He helped her up the steps and when they reached the driver's seat, they halted for a moment to assess their surroundings. The bus was dark inside and water leaked in through bullet holes in the roof. They spotted bags of trash in the front seats and moved on to the rest of the bus. More trash bags greeted them. Every seat so far had at least four or five of the thick black bags.

As they approached the back of the bus a terrible aroma began to assault their senses. It smelled like rancid meat left out on the pavement on a sizzling summer day.

Alex prodded one of the trash bags with the end of his machete. Something grunted from a back seat.

Sarah lifted her Magnum in alarm as a dark shape slithered out of the last seat and onto the bus floor. The shape took form as a rotting corpse missing everything from the stomach down. It dragged itself along the middle path and snapped its jaws together in anticipation.

"Alex, we've got company."

He cut open a trash bag and gagged as hundreds of maggots squirmed in and out of human remains.

Sarah fired, splattering dark blood and chunks of bone on the floor.

More moans came from the back of the bus.

"Get out of here," she ordered him, backing away.

Alex cut open another trash bag and another, but got the same result each time: a pile of festering arms, legs, and skulls crammed together. He hunched over and threw up on the floor.

"Come on," Sarah soothed. "Let's get back to the Winnebago and get you cleaned up." She kept her eyes focused on the back seats but nothing came after them, though the groans continued.

Alex nodded, and the two of them abandoned the bus as quickly as they could. Once outside, they stood in the rain staring at the bus and washing its stench from their clothing and memories.

"What do you think happened in there?"

Alex gulped down fresh air, and put his machete back on his belt.

"I don't even want to know. It looked like someone was hoarding them. Can you get us far away from it?"

"Hell yeah," she said.

They walked back to the Winnebago, drenched. Joelle let them inside and locked the door behind them.

"Did you find anything?"

Sarah went to the bathroom and peeled off her wet clothes.

Alex grabbed a Pepsi from the refrigerator and sipped on it.

"What was in there?" Joelle pressed. "Don't tell me it was empty."

Alex sucked down more soda and Sarah came out of the bathroom wearing a white T-shirt and short blue shorts.

"Get changed," she ordered him. "I don't need you to get sick on us." After Alex closed the bathroom door she got behind the wheel and started driving.

"So," Joelle said, "what was in there?"

"Death. And not much else," she said, and didn't pull over for a break until nightfall.

Chapter 15.

"What do you want for dinner?" Joelle asked her friends. "We have tomato soup, chicken noodle, beef ravioli, refried beans, peas, and lots of canned corn."

"Beef ravioli sounds great," Sarah said, as she moved her knight to take Alex's pawn.

He leaned over the chess board and shook his head.

"You're good."

"I'm the best," she said, and placed the pawn beside the other chess pieces she'd won. She crossed her bare legs, making sure to hike up her blue shorts and keep him interested. "You're not very good at this."

"Be quiet, I'm concentrating," he said, and continued to stare at the chess board.

Joelle opened three cans of beef ravioli and put the contents into a bowl. She put the bowl in the microwave and leaned over Sarah's shoulder.

"So, you're still winning," she snickered.

Alex moved one of his bishops and took Sarah's knight. She frowned at him.

"I'm not doing that badly," he grinned.

"You're improving," Sarah said. "But not by that much." She moved her own bishop and took his.

"Dammit," he sighed. "You're always two steps ahead of me."

Sarah shrugged, "It's what I do."

The microwave beeped and Joelle set the small circular table with paper plates and cups. She gave each one of them the same amount of ravioli and left a bottle of soda on the table.

"Dinner is ready," Joelle said.

They gave their chess game a break and sat down to eat. Steam drifted from the ravioli. The trio ate in silence, savoring their hot meal. Outside, the rain continued to pelt the Winnebago and the sky grumbled, but something else was out there, shuffling and scraping along the concrete.

Sarah chewed her ravioli slowly and stood up from the table to check out the sound. The others stopped eating. As she swallowed a delicious beef filled square, she moved the curtains by the window to look out and nearly choked.

"Holy shit . . ."

"What is it?" Joelle gasped.

Alex ran to the back and fetched his sniping rifle.

"It's . . . damn, I've never seen so many of them together," Sarah said.

Alex peeked out the window.

"We're surrounded. Sarah, get behind the wheel and drive us the fuck out of this mess. Joelle and I will try to hold them off." He ordered and rolled down the passenger window enough to get the barrel of his rifle through.

"Hold on," Sarah said. "There not coming for us, just look."

All three of three of them watched in awe as hundreds of zombies shuffled past the Winnebago and continued on, dragging themselves off the highway and into a nearby farmer's field.

"They're Doomed Wanderers, Alex. Haven't you seen them before?"

"Only by themselves, there's too many of them," he said, and took aim.

"You're wasting your ammo," Joelle snapped. "They'll ignore us as long as we don't get in their way to wherever it is they're going."

They watched the zombies brush against their vehicle, their collective dead gazes fixed on a group of buildings on the horizon beyond the farmer's field.

"Why would they be going to that mall?" he said, looking through the scope.

"Who knows? Maybe they once shopped there, or took their kids for fun on the weekend," Sarah explained. "It doesn't matter. It's none of our business."

Alex pulled his rifle from the window, but continued to watch as more and more zombies shuffled past them. They didn't make the hungry moans like the others did, only marched toward their destination, and ignored everything else.

"Do they always travel in clumps like this?" He asked.

"I've never seen so many of them together. Normally, there's only one or two. Its bad luck to kill one," Sarah said.

"Dinner is getting cold guys," Joelle said. "I don't want this food to go to waste."

Sarah and Alex turned back to the table to finish their meal.

"We should check out that mall. It might have something good in it," he advised.

"No way," Joelle said. "Haven't you ever seen Dawn of the Dead? I'm not going anywhere near a mall."

"She's right. The mall would be a death trap. Besides, we need to catch up to the others before they move on," Sarah said.

They finished their meal quietly as the horde of Doomed Wanders dissipated into the distance.

Joelle arched her back and yawned.

"I'm going to bed. You two can do the dishes," she said, leaving the table, and slipping into the bottom bed.

Sarah sipped her Coke and eyed Alex as he stuffed his mouth with the rest of the ravioli.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

He nodded, mid-chew.

Her eyes locked onto his, "Where are you from?"

"Texas," he replied. "My uncle and I were taking a vacation. We were headed for the beaches of South Carolina when the world decided to fall apart."

"Shit happens," she said with a sigh.

"He was a great man. If it wasn't for him I would've never survived. He taught me how to shoot a rifle. He was my strength," Alex choked, and said nothing more.

"Did he . . ." she couldn't finish her sentence, knowing the truth that his uncle must be dead.

"Someone shot him. We were living in an abandoned gas station, rationing our food, and trying to communicate to our family back home through CB radio. One day, a biker came in, took everything we had, and shot him."

She took his hand into hers and squeezed it. "I'm sorry, Alex. You don't have to tell me any more."

He broke away from her touch and headed for the top bunk.

"You don't have to go to bed yet," she said. "You can stay up and keep me company for a little while."

"Maybe another night," he answered. "I need to get some rest. You said we'll catch up to them tomorrow right?"

"We should."

"Okay, goodnight then," he said, and climbed into bed.

Disappointment showed on Sarah's face. She took all the paper cups and plates and threw them into a trash can. Once the table was cleared she turned out the lights and sat in the dark, looking at the desolate stretch of highway ahead. An hour later she climbed into bed beside Joelle and fell into an uneasy slumber.

Chapter 16.

Morning sunlight broke through the Winnebago's windows despite the curtains being shut. They ate a hurried breakfast of trail mix bars and bottled water, and then took turns taking showers in the small bathroom. Within an hour the trio was fresh and ready to start the day. Alex cleaned the firearms as Sarah and Joelle took turns driving. The highway was relatively clear of wrecks and zombies, as though someone had already trampled through the area, picking it clean.

"We're getting closer," Sarah said. "The church isn't far from here."

"They're taking refuge in a church?" Alex laughed. "Isn't that risky with all the stained glass windows?"

"It's the most secure place in the area," Joelle said. "We were there about six months ago."

"Don't worry, Alex," Sarah said. "The windows are already smashed and boarded up. And the zombies can't break through the heavy doors, not that they ever get close enough to anyway."

Joelle leaned back in the seat, "There's a hot tub in the back too."

"Great, maybe all three of us can just kick back and sip a few drinks while we're there as well," he snapped.