RU in? - 1st novel in the Ruinsaga series

Chapter 20 .

Lily

We walked just inside the edge of the woods so we could see the freeway, but anyone - or zombie - wouldn't be able to see us. There was a light, cool breeze. The gray clouds spotted earlier were now gone. The sky was blue with a few white, puffy clouds.

There were a spattering of zombies on the freeway near abandoned cars, but they were far away and never noticed us. An occasional moan could be heard from the freeway, but it always died away quickly and was never directed at us. Birds sang from the treetops, an occasional squirrel or chipmunk would run up a tree or hide in the underbrush when we got near. A few flies buzzed around but there weren't too many of them at this time of year. We needed to find our siblings and setup a safe place to stay before winter started.

"Maybe we should go back into town," Grant's dad said.

The rest of us looked at him like he was crazy, even Grant.

"Now, hear me out before you give me those judgemental looks," his dad said. "It's possible the police have now got things under control or maybe even the military has arrived to help out."

"I don't think that flash of green light was discriminant in who it turned into zombies," Hunter said. "The police and military and everyone would have been affected. And in case you didn't notice, that second flash of green light wiped out our cars and electronics. The military is not going to be able to just roll in."

"We should at least go back and see," Grant's dad said.

"Go ahead," Hunter said, "but I'm going to find my sister."

"I don't know why a kid thinks he gets to order the rest of us around," Grant's dad said.

Hunter - who had been in the lead with Richard beside him - stopped and turned to face Grant's dad fully. Mrs. Smith pulled Juan and Marcos close to her. Victory, Mackenzie and Arthur all stood next to each other. Molly sat obediently at Arthur's feet. Monica seemed slightly embarrassed by Grant's dad's actions. At least, if I read her shuffling feet and her eyes staring down at the ground correctly.

"I wasn't ordering you," Hunter said. "In fact, I told you to go ahead and go back. Just because I don't follow you doesn't mean I'm ordering you to follow me. I think I'd rather you left actually."

"And now you're being a smartass," Grant's dad said.

Hunter rolled his eyes obviously not caring that everyone - including Grant's dad could see. He turned away from Grant and his dad and started walking, but Grant's dad said, "Why don't you tell us what that Erik person meant when he said you were lying to us. I think if you want us to follow you, to trust you, you owe us at least that much."

"I don't owe you anything," Hunter said as he turned back around to face us. "What I keep to myself is my business. It isn't putting any of the rest of you in danger and I don't care if you follow me or not. I already told you I'd rather you leave."

"How can you say that to my dad?" Grant asked.

Hunter shrugged. "Your dad talks about trust," he said. "But Lily and I were the ones who put our lives in danger to save all of you and get you out of those houses you were trapped in. I think we've more than proven ourselves. And honestly, I don't want to hear about trust from a man who pushed his own wife to the zombies."

"He didn't," Grant said. His voice began to get louder.

"Please, Grant, it's obvious he did," Hunter said. "Don't feel too bad about it though, I'm sure you would throw your loved ones to the zombies too if it meant saving yourself."