Dead Life Book 5 (2 page)

              I gave him my hand and helped pull him to his feet. By now the girls were standing beside me.

              “What happened?” Cindy asked.

              “I slipped on some leaves and slid down the hill.”

              Cindy put her arm around Al to help him stand. “Is your back okay?”

              Before I could say anything Al looked at me and said, “I have back problems sometimes.” Then he said to Cindy, “I think I might have slipped something out of place.”

              “Let's get back to the truck I'll rub some liniment on it for you.”

              The two started off through the woods. “I don't see where he slid down the hill,” Gina said.

              I looked back up the hill. She was right. All I could see was where the leaves looked to have been disturbed where he had been lying. “He was here on his back when I found him.”

              “Do you think he really fell?”

              “Not my problem,” I said. “As long as he's okay that's all I care about.”

              “I don't think he fell,” Gina said and started off.

              I looked around again and shrugged my shoulders. “Wait for me,” I said, running to catch Gina.

              We got back and Al was standing at the back of the U-Haul. As I walked past I saw Cindy standing in the back changing her clothes. I quickly turned my head the other way but not before seeing her in only her panties and bra.

              “Did you get a good look?” Al asked.

              I could feel my face turning red as Gina burst out laughing. “I didn't see anything.”

              “Oh your ass,” Gina said. “I'm sorry Cindy. He can’t help himself. He was born with that creeper blood in him. It’s a family problem I think.”

              “Goddammit. I had no idea she was in there.”

              “Why did you think I was standing here, for my health?” Al asked.

              “I never even gave it a second thought.”

              “Steve, don't let them get to you,” Cindy said, coming out of the back of the truck. “They're just giving you a hard time. Besides it's nothing you haven't seen before.”

              “Well I'm sorry. After the day you've had the last thing you need is me seeing you naked.”

              “I wasn't naked.”

              “In his sick, twisted mind you were,” Al said.

              This got Gina laughing again.

              “I hope you're all happy,” I said. “Are we going to spend the night here?”

              “Changing the subject, good tactic,” Gina said.

              “Let's take the trucks up to some higher ground,” Al said. “If it rains this creek could overflow its banks.”

              “Do you think it might rain?”

              “I don't know Steve. I'll check on the radio for the weather,” Al said.

              This brought another round of laughter from Gina and Cindy.

              “Yeah, I'll see if I can get a forecast too,” I said.

              The laughing stopped and they all just stared at me. Al just shook his head and got in the truck. I climbed into the cab of the U-Haul and waited for Gina. I knew they were kidding me but it pissed me off. The way Gina and Al could be at each other’s throats one minute, then the next they're the best of friends. Laughing their asses off at something. Usually at my expense. Gina got in the truck and sat staring straight ahead. After she couldn't take it any longer she looked over and burst out laughing again.

              “You two are a couple of cards. You know it?”

              “Just letting off a little steam. Don't take it to heart.”

              I started the U-Haul and followed Al up the hill. Gina was right. We all dealt with the stress of this hell we now lived in pretty much the same way. We gave each other a hard time and tried to laugh as much as possible. I just hoped Al and Cindy didn't really think I was really trying to sneak a peek.

              After about a half an hour the road dead ended. I was hoping to find a cabin or house to spend the night in but we were probably safer sleeping in the trucks anyway. I got the Coleman Stove out of the back of the truck and got it set up. Nobody felt like cooking, or cleaning up, so we decided to have some of the MRE's. They weren't very tasty but at least it was something hot. Gina got our sleeping bags and zipped them together. We would sleep in the U-Haul and Al and Cindy would take the truck. Al seemed to have staked a claim to our new truck. Which was fine with me. After a few days we would probably get tired of sleeping in the cab and start sleeping in the back of the U-Haul anyway. It was just too soon after Rick had died back there. I didn't feel comfortable when I was in the box of the truck yet and Gina made it very clear that she wasn't spending the night in there.

              We sat around outside for a while but after it got dark the temperature started dropping pretty quick. Building a fire out in the open was out of the question. It was obvious that the zombies had an advanced sense of smell. I wasn't sure if they could see too well with their eyes as clouded over as they were and it seemed to me that they could hear at least as well as we did. Every time we fired off a gun it seemed like we drew a crowd. So we sat around for a while freezing our asses off until Cindy couldn't take it anymore and decided to go to bed. Gina said she had enough too and headed for the truck. Al and I sat there for a few minutes not talking when he got up and went to the truck without saying anything.

              “Are we okay?” I asked.

              “What the hell are you talking about?” Al asked.

              “You haven't said two words to me since we got done eating.”

              “I'm sorry honey. I didn't mean to neglect you.”

              “I'm being serious here. Are you pissed off at me because I saw Cindy in her underwear?”

              “You're kidding me, right? I know you didn't do that on purpose. It's been a hard day.”

              “That's for sure. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

              “Everything's not okay. There's fucking zombies everywhere. Everybody we run across is trying to kill us and one of our group died today. Not to mention Cindy nearly got raped and Gina's dad was shot right in front of her.”

              “You're right. I don't know, it just seems like that sort of shit has become almost normal. You know what I mean?”

              “I understand what you're saying. That doesn't mean it doesn't bother me.”

              “It bothers me too. I feel like I'm shutting down though.”

              “I've seen that happen to guys in combat. They get so used to all the death that surrounds them nothing fazes them anymore. Believe me if you're worried about me being mad at you for looking at Cindy in her underwear you're going to be okay,” he said, then smiled at me. “Just don't make it a habit.”

              “I'll try not to. By the way. How's your back?”

              “My back is fine. I never hurt it. Cindy's a nurse, she likes to take care of me. I gave her something to think about besides all the bad shit that happened to us today.”

              “You surprise me Al. You're just an old softy.”

              “Well I do get a nice back massage out of the deal. Speaking of which, she's waiting for me right now. I need to get in there before she falls asleep. See you in the morning.”

              “Are you sure we don't need anybody out here on guard.”

              “Nah, we'll be fine. The trucks are high enough off the ground that the zombies can't get at us. Lock the doors and keep a gun handy. If someone comes down that road we'll hear them and if anybody comes to the door of the truck, shoot 'em.”

              “Alright then. I'll see you in the morning.”

              When I got in the truck Gina was still awake. I crawled into the sleeping bag and held her in my arms. After a few minutes she fell asleep. Twice during the night she woke me. The first time she was sobbing in her sleep. I woke her up and she told me she was dreaming about her father. In the dream she was a little girl sitting on his lap. A man came up behind him and shot him in the head. She told me his blood was all over her and that when she looked at the man it was Rick. The second time she woke me screaming. This time her father lie dead on the ground, a zombie bent over him eating from his torn open mid-section. When she went to kill the zombie with her sword it looked up. I was that zombie.

Chapter 2

Lily slept next to me in the front seat and John was asleep in the backseat of the Ford Explorer we’d commandeered a few hours after we’d left Edgar. I hoped the poor bastard was still alive but it really wasn’t my problem. If you cut to the truth of the matter he’d nearly got us all killed back there. He’d turned out to be kind of a badass for someone that seemed so mild mannered  at first. Whatever Edgar had been up too had gotten his wife and daughters killed. Just goes to show looks can be deceiving.

              We had been driving all day stopping only when we needed to fill up on gas and oil. The oil light came on constantly in this old piece of crap we were driving. Fill the tank, add two quarts of oil. When we drove down the road it looked like we were spraying for mosquitoes. Only instead of a white cloud we trailed a thick black cloud behind us. It was a shame the Escalade’s windshield had been shot out by those bastards last night. That would have been a fine ride. Instead here we were in an old Ford, waiting for the engine to explode. I shouldn’t complain. At least we were still alive and making fairly good time.

              It was time to wake these two up. We would have to decide where we would be spending the night. I was in favor of sleeping in the truck. The way things were going at least it would be easier to make a fast escape the next time somebody comes along and tries to kill us.

              “Lily, wake up.”

              “No. Let me sleep a few more days.”

              “It’s almost dark. Do you want to sleep in the car or do you want to find a bed?”

              Lily finally opens one eye and looks at me. “If you find us a bed I promise you won’t be getting much sleep.”

              “Hey. I don’t need to hear that shit,” John said.

              Lily sat up and turned to face John. “Sorry Sarge. I didn’t know you were awake. Did I embarrass you?”

              “I don’t get embarrassed.”

              “Let’s see about that,” Lily said, sliding over next to me in the seat.

              “Captain why don’t you pull over and let me out.”

              “Lily leave him alone,” I said. “The oil lights on already and we’ve still got half a tank of gas.”

              “Shit, it’s getting worse. You should pull over. I’ll add some oil.”

              “Alright. We also need to decide what we want to do tonight. I’m voting for sleeping in the truck.”

              “Fuck that noise,” Lily said. “I need a bed, we need a bed.”

              I stopped and John started to get out. “She’s right but not for the reason she’s thinking about.

We didn’t get any sleep last night and sleeping in this thing won’t get us the rest we need, sir.”

              I opened my door and got out with John and followed him to the back of the Explorer. “I just don’t want to have to fight our way out of another house. If we’re in the car we have a better chance of avoiding trouble.”

              John opened the back and got out two quarts of oil. “We screwed up last night. No more sleeping on the second floor. Finding that car in the garage was the only thing that saved us. We should find a house with an attached garage to park the truck in. We do that and we’ll be fine. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a new ride.”

              “I agree,” Lily said, before John could close the back of the Explorer.

              “We all need to relax, sir. The best way to do that is get a good night’s sleep.”

              “John I mean it, I want you to call me by my name.”

              “It’s not easy. I’ve been in the service for a long time. Old habits die hard Tim.”

              “See you can do it.”

              “I’ll put the oil in. Why don’t you go have a look at the map see how far it is to the next town?”

              As soon as I got back in the Explorer Lily was all over me.

              “I mean it Tim. I’m not sleeping in this piece of shit. Whoever owned this thing was a smoker and it stinks like shit!”

              “John already talked me out of sleeping in the truck. We’ll find a house to spend the night in. You know I don’t want to sleep in here anymore than you do. All I want is to find a nice cozy house with a big comfy bed in it, pull the sheets back, the two of us crawl in, snuggle up, and go right to sleep.”

              “If you think that’s the way it’s going to go then you need to rethink that whole scenario.”