Erin M. Leaf Read Free Page B

low.
    Dillon walked over and peered down at it. “We were on the deck, grilling burgers. It was right before she went away to school.”
    “ Fuck,” Ben said, voice breaking. He closed the locket.
    Lark was blinking back tears again, so when the cool metal of the chain brushed against her face, she startled.
    “Easy, there. We want you to wear it,” Dillon said, dropping it down over her head.
    She fingered the silver oval. “You’re sure?” she asked. Ben had his back turned, but she could see him jerk his head in a nod.
    “ Yeah,” Dillon said roughly. “Please.”
    She nodded, swallowing hard. Again. He turned away and she tucked the necklace into her shirt. “Now what?”
    “ Now we head for the hills,” Ben said. “I’ve heard zombies don’t like the cold.”
    ****
    An hour later, she gritted her teeth and hung on for dear life in the back of their Range Rover. The roads out of Pittsburgh were crap. The sun had just set so the light was also crap. And Ben’s driving, well, that was crap, too. “Are you sure you know which way you’re going?” she asked. Since they’d lost power, there were no streetlights. They’d managed to get out of the city, and luckily there had been no more zombies near her dorm, but now they were on some back road in the middle of nowhere.
    “ I know where I’m going,” Ben said tersely.
    She could tell he was still upset. Hell, so was she. She dug her fingers into her seatbelt grimly. “We should stop for the night. We need to find somewhere safe to rest.” She rubbed her face against her shoulder. Dried tears itched like a bitch. “I haven’t slept in two days.”
    Dillon twisted around, eyes glittering faintly from the dim light of the dashboard. She jerked her head at Ben, hoping Dillon would be able to talk him into being reasonable. Dillon seemed reasonable. He gave her a short, sharp nod.
    She settled back, trying to unclench all the knotted muscles in her back. This was nearly the worst day of her life. Nearly the worst, not the worst, she reminded herself. You’ve been through hell before, and survived.
    “ Ben, we should find somewhere we can get some sleep. There’s probably a barn or something around if we keep an eye out.” Dillon fiddled with his phone, zooming in on the map. His GPS was still working, even if the cellular connections were down. He’d plugged it into the car to charge. “Hmm, two miles. There’s a place we can stop.”
    “ I’m not tired,” Ben said. He gripped the steering wheel like a lifeline.
    “ Well, I am.” Dillon let his head fall back on the seat rest. “Ben, stop. Please.”
    Ben glanced at him briefly. It was too dark to make out his expression, but Lark could guess he wasn ’t pleased just from the set of his shoulders. He didn’t speak.
    “ Ben, I’m serious,” Dillon said.
    Before Ben could respond, a white flash appeared out of nowhere right in front of them. Lark gasped as Ben slammed on the brakes. “No! Don’t stop,” she yelled as a zombie climbed up on the hood. “They’ll overwhelm the car.” She knew this from experience. Right before she’d barricaded their dorm, she’d made a trip to the grocery store, trying to haul canned goods and other non-perishables back, but she’d had to bail out of her stolen car when zombies attacked. They’d piled on the front and the only way she’d been able to escape was through the freaking trunk. There were too many zombies and too few humans left.
    “ Shit!” Dillon cursed. “She’s right. Hang hard left, just ahead, Ben.” The zombie was hanging onto the windshield wipers, like a giant supernatural insect. Ugh.
    Lark looked outside, but didn ’t see any more. Nevertheless, she knew they were there. No zombie hunted alone. Even after only a few days she knew that.
    “ Now! Left, left, turn left,” Dillon shouted and Ben yanked on the wheel. The zombie slid off the window with a sick thump. Their SUV careened down another road, bumpy with