Annaliese back away and looked down at Mike stomach wound. “How did you…”
Mike pulled up his shirt to show a layer of blood-soaked magazines. “He still got me pretty good, but the armour took most of the damage. That guy who jumped us gave me a right beating before he left, though. It wasn’t until I saw the fireworks that I even found the strength to move or even know where to go. I take it the dead are coming?”
She nodded. Mike looked an absolute mess, but should be alright with rest. “Get in the back with Nick and Renee,” she said. “We’re getting supplies and then getting the hell out of here.”
Mike headed around to the back of the truck and the other men helped him up. Annaliese hopped back in the driver’s seat and got them all moving again. The greenhouse would be just up ahead.
Chapter Forty-Two
The truck pulled into an area Nick didn’t recognise. There was a large, rectangular greenhouse in the centre of the clearing and rows and rows of planters either side of it. Even from outside he could see the glass building was piled high with supplies.
The truck stopped and Annaliese got out. “Okay everyone,” she said. “Grab as much as you can as quickly as you can. Who knows when we’ll have a chance to get more.”
They all hopped out the truck and got to work. Nick went into the greenhouse before Annaliese, and together the entire group formed a line, passing out boxes and moving them down towards the flatbed. There was plenty of bottled soft drinks and water, along with bags and bags of dried seeds and nuts meant for the animals. What they didn’t have much of was time. Nick had least of all.
Seconds ticking away.
Within ten minutes the back of the truck was fully loaded with supplies and there were several more boxes on the front seats ready to go on passenger’s laps.
Nick stood beside the truck and waited for everybody to gather. All of them now had weapons again; various gardening implements they had found in the greenhouse. He himself had armed up with a shovel. Not that he needed it.
“Okay,” Annaliese said, opening up the driver’s side door and readying herself to get in. “This is it. Time to go see what’s left of the world. I can’t say we have much chance of making it, but we’re going to do our best. The people in front of me right now are the people I am glad are here; the people I trust. No matter what happens, I just want to thank you all for reminding me what family is.”
Everybody stood in silence and seemed to think about that. In some perverted way they were all family.
I’m going to miss them.
Nick took the opportunity to say goodbye. He cleared his throat and moved to the centre of the group. “I just want to thank you all as well,” he said. “You gave me something to live for after everything else I had was gone.” He looked at Eve. “You especially, Eve. If I hadn’t met you I probably would have given up before the first night was through. My son would have liked you.” He chuckled. “My wife….not so much.”
Eve laughed. “Come on, that’s enough sappiness for one day. We have to get going.”
“Not me,” said Nick.
Eve frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I just can’t go with you.”
“Why not?”
Renee came and stood in front of Nick and looked him in the eyes suspiciously. Something obviously dawned on the other man because his eyebrows went high on his forehead. “He is bitten.”
“No he isn’t,” Eve said, rolling her eyes and scoffing.
Nick rolled up the sleeve of his woollen jacket and showed revealed the ragged bite wound on his wrist. “They got me back at the house, just before we lost Jan.”
Renee looked down at the ground for a moment and then back up at Nick. He had tears in his eyes. “I am sorry, my friend.”
Nick sighed. “Yeah, me too.”