— Beca —
We didn't get onto the highway until the next morning, primarily because the insane off-road pursuit and shoot-out had clearly had an adverse effect on the car. During the night, it spluttered to a halt, and we worriedly set about assisting Cynthia-Rose in getting under the hood and getting to work on it as we tried our best to peer into the darkness around us, straining our ears for any sounds of danger.
"We're lucky none of the bullets hit anything much in here." Cynthia-Rose mused, cursing as she attempted to adjust a heated part of the engine by hand, with only the torn collar of Benji's shirt to wrap around her fingers. She eventually announced that we'd just pushed it too hard, shooting a look at Amy as she did so, to which Amy just shrugged and laughed.
"Got us out of a scrape though, didn't I?" She said, and I chuckled, knowing full-well that if any of us had been behind the wheel instead we might not have made it. Finally, Cynthia-Rose declared that she'd sorted what she could, and we piled back in and set off once more, this time with me at the wheel. Amy and Cynthia-Rose quickly dozed off in the back, and Benji and I sat in silence in the front. I just had one thing on my mind: finding the others. As the final sign for the turning onto the highway came into view, I felt my heart leap in anticipation. Maybe I'd see them immediately, up ahead and waving happily. To my inevitable disappointment however, I was merely greeted by a mass of dark tarmac, littered with trash and a few wrecked cars. I sighed, moving into the middle lane and slowing to ensure that we could get a good look of everything we passed. I had to hope that they had a similar process, and hadn't moved off the road for the night. As we drove, Benji hummed quietly, and I was grateful for something for my unconscious brain to latch onto over worry. The further we drove, the more anxious I became that they'd gone another way. What if they'd tried to circle back and retrace their journey to find us? If they did that there was a good chance they'd end up running into the van we'd fought with, and that was a scary concept indeed. I knew that Chloe would have wanted to turn back, but Aubrey was certainly focused enough to keep them from making that mistake.
Suddenly, over the horizon up ahead, the sunlight bounced off the dusty grey of the truck's container and hit me square in the face. I was overjoyed. I turned to Benji, beaming.
"It's them!" I cried, and he grinned back before leaning into the back to gently poke the others awake.
"Bloody hell, what now?" groaned Amy, and I pointed to the truck up ahead. She cheered, and I heard Cynthia-Rose sigh with relief. It was unbelievable really that we'd managed to find them again. As I pulled to a stop beside the truck, I saw the driver door open and felt my heart explode as Chloe descended, her sleepy eyes locking with mine as she let out a gasp. I got out of the car, my face aching with the smile I couldn't shake.
"Jeez, what gives, I thought you liked me!" I joked, and she rolled her eyes playfully before scooping me up into a hug.
"God, I was so worried." She mumbled into my shoulder, and I pulled her in tighter, despite the deep ache of my bruises. It was worse to endure the ache of being apart.
"I'll always find you." I whispered back. I knew it was true. It was nothing short of a miracle that we were all managing to stick together this far, but I knew that there was something that would keep me coming back to her, no matter what. The others were all beginning to emerge now, and Jesse ran over to squash both Chloe and I into a hug, given we were already sandwiched together.
"Oh Beca I'm so glad to see you!" He laughed, rocking us back and forth in his arms.
"What's this, a group hug without ME?" Called Amy, and I felt her flop against us, followed by Aubrey and Stacie, who both appeared to be crying with relief. Cynthia-Rose and Benji finally relented, and we all stood there in a ridiculous clump in the middle of the deserted highway, until I finally managed to get enough space to yell, "If you guys don't let me out now I'm about to whoop all of your asses!" This made them laugh, and we all fell apart happily. It felt like some kind of big family reunion. But the ever-present worry I had come to know was still there, creeping around the edges of my consciousness as I looked on at my group. We couldn't just stay here forever. There were several very real, very imminent threats we needed to keep distancing ourselves from. I sighed.
"Okay guys listen up." They gathered round, and I recounted the chase with the van. They were all shocked to hear the tenacity with which they had attacked us, and they could tell from my voice that I was worried about what would happen next as a result of the encounter.
"We're not safe yet, are we." murmured Donald, grinding his fist into his palm. I shook my head.
"Not until we put some serious distance between us and them. I have to hope that they won't want to stray too far from their base at the hospital, so hopefully if we can put some hard travel in over the next couple days we should be okay." I replied, sounding more confident that I could bring myself to feel. Everyone nodded, and I was glad they couldn't tell how afraid I was inside. I knew none of them expected me to be completely fearless in the face of the people that tortured me, and yet I couldn't bear to allow any weakness to show through my tough facade. Not yet. I knew that Chloe could tell, though, and Jesse too. Plus, I was beginning to realise that Cynthia-Rose was not only very collected but also very good at reading people, and she looked at me now knowingly. I shrugged it off, and we began to make plans.
"First of all, I want to propose a rendezvous point in case we get separated again." I began, and the others agreed quickly.
"I've been thinking the same thing," said Aubrey, pulling the map from the truck out of her back pocket and unfurling it to show us. "Look, we're here, on Route 23. We're actually almost in North Carolina now, and If we keep heading North we might be able to get further into one of the national parks up there and away from some of the infected." She pointed to the patches of forest and mountains that made up Nantahala National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the border of Tennessee. I nodded thoughtfully. Parts of that were classified as wilderness, which sounded promising with regard to getting away from any infected.
"What about a meetup spot?" Jesse asked. Aubrey pointed to the map again.
"If we keep heading up the highway we'll pass through Franklin. From there we can head West, but that's a converging point of all the other highways, so I thought if we get split up again we should all head to Franklin. I'm pretty sure I've been once before to visit a friend, and there's a big Walmart just off the highway before you actually get into the town itself as we're going to approach it from the South. We could meet there if we needed to, plus hopefully get hold of some more supplies at the same time. What do you think?" Aubrey directed the question to me, and I nodded again, my eyes pouring over the map to make sure I could memorise as much as possible.
"I think that's a really good plan, Aubrey. Ultimately I think it will be safer to head for an area like the National parks where we can get some distance from where larger groups of infected might be. If we can gather supplies on the way, hopefully we can find a lodge or something similar out there and maybe finally make a permanent base. And if we get lost, Franklin seems as good a place as any to reconvene. Any opposition?" I looked around the group, and saw no sign of disagreement, which I was glad of. It seemed to be a solid plan, and I was grateful to be able to take a break from any hard thinking. Everyone seemed similarly relieved to have a clear destination, and knowing that we had a contingency plan in case we became separated again made us all feel that little bit more secure. We stayed in place on the highway a little longer, scavenging for any food we could gather from plants by the roadside and dividing the gear back between the two vehicles like we had done in the past. Finally, we set off again, this time not just aimlessly driving but with a destination in mind. We were set to pass through a few towns on our way into North Carolina, and we had agreed to stop outside them in turn and scout them out, gathering supplies if they were deserted and moving on if not. It felt nice to have a plan. Jesse, Chloe and I settled back into the car and into our now old and familiar routine, Chloe's hand clasped firmly in mine as we sat close in the back, Jesse singing tunelessly along to an old Eagles CD. The way things happened in this new world was unrelenting and exhausting, but moments like this were that much sweeter for it, and I cherished them. I could only hope that we could strive for more good than bad in-amongst all the chaos.
— Bumper —
With no way to tell the time aside from the passing of day and night, it was impossible to keep track of how long I lasted alone. After those assholes left me and drove off, I had resolved to find another group and get my revenge. It wasn't a small aim: it hinged entirely on my ability to find other people who wouldn't immediately try to kill me, and then to convince them to take up my cause against people they'd never met. Even if I managed that, I would have to find the Beca's group again. That part was actually the least worrying to me, because at least I knew they would be in the warehouse. I might not know its exact location, but if I teamed up with any locals from the area they surely would. It was just going to take some good fortune, but surely I was due some of that by now? I didn't believe in Karma or any of that crap, but if it did exist then surely things would be squared off after what those bastards did to me. In fact, I believed things ought to be in my favour now, karmically-speaking. The universe owed me one.
My hatred and rage fuelled me through the next few nights of aimlessly wandering, searching for signs of anyone. Part of me wished I could find my way back to the town where Beca and I had been captured. Maybe if I could get back to them, I could give them information on my former group in exchange for their help punishing them. I couldn't be sure of course, but I bet that they were still pretty pissed that we'd all managed to escape the way we did. Time passed, and I still didn't see anybody. Every so often I'd encounter some infected, but somehow every time I managed to get away with my life. The only thing hindering me was my lack of food and water. By the time a week or so had passed, I was starving. I had been eating whatever I could find, but that wasn't much. The hot Georgia sun was beating down on me day by day, and I could feel myself slowly shrinking under its glare. But still, I carried on. I was beginning to lose count of the days by this point. There seemed little point in keeping track anyway, the passage of time was pretty meaningless now. All I could think of was survival. Survival and revenge. God only knows how long it was before I came across them. My eyes burning with the afternoon sun, I stumbled straight into their path. A group of young-looking teenagers, all dressed in dark clothing and carrying weapons had been beating a path through the forest, and we all stopped dead in our tracks and stared in confusion, before one of them finally pointed a gun at my head.
"Stop." She said, in a wavering voice. I smirked.
"I already am stopped." She didn't say anything. I looked around, trying to see if there was anyone else with them. "Is it just you three out here?" She shook her head quickly.
"No, our captain is here." Captain… I began to think. Had my wish come true? Could these kids be from the same place that had taken me hostage just weeks earlier? I opened my mouth to ask another question, when I felt somebody approach from behind me and stiffened in response.
"Well well." A gruff voice spoke almost directly into my ear, and I flinched. I had to be careful here. "I wonder if this is one of the escapees we're meant to be out here lookin' for. Either way, no harm in bringing him back, eh squad?" He moved around to stand in front of me as he spoke, and I saw to my delight a man dressed in the same military uniform I had seen on the guards as we had escaped from the hospital.
"I've been hoping I'd come across you, actually." I began. He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. I couldn't suppress a grin. Maybe things were finally looking up for me.