her door then got back in the driver's seat. Roger shot twice, killing two more that were getting too close, then climbed back into the car. He had barely gotten his butt in the seat when Eli hit the gas and sped out of the lot, making for the access road. I looked out the back window at the scene we were leaving behind. It was carnage. Dozens of broken and mangled bodies lay across the parking lot, many still moving, struggling feebly to crawl after us as we left. There were splotches of blood dripping down the radio station walls, puddles of gore on the ground, and the chorus of groans was reduced to a low gurgle as air moved through collapsed chest cavities. The girl turned to look, shivered once, then began to cry, covering her face in her hands. She made no sound, but I could see her shoulders heaving as she finally let the pent up emotions flow. I patted her back again. "It's alright, you're safe now. We have you."
It didn't last long. Within a minute she had composed herself. She sniffled once, wiped her cheeks with her palms, and cleared her throat. "I'm Amy."
Roger turned around to face her more directly, tucking the shotgun between his seat and the door. "How'd you manage to get trapped in there, Amy? And how long have you been there?"
Amy took a deep breath before sitting back in the seat, calming herself. "Three days. You guys don't have any food, do you? There was a bathroom sink I could drink from, but no real food. Just a few things I scavenged from the vending machine and studio mini-fridge."
I pointed my thumb back at the trunk, "We have a little bit of camp food, but that's all. We had to move fast, so we left most of our gear up on the mountain." I tapped Eli on the shoulder. "When you feel safe enough pull over and pop the trunk."
I was suddenly aware of how hungry I was. In all of the excitement I had lost track, but now that things felt relatively safe I could feel that my stomach was completely empty. We hadn't eaten since the previous evening, before that thing wandered into camp, before Jake got bitten. It felt like it had been a week since all of this started, but in truth it was barely sixteen hours.
Eli pulled over after another mile or so, onto a wide shoulder beside a small river. We all got out of the car, Roger and I keeping our eyes out for monsters, weapons at the ready, while Eli opened the truck and started going through what little we had. The only gear that made it back down from the camp was Eli's camera bag, which he wore on the way down our perilous climb down the cliff. The rest of our packs were either on the road where we had to make a run for it, or in the back of Roger's ruined SUV. Eli had a handful of protein bars and a half-empty bag of trail mix. We each got one bar, and a can of beer from Big Earl's fridge. I sat on the ground, leaning against the rear wheel. Amy sat on the grass nearby. I took careful bites of the protein bar, trying to make it last. Amy ate hers ravenously, finishing it in only a few bites.
I looked over at Amy. "So what's your story?"
She shrugged. "Small town girl, trying to live to see tomorrow."
"No, no, I mean, how did you end up trapped in the radio station?"
She took a sip of the warm beer. "I was with my brother and a couple of his friends from school when all this shit started. My parents are down in Philly on vacation, so Parker, that's my brother, came up from school with some friends to spend the weekend. We figured have a little party, get some beer and steaks for the grill, swim in the lake, no parents around."
"Where do you live?"
"On Cooper's Road, out in Stockton. It's a bit outside of town. We were in town buying stuff for the party when we first saw strange stuff. A car ran off the road and crashed into the side of First Witness church. People ran over to see what happened while me and Parker watched from the store window. The car had out of state plates, Maine I think. The
It didn't last long. Within a minute she had composed herself. She sniffled once, wiped her cheeks with her palms, and cleared her throat. "I'm Amy."
Roger turned around to face her more directly, tucking the shotgun between his seat and the door. "How'd you manage to get trapped in there, Amy? And how long have you been there?"
Amy took a deep breath before sitting back in the seat, calming herself. "Three days. You guys don't have any food, do you? There was a bathroom sink I could drink from, but no real food. Just a few things I scavenged from the vending machine and studio mini-fridge."
I pointed my thumb back at the trunk, "We have a little bit of camp food, but that's all. We had to move fast, so we left most of our gear up on the mountain." I tapped Eli on the shoulder. "When you feel safe enough pull over and pop the trunk."
I was suddenly aware of how hungry I was. In all of the excitement I had lost track, but now that things felt relatively safe I could feel that my stomach was completely empty. We hadn't eaten since the previous evening, before that thing wandered into camp, before Jake got bitten. It felt like it had been a week since all of this started, but in truth it was barely sixteen hours.
Eli pulled over after another mile or so, onto a wide shoulder beside a small river. We all got out of the car, Roger and I keeping our eyes out for monsters, weapons at the ready, while Eli opened the truck and started going through what little we had. The only gear that made it back down from the camp was Eli's camera bag, which he wore on the way down our perilous climb down the cliff. The rest of our packs were either on the road where we had to make a run for it, or in the back of Roger's ruined SUV. Eli had a handful of protein bars and a half-empty bag of trail mix. We each got one bar, and a can of beer from Big Earl's fridge. I sat on the ground, leaning against the rear wheel. Amy sat on the grass nearby. I took careful bites of the protein bar, trying to make it last. Amy ate hers ravenously, finishing it in only a few bites.
I looked over at Amy. "So what's your story?"
She shrugged. "Small town girl, trying to live to see tomorrow."
"No, no, I mean, how did you end up trapped in the radio station?"
She took a sip of the warm beer. "I was with my brother and a couple of his friends from school when all this shit started. My parents are down in Philly on vacation, so Parker, that's my brother, came up from school with some friends to spend the weekend. We figured have a little party, get some beer and steaks for the grill, swim in the lake, no parents around."
"Where do you live?"
"On Cooper's Road, out in Stockton. It's a bit outside of town. We were in town buying stuff for the party when we first saw strange stuff. A car ran off the road and crashed into the side of First Witness church. People ran over to see what happened while me and Parker watched from the store window. The car had out of state plates, Maine I think. The
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