Hanish placed his hand on the steering wheel and took a deep breath, staring at the road ahead. Janice closed the truck lid and jumped into the passenger seat. “We should be good to go,” she said with a smile.

  He glanced at her, but his thoughts drifted back to Aleaha. “We have to get to shopping,” he murmured, the words seeming to whisper on the wind. “There is a storm coming.”

  “Hanish, did you hear me?” Janice asked, leaning closer to look at him.

  “Huh?” he responded, blinking at her.

  “I said you can start the car,” she said, her expression concerned. His mind seemed to be drifting more and more lately. She was worried about him; the farm was driving him insane.

  Hanish turned the key, starting the engine, and shifted gears. Checking his surroundings, he turned the steering wheel, and the truck began to move forward. As he drove through the gate and onto the road, the farm seemed to fade into the background. He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead as they continued down the long road.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a car,” Janice stated, leaning over with her arm hanging out the window. A wave of nausea washed over her. She gagged and moaned, “Stop the car!”

  “What?” Hanish asked. “Why?”

  “The contents—the small contents of my stomach—are about to be all over your dash!” That’s all he needed to hear. He quickly slammed on the brakes. The truck screeched to a halt, and Janice jumped out. He watched as she desperately ran into the field and began to vomit. She hadn’t been in a car so long that she had developed motion sickness.

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  In the fields, Hanish noticed the undead beginning to rise from the ground. Janice, however, remained hunched over something, oblivious to the imminent danger. “Janice!” he shouted, rushing toward her. Panic tightened his chest as he scooped her up into his arms. Janice, finally seeing the undead, started kicking and demanding to be put down.

  Ignoring her protests, he threw her into the truck and slammed the door shut. He scrambled to the other side as the undead shambled toward them with alarming speed. One lunged, tackling him just as he reached the driver’s seat. He fought it off, shoving it to the ground, and finally managed to get inside. He started the engine and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The undead slammed their bodies against the vehicle.

  Tears streamed down his face as Janice screamed in his ears, urging him to go faster. He pushed the engine as hard as he could, reaching nearly 100 miles per hour. Still, the undead clawed and hit the truck. The fields transitioned into trees, and then houses came into view. Janice’s mouth dropped at the images she was seeing: undead everywhere, dead animals, and people torn apart.

  Tears welled in her eyes as her search led her to a figure against a tree. It was Lila, hunched over and gnawing on a deer. This wasn’t the woman she knew. Blood stained everything—the house, the yard—and entrails pooled from fresh wounds. Janice sank into her seat, drawing her knees to her chest.

  “No,” she cried out, repeating the word over and over. Janice looked at Hanish, who was wide-eyed, staring straight ahead. They both knew the gas in the car wouldn’t take them very far. As they passed the houses and began to enter city limits, Janice noticed a Sam’s Club off in the distance, about half a mile away.

  It seemed like a Hail Mary. The place was always stacked to the brim with everything you would need.”There!” Janice exclaimed, wiping away her tears.

  Hanish steered his car into the right lane, heading for Sam’s. “Why didn’t you come here before?” Janice asked.

  Hanish glanced at her. “I don’t have a key to the door.”

  Janice looked at him, concerned. “Are you serious?” she asked, pointing.

  “Yeah… so, do you have a key?” he responded, acting as if she had asked a stupid question.

  “We can break in,” she said, almost rolling her eyes.Hanish possessed a moral compass. He understood that breaking in would be wrong. Therefore, he reasoned that they should simply check if the door happened to be unlocked upon their arrival.