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I focused on the road.
The engines didn’t draw undead but an actual person.The man waved with both arms from an open, top-story window of his house.
“Cut the engines.Stand ready,” Patrick said over the walkie.
This wasn’t the first living person we’d encountered.It could be a trap for supplies, or it could be an honest person looking for a ride to somewhere safe.Only time would tell which.
Roland left his seat to help Katie open the top of the MRAP.He watched the house while Katie took the other side.
In the silence, I could hear everything.
“Howdy, friend,” Patrick called, getting out of his vehicle.
“Thank God you showed up,” the man said.“We need help.Can you get us out of here?Please tell me the whole world ain’t like this.”
While I listened, I watched.Body language said a lot about a person.The man hanging out the window broadcast his desperation in every twitch and facial feature.If it was a trap, the guy was playing up his part pretty well.
“We’ve got some room.How many are with you?”Patrick asked.
“There’s six of us,” he said.“We boarded up the bottom half of the house.Give us a minute.Please don’t leave.We’re coming out.”
When a pregnant woman waddled out with a toddler on her hip fifteen minutes later, I knew it wasn’t a trap.The man helped an older woman with a walker, and another man and a teen boy followed.
Patrick hustled everyone toward the two electric cars.He didn’t waste time with introductions.Just shoved them in and hurried to his own vehicle.
We started up again as an undead came shambling down the road.
“Roni and Tom, radio off for five.”
“Copy,” they both said.
After a count of ten, Patrick came back on.“I think these people are exactly what they seem, but watch our tail.Once we cross the river, we’re stopping.”
I glanced at my mirror to check the road behind us.The undead trailed after Steve and Jackson’s MRAP.Beyond that, nothing moved in the sleepy village of Silverdale.
As I looked forward, I thought I saw something move in one of the buildings across the street.When I glanced at it, though, everything was still.
A feeling teased my mind, regardless.Like we were being watched.
CHAPTERTHREE
With a clear viewof the bridge, we circled the vehicles on the west side of the river.Roland, Jackson, and Steve kept watch on the east side.Katie and Tamra took their positions on top the trucks to watch our side.The rest of us stretched and listened to the people we’d rescued.
Off the beaten path, the town hadn’t fallen with the rest of the world.They’d watched the news until everything had gone dark but had been smart enough to hole up.Eventually, one of the neighbors had left for supplies and had shown up a few days later, on foot and very undead.Then another tried.And another.Each one found their way home again, but not alive.The two men had taken care of all of the undead.
If we hadn’t have come along when we did, the remaining survivors would have tried striking out on their own because they were out of food.Without needing to be told, I went to the MRAP and grabbed some MREs for them.
“Where are we headed?”the man finally asked.
“An air force base not too far from here.Hopefully, they’ll be able to evacuate you.”Patrick glanced at the men and the boy.“They might ask a few of you to stay and help.”
The men got real quiet for a moment.
“It’s that bad out there?”one asked.
“It is,” Patrick said.
Their excitement over being rescued faded.I looked at the little girl who reminded me so much of my niece, Nova.Her sad gaze met mine, and I winked at her.
