Emperor of a Dead World (17 page)

Brad jumped in, started the engine and slammed his foot on the gas. The creature was standing on the pump’s power cord and the plug came out of the lighter as the departing car knocked the creature to the ground. As Brad sped away, the passenger door slammed shut and Lisa accidently shot off another round through the roof of the Eldorado.

“What the hell,” he screamed at her. “Drop that gun.”

She dropped it and Brad braced himself when the gun hit the floor. Fortunately, it did not fire.

He stopped about a hundred yards from the gas station and turned to her. “Are you alright?”

“I think so,” she whimpered.

“Did you have to shoot my car?” he asked as he picked up the gun.

“I’m sorry,” she replied through her tears. She was trembling.

He took a deep breath but refrained from making any more comments.

“Could we go please,” she beseeched as she watched the creatures come toward them.

“Not yet.”

“What do you mean not yet?” she exclaimed in confusion.

“I have to go back and get my stuff.”

“Just leave it,” she demanded in disbelief. The things were getting closer.

“I will need that pump later and I do not want to take the time to try and find another one.” He pulled a little further away.

She gazed at him with her mouth hanging wide open.

He waited until they were a little closer then punched the gas and raced over to his pump. When he got next to it, he opened his door, grabbed the pump and pulled the hose out of the underground tank. While he was shaking out the excess gas, Lisa screamed. The creatures were quickly coming back. He glanced at them, gave the hose another quick shake then tossed it and the pump on the floor at his feet. Without another word, he sped off up the highway.

Chapter 15

Neither one spoke for several minutes. Brad was mad that she had shot a hole through the roof of his car and Lisa was mad that he had risked their lives for that stupid pump.

Brad was the first to relent. “Sorry, I guess I can stop at a dealership and pick up another car. They have good sales this time of the year.”

She smiled and looked over. “I have a little money.”

“You realize if I had not gone back for the pump I would have had to risk going into a store to find a new one?”

“Yes, I know. You did the right thing.”

He turned his eyes back to the road and silently reflected on their near mishap. Finally, he said, “How about telling me your story?”

“I guess,” she shrugged. “I will tell it if I can.”

“That’s alright, you don’t have to.”

“No, I want to tell you. You have a right to know who I am.”

“Whenever you are ready,” he shrugged in return.

“I might just as well tell it now. There is nothing else to do.”

Brad agreed.

“I have lived in Santa Barbara in the same house with my parents and older brother my entire life,” she began. “My mother’s family lived in Ventura and my father’s lived in Goleta. That is why I was in Goleta when you found me. My brother wanted to go to our grandparent’s house because it was a familiar place. They were not there of course. They had been with us in Santa Barbara.” She paused for a moment after saying this. “Sorry, I’m jumping ahead. Just give me a minute.”

“Take your time.”

“When it all started,” she resumed once she had regained her composure, “I did not believe it was real. It was like a movie or something. It was not until my father gathered all our friends and relatives and explained that we needed to band together before I began to understand the real danger. He said it was the only way to stay safe.”

Sounds like a smart man,
Brad thought, but he did not interrupt.

“I really do not know all the details. The TV no longer worked and they always whispered around me. My father only told me there was a virus that made people do evil things. He explained that is why we had locked ourselves in and why the men took turns going out for food.” She stopped again and sighed. “One day my uncle came back with a bullet wound. He said the people were going crazy. The ones with guns would try to kill you for what you had and the sick ones would just try to kill you. After hearing this, my father gave me and my brother backpacks with supplies. He even gave my bother a gun and said if anything happened, we were to grab our packs and run. He also told my brother to kill anyone that tried to stop us.” She had to stop for a moment. The memory was too painful. “The next day one of the people with us got wounded on a run. A few days later, he went crazy and started attacking everyone. They opened the door and tried to push him out but more crazies came in. My father shouted for us to run. When my brother heard this, he grabbed me and his girlfriend then pulled us out the back. Another guy, my brother’s friend, came along.” She put her hands over her face. “When I looked back I saw my father fighting with those vicious things. He went down and…” For several minutes, all she could do was cry. Finally she continued. “At first we went into deserted houses, lived off whatever was there, stayed as long as we could and then moved on when the food ran out.” She stopped again. “I don’t know how much time passed, how long I was with my family and how long we were on the run. It seemed like years. We finally made it to my grandparent’s house and when the food ran out there, we moved on. The day before,” she looked at him then out the window. “The day before I met you, no that is wrong. A few days before I met you we went into Costco. When did I meet you? Was it yesterday? I do not even know. Anyway, we lived in Costco for a few days, a week, I do not know. We found a supply of food that someone had hidden in the back, enough to last a long time. We did not know what happened to the people that hid the food and we did not care. This food was now ours. The… the night before you came along the people came back. They said the food was theirs and they wanted it. My brother asked where they had hid it and they could not say. He said they were liars and he would not give them the food. Then they,” she stopped and breathed in a broken sigh. “Then they shot him. Just like that. Just like a dog. My brother’s friend told us to run and he charged at them. Well, we ran. We ran but I still heard the shot. I did not stop running even though the other girl did. I pushed open the door then turned back and hid behind some boxes under a shelf. I think the men shot the other girl. Laurie was her name. They ran outside looking for me because the open door fooled them. When they got outside the sick people must have been everywhere. I heard screaming and gunshots. They tried to come back inside and I heard more gunshots. I do not remember anything else because I fainted. When I awoke, I looked around and no one was there, no one and no thing. I was very thirsty so I drank some water then headed outside but those hideous people were everywhere. I tried to go back inside but now they were there too. I turned and started to run. I did not know what else to do. When you came along, I thought you were one of the bad men that had killed my brother. That is why I did not want to get in the car with you.

“Why did you? Get in the car that is.”

“I didn’t have much choice. I would much rather be shot than torn apart. Besides, I could tell right away you were not like the bad people.”

“How did you know?”

“You were clean.”

Brad was relieved he had had a shower after his recent ordeal. He wondered what she would have thought had she seen him the morning before.

“That was harder to tell than I thought it would be,” she sighed.

“Try to put it out of your mind. Are you hungry?”

“I don’t want to stop.” She looked in the back seat and grabbed some cookies. “These will do.”

“Eventually we will have to stop.”

“Do we have to get out of the car?”

“Yes,” he laughed. “I have to get gas.”

“Now,” she asked with fright.

“No not now, but soon.”

“I will not get out of the car.”

“We are going to make it.”

She looked unsure.

“Look, I can handle these things. I took on hundreds and survived. I told you how I walked around with them more than once.”

“They destroyed your house.”

“Yes they did but in the end I killed them all.”

“You had the big guy’s help.”

“Now I have your help.”

She gave a slight laugh. “A lot of help I will be. I will probably just shoot your car again.”

“I will teach you. You will be fine.”

“I’m really scared.”

He looked at her with compassion. “I promise I will protect you.”

She turned and stared out the window.

They drove in silence for a while then Brad started messing with the Radio. After scanning through the menu, he grinned and played ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. This made her smile.

“They had no idea what a hard day was,” she said.

“I don’t know,” he chuckled. “They had to run for their lives from crazy girls.”

He was relieved he had found music she liked. She first smiled then she laughed and for almost half an hour, they both sang the classic songs of the Beatles. When he pulled off the highway, she did not even notice. She was too busy singing ‘With a little help from my Friends’ at the top of her lungs. When Brad stopped the car, Lisa stopped singing.

“What are you doing?”

“We need gas,” he said. “I didn’t get that much before.”

She turned off the music and quickly looked in every direction around them. Brad told her not to worry then picked up the pump at his feet and started to get out of the car.

She grabbed his arm. “Don’t get out.”

“It’s okay. Just keep a lookout this time.”

“Are you saying it was my fault we were attacked?”

“No. I am saying I need you to keep watch.” He got out and walked around to the other side of the car.

She looked for the gun but Brad had taken it with him this time.

“Give me the gun,” she demanded.

“Just keep watching,” he said as he put the hose in the tank. “Plug this in the lighter.

She stared at him, her eyes filled with fear.

“Please, just plug it in.”

She complied and the pump started.

While the tank filled, Brad was on high alert. Lisa was so scared she was making him nervous. After a minute, he saw the first creature.

“Pull the plug,” he said.

“What,” she asked with wide eyes.

“I said pull the plug, it’s time to go.”

Another one showed up. Lisa still did not pull the plug so he reached in and unplugged it then quickly pulled the hose out of the tank. He now came around to the other side of the car and threw everything in the back. As he closed the door, three more arrived.

Lisa was frantic. “Let’s get out of here,” she demanded.

Brad started the car and took off up the freeway. He drove about two miles then started to get off again.

“What are you doing,” she screamed.

“We overreacted.”

“So, what are you doing?”

“I’m hungry and we still need gas.”

“We have enough gas,” she retorted as she reached in the back. “Let’s eat snacks. We can stop at a house later and have a good meal.”

She looked so scared that he stayed on the highway and ate chips. Once she realized he was not going to stop she sat back and fell asleep. He drove until he was sure she was out then headed down the off-ramp.

“What are you doing?” she said when she felt the car slow down.

“I need gas,” he said as he pulled up to a station.

She looked at the gage and reluctantly consented.

The station was clear but there were a few down the street so he motioned for her to keep quiet. While filling up, a couple wandered by but Brad saw them first and warned Lisa not to scream. They looked over but he had already ducked behind the car so they continued on their way without seeing him. Once the tank was full, he walked around to put his equipment away. When he did this, the creatures saw him and came over. He put his stuff in the back seat then grabbed his sword and shield. It was time to show off and prove he could protect her.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he moved toward the creatures.

“I need a little practice.”

“Come back here,” she pleaded. “You are going to get killed.”

He winked at her and kept walking. When he got to them, he swung hard and severed the head of the first one. When the second one came at him, he stabbed it straight in the face then kicked it off the sword. As this one fell, three more arrived. He smiled at Lisa then noticed two more coming from the other direction. He ran at the first three and with three swings, took them down. He now turned and jogged over to the other two. When he got close, he spun around and split the head of the closest one but he lost his balance when it fell. Before he was ready, the other one grabbed his shirt from behind.