It didn't take long for the four to reach the coast. "Oh, so many condos to choose from." Kaylee said as they continued down the road. A few infected wondered the streets, other than that, none seemed to inhabit this area.
"Are we going to drive on the beach?" Zack asked lazily from the backseat.
"No." Kaylee said. "I don't want to pollute the beach."
"Like any one cares." Zack scoffed.
"I do!" Kaylee said sharply. "Besides, we are almost out of gas." She turned her eyes to Morgan. "Well, what do we do, Comrade?"
"Walking along the beach seems like a good idea." Morgan replied. "It is open, so we would see anything coming. Plus all the condos would be good safety at night, as long as they aren't swarmed with infected. So far we have been lucky, but then again, people who live on the coast have to be pros at evacuation."
"Walking the beach all the way to Georgia?" Alan asked.
"Unless the plan changes, yes. It takes about an hour to cover four miles if we keep a steady and comfortable pace." Morgan replied.
"Sounds good to me. Let's grab enough shit to keep us going." Alan sighed, pulling his pack from the back seat.
Zack found an automatic shot gun, grabbing that as well as a baseball bat.
Kaylee pulled in and parked. Popping the trunk, she strapped both of her guns onto her back,putting her back pack on over them. She kept her pistol on her belt for quick access. Remembering her Zune, she threw it in her back along with the aux cord and car charger. "Do we have everything?" Kaylee asked, placing a hand on the side of the car.
Morgan put on her cowboy hat after pulling on her own bag. "If we forgot it, we don't need it. Let's head out."
They walked along the coast where the sand was packed like hard concrete. The waves slapped against the shore, unaware of the mess the world they touched had become. Morgan walked ahead of the others, within earshot but out of the conversation.
Kaylee stumbled across the sand then stopped, pausing to unlace her black combat boots. She took them off, then shoved them into her bag.
"Going to take anything else off, Baby doll?" Zack winked at her.
"Shut the front door." Kaylee said glaring at him.
"What?" Alan laughed.
"For some reason Baby doll refuses to curse." Zack said.
"Not true, I swore a lot when we found you." Kaylee said.
"It's true, she did." Alan nodded.
"It's because she secretly loves me." Zack whispered to him.
"I heard that, and no I don't." Kaylee said. "I tolerate you, like one tolerates herpies."
"Or butt sex." Alan added.
"Alan!" Morgan gasped, turning around.
"What?"
"Boundaries!"
"And here I thought you were ignoring us this whole time." Alan replied.
"I'm alert to everything around me." She sighed, picking up her pace again.
"Boundries?" Zack said almost in hysterics. "We just spent the last 4 hours in a car together! There are no more boundries! I know more about you people then I ever wanted!"
"Oh we know!" Kaylee said. "Like you after eating a burrito, you become toxic!"
"In his defense, the burrito may have been toxic." Alan replied. "I told you not to eat it."
"At least someone is." Zack grumbled.
"Yup, the whole world is against you." Kaylee rolled her eyes, moving up next to Morgan.
"That may very well be true." Morgan spoke up, her eyes on the storm clouds moving in. "We should probably check one of these condos for a safe house."
"I'm not afraid of getting wet." Alan laughed.
"It is the lightning I worry about." Morgan replied, already heading toward the building.
"All of us carrying big metalic weapons." Kaylee said taking her sniper off her back.
"I get the point." Alan replied, picking up the rear.
Morgan smashed a bottom floor window with the butt end of her shotgun, shattering it. They all stepped inside and found several infected shuffling around the halls. A few shots and blood sprays later, the hall was cleared.
They all agreed the top floor would be the best option where there was little threat from a road attack. The power was out, so the group headed for the stairs. The thunder rolled.
Zack was the first up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Hectic laughter echoed off the walls as the group trudged up the stairs after him.
"Fuck!" Zack said as the laughter grew louder. "Help!" Zack screamed as he stumbled down the stairs, jockey clinging to his back.
"Lets go." Kaylee said walking past him.
Morgan grabbed the freakish thing by the shoulders and pulled it back off his neck. Alan pressed his pistol against its squirming head and fired. It went limp, and the two of them helped Zack up.
"Kaylee." Morgan said darkly, following her up the stairs. "Nobody gets left behind."
Alan walked up the stairs with Zack, who was limping from the fall. "Don't worry, I can fix you up. I studied medicine for a while in college."
"Thanks." Zack muttered weakly. "Lets get upstairs first."
They settled on a fourth floor room since Zack's ankle was starting to swell and a cut was freshly bleeding on his forehead. Once inside, Morgan locked the door. Alan helped Zack to the bed and they pulled off his shoes before rolling up his pant leg.
"I wish we had ice." Alan sighed, "But rest should help. If you can move it, then there is nothing seriously wrong."
"Yeah, I can." Zack said. "Thanks for the help."
Kaylee entered the room, returning from her sweep. "Everything is clear. Two bed, one bath. Not like we can use it, but whatever."
"Thanks for the help back there, Baby doll," Zack snapped at her.
"I didn't have a car to hit it with." Kaylee shrugged.
"Want some pills for the pain?" Alan asked, opening up his first aid pack.
"Yeah." Zack said, taking four.
"Who is going to cook tonight?" Kaylee asked. "Are we going to set up a watch tonight? If so I'll take first watch."
"First watch is all yours." Morgan replied, walking over to the kitchen. "I think I can handle food tonight."
Alan closed up the pack after Zack took the pills and looked over at Morgan. She seemed very stressed, though he didn't blame her. The whole group relied on her more than they realized and he was finally seeing it. He walked over to her, getting in close so he could whisper without the others hearing.
"Hey, I just wanted to thank you...for everything."
"Oh." She smiled, pulling her hair up into a pony tail. "It's nothing. You're welcome."
He reached over and touched her shoulders. When she didn't pull away, he began to rub them, feeling the tension in her body. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard. We can pick up some of the slack you know."
"Kaylee is trying to get Zack killed, Zack keeps nearly getting us killed, and when you aren't within grabbing distance, you're nearly getting killed." Morgan sighed, closing her eyes and letting him rub her sore shoulders. "I want to relax but...I feel if I let my guard down for a minute, I will let you all down."
"I'll take the first watch with Baby doll." Zack pipped up from the couch.
"Stop calling me that." Kaylee said from the kitchen. "Electric stove." She said and opened the sliding glass door to the back porch. "But there is a gas grill out here." She walked back in. "I'm fine with Zack taking the first watch with me."
This got Morgan's attention. She pulled away from Alan. "Okay. After we get some food, me and Alan can rest up for a while and take the second watch."
She walked outside and got the grill going, Alan quickly joining her. "About what you were saying...about letting your guard down."
"Yeah?"
"I think we all have our guard up, and that is what makes us so...stupid. We need to work together so we are all holding our own ends evenly."
"How do you think we can do that?" She asked, putting some canned meat on the grill.
"We just need to open up I think...get to know each other. Well, you know Kaylee from before and she knows Zack. So, I guess I'm just the odd man out." Alan replied, leaning against the railing.
"I feel close to you." Morgan admitted. "I feel better knowing you're watching out for me."
He smiled, and a few minutes later they brought in the small dinner.
After they ate, the storm hit. The rain poured down in sheets, and they could no longer see the ocean that was only a few yards away. Kaylee kept checking and rechecking her gun over and over.
"Stop that!" Zack snapped after the ninth time. "You are making me nervous."
Kaylee put down her gun and put her thumb nail in her mouth.
The rain pounding against the boarded windows made sleep hard if not impossible. Morgan tossed and turned, trying to force herself to sleep...which went about as well as it sounded. Her bedroom door opened quietly and she sat up, tank top strap slipping off one shoulder. She recognized Alan's figure in the dim light. "Alan?" She whispered.
"I thought you might be up." He sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't sleep and I was hoping you'd be up."
"Oh?" She asked, fixing her shirt.
"This might sound lame but...Can I sleep in here? To be perfectly honest, I am freaking out in the other room. I keep thinking a smoker is going to burst through the wall."
She laughed quietly, "That's alright. You can sleep in here." She scooted over in bed and pulled aside the blanket for him.
"Oh! I was just going to lay on the floor."
"Don't be silly. We can cuddle."
"Cuddle?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"It will help our nerves. If I'm coming off bad just say so."
"Not at all." He sat down on the empty space she made for him. "I like to cuddle."
"I was hoping you would." Morgan smiled, laying her head on his shoulder when he laid down. With her arm over his chest, he had to admit he did feel better.
Lightning flashed across the dark sky, momentarily illuminating their sleeping figures.