The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(15)

“I was in the Army, but I have my son with me!” Melissa called out.

“I’ll take care of him while you go,” Savannah offered.

“I’m a hunter. A good shot,” Ron said, lifting his chin with confidence.

“Okay, you two then. Anyone else?”

“My dad’s a sheriff,” Sam said in a very sleepy voice, just waking up.

Jamie looked amused. “Sam, thanks for the offer, but you stay here, okay?”

“Okay.” Rubbing his eyes, Sam looked around curiously. “What’s going on?”

“Melissa and Ron, you’re with me.” Jamie looked at Derrick. “Keep the doors closed until I’m back.”

“But why aren’t we moving?” Beaux called out.

“We will be shortly,” Jamie assured him.

Melissa ushered Oscar over to Savannah, kissed him, then whispered to him in Spanish before hurrying after Jamie and Ron.

Oscar looked close to crying, his bottom lip trembling.

Drake poked his arm. “Rex is here. Don’t be scared. He’ll take care of us.”

Smiling shyly despite his tears, Oscar admired the stuffed dinosaur.

Drake was always good at making friends. “You can hold his tail if it makes you feel better.”

Oscar timidly took hold of the stuffed toy’s tail. “I like him.”

Corina and Savannah exchanged looks of relief.

Flattening his nose against the window again, Josh strained to see what was happening outside. The mist was starting to lift, but it was still difficult to see.

“Your dad is a soldier again, huh?” Troy said.

“Yeah. I think so.” The nervous feeling was filling Josh’s stomach again.

“That’s cool.” Troy lowered his dark eyes. “I miss my dad. I wish he’d been a soldier. Then he wouldn’t have died.”

Guilt weighed on Josh’s shoulders. “Sorry about what I did.”

“Don’t say that. You were brave and saved us. Dad was a zombie, and he would’ve killed us. I wish I could’ve been as brave as you, but Rog was freakin’ out so bad, and…” Tears filled Troy’s eyes. “Stupid Rog.”

Josh wished he could erase the image of Roger as a zombie from his brain. “He didn’t understand what was happening.”

“He didn’t want to understand, Josh. He didn’t want it to be real. I get that. I don’t want all of this to be real, too. But if you try to pretend everything is okay, that’s how you die.”

From behind them, Sam said in a tired, whiny voice, “Savannah, I’m hungry.”

“I know, hon. As soon as Sergeant Rondell gets back, I’ll talk to him about getting us some food. Okay?”

“Derrick!” Rachel called out. “Do you think we can get off soon? I need a restroom break. So does Bonnie.”

“I hope so. I can see movement out there, but I’m not sure if its people or zombies.” Derrick glanced over at Rachel and Bonnie with a concerned look. “When Jamie gets back, I’ll ask him.”

“Who farted?” Sam demanded in an offended voice. “Yuck! Excuse you!”

“Sorry,” Yessica called out from under the seat. “I gotta go.”

“They can’t keep us in this bus forever!” Hector, the Latino man who liked to argue with Jamie, exclaimed.

“And we need food,” Clare agreed.

“At least for the children,” Savannah said in a still furious tone.

“Of course,” Clare said in a not too nice voice.

Josh glanced over his shoulder to see Savannah watching Drake and Oscar playing with Rex together. There was a very worried look on her face. At the rear of the bus a cluster of people, including the couple from the day before, were whispering to each other. This time they were throwing angry looks in Savannah’s direction.

“You sure this is a safe place to be?” Troy asked again, his brow scrunched with worry.

Pressing his lips together, Josh nodded.

This time he was lying.





Chapter 10


It was nearly an hour later when Jamie returned to the bus. Josh was startled by how different his dad looked. It wasn’t that he was now wearing Army boots and a flak jacket. Or the big weapon on a strap over his shoulder. It was something about the way he held himself when he stood in front of the bus.

Melissa, also wearing a flak jacket and carrying a weapon, remained on a lower step as the doors shut. Oscar smiled and waved at her. She cracked a small smile in return. Ron wasn’t with them.

Jamie ignored the questions already being shouted at him and signaled for silence. “Okay, everyone, I’ve been going down the convoy vehicle to vehicle to let everyone know what’s going on. I’ve got fifteen more vehicles to visit after this one, so please let me talk. I need to do this quick before we roll on.”

“But what if we have questions?” Hector protested.

Beside him, Beaux nodded in agreement.

“I don’t have a lot of time for questions, just facts. You know me as Jamie, but from this point on I’m Sergeant Rondell. I’ve been officially put in charge of this convoy. Ladonna Richards, the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, is now in charge of the Texas evacuations. She’s in transit with a National Guard unit. The Governor, sad to say, didn’t make it out of Austin.”