Chapter 4

"Pammy! Are you okay?" Robin's voice echoed her ears. Pamela wanted to cry again. Her aunt was alive. Thank you, thank you!

"Yes, I'm fine. I thought you were gone." She sobbed. Robin helped her get up and put her arms around her.

"Well, I'm here now. And I have a means of transport. Let's go." Pamela frowned in confusion as they walked. What transport? She then saw the van that was parked a few metres away from them.

Once they'd reached the van, she jumped into the seat, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Put on your seat belt." Robin commanded, and Pamela obeyed quickly.

"Where were you? I didn't want another birthday present. Do you know why this is happening? Is it the Venjix virus?" Pamela knew that asking too many questions at once was probably not a good idea, and she didn't expect her aunt to have all the answers. But she had too many things going on in her mind, and she felt overwhelmed. It was just a few minutes ago when she thought it was all over, when she was almost sure that she was going to die alone.

"I'm sorry, Pammy. I just wanted to get you something. I heard the explosion just when I was about to choose the perfect present for you. From what I've heard on the radio, it is the Venjix virus. We need to get to Corinth city, where we'll be safe." Robin explained.

"Corinth? But that's... that's not anywhere near here, is it? Do you even know how to get there?"

"I don't... but I'm sure we'll find the way." Robin tried to reassure her.

"Look, Robin, I know you like to see the positive side in everything, but the truth is: we don't know how to get to Corinth, we don't know if this van has enough gasoline that'll last until we get there, and..."

"I know! I know that. I just have to believe that we will make it." Robin snapped. Pamela had never seen her like that before. Robin glanced down at her. "You got food in there?"

Pamela had forgotten about her bag. She was about to open it, when her aunt grabbed her arm to stop her.

"No, let's not waste it now. We'll need it for later."

Pamela nodded. Robin kept racing forward.

"I didn't know you could drive." Pamela commented.

"Just because I couldn't afford to buy a vehicle, doesn't mean I never learned how to use one." Robin shrugged her shoulders with a laugh.

Almost a decade of living with her, and there were still things about her aunt that she didn't know. She suddenly felt guilty. It took the apocalypse for her to find out that her aunt could drive. What else had she missed? She didn't have it in her to ask, not even now. All it mattered at the moment was to get to safety.

Corinth city. She'd heard the name, maybe once or twice, but that was it. She'd never been outside Kemingdale before, and she'd never bothered to know much about cities she'd probably never go to.

But what was so special about Corinth, that it would keep everyone safe from Venjix? Why that one city? Why couldn't Kemingdale be the world's safe haven?

She wanted to be like Robin, to have hope that they would get there. But they were in the middle of a war zone. The road was far from clear, and it was then when she saw them clearly, for the first time, through the van's mirror. Robots.

They looked beyond creepy, and ready to fight any humans in sight.

"Auntie, we have to hurry. There are robots right behind us!" Pamela shouted. She knew that the best way to deal with the situation was to stay calm, but that was rather difficult. "This whole thing feels like a freaking sci-fi movie."

"Yes, I see them. I'll try to go faster."

The damn robots were shooting at them. In that moment, Robin lost the opportunity to evade an abandoned car. Pamela barely had time to scream when the van crashed.

Pamela had become disorientated. At times her eyelids fluttered and she thought it had all been a bad dream.

Except it wasn't.

It was all very, very real. Pamela took off her seat belt to help Robin, who was in much more pain that she was.

She grabbed her softly by the arms. "Robin, wake up. Please, wake up." She cried.

Nothing. No response. What was she supposed to do? Robin wasn't moving, and her face was covered in blood.

She cursed. Once, twice, three times. She yelled. She had never been religious, but felt like she should start praying. Then she cursed again.

This isn't happening. This isn't happening.

Why Robin? Why her aunt? Causing someone like her pain was an atrocious crime.

Pamela started cursing again. She cursed the bombing, the robots that surrounded them, the Venjix virus.

"I didn't raise you to speak like that." A voice suddenly said.

Pamela's heart trembled.

"Aunt, you're okay!" She had cried so much that she was starting to believe her face was going to fall off.

Robin took Pamela's face in her hands and looked at her in the eyes.

"Listen... I'm not going to make it." Robin said softly.

Pamela shook her head. "Don't say that! You..."

"Please let me speak. Listen, I know that I was never able to replace your parents. That was never my intention. When I've heard that my brother and his wife were gone, leaving me with a little girl... my heart just broke for you. I could see how much you missed them, how much you still do... I know letting people in was never something that came out easily for you, even before they died. But please, promise me. Promise me that you'll make it out of here. Promise me that you'll survive and you'll let people in, whoever they might be. You have to believe there are still good guys out there. I just don't want you to be alone." Robin's words were filled with emotion. Even on her deathbed, she still managed to be the most selfless person in the world. Her dying wish was for Pamela to be happy. And how could she refuse her pleading, after everything?

Not again, not again, please...

"I promise. I love you." Pamela whispered in Robin's ear. Her aunt's hands weren't on her anymore.

And that was it.

Robin was dead. Gone. And her last words had been... Pamela didn't know what to do about them. How was she supposed to survive all by herself? She had no clue.

Minutes passed. Probably hours. Time was meaningless. She didn't want to leave her aunt. Her only family, who was now dead.

Death. She was sick of it. Everyone she loved kept dying. Her parents, her aunt. Her friends? They were probably dead too.

Pamela's stomach growled. She was hungry. She opened her bag, and devoured two sandwiches and three chocolate bars. There was only one bottle of water, so she only took a sip.

She gave Robin one long, last look. This wasn't what she deserved. She deserved to live a long, happy life. Get married, and maybe even have kids of her own. Definitely not end up dead in some random van, in the middle of nowhere.

Holding onto her bag -which only contained reminders of her previous life, a bottle of water, and two boxes of cookies-, she got out of the van. The thing had crashed, and it was completely useless now.

There were still a few robots on sight. She didn't have it in her to fight at the moment. She just wanted to get out of there.

Pamela closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath, and started running.