T
he ride to my mom’s was uncomfortably silent. We followed behind Henry and Nick. Since we couldn’t get to the highway from where I had stopped, Henry took us up to the next on-ramp. Luckily, there was enough space for us to squeak through.
The highway was congested, but we were able to push some of the vehicles out of the way. It was a slow process, but we were getting through. Eventually, the storm passed and the sun was shining, which made it a bit easier.
Some vehicles were abandoned, others had true deads in them. Henry slowed down and pulled off onto the emergency lane. “What’s he doing?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know.” Sophie pulled up behind Henry’s truck. “Stay in the truck, both of you, until I figure out what he’s doing.” She glared back at me, then hopped out. I had a feeling she was trying to send me a message. I had no idea why she would think I would do the opposite of what she wanted.
***
“Nick, stay in the truck. I need to speak to Sophie.” Nick nodded, while looking off into the distance. He was exhausted and just wanted a few minutes of peace within the madness.
Henry jumped out and closed the door. He and Sophie walked a distance away from the trucks.
“What’s up, darling?”
“My head. It’s starting to rage.” He tried not to show his pain.
“Are you feeling a little bit of nausea?”
Henry swallowed hard. “Yeah.” He rubbed his temples.
“Maybe a hangover?” Sophie crossed her arms across her chest, and rolled her eyes. “I’m sure your drinking isn’t helping, Henry. It’s probably causing it to come on faster.”
“Please, Sophie,” he groaned in annoyance.
“You need to stop with your boozing. We talked about this ages ago, remember?”
“Leave it,” he growled. He rubbed his temples again, then pressed his palms into his eyes, trying to alleviate some of the pressure.
“Shit, Henry. We need to get you a proper supply, or you are just going to continue to crash.”
“I know.” Henry looked at Sophie and took a deep breath. His eyes were becoming gray again. It was happening faster than usual, and he knew Sophie was right. His drinking was probably causing him to crash harder and faster. He needed to do something. He needed a donation sooner rather than later.
“What are you thinking?” He didn’t respond. “Henry…you are not thinking…? No. Absolutely not!”
“I have to do something, Sophie!”
“We can’t!”
“What do I have to lose?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Your life! My life! They will kill us both!” She raged at him in fear.
“I do believe we lost our lives ages ago.”
Sophie looked down and kicked at a rock. The silence was uncomfortable. He rubbed his tired, achy eyes.
“Heard, but we can’t. Not yet.”
“This is so fucking frustrating!” he yelled, then grabbed his head. “I hate this. I really do.”
Sophie rubbed his shoulder. “I know. We’ll think of something. See if Nick will drive for a while so you can get some rest.”
Henry nodded. “We need to get some gas first. You’re probably near out.”
“The low fuel light just came on when I put it in park.”
“The cars around here look virtually unscathed,” he said, looking around.
“Okay, we will check them out.”
“Right.” They both turned and headed back to their trucks.
***
“What do you think they are talking about?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know, but something isn’t right.” My skepticism was out in the open, speaking for itself, as usual. “I saw Henry grab his head a few times, like he was in pain. I don’t want to see him hurting.”
“I’m worried,” Claire quietly uttered.
“Me, too. Very much.” I took a deep breath.
We sat in silence until Sophie opened the door. “All right, ladies. We are going to drive up to those vehicles and see if they have gas in them. If they do, I want to check them out for any supplies that would be useful.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I said, while staring out the window. Sophie sighed. She started the truck, and we drove up to the three vehicles that were blocking the highway.
Henry was walking around the cars, securing them, checking for life or undeads. Once he had cleared the area, he waved at us to come out as he checked the gas tank on the first car.
“Bloody hell. This one is near empty.” He stood up and rubbed his neck.
“Henry! This one seems to be about half full,” Sophie yelled.
“Of course it has to be the one in the middle. I can’t even squeeze myself between to get to the gas door. Fuck me.”