Nano Z Read Online Free Page B

On the highway were patches of abandoned cars. She couldn’t see any people.
    “Why Oklahoma?” asked Amber as she fiddled with all the knobs and buttons on the dashboard.
    “Storm cellars.”
    “Expecting tornados?”
    “Cellars have doors that lock. And they usually have food and water. I figure we can find one and get some shut eye.”
    “Been in a lot of storm cellars, Mack?” Amber mocked.
    “I grew up in a place a lot like this. My folks had a storm cellar.”
    “You need some rest? I’ll take over.” Amber was only half joking.
    That’s not happening.
    “Can we stop, I need to pee and don’t see any empty bottles in here,” asked Amber.
    “Sure, I mean I was going to wait till we reach Wydell. It’s only about ten minutes away.” Mack hoped that the teen would see reason. He was clueless.
    “But I really have to go.” The tone of Amber’s voice subtlety changed. There was a bit more hostility. Most would take it as a warning. Mack didn’t pick up on it. Nor did he heed it.
    “You can’t hold it?”
    “Stop the car Mack.”
    “Wydell is ten minutes away. Wouldn’t you want to use a toilet rather than some bushes?”
    Amber’s eyes almost burned holes in the side of Mack’s head.
    It’s not worth it. “Yeah, okay, sure. I’ll pull over.”
    The truck came to a slow stop at the side of the road. There was tense silence inside, interrupted only by the sound of tires on gravel. Before Mack could ease the situation verbally, Amber got out.
    There weren’t any bushes by the side of the road. The tree line of a small patch of woods was far off in the distance. She wasn’t going to walk that far to take a squat. But there was a barn and a harvested field of wheat.
    Amber crossed her arms putting her hands under her armpits. It was considerably colder than Dallas. Since it was morning, the temperature was even lower. Limbs and appendages are the first parts of the human body to go hypothermic. She remembered that little fact from health class.
    Upon getting closer to the barn, Amber was disturbed by what she found in severed stalks of wheat. There were bodies, looked like a family. Blood stained the soil around them. Immediately, Amber started to back up.
    What’s taking so long? Mack decided to get out of the minivan. He needed to stretch. Three hours of driving without rest was taxing.
    After he was done stretching, Mack checked out his and Amber’s ride. The vehicle was in rough shape. Black blood splatters from the meat puppets he ran into and over back in Dallas covered the grill and hood. Dents, scratches and scuffs from jumping curbs and charging through congested streets covered the minivan. But every tire stayed inflated. And the engine ran. So everything was good, appearance aside.
    “Start the van!” Mack just barely heard Amber’s voice but he couldn’t see her. There was a small incline that separated the highway from the surrounding farmlands. In order to get a better look he walked over to the edge.
    “Start the van!” Amber almost knocked Mack over as she ran up the incline just as he looked over it. Four meat puppets were chasing after her, but weren’t close. They were the family from the wheat shield.
    Mack helped Amber up then ran over to the minivan. Both of them got in. Neither wanted to stick around another second longer.
    “Did you, you know?” asked Mack as they sped away. The tires squeaked as he weaved around the abandoned cars on the highway.
    “I think I’ll wait till we get to Wydell.”
    Mack smiled. Amber turned her head to hide it, but she grinned as well.
    ***
    Wydell, Oklahoma wasn’t a big town. Back in the days of the frontier, it was a rest stop on the pony express. During prohibition it was one of many stash towns in the Midwest. But since then only ranchers and farmers lived there.
    The minivan sat idle as Mack and Amber stared at Wydell. They were just outside town near a decaying sign intended to welcome visitors. There was no visible