The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(4)

“Now trust me when I say that we’ve got a plan to get everyone to safety, and all you have to do is watch your brother, okay?”

In the distance, more gunfire erupted. This time it lasted a lot longer than before. Standing next to his father, listening to the battle in the distance, Josh’s heart pounded with fear and anticipation. What Josh understood more than his dad and any of the other adults was that zombies had an eerie way of destroying even the best of plans.





Chapter 3


Heart thudding with fear, Josh scrambled onto the bus with his dad at his heels. Derrick quickly shut the door behind them. The slim young black man stared out of the windshield worriedly even though his view was blocked by other vehicles lining the road.

“That doesn’t sound good,” he said.

“It’s still some distance away,” Jamie assured him.

A young woman near the front stood and blearily looked around. Big eyes the color of metal, which Josh thought was cool, stood out on her pale narrow face. She’d escaped Austin with Josh’s father, and seemed nice. She’d given the kids candy and protein bars from her bag. “Jamie, what is it?”

Jamie started down the aisle. “They’re clearing the highway up ahead, Savannah. No need to worry.”

Others on the bus were waking up, too. Josh was still learning the names of everyone. There was a young Latina mom named Melissa who had a little boy named Oscar just a year older than Drake. There was also a big white guy with red hair wearing a janitor uniform with the name “Beaux” on the nametag. They were the only ones to make an effort to talk to him or the other kids. All the other adults ignored them, spending their time crying, trying to call loved ones on their cellphones, or arguing with each other.

Rachel, the blind woman, called out, “Are we safe here?” Her brown hair was falling out of her ponytail, and her fingers were white from her tight grip on her dog’s harness.

“As safe as we can be,” Jamie answered. “Since the Army unit arrived, we’ve got a ton of firepower. Nothing to worry about.”

“Except for zombies,” Troy muttered, blinking his swollen eyes.

Jamie squeezed Troy’s shoulder. “I know, son, but we’re clearing the area.”

Too nervous to sit, Josh stayed at Derrick’s side as his dad walked down the aisle of the bus reassuring everyone and answering questions. Since people had found out that Jamie was a former Marine, they looked to him for leadership.

“Why aren’t we moving?”

“We’re not far enough out of Austin to be safe, are we?”

“I don’t understand! What’s the delay?”

The raised voices from the back of the bus startled Drake awake. He promptly started to cry.

“Not again!” a man exclaimed, annoyed.

Corina gathered Drake into her arms and stood. Struggling to hold him on her hip, she scooted along the aisle. Her leggings had holes in them and her shirt was torn. She didn’t look like the type of person to ride a motorcycle to someone’s rescue, but Josh knew he was alive only because of her. She’d driven them both to the safety of the convoy on her dead boyfriend’s motorcycle. At one point she’d even shot a zombie during the escape. It was the most amazingly epic thing Josh had ever seen.

Drake continued to sob, his face messy with tears and snot.

“Don’t cry, Drake. The Army is killing the monsters,” Josh said.

Clutching Rex the dinosaur in one grubby hand, Drake stuttered, “Killing monsters?”

“Yeah. That’s what the noise is. All those pops. The Army is shooting them.”

Corina leaned toward the windshield. “See, Drake. They’re far away from here. You can’t even see them.”

“Is Mama with them?”

Derrick visibly winced.

“No, Drake. Mama is in our house,” Josh replied.

“Want Mama!”

Corina jiggled the sobbing toddler on her hip. She looked exhausted, and Josh realized how long she’d been holding his little brother. Josh wasn’t too sure why Corina was the only one Drake would go to, but he could see she was worn down by his demands. Feeling guilty, he held out his arms to Drake. “Want to come to me?”

“No,” Drake replied. “Want Mama.”

Resting his hands on Drake’s chubby middle, he said, “C’mon, little buddy.”

“No!” He dug his knees into Corina’s waist. “You’re mean.”

The words hurt, since Josh already feared that Drake blamed him for their mother’s death. “C’mon, Drake.”

“No! I want Mama.”

Did Drake think Corina was his mom now?

“Corina isn’t your mother,” Josh retorted, starting to lose his calm.

Drake glowered at Josh through his tears. “You’re stupid. Corina is my girlfriend.”

“It’s okay,” Corina said. “I’ll hold him.”

Josh sighed. “Sorry.”

Corina shrugged a shoulder. “He’s just a little kid.”

“I’m the baby,” Drake said with satisfaction.

At the rear of the bus his father was in a heated discussion with several people. The dark shapes of the passengers clustered around Jamie looked as threatening as zombies. Josh couldn’t hear everything being said, but the arguing was making him feel anxious. The angriest of the passengers drowned out his father’s calm replies. It annoyed Josh to hear people shouting at his father. It wasn’t his dad’s fault that the roads had to be cleared.