The Virus Within (Original rough draft)

Chapter 6

Once more I carried Liz on my shoulders, and Tom had Josh on his shoulders as we trekked through the forest. I avoided the town, angling further west. Marissa ducked beneath another branch, "Is there a reason we are walking in the trees when the highway is right there?"

It was a miracle that they had survived two days by themselves. They knew nothing about evading zombies. And I was the lucky one who got stuck with them. Oh, joy. This trip is going to be as fun as playing football using a porcupine.

"We can see the road from here and if anyone drives by we can get out in time to wave them down. If we walked on the road, any zombie out there could see us and potentially scent us."

She was silent after that. I kept a sharp lookout as we walked. I had half a dozen crowbars hanging from my backpack. The way the one had flown previously had impressed me and I really didn't have any sort of ranged weapon. Truth be told, I didn't need one with my speed and strength, but I wanted to avoid melee fights unless these people were unable to see it. I had no idea how they would react if I attacked a zombie with a hand weapon at unnatural speeds.

We paused for short breaks and for lunch. So far none of the zombies on the road that we passed had realized that humans were walking through the trees just out of their sight. After seeing several of them on the road, Marissa and Tom had fallen silent with jittery nerves, afraid to attract attention to themselves.

Silence was fine by me. It saved me from trying to talk when I had nothing to say. Three times we had passed by abandoned vehicles and I had snuck out of trees to check if they started. I swiftly returned each time with no success. I hadn't expected it, they had been abandoned for a reason, but the fact that they didn't start still annoyed me. If they had started, we could have made much better time and my task would have been completed sooner.

I paused and held up my hand for silence, tilting my head as I listened. There it was again. I jogged for the tree line and my luck was back with me as no zombies were in sight. Marissa and Tom now heard the vehicle in the distance as well and swiftly ran after me. We made it to the side of the road before the truck got close.

It sounded like it had seen better days. I was positive that the serpentine belt was having a war with the radiator fan while the engine pistons were rocking to a Nickelback song. It was a terrible combination... Marissa and Tom started waving at the truck while I stood and watched them approach from behind my sunglasses.

The truck slowed as it approached and the windows rolled down to reveal two men in the front seats. I could smell a woman in the back seat as well. The smaller guy wore a camo shirt, "What are you doing walking on the road?"

Tom replied, "Our car broke down and we are trying to find a Stronghold. Can you possibly give us a lift?"

The men looked at each other before Mr. Camo shrugged, "Fine by us, but you have to ride in the box."

Marissa smiled in relief, "Thank you so much!" Marissa and Tom wasted no time in clambering in. Chloe jumped into the truck box and Tom held her collar to keep her in place.

I glanced at the hood of the truck, "That thing isn't going to explode, is it?"

Both men chuckled and a lady's voice answered me, "I keep asking them that exact same question! We are simply hoping that it holds together long enough for us to get to safety."

I shook my head in disbelief before vaulting over the edge of the truck box to land on the bed mattress that they had obviously put there for passengers. The dried spots of blood and faint scents of strange humans gave me a pretty good idea that their party had decreased in size recently.