To the Edge and Back

To the Edge and Back: Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"How far is that rest stop?" Taylor asks Zach. "The sign back there said one mile so it shouldn't be too much farther now," Zach replies. Another week. Another heat wave. God I hate the weather in this state. One day it could be snowing and then the next it could be a hundred degrees.

We've been following interstate 40 ever since we left the farm. According to Haven's compass, we're heading east. We hope to get to the coast and find refuge there.

"I can see the rest stop in the distance," Taylor says. "Yeah and I can see at least fifty walkers roaming around the place too," Haven adds as she looks through her binoculars. "How in the hell are we gonna get in that place?" Zach asks to no one in particular. "This was your plan to come here Zach, you figure out a plan to get inside," I command him.

Zach walks away from us for a minute to think about our next move. While he thinks, I take a moment to look at our food supply. We're running low on meat. A few cans of beans are in my bag but they won't last us very long. Hopefully we can find more food in the rest stop.

I wonder what happened to everyone after the desolation of the farm. Who made it? Hopefully Keaton did. And Alex and Julie. They were good people and they deserved to survive. I hope that idiot Walt got eaten. I know it's a bad thing to think but I really didn't like that albino creep.

Maybe Dereck didn't make it either. I remember seeing him run into the woods but I don't think he would have managed to survive on his own out there. Especially after the beating I had just given him. But I still wonder.

Zach walks back over to us with a solemn look upon his face. "I don't really have a solid plan. I have one idea but its crazy and puts all of us at risk." Zach seems disappointed in himself. "Well, what's the idea?" I demand.

"The fastest of us lures all of the biters away from the building," Zach says with a glum stare in my direction. "Me?!? No way!" I protest. Zach explains, "It has to be you. You're the fastest out the four of us. Look, it'll be easy. You run down the road for bit screaming and yelling. While this goes on, we sneak into the main building and grab a few maps and whatever food we can find and meet back here. If anything goes wrong, whistle three times and one of us will come running. Same thing on our end."

I look down at the ground for a moment. "Fine, I'll do it."

I run beside the crowd of biters and start to shout at them. "Hey! Hey! Over here you dumb undead idiots!" They crane their necks in my direction. A few of them start to shuffle toward me. The rest follow the others lead and migrate to me. I shoot a few of them in the head to attract more. The gunshots coax the remaining biters to me. I take off down the interstate.

After I run for about a half mile I turn back and go around the horde. When I get back to the rest stop I don't see any sign of my friends. Where are they? I begin to make my way to the building. I walk into the lobby. In the middle of the room Zach and Taylor have knives at their throats. Haven is duct taped and tied up in the corner. The wielders of the knives are none other than Dereck and Walt. "Miss me?" Dereck asks with a smirk on his face.