The Road

Chapter Eight

Joel continued on for another hour before he stopped them for lunch in another big empty part of the highway. There was a hill twenty feet from the blacktop, they climbed to the top to stretch their legs and spread their picnic lunch. From their vantage point they could see for miles around, nothing bothered them, the runners were far behind. Ellie was fully sick of talking about South Dakota and turned her mind to more interesting things. "What's this place we're going to like Lily? Is it a town?"

"Kind of, it's what we made it and they've done things to the place over the years. It was a vineyard on Cayuga Lake."

"Vineyard? Wine and grapes and all that?" Joel smiled at his fond memories of wine touring the year before Sara was born.

"Yes. It was a big wide open spot so we secured sections of it at a time. It's quite extensive now and it goes all the way out into the lake. There are a lot of RV's and trailers that got hauled in for people to make a home for themselves. It's not like they had the resources to build an apartment building, so they needed another way to introduce some housing. Everything good went into the walls."

Ellie asked, "Do you have one there? A trailer place?"

"Yes, a two bedroom with a small office near the lab. I'm sure its a disaster. I left crap all over the place," she sighed remembering the piles of paperwork still sitting on the dining table.

"Did you teach kids there too?"

"No I handled other things."

"Are there other kids there?"

"A few," Lily smiled at Ellie. "Karen is about your age."

The girl smiled back. "Another girl my age? Do you know her?"

"A little, I'm sure I can introduce you."

Joel had a few questions of his own. "Are Ellie and I staying with you? She aint gotta be in the hospital or some bullshit, right?"

"I can accommodate you at my place if a private residence isn't available."

"You gonna keep up with Ellie's lessons while we're there?"

"Of course."

Ellie looked at her guardians. "So even when I'm a lab rat I can't get a break from homework?"

Joel smiled at his girl. "Look on the bright side, you'll be out of South Dakota."

Lily shook her head and her student groaned. "You aren't going to be a lab rat Ellie. Richard will draw blood samples a few times a week, no big deal."

Ever since she heard the awful truth she couldn't help but wonder "What if he comes to the same conclusion the firefly doctors did?"

"He wont," Lily barely let her finish.

"How can you be so sure?"

"The firefly doctors are a bunch of butchers using lazy, half learned science. Richard was in his last year of residency when the shit hit the fan. He has been a real doctor for twenty years and the guy is a genius. He's been set up studying the CBI for a little less then a decade."

He remembered what Tommy told him about the firefly doctors butchers screwing up with Lily. "What took the genius so long to get around to it?" Joel grumbled.

"Surviving the outbreak, finding a place to secure and securing it, running water, electricity, a proper lab," Lily could see his insecurity showing.

Ellie didn't want them fighting, they still had a lot of South Dakota to get through. "Studying how?"

"He's memorized the research that was done before things came to an abrupt stop, what different military scientists have and are doing in various quarantine zones. He's been conducting experiments on infected blood and tissue the past few years."

Dad straightened. "Do I even wanna know where he gets it? Please don't tell me he's keeping infected around."

"No, of course he's not. The infected are put down outside the wall, samples are taken in the field."

"You really think he's gonna find somethin in Ellie's blood to make a vaccine?"

"I do."

Her pops was frowning still skeptical, but Lily's confidence gave Ellie hope. "And if he makes a vaccine, we'll take a whole bunch back to uncle Tommy's right?"

"You bet we will," Joel finished his sweet tea.

"The vaccine and instructions for making more will be sent everywhere; quarantine zones, settlements on the outside. We'll be busy."

He shook his head at Lily. "We aint going nowhere but back to Jackson."

"I don't expect you to," Lily frowned right back.

"I'm including you in that we."

"I will take you back to Jackson when we're done in New York like I promised."

"And you'll fuckin stay there. You aint gonna go running around the countryside delivering medicine or whatever Lily. You can let your doctor's people handle that."

The f bomb was indicative Joel had something stuck in his crawl. "I am one of his people."

"Not after this. The way I see it you're helpin find the vaccine, bringin it right to his doorstep. That's enough. When this is over we are going home, all of us."

"I love how you think you can tell me what to do," Lily favored him with a patronizing smile. "Actually when we get back to Jackson setting up a lab there to make more of the vaccine will be my top priority, but thanks for getting all macho on me there Texas."

Joel rolled his eyes. Here we go. "I wasn't gettin macho and I'm lookin out for you."

"You can't order me around like I'm some overzealous, man pleasing housewife."

Ellie stopped their argument quick. "Wait, you guys are getting married?" They both turned and looked at her.

"Of course not, " Lily laughed sardonically. "Marriage is for suckers."

"Don't tell her that," Joel turned his frown back to Lily.

"Why not, its true."

"Not all the time it aint. I've known plenty of folks happily married. Tommy and Maria are doin alright. You don't gotta bad mouth marriage just because you're too scared to get hitched."

"Ha!" she laughed defensive. "I'm not scared I'm smart. I'm not going to listen to some swinging dick tell me what to do with my life."

Joel shook his head. "That aint what marriage is. It's a partnership."

"It's a chick trap. Stay home, have kids, do nothing with your life. Fuck that shit."

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. I was a single dad for eight years and I worked my ass off to provide for my kid."

Tommy had told Lily a lot about his life before the pandemic, he talked about Joel and Sara often. "I know you did. Tommy talked about the old days a lot, he really missed who you used to be."

Joel scowled Oh really? He wondered "And just what did Tommy say?"

"He said that you were a great dad and that Sara was your world."

Ellie shifted on her knees as the adults stared each other down. "I think you're a great dad, I mean I know you're not my father, but..." Joel was looking at her. "You're a good dad, a little over protective, but still a good dad."

Her praise cooled the anger rising inside him. "Well I got a good kid making it easy for me, most times anyway," he gestured around at the wide open spaces.

It made her happy to be accepted as his daughter and Ellie smiled. "Well, I have to save the human race right?"

Lily decided to pack it up before the conversation had a chance to turn serious. She stood and stretched her back. "I'll drive for a while."

"Does that mean we can give history a break?" Ellie was hopeful.

"I guess for now."

"Cool. Can we listen to more music?"

"I think its time for some guitar."

Joel recalled what she said about rock and roll that night... "You aint gonna put on screaming rock are you?"

Lily smiled down at grumpy dad. "Screaming guitar."

Great. "Yeah we'll lets not have it screaming too loud."

Ellie stood and stretched. "I thought you like the guitar? You play one."

"I play acoustic country, Lily is talkin about electric squealing noises."

"Eddie Van Halen does not make squealing noises." Lily put a fist on her hip.

"Yeah right." Joel stood up. "Alright, lets pick it up and get back on the road. New York aint gettin any closer with all of us just standin here."

They gathered their things and packed back into the truck. There was some backpack shuffling and settling in. Lily put in a cd bearing the name Guitar Jams. Joel sighed and sat back to listen to Van Halen.

2

Joel was pleased that the music wasn't all metal or rock, just most. Some of it was nothing but one long guitar solo. Lily identified different songs for Ellie, talked about the guitarists and different sources she had gathered the music from. Not all of it was rock bands. The soundtrack for something she called FFAC had some heavy guitar tracks. The cd was cycling through the songs Lily had pulled off the OST when their first look at the water came up in their right side. "There's something for you to see Ellie."

She looked out her window first and then ahead. "Are we going to go over a bridge?"

"It's not up real high or anything," Lily assured her.

Ellie got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "I don't like bridges much."

Lily started around the curve that would take them out over the water. "We can see all the way to the other side."

"Joel, watch ahead."

"I am," he promised his girl.

"No, use the binoculars," Ellie pushed on his arm a little to get him moving.

"Alright, alright." Joel grabbed the binoculars off the dash and brought them up to his eyes. He had to adjust to seeing around the fence on the other side of the windshield; he looked down the long empty highway that came out a on a manmade peninsula and then out over open water before disappearing back into the hills. He was glad he didn't see any debris on the road, it looked solid for as far across as he could see.

Lily followed the curve out onto the bridge. The Chase of Highway was a rockin tune, she bopped her head along to the guitar. She would have had it blaring, but Joel had insisted on a more moderate volume. The sun reflected off the water and Lily noticed the floating oil sheen the on the right. Humans were nearly extinct, but their pollution was still everywhere. "More shit leaking into the rivers," she shook her head.

Ellie looked out at the garbage floating along in a slick of something petroleum based. "Is it dangerous?"

"We aren't going to be drinking the water or eating anything we pull out of it. The ecosystem is likely damaged, how bad depends on the extent and chemical composition of the spill."

Her teacher had educated Ellie about various environmental dangers associated with mans consumption of fuel. All that nuclear radiation stuff scared the crap out of her. "We're not stopping anywhere near here right?"

"We're not stopping again until we've crossed the state line."

"How much longer will we be in South Dakota?"

This would have been the time Joel would warn Ellie not to start up again, but he was focused on something in the road ahead that caught his attention; sunlight gleaming off of chrome. He adjusted the focus on the binoculars. In the distance, barreling down the east bound lane and headed right for them was a black and chrome motorcycle and small pick up truck loaded up in the back with "We got hunters ahead! A truckload and a bike!"

Lily had hawkish vision and squinted ahead. She could make out the small shapes in the distance. "How many?"

There had to be a half dozen in the back. The hunters had put on speed and were racing their way. "A truckload and then some. Turn around!"

She could make out the shape of the truck and motorcycle ahead. Lily flicked her eyes over to the side mirror. "Behind us!"

Ellie spun in her seat and looked out the back window. "Holy shit!"

Joel counted "We got five bikes behind us."

"Fuck it," Lily slammed on the breaks. "Seatbelts now!"

Joel buckled in and grabbed his pack. "Ellie you keep your head down!"

Lily buckled up and took her foot off the brake. She pulled a one eighty as Joel dug bombs out of his bag and the hunters closed in on them. "Okay you fucks," Lily stomped on the gas. As she increased their speed Joel pulled two nail bombs from his bag.

"Keep it steady Lily!" he warned opening his door. He held it open with one arm and used the other to drop a few presents in the road for the hunters behind them. Gunshots ahead; Joel slammed the door closed looking up again and seeing how close the motorcycle mob was now. They were already taking shots at the truck, he freed El Diablo from its holster. "Ellie stay down!"

Something ricochet off the fender near Lily's door. "Motherfuckers!" A second later the windshield between Lily and Joel was aerated. "Fuck!" she swerved to the right a little. The shooting bikers were almost to them and the gunshots were coming more frequently. "Hold on to your fucking ass I'm going to part them like hair!"

Lily was playing chicken with some real psychos. "Lily!" but before Joel had a chance to say anything else it was happening. Two bikes broke left in time, two on the right as well, but the fifth rider was too slow to get out of the path of the speeding tonnage and Lily hit him. the bike and rider collided with the front left and were thrown into the guardrail. The Silverado shook off the impact, behind them one of his nail bombs went off. The hunters were reorganizing to give chase. Joel turned in his seat and saw "They're coming for us!"

Ellie dared a peek out the back window. Four motorcycles and a truckload of bad guys were perusing them, two bikes were catching up fast. "Oh fuck!"

"Ellie get down!" Joel barked unbuckling his seatbelt. He crawled into the back and slid open the back window. He put the business end of his gun through the cage. "Cover your ears!" he warned. Ellie did, but Lily the best Lily could do was lean toward the window. He got a motorcycle driver in his sights and pulled the trigger. The hunter jerked and went down dragging his bike with him. One of the bikes behind him got tangled up in the wreck and the rider was thrown into the concrete divider that separated the east and west highways. Next he took aim at the bike riding double catching up to the drivers side. The bikes passenger began shooting at the cab and everyone ducked.

"Fuck this!" Lily eased off the pedal just enough to bring the bike up to where she needed it and then she violently jerked the wheel. The truck bed fishtailed into the hunters knocking them off course, off balance and down into a skid. The passenger let go, but the driver was dragged across the asphalt with his bike.

He nearly went over when she pulled that stunt. "Godamnit Lily!"

"Be fucking useful and shoot something! Those bikes are on us, this tank only moves so fast and if they hit our tires we're fucked!"

Joel was up on his knees again in an instant firing El Diablo. The bikers moved in like a pack of wolves surrounding slow prey. He picked off another bike and rider in between dodging bullets the hunters were shooting at them. A pair on a bike gunned it and made a move to get to the drivers window. Joel moved quick to get El Diablo out Lily's window and take care of them before they shot the driver. The hunters looked up at him surprised, he put a bullet in the drivers forehead. The bike swerved, went right and crashed. Lily stayed focused on driving through it all. "Two more bikes and that fuckin truck."

In the rear view Lily saw the truck hanging back as the remaining two bikes raced to get up either side. ""Buckle in right now!"

Joel slid into his seat and clipped in as a bike came up on either side of the truck. The hunters opened fire on the cab. The back passengers side window exploded inward and Ellie screamed. Another bullet came through the open hole and went through the windshield in front of Lily. She turned away from flying glass, but the shrapnel still cut her cheek. "Lily?"

She tightened her grip on the wheel. "Hold on!" As a kid Lily had been fascinated with drifting cars, it was so much fun and it looked so cool and she had a bunch of buddies willing to teach her to drive like a man. Now a good time was going to save their asses. The curve to get off this fucking bridge was upon them. She let the momentum drift the truck to the starboard; the end of the bed collided with the bikers. At first it seemed to push them but in a second they were being flung over the corroded guardrail and into the water. The last bike was trying to get to the driver, shooting out the window right over Ellie's head. "Fuck you!" as the road began to straighten she forcefully jerked the wheel again. The bed kicked port hard and the bike slammed right into it. The passenger flew over the driver, the driver and bike separated and scattered across the highway. That took care of the fuckers on motorcycles, but the truckload of assholes was still coming. "That truck is still behind us!"

"Can we lose them?" Joel straightened and got a look around. "Ellie you alright?"

"I'm okay," Ellie was actually quite terrified. "Oh man I fucking hate bridges."

"Joel in my bag, two bombs. I'm getting off the interstate, drop them on the off ramp behind us. If they don't hit one they'll at least have to find another way to come after us."

He reached for her backpack. "Where we going?"

"We'll cross the river further north then get back on ninety further east of here."

"Can we outrun these guys?" Ellie pant tucked behind Lily's seat.

"I'll bet we have more gas in the tank then they do," Lily looked between the spider web cracks in the windshield. "We need to stop them, slow them down at least. We're going to keep going."

"We're going to run," Ellie nodded. "Yeah lets do that."

Joel liberated the bombs from Lily's bag and got it half zipped before she glided toward the off ramp. He quit fussing with Lily's backpack and got his door open again. He dropped one right at the entrance where there was no real getting around unless they went way over in the grass. He quickly undid his seatbelt and stood hanging out the door to throw the last bomb; it landed in the tall grass where the truck could pass the one on the road, they might not even see it before they drove into it. The truck was still coming, but they were descending, leaving the highway, escaping.

Lily had to slow even more to make the right turn at the end of the ramp. The hunters reached the onramp and their truck drove into the grass. As Lily turned the bomb went off beneath the truck of hunters as they drove right over it. The tire and everything around it was ravaged by the explosion halting the pursuers in their tracks. She didn't stop and kept putting on speed.

Joel looked back at the hunters before the overpass blocked his view. "They hit it good!"

"Yeah well we are the fuck out of here."

Ellie sat up cautiously. "Is it safe?"

He took a good look around. "I don't see anyone else out here with us, but lets keep our eyes open for the time being. Everyone alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." The girl took in the broken windows, she saw the blood on Lily's face. "Lily you're bleeding."

"It's nothing," she stayed focused on the road.

Joel focused on Lily's cheek. "Ellie hand me the first aid kit."

"Its just a scratch," Lily griped frowning.

"You're bleedin, let me get it stopped." Joel secured his gun and Ellie passed up the first aid kit. "Keep an eye out behind us."

"Okay." Ellie turned in her seat dumping chunks of broken glass onto the floor as she moved. "Man they got both windows back here."

"We'll stop and take care of the glass when its safe," Lily promised the girl in back.

Joel popped open the kit and took another look around. "I think we've left em in the dust. Their truck got tore up and who knows how many of those bikes are still drivable."

"We must consider the possibility that the bridge crew is only an advance guard. There could be more of them with transportation. I will continue to put distance between us at the highest speed this truck can handle for an hour minimum. They had no blockades on this side of the bridge, they're probably living in a residential district on the other side. Depending on how pissed they are and how much gas they have we could be followed, but I doubt more then fifty miles."

He pulled out gauze to clean the blood off her face. "Yeah well lets hope they don't follow." He leaned over and dabbed blood off her cheek. "These cuts are still weeping."

"Then just cover it and let me drive," she didn't mean to be so short with him, it just came out that way.

"Alright," Joel suspected the high of the fight had Lily on edge. He did his best to clean her up then secured a fresh piece of gauze to her cheek with white tape. "That feel okay?"

"Fine thanks," she tried not to sound so aggravated.

"I don't see anything behind us," Ellie hoped it would help calm the situation.

"You mind the glass back there with you Ellie," the father cautioned putting the tape away.

Her heart rate was returning to normal. "I am." Ellie watched out the window as Lily hurried them away from the bandits bridge. The girl was quietly impressed with her teachers mad driving skills and hoped drifting trucks would be worked into the curriculum.

Joel closed the first aid kit and looked at Lily. "That was a nice piece of drivin back there Lily."

"Foolish to bring a motorcycle up against a truck this heavy, stupid fuckers."

"We got lucky we fucked up their truck." He checked the side mirror to look back again. It was all clear. They were safe for the moment, but Joel agreed that they needed to put distance between themselves and the hunters. "We still gonna be able to make it to your hide addin on these extra miles?"

"We've got the gas."

"How long until we get there?" Ellie couldn't help but ask.

Lily answered "A couple hours."

"When you think its safe you go on and stop the truck so we can get a look at the damage," he shoved the first aid kit under his seat hoping the truck was fine. Come on luck hold out a little longer.

3

Lily kept the truck rolling along at sixty for a little over an hour before Joel asked her to stop. They hadn't been followed, the hideout was still a few hours away. They piled out of the truck, the adults went to check the front end for damage. The drivers side headlight was broken and to Lily's dismay there was a piece of chrome sticking out of the grill. "Shit the radiator."

"Pop the hood," Joel moved to the front if the truck, Lily reached in through the drivers door and hit the release. Joel lifted the hood and looked to see how bad it was. "Got metal stickin out of the top of the radiator." He shook his head. The trucks temperature gage had been ever so slowly rising, now he knew why. "We got a slow leak."

Lily came around front with Ellie behind her. "How bad?"

"I aint pullin this thing out, then we'll just have a big hole."

"I've got some stop leak in the tool box."

"That be a temporary solution at best."

She sighed and brushed the hair away from her eyes. "Once we're back on ninety my place is about a hundred and fifty miles away. The truck has to make it there at least."

"This thing is going to need a radiator Lily."

"I've got eyes in my fucking head I can see that." She turned away and went for the toolbox. The rear quarter panels were scratched and dented.

Ellie looked at her pops. "Can we fix it?"

"Stop leak aint gonna last long."

"Can we find another radiator?"

He rubbed at his chin though his beard. "I can swap it out if I can find one." Lily came around with the container of chemicals. "I don't suppose you know of another dealership? Someplace we can get a new radiator?"

She set the bottle on the bumper. "Nothing close."

"Maybe we should double back."

Ellie raised her brows. "Hunters and infected? No way."

Joel nodded, his girl was right. "How about near your hideout?"

"I have a car there," Lily wiped her hand off on her pants. "Its small, but good on gas. Tires are bald though. It sucks in the rain but it does have all its glass."

"How long has it been sittin?"

"Two years."

Great. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "This is insane. We should just go back to Jackson."

"There isn't another car there."

"If you two insist on making this fool trip we can take horses!"

Ellie wanted no part of that. "No way, not horses again. Not all the way to New York."

"She's right. On horseback it will take too long."

Women were so frustrating. "Then we should go back to Jackson and stay there."

"We're not going back to Jackson," Lily got between them. "We'll baby this thing along and manage our transportation problem from a safe base camp."

"Fine," Joel stepped away from the truck.

Ellie looked at the container on the bumper. "Aren't you going to fix it?"

"The truck has to cool down before we take the cap off the radiator." Lily went back to the open door and reached in for the binoculars. "I'll keep watch."

"Come on Ellie, lets get that glass out of the back." He put a hand on her shoulder and asked her quietly "You alright?"

It made her so happy to have him care so much. "I'm good." She smiled at him and together they went to make the inside a little safer.

They let the truck cool before Lily added the stop leak and Joel topped off their gas tank. One of their containers had been shot through, fortunately it was empty. He resupplied his bag out of the gear box then snapped the cover back over the bed. Joel insisted on driving, he needed Lily to navigate and occupy Ellie if it became necessary. He didn't have the lead in his foot Lily did either. He kept them cruising along at about fifty following Lily's directions until South Dakota was in the rear view.