The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(18)

Fingers trembling, Savannah took the pistol. “Of course.”

“Dad, I know how to use a gun,” Josh reminded him. Again, he felt the pinch of anger that Savannah seemed to be taking his mother’s place, and even had her weapon.

“I know, Josh, but the adults have got this taken care of. I promise.” Jamie leaned over to kiss his forehead, then ruffled his hair. “Let the adults deal with this, okay?

Shoulders drooping, Josh nodded. “Okay, Dad.”

“Josh doesn’t need a gun to kill zombies,” Sam blurted out. “And he killed a bunch of them!”

“No, he didn’t,” one of the new passengers said mockingly. He was a lanky teenager with blonde hair, braces, and a puffy black eye.

“He totally did!” Sam glared at the newcomer. “He’s the leader of the Zombie Hunters.”

Yessica poked her head out from under the seat. “He killed the zombies and saved me.”

“No way!” the new boy insisted.

Josh pointedly looked out the window, embarrassed.

“Yes, he did! He killed a zombie with his backpack, another with a flashlight, and a whole bunch of zombies with fire,” Troy said defensively.

The teenager sneered. “There’s no way!”

Glancing toward Josh, there was deep pain in Jamie’s eyes. “Josh did what he had to do.”

The kid’s one good eye fastened on Josh, sizing him up. “Seriously?”

“Seriously,” Troy answered.

Some of the new passengers were staring at Josh with a mix of fear and awe in their eyes. The boy with the black eye regarded Josh with a look he couldn’t quite decipher.

“It’s okay, son,” the old man said, leaning toward Josh. “I had to kill our mailman.”

Jamie motioned for silence. “Enough talk about killing zombies. I need to explain the plan for the truck stop. Listen carefully,”

Josh paid attention to his dad going over every step of the upcoming stop. It seemed simple enough, but Josh knew simple plans could go badly if people didn’t cooperate. Jamie walked down the aisle and divided the bus into groups lead by an adult. The girl in the wheelchair and elderly couple would be the first ones off the bus with Derrick and Rachel.

“Get your business done, and get back to the bus immediately. Don’t drag your feet,” Jamie finished.

“What if zombies show up?” Sam asked. “That’ll be bad, right?”

“We have armed guards, Sam,” Jamie said patiently. “If any show up, we’ll deal with them. Just stick with your group leader–”

“That’s Savannah,” Yessica piped up.

“Stick with Savannah, and obey her. It’ll be fine,” Jamie finished.

“Until someone does something stupid.” Troy sighed sadly. “Just like the movies.”

“Well, this isn’t the movies, Troy. The guards will take care of you.”

Josh detected his dad’s annoyed voice, and nudged Troy when he started to open his mouth again. Troy caught Josh’s look and shrugged.

Sam stood and pointed. “There it is!”

A huge sign on the edge of a field announced the truck stop was a mile away.

“About time. I’m about to become a yard sprinkler.” Troy grinned.

“Tell me about it!” Josh felt like his bladder was about to explode out of his body.

The next mile seemed to drag on forever, but finally the big truck stop sign came into view. To Josh’s dismay, the convoy was turning off the country road and onto the frontage of a highway. The back roads of Texas felt a lot safer than the highways. The off-ramp was blocked off and construction machinery was parked along the top of the overpass. The highway was undergoing construction and all the traffic would have been redirected onto the frontage anyway. A deputy sheriff motioned for the lead vehicle to enter the vast parking lot. When Josh saw the county sheriff cars and highway patrol vehicles parked along the perimeter of the truck stop, he slightly relaxed.

“They got guns,” Sam said with relief. “Big shotguns.”

“Stay on the bus until I tell you to get off,” Jamie instructed.

Derrick opened the front door at his order, and Jamie hopped off the slow-moving bus. Melissa followed, and they two rushed over to where the newly appointed convoy guards were gathering in a circle. Following the directions of a deputy, Derrick pulled up to a center pump that placed the bus in front of the truck stop building. There were twenty pumps lined up under the canopy. There was still a long walk to the building, but Josh felt better about their position.

“It’s as big as Walmart!” Sam said excitedly.

“Maybe half the size,” Troy corrected.

The building was large with a wooden fence behind it that cut it off from the countryside. The front of the store was long with big windows adorned with advertising for the items sold inside. Metal statues of various animals for yard decoration and big barbecue pits lined the front. There was only one big entrance right in the middle.

“Let’s air out the bus. Open the windows,” Derrick instructed.

“Yeah, it smells like fart in here,” Sam agreed.

“I need to poop,” Yessica reminded everyone.

“Don’t worry, sugar. You’ll get your chance in a few minutes,” Savannah promised.