89.4 Zombie Radio

"Somebody hand me a fucking phone!" Roxy yelled. Riley dug through her purse and found hers. She then handed it to Roxy who shot her a dirty look. Roxy and Riley were just two girls who were never going to get along as far as I could tell. I could see Jack nonchalantly moving between them, just in case one of them charged the other one.

"Thank you, does anyone else have a phone here?" Roxy asked.

"I don't," Jack said. "I think I left mine in my car." Everyone looked at each other, and it didn't seem anyone else had a phone on them. Roxy rolled her eyes and continued to scold us.

"Are you fucking serious!? None of you have a fucking phone!? None of you except Riley! Leave it to the girl to have her phone on her at all times! Hey! You're a girl! Where's your phone?" Roxy asked pointing at Celeste. Celeste was never good at confrontations. To say she was shy was an understatement. She would talk to people, but she was never good with strangers, which is why at the restaurant, I usually only made her cook. I decided I would answer for her, since our reason for not having a phone was rather unique.

"Well, Celeste and I don't believe in cell phone usage," I explained.

"Why the fuck not?" Roxy asked.

"Well, we try to use the least amount of technology as humanly possible. We're sort of purists," I replied.

"That's seriously the dumbest fucking thing I've ever heard," Roxy said. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I have a phone, I should be fucking grateful."

"Why do you need one anyways?" Jack asked.

"I'm going to call that fucking radio station and see if Bob called in yet," Roxy answered.

"You are worried about him aren't you?" Brock questioned.

"Yes Brock, if you must know, I am worried about him. I'm worried about all of them, that's why I'm calling," Roxy said. She dialed up the number to the radio station and put the phone on speaker so we all could hear.

"Hello! You've got DJ Double Tap on the line! How can I be of assistance this fine evening?"

"DJ Double Tap? This is Roxy. I know you don't know me, but did that Bob dude call here yet?" Roxy asked.

"As a matter of fact, he did Roxy, and he told me all about you're situation. There's no need to worry, DJ Double Tap is you're man! The last I heard from Bob, was he was off to save his girl, and that I should expect to hear from you soon. So Foxy Roxy, what's going on in your life?"

"First off, Foxy Roxy? No. Never again. Second, I'm seriously fucking pissed right now! Some fucking douche bag just stole our fucking bus, and now I'm in some fucking bull shit part of fucking Ohio that I've never seen before, trying to find it. This is complete fucking bull shit," Roxy told him.

"Whoa, Bob was right about you. You cuss like a sailor! I like it though. So somebody stole your bus? That is downright awful! Hey out there! If you're the one who stole Roxy's bus, you better watch your back! This girl doesn't mess around! DJ Double Tap suggests you give it back! A.S.A.P!"

"Oh I'm gonna fuck the bitch who did it up! You can count on that! Its the fucking principle of it!" Roxy yelled. "So tell Bob about all this next time you talk to him, and be sure to make him tell you where the fuck he is exactly! I gotta go, I'm so fucking pissed its not even funny!"

"Well, good luck Roxy! DJ Double Tap will spread the word for you! Have no fear!"

Roxy didn't even say goodbye, she just hung up the phone. We all knew she was mad, and any little thing was going to set her off. We walked a few miles or so down the road in complete silence. Nobody wanted to get on Roxy's bad side. She was scary enough when she was in a good mood. I knew the bus was probably long gone, and we were probably not going to be able to get it back. If Jessie came back and saw this, she was probably not going to be happy.

We walked a few more miles and decided it was a good time to take a rest. We stopped at a little gas station with a subway inside, and sat down at the tables. Everybody took their time to grab a bag of chips or whatever their heart desired. Roxy ate a few Slim Jim's which seemed to put her in a slightly better mood. I seen the doctor stand up and start to make her way over to Celeste and I. My heart started beating out of my chest, I was hoping he would forget about that whole incident.

"Well, if you both don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Dr.Grant said. Every part of me wanted to say no and run away, but instead I just nodded and got out of my chair. As we walked where nobody else could hear us, I was trying to think of some sort of excuse I could use. Some sort of story I could tell him, that would explain how I knew what I knew, but so far nothing was coming. This was it, this is where it was all going to end. These people were going to either kill us, or ostracize us. When we got outside, I still hadn't thought of anything. This was going to go badly.

"I'm sorry for all this," Dr.Grant said. "But I have to know a few things, and I'll even make you a deal. You tell me what I want to know, and I'll tell you something about me that I'm trying to keep a secret. How does that sound?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about doctor," I lied. "But I guess I'll help however I can."

"Its okay, I'm not angry at all, I just want to know how exactly you know what you know. I have told the group about the whole chicken theory before, but it was before you had joined the group. If my memory was worse, I wouldn't have thought anything of it, but if I do have one strength, it is my memory," Dr.Grant explained. "You not only knew about the chicken, but you knew about the egg theory too. I recalled what you did before all of this, and you ran a vegan cafe, which would explain how you stayed alive, but it wouldn't explain how you knew all of this. The only reason I knew, is because I'm a doctor, and I did a series of tests to figure these things out. In fact, I'm probably the only doctor who did take the time to find all of this out. So tell me Aiden, how do you know what you know?"

"Umm, well, I don't know. Just a lucky guess I suppose," I said, trying to give some sort of excuse to get me out of this situation.

"Well, I might buy that if you weren't so sure about it. You knew it was chicken. You knew eggs were to avoided as well," Dr.Grant replied. "Nowhere in your sentence did you ever say avoid beef, or pork, or anything of that nature. You were very specific. So, just tell me what I want to know, and we can keep this secret between us. I would like nothing more than for you and your girlfriend to stay with us. I think you're a valuable asset, but if you refuse to cooperate, I may have to bring this to the attention of the rest of the group. As I said before, I'll even reveal something about myself to put you at ease."

I hesitated a minute and tried to think of something else. Nothing was coming to me, and I felt maybe it would be in my best interest just to come clean and tell him. If they wanted us gone, then I would have to accept it. However, maybe this was my chance to tell him about who the real enemy was. Perhaps this was a good thing after all. I took a deep breath and decided to tell him the truth.

"Well... Before all of this happened, Celeste and I were the creators of this group called C.A.S.T. We made it up to try and make a difference in the world. We were tired of the corrupt food industry, and we wanted people to see it for what it really was. So, someone else in the group made these vials that we put in the food supply of chickens. We didn't know what they were, we just thought it would make people sick and maybe a curtain or two would be lifted. Do you know how bad those animals have it doctor? After a while, I started to figure it all out. If I had known all this was going to happen, I would have never done it. I can't say I'm sorry enough, and if you want us to leave, I would understand."

Dr.Grant stood with his back turned to me and his hand on his chin. He was trying to think of the right words to say. I just dropped a bombshell on him, and he knew it. I told him how all of this happened, and I knew what he said next was going to take some thought. After a minute or so, he turned back around, and started his next speech.

"Well, that was very brave what you just did. I've learned a lot today, and I'm grateful that you told me. Don't worry, we all make mistakes, and I understand why you withheld this from the group. I won't tell anyone, your secret is safe with me. Doesn't it feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders?"

"Yea, it sort of does," I replied.

"That's good to hear, and like I said, you don't have to worry about this getting out, I promise. Do you happen to know who created the parasite?" he asked.

"All I have is his screen name, XXX10WXXX," I answered.

"Well, that's a very secretive screen name now isn't it?"

"Yea it is, and that's part of my reasoning fro joining this group. I heard Bob and Jessie on the radio and decided to find them. I want to find the son of a bitch who did this, and make him pay for using me like a puppet," I said.

"That's very noble of you, but know this, we can't help you. The main goal of this group is to make it to safety, not bring a man personal justice," Dr.Grant replied.

"I know, and when the time comes, I will leave this group," I said. "Well doctor, I've told you everything, now I have to know, what's this secret of yours?"

"Well, mine isn't quite as significant of yours, but I know if it got out, it may make me less respectable within the group. I'll just come right out and say it, I'm gay."

"You're... gay?" I asked, stunned at what he just told me.

"Yes, I'm gay. Does that bother you?" he asked.

"No, it doesn't bother me at all. You just don't come across as... well... you know what I mean," I replied.

"Yes, I know what you mean. Its something I've only recently discovered. I was just about to have my grand coming-out-of-the closet moment before all of this started happening. I plan on telling the group at some point, but for now, let's just keep this between us," he said.

"I understand, you keep my secret, I'll keep yours," I told him.

"Thank you. I just don't know how some of the group will take this bit of information. I want to get to know these people just a little better before I make the big reveal," he explained.

"Yea, we really don't know each other that well, and God only knows if one of these people is some sort of insane Klu Klux Klan member," I said. After that we went back inside and rejoined the group. Jack and Roxy were inside trying to come up with a plan to find the bus. I sat next to Celeste, who didn't waste any time in asking me what happened. I motioned to her that it was nothing to worry about and started to listen to what Jack and Roxy were taking about.

"I think if we just keep on this road right here, we'll find the bus. It was almost out of gas when we stopped earlier," Jack said.

"How the fuck do you know!? Whoever stole it could have stopped for gas, or turned, or drove it off a fucking cliff for all we know!" Roxy yelled.

"Roxy, calm down okay? Yelling at me is not going to bring the bus back alright," Jack replied. "I know, all our shit is on it, and there's almost nothing we can do until we get it back, so I think what I said is the best plan, just keep going and hope whoever stole it didn't check the gas gauge in time."

"Well, we're sitting at a fucking gas station right now genius!" Roxy screamed. "We haven't seen it yet, so there goes that shit!"

"Roxy, you don't know that. Hell, I think you're the only one who's been able to unlock these gas pumps so far," Jack said.

"It's not exactly brain surgery!" Roxy replied. "Any idiot can figure that shit out, its just I already know how to do it, so it makes it easier."

"Just have a little faith. I think we'll find it. I just have a gut feeling its up the road a ways, out of gas, and abandoned," Jack told her.

"I seriously hope you're right, I hope its not fucking abandoned though, because if it is, I will be so fucking pissed. I want to fuck whoever did this up!" Roxy exclaimed.

"I know how you feel, but tell me if you saw a tour bus with nobody in it, keys in the ignition, you wouldn't take it. Shit, who's to say we didn't take somebody's bus when we were at that college?" Jack asked. Roxy didn't respond, she knew Jack was right. She screamed something unintelligible and rushed off to the bathroom.

"Old girl doesn't like to be wrong does she?" Kwame asked.

"No, she doesn't take it too well. I personally don't think there's a woman in existence that does though," Jack answered.

"True dat," Kwame replied.

Not even two seconds after Kwame said that, we heard Roxy scream from inside the restroom. We all jumped out of our seats and ran to see what the matter was. Kwame and Brock got there first, followed by Jack. The rest of us stood outside the door and waited to see what happened.

"Do you think she's okay?" Lucas asked.

"Its hard to say," I replied. Jack, Brock and Kwame came out of the bathroom, with smiles on all their faces.

"Its all good ya'll, old girl fucked some shit up," Kwame said. Roxy came out and explained what had happened. Apparently there was a zombie stuck inside one of the woman's stalls. When Roxy went in, it grabbed her foot. She dragged the zombie out with her leg and threw it into one of the stalls. Then she used the toilet seat to bash its head in. I almost felt sorry for the zombie, she messed with Roxy on the wrong day at the wrong time. I was a guy, and there was a part of me who was afraid of her. I'm not ashamed to admit that.

We left the gas station with a few extra supplies and a half-assed plan to find the bus. I left with a weight off of my shoulders, and a new outlook on Dr.Grant. I didn't think the group would have a negative reaction to his sexual orientation. From what I could tell we were a pretty open minded bunch, but I understood where he was coming from. We just had to hope the bus was on this road, and that there was nothing missing from it when we got there. If we didn't find it soon, it was hard telling what Roxy would do. All I knew, is that I didn't want to be the person who stole it, if and when she found them.