Chapter 21

Cautiously, Joe drove slowly, as they began to see houses appear on the side of the road. The houses looked like they had all been broken into by looters and thieves. The windows in the front were broken and some of the front doors were left open. Also, there were scorch marks on the cars that were left behind, and there were scorch marks on some of the houses. The whole town looked eerie and dead. Nervously, Megan swallowed hard, as she looked out of the window and she saw no sign of life anywhere.

“This is so sad,” she said, as they continued to drive forward.

Not too long after, they began to see stores in a small strip-mall, and at that moment, Josh saw a woman staring back at him from one of the store windows.

“Wait,” he said, and Joe looked at him oddly.

“What’s wrong?”

“There is someone in there. In that shop. Look,” Josh said, as he pointed to the widow.

Curiously, Joe, Amanda, and Megan looked at where he was pointing at, and they, too, saw the woman in the window.

“Maybe she is one of the survivors from camp,” suggested Megan, and she looked at Amanda eagerly.

“Or maybe it could be another mutation,” Amanda said, as she looked at the woman.

Surprisingly, the woman seemed scared, and she slowly put her hand on the window. Amanda felt like they couldn’t just leave her there. What if Megan was right? What if she was one of the survivors, and maybe there were others with her?

“Joe, stop,” she said, as she turned to him, and he slowly pulled over to the side of the road.

He put the vehicle in park, and looked at his cousin and the girls.

“So what is the plan? We really don’t have room for many more to fit in the car,” he stated, and Megan quickly glanced around the town.

Noticeably, she saw a couple of parked vehicles that looked untouched, and then she pointed.

“Look, there is another SUV, a truck, and a van sitting over there. One of them has to start,” she said, hopefully, and Amanda looked at her in awe.

“We don't know why those vehicles were left. They might be out of gas,” she said, and Megan looked at her seriously.

“We have to try. Especially if there are more survivors in there,” Megan said in an urgent tone, and Josh put his hand on her shoulder.

“Okay, let’s go see if there are survivors in there first,” he said, and she nodded.

Josh and Megan grabbed their rifles, and then Amanda turned to them.

“Wait! We don’t know who is in there. Someone should stay with the car,” she said, and Joe nodded, as he swallowed hard.

“So, who is staying and who is going?” he asked, nervously.

Thoughtfully, she looked at him, and then she turned to Megan.

“Okay. You two stay in here, and Megan and I will go check things out,” said Amanda, as Megan loaded her handgun, and then she loaded Amanda’s.

She handed Amanda her gun, grabbed two rifles, and then she nodded. She was ready. Joe and Josh looked at each other, and then they shrugged their shoulders.

“Alright,” said Megan, and Amanda nodded.

Amanda reached for the door handle, and unexpectedly, Joe grabbed her arm. She turned her head, as she looked at him, and he looked at her with a serious face.

“You had better come back,” he said, softly, and she nodded her head, as she swallowed.

Megan kissed Josh quickly, and then she and Amanda got out of the SUV. The streets were dimly lit by the moon in the sky, and the solar powered street lights. They could see there was all sorts of trash and things scattered across the town. Swiftly, Amanda and Megan ran up to the shop, and they peered into the window. Where had the woman gone?

At that moment, Megan spotted the woman sitting in a chair. The shop looked like it may have been either a tattoo shop, or a hair salon. Megan lightly tapped on the window, and the woman looked up at them, as she shook her head. The woman held up a shaky arm, and they saw the bite mark on her forearm. Sadly, she looked at Amanda and Megan, and they saw the knife in the woman's hand.

“No!” whispered Megan, as she hit the glass with her hand, but the woman ignored her, as she stabbed herself in the side of the head.

Sadly, Amanda turned her head, and made a face. Suddenly, they heard growling noises coming from inside of the building, and they watched, as a hoard of mutants surrounded the now dead woman. Grotesquely, the mutants began feeding on her, and ripping her to shreds.

“Time to go,” said Amanda, and Megan nodded.

“Let’s see if any of those vehicles work,” suggested Megan, and she and Amanda ran over to the SUV, truck, and van.

First, they peered into the SUV, and were surprised to see that it was fully stocked with food, supplies, and ammo. Quickly, Amanda jumped into the driver’s seat, and found the keys in the visor. Megan jumped in, and that is when she noticed that the night walkers were headed toward them.

“Amanda, we have to go,” she exclaimed, and Amanda turned the key.

The SUV started right up, and Amanda saw that it had a full tank of gas. She grinned at Megan, and Megan quickly smiled back.

“Signal the guys to follow us,” Amanda said, as she pulled out onto the road.

Megan waved at the guys in the other SUV, and Joe and Josh drove toward them. Amanda pulled out onto the main road, and both vehicles sped away from the infested town.

*********************

Slowly, Christie opened her eyes, and she coughed, as she groaned. She was lying on the ground, and DJ was lying next to her. Horrified, she looked at the camp, and watched as the fire from the explosion spread throughout the once peaceful settlement. She knew they had to get out of there, and she turned to DJ.

“Come on, wake up,” she said, as she pushed on his shoulder.

Suddenly, DJ began coughing and groaning, and then he slowly began to move.

“Christie?” he groaned, as he sat back on his knees, shook his head, and gave her a confused look.

“What happened?” he asked, as he held his head, and she shook her head.

“I don’t know, but we have to go,” she said, sadly.

“Where are the others?” he asked, and she looked at him in question.

“Who?”

“Mand, Meg, and my cousins?” he asked, and she sadly shook her head, as she got to her feet.

DJ got to his feet, and they quickly ran for the row of vehicles. Luckily, he saw Maverick’s old beat up truck, and they jumped inside. DJ sighed in relief, as he pulled the visor down, and the keys fell on his lap. He turned the key, and then at that moment, three surviving soldiers ran for the truck, as they called out to them.

“Hey, wait. Please,” one of them yelled, and DJ gritted his teeth, as he looked at Christie.

Nervously, she just looked at him, and he searched her eyes. After a moment, he sighed, and then he stuck his out of the window.

“Come on, hurry up,” he called, as he hit the side of the truck.

Swiftly, the three men ran over to the vehicle, threw the duffle bags that they were carrying into the bed of the truck, and climbed in. Without a word, DJ sped away from the camp, turned on the main road, and then stepped on the gas harder.

“What the hell happened back there?” asked DJ, and Christie opened the back window.

“I am not sure, sir. The mutants had started coming through the gate, and then there was an explosion,” said one of the men, and DJ glanced up at him in the rear-view mirror.

“Did you see my cousins or my girls?” he asked, and the men shook their heads.

Heavily, DJ sighed, and Christie put her hand on his arm. He really hoped that they had made it out, and that they were okay.

“We will find them,” Christie said, softly, and he glanced at her.

“I really hope so.”

Silently, they drove for miles before they found a small, secluded farmhouse. Slowly, he drove the truck up the driveway, and the three men in the bed pulled their rifles. Christie stared out of the windshield at the old, white farmhouse, as DJ put the truck in park and stared with her. Seemingly, the farmhouse looked abandoned, and the windows were dark.

“Do you think it’s safe?” asked Christie, and DJ gave her a knowing look.

“There is only one way to find out,” he said, and then he got out of the vehicle.

The three men jumped out of the bed of the truck, and DJ nodded to them.

“Thank you, so much for letting us jump in,” said one of the men, and the other two nodded in agreement.

“You’re welcome. I’m DJ, and this is Christie,” he said, and one of the men nodded.

“We know who you are. I’m Steve, and this is Dale and Robert,” introduced one of the men, and DJ nodded.

“What do you have in the duffle bags?” asked Christie, curiously, as she peered into the back of the truck.

“Supplies, food, and anything we could find and carry,” said Steve.

Steve had short, dark hair, tan skin, and a medium build. Dale and Robert were brothers, and they had thick curly dark hair, creamy skin, and they were husky.

“Okay. Well, it’s getting dark, and hopefully, we can stay here for the night, and regroup in the morning,” stated DJ, and the men nodded.

“Alright. Let’s do this,” said Dale, and DJ nodded.

*******************

Happily, Megan laughed, as Amanda pulled to the side of the road, and the black SUV pulled up behind them. Quickly, they scanned the area for any stray mutants, and when they saw that the coast was clear, they got out of the dark green SUV, and Joe and Josh got out of the black one.

“You know, DJ was right,” said Josh, and Megan looked at him oddly, as Joe chuckled.

“About you two being crazy,” added Joe, as he looked at Amanda.

Dramatically, she grinned and took a bow, and Megan joined her. Joe and Josh laughed at them, and the girls giggled. At that moment, they heard a rustling noise coming from the bushes on the side of the road, and quickly, Megan and Amanda pulled their guns. Joe glanced at Amanda, and she jerked her head towards the two SUVs. Without a word, Joe grabbed Josh’s arm, and they got in each vehicle.

Cautiously, the girls walked over to the bushes, and they searched the area closely. They didn’t see anything, but the bushes rustled again. Megan and Amanda looked at each other, and then they looked back at the bushes, as they took a step closer.

“Who’s there?” called Megan, and the bushes stopped moving.

Amanda swallowed hard, as she took another step closer. Immediately, she stopped, as a young girl rose up from being the shrubs. Startles, Amanda and Megan looked at each other, and then they turned their attention back to the girl.

“Who are you?” asked Megan, and the girl nervously looked at her and Amanda.