Ch. 6

"Field trip!" Rebecca yelled as she ran back to tell her parents and brother the news. David raised an eyebrow at Kevin, who shrugged.

"Well, I had to tell her something," Kevin reasoned waving his arms at his sides. "We can't exactly tell the kids we're going to travel through zombie infested lands to another city."

"Where did you tell her we were going?"

"The zoo," Kevin said simply.

"Baltimore has a zoo?" Diane asked.

"I hope so," Jake walked up. "I haven't been to one since I was a kid." He was followed by Charlie, Sara, Kelly, and Brittany.

David groaned, then turned to Jake. "Are you sure this is what everybody wants to do?"

Jake nodded. "We all tallied the pros and cons about going. All we could see is that this would benefit us."

"All right then, if that's the decision, we need to get organized as soon as possible. I want all of our cars fitted with as much protection as we can. The windows and doors need to be reinforced with steel bars, either bolted or welded. I want the toughest tires fitted on the wheel frames, especially ones that will stay inflated even when they are pierced with something sharp. Jake, I'm going to leave that to you, Preston, Aaron and Kevin."

"Gotcha," Jake said.

"Charlie, I want you, Brian, Brittany and Heather to salvage every single bullet and shell we got left. I even want you guys to go to every house where you remember hunters from our high school use to be. Every, little bullet is important since all the gun stores have been cleared out. Furthermore, gather every bludgeon and sharp weapon we can spare to bring along."

"But we didn't go to your high school," Brian said.

"Just follow Charlie. He pretty much knew everyone at school"

"Ok," Charlie saluted. "I've got an idea where a couple of hunters lived."

"Kelly, I want you, Helen, Heidi and the kids to gather what non-perishable food we have to take with us. We don't how long this trip is going to take. I know it take us only a few hours to get there, but we want to try and avoid any major cities and highways in case there swarmed with zombies. Also, gather what other equipment you think would be useful: Flashlights, propane grills, radios, and anything else."

"Will do, David," Kelly said.

"And what will the rest of you guys be doing?" Brittany asked.

"Diane, Sara and I will go over the road maps to see what would be a good way to get to Baltimore. Like I said, we need to avoid any major city and highway in case their blocked with cars or swarmed with the undead. The main idea is to try and travel the back roads and go through only towns that are smaller than ours."

Kevin nodded. "Good idea. Maybe we'll find some survivors that will want to join us."

"Let's hope so. I don't want' run into a bunch of hillbilly psychos who want to use us for target practice," Kevin shuddered.

"Let's get to work guys," I said. Everyone went to their designated places while Sara and I grabbed a couple of road maps from the book area. Diane followed us in the back rooms where the computer was still running. Sara went through the road map books and marked each page for each state we have to travel to. I booted up the computer.

"We want to avoid all interstates and six-lane highways that lead into any city that has more than thirty-thousand people; twenty-thousand if we can help it," Sara said while she grabbed a pen and began to mark routes she thought would be suitable. "I remember reports on the radio and television that there were traffic jams outside the cities. It caused a lot of ambulances that were carrying wounded to be blocked off from the hospital."

"I remember that. When I left Sheldon, I practically had to dodge traffic to get out of the city. And our cities are not that much bigger than the other. It got better once I got to the open highway, but I really don't remember much," Diane trailed off.

David felt his chest tighten as he saw a single tear run down Diane's cheek. She had lost her father on Z-Day while she tried to take him to the hospital after a Runner bit him. They were halfway there when he turned and tried to bite his on daughter. She was able to kick him out of the car, but the experience was very damaging to her.

He placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it slightly to ease her pain. She smiled gratefully at him and placed her opposite hand over his.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Get a room," Sara growled from her spot on the table.

David and Diane glanced at each other before looking back at Sara. "Ok," they both said. David grabbed Diane's hand, pulled her up, and walked to the door.

"Hey! Get back here!" Sara yelled.

Everyone spent hours on their assignments, working until after midnight before they decided it was time to turn in. They only got part of their projects done. Jake said it would be at least two weeks before their vehicles would be fully reinforced. Charlie wanted to wait until daylight to begin his search for ammunition. However, Kelly and the her group got most of their task already done.

While everyone went to bed, David asked Sara to grab Jake and meet him on the roof for a private meeting. He carried Diane, who fell asleep at the table, to their room. After the generator was turned off, he climbed up to the roof to find Jake and Sara waiting for him.

"What's up?" Jake asked as they sat down on the swinging chair.

"Well, we checked the road maps to see what would be a good, secluded route to take to Baltimore," David said. "There are a few good routes we could take, but it take at least two days to get there. And with Stiffs and the possibility of Runners out there, I don't think we want to camp out on the side of the highway."

"True," Jake nodded.

"But if we want to get there as quickly as we can, we have to pass through several well-developed towns. I checked each town's website to see what kind of population they have. If we want to get there in one day, we have to go through at least three towns. Two of them are the same size as ours while the last one is at least three times as big."

"David downloaded the third town's city map," added Sara. "There is a road that would take us around the city instead of going through it. However, that road leads us through the city's suburbs. And we know how those look."

Jake rubbed his face and stared at the ground. "So what do we do?"

Sara shrugged. "We were hoping you would have an idea. We're clean out."

"I suggested we send a scout ahead to check the area. One of use would volunteer to check both routes to see which way would be safer," said David. "This way, we can find a secure route to Baltimore."

"And I said it was stupid," Sara growled. "Diane agreed with me as well. We can't risk anyone of us getting killed just to see if the roadways are clear. It's a suicide mission."

"And I agree with David," Jake said. David rose an eyebrow in disbelief while Sara looked shocked. Then she scowled. "Don't look at me like that. It's a good idea. When I was in Desert Storm, we didn't charge forward without studying the battlefield for mines and other traps. If any of my men died because I didn't completely check the area, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. They were my responsibility. Their lives were more important than mine and if I had to die to save the lives of others, it was worth it."

David smiled. It was the qualities that he admired in Jake. The choices a leader a had to make to ensure the safety of others. Jake knew the consequences of his actions and knew how to properly plan ahead to avoid any unnecessary deaths.

Sara frowned as she stared at Jake. Then she groaned. "I don't like it, but I guess I can understand not wanting to go in head first." She got up off the chair and crossed her arms. "So how do we do this?"

"We're going to have to ask someone to volunteer. Of course, we need to warn them about the dangers they could-"

"I'll do it," David interrupted. Jake and Sara snapped their heads in his direction.

"What?" Sara gasped.

"Look, it was my idea. We're not going to be ready to roll for a couple more weeks. That's enough time to check and see if both routes are clear. I can take a motorcycle along with a few provisions and see if the roads and towns are safe to travel on."

"Why should you be the one to go? You're our leader, we need you here with us. And besides, you're pretty much crippled."

David winced at her accusation. "True, I am, but that's all the reason for me to go. I'm the only one here who is not at 100%. I'm expendable."

"How can you say that about yourself?" Jake yelled in rage. "You're the reason we're all here. You rescued us in the ice rink. You rescued us when we were surrounded in the parking lot. If anybody should go, it should be me, or even Kevin. All of us owe you our lives."

David looked down in shame and embarrassment. He thought it was weird that he was being this respected by a man who was more than twice his age. And never realizing how important he was to everyone. He thought everyone hated him for Christopher's death.

"So you see, you can't go," Sara finished.

"Too bad. It's my decision," David whispered. "We all have experience in the field but I'm the one who has the most. If you call me you guy's leader, then I'm nominating myself to go on this trip. End of story."

"You can't do that," Sara yelled.

"The hell I can't!"

"If you go, who's going to take us to Baltimore?"

David sighed. Then look at Jake. "Think you can handle things while I'm gone?"

Jake's eyebrows pretty much disappeared into his hairline and his mouth dropped to the floor. It was a few minutes before he spoke. "You...want me....to take everyone?"

"Yes. There's no else I trust better to take everyone to safety. Not even Kevin. You have the experience to lead them and I know they'll be safe with you."

"David, I can't do that. They trust you more than they trust me," Jake reasoned. "I don't think they will listen to me."

"They will. After what happened this morning, I don't think everyone is going to listen to me."

"David, Christopher's death was not your fault," said Sara. "We could not have known the Runners would be in the area. Quit beating yourself about it."

"Aaron and Heidi think that I left him to those monsters," yelled David. "They won't follow me anywhere now. That's why it Jake has to lead them. I can't ask anyone else to risk their life on this mission." He turned to Jake. "Will you do this for me?"

Jake didn't say anything at first. He kept glancing back and forth at David and Sara. In his mind, he didn't want to upset Sara. She saw David as a son, even though she never admitted it to anyone but Jake. But then again, Jake was right. It was difficult to ask anyone to go on a suicide mission unless they were willing to go on the trip themselves. Even though he hated to admit, David was the most likely candidate.

Jake swallowed, then nodded. "I'll do it."

Sara dropped her arms and stared at Jake. "You can't be serious. You're actually agreeing for David to do this with the most likely possibility he might not come back?"

"I've got no problem going," David shrugged.

"And if he doesn't have a problem, than neither do I," added Jake.

Sara threw up her hands. "Men!" She stomped off to the ladder and climbed down.

"Looks like I'm sleeping on the couch tonight," said Jake sadly.

"Sorry about that," David said.

Jake shrugged. "Don't worry about it. She'll calm down eventually. Now, are you sure you want to do this?"

David nodded. "I'm sure. If everyone wants to go, it's the least I can do." He covered his mouth as he yawned. "We'll talk about this more in the morning. I'm going to crash."

"I don't envy you in the morning," Jake said as he waited for David to climb down the ladder.

David looked up at his friend's face. "Why?"

"If Sara was bad tonight, I hate to see what Diane's going to do."

Even in the moonlight, Jake saw David's face pale considerably.

"David....?" Diane moaned as he sat down his side of the bed. He grabbed her hand as she reached for him. "Where were you?"

"Jake, Sara and I were going over a couple of things," David whispered as he stroked her hand. "Go back to sleep."

"Come here." She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him closer. She buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his middle. "You're not going anywhere."

David stiffened a little at the comment and began to sweat. But he just stroked her hair and hummed her favorite song. She sighed and snuggled closer.

Jake's right. Tomorrow is going to be an ugly day....