Chapter Two
Emily
As they drove, Emily was starting to realise that everywhere was in the same situation as Rosewood; abandoned, overgrown, dangerous. The highway they were currently on was usually swarming with traffic, yet they were the only car in sight for as far as she could see. She didn't know where everyone was. Hiding, she guessed.
Or dead.
Definitely not travelling halfway across the country. It was probably a stupid idea, but it was her only option.
They were currently somewhere in Lancaster County. Emily's elbow was propped against the ridge of the car window, her head resting in her hand as she took in the passing scenery, her vision blurring with the green of the trees at the side of the road.
For the past hour, she'd been trying to process everything Paige had told her, been trying to make sense of it.
You do know Infected are already dead, don't you?
Deep down, Emily knew as soon as Paige had said the words that they were true, no matter how ridiculous it sounded. The image of Mike's bloody, decayed face was still clear in her mind. There was no other explanation for it; he was dead. Walking around, but dead.
It also explained why her dad had given her the instructions not to leave home, explained why houses were being broken into, explained why Rosewood seemed like a wasteland. Emily had always loved horror movies, but she was finding that living in one wasn't nearly as fun.
Now that her initial terror had drained away, she was beyond tired, struggling to keep her eyes open. She hadn't had a decent sleep for as far back as she could remember. She'd taken to dozing throughout the day since she was too scared to sleep at night, having to sit in the darkness with her dad's gun in her hand, imagining noises from every direction (or maybe she hadn't been imagining them at all).
"There's a blanket in the back," Paige said, startling her. "If you want to sleep," she added.
Emily quickly sat up straight, giving herself a shake. "No, it's okay. I'm good." Paige already thought she was a liability, weak; she didn't need to be falling asleep a mere hour or so into their journey, especially a journey that she had put them on.
Emily was still surprised Paige had agreed to go to Texas. When she had first suggested it, she'd been half-joking, but then she'd seen a flicker of something in Paige's eyes and realised that she actually had a shot at convincing her to agree.
She glanced to her side, taking in Paige, feeling guilty that she had roped her into this when she couldn't even be sure she would get into the base. From the way Paige talked about the state of the country, they could both get turned away from the gate.
Paige's eyes flicked towards her, Emily quickly looking away when she realised that she'd been staring. Feeling like busying herself, she turned to look into the back seat; Jack was lying down next to her rucksack (which she'd tossed there earlier when she'd wanted a better look out of the window), eyes closed, his ear twitching. Bringing her leg up under her, she reached over to pet him with a small smile on her face. She'd always wanted a dog, but her mom had never let her have one ("They're too messy, Emily. They leave hair everywhere.").
Emily's eyes travelled from Jack to the blanket that Paige had mentioned, which was folded neatly next to a pillow resting against the car door opposite her. She frowned slightly, her eyes shifting to Paige.
Paige must have sensed her staring again. "What?"
Emily bit her lip, looking down at where her fingers were absent-mindedly running through Jack's fur. "Where have you been staying?" she asked hesitantly. "At night, I mean."
Paige looked sideways, evidently catching on to what she was looking at. "I think you already know." Emily's heart sank, feeling even worse. She studied the back seat; as cars went, it was pretty roomy, but it was still a car. No one should have to live in here. "Don't," Paige said, looking away.
"Don't what?" Emily replied in confusion.
"Don't feel sorry for me; I can actually feel the pity radiating off of you."
"Sorry," Emily muttered, embarrassed, not realising she was being so transparent. She sat back down properly in the front seat, her mind wandering. She wanted to know more about Paige, wanted to know her story, wanted to know everything she'd done in the last three months, but she didn't feel comfortable asking. Paige wasn't exactly giving her open-book vibes. She wouldn't even tell Emily her last name.
"You know," Paige started, "I have it better than a lot of people. At least I have a car. There are people having to live out here with nothing."
Emily contemplated that for a moment, realising that she would've been one of those people if it weren't for Paige. "You're right. Again, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."
"You didn't offend me," Paige said, Emily not quite believing her.
"Okay, then. Good."
An awkward silence filled the car, Emily clearing her throat as she turned back to face out of the window, her mind searching for something else to say. "So, how did you find out about the virus and how it works?" Paige stared resolutely ahead. "Did they say on the news before the power went out? The last I heard was that there were some attacks happening across the country, but they never went into more detail."
At the time, Emily hadn't paid much attention, too busy with moving back home from college for the summer. It was ignorant and selfish, but you never really think these things are going to affect you until they do. "Your power might have lasted longer than mine, though," she added. "Where are you from anyway?" She was rambling, she knew she was, but she just had so many questions. And, she admitted, it was nice to have some company again.
She wasn't sure Paige had heard her and was about to repeat herself when Paige finally said, "I'm from Philadelphia." Emily nodded, waiting for Paige to continue, but she didn't.
"So? How'd you know about it? The Infection?" She was eager for more information, needed to know more.
Paige sighed. "I just do, okay? I've been living out here a while; you pick things up."
The vagueness of the answer didn't satisfy Emily, but she decided to let it drop for now, suddenly remembering that Paige had said that her parents were 'gone'; Emily didn't even want to think about what that meant.
She attempted to ask something more generic. "So, what's Philly like? Has it been deserted like Rosewo-"
"Look," Paige snapped, cutting Emily off abruptly. "If this is gonna work, you need to stop with the questions." Emily was taken aback at her sharp tone. She didn't think the question had been that invasive. "We may be travelling together, but we don't need to become 'buddies', okay? In fact, the less we know about each other, the better."
Emily frowned, not understanding Paige's logic. "But earlier you implied that if we were going to travel together, then we should get to know one another?"
"No I didn't."
"Um, yes you did." Emily explicitly remembered Paige using the fact that she didn't know her as a reason not to go to Texas.
Paige ran a hand over her face in annoyance. "Okay, maybe I did imply that, but I didn't mean to." She turned to meet Emily's gaze, her shoulders slumping slightly. "It's every woman for herself out here." Emily raised her eyebrows dubiously; Paige was contradicting herself again. Paige had already saved her twice today. That was hardly 'every woman for herself'. "And that rule is easier to follow if we don't get too close. Sorry, but that's the way it has to be."
Emily shook her head slowly, confused and disappointed, but she realised that she couldn't be bothered to argue at this moment in time. If that's the way Paige wanted to play, then fine. Better, in fact. That way she wouldn't feel as bad if she had to leave Paige outside the army base gates.
"You know what, I think I might take that nap after all." She turned, awkwardly standing and climbing over the front seat into the back of the car, Jack waking up with the disturbance. He shifted to make room for her, Emily throwing her rucksack unceremoniously onto the floor, reaching over to grab the pillow by the car door; it was too hot for the blanket.
Just as she was about to place it against the window, she caught sight of someone staggering at the side of the road further ahead. Emily's head snapped to Paige, wanting to see her reaction. Only the side of her face was visible, but Paige didn't appear perturbed in the slightest. "You see that?" Emily asked, looking out of the window anxiously.
"Yup, it's weird. Don't see many of them on the highway. They tend to stick to the towns and cities."
Again, Emily found it unsettling the way Paige didn't seem bothered by something that should be traumatising. Emily didn't think she could ever get used to seeing this. Maybe it was a good thing if they kept themselves to themselves. Maybe it was better if she didn't know more about Paige.
She stared avidly out of the window as they drove past, managing to catch a glimpse of their face, surprised at how normal the woman looked. The only thing giving away that she was Infected was the paleness of her skin and the way she was walking; slow and unsteady.
She faced the front again, her eyes catching with Paige's in the rear view mirror. Paige quickly averted her gaze, muttering, "Must be a new one."
Emily frowned slightly, propping the pillow against the window, resting her head against it as she stared at Paige again. She didn't know why- Paige had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want to know her- but the reality was, Emily did want to know Paige.
She felt Jack lying back down, his head resting in her lap. She finally tore her gaze away from Paige, looking down at him with a small smile. She rested her hand on his back, finally letting her eyes close with a quiet sigh. She decided to block out thoughts of Paige and the rest of world for a moment, finally giving into the sleep she so desperately needed.
Paige
Her eyes kept flicking back to Emily in the mirror; she couldn't help it. It was weird having another person in the car with her. It had been her and Jack alone for days and days and it was going to take her a while to adjust.
Emily's eyes had been closed for a good fifteen minutes now, and going by the rhythmic up and down movement of her shoulders, Paige was confident she was asleep. Which was for the best; she didn't feel like fending off any more questions right now.
She knew she'd pissed Emily off with her lack of conversation, and she wasn't really confident with what she'd said, but she couldn't talk about anything she'd endured the past three months or anything prior. And she didn't want a friend, especially one that she knew she was most likely only going to be with for a short period of time. She knew it was a long shot that she'd get into the base, so it was best not to dwell on the idea of it actually happening. If all she could do was help Emily get back to her family, then so be it. Like she had realised earlier, she had nowhere else to be anyway.
She was now full-on staring at Emily in the mirror; she shook her head, focussing back on the road.
She wasn't really sure what the best route to Texas was, but seeing a road sign- Gas Exit 4- gave her an idea. They needed a road map. She figured a gas station should have one. People would be more interested in taking food and other supplies, right? Not many people would be crazy enough to start an epic road trip at a time like this; there was bound to be at least one map lying around.
She took the exit, seeing a convenience store immediately on her right, large lettering written over the white paint of the building. Case & Keg- Cold Beer, Soda, Ice, Lotto, Munchies, Cigarettes. Paige highly doubted she would find any of the listed items, but that wasn't to say there wouldn't be a map.
She slowed the car, her eyes scanning the building quickly. One of the glass doors had been smashed open, but apart from that, nothing looked awry. She knew better than to let her guard down though. The parking lot was empty; there was no one in sight. With a quiet sigh, she pulled into the lot, haphazardly parking across the faded white lines on the ground.
She killed the engine, silence descending heavily around her. She sat for a moment, listening intently, eyes searching the surrounding area nervously. She didn't know this place at all; this was the furthest she'd travelled since the outbreak. Her leg jumped up and down anxiously.
She turned, looking into the back seat. Jack's head popped up from Emily's lap, staring at her inquisitively.
She couldn't help shaking her head in amusement. Look at you, getting all cosy with a stranger. "Yeah, I know your game," whispered Paige with a smile, still surprised at how quickly he had taken to Emily. Against all odds though, Paige couldn't deny that she felt the same. She felt like she could trust her, and the feeling was disconcerting. She hadn't trusted anyone since the day she'd left home.
Jack whined, his tail wagging. Paige pressed a finger to her lips, signalling for him to be quiet. "Stay."
She reached down to grab the shotgun, having one final glance around before exiting the car, closing the door gently so that she wouldn't disturb Emily or draw attention to the fact that they were here. She walked towards the store slowly, holding the gun out in front of her, steeling herself for whatever she was about to encounter.
Broken glass crunched beneath her boot as she reached the door. She edged hesitantly across the threshold; as expected, it was a mess. Overturned shelves scattered the floor; nothing looked in its rightful place.
Paige held her breath, keeping her back pressed against the wall as she moved further into the store in an attempt to see as much of it as possible. "Hello?" she called out. If there were any Infected in here she would prefer to know about it now rather than later.
Hearing nothing, she pushed away from the wall, beginning to look around the clutter for a road map. She kicked a shelf out of her way, cringing slightly at the loud clang it made. Using the barrel of the shotgun, she moved papers and rubbish littering the floor around, sighing when after a couple of minutes of searching she had found nothing of value.
She made her way over to the counter, deflating at the sight of more shelves that had been stripped bare. She moved around to check the cupboards underneath the counter; nothing. Just need to go to the gas station, I guess. Hopefully she would have more luck there.
Just as she was about to leave, she noticed a door at the back of the store; the stockroom, she assumed. Deciding it was worth a try, she moved towards it. She reached out for the handle, frustrated to find it was locked. Damn. She glanced around, her eyes landing on a fire extinguisher. Placing the shotgun against the wall, she walked over to pick it up. It was fairly heavy; hopefully heavy enough to break the lock.
She moved back to stand beside the door, holding the extinguisher atop the door handle. Bracing herself, she lifted it up, quickly bringing it down as hard as she could onto the handle, her wrist jarring painfully. "Shit!" She dropped the extinguisher, it landing noisily onto the hard ground, rolling away from her. Paige jumped up and down on the spot clutching her wrist with gritted teeth.
She wouldn't be doing that again in a hurry.
After the pain had subsided and she'd rotated her wrist several times to make sure she hadn't done any lasting damage, she looked back to the door, relieved to see that the handle had been loosened from it. After a moment of fiddling with the lock, the door finally opened.
Paige reached for her gun before pushing it open all the way. As soon as she stepped into the darkened room, she had to clamp a hand over her mouth and nose. The smell was beyond horrific. She coughed, her eyes watering. She looked around for the source, raising her gun as best as she could with one hand, expecting to find an Infected that had been trapped.
What she found was much worse.
Her eyes widened, a choked noise escaping her throat. She was glued to the spot, unable to rip her gaze from the sight in front of her. It was a body- a man. At least she thought it was a man; the body was too decayed to be certain. He was resting against the left wall, his head slumped sideways. A hand was resting on his leg, and in that hand was a gun. Paige's eyes travelled upwards, taking in the blood spatter projecting away from him, some even reaching the corner of the roof.
She couldn't breathe. She had to get out.
She turned, staggering out of the storeroom towards the exit, stumbling over a shelf as she went.
Once outside, she braced a hand against the wall, doubling over as she took in a gasping breath of air. The image was still in her mind. She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly, kneeling down on the ground, feeling dizzy and weak. The image started to morph, started to become something else; someone else. "No, no, no," Paige whispered, pressing the heels of her hands hard against her eyes.
She swallowed the sob that was ready to bubble out of her, trying to slow her erratic breathing, trying to push the memories from her mind. She had to calm down. She had to stop the panic attack that she could feel coming.
"You're okay," she murmured to herself. "You're okay."
She breathed in deeply before breathing out slowly, repeating the process until she felt her heart rate coming back to down, felt her body stop shaking. She didn't know how much time had passed when, finally, she opened her eyes, squinting against the warm sun. She came back to herself. According to a sign across the lot, she was in Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania. She wasn't home; she wasn't there.
She rose unsteadily to her feet, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. She looked back to the car. Jack was anxiously peering out of the window, pawing at the glass. She walked towards him, opening the door. He jumped out immediately, running around her legs, inspecting her for injuries.
"It's okay," Paige said, leaning down to hug him, placing a kiss into his fur. "It's okay." She looked up into the car, seeing Emily in exactly the same position she'd left her in, still sound asleep. Relief washed over her, glad Emily hadn't witnessed her breakdown.
She sniffed, looking back towards the store. She bit her lip, trying to remember if she had noticed any supplies in the storeroom. Everything was a blur, the body the only thing sticking in her mind. She sighed, standing up.
"In." She nodded towards the car, Jack leaping back into vehicle obediently. She closed the door, turning back to the building with determination. She picked her gun up from the ground on her way past, marching towards the stockroom.
She didn't stop to think about it; holding her breath, she walked quickly into the room, making sure to keep her eyes averted from the left wall. She focussed her attention on boxes that were stacked one on top of the other. They all looked the same, no labels visible to indicate what was in them.
She quickly began to open the ones closest to her. The first few were filled with newspapers (three months out of date, of course), another with mouldy bread, another with bleach. It was frustrating that they didn't appear to be in any sort of order.
She was surprised when she opened one of the boxes to find cigarettes. She didn't smoke, but she knew that tobacco was in high demand and could get you almost anything if you went to the right person. She lifted the box to deposit it outside of the storeroom, taking in a deep breath of the cleaner air while she was there.
Ten minutes later, she had accumulated another box of cigarettes, toilet paper, candy bars, shampoo, and body wash. Finally, she pulled out a box that was relatively heavy, opening it and sighing with relief when she saw 'Road Atlas' stamped across the front cover of a book. She lifted two copies from the box, standing up. There were still boxes unopened, but she'd already got more than she'd bargained for and didn't want to spend a second longer in here. She exited the room, closing the door behind her as best she could.
It took her two trips to carry everything to the car, loading the boxes into the trunk and taking the road maps into the front seat. She was tempted to start planning the route right away, but past experience told her that it wasn't smart to be sitting out in the open like this. Someone could come by any second, spot the car and attempt to take it from her.
Jack jumped over the seat to sit beside her, Paige muttering, "Good boy," as he lay down, turning back to look at Emily again. Still asleep. She shook her head with a small smile, turning to face the front. They could work out a route later; right now, all she would do was keep heading south.
Emily
She stirred, groaning as a sharp pain shot up her neck when she moved her head. She opened her eyes; it was pitch black. She felt groggy and disoriented. It took a moment for her to realise where she was.
Everything came flooding back, her stomach sinking. It hadn't been a nightmare. It was real.
She sat up slowly from where she had been slumped against the car door, running a hand over her face, rotating her neck slowly and hissing in pain. She must have been asleep for hours. She had no idea where they were, and it was too dark outside to see much of anything. She pressed her face right up against the cool glass of the window. If she focussed enough, she could just make out some trees. They appeared to be in some sort of forest.
She frowned, wondering why Paige had decided to park here. Anything could be lurking in the darkness. She leaned forward, suddenly realising that a blanket had been placed over her. She ran a hand over the soft material, smiling slightly.
She peered over the top of the front seat, the smile vanishing instantly. Although she could barely see, she could sense that it was empty. There was no sign of either Paige or Jack.
Oh god. She's left me.
Her heart hammered wildly in her chest as she threw the blanket from her lap, Paige's voice reverberating in her head: every woman for herself. God, how could she have been so stupid? Paige hadn't seemed keen on the idea of Texas in the first place; it wasn't a surprise that she'd left her at the first opportunity.
She spent another minute panicking about what she was going to do before logic started to creep in. Paige wouldn't have abandoned her car, would she? This was where she had been sleeping. It was her home, in a way. Paige may have wanted to get rid of her, but most likely not at that expense.
Emily took a calming breath, sitting back against the seat, her hand hitting something hard and metallic when it flopped down onto the seat. Her gun. She quickly transferred it to her right hand, chewing on her lip anxiously and wondering where Paige could possibly be at this time of night. Not that she actually knew what time of night it was; no matter how closely she stared at the watch on her wrist, without any light to catch on the metal hands of the small clock she couldn't make out what it said.
She reached down, blindly fumbling with the rucksack at her feet. She had a flashlight in here somewhere…
She rummaged around in its contents, finally feeling her fingers connect with the hard plastic of the flashlight, yanking it out of the bag. She clicked it on instantly, shining it into the front seat just to double check it was really empty.
It was.
She sighed, holding it to her watch. It was after two in the morning. Where are you?
She suddenly heard a rustling noise. She hastily turned off the flashlight, ducking down so that her eyes were level with the bottom of the window, desperately trying to see outside, but the brief light had made her vision even worse. Her body was shaking with adrenaline, having to hold her breath so that she could listen intently for any further sounds.
A twig snapped. Something was definitely heading her way.
She couldn't take it anymore. She scrambled backwards towards the other door, shining the flashlight out of the car once her back was pressed securely against it. She braced herself for seeing the decayed face of an Infected person, but almost fainted in relief when the light landed on a disgruntled Paige, whose hand rose up to shield her eyes from the brightness.
Emily released a shaky breath as Paige pulled the door to the front seat open. "Hey, turn that thing off," she said quickly. "Unless you want to flag down unwanted visitors." Emily didn't need to be told twice, quickly turning the flashlight off.
Emily could hear Jack's heavy breathing close to her ear. He must have climbed into the car before Paige, and was now sitting in the driver's side of the front seat.
"Where were you?"
Paige took a second to answer. "I needed air." There was a silence. "Are you okay?"
Paige must have sensed the tremble in her voice. Emily closed her eyes. "I'm fine." She didn't want Paige to think that she was completely pathetic.
"Okay," Paige replied after a moment, obviously not convinced but not pushing the issue, for which Emily was grateful. "Well, are you hungry? I tried to wake you for dinner but you were out cold. The pasta's probably all gross now, but I found a box of candy bars earlier if you want one?"
Emily was momentarily stunned. Paige had made her dinner? "Or there's some canned fruit; probably more nutritious…" Paige mumbled, Emily hearing her rummaging around in the front. She smiled, glad Paige couldn't see her face. Only moments ago, she'd been terrified Paige had left her, yet now here she was offering her food.
"Uh, both sound good actually." She was only just realising how hungry she was, her stomach growling. For the past month she had done her best to avoid thinking about food, about how she was slowly running out of things to eat. She'd gotten used to tiny proportions twice a day. It had been difficult to cope, her body screaming at her for more energy; she'd lost count of the amount of times she'd just curled up in a ball and cried because she was starving, her stomach aching. She'd tried to fill herself up with water, but she knew the supply in the water tank would eventually run out too. "I can barely remember what those taste like. I've been eating cold baked beans for the past month." The best of the food in her mom's pantry had gone within the first few weeks.
"Here."
Emily finally moved away from the door that she was still huddled against, placing the gun on the seat and leaning forward only to get poked in the eye by the candy bar Paige was holding out. "Ouch!"
"Give me the flashlight," Paige said, Emily hearing the smile in her voice.
Emily tentatively reached out in the darkness for Paige's arm, not wanting another injury to occur. Her fingers bumped against her warm skin, keeping a hold of Paige as she brought up her other hand to place the flashlight into Paige's grasp.
Paige clicked it on, shining it off to the side of Emily's face. "Sorry," she smirked, Emily rubbing her eye dramatically. She held the candy bar out again, this time Emily easily plucking it from her fingers.
She wasted no time in ripping it open, taking so big a bite that she then struggled to chew it. She closed her eyes as the chocolate melted in her mouth. "Oh my god, this is amazing." It was infinitely better than she remembered, the taste rich on her tongue.
She opened her eyes to find Paige leaning back against the dashboard, staring at her with a raised eyebrow, an amused expression on her face. Emily flushed. "Sorry." She wasn't exactly sure what she was apologising for.
"No need, they are pretty good. I've got a whole box of them." Paige lifted up a box from the front seat, shining the light on top of it. There must have been at least fifty of them. "Help yourself." Paige handed them over to her.
Emily took them with a grin, taking another bite of the candy bar in her hand as she placed the box at her feet. "Thanks. Where did you get them anyway?"
"A convenience store back in Pennsylvania; we needed a road map."
Just how much had Paige gotten up to while she was asleep? "Sounds like you've been busy. Sorry I was out for so long. Like I mentioned earlier, I haven't really been sleeping properly."
"Don't worry about it." Paige lowered the flashlight down out of Emily's sight, so that the light hit off of the front seat, creating a more subdued yellow glow around them. Paige was staring downwards, Emily assuming she was looking at Jack who must have lain down since she couldn't see him.
Something suddenly dawned on her. "Wait, back in Pennsylvania? Where are we now?"
"A memorial park just outside of Baltimore." Paige looked back to her. "We were on 83 so I just kept going, then I remembered this place. Thought it would be secluded enough to stay for the night. The city will be too dangerous."
Emily nodded, scrunching up the candy bar wrapper in her hand as she finished it. "Kinda scary though; what if there are Infected people out here? We'd have no idea." She would much prefer to be somewhere open, preferably with a lot of light; not stuck in amongst the trees in total darkness. Although, she realised, nowhere would have light at this time of night. She'd gotten used to her house not having electricity, but it was still going to take a while for it to register that the whole country was like this now.
"That's where you're wrong," Paige stated. "Jack can sense those things a mile away; he'll let us know if there's something coming, trust me." Emily could just make out the sound of light snores coming from Jack's direction, giving Paige a doubtful look. Paige rolled her eyes slightly. "It's true! Even when he's asleep, he's never really asleep. You'll see."
Emily smiled, but then it occurred to her that that was something she really didn't want to see. Even with Paige's reassurances, Emily doubted she'd be sleeping another wink tonight.
"Peaches or pears?"
"Huh?" Paige held up two cans. "Oh, peaches please." Emily heard the clinking of metal as Paige set about opening the tin. Emily peered over the seat, seeing that she had a can opener. "How many things do you actually have with you?" Emily had thought she'd been prepared, but in comparison to Paige, it seemed like she had no supplies whatsoever.
"Enough; I'll show you what's in the trunk tomorrow." Paige snorted. "Look." She nodded in the direction of Jack, Emily glancing away from Paige to see that his head had perked up, watching attentively as Paige pulled the lid off of the can. He licked his lips.
Emily grinned. "Okay, maybe you're right."
"Sorry, bud," Paige said, pushing Jack's nose away from the food and handing it to Emily. "This isn't for you." Emily took the peaches from Paige along with a white plastic spoon, amused at the way Jack's eyes followed the movement.
"How long have you had him?" Emily took a piece of peach into her mouth and almost died; it tasted like heaven. She would never take food for granted ever again. She glanced at Paige, seeing her eyes raised to the car roof. At first she thought Paige was annoyed that she'd asked a personal question, but then realised that she was just working out the answer.
"Let's see… I got him when I was fifteen, so… six years in March."
"Oh, we're the same age then. My birthday's in November though." For some reason Emily expected Paige to be older than her. Paige nodded, looking awkward. Emily was about to change the subject, realising that they were indeed in personal territory which Paige had made clear she didn't want, but Paige spoke first.
"Um, what is the date? I kinda lost track. It's August, right?"
Emily stopped chewing in surprise, her jaw hanging open stupidly. Paige bowed her head, blatantly feeling embarrassed. Emily quickly shut her mouth, shaking her head. "Sorry," she mumbled. She really needed to start considering what life for Paige must have been like out here. Of course the days would have started to blend together. In fact, the only reason Emily knew the date was because her watch kept track of it. "Yeah, it's August 25th. Sunday"
A far-away look appeared in Paige's eyes, but after a moment she blinked, saying, "I would say that the summer's flown in, but it really hasn't."
Now, Emily knew that feeling. "Tell me about it. The days have never gone by more slowly." They shared a look of understanding, Paige giving her a sad smile.
"So, you've been in your house alone this entire time? I think I would have gone crazy."
"I was starting to," Emily nodded, spooning the last piece of peach into her mouth. She swallowed. "It wasn't even just the being alone part; it was the… not knowing." Paige looked down at her lap, Emily's eyes unconsciously tracing the curves of her face in the soft glow of the flashlight. "Not knowing where my dad is; not knowing what was actually happening out here." Although, now she wished she didn't know.
"Why did it take you so long to leave?" Paige asked.
"My dad told me to stay in the house; he said he was coming to get me." A silence followed, Emily hearing Paige's unspoken question. Why did you wait three months though? Obviously something had happened to stop her dad getting back home. Deep down, she knew that.
Tears sprang to her eyes, having to busy herself with placing the plastic spoon in the empty can and placing it on the floor next to the candy bars in the hope that Paige wouldn't notice. She just had to hope that for some reason he hadn't been able to leave the base in the first place. She much preferred that explanation compared to any other.
"It's stupid, I know," she murmured. "It's just, my dad's voice when he phoned me; I've never heard him panicked like that. I knew whatever was happening must be bad and-" Emily took a breath. "I was scared."
In the first few days after that phone call, she'd wavered back and forth on whether she could risk quickly running around to her friend's houses to make sure that everyone was okay after her failed attempt at contacting them via phone. She'd tried calling and sending mass texts, but the network had been jammed. Whether it was because everyone was trying to contact their loved ones or because the satellites were down, she wasn't sure.
All she knew was that anxiety began to eat away at her every time she thought about what Hanna, Aria and Spencer might be doing while she was stuck in her house. She wasn't even a hundred percent sure if they had all managed to get home from college for the summer. She hadn't had a chance to see them, having only been home a day herself. They'd been scheduled to have a catch-up at the end of that week. Emily's chest ached to think about it now.
Every time she had psyched herself up to quickly run outside to see what was happening, her dad's voice entered her head; there had been something about it that she couldn't shake, her gut telling her that she had to obey his orders and stay inside. She'd had to convince herself that her friends were fine and that they would be doing the same thing; laying low until it was safe again. Although, now she knew that likely wasn't the case. Neither her friends nor their families were at their homes, and she had no idea what that meant.
Mike flashed into her head. She felt sick.
She hesitantly looked back at Paige, expecting to see some form of judgement in her expression, but surprisingly she saw none, only empathy. "It's okay; I get it." She gave her a reassuring nod, her eyes wide as if willing Emily to believe her. "You did the right thing, staying inside. And for what it's worth, your dad's in the army, right? He wouldn't have left base without proper equipment and protection. I'm not saying that he's perfectly fine," Paige added quickly, "I'm just saying, the odds are on his side and you shouldn't think the worst until you have to."
Emily swiped a runaway tear from her cheek. She appreciated Paige's honesty, and much to her surprise, felt the knot in her stomach loosen slightly. "Thanks," she sniffed, Paige's lips quirking before she averted her gaze again. She had to believe her dad was okay. She had to believe her friends were okay. The weight of everything would crush her, otherwise.
The car fell quiet, Jack's quiet snores the only noise filling her ears. After another ten seconds of silence, Emily began to itch for something to say. "So, how far do you think we'll make it tomorrow?" Their trip seemed like a safe topic for discussion. She was finding that she was enjoying talking to Paige and didn't want to overstep her mark by asking an upsetting question.
"Well, I was thinking we could just spend tomorrow planning? I had a look at the road map while you were asleep and I've picked out a route, but you can take a look and see what you think. We'll need gas- a lot of it. This thing uses it up pretty quickly." She gestured around the car. "We'll need to get another pillow and blanket, a backpack…" Paige trailed off, visibly getting lost in a checklist of other things to get.
Emily was desperate to keep moving, but maybe planning was the key to getting to Texas quicker. "Where exactly are we going to get these things?" Emily asked, interrupting Paige's train of thought.
"Well, there are houses not far from here that we can check, but if we can't get what we need there then we can search the smaller streets. We're definitely not going into the city; that's where the big swarms will be."
"Paige," Emily started cautiously, choosing to ignore the talk of 'swarms'. "I'm not sure I'm really comfortable with 'searching' people's houses, if that's what you mean. I already made that clear."
Paige sighed heavily. "Oh, my bad, we'll just go to the local Walmart and pick up some sheets there. Hey, I'm sure you can pay for them with a pound of your flesh."
Emily rolled her eyes. "I'm serious."
"So am I," Paige stated. "I know you don't like it, but you want to make it Texas? You'll have to do things you don't like. Sorry, but that's the way it is." Emily drew her knees up to her chest, leaning back against the seat. "And I'm not talking about invading houses and robbing people. I would never do that. I only take stuff from empty houses. There are more of them than you think."
"That's depressing," Emily replied, pursing her lips, quashing the question of what percentage of the population were now dead. Paige glanced at her as if she was expecting her to continue the argument, but Emily realised that Paige knew better than she did and it was foolish to think otherwise. And if there really wasn't anyone using the stuff they took then…
"Okay," she finally said. "We'll do it your way."
"Good," Paige replied. "Get all the rest you can, tomorrow's gonna be a long day."
Despite sleeping for hours already, Emily did feel like she could use more, but thinking about where they were was going to make that impossible. "I can't sleep here; I know you said Jack will hear anything coming but-"
"Relax," Paige placated her. "I'll stay up and keep an ear open, don't worry."
Emily frowned. "But you just said tomorrow's going to be a long day; you need rest too."
"I already got a good three hours earlier, which is about my average these days. I can manage."
Well, that's not healthy. Emily was concerned, but the look on Paige's face told her that she wouldn't be able to change her mind, and honestly, Emily definitely would feel safer sleeping if Paige stayed awake. "Okay then," she sighed. "As long as you can stay awake tomorrow. You never know, I might need saving again."
She smiled, although she realised that she was only half-joking. She still had no idea what she was doing.
Paige smirked. "Just get some rest."
Instead of leaning against the door, this time Emily placed the pillow onto the seat, about to lie down but it suddenly came to her attention that she needed to pee, and badly.
"Um, I need to use the bathroom." She hadn't been since she left home.
Paige stretched across the seat, moving back to hand her a roll of toilet paper. "Take your gun." Emily took the toilet paper nervously, not really wanting to leave the safety of the car, especially if it required taking a gun. "You should be fine," Paige added, obviously noticing she was feeling apprehensive. "Just don't go far."
"Okay," Emily said, breathing in and placing her hand on the door handle. "Wait, can I have the flashlight?" She didn't know why she was asking; it was her flashlight, after all.
Paige picked it up, the light in the car shifting in every angle, casting strange shadows around them. Paige held it out towards her. "Keep it pointed to the ground."
Emily nodded, taking the flashlight and exiting the car, closing the door quietly behind her. She shone the light a few feet in front of her, the gun heavy in her other hand, the toilet paper tucked under her arm. It wasn't cold, but she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine.
She almost laughed at thoughts she'd had this morning; she had believed that she would reach Texas by tomorrow night, and had thought that she'd be able to rest at a motel for a few hours if need be. And now here she was, sleeping in a car with a stranger and peeing in the woods, the world completely foreign to her.
She jumped about a foot in the air when she stepped on a branch and it made a loud crack, glad that Paige couldn't have seen her in the blackness of the night. She willed herself to calm down; Paige said she should be fine, and Paige knew what she was talking about.
She walked quickly through the trees, going behind one with a particularly thick trunk. She was reminded of the times she used to go camping with her dad, although having to sneak out in the middle of the night to pee wasn't a potentially life threatening thing to do back then.
She stood in silence for a moment, making sure she couldn't hear anything, before quickly placing the items she was carrying onto the ground and unbuckling her belt.
A minute later and she was practically running back to the car. She was starting to see imaginary shapes in the dark and it was freaking her out. She sighed with relief when she was safely back beside Paige.
"Okay?" Paige asked.
"Yeah."
She sighed, clicking off the flashlight, once again shrouding them in complete darkness. She moved to settle down onto the seat, having to draw her knees up to make room for her legs. "Do you want the blanket?" she suddenly asked, realising that she was basically taking Paige's bed.
"No, you can use it."
Emily pulled the blanket over her body, instinctively burying her nose into the material, catching the faint scent of soap. She had so many questions still to ask, including simple things like what Paige did for washing clothes; and herself, for that matter. I'll ask tomorrow. As for now, she could already feel sleep pulling at her again, her body content with the food Paige had given her. It hadn't been a lot, but it had been the most fulfilling thing she'd eaten in a while.
"Paige?" she mumbled, wanting to say one last thing.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
A/N: Thanks for all the follows/favs/reviews! Glad you liked the first chapter. This one was a bit slower, but hopefully it wasn't boring. Plenty of action to come.