The cars in the middle of the highway were wedged in bumper to bumper. The inner lane vehicles were stuck in the center of the road, packed in so tightly that they couldn’t open their doors. A few of the lucky cars had made it over the median and were speeding headfirst in the other lane toward the bus.
There were too many cars.
People screamed for their lives as swarms of zombies strolled in between the traffic jam, drawn to the honking and screaming. Zombies pounded on the windows — even reaching into some of the cars that incredibly, stupidly, had their windows rolled down. People were being pulled out from the broken windows and devoured on the highway. Blood mixed with rain and rushed over the concrete.
“Oh my God,” Rachel whispered.
Nicky sighed. “I knew everything was going too smoothly. Welcome to Detroit, everyone.”
Chapter Nine
Deep in the pit of Rachel’s stomach, fear grew. She’d had the feeling since she saw the Briarwood Mall outside of Ann Arbor. Something in the back of her mind whispered to her that Detroit was a mistake and that it would be an all-out deathtrap, but she had pushed the feeling down. She had convinced herself that she was overthinking everything, obsessively worrying and over analyzing now that she had Morgan with her.
Her gut was right.
The scene was almost unimaginable. The screams from those poor people seared into her memory. The shouts were almost as loud as that awful growling on the fifth floor of Peabody Dorm. Rachel placed her hands over Morgan’s ears. Her sister slept soundly on her lap. That worried her, too. How exhausted could Morgan be? How could she sleep through all that screaming?
“We’ve got to get off this road,” Adam said.
“What if we get stuck in the mud like those other cars?” Lindsay asked.
“I can’t maneuver this bus through that mess ahead.” Adam slowed the bus to a crawl. “It’s not safe and it’s not only the zombies that I’m worried about.”
“What do you mean?” Lindsay leaned over the seat.
“Those people are desperate,” Rachel said quietly. “They have all types of guns and weapons that they don’t know how to use. Look at the crowds already fleeing the jam. We have a nice big bus sitting here. They’ll do anything to keep their families safe — and running on foot from zombies isn’t safe.”
“They’re going to try to take our bus?” Lindsay asked.
Selena popped out of her seat. “Go before they can carjack us! I don’t want to be stranded here.”
“We have another small problem,” Adam said.
“Of course we do.” Nicky ran his hand through his unruly hair.
“What is it?” Cage moved from his seat behind Rachel and crouched beside Adam.
Adam tapped the gas gauge. “We’re almost out of fuel.”
Lindsay groaned.
“What?” Nicky said. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
“Unfortunately,” Adam said. “I’m dead serious. The bus had less than a quarter of a tank to begin with. I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t want to worry anyone. I thought we could make it there on fumes, but now we’ll have to take a detour.”
“We can stop and get some gas later, right?” Lindsay looked at Nicky.
A group of five men on foot stopped in the middle of the highway about thirty yards away. One of them pointed at the bus.
Adam shifted gears. “I’m not losing this ride. Hold on. We’re going off-roading.” He veered off the highway and onto the shoulder. The tires squealed over the warning treads before squishing through the wet grass.
“Don’t get stuck!” Selena screamed.
The bus rode along the grass beside the highway. Abandoned cars littered the road and shoulder. Adam steered down the grassy incline and through a sparse line of trees.
Cage pointed. “In there.”
Adam turned the wheel and maneuvered the bus between a pair of giant evergreens. The grass dipped into a ditch and the bus slowed behind a chain link fence running along the rear of a subdivision.
“The rain is turning the grass into a mud pit,” Adam said.
“Are we stuck?” Lindsay squeaked.
“Not yet.”
“Ram through that fence,” Rachel said. The group of men had followed them off the highway. “You can squeeze the bus in between those two houses and get on that road.”
“Is anyone else having déjà vu?” Nicky asked.
“It’s a wire fence. Not a hundred car pileup.”
Adam pressed his foot on the gas and the bus lurched up the hill. The tires spun as they worked overtime to climb the slippery incline. “Hold on!”
The bus hit the chain link fence with a snap, easily knocking down the metal barrier. Adam drove in between two one-story houses. The bus treaded over the front lawn and onto the street.
Adam parked in the middle of the road.
Morgan had woken up during the off-roading. She looked around like a frightened deer. Rachel pushed a strand of hair away from her face. “It’s okay. Just a little detour.”
“It looks like this street runs parallel with the highway,” Cage said. “Maybe we can take this road and figure out how far we are from Manny’s.”
“We’re looking for Michigan Avenue,” Adam said. “It shouldn’t be far. I’ll keep the highway in sight. Hopefully, I’ll see something I recognize. We don’t have the luxury of getting lost. This baby is running on empty.”
Rachel stretched to see the gauge. The light blinked red. They needed to find a gas station. Fast.
Adam drove down the residential street. It was deserted, a far cry from the mess on the highway a quarter of a mile away. Maybe most of the zombies from the area were drawn to the interstate? The subdivision gradually turned into strip malls and fast-food restaurants.
“I know where we are,” Adam said.
“Good,” Lindsay said. “I don’t want to get stuck around here.” She leaned over Nicky and peered out the window. “This area was dangerous before the zombie apocalypse.”
Adam turned at the light and drove about a mile before he turned again. Detroit’s skyline came into view. Tall concrete buildings shot out of the air like a cluster of colossal urban trees.
The Detroit River lay behind the buildings and was the international border between the United States and Canada. They weren’t far from downtown, maybe a few miles, which meant they weren’t far from Ford Field and safety.
“There’s a gas station!” Nicky pointed to a Shell station on the corner of the upcoming intersection.
The gas station was abandoned. Not a single car was parked in the lot. Actually, the entire neighborhood appeared to be deserted. An old warehouse loomed across the street and a boarded-up fried chicken shack stood beside the gas station.
“Will the pumps work?” Cage asked.
“Dunno,” Adam said.
“Remember what happened the last time we stopped at a gas station?” Lindsay said. “Hillbillies and gunfire. In case anyone forgot.”
Rachel hadn’t forgotten. On the way to Ann Arbor, they had stopped at a rural gas station when a pickup truck of good ole’ boys showed up. The locals accused them of stealing and immediately drew their rifles.
The guys — Adam, Cage and Nicky — fought back and the group sped away in Cage’s father’s Suburban, but not before the hillbillies shot up their vehicle and caused them to crash into the highway median. They had barely made it out alive.
Thunder boomed in the sky. Morgan jumped.
“I’m not making the call,” Adam said. “We’ll vote.”
“Democracy at its finest,” Nicky said.
“We’re two or three miles from Manny’s house,” Adam said. “I’m not sure how much gas is left in the tank. The light’s been on for a while. We could go one mile or thirty miles. We can stop here and fuel up or we can chance it and see if we can make it to Manny’s house on fumes.”
“How far is Ford Field from Manny’s?” Rachel asked.
“Probably a
nother mile at the most.”
“I say get gas,” Rachel said. “We might not see another gas station. Or the next one might be crawling with zombies.”
“Okay,” Adam said. “Rachel votes for gas. What about the rest of you?”
“Let’s try to make it on fumes,” Selena said. “I can’t stop thinking about those awful men from the last gas station.”
Cage shook his head. “It’s too risky not to fuel up. What if the bus dies in the middle of an infected area? It’s pouring out, too. Imagine sloshing through this on foot. I say we get gas.”
“I don’t think we should stop.” Lindsay shook her head. “We’re too close. We can make it and we won’t need this bus once we get to the safe zone.”
“Nicky?” Adam asked.
“We have to stop.” He frowned at Lindsay. “It would be bad news to be abandoned without a car in inner-city Detroit on any given day, but especially when the place is packed with zombies and there’s a monsoon outside.”
Lindsay rolled her eyes.
“Kids?” Adam looked at Morgan and Finn. “What’s your vote?”
“The kids get a vote?” Lindsay asked.
“Yes,” Adam said. “They’re part of the group, too.”
Morgan popped her head up. “We should get gas.”
Finn nodded. “I don’t want to be stuck without a car.”
“It’s decided.” Adam glided the bus over the asphalt and under the canopy. “I’m only getting gas. I’m not going inside. The store looks like it’s already been ransacked.”
The gas station’s glass doors were shattered. The aisles were tipped over and one of the overhead lights hung down from its wires.
“I’ll pump,” Adam sad. “Nicky, Rachel, Cage —”
“Yeah, yeah, we know. We’re on patrol.” Nicky propped the fire axe on his shoulder. He winked at Lindsay. “My job is never done.”
“I’ll watch the kids,” Selena said.
“Morgan, I’ll be right outside the bus,” Rachel said. “You can see me from the window, okay? This will only take a few minutes.”
Morgan nodded.
Adam pulled the lever and the bus’ creaky doors opened. Despite the torrential downfall, the air was sticky, thick and humid. It felt like a sauna. Steam rose in white clouds from the sewer drains.
“Can you each take a point while I pump?” Adam asked.
“Aye aye, captain.” Nicky walked around the bus.
Cage planted a kiss on top of Rachel’s head before taking his spot at the front of the bus.
“There are four zombies down the block.” Nicky lightly tapped the edge of the axe against his shoe. “They haven’t spotted us. Yet.”
Adam reached into his wallet and pulled out his credit card.
Cage lifted his eyebrows.
“How else am I supposed to get gas?” Adam swiped the card. The screen blinked and instructed Adam to select his grade and begin fueling.
“One zombie down the street,” Rachel called out.
“A small pack in the parking lot over there,” Cage said.
Adam squeezed the handle and a squirt of gas dribbled into the tank. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What’s wrong?” Rachel asked.
Adam lifted the nozzle. “It’s empty.”
“Try the other pumps.”
“The zombies have seen us. Great,” Nicky said. “They’re coming this way. One runner. Three walkers.”
The other grades in the pump were empty, too. Adam ran to the other side and swiped his credit card again.
“More coming from this way,” Cage said.
The fast zombie left his friends behind, sprinting toward the gas station. Screams sounded from inside the bus.
Nicky raised his axe. The creature wore jeans and a once-white T-shirt. A giant gash stretched across his stomach. Entrails dangled over his waistline and slipped to the ground as he ran toward Nicky. The zombie growled and windmilled his arms in anticipation of tearing him to shreds.
“Adios!” Nicky lifted the axe over his head and swung down, splitting the zombie’s head in half. “Sweet!”
Adam ran to the next pump. “They’re empty! All of them.” He swiped his credit card on the last pump.
“Figures,” Nicky said.
“We’re getting a crowd here.” Cage killed a zombie that had gotten too close to the bus.
Adam squeezed the handle. “Empty. They’re all empty! Back on the bus, now!”
Rachel cracked the head of a teenage zombie before she retreated to the bus. Nicky, Cage and Adam were on her heels. Adam pulled the lever and slammed the door shut.
A dozen or so zombies had reached the gas station. Adam twisted the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. He stepped on the gas and the bus peeled out of the station.
“That was a bummer,” Nicky said.
“Are you okay, Morgan?” Rachel asked.
“Is that Erik’s baseball bat from the living room?” Morgan pointed to the aluminum bat.
Their foster brother had sacrificed his life so Rachel could escape during the initial outbreak. Rachel leaned the bat against the seat. “Yeah, it was Erik’s.” She waited for the next question.
“What happened to him? Did he make it?” Morgan twisted the end of her braid between her fingers.
“No,” Rachel whispered.
“What happened?”
Rachel didn’t want to go there, but Morgan deserved answers. “A zombie broke into the house on the day you left for science camp.”
“It bit Erik?”
Rachel nodded. “We didn’t know it was a zombie.”
“Valerie?”
“She didn’t make it either.” Rachel had nightmares of her foster mother bleeding out on the kitchen floor and reanimating into a zombie. “Neither did Gene. They all died.”
Morgan didn’t say anything for a moment. “I’m sorry that Erik died.” She didn’t mention Valerie or their foster father, Gene. Rachel understood why.
Rachel pulled Morgan close. “I’m sorry Erik died, too. I’m going to miss him.”
The bus glided down the street filled with warehouses and boarded-up homes. The rain poured and the sky was as dark as night, despite the late morning hour.
A strange gurgling noise sounded over the pounding rain. The bus sputtered and stopped in the middle of the road.
“Why aren’t we moving?” Lindsay demanded.
Cage sighed. “We just ran out of gas.”
Chapter Ten
Perfect.
Everyone grew quiet. The rain pounding on the bus was as loud as on a tin roof. Rachel looked out the window. On each side of the road was an abandoned warehouse. The Detroit skyline was visible, but on foot and in the rain it would take a while to get to Ford Field or to Manny’s house — wherever that was.
“We’re stuck?” Morgan whispered.
“Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out,” Rachel said.
Adam turned around in his seat. The side of his mouth lifted into a forced smile. “At least the bus didn’t die in the middle of a pack of zombies.”
Selena sighed.
Cage stood up. “Let’s get moving.”
“What? Are you kidding? It’s pouring out!” Lindsay made a face.
“It’s not safe to stay on the bus.” Rachel lifted her backpack from the floor. She wished she had a raincoat or something to give Morgan.
“How far is it to Manny’s?” Selena asked.
Adam pointed back to the gas station. It was only two hundred yards away. “We didn’t get very far. It’s still a mile or two.”
“We have to walk a mile or two in that?” Selena groaned.
Lightning flashed across the sky.
Adam frowned. “We can try to find shelter and wait for the rain to stop. We haven’t slept since we stayed at the firehouse the other night.”
“You want to sleep in one of these warehouses?” Lindsay glanced out the window. “No way.”
?
??Stop whining,” Rachel said.
“My aunt’s store isn’t far from here,” Finn said.
“What?” Nicky asked. “Like a grocery store? I’m starving.”
Finn shook his head. “No, clothes. Girls’ dresses and jewelry and stuff like that.”
“Where is it?” Adam asked.
Finn pointed out the front window. “Down that street on the right.”
“Are you sure?” Selena asked. “I don’t think we should wander around inner-city Detroit without a plan.”
“It’s there,” Finn said confidently.
Rachel met Finn’s eyes. “Let’s check it out.”
“Is everyone okay with that?” Adam looked around.
“We need to go,” Nicky said. “There’s no time for our regular democratic vote.” He pointed out the back window.
The group of zombies from the gas station wandered into the road. The zombies hadn’t seen them yet, but they would soon.
“Grab the bags,” Adam said. “Let’s go, now!”
They scrambled off the bus and into the storm. Rachel was drenched from head to toe within seconds. She put her arm around Morgan, trying to shield her from the rain, but it was useless.
“Finn.” Adam nodded. “Lead the way.”
The group jogged down the street. Rachel’s sneakers filled with water as she splashed through puddles. At the stop sign they turned down a narrow road. Another abandoned warehouse was on the left, but a few boutiques were located in a building on the right.
“There it is.” Finn pointed to a tiny shop. A metal grate-fence was pulled down over the windows. Amelia’s Boutique was written in pink curly cursive across the glass.
“Good job, Finn!” Adam patted him on the back.
“How are we going to get in?” Nicky asked. “Do you have a key, kid?”
Finn shook his head.
Rachel crouched near the corner of the grated fence and inspected the palm-size padlock. “Let’s blast it.”
“No! Zombies will hear the gunfire,” Selena said.
Rachel glanced down the street. “I don’t see any of them yet. Let’s be quick and get inside before they can figure out where the gunshot came from.”
“I’m out of bullets,” Cage said.