The Survivor Chronicles (Book 2): The Divide (21 page)

"So which way do we go?" Rochelle asked as she stood on tiptoe and leaned over the hood to stare at the area John was examining.

"There's only one way to figure it out and that's to keep going," Al said before turning to Carl. "I'll navigate; you have enough on your hands. We can use hand signals to communicate if you want to keep the car in front."

"I think that would be best," Carl told him.

John folded the map back up and handed it over to Al. "Here's hoping we're not heading back toward Franklin or Foxboro."

"I hope we never see either of those towns again," Rochelle said.

Riley gave her a tremulous smile and walked a few steps closer to the small ice cream stand. Carl glanced back at the car, he knew they should leave but he found himself reluctant to get back in the vehicle. He didn't like the idea of heading anywhere near somewhere that might be populated, and he was really dreading getting in that car with Lee. He knew he would do what had to be done if it became necessary, he just didn't
want
to do it.

They'd found a small reprieve here and he couldn't bring himself to leave quite yet. Maybe whatever was happening to Lee would happen before they returned to the car. Riley continued to stare at the ice cream shop with her arms wrapped around her middle.

"Do we have a few minutes?" Riley inquired.

"Yeah, but just a few," he told her.

"I'm going to see if they have a bathroom. Don't know if we'll get another chance anytime soon and I don't feel like peeing my pants."

"Appreciate it," Carl told her.

She offered him a wan smile as she pulled her gun from the dashboard. She glanced in the backseat but Lee remained unmoving beneath the t-shirt. "Do you want to come with me Rochelle?"

"Sure," Rochelle told her.

"Do you need anything Lee? Are you hungry or thirsty or anything?" Riley asked anxiously.

"Only for brains," Lee mumbled in response.

Riley's nose scrunched as she stared at him. "Good to know you still have your sense of humor."

"I'll walk up with you," Carl offered and turned to John. "Hold down the fort."

"Yes sir," John retorted but his words didn't contain his normal sarcastic tone.

Carl hesitated and then stepped closer to him. "Are you going to be ok… if something goes wrong?"

John glanced at the car. He was a tough kid, but every person had their threshold and Carl wasn't going to push him over it today. They already had enough going on without John going catatonic on them again for an hour or two, perhaps even longer this time. "I'll be fine, really," he assured him when Carl hesitated.

Carl nodded and glanced down at the gun in John's hand. "Remember…"

"I won't throw it and I won't empty it."

Carl grinned as he nodded. "Good. I'll come running at the first shot I hear."

"I'll do the same," John promised.

"
That's
reassuring."

He didn't stay around to listen to the mumbled curse's John uttered at him. He followed the girls up the small hill to the white shell walkway that led to the blue clapboard building. A massive plywood board had been pulled down to block the inside of the shop for the night, but if push came to shove they could break it down in order to get inside.

Riley led the way around the back of the building that was hemmed in by trees drooping over the walkway and against the roof.
Carly needed some tree work
, he decided as he tried to avoid the gobs of sap on the pines close to his left side. Riley stopped at the door and tried the knob but it was locked.

She glanced quickly around and retrieved a rock from under one of the trees. She tapped out the glass in one of the lower panes of the window and stuck her arm through to flip the lock. Carl stepped partially into the doorway as the girls crept inside the shadowed building.

"I'll wait here," he told them.

Riley glanced back at him and nodded as she led the way through the inner workings of the ice cream shop. They disappeared from view around what looked like a small kitchen set up for burgers and fries. He didn't like having them out of his sight but he disliked the idea of not knowing that they still had a clear way to get out of here even more.

"Riley," he hissed after a couple of minutes.

"We're ok," she told him. "Be right there."

He glanced nervously around before settling back against the doorframe. Rochelle was the first to emerge with three bowls in her hand. "What do you have?" he inquired.

"Ice cream," she answered. "I hope you like coffee; it's all that was somewhat salvageable."

"Are you serious?"

"I am." She held her hands out to show him the triangle of bowls. There
was
a brown lump in the middle of the soupy mess.

"I'll be," he muttered.

"They must have had a generator," Riley said as she appeared from the shadows with three more bowls. "It crapped out awhile ago, but the coffee in the center of the freezer mostly survived. That will make John happy at least."

It made
him
happy as he took a bowl from Rochelle. Though it was soupy, the chill of it felt soothing against his hands and he couldn't help but feel like a puppy being scratched behind the ears. He had to fight the urge to dive into it as they went back down the hill toward the vehicles.

John and Al were standing by the truck, each facing in opposite directions as they studied the woods and the road. "What do you have there?" Al inquired.

"Some soupy remains of coffee ice cream," Rochelle informed him and handed out one of the bowls.

Al took the bowl from her and seized hold of the spoon. "Amazing."

"Coffee," John groaned.

"Thought you would enjoy it," Riley informed him as she turned toward the car. Carl saw the hesitation and dread that flashed over her features, but she thrust her shoulders back and opened the backdoor. She placed one of the bowls on the roof before perching on the edge of the seat. Lee was still lying down, his ass nearly against her hip and his feet on the floor behind the driver's seat. "Lee, I brought you some ice cream. I thought it might help with the headache or maybe even cool you off a little. I mean, ice cream makes everyone feel better, right?"

Carl froze with the spoon halfway to his mouth. The pleading and fear in her voice tugged at his heart as he began to understand the ice cream better. Yes, it was a nice treat. Probably one they wouldn't find again for awhile, if ever. But if it hadn't been for Lee, Riley probably would have bypassed the cooler. He knew she didn't think it would cure Lee, but the barely frozen treat was a small bit of hope in this world, and it was all she had right now.

Carl plopped the spoon back into the bowl as she stretched a trembling hand toward Lee. "I gave you the biggest scoop," she urged as she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Lee come on, you have to eat something."

Don't do it
, Carl thought silently as her shaky fingertips reached for the shirt.
Just leave him be.
He couldn't get the words out past the lump in his throat though. He thrust the bowl of ice cream at John, who had already managed to devour his share. He didn't try to eat Carl's though as he exchanged a panicked look with him and plopped the bowl on the hood of the truck.

Riley pulled the shirt gradually back. The color drained from her face as her compressed lips paled visibly. She glanced back at Carl as he stepped closer to the car and leaned in to look over her. The blood left his brain, gave one brutal kick in his chest, and pooled down to the tips of his toes. He was briefly dizzy as he grabbed the roof of the car for support.

Lee's eyes were closed and his mouth parted. If it wasn't for the rash marking his cheeks and neck, Carl would have thought he was sleeping peacefully, but even as he watched more bumps began to spread down Lee's neck.

"Lee, please." She fought back the tears as a choked breath escaped her and she rocked slightly forward. "Please."

"Riley," Carl said gently.

That choking noise escaped her again as she inhaled a shuddery breath and tenderly tugged the shirt back over Lee's face. The bowl slipped from her hand as she climbed from the vehicle. Bloodshot blue eyes studied him as her lower lip trembled.

"If we get him to a doctor…"

Her voice trailed off as her eyes slid to the woods. He didn't know if he should hug her or walk away and give her some time to herself. In the end he settled for patting her shoulder. He hadn't felt this awkward since his first fumbled attempt at copping a feel when he was thirteen. It hadn't worked out well then, but at least now Riley gave him a tremulous smile.

"Yeah, sure," Carl assured her. "Sure, we'll try that."

Her lower lip quivered even more but she still managed to keep herself together as she gave a brisk nod. "We should get going. We've been here too long."

"Are you ok to drive?"

"I don't think I have any options."

That was true, but it was going to be stressful enough having Lee in the backseat without having her fall apart at the wheel. He glanced at the slumbering boy again, and the thought to leave him behind surged into the forefront of his mind once more. It would be the smart thing to do but Carl couldn't bring himself to utter the words that he suspected some of the others were silently thinking. He knew that Riley would never agree with it.

"We can wait a little bit, until you feel better," he told her.

"I'll feel better if I have something to do. I'll feel better if we make it to Sturbridge today." She glanced into the backseat and leaned closer to him. "I don't want to put you in danger; you don't have to ride with us. I don't think he'll try and hurt us, but…"

"You're not riding in that car by yourself with him, and I'll be fine as long as you can keep us on the road."

"I can do that," she promised.

"And I can get us to Sturbridge," Al told her.

"Would you like my ice cream?" John asked uneasily as he held the mostly melted contents of Carl's bowl out to her.

"No, thank you though," Riley murmured as she gently closed the door on Lee. Her fingers rested against the glass as she briefly pressed her forehead to it.

John pulled the bowl away and looked around before pouring out its contents and tossing it into the back of the truck. "Let's get going then."

Carl handed the keys over to him. "Be safe."

John glanced nervously at the backseat. "I should be saying that to you. Maybe, we should ah…"

"We can't, believe me I've thought about it, but we can't."

"But if he wakes up and tries to attack you?"

"I won't hesitate," Carl promised. John tilted his head to the side. "I won't."

John briefly clasped hold of his arm before hurrying around the truck. Carl nodded to Rochelle and Al before taking a deep breath and climbing into the car. It was a lot more cramped than the truck and he had to push the seat back in order to get his legs under the dash. He twisted to the side, placed his foot on the console, and braced his hand with the gun on his knee. His legs were already protesting the cramped position but it was the only way he could keep one eye on Lee.

Riley looked at him as she placed her gun back on the dash and started the car. Her hand shook faintly but she shifted into drive and crept onto the road ahead of John. "Thank you for not suggesting we leave him behind." Carl briefly tore his eyes away from Lee to her. "I know it crossed your mind, I know it crossed
everyone's
minds, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't cross mine, but…"

"None of us could have done it," he assured her. "Not yet. We don't know what we're dealing with. There is still some hope, no matter how small."

"But you would kill him?"

"If it becomes necessary, I'm sorry, but yes."

"Don't be sorry," she whispered.

"Are you good friends?"

"Friendly, but not good friends. He was closer to Xander and Bobby, but right now he's all I have from the life that I knew…"

He turned his attention back to the slumbering kid as she regained control of herself. "John and I met each other through work but now that I think about it he may be my best friend."

"I'm sorry," she said with a small smile.

He chuckled softly. "I didn't have any other friends, not anymore. We've all grown distant over the years, but that's just the way that life goes I guess. John and I didn't hang out outside of work, but I spent most of my time with him, and he is good for a few laughs."

"I can see that," she told him. Al began to wave hand signals out the window pointing toward the right. Riley went to click on the blinker but decided against it as she turned onto another side road that led through more woods. "I hate being around populated areas but these woods don't make me feel any better."

"I know how you feel."

Carl kept his eyes focused on Lee as he leaned against the door and tried not to think about the air they were all sharing. It was already too late, for all of them, he tried to reassure himself. None of the rest of them were showing any signs yet, and he thought that they would be by now if they too were sick. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was some bacteria or virus creeping around inside of him, mutating his cells, attacking his organs, and turning him into something animalistic and mindless.

CHAPTER 17

Xander

Plainville, Mass.

The bones and muscles of his arms still reverberated from the impact with Molly's skull.
Like a baseball bat to a grapefruit.
It was a hideous comparison but one that he couldn't shake. It had crumpled so easily beneath his blow. Far easier than he thought a human head should cave, but then he had bashed her with a metal pipe with the full force of his strength.

He'd been playing baseball for years, he was on the college team, he knew how to swing a bat and he'd filled out since high school. Of
course
her head would cave so easily, she'd never had a chance.

A shudder rippled through him, the pipe clattered against the concrete floor as it slipped from his numb fingertips. "It's what had to be done," Bobby said.