Hollow Veins

Chapter Sixteen; I Call Shotgun

"This looks like an outhouse," Prince said with a yawn. "Something smells in there." "For someone, it was safety," Alice amended. They'd slept for several hours before making the treck down the mountain. They'd gotten lucky, though the mountain had been huge. It was not as treacherous as the others bordering the town they'd left behind. The back of it was even less so. Plus, there was some grass and shrubbery here. They'd ventured towards one of the shacks Jasper had seen. Jasper tentatively pushed open the door. A horrible stench stung Alice's nose. They all clutched their noses. Ari looked over at Alice, "Not safety for long, eh." Jasper was staring inside with a look of horror. Jaden pushed past him, then froze himself. Ren stepped forward. Ari reached out to grab her, but she'd seen it too. Ren covered her mouth. Jasper grabbed and dragged them back. He slammed the door. Aaron looked at the door and shuddered. "What?" Alice asked. Prince and Ari shared a look. Then, the slow realization dawned on Alice, "Oh." Jasper gritted his teeth and mumbled, "Let's check out the back." They filed around to the back. But Ren stayed where she was. Jaden siddled up to her. "You ok?" He signed. She nodded, staring into space. "It just... awful." Jaden signed, "I know. Let's catch up with the others." He put an arm around her. She took a shaky breath and went with him.

Jaden stopped short and signed, "A car?" Jasper looked up from examining it, "That's how they got this far. As far as I know, there's no shops for miles." "Is it... usable?" Ren asked. Jasper opened the hood, "Maybe." It was a mini van. Four windows were broken, and one door was heavily dented. The windshield was, thankfully, intact. One side mirror was hanging limply from some duck tape. Pieces of cardboard were taped inside the broken widows. There were no window wipers. Aaron checked the gas meter, "There's still a decent amount of gas in here. If the engine's not too damaged, we could make it pretty far." Ren stared at the ground, fidgeting. The idea of using those people's car... She shuddered. Alice watched her for a moment, "However we're going, we should go soon. There's definitely some Infected around, and we don't want them to find us." "Key's still in the ignition," Aaron called. Jasper shut the hood, "Cross your fingers." Aaron turned the key. There was a sputter, and then it stopped. Aaron gritted his teeth and tried again, "Come on." The engine revved, then quit. "Guys," Ren said. Aaron turned the key again. Sputter, stop, sputter, stop. "Guys!" Ren yelled. Jaden turned over to her. Sputter, stop. "GUYS!" Ren pointed towards the mountain. There were dozens of them at the base of it... and they were all running towards them.

The screeching started. "Come on. Come on! COME ON!!!" Aaron jumped out. He gave the front a fierce kick. The engine roared to life. "GET IN!" Jasper yelled Prince leaped into front. Jasper pushed the others in. The car was already moving when he slammed the passenger door. They were all, except Jaden, shouting unintelligibly. The crowd of Infected had reached the shack. They jounced through the brush. "SPEED UP!!!" Aaron yelled, his voice braking slightly. Something hit the back of the car. Ren screamed. Prince sped up, making the car shoot up with every rock and bush they hit. The screeching started fading the farther they got. Jasper slumped back and squeezed his eyes shut, "We out paced them. Everyone ok?" There were some nods of assent. Ren, Aaron, and Alice were in the back, and Jaden and Ari sat in front. Prince glanced back. "Speed up!" He imitated Aaron's voice brake. They all laughed, in spite of or maybe because of their fear. "Prince, you're an idiot," Ari said when she caught her breath. He looked in the rear view mirror at her, and the car jerked. He quickly put his focus into driving.