Mark Clodi - About a Woman, a Zombie Chronicles Novel

"Jamie."

"Good. I like that name. Everyone, meet Jamie. She is our backup bus driver. Jamie, can you tell me how much experience you have driving a bus?"

The girl flushed and shook her head, "I…I've never driven before. I am only fifteen, I don't even have a license."

"And there you have it folks, a few words from our back up bus driver. Jamie will be taking over for me if I have to deal with any problems on this bus. Now do any of us want to see that happen?" Everyone shook their head or said 'no'. "I don't want to see that happen either. Time to go. Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

"I mean it, you're it. If I have to deal with any problems I will be turning this over to you, so you better watch what I do. And don't worry girl."

"Why?"

"I only have about five minutes of bus driving experience myself."

As the last two pickups started moving the three cars with the super zombies also slowly started forward. The little girl in the blood stained white dress looked up at Jim Tiller as he drove the big Ford pickup and said, "If we can't have them, no one can. Right Jim Tiller?"

Tiller merely nodded in agreement.

"You tell me when to get them. You tell me and I will get them. Okay?"

"Don't worry I will tell you." To the only other zombie in the truck with them Tiller said, "We will hit them when they get close to where the Iowans are fighting the horde. Mo and I will call in all the undead we can to swarm them from the front and we will hit them from behind when they are pinned down. Tell the others." The zombie in the back called out Tiller's orders to the other two vehicles by leaning out the windows on either side of the pickup truck as they slowly followed the buses.

Farther behind still Jake pulled himself up from the shallow grave he had buried Willy. The man was skinny to the point of being gaunt, his hands and face were pale with splotchy tan spots. His clothing, ripped and bloodstained, hung on him as if it were three sizes too large, which for now, it was.

He stood after patting the last of the dirt into place and said, "Thanks Willy, you won't come back. I have never been much for words, but you were a good person, you gave your life for what you believed in. I have lived a long time and I can tell you that there have been many men and women who died never finding anything to believe. You were wise beyond your years and if you had lived I have no doubt you would have ruled Iowa and led the charge to kill every last zombie on the face of the earth. I won't kill all the zombies for you, but I will keep my promise to you and to Dora, I will do my best to get the other living to Iowa. Rest in peace young man, you deserve it."

Turning to go Jake, picked up the shotgun from where he had set it earlier, checking the gun he found he had four shots left. On the way to the blue Caliber Jake picked up Dora's bent barrel shotgun and salvaged another three shots out of it. He was feeling weaker and knew he would not be worth much in a stand up fight, but he still retained his ability to push slower, weaker zombies away from him and he might be able to surprise anyone hassling the buses if he could catch up to them.

Sliding into the driver's seat Jake patted his belly; there was white skin there now, regrown from draining Willy dry. The skin was pulled taunt over his new innards, it was thin and translucent and fully visible through the tears in his shirt, he noted with curiosity that his navel had not come back, nor was there a scar from the appendicitis surgery he had forty years ago. His body was still healing, it was going slower now than when he was feeding, but it was still happening at a rapid rate. The keys were still in the Caliber's ignition, he turned them and the engine came to life smoothly, Jake started forward at the precise moment that the buses moved out ten miles ahead of him.

The buses made good progress the rest of the morning and into the early afternoon. There were many cars to move out of the way, but it was apparent as they went that others had used and partially cleared the highway before them. If one side of the highway was clogged up with abandoned cars it usually meant the other side was clear, there were wheel paths worn in the grass between the two sides of the highway and the caravan had learned to stop whenever they came to one. Usually it meant that there was a wreck ahead blocking the road. After sending Becka ahead to scout time and again they started to just follow the path established by others. Zombie activity in Kansas City had been light, as long as they kept moving, once they left the outskirts of town on highway thirty five they made eighty five miles in about five hours. Becka and the others pulled off of the highway to a halt in a rest area. The place looked deserted, no zombies came shambling out of the tree line or from the visitor's building and there was plenty of space to park the buses and pickups.

Steve called the council together while everyone else took turns going to the bathroom and watching for zombies. Mary had removed the tube that gave him air and he was able to speak again now that the swelling in his throat had gone down. His voice was raspy and he continuously took sips of water from his canteen, but he could speak and breathe again. They set out pickets to keep a lookout for wandering zombies as the group stretched their legs and devoured a quick meal. From where the buses were parked Dora could just see back down the highway far enough to see the vehicles following them.

"Too bad we can't kill off our shadows." she commented.

"I would like to. I think we could lay an ambush for them, but it would be really risky, we might lose the ambushers."

"Worth the cost?"

"Dora! No!" said Mary. Alex shook his head too and even Steve, after a moment's consideration shook his from side to side.

"No, well I don't think so. It might cause them to drop back farther, to be more cautious. We could call for volunteers, with the understanding that we would never come back for the people."

"So a suicide mission. I'll do it." said Dora.

Steve just looked at her, then his eyes slowly traveled down to Dora's belly, then back up to her eyes, they stared at each other, neither breaking away as he said in a gravelly voice, "Don't be ridiculous." His voice was still soft and rough.

"Steve." Dora said, with some warning in her voice.

"We don't know that it would do any good. Your speech aside our losses were closer to four humans to each super zombie. And you and Paige were really the only ones to do any killing, I don't think the others would do so well on their own."

"Willy, he shot a few too." put in Dora.

"Yeah. So. We don't have him any more either. I wanted to rest everyone up for about a half an hour. If no zombies show up anyway, if what Jake told us is true we only have about fifteen miles to go and," Steve gestured with his hands towards the highway ahead of them, where smoke was clearly visible, "that looks like fighting to me. So I think his word was good."

"So what do we do? Just bull straight ahead and hope for the best?" asked Leon.

Steve shrugged his shoulders, took a drink and said, "What choice do we have? I am hoping there are soldiers alive up there and that when they see us they push out to help us. I am not too keen to stay here and see what Tiller comes up with to stop us."

"I don't get why he cares." said Alex.

Dora looked back at the three vehicles sitting about a mile and a half south of them, "I don't think it is Tiller. Remember what Jake said? He had some control over the zombies he made and over weaker zombies in general? I think is happening to Tiller."

"What do you mean." asked Mary.

"I haven't mentioned how things went down with Andi, have I?" Dora shrugged, but kept watching the cars on the highway for any sign of movement, "She was angry, very angry at Jim Tiller, she mentioned something about not having to follow his orders, that she could do anything she wanted and no one would tell her what to do. I think, maybe, she or her sister created Jim and Waller before him. I think the girls are actually in control."