Highway To Hell

Chapter 7

   I'm on the back of Daryl's motorcycle as we go down the road. We'd had to dump a few of the vehicles and I was sick of the awkward tension between Dale and Andrea in the RV. Only place I could go was here. I'm just glad he agreed to it. He'd been tense with my arms around his waist at first, but he'd loosened up as we drove. 

   I bite my lip and glance back at the RV when we come to a big traffic snarl on both sides of the road. Daryl goes up a bit, then turns around and heads back. He stops when we get to the RV.

   "See a way through?" Dale asks. Daryl thinks about it for a moment, then nods. I'm not sure if the RV can make it, but whatever. He pulls around and slowly goes in front of the RV. Things are going good for a while, until there's a loud noise behind me. I glance back and see smoke coming from the RV. I poke Daryl's stomach and lean forward.

  "Something's wrong with the RV!" I try to say it loud enough to be heard over the motorcycle, but not so loud that I blow out his eardrums. He glances back and sees the RV. He nods and stops. I get off and nearly fall to the ground as I realize my legs had turned to the consistency of pudding. I massage them as I walk over to Dale, who is already looking at the engine. 

   "I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water," Dale says.

   "Problem, Dale?" Shane asks. I keep scanning around us, waiting for something to come jumping out.

   "Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of . . ." Dale turns around and remembers the graveyard of cars. "Okay, that was dumb." I snort and walk over to a car. Daryl joins me. 

   "If you can't find a radiator hose here . . ." Shane trails off.

   "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl says. 

   "I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog says. 

   "Maybe some water," Carol speaks up.

   "Food," Glenn says. 

   "This is a graveyard," Lori says. Everyone looks at her.

   "Your point?" I ask. 

   "I don't know how I feel about this," she says.

   "Lori, I love you, but seriously. Don't start," I say. "We need to survive. And this," I turn back to the car and pull a protein bar from it, "is how," I say, holding it up for everyone to see. I toss it to her and she catches it. "Besides, these people don't need it anymore." I turn and walk off. I start going through a car and find a flashlight, some batteries, a half bottle of water and a knife. I keep going through cars, finding something here and there.

   "Get down!" I hear Rick whisper urgently. I look over at where he's telling Lori, Carol, Carl and Sophia under the cars. I look behind him and see dozens of walkers a ways behind him. I drop to the ground and roll under the truck I'd been going through. My eyes go to Carl and Sophia. My hand drifts down to one of guns. As the walkers reach us and walk right by without realizing that we're there. Rick notices my hand and shakes his hand frantically for me to stop. I sigh quietly and nod. 

   The walkers finally stop coming, but nobody moves. Except for Sophia. My eyes go wide as she starts to crawl out from under the car and a few stragglers take notice of her. She starts crying and I immediately start crawling out from under the truck. She gets out from under the car and takes off into the forest. I jump over the guard rail and run after her. There were about six and I can't use my guns. Great. 

   I hear running behind me and glance back. Rick is right on my tail.

   "How many?" he asks.