"Which way?" he asked. I pointed.
"There's a path up ahead that way. Just keep driving and we'll hit it. Then when we come to it… take a left." I said. We moved forward, through the rain. It hit the jeep, liking fingers tapping on the windshield, and I felt my tired body send me a message to sleep. But I couldn't… not now.
"So what did you mean? What you said to Dub?" I asked. Dani had both hands on the wheel, leaning forward a bit, concentrating ahead of us. He didn't move his eyes off the path when he answered.
"Me and the boys are family… Adam killed two of our family members back when we were on the same side." He said. I blinked.
"He what?"
"He sent them on a suicide mission, claiming it was chivalry. He didn't give them a choice. They either got shot by Adam… or took their chances with the infected. They figured they'd take their chances. They were both dead before sunset." Dani kept his eyes forward, his hands in a tight grip on the wheel.
"That's when the problems started…" Dani continued, "Me and Adam where at each other's neck's all the time, arguing, threatening. But no one was stupid enough to stand up against Adam. When we found survivors, and Adam said to leave them for the infected… well it was the last straw. Me, Dub, Flint, and Tags took them in. gave them food an water and Adam called it stealing. Turned the whole community… what was left of it… against us. He's got a way of talking people into things. Anyway, one night Tags heard of Adam and his pals planning to take us out… we were a liability… a danger to their survival. We packed up in less than an hour and left.
"So why is Adam out here? Is he Hunting you guys?" I asked. Dani weaved around a tree before answering.
"For a few weeks he did. But in the end he had to go back because his plan backfired on him. You see, with the five of us gone… he only had a few guards left. Guards are what we called the people who protected the community. The infected got into camp… maybe two of them. So why is he this far out? My guess is he stopped hunting us when his little community began to hunt HIM. They got angry that he chased us out. In which Adam would respond by with-holding food. Whoever is with him now… in the castle… is probably all that's left
"That black-hearted devil." I muttered.
"So when I told Dub not to let him destroy the last good thing in the world… I meant you guys. You and you're brother." He said. I was silent. What could I say to that? I mean… I had refused to let them in… and was angry at them when they DID get in. I had been so rude… oblivious to what they had gone through.
"We're sorry about Adam… and I speak for all of us when I say that it may have been our fault that Adam is threatening you guys." Dani said. I scoffed.
"you're thinking to much into it." I said, "If Adam is as big as an Idiot as you say he is, then this would have happened sooner or later. Better now when we have more people on our side." I saw Dani smile.
"there's the road." I said. Dani stopped, at the edge of what was left of the road. Once it had been a nice gravel road, easy to pick out among the forest. But now the rain had washed most of it away, and branches and bushes and weeds were a result of lack of maintenance. Dani took a left.
"So is there a lot of infected in the city?" Dani asked. I looked at him.
"You really want to know?" I asked.
"That's why I asked."
"All the infected we get… the groups and packs… come from the city." I said, "And they've been coming for years."
"So a lot?"
"Well… ya. But less than there was when it started. I'd say about 12,000 gallons of bleach worth have decreased their population."
"Bleach… genius." Dani said.
"My cousin thought of it… a big time chemist back in the day." I said.
"You family was like YEARS prepared for something to happen…" Dani muttered. I gave a weak laugh.
"Ya… my grandpa said it was the family's luck. I swear my grandpa thought our family was better then the entire population put together."
"And… he died that night in the city?" Dani asked. I hesitated.
"No…" I finally said, "He died 24 hours later."
"He was bitten?"
"Look… I'm tired. The road will lead you to the city. When you get to the bride, wake me up." I said. Dani fell silent. And I tried to close my eyes and sleep. But thanks to my wonderful driver the memories of that night were now fresh once again. Driving down the road… my father cracking joke. My mother laughing… The screech of the tires, and rush of the water. The scream of the infected and the sound of ripping flesh.
"Do you have music?" I asked. Dani pulled a CD from the dashboard.
"There's nothing on the radio… but you should like this…" Dani slid the CD into the player and hit play. Then I heard the music start… piano… soft, slow… just like my mother use to play. I closed my eyes. I don't know how many times I dozed off but I must have been out for at least a half hour. We hit a bump and my head knocked against the window waking me up.
When I looked up, we were out of the forest, now on a paved road in the valley heading towards town. Cars covered our path, window shields broken, doors left open…
Dani slowed to 35, and weaved around the cars, slowly making are way through the maze. I saw the old green road sign… it's words to faded to read much but I was able to make some of it out.
… 23 miles ahead.
"I don't think I apologized for knocking your friend out…" I said, leaning my head against the window closing my eyes again.
"Dub? Oh he'll live. Wining about a head ache now and then… but the fact a girl knocked him out has kept him from bring the subject up."
"Being a girl's got nothing to do with it." I said.
"Ya…" he answered. I sighed, my breath fogging up the window. For a moment I just starred at it, but then I dragged my finger across it drawing a line and then another one forming an X.
"HOLY…!" Dani slammed on his brakes, and I swiped my arm quickly across the window to clear it, revealing an ugly face of a young woman. Her hair and what was left of her clothes clung to her in the rain. Her flesh wasn't falling off her, like the normal infected, but it had begun to droop, showing the red veins under her eyes. Her cheeks were sunken in, and dark circles had grown around her eyes.
For a moment, she just starred back at me through the window, her jaw hanging open, her head twisting to the side. Another one… an older male, at the front of the car was walking slowly toward us.
"They won't attack…" I said, hearing Dani grab his gun.
"Oh really?" Dani said, quickly checking if it was loaded, and then cocked it, "Why not?"
"Their bite wounds are still bleeding…" I said, seeing the wound on the woman's shoulder and on the man's leg. The rain made it look like blood was flowing freely from the wounds, "They're not fully infected yet." I said. I starred at the women. Her hand slapped against the window, with a metal clack. Her wedding ring, now just barely dangling on her finger had hit the glass. Then she hissed.
"Times like this and I really hate life…" Dani muttered, catching the ring as well. He looked up at the male in front of us… now just reaching the hood of the car. He came around, and pushed the woman back.
"Let's get out of here…" I mummered. Dani shifted to drive, and we drove away.
"I ever find the guy who let loose the virus… I'll kill him…" Dani said.
"You can't…" I said, "He's already dead."
We got to the city, it's dark looming shadow-like monster dominating the dark sky. It had stopped raining, but left the city an even darker color then I remembered. We passed dark allys, with shadows I would only run through and if I had at least a eight pounds of grenades.
"Stop here…" I said. Dani pulled to a slow stop, his eyes scanning windows and streets. I pointed to a old Commercial Tire car garage, 'Park in there…"
"Why not keep driving?" he asked.
"The street gets blocked with cars up ahead. You won't be able to pass. And if we leave our car anywhere closer, they'll smell it." I said. Dani hesitated, but then pressed on the gas gently. We moved forward and backed into one of the only empty garages. Dani popped open the trunk, and for a moment we sat there starring at the city through the garage door.
"So where we going exactly?" Dani asked.
"Circuit city… Best Buy, a small shop on Huston street." I said.
"How much we hauling back?"
"If we score… hopefully a Canon camera, a Laptop, a hose, a few specific wire, and some extra guns, and a battery the size of my fist. Possibly a LS Laser 2000, 4k edition."
"And… that's all suppose to take care of the infected climbing the walls?" Dani asked.
"Yes… it's suppose to finish the project my family started. They knew… we knew, that infected could learn… and eventually would climb walls. So we started on reinforcements so we'd be ready… but it never got finished. I can finish it though." I said. I saw Dani look at me on the side of my eye.
I popped my door open, and Dani followed. We went to the back of the car and each threw on a backpack. We grabbed our guns, packing over a dozon boxes of ammo. Dani tucked a pistol in the back of his pants, and handed me a shoulder holster.
"You ever draw from one of these?" he asked as I took it, and slid it over my shoulder.
"Once…" I answered, "Come on… we stashed some stuff over here…" I said as we finished packing up and shut the trunk. It was cold, and I began to shiver. The rainy weather didn't help, and made everything wet. I knew cold fingers weren't good for survival. Fumbling around with cold fingers trying to reload a gun could be fatal.
"We?" Dani asked, I didn't answer and just walked over to the lobby door of the building. Dani was close behind watching for any movement. I went around the counter, and pulled out a black bag. I tore it open and pulled out big puffy coats.
"Can we wear those? I'm freezing…" Dani said. I tossed one to him… and he caught wiff of it, "Uahhh… they smell…"
"To us they do." I said, and dumped the rest of the contents out of the bag. A big pile of what looked like salt crystals fell to the floor, "They've been sitting in a chemical my cousin made. They'll help keep us from being sniffed out by in the infected. Mask our smell."
"Can we wear more then one?" he asked. I shook my head, and pulled out a pile of newspapers that had been sitting next to the bag.
"Wearing more then one will constrict movement. But since they're not warm enough…" I crumpled a piece of newpaper into a ball and tossed it to Dani. He caught it, and hesitated.
"Smart… lightweight, doesn't constrict movement, and it insulates." He stuffed it under his jacket and began to crumple more.
"Alex's idea." I said. I grabbed a jacket myself and threw it over my head to slip it on. The movment made me dizzy and I slowed down. It almost hurt to pull it up…
"Here…" Dani pulled the jacket up over my shoulders, and around my neck. I zipped it up and we began to stuff our jackets.
"Avoid stuffing around the joints… like the shoulders." I said. He nodded.
"Vera… can I ask you something?" he said. I looked at him, "What did Alex mean back there? About 'when the time comes.'" I shoved more newspaper under my jacket, trying to avoid where my guns were holstered to make an easy draw. When I finished, I looked at Dani. When I did, I felt something… something odd. He was being so nice…
"He was talking about when I meet up with my father." I said. Dani stopped and looked back at me, "He's part of the infected population in the city." Dani said nothing. I didn't want him to. He finished, and double checked the rifle before slinging it on his back. We walked out of the lobby, and at the dark, damp streets of dark looming buildings and an awful stank in the air.
"This should be interesting." I muttered as we started off.