Outbreak The Living (The Outbreak Series) (11 page)

After we have been on 77N for a while, Mack decides to stop at the next rest stop. It’s been very slow going. We have had to stop and push cars off to the side of the road so we can go by. Looking around, I see more of it. Cars smashed into each other. People leaving doors open and must have run for it. There are kids toys scattered across the road. Suitcases left behind.

Mack slows down and takes the ramp to the rest area. There are cars and semis parked all over the place. I don’t see anyone alive or dead walking around. He pulls up, not even bothering to park in a space, next to the building. The windows are broken out; trash cans are tipped over and the contents are blowing all over. Grabbing the handle, I open it and the humid air rushes in. It instantly makes my skin sticky.

“Get out and stretch and whatever else you gotta do.” Looking around, I have an uneasy feeling about being here. I would have just as soon stopped in the middle of the highway, but the guys thought there might be drinks here. “Just be careful, just because it seems safe doesn’t mean it is.” Hopping out of the truck, I open the back door. I head to the front. It does feel good to walk, my knee is a little swollen and this should help it.

Mack and Todd head to the vending area to see what is left, if anything.  I am sure it has been picked over. Looking over to where the restrooms are, I really need to go. Reaching down to my hip, I make sure the safety is clicked off and that my knife is where it should be. Making my way over, I have to walk around stuff that’s on the ground.  To the left there are a few bodies. I am not going to walk over, but they are pretty torn up.  Making it to the doors, I stop and listen and look around to make sure I do not see or hear anything. Looking for something to keep the door open before I slowly open the door.

The smell hits me first. Trying to hold my breakfast down, I bend and put my head between my legs. Feeling a bit better, I stand up and walk in. There is only one thing that can make that kind of smell. Going to the stalls, I slowly open each one. At the last one, I know whatever is causing that smell is in there.  Opening the door, I was not expecting just a dead person. A real dead person, looking at her she’s been shot, not chewed on. She was a young girl around 15 or 16. Her shirt is torn and she is missing her pants. There’s blood between her legs. As it dawns on me what happened, I shiver. Pulling my gun, I shut the stall door and go take care of business.

Walking to the sinks, I splash some cold water on my face. Damn, does it feel good! Hearing something outside, I shut the water off and walk to the door to listen. There are three big guys pointing guns at Mack and Todd. I hear them ask if there is anyone else with them. Mack tells them that it is just them. Shit, this isn’t good. Strangers are just as bad as the zombies anymore.

Walking to the back of the restrooms, I crack the door and peek out. Not seeing anything, I head to the side of the building. I am behind the strangers now.  I hope Mack sees that I am here, and he does. He shakes his head no at me. Like I am going to just hide and let them get shot? Looking around, it is nice and wooded. I should be able to get closer and take at least two of them out. I make my way closer to them by going from tree to tree, making sure I stay hidden. I am as close as I can get without being seen. The one on the left is grinning and talking to them. “Why you looking at the restrooms? Did you see that pretty little thing in there? Yeah, we had some fun with her,” he says. Looking over at the other two, now I am pissed. Grabbing my 9mm, I aim and take out the two on the right. They fall before they ever know what hit them. The big one turns quickly and goes to raise his gun, but he stops because I’m already on him.

The guys come running up behind him. Todd raises his gun. “NO,” I shout at him. “I’ve got this. Don’t you guys do anything." Walking up to the guy, I put the gun to his forehead.

“Lady, I don’t know you. Put that gun down and you and I can get out of here,” he says. I hear Mack swearing behind the guy.  Smiling.

“You filthy piece of shit! Shut the hell up!” I say angrily. “Get on your knees,” I tell him. It takes him a minute, but he does. “You bastard! You raped that little girl and you laugh about it,” I say looking at him.

“Oh, she was just a stray, she wasn’t anybody,” he says.

Taking the gun, I put it to his temple. Looking back at Mack, he doesn’t move. I think he knows I need this. “That girl was a daughter, a sister to someone, you asshole!” I never let him say anything else. I fire and brain matter splatters all over the ground. Lowering my gun, I take a step back.

I am not going to be nice anymore, you threaten my family and friends I’m going to kill you. Mack walks over and puts his arm around me. “Sorry, Mack, but I had to do it. I saw that little girl and I wasn’t going to lose you guys.” Mack squeezes me and we head to the truck. 

Todd looks over and grins at me. “You’re one tuff bitch now Egypt,” he says. Laughing we make it to the truck.

“So do we leave, or stay a bit,” I ask looking over at Mack.

He looks to be thinking and finally says, “We better get going in case those guys weren’t alone. We should meet up with the others here in a couple hours.” He gets into the truck.  We all pile in and take off.

"Guys, I’m not sorry about that. What those guys did is heinous and they deserved to die,” I say looking out the window. 

“We know that, Egypt. I just didn’t want you in danger is all,” Mack says with a grim look on his face.  We fall into a comfortable silence and watch out the windows as we pass the stopped cars and trucks. It is no better than before the rest stop.  Todd is doing some crossword puzzle thing and not really paying attention. Sliding my hand over the armrest, I lace our hands together. Mack squeezes and gives me a sexy smile. Turning my head, I close my eyes for a while.

“Egypt, Egypt, wake up were almost to the meeting place,” Mack says laughing.  Wow, I must have slept more than I wanted to. Well, at least I can keep watch tonight first. Looking around, I see we are in South Carolina, I see we are coming up on Greenville. We have another twenty miles to the exit. It would not take long, but we are way under the speed limit. Mack and Todd are talking about what to look for and that the others should already be there. They both stop talking then Mack looks over at me.

“Egypt, I think we should stay the night and get an early start tomorrow,” he says.  I want to get home, but that would be stupid to drive at night. Too many things could happen.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. It would be the safest that’s for sure.” We get off at the Greenville exit. Mack takes a left and then a right. We stop when we see Sal’s truck. It is a normal house not too big.  We pull to the curb and park. There is movement inside the house and the door flies open with Sal jogging out.

He stops at my door and pulls me out of the truck with a big bear hug. “Oh, Shit! I’m so sorry about what happened in Atlanta, Egypt.” Looking up at him after he puts me down I take a step back.

Looking over at Mack. “Mack, I’ll meet you inside. I need to talk to Sal,” I tell him. I can tell that Mack doesn’t like it but does as I ask. I wait until they grab our gear and head inside. “Oh, and tell that little bitch if she comes outside I’ll shoot her in the head!” I turn my back on Mack, walking to the back of the truck I pull the tailgate down and hop up. Sal slides next to me.

“Egypt, about Sally,” he starts.

“Just shut up, Sal! I get why you went to get her, I really do. But it doesn’t stop it from hurting," I say looking at him. “You and I were a couple remember. How do you think it makes me feel?” When he doesn’t answer, I keep going.

“That stupid girl has made you stupid in the head. OR you just want to get laid by that young thing. It doesn’t matter which it is, but I want you to know a few things. One, I’m never going to trust you again. Two, don’t ever say you loved me, because you don’t do that to someone you love.”

Standing up, I face him. He doesn’t see it coming when I draw back and punch him square in the face. His head moves a little bit to the left and his lips are bleeding. Drops of fresh blood are hitting his shirt. Feeling better, I do not let him say anything. Turning to leave, “One last thing. You hurt my family and I will kill you!” OK, that is one down and one left.

Storming off, I get to the door of the house. Opening up, I go inside looking around until I see what I want. Sally. I make direct eye contact with her and she throws her hands up backing up. That does not stop me, I head straight for her. Grabbing her by the throat, I slam her up against the wall.  I see Todd grab hold of Tara and takes her out of the room. “Let me the fuck go, Egypt. You’re fucking crazy,” she says, her voice hitching a bit.

Slamming her head back against the wall, she shuts up. “I’m going to tell you right now. YOU WILL NEVER GO OUT ON A RUN AGAIN. How stupid do you think you were taking your kid into the city? You stupid bitch! Because of your stupidity I was raped so that your little girl didn’t get the same. YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME OR I WILL PUT A BULLET IN YOUR BRAIN!” Her eyes get huge, but she does not say anything. Mack comes up from behind me and pulls me off Sally. “OK, OK, Mack," I say to him. He lets me go but stays behind me.

Sally is rubbing her neck and she just won’t leave well enough alone. “She’s crazy, someone needs to put a muzzle on her,” she spits. I lunge at her and tackle her to the ground.  Straddling her, I let my fists fly. I get one good punch to her mouth. I think I knocked out a few teeth. Mack drags me back and keeps hold of me. Mack looks over to Sal and he’s helping Sally up. He does not seem real happy with her.

“Little girl, you better stop while you’re ahead, believe me when I say, she’ll kill you,” Mack says harshly. She grabs her mouth crying, but doesn’t say anything. He turns to Sal and he just walks away. Mack takes me into the kitchen and gets me a drink. Taking it from him I open it up and take a long drink.

“Mack, what room are we taking? I don’t want to be around the others.”

Nodding, Mack grabs a few drinks and some meat and cheese, he takes me by the hand and takes the stairs two at a time. We go to the only door on the right and go in. It’s the master bedroom with a bath off to the right. I hear him shut the door and turn the lock. He walks over to the bed and throws our gear down at the bottom. Finding a chair, I sit down and look outside. It feels good to get all the bottled stuff out. Hearing water, I get up to see what Mack’s doing.  Heading into the bathroom he’s filling up the Jacuzzi tub.  A bath would be wonderful, causing me to raise my eyebrows and smile. He smiles, walking over to me he slowly bends down and kisses me gently on the lips. “For you,” he says as he slowly walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Walking over to the tub, I sit down and watch the water fill slowly.  Moving my neck around, I feel the sore muscles there. Standing up, I slowly take my clothes off. It’s chilly in the room. Stepping in the hot sudsy water, I cannot believe how good it feels. Looking down I run my fingertips over the bruises on my thighs.  Slowly lowering myself in the water, I put my head back and relax. Finding a razor I make quick use of it. I also make quick work washing my hair. When I am finished, I lay back and close my eyes.

I do not know how long I have been like that when the door slowly opens and Mack walks in.  Opening my eyes, I watch him take off his clothes. Moving forward, I make room for him to get in with me. Mack settles behind me, so I lean back against him. He is all hard muscle, closing my eyes he starts rubbing my shoulders. Groaning, “My God does that feel amazing.” 

We stay in here for about twenty minutes. “Egypt, you need to eat and we need to get to bed. It’s going to be an early morning and a long day. I’m going to get you home tomorrow night,” he whispers in my ear. He moves to stand up behind me, stepping out of the tub. Looking at him, that man has a body to die for and it is all mine. He is not shy at all and does not seem to care about me seeing him this way. Standing up, I wait for him to bring me a towel. I notice him looking at my wet body. I know when he sees the bruises. He doesn’t say anything, but I can see the anger in his eyes.

"They’ll heal, Mack,” I say softly, looking away from him. He walks over and wraps me gently in the towel never taking his eyes off my face.

“I know they will. We will get through this together." He kisses me on the forehead and we head into the bedroom. He digs around in his bag and throws me a t-shirt of his. Walking over to my bag, I grab my undies and slide them on. Letting the towel drop, I put the t-shirt on.  I leave my hair down. It is just damp so it should be dry by morning. Sitting on the bed he brings over the food and we eat in silence. Once we are finished, I grab everything and put it on the dresser. Mack is pulling the blankets back when I walk over and I slide under the covers. Mack is not too far behind me. He turns off the lights and we just lay there listening to the other guys downstairs. He moves me a little so that I am cuddled up next to him with my head on his chest.

“Mack, can I ask you something?” Moving my hand to rest on his abs.

“Shoot,” is all he murmers.

“Do you think I went overboard today?”  Looking up at him it is kind of hard to see his face.

“No, I think you needed to do it. Egypt, they need to know who is in charge now, not later,” he says. He tightens his arm around me.  Snuggling in closer I feel my eyes close and sleep takes me away.

I start to wake up from someone running their hands down my rib cage. Opening my eyes, the sun is shining through the window. Groaning I pull the covers over my head. I hear chuckling and know Mack is having fun with this.

“Baby, we need to get up and out of here. We’re going home,” he says sleepily. He pulls the covers halfway off us. Getting up on my elbow I bend down and kiss him.  He chuckles. “What’s that for?” he asks. 

Sitting up, I smile. “Thank you for last night, Mack.” He looks at me kinda funny.  Getting up, I walk across the bed and hop down. Walking into the bathroom, I turn the shower on and take a quick shower. As I’m getting out, Mack comes in. “Egypt, hurry and get dressed. There’s tons of zombies outside and they’re trying to get in,” he says. Looking up at him I can see he’s really worried about this.

“OK Mack, give me 5 minutes,” I say over my shoulder as I run into the bedroom. Grabbing my bag, I pull out the clothes I will need and start putting them on. Once that is done, I stop dead still. Listening, I can hear screaming and moaning. I hurry to get my boots on before Mack is beside me handing me my knife and gun. I tuck them in my jeans. Throwing the pack over my shoulder, I make my way to the door. Mack throws it open and lets me go first. We run down the steps and jump the three steps remaining. The others are packing their stuff up fast.  Tara runs over to me and throws her little arms around me.  Looking over at Mack, I don’t move. Mack just shakes his head.  Unwrapping her little arms, I bend down. Looking her in the eyes, she’s been crying.

“Tara, what’s wrong?” She wipes her eyes and leans forward a little.

“Don’t let them get me,” is all she says.  Looking up at Mack I can tell he has heard what she said.

“Tara, honey, I won’t let them get you.”

“You promise?” she asks.

Looking at her, I gently push the hair out of her eyes.  “I promise, now go to your mommy and stay close to her, you hear me?” She nods her head and runs over to her mom. Looking over at Sally I see the fear in her eyes. Good! It needs to be there. 

“What’s going on?” I look out the window and see we are really in trouble. They are all over the trucks and are headed here. No one says anything. “Someone better start talking! Who was on watch?” I ask angrily. Everyone looks at the ground. Getting pissed I walk into the center. “WHO THE FUCK WAS ON WATCH?”

Todd steps forward. "Sally was, but, Egypt, wait…”

"Don’t tell me to wait.” I turn my focus to Sally. “You might've very well signed our death warrants," I say looking at her with contempt.  Walking back to the windows we’re going to have to fight our way out of here.

“OK guys, listen up we are going to have to get to those trucks. Sal, go up and look out the windows so you can see further that way, I have a feeling it’s going to be bad. Mack, make sure everyone has their gear and ready to move out when I say.” Running my hands down my face, I look over at Mack and he’s got a huge grin on his face.  Rolling my eyes, I look at Tara. “I want Tara in the middle of us and for God sakes give Sally a knife or something.”

Looking over to Mack I motion to the kitchen.  Dropping my pack by the door, I make my way into the kitchen. Grabbing a pop out of the cooler, I toss it to Mack and grab one for myself. Cracking it open, I take a sip leaning up against the counter. “Mack, what the hell we going to do. We have to make a run for it, but I have a feeling we’re going to lose someone.” I continue to look at him. “We’re going to make a run for it, that’s all there is to it.”

“You’re right, Egypt. I don’t see any other way. You should be able to think of something. You watch all them zombie movies,” he says shaking his head laughing. Punching him in his arm he grabs me and holds me tight. “I’m proud of you, Egypt. You’re taking charge  the way you should be and can I add it’s sexy as hell,” he says grinning. Lifting my head up, I kiss him.

“Go make sure the others are ready. I’ve got some thinking to do.” Mack heads to the living room, I holler to him “Hey Mack, send Sal in when he comes back down.” Turning, I look out the window above the kitchen sink. I can see zombies coming from the back towards us. It is like they know we are here. Maybe they smell us? So many questions and no one to ask. I have got to think of something that can help us. Moving over to the table, I sit down rubbing the bridge of my nose, I rack my brain.

“Hey Egypt, Mack told me you wanted me. What’s up?” Sal says walking in and sitting at the table. He grabs my pop and takes a drink. Same old Sal. It’s nice for the moment.

“Do we have anything to blow up away from the house? Something that will give us a fighting chance to make it to the trucks,” I ask grabbing my drink back. One day I am not going to have this.

Sal thinks for a few minutes. “Yeah, I got something,” he says grinning.

“What? Oh, screw it I don’t want to know. We just need something to draw them away from us. That way we don’t have that many to fight off,” I say laughing under my breath.

“By the way, how did it look further out?”

“The streets are thick with them, Egypt. It’s like they know we’re here,” Sal says.

Running my hands through my hair I stand up. Sal looks up at me with a grin.

“Let’s get everyone ready to move out. Sal, you’re responsible for Sally and Tara; I suggest that you keep the kid in the middle. Honestly, you can use Sally for zombie chow for all care." With that, I make my way to the other room. The others are stuffing their bags and talking amongst themselves. “OK guys, listen up we’re outta here. Sal’s going to get their attention elsewhere and we go for the trucks. Take out only the ones that you have to. There is more on the way, so we need to be outta here and on our way.” Looking around the room I see everyone with determination on their faces. Sal runs up the steps and out of sight. Looking around the room I really hope we all make it. “OK, guys get ready,” I say, making my way to the door.

Mack is right behind me, bending down to my ear whispers, “Stay close.”

I nod, grabbing my gun, I click the safety off and pull the slide back. Looking behind me, everyone is doing the same. Looking down at Tara, I see she’s crying and Sally is trying to calm her down.  “Egypt, will you take her?” Sally asks.

Nodding, Tara comes running over and hugs my leg. I look up at Sally, she nods and I nod back. Bending down “Tara keep hold of my shirt no matter what stay with me,” I tell her. She smiles up at me, the poor girl so afraid it makes my heart hurt. Looking at Mack, he nods and I know that nothing will come up from behind us. Hearing a huge boom big enough that the floor shakes we wait till the zombies clear out. Opening the door a little bit, I peek out and see that they are doing just that. “Let’s go.”

Moving as fast as Tara will allow me, we run out into the morning light. The smell of the rotten flesh is making me gag and my eyes water. Looking to the right where the explosion went off I see hundreds of zombies, to the left the new horde is closing fast. Making it to the truck, I throw the doors open and lift Tara in telling her to stay put. Turning around, I watch as the others make their way towards us. Mack is in front of the truck watching the first horde; but they are still heading to the blast. I look at the new crowd and some of them are running fast. Yelling for Mack, he comes around to my side and watches. The look on his face is almost as scary as what is coming at us. “Get a move on, we got incoming,” I yell. The others turn and see what I’m talking about.

Aiming, I take out two that are getting too close, but they still keep coming. Looking towards the blast, some of those are turning around and heading back. We are surrounded and they are coming fast. Todd makes it over and throws his stuff in the back of the truck, firing off a few rounds. Dan, Sally, and Sal are just about to their truck when Sally falls. Mack puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me from running over there. “No, they’re too close now just keep shooting,” he says. Aiming my gun, I pick off a few that were just about to slam into the back of Sal. Sal picks up Sally and runs the rest of the way to the truck. Once they are in, I hop in and Mack does the same. Zombies start slamming into the vehicle, making me jump. They are sliding their hands and mouths all over the windows. Turning around, I tell Tara to cover her eyes that everything will be okay. She does what I ask of her with no questions.

“Mack.” He’s trying to start the truck and when it finally does he is moving so slow because there are zombies everywhere.

“Hold on guys, I’m going to have to drive right through, or they’re gonna tip this truck."  Holding on, it is very bumpy. The truck leans to the left and I fall into Mack. He puts his arm around me and holds me into place. Once we are clear, I move back to my seat checking on Tara. Todd is holding her and whispering something to her which makes her laugh. Looking at my watch it’s only 6:21 am. Looking out the window, I wonder what happened to make this many zombies come this way. 

“Mack, how long until we’re in Ohio,” I ask as I look over at him. He always gets a stern face when he’s thinking.

“About nine hours on a good day, but you saw how 77N was yesterday. So I say longer. By the time we get there it will be dark.”

“I really don’t want to stay anywhere overnight until we’re home.” Todd taps my shoulder and passes me two pops. Smiling at him, I look over at Tara she’s drawing on some paper.

“We will need to stop in a few hours to clean off the truck,” Mack says.

**Few Hours Later**

Looking at my watch it’s noon already, we have been on the road for six hours. I have to pee and I am sure Tara does too. She has been sleeping in the back. She is so young to have to see how the world is now. But there is nothing I can do about it. I really wish there was. I heard the two new guys talking about there is no God, or he wouldn’t have done this. I still believe in God, why wouldn’t I? He has kept me alive this long. I cannot wait until Sunday morning when Hank will have a sermon. I need that for my soul. 

“Hey Mack, we need to find a place to stop. I’d prefer not to get off the highway.” 

“There’s a rest stop in twenty miles, we will hit that,” he says. Mack pulls out the walkie and tells Sal what we are planning. It has been touch and go on 77N. Some spots you can get up to the speed limit and at others we are driving at a slow crawl. Like now, there are cars and semis littering the road. I think it is because of the service plaza up ahead. I wonder where these people were headed to. And if they made it. A few minutes later we see the exit for the rest area. I grab the walkie from Mack and hold the button so everyone can hear.

“With what we saw at the other rest area have Sally and Tara stay in the trucks. While we make sure it’s all clear. I think we need to hit up the gas station if it’s up and running. We’re low and I’m sure you guys are too.”

OK, Egypt,” Sal says. He must have not let go of the button because I hear Sally say something like damn she is bad ass isn’t she. Everyone in our truck roars with laughter. Rolling my eyes I have to admit that was funny. Mack takes it slow as we go by the plaza building. Some of the glass is broke out and one of the doors in hanging at a weird angle.  I do not see anyone inside from the truck, but we will still have to be careful. Mack turns the corner and we make our way to the fueling bay. Pulling up to the pumps, he shuts off the truck. Opening the door, I let the cool air rush in.  Man, I miss Georgia’s weather. Grabbing my gun, I hop out. Looking around, I do not see anything.

“Mack, I’ll go and turn the pumps on,” I say, walking over to the little glass building. Making it to the door, I grab the handle to my surprise it is unlocked. Slowly opening it, I wait a few seconds to see if anyone pops out. Not seeing anything and not smelling anything I head in and let the door close behind me.  Walking up to the registers, I go behind the counter and see that the power is on. Turning on the pumps, I see that Mack is watching me, I give him a thumbs up. Turning around, I see no one has hit this little store. Grabbing a few bags, I go about filling them with smokes. After about six bags, I walk them to the truck and throw them into the back. The guys are still filling the tanks, so I see if Tara wants to come with me. We grab a few more bags and fill them with whatever we want. It is good to see her smile. She carries out two bags and I carry the remaining. We get to the truck and Tara runs over to her mom. I put the bags in the truck and make my way to Mack. He is done filling the tank and is filling the gas cans just in case.

“Mack, you about done?”

“Yep, we heading to the food court?” he asks. Looking over there, it’s the only place to go to the restrooms.

“Yeah, then I’d like to head out. It doesn’t feel like the other place, but we can’t take the chance.”  Looking over there again. “Mack, I’m going to walk on over, I need to walk. “ I leave before he can say anything. Taking my time, I look around. It’s about the same everywhere. Cars left open, parked however they want. This is our new life now. It is something we will have to get used to.  Hearing a noise, I look to the left. I don’t see anything. Looking out to the tree line I see two deer playing. Smiling, I keep walking, making it to the sidewalk of the place. I will wait here for the others. They should have been here already but, I think that Mack has kept them back so that I could have alone time.