Chapter 6

Evey heard the screeching before the barrage of bullets. She looked at Anjo to see his eyes were wide. Ford closed the door and held his finger to his lips. Evey held onto her breath as there was a stampede of footsteps. She could see the shadows below the door as the Infected ran by.

Ford ran over to the closet and pulled out a backpack. He handed it to Evey. She unzipped it to see that it was empty.

“Get everything we need,” he said.

Evey nodded before she ran over to the closets full of supplies. Her hands shook as she grabbed all of the supplies that she would normally use during a shift. She found the medication cart and filled it with as much as she could. She made sure to grab all of the antibiotics.

Ford was by the door. His gun was up and he was preparing for the Infected to barge in. Anjo was shifting his weight from foot to foot. Evey threw the bag over her shoulders. The shadows underneath the door were gone.

“What are we going to do?” Anjo asked in a whisper.

“Weapons,” Ford said. “Everyone’s either dead or gone.”

“I don’t know how to use a gun,” Anjo said.

“Neither do I,” Evey said.

Ford rolled his eyes.

“I’ll need more bullets,” he said.

“Wait.” Anjo held his hands in front of himself. “We’re not leaving the place full of zombies? We’re going deeper into it?”

“Exactly,” Ford said.

“Where are the weapons?” Evey asked.

“Follow me,” Ford said. “Don’t make a noise.”

Evey nodded. Ford nudged the door open and poked his head outside. The screams turned human and Evey grabbed the strap of the backpack. Her heart sunk in her chest. Josie and Joey were out there. She could not let them die. She couldn’t save Lila, so she needed to make sure that those kids didn’t die.

Evey placed her hand on Ford’s shoulder. He turned to look at her.

“We need to make sure that those little kids are okay,” she whispered.

“They’re with Johnson,” he said.

Ford waved Anjo over. He held his fingers to his lips again before opening the door wide. They stepped outside. Ford led with his gun pointed. Growling was faint as they stepped deeper into the base.

Evey jumped when she heard a loud shriek. An Infected soldier stepped around one of the buildings. He let out another screech and ran forward. Evey bit down on her lip to stop herself from gasping when Ford lowered his gun.

This is it, Evey thought. We’re going to die.

Ford stepped forward. He grabbed the knife off of his leg and pulled it out of the sheath. He put his hand on the Infected’s shoulder before forcing the blade up under the Infected’s chin. Blood and saliva sprayed onto Ford’s face. Ford slowly lowered the man’s body onto the ground. He wiped the fluids off of his face with the back of his sleeve.

He said nothing as he continued to walk. Evey and Anjo stayed close behind. He walked into one building full of guns and other weapons. Ford grabbed a bag and filled it full of weapons and ammunition. Once it was full, he passed it to Anjo. Anjo grabbed the straps before gritting his teeth.

“It’s heavy,” Anjo said.

“Suck it up,” Ford said. “We need to find a way out of here.”

“You don’t know how we’re getting off the base?” Evey asked.

Ford scowled.

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he said.

There was a sharp cry.

“I say we get moving,” Anjo said.

Ford walked out of the building. Evey’s mouth went dry when she realized they were moving toward the Infected shrieks. She stopped moving and Anjo bumped into her. Ford looked over his shoulder to see Evey was scared. Her eyes were wide, jaw hanging open, and colour drained from her face. He waved his hand, beckoning for her to come forward, but she shook her head.

“Everett,” he said in a harsh whisper.

“We’re going to die,” she said.

“We’ll die if we stay here.”

Anjo put his hand on Evey’s arm. He tried to give her a reassuring smile.

“We need to stick together,” he said. “Safety in numbers.”

Evey closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She knew they had to get off the base. Earlier today, she was asking Ford to kill her. Now that it could be a reality, she was terrified.

“Everett,” Ford said through his teeth.

She had to move. Ford would leave her behind if she did not. She forced her feet to walk.

Ford brought Evey and Anjo to the garage. Evey covered her mouth with her hands when she saw the tipped over pick-up. The Infected were piled on top of the truck. It was swarmed and a pool of blood was splattering on the ground.

They rushed into the garage. Ford got into the driver’s seat. Evey and Anjo tossed their bags into the cab before getting inside. Evey sat in the passenger’s seat and fastened her seatbelt. Ford turned the key in the ignition. The lights lit up and the engine rumbled.

The Infected raised their heads. Their eyes were on Ford’s truck. They crawled off the tipped over truck and charged forward. Ford sped out of the garage. He made a hard right and evaded the crowd.

The Infected growled and foamed even more at the mouth as they banged on the truck. One shattered the back window and Anjo screamed. Ford ran over a few bodies as he pushed the truck forward faster.

Evey held onto the dashboard as the truck sped. Anjo turned to look out the back window. The Infected were still chasing them, but there was a distance between them.

“They’re not going to catch us?” Anjo asked.

“They don’t have special powers,” Ford said.

“Just a taste for human flesh,” Evey said.

Ford nodded. He reached for the radio attached to his chest. He squeezed the sides before he spoke.

“Johnson,” he said. “Are you there?”

The radio crackled.

“I’m here,” Johnson said. “Three pick-ups full of civilians made it off the base.”

“What happened back there?” Ford asked.

“Schwab didn’t do his job. That’s what happened. The base wasn’t tested.”

Evey’s jaw hardened. She scowled as she looked at Ford, but he was focused on the road. Her family was murdered by them, and they did not even check their own people? The hypocrisy infuriated her. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back in the seat.

“Where are you?” Ford asked.

“We’re topping the trucks off at a gas station at the corner of Carlton and Geneva,” Johnson said.

“Wait for us.”

“Roger that.”

Evey uncrossed her arms as she thought about the truck at the base. Her heart ached when she imagined Josie and Joey trapped inside.

“Ask if the children are alive,” Evey said.

Ford let out a deep breath before pressing the sides of the radio again.

“The two kids alright?” he asked.

“Yes,” Johnson said. “They’re with me.”

Hearing that did not ease the tension in Evey’s muscles. Johnson was the one to kill Lila. He has no issue killing children, so he could murder Josie and Joey at any time. He may think that they are slowing him down and would choose to get rid of them. He would probably sacrifice two innocent souls to save the group.

The three of them did not say anything as they drove to the gas station. Evey snuck glances into the rearview mirror, paranoid that they were being followed.

Three pick-ups were parked at the gas station. Most people were waiting in the trucks. Someone had shattered the door to the station. The priest was handing out drinks and snacks. Others were filling gas containers with fuel. Evey smiled when she saw Josie and Joey in the grass. They were picking dandelions.

They were acting like children. Two precious kids that were probably blissfully unaware that an apocalypse was happening around them.

Evey grabbed a water bottle from the priest and hurried over to Josie and Joey. Josie looked up and smiled before running across the grass. She held a fistful of weeds up to Evey.

“I picked them for you,” she said.

“Thank you so much,” Evey said.

Evey sat in the grass and played with Josie and Joey. For the first time that day, she felt normal.