The First Days

"Pray that they don't," Katie answered.



Then, much to their relief, the road swerved around a corner and put the view of the zombie throng behind them.



She couldn't help but turn around in her seat and stare out the back window. Jack and Jason were doing the same thing. The dog looked at her and gave a light woof and Jenni wasn't sure what that meant or if it was comforting.



"This cannot get any worse!"



All three J's immediately turned their attention back to the road in front of them. The truck was slowing down.



A narrow bridge lay before them deftly blocked by a large overturned farm truck and the large haul of hay bales it had been dragging behind it.



Inside the overturned truck cab, two zombies where flailing against the glass, going wild as they spotted potential meals. The driver was badly mauled and was not much a threat due to the severe lack of one arm and half of its other arm. The female zombie lying virtually on top of him with only a throat wound visible was a bit feistier.



"Bet he was trying to save her and she ate him," Jason said.



Jenni just kept blinking. There was no way across the bridge.



Next to her Katie was rhythmically banging her head against the pale white knuckles of her hands.



"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck," she was muttering.



"We have to go back," Jenni said softly.



"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck," Katie kept on.



"Maybe we could wait until the zombie army passes by the intersection back there, then hightail it back to the gun store," Jason suggested.



"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck"



Jenni looked behind the truck, then up ahead. There was no choice.



"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckaduck," Katie finally finished and looked up. "Okay, do we sit here and wait for-"



The female zombie finally managed to locate an opening in the bashed up cab and was squirming out.



"That answers that," Katie decided.



"Woof," Jack said. He was staring at the back window.



"Uh…we have zombies," Jason said looking out the rear window.



Jenni whipped around to see three old women, well, what had used to be old women, still in their flowered summer dresses, running toward them.



Behind them was what looked like two field workers.



"I think we picked up…um…a zombie parade," Jason said mildly.



"Probably from some of the farmhouses back there."



"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck," Katie said as she began to turn the truck around on the narrow road. It took some maneuvering and long enough that they ended up with really scary old women zombies banging on their windows.



Jenni flipped off the safety on her gun and tried to internally steady her nerves as the female zombie from the wreck finally wormed her way out and started for the truck.



"Go," Jenni shouted.



The truck finally was turned all the way around and it roared down the road, effectively taking out two of the farm workers.



"Tell Ralph," Katie said.



So Jenni did.



Ralph's voice was somber when he answered after hearing the situation.



"Take FM 195. You'll end up in a town named Ashley Oaks. They're doing a lot of construction there. Fixing up the town. Renovations of the downtown.



Get there and see if you can hole up with a group of survivors there. I've found some chatter on channel 9 few minutes ago. Tune into that channel.



Trucker made it to Ashley Oaks and he put out the word there is survivors there. I was hoping you were going to make it home, but you better try for them. They're closer."



Jenni looked at Katie hopefully and Katie nodded. "Ralph, we're gonna try for it. That's a big ol' ten-four, big buddy!"



Jason winced at his stepmother's words and Jenni wrinkled her nose at him.



"Get the map. Check it out."



Jason immediately grabbed it at Katie's command. He studied it, measuring with his fingers, looking at the gas gauge and calculating in his head. "It'll be really tight."



"As usual," Katie sighed.



Jenni looked at Katie worriedly for a second, then grabbed the CB. "Uh, Ralph? Please tell me…the survivors in Ashley Oaks…they're not in a mall…right?"



Katie's laugher rang out and Jenni pouted at her.



"Why don't you just ask if their leader is a black man?" Katie grinned at her.



"Nope and nope," Ralph's voice came through, bemused but worried.



"Keep us informed. I'm worried sick."



"Ten-Four. Can and will do. Over and out," Jenni said trying to sound like she wasn't scared out of her mind. But every time she looked at the gas gauge…



She looked across the valley at the distant dark cloud of dead flesh moving across the road in the distance.



"I have a feeling we can't sit still. I'm gonna just go for it and turn onto FM 195," Katie said as the sign announcing the junction with their new destination flashed by.



Considering the scarceness of the tree cover, Jenni had to agree. They were some distance away. Hopefully, they could just turn up onto the new road and disappear over the hilltop.



The truck turned and sped up the hill. It was a long, steady climb and Jenni couldn't help but turn and stare out the back window. The shaggy brown hair of her stepson and the back of the German Shepherd's head were the frame for her view. The dark ant-like zombies were quite scarce now.



Probably the stragglers of the bigger group.



The red truck crested the tall hill and Jenni could clearly see the entire valley and the hills beyond, painfully beautiful, serene, and majestic. And then they were descending the other side.



Jason turned around white-faced.



"What?" Jenni asked.



"Didn't you see?"



"Uh…no."



"The tail end, maybe ten or twenty, turned onto this road."



Jenni rested her forehead on the back of her seat and sighed.



From beside her came a steady string of…"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck"



2. Salvation This Way Comes



Katie couldn't stop cursing, nor did she want to. This was getting ridiculous. She just couldn't believe how downhill their plan had gone. But every time she started to curse herself for leaving the safety of Ralph's hunting store, she would catch a glimpse of the kid with the shaggy brown hair in the backseat of the truck and knew it was worth it.



Jason's rescue hadn't just been important to Jenni, but to Katie as well.



She had felt helpless after saving Jenni. Yeah, they had survived, but she had failed too many. Lydia, the kid at the convenience store…how many others had she bypassed without notice?



And now they were speeding at top speeds toward a possible camp of survivors while a throng of zombie kids with their parents and teachers jogged along behind them in an unrelenting pursuit of flesh. Her flesh. And Jason's. And Jenni's.



She glanced back at the dog that looked back at her questioningly. If they wanted Jack or not that had yet to be seen, but they wouldn't get him if she had her way. Jack went back to chewing on some jerky Jason had given him, eyeing Katie suspiciously.



She looked away from the rear view mirror and at the straight shot of road they were on. The terrain was flattening out a bit. They were heading westward and the hills were fading into the background. Slowly, their destination shimmered out of the horizon.



Tall red buildings hovered over a modest expanse of town. Katie could clearly see the downtown area partially ringed by tall red-bricked buildings that seemed out of place with the flatness of the rest of the town. The farm road they were traveling would lead them straight into the center of town.



But where were the survivors?



Time to find out.



Katie grabbed the CB and flipped it to channel 9. "Survivors in Ashley Oaksl, this is Bright Red Truck heading your way. We're a party of three with a dog companion."



"Bright Red Truck, what direction are you heading in from? FM 195 or Route 6?" It was a woman's voice. Calm. Reassuring.



"Ashley Oaks, we're coming in from the east on FM 1905. We're running low on fuel and have company taking up the rear. They are probably a few miles back but they don't seem to get tired."



"We understand. Keep on your course and when you reach the wall, get out of your truck and we'll lift you over."



"Wall?" Jenni and Jason said at the same time.



"I don't think we understand," Katie said with some confusion.



"You will. Just be ready." The woman's voice cut out.



The truck continued to barrel down the road and Katie felt the truck give a little shudder. The needle on the gas gauge now sat below the line.



"This is going to be close," Jenni whispered.



"As usual," Katie answered.



The tall red buildings, very retro, very 1930s began to loom larger. The rest of the town began to filter by. A smattering of rundown houses, buildings from the 1970s boarded up and closed, empty car lots, and abandoned gas stations. Katie estimated that the center of town was maybe four blocks away now. It loomed large and a little intimidating. They could now see that three of the tall buildings hovered over what looked like a construction site. Several large trucks appeared to ring it and an enormous yellow machine with a long mechanical arm with a large scoop at the end was perched on an enormous truck loaded up with dirt.