This Would Be Paradise (Book 2)-A Zombie Novel

Chapter 38

I woke up to Darren shaking me.

"Dear God, I thought you were in a coma," Darren said, relieved.

My eyes opened, a blurry shade of electric blue in front of me. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. My head spun and my limbs creaked, my elbow reminding me of my fall yesterday.

"How long was I asleep?" I croaked out.

"I didn't time it, but it had to be close to ten hours," Darren said. "I woke up first and figured I'd let you wake yourself up, but we gotta go."

"You're just as bad as me," an unfamiliar voice said.

I looked up to see the teen from yesterday; I had forgotten about him. Glad to see he didn't murder us in our sleep. I was disappointed in myself for lowering my guard so spectacularly. Colin could have easily robbed us and took off, but then he'd have to face the mob of infected solo. At least I didn't live – or not live – to regret my choice. I guess my people reading skills were back online.

A burning smell reached my nose. "What's that smell?"

"Shit!" Darren jumped up. "The noodles."

He ran over to some sort of metal and tin contraption that was currently smoking.

"Some boy-scout you got there," Colin scoffed.

I got up and walked over to Darren. "What are you doing? Trying to burn the college down with us in it?"

Instead of answering, Darren shoved a cast iron pot in my face. Aside from the burning scent, I could smell the familiar aroma of instant noodles. I looked down and indeed there was a soupy brown mix of noodles in the pot. On the ground was a small, portable grill.

"This is a military grade camping stove. It lets you burn whatever you can find for heat to cook with, so no fuel to carry around. Plus, it folds easily and it's fairly light," Darren explained.

I was rather impressed with how prepared Darren was, first with the zip-ties and first aid kit and now this. I really had undervalued his expertise.

"You pack bowls, too?" I asked.

"I found some disposable bowls and cutlery when we raided the cafeteria." Darren passed me a set, then reluctantly one to Colin.

We dug in, practically inhaling the hot noodles. When we were done, Darren re-packed his supplies and made sure we all drank a bottle of water before we decided what to do. The infected had dispersed over the night, but there were still way too many all over the streets to make this an easy getaway.

"It's decision time, kid. You coming with us or not?" Darren goaded Colin.

"Depends, is this Hargrove place you told me about last night all grumpy old men like yourself?"

Darren clenched his jaw. "Suit yourself." He walked away and started to canvas the perimeter for an escape route.

"You know, you really should be nicer to people trying to help you," I said in a very adult-like manner. Oh god, I sounded like an old person. Soon I'll be yelling at kids to get off my lawn.

Colin sighed like a weary old man. "We need to get to my car first."

"That might be hard when the city is crawling with infected like this."

"That's my stipulation. I need my car first, then I'll come with you," Colin said again.

"Please, don't do us any favors," Darren muttered, then launched into planning mode. "Our best bet is to go back out the front doors since the truck is closest to that exit. If we took the fire escape we'd have to wade through the crowd."