Roads Less Traveled (3 page)

Jake explained his Plan, telling them it was something he had thought up some time ago, and then made sure they understood the importance of getting out of there, grabbing Ben, and getting out of town. He also gave them the option of not tagging along, basically one of those “come with me and live, or stay here and die” scenarios.

“So, you expect us to just say fuck our families then?” Zack said. They’d been friends since Jake’s freshmen year, but sometimes the two really wanted to rip the other a new asshole.

“Hey, you’re welcome to leave any time man. I’m not forcin’ you to stay here, and I’m sure as hell not forcin’ you to come along. Believe me, it’d be simpler if I was on my own. But shit happens, dude,” Jake answered. He turned to the others who had by this time formed a loose circle around him. “None of you have to come, but I’m gettin’ the hell outta here.”

“I’m with you. Mom and Dad have already gone to Florida for the winter, and they’re not answering their cells,” Kyra said after a moment. She glanced nervously at the other faces gathered around her, hoping her decision would prompt the others to decide as well. Mike was shaking his head and Sarah had started to cry.

“I can’t go home either. Not right now at least. I could try, but I don’t think I’d make it to Indiana. My dad isn’t answering his phone either.” Mike ran his fingers through his hair and stepped away from the group, fishing his cell phone from his pocket. Zack had backed down from Jake and was rubbing Sarah’s shoulders as the younger girl cried quietly.

“I’m a local girl, my house is like-” Sarah turned her head, realized there weren’t any windows, and then looked back at Jake. “I live like fifteen minutes away. On 16
^th
street, you know the one.” She started gesturing with her hands as the tears flowed freely. “Where they put in the new Starbucks?”

“Yeah, I know the one,” Jake answered quietly. He always did have a thing for teary-eyed females. Zack kept his mouth shut, but glared hard at Jake.

“Can you take me home?” Sarah asked.

Damn, there it is
, Jake thought to himself. He knew better than to voice this statement, given the mood of his lab-partner. He rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans and glanced at Zack, then at Kyra. Mike was still trying to call his dad. After a long moment he sighed, nodded, and gave Sarah the most reassuring smile he could muster. Which for Jake amounted to something like a pained, constipated look.

“Yeah, I don’t see why we can’t swing by there on our way out of town.”

Sarah smiled and sniffled loudly, then wiped her eyes. “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” Jake answered, then kneeled down quickly and busied himself with his bomb-filled backpack. Zack squeezed Sarah’s shoulder, smiled at her naivety, and waited until the two girls had walked over to join Mike before cutting through Jake’s bullshit. He kneeled down across from Jake, as the younger man fiddled with the rags stuffed around the ethanol bottles.

“Listen up shithead. If, and I do mean
if
, we get out of this hell hole, you’re keeping your word and taking that kid home. Even if I have to force you to the side of the road and break both your legs. We understand each other?” Zack said in a low and frighteningly calm voice. Jake narrowed his eyes and eyeballed Zack with anger and shock. Usually he was the one making threats, if threats needed to be made. He wasn’t exactly sure how to react now that the tables had been turned.

“Sure man,” Jake answered slowly. “I said I would, didn’t I?”

Zack nodded and stood, glancing over his shoulder to the other three huddled together around Mike’s cell phone. “You said we’re going to West Virginia?”

“Yeah,” Jake said and stood as well, planting his hands on his hips and looking up at the taller man. Zack turned his attention back to Jake and nodded again.

“Good. I’ll ride with you until I decide otherwise,” he said, then turned and gathered up his things, closing the subject. Jake noticed Zack hadn’t mentioned his family, or just how long he would be tagging along. But that was fine with him; so far they’d been doing too much talking and not enough moving anyway.

Suffice it to say, they all decided to stick with the crazy genius and Get the Hell Out of Dodge.

With Jake in the lead, they made their way down the hall to the stairwell. He opened the exit door, listened, and after hearing nothing motioned for the others to follow. Quietly they slipped down the stairs, eyes scanning above and below as they reached the door of the ground floor. Jake motioned for the others to stand back, and then yanked the door open. Somewhat disappointed when nothing leapt at him, he let out the breath he had been holding and continued on.

Just seventy-five feet of hallway and a dozen doors on either side stood between them and the exit. They hurried single file down the middle of the hall, keeping a sharp eye on the classroom doors. Although they were all closed, the moans and scratching of the infected could be heard on the other side. Jake laughed, finally understanding why it had been so easy for them to get this far without running into a single deadhead. He figured that, in a mad dash to escape, many students had run inside and barricaded themselves in. Unfortunately most had already been infected.

* * *

The explosion knocked Ben off his feet, not because the dorm shook, but because it scared the hell out of him. He instinctively covered his head and pulled his knees to his chest as the sound of a second explosion tore through the air.

“Jesus Christ, Jake, you overachiever,” he hissed. He waited a few seconds, and when he didn’t hear another blast, jumped up and ran to the door. He jerked on his backpack, grabbed the spare and slung it over his shoulder, then took up his ax. He spared one last look around his room, worrying he had forgotten something, before gripping the door knob. He knew the plan was for Jake and his group to come to him, but he was steeling himself for a quick getaway in case that second explosion had been the sound of Jake finally blowing himself up.

He closed his eyes and began to count his breaths, listening for any sign of the others.

“Get hold of yourself,” he mumbled, chuckling and shaking his head. “You know what Jake will do to you if you screw this up.” The sound of running feet snapped him back into focus.

When the doorknob began to suddenly jerk in his hand, Ben yelped like a dog and jumped backwards, suddenly convinced that zombies had learned how to open doors.

“Open the fuckin’ door!” Jake bellowed, hammering his fists against the solid oak. Ben ran over and flipped the deadbolt, stepping out of the way just as the door flew open and Jake and three others came piling in.

“C’mon!” Jake yelled again as he stuck his head out and looked back down the hall. A moment later the straggling member of the group came tearing around the corner like his head was on fire and his ass was catching. He skidded to a halt before knocking Ben down, then Jake stepped in and slammed the door shut behind them.

The six of them stood in a loose circle, all shaking and trying to catch their breath except for Ben, who just looked anxiously from one to the next waiting for someone to explain what had happened, and just what, exactly, Jake had blown up. Ben’s gaze finally settled on the culprit, who had begun to grin.

“Damn, that was fun,” Jake said between pants, laughter creeping into his eyes. Everyone turned to stare at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, before bursting into laughter. Ben chuckled along with them, shaking his head, realizing it was very good to see his best friend again… even if he was crazy. Ben slid both packs off and tossed them in the corner, along with the ax, and walked back to Jake. He clasped his shoulder firmly and smiled.

“So, who’re your friends?” Ben asked. Jake’s eyes widened slightly, having forgotten about the tag-alongs. He spread his hands to the side, that cocky grin still plastered to his face, and shrugged.

“Can’t a guy get somethin’ to drink around here?” he said before walking over to the mini-fridge. “You guys want anythin’?”

The others just shook their heads, the two girls smiling politely. Jake pulled out a Coke, and as he twisted it open, began the introductions.

“Zack, Sarah, Mike, and I forget her name,” he rattled off, barely referring to them before tipping the bottle up. Ben raised an eyebrow and looked at who he thought was Zack.

“Nice to meet you… Zack I assume?” he said as he extended his hand.

“Yeah, and that’s Mike,” Zack said as he pointed, “and Sarah, and
Kyra
.”

Jake snapped his fingers, “That’s it. Thank you,” and walked to the window. He pulled the curtains back just enough to peer out. Ben shook hands with the others, getting all the pleasantries aside.

“Have any of you been bitten?” he asked. They looked at each other as if seeing one another for the first time. Slowly each of them began to shake their heads, actually surprised they had made it so far without a scratch. Jake walked over and patted Ben on the back.

“No worries, dude. They didn’t even come close to any of those zombies. I blew ‘em up.” He was very matter-of-fact about it, as if Ben was an idiot for not figuring this out.

“So that’s what… okay yeah,” was all Ben could think to say. Of
course
Jake had made some sort of explosive, and of
course
he had blown to hell however many zombies had stood between him and the dorm.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get us all killed,” Zack said, so far being the only one of the new arrivals to speak.

“Hey, it was your idea too, remember. You helped me make ‘em, and as I recall, you’re the one who found the Ethanol in the first place. If you hadn’t been such a pussy, you would’ve helped me throw ‘em too,” Jake said, crossing his arms. Ben groaned when he saw Jake was putting on his you-wanna-piece-of-this face. Zack walked straight over to Jake, standing toe to toe with him, and easily towered above Jake’s 5’5 height.

“I was too busy helping the others dodge flaming zombie-shrapnel,” he said very calmly, his hands on his hips. Seeing the fists about to fly, Kyra stepped in and pulled Jake back.

“We all made it, that’s all that matters. Now we need to figure out how to get out of here, right?” She looked around to everyone, still gripping Jake’s forearm. He and Zack continued to stare each other down for a few moments before Jake finally nodded and spoke.

“Yeah, let’s get the hell out of here. Only one problem,” he said as he pulled free of Kyra and walked to the window. “My Jeep is over there.” He pointed to the parking lot, still swarming with zombies. Ben smacked himself in the forehead, his hand sliding down his face and resting on his chin.

“Well I don’t suppose you have any more of those bombs, do you?” he asked.

“‘Course, got five left,” Jake answered, walking over to his backpack and opening it. He reached in and pulled out one of the bottles. “This’ll only clear part of ‘em, so are you ready to fight the rest?”

Mike and Sarah both stepped in closer, having been silent this entire time. “Doesn’t look like we have much of a choice,” Mike said as Sarah nodded her agreement. Ben sighed, and then clapped his hands together.

“Ok, let’s do this.”

* * *

After scrounging around their room looking for more bags to load with supplies, Ben and Jake led the group out: Ben with his ax raised high and Jake with a bottle of ethanol and a lighter. They had loaded Zack, Mike, Sarah, and Kyra down like pack mules, each wearing a backpack or a duffle bag slung over one shoulder. They traveled all the way down to the first floor exit without any trouble, and it was beginning to feel way too easy. Were zombies really so stupid they didn’t know how to turn a doorknob?
They were people like us not even a
day ago
, Ben thought.

As they huddled around the exit, a heavy steel door with a push-bar instead of a knob, Jake stuck his hand out to Ben.

“Give me that ax, you take the bomb,” he said.

“No,” Ben replied. “I’ll fight off whatever’s on the other side of this door, and you light the damn bomb.”

Jake laughed. “C’mon, dude. I’m serious. Give it.”

Seeing there was no way to get out of this without looking like a total wuss, Ben finally gave in to reality and handed the ax over. “Fine, but don’t blame me if I catch you on fire.”

Jake just laughed again, taking the ax in one hand as he dropped his backpack to the floor. He handed bottles to Mike and Zack, and then looked up as Kyra cleared her throat.

“Where’s ours?” she asked, making it clear it was not a question. Jake eyeballed her for a moment, then smirked and handed her one.

“No, Sarah, you don’t get one,” he said before zipping his pack and re-shouldering it. Sarah had always been a klutz in chemistry lab; no way was she getting her hands on anything explosive.

He tossed lighters to the three of them and handed one to Ben. “Don’t stay too close behind me. Let me clear the doorway before you come out, then light yours and throw it to the left. Mike, you’re gonna throw yours to the right. Zack and Kyra, hold on to yours ‘til we get closer to my Jeep or I tell you to toss ‘em, okay?”

“What do I do?” Sarah said. Ben thought that if mice could speak, that’s what they would sound like.