ZOMB-POCALYPSE BOOK 2

Chapter Sixteen

We unhook the trailer and leave it hidden at an abandoned farm a few miles from town. Silas thinks the bulky trailer might get us into some trouble if we run into a big group of zombies, so we unhook it, leaving the hitch with the truck, and hope it will still be here when we get back.

Watseka looks like it'd been a nice little town before the zombies. A large Welcome to Watseka sign greets us as we pull into town, and in the distance I see a really weird tower with a smiley face on it that seems very out of place in the apocalypse. It's not a city by any stretch of the imagination, but it isn't a one horse town either, so we will have to stay vigilant.

"I don't suppose you have any idea where the cop shop is?" Silas asks as he steers the truck around a group of ten or so zombies staggering around in the middle of the street.

Natalie pulls her eyes away from the gruesome bunch and digs in the pocket of her pants, pulling out a torn and ragged piece of paper. "I have the address," she confirms, passing it along to Silas.

Silas glances down briefly to read it, and the truck smacks loudly into a zombie on the road. "Shit," Silas growls as he cranks two wheels up onto the curb to avoid more of them, and my stomach flips at the idea of the truck breaking down right here in the middle of zombie-ville.

"Do you think the truck is okay?" I ask anxiously, and Silas nods.

"I wasn't going very fast, it probably didn't even leave a dent," he assures us. Sunny has her face pressed into Ryan's side to avoid seeing all the terrifying things outside the window, and I feel awful that we had to drag the little girl into danger. Part of me wanted to leave her with the trailer, but that wouldn't be any safer, even if one of us stayed with her. We only have the one vehicle, so anyone who stayed at the trailer would be trapped there if something happened to the rest of us, or if, God forbid, a hoard came along.

"It's inside the municipal building," Natalie points to a nice looking brick building up ahead, and my palms start to sweat. It feels like we arrived at our destination way too fast.

There are a lot of zombies around, and more are being drawn by the movement of the truck. I have no idea how we are going to get close to this building with all of these assholes staggering around out there.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Natalie asks, breaking the silence, her hand on the door handle, and Silas shakes his head.

"Hold up. You're not going," he tells her point blank, and I watch her angrily cross her arms over her chest.

"Like hell," she argues, and I see a pissed off look cross Silas's face.

"Look outside at all those things," Silas argues, pointing to the flesh-eating monsters that are starting to gather. "Do you really think you'll be able to outrun them in your condition? Can you run or jump, and do you even own a gun or know how to shoot one?" he demands, making Natalie look even angrier.

"I've made it this far," she points out, but Silas isn't having any of it.

"You accept our help, the way I say, or you're on your own," he says with finality in his voice, and Natalie turns pale at his threat. The zombies have reached the truck now and are starting to bang their fists against the glass, clawing and moaning. Silas hits the gas and easily outdistances them, parking further up the block. I look back and see that they are doggedly staggering after the truck.

"If those doors are locked, we might have to climb in through a window," Ryan says from the backseat. "We will be in and out much easier than you would be, you need to think about the baby," he continues with far more diplomacy than Silas, playing on her new mommy hormones, and finally at last, Natalie nods her head stiffly.