Disclaimer: I don't own anyone but Roanoke.

This chapter is a bit depressing for me but I hope it pleases you guys! I dedicate this chapter to another friend of mine. Thanks for being there, Shaylin!

AbigailBreslinRocks13: I'm glad you like it, I've always had confidence in my writing abilities, but getting compliments from fans like you makes it all worth while. I appreciate it!

Zombieland: Cherish What's Left Over

Chapter 10: Avoiding the Answers

Roanoke opened her eyes to sunlight, making her flinch. Her eye lids fluttered as they adjusted to the light. She lifted her head up slowly to find that her head had been resting against the van window. She sat all the way up and stretched with a grunt. "Mornin', Daisy." came a southern voice. She looked to her right to find Tallahassee smirking at her through the half-open window. "Hey." she whispered. "Where am I?" Tallahassee took a step forward and rested the side of his arm on the window. "We're at a gas station not too far from the outskirts of Richmond." he replied. Roanoke rubbed her eyes and fell back in the seat. "How long was I out?" she asked, closing her eyes. "About ten hours, give or take a few." Tallahassee said, his trademark smirk still plastered on his rugged face. "Now, would you mind tellin' me what that little stunt you pulled back in Richmond was?" Roanoke's eyes shot open and her pupils shrunk. "Er, what do you mean?" she asked nervously. "Well, let's recap shall we? You run your pretty little self into a building, curl up in a ball in the corner and you start mutterin', 'I'm gunna die, I'm gunna die', then, you refuse to kick any zombie ass whatsoever and you even had a perfectly good gun. You were shakin' like a leaf and you refused to stand. I carry your butt outside and a zombie came runnin' at us, only one may I remind you, and you scream at the top of your lungs, and here's the best part, you say you're scared! Then you pass out on me. Now could you please tell me what that was all about?" he said, frowning deeply. Roanoke's heart began to beat very quickly. 'A lie, an excuse, come on, think of something!' she thought to herself. She then spotted a golden opportunity. "Hey, Columbus, you need help with that?" she yelled over Tallahassee's shoulder, to Columbus who was carrying a box that looked pretty heavy. She opened her door and jogged over to Columbus and grabbed the other side of the box. "Thanks." he said. Roanoke smiled at him, but she was mostly thankful that she could get away from Tallahassee's question, the one that she really didn't want to answer, especially not to him. Tallahassee glared at Roanoke and Columbus. Something was up with that girl, he didn't know what but he was going to find out.

Later, after the crew had finished raiding the Texaco store, the five were back in the van. Roanoke sat in the back in between Wichita and Little Rock, the three whispering and giggling back and forth. "So, uh, Roanoke, are you staying?" asked Columbus from the passenger's seat. Roanoke shot him a 'you should know' glare. "If you all could take me to Roanoke, that would be nice, then we could go our separate ways, I'm tellin' you, my mind is made up." she said firmly but sadly. "Oh... well, yeah, we could take you to Roanoke." Tallahassee growled at Columbus' statement but didn't bother saying anything. "Roanoke's a good ways away from here so we'll rest there tonight." he said, nodding his head in the direction of a hotel. No one argued and began to get their stuff together when Florida pulled over. "Me and Tallahassee will clear the place out." said Columbus, grabbing his double-barrel. "No. I'll do it." spoke Roanoke, grabbing a nine millimeter, a spear (no telling where Tallhassee got that from), and a hammer for laughs. She began walking with Tallahassee towards the one-story hotel and Tallahassee looked at her like she was crazy. "I thought you were scared." he said. "Scared? Scared of what? They're just zombies." she said, not taking her gaze of of the path in front of her. "But yesterday, you were tremblin' like mad at the thought of one zombie. "I really don't know what you're talking about, I'm not scared." Tallahassee raised his eyebrows but said no more. Drugs? Short-term memory, those were the only things he could think of to make her like this. He glanced at her again. 'Of course, the chick has green hair, it's drugs." he thought to himself. When they approached the front door of the hotel, a zombie came rushing at them. Roanoke took out her hammer and swung it like a baseball bat. She hit it right in the eyeball. She then turned the hammer around so the sharp end was the striking part. She latched it onto the zombie's bottom jaw and pryed the whole thing off, leaving the zombie with only top teeth. And for the finish, she repeatedly hit the zombies' head as if it was a nail. She finished with a sigh and tossed the hammer behind her. "Zombie kill of the week." said Tallahassee, staring at the zombie's battered head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, it never stood a chance." said Roanoke blankly, pulling out her spear and began to walk into the hotel. "Heeere, zombie, zombie, zombie!" she shouted, her voice bouncing off he walls of the vacant building. Immediately, two zombies came out of two of the rooms and ran towards Roanoke. She sneered and began to strike the zombies with the spear with ultimate precision and rythm. She seemed to move with such grace and she would hit her target every time and in a matter of action-filled seconds, all that was left of the zombies was a pile of blood, organs and bones. Roanoke sneered one last time at the dead zombies and turned to face Tallhassee whose mouth was slightly open and his eyes locked on the pile of carnage. And people thought he was sick when it came to zombie slaying but this girl just went Jason on the undead. Blood was splattered on her face but only a few drops and her clothes were now covered in black bile and dark blood. She tossed the spear to the side and looked at Tallahassee who was looking at her in awe. "What? Those things get on my nerves." she said shrugging. Tallahassee remained silent. "So, you thinking about which one is zombie kill of the week? Or are you just wondering how you should praise my awesomeness?" she smiled and yelled over his shoulder to the others. "Hey guys, it's all clear!" the other three nodded and came jogging towards the hotel with their stuff slung over their shoulders. Little Rock paused to look at the zombie that Roanoke had hammered outside. "Zombie kill of the week right there." said Wichita, guiding her sister inside, not wanting her to see the gory sight, but when they went inside, it didn't get any better. Wichita quickly covered her sister's eyes. "Would you get that out of here, Tallahassee! No one wants to see that!" she screeched. "Hey, that wasn't me! That was miss Brocoli-head over there!" he said, pointing at Roanoke. "You did that?" asked Columbus. Roanoke nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"So, said Little Rock, removing her sister's hand from her face. "Which one's Zombie kill of the week?" The group exchanged glances and said in unison. "This one." They all said, pointing at the mess on the hotel tiled floor. Roanoke grinned broadly.

After their pathetic excuse of a dinner, the girls chose the queen suite and left the guys with the other, slightly crappier one with blood stains on the wall. Once again, Roanoke found herself in a position similar to the one seven or eight days ago. She sat on her bed while the sisters were sitting cross-legged on the one beside hers. The three sat in an awkward silence while Wichita pondered over the question she wanted to ask. "So... um, Tallahassee told me about what happened yesterday." Roanoke stared at the sheets. "Oh. What did he say?"

"I think you know what he said, Roanoke, I just want to know how and why it happened, I mean, I saw how you maimed those zombies today, it doesn't make sense, I mean, why--"

"Why would I become a traumatized coward in five minutes?" Wichita gave a solemn nod. Roanoke took a shuddered inhale. "Um. Okay, I'll tell you two but you both have to promise on your lives that you won't tell the boys, especially Tallahassee." The girls exchanged glances and nodded. "We promise." Roanoke closed her eyes. "Okay, um, you see, I, believe it or not, am probably the biggest coward in the history of the universe. I get scared easily and when I'm alone, I just... break down, I lose all sense of reality and I become a total coward. There, that's why I couldn't take all of those zombies." Roanoke explained quickly. The girls couldn't believe what they just heard. "But, why are you a zombie terminator whenever we see you?" asked Little Rock. "Uh, well, I only... become a coward when I'm alone really. When I'm around you guys, I have someone to impress, someone to fight for, but when I'm alone, I feel all... vulnerable. I fight my best when I have someone to fight for. Look, don't ask me, I don't really know how to explain it, it's just... something I've had to go through ever since I was a little kid. I'm scared of stuff I can't explain." Roanoke stared at the girls intently, waiting for an answer. "There's nothing wrong with that, everyone's different and we can't expect you to be perfect, but I still don't get why you won't stay with us, if you stay, you could fight better, like you said." said Wichita. "I just can't, okay? I have some... serious business I have to tend to." Little Rock frowned. "What kind of business? Have to assassinate someone you knew gone zombie?" Wichita elbowed Little Rock but Roanoke just snickered. "No, well, sort of, but not entirely, look, I'm not going to survive out here, so I just have to go to my hometown and live the days I have left the best I can. That's all I can do." Wichita shook her head slowly. "Why are you cutting your life short? You're acting like you're going to die in a matter of days."

'It's because I am.' thought Roanoke.

"I mean, you do have stuff to live for, think about us."

'Tallahassee.' Roanoke thought.

"Think about what you want, would you really just give all that up and let the zombies eat you?"

'Family, friends... Tallahassee... Damn it! Get out of my head! I can't get attached to them! I can't! They'd only end up dying and I'd have to be the one to shoot them!' she yelled at herself in her head. "I know, I know, but seriously guys, way to ruin the mood! I mean, you guys are acting like I'm going to kill myself or something, you guys are taking me too seriously, what I meant was, we're all gonna die sooner or later, I didn't mean for you guys to give me the 'suicide is never the answer' speech! Heh, heh, come on, guys, ya'll didn't really believe that that was what I was talking about, did you?" she said humorously, scratching the back of her neck. "Oh, good, for a minute there, I thought that was what you were really talking about!" said Little Rock. Wichita gave a pathetic laugh. She was skeptic but she shrugged it off. "Of course not!" said Roanoke, smiling. 'Of course.' she thought. Little Rock gave Roanoke a huge smile. 'Great, leave it to the kid to smile and make me even more guilty. Well, maybe I don't have to do it... no! No, I have to do this, no second thoughts, no 'well maybes', no hesitation! So stop getting attached!' Little Rock yawned. "Whew, I think I'm going to hit the sack, see you in the morning, sis, Roanoke." she said, getting off of the bed she was on and going to her bed and crawling under the covers. "Me too, you, Roanoke?" Roanoke looked up. "Huh? Uh, er, no, not yet, still not tired, I'll, uh, go to bed in a while, you get some rest. Wichita gave Roanoke a small smile and got under her covers. "Roanoke." she said before Roanoke left the room. "Yeah?" she asked, turning around. "Are you sure you're not going to do anything stupid?" asked Wichita, looking Roanoke straight in the eyes. "Huh? No, of course not!" she responded, smiling. "Don't worry." Wichita nodded. "It's a shame you can't stay." Roanoke nodded as well. "Yeah, I know. Goodnight." Wichita layed back down. "Night." she said, yawning. Roanoke left the room and shut the door. She closed it with a small click behind her and she leaned up against it and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry." she whispered. Roanoke walked down the hall towards the lobby and carefully walked around the mess she made earlier. She tiptoed towards the lobby bathroom, looked around, making sure no one was there, and slipped inside.

Roanoke flipped the bathroom light on and she sat on the sink. She pulled a knife out of her pocket and pushed her sleeve up her arm, exposing her wrists. They were unmarked, pale and innocent-looking. She had never done this before. She had a friend in high school who used to cut but she had always thought the idea was bad, retarded and meaningless. She thought the same of it to this day but she had decided that this would be the way she wanted to kill herself. She remembered her friend. When saw her friend's wrist one day, she told her how dangerous it was and how she shouldn't do it anymore. She had even put their friendship on the line. She grinned, remembering all she had done to keep her friend from doing it again. "Please don't do this, hurting yourself is never the answer! And so help me, if I find out you start cutting yourself again, I will never speak to you again. Cutting doesn't gain you anything or get you anywhere, it only brings you loss and hurt in the end, even if you think it doesn't now!" she remembered preaching to her friend. She had finally taken her friend to a guidance counselor and then a doctor and soon, her friend was as normal as could be and every day, her friend had told her how much she owed her, and had thanked her for caring so much and that no one else had. Roanoke had felt so proud of herself for saving her friend, but only a few months later, her friend died in a car crash. Ironic, no? Roanoke let a single tear fall from her eye, her friend was the only one she had. Roanoke was mad. Mad at herself, mad at everyone who had treated her like crap in school, mad at the drunk who killed her friend, mad at God for making cancer, which killed her parents, and mad at the zombies. But she was mostly mad at herself. So she let the blade slide across her flesh.

Told you it was depressing, please send me a review! I, personally like this chapter.

Tallahassee: hm, I wonder what she's doing in the bathroom...

Roanoke: uh... writing poetry....

Wichita: *looks suspiciously at Roanoke.*

author: well, anyway, if you can tell me who she'll talk to next after she leaves the bathroom, you get a donut, now remember, it could be anyone, so choose carefully! *evil writers laugh that lets you know something big is about to happen.*

Please r and r and please the button that so desperately wants to be touched!