Overnight


Two hours later, Flaky sat in a tent and considered the gun in her hand. Part of her felt her hands practically begging her to put it in her mouth and bail out early, and in blatant honesty, it actually seemed like the best idea she'd had so far. She knew she wasn't a fighter. She knew she was going to die. So what point was there in sticking around?

The porcupine sighed as she drummed her fingers on the pistol and rested it in her lap beside her tattered wrist. Just by looking at it, it was clear that infection was beginning to seep in. Although she'd stopped bleeding, the deep gash she'd suffered from smashing into the wall had swollen up. Along with that, the bones felt like they'd been clogged with flammable jelly. Fearing for the worst, she flexed her finger and cringed as a wave of pain swept up her arm. Great, just great…

Flaky was alone in the tent by choice. Outside, she could hear the crackling embers of the campfire that the others were gathered around. The shadows of the fire draped all over the tent's folds and lit it up like some kind of fabric planetarium. She knew she shouldn't have been in the tent. The right choice would have been to stick with the others and actually be part of a group instead of sitting by herself. But that was all just wishful thinking. If she couldn't bring herself to trust them, it was better off to be alone…

Still feeling the wave of pain surging up her arm, she sighed and clicked the gun on safety. After walking back to the car, they'd raided the trunk of the ammunition Flippy had brought. As it turned out, it wasn't as well-stocked as he'd said. There were only about four guns in total and most of the food was the processed kind suited for astronauts. One of the only useful things they'd found was a pair of tents. They'd considered sleeping out on the open road near the van, but after some debating, they'd decided dragging the tents into the woods and camping out was a better idea. Everyone said it was safer that way. It just frightened Flaky even more.

"You're stupid…" she thought. "You're a wimp. And now you're going to die…"

Even if she kept convincing herself otherwise, she couldn't kill herself. Not even in her wildest dreams. All her life, Flaky had admittedly been a coward who jumped at the sight of her own shadow. Everything always seemed out go her, and as her luck turned out, everything usually was. The world was dangerous. And if she wanted to be safe, she had to hide from it. This is way too much. You didn't ask for any of this to happen. You don't want to die. Why the hell are you even her-

"Flaky?"

The voice nearly made her jump out of her skin. Almost as a first instinct, she clicked her pistol off safety and aimed it at her attacker.

"Jesus Flaky! Get that thing away from me!"

It was Petunia. Her head was poking through the flap of the tent. With shocked eyes and a frightened expression, she looked in even worse shape than she did. All in all, she couldn't blame her. In fact, she didn't really blame any of them. Ever since Flippy had left the group, things had really fallen apart.

"I'm sorry", Flaky sighed as she lowered the gun. "I'm just nervous…"

"You scared me to death", Petunia sighed. "I'm just checking up on you and I'm at the risk of getting my brains blown out. Anyway, dinner's almost ready. Why don't you come on out and give us girls a hand with the cooking? We could really use someone who knows what they're doing".

"I'm fine", Flaky sighed. "I'm not in the mood to cook. I'm not even in the mood to eat…"

"You can't stay in here forever", Petunia said lightly. "And you'll have to eat eventually".

Flaky glanced at the skunk warily. Ever since the disaster in the clinic where they'd lost their leader, the group had been powerless in taken care of itself. Everyone had been fighting, everyone had been arguing, but nobody had really been listening to what anyone else had to say. Everyone seemed grounded firmly to their own set of beliefs and only seemed to care about keeping themselves alive. It was a disaster. They were the very opposite of the family that Flippy had been aiming for.

"You're not going to leave until I come outside, are you?" Flaky asked.

"Well, I'm leaving that up to you. Just because you're scared of what's going to happen doesn't mean you shouldn't face your problems. We're all in this together. And it's unhealthy to be alone like this."

"Unhealthy?" Flaky spat. "Unhealthy? I've lost my family, I'm running for my life with a bunch of strangers, I'm obviously going to die and you're complaining about being unhealthy? What's wrong with you?"

"I'm just looking out for you", Petunia said gently. "I don't want anything bad to happen. One of us is already gone, and if we don't stay together, we're just going to get picked off like flies until there's nobody left. And that's the last thing I want to happen". She paused for a second. "Nutty keeps saying he wants to leave…"

Flaky raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think all of this is starting to get to him. But every time he says anything, everyone either shuts him up or he just contradicts himself and looks like an idiot. He's scared. I don't think he trusts anyone here. I think Lifty and Shifty might want to strike out on their own too They're smart enough not to though. They know they won't last a second out there if it's just them. And they're pretty much using us all as human shields until they can think of a better plan".

"And what about Giggles and Cuddles?"

"Cuddles is almost happy to be here", Petunia sighed. "He's acting like this whole thing is some kind of epic journey that's supposed to be fun. He just doesn't get it that life and death are in the picture out here. And Giggles is just playing the damsel in distress until something happens where she's going to have to fight for herself. I don't see it ending well for either of them. Besides, those two are together. Neither one is going to leave the other behind".

"What about you?" Flaky asked. "Where do you fit in with all of this?"

"I'm just trying to keep my head above water", Petunia laughed. "And I have a headache from all this yelling. No one belongs out here. I just wish we were all home…"

"I've been wishing that a lot", Flaky sighed. "Ever since we got on the road actually…"

There was a deafening silence between the two girls. Outside the tent, they could hear the sound of the campfire crackling out embers. A moment later, there was the scattered mutter of somebody arguing outside. The family was falling apart more and more at every second.

"Can I ask you something?" Flaky said finally.

"Fire away".

"Do you think there's any hope for someone like me out here?"

Petunia stared. "What do you mean?"

"Face it", Flaky said. "I'm dead on arrival. If I didn't even stand a chance in a normal life back at home, I don't stand a chance out here. Do you think so too?"

At that moment, the gun in her lap suddenly felt heavy. Almost like it was too much of a burden to carry. The entire world seemed to way down on her. In the back of her mind, the strange thought slipped in of wanting the tent to just sink into the ground and vanish forever. She was prepared for the worst answer possible. Instead, she got a warm smile from the skunk.

"To tell you the truth, Flaky", Petunia said. "I don't. I don't think you're as pathetic as you might think you are. You could be a fighter just as much as anyone else out here. And at the rate we're going right now, you're going to live forever".

"Then could you promise me something?" Flaky whispered "Promise nothing bad's going to happen to me?"

"I can't promise that. But I'm going to do my best to keep everyone together. Will you come outside?"

Flaky smiled. "Maybe later…"

"Well, at least that's a start. Stay gold and don't do anything that's going to push you over the edge".

Giving her a final smile, Petunia gave a nod and vanished through the flap of the tent. Almost immeadidly, the shadows of the tree branches returned and looked more menacing than ever. Taking in a deep breath, Flaky grabbed the pistol in her lap, clicked it back on safety, and tossed it gently to the other side of the tent. It landed with a soft thud on the patchwork quilt of blankets she'd lain out. And with that, she curled up in her sleeping bag and tried as hard as she could to go to sleep.


"Flaky still won't come outside", Petunia sighed as she closed the flap of the tent.

"Leave her alone then", Shifty said. "She's just being stupid…"

They were all gathered around on the sparse logs they'd pulled into the clearing. The embers of the campfire crackled in front of them as the smoke billowed up into the night sky. Although they'd decided it was giving away their hiding spot, some kept their flashlights on out of plain fear. Scattered around them was a hodgepodge of materials they'd found in the trunk. Lanterns, several pistols, two rifles, several granola bars, a machete. It was clear that Flippy had really stocked up…

Petunia sighed as she walked over to the log and took a seat beside Giggles whom had Cub sleeping on her lap. Gazing back at the pair of tents, she made out the dull outline of Flaky huddled up in one of them. At this she couldn't help but grimace. It wasn't like she'd been one of the many volunteers that had offered to go check up on her. She'd been the only one. And she'd just done it because she knew nobody else was going to. It made her feel sick. Just because Flaky was terrified out of her mind, everybody was treating her like she was invisible. They just want to ignore all their problems. What kind of logic is that?

"How'd it go?" Giggles asked her.

"Bad", Petunia said. "She thinks everyone is out to get her".

"Poor girl. Did you try reasoning with her?"

"I tried", Petunia replied. "But something tells me I only made it worse. Is Cuddles still keeping watch?"

"I think. His shift's going to be over soon though…"

Glancing away from her friend, she looked around the fire. Nutty was sitting directly across from her. For someone who had been so vocal just moments before, he now looked unfazed by the situation. The squirrel's mouth was covered in cream from what looked like some kind of Hostess cake he'd found packaged in the trunk. That was something she noticed about Nutty. When he didn't have sugar, he became paranoid and started calling people out like a maniac. But when he was face-deep in a Twinkie, nothing in the world seemed to matter to him. Lifty and Shifty were sitting on the log beside him in deep conversation. It struck her powerfully for some reason that nobody besides them was talking to each other. They weren't a group. People that were together under circumstances, sure, but not a group.

"Dinner's ready. Take one and pass it on".

Petunia turned back to Giggles to see her holding a paper plate with several greasy-looking slab of meat on it that she'd baked against the firewood. Grimacing but forcing a smile, she accepted one and took a bite out of it before passing the plate across the fire. It wasn't that bad. Just a little too chewy. It had been a well-known fact to her for years that Giggles really couldn't cook.

"So", Lifty said as he took a steak. "Any idea of when the rain's going to catch up?"

"I'd say we have about four hours on it until it comes", Giggles replied. "If you want to sleep you better do it soon. We're going to be back on the road by sunrise".

"Yeah, like any of us are really going to be able to sleep…" Lifty said dryly. "Am I still driving?"

"Are you up for it?" Giggles asked.

"Probably. I've never driven a van that big before. I could probably figure it out though. What's our game plan after that?"

"Same as that suicide mission Flippy had", Shifty said coldly. "Ride down the road for the rest of our lives until the rain catches up with us. Really great plan. Isn't that right, Petunia?"

"I never said I agreed with Flippy!" Petunia shot back. "And if your plan is so great, why don't you tell us about it instead of bragging over and over that you know what you're doing".

"Even if I had a good plan you wouldn't listen! You're too interested in riding blindly to your death to listen to anyone else!"

"Don't talk to her like that", Lifty said. "Flippy's plan may not have been great but he knew what he was doi-

"Can we all just shut up about Flippy?" Giggles cut in. "Oh my god, just stop! He's gone! It was awful and nobody wants to talk about it, so just shut up! He's dead and we're on our own now!"

"Are there any more Twinkies?" Nutty said as he licked the cream of his lips.

Lifty glared at the squirrel and sprung up from his log. In one sharp swing, he threw his flashlight hard at Nutty's head. What he didn't count on was the squirrel having surprisingly fast reflexes. Nutty dove out of the way just as the flashlight hit the tree behind him and shattered into hundreds of pieces in a burst of electric sparks. Glancing up at the shocked expression on Lifty's face, Nutty could only smile with his mouth full of cake. For a moment it looked like the raccoon was about to tear him apart piece by piece. And it certainly looked that way, especially with the way he was swinging back his fist. But then a single sound rang through the forest that sent chills down their spines.

THUD!

It was a gunshot. Not just any gunshot, but a gunshot from a high-powered sniper rifle that shook the entire forest. Their heated argument was ended abruptly as everybody turned toward the direction it had come from. The same direction of the road where they parked the van...

"This is such a mess…." Giggles moaned.


Another one down….

Exhausted and feeling like he was about to pass out, Cuddles quickly reloaded the rifle and stared out across the countryside. He'd gotten another one. A good shot too. In the distance, he could see the creature fall to the ground dead after he'd planted a bullet between its eyes. Sitting on top of the van, the tired rabbit fumbled with the difficult task of reloading the gun. It took awhile, but after a few moments, he was scanning the horizon line again with the scope of the rifle. The infected seemed to be lured to them by scent. In the three hours he'd kept watch, he'd killed at least seven of them.

His shift would be over soon though. That would definitely be a relief. He'd get to go back to camp and get the satisfaction of crawling into a warm sleeping bag. He'd talk to Giggles a little. Then he'd lay his head down on the cold earth, and just like that, he'd be free for the night. The thought was almost enough to make him fall asleep right there. But he didn't. He couldn't....

Drumming his fingers on the rifle, Cuddles smiled. He'd always been a daredevil. In the face of uncertainty, he'd always run in with a bright smile on his face. From skateboarding to waterslides, the only thing that had ever mattered to him was having fun with his friends. Life had always been an adventure and the only thing he wanted to get out of it was a good time. So in the face of danger, it only seemed natural to try and make light of the situation. He'd tried to remain an optimist, he'd tried to keep everyone's spirits up, but even that didn't even seem to be working. Everyone was scared. And it was only getting worse.

"You can do this…" he thought. "This is just another day at home. Everything's perfect. No reason to be scared…"

His eyes bloodshot and wanting nothing more than to go to sleep, Cuddles tightened his grip on the rifle and carefully watched for any sign of movement.

Just gotta make it through the night…


A/N: Sorry if this chapter was a little short. I felt the need to tone down things a little after the action of the last chapter. The action will be picking up very, very soon. And on the subject of that, I think it's clear by now that there are going to be quite a few deaths in this story. If you want, you can help me out in a review by guessing who you think is going to be the next to die. It helps me a lot because it allows me to not give one character too much screen time and make sure I'm not giving anybody too much special treatment just because they're one of my favorites. Again, you don't have to do this, but it would help me out a lot. Also, thanks a lot for the reviews! :)