The First Days (As the World Dies #1)(15)

"We were just trying to help," Jenni pouted.

"I know," Katie answered and ran her fingers through her hair slowly.

She massaged the tender, knots on the top of her head with her fingertips and tried to relax. Her whole body was tense and painful. She had just run over a woman and reduced her to road kill. And yet, she had no regrets. In this new world, violence was the way to redemption.

If only she could have released Lydia…

Jenni looked grumpy as she propped her feet up on the dashboard. "He could have listened to us. We could have helped him."

"Not everyone understands what is going on," Katie said after a beat.

"I'm still adapting."

Sighing, Jenni pulled the dog close to her.

They lapsed into silence and continued down the road.





2. Keep Moving Until You Stop





Keep moving, Katie. Keep moving, her father's voice whispered in her mind.

Had he really said those words?

She sighed and shifted in her seat. The air conditioning was blowing full blast making it nice and cool in the cab despite the hot sun blazing through the windshield. It was a pull on the tank of gas, but it was too hot to go without running it anymore. It was near four o'clock in the afternoon and the hottest part of the day.

Jack and Jenni had dozed off beside her. Jenni's head slightly rested on Katie's thigh and her black hair fell around her pale face. Her body was curled up under the hunting jacket. Jack the German Shepherd, no more than an overgrown puppy really, lay against her.

They were both snoring.

It soothed Katie's nerves for some strange reason.

Damn erratic weather had it cold in the mornings, roasting by noon, and cool in the evenings. Right now it was at full broil.

She had finally kicked off her shoes. Her sleeveless silk tank and navy blue trousers seemed brutally out of place in her new existence. She would need to find some better clothes soon. But where, was a good question. For miles there had been nothing more than farmland and forest and occasionally a house set back from the road.

On one small farm road, they had passed a farm that had its workers patrolling the grounds with guns. One of them had motioned for them to slow down, but Katie's gut had clenched at the sight of one of those workers heavily bandaged arm and they had sped by.

They couldn't take chances anymore.

But they weren't the only paranoid ones. They had to go around a very small town that had its roads blocked with armed men standing at the ready.

A huge makeshift sign had read "No out of towners allowed." It made sense, actually, if the people from the big cities, like them, were trying to seek refuge in the countryside. There was no assurance that the city folk weren't bringing the infection with them.

Looming ahead of the truck were more hills and more trees. It felt peaceful and surreal. Usually at this time of the day she was either in court or buried under stacks of paperwork. Her tummy would be full of takeout food and she'd be text-messaging Lydia back and forth as the day went on.

Instead…

She looked down at Jenni and sighed.

Jenni unnerved her. She was a very lovely young woman with her dark hair and eyes and luminous skin. Jenni was a battered wife and the faint bruising on her legs and one arm only confirmed her abuse. And, as Lydia had often pointed out, Katie wanted to save the world and everyone in it.

Already Katie felt very protective toward Jenni. She would do everything she could to take care of both of them and give them both a chance to live.

That thought gave her purpose, gave her the will to move on and not stare at the picture of Lydia captured on her cell phone.

Above the trees, an enormous billboard suddenly rose up.





Toombs Hunting Store-Stop now before you shoot!





She laughed at the sign and shook her head. Country people were one of a kind. She reached down and gently stroked Jenni's hair.

"We're gonna be okay," she promised the sleeping woman.

The truck crested a hill and down below was a town, if it could be called a town. Six buildings, four on the left, two on the right, lined the road. Behind the buildings were fields and trees and Katie could see a smattering of houses and trailers making up the town's "burbs".

A huge sign stood on top of the two story building on the right.





Toombs Hunting Store-Guns, Supplies, Licenses and More! Stop now before you shoot!





"Wonder if they have a zombie hunting license," Katie murmured as she slowly drove into the town.

The store was very old, at least 150 years old, with thick stone walls and heavy iron bars over the windows. A big iron door had Toombs with deer antlers on either side of the name painted in yellow letters. It looked like an old-time jail.

Letting the truck idle, Katie looked around at the buildings before returning her gaze to the hunting store. It was eerily quiet and devoid of any visible people.

Suddenly, a shot rang out and Katie jumped. Jenni screamed as she woke and instantly Jack started barking.

Katie was so startled she wasn't sure what was going on. Then she saw a small child laying right beside the truck, a neat hole blown through its head.

Its torso and right arm were a mangled mess, as if its flesh had been ripped from its bones.