Zompocalypse Part Three by Toby Neighbors

Author:Toby Neighbors [Neighbors, Toby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mysteries & Thrillers
Publisher: Mythic Adventure Publishing
Published: 2015-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Ruth was getting too far ahead again, and Payton had to jog forward to catch her. His feet felt as heavy as cinder blocks, and his head ached so badly he could barely keep his eyes open. Still, Ruth wouldn’t stop. She was determined to head south.

“Don’t have to walk so damn fast all the time,” he mumbled under his breath.

He was tired and angry, but his head was in a fog. All he knew was that he couldn’t let anything happen to Ruth again. He’d failed her, failed the children, and Laura the nanny, too. Leaving them allowed the unspeakable to happen. They had needed him, and he was gone. His mind simply couldn’t process it. How had it happened? How had things changed so suddenly? He’d always felt that he was a strong, smart, and good provider for his family. But now he just felt lost.

“Why don’t we take a break?” he said, but barely loud enough for Ruth to hear him.

She ignored him, as she had since they’d come ashore. Payton checked the pocket of his heavy coat again. He’d found it in a looted Army Navy store on their trip from North Carolina. When he’d found it, he had felt strong and capable. Now it was like a security blanket that he refused to take off, even as he withered away under it. In the broad pocket on his right hand side, he felt the heavy weight of the pistol he had taken from Todd.

If he hadn’t been so exhausted and on the verge of dehydration, he would have wept for Todd. The young man had only been trying to help; Payton knew that. But Ruth didn’t trust him, and Payton couldn’t defy his wife⎯not after he’d failed her so completely in Orlando. He’d had to step over Todd’s dead body. He saw the blood oozing from the back of Todd’s head and the satisfaction in Ruth’s eyes despite the dim light in the hallway. She’d insisted that they leave after that, even though he had hardly slept. That was two nights ago, and Ruth hadn’t stopped since. They hadn’t eaten anything and only drank some muddy water from a ditch after it rained the first afternoon of their flight.

“I need a break,” he mumbled again. “It won’t kill you to stop. You’re being unreasonable again. I’m sorry I let you down, Ruthy. Why don’t we stop, and I’ll rub your feet.” He didn’t want to rub her feet, of course. He wanted to curl up on the ground and go to sleep, but he knew that wasn’t safe. They needed to find shelter, out of the boiling hot sun and away from the ravenous infected. He could find them a house, or an office somewhere. He didn’t need a bed or even a cushion for his head, just a safe place to close his eyes.

Ruth was getting ahead of him again, and he cursed softly. He cursed the unrelenting heat. He cursed his aching body.

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