“No, don’t. Just don’t. We have to tell someone, anyone.” I recognized dimly that I was having a breakdown, only my third of the week, in front of Ash. Again. One day, one day in this crazy messed up world, I would be composed and carefree and awesome in front of Ash Matthews.
He slammed on the breaks, causing me to fly forward. “I’m sorry, okay? I know, I know.” His voice broke, and he looked over at me. I felt all of the fight go out of me. I had never seen my dad cry before. “I want to stop and save every single person back there, okay? I want to save all of the millions of people in Brooklyn and Manhattan and Queens, but I can’t. And I just want to get you and Ash out of this city and to safety because that’s the one thing I can do.”
The car was quiet for a moment. Cars were honking at us, turmoil of the city was still all around us but the silence in the car was deafening.
“Some people will get out, okay?” He looked away and started driving again. “People are getting out already, trying to get away from…everything. But we can’t save everyone.”
We drove the rest of the way out of the city in silence. Staring out the window, I wondered how on earth we got to this point.
We had been on the road for about an hour when it happened. We weren’t the only cars on the road, but no one had the same urgency that we did. They felt safe; they were outside of the city. But what was safety anymore? Was anyone actually safe anymore?
We were too far away to see anything, to hear anything, but when the clock flashed over, we knew. We continued to drive in silence before my dad pulled off to the side of the road and held me. I kept waiting for the tears to fall, but they wouldn’t. I just stared, stared at the woven patterns in the seat. I could see Ash through a crack in our entwined arms and saw his fist pressed firmly against his mouth, tears streaming down his face.
I don’t know how much time passed while we all mourned the loss of our city before my dad pulled away and put the keys back in the ignition. “We need to get supplies,” he said hoarsely, starting the car and driving again. It wasn’t long before he turned off the main highway. He pulled a map out of the glove compartment. “I think we should stay off the main roads. It might take us a little longer, but I just think it’s better.”
I nodded, afraid that, if I said a word, I would burst into tears and never stop.
“There will be less people out on the back roads,” Ash spoke up from the backseat. “Do we know how many zomb…Awakened are outside of the major cities?”
Dad shook his head. “They’ve only been awake for a few days. We have no idea how many there are or where they are. The major cities reported that they were in the street and attacking, like in Manhattan, but they could be anywhere. We just…we don’t know.” He pulled off the side of the road and drove through a thicket of trees. I glanced back at Ash as the car bumped over the uneven floor of forest, branches scratching at the side of the car.
“Dad, where are you going?”
“There’s a town up ahead, only a few miles; I want to run in there and get supplies. But I don’t want to put you in danger, and I don’t want to risk our only mode of transportation.” We were about a half-mile away from the road hidden enough that no one could see us. “You guys will stay here while I go ahead.”
“Yeah, that’s a terrible idea,” I said immediately. “I’m going with you.”
“Yeah, Mr. Valentine, I don’t think…” Ash started.
“Frank,” Dad interrupted. “Call me Frank. This is not the world to be bothering with misters.”
“Frank, right,” Ash said trying it out. “I just don’t understand what the plan is.”
He looked back and forth between us. “We’re going to Nebraska. Last I talked to Jennifer, Zoey’s mom, there was no virus there. Which hopefully means no Awakened either.”
“Nebraska,” I said, softly, feeling my shoulders sag. “With Mom, and Caspar.”
“Casper? Like the friendly ghost?” Ash asked, his eyebrows furrowed. I picked up an empty water bottle from the console and tossed it at him.
“No. My stepfather,” I answered, glancing at my dad, who usually developed a slight tick when Caspar’s name was mentioned. Not that I could blame him. “So that’s the plan?”
Dad unbuckled his seatbelt, and reached for the bag that he had stowed at my feet and pulled out two handguns. “Yeah, that’s the plan.” He met my eyes. “I’ll be gone a couple hours, max. Stay down; stay low. Don’t get out of the car for anything.”
“Dad, I just…”
“No, Zoey,” he said, firmly. “I’m going. We need to get to Nebraska. And don’t think I’m happy about this, Zoey. I’m not excited for it either. But she’s your mother, and we’re going to be safe.” He slammed the door behind him and started walking away, trudging through the forest.
“Yeah, we’ll be safe. Just you, me, Mom, the man who ruined my family and the boy who spends most of his days making my life miserable. No problem,” I muttered as he walked away.