IV - We Find Each Other

-Day 70-

The red coupe arrived in Diamond Point and parked in a lot in front of a five-story building, formerly a hotel, and formerly the safepoint of those who arrived. Tim rushed out of his vehicle, while Maria slowly stepped out of it, holding Carlitos close as she watched in shock.

"No, no, no!" gasped Tim.

Maria surveyed the area. She found bodies in the pavement, and lined up against the cars in the parking lot, many riddled with bullet holes. Empty cartridges were scattered across the parking lot, and weapons were all found near the bodies.

Tim ran to the hotel frantically, holding his gun and knife. Maria followed him, escaping the sight of the massacre.

"Stop!" yelled a female voice from above. "Stop running, I said!"

Tim looked up and saw a female survivor standing by the window, wearing jeans, a dark blue T-shirt, and a blue bandana around her neck, and pointing an HK45 at the two adults. Tim slowly raised his hands while Maria covered Carlitos.

"I'm only looking for my daughter and her mother!" exclaimed Tim. "Are they alive?"

"Holy shit. You're Sherry's ex-husband. Stay there. If you try something, I'll shoot you."

After a few minutes, the woman limped out of the front door, her gun in her holster.

"You're Tim Crowley, right?" asked the woman.

Tim nodded.

"I'm Bruna," she said before turning to Maria. "Are you like his new wife or…?"

"No, I'm just a friend. My name is Maria."

"Is Vonda here?" asked Tim.

"I haven't seen her or Sherry here," replied Bruna. "When I came here, it was already like this. This bloody mess you see out here… hell, it's the same thing inside the hotel. I'm the only one here."

"So you have no idea where Sherry or my daughter is at?"

"Maybe at Hudson. But it's been too long. They must be in the Dust Zone."

Tim sighed in relief.

"Jesus, what happened here?" he muttered.

"I have no idea. But this ain't the worst thing. Look out there by the lake."

Tim walked over to field of grass that led to Lake George. By the edge of the field, a couple bodies were impaled with a stick that held them up, each body missing all their limbs. The heads were stabbed, and their torsos were exposed. Maria covered Carlitos's eyes as she flinched away. Tim walked around the impaled bodies and found a knife stuck in the back of all the torsos. And behind all the impaled bodies was a flag waving no higher than Tim. It was a white flag with a blue Nordic cross and a blue Saint Andrew's cross.

"As much as I despise what you Piranhas stand for," said Tim, "it seems we have a common enemy. Want to come with us on our escape?"

Bruna nodded.

"Anywhere but here."

"Anywhere but where Quirino and the KHAN are at," said Tim. "I'll explain later. But we're not safe here. We have to go now."

-Present Day-

The small white car arrived at a Harlem neighborhood as the sun was nearing the horizon. They parked next to an empty RV and an empty van. Kotaro, Luna, and Sam exited their car and looked inside the van, finding nothing but backpacks and clothes. Then, they looked inside the RV, only finding Reiji the roamer, staring at the survivors blankly while tied to a half-closed closet.

"No one's here," said Sam.

"But these are definitely from our people," said Luna. "This is Hana's. And there's nothin' in the world like Vanzilla. They're definitely somewhere close by."

"We should check some of the houses around here," said Kotaro. "Which one would you hole up in?"

Luna pointed at a small yellow house that was in the best condition. The windows were barricaded and a tall, gated, locked fence surrounded the house.

"Can you unlock the fence?" asked Sam.

"No," said Luna. "Leni could've."

Kotaro slipped his hands inside the gate and tried unlocking the fence from the inside. But it was not that type of fence.

"Damn, how do you get through this?" groaned Sam. "Think we can climb this?"

Kotaro placed his foot on a metal bar that stood low in the fence.

"That could be the only way in," he said.

"Wait, dudes!" gasped Luna. "You hear that? A car's coming!"

Kotaro quickly hopped off the fence and ran behind the RV. Luna followed him and lowered herself as Sam grabbed her AR-15 and placed herself behind the edge of the RV. The vehicle turned around from the intersection and began driving slowly to the RV and Vanzilla. Sam peeked slowly.

"Another RV?" she whispered.

The older RV parked next to the two vehicles, as Sam backed herself behind the white car. She heard a door open followed by footsteps in the pavement of the road.

"That didn't work so well last time, babe, remember?" said a familiar young male voice.

"Didn't work for the both of us," said an older male voice.

"Yeah, maybe," said a familiar young female voice. "Still, there's nothing much I could do about it. But don't forget. We have a whole lotta people. She could lead the ones that she's been with, while I lead the original group, you know?"

Sam turned over to Luna, who stood up with a curious look in her face. Sam knew the voice sounded familiar, but Luna was confident enough to reveal herself from the RV without a weapon pointed at the strangers.

But it's because they weren't strangers.

Sam stared at the group as Luna ran towards Lori and Luan, all giving each other their best sisterly hugs. She also stared at Kotaro giving David a firm handshake while checking up on each other. Bobby and Benny then walked up to Sam, greeting her and patting her, as she continued to stare at the group blankly.

"Something wrong?" asked a smiling Luna.

Sam smiled and shook her head. She sighed in relief and walked up to the group as David walked to the driveway of the yellow house.

"How do you get inside there?" asked Sam.

"Back door," replied Benny.

"Ohh," chuckled Luna. "We shoulda' checked the back, right, Sam?"

Sam nodded and followed the group inside the house to gather all their belongings.

The sun dropped below the horizon, and the stars began to appear in the sky, floating next to the bright, waxing gibbous moon. The four vehicles arrived at the train station near the Harlem River. Simon Weber remained in the platform of the train station, with a can of apple juice next to him, observing the group members come outside their vehicle. One more reunion for him to observe, though he did not care at all. He was just bored from not finding any more crows.

As Luna hugged her siblings, she was caught speechless when she saw Lynn, sitting in a bench outside the train station. Lynn's face glowed as she began jogging towards Luna, who covered her face with her hands.

"Lynn… you're alive!" she exclaimed.

"Yup, alive enough to give you a noogie!" cackled Lynn as she leaped upwards to Luna and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"No, wait! How? I thought… I killed you! I shot you!"

"That was you?" gasped Lynn. "Shit hurted like a bitch, but guess what. My vest caught it! And my shoulder feels a lot better too."

Luna was at a loss for words again. She then lunged towards Lynn and hugged her, both of them falling to the ground while giggling. Sam held her rifle strap while chuckling softly. She then caught Weber looking at her, before he withdrew his head away from the guard rails. Slightly creeped out, Sam began to wonder about the fate of one other person.

"I have been pondering slightly," Lisa said to Kotaro, Luna, and Sam. "What occurred to the rest of the passengers that you were traveling with?"

"I have no idea what the hell happened," said Kotaro. "Almost all the passengers were sick, and we ran out of fuel for the bus. I went to get more fuel while the girls went to hunt for food. When we came back, we saw… blood and guts. All the passengers have turned… every, single, one. And we killed them all. And we abandoned the bus. We don't know how the hell they all turned so fast, but I'm guessing it has something to do with a new disease spreading around?"

"That's right," said Dr. White. "A malaria with some strain affected by our familiar plague. So far, it took the life of four of our own. It's spreading like Ebola. So that bus over there… it's quarantined."

"Is Jace in there?" asked Luna.

"Yeah, but–"

"You have to let me see him!" she exclaimed.

"It's too risky."

"I don't care, I have to see him!"

Dr. White glanced around the large group.

"Fine, but wear some non-latex gloves and a surgical mask. And try to avoid contact."

Luna nodded.

Moments after, the bus door opened, with the rocker girl taking a step inside. She saw Jace and Preston at the end of the bus. She ignored all the coughing and groaning ill passengers, and ran straight towards the end.

"Jace, you're– you're alive!" she sighed.

"Is that you, Luna?" groaned Jace as he opened up his eyes.

Luna pulled down his surgical mask and smiled at her best friend. Jace rubbed his eyes and smiled back before pulling Luna's mask up to cover the lower part of her face.

"So, how are you feeling?" she whispered.

"You got eyes, moonrock. Pretty ones too. But if you haven't noticed, I'm fucked up."

"You… moved on quicker than I thought."

"Well, Leni's a beautiful soul," whispered Jace. "You seem surprised."

"Yeah, it's just… it seems that the others still haven't moved on from what happened to Leni. And you were close to her. Just thought that– nevermind, just tell me how you moved on from her."

"Woah, woah, slow down," said Jace. "What are you saying?"

"Leni… passing away. What do you think I'm talking about now?"

Jace's mouth dropped.

"I thought you were talking about how I used to have a crush on you! Oh my– you're playing around right? This has to be a joke!"

Luna shook her head before lowering it.

"I'm sorry. I thought you knew. Didn't want you to find out like this."

"She… died? But… how? She was supposed to be safe. I told her to go with Carol and Haley. If she wasn't with Carol, then she was with Haley."

"Haley ain't here either," said Luna. "I saw the entire battle through the scope of my rifle. I saw Black… and he… just shot… it's hard telling you. But the General killed her. And Luan killed the General."

"Is anyone watching right now?"

"Huh?" wondered Luna.

Jace turned towards Luna, his eyes full of tears. He sniffled and turned back away.

"It's my fault," he said. "I should've gone with her. I should've kept her safe. Instead… I sent her out there. I sent her out there to get killed. Me."

"There's one person to blame."

"Me."

"No, it's General Black. And he's six feet under now. You did everything in your power to make sure she was safe. You don't deserve the blame you're giving yourself."

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind. If I hadn't said what I said, she still would be alive. It's simple. It's my fault. Now, just leave me alone."

Jace turned over and groaned while sniffling. Luna lowered her eyes and stood up before looking back at him.

"I promise…" she whispered, "I won't let you die. I won't let anyone else die. I'll save your life. Even if you don't want me to."

Luna walked away, leaving behind a sniffling Jace, covering his face out of shame. Luna took one last look through the metal bars in the window before walking away.