I searched around in the moonlight, lifting up my nightgown so I wouldn’t trip on it. Lazlo went with me, apparently helping in some way. Neither of us yelled for Ripley. We couldn’t, not if we wanted to get away without Korech hearing us.
“Aw, hell,” I sighed. I couldn’t see any sign of Ripley, and we didn’t have much time. “I don’t know what to do. ” I turned to Lazlo, hoping he would have an idea, but he just stared at me strangely. “What?”
“Nothing,” Lazlo shrugged. “I’ve just never seen you with your hair down. ” My stomach fluttered. “Also, your nightgown is almost completely see-through. ”
“Oh my god. ” I rolled my eyes and covered my arms over my chest. “I should’ve just let Korech kill you. ”
He smirked and might’ve had a witty retort, but the porch light suddenly turned on, bathing us in bright yellow light.
The front door banged open, and we turned around in time to see Korech’s dark silhouette as he came outside. Nevaeh followed right behind him, carrying a shotgun.
Lazlo and I stood a few feet away from the SUV, and I considered diving behind it to hide. But with the porch light shining on us, they had to have seen us. We could only try talking with them, but reasoning with insanity rarely boded well.
“What’s going on?” Korech asked, his voice eerily pleasant. He moved towards us, while Nevaeh fell a few steps back.
“Nothing. We just decided to leave. ” I straightened my shoulders and stood tall.
A breeze rustled my hair, and my mind raced trying to think of an escape plan. I was fairly good at fighting zombies, but even with their strength and speed, zombies weren’t the same as fighting a strong, healthy man. They didn’t have any reason or intelligence, and their bodies were much softer and more pliable the longer they’d been infected.
Physically, I was no match for Korech. Lazlo was somewhat muscular, but he was barely taller than me, and I doubt he’d ever fought in his life.
“You shouldn’t be rushing off in the middle of the night. It’s a dangerous place out there for young girls,” Korech said with a smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Especially going off with him,” he nodded towards Lazlo. “He’s going to corrupt and destroy you. ”
“He’s demon possessed!” Nevaeh spouted. She raised her gun a little, but it seemed more of an involuntary reflex out of fear.
“Hey, let’s take it easy. ” I stepped forward and held my hands up.
“They need to leave,” Korech nodded at Lazlo. “He is not welcome here anymore. ”
“Just let us get out of here!” Lazlo shouted, pleading. “We wanna leave!”
“I can’t have you endangering any of my girls. ” Korech reached behind him, taking the gun from Nevaeh.
I could dive at him to try to grab it, but he was too far away from me. He’d have it aimed at me, and if I ran straight for him, I’d be an easy shot.
I glanced over at the SUV and considered sacrificing Lia and Vega to leave. Even if that didn’t make me feel like a monster, I had a feeling that wouldn’t be good enough anymore. He might be willing to let me go, but he already had his claws in Harlow, and he knew it.
“We’re not your girls,” I said. “We don’t want to cause you any trouble. We just want to leave. ”
“He has you confused. ” Korech held the gun at his side, and the calm assurance he had was unnerving. “Lazlo, I suggest you release my girls back to me, and then you leave, before I make you. ” He lifted the gun just slightly, letting us know exactly what he meant by make.
“I’m not holding anyone hostage,” Lazlo insisted.
I could feel Lazlo looking at me, questioning what he should do next, but I wouldn’t take my eyes off Korech. Besides, I didn’t have an answer.
Korech tired of the conversation and raised his gun, pointing it directly at Lazlo. Harlow screamed inside the SUV, but thankfully, nobody got out.
Without thinking, I moved in front of Lazlo, standing between him and the gun, even though I wasn’t sure would deter Korech from firing.
“Wait!” I shouted.
“I’m through talking. ” Korech centered his aim on me.
Nevaeh inhaled sharply next to him, and that’s when something occurred to me. I could take her. She didn’t have a gun, and Korech would react to defend her. His reaction might be shooting me, but if I ran fast enough, he might miss.
I ran at Nevaeh as fast as I could, veering far to the side so Korech knew I wasn’t charging him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his aim change, trying to keep up with me, but I only ran faster.
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Nevaeh screamed, and I tackled her, sending her flying back on the ground. She did nothing to defend herself, and I felt sorry for her. I punched her in the face, but not as hard as I could. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had to do something to distract Korech.
A sharp pain hit the back of my skull, spreading a blind white light across my eyes. Korech had slammed the butt of the gun into my head, and it was frighteningly effective.
I never lost consciousness, but I completely lost focus. I couldn’t really see or hear or feel anything but shooting pain.
When it relented enough where my vision could clear, I heard Nevaeh crying. I wasn’t on top of her anymore, and instead, I was kneeling on the ground. Someone had a painful grip on my arm, trying to pull me to my feet, but my legs were reluctant to cooperate.
“Remy! Move!” Lazlo shouted. He was the one trying to drag me up.
I looked over to see Korech lying on the ground. Blood spilled from his abdomen, and he made unintelligible sounds. Nevaeh stood, blood running down her face from when I had punched her, screaming her head off.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I grabbed the gun and shot him,” Lazlo said absently, so apparently, my distraction had worked.
My body finally functioned again, and I got to my feet. Lazlo led me back to the SUV, but I pulled away from him. I got the gun off the ground. We could use another weapon, and it was only a matter of time before Nevaeh’s shock wore off, and she grabbed it herself.
“Hurry up!” Lazlo yelled.
He waited for me, so I ran to him, and we rounded the back of the SUV. A tiger stood there, summoned by all the commotion.
We both stopped cold, unsure of what to do. The tiger growled at us and bent low, preparing to pounce. Belatedly, I remembered I had a gun. I fired a warning shot in the dirt next to it, and that freaked the tiger out enough to back off.
“Go,” I told Lazlo and nodded for him to go around and get in the SUV. “I’ll be right there. ”
He pursed his lips. I knew he wanted to argue, but for once, he just listened and hurried around to the passenger side.
I opened the back of the SUV, throwing the gun inside with all our bags, and called Ripley. Everything had fallen silent after I had fired the gun, and Ripley came flying around the corner of the ranch. She dove into the back of SUV, slamming into our bags, and Lia let out a frightened yelp.
Nevaeh wailed and threatened the wrath of God against us. Some of the other girls had come outside. They milled around Korech, crying and yelling.
I ran around the side, where Lazlo was half hanging out the car door. When I got close, he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the car and onto his lap.
Before I could even shut the door, Blue threw the SUV in reverse, and it lurched backwards. Through the windshield, I saw Ruth had another gun, and she pointed it right at us.
“Go, go, go!” I shouted, pressing my hands against the dashboard to steady myself.
“I’m trying!” Blue said through gritted teeth.
A shot fired overhead, but it missed us. Blue sped the SUV around, tearing off down the gravel road in a cloud of dust. Ripley growled, and the whole vehicle swayed. He almost lost control whipping around like that, but he managed to correct it.
It wasn’t until we wer
e on the highway that everyone seemed to relax a bit. Blue didn’t slow down, and nobody said anything, but it got easier to breathe. I leaned back, then realized that I was sitting on Lazlo’s lap and leaning into him, so I straightened back up.
“You saved my life,” Lazlo said. From the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at me admiringly.
“Well, we can call it even. ”
I got up off his lap, climbing over the center console into the backseat. Lia, Vega, and Harlow were already sitting back there, but I squished in between Harlow and the car door. They were all very skinny, thanks to the end-of-the civilization starvation, but it was still a tight fit.
“Whenever you get a chance, can we stop, Blue?” I asked, looking out the window at the blank landscape around us. “I need to change back into real clothes. ”
“Sure thing,” Blue said. “I just want to get farther away. ”
Blue pulled over on the side of the road about an hour later. I changed in the red glow of the taillights, and instantly felt better in a pair of jeans. I pulled my hair back up, and Harlow changed back into her regular clothes without saying anything.
“I’m really sorry we had to leave like that,” I told Harlow as I slid on my tennis shoes. She had her back to me and pulled on her shirt. “I know you really like it there. ”
“We all do what we have to do, right?” Harlow replied flatly.
“Right,” I said uncertainly.
I wanted to say more to her, but she walked around the SUV and hopped back in without saying another word. She hadn’t said anything since we left, and I’m not sure how this was all sitting with her.
Blue and Lazlo wandered a little ways away to pee. Lia and Vega wanted to get dressed too, so I gave them some of my clothes. They changed in the back together, and I waited at the side of the SUV, next to the open passenger door for them.
Lia finished changing, my smaller clothes revealing her slender midriff. Her back was to the SUV, and she stared off in the direction of the ranch, not that she could see anything from this distance.
“Do you think they’re alright?” Lia asked.
“They’ll be fine,” Vega answered offhandedly, pulling a shirt over her head.
“With Korech injured…” Lia trailed off. “What if he dies?”
“It’s up to God what happens after he dies,” Vega said. “‘He whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life. ’”
“I know, but what about everyone there? How will they survive without him?”
“Lia, be serious. ” Vega gave her a hard look. “We’re the ones that did everything. Korech spouted gospel and took advantage. ”
“I guess,” Lia said but she sounded unconvinced.
Vega shook her head and rounded the SUV. I stopped her, shutting the door partially so Harlow wouldn’t overhear.
“Hey, what was he like?” I lowered my voice.
“I thought he was the Messiah,” Vega said quietly. “I thought he was going to save the world from the end times. Then after a while, I started thinking he might be the antichrist, but he has no power. Not for good or evil. Not even marked of the Beast. ”
“What?” I shook my head, not understanding.
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“The Beast. The antichrist. The fourth horseman is upon us,” Vega explained as if anything she said made sense to me. “The antichrist walks among us. ”
“But it’s not Korech?” I clarified.
“No. He is just a weak, sinful man. ” She looked away from me. “He had sex with all of the girls and called it a cleansing ritual. ”
“What?” I was taken aback. I had strong suspicions he might be using the girls as his own personal harem, but Korech had referred to cleansing the boys. “Korech wanted to cleanse Lazlo. He wanted to have sex with him too?”
“I don’t know what takes place in the male cleansing rituals,” Vega admitted. “But the last time Korech ‘cleansed’ a man, it was Shiloh’s brother, and we had to bury him right after. ”
“Seriously?” Lazlo came up behind us, and Vega looked over her shoulder at him, with that same eerie calm as Korech. “I narrowly escaped being raped and murdered?”
“I don’t know why that’s so shocking,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, and opened the car door for Vega. “You were almost killed by a zombie two days ago. Rape and murder seems a little mundane after that. ”
“He wasn’t evil,” Lia interjected, her arms wrapped tightly around her, as if she were cold. Vega ignored her and got into the SUV, sliding up next to Harlow. “He was just misled. The devil works just as mysteriously as God does. ”
“Fascinating,” I said and gestured to the car so she would climb in.
I was not in the mood to get into a religious debate.
When the world started ending, everybody became a convert and wanted nothing more than to spout the virtues of whatever apocalyptic religion they had latched onto.
I wasn’t sure who, if any, of them were right, but my best bet for avoiding hell was avoiding death.
“Hey, Lazlo’s gonna drive. ” Blue leaned on the open car door, yawning. “I’m gonna hop in back and catch some sleep, if you wanna sit shot gun. ”
“Sure, whatever,” I shrugged.
When I got in front, I moved the passenger seat forward as far as I could, giving Blue legroom to stretch out. I leaned down in the seat, resting my battered shoes on the dashboard so my knees pressed up to my chest.
Blue sprawled out in the back, as much as the space would allow, and almost instantly fell asleep. I grew envious of his ability to sleep and handle stress. He remained unruffled in almost every situation.
Harlow had fallen into an uncharacteristic silence, and I tried futilely to get her out of it. She sat on the far side of the car, staring out the window blankly. Whether I agreed with Korech or not, he had managed to build a world that was entirely separate from our own, and when our world had gone to hell, his became incredibly appealing.
The sky lightened to a grayish-blue, and the rest of the passengers had fallen asleep. For most of the ride, we drove in silence, but Lazlo was starting to fade. Any panic or adrenaline from the night had worn off.
“So… do you have any idea where we’re going?” Lazlo asked, suppressing a yawn.
“You’re the one driving. ” I gave him an odd look, and he smiled tiredly.
“Yeah, but aren’t we on some mythical quest to find your long lost brother?”
“He’s not the Holy Grail, and he’s only been gone for a few days,” I brushed off Lazlo’s teasing and leaned my head on the headrest.
“So I used hyperbole,” he rolled his eyes. “You knew what I meant. ”
“I already told you all I know. Go north, and hope we find somebody who knows something. ”
I hated the vagueness of the information, and when I kept repeating it over and over again, it only hammered in exactly how unrealistic and ridiculous it sounded. Fortunately, nobody else really had a better plan, or any plan at all, so they didn’t question it.
“What’s your brother’s name? Max?” Lazlo asked.
“Yep. ”
“How come you don’t talk about him ever?”
“What do you want me to say?” I picked at a frayed string on my jeans.
“I don’t know. Whatever you want. ” Lazlo shrugged. “I just think it’s weird that this kid is so important to you, and he’s the reason we’re all traveling across the country, and you never say anything about him, other than you have to find him. ”
“I’m not forcing anyone to go with me,” I said icily. “And going to a quarantine is good for you, too. ” Finding Max didn’t necessarily benefit everyone, but he had been taken to one of the only safe places I knew of on earth.
“That’s not what I meant,” he sighed. “I just… Why are we going after him?”
“He’s my brother. ” I looked over at him. ??
?Wouldn’t you go? If it was your brother or mother or third-cousin? Everybody else is dead. ”
“So that’s it? That’s the only reason you’re going?” He arched an eyebrow. “There’s nothing special about the kid at all? It’s just some arbitrary action because he’s a surviving family member. ”
“No, of course not,” I bristled.
“Then tell me about him. ”
“We survived everything together. ” My chest ached at the thought of Max. It was so much harder when I let myself think or worry about him. “He’s strong, a lot stronger than most kids. I never had to remind him to run or tell him to duck. He always just knew. ”
“So what happened? How come he’s not with you now?” Lazlo asked.
“He’s sick. ” I let out a deep breath, and it was shaky, so I swallowed hard. “He’d been in the medical center of the quarantine. Then the zombies attacked. Some of the army personnel and Max had already evacuated by the time I tried to get to him. ”
“What’s he sick with?” Lazlo asked. I shook my head and looked away, unwilling to talk about it anymore.
“I know you’re just being nice and conversational, but I can’t talk about this. I can’t talk about him,” I said as gently as I could.
“Why not?”
“I can’t talk about stuff because I can’t see it. If I want to do this, I have to put on blinders and go, and keep going. If I stopped and thought about all the shit I’ve done and seen this past year, I couldn’t…” I shrugged, unable to really speak anymore.
“I’m sorry,” Lazlo apologized and looked over at me. “You’re better with all this than I am. ”
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“Hardly,” I laughed hollowly.
“No, you are,” he insisted. “You’re better at everything than I am. ”
“That’s probably true,” I said, and Lazlo laughed. I even smiled a little.
The sun started to rise above the horizon, and I felt a little better. I was just thinking that Lazlo might not be a total idiot when the SUV began decelerating. Based on the panicked expression on Lazlo’s face as he pounded the gas pedal, I knew he had no clue what was going on.
Then the SUV stopped moving entirely.
– 10 –
“What the hell happened?” I demanded.
Lazlo shook his head, fiddling around with the gauges on the car. A monitor mounted in the dash for GPS and satellite radio glowed blankly the way it always had. In some strange attempt to revive the car, Lazlo flicked on the dome light.
“What’s going on?” Blue asked groggily from the back.
“I don’t know. The car just stopped,” Lazlo managed to downplay the anxiety in his voice.
“Did you hit anything?” Blue leaned forward between the seats to investigate further.
Lazlo accidentally clicked on the stereo, causing Bon Jovi’s hit song “Wanted Dead or Alive” to come blasting out of the speakers, scaring the hell out of the three girls sleeping in the back.
“Sorry!” Lazlo fumbled, turning it off.
“What’s happening? Why aren’t we moving?” Lia asked frantically.
“I don’t know!” Lazlo snapped in frustrated. “It just stopped!”
“Whatever. I have to pee,” Harlow sighed and got out of the car, and Vega went with her.