Kristie snorted. “Okay, everyone, time to leave. The testosterone in this room is going to either make me go nuts or grow a pair; frankly I don’t want to do either.”
I walked out the door and started towards the location of our SUV. Sara and Kristie caught up with me quickly.
“Men, you can’t kill ‘em…unless they try and eat your brains,” said Kristie with a wry grin.
I stopped walking and turned to Sara and Kristie. “I just wanted to say thanks to both of you. I know each of you lost your husbands and yet you’ve still found the strength to help me try to find my mom. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
We were still hugging each other when Eva, Bryce, and Austin caught up.
“You boys work it out?” asked Kristie, pulling away.
Bryce shrugged and Austin smiled. “Nothing to work out, darlin’. I’m coming with whether Billy likes it or not.”
“It’s Bryce,” he muttered, walking ahead of him.
“Southern boys,” said Kristie as we started walking. “I once had me a cowboy. Oh, the things he could do with that rope…”
Chapter Twenty-Five
There were several dead zombies lying around as we neared the parked SUV. Three of the soldiers were repairing the glass on the door where the zombies had broken through.
“You guys leaving?” asked one of them. “Through this mob?”
“Yes,” replied Bryce.
“Well, they are getting pretty damn restless out there,” said the soldier. “Be careful.”
We got into the SUV and the soldiers reluctantly opened the garage door. Kristie was in the driver’s seat again so that Bryce would have his hands free to shoot, if needed. Bryce sat next to her with his gun ready.
“Damn, those zombies stink,” muttered Austin sitting close to me.
“Vicks works wonders,” I said, handing out my jar.
He nodded in approval and rubbed some under his nose.
“Look! Sweet Jesus, they’re getting in,” said Eva as two zombies barreled through the garage door before it was closed all the way. The soldiers shot them in the head and they dropped.
Bryce opened his window and shot two more that tried sneaking in.
“You have a gun, cowboy?” Kristie asked Austin.
“Lost it a couple days ago. I found a couple of grenades, though,” he said, holding them up in the air.
“Careful driving,” mumbled Bryce.
Zombies were definitely getting more ferocious as we drove through the parking lot. The smell of blood was drawing more of them towards the hospital and now there were hundreds attacking each other.
“How in the hell do we get out of here?” growled Kristie.
“I guess now is as good of time as any,” said Austin as he opened up his window and leaned out. “Get ready.”
He launched the grenade at a crowd of zombies blocking our path. Less than ten seconds later, body parts were falling from the sky and landing on the SUV.
“Drive!” yelled Bryce.
Kristie hit the gas and we drove over the remaining mutilated zombies, all of us bouncing around in the SUV.
Eva closed her eyes. “Lord help us,” she said softly.
Another group of zombies were coming straight for us and Austin threw another one, clearing the path yet again with a loud explosion.
“Yes! Well, thank God Austin decided to come with us. Otherwise we’d of had a hell of a time getting through these bastards,” said Kristie.
Bryce looked out the window and mumbled something expletive.
When we finally made it out of the zombie-infested parking lot, I wanted to scream for joy. But I knew we weren’t out of danger yet. Zombies were still wandering the streets, looking more aggravated and alert than ever.
“What’s going on with these guys?” asked Kristie. “They seem like they’re in some kind of frenzy or something.”
“They are,” said Austin. “They need blood to sustain, and if they don’t get it, they actually become more violent and ferocious. Once they start to lose more of their body mass, though, they’ll eventually slow down.
“Great,” I sighed.
“What makes you an expert on these things?” asked Bryce.
Austin shrugged. “Bits and pieces of things I’d heard from other soldiers. They’ve been studying their behaviors.”
“Do they know for sure if you’ll turn into one if you’re bitten?” asked Eva.
He nodded. “They believe you will. Some of the people who’ve been bitten are showing signs of very erratic behavior, similar to the zombies. Some have just…died,” he said, his voice getting quieter as he glanced at me.
I looked out the window and sighed heavily. It sounded pretty hopeless for my sister. I was thankful that my mom was with her, but I could only imagine the agony she was going through in Atlanta. I only wished I could get out there somehow so she wouldn’t have to face it alone.