The man who had just stepped out of the truck didn’t look threatening to Britney. Her step-brother, Liam, wasn’t quite as sure. They’d been hiding in the service station for weeks. Mostly people came through, filled their engines with gas, pilfered what stock they could find, and moved on. However this guy drove religiously to the station for three days in a row and made off with one of the tankers each time, strapping his motorcycle to the truck each time so he could return the next day.
“If we don’t approach him soon, we’ll be stuck here forever,” hissed Britney at her older brother.
He silenced her by putting his fingers to his lips. A star of the university basketball team at six foot five, Liam was reasonably confident if things got physical he could take the middle-aged man out. Britney could see Liam measuring up the older man.
“Haven’t you noticed he never brings a gun? Never comes with other people. Never comes in to steal what little food we have left for Grandma.”
“She’s your grandmother, not mine,” growled Liam, reminding her that they weren't related by blood.
“We should talk to him.”
“It’s not safe,” snapped Liam.
His head felt achy, and he was experiencing hot flashes.
“It’s not safe here with you either,” said Britney tersely.
She immediately wished she hadn’t.
Liam’s hand went to the tear in the lower left leg of his jeans. “I keep thinking how many times we’ve been held at gunpoint and threatened and abused by people stumbling across this service station and none of those fuckers pulled the trigger. I go out the back for one fucking beer and some time to think, only to find one of those creatures lurking around. Clearly it was as hungry as we were,” recalled Liam for the umpteenth time, still flummoxed by his bad luck.
There was no need for Britney to reiterate that the creature had taken a sizeable bite of flesh from Liam. The wound was an angry, raised bleeding welt, weeping with puss.
“I still can’t believe I managed to stay alive through all the initial chaos and violence, only to get bitten by a fucking zombie. It’s fucking bullshit. I’m going to be one of them and suddenly I’m scared. Really scared. Scared that maybe there’s no God or no heaven. Scared I’ll be trapped in a body and unable to communicate. Scared I won’t register anything or anyone.”
Britney was shocked to see Liam crying. They weren’t the closest of step-siblings. With Liam being a senior at college, Britney’s clique of freshmen friends thought him a complete heartthrob. His athletic physique and dark black crew cut contrasting with ocean blue eyes drew a lot of female attention.
“Liam, I know… We’ll deal with that. But for now, this man seems harmless. One day soon he’ll complete his truck collection and won’t ever come back here, and we don’t know how long it’ll be before we even see anyone else. He’s older. He looks like he knows what’s going on. He looks as if he can help. He must also be taking those trucks somewhere. I bet it’s safer than here.”
Liam sat in silence on his haunches, rocking back and forth trying to control his temper.
“There’s no fucking cure, Britney.” He was understandably fixed on the “I’m going to turn into a fucking zombie” topic.
“We don’t know that, and even if there’s not, he might be able to make sure you don’t turn into one of them.”
“What if he won’t talk? Won’t help us?” asked Liam stonily.
“Then I’ll make him,” asserted Britney. “I have my ways.”
By now the stranger had loaded up his bike behind the cab of the truck and was preparing to start off. It was unclear if he was somehow hotwiring the trucks, or if he had actually found the keys, but either way, they heard the truck roar to life. She raced across the parking lot out of Robert’s line of sight and began to climb the ladder at the back of the tanker.
What the hell was she doing? wondered Liam. As her plan dawned on him, he raced after her with equal stealth.
She was going to get herself killed.
“Let me come with you!”
“You can’t. You won’t make it. You don’t have the energy or strength to hold on.”
“You don’t know that you do, either,” protested Liam.
“No, but I’ve a better chance. Stay here with gran – Peggy. I’ll come back as soon as he gets to wherever he’s going and I’ve explained everything to him.”
“What if you don’t come back? I won’t know how to track you.”
For once his tone was completely that of a concerned and overprotective brother. Britney hugged him hard.
“If I don’t come back, you, me and Peggy will all end up the in the same place anyway,” she answered sadly. “We have to do something. We’re almost out of food and gran’s in bad shape.”
The truck began to pull away and Britney felt her eyes welling with tears as she left the last two souls she knew on earth in the dust.