“Emery! Move!”
Miguel’s scream jolted me back to reality. There were now only a few zombies still focused on me. I could get through them easily. I slid down the windshield to the roof of the car, quickly stabbing the closest two in the head before jumping toward the other and stabbing it. I didn’t waste any time climbing over the last car to land safely in Miguel’s waiting arms. “Shoot him,” I pleaded. “Don’t let him turn into one of them. Don’t make him suffer any more.”
Miguel nodded and handed me to Luis before climbing to the roof of the truck to get a better angle on Mr. Higgins. The shot he fired echoed painfully around the tunnel, but it brought me peace knowing Mr. Higgins was now at peace with his Claire.
“Come on, we gotta go, Sweetheart,” Luis said, gently leading me away as Miguel jumped back down.
We picked our way back through the tunnel, quickly catching up with Nico and my parents.
“Pequenino!” Mami sobbed as she folded me in her embrace.
I broke down, letting the tears spill freely. “It’s my fault. If I had been more careful, Mr. Higgins wouldn’t have sacrificed himself.”
“No, Emery,” Papi said quietly, wrapping his arms around us both. “Blaming yourself lessens his sacrifice. He chose his fate. He chose to save your life. Don’t take that from him. Higgins is at peace now. It’s what he wanted. And I will forever be grateful to him for saving my little girl. Dry those tears and make him proud by living.”
I nodded. Papi was right. I knew that he was, but part of me still felt guilty.
“How about we start honoring his sacrifice now and get the hell out of this tunnel?” Nico suggested.
When we exited the tunnel, I thought Mami was going to kiss the ground. “How long until Operation Night Night?” I asked.
Luis pulled something from his pocket and held it out to me. When I opened my hand, he dropped Mr. Higgins’ watch into it. “He gave it to me before he climbed onto the truck. You should have it.”
“Thanks.” I checked the time and almost threw up. We lost two hours in the tunnel and had only five hours to cross the Hudson. Less than that, really. “It’s one-oh-five. What’s the plan?”
“The Lincoln Tunnel is closest, but I imagine it will be just as packed as the Holland was,” Nico said. “I think our best bet is the GWB. On a good day, it only takes about three hours on the Greenway Trail to get from here to the GWB. We have five. We can do this.”
“Then let’s get moving,” Papi said.
Chapter seventeen
Emery
We picked up the trail, which mostly ran along the Hudson River, and started toward the Bridge. I’d been over here plenty of times in the past. It was a popular place to take a romantic stroll along the river. Not so much now. The threat of the dead walking around trying to eat you kills any romantic vibes a walk along the river might evoke. As we walked, I looked around for anything that might make it easier on my parents. By my estimation, it was about ten miles to the bridge. That was going to be plenty challenging for the guys and me; it might be too much for my parents.
I started to fall behind slightly as I slowed down to look around us as we walked. I didn’t want to miss something useful because I wasn’t thorough. I was also looking for tool sheds or maintenance buildings that might house a golf cart or side-by-side. Hell, at this point I’d take one of those bicycle taxis. Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea. This was a more touristy area; there had to be a stand nearby somewhere.
“What are you doing?” Nico asked. “Why did you stop?”
“I hadn’t realized I had,” I admitted. “I was thinking that ten miles is a long way for my parents to walk, but what if we found one of those pedicabs? Do you think there are any stands nearby we could check?”
“I’m not sure,” Nico replied, “but I know who would know.” Nico whistled to the others, who stopped and waited for us to reach them. “Luis, do you know if there are any pedicabs nearby?”
Luis thought about it before shaking his head. “The closest ones are probably Central Park.”
I looked at Mami and Papi. “Do you think you can make it that far at least?”
“Emery,” Papi replied with an exasperated sigh, “my dear darling daughter, when did we ever say we couldn’t make it to the bridge without help? We are fine. Let’s keep going.”
We started walking again, but I hung back to talk to Nico. “I want to make a quick detour to Central Park when we get closer. I know he says they are fine, but by then, they might welcome the rest.”
“I don’t know if there is time for that, Em. What if we get caught by a horde and have to detour? Or there aren’t any bikes there at all? We have to keep moving forward.”
“And we will keep moving forward. You and I can cut off toward the park early. The two of us are more than capable of sneaking through the city. We’ll grab a couple of pedicabs, and then it’s a straight shot back toward the path to meet up with the others. If we make good time, we might even beat them to the meet-up spot. It would take less time than any delay caused by either of them getting a cramp or blister, or by slowing down from exhaustion. It’s a solid plan, Nic. Please.”
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. “But if we run into any delays, we come straight back to the path, no questions, agreed?”
“Agreed.”
