An hour later, Kirby sighed with boredom. They were following Ellis this time, the stock car leading them along the interstate. Julian had actually fallen asleep, his head lolling against his shoulder. Paige was focused on the road, while Jane and Poe were chatting quietly among themselves. He glanced up into the rearview mirror.

Ali was doing fine, she exhibited no sign of infection from her bite at all, instead she was absentmindedly tossing a baseball she had found up and down in her hand. She noticed Kirby watching her in the mirror and stuck out her tongue, a quiet laugh bubbling from his lips.

She stuffed the ball back into her pocket and sighed, leaning forward to rest on the seat in front of her.

"What's eatin' you, Ali?", he asked quietly, the girl looking up and immediately giving a wry smile.

"Jimmy Gibbs Jr.", she replied dryly, earning a small snicker from Paige in the driver's seat.

She then appeared to sink into a deep thought. It was silent for a few minutes, before she piped up again.

"You know what I miss? Home. Never thought I'd say that and mean it, if I'm honest. But with all this zombie shit, it makes me wonder. What's it like back home across the pond? Is it bad there too...? It just makes me miss it more. Video game night with our friends, fresh home baked cookies and even the shitty local park. I feel so lost, I'm so far from home and I don't know where anything is here. The only upside is I have my mama and my new friends, and that's what's keeping me going."

Kirby's eyes softened at that as the mood grew solemn. He took a deep breath, before joining in.

"I miss my mom and my sisters...", he trailed off, blinking back invisible tears. Ali leaned forward and softly motioned for him to carry on.

"What are their names?"

He gave a weak smile before continuing.

"My sisters' names are Sarah and Jenny. Sarah is 17 and Jen is 22. My mom's name is Lorelai, but everyone calls her Lori. My Pa was a soldier, he died when I was 13. His name was Sergeant Kenneth Moore. Folks used to call him Sergeant 'Stache, 'cause he never shaved off his mustache.", he chuckled.

Paige quickly placed her hand on his arm, before bringing it back to the steering wheel.

"What are they like, your sisters and your mum?"

He leaned his head back in thought.

"Sarah's in high school, she has bright green eyes and long blonde hair. She's tall for her age and she loves anything to do with medicine, wanted to be a doctor since she was a kid. Jenny's a kidergarten teacher, she's got blue eyes and short cropped black hair, like our ma. She loves those kids to death, ev'ry time she'd call me when I was in UGA she'd tell me all about her students. My ma works at the local seafood place in Vernonburg. The Marsh House was a rest stop on my way back to univerity from visiting home."

They sat in silence again, this time Paige spoke up.

"I miss those late nights in front of the tv, spending time on the xbox and my cats."

"Hear, hear!", Poe called quietly with a small smile, taking a sip from a water bottle.

Julian snorted in his sleep, rolling over to huddle against the door. Jane stretched her arms up, her shoulder giving a satisfying pop.

"I miss my parents, my tv dramas and my garden.", she added, rubbing the offending joint.

The car fell silent again as everyone reminisced of life before zombies.

"So... anyone else have to pee, or...?", Ali started lamely, the car erupting in laugher and startling Julian from his sleep.

Some time later, night had fallen. The two cars were still carefully evading the abandoned vehicles scattered along the roads, which had lengthened the time of their journey from what would have been around 2 hours to about 4 and a half. In the front vehicle, Ellis steered the car around an overturned pickup truck. He was the only one awake, Coach snoring in the passenger seat and Nick and Rochelle slumped over in the back. His thoughts turned to the events that had lead him up to this moment.

He had been at the garage with Dave, waiting for Keith to show up when the evacs sounded the alarm. Dave had gotten out on one of the first choppers, Ellis instead heading to his parents' house to see if they were still there. He arrived home to the front door wide open, his mother's handbag missing from the hallway table. He walked through the hallway, noticing the bathroom was closed, something shuffling around on the other side. A folded scrap of paper was lying next to a vase outside his parents' bedroom door.

It was adressed to him from his mom, saying that she had already left for the evac and that his father had shut himself in the bathroom and told her to get to the helicopters, telling her that he'd catch up shortly.

Ellis had refolded the letter with shaking hands, tucking it into his pocket. He called out hesitantly.

"Pa...? You in there...?"

He was met with a hoarse scream and the door bursting open, what was once his father rushing him and clamping his teeth onto his upper right arm, just above his elbow. He cried out in pain and alarm, shoving him back and grabbing the vase, bringing it down onto the man's head.

He shuddered at the memory, adjusting the mirror to distract himself. Checking the road behind him, he saw Paige following tiredly behind, her headlights glaring in his mirror.

Paige yawned, driving slowly behind Ellis in the dark. Everyone in the car was asleep, save herself and Ali, who had been fast asleep until she awoke, eyes wide in panic before her brain caught up and she relaxed. She had since unbuckled her seatbelt and was lying on her back across the rear seats humming a melancholy tune under her breath.

"Hey Ali?", she called quietly, the younger girl falling silent.

"...yeah?"

"... can you sing something?"

There was a pause.

"What should I sing?"

Paige thought for a moment.

"Whatever it was you were humming."

"...you sure? It's not exactly cheery."

"Yeah, I'll take whatever over the silence."

Ali stretched, letting out a large yawn.

"Alright, if you're sure."

She cleared her throat and sang softly, her eyes falling closed as she did so.

"Don't they know, it's the end of the world..."

As she continued to sing, Paige relaxed into the melody, sighing sadly at how appropriate it was for their situation. She changed gear and stared at the night sky, the moon giving off a soft glow.

"It ended when you said goodbye..."

A/N: the song obviously isn't mine, it's The End Of The World by Skeeter Davis.