Travis shrugged. “Yeah, but I gotta sound like the condescending leader. It's my job. ”
Felix slightly laughed, shaking his head and climbed into the van.
This time Lenore and Ken climbed into the backseat of the Hummer.
Katie turned on the Hummer and began to u-turn slowly. For a second, she too saw the glint of glass up in the tree line. Silently, she prayed that they would survive whatever came next. As the Hummer picked up speed, she reached out and took Travis’ hand in her own.
Up behind the tree line, a truck started.
Chapter 18
1. Seven, Six, Five
Jenni rubbed her trembling hands together and glanced out the window toward the dead town in the distance. It was just a few buildings. She could see the zombies milling around in the street, aimless without human prey to chase. They were far enough away that the zombies did not see or hear them, but the tiny outlines of their forms still made her stomach clench.
“We’re getting close,” Bill said. He looked tired and a little anxious. She knew he had been up many nights talking and planning with Nerit and Travis. “We’ll deal with this and keep to the initial plan unless things change. ”
Jenni began to pull her long dark hair up into a knot on top of her head. She liked to wear it long and flowing, but that could be far too dangerous with zombies around. “I’m really sick and tired of these fuckers scaring us shitless. ”
“Truer words were never spoken. ” Bill chortled. “And I feel exactly the same way. ”
Jenni finished with her hair and looked at him curiously. “You got a bad feeling, huh?”
“Woke up with it in my gut,” Bill admitted. “You too, huh?”
“Yeah. Things feel off,” Jenni answered. She thought of the long, sweet kisses she had shared with Juan before she had left. It was as if they were sharing their last kisses. The thought of him made her stomach twist a little more. She missed him and just wanted to crawl into bed with him and feel his warm, strong arms around her.
“We’re coming up on it,” Ed announced.
Jenni steadied herself by holding onto the back of her seat. Her rifle held tightly in one hand, she looked ahead with intense scrutiny.
They were rescuing what remained of a family; three teenagers; one boy, two girls, and their mother. Their father had died after the first day of a bite. The kids had put his zombified remains down. Their grandparents had passed away recently from natural causes. The grandfather stopped eating so the rest of the family could have more rations and had died of a heart attack. His wife had followed soon after. The surviving family was holed up in a trailer house. Jenni was told they had been living off the grandmother’s preserves the entire time. According to the briefing, the family’s truck was broke down.
They had no way to escape their small town. They had tried to walk to the neighbors for supplies, but had been chased back by zombies. The rescue team expected at least half a dozen zombies to be in the area.
“This isn’t good,” Bill decided.
The narrow dirt road unwound to reveal the trailer tucked in a clearing a ways back from the road. It had at least two additions built onto it. All the windows appeared to be
boarded up, but the front door was hanging from its hinges. The muddied driveway revealed tire tracks. A group of zombies was gathered beneath a tree, growling and clawing at the trunk.
“Damn,” Jenni said.
Behind her, the rest of the team were standing and releasing the safety on their weapons.
“Jenni, go up top,” Bill said.
Half the zombies, around six, turned and rushed the bus.
Climbing up onto the back of the seat, Jenni shoved the hatch on top of the bus open. Bill helped raise her all the way up. Hot, grainy wind greeted her as the bus slowed down. She sat on the scorching metal roof as Bill handed up her rifle.
The zombies were closing fast, screeching, growling, clawed hands outstretched. They were more inhuman looking than ever before. The elements definitely were having an impact on them. Their skin was dark gray, their hair matted and wild, their faces shrunken. But the fresher ones that were nearly whole were startling fast, while their more mutilated counterparts staggered along behind them.
Jenni took down the front runner of the pack. The momentum of its run carried it forward and it skidded into the side of the bus with a wet sound. She fired at another zombie. It tumbled to the ground in a jumble of skirts.
Ah, damn. It was a bride.
Jenni wiped that thought away. She took aim at another zombie, a male. It reached the bus and began to bang on the driver’s window. It startled Ed and he jerked the wheel. The bus swerved sharply. Jenni found herself pitched to one side and her hair unfurled as she clung to the roof. Peering down over the edge, she saw a zombie look up at her.