They settled down.
“The thing that was up there, we’re not sure whose it was. We want to take it easy. For all we know, these people could be another group like the Seventeens, just trying to find other survivors to steal their supplies.”
Hector twisted his lip, but said nothing.
“Second thing is this. Let’s not give people a bunch of false hope. Zzzap is backtracking it to its source and we should know more by tonight or tomorrow morning. But I’d prefer if you all kept this to yourselves for now, okay? We don’t want to get people excited over nothing, so let’s wait until we know what it is.”
He could feel their enthusiasm drop.A few shoulders sagged. Lynne looked at him. “So... now what?”
“We get back to work,” said St. George. “There’s another big gas station down there. Let’s see if we can make it there before we call it a day and head back.” He leaped from the roof platform and sailed down to the ground in front of the truck. The hero set his hands against a dark SUV, pushed it against a sedan, and shoved both vehicles a few feet off the road.
Most of the scavengers climbed back into the truck. Billie walked up to him. “You look tired.”
“Kind of, yeah,” said St. George. “I don’t do much high-speed flying.”
She glanced past him and raised her voice. “Danny, watch your back.”
They all turned. A blonde ex wearing stained sweats and a tank top had worked its way across the road. Lee and Al stepped forward as the dead thing bit down on Danny’s shoulder. His chainmail blunted the rotted teeth. He yelped and twisted back. The dead woman stumbled after him, its teeth chattering. He gave it a shove and it snapped at his fingers.
“The chainmail works,” deadpanned Al.
“Hell, yeah,” stammered Danny. He took a few deep breaths.
“See, this is what I’m talking about,” St. George said. “Stay focused, people. Maybe there is someone else out there, but we’ll never know if we all get killed, will we?”
“They won’t kill you,” said Hector dryly.
“Yeah, but Stealth gets really annoyed when I go out with fourteen people and come home alone.”
Danny held the ex away with his rifle. “Hey,” he said, “does she look familiar to anyone else?”
Keri peered at the ex and shook her head. “Nope.”
“They’re all getting so shriveled it’s hard to tell,” said Al.
“That one’s not shriveled,” said Lynne with a grin. “Silicone stays bouncy forever.”
The ex clacked its teeth and took another swipe at Danny. He gave it a shove to keep it off balance. “Final decisions? Famous or not?”
St. George tilted his head and pointed. “What’s on its arm?”
“Ink,” said Hector. “Roses. She had some nice work done.”
Ilya snapped his fingers. “She’s a porn star.”
Lee gave the ex another look. “You think so?”
“Blonde hair, fake tits, one very tattooed arm, kind of familiar.”
Paul pointed his rifle down the road. “Isn’t there a big porn headquarters right down the street?”
“I don’t think all the porn stars lived there.”
“Hey, I’m just saying it’s there.”
Billie looked back to St. George and spoke in a low voice. “Was it a Predator?”
He blinked and dropped his own volume. “Yeah. Good guess.”
“Prop engine, sort of a plane, doesn’t sound like there was a pilot.” She shrugged. “I was only in Afghanistan for eighteen months, but I saw a couple of them.”
Lady Bee laughed. “Oh my God, I think he’s right. That was Brooke-something.”
“Aren’t there ten or twenty Brookes?”
“No she’s a big one,” said Ilya. “Damn, what was her last name?”
“I think that’s enough to say she counts as a celebrity. Jarvis?”
The bearded man sighed and nodded. “Yeah, sure. I ain’t never catching up, anyway.”
Billie watched Danny try to trip the ex, but spoke in the same low tones. “Why are you so cautious if it’s one of ours?”
“We don’t know it’s one of ours,” said St. George. “For all we know it’s a bunch of redneck survivalists who logged a lot of time playing flight simulator games. Until we know for sure, I think it’s better to be cautious.”
“Fair enough.”
Danny kicked one of the ex’s legs out from under it and the dead thing tumbled to the ground. Ilya tossed him a pike from the back of Road Warrior and he caught it one-handed. He took a good grip on the weapon, drove the spiked tip down through the ex’s mouth, and watched a puddle form behind its head.
Chapter 6
NOW