Trying to Survive (Part 3) by C.J. Crowley Page A

followed her to the car. As I watched Jenny put him in the back with Clara, I could see her glaring at him. She leaned back against the door and raised her rifle. When he stepped into the car, it was easy to see that he was a bit thrown by the image of a young girl sticking an AK47 in his face.
       I walked up to Jenny and leaned in close. “Maybe you should put him up front.”
       “I’m worried he could go for Brian’s gun, or even grab the wheel… Don’t worry, I’ve got a quick finger.” She said in a whisper.
       Jenny put one leg in the car and turned back to me. “I know it’s dark, but we’ll just keep going until we get to a less crowded area, then we’ll find a place to stay for the night.” She looked over to Walt. “How much gas do you have?”
       “A little over half a tank. It’ll probably last forever in this Volvo.”
       “Okay, just follow us… Three quick beeps if you want us to stop.”
       “Got it. Be careful.”
       The second my ass hit the seat, Veronica said “How old is that girl?”
       “Twelve.”
       “It’s good to know some children survived.”
       I shifted to my side, picked up the 9mm and went back to watching Allen and Veronica.
       “So, you aren’t from around here?” He asked.
       “No, we came from Florida. The other people we met up with, Brian and Jenny, they found us on their way to D.C. from their Air Force base in Melbourne. We’re basically along for the ride… They saved our lives.”
       Walt interrupted us. “Something’s happening, look. Jenny’s yelling at Clara… I think.”
       The headlights of the Volvo were perfectly illuminating the inside of the Cadillac as Walt followed closely behind. Jenny was leaned over the front seat with her palms out, and it did seem as though she was yelling at Clara. Like she was begging her to stop doing something.
       Veronica asked “What’s going on?”
       Before I could answer there was a loud pop and a flash, followed by an explosion of red all over the back windshield. The car violently swerved. Brian slammed on the brakes, causing Walt to skid to a stop and come within inches of slamming into the Cadillac.
       Walt and I sat there in shock, both staring at the blood all over the back windshield. The windows were down so I could hear Jenny yelling, and I could still see the back of Clara’s head… The blood must be Lee’s. What the fuck?.. Clara?
       Walt cracked his door open, but shredders were starting to approach from all around us so Brian was forced to quickly take off. We’d have to get somewhere safe before we could find out exactly what happened… Though I suppose that was pretty clear already…
       Allen and Veronica immediately became panicked. As Walt peeled out and tried to catch up with the much faster Cadillac, Veronica started demanding answers. “What the fuck just happened!? Is he dead!?”
       I tried to calm her down, but she wasn’t having it. “Get that fucking gun out of our faces and tell me what’s going on!”
       “I don’t know!”
       “Why would one of your people just shoot him!?”
       Allen put his hand on her arm, but she quickly yanked it away. “Let us out! Right now!”
       Allen forcefully grabbed her arm. “Quiet!”
       When he looked back to me, I could almost smell the fear. His expression made me think of what I probably looked like when I was sitting in the car with that psycho Darren… Pure logic and Jenny’s behavior were telling me that Clara killed Lee because the trauma has made her so paranoid and afraid of everyone but us... But, I didn’t know for sure, so I didn’t even want to bring it up.
       Allen calmly said “Let us out near the next buildings you see. We’ll take our chances and find a place to hide.”
       I shook my head. “Please, we aren’t going to hurt you. I don’t know what happened, but there’s an explanation.”
       Veronica snapped “Don’t tell