Zoey and the Zombies (A Mondamin Court Adventure)

Chapter 34

"Come on, Come on," Jack yelled at them. "Daylight is wasting."

They had already loaded all the dried and canned goods in the back of truck and loaded what few personal possessions they had. Now they were piling the perishable goods in the back and getting ready to load themselves in.

"We're coming," Ruth replied, leading the goats up the ramp of the truck.

They would take two vehicles, the semi and Jack's Range Rover. Philip, Ethan, and Kyle would ride in the cab of the truck. Jack would take Craig, Zoey, Holly, and Maria in the Range Rover. The rest would ride in the back of the truck. It was safest that way.

Jack and Craig had spent the last several days poring over maps and discussing the route. They needed roads big enough for the semi, but those were the roads that often had large hordes. They would use the Range Rover to scout routes and radio back to Philip.

Zoey climbed into the Rover and watched as Craig sealed up the back of the truck. He gave a hand signal, and the truck roared to life. It started forward, and Jack drove through the gap in the fence. Zoey felt a tug at her gut as she left her childhood home for good.

They maneuvered down the next block so that when they pulled onto Clark Street they were in front of the truck. They saw a tank coming down the opposite direction, blaring its message.

The message silenced, and the tank rolled to a halt. Jack pulled alongside it. The hatch opened, and Jack rolled down his window.

"Survivors?" the sergeant shouted down at them. Jack nodded. "Looks like you guys are pretty set up. You need to be heading out of town."

"We are," Jack told him.

"What's in the truck?"

"Most of my neighborhood," Jack said. "Got them through safely so far, intend to keep it that way."

The sergeant nodded and then saluted. "Good job, sir." Jack returned the salute and they continued on their way. "Tell Philip we're turning left up here," Jack said. "That tank will have attracted attention." Craig relayed the message.

Their convoy went in a zigzag pattern north and west, so that they eventually broke out of town on a small highway heading toward the town of Grimes and then toward the rural northwest part of the state, where Jack's brother had his farm.

They escaped Des Moines almost entirely without incident. The only scary moment was when the road they were on went under the freeway. The freeway was packed with a giant horde. They shuffled toward the sound of the truck and fell off the side of the bridge behind them like human rain.

Driving northward, they saw many abandoned cars and numerous bodies but only scattered bands of zombies.

"What do you think happened to them?" Holly asked, looking at the bodies. "If zombies got them, they'd be zombies too, right?"

Jack spared the latest corpse a solitary glance. "Pretty decayed. I'd say they died at the outset. Too goddamn many would-be survivalists hit the road too soon. Got crowded, and they started killing each other." He sighed. "Most important thing in a crisis is don't lose your head. I tried to say that."

"We listened," Zoey said.

"That's why you're alive," Craig replied. "Jack's right. Thousands killed each other in the cities before the zombies even got there. Thousands more out here in the countryside, fighting over defensible positions. Heck, if they'd teamed up instead of fighting, they might have held some of those positions. Maybe we could have beat this thing."