Mom and Zombie Slayer

Chapter FOUR

Two hours after we fleed the city, the red light of the gas gauge started to blink. We took an exit for a small town I had never heard of and we lost thirty minutes finding a gas station that was isolated enough to refill the car. On top of that Elliott badly needed a diaper change. It was now close to dinner time and I also had to give him something to eat.

I jumped off the car and open the Elliott's door while Mr. Parker took the shotgun with him and immediately started to fill up the car.

I took Elliott in my arms and started walking in the bathroom's direction, hoping that there was a changing table.

"Stop, Mrs. Walker. Stay close to the car." I stopped and looked at him, wondering why I couldn't go in the bathroom. "Starting now," he started to say while filling the car, "you have to stay close to me. At all time. Assume that zombies are everywhere." I nodded, feeling stupid not to have thought of it myself.

Since the car was packed, I put Elliott on the front seat of the car and I grabbed the diaper bag from the back seat. Singing him songs, I quickly changed his diaper. Having been the only one in thirteen months to change his diaper, I was really quick at it.

After I put his pants back on, I put him on the ground and walked with him around the car. If the ride was going to be as long as Mr. Parker had implied, he wouldn't get the chance to burn his energy anytime soon. I looked at my boy's big brown eyes, his father eyes, and I wondered if John would love him as much as I did. I hoped so. Elliott looked so much like John. Brown eyes and straight brown hair, they shared a grin, the grin that made me fall for John, right after I meet him.

I was thirty when I meet John. It was during a party my best friend Alanna had thrown, I don't even remember for what. John had come with the friend of a friend. When our eyes meet, across Alanna's kitchen, I was immediately attracted to that big and tall guy. He often joked that he fell in love with me at that moment and that he knew that he would want to marry me.

But knowing what I knew now, about his real job, the real reason why he disappeared made me very uncertain about the future. If he thought that he could take things of fright where we left them, he was in for a big surprise. There was a lot I needed to clarify. Like why he hadn't contact me as soon as he was free. I didn't trusted him one bit with my heart. But with the zombie threat, he was now the only one that was able to save us all. I took Elliott in my arms and pressed him against my heart. He gave me a big wet kiss and started to sing a Sesame Street song.

Bless his innocence. His happiness was what was the most important for me. I would do anything for my little boy.

Our moment was suddenly interrupted. Mr. Parker asked us to go back in the car and to get ready to leave as soon as he was back. He was going in the gas station to pay and try to get a few bottle of water and snacks.

Reality came back crashing. I quickly put Elliott back in his carseat and I went back in the front. The diaper bag was still there. I always carried snacks for Elliott in it. I choose a plastic bag filled with cereals and a sippy cup that I had filled with apple juice, and gave them to him. The fact that the baby will make a mess in Mr. Parker's car didn't faze me. You didn't travel with a baby without getting dirty.

The sound of shots being fired made me sit straighter in my seat. I looked through the driver's window and saw Mr. Parker running in my direction. He had a plastic bag that looked like it was full of bottles. I could see his lips move but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

I understood what he was saying when he was almost at the car. He had been yelling START THE CAR! I looked around, looking for the keys but I couldn't find them. I was starting to panic when I saw them dangling in the ignition. Quickly, I stated the car and I opened Mr.Parker's door from the inside.

He threw the bag on my lap and closed his door just in time. The zombie that was following him smashed his bloody face into the window, giving me the opportunity to see what a zombie looked like, up close and personnal.

The eyes were open, but empty at the time and they were fixated on Mr.Parker. His mouth was open and had blood dripping from it, on his chin, on his ripped shirt. He was, or had been, an employee of the gas station because of his uniform. His hand hit the window and I screamed when I realized that it had claws in place of nails.

His hand left a trail of blood on the window as the car moved forward, tires squealing.

"That was close," said Mr.Parker, out of breath and looking in the rearview mirror.

"No shit." Was my answer, and probably the only answer possible at that moment.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Chanted Elliott, in the back. Crap. I didnt think he would hear me, busy as he was eating his cereals.

"I dont think John would like to hear his son say that word. He is very strict about obscenities", was Mr. Parker reaction.

I immediately saw red and answered him quickly, without thinking.

"If John would have been there, or if I would have been in the secret," making quote marks in the air at secret, "he would have something to say about how I raise my son."

"He got out six months ago and was in debriefing when the outbreak started."

I cooled down immediately and felt shame. I undid my ponytail and let my long brown hair hide my face.

"Where was he held?" I asked, whispering.

"I am not supposed to answer that. But I think if I want to have a smooth ride to our destination, I don't really have the choice," he sighed, before continuing. "He was held in South America, in a little town where Middle-East terrorists have set shop. He didn't say a word. About his work or about his family." He quickly looked at me. "A team of marines got him out of there as soon as the terrorists hidden place was discovered. He was then kept away for health reasons and he jumped back to work immediately when rumors of the outbreaks appeared."

I still had a thousands questions to ask, but I don't think that he was the right person to ask them.

We stopped twice again, to change Elliott and to let him walk a little bit. It was impossible for me to let him sit there for hours at end, he had too much energy. If that energy wasn't burned, the night would be horrible.

After the second stop, I tried to pumped more information from Mr. Parker, about where we were going. He was still mute, but from the road we were on, I could tell that we were now going West.