Roads Less Traveled by C. Dulaney Page B

was starting to feel a little better, so I called it a day and went to bed.

Chapter Eight
     
     
    October 4 th : Ben’s side
     
    Startling, panicked shouts jerked Ben from sleep. His eyes flew open and he immediately noticed it was still dark. He sat up in the truck seat and looked out the windshield, then nearly jumped out of his skin when a gunshot sounded next to his head. Jake was standing by Ben’s door and yelling at someone, firing his rifle over and over. Before he had a chance to make sense of what was happening, the passenger door opened and Kyra threw herself inside.
    “Start the truck, we have to go now!” She was breathless and flushed like someone who had just finished the 100-yard dash. Ben whipped his head around, trying to determine everyone’s location. He could see muzzle flashes in the darkness, but couldn’t tell who was firing. He didn’t have to ask what was happening; it was pretty obvious. They had been ambushed, but by how many he probably didn’t want to know.
    He rolled his window down and screamed at Jake. “Get in the Jeep! Let’s get out of here!”
    Jake turned and nodded, then started shouting for the others to run. Ben still couldn’t see anyone, but he assumed Nancy was in the Jeep. One turn of the ignition and the old pickup roared to life. He inhaled sharply after hitting the headlights: the undead lumbered towards them on both sides of the road. They had pulled over before dark and slept in the vehicles, one person keeping watch at all times. He saw Zack come running from his far right and jump into the Jeep. The lights came on and Jake sped off.
    “Where the hell is Mike?!” Ben cried, his head whipping around trying to spot him.
    “I don’t know, I thought he was right behind me!” Kyra cried as she started to open the passenger door. Ben grabbed her arm and yanked her back just as Mike ran into the door. He jerked it open and fell in.
    “Go, go, go!” he screamed. Ben hit the gas. The first of the zombies had just made their way onto the pavement. He steered the truck around them, sticking to the center in order to avoid hitting any. Not because he didn’t want to; he wanted nothing more than to plow them down. But he was afraid of damaging the truck. That was one thing they couldn’t afford right now. The taillights of the Jeep grew closer as he caught up with Jake, so he let up on the accelerator.
    “You’re going to get us all killed one of these days. You know that right?!” Ben said as he glared first at Mike then back to the road ahead. He was quickly losing patience with the guy, who repeatedly put them all in harm’s way with his stupidity. Mike was panting hard and his hand tightly gripped the door handle. His other hand was pressed to his upper thigh, his fingers curling and uncurling. Kyra looked back and forth between the two men, frightened and angry as well.
    “Well?” Ben asked. He was leaned up in the seat now, his face close to the steering wheel to stare at the other man. Mike glanced over, barely locking eyes, before lowering them and staring at his lap.
    “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. Ben sighed and leaned back. He grabbed the CB’s mic and called for Jake.
    “Everyone okay up there?” he asked.
    “Yeah, we’re good. How ‘bout you?” Zack answered. Ben took another deep breath before answering.
    “Yeah… we’re good,” he said as he glanced back at Mike. “I guess this means we won’t be stopping to sleep again.”
    “It would probably be a bad idea, yeah. It’s too dark out here in the country, and not enough light to see them coming. And besides, the sound of the engines probably drew them in. We stop, it’s only a matter of time before they come,” Zack answered. He was calm, eerily calm. But Ben was learning that was just how Zack was. It was safe to say he trusted him a great deal more than he trusted Mike, especially at the moment.
    “We have enough people, we should just keep driving straight through. When