The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(31)

Reaching across the top of the fence, the zombies silently flailed as they tried to grab him. Staying well out of their reach, Josh swallowed down his fear as he stared at the strip of cloth still attached to the fence.

Corina had almost died because of him.





Chapter 19


“Sip it slowly,” Corina ordered.

Sam ignored her, and gulped nearly the entire bottle of water in one go.

“Sam!” Corina shook her head, clearly annoyed.

“I was thirsty!”

“We need to preserve what we have!”

Lowering his head, Sam muttered, “Sorry.”

The kids had remained quiet as they trudged through the thick wild grass under the low branches of mesquite trees to avoid drawing the attention of zombies. They’d basically stuck to the plan Josh had devised at the truck stop. They’d made their way through the trees, aiming away from the highway, the burning truck stop, and the zombie herd.

After an hour of walking, it finally felt safe enough to have some conversation. Smoke filled the horizon to the west, but Josh didn’t see flames among the trees. They were taking a break at a culvert in a drainage ditch between the woods and a large unplowed field. Josh hoped that the cement and gravel would act as a firebreak if the fire was still spreading. It was hard to tell with the shift in the wind blowing the smoke from the truck stop away from them. There had been a few loud explosions in the last hour, and Josh suspected they’d originated at the truck stop.

Troy lay on the cement slope of the culvert breathing heavily. They’d run on and off throughout the last hour in an attempt to get some distance between them and the zombies. They hadn’t seen any more of the undead, but Josh knew they couldn’t wait too long before moving on again. Zombies didn’t need to take breaks, and he was pretty certain that they’d eventually breach the fence. Hopefully they were so charred they’d be very, very slow.

Digging into the gravel with the end of a branch he was trying to make into a decent spear, Josh stole a look at Corina. She’d tied a pink t-shirt she’d meant to give Yessica around her leg to stop the bleeding. Though she said the wound didn’t hurt much, she was slightly limping. She caught him looking her way, and gave him a small smile.

Chad lay on the grass nearby, his lightweight cotton shirt unbuttoned. He wasn’t muscular like a superhero in a movie, but he strutted around like he believed he was. Again, Josh got the sense that Chad was trying to impress Corina. Of course, saving her life was a pretty big deal, and Chad seemed to want to cash in on that fact. To Josh’s relief, Corina didn’t seem inclined to give him the adoration he wanted.

Chewing on the end of a stick of jerky, Troy said, “So where are we going?”

“We should follow the drainage ditch and hope to hit a road,” Josh said aloud. “Then keep moving away from where we know there are zombies. We need to find transportation.”

“I can’t drive,” Sam said, chewing with his mouth open. He was eating a cookie Corina had given him.

“I can,” Corina said.

“Me, too. I’m a good driver,” Chad sniffed.

“Dulce can drive, too. She learned in Mexico, so she can drive better than both of you because the drivers down there are crazy.” Danny rubbed the end of his stick against the cement slab of the culvert, sharpening it.

Embarrassed that he hadn’t thought of doing the same, Josh started to work on making a point on his branch. “Well, we need to find a car and drive to San Angelo.”

“Driving without a license is bad,” Sam declared, but everyone ignored him.

“We need supplies,” Corina added. “Water and food.”

“And guns,” Sam added. “Lots of guns.”

“Do you know how to shoot one?” Corina asked.

Sam shook his head. “No. But I can learn.”

“I can shoot,” Josh said. “My dad taught me.”

“I know how, too.” Corina adjusted her makeshift bandage on her leg, wincing. “I used to go hunting with my grandpa.”

“So we need to find two guns,” Troy decided.

“If we find one, give it to me.” Chad sat up, his shirt flopping open around him. His hair was messed up in the way that Josh knew girls thought was cool since that’s how their favorite pop stars wore it.

“You know how to shoot one?” Corina regarded him doubtfully.

“How hard can it be? Point and shoot.” Chad smirked as he pretended to fire a gun. “Easy.”

“Did you flick the safety off?” Corina asked. “Did you make sure it’s loaded?”

Chad straightened and made a big deal of flexing his skinny arms. “I can figure it out.”

“If you don’t end up shooting yourself, maybe,” Corina sniffed.

Chad grinned.

Confused, Josh looked back and forth between Corina and Chad. The teenager didn’t really think he impressed her, did he?

“It’s not easy to hit a moving target.” Corina slung the strap of the bag over her shoulder. “If we find a gun, give it to Josh. His dad taught him to shoot and use it safely.”

“I thought you said you know how to shoot. Why don’t you use it?” Chad sauntered to where Corina sat, and stood over her with his fingers hooked into the loops of his jeans. “Afraid?”