The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(11)

Chapter 7


An hour or so later, white light blazed across the front of the bus.

Wincing, Corina finally lifted her head from Josh’s shoulder. He was disappointed, though his arm had been slowly going numb. He joined her in sitting up straighter in an attempt to see the source of the brightness. Huge lights illuminated the upcoming highway intersection. The construction light towers were arranged inside a perimeter of Army vehicles and construction equipment. The highway heading toward San Antonio was completely cut off with barricades and a guarded checkpoint. Cars were jammed into two lanes on the other side. The headlights were blinding when combined with the light towers. Horns honked over and over again, but the Army personnel kept the multiple lanes of traffic stopped behind a temporary barricade to let the convoy through.

“Are all those people escaping from San Antonio?” Corina asked.

Savannah nodded. “I would guess so.”

“But what about the zombi–” Sam started to say.

A steamroller motored past the bus and flattened the zombie stragglers that had followed the convoy.

“Oh.” Sam sat back in his seat, blinking rapidly. “Gross.”

“World of hurt, huh, Dad?” Josh rolled his eyes, recalling what his father had said earlier.

“Even with zombies in the world, I’m not giving up my lame dad jokes,” Jamie answered with a wink. “One of the soldiers told me earlier they were using the steamroller to clear the zombies. Pretty effective.”

“Effective and definitely gross. Don’t look, kids,” Savannah said, clearly worried about what Josh’s mom had called ‘kids’ impressionable minds.’

“They’ve seen worse,” Jamie said, his smile disappearing. “Much worse.”

“Oh, yeah.” Savannah gave Josh a sheepish apologetic look. “Sorry, hon. I forgot.”

“It’s okay,” Josh answered.

“We’re Zombie Hunters,” Troy said soberly. “We’ve seen it all.”

“But that was really gross.” Sam shook his head. “Really, really gross.”

Several men in Army uniforms with orange vests over their armor waved the caravan from Austin onto the highway with flashlights.

“Finally,” Derrick sighed, since the bus was next in line.

“Follow the vehicle in front of you. Do not attempt to pass. Do not block the shoulder. Stay in the two designated lanes. Do not attempt to turn around or exit. Keep one car length between vehicles...” a voice droned over a loudspeaker. “If you spot the undead, keep moving. Do not attempt to strike the undead with your vehicle. Your escort will deal with all threats.”

Josh craned his head to get a good view of the blocked-off highway as the bus turned. There were lots of crushed vehicles shoved off onto the sides of the road. Even more chilling: a massive stack of bodies was burning in the median under the watchful eye of people in uniform. The San Antonio-bound lane was blocked off completely and filled with military vehicles, police cars, fire trucks, and highway patrol SUVs. The traffic coming from the city, which was over an hour away, was bumper to bumper for as far as Josh could see.

“They’re trying to get the evacuation under control. They’re letting us through, then they’ll let the other cars advance in groups,” Jamie explained. “It’s to keep everyone moving, and to prevent car accidents.”

It did calm Josh’s anxious mind to see the military out in force.

“And we’re going to a FEMA camp? Where?” Corina asked.

“They’re not sure yet. Right now they’re just trying to get us away from the cities. Lots of people who would be coordinating the evacuations are missing, or dead,” Jamie replied.

“They should have planned better. They should have known,” Ron said in a tight, angry voice.

Josh hadn’t even realized the man had been listening in.

“They obviously didn’t,” Savannah replied. “We barely made it out of Austin, remember?”

“They knew about the riots. They knew something was wrong in Houston. They should have planned better. And now we’re trusting the same people who failed us to get us somewhere safe?” Ron looked away, his jaw set in a furious line.

“They have guns. They’re the Army,” Sam piped up. “They’ll get us somewhere safe.”

“Yeah,” Troy agreed.

The man ignored them, which was fine with Josh. He was tired of people being jerks when things were so scary.

The speed of the convoy picked up on the cleared highway. Army jeeps, police cars, and highway patrol vehicles were part of the escort. In the air above, helicopters circled, spotlights illuminating the trees, pastures, and highway.

“Will they go back and check on our hometown?” Corina asked Jamie, her voice quivering. “To see about other survivors?”

“When they get the outbreak under control, I’m sure there will be a search for survivors,” Jamie reassured her.

“You think they’ll get it under control?” Ron scoffed. “Right. Sure.”

“Would you mind not scaring the children?” Savannah said, her eyes narrowing.

“Or the adults,” Rachel added, combing her fingers through her dog’s thick fur.

Bonnie looked pleased with the attention, but was definitely keeping an eye on Ron.