Infected (Book 2): The Flight by Caleb Cleek

the city before the infection starts spreading here, we won’t be able to get out.  If we had to, we could probably make our food here stretch for three weeks, but after that, we’re going to have to leave the building.  Either way, we’re going to have to leave at some point.”
    “He’s right,” L.C. agreed with a sigh.  “We have a better chance of getting out now rather than later.”
    “Where can we go?” Meagan asked as tears began streaming from her eyes.  “They told us to stay where we are.  I can’t get home.  There’s more food here than at my house anyway.  We can’t leave.”  Her breaths came in gulps and her body shook as her weeping turned to sobbing. 
    Zeke walked across the room and wrapped his arms around her as she buried her head in his shoulder.  It was an unnatural gesture for him as he was uncomfortable around emotional women.  His instinct was to shun her, but he forced himself to push through his comfort zone.  He could tell she was on the verge of a breakdown and, in this instance, he could understand why.  He was coping with the stress better than she was, but he could still feel its crushing weight pushing in on him. The debilitating panic was rising up within himself as well. If they were going to leave, they couldn’t afford her panicking or losing control.  Survival depended on everybody pulling his own weight.
    “Everyone is going to have to decide the best course of action for himself,” Zeke said.  As a partner in the company, he was the de facto leader of the group. “Everybody here has family and friends they are concerned about and want to be with. I’m going to Northern California where my family is.  They have a farm and a climate with a long growing season.  They live a few miles out of a small town.  It’s a good place to survive if things get worse.  If any of you want to, you’re welcome to come with me.  It’s going to be a long trip and I honestly don’t know if I’ll be able to get there, but I’m leaving as soon as I can get my truck loaded up.”
    Meagan pulled away, looking into Zeke’s face as she did.  “I didn’t say anything earlier, but my sister sent me a text a couple hours ago.  My mom has the sickness.  I can’t go to them.  My sister and dad are going to get it, too.”  Her voice broke back into sobs until she regained enough composure to continue.  “I want to come with you.  I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she finally succeeded in getting out.
    “Of course you can come with me,” Zeke said reassuringly, though he silently dreaded the prospect of taking Meagan with him.  It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, because he did.  She was normally a cheerful and bubbly person.  Everybody liked her.  His problem was that she was going to be an anchor.  She had little, if anything, to contribute and was going to slow him down, but like she said, she didn’t have anywhere else to go, and he knew she wouldn’t survive on her own.
    “Anybody else want to come with me?” he asked, looking around the room.
    “Not me,” John said as he met Zeke’s gaze.  “I have my wife and kids at home.  I was going to have them meet me here, but you’re right.  We can’t stay in the city.  I’m going to try to get us to my parents’ place in Tennessee.”
    “Mike, what about you?” Zeke questioned.
    “I don’t have anybody here.  All of my family is scattered around Oregon.  I didn’t think it was possible to get there, but if you are going to California, that’s pretty close to Oregon. I’ll come with you and maybe try to get to my family once we get to California,” Mike answered.
    “L.C., what are you going to do?”
    “Well, I guess I’m in the same boat as everybody here except for John,” L.C. started.  “Since Carol died, I don’t have anything holding me anywhere.  I have some friends who live nearby, but like we already discussed, staying in the area isn’t an option.  If your