The sun came up and burst through the shades in the bedroom window. The sunlight shimmered across my eyes, forcing them open and then into a harsh squint. I yawned and rubbed my eyes until the bedroom we slept in came back into focus. Linda still laid on my chest and began to fuss as she woke. She sat up and stretched her arms out as I rolled out of bed and quickly dressed myself.
She smiled at me as she got out of bed and handed me my boots. I smiled back as I began to put them on. She sat on the bed right behind me and began to rub my back. "What are we gonna do today?" She asked me quietly as I closed my eyes and relaxed to her massage.
"Well there is a car out near her shed, if we can take that and drive it down the highway. There should be another rest stop a few miles away where we can scavenge for supplies and hopefully fill up on gas. Okay?" I had tried to think this through as much as possible, and this was the best plan I could come up with.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck and turned my face towards her. She pressed her lips against mine and it took my breath away. I started to turn my body towards her as she continued to kiss me.
A knock on the door made both our heads snap up and stare at it. "Yes?" Linda called out as she pulled away and quickly dressed herself. There was no answer. I stood up, alarmed and called out louder. "Carla?"
I moved towards the door and Linda followed behind me. I pressed my ear to the door gently, "Carla?" Again there was no answer, but another soft knock on the door. I motioned to Linda to get our back pack and the guns. She grabbed the bag and kept one gun as she handed me the other.
"Ready?" I asked her as I slowly turned the door knob. She nodded and I swung the door open to find Carla standing outside. Her skin was paler than I had remembered it being last night.
The blood smeared across her shoulder where a gaping wound was shown gave me all the information I needed. I looked into her eyes and watched as they scanned over me slowly and deliberately. They were glazed over and showed no sign of her former self.
I was only beginning to raise my gun when another gun shot went off. The bullet pierced her cheek and went out through the back of her skull. Ultimately it turned her head into some what of a pink mist.
I was taken aback, and was still in shock to turn and see Linda's gun pointed out and smoking. I almost felt as though a big smile would spread across my face when I remembered that we weren't alone in the house yet, because something had to have bitten Carla.
I knew the gun shot could have been heard from miles around the echo amplifying woods, so stealth tactics weren't needed at this point. I kicked Carla's body to the side and barged into the kitchen with a full head of steam. Linda was close on my heels as we came upon a large man in the kitchen.
His first notable feature was his pearly white, almost milk colored skin on the top of his bald head. He wore a worn out plaid shirt, and overalls. His entire left arm seemed to have been severed off, or in this case bitten off. The goon lunged at us and I took a quick side step and fired off a round into the back of his head. He dropped to the floor as some would say "like a sack of potatoes."
Linda grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the front door of the house. As we ran back through the hall I noticed a set of keys laying on the counter. I quickly grabbed them on the way out, hoping they would open and turn the car on for us.
"Where's the car?" Linda asked frantically. She turned her head back and forth, in rapid motions trying to scan the densely wooded area for a way out. "Behind the house, come on." I replied and this time it was my turn to pull her along.
We rushed around the house, and made our way to the shed in the back where I had killed Carla's husband last night. Though I hate to call it killing, considering the fact that they were already dead. The small, rusted, navy blue sedan was parked directly next to the shed.
We both spotted it simultaneously and made our way towards it. I fumbled with the keys for a moment before getting them into the lock on the door and turning it. Luckily they were the correct set of keys, and the door unlocked. I got in quickly and unlocked the passenger side for Linda. She threw the bag in first and then climbed in after it.
At this point several goons had found their way to the source of the noises they had just recently heard and were beginning to clog up our escape route. I turned the key in the ignition but got nothing. Another try and I got only a small spark of hope from the engine. A third try and it still wouldn't catch.
The goons had really moved in on us now, and slammed up against the hood of the car and the side windows. Linda screamed in fright of this being the end, and I remembered the first day, when Sam and Jack had saved me from a similar situation. I turned the key over and over but the engine refused to respond the way I wanted, and we NEEDED it to.
Two goons on the passenger side began to slam their heads into the window, unknowingly cracking it. Linda pulled the gun out again to fire at the two goons on her side when finally... Our engine roared to life. The purr of a car's engine had never sounded so sweet to me, in my entire life.
I kicked it into drive and slammed my foot down on the pedal. The loud, clunker of a car revved up and jerked forward. We left the goons behind us and swerved in and out of traffic from oncoming goons who had now turned their attention to our car instead of the house where they had heard the gunshots from earlier.
I made a right up onto the main road, and before we knew it, we were back on the highway and continuing on our journey. Linda seemed to have relaxed as we were finally able to cruise along the relatively deserted highway.
I exhaled and sat back a little, "There's a little food in the bag, check the front pocket." I told Linda, keeping my voice down because she seemed to be in a delicate state of peace at the moment and the last thing I wanted to do was disturb it.
She nodded at me and pulled some beef jerky out of the bag. She took one piece for herself and gave me the other. We ate and drove in silence for the next hour until we saw a road sign for a truck stop up ahead.
"We need to stop there. So we can get more food and gas." She said quietly, and then leaned her head against my right shoulder. I nodded in agreement but kept my mouth shut as to concentrate on the road ahead. I knew the truck stop might have been picked clean by the time we got there, but it couldn't hurt to give it a shot.
A few miles later, we finally pulled up slowly to the stop. Only one truck was still there, and it was off it's wheels, implying that it was being repaired. I wanted to tell Linda to stay in the car to be safe, but with her new found confidence with a gun, I knew it would be a useless argument.
We got out of the car and stayed low thought we kept a brisk pace as we made our way into the small store at the truck stop. It seemed deserted out here, not a car in sight, aside from the abandoned truck on the side. Inside the store showed more of the same. Most of the food off the shelves had been picked clean. The drinks in the freezers had been taken as well. It looked more and more like a store that hadn't even opened yet, as we continued our search. Nothing edible in sight.
Frustrated I slammed my hand down on the counter and sighed. Linda gave me a defeated look but none the less continued her search. I peeked over the counter to make sure it was clear and I hopped over. Behind the counter I found a large and heavy shotgun. It seemed as though it hadn't been used at all since the shit hit the fan. It wasn't even loaded. I laid it across the floor and began digging around for the shotgun shells that couldn't be far.
Luckily I found an entire box of them sitting in the drawer next to the gun. I showed Linda and she gave me a thumbs up and a smile. I smiled back warmly, and soon regretted it, feeling my emotions kicking in again. I cursed myself as I began searching for anything else of use behind the register. All I found was money, which at this point was pretty useless except for keeping a fire burning.
I heard Linda gasp suddenly, and I quickly snapped around and drew my gun. I pointed it up in her direction, scanning the room as quickly as I possibly could for the source of her dismay. But instead, it was extremely relieved to find that nothing was wrong, quite the opposite really, she had hit the jackpot.
On the far end of one of the drink refrigerators was an ice cold case of waters. It was still sealed in the box, and contained about 24 bottles. This would last us the next couple of weeks at least, if we rationed it off correctly. So I picked up the box and motioned at the gun and the bullets and Linda got those. We took one last glance around the store to make sure we had missed nothing, and then we were back out into the cold Christmas day air.
We hurried our way back into the warmth of the car and settled down for a few seconds before starting the car back up. Then I realized, "Oh shit, we didn't put gas in the car." I looked down at the needle which was hovering over the halfway marker of the gas tank. This would most likely get us at least to the next truck stop but I didn't want to take a chance.
I put the car in reverse, and slowly rolled back to the gas pump. Linda scanned the surroundings of the car, "Okay it's clear, go." I nodded and jumped back out into the frigid air as I ran around the hood of the car and to the gas pumps. I put my credit card in, and punched in the area code and waited impatiently as it processed the card. Finally it gave me the green light and I began pumping the fuel.
Once the car was full, I grabbed the two gasoline tanks laying next to the pump and filled them up as well. I packed them into the trunk of the car in case the upcoming truck stops weren't a safe place to fill up again.
I got back in the car safely and exhaled as the warmth from Linda was radiating off her and onto me. I started the car and pulled it back onto the highway. Linda seemed to be sleepy as she found her way back onto her now usual spot on my shoulder and began to snore softly. It was the sweetest sound I've heard in days, and it calmed my jittery nerves.
Most of the highway twisted and turned through the most rural parts of Colorado, and the lack of goons and other road way obstacles reflected that. This was one of the most peaceful drives I had been on in a very long time, and it only took the end of the world to realize that.
As we pushed on to the border, the traffic became more apparent, though it was all stationary. All the cars had either been abandoned or over taken by goons. Linda and I debated whether rummaging through these cars for supplies was a good idea, but by the looks of the scene on this highway, it seemed safest to stay in the car and keep moving forward.
Some cars had crashed, others left in the middle of the road. Some had their passengers still sitting inside, though eaten alive in their last moments. Other cars had burned to crisps, with or without their owners in them. The look of what was unraveling before us was something that could never be unseen, and guaranteed to haunt us for the rest of our days, however many that may be.
Linda covered her mouth and wiped away her tears as the car slowed to get around another over turned car and a few dead bodies. Even my guts were being wrenched as the bodies of small children and their parents lay side by side, either eaten alive or burned alive. And in some cases, both.
But even worse than the sight of this horrific scene, which we now were forced to call the world we live in, was the smell. The unbearable odor of burning flesh, gaping wounds of bites gone unhealed, the stench of burning gasoline and rubber all conjured up into one horrifying and dilapidating scent that could knock someone out cold.
Tears welled up in my eyes, though I wasn't sure if it was from the sheer brutality of the images that I had just processed, or the smell that made hell seem like prime real estate compared to this shit whole.
Once we cleared the clog up, the highway cleared again and we didn't see another car for miles. But the images stayed with us, and Linda cried into my arm for the next hour.
Once again I debated whether I should bring up the fact that it was Christmas day. Last night had seemed like things we're really turning around for me, but, obviously that didn't last long.