Zombie Dream Chapter 4

It seems like we've been driving forever since I've never driven in this area before and Dawson and I aren't leading anymore. The roads are very empty. I see one of our cars swerving left and right and I think something is wrong but then I realize it is the car Cory is driving and I don't pay much attention to it. I just figure he is goofing off. We only make one pit stop the the whole drive, but we since we left so late it isn't a big deal. We all eat grouped together in an empty parking lot. The sun looks ready to set and we decide that we need to find a place to stay for the night. We drive a couple hours and we find an empty motel. Looks dirty and cheap but it works. The sun is gone and I don't want to drive while its dark. A couple of people start walking casually towards the office door and I catch them quickly. I tell them that no one is probably there but that we should at least enter with caution. They seem to reluctantly agree. I get the feeling I am getting on everyones nerve because I am so cautious, and I'm split on how I should approach people. I lead the group into the office door. The lights are on and everything is tidy. The door to the back office is shut and I want to secure the area before we relax. Everyone sets up near the door and I kick it in. Nothing. We grab the keys to the rooms and walk back to the cars. I tell everyone I want to check all the rooms in the small motel to make sure its safe. It shouldn't take to long. When I suggest it Cory gets upset and asks me why I am so paranoid. Some of the parents agree with him. I sink. I tell them that I would check the rooms alone and that everyone else should just sit tight in their cars. I open the back of my suburban and I strap myself with a few extra weapons. My Dad says he would come with me and I agree to it. Now everyone else gets brave and offers to come with. Jon, Mitch, Dawson, Dean, and Jim grab a few extra weapons. I stop them. I tell all the parents to look out after the kids and women and that Jon, Mitch, Dawson, Dean and I will secure the motel. We all load up and I make sure everyone is ready. We decide to secure the second floor and work our way down so we walk up the stairs and make our way to the last room. I tell everyone where I want them to be when the door opens and I open it. Our team criss crosses into the room. We check the bathroom and make our way to the next room. We check each room and we find nothing we should be afraid of. Each room is neatly made and all look the same. We get back to the cars and assign rooms to each family and everyone goes to set up. I'm laying on the bed by the window and I see some head lights and a car pull into the parking lot. I spring up, push the curtains aside and leer out the window. A couple of SUVs have pulled in and I see some people walk out. They look pretty normal so I slowly open our door and I walk out and I yell hi out to them cautiously. They reply so I stick my pistol out to the side to show that I am armed but that I mean no harm and walk slowly towards the guy standing out of the car. Now everyone from our crew begins to crawl out of their rooms. I shake hands with the guy and exchange names. I ask him what he is up to and he says that he is heading north but need a place to stay for the night. I tell him that there are plenty of safe rooms here. He thanks me then turns around to talk to his family still in the black Tahoe. I say hi to the rest of the family and I offer to help him unload the back. We exchange stories while unloading his truck. His family and his neighbors are also planning on going to an isolated area in Canada. From talking to him, he sounds like a very kind and smart guy. Someone I would like to have around. A couple of families from our crew come out and exchange names with the new family and their neighbors and helps them bring stuff in. The new man, who is named Jim, introduces me to the rest of his family. His wife Jill, his oldest daughter Amanda who appears to be around our age, his middle child Brandon and his youngest daughter Sarah. A very beautiful family. He then introduces me to his neighbors. Everyone from the new group seem so civilized. They all are so smart and clean. I wonder since we are all going to the same place, if our groups could merge. I don't bring it up though. It's just fun being around a new group of people. One the neighbors kids broke a leg or something running and is in a lot of pain so we do everything we can to make him feel better. It is a pretty fun evening and everyone is chatting and introducing them selves. Cory again busts out a large container full of liquor. Its pretty frustrating but I feel like my group is sick of me bossing them around so I don't say anything. I look over at the new group of people and they all decline. Now I'm just embarrassed that I am associated with these careless drunks. I ask Jim, "Not a big drinker?" and he says he used to be but thinks it would be smarter to have his head on strait with all the new dangers. I completely agree. I spend most of the night chatting with Jim's family and his friends. Very bright and energetic people. Being around these people is very therapeutic to me. I can relax a little knowing that there are people who worry about defending them selves. The party ends a little earlier tonight and everyone goes to bed. I can't fall asleep and I just roll around in my bed for a few hours. I don't understand how I'm not drained, I didn't get any sleep the night before. I get fed up and I leave the room. I'm quiet and I make sure I don't wake anyone up from my family. The air is humid and smells and there aren't any bugs so I don't complain. I walk into the office and pull out a small chair and begin walking toward the stairs to the second floor. Jon opens his door and catches me with his eyes squinted and asks me what I'm doing. I tell him to shut up because he is speaking louder then he needs to and that I couldn't fall and that I needed some fresh air. He makes a joke about the air not smelling so good and then goes back into his room. I get to the second floor and I sit in my chair. Check my pistol and then my rifle. Everything looks good. I set up rifle against the wall and I zip up my hoodie. I think I spend over a hour just staring at the stars. The sky is clear and the stars seem to be dancing. I hear a soft clank on the stairs and I jump and grab my rifle. The stairs continue to make noises and I can hear the noise elevating. I swear under my breath and I think that coming out here alone in the middle of the night is the worst idea I ever made. I see a figure and it continues to walk up the stairs. A light hits the figure and I see that it has long brown hair. I relax. When the person turns the corner I see that it is Amanda, Jim's daughter. I set my rifle back against the wall and I flash her a small smile. She leans against the railing and asks me what I'm doing out here. I tell her I couldn't fall asleep and she tells me that she couldn't fall asleep either. She says that she hasn't been able to sleep well for the past few days. I tell her that I think her Dad is really cool. She laughs and says thanks. We small talk for a while and I point out a bunch of cool stars I've been looking at. I see that she is only wearing a short sleeve t-shirt and I offer her my hoodie. She declines but I can see she really needs it and I lay it over her shoulders. She says thanks and zips it up. We talk about a bunch of things. School, life, what we are scared of, what we think life is going to be like, family, on and on. I tell her the story about Tony back in the warehouse. I tell her I've never killed anything before and I that I'm actually pretty scared to use a gun. She calls me a wuss and giggles. I ask her how she knew I was out here and she says she heard me walking up the stairs and that she waited for me to walk back down but got worried when I didn't. I tell her that she shouldn't be walking outside alone in the middle of the night. She makes fun of me for being a hypocrite. I tell her that we should probably go back down and get some sleep. I walk her to her room, she says thanks and closes the door behind her. I think about going back up to the second floor, but I opt to try and get some sleep. I crawl back into my bed and I feel like thin air. I can't fall asleep and it feels like there are bubbles in my belly. I catch myself staring at the ceiling smiling and I wipe it off my face. Slowly I fall asleep.