The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(9)

“They’re killing the zombies, Drake,” Corina said, still hunched beside her seat. Her fingers combed through the toddler’s dirty blonde curls.

“All the monsters will be dead soon,” Josh added.

Drake squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head. “Not Mama.”

The words stung.

Maybe Drake really did blame his older brother for their mother’s fate.

Josh turned to face his dad. Jamie was staring down at his dirty socks, his shoulders slightly jumping as the shots rang out. Josh knew that his dad had gone to therapy for a while after he’d arrived home from the war, and that he didn’t like to talk about his experiences overseas. The war haunted him. Now Jamie was stuck in a new war, and had already lost his wife. His dad had to be scared and sad, too, but was being strong for everyone else on the bus.

The love and respect he had for his dad surged through him in a great wave. Josh bolted forward and wrapped his arms around his dad’s waist.

Without a word, Jamie hugged him close and kissed his cheek.

“Here we go!” Derrick announced.

The bus lurched into motion.

Finally, the convoy was moving again.





Chapter 6


The sluggish speed of the convoy was nerve wracking. The zombies trapped behind the barbed-wire fence trudged along beside the bus, easily keeping pace. Like most of the other passengers, Josh couldn’t look away from the burned walking corpses wading through the wild grass. There was something grossly fascinating about their scorched appearance. It was hard to believe they were real and not movie set extras.

“Why are they burned?” Sam asked.

“There was a plane crash near here. That’s what the bus driver said,” Corina answered. “It set fire to a whole bunch of houses.”

“Why don’t they just shoot them?” Sam asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

Josh didn’t bother to answer for the hundredth time.

“Because they’re not an immediate threat.” Troy was slouched in his seat. “Remember? Josh told you that before.”

“But if the soldiers shoot them they die.”

“And then the soldiers run out of bullets faster,” Troy answered.

Sam sighed. “I think the soldiers should shoot them.”

Army jeeps zoomed up the lane beside the convoy. The heavily-armed men and women were a reassuring sight. There didn’t appear to be any more zombies on the road, but Josh’s stomach was still in one big knot. Things could have gone very wrong if the zombies had made it onto the bus. Only his dad had a weapon.

Again, Josh struggled against feelings of helplessness.

Corina sat silently beside him, picking at the hangnails around her cuticles. Her polish was chipped and her nails dirty. She was usually very neat, but now she was as grungy as Josh. Catching him looking at her, her lips slightly trembled.

“My mom always got after me if I bit my nails or picked at my hangnails,” she said.

“Mine, too.” Staring down at his very filthy fingers, Josh could imagine his mother telling him to wash them before dinner. The lump in his throat hurt at the thought of her.

“Do you think...” Corina hesitated, tears brimming in her eyes. “Do you think my mom got away?”

“Maybe.” Josh knew his mother was dead, but there might be hope for Corina. He didn’t want to take that away from her.

Lowering her hands to her lap, Corina whispered, “Should I have looked harder for her?”

“I don’t think so. She’d have wanted you to be safe and not running around looking for her.”

“Like Brad did for his mother. And he died.”

Josh nodded. “Yeah.”

He had been jealous of Brad for a long time. The older boy had a motorcycle, good looks, and Corina as his girlfriend. But all that was now in the past. Josh was saddened by the fact he’d died trying to rescue his mother. That could have easily been his fate. It was hard to shake the instinct to look for loved ones instead of finding safety. If he hadn’t been in charge of taking care of Drake after his mother had become a zombie, Josh might have been tempted to go looking for his dad. In a way, Drake had saved Josh’s life by keeping him at the treehouse.

Again, Josh was struck by how lucky he was to have some of his family still alive when his friends had lost all of theirs. His father and brother sat across from Josh with their eyes closed, both dozing. Josh had spotted his dad’s hands shaking when he’d gathered Drake into his arms earlier, but he seemed calmer now that the convoy was moving.

Since Drake was asleep, and not crying, Josh was a lot less anxious. Drake acting up made him feel both protective and frustrated. His little brother annoyed him on a regular day, but his screams had gotten on Josh’s last nerve. Plus, he didn’t like how people looked at Drake with disgust and anger in their expressions, or how they’d said mean things about shutting him up.

All the passengers on the bus were a lot quieter now that the convoy was inching along the country road. The girl who’d tried to escape earlier was seated a few rows back with Savannah at her side. She silently stared out the window with tears running down her face. The couple who had argued with his dad were still in the rear, whispering to the other passengers in a huddle. Ron was still seated next to Rachel and Bonnie, but he had the decency to look embarrassed after not helping Jamie get rid of the zombie.