“Perhaps it’s psychic transference from our earlier blood sharing,” Brother Al said.
“I’m not even scared of ducks, though,” I said.
“Stacey, is this really the time?”
I sighed.
“Alright.Hear me out.You guys need more reinforcements.Vic is out.What if I went to the Mall?”
“I would advise against it.If the Civil Wyrd Corps hasn’t survived, there’s no hopes for you.”
“But you said Nagisa is in trouble.If he’s wounded, I could do the same thing for him that I did for the three of you.”
“It’s a bad idea, Stacey.All of us want to see you survive this.”
“Are you sure this isn’t jealousy, again?”I asked.
“Stay sheltered.Stay in place,” Brother Al said, after a moment or two.“I’ll not hear another conversation about this.”
The phone line went dead.I stared at my phone in my hands.I kept getting work emails from Feedworthy.I sighed and stuffed it back in my pocket.
“What’s up?”Tamara asked me when I went back into the living room.
“Okay, so hear me out.”
“NO,” she said.“I’m done.You aren’t leaving this house.”
“I have my license.Just let me borrow the keys.”
“Stacey, I don’t have you on my insurance.”
“Look, there’s a lot of people in trouble and I could really help out if I get there in time.”
“What can you do?”Tamara asked.
“I don’t have time to explain,” I said.My face was red.I had promised Tamara that I would never share blood with the vampires.And then I’d gone and done it, after all…
“You won’t tell me how you can help, or who you can help, and you expect me to just say.Hey, sure.It’s the apocalypse, but yeah, take my keys and my only means of transportation.”
“Okay.Hear me out.The three of us leave.In your car.We head over to the Mall.You drop me off.The two of you keep going into the distance and leave this cursed city behind.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Joey said.
“Barricades aren’t up yet,” I said.“I don’t think, at least.You could just go.This might be your only window.”
Tamara rolled her eyes practically back into her head.
“Get your shoes on,” she said finally.“We get to go on a roadtrip.”
Chapter6
We bundled nearly everything into the car.It was an eventless walk.Even still, the drive on the main streets was scary easy.Except for the sound of thunder in the distance, and a quiet rumbling that seemed to go on and on…
“You’re lucky,” Tamara said.“Lucky, lucky, lucky.”
“Maybe we’re luckier together,” I said.
We passed through abandoned stop signs.Cars on this side of town were crashed here and there.Tamara slowly drove through the ruins until we inched within sight of the Mall.It glittered in the lights.A throng of dead bodies were surrounding it, banging at the door.
