Killing Corpses (zombie novel)

Chapter Twenty Two

The next car drive was silent, mostly because none of us knew what to say.

The window wiper on Seth's beaten down jeep sweeped the rain off of the windshield, doing their job. I sat in the back with Abbie, contemplating what would happen if we died while looking through newspaper clippings.
I was in deep thought, zoning out, in a trance. What would happen? We were the only humans beings alive, to our knowledge. Would the living die out completely? Or was my brother really out there?
The jeep purred, the rain pattered down, and no one said a word. Callum was leafing through files, as was I, Abbie was sleeping, pale as a ghost. And Seth kept a firm stare on the road, gripping the wheel with white knuckles.
I sighed and kept looking through the files. We hadn't found anything except old infant pictures and stories about him. They were vague, worn, and hard to read. Long story short, he left a while ago to find his real dad, and didn't come back. Thats it. For some reason, the police department didn't seem to care much for that case, and I couldn't understand why.
"Ureka!" Callum shouted. The sudden break of silence caused Seth to swerve and swear.
"What did you find?" I asked desperately, tousling my fringe away from my face.
He grinned, tossing the papers back to me. "Another sighting."
I looked down at the article eagerly, scanning the page.
Liam Roberts, blah blah... Ran away blah blah...
Then, I saw it.
Possible sighting, aged 20.
"Oh my god..." I murmured, taking a closer look.

Closed case, 2001. Liam Roberts, aged 11. CLOSED.

Update: Possible sighting, California, Liam Roberts, aged 20.
Witness Report, Mrs Maynard, Personal friend of Roberts family, 2014.
"I swear, it was him. He had the same dark, dark eyes, same hair, same attitude. Sure, he was older and taller, but it was Liam. He recognised me too, you know. Looked right at me, and his cheeks flushed red. He knew I recognised him. He ducked his head down, then jumped over a wall. He ran away again."

I knew Mrs Maynard, she was a very close friend. Before I was born, my Dad lived in Scotland, when he was around 9. My grandfather was a really wealthy businessman, and his family moved to California. They kept their Scottish name, Roberts, and my Mom had no problem with taking it too. So I was half American, half Scottish.
Anyways, Mrs Maynard was basically my Dad's auntie. She moved with them, because she needed them as much as they needed her. I didn't know her at all, but I knew she was close to my Dad. Really close.
I had heard stories about her from my dad, how she used to babysit him while my grandparents went on business trips... How she was as much his mother as his real mother was... She seemed to be a very nice woman.
I scratched my nose slightly, my excitement dying down.
"Thanks Callum," I said, handing him the article again. "But who knows where he could be now? This doesn't mean he's still in California."
He sighed and took the newspaper back, defeated. "I guess... But its our only proper lead. Its a good place to start."
"He's right." Seth prodded from the driver's seat.
I sighed and glared at the back of Seth's head, knowing they were right.
"Yeah... Okay. Head for California Seth."
"Already am."
"Okay..." I murmured under my breath, slouching back in my seat. Just as I got comfortable, Callum turned around again.
"Cospyn... You wouldn't mind switching seats, would you? Its just... Abbie's been having these nightmares lately... She likes me to be there when she wakes up from them, you know?"
He pleaded to be with big eyes, and much to my distaste, we stopped in the middle of an empty motorway, switching seats.
Besides being stuck beside Seth, shotgun was pretty decent. More leg room, better view... It was alright.
We kept driving along motorways and highways, empty and dark. It had become normal to see empty roads by now, we were all used to it. But It still unnerved me easily.
Soon enough, Callum's prediction fell true, and Abbie woke up screaming and crying.
Seth stopped the truck to try and help, but Callum seemed to have done it before. We twisted around in our seats to see him collect in her flailing limbs into her body, and stopped her shaking so much. She eventually stopped withering and and screaming, and cuddled up into Callum's body, all in under 5 minutes.
"Were good to go." Callum said sternly, nodding his head.
Seth nodded back, and turned the key in the ignition once more.