“Beth—”
“Let him answer.”
Dorran allowed the towel to fall around his shoulders. His dark, deep-set eyes barely flickered, and Clare wondered if Beth could pick up on the quiet panic that was setting into him. His voice remained steady, though, even as he struggled to phrase himself diplomatically. “That is a kind offer. But I would be grateful for the opportunity to accompany you further. I hope I can continue to assist yourself and Clare.”
Beth’s lips twitched down. “I’ll let you take some of our fuel. It’s worth more than gold these days.”
“Stop it.” Clare stepped forward, planting herself between Dorran and Beth. “He’s not going anywhere. We’re a team.”
Beth huffed. She didn’t look happy, but she rolled her shoulders in something like a reluctant shrug. “All right. Fine. You said he’s tired, right? He can sleep in the back of the bus. There’s a bed set up there. But get some dry clothes on first. They’re stored in the racks above your heads.” Beth swivelled to face the dash and put the bus into gear. The engine rumbled as she eased them back towards the street. “We’re far enough from the city that we don’t have to rush, but we can’t afford to sit here all day either. The hollows get antsy around nightfall, and I want to be in the country by then. So you better figure out how to sleep while I drive.”
“That’s fine,” Dorran said.
“Clare, get changed, then sit up front with me. I’ll need you for navigation.”
“Okay.” Clare, relieved that Beth had let the argument drop, turned towards the racks and began looking through them. They held not just clothes but cartons of fuel, water, and cardboard boxes full of long-life food, as well as a rack of weapons suspended near the bus’s rear. She pulled stacks of clothes down as she found them. Most of the outfits were small sizes that would fit the sisters. She had to dig to find clothes large enough for Dorran.
Beth had been sensible about the outfits she’d brought, though; there were extra-thick, insulated shirts and jackets, along with rain-proof overcoats and sturdy leather footwear. Most still had their price tags attached, which identified them as coming from a high-end hiking store.
“Try these,” Clare murmured, passing shirts and pants to Dorran. She snapped the tags off clothes for herself and sat in one of the seats to change. Her hair was still damp, but there wasn’t much she could do for it, so she tied it into a messy bun as she approached Beth at the bus’s front.
“You’re looking better.” Beth remained facing the road, but her eyes flicked up to the rear-view mirror to watch her two companions. “We can’t afford to waste fuel to heat the bus, but there are blankets in the basket under your seat.”
Clare pulled the fleece bundle out then settled into the chair beside the driver’s console. It had been set back a little to make room for the door but kept her close to Beth and allowed an unobstructed view of the twisting road ahead. She glanced behind. The row of seats at the back had been converted to a bed, stacked high with pillows and blankets. Dorran sat on its edge and gave her a small smile. He looked better wearing proper thermal clothes and with his hair brushed back, but the greyness hadn’t left his face. Clare motioned for him to relax. He settled back in his seat, legs crossed ahead of himself, but didn’t seem ready to sleep.
“Let’s get out of this mess.” Beth coaxed the bus around another sharp angle. Its rear bumper scraped against a fallen tree. “The map’s in the side pocket there; if I show you where we are, can you help with directions?”
“Sure.” Clare took the map from the compartment beside the driver’s seat. The paper folded out to take up her whole lap, and it seemed to have been designed for tourists. Emblems dotted notable locations, and a beaming bird mascot gave them a thumbs-up from the map’s corner.
Beth had drawn across the map in red pen. Thick Xs covered many of the roads.
“That means the street is impassable,” Beth explained, seeing Clare looking. “Circles are for possible resources. Some of those are just hearsay from the people I’ve passed, though. No guarantee they’re still intact. Triangles are safe havens. We’ll be avoiding those. Stars are hazards.”
Clare gazed across the dozens of marks. “You’ve been about.”
Beth chuckled. “It took a while to get into the city. Lots of detours, lots of impassable roads.”
“Okay.” Clare traced a red marker line through the suburbs, until it ended in the countryside. “Where are we going?”
“Just out. Somewhere we can set up camp and heat some food without these ghouls jabbering at us.”
A taxi stood to their left. The driver, still wearing scraps of his uniform, clawed at his window, saliva dripping from his missing jaw. Beth sent it a derisive glare then put some pressure on the accelerator to pass it.
“Did you clear the roads with this?” Clare nodded to the bus.
“Part of it. The part that goes up to the tower. But there are cleared roads like this snaking through the city and suburbs. They were made by people who came looking for their families.” Beth sighed. “People who escaped the changes but had children, parents, or spouses living in the city. Hope is a brutal thing. It will carry you further than your feet ever wanted to go.”
Clare knew how that felt. Hope had pushed her to drive to Beth’s bunker, even after the radio went quiet. She couldn’t imagine how it must have been for the people searching for their lost loved ones. Knowing the city was overrun, knowing that there was next to no chance of their family still being alive but not being able to stop hoping because it was the only thing that kept them waking up in the morning.
“What happened after I lost contact with you?” Clare’s eyes flicked to the scars marring Beth’s face. “We saw the dead hollows inside your bunker. You must have opened your doors…”
“And fought my way out, yeah.” A wolfish smile stretched her lips. “I never imagined I was capable of surviving something like that. But I did. I guess it was a… catalyst. I didn’t need to be afraid any longer.”
It had changed her—that was certain. Even though Clare was struggling to adjust to the stronger, harder version of her sister, she was still grateful for it. Beth hadn’t cowered. And that had allowed her to survive.
“And you built this bus?” Clare indicated to the modifications.
“No. This, I found. Some poor soul had obviously planned to be a hero. I found it off the side of the road next to a demolished campsite. As far as I can tell, he was attacked while cooking dinner and decided to stand and fight instead of hiding in the bus. There was nothing left except some blood soaked into the ground. The hollows even eat bones.”
Clare shivered. She’d witnessed the creatures’ all-consuming hunger.
Beth shrugged. “I feel bad for the guy, but I’m grateful as well. He did a good job of getting this thing hollow-proof. There are even shutters you can pull over the front window. If they can’t see you or hear you, eventually, they lose interest and wander away. I mean, it takes hours. Sometimes all night. But it’s better than trying to escape while they’re crawling all over your windshield.”
“I’d be worried about it chewing through fuel too fast.”