The Survivor Chronicles (Book 3): The Forsaken (14 page)

"I'm sure she will," Xander tried to pacify but Riley wasn't giving in.

"Please listen to me," Riley implored. "It won't hurt for you to restrain her, for her own safety as well as yours." The woman only continued to glower at her as Xander finally succeeded in getting Riley to take a few steps. "Please."

"Riley
go
," Xander said forcefully as the healthy man rose back to his full height.

John grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her toward the door. "John..."

"I understand what you're trying to do," John told her under his breath as he succeeded in pulling her past Carl. "But they're not willing to hear it."

"They don't know what could happen," she protested.

"They know what could happen; they've had firsthand experience with it. You've told them and that's all that you can do. A fight isn't going to solve anything and we have to go," John said.

He released her hand as Carl closed the door behind them and lit a cigarette. "Do you still intend to split off?" Carl demanded of Peter.

There was no color left in Peter's face as he shook his head. "It doesn't seem like that would be a wise choice right now," he admitted.

"I didn't think so." John lifted an eyebrow at Carl's abrupt tone but his friend was staring at the teacher. "Let's get out of here, now."

John slid into the passenger seat of the truck and shut the door. Carl didn't speak as he hopped in beside him and slammed the door with enough force to rattle the mirror. "Who pissed in your Cheerios today?" he asked as Carl started the truck.

Carl frowned at him and pulled out behind the car Al was driving. They followed it down the exit ramp and onto the highway. "I really don't want to see what is about to go down in there and that guy is beginning to annoy me."

"What guy? Peter?"

"Yeah."

John shrugged as he grabbed some licorice and leaned back in the seat. "He seems like a nice enough guy."

Carl was silent as he pondered John's words. "I know what he seems like, what he may have even
been
before all of this went down, but I'm not so sure about him."

John stared at the Caddy following behind them with Mary Ellen, Rochelle, and Donald in the backseat and Josh in the front. "Maybe we shouldn't have let them get into the car with him then."

"We don't have many choices and he hasn't done anything wrong. I just don't get a good vibe from him."

"I've known you for awhile Carl and the few people you haven't liked at work all turned out to be losers and didn't last. I'll trust your gut even if you don't."

Carl grabbed his pack of butts off the dashboard and sat back. "Josh doesn't seem to be holding up too well anymore either."

"He's a kid."

"So is Rochelle. So are Xander and Riley. So are
you
in all honesty."

John might have taken offense to that a few days ago, but the events of these past days had left him feeling strangely childlike and ancient all at once. He kept his gaze focused on the car behind them as a shiver of foreboding crept up his spine. "What do we do?"

"Don't let your guard down around them, at all. I don't think they'll do anything to harm any of us, but to be on the safe side keep an eye on them both."

John wanted to think that Carl was overreacting, but Carl had always been a better judge of character than he was. There had been plenty of new people that had started at their work that he'd thought were decent guys and ended up being complete assholes. Carl had never liked any of them though and had warned John about them, but he'd always learned the hard way that not everyone was what they seemed.

Maybe it was the years that Carl had on him, maybe it was life experience, or maybe his instincts were just better. No matter what it was though, John knew that Carl was right. That Peter and Josh weren't to be as trusted as they had been, not anymore.

Mary Ellen,

Rochelle's head was resting against her shoulder as they crested over the top of a hill and headed down into a valley crowded with cars and trucks. Peter's hands were white knuckled on the wheel as he maneuvered around a cluster of motorcycles that had skidded under a jackknifed Mac truck. Rochelle's nose wrinkled, she pulled her shirt over her face when they drove past the corpses still littering the highway. Not all of those corpses were from the motorcycles though, as more than a few cars had also hit the truck and one was completely wedged underneath it.

There may be a bunch of crazy humans running around right now, but at least the dead were staying dead, she thought as she stared at the scattered corpses. A shudder rocked through her and she turned her eyes away from the remains scattered across the highway. There wasn't much scenery to enjoy outside the window, yet she felt her eyes repeatedly drawn back to the gory landscape.

It was already too late to cover Rochelle's eyes but even so she pulled her daughter closer against her side. Donald lifted his head from the notebook he had been writing in. He blinked his eyes for a few seconds before dropping his head again. Mary Ellen looked around Rochelle as she tried to decipher what it was that he was writing, but he was leaning against the door with the notebook tilted in a way that she couldn't see it.

She sat back again as they were finally able to drive around the accident blocking the road. Her gaze was drawn back to Peter's head as he released a low curse and the car bumped over a rut in the middle of the median. She'd spent a fair amount of time with the teacher but he seemed a lot edgier today than he had been over the past couple of days. It was more than just the red vessels running through his swollen eyes, there was something frantic in his gaze, something that reminded her of Larry just before he was about to blow.

She'd climbed into the back of this car because she'd thought that it would be safe, she liked Peter, but the more he muttered to himself, the more all she was tempted to do was throw the door open and jump out. They were fine, she assured herself. Peter was fine; he was just stressed out and overtired. Even still she was going to try and switch vehicles the next time they all stopped, or at least offer to give Peter a break from driving. She was hoping some rest would ease that crazed look in his eyes, but if not, she was going to get Rochelle away from him. Even if she wasn't able to change vehicles, she'd make sure Rochelle went into the truck with Carl and John.

"What are they doing?" Peter muttered as Al pulled up next to an RV lying on its side. Carl parked the truck next to him and John leaned out the window to speak with Al. John's hand waved in the air and then he pulled himself half out of the window to look back at them. Though Josh and Peter rolled their windows down, she couldn't hear the words being exchanged.

John opened the door of the truck and jumped out. "What the hell are they doing?" Peter demanded again.

Mary Ellen wasn't more curious about what they were up to as she just wanted out of the car, and she especially wanted Rochelle out of the car too. Rochelle had never seen Larry at his most volatile and she wasn't about to let her see Peter if he had a meltdown. Throwing the door open, she grabbed hold of her daughter's hand and practically tore her from the vehicle.

Rochelle staggered out of the car and sent her a look that screamed that she thought her mother had lost her mind, but Mary Ellen ignored her as she tugged her daughter toward the others. They were already gathered by the massive front wheels of the RV, and as they approached John jumped up and seized hold of the wheel over his head. His shirt pulled up to reveal his belly button as he swung his legs up and pulled himself onto the wheel. Bobby followed after him.

"What are they doing?" Mary Ellen inquired.

"There might be food and supplies in there. Possibly even a small bar-b-que or something like that," Carl answered.

Mary Ellen nodded as she studied the vehicle. Riley said something to Xander and gestured to his leg before grabbing hold of the wheel and climbing up after them. Xander scowled as he folded his arms over his chest but he didn't make an attempt to follow as the three on top of the vehicle moved to the passenger side window. Xander slipped around to the front of the RV with Carl, Mary Ellen, and Rochelle close on his heels.

Mary Ellen frowned as she strained to see into the interior of the RV but it was completely black. She placed her hands against the glass in an attempt to block out the glare from the sun but she still couldn't see anything within. It wasn't until Riley pulled back the curtain, causing all of them to gasp and fall back, that she realized the curtain had come loose and fallen over the window when the RV had crashed.

Riley grinned at them as she bit her lip to keep from laughing and tied the curtain back. She gave them a brief wave before climbing off the side of the driver's chair she had been standing on. Grabbing hold of the wall, Riley used it to balance herself in the tilted vehicle as she bypassed the single stair that led to the rest of the large motor home.

Mary Ellen felt her head, and saw the others heads, leaning to the side to watch Riley climb onto another chair and step off next to John. Bobby's shadow blocked some of the sun's rays filtering into the RV as he stood over the passenger window to look inside. John flicked on a flashlight and shone it around the vehicle.

There were homes that were smaller than this monstrosity on wheels, but Mary Ellen couldn't help but be impressed by the open space, cushiony couch, and gleaming faucets on the double sided sink. Tupperware and plates had spilled out of the cabinets dangling above the sink. The microwave door had also fallen open during the crash and scattered pieces of its door lay amongst the rubble piled onto the oak cabinets, right next to where John currently stood.

Riley said something and pointed downward. John nodded and took an abrupt step off the cabinet as Riley knelt to open one of them. They said something else to each other and then John turned away to begin searching for something. Opening the cabinet under the sink, he tugged out a box of garbage bags and handed them down to Riley.

"Hey Bobby," Xander called as he took a step back.

The dull thud of Bobby's sneakers sounded on the vehicle before his head popped over the side and he looked down at them. "Yeah?"

"Let them know that the seat of the couch usually pulls up, my grandparents used to store a hibachi in there."

Bobby gave him a salute before returning to the window. Riley and John stopped moving as the sound of Bobby's muffled voice could be heard. John nodded and climbed carefully onto the dining room table. Stretching across the hallway, John pulled at the sofa cushion as Riley began to shove things into one of the trash bags.

John continued to tug and yank at the sofa with increased intensity. Though Mary Ellen couldn't understand what he was saying, the higher tone of his voice, and the reddening color of his face, gave her a good idea what words were coming out of his mouth. He slipped and nearly fell but managed to get his hands down on the floor before he face planted onto it.

Carl rolled his eyes as Rochelle let out a little giggle. "He's got the grace of a water buffalo," Carl muttered.

Rochelle giggled again and even Xander chuckled as John pushed himself off the floor. Riley said something to him and then he pulled the cushion straight up instead of trying to pull it toward him. Mary Ellen even had to smile at that one. John stood on his tiptoes as he flashed the light into the dark space beneath the sofa.

Placing the flashlight between his teeth, John used his hand to keep the seat up as he dug in and began to toss things onto the floor. Board games clattered onto the dining room table, their contents spilled across the floor in a jumble of dice, game pieces, and cards. Releasing the cushion, it fell down on top of him as he reached in with both hands to grab hold of something.

He wiggled his way back out from under the cushion and triumphantly held up the small hibachi with both hands over his head. The kid was a clumsy mess, but Mary Ellen couldn't help but grin with him as he continued to show off his newfound treasure.

"What are we going to do with that?" Peter asked.

Mary Ellen hadn't even realized that he was there until he spoke. She glanced over her shoulder at him but didn't bother to respond as John finally climbed off the table and walked over to hand the grill up to Bobby. "I wouldn't mind some warm peas and beans, and maybe we'll actually be able to catch something and have some fresh meat we can cook on it," Carl answered.

"Couldn't we just build a fire?"

Mary Ellen didn't miss the anger and annoyance that flashed over Carl's face before he was able to suppress it. He did, however, dig into his pocket and pull out a cigarette before answering. "We can't carry a fire around with us, and I would prefer to have it than not have it."

"So would I," Al murmured.

"Who knows maybe we'll get lucky and not even need it. Maybe we'll even find a place where the electricity is still on if the mountains weren't as badly affected as the coastal areas," Carl said.

"You think?" Rochelle asked eagerly.

Carl shrugged. "Anything's possible."

Mary Ellen pulled Rochelle a step closer to her as John returned to the sofa and tossed aside more items but reemerged empty handed. Riley had two bags full of food that she handed to John. He fed the bags up to Bobby who reappeared at the front of the RV. Xander and Donald stretched up to take the bags from Bobby and then the small grill. It was meant to be a propane grill but they could still shove wood or charcoal, if they could find some, into the bottom of it in order to cook food.

Bobby retreated to the passenger side window again. Riley and John positioned themselves on either side of the door that closed off the kitchen and living room area from the back half of the vehicle. Riley held her gun before her, her legs were spread wide as she waited for John to push the door open.

Mary Ellen released Rochelle and pressed her hands against the glass as she strained to see inside better. Beside her, Xander leaned so far forward that his nose was nearly touching the glass. "Maybe they shouldn't..."

John threw the door open before Xander could finish his statement. Mary Ellen saw a flash of walls, and what looked like a bed, before the door slammed shut again with enough force to rattle the windshield. Her breath hissed out of her as Carl took a step back from the windshield. He surveyed the area around them before returning to look back into the vehicle.

"Xander's right," he decided. "There's no reason for them to go in there."

"Bobby!" Xander called again. Bobby reappeared at the edge of the roof and looked down. "Tell them to get out of there, there's nothing else we need."

Mary Ellen had been looking up at Bobby, and hadn't realized that Riley and John were still fiddling with the door until Donald spoke. "Too late."

Her eyes flew back to the windshield as John propped the door open with what appeared to be a broom handle. The handle bowed in the middle, but held firm. Xander released a low hiss beside her and Carl brought his gun forward though she had no idea what he was going to do with it. When nothing exploded out of the back, Riley lowered her gun and pulled out a flashlight.

Mary Ellen held her breath while John and Riley shone their beams into the backroom of the motor home. The shadows were too deep back there for Mary Ellen to see much but she could definitely make out the foot of a bed. Xander let out an explosive curse, his hands fisted and for a second she thought he was going to drive one of them into the glass. Riley swung her leg over the door and ducked down to avoid knocking the broom out of the way.

"They're fine," Mary Ellen assured Xander.

He didn't look at all appeased though as the muscles in his forearms stood out and his arms began to shake. John handed his light over to Riley and followed her through the door. The bob and sway of their lights over the walls was making her dizzy as she tried to follow their progress into the bedroom. It looked like some sort of macabre disco was going on in the backroom as the beams of the flashlight played over the ceiling and walls before returning to the ceiling again.

One of them put the flashlight down and focused the steady beam of light on the bed. Someone bent down and pulled the blanket off of the bed, she thought it was Riley as it looked like the taller person was rifling through the closet beside the bed. Riley climbed back through the doorway, a blanket and some sheets dragged over the ground behind her as she made her way to the passenger side window.

Bobby said something to her and she shook her head. She turned to the window and held up her hand with her fingers spread in the five-minute gesture before she gave the ok symbol and smiled at them. Xander shook his head but remained silent as she disappeared into the bedroom again. This time it was John that came out with an armload of bedding and clothes.

He gave them all a brief wave before rejoining Riley. Donald and Xander took the sheets and blankets from Bobby and placed them on the ground. Another blanket was tossed out the bedroom door and onto the cabinets, but neither Riley nor John followed behind it. John moved around to the other side of the bed. Riley climbed out and tossed four pillows on the floor by the passenger window.

Riley was turning away when the flashlight that had been propped in place was suddenly knocked aside. The rapidly spinning beam made Mary Ellen's eyes cross and her heart jump into her throat. Xander leapt forward and slammed both hands against the glass but unless he had super human vision she knew he saw the same thing she did, a blinding light twirling around a bed... no a wall... the floor... legs... wall...legs... and then a bed again. She strained to hear or see anything that could have caused the flashlight to fall but the motor home remained eerily silent.