Of Life, Death, and Madness

5. Monster

I am Id. Or that is what he calls me now. It is better than "The Sinister Voice" like he used to call me. I don't care what his reasons are. He is weak; always letting these others tag along, even though he was a superior person. That was the closest I would allow myself to complimenting him. He was stupid.

         His fate didn't Matter anymore, I was in charge. Now we could get things back on track. I needed to get to the kid. With the world as it was, there was very little chance of there being another child in the future. I glanced at Johnson; she was young, but a viable option. I could hold my leering until later.

        People were stupid. It wouldn't be long before we had to abandon this car altogether. The roads would be too congested with dead or abandoned cars before long. This proved to be true after I pulled off the main street onto a ramp leading to the highway. The ramp was immediately blocked. I put the car into reverse and backed up.

         "Do you remember the way there, Phil?" I glared at Dan.

         "I know enough." Maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to reveal I remembered everything yet. Dan would be a problem to deal with later. Then there was Evan. He was a follower. He could be useful; however as another male he could prove problematic later, as well. Yet another problem I would have to clean up for Stephen.

         This stupid car was going too slow. I pushed the gas pedal down farther just to give it some speed. Of course, having my memory back didn't remind me of everything. For example I had forgotten that this car, when prompted and sometimes when not, tends to put on a burst of unwanted speed. It lurched and slammed into the concrete divider behind us. Screw this. I threw open the door and got out, slamming it closed behind me.

         "Phil!?" Dan called out to me.

         "Everybody out. We are walking from here." I grunted as I realized in my haste I had left my bag and gun in the car.

         "You need to keep calm, or you are going to get yourself and everyone else killed." He said.

         I can handle it, they don't matter. He better not talk to me the whole way. I took my bag and put it over my shoulder, then grabbed my gun and slammed the door shut again just for good measure.

         "The sound attracts them. The dead." He said. He was right of course. But the satisfaction of hearing the door slam and the effort used was worth it. The others were out of the car now and looking at me. Idiots. They couldn't figure out how to tie their shoes if I wasn't here.

         "Where to, boss?" Evan asked, as if to prove my point. First I looked down the ramp, back where we had come from. Then I looked up, the highway would be teeming with dead cars and probably dead people. If they didn't screw it up we could use the highway to get there quickly and safely.

         "We go up. Onto the highway." I pointed toward the top of the ramp. I started walking before they could complain.

         As expected, the highway was heavy with cars. That would be good. It could provide us cover if we needed it. On foot it would probably take us several hours to reach Hampton. That was a lot of time for something to go wrong. The good news was that it had been several days since this hit the area, the chance of us running into another stage two infection group would be lower. I looked left then right down the highway before heading toward the right.

         "Single file. Stay close, but not too close. If you shoot me, I will kill you." I said, again moving before they could argue. I moved in between the two rows of cars closest to the right shoulder. Until the road curved, I could see straight down for a good distance. There were a few of the shambling dead creatures down there. Better to stay silent. I drew my hatchet and pressed forward. My pace was quick, but slow enough to keep them close behind me.