"-an' 'cause of that, Keith ain't got no sensation in his right foot, an' he don't even recognise his brother Paul no more."
Ellis was cheerily recounting tales of his best friend Keith to his new friends, who were desperately trying to drown out the never ending stories.
"Make it stop... dear god make it stop...", Nick whispered, his head in his hands. Rochelle snickered lightly at his distress while Coach just sighed.
"Oh! I got another one, Keith tried to-", Ellis started, but stopped when he noticed headlights in the mirror.
"Hey guys, look! They made it!"
Nick whispered a quick amen, the four of them watching as the large car pulled up alongside them. The passenger side window rolled down, revealing a wearily grinning Kirby.
"Hey y'all. Glad to see you guys here. If I remember rightly, there's a truck stop that's about 15 minutes away in regular traffic. We're pullin' in there to scrounge up any food, if y'all wanna join."
Coach nodded back, a large smile gracing his features.
"Good idea, young'un. We'll follow ya up, then clear the place out. See you there."
Kirby gave a lazy salute and rolled his window back up, turning to Paige to give directions. The car pulled off, Ellis trailing after them.
"Anyways, Keith-"
He was cut off by a loud collective groan.
After around 8 minutes of silent driving, Jane turned to her daughter in the rear seat.
"How's the bite Ali? Any soreness, feeling sick? Any-", she rushed out, worrying for her only child. Ali leaned over the seats and gently clapped her hand on her mum's shoulder.
"Ma, I'm fine okay? It's not even hurting that bad, see?", she lifted her left arm, the slightly bloody bandage visible under the torn sleeve.
"If anything, I can truthfully say a famous guy bit me.", she joked, flopping back down into her seat.
Julian rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath, tapping the glass of the rear window out of boredom.
"It'll be on the next right, which ain't far, so keep an eye out for the turn off", Kirby directed, Paige nodding and steering the vehicle around the abandoned cars along the road.
After a short while, Kirby pointed off to the side of the road, where a truck stop stood out against the trees and grass.
They rolled to a stop in front of the parking lot, the stock car pulling up just behind them.
Paige switched off the engine and pocketed the keys. Pulling her pistol out of the holster, she opened the car door.
"Ali, you and Jane got your backpacks? Mum, your messenger bag?", she questioned, Ali responding by slinging her pack over her shoulder. Jane held hers up and Poe plucked hers from the floor. Paige gave a satisfied nod, sweeping her brown hair from her face.
"Alright, let's go."
As they all climbed out of the car, they were met by the four survivors from Liberty Mall. Ellis greeted Kirby with an enthusiastic fistbump, while Rochelle nodded to the older women. Julian ignored everyone, choosing to instead glower at the surrounding area. Coach smiled at Paige, who gave a small wave. Nick just looked on, glancing briefly at everyone.
"Well, here we all are at last. Y'all already know Paige, Ali and myself.", Kirby began, the girls waving slightly as he gestured to them.
"Pinky here is Poe, skull hoodie is Jane and the absolute ray of sunshine over there is Julian.", he finished, Poe flashing a peace sign and brushing her pastel pink locks out of her eyes, Jane throwing out a salute and Julian flipping him off.
"Nice kid.", Rochelle muttered sarcastically as Julian continued to brood, noticing him pause to shoot a glare at Ali, who had moved to greet Ellis by snatching his hat and giving him a playful noogie.
"Howdy ladies, I'm Coach. This here is Rochelle, that young'un is Ellis and suit over here is Nick.", Coach greeted, reaching out a hand, which each woman shook happily.
"Nice to meet you all.", Poe smiled, walking over and shaking Rochelle's hand, Jane flashing a smile at a bashful Ellis.
Ali hoisted her backpack up, flashing a happy grin at Nick and starting off towards the restaurant, Kirby in tow with his rifle in hand.
"What are we waitin' for? Let's go scrounge up some food."
"Hey Ellis, could you give me a hand with this?", Paige called out as she climbed onto the kitchen counter, her mum's messenger bag slung over her shoulder, grabbing a box that looked promising. Ellis obeyed, taking the box from her hands and setting it down on a nearby table where Jane was unzipping her rucksack and chatting with Rochelle. Julian, Kirby and Poe remained outside, keeping watch whilst the others raided the diner. Nick, Ali and Coach were in the stockroom just next to the kitchen, rifling through boxes and cupboards.
Ali emerged in the doorway carrying a box of canned goods, walking over and setting it on the table. Rochelle looked up at the box was placed in front of her, before her eyes were drawn to a fresh tear on the girl's hoodie, a bloodstained bandage visible underneath.
"What happened to your arm, Ali? That looks fresh."
Ali flinched slightly, unaware of everyone stopping to listen, including Coach and Nick, who had appeared in the doorway she had come from.
"Was covering Kirby when one of the bastards knocked me down. I was holding my ground 'till a noise distracted me and he took a bite outta me. The motor oil he was covered in didn't help any. Ah well, at least I got to meet Jimmy Gibbs, even if he did rip a sizeable chunk outta my arm, right?", she ended with a nervous grin. A sudden yell of excitement from behind her caused her to yelp and bang her hip against the table.
"OH MAH GAWD! JIMMY GIBBS!?", Ellis crowed, bounding over to her and grasping her arm. Holding it up to his face, his eyes shone with awe.
"You got bit by zombie Jimmy Gibbs Jr?! Girl, if the laws of nature allowed it I would bear that man's children", he rambled dreamily, Nick smacking his palm against his forehead.
Coach placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with concern.
"How long ago were you bit? 'Cause all of us got bit at some point and we ain't turned yet, so we figured we're immune, see?", he said, pulling his sports wristband down, revealing the already healing bite mark on his wrist. Ellis held up his arm, teeth marks visible above his elbow. Rochelle pointed to a spot just above the top of her boot, while Nick placed a hand on his left shoulder.
Ali visibly relaxed, as did Jane and Paige.
"Uhh, just after you burst outta Liberty Mall, actually. We ran for the car and I got pulled into the Jimmy Gibbs wrestling match of the century.", she smiled, gently rubbing her bite.
Jane looked up from stuffing bottles of water and cereal bars into the many pockets of her pack.
"I'm hoping to God you are immune, Ali. I can't lose you. It's been around an hour now and you're still fine, but I'm not relaxing fully until a few more hours pass. I've seen how quick it can take you, but I want to be sure."
Ali grinned and moved to give her mum a bear hug, picking the smaller woman up and spinning her with a laugh.
Nick, who had walked back into the stockroom, re-emerged with a box of familiar candy bars, munching on a half eaten one in his hand.
"If anything, we can celebrate your survival with this treasure I found. Of all the candy bars to have a full box of, it was my favourite. Anybody want a Baby Ruth?"
Ali gaped at him like he'd just presented her with the Holy Grail. Jane groaned playfully.
"You... they're your favourite too?", she stammered, beaming at the suited man. He looked at her in surprise, then nodded.
"Now you've done it, Nick. She'll love you forever.", Jane joked, elbowing her daughter in the ribs playfully. He smirked in response, motioning for Ali to turn around. She did so, eyes lighting up as she felt him unzip her backpack, emptying the box of chocolate into the main compartment.
He had just finished zipping up the pack when Poe rushed in, breathing heavily.
"Guys, we might wanna move. A horde is milling about in the trees on the other side of the road and if we dawdle they'll get too close."
They all started grabbing the rest of their loot, shoving it into pockets and bags before readying their weapons and running back to their cars. Once back in, they sped off along interstate 16, just as the large crowd of infected stumbled out of the treeline.