and headed toward home.”
“I’m so glad that we escaped and could come home.”
I just listen to the two young men explain more about
the scene we had left behind.
“I think we should get out of here. If these guys caught
up with us, then others that have been infected might not be
far behind.”
“This is going to spread quickly over the next few days.
I’m afraid that these incidents are going to happen more
frequently.” Cole wipes his face with his napkin as he
carries the food tray to the trash.
The look I give him must be one of surprise because he
laughs at me. “Emma, even if the world ends, we still have
to be polite and throw our trash away.”
“Nana would tan our hides if we didn’t put our stuff up.
Not something I want to face, zombies or not.” Dawson
grins and fist bumps Cole.
“Totally.” Cole agrees as he holds the door open for
both of us ladies to pass through.
I thought that Brad’s manners was a breath of fresh air.
Now I realize it had been passed down to them. It’s
comforting to realize that Pierce is in good hands.
“Pierce. Crap,” I say sharply.
“What?” Haley asks as she walks around to her side of
the truck.
“I haven’t thought about him for the past two hours.
I’m a horrible mom.” I’m on the verge of panicking when
she speaks reassuringly.
“Honey, it’s your first time away from him. You
actually remembered what it’s like to be an adult. Plus,
outrunning zombies can kind of take your mind off of
things that you know are taken care of for the moment.”
Haley’s wisdom surprises me.
As I take a few deep breaths, I realize that she’s right.
The reason I’d thought about Pierce was to notice that he
was in good company.
Just thinking about my baby has caused my boobs to
noticeably respond.
“Ah, you might want to take care of that before the
boys see it.” Haley motions to the wet spots on my shirt.
“Great.” I reach into
the seat behind me and pull out my
backpack with a few extras in it.
“Here, use this.”
I look up to see Haley holding an ace bandage in her
hand and the first aid kit in the other.
“If you wrap this around your boobs over your bra, it
will help until, well, your problem is taken care of. You
don’t plan to keep nursing him, do you?” The look she
gives makes it seem like an obvious answer.
“Honestly, I have no idea.” I reach to take them from
her as I change my shirt and start wrapping my boobs in
bandages.
“Does he use formula now?” Haley asks, pulling out behind Cole who’s taking the lead for this stretch.
“Yes. I haven’t been preforming up to his needs so I
might have to give up being the perfect mom.”
“Hey, now. No mom is perfect, and just because he’s a
formula baby doesn’t mean you’re a failure. You’re going
to be a zombie killing, bad ass mom,” Haley adds, ending
the subject as I think about what she’s said.
I may have really found a friend for the zombie
apocalypse. Who knew?
-----------
There were two more stops on what’s supposed to be an
eight-hour trip, which turns out to be closer to six hours
with the way they’re speeding through towns regardless of
speed limits.
We were able to bypass two larger cities and any
problems on the freeways.
As we get close to the neighborhood where my parents
live, Haley takes the lead again so that I can give the
directions.
The streets in the housing areas are completely empty
since it’s still the middle of the work day.
My parents, Gwen and Neil, are both still working, but
plan to retire in the next few years so that they can enjoy
their grandbaby more. I’m an only child, so I’m the only
hope for a house full of grandchildren.
Haley parks in front of the neighbor’s house so that the
truck and trailer will fit.
I suddenly can’t move. I’m terrified. What if my parents are already dead? Or worse, what if I have to put
them down?
“Do you want us to go inside with you?” Haley touches
my arm gently to bring me back to reality.
“Uh, no. If they’re not home, then you guys might as
well come in, but it won’t take long to find out.” I brace
myself as I get out of the truck and approach the house,
only to have the front door fling open.
“Mom!” I cry as I run to the figure in the doorway.
As we embrace, I can’t help the tears that are running
down my face. I’ll blame it on the hormones later if anyone
mentions it, but for now, I’m soaking up the fact that she
and my dad are alive as he joins the family hug.
“M-hmm.” Someone clears their throat behind us.
“Oh, excuse me. Cole, Dawson, Haley, these are my
parents, Gwen and Neil Bates.” I can’t help the relieved
feelings flowing through me.
Everyone exchanges handshakes, then my mom ushers
us into the house and closes the blinds in the living room.
Crinkling my forehead in a frown, I ask, “Mom, what
are you doing?”
“Blocking out movement. We don’t want those things
to see us and decide we’re their lunch,” Gwen responds, as
if hiding from “things” is completely natural.
“Why are you and Dad home from work? It’s only
Friday.” I look around the room and find the back sliding
door covered in plywood, and furniture blocked it in,
keeping it in place. The table is stacked with food, as is the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
“We haven’t been able to reach you in two days and the
news has been horrible. Cell phone calls are going through
sometimes, but it’s becoming more of an issue. I suggested
we take today off and we planned to come find you if we
didn’t hear from you soon,” my dad explains.
“Gwen’s been watching the news coming out of the
most infected towns, but information is scarce. The
government is telling people that this is just a terrorist
attempt to scare us. There isn’t a threat, but we decided to
stay home. I hadn’t convinced your mom that we should
leave yet.” Dad gestures around the house. “As you can
see, she’s preparing for the worst and nothing I say has
been able to convince her.”
“Ma’am, you’re right to be worried. This is a serious
threat and is only going to get worse. That’s why we came
to get you and move you to Jackson Mountain. We have
lots of cabins, and it’ll be one of the safest places you can
be.” Cole’s accent shows a little more of the mountain area
than that of Dawson and Haley, who only visited
occasionally.
“What makes your mountain safer than my home?”
Mom grills Cole unapologetically.
Dawson, slightly closer to Gwen’s age then the other
two, holds his hands out in front of him in a downward,
calming motion. “Let’s discuss the pros and cons for just a
minute. The mountain is about an hour from any smaller
city with a Walmart. It’s over two hours to get to a
metropolitan area. So the less amount of people means less
of these zombie things that we have to deal with.”
His voice takes on a soothing, placating tone that seems to be calming my mom down.
“Most of the Jackson family has been in the military or
worked on a police force. The entire family includes
children who have been trained in gun safety and know
how to hunt. Have you ever shot a gun?” Dawson asks
gently.
“No, I’m not a criminal so I’ve never had the need to
have a gun,” Mom sputters indignantly.
My dad just shakes his head at her innocent insults, as I
sit here hoping that Dawson can talk some sense into her.
“Oh, I would never think that a sweet, God-fearing lady
such as yourself would be a criminal. Where we live, there
are lots of animals that call the mountain their home, so we
have to know how to protect ourselves.”
I try to rub the instant wrinkles that are etching
themselves into my forehead away as Dawson loses any
chance of reasoning with my mother.
“No, you can’t kill animals. That’s horrible. How could
you do that to those poor innocent things? It’s their home,
and you’re the ones poaching on their territory.” The
horrified look on Mom’s face speaks volumes.
“Exactly, ma’am. We like to live in harmony with
nature and don’t want to force any animal out of their own
homes. Only when necessary do we have to use force to
protect our own, and that doesn’t happen very often. We
grow our own food and have a real sense of community.
Have you ever been to a quilting bee?” Dawson redirects
Mom to think about something other than killing.
The whole room watches in fascination as he craftily leads her to the conclusion that he wants her to come to—
she needs to leave with us.
“I haven’t,” Mom responds
cautiously.
“The women on the mountain get together and make
most of the quilts our family uses. They have a way to
make their own butter and candles that we also use every
day. I think you would love my mom, who everyone calls
Nana, and my sister-in-law, Kathryn, and don’t even get me
started on Granny Earlene. She’s a hoot at ninety years
old.” Dawson could ask for anything at this point because
my mom is eating out of his hand.
“Neil, what if we went and visited Dawson and his
family while all of this stuff is going on here in the city? I think we would be safer there, don’t you?” She turns to my
dad excitedly.
“Yes, I do believe this would be a wonderful idea, and
you could see baby Pierce as well.” Dad pastes a smile on
his face.
“Dawson, you should take the supplies that we’ve
gathered because we don’t want to feel like a burden.”
Mom motions to all the dry goods and cans stacked
everywhere. I’m going to go pack a few things. Why don’t
you help oversee things, Emma, while I get ready?” She
turns toward me with excitement.
“Sure thing, Mom,” I yell at her retreating figure.
“Dad, what happened to her? I just saw her a few weeks
ago.” I can’t hide my astonishment at the deterioration of
her condition.
“The doctor says that by traveling and staying out of her comfort zone, even though it’s for her grandbaby,
causes her to revert back to old habits of paranoia and
anxiety,” he patiently explains.
“She’d been doing so great. I can’t believe it was just
the trip because she was good during the time she was at
our house.” I realize that the other three people listening
have no idea what I’m referring to.
“My mom has always been on the borderline of sane,
but before I was born, she lost a baby due to a car accident
when they were on the way back from a wedding in
Kansas. She lost it when they told her and mourned for
weeks, just sitting in a chair and rocking back and forth.
After six months, she recovered enough to go through the
daily motions and when she got pregnant with me, it was a
complete turnaround.” I’d always accepted her quirks, but
didn’t realize until I was older that it was the lingering
effects of her craziness.
“When I brought her home this time, she seemed to
have moments where she reverted back to twenty-five years