Zombie Story

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Driver's Ed (Day Three)

I hated to leave the baby so soon. I'd only just met him, but I couldn't deny how deeply I cared about him. That's the thing about babies, they're sneaky. They find a way into your cold, locked heart until you love them.

On the bright side, the elders were ecstatic with the baby. They took turns cooing and rocking him. Even Geoff, who originally opted that we let the baby die, took his turn in coddling baby Luke. Being smothered by old people was a preferable situation to his sleeping arrangements, he was sleeping in a open desk drawer that me and Heather had padded with a base of blankets. I would have had him in my bed but high school psycology had me convinced I'd roll onto him in my sleep.

Luke was doing fine on warmed up Almond milk but despite the back up generator in the freezer, It wouldn't be long though before it finally gave out, we'd have to figure out a way maintain a milk supply, or we could start Luke on solids early.  It would be too dangerous to go on daily runs to such a big store. Walmart was the only store near us that we were certain supplied baby products.

"You ready to go, Josie? Luke will be fine with the elders," Heather reassured me while adjusting her pack, "Anyways, we gotta test David out. See what he can do, how useful he'll be on runs. You get the drift."

"Are we going to pretend it's not only my third day here?" I laughed dryly, "Does that mean we're testing me too?" I was a newcomer here and it seemed like I was already taking a leader role.

Heather gave me a puzzled look, "What do you mean Jos, you've proved yourself enough. You got away from the Blue Moon Gang. Even Ethan and Zach couldn't do that..." She trailed off and tightened her lips, her mind was clearly elsewhere. I regretted saying anything at all.

"Forget I said anything," I apologized hastily, "I'm just stressed about leaving baby Luke. I miss him already and I haven't even left yet."

Heather gave my reply a soft chuckle, "I was the same way when Alice was born. I would've taken her to the bathroom with me if the nurse didn't stop me "

Footsteps from the door interrupted our discussion. Me and Heather turned around at the same time, startled. It was just David. He cocked an eye brow at our sudden movements, "Uh, is this a bad time? I was told we had a run to do...?" Before either me or Heather could even answer, he continued to ramble, "Uh I'm not really good at this run stuff. So um like maybe I could stay? Keep watch, you know, something?"

Heather opened her mouth to answer but I beat her to it, "We all need to pitch in here David. You're needed on this run. You won't dissapointment us, right?"

"Haha," David laughed awkwardly, "Uhm, no, of course not.."

I flashed a false grin, and opened the car door, "Perfect! Heather you're up front with me." I couldn't lie, it felt good not to be stuck in the back seat.

David gaped his mouth open, "Why am I in the back? With the missing window? What if one of those zombies reaches in and nicks me?"

This man was clearly a child. I groaned, letting my head fall onto the steering wheel in frustration. I really couldn't do this right now, "Okay Dave, buddy. Do you know where the nearest Walmart is? Do you know the roads to avoid the Blue Moon Gang?" I whipped my head to David, "Do you even know what the Blue Moon Gang is? Well, be my guest David. Take a seat. Want me to open the car door for you too?"

David stood stunned. Maybe I went too far. I haven't had a good night sleep since I was in a coma in the hospital. A moment passed before David silently got into the backseat. Heather seemed unsure at my outburst but said nothing, instead she slipped into the seat next to me. I sighed and twisted the ignition, bringing the car to life, "Well. Let's go."

°°°

I hated seeing all the buildings look so empty. The undead walking on the sidewalk and lurking on the roads were a bleak reminder to what was. I stepped on the gas, I preferred these buildings as blurred flashes of colors. We already crossed all the hard parts, I no longer needed guidance, I could go as fast as I wanted.

Heather leaned closer to me, speaking quietly enough so David wouldn't hear,"Don't look so serious Jos. I got some good news. I brought supplies to hot wire some cars. We have to replace the one Blue Moon took."

The prospects of a new car was exciting. I gave Heather a small smile, "Okay, maybe that does make me feel a little better. Can I pick it out?"

Heather grinned back, "Heck no. I need a pick me up too," she playfully nudged me, "Don't worry though, I'll choose something nice."

"Rule number one in Driver's Ed, don't nudge the driver." I retored jokingly.

David leaned foward attempting to join the conversation, "Actually, the first rule is to put on your seatbelt."

This guy. I contemplated whether to even respond right as we entered the parking lot. "Okay guys. Heather, you get the baby stuff and then get home in something nice. Me and David will stick together and get supplies for the group and take this car back." Even though Heather was choosing a car to take back, I couldn't help but to keep my eye on the deep blue BMW parked near the front.

Heather nodded, "The baby stuff is on the other side of the store, I'll go around I guess. You and David can take the front entrance. I'll see you back at base Josie. And David."

I refrained from calling out to Heather as she ran off, I was stuck here with David. Maybe I was being too hard on him, I had to give him a chance. I did my best to smile warmly at him, "Okay, we got this, Dave."

David pursed his lips, "Yeah. For sure."

I wanted to strangle him. What kind of effort was that? Instead, I slipped the car keys into my bag and pulled out my gun, "Stay close to me, we're going in."

As soon as we entered the store, we were instantly met by zombies. Luckily I had loaded my gun completely before we left. I took the majority, four down. David wasted three bullets on a single zombie. I had to cut him some slack, he just needed practice.

My eyes brightened when I saw the nearest shelf, my disdain for David temporarily forgotten, "Look, the canned goods are near the front!" The shelf was pretty bare, I read though the scattered cans, "Potato soup, green beans, chili. This is the good stuff David!" I loaded the few cans into my bag, careful to keep the car keys on the top in case we needed a quick escape back to the car. Another shelf caught my attention, more cans.

David turned to where I was looking, spotting the shelf as well, "The shelf there is loaded."

I adjusted the pack in my back, "Yeah, it is. It's exactly what we need."

David nodded, standing closer to me, "You'll have to be careful, the sound of the cans in your bag might attract some zombies." He made a good point. Ideally, I would send him to get the cans while I waited with my pack, but from what I've seen, he couldn't handle himself around zombies all too well. And if one more person died on my watch, I couldn't take it. That, and the group would grow suspicious. If he died here here me, he'd be the third person to die on a run with me and I've only been on three runs. David cleared away my dilemma, "Here, I'll hold onto the stuff, so you can carry more cans. The more food we bring back the better, right?"

Finally, some ambition. It was strange coming from David, but the store made me nervous. It was huge, who knew how many deceased, decaying undead were lurking here. I gave David an uncertain look before tossing the bag to him. Instant relief, the bag was weighing and all the cans inside were digging into my back. "Okay just wait here while I get a few cans. I'll be right back." I headed towards the farther shelf, he couldn't possibly get into trouble in the five minutes it would take me to gather a few cans.

"Take your time," David called out from where he was standing.

I scoffed, grabbing a bundle of cans into my arms not bothering to read them, "Take my time? We're in a apocalypse David. That's not really an option."

Silence. I turned around. He was gone. I  caught a glimpse of his figure exiting the store. The cans that were previously in my arms clanged on the hard floor. My legs reacted quicker than the rest of me. I was already chasing after him before I screamed,

"DAVID! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"