Chapter 5: Bad Company

 Shilo and I talked for another hour before we decided on a decent hiding spot to park and get some sleep. We could be in Terrabone by noon if we leave by sun up and don't run into any trouble along the way. Which is highly unlikely, considering not only just zombies, but a gang of malicious humans who were headed in our direction earlier.

 And odds are, those aren't the only people out for blood. 

 We chose to park about a mile into the woods in some small, quaint little town I didn't catch the name of. Avery will sleep in the back seat while Shilo and I recline our seats back. The car's almost on E, so we'll put the gas from the jug I filled earlier in before we head out. And if we come across another gas station that isn't teeming with the undead or another group of people up to no good, we'll stop and fill the tank up the rest of the way and refill the jug while we're at it. 

 Shilo got back into the car. He walked out into the open just before the wood line to make sure we weren't visible to anyone passing by. 

 "I hope these things don't use some sort of thermal detection." he said, as he reclined his seat back and closed his eyes. 

 I hoped so too. Three warm bodies in this car that's also warm from the constant driving would probably be like Christmas to the fiends. It was quiet in the car, except for the slight breeze blowing through the tiny cracks we left in the windows. 

 It didn't take long for sleep to find me. I drifted off to the complete opposite of Dreamland. Rarely did I ever not dream. I slept hard and long. Only when the sun shone into the car through the trees did my eyes creep back open again. Avery and Shilo were still snoozing when I quietly opened the door and found a tree to do my business behind. 

 Avery was awake and standing by the car when I began to walk back to the car. 

 "Goodmorning," I said with a smile, "how'd you sleep?"

 "Pretty good, actually." he replied. 

 "Only a few more hours of driving and we should be at Havenshire by noon."

 Avery nodded, and then went to find his own tree to pee on. Shilo crept out of the car and stretched. The swelling of his face had gone down and the split in his lip crusted over. But his eye was still purplish. 

 "Good morning," he said. I gave a small smile and a nod, "Morning," I said, searching my bag for something to eat, "how'd you sleep?" 

 "Decent, considering." he said. I nodded, "Good. Hopefully we don't run into too much trouble on the way to Havenshire." I tossed him a granola bar and bottled water. 

 We all ate and enjoyed being in the fresh air before returning back to the car. On one hand, I'm glad we have this car. But on the other, being stuck in it for two days is two too many. 

 Shilo and I shared a cigarette before we headed out, with Avery asking once more to try it. And me denying him still. 

 We did find another gas station in the town we were in, but none of the pumps worked. The car had 168 miles until empty with what was in the gas jug. So we decided we would stop again in 100 miles if we needed, but Shilo said we probably wouldn't, that he thinks the car will make it the whole way. 

 "But what if we come up on a road block and have to take a longer route?" Avery proposed. And he had a point. There's no telling what this journey will entail. 

 "True," Shilo said, "We'll stop up here at this next exit and fill up the jug in case we need a top off. How's that sound?" 

 Avery nodded, "Okay." was all he said. 

 I watched him in the rear view mirror for a moment, as he chewed on his lip and stared out the window. As we took the exit, I climbed into the back seat. 

 "What's on your mind?" I asked. I could tell something was eating at him. He only chewed on his lip when he was thinking too hard. 

 He shook his head, "It's nothing." 

 "Hey," I leaned over to try and get a good look at his face. That's when I noticed the tears. 

 I didn't say another word. I just draped my arm around him and held him close. 

 We pulled into a dead quiet gas station. The first pump we tried didn't work. But the second one did. Shilo filled topped off the gas in the tank and refilled the jug, just in case. Avery and I were sitting on the trunk of the car when we heard a truck revving its loud engine. We immediately slid off of the car and got back inside to try and speed off. But the truck made it there before we could. 

 "Put it in reverse and gas it!" I yelled. But it was too late. Another truck zoomed into the parking lot and stopped behind us. 

 A man stepped out of the first truck and sauntered over to the car, an aluminum baseball bat resting on his shoulder. The man looked like he reeked. Like he hadn't showered in weeks. He came up to the driver side window and tapped on the glass. He was grinning from ear to ear, his mouth missing a few front teeth. And the ones he did still have looked rotten. 

 "I believe that'll be hmmm- let's see," the man pointed his eyes up and counted silently on his fingers. "Hmm, I'll say about 100 bucks." 

 I rolled my eyes. Shilo glanced over at me and I shrugged. "Oh, is this your gas station?" I asked.

 The man smirked, "No, but it is now." 

 "Then we don't owe you shit." I said, as I looked down at my finger nails and began picking at them with boredom. 

 The man began laughing menacingly. And then he smashed the driver side mirror. And laughed some more. I pulled out my gun and pointed it at him through the window. 

 "I said, we don't owe you shit!" I bit out. The man held his hands up sarcastically in defense, and then nodded to his backup. Who then sauntered over with a rifle and pointed it at my brother in the back seat. I don't even know how it got to what happened next. I stepped out of my car, and didn't waste anytime. I fired off a shot at the back up man first, barely knicking his ear. The man dropped the rifle and his hands flew over his ears as he dropped to the ground and crawled back to his truck. 

 "Holy shit, Celine!" Avery said. I blinked once. And then turned my attention to the man with the baseball bat. 

 He was slowly walking backwards to his truck when he stammered, "I- I don't want any trouble!" he said. 

 "You should have thought about that before you and your buddy decided to come over here and fuck with us." 

 He climbed back into his truck, and screeched off back the way he came. 

 "Tell your friends you just got punked by an 18 year old girl, hillbilly!" I yelled, hoping he heard me. 

 "Remind me to never get on your bad side," Shilo said.