Roads Less Traveled: The Plan Read online

  “I spoke to Mia,” I said, my hand tensing around the gun grip. He was so quiet for a moment I thought the connection had been severed. “Still there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. I think I know what you’re going to say about Mia, and I’m so very sorry, Kasey.” If a person’s voice could be any more emotional than his was at that moment, I think tears would have bled through the phone. Then of course I would’ve puked from all the sappiness, or at least gagged a great deal.

  “We’ll talk about it later,” I said as I cleared my throat and forced back the lump. “Let’s stick to the plan. I’ll sit tight here, watch for developments, and wait for you to call me. Just let me know when you’ve figured out how to get off campus, okay?” I knew their school’s campus was very close to the outskirts of town, so it wouldn’t take them long, once they figured a way out of their buildings, to escape to relative safety.

  “Alright, will do. I’ll make sure to bring my laptop, and if my cell doesn’t have service, I’ll check for you online. I’ve got the rest of what little supplies I had in a backpack and an old fire escape ax as well. I know it’s not much, but it will do in a pinch. I know Jake and the people with him are scavenging whatever they can use as weapons from the room they’re in, and I packed his backpack while doing mine earlier. Just for the sake of saving time and all,” he said in a half-hearted attempt at humor. I could hear the grin in his voice, and wondered what that said of us if we could still joke at a time like this. I checked my watch again - had it been an hour already since talking to Mia?

  “I’ll be waiting. Check back in one hour, if you can.”

  “I will, be careful and keep your eyes open. I don’t have to ask if your doors and windows are locked. Just be safe and I’ll check in soon,” he said and hung up before I could throw a little sarcasm his way. Holding the phone in one hand, the pistol in the other, I sighed and looked down at Gus, who was still snoring.

  “I should shower,” I said to the empty room and sleeping dog. And so I did, looking out at the new world through nothing but a couple of panes of glass as I made my way upstairs.

  Chapter Two

  October 1st: Ben’s side

  As the sun rose high above the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania, the smoke of burning cities and towns choked the air. The once beautiful landscape of fall leaves noticed by all this time of year now went ignored as folks ran for their lives. Or drove. Or crawled. The interstates were packed with dead vehicles, their owners most likely sharing the same fate. The number of infected dead (that’s what the news anchors were calling them by this time), increased and spread quickly thanks to the aid of public transportation and the blind stupidity of the general public. Scientists were saying it was a virus that killed the host within hours, and then reanimated the body via the brain. They also said it was transmitted by bites. Yeah, tell us something we didn’t already know. Almost everyone who had ever watched a zombie flick or read a zombie book knew how it was transmitted and that if a zombie bit you, you were toast. Put a bullet in your brain, end your suffering before it began.

  Regardless of where or how this virus had started, it was able to spread quickly because the folks who hadn’t watched or read the aforementioned zombie fare didn’t have a clue what was going on. They believed the stories the local, state, and federal governments were spinning. Looters, riots, terrorists, pick one - there were several theories. The government waited until it was too late, waited until local reporters from around the country were already covering the stories, waited until the number of walking dead was so high a successful counter-strike was nearly impossible. But I couldn’t really blame them. Zombies rising up and wiping out our species was a pretty fantastic notion; humans in general couldn’t help their narrow-minded ignorance.

  The point is, people thought they could either close their eyes and make it all go away, or outrun it. Jump in their cars, and just drive. Except it only took a day or so for it to basically spread across the country, and the odds of running into a pack of zombies increased with each minute. So the ignorant masses packed the interstates, creating a deadhead all-you-can-eat buffet. Those “in the know,” however, battened down the hatches and prepared for a fight, or loaded up with supplies and headed for the hills. Unless they were trapped, which let’s face it, was the more probable scenario.

  Such was the case with Ben in northwestern Pennsylvania. From his third story dorm room window overlooking the parking lot, he watched as students were ripped from their cars. Not knowing that the half-eaten things were trying to open their car doors, the students would either try to flee out the opposite door, only to be grabbed by another waiting out of sight, or open their driver’s door and attempt to knock the zombie away.

  Either way, the result was the same: torn faces, dismemberment, and guts on the wrong side of the body. Ben watched the carnage for several minutes, his hand slipping to his cell phone each time a length of intestines was ripped from one of his former peers. He also watched as those who were just attacked and eaten re-animated. It seemed to him at that very moment, the patron who had just been dining would suddenly recognize the change and stop. Then they would both move on to the next victim.

  * * *

  The smoke had started to move in his direction, though the fire was downtown and still some distance away. If all went well, Ben, Jake, and anyone left living would be long gone before the fire reached them. He turned from the window, a shadow of panic working in his chest. Ben grabbed his cell and started pacing the room. “Why hasn’t he called yet?” he muttered, his steps quickening as the panic worked deeper. He listened to the moans and the screams coming from outside, then noticed another sound coming from the hallway: the hitch and drag of a being walking with a slow limp.

  Ben walked over and pressed his ear to the door. His instincts were telling him to open it, there was someone out there hurt and in need of help. He clenched his hands into fists, heart hammering as he fought to ignore his gut and listen to his brain. After what seemed like an eternity, the zombie dragged itself past his door and down the hall. Ben sighed, resting his forehead against the door as he pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed.

  “Dude, can’t talk right now. Gettin’ ready to blow some shit up,” Jake said, then immediately hung up. Ben looked at his phone, then looked at the door, then cursed his parking lot view. Jake was coming from the Science building, located on the north side of Ben’s building. His window, however, faced south. Meanwhile, a couple hundred feet away, Jake was lighting the fuse of his recently constructed Molotov cocktail.

  * * *

  The Science building housed the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics departments. When panic first spread across campus, Jake, a chemistry major among other things, was initially trapped in one of the laboratory rooms on the second floor with four of his classmates. After several minutes of Oh-God-Oh-God-we’re-all-gonna-die, he pulled them together and gave them certain things to do, certain duties to keep them focused. One thing of particular necessity was a quick inventory of the chemical locker, where they ended up finding seven bottles of 100% ethanol which, given an incendiary, is highly explosive.

  After a quick lesson in the art of bomb-making, he had them all tearing strips from their clothes and stuffing them into the necks of all the ethanol bottles. Jake had initially wanted only the girls to prepare the bombs, hoping they would be topless by the time they finished tearing fuses from their shirts. Unfortunately his lab partner, Zack, had put a stop to that. So instead he emptied his backpack, dumping his day’s worth of textbooks and notebooks onto the floor, then tucked all the homemade bombs inside and secured the bottles by stuffing rags around them.

  Jake explained his Plan, telling them it was something he had thought up some time ago, and then made sure they understood the importance of getting out of there, grabbing Ben, and getting out of town. He also gave them the option of not tagging along, basically one of those “come with me and live, or stay here and die” scenarios.

&nb
sp; “So, you expect us to just say fuck our families then?” Zack said. They’d been friends since Jake’s freshmen year, but sometimes the two really wanted to rip the other a new asshole.

  “Hey, you’re welcome to leave any time man. I’m not forcin’ you to stay here, and I’m sure as hell not forcin’ you to come along. Believe me, it’d be simpler if I was on my own. But shit happens, dude,” Jake answered. He turned to the others who had by this time formed a loose circle around him. “None of you have to come, but I’m gettin’ the hell outta here.”

  “I’m with you. Mom and Dad have already gone to Florida for the winter, and they’re not answering their cells,” Kyra said after a moment. She glanced nervously at the other faces gathered around her, hoping her decision would prompt the others to decide as well. Mike was shaking his head and Sarah had started to cry.

  “I can’t go home either. Not right now at least. I could try, but I don’t think I’d make it to Indiana. My dad isn’t answering his phone either.” Mike ran his fingers through his hair and stepped away from the group, fishing his cell phone from his pocket. Zack had backed down from Jake and was rubbing Sarah’s shoulders as the younger girl cried quietly.

  “I’m a local girl, my house is like-” Sarah turned her head, realized there weren’t any windows, and then looked back at Jake. “I live like fifteen minutes away. On 16th street, you know the one.” She started gesturing with her hands as the tears flowed freely. “Where they put in the new Starbucks?”

  “Yeah, I know the one,” Jake answered quietly. He always did have a thing for teary-eyed females. Zack kept his mouth shut, but glared hard at Jake.

  “Can you take me home?” Sarah asked.

  Damn, there it is, Jake thought to himself. He knew better than to voice this statement, given the mood of his lab-partner. He rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans and glanced at Zack, then at Kyra. Mike was still trying to call his dad. After a long moment he sighed, nodded, and gave Sarah the most reassuring smile he could muster. Which for Jake amounted to something like a pained, constipated look.

  “Yeah, I don’t see why we can’t swing by there on our way out of town.”

  Sarah smiled and sniffled loudly, then wiped her eyes. “Thanks.”

  “Yeah,” Jake answered, then kneeled down quickly and busied himself with his bomb-filled backpack. Zack squeezed Sarah’s shoulder, smiled at her naivety, and waited until the two girls had walked over to join Mike before cutting through Jake’s bullshit. He kneeled down across from Jake, as the younger man fiddled with the rags stuffed around the ethanol bottles.

  “Listen up shithead. If, and I do mean if, we get out of this hell hole, you’re keeping your word and taking that kid home. Even if I have to force you to the side of the road and break both your legs. We understand each other?” Zack said in a low and frighteningly calm voice. Jake narrowed his eyes and eyeballed Zack with anger and shock. Usually he was the one making threats, if threats needed to be made. He wasn’t exactly sure how to react now that the tables had been turned.

  “Sure man,” Jake answered slowly. “I said I would, didn’t I?”

  Zack nodded and stood, glancing over his shoulder to the other three huddled together around Mike’s cell phone. “You said we’re going to West Virginia?”

  “Yeah,” Jake said and stood as well, planting his hands on his hips and looking up at the taller man. Zack turned his attention back to Jake and nodded again.

  “Good. I’ll ride with you until I decide otherwise,” he said, then turned and gathered up his things, closing the subject. Jake noticed Zack hadn’t mentioned his family, or just how long he would be tagging along. But that was fine with him; so far they’d been doing too much talking and not enough moving anyway.

  Suffice it to say, they all decided to stick with the crazy genius and Get the Hell Out of Dodge.

  With Jake in the lead, they made their way down the hall to the stairwell. He opened the exit door, listened, and after hearing nothing motioned for the others to follow. Quietly they slipped down the stairs, eyes scanning above and below as they reached the door of the ground floor. Jake motioned for the others to stand back, and then yanked the door open. Somewhat disappointed when nothing leapt at him, he let out the breath he had been holding and continued on.

  Just seventy-five feet of hallway and a dozen doors on either side stood between them and the exit. They hurried single file down the middle of the hall, keeping a sharp eye on the classroom doors. Although they were all closed, the moans and scratching of the infected could be heard on the other side. Jake laughed, finally understanding why it had been so easy for them to get this far without running into a single deadhead. He figured that, in a mad dash to escape, many students had run inside and barricaded themselves in. Unfortunately most had already been infected.

  * * *

  The explosion knocked Ben off his feet, not because the dorm shook, but because it scared the hell out of him. He instinctively covered his head and pulled his knees to his chest as the sound of a second explosion tore through the air.

  “Jesus Christ, Jake, you overachiever,” he hissed. He waited a few seconds, and when he didn’t hear another blast, jumped up and ran to the door. He jerked on his backpack, grabbed the spare and slung it over his shoulder, then took up his ax. He spared one last look around his room, worrying he had forgotten something, before gripping the door knob. He knew the plan was for Jake and his group to come to him, but he was steeling himself for a quick getaway in case that second explosion had been the sound of Jake finally blowing himself up.

  He closed his eyes and began to count his breaths, listening for any sign of the others.

  “Get hold of yourself,” he mumbled, chuckling and shaking his head. “You know what Jake will do to you if you screw this up.” The sound of running feet snapped him back into focus.

  When the doorknob began to suddenly jerk in his hand, Ben yelped like a dog and jumped backwards, suddenly convinced that zombies had learned how to open doors.

  “Open the fuckin’ door!” Jake bellowed, hammering his fists against the solid oak. Ben ran over and flipped the deadbolt, stepping out of the way just as the door flew open and Jake and three others came piling in.

  “C’mon!” Jake yelled again as he stuck his head out and looked back down the hall. A moment later the straggling member of the group came tearing around the corner like his head was on fire and his ass was catching. He skidded to a halt before knocking Ben down, then Jake stepped in and slammed the door shut behind them.

  The six of them stood in a loose circle, all shaking and trying to catch their breath except for Ben, who just looked anxiously from one to the next waiting for someone to explain what had happened, and just what, exactly, Jake had blown up. Ben’s gaze finally settled on the culprit, who had begun to grin.

  “Damn, that was fun,” Jake said between pants, laughter creeping into his eyes. Everyone turned to stare at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, before bursting into laughter. Ben chuckled along with them, shaking his head, realizing it was very good to see his best friend again… even if he was crazy. Ben slid both packs off and tossed them in the corner, along with the ax, and walked back to Jake. He clasped his shoulder firmly and smiled.

  “So, who’re your friends?” Ben asked. Jake’s eyes widened slightly, having forgotten about the tag-alongs. He spread his hands to the side, that cocky grin still plastered to his face, and shrugged.

  “Can’t a guy get somethin’ to drink around here?” he said before walking over to the mini-fridge. “You guys want anythin’?”

  The others just shook their heads, the two girls smiling politely. Jake pulled out a Coke, and as he twisted it open, began the introductions.

  “Zack, Sarah, Mike, and I forget her name,” he rattled off, barely referring to them before tipping the bottle up. Ben raised an eyebrow and looked at who he thought was Zack.

  “Nice to meet you… Zack I assume?” he said as he extended his hand.

  �
��Yeah, and that’s Mike,” Zack said as he pointed, “and Sarah, and Kyra.”

  Jake snapped his fingers, “That’s it. Thank you,” and walked to the window. He pulled the curtains back just enough to peer out. Ben shook hands with the others, getting all the pleasantries aside.

  “Have any of you been bitten?” he asked. They looked at each other as if seeing one another for the first time. Slowly each of them began to shake their heads, actually surprised they had made it so far without a scratch. Jake walked over and patted Ben on the back.

  “No worries, dude. They didn’t even come close to any of those zombies. I blew ‘em up.” He was very matter-of-fact about it, as if Ben was an idiot for not figuring this out.

  “So that’s what… okay yeah,” was all Ben could think to say. Of course Jake had made some sort of explosive, and of course he had blown to hell however many zombies had stood between him and the dorm.

  “You’re lucky you didn’t get us all killed,” Zack said, so far being the only one of the new arrivals to speak.

  “Hey, it was your idea too, remember. You helped me make ‘em, and as I recall, you’re the one who found the Ethanol in the first place. If you hadn’t been such a pussy, you would’ve helped me throw ‘em too,” Jake said, crossing his arms. Ben groaned when he saw Jake was putting on his you-wanna-piece-of-this face. Zack walked straight over to Jake, standing toe to toe with him, and easily towered above Jake’s 5’5 height.

  “I was too busy helping the others dodge flaming zombie-shrapnel,” he said very calmly, his hands on his hips. Seeing the fists about to fly, Kyra stepped in and pulled Jake back.