“Dave, what are you doing?” I said.

“Watch my brother,” he said. “Don’t you dare leave his body here.”

“Dave,” I said.

“I’m going back. I’m going to kill those bastards. Every one of them.”

“Dave, we don’t know where they were. We don’t know where they were shooting from.” I didn’t have a good feeling. I sensed it. What was coming.

“Allison, I said get out of the car, out!”

“Come on, Alley,” I said.

She moved slow. One hand on her head. She was not well. The car accident we’d been in had shaken her up. I knew we’d both be sore in the morning. No way around that.

“Dave, if you leave, you are leaving Josh. Because Allison and I, we’re not staying here. We’re not going to wait for you to get back,” I said.

“You can’t just leave his body here,” he said. “That’s my brother.”

“Your brother would not want you to do this, David. He’d not want you to go back there and get yourself killed.”

“He’d want me to kill those fuckers.”

“I’m sure he would,” I said, “but not if he knew you’d die doing it. He wouldn’t want you to die, to get killed.”

“Put him back in the car. In the back,” Dave said.

There were a lot of cars in the hotel parking lot. This car had flat tires. Lots of cars also meant, lots of guests. Lots of guests meant the inside of the hotel had to be crawling with zombies. I didn’t want Dave getting so excited he made a lot of noise. Attracting attention was the last thing we needed.

“Dave, if you had been shot and killed--”

“I wasn’t shot and killed!”

“Just listen to me, all right? Hear what I’m saying. If you had been shot and killed, would you want Josh to go back there and kill those guys for you, to avenge you?”

“Yes.”

I shook my head. “No you wouldn’t. You would know that if he went back, he’d get killed, too. You wouldn’t want that to happen. Him to get killed just to avenge your death in a no-win situation like this. Would you?”

“Would I what?” Dave said.

He might be confused. But he was listening. Meant a part of him was at least trying to rationalize what to do next. What would be the right next move.

“You wouldn’t want Josh going back there to die.”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” he said. “He’s my brother. I’d want him to be safe. If he went back there to kill them, he’d end up getting killed. Then we’d both be dead.”

I kept quiet. Dave was working this out in his head. I think it was all starting to make sense. He didn’t need me pushing and prodding his brain. He’d get there. He’d reach the conclusion I’d been attempting to draw for him.

Dave went silent. His head lowered so that his chin touched his chest. “What are we supposed to do now?”

Get my kids was what I wanted to say, to scream. “We find someplace special to place your brother.”

The cemetery was just kiddy-corner to where we were, go figure. Ridge Road Cemetery. It was on Ridge and Latona. We had the tools.

I never liked funerals. Burials. Today I was burying two people. People who, in the short course of time, had become friends. It was the circumstances. In a million lifetimes, our paths might never have crossed. But for the last few days, Josh was more than just a guy.

“We’ll carry him over to the cemetery,” I said.

Dave looked where I pointed. “We could do that,” he said.

“Ah, Chase,” Allison said.

I stood up. I’d been right. The hotel had a zombie infestation. Or did. Looked like they were filing out of the hotel’s automated doors.

“Are you going to be okay to run?”

Allison nodded. “I will.”

“Dave, we need to get out of here. I’m going to put Josh back into the car.”

“We’ll drive to the cemetery,” Dave said.

No point arguing. I lifted Josh by under the arms. Grunting, I positioned him so that his head went into the car. “Got to help me, Dave,” I said.

Dave leaned over. Grabbed onto his brother and pulled as I worked to get his legs into the vehicle.

“Chase,” Allison said.

“Get back in the car,” I told her. It did not seem like a safe ride. If it still drove, it would get us away faster than running. Possibly.

“We need to go, again, Dave.”

He saw them then. “They are all coming out of there? The hotel.”

“Looks that way.”

Dave shifted the car into drive, and on two flats, we limped back onto Fetzner.

“Got to do me a favor, Dave, a huge favor.”

He didn’t look at me. He kept his eyes on the road. He kept his hands on the wheel.

“I need you to get me to my apartment. It’s less than a mile. It’s right past that plaza down there. Past the Toys R Us.”

“I know where Stone Road is,” he said, “and we’ll get there, after we bury my brother.”

Allison was on her knees. She stared out the back . . . could not say window. There was no glass left. She watched as the zombies that had been converging on our car, now aimlessly milled about since we’d left.

None of them had been fast zombies. Had they of been, I don’t think this badly disabled wreck would have gotten us far before getting overpowered.

Rubber was off one of the tires completely. The sound of metal on asphalt was dangerously loud. We weren’t going to make it further than the intersection. And Dave was not making a left on Ridge. He was headed straight to where Fetzner turned into Latona.

“Dave, please.”

“Help me bury my brother,” he said. “Don’t make me do this alone. Don’t make me drive around with his body in the car. I can’t do that, man. I want to help you. I want to see you get back together with your kids. We’re going to Mexico, right? I’m in. I want to be a part of that. But, please, don’t let me bury my brother all by myself.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

The car was done. Had it. Finished. The rims rolled on pavement. Didn’t matter. From where I stood on Latona, it was clear even an SUV would never make it traveling up and down Ridge Road. It was congested as fuck.

Dave threw Josh over his shoulder. Allison and I followed with the weapons. The cemetery gate was open. We walked on in.

I was anxious. Any spot of grass looked good to me. “What about here,” I said, pointing.

“I think under a tree would be better,” Dave said.

Allison touched my arm. It was meant to quiet me. I worked. Instead of talking, I ground my teeth. Felt muscles tighten in my jaw.

Dave walked to the center of the cemetery -- it was not a big burial ground at all. Less than a street block. Place was old. Full, mostly. But it was peaceful, too, despite the main road traffic on two of its four sides.

I dug the shovel blade into the ground. Stepped on the rim.

Dave put up a hand. “I’ll dig this one.”

I nodded, pushed the handle toward him, and walked to stand near Allison.

“What time you think it is?”

“No idea,” she said. “Eight? Nine o’clock? Midnight? Not a clue.”

I closed my eyes and pressed a fist to my forehead.

“What?”

“I had my phone charging in the Lexus.” My phone, the charger . . . gone.

“Chase, I’m sorry.”

I wanted to say we’re going back. That I need to get my phone. That would not go over well. Not after my speech to Dave. He’d never understand the difference. Maybe there wasn’t one. “I’m fucked, Allison. If my kids aren’t at my place, if they aren’t there waiting for me, I’m fucked.”

“Don’t say that. We’re going to get through this.”

She didn’t get it. I wasn’t going to argue with her. If my kids weren’t at my place, I give up. I’ll totally surrender. Because this life wasn’t worth a shit before. Without my kids though? It’s not even comprehensible why I’d consider staying. She did not need to know that. Not yet. I knew it. It was all that mattered.

There was nothing more to say. I had a plan. Find my kids and get us all to Mexico, or bust.