Surviving the Undead

Chapter 8

Burning sunlight beat down upon the never-ending asphalt road. The air seemed to shimmer and dance in the intense heat. I wiped beads of sweat from my brow for what seemed like the millionth time. I raised my face in the hope it would be cooled by the non-existant breeze. Glancing down against the glare of the sun, I noticed that my shadow was almost completely merged with my body.

I reached a crest in the road. Shielding my eyes, I peered at my surroundings. My eyes caught a particularily strong glint of sunlight. It was bouncing off of a sparkling, clear river. I ran my tongue over my chapped lips in anticipation.

I forced myself to turn away from the small river, and check on my companions. Aidan was in front, closely followed by James. Luke and Vanessa were bringing up the rear, again. The only reason we hadn't stopped already was that I'd placed myself so far ahead that unless they wanted to run, it was difficult to tell me that they-- meaning Vanessa--needed a break. I didn't want to take a break every time Vanessa was feeling slightly sore; we had already set out later than I had planned. Luke had decided to let us sleep in due to the "rough day" we had had yesterday.

Aidan looked up and noticed me standing at the top of the hill, gazing down on them. I signalled with my hand for him to "come here", and then turned to jog down the hill. My mouth was drier than the Sahara desert. I couldn't wait to feel the cool water sliding down my throat, refreshing every cell in my body. We did have water bottles; I just didn't want to waste what we knew was clean water.

After stutter-stepping my way down the hill, I hesitated at the edge of the asphalt. To get to the river I was going to have to walk through the tall grass that resided in the ditch. Even though the ghoul threat was much lower in rural areas, it was still far from non-existant.

I pondered what to do. After a moment of thought, I examined the ground and grabbed a long stick. Standing as far back from the ditch as possible, I used to stick to rustle the grass. I held my breath as I listened for any sounds that could be made by large animals. Nothing. Releasing my breath, I began to pick my way through the ditch.

As soon as I was clear of the ditch I began to run through the shorter grass. The burbling of the river enticed me.

Once I reached the river I threw myself down on my knees, not caring about the rocks digging into my skin. I greedily scooped up mouthful after mouthful of cool water. It was the most delicious, satisfying drink I had ever had. Finally I slid my backpack off of my shoulders and rummaged through it to find any empty water bottles.

All of my senses went on red-alert as I heard the pounding of footsteps behind me. I whipped around, relieved when it was just Aidan.

"Scare you?" he asked with a grin. I just gave him a look, and went back to refilling my water bottles. He knelt beside me and started slurping up water. James showed up a few seconds later, dunking his head in the water before taking a drink. I glanced down at my own sticky, sweaty body. Tendrils of my hair clung to my neck, soaked with sweat. My clothes felt disgustingly damp, not to mention heavy. Maybe James had the right idea.

"I'm going to go for a swim," I announced. I grabbed my backpack and stood up, intending to move farther downstream.

"That sounds like a good idea," said Aidan. "I think I will, too."

"I guess I'll go wait for Luke and Vanessa then..." said James, sounding slightly disappointed.

Once James headed back out towards the road, I strode down the edge of the river until I found a nice, shady spot. After dropping my backpack, I heard a series of splashes. Looking up, I saw Aidan standing waist-deep in the water. His crumpled up shirt and socks remained on shore, with his shoes lying beside them. Thank God those were the only things he left on shore. I stared at him, suddenly feeling awkward.