Meredith was first out, running to her father. Ron put his rifle back into the cab and met his daughter halfway. Tony, not knowing if the initial threat was over or if another threat were to soon present itself, grabbed the rifle from the bench seat.
"I thought I taught him better," Tony said, shaking his head as he went up to check on his granddaughter.
Tracy could hear the distant sound of a horrific car crash but it might as well have been the miniscule pleadings of an ant under a sun intensifying magnifying glass for all the attention she paid it. What was magnitudes louder was the slap of bare feet on pavement as her pursuers chased her down. At 5’2”, Tracy was never going to be a world class sprinter, but the prick behind her sure was.
Tracy could tell from the faces of the children in the car staring back at her that she wasn't going to make it. She first saw her reflection in the glass and then that of the tortured soul that chased her. Ryan, Dizz, Angel and Sty were all pressed up against the far side of the interior, wide eyed expressions of fear on their faces. Tracy could feel the pull of fingers that grasped out to latch on to the hood of her sweatshirt. Angel squealed and buried her head into her brother's shoulder. Tracy knew she would never be able to open the driver's side door and close it before the damn track star got in with her, and then she'd be exposing the kids to danger. Either way the kids were doomed as she felt the press of the keys in her right pant leg; Dizz had given them to her when he had gotten out of the car.
Tracy almost ruptured her ankle as she got within two feet of the car and thrust off to the right with all her force. Her ankle screamed in pain. ‘I will not be a cheap B movie heroine that sprains an ankle and gets pounced upon by (insert movie monster here). I lived with Mike too long, ’ was her next thought.
The zombie slammed headlong into the car. The door creased significantly to the point where it might never be able to open again. The zombie did not stop or even address the injury to its leg. Its knee cap had shattered in three places and what remained had shifted a full two inches to the left. Tracy was saved by this very damage. The zombie's left leg had locked completely up. His decathlon days were gone, but that wouldn't stop any of his peers from cutting in line.
Dizz hopped into the back seat just as Tracy opened the driver's side door. The car rocked from multiple zombie impacts. Angel shrieked with each one, Sty only every other. Tracy slid over as far as she could and still remain in the driver's seat. Zombies were pressed up against the glass. She could not keep her eyes from them as she tried in desperation to start the keyless car.
"Hells bells!” she said as she raised her butt off the seat to fish the almost forgotten keys from her pocket. 'This is where the B Movie Queen drops the keys, ’ she thought sourly. "Mike, stop it!!!" she yelled.
Diz was scared shitless. It looked like their driver lost her mind and now he was going to have to drive. They might as well open the doors; it would be quicker and less painful.
Tracy's inner ramblings did not come to fruition. The implosion of the window masked the sound of the engine. Eager fingers reached in just as Tracy jerked back and placed the car in drive, not knowing whether it was running or not. Blood-crusted broken nails clawed through the air seeking to gain purchase, but were denied as the car leapt forward. She almost crashed headlong into the junipers and that would have been the end. The small Subaru would have hung on the large plants like a shiny bulb on a Christmas tree. Fortunately she jinked at the last moment and floored it. A small contingent of zombies chased them as Tracy headed back towards Route 3.
Eliza and Tommy - Interlude
"Do you feel it brother?" Eliza asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"I feel pain, Lizzie," Tommy answered back.
"Yes," Eliza answered, reflecting back in reflection to a time long past. "Isn’t it wonderful?"
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Talbot Journal Entry 8
Gary had been driving for the last fifty miles or so and was reveling in it. He had lost his license about two years prior to the zombpocalypse, something about trying to run over a judge's flower bed. I never got the full story and to be honest, I really didn’t want to know. I’ve had enough close brushes with the law that I didn’t want to know any information that could possibly get me in trouble as an accessory to the fact or some other bullshit. Suffice it to say, Gary was enjoying the end of the world in ways many of us couldn’t understand. His whistling had at some point become less of an annoyance and more of a regular rhythm of the road. My startling awakening had nothing to do with him breaking into song in full on a cappella mode.
I sat bolt upright as a fairly strong shock was sent through my body. I almost jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Dad," Justin started.
I turned back. He looked like I felt. "You felt it too?" It was phrased as a question but it just as easily could have been a statement.
"It wasn't Eliza," Justin said, bowing his head.
"No, it was Tomas." I don’t know why I went back to his old name, but whatever had reached out and made contact was not the Tommy I had known. It felt like a malevolent presence and it was searching for us. I don't think I can explain it any better, but it was as if Tomas had cast a wide net but the holes within it were big enough for us to wriggle through. It would only be a matter of time before he sealed the holes up and we would be trapped like dolphins in a tuna net.
"It didn't feel right, Dad," Justin said, still clutching the sides of his head.
"I agree."
"He was looking for somebody, but I don’t think it was us," Justin finished as he rubbed his temples.
"You got all that?" I asked him. All I had felt were the greasy fingers of evil as they had brushed over my scalp.
"I think it was his aunt, I'm thinking he was maybe even calling to her."
"Like a summoning?" My heart started to freeze. Alex and his family were in extreme danger. Eliza and Tomas, like twin vipers, had turned their deadly gazes towards them and we were powerless to help before they struck. We had a general idea of where to go, but my actual hope had been that Eliza would track us down, not the other way around. I already know that was a horrible plan, you don’t need to remind me. I can't imagine a buck waiting for, or even wanting , the hunter to find him. That is not how the deadly game is played.
I could only hope that Paul and Erin were finally home. Would thanking God for small favors for only having half of your loved and cherished friends destroyed be a bad thing? I couldn't even begin to think about how many transgressions I had with the Big Man, what's one more? And then the stupid straw that broke the camel's back analogy decided to rear its ugly damn self.
Gary had still been doing his best 98 Degrees or Back Street Boys impression. I can honestly and thankfully say that I did not know which one it was. Although I figured I lost a few man points just by knowing the names of those bands.
"Right now you feel like you could never love again, now all I ask is for a chance
to prove that I love you …" Gary 's voice had risen as he sang. Cats in heat would have been preferable.
"Gary!" I shouted. I had awoken Travis, although the fact that he slept through that caterwauling was impressive.
“… from the..." Gary trailed off as I shook his shoulder. "Hey Mike," he said with a large grin.
"Having some fun there brother?" I asked him.
"Who doesn’t love a good love song?" he asked in response.
"Depends on who is singing it," I barbed back.