The Road to Nowhere

Chapter 14: Flicker

Chapter 14

"Womp, womp, womp."

The truck comes to a halt and I wake up from my short nap. We're at a rest stop. The parking lot is littered with cars, many of them having infected inside. They see us and scratch at the windows. It's eerie outside. The clouds make the sky have a green tint. I can hear crows cawing in the distance. The wind slowly blows, making plastic bags skip across the ground. The cars in the parking lot are starting to rust. The decaying bodies lying around make the rest stop look like a battlefield. 

We're parked in front of a brick building. It has tall glass doors that are stained with blood and dirt. A flagpole sits in the middle of a flower garden that's in front of the building. The flowers are droopy and dying and the flag is torn and weathered.

"Alright let's go." Robbie motions as he slams the truck door. 

 We all crowd around the glass doors while Robbie and Scooter go inside to make sure it's safe from any of the infected. 

"We're out of gas." Linda nudges me. "We're sleeping here tonight. We don't want to be stranded in the middle of the city. We will get gas from these cars tomorrow." She points to all the abandoned vehicles.

The boys come out of the building and we all follow them inside. The lobby has a tall ceiling, making the room feel bigger than it actually is. The ceiling has a map of Virginia painted on it. It reminds me of the paintings Michelangelo painted in the Sistine Chapel. Naked baby angels are painted on each corner of the map, while long vines surround the states' edge. The blood-smeared bathroom doors are next to the main helpdesk. The desk's computer is smashed on the ground next to the small trashcan. The glass shards from the screen shine in the dull sunlight that peeks through the windows. The room is like a sauna, hot and humid. The second I walk in I start to sweat. The smell isn't the best either. If you could mix stale dust and the metallic taste of blood, that's what this room smells like. 

"I guess this is camp for tonight," Scooter says, placing his gun into the waistband of his jeans.

"I'll look around for some stuff we can use to sleep on," Linda suggests. "You should come Summer." 

I'm surprised that she asks me to join her, but part of me is thankful. It's still awkward between me and Cameron and I think giving him space is the smartest option. 

I follow Linda into the employee's office. It's completely dark. There are no windows in the room, so Linda clicks on the flashlight and shines it around. Papers are scattered everywhere on the floor and a wooden desk is flipped over in the center of the room. The empty drawers are pulled open and some of them are broken. There is a closet in the room. Its door is open, but there is nothing inside it other than a jacket that's still on the hanger. A couch sits against the wall next to the kitchenette. 

I search the few cabinets and find a few metal bowls and some silverware but no food. I mistakenly open the fridge, and the putrid smell that comes out of it makes me slam it shut instantly. 

Linda suggests that we sleep in here on the rug and couch since it would be more comfortable than the cold marble ground in the lobby. Plus, the room has no windows and it will be harder for the infected to get in.

We spend the next couple of minutes cleaning up the room. I stack the papers on top of the desk and Linda and I push the desk against the far wall to make room for everyone. 

"We need to make a fire somehow. We will be freezing without one." Robbie says as he walks into the room, startling me.