Free Fallen Grace by M. Lauryl Lewis Page A

leading the dead fuckers back there.”
    The knocking in the engine had quieted a notch. The car was small. It’d seat five if we were lucky. I wasn't sure how we’d seat all six, especially with Susan being so ill.
    “We’ll swap out batteries with the station wagon and hope for the best,” Gus echoed my thoughts.
    We drove on, eventually entering a small neighborhood with cookie-cutter two-story homes on both sides of the street. There were only a couple of ramblers. Lawns had been claimed by weeds. Garbage was strewn about. Trash cans littered the street.
    “It must have been garbage day,” I mumbled.
    Clouds were rolling in quickly, darkening the sky as if mocking us.
    “We need to get gas.”
    I looked at Gus. “Where?”
    He took a deep breath. “Here. The neighborhood.”
    I looked around. “There’s no cars.”
    “Can you tell how far the horde is?” he asked me.
    “I can’t feel them anymore. I think we lost them.”
    “I think we should stop here. Look through the garages. We might get lucky and find a can of gas, or a whole car.”
    “Ok. Maybe we can find food too. Where do you think all the people went?”
    “Hard to say. We probably just met some of them.”
    The thought that the zombies we had left behind had possibly once lived in these homes sent shivers up my arms.
    “We’ll park in this driveway,” he said as he slowed and turned into a simple, flat drive. “And walk down a few houses.”
    “Sounds good.”
    “Stay close, Zoe. Ok?”
    “No problem there.”
    He turned the engine off and reached across me to shove the keys into the glove box. I knew by now it was his way of making sure if he were killed, I would be able to escape. We both slid out of the car and quietly closed our doors, making sure nothing remained on to drain the battery. Gus led the way to a small rambler with a one car garage attached. He guided me to just in front of the garage and looked at me questioningly.
    “I don’t feel anything,” I whispered.
    He nodded once and then leaned down to try the latch on the door. It turned easily and he lifted the door upward. The inside of the garage was crowded. It housed a BBQ, play yard toys, golf clubs, a lawnmower as well as several cardboard boxes stacked awkwardly against the bay walls. A bed mattress leaned against a water heater.
    “Let’s go in and clear the house, then we can close the garage back up.”
    “’Kay.”
    I followed Gus to the interior garage door. We walked into a rec room full of mismatched furniture and a television, with a wood stove in one corner. Curtains had been drawn and limited light filtered in from their edges. An open archway led to a small kitchen. Dishes remained in the sink and had molded over. The smell had thankfully faded over the months and now only lingered in a thin veil. Still sensing no presence of the living dead, I continued and exited the kitchen though an open doorway that led to a small more formal living room. Again, the curtains were drawn. This room was brighter since the window coverings were sheer. There was no television here, just two wingback chairs, a loveseat, and an ornate wood chest beside the front door. To the left was a step up into a small bedroom that held a bed, a bedside table, and two dressers.
    When I felt Gus set a hand on my shoulder, I jumped. I hadn’t heard him walk up behind me and I was already on edge.
    “It’s a small house,” he said. “I just shut the garage and locked it from the inside. I think you need to rest before we move on.”
    “We need to get back to Susan,” I said immediately.
    “She’s in good hands with Nathan.”
    “I’ll be fine, Gus. It’s already feeling better.”       
    “I need to sleep, Zoe. I’m worried if we have to fight again I might be useless.”
    I turned to face him. “Ok. But just a few hours?”
     
     

CHAPTER 8
     
    I tucked Gus into the only bed in the house and kissed him on the cheek as he fell asleep. He looked so tired and