The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(12)

“Do you see this firepower?” Derrick called out. “They’ll get it under control.”

“When?” a voice shouted from the back. “When? In a few days? Weeks? Months? Years?” It was Beaux, the guy in the janitor uniform.

“I don’t know, but it’ll happen,” Derrick answered. “It has to.”

The bus rumbled along between another bus and an RV. Josh leaned forward so he could see the reflection in the side mirrors. The barricade was still in sight with its big lights, honking horns, and bonfire of zombie bodies. He’d hate to be stuck back there waiting. He wasn’t too sure it was even possible to bring order to all the people attempting to flee the zombie outbreak, but he was glad that the Army, police, and other first responders were trying to help.

Settling back in his seat, Josh stared out at the darkened countryside. The bus was moving faster now, and the gentle rocking slowly relaxed his tense shoulders. Drake let out a little snort in his sleep.

“He’s got the right idea.” Savannah lightly brushed her hand over Drake’s back. “You should all try to sleep now that we’re moving again.”

“Sav is right,” Jamie agreed. “Get some shut eye.”

“I’ll get Derrick another energy drink,” Savannah decided. “He’ll be driving until morning. Joe says he’ll take over then.”

Joe was the other bus driver. Older with lots of wrinkles around his pale blue eyes, he’d driven while Derrick slept in the afternoon.

“Is it safe to sleep?” Sam asked worriedly.

“We got the Army,” Troy reminded him. “We’re safe.”

“Safer than those people back there,” Corina said soberly.

“You think they’re in danger?” Josh tried to see her face in the dark, but could only make out the faint lines of her features.

“Stuck behind the barricade waiting? Yeah. What if the zombies in the towns between here and San Antonio are drawn to the sound of all those horns honking and the gun shots?”

Josh nodded. “Maybe they’re moving by now.”

“I’d hate for us to be stuck behind a barricade waiting for rescue.”

“We rescued each other,” Josh reminded her. “Now we’re going to a safe place.”

Corina’s fingers nudged his, and it took Josh a second to realize she wanted him to hold her hand. Embarrassed that his palm was sweaty, Josh wrapped his fingers around hers.

“We’ll be okay,” Josh said.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Josh could see Corina’s faint smile in the gloom and it made him happy.

“Is she your girlfriend now?” Sam asked loudly.

“Shh!” Troy waved his hands at Sam to shut him up.

“Go to sleep, Sam,” Jamie ordered, closing his own eyes.

“I just asked,” Sam grumbled, but he settled back on his seat. “Sheesh.”

Corina rested her head against Josh’s shoulder again, and he timidly leaned his against hers. Closing his eyes, he willed sleep to come as helicopters zoomed overhead and in the distance shots rang out.





Chapter 8


Josh woke gradually from a very deep sleep. His mouth felt super dry, like a desert, and his stomach hurt with hunger. Groggy, he raised his head and felt drool on his chin. He hastily wiped it away, embarrassed. To his relief, Corina was still sleeping, her head nestled against his numb shoulder.

The light inside the moving Metro bus was gray and outside the windows a thick mist clung to the terrain. The world looked unreal like a video game where monsters lurked in the fog. He wasn’t certain why he’d awakened, but then noticed the convoy was slowing. Brakes whining, the bus shuddered as Derrick downshifted.

Most of the people on the bus were still asleep, but a few sat up with scared looks on their faces. Across the aisle his dad was already awake and watching the terrain with a scowl on his face. Next to Jamie, Savannah was slumped against the window with Drake on her lap. Both were still asleep.

The sight pinched Josh’s insides and a flash of anger heated his face.

It should be his mom sitting there, not Savannah.

Josh’s hands clenched on his lap.

It wasn’t fair that his mom wasn’t alive and holding Drake while he slept.

For a second he wanted to yell at Savannah and tell her to stop taking his mom’s place, then the anger flickered out and died in his chest. He couldn’t be angry at the young woman who had done her best to keep the kids on the bus fed with chocolate and protein bars from her gym bag while not taking one for herself. She’d also made sure to keep them hydrated with sips of water from her thermos, and gave her energy drinks to Derrick and Joe to keep the drivers alert.

It wasn’t her fault his mother was dead.

In the end it was no one’s fault.

“Why are we stopping?” Troy asked in a muddled voice. He sat up, rubbing his hair with one hand. The end result was that his afro was lopsided.

“Not sure,” Jamie answered in a lowered voice. “I’ll check it out.”

Watching his dad walk to the front, Josh noticed that his dad’s socks were sagging around his ankles. His shoe with the zombie guts on it had smelled up the bus until Derrick made Jamie throw it out the window. How was his dad supposed to fight zombies without shoes?