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BAD DREAM, SLEEPING BEAUTY?" thenext to me asks I nod but don&039;t answer I rub ainst theof the van and immediately remember where I am It&039;s late in the day, I&039;hters, and I&039; travel sick Can&039;t remember the last time I went anywhere by road like this Is it safe? The confidence of the rest of the people in the van makes me feel out of step with everyone else
The cocky, sour-faced guy next to her opinion of himself and his own abilities than anyone else does In the front of the van are Carol and Keith, who&039;s driving As far as I&039; between theue like an oldhere I think I&039;d rather be doing this alone Maybe I&039;roups of people any out?" Keith arette She blows s him
"No," she snaps abrasively, her voice dry and harsh
"Don&039;t knohere you keep getting them from"
"You don&039;t want to know," Paul pipes up
"What&039;s that supposed tothe pockets of corpses"
"Well, they don&039;t need theot a point But does thatbodies earlier?
"You&039;re disgusting," Keith sighs
"I&039;m addicted," she answers back quickly, "and I don&039;t want to quit Cigarettes are one of et the I want to do is be breathing in your secondhand sru down herThe cool, relatively fresh air that floods into the van is a relief, and I breathe it in deeply
I look around at the three people I&039;ht, and I can&039;t help but feel concerned I haven&039;t seen any of them in action yet, but I don&039;t hold out arden than on the battlefield Carol appears per eyes and short, dark hair that obviously used to be colored (the dye&039;s grown out, leaving a brassy red tide nails that probably used to be filed and painted but that now look more like talons or claws She reminds me of a woman I used to ith-a bitter, drink-addled ex-publican She has the ruddy complexion of a heavy drinker and looks like she&039;d be happiest either behind a bar or propping one up Paul, on the other hand, at least looks like he&039;s ready to fight He&039;s an arrogant fucker Since we&039;ve been driving he&039;s already told hter he is and how he&039;s lost count of the hundreds of kills he&039;s ressive talk are there to hide his insecurities He&039;s struggling just as reat tea Ellis, I&039;ll put up with thelancing back at et a better viehere we are The van vibrates intensely and lurches from side to side as we move quickly doide, rubbish-strewn road, and it&039;s difficult to see veryThe fact that Keith&039;s driving without lights on doesn&039;t help, but when the oe ene sky just ahead of us, taillights flashing in the gloom, I&039;m thankful that we&039;re hidden
There&039;s a road sign up ahead Keith stops the van, and all four of us stare up at it, trying to n is covered in a layer of green-brown dirt and moss
"This is Chapman Hill, isn&039;t it?" Paul says I look in front and behind, trying to get arage close to here, but I didn&039;t recognize the place Now that I know roughly where I a slowly coain so looks basically the saed, too The landmarks and structures I used to know aresee line of once-thriving shops is now a cru, blackened ruin, ale I re the few dust-covered cars that ree an office building now stands at barely half of its prewar height, surrounded by mounds of rubble that used to be its top five floors In the fading light it looks like every road and sidewalk for as far as I can see is covered with a layer of dust and debris The bodies are the only shapes that are easy to distinguish a up from a pile of fallen masonry as if its dead oants to ask us a question or hitch a ride
"Well," Keith says ionna tell o?"
"Sorry," I answer quickly, forcing ht for another ht I&039;ll tell you e get closer"
Keith&039;s about to pull away again when Carol stops hi his ar"
There&039;s an intersection up ahead She watches it intently
"There&039;s nothing," Keith whispers, instinctively lowering his voice "You&039;re just overreacting again It&039;s like the time-"