If Tomorrow Never Comes- A zombie novel

Chapter 20

The small group continued on down the street, stopping and retrieving items whenever they spotted them. Oliver walked at a steady pace ahead of Max and Skylar. Britney was in the lead and Henry tagged along side.

"I'm glad we're not covered in tomato juice anymore." Skylar had hurried to catch up with Oliver. "Though I will say it made my skin pretty smooth."

He smiled and she matched it.

"How's your head?"

"I don't have a miagraine. So that's always good in my book."

"We'll make sure to find some pain killers just in case. Also some more bandages. That'll need to be rewrapped soon."

"I still owe you a thank you for kind of saving my life."

"It's what I'm supposed to do. Besides it wasn't like I did a good job. Joy still died and that other guy got bitten."

"That did happen but there was nothing you could do about that. You still executed a good plan and it saved seven other people."

"I don't know. It's hard to feel accomplished with so much blood shed." Oliver kept his head straight, making sure to avoid eye contact. He felt ashamed.

"I wish I could tell you something that would make you feel better but what do I know. I've never had someone's life depend on me before. I do know that I'm here because you're a brave leader and as far as I'm concerned, you did exactly what you promised. That doesn't bring back the people we lost but that also doesn't make you a bad person."

Oliver finally looked in Skylar's direction, taking her in for a minute before letting off a sigh and smiling. She seemed so optimistic about everything. It was a good quality to have. To be aware of all the bad but still somehow find solace in the good.

"Thank you. Your words are very kind."

"They're kind and true." She nudged Oliver and they both started laughing. Max did a fast jog to catch up to the two. He placed one arm around each of their shoulders.

"What are we talking about guys?"

*****

A few hours walking in the midday heat was torture. They were hungry, thirsty, and drenched in sweat.

"What I wouldn't give for a nice cool downpour right about now." Britney looked at Skylar and smiled. "Yeah, that does sound nice right about now."

"Can't help with the rain but we can at least drink. Let's take a water break here." Oliver suggested taking in the abandoned gas station. Who knew. Maybe they'd be able to scavange a few things that others hadn't taken yet.

They sought the little shade offered by the cement islands that housed the gas pumps. A few abandoned cars sat silently at the pumps, as if waiting for a long gone gas attendant to top up their tanks.

Max took a long sip of water. It was no longer cool but the relief it offered was wonderful. His throat seemed to absorb the liquid before it hit his stomach. He absently kicked at some loose gravel.

Skylar scanned the inside of the gas station through one of the windows. Nothing moved.

She frowned. "We've hardly ran into any dead. I was expecting there to be quite a bit more for a city this size."

Oliver looked up at her, squinting his eyes to keep out the sun's glare. "Military pretty much took care of them."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know that?" Henry sardonically asked.

Oliver pointed towards the large Humvee tracks on the street. "Well, there's that for starters. And unless this place simply avoided the huge waves of reanimated dead, then I would say our government had something to do with it."