The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(22)

“I wish they’d hurry,” Corina said in a tense tone.

“I’m sure we’re safe,” Josh assured her, but he felt the same way.

Slowly, the group in front of the cooler grew smaller as people moved on. One guy chugged a whole bottle of water, then reached for another one before finally letting the kids close enough to get their own.

“Get some for Troy and Sam. I bet they won’t remember Savannah said to get water.” Corina opened her tote bag, and Josh dropped the bottles inside. “Add your food, too. Might as well keep it together.”

“I’ll carry it in the bag then,” Josh offered.

“Because it’s heavy and I’m a girl?”

“Uh... yeah,” Josh stuttered.

“Boys are dumb.” She shook her head, but she looked amused.

“Hurry up, people!” a voice said loudly. It was the Latino officer near the door. “We need to get you back to your vehicles.”

“Let’s get the others, Josh.” Corina started to weave through the crowd toward Sam and Troy, who were trying on hats.

Josh felt a hard jab on his back.

“So did you really kill zombies?”

Josh spun to face the teenager with the braces and black eye from the bus. “Yeah, I did.” He didn’t feel pride in his answer, but guilt. He didn’t want to think about Arturo slowly turning into a zombie while crying for his mother.

The boy’s brown eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah? How?”

“Like his friend said,” Corina replied in a defiant tone. She’d stopped in her tracks to stand at Josh’s side.

The blonde boy was taller than both of them and scrawny beneath his thin plaid cotton shirt. His one eye was nearly swollen shut. “But you’re just a little dude.”

“I’m twelve. Not little,” Josh retorted.

“I’m fifteen. You’re little compared to me.” The older kid scoffed at Josh. “I got this black eye fighting a zombie. It hit me square in the eye trying to get into my dad’s car. I was that close to it.”

“I held down a zombie while Josh killed it,” Corina replied. “So?”

Josh wasn’t sure if she was boasting or trying to prove a point.

The smirk that flowed across the boy’s face was probably supposed to be charming. “So you killed it and let the shrimp take the credit, huh?”

Josh had the urge to punch him.

“No. Josh killed the zombie. He killed a lot of zombies. And he saved my life.”

“Well, I’m Chad. And I fought a zombie in hand-to-hand combat.”

“But didn’t kill it,” Corina finished for him.

Chad shrugged. “I would have if my dad didn’t drive off.”

“So your dad saved you.” Corina stared at Chad straight in the eye.

Averting his gaze, Chad shrugged. “I guess. He’s dead now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Josh, look! It’s like my dad’s hat!” Sam joined the group wearing a fake sheriff hat that read “Deputy Hero” on the embroidered badge.

“You look dumb,” Chad said dismissively.

Josh cocked his head, studying the older boy. What was his problem? Slowly, it dawned on him that Chad was trying to impress Corina.

“He looks good.” Corina adjusted the hat on Sam’s head so it wasn’t tilted upward and making him look goofy. “You look just like your dad in that, Sam.”

“Did his dad look dumb and fat?” Chad laughed a little too loudly.

Without a word, Corina turned and walked away. “Come on, Josh and Sam. Let’s get Troy.”

They found the younger boy staring out the front windows, and wearing a Dallas Cowboy cap with the tags still attached.

“Troy, you ready?” Josh asked.

“Check this out!” Troy called out.

Stepping next to his best friend, Josh immediately saw where he was pointing. There was a large plume of smoke on the horizon that hadn’t been there before.

“That’s bad, right?” Sam asked worriedly.

Corina looked sharply at Josh. “An accident, right?”

Josh swallowed hard. “Yeah. Probably. Or a house fire.”

Over the loud conversations going on around them, Josh heard the squawk of a walkie-talkie. Standing on his toes, he peered over the shelves toward the front of the store. The Latino officer was talking into a handheld radio while pacing in front of the doors. The grim look on his face was alarming.

“Guys, we need to get to the bus,” Josh declared. “Right now.”

“What’s wrong?” Troy asked immediately.

“The bus smells like fart. Do we have to?” Sam pouted.

“Yeah, we have to. Something is wrong. We need to get out of here before other people realize it and panic,” Josh said in a lowered voice.

Corina gestured outside. “He’s right. The guards are moving toward the highway.”

“Zombies?” Sam exclaimed loudly. “There’s zombies?”

Josh, Corina, and Troy all shushed him.

“Dude, do you have a volume control?” Troy asked.

Sam reddened. “Sorry.”

“Let’s go,” Josh ordered.

Pivoting about, he started toward the front entrance.