Sorry it took so long to get this next chapter out. I promise the next one won't take so long.
Here we go again.
Introducing some new characters this one.
Chad McCoy: Theo Von
Neveah Blackburn: Rhonda Rousey
"Escape from LA"
Starring: Chris Pratt, Jennifer Lawrence, Benicio del Toro, Charlie Plummer, Christopher Abbot, Theo Von, Rhonda Rousey, Max Charles, with Cameron Diaz, with Idris Elba, with Taylor Swift, and Elon Musk
Chandler POV
The others in the camp all appeared some combination of despondent or exhausted. Fernando poked at his food, a plate of cold baked beans. Tony slammed his machete into the bench beneath him over and over again. Cynthia sat on the tailgate of Tony's Toyota staring off into space. Hakeem hummed some song with his eyes closed as he sat in a plastic lawn chair.
They had travelled about sixty miles north of Orlando. After the debacle at the gas station, they had stopped for the night forty miles east of Ocala. The stop was a small campsite in the Ocala National Forest. It had a few picnic tables and a black cast iron grill, the kind no one ever used. There wasn't really anything else around them though.
Chandler didn't exactly have a plan for the day, much less for the extended future. He had to get to Tulsa to meet Jordyn, but other than that, he didn't have a damn clue what to do. Whatever life plans he had were destroyed by the apocalypse. Now the biggest concern was survival.
They needed food, water, clothes, sleeping bags, tents, and god knew what else. Thankfully though, they had enough extra gas to get them into Ocala without losing too much distance off their travel time. Tony had done a few calculations and found they had enough gas to reach Mobile Alabama. Perhaps taking a trip into Ocala for some supplies was a good idea.
"Chandler," Tony spoke to him as he too sat down next to Chandler on the bed of his Mitsubishi. "I want to talk to you."
"Already are," Chandler returned obstinately.
"Si, si," Tony nodded and rolled his eyes. "I'm worried about Fernando."
"What's wrong?" Chandler questioned.
Chandler scratched at his almost ginger stubble. He withdrew a cigarette from his back pocket and quickly lit it using a silver lighter. Chandler inhaled but didn't swallow the smoke. Puffing slowly, he waited for Tony to speak.
"I don't want him to hole up," Tony said finally. "He just lost his padres. I think he could be in danger of losing himself too."
Chandler nodded slowly and took another drag from his cigarette. He wasn't exactly sure why Tony was telling him all this. Chandler wasn't exactly a good support system.
"He needs a friend," Tony said. "Someone to talk to."
"He should talk to Cynthia," Chandler spoke logically. "She's got the credentials to help the kid."
"Chandler," Tony laid a hand on his shoulder.
Chandler turned to Tony, a question in his eyes. Chandler still didn't understand why he was better for Fernando than anyone else.
"Fernando knows you," Tony said. "He likes you. You're like his uncle."
Tony seemed totally committed to his words. He wanted to impart just how important this was to him. Chandler didn't do well with any of this. There didn't seem to be a point.
"Chandler," Tony spoke more desperately. "Look at him."
Chandler smoked while staring at his friend's grandson. Fernando laid his head on the picnic table in front of him. The boy's eyes closed as pain washed over him. He looked lost, something Chandler could identify with, once upon a time. Though, he was quite sure that his reasons for feeling lost were vastly different from Fernando's.
"I'm afraid," Tony said. "For the first time in a long time, I am afraid."
"Why?" Chandler asked still confused.
"You need to show him there is something to fight for," Tony explained. "I am worried he might give up."
"You mean you're worried he's going to off himself?" Chandler questioned bluntly.
"No se mi amigo," Tony returned solemnly.
Chandler knew just what it was like to have a loved one behave suicidally. Jordyn had nearly killed herself twice as a teenager. Chandler had saved her both times. Then, Jordyn returned the favor by saving him in college. He really wished Jordyn was here to talk with Fernando. She would be much better at helping the kid, as she was much more in tune with her emotions. Chandler's emotions, meanwhile, had been chucked in a blender and mutilated until they were effectively nonexistent.
"I'll take him with me today," Chandler said finally. "We need to go into Ocala, pick up supplies."
Tony nodded, "Gracias."
Chandler said nothing in return. He did take another drag from his cigarette though.
"Hey!" Chandler called to the group as he tossed his cigarette in the grass. Using his boot, he ground the flame into the dirt.
The others looked to him, save Fernando, who still looked depressed.
"It's time to move on again," Chandler continued. "We're going to stop in Ocala for supplies, then we go north to I-ten."
"What happens if we run into guys like we did in the gas station?" Hakeem questioned.
"We fight them off," Chandler answered quickly. "Everyone takes a gun. Fernando," Chandler gestured to the boy who looked up slightly as his name was called. "You're with me."
Fernando looked confused and didn't move. Chandler eyed the boy coldly, unwilling to allow him to draw into himself like turtle into its shell. Fernando met his eyes, which, inside, looked sort of dead.
After a short stare down, Fernando huffed angrily and stomped over to Chandler's truck. He climbed inside and slammed the door behind him. Chandler snorted at the display. It was funny to him when people got angry.
"Is he okay?" Cynthia asked. "This has to be hard for him…"
"He's got to get better," Chandler returned. "Or he'll get killed."
Jordyn POV
"Are they gone yet?" Rock asked on the opposite side of the roof.
They had sat on the roof overnight. By sharing protein bars and water bottles, the group of five had satiated their hunger and thirst. It wasn't much, but it was enough to hold them over for a while.
"Answer's still no," Jordyn replied without even looking to the street below.
Rock must have asked that question at least fifty times in the last ten minutes. The cop lay on the ground next to the low wall around the edge of the building. He remained there in the shade, trying to keep cool. Taylor leaned on the wall looking down to the street, looking practically hopeless. Elon sat on the wall away from the others, eyeing the structures on the roof carefully. Jordyn could practically see the calculations flying through Elon's brain. Zach slept on the floor, still recovering from the crash. He had woken a few hours ago, telling them that both his head and his leg hurt. Jordyn wandered back and forth across the roof, feeling bored.
The herd below had passed continuously for hours and hours. Nothing seemed to be stopping them or turning them away. Jordyn had considered many possible ways to move the herd away but had come up with nothing. There wasn't much she could do from on top of this roof.
Around their building, there were other buildings, most were similar to their own. However, two buildings to the right, there was a taller building that attached to another building on the other side of the road with a covered bridge. If they could get there, then they could walk across the bridge and come out on the safe side of the road.
Elon stood suddenly from his seat on the wall and made his way to the fire escape. He moved with purpose, his katana clutched by the sheath in his left hand.
"Where you going?" Jordyn asked.
"I have an idea," Elon returned. "I might have come up with a way to get off the roof."
"What?" Taylor asked. "You aren't going to tell us your big plan?"
"Not unless I know it'll work," Elon said. "Keep an eye on the road. Jordyn you come with me."
Jordyn locked eyes with Taylor and Rock. She shrugged and then followed Elon down the stairs.
"You do know it is twenty feet across the gap to the next building," Jordyn said.
"Yes," Elon responded shortly.
Jordyn was taken aback by his short response, but she didn't know why she expected any less from the former CEO. That was just who he was. Elon would much rather solve problems than talk.
They stopped two floors down in front of a window into an apartment. The inside was difficult to see thanks to the angle at which the sunlight hit the glass. Jordyn couldn't see anything but her own reflection and Elon's.
"Can I have your crowbar?" Elon asked extending a hand out to her.
"Breaking and entering?" Jordyn teased lightly.
Elon didn't respond. He just took the crowbar and promptly smashed the window in. The glass sprayed all over the room inside which Jordyn now saw was a bedroom. Inside there was a dead body with blood painting the walls. A revolver lay by the person's hand. Jordyn couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman.
"Jesus," Jordyn spoke softly. She held back her urge to vomit at the smell.
"Definitely not," Elon returned jokingly as he reached inside and unlocked the window.
He rolled it up and then clambered inside. Jordyn was surprised at the man's willingness to do anything. It didn't look like he cared what was going on. Jordyn sighed and then followed Elon into the bloody room.
The smell, which had been bad outside, was ten times worse inside. Jordyn gagged and covered her mouth with her hand as she didn't have a shirt to do so with. Jordyn only had a tank top, which was comfortable in the California heat, but wasn't exactly protective. Elon held his t-shirt collar over his nose.
The South African walked over to the dead body and inspected it closer. He leaned back and forth as if trying to figure something about it. Eventually, Elon shook his head and grabbed the revolver off the bed. He checked the chamber for bullets.
"Guess he used the last one on himself," Elon commented. He pocketed the revolver anyway.
Jordyn quickly left the room, entering a main room. There was a couch, a coffee table, a small kitchen, and a dining table. It wasn't the most luxurious place ever, but it was pretty nice. No worse than Jordyn's own apartment.
"So, what are we looking for?" Jordyn asked as Elon came into the room behind her.
"Just a few things," Elon responded. "Oxygen tank, plastic tubing, brake line, and a lighter."
Jordyn couldn't figure why he would need the tubing to start a fire, since that was obviously what he was doing. She didn't know what brake line was either, but it sounded like part of a car. Chandler would know.
"You don't need the tubes or whatever the hell break lines are to start a fire," Jordyn said leaning against the counter while Elon searched the drawers of the apartment.
"No," Elon said. "But I do need them to make a thermal lance. I also need steel wool."
"Thermal lance?" Jordyn asked for clarification.
"Cuts holes through steel," Elon explained quickly.
He slammed the last drawer finding nothing. Elon moved to the door to continue his search, but Jordyn stopped him before he could rush off.
"Hang on," Jordyn said standing straight. "We need to work together on this."
"We are," Elon said as he turned back to the door to leave.
"No," Jordyn stopped him again. "You're doing stuff and I'm following you around. Let's talk this out and think of a plan."
"Break into all the apartments," Elon said simply. "Find what we need."
"Where are we going to get break line?" Jordyn questioned. "That sounds like something you'd find in a garage, not an apartment."
"Then we'll go to the garage level for that," Elon said simply.
"How do you know there is one?" Jordyn asked.
"I don't," Elon returned. "But I hope there is."
With that he left the room and walked to the next apartment over. Elon tried the handle, but it didn't open. Of course, it didn't, they didn't have the key. Then, with a mighty kick, Elon broke the handle off the door. It fell to the ground with a light clang. The lock now busted, Elon simply pushed the door open.
"You get the other side," Elon said. "We'll clear it out quicker that way."
Jordyn shook her head at the man's antics. Elon clearly didn't care for the camaraderie of working with others. As an extrovert who enjoyed talking to people, Jordyn found his behavior very difficult to understand.
She made her way across the hall and used her crowbar to smash the door handle off just like Elon had done. Inside, this apartment had a similar layout to the one she'd left earlier. It was painted blue on the inside walls though. The last one was white.
They searched for a good while, neither of them having any encounters with the dead. On the first floor they checked, they found only oxygen tanks. They did find three of them, but, so far, they hadn't found anything else useful. They hadn't even found food or water. The entire apartment building had been stripped of most supplies.
There wasn't a whole lot on the floor below either. But, on the next floor down, they found the necessary plastic tubing. Then, in the underground garage, they got their hands on a break line, steel wool, and the necessary tools to build the thermal lance. Surprisingly, they hadn't encountered any zombies. Things were looking up.
"That wasn't so bad," Jordyn commented as they climbed back up the stairs.
"Hopefully it works," Elon said.
"Speaking of," Jordyn prompted. "What are we actually doing with the thermal lance once you build it?"
"Cutting down the tower on the roof," Elon answered.
Jordyn raised her eyebrows in surprise. That hadn't come to her mind at all. The only thoughts she had related to building a bridge across to the next roof, or somehow connecting a rope for them to climb. Elon though had the creativity to use an already existing object.
"You're going to drop it over the gap?" Jordyn asked.
Elon nodded with a smile, "Should be fun."
Jordyn didn't know whether it would be fun. She did have confidence that Elon's plan would work though. If they could get off their roof, then they could hopefully use the next tower to get into the glass building that connected to the other side of the road.
"Then we can use the next tower to get onto the big building that goes across the road," Jordyn shared her idea with Elon.
"Yeah," Elon agreed. "The tower'll smash through the wall. Then we just walk across, hopefully."
Fernando POV
The silence was really getting to Fernando now. He'd been stuck with Chandler all day. Not a word had passed between them. Now in the aisles of a Home Depot, they looked for supplies. Fernando followed Chandler around like a lost puppy, because he didn't really have another choice.
He just wished deeply for this to all be over. It wasn't possible that this was reality. Fernando wanted this dream to end as soon as possible. Every time he thought it would end though, the dream continued. Fernando couldn't believe that life could have grown so bad.
They'd gone into another town, Fernando didn't particularly care which one it was, in search of more supplies. His abuelo and the couple they met went in search of food and water while he and Chandler went looking for tools and other useful items.
The drive over was filled with weird old music and frosty feelings between them. Fernando had known Chandler for about five years and had seen him quite often during those years. The ginger was a mystery to him. Chandler didn't seem to understand the most basic societal concepts, like don't talk politics with people you don't know and give out little compliments when you meet people.
So, that led to the current moment. While walking down an aisle filled with toilet seats, Fernando was ready to break.
"What do you want?" Fernando asked annoyed.
Chandler smirked like he had accomplished something great.
"About time," Chandler said. "Figure out that your silent protest was pointless?"
"It's not a protest," Fernando said. "So, what do you want? I saw you talking with abuelo earlier."
"I don't want anything," Chandler returned as they left the toilet aisle. "Your abuelo's worried about you."
"I'm fine," Fernando shot back.
"That explains why you're ignoring everyone then," Chandler said sarcastically.
Fernando said nothing to Chandler. He wouldn't admit anything that he was doing was wrong. Chandler turned down the next aisle, one full of kinds of power tools. Fernando followed and they began taking hold of the tools, throwing them in the stolen shopping cart.
"Look kid," Chandler said. "I don't know what's going on in your head, but you need to move on."
"My parents died!" Fernando shouted turning to Chandler angrily. "You want me to just move on! I can't move on!"
Chandler said nothing. He didn't look fazed by Fernando's words. Fernando couldn't understand why he didn't care. His parents had been eaten alive right in front of him and Chandler didn't care.
"Dude I can't help you," Chandler said finally. "You need to talk to Cynthia."
"Why should I?" Fernando asked. "There's nothing wrong with me."
"You just said you can't move on," Chandler replied calmly as he snatched a drill off the shelves.
"Yeah," Fernando said. "Of course, I can't move on. They were my parents."
"Maybe it's hard-" Chandler started.
"It is," Fernando snapped.
"Maybe you're overwhelmed by your parent's death," Chandler continued. "But you need to focus on staying alive right now, because this shit you're pulling now is making it harder for you and everyone else."
"Give me time," Fernando said. "Give me time to get over it."
"You don't have time," Chandler said.
Fernando shook his head and turned from Chandler. Why couldn't Chandler understand what he was going through?
"Is there something wrong with you?" Fernando asked.
Chandler froze on the spot. He stared directly at the buzzsaw in his hands. He looked deep in thought, like he didn't know exactly how to respond.
"Yeah," Chandler said finally. "I have a lot of problems. It's probably why I don't understand your pain."
Fernando stayed silent, listening to Chandler's words. He frankly hadn't expected the ginger to respond at all. Fernando certainly hadn't expected Chandler to say anything so kindly.
"I'm a psychopath," Chandler admitted with a sigh. "I don't feel things the same way you do. I don't feel much of anything to be honest."
"You're a psychopath?" Fernando asked with a hushed tone. He stepped back a step.
"Relax," Chandler said. "I'm not going to kill you."
Chandler held his hands out in a gesture that said 'really?'. Fernando eyed his companion uncertainly. If Chandler was really a psychopath, then Fernando didn't want to be anywhere near him.
"That's why I go to therapy," Chandler explained trying to keep Fernando calm. "My sister practically forced me to."
Fernando looked to the ground, unwilling to meet Chandler's eyes. His rational side knew that Chandler wouldn't hurt him, but something still frightened Fernando. Maybe it was the blunt nature of the comment Chandler had made.
"So I guess we both have our problems then," Chandler said again, coming closer to Fernando. "I won't pretend to understand your pain, cause I don't. But remember, the longer you take to figure this out, the more likely you are to get killed."
Fernando finally looked up again. Chandler placed the buzzsaw in the cart and moved to the shelves again. Fernando followed him. He didn't say anything standing next to Chandler, but when Chandler met his eyes, Fernando smiled. He wanted to assure Chandler that everything was alright. He understood the importance of what the ginger was saying. There were people who cared about him and he was pushing them away.
Fernando made up his mind then that he would try to be better. He might not be able to move on as quickly as Chandler wanted, but he would work to that point.
Grabbing four clip-on batteries from the shelf, Fernando nodded to himself. He couldn't believe that a conversation with a psychopath gave him this much insight.
Neveah POV
The line of cars stretched for an ungodly distance. There were trucks, minivans, SUVs, sedans, and everything else imaginable. They were all lined up in front of the gate to Eglin Air Force Base. The Base, like most other military bases, had promised to act as a safe refuge for as many people as possible. Once it reached capacity though, they would have to turn people at the door away. That wasn't going to be fun.
Major Neveah Blackburn was acting as the current leader of the entry team. Each person who came through the gate had to be IDed, just to be sure said individual wouldn't be a threat to the others inside. As each person came through, they would be registered for further reference. If anything incriminating was found about that person, the military promptly kicked them out.
Her gate unit was functioning at max capacity right now, and Neveah hated it. Every entrance to the gate was opened to allow for the quickest traffic movement. That meant that each person on gate duty had to work. Neveah wasn't used to this job. Gate duty was generally left to low level enlisted personnel. Neveah would much prefer to be piloting her F-35 right now. Here in front of the gate, Neveah felt chained down.
She waved the next person up. It was a family of four in a white minivan. A middle-aged man drove with his wife sitting in the passenger seat. Two kids, about ten years old, rode in the backseat. Neveah knew, without checking IDs, that this family would be alright.
The man rolled down the window and stuck two IDs out to her. Neveah took them and looked at them. The man was Thomas Crowder, the woman was Samantha Crowder. She quickly passed the IDs to Steve Jones, the Airman who was putting each ID in the system.
"Kids got ID?" Neveah asked.
"No," Thomas replied.
"What're their names?" Neveah questioned. "Got to register everyone."
"I understand," Thomas nodded. "Lily and Elena Crowder."
"Lily and Elena Crowder," Neveah leaned over to the window, adjusting her rifle. They all wore rifles, just in case something went wrong.
Samantha Crowder looked highly uncomfortable in the passenger seat. She was staring directly at Neveah's weapon. Internally Neveah snorted. Samantha was probably the kind of woman that wouldn't let her kids do anything even remotely dangerous. Those kinds of parents really annoyed her. She knew that most of them just cared about their kids, but it still made Neveah mad.
"All done," Jones said handing the IDs back.
Neveah took them and handed them back to Thomas. He passed them both to Samantha.
"Follow the traffic cops inside," Neveah explained. "They'll tell you where to go."
"Thanks," Thomas said, looking somewhat relieved.
"Yes sir," Neveah gave the family a salute as all gate guards were told to.
Thomas gave an awkward salute back as he drove by. Neveah chuckled to herself at the man's awkwardness.
Her eyes tracked the minivan as it went through the gate. It had a few bumper stickers, most of which were about family or something similar. One was a 'Feel the Bern' Bernie Sanders bumper sticker.
She waved the next car up, a Toyota Camry.
The process of checking IDs continued for twenty minutes before Neveah really started getting bored. She found herself checking the clock every minute or so. It was only nine-thirty. She was finished with gate duty at eleven. Neveah had been out since six in the morning, that was three-and-a-half hours, and there was still an hour and a half to go.
"We've got a couple of bogeys at the edge of the woods," a panicked voice spoke over the radio.
"Where?" Another voice asked.
"Keep-" Neveah started to speak but was cut off by a hail of gunfire.
"What are you doing?!" Neveah shouted into the radio.
They couldn't hear her for obvious reasons.
People in the cars screamed as her fellow gate guards fired fifty-cal rounds into the trees. Neveah couldn't even see any of the gray-skinned fools from where she stood.
"Damn it!" She swore loudly.
Neveah took off towards the others. The sound of the gunfire would only draw more of them. Her guys knew better than that.
As she got closer, her rifle, the military standard M4 carbine, slammed against her side while she ran. Neveah placed one hand against the barrel, holding it still. Eventually, the bogeys came into view. There were a lot of them, maybe a hundred.
Gradually, that group of bogeys came closer and closer. There just weren't enough guards at the gate to hold them back.
Neveah finally made it to the side of most of her fellows.
"What the hell happened?" She asked over the racket.
"They just showed up," One man said back to her. "We had to fire. There wasn't a way to turn them around."
"Shit," Neveah swore again. "Help me get these people to safety."
"Looks like they're already doing that ma'am," another guy said.
Neveah turned her head and saw that the man was, in fact, correct. People were bailing out. This being North Florida, plenty of rednecks had jumped out of their trucks and were sending rounds into the army of bogeys.
Then, a large group of bogeys appeared at the edge of the main road. There were even more of them than there were in the woods.
"That's a lot of bogeys," One guy said slowly.
"Command," Neveah clicked the radio on.
"Major Blackburn?" A man's voice came over the radio. "What's going on out there?"
"About a thousand bogeys are coming right at us sir," Neveah said. "Requesting immediate backup. Air support if you've got it."
"You got it major," The response was quick. "Help is on the way."
"How long?" Neveah asked nervously.
"Three minutes max," The man said. "A couple helicopters are flying out for support."
"Sir," Neveah radioed. "With all due respect, your guys need to hurry the fuck up. We don't have three minutes."
Jordyn POV
The thermal lance was really putting in work now. Jordyn watched Elon as he carefully aimed the flame at the base leg of the tower. It was a pretty ingenious solution to their problem. Jordyn damn sure wouldn't have thought of it. It paid dividends to have a genius on your side.
"So how do we get across?" Rock asked loudly.
"I could make it if my leg wasn't broken," Zach complained, now awake.
Each of them looked to him with questioning looks, curious about his words.
"I do parkour in my spare time," Zach said with a shrug.
"You've got nothing but spare time," Jordyn quipped, referencing yesterday when Zach had explained that he didn't have a job.
"No one has a job anymore," Rock pointed out.
"Tell that to him," Taylor said sarcastically, pointing to Elon.
The billionaire didn't look back, too engrossed in his work to notice their conversation. Though, it could've been that the lance was just too loud for him to hear anything. Both possibilities were likely.
"Seriously though," Rock brought the conversation to the issue at hand. "How do we get across with Zach and his injured leg?"
"I was a gymnast back in college," Jordyn said. "I can't take Zach across, but I could find a safe path."
"Those beams look pretty sturdy to me," Zach said. "I bet you could just walk across them."
"Walk on those?" Taylor asked incredulously. "Look how thin they are. You could slip and fall."
"Then keep your balance," Zach replied dryly.
"How does that help?" Taylor questioned.
Zach just shrugged.
"This is ridiculous," Taylor said growing panicked. "I can't do this. I can't die."
"Hey relax," Rock said, laying a hand on Taylor's shoulder. "You'll be fine."
"Yeah right," Taylor returned.
Elon stopped the lance by turning the oxygen tank off, leaning away from leg he worked on for just a moment.
"It's weakened now," Elon said.
"Now what?" Jordyn asked.
"I'll cut through this leg," Elon pointed to the other leg of the tower. "All the weight will be on the one I just weakened, and it falls over. Simple."
"Simple my asscrack," Zach said lowly.
"Zach thinks the beams will be strong enough to hold our weight and we can just walk across," Rock said. "Is that right?"
Elon stuck out his lower lip, glancing up and down the length of the tower.
"Probably," He said shortly, still eyeing the tower.
"That's it?" Taylor asked. "Just probably?"
"Well, the only way to really find out is to test it," Elon said.
"Great," Taylor complained.
"Would you rather stay up here until we starve?" Jordyn asked. "All the food was cleaned out from inside the apartments."
Taylor just grumbled to herself, unable to come up with a reasonable comeback.
Elon, meanwhile, went back to cutting down the tower. Using a small piece of steel wool, the fire caught on the brake line. Once again, sparks flew from the steel. Elon wasn't even wearing a protective mask like most people would.
Jordyn would freely admit that she didn't understand a whole lot of physics. That wasn't her area of expertise. She was glad though, that they had someone who did.
As Elon cut into the second leg, Jordyn found her mind returning to the central problem in her life, getting to Tulsa and reuniting with Chandler. She knew that was her goal no matter what.
That being said, for whatever reason, she didn't want to leave her new companions behind. Somehow, she'd grown attached to them over the course of only a day. As much as she hated to admit it, even Taylor was growing on her.
Jordyn didn't figure they would have anything to do. Maybe they would come to Tulsa with her? It would be nice to have help.
Jordyn shook her head. That was wishful thinking. None of them would want to stick with her long enough for her to find her brother.
"You okay?" Rock asked.
Jordyn's eyes flicked suddenly in Rock's direction. He was maybe the most perceptive of the group when it came to people. He could read people like open books.
She remained silent for a long moment, thinking of how to respond. Would bringing up her plans alienate her?
"Yeah," Jordyn responded finally with a sigh. "Just ready to get this done."
Rock eyed her suspiciously. He definitely didn't believe Jordyn one bit. Nonetheless, Rock nodded in acceptance.
After just a few more minutes of cutting, the second leg gave way.
Elon scrambled back, cutting off the oxygen to the lance as the tower creaked loudly. A series of cracking sounds reached their ears just as Elon was clear of the tower.
It fell, seemingly in slow motion, cutting through the air like a knife cutting through a cake. Seconds later, the tower crashed heavily against the roof of the next building over. The tip lay just under that building's own tower.
"There you go," Elon said, evidently pleased with himself.
"Who's going to test it then?" Taylor asked with a tinge of sarcasm.
Jordyn sighed, knowing that she was the best person for the job. Her gymnastics background gave her excellent balance, plus she was also the lightest one in the group.
"I will," Jordyn broke the silence.
"You sure?" Rock asked.
Jordyn nodded, "It'll be fun," she quipped.
She walked straight up to the wreckage and pulled herself up onto one of the top beams. Jordyn stood for a moment, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet against the round steel beam. It was, just as Zach predicted, sturdy enough to hold her weight. As she walked across, it would only get more sturdy as the structure of the tower narrowed.
"You were right Zach," Jordyn said.
"I told you," He returned. "I know my unstable structures well."
"Not helping," Jordyn whispered to herself.
She exhaled quickly, psyching herself up. Then, she started forward.
At first, she was slow, making sure her feet found the right piece of ground. It wasn't easy to balance on, and she wasn't even over the chasm between buildings yet.
As that chasm approached Jordyn grew more nervous. She gulped down the saliva in her mouth, trying to swallow the feelings building up inside her.
Jordyn stepped out over the chasm, and it was terrifying.
It wasn't like she had an option to look up at the goal instead of down at the ground either. If she didn't look down, she would misplace her foot and slip.
Gradually though, Jordyn grew more comfortable. Her footsteps quickened and her balance grew better. By the end, she was barely even thinking about what she was doing. She was just doing it.
The instant her feet hovered over the next building instead, Jordyn jumped down from the collapsed tower.
"It's alright," Jordyn called out to the others. "Come on!"
It took about ten minutes for everyone to get across. Elon came first, holding his katana at his side as he walked across the beam. He certainly wasn't slow moving, but neither was he as quick as Jordyn. Rock then tossed the pieces of the thermal lance across the gap. Elon went to work cutting through the second tower.
Zach came next, to Jordyn's shock, by himself. He showed off his parkour abilities, hopping along the beam on one leg. His balance was impeccable and effortless as he crossed the beam without a mishap.
Rock and Taylor came last, each one carefully scooting along the beam. They each took a fair amount of time to reach the other side, but in the end they all made it safely.
Once again, Jordyn and the others stepped back away from the tower to allow Elon to cut through it.
The process didn't take nearly as long as the last one had for two reasons. First, Elon was more comfortable with cutting through the tower. Second, he ran out of oxygen.
The instant the tank ran dry, the flame stopped. The sparks quit flying and Elon looked at the brakeline in confusion.
"Shit," He swore.
Chandler POV
After their trip to Home Depot, Chandler went searching for other useful stores. Thankfully, they didn't run into any Muertos or any other people. He wasn't sure at this point whether the dead or the people would be a greater threat.
Finally, they'd stopped outside a department store and entered searching for any kind of items they could find.
Fernando went his own way, looking at various types of shoes. Chandler didn't get that at all. He didn't understand people who cared about the kind of clothes they wore. Chandler meanwhile, went to the clothing section as well, but he was just grabbing random stuff off the shelves and shoving it in his shopping cart.
One of those shirts, Chandler actually did like. It was plain black bearing the words, 'Djent Life' As for the others, he couldn't care less.
Afterwards, he quickly made his way to the survival section. Chandler grabbed his pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. He was feeling a bit antsy. It wasn't often that smoking was encouraged, but in Chandler's case, it was.
His personality was highly addictive, drawing him to all sorts of shit. That included alcohol, drugs, and even cruel and unusual actions. Smoking cigarettes kept him addicted to something manageable. It kept him away from the dark urges of his Psychopathy.
He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag, sighing contentedly as the nicotine flowed through his system. Chandler's hands stopped shaking as he proceeded to jump over the counter and swipe every single knife there. A better man might have left a few knives for other scavengers. Chandler wasn't that altruistic.
Chandler then grabbed a few sleeping bags and some rain proof jackets. He dropped them in his cart as well. Unfortunately, Chandler couldn't find any tents. That was a bit annoying.
There were a couple of fancy compound bows in glass cases alongside a few hunting rifles. Chandler wasn't the world's greatest shot with a bow, but growing up in North Carolina, he'd taken many a hunting trip. Not that his parents approved of such things obviously.
Chandler shook his head thinking of his parents. Henry and Rita Stanton were probably the two worst people Chandler had ever met in his thirty-three years of life. They insisted on calling Chandler by his first name, which he hated. Harold Chandler Stanton, that was his full name. Chandler sounded cool, but his parents always called him Harold. Of course, they had done many things that were actually horrible, like controlling and repressing their children's ability to come to conclusions alone.
In their sessions, Cynthia often wondered how much the repressive environment in which he grew up influenced Chandler's extreme personality issues.
A shout of fright broke him from his reverie. It came from over by the clothing section where Chandler had last seen Fernando.
"Damn moron," Chandler complained, pushing his cart towards the sound.
What he found was comical. Chandler laughed out loud as he saw Fernando scrambling around and around a cash register running away from a single Muerto. It was just too funny seeing Fernando panic over such an insignificant threat.
"Help Chandler!" Fernando screamed.
Chandler just kept laughing. Maybe a functioning human would berate Chandler, tell him what he was doing was wrong. Such a human wasn't around to yell at Chandler.
Finally, after plenty of laughs, Chandler tossed one of the knives from the cart over to the conveyor belt in front of the cash register. It landed right in the center of the black rubber just as Chandler expected it to. His throwing arm was quite accurate thanks to years of playing quarterback in high school and college.
"Use the knife!" Chandler returned as he took another drag from his cigarette.
"Just come help me!" Fernando was still extremely panicked.
"Pick up the damn knife!" Chandler ordered. "They aren't that hard to kill!"
As he came around the conveyor side of the register, Fernando snatched the knife off the rubber. He didn't stop running though. Instead, Fernando put on a burst of speed and sprinted up behind the Muerto. He planted the blade of the knife deep in the back of the ugly, gray-skinned thing's head.
The Muerto went down. Fernando breathed heavily as he walked over to Chandler. He attempted to drop the knife, still dripping in blood, back into Chandler's shopping cart.
"Don't put that in here," Chandler said slightly annoyed.
He looked around for a second before his eyes lit on a gray dress. That would be perfect for this sort of thing. No one would want that thing now. You'd trip if you wore a dress.
"Use that," Chandler pointed at the dress.
Fernando grumbled audibly but followed Chandler's directions nonetheless. He came back a few seconds later with the blade of the knife clean and the gray dress smeared in red blood.
"Why didn't you help me?" Fernando asked aggressively as he dropped the knife into the cart again.
"You didn't need my help," Chandler replied, blowing smoke from his mouth calmly.
"Yeah right," Fernando said. "I almost got killed. You just stood there laughing."
"You're fine, quit worrying so much," Chandler pushed his cart off towards the shoes Fernando was looking at earlier. "Did you find anything?"
"Nothing I liked," Fernando answered as they reached the shoe shelves.
Chandler looked at Fernando incredulously. Then he shook his head with a slight chuckle before tossing random shoe boxes into the cart.
"What are you doing?" Fernando asked.
"Taking them all," Chandler answered simply as he tossed a Nike box into the cart on top of the knives and shirts.
"All of them?" Fernando questioned.
"Sure," Chandler replied. "Better we take them than they sit on the shelves collecting dust."
"What if someone else needs them?" Fernando asked.
"They should've gotten here sooner," Chandler shrugged to himself as he cleared the last box off the shelf.
The cart was jam packed now. Chandler couldn't fit anything else if he tried.
"Let's load all this up," Chandler said. "Don't want to be hanging around here in the dark."
Together, with a cart full of stuff, Fernando and Chandler exited the store making their way to Chandler's Mitsubishi.
Chandler carefully placed the knives, bows, and hunting rifles with his various other guns in the truck bed. Then, he carelessly chucked the bags of clothes and shoe boxes on top.
They climbed inside the truck. Chandler turned the key and selected some Pantera to listen to on the way back to camp.
"You just going to leave the cart there?" Fernando asked.
Chandler looked out the window to see what Fernando was talking about. The shopping cart sat in the parking space next to the truck.
"You've got to be kidding me right?" Chandler asked turning back to Fernando with a critical expression on his face. "You want to put that back in the store?"
Chandler shook his head and puffed on his cigarette as he put the Mitsubishi into drive. Walk filled the speakers while they pulled out of the parking lot.
Jordyn POV
They all strained together against the mostly cut through legs of the tower. Saying it was heavy was an understatement. Trying to move the tower was like trying to move a mountain. But Elon insisted that all they had to do was push it an inch or so, and the tower would fall over.
With a creak, the tower reached the critical point.
"Get back!" Elon shouted.
None of them wasted time following his order. The tower continued to creak and groan as the two legs slowly gave out. A few seconds later, the tower slammed through the glass windows of the taller building with a loud crash. What must've been hundreds of pounds of glass fell to the ground below like rain.
The tower smashed through one floor of the building then stopped as it hit the next one. The floor creaked slightly as the tower landed but managed to stay intact. That meant they would have to climb on an upward angle to reach the building.
"Want to do the honors Jordyn?" Zach asked.
"I'd love to," Jordyn replied sarcastically.
This climb was unquestionably going to be more difficult than the last. It would pose a challenge for everyone, especially Taylor and Zach. Jordyn wasn't sure if Taylor had the upper body strength necessary for this task and she was a bit concerned about Zach's leg.
Jordyn carefully climbed atop the still anchored portion of the tower. It wasn't that high to be fair, but it was the first step of her climb.
She assessed the tower's structure trying to determine the best way up. There were diamond shaped bars crossing in between the opposite poles. She could climb straight up it like a ladder.
That's just what Jordyn did. She kept her feet planted solidly on the metal beams as she reached for the next bar. Jordyn then moved her feet upwards. It was just like ascending a weird ladder. The only trouble was keeping her balance in between leaning too far forward and too far back. If she leaned forward, she would tip towards the empty gap in between the metal beams. If she leaned back, her feet could slip.
Eventually, Jordyn reached her destination, carefully clambering off the tower. She waved her companions over, signaling that it was safe.
They climbed over in the same order as they had travelled over the last beam. Elon came after Jordyn, moving carefully by keeping three points of contact against the tower at once all the time. Zach used mostly his arms, doing pull-ups all the way up. Rock looked uncomfortable with the movements required of him, but he soldiered on anyway. Taylor seemed terrified, and for a moment, Jordyn was concerned that she would have to go help Taylor finish the climb. In the end, she managed to push past her own fear, shaking as she took each step up.
"Look at that," Zach commented sarcastically. "It actually worked."
"I told you it would," Elon replied as walked off towards the staircase.
Now that everyone had safely made it, it seemed that Elon was in no mood to waste time.
"Come on," The CEO encouraged. "Let's get out of this hell hole."
"I'm with you there man," Zach agreed, limping after Elon.
"We're not going to check for threats or anything?" Rock questioned to Taylor and Jordyn who hadn't gone down the staircase yet.
"Doesn't look like it," Jordyn answered, then followed after the others.
The inside of the staircase was incredibly dark with no electricity, not like she had expected anything else though. Their footsteps could be heard up and down the stairs with a massive echo. The dead would surely be attracted to the sound.
Elon exited the stairs at floor twenty-seven. Obviously, he'd taken note of the floor where the indoor bridge lay.
Just as Jordyn followed Elon through the door the whole building seemed to shake. A low rumbling sound came from the floor beneath her. Her whole body vibrated along with the sound.
The group stopped moving immediately, with Rock still standing inside the doorframe.
"What the hell was that?" Taylor asked.
"An explosion I think," Elon answered.
The CEO quickly jogged to the nearest window with Jordyn close behind him.
Sure enough, miles in the distance, Jordyn saw a tall partially collapsed building. Thick smoke combined with a large amount of dust rose high into the air.
"Someone blew up a building?" Rock questioned aloud. "Why?"
"Who cares?" Zach replied. "The dead assholes will go running after it. We'd better move so we can get out of here."
"Agreed," Jordyn said.
She led the way towards the indoor bridge between buildings. It was sectioned off from the inside of the office with a set of sturdy double doors.
Jordyn slammed through the doors, jogging off to the next building over. All they had to do was get down to the street level. Then, they could steal a car and be on their way.
Shockingly, that was easier than Jordyn thought it would be. They made it to the street with little difficulty and found only a few zombies wandering around in the road.
Zach picked out an older Toyota Camry for them and quickly hotwired it. Jordyn didn't know how to hotwire a car, but she did know that you couldn't do that on many newer cars.
Rock promptly hopped in the driver's seat, while Elon took the passenger seat. Taylor, Zach, and Jordyn piled in the back.
"Let's get the hell out of here," Rock said, shifting the car into drive.
"Before we do," Elon started. "We need to make a stop outside the city."
Everybody groaned. They were probably in this position because they had gone back to get Taylor's guitar, which was now smashed up.
"Screw that," Zach said. "If you want something, we'll drop you off. You can risk your life to get it. I've already broken my leg, and I'm not taking any more risks."
"Relax," Elon said. "It's outside the city, plus it'll help us move faster."
"What do you mean?" Jordyn questioned. Anything that could possibly get her to Tulsa faster was interesting to her.
"It's a factory," Elon said. "There's a couple prototypes we could use."
Rock pulled away from the curb, tearing off down the road at high speed. His eyes were locked on the road behind his Raybans. Obviously, Rock had taken the driving portion of his training incredibly seriously.
"Where is it?" Rock asked.
"It's off I-15, east of this town called Barstow," Elon answered.
"That's a good way's out," Jordyn commented, knowing just where the town was.
"I'm down," Taylor jumped in. "Anywhere's better than here."
"Really?" Zach complained. "The only reason we're in trouble right now is because we went back to get her guitar." Zach gestured to Taylor with his thumb.
"We can decide what to do once we get there," Rock said. "It's a good ways out."
Zach grumbled to himself in obvious frustration. Jordyn just wondered how much her companions would be grumbling when she told them she was going to Tulsa.
Neveah POV
All she experienced as she slowly returned to consciousness was pain. Neveah hurt everywhere. She couldn't remember exactly what had happened after she had called for backup.
Neveah groaned as her back cramped up. She gritted her teeth and arched her back to try and avoid the pain. After a minute or so, the pain dissipated.
Neveah cracked her eyelids open to see the cloudy night sky above her head. It looked like it was going to rain. What Neveah didn't know though, was whether or not she had died. Because she couldn't remember the events that had taken place after her radio for backup, there was little evidence to suggest she had even survived. Furthermore, she could've been bitten and her death was just approaching.
She pushed herself up, her feet sticking out in front of her. Around her, Neveah saw the gate she'd been working at this morning. The concrete barriers and small gate control blocks had been reduced to rubble.
As she looked to the ground beneath her, Neveah realized why her back ached so badly. She was laying on a pile of jagged chunks of concrete. She didn't see any bogeys around.
What she did see though, were arms and legs sticking out from underneath the pile of concrete. The trees at the edge of the road were also cracked in half. Many others were on fire.
Neveah struggled to her feet. The left sleeve of her uniform was torn off, in many places her uniform was covered in slashes, and her pants too were cut up. Her boots were missing, leaving her feet clad in just her blood and dirt-soaked socks.
Neveah quickly inspected herself for bites. Thankfully, she found none. She did find a deep gash in her right foot. That gash was filled with dark oozing blood. If she wasn't careful, it would be infected.
Stripping off the camo jacket from her shoulders, Neveah was left in just her olive-green undershirt, also military required. She drew her knife from her belt and cut the right sleeve off her jacket. Using it as a makeshift bandage, the wound on her foot was covered, hopefully preventing infection. Then, Neveah threw her jacket back on before walking away from the base.
Eglin was on fire behind her, leaving Neveah with an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She hadn't been here for long, but the fact that a base held by the United States military was now a complete wreck was disheartening. The wealthiest, most powerful country in the world had been ransacked in a matter of days. It was ridiculous.
Neveah limped forward anyway, searching for any place she could potentially use to take refuge from the approaching rain. This being December, the rain would chill her to the bone. While the temperatures were nothing compared to what they'd been like in Denver where she'd grown up, you could still catch hypothermia by standing out in the rain and wind if you weren't careful.
Thunder rumbled above her head as Neveah reached the intersection in front of the gate. If she continued straight, then she would reach the small town of Shalimar. It wasn't a big place, but there were a few houses she could use to take cover from the storm.
Unfortunately, Shalimar was at least three miles from her current location. That didn't sound like much, but in the pouring rain with a bad foot, three miles would be painful.
A lightning bolt flashed through the sky just a second before a loud clap of thunder reach her ears. The storm was practically on top of her now. Neveah pushed her dirty hair out of her face and continued walking. At least the rain would clean her off.
The drops came only a few seconds after the lightning bolt. At first, the rain was light, pattering against her camo jacket like a little dog's feet. It didn't take long for that light rain to become torrential. It pounded against her skin, running over her face making it hard to see and breathe.
Using her right hand, Neveah cast the hair from her face again. The usually blonde locks weren't covered in dirt and grime anymore thanks to the rain, but the water had transformed the dirt in her hair into mud. The thick substance dripped from her hair as she tried to squeeze it out. That didn't work.
Neveah hunched her shoulders and gasped for breath. She pulled her jacket over her head, leaving her back exposed. At least that move kept her face somewhat clear of water.
A vague orange light appeared in her vision just as she passed by the exit heading towards the Fort Walton Beach airport and Crestview. The rumbling of an engine reached her ears moments later.
"Hey!" Neveah shouted, hoping that the person at the wheel of the vehicle would come to her aide. "Hey!"
She dropped her jacket off her head and back over her shoulders to wave her arms instead. The vehicle, which Neveah recognized as a Toyota 4-Runner, came to a slow stop.
The windshield was covered in raindrops, making it difficult to make out the face of the driver. Neveah thought she saw a man, waving in her direction. Whether it was a figment of her imagination or not, Neveah was going to climb into that 4-Runner and ask questions later.
She jogged to the passenger side door and practically jumped in.
"Damn girl," A southern accented voice spoke from the driver's seat. "The hell you doing out here?"
Neveah didn't respond immediately. Instead, she took her jacket off and tossed it on the floor, leaving her in just her soaked undershirt.
Still ignoring her driver, Neveah removed her undershirt. Now clothed in just her pants and a bra, Neveah used the undershirt as a makeshift towel, trying to dry her face and hair. That didn't really work, as the shirt was already soaked.
Then, Neveah turned her gaze to the driver of the 4-Runner. He was a man. Most people, men or women would be uncomfortable removing any part of their clothing in the presence of someone they didn't know and could want to do them harm. Neveah didn't particularly care. If the man felt any need to attack her for whatever reason, Neveah would stick her knife in his neck. The driver of a car had a much more difficult time defending himself if attacked than the passenger did.
The driver was probably in his late thirties or early forties. He wore a faded green flannel over a black undershirt and even more faded blue jeans. His face was square jawed with a light goatee on his chin. On the driver's head sat a black cap facing backwards. His dark brown hair poked out both from under the strap of the hat and from under the brim in the back. He evidently had a mullet.
"Well you certainly ain't afraid to show off," The guy said, looking at her with some surprise.
"My clothes are soaked," Neveah responded. "What else am I supposed to do?"
She continued trying to dry her face and hair to no avail.
"I got a towel if you want it," The driver said.
Neveah just stuck out her hand in response. The mullet guy reached back in the back seat with a grunt, then pulled out a white towel. That was a godsend.
"Thanks," Neveah said, snatching the towel from his hand. She promptly began to dry herself off, starting with her face.
"Uh huh," The man with the mullet returned noncommittally.
He was still staring at her when Neveah started using the towel to dry her hair. Brown mud stains were left all over the towel. Hopefully this guy had a place to watch it.
"What?" Neveah questioned in response to his stare.
"You still haven't answered my first question," Mullet said.
"Trying to find some place dry," Neveah answered said question, as she remembered the words.
"Where'd you come from…?" Mullet trailed off, obviously waiting for Neveah to give her name.
"Neveah," She said.
"Neveah," Mullet nodded up and down. "I'm Chad, Chad McCoy."
"Thanks for picking me up Chad," Neveah said, still struggling to remove the mud from her hair.
It had dried somewhat. Now, her hair was stuck together in muddy clumps, making the process twice as difficult. She gave up and started drying the rest of her body off instead.
"I came from Eglin, just down there," Neveah answered Chad's question by gesturing with her chin down the road.
"Kinda figured by the pants," Chad said. "Things go wrong?"
"You could say that," Neveah returned.
"What happened?" Chad asked.
"Can I tell you while you're driving?" Neveah asked, shoving the towel underneath her to stop the seat from getting soaked. Sitting on a wet seat sucked. "I'd rather not hang around here."
"You got some place to be?" Chad asked.
"Nope," Neveah returned setting her eyes on Chad.
"I'm heading back to my family's timber farm up around Chipley," Chad said. "That okay with you?"
"Sounds great," Neveah said emphatically. "Now get a move on."
Chad complied, pushing the gas to the floor. Neveah was just happy to be getting out of this place.
Chandler POV
Things were fairly calm in their little camp now. Compared with the despondent nature of this morning, they were actually doing well.
Fernando was actually speaking to people. He was actually smiling. Somehow, Chandler had managed to get through to the kid. In all honesty though, Chandler had no idea what he'd done. His brain just wasn't wired to understand things like that.
Tony and Fernando were playing fetch with Alonso, who sprinted after a stick they took turns throwing to him. Hakeem was playing his violin softly. Chandler didn't recognize the music he played, but it was clear to see that the Brit had some serious skills.
Chandler meanwhile sorted through the various materials he'd found on their trip into Ocala. Thus far, he had made sure to identify the types of ammo that each hunting rifle fired and was now in the process of sorting the bows by draw weight.
When keeping weapons, organization was key. You couldn't leave them laying around without losing track of what you had.
"Chandler?" It was Cynthia's voice that spoke over his shoulder.
Chandler straightened to look to the ground below his truck bed. Cynthia looked up to him, meeting his eyes with a gentle gaze.
"How was your day?" Cynthia asked.
"This one of your interrogation techniques?" Chandler returned suspiciously.
Cynthia chuckled lightly to herself. She shook her head slightly while Chandler went back to sorting the bows.
"We need to continue our sessions Chandler," Cynthia stated.
"I'm kind of busy right now," Chandler said.
"Then talk to me while you work," Cynthia replied calmly.
Chandler grumbled to himself. He hated therapy, even though he knew it was obviously helping him sort through his numerous issues.
"Why don't we start with the urges?" Cynthia prompted kindly. "How were they today?"
Chandler grunted and shrugged, "Fine."
Cynthia's silence behind him was deafening. She was going to make him speak whether he liked it or not.
"I don't really feel them very much," Chandler said. "I don't feel much of anything to be honest."
"Trust me, I'm well aware of that," Cynthia said sarcastically.
"As long as I have nicotine, I think I'm okay," Chandler said. "Not exactly healthy, but better than killing people."
Cynthia remained silent for a moment, thinking over Chandler's words. The silence stretched for a few minutes while Chandler placed the last bow, a ninety pounder, with the others of its type.
"You seem to be doing better with others though," Cynthia observed after some time. "You cracked Fernando out of his shell."
"No idea how I did that," Chandler replied as he placed the bows back into the giant toolbox along with all the other weapons.
"The fact that you can do it at all speaks volumes Chandler," Cynthia said encouragingly. "When I first met you, you didn't care about anyone."
Chandler sat down with his feet over the railing of the truck bed. Cynthia looked up at him with an insistent expression.
"You were a wreck," Cynthia continued.
"Thanks," Chandler returned sarcastically.
"Look," Cynthia said. "I'm just trying to tell you how far you've come. You're helping other people too."
"I just don't want him to get the rest of us killed because he's scared," Chandler explained bluntly.
"Maybe your reasoning isn't perfect," Cynthia responded. "But you're doing the right thing. It's like we talked about at the beginning. You're trying to build a habit of making good choices. Whatever path leads you to those choices is helpful right now."
Chandler shook his head briefly, still unable to see why what he had done was so important. It seemed that Cynthia believed his actions were just as helpful to himself as to Fernando.
"I'm really proud of you Chandler," Cynthia said softly, resting a hand on his knee.
Chandler smiled slightly in discomfort. He didn't know what to say. He thought he should feel appreciative, but as always, there was just nothing. Inside, Chandler was a black hole, sucking up all the feelings most others felt.
He spent the rest of the night watching idly as the others slowly turned in for the night in their own tents. Chandler didn't go to sleep. He didn't need to rest, and besides someone needed to watch for Muertos.
Jordyn POV
"So what's your plan after all this?" Zach asked curiously.
When they'd arrived at the factory, Elon, Taylor, and Rock had gone inside in search of the prototypes. Those prototypes could've been anything, but Jordyn hoped they'd leave with a Cybertruck. Zach still had issues walking, for obvious reasons. Jordyn had elected to stay outside with him.
Jordyn had a feeling that she should answer Zach's question. They'd finally escaped LA, leaving Jordyn stuck in a corner. She liked spending time with her new companions. They seemed to be genuinely good people, not to mention all of them, save Taylor had useful skills in this post-apocalyptic world. Jordyn didn't want to leave them.
"I have to meet my brother," Jordyn said.
"Where is he?" Zach questioned. "We can pick him up."
"He lives in Florida," Jordyn answered regretfully.
Zach's face fell, knowing that travelling that distance would be both incredibly difficult and risky.
"Before all this, we agreed to meet in Tulsa," Jordyn said. "That's twelve hundred miles away."
"He must mean a lot to you," Zach spoke thoughtfully.
"He does," Jordyn smiled to herself, thinking of Chandler.
Chandler had always been the one to stand up to their parents. He'd always been the one to give them the finger and tell them they couldn't control him. Jordyn wasn't so strong. She never had been able to tell her parents no. She'd been so down on herself when she was younger. She thought her life was meaningless, especially during the two years when Chandler was off at college without her.
As soon as she could, Jordyn had followed her brother to the University of South Carolina. Chandler, a star high school quarterback for the football team, point guard for the basketball team, and shortstop for the baseball team, chose South Carolina deliberately because the Gamecocks were the archrivals of their parent's school. Henry and Rita Stanton both taught in the Humanities department at the University of North Carolina.
The instant Jordyn was at college, she felt liberated. Her depression had waned, and she found a purpose in working for herself and eventually obtaining her degree in Philosophy. Of course, college hadn't been all sunshine and rainbows for either of them, but Jordyn didn't like to think about those events.
"Well," Zach spoke up, breaking her from her thoughts. "I'd be willing to go with you."
Jordyn looked to Zach with some shock. Had she heard him right?
"Really?" Jordyn asked.
"Sure," Zach returned. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be."
"No family?" Jordyn asked.
"Not in the picture," Zach said with a sad smile.
Jordyn nodded, completely understanding his plight.
"I can't say about the others," Zach continued. "But, I'll go with you."
Jordyn grinned to herself, turning back to face the factory again. The fact that at least one of her companions had agreed to join her on her trip warmed her heart.
As the feeling spread throughout her body, giving a euphoric sensation, two silver-colored vehicles came around the corner. They were sort of angularly shaped, like giant trapezoids. Jordyn recognized that shape. Her companions approached in two Cybertrucks. Jordyn internally fist pumped.
The Cybertrucks rolled up virtually soundlessly. Elon climbed out of the leading truck while Rock and Taylor climbed out of the one behind.
"I changed my mind, this trip was totally worth it," Zach joked.
Elon's responsive laugh sounded fake, like a robotic program version of a laugh.
"Now what?" Taylor questioned as they congregated in a circle around the bed of Elon's Cybertruck.
Zach sat up on the bed, giving his leg a brief respite. Jordyn found herself meeting his eyes repeatedly, hoping he would help her try to convince the others to join her going to Tulsa.
"We need to find a sustainable location," Elon said. "Somewhere we can build defenses and make survivable."
"Where though?" Taylor asked. "There can't be many places that would work."
"Actually," Jordyn jumped in. "I uh…I have other plans."
The others looked to her curiously. Zach nodded encouragingly. Jordyn took a deep breath then took the plunge into explaining the situation.
"I'm going to meet my brother," Jordyn said.
"Where?" Rock asked.
"Tulsa," Jordyn responded. "He lives in Florida. We agreed to meet in the middle to minimize travel distance."
"Tulsa's a long way," Elon pointed out.
"Twelve hundred miles," Jordyn acknowledged.
"It's risky," Elon continued through Jordyn's speech. "The Cybertrucks have a range of three hundred miles."
Elon's words gave Jordyn hope that he might be considering her plan after all. If he was thinking about how he could get to Tulsa with the limited range of the Cybertrucks.
"We have the two mobile charge units," Rock said.
"We don't even know if those will work," Elon said.
"Didn't you design them?" Taylor asked Elon.
"Yes," Elon answered.
"They'll work," Taylor said assuredly.
"That'll give us six hundred miles then," Rock said. "That's halfway there."
"We're safer if we travel together than if we go our own ways," Zach inserted. "You never know what could happen."
The others all nodded along with his point. It was inevitable that they would run into trouble along the way, wherever they went. If they all went together, then they'd have a better shot of making it in one piece.
"It's really far though," Elon said putting a hand to his forehead.
They held in silence for a moment. It seemed as though Rock and Taylor had deferred to Elon as the leader. Those two were obviously following Elon's decisions. Jordyn knew she would go to Tulsa and Zach had already said he would go with her. That left them with the potential of being separated depending on Elon's decision.
The CEO stood staring slightly downward in thought for a good few minutes before he said anything. He nodded slowly to himself as if he'd reasoned out the correct answer. Jordyn held her breath.
"Let's go to Tulsa," he said.
There we go. Some new characters were introduced, and everyone is on their way to Tulsa. Things are moving along.
Questions of the Chapter:
1: Who is your favorite character so far?
2: What do you think will happen to Chandler's group? What about Jordyn's group?
3: What will Neveah encounter at the McCoy timber farm?
4: Which character do you think will die first?
Thanks for reading guys!