In the Lone and Level Sands (18 page)

Christian smiled back. “Good. I’ll buy a
copy, but you’ve gotta sign it for me.”

Evelyn laughed as the two of them moved to
the doors on the other side of the front end.

With a pallet jack, Jordan pushed several
hundred pounds of soda out through the doors to the back room.
Ashley walked by his side. John pushed a pallet a few yards behind
him, making sure to leave space so there would be no crashes.

“I wish this hadn’t happened,” Ashley
said.

“Who would
want
something like this?”
Jordan said.

“A really horrible, twisted person,” Ashley
replied. Jordan pushed the pallet in front of one of the entrances.
It blocked the doors and nearly reached the automatic eye. He moved
out of the way so John could put another pallet behind it. Even if
the zombies broke the windows, they wouldn’t get into the
store.

“You got it?” Jordan said.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

“Just asking.”

Jordan, Ashley, and John met up with
Christian and Evelyn.

“Hey, Christian, do you think you can take
another pallet with John?” Jordan asked. “I need to call someone to
see where they are. They were supposed to come here tonight.”

“Sure thing,” Christian said. He looked at
John. “Just show me where the pallet is, and I’m glad to help.”

John sighed and led the way to the back
room.

Jordan dialed Aiden’s number, but after
several rings, he got Aiden’s voicemail.

“Fuck!”

“No answer?” Ashley asked. Jordan shook his
head.

“It’s okay, Jordan,” Evelyn said. “I’m sure
he and your parents are okay.”

“I hope you’re right. I can’t even try Drew,
his phone’s been broken for weeks.”

After the entrances were blocked and all the
additional entrances were locked, everyone gathered between the
registers and the aisles.

Ashley’s phone began vibrating and playing
“Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. She jumped, then collected herself and
answered it. After she finished on the phone, she closed it and
slipped it back into her pocket with a fragile smile.

“My mom is doing okay,” Ashley said. “She’s
safe at home.”

Jordan looked at her. “Good, I’m glad—”

Jordan’s phone rang. He pulled it out and
saw that it was Aiden.

“Aiden, are you guys okay?”

“It’s just me now, man.” Aiden sounded like
he had been crying.

“What do you mean?” Jordan asked. Ashley
looked over, worry spreading over her face.

“Drew… He went nuts and tried to attack me.
I didn’t know what to do. I tried pushing him away, but then… I had
to defend myself. What the fuck’s going on, Jordan?”

“I—I don’t know. Is Drew… dead?”

“I had my pocket knife on me, and…”

Jordan took a deep breath and winced, and
then let it out. “It’s okay. Where are you at?”

“I’m at the Ferrington gas station. I’m
alone. Are you still at work? We were coming to see you.”

“Yeah, I’m still here, with others. We can
come get you. Stay put, Aiden. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Aiden said. “There’s a good number
of ‘em out there. Be careful. Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jordan hung up and
turned to the others. “Change of plans. I need to help another
friend. He’s at the gas station. He hasn’t been bitten, but he
needs help.”

“No one’s going outside,” John said.

“Are you going to stop me from helping my
friend?”

“I don’t want those things getting through
those doors.”

“It’s not safe out there, kid,” Christian
said. Jordan frowned. “Alone, I mean. I’ll go with you. We can make
a run for it and get your friend.”

“Thanks, Christian,” Jordan said.

“Don’t mention it, kid.”

Ashley grabbed Jordan’s hand as he followed
Christian toward the south entrance. Jordan turned toward her, and
Christian stopped to wait.

“Jordan, be careful out there. Don’t get
into too much trouble.” Ashley played her emotions off with a roll
of the eyes, a sigh, and a forced laugh.

“I’ll be fine, Ash. We’ve got it covered.
Ready, Christian?”

The scruffy-faced man nodded, and pulled
back the pallet that blocked their exit. Jordan looked back at
Ashley and smiled.

“Wait, you’ll need these,” Evelyn said.
Jordan turned and Evelyn tossed her keys to him. Jordan caught
them, and nodded.

“Thanks.”

“Just come back safe,” she said.

“Will do!”

Jordan unlocked the door, and he and
Christian hurried to the outer doors.

“Let’s get your friend, kid,” Christian
said. He opened his gun to check how many shots he had left and
frowned. “I’m going to need to stop by my truck on the way. I need
ammo. That one.” He pointed, and Jordan nodded. The door whined
when it opened, and they stepped out.

The parking lot was mostly empty of cars.
The ones that remained likely belonged to people who died within
the Ferrington. Jordan and Christian exchanged nervous glances.

Several zombies shambled among the parking
spaces. Jordan and Christian hurried as fast as they could toward
the beaten-up pickup near the cart return. Several zombies saw them
and hobbled their way. They were very slow, so Jordan and Christian
weren’t too worried.

“Get in,” Christian said. “I’ll grab my
ammo, and then we can head out.”

They got into the truck with the zombies a
safe distance away. Christian rummaged through the console of the
truck, and Jordan looked through the glovebox.

Jordan looked up for a moment and saw the
zombies were coming closer. “How do you not know where it is?”

“It’s in here,” Christian said as he rooted
around in the truck. Jordan picked up a small weather radio, hardly
seeing it. He was thinking about the face Ashley made when she knew
what he’d be risking going outside the store. He thought about his
parents, hoping they were safe. Drew was one of his best friends,
and he was already gone. Jordan didn’t want to lose anyone
else.

“You should bring that,” Christian said.
Jordan returned to reality and looked at the radio in his hands.
“Jackpot!” Christian lifted a Ziploc bag filled with bullets.
“Let’s go!”

“You keep them in a Ziploc bag?” Jordan
asked, not suppressing a laugh.

“Where would you keep them?”

“Touché.”

Christian reloaded his gun, and then he and
Jordan got out and headed for the gas station. There were at least
half a dozen zombies around the pumps, and Jordan thought of all of
the gas stations he’s blown up playing
Left 4 Dead
.

They had just about entered the double doors
when a screeching of breaks and smashing of metal and glass erupted
nearby. They flipped around and saw a car that had lost a brief and
deadly battle with a tree. Despite the zombies behind them, they
stood and looked for moment.

“Jesus Christ,” Christian said.

“Let’s go!” Jordan said. Most of the zombies
had turned their attention to the wrecked car, but the closest ones
remained interested in them. Christian fired a few times, killing
the closest ones.

The gas station was small and didn’t have a
lot to offer as far as adequate hiding spaces, but it seemed to be
abandoned. Neither Jordan nor Christian heard a sound, so they felt
safe for the moment as they looked for Aiden. They found him in the
back room, shaking, his clothes and hair covered with Drew’s
blood.

“Aiden… I’m glad you’re okay,” Jordan said.
“I’m just glad you didn’t get bit.”

“I’m fine. Drew… I wish this didn’t happen
to him. What the fuck? What the fuck is going on here? Who is this,
anyway?” Aiden smoothed back his hair, and when he looked at his
hands, his eyes widened. “Fuck!”

“Aiden, it’ll be fine, try to calm down.
There’s a rack of Royals merch back at the store. If you want, you
can change shirts and wash up in the bathroom. But first we have to
get back there, it’s not safe here.”

As the three of them hurried toward the
store, Christian said, “Hey, guy, I’m sorry about your friend. It
ain’t easy, I know.”

“Thanks,” Aiden said, but it didn’t really
make him feel better.

“Name’s Christian, by the way.” Aiden smiled
a little, and not another word was said before they got back. They
entered the store, and Jordan locked each set of automatic doors
behind them.

Jordan helped the others move the pallets in
front of the door again, then went into the restroom Aiden had gone
into to change. Aiden was shirtless, washing the blood from his
arms and chest.

“It all just happened so fast,” he said. “He
just began acting really weird. Like, he wasn’t talking to me. We
were looking at some magazines, and then he dropped his and just
attacked.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Jordan said. “I
wish it didn’t have to be him.” Jordan leaned against the bathroom
wall, stared off into nothing. Aiden didn’t say anything, but
finished washing up and put a new shirt on. “Well, guess we better
get back with the others. We need to gather some food and shit to
take upstairs with us.”

“All right, man.” Aiden smiled. “Thanks for
coming for me, Jord.”

“Hey, man, you would’ve done the same for
me. No worries.”

They left the bathroom and met up with the
others. Jordan approached Christian; he had been meaning to ask him
something since the parking lot.

“Christian?”

“What’s up, kid?”

“I was just wondering. You could have just
left in your truck when we went out there, and left us all
here.”

“Yeah, what’s your point?” Christian
said.

“Why didn’t you?”

“You guys needed my help. Besides, there’s
nothing for me out there. My parents are dead, and as far as I
know, I have no family.”

“I’m sorry, Christian,” Jordan said.

“It’s part of life. Death happens. Right
now, I want to help you all, if I can.”

“That means a lot.”

“Hey, I wonder if there’s any helpful info
on the news,” Christian said.

“Oh yeah.” Jordan pulled the radio from his
pocket, turned it on, and tried every station, but the only thing
he heard was static.

24

In the Wilderness

The fog set in before they reached Astoria.
It was still bright out, but everything was shrouded in white.
Layne couldn’t make out anything but the tall, dark pillars that
were the trees. The survivors stayed close to each other. Layne
tried to keep them going in a straight line, moving only to avoid a
tree or bush before getting back on track. He had no compass, and
they needed to keep north.

“Does anyone have the time?” Layne
asked.

“That reminds me,” Dex said. “My watch, it
uses satellites, so it’s never wrong.”

“That’s great, Dex.”

“Only it’s not working. And it hasn’t been
since I woke up.”

“It was in a plane crash, Dex.”

“No, it works,” Dex said. He showed Layne
the watch. “But it has no signal.”

“It’s 4:45,” an older man said.

“Thanks…”

“Warren,” the man said.

“Thanks, Warren.” Layne had expected to be
in Astoria by now.

“Are we lost?” Katie asked Layne quietly.
“The pilot said we could get there by afternoon, but the sun will
be down soon.”

“I don’t know,” Layne said. “I’m thinking,
I’m
hoping
we’re just moving slowly.”

Layne didn’t want to spend another night in
the forest. He wasn’t sure what the woods held. While awake and
traveling they were fine, but at night, with everyone sleeping, bad
things could happen.

“You know, we hadn’t even talked about
having kids,” Paul said to Jessi. She was leading Kara by the
hand.

“We haven’t talked about a lot of things,”
Jessi said.

“Exactly!” Jessi shot him a glare, letting
him know that she didn’t mean that in a good way. “Well, what I
mean is… I’m just saying, don’t get too attached to this girl. I
mean, I’m sure she’s got family somewhere, and she’ll go stay with
them once they come get her from Astoria.”

“Paul, just shut up, will you? Let’s just
stay focused on right now.” Paul fell silent.

“You don’t talk much,” Layne said to the
younger man from the front of the plane. Layne couldn’t remember
him saying anything at all since they met.

“Not much to say. I’m Kyle.”

“Well, Kyle,” Layne said, “everything is
going to be okay once we get to Astoria.”

“Shut the fuck up. No it isn’t.”

Layne didn’t know how to respond. Kyle
sighed. “I know you’re trying to keep us all calm, but I’m not
calm. And I’m not easily bullshitted. I know once we get to
Astoria, things are just going to get worse. And judging by how
you’re carrying yourself, so do you.”

The ground below changed. Layne looked down
and saw pavement. Dex reached it next, tripped on the edge, and
fell. Lacie laughed. Dex’s wasn’t hurt, save for his pride. Lacie
helped him up.

“It’s a road,” Layne said. He looked along
the big gap in the trees. The road curved north just a few yards
away.

“So we just follow this to Astoria?” Warren
asked.

“Yeah,” Layne said. “We’ll keep on the side
of the road in case any cars pass by. Maybe we can even hitch a
ride there!” Some of the survivors looked pleased by the thought,
but Layne looked at Kyle, and Kyle’s face said he knew better.

It was getting darker, and the fog wasn’t
letting up. A small group of houses dotted the road, which opened
up into the town shortly after. The houses were little more than
big, angular monoliths in the endless white. There wasn’t a soul in
sight.

“Hello?” Dex shouted. “Is anybody out
there?”

“Quiet,” Layne said. Dex looked at him.

“What the hell for? We’re here, man! We made
it!”

“Just… wait, a minute.”

There was a noise in the distance. It
sounded very far away, and very quiet.

“What is that?” Dex asked.