This Would Be Paradise (Book 2)-A Zombie Novel

Chapter 16

"I think we're lost," Roy said as he held the map up.

His head was cocked to the side like he was examining a painting at an art gallery. Navigating the interstate had been easy, it was once we took the turn off that things started to get tricky. We managed to cross the bridge we needed and were technically in New Orleans or at least on the very cusp of the city. Unfamiliar one-ways were all we had to go on. I remember using them to get out of the city, but I don't think we had the right ones.

I let out a harsh breath and parked the car, turning off the engine. There was no point in letting it idle, it would just burn gas.

"Did you happen to catch that street sign back there?" I asked Roy, since I was more focused on driving than navigating.

"Yeah, but I don't see it on here," he muttered, pulling the map in for a closer inspection.

I looked around our parking spot. The street we were currently on was more residential looking than the others. Unkempt green grass surrounded the cement road, eating away at the cracks. There were a couple of scattered infected in the immediate area that would undoubtedly make their way over to us. I was about to get out of the car to dispatch of them when Chloe yelled.

"Look!" Chloe pushed her head into the front seats, pointing to some signage on the side of the street.

"Ho-ly shit." I gaped at the giant poster pegged into the ground. "Finally some luck thrown our way."

The camo-themed sign read, "Bobby-Joe's Gun Shop. Three miles, take left on 78th street."

"I take it that's where we're heading?" Roy asked, setting down the map.

"Good eye," I said to Chloe and she sat down with a big grin on her face. "This makes things a lot easier."

I couldn't believe our luck. I knew John had at least a billboard for the store, but it looks like he had put out signs as well. Thank you, John.

Roy looked at me, smiling as well. "Guess we just follow the sign."

I turned on the engine and hurried down the road before the infected closed in on us. They chased us for a bit until we turned left on the street the sign had said to. We continued down the road for almost three miles when the familiar gravel pit of a parking lot came into view. My heart rate started to elevate as my excitement rose. Finally something had gone right for once.

"This is it!" Chloe squealed from the back seat.

I parked out front, no other vehicles in the vicinity.

"Alright, I'll go in first and check it out. You stay here with the girls and I'll come get you when it's clear," I announced.

"I don't think you should go in there alone," Roy said hesitantly.

"Then what do you suggest? We can't leave Chloe and Amanda in here by themselves, what if another crazy drifter comes along? And plus, I've actually been inside before," I explained.

Roy looked perplexed, "Not like we have boatloads of options I guess."

I filled up my handgun magazine from what was left of our ammo stash and grabbed my trusty axe. I was reaching for the door handle when Roy grabbed my arm.

"Wait." He peered out of the car and then got out. "Pop the trunk."

Once I did, he started rummaging through the overstuffed pile. I got out to see what he was doing.

"It's in here somewhere, just give me a second," he strained.

I waited patiently for whatever rabbit in a hat he was going to produce. Roy pulled out a duffle bag and opened the zipper. After more rooting around, he pulled out a long yellow string. On the end of it was a whistle.

"You're kidding me, a rape whistle?" I cocked out a hip.

Roy smirked, "Think of it as a trouble whistle. You run into anything more than you can handle, blow it loudly and I'll come running."

"You think you will be able to hear it all the way out here?"

"I'll roll down the window a smidgen." He wiggled it for emphasis so I took it from him and stuffed it in my pocket.

"Fine." I gave the area a panoramic view. "Looks like the area is okay. I'll be quick."

I headed off towards the back entrance, the grass even more overgrown than before; the worn foot path was hard to see from all the dense foliage. The back door was now attached to the door frame by a chain and lock since Ethan had destroyed the dead bolt. I lifted my axe and swung. The chain rattled, but didn't fall off like I had hoped it would. I decided instead to chop at the wooden door frame to get the one side of the chain to fall off. It took a good couple of whacks, but the chain came off the frame side and hung on the door like a limp noodle.

I opened the door widely and waited to see if anything would pop out. That hadn't been the quietest entrance. When nothing appeared, I went in. Last time the lights had been on, now the only source of illumination was the sun coming in the front windows and backdoor. With my axe at the ready, I carefully walked down the short hallway that led to the display floor. I cursed the creaky floor boards as they groaned from my added weight.

Well on the positive side, there was no one else in the display area. The negative side was that there was not a single gun in sight and the bullet shelving had been picked clean. I lowered my axe in defeat and leaned against the wall, taking in the emptiness of the room.

This had been all for nothing. We hadn't found our friends or weapons. And now I felt even more lost than before. I turned back around and started to head back out. I stopped at John's office, wondering if it was even worth my time to open it. I twisted the door handle but it was locked. It wasn't last time we were here and I didn't think John would have taken the time to lock it considering he left a pretty haphazard job on the backdoor.

I wedged my axe in between the door and frame and began to heave. The splintering sound of the wood giving way spurred me on until the door popped open. I was getting good at this whole breaking and entering thing. The small space was lit up thanks to the skylight and I could see his desk in the middle. Metallic red caught my eye as I entered the room.

On the desk was a Beretta with a red bow on top and two boxes of 9mm bullets. I picked up the gun to examine it. The piece was exactly like the ones I had lost. This couldn't have been random. I smiled as I spotted the paper underneath. Unfolding the paper, my smile grew even bigger as I laughed aloud. It was a note in Ethan's messy scrawl.

"Bailey, I hope you get this. Know that we will be coming back every couple of days to see if you are here. We have found Hargrove. We left you a map with directions on it, please follow them and get here as soon as possible. Ethan."

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A/N: Finally, a clue!