The Darkening (A Zombie Awakening) (4 page)

She felt around the table top and pulled close the cigar box she’d decorated with pasta when she was in kindergarten.
Please, God, let the station wagon be left unburned
. She opened the box and fished out the keys. Tears welled as she thought of all the little things her mother had prepared for.

             
“Start gathering up everything that will fit in the back of the wagon. We have to leave.” Chalice stood and lit the oil lamp.
“I’ll get the car from the woods and meet you back here. Don’t let anyone in but me.”

             
“
Where are we going
?”
Mychal
stared at her with wide eyes.

             
“Wherever the road takes us.” She
reached out a trembling hand and unlatched the cellar door, then stepped back with the gun pointed at the entrance. When nothing moved, she shoved it open and stepped
outside. Although her watch showed noon, the day appeared to be early evening
.
The sky looked dirty
as clouds moved lethargically across the pewter slate
. The air tasted of dirt. She pulled the collar of her shirt over her nose
and hunched against the biting wind
.

             
Instantly her eyes were drawn to where her mother’s body
once
lay. Dirt covered her, leaving nothing but an innocent looking mound. Chal
ice glanced around the yard then ran to the woods in the back of the house. She
choked back a sob at the sight of the old station wagon that had been her mother’s pride and joy.
Thank you, God
.
This would become their new home
for awhile
.

Besides some new scratches down the wood side panels, it appeared to be intact. Mom had filled the tank the morning of the disaster
and bought new tires. Chalice drove it back to the house, then climbed out and kept guard
.

             
“
Y’all
, start loading the car.” Chalice stood back, senses alert, ready to defend what was left of her family.

             
She shivered as her siblings
piled their precious belongings in
the car. What little they
’d
left in the cellar could benefit anyone who came
searching
, and good luck to them.
They weren’t leaving much, just a few odds and ends that wouldn’t fit in the car.
She ushered
the kids
, and Lady
,
into the car then took one last look at the place she’d spent her entire sixteen years. She sniffed back the tears, refusing to cry anymore. As the new head of the family, she needed to be strong.

             
Removing one of the charms from the necklace she wore, the one of a rose, she dropped it on her mother’s impromptu grave.
Thank you for your sacrifice, Mom. Thank you for all you did
. I miss you
. Chalice squared her shoulders, marched to the car, and then slid behind the wheel without another glance.

             
They’d head west as far as the roads would take them. When they ran out of gas, they’d walk as long as the three of them had
the
strength.

             
Pulling out of the drive, she glanced one last time through her rearview mirror. A burned body shuffled from the house, arms outstretched
, and tried to follow
. Chalice blinked. Mom?

             
She shook her head. No, she’d watched her die. Burn. That image would haunt her for the rest of her life.
She carried the marks on her arm to prove it.

Chapter 4

             
Chalice idled the
Rambler station
wagon in front of the
local
Baptist church.
Six men
surrounded a man kneeling on the ground.
One of them
pulled back his leg and kicked, sending the one on the ground backward.
Blood spurted from his nose.

             
“That’s Pastor Morgan,” Mychal stated. “We have to help him.”

             
Hanna popped up from the backseat. “Why are they beating him
?
”

             
“I don’t know.” Chalice reached for the rifle. “Stay in the car. If something happens, drive away.
Mychal, cover me.
”

             
Mychal’s eyes widened
as he grabbed the second rifle from the back seat
. “I don’t know how to drive.”

             
“You’ll figure it out.” Chalice’s mouth filled with cotton. What was she doing? It’d be best to leave the crowd to their business. But she couldn’t. Not when a nice man lay at risk. She shoved open the car door and slid out.
Two more men added kicks and punches to the melee.
Someone in the building behind them screamed.

             
She raised the gun toward heaven and pulled the trigger.
Half a
dozen faces turned to face her. “Leave him alone or I’ll shoot the nearest one of you.” She aimed for the man who’d
kicked first
.

             
“What’s it to you?” The man puffed out his chest. “This preacher promised us everything would be all right. Now, we’re low on food. We’ve lost family, yet his are safe in the walls of the church.
Look around. We aren’t alright. The sun ain’t come out in a month. Crops are wasted
, f
ish are belly up in the creeks
, and dead people are walking around eating those of us still alive
.
We’re living in hell, missy, and the pastor lied about it all.
”

             
Dead people?
She fought to steady her trembling arms. She c
ouldn’t let them think her weak or they’d overpower her and steal her weapon.
“
S
eeing how I’m armed and you’re not, I could make the next choice. I’ll only say it one more time. Move out.”

             
The man eyed her car. “I hope you’re going a long way, sweetie. Because that kind of attitude will get you hurt.”

             
“No more than you beating on a man who had no say in what happened.” Chalice lifted her chin. “He’ll struggle right along with the rest of us.”

             
The crowd surged closer. Chalice aimed the gun at the man’s feet and fired.
Dirt the color of cigarette ashes covered his gym shoes.

He jumped back with a yelp, then waved his arms. “Okay, folks. Let’s go home. There’s nothing here
, and these shots will draw the attention of every person affected by the plague
.”

             
Pastor Morgan struggled to his feet
and wiped the back of his hand across his bloody lip
.
A purple knot grew above his right eye.
“Thank you. Where you headed?”

             
“West.”

             
He glanced at the church. “You’re welcome to stay here with my family.” A blond woman and three small children peered through the open door.
“The highways are crawling with those poor unfortunate souls.”

             
Chalice shook her head. “Thanks, but we’re looking for a kinder place.”
There had to be somewhere they wouldn’t have to look over their shoulder
s
at every turn. A place where she wouldn’t have to aim her gun at every person she met.

             
“Let me send you on your way with something
to show my gratitude
.” Holding an arm close to his rib cage, he shuffled into the building and emerged with a jug of juice and a box of crackers. “It isn’t much. I
t i
n no way
repays
your kindness, but I’m appreciative for your help.”

             
“You need to find yourself a gun, pastor.” Chalice accepted the gift.

             
“I’m a man of peace.”

             
“Doesn’t seem like many of the others are.
Not anymore. I’ve got to ask though, what were those men talking about?”

             
The pastor shuddered. “The dead aren’t staying dead. It’s like they’re zombies or something.”

             
Nausea rose in her stomach. “There’s no such thing.”

             
“There is now. Something is affecting these people.” He pointed a finger at her. “Remember everything you’ve ever seen in a zombie movie. It’s all true now.
Make sure you act accordingly.
”

             
“Thanks.
Good luck.
” She nodded and hurried back to the car
and scooted behind the wheel
.

             
“That was awesome.”
Mychal
plopped against the backrest of his seat. “Scary, but awesome.”

             
Chalice slammed her door and took a deep shuddering breath. “
I was frightened out of my mind
.”
She handed the food and drink back to Hanna. “But if helping others keeps giving us supplies, it might be worth
stopping for
.”
How could she tell her brother
people
were
talking about
zombies? The whole idea was stupid.
But what if, on a small chance, it was true? By not telling them, they could be surprised and end up dead.

             
She put her arm across the back of the seat. “
Um, you know that show you watch every Halloween about zombies?”

             
“Yeah.”

             
“Well, it seems to be coming true.” As she steered back to the main road, she kept her eyes peeled for shuffling, moaning, people. She lived in a nightmare. Maybe she’d hit her head and was in a coma.
That had to be it. Zombies. Weren’t. Real.

             
Five miles farther, Chalice stopped at the on-ramp to the interstate. Bumper-to-bumper
vehicl
e
s sat empty and clogged the way. Some were only burned out shells. Others abandoned.
Most looked as if they’d been in a slaughter house. Blood smeared the windows and trailed onto the pavement. The rank smell of death filled the air.

“I need the map.”
Chalice rolled up her window.

             
Her brother
dug it out of the glove compartment and spread it across the dash.

             
Chalice thought about taking another, less traveled highway, but knew she’d find the same congestion. They’d have to take the back roads. She eyed the line of cars ahead of them. Maybe a four-wheel drive
, or that motor home next to the gas truck
. But she hated leaving their mother’s car behind, and the thought of transferring all
the
supplies left her tired before they’d even started.

             
Two men rummaged through the debris,
moving
from one automobile to the next. They didn’t seem interested in confiscating a ride, just scavenging whatever they could find.

             
Hanna leaned over the seat. “I don’t want to go out there.”

             
Chalice nodded. “Neither do I, but that motor home has a water hose from it to the gas truck. My guess is it’s full of gas and would make a better place to live than the Rambler.
As much as I hate leaving Mom’s car behind, I think that’s the best bet.
”

             
“And it’s big enough to push other cars out of the way,” Mychal said. “That’s a good idea.”

             
A shot rang out
,
and they ducked. Chalice peeked over the steering wheel to where the two men still ran in and out of cars.
Then, three more people, a man and a woman appeared down the road and the scavengers fired more shots.

The newcomers were covered with blood
and growling
. The woman dragged her leg, one of her arms missing.
The men stumbled around the debris in the road instead of climbing over.

             
“Are those zombies?” Chalice peered over the steering wheel.

             
“Oh, crap.” Mychal rolled up his window. “Lay low and be quiet. Don’t let them smell you.”