Disclaimer: I do not own or make money from the anime Death Note
Suggested Listening: Stranger in a Strange Land by 30 Seconds to Mars (I think the overall tone and sound of the music in this fits the chapter well :P)
Part 12
~Moratorium~
Around 4 and a half hours to the north of Farson, was Ten Sleep, another small town in Wyoming. Or at least 'small' as indicated by the map they had.
Matt knew they needed a good nights sleep soon or they were going to crash and make bad decisions, but he also knew that sleeping in an unfamiliar town where you did not know the population of the living dead, was practically suicide. Driving through was bad enough, not in the cluttered sense as it seemed only the cities had an overcast of debris, but staying in an unfamiliar place was opening a whole new can of worms.
Matt wondered if he was possibly thinking of one of those bad decisions right now.
A bed did sound nice...
"You want to stop, don't you?" said Mello, stating a fact rather than asking a question. Matt waited to reply, as he weighed the idea in his mind. It wasn't all up to him. Sure it was his ride and Mello was along for it so long as there was a vapor of gas in the car—speaking of which they were running low again—but it was Mello's decision too.
Hell he might even have a better idea... though Matt doubted it.
"What do you think. Should we find a place to pass out for the night or rough it in the car again?" Matt wondered if there were any moderately safe places, or if they would end up driving through the night trying to find one to stop.
Sleeping in an unfamiliar town was a bad idea, but sleeping in an unfamiliar town in the car, was a worse one. Doors would hold out until guns could be drawn, but one smashed window was all it took.
"I think we have too. Maybe only once a week or whatever but we need sleep, and a shower among other things." Mello's nose had wrinkled up at the last bit and he knew the blond was right. No amount of scrubbing water over themselves could take the place of an actual bath. The likelihood was that there was no more hot water was high, but it wold be nice to be clean regardless.
"You pick where we head." He told the blond, not wanting it on his shoulders should their room, wherever they were staying, was suddenly broken down by the living dead. Mello sighed from next to him and Matt parked the car in the middle of the road. Matt was not sure if Mello would choose Ten Sleep, an oddly fittingly named town, or if he would decide to go farther north or even east. Either way it looked like they would be doing some cursory exploring to make sure the streets at least were not filled with danger.
"We could go to Worland or even Kaycee, but I think Ten Sleep is alright for now. We're going to need the extra time to secure our sleeping quarters anyway." Mello said, the chocolate in his mouth melting slowly as he spoke. The unsaid 'if the place is not already overrun we can stay' lingering in the air.
"Ten Sleep it is." He muttered, revving the engine and stepping on the gas. They were hardly ten minutes outside the town, which had been the reason for him pulling over previously. He had not wanted to be in the middle of 'center' street while they were occupied.
The town had a very creepy aura to it upon entering. The kind of Ghost Town feel, though Matt supposed every place had that now. A street lamp flickered on and off in the after noon light with an empty pet leash tied at the base, and a car crashed into a nearby wall. But other than that, the street was rather clear.
Matt wondered exactly who decided Ten Sleep was small. Probably the census bureau. Small amount of people...not so small town.
Not many cars were out and Matt could only see one burned out building in eyesight, a real miracle to be honest.
There were no living dead on the streets either, no matter where he turned the surroundings were quiet. Matt honked the horn a few times and stopped the car; both of them released a heavy breath when nothing came to the sound.
"Matt, look." Mello whispered, gesturing out to his side of the car. There was writing, clear as day on the side of a building.
Matt cringed at the words, a runny white spray paint that asked 'Is anyone else still "alive"?'
That was the first real sign in Wyoming that anyone in that area had been alive. And also proof the infected had at least been sighted by that person, if the quotations on "alive" meant anything.
"If there are other survivors, where the fuck are they?" Mello swore harshly. "Do you think the entire country is like this, or if it has spread passed the borders?"
Matt's fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel, though he did not reply. For all they knew, they were the only ones still alive. There were hints and in some cases proof that people other than themselves had once been surviving in the cities and towns they passed by, but so far neither of them had seen a soul since the start.
Matt swallowed dryly and tried to keep his thoughts away from the time he hadn't been with Mello, the time he had seen writing...
When he didn't reply Mello had looked at him a little oddly, though the blond hadn't questioned him on his silence. "Where should we sleep? I'm not sure if a house is a good idea, but would a place this small even have a hotel, I don't recall seeing one."
"Mello, I doubt a 'place this small' is going to have a normal looking hotel. More like the Ranchero Inn. We need a Yellow Pages or something. Damn I wish the internet was still working." He really really wished the internet was still working...
Mello snorted and shook his head, though apparently did not disagree.
They stopped long enough for Mello to go inside a small gas station, while Matt filled up the tank, to snag a Yellow Pages.
"No 'Ranchero Inn' but they have a Log Cabin Motel." Mello said, grinning widely as he lifted his eyes away from the pages.
Matt scrubbed a hand across his face. Matt wasn't sure he would get used to the names in this area anytime soon. At least it was not 'Possum Inn' or something. He shivered. He hated possums.
"Well I suppose we should go see if there are any vacancies." Matt lit a cancer stick, parting his lips to take it in, and slammed the drivers door shut. It promised to be a long afternoon.
.
"...are we at the right place?" Matt questioned, looking at the "Motel" in disbelief.
"According to the map and sign, yeah." Mello's voice was more composed, though Matt knew the blond obviously had not expected it either.
"It looks like a ranch more than anything else."
"Probably because it is, only with Motel slapped on it." Mello snorted, snapping off his chocolate.
"Hope nobody is home." Matt commented, watching as Mello looked at him incredulously, though his mouth had quirked more at the end in amusement.
"Poor joke, Matt, poor joke."
"Made you smile though didn't it?" Matt said, lips stretching into a grin at Mello's exasperated sigh.
"Come on you comedian, lets check out our 'motel' and make sure there is no unexpected room service tonight." said Mello as he exited the car, shutting the door quietly as though afraid of the echo that would result from a slam.
Matt rolled his eyes at the blond but did not comment on double standards, and followed suit, knowing Mello would probably get pissed if he slammed it out of spite. It was a good idea, Matt supposed, as they had no clue as to what potentially lurked inside. But on the other hand, noise would draw the living dead out rather than leaving them hidden.
Mello had snagged the riffle earlier and had it slung across his shoulder by the strap; the Beretta Matt had now dubbed as 'Mello's' in his hand and another stuffed in his leather trousers.
Matt doubted he would be that comfortable or confidant with a loaded gun so close to his dick, so he applauded Mello for being insane enough to do it.
On the way in Mello gave him a look that clearly stated 'No talking until we have swept the place unless you are about to DIE'. He gave Mello a thumbs up, knowing that even as Mello turned his head his eyes would be rolling.
He liked how at ease they had gotten since the argument, despite the current situation .
His eyes flickered to all the dark places in the room as he felt as though he were being watched, like there were a million pairs of eyes waiting for him in the darkness. He fucking hated it. And the first sign of a light switch he flipped it, hearing the power hum before the lights dimly turned on with a snap.
He heard Mello's sharp intake of breath and his own eyes widened at the eyes staring at them. He almost pulled the trigger before he grasped that the eyes were not attached to the infected.
"Son of a- those have got to go if we are sleeping here!" Mello hissed. And Matt more than agreed. Whoever the owner was, had decided it was ok to collect dolls and had all shapes and sizes of them on the surfaces despite it being a Motel. He had almost shot one...
He thought Mello might have muttered something about 'Goddamn fucking creepy dolls from hell' but when he looked over Mello's lips were pressed into a thin line so he might have imagined it.
Checking the rest of the Motel went smoothly. There was no one and nothing there, no signs of blood or struggles and nothing to suggest there were any infected nearby either.
"We might have just lucked out on this one."
Mello hmmed in agreement, and Matt paid little attention as he heaved the last box of dolls out of the house and around to the back with the others. If he never saw another doll in his life it would still be too soon.
"Now we get to secure the place. Yay." Mello muttered sarcastically. Personally, Matt was more worried about having to leave his car outside. It had all of their supplies, and if on the off chance they got cut off from it and stuck in the motel they were screwed.
"I think we should take all of the guns in with us, and extra food just in case." Matt said as he leaned against the hood of the camaro, cigarette pressed between his lips as he sucked in the smoke.
"Alright." Mello said, eying him speculatively. "Maybe that is a good idea..."
Matt ended up pulling the camaro as close to the entrance of the house as he could, though they would have still had to go through the house or out the second story window to get to it in a hurry.
Matt rather hoped jumping would be unnecessary.
Once everything was inside they worked on boarding up the place; whatever could be secured to the windows was bolted in place, thank you maintenance closet, and a table was drilled over the only entrance and exit. They did not have enough supplies to board up each and every window and door, and had to settle on closing off entire rooms.
It still did not feel entirely safe, the Motel too big with all of its rooms under one roof and connected in a way that made it a deathtrap if the main entrance was blocked.
It was not completely secure, yet Matt knew it was the best it was going to get with the things they had on hand.
They had boarded up their chosen rooms window, taping the curtains shut over that to keep any light from inside shining out into the darkness which would have been like a beacon to anything around.
Then the mattress had come off the bed frame and the wood used to secure the door shut. It might have seemed like overkill, but if it let them sleep peacefully then Matt did not really care.
They had turned all the other lights in the building off beforehand, so the only lights on were the ones in their room. It cast an eerie yellow on everything it touched and sent long spiraling shadows everywhere.
At least they had a bathroom, was all Matt could think.
-End Part 12-
AN: Thank you everyone for so many reviews :) I really appreciate the feedback. Now it may seem like things are calming down.. but are they really? heheheh
Check out my oneshot AMP and Death day drabble 'The moment I knew' , you might like them ;)
Special thanks:Valentine's Vocation, LinkinPark X, Amour en Rayures, Keono, Kari Twilight Mist, Lotta Devon, IssaHORROR, theheartstourniquet, MelMat, CatatonicVanity, Deadly Nightshade1395, CheshireEffect
Preview:
"Wait!" he hissed, watching Mello's hand freeze just above the lock, his gloved fingers trembling a little. "Mello look."
Matt was certain that Mello was just as perplexed as he was about the sight. The infected had doubled over, mouth open and was gagging. It soon fell to its knees and Matt winced as a heavy pinkish fluid spurted from its mouth.
But the most disturbing happened when bits of bone started to come out, as well as various chunks of flesh the infected had bitten off and swallowed whole.
"Dear God," he heard Mello mutter and could imagine the blonds hand resting where the rosary lay under his vest.
Even from inside they could hear the infected's wheezing breaths and the nasty sounds of it purging everything from its system. Matt did not know for how long it lasted, only that despite the gruesome scene they were transfixed like bystanders to a train wreck, and could not seem to look away until it was over and burned into their retinas.
Everything was normal after. The infected straightened with its head hung low and body jerking a little as if nothing had transpired.
"What the fuck was that." Mello whispered.
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