As hoped, the rest of the night had passed without further disturbance. Sun rays filtered through tree branches and windows from high above, bringing little warmth to who laid within reach.
The only sound was Francis' legendary snore. Zoey sat up still half-asleep hearing it and looked around in confusion. Shortly after she laid back down pulling her sleeping bag over her head.
"Is it always this horrendous?" Jordan quietly asked, glancing at the entrance then at his partner who was currently using his arm as a pillow. She waved her hand in a so-in-so manner, "try having both him and my uncle sleeping in the same room when they're this tired."
"I bet it's deafening."
Beth raised her brows and widened her eyes. "Believe me, it's enough to crack open continents." She guaranteed as Bill started fumbling around from his spot on the floor. The couple gazed over when he sprang up uttering cusses while he stormed for the room.
"Francis!" He yelled glaring inside from the doorway. The biker laid on his back with his mouth gaped open and didn't respond at all. So Bill went over shouting his name again, his voice muffled from the monstrous snoring. "Be quiet damn it!" He slapped his face a few times until Francis jumped and came to with a startled yelp. He gazed around spooked seeing nothing wrong. Just the older man staring down fuming at him with light bags under his eyes. "Shut. Up. Yer snoring could attract the rest of America."
"Thought you said last night these shelters are sound proof."
"Usually. But how loud you are you'd break that."
Francis scoffed and laid back against the pillows, closing his eyes as Bill left to lay back down as well. His snoring soon resumed at a much more tolerable volume.
From their spot, Amber sighed as Ian stared at the ceiling, listening to the disturbance. He let out a hum, "this is completely random but…"
Amber raised her head slightly, "what's that?"
"I'm so craving an omelet right now."
"That's a delicacy in the apocalypse. But sadly, Ian, omelets have gone extinct."
"I'm sure we can find eggs somewhere once it warms up enough." He pointed out.
"Yeah but what about other ingredients? Like cheese and vegetables and spices?"
He frowned at the realization. "Oh my God I forgot."
"I didn't."
"Maybe the military will have some."
"But we're not there yet."
A devastated look spread over his face. "Reeeee, nooo ooomeleeeets…"
Amber grinned, "not yet."
"No…"
"In Soviet Russia, the omelets eat you!" Kayla hollered. Both slanted their eyes as Louis cracked opened his with this being the first thing he hears, not the snoring at all. Keirstan chuckled in her sleep as she could now hear the national anthem of the ussr in her head.
Eventually, all settled back into sleep.
...
The survivors woke up again. Peacefully this time, in what felt like noon or so. Keirstan stretched her sore joints where she sat and rubbed her back, grimacing slightly at the hard surface. Louis yawned obnoxiously for a time causing her to throw one of her boots at him. He chucked it back and rose with a smile, then he walked around in an attempt to wake the rest of his body up and almost tripped over Ian and Amber as they rolled all over the place, tangled in their sleeping bags in a playful wrestling match.
Francis massaged his leg as he looked down at it, the painful throbbing had subsided into an odd stiff feel. He gazed outside and squinted his eyes from the sunlight. The little shadows of Birds fluttered pass as they chirped and sprinkled puffs of snow from branches above the shelter where they perched. He then lifted his shirt to check on his other injuries, old dried blood stained the gauzes and cloth and making him growl at the sight of it.
"Figured we'd have to change those soon." He turned to the voice, finding Beth walking over to him holding her water bottle, some roles of new gauze, cloth and disinfectant. "Where'd you get the cloths?" He asked.
"We found some clothes in a chest stuffed in a corner."
He gave her a questioning face, "and you're just taping them on me? Are they even clean?"
"Ah relax," she set the items down. "We've checked, they're clean." She carefully tugged on one piece. "Hey careful, don't just be tearing 'em off."
"Suck it up." She mocked, pretending to do just that, and smirked when he scowled at the movement. Shaking his head a little disapprovingly, he sat up to pull his shirt off; and attempted to unravel the bandages to find most were sticking to the wounds.
"Here, I got it." Beth said as Kayla stepped in and strolled over to them. She peered down at the gashes while Beth unscrewed her bottle and dripped some water to soften them enough to remove without sticking. The biggest ones were stitched up while a couple were still open, still bleeding, he figured they ran out of stitches and kept a close eye on those to keep them from getting infected. The rest were large scratches.
"I wanna get up and move around." Francis said once the three were done cleaning and wrapping them up. He threw his shirt back on and started to rise, "leg's stiff as hell and it don't feel too comfortable."
"Alright I guess. Just be careful." Kayla replied whilst tossing the old bandages in a corner. Francis placed his leg down, then took a couple of moments sitting on the edge before he rose, quickly holding his arms out to the sides for balance. He limped some steps away, it felt numb and sore but not as painful; as long as he didn't put too much weight on it. He tried to walk until the bullet hole caught his attention.
He paused, and soon felt a pang of guilt sting him while staring at it. "Oh, that." Kayla suddenly voiced. He glanced away. "Talk about a fuckin' surprise."
Francis looked over at them. "You know it was by mistake."
"What was your dream about to scare you like that?" Beth asked. Both knew he was a man of strong constitution and didn't frighten easily. Especially with dreams. He's been startled out of his sleep before but never once woke up screaming like he had. It was quite upsetting and bewildering for them to witness.
"Um…" he started. "It was nothin'. Don't worry." Francis lied, not wanting them to worry over it further; as he did not want to think of it or the thoughts that followed.
"Didn't look or sound like nothing."
"Seriously," he held a hand up and shook his head. "Forget it."
He wobbled to the entrance. The girls dropped the subject and kept a close eye if he was about to fall over. Francis looked out at the rest of the group with Bill being the first to see him up and moving. He grunted exasperated, "I swear you listen as well as a five-year-old."
"It's stiff and doesn't feel great." He argued and limped away to take a look out by the front of the shelter. Jordan quickly threw his shirt on. Birds continued chirping as he leaned his hands against the frame, spotting corpses lying in view and scattered about towards the trees. "What's today's plan? Or are we staying here." He groused the last part.
"You obviously still can't go anywhere right now. And we've already told you, we're waiting another day or two." Zoey answered coming up to him; he glanced at her as she talked and let out an agitated noise. Rolling his eyes to look back outside.
"You just said your leg still doesn't feel right."
"Whatever."
Keirstan, Amber, Louis and Ian were sat in a circle rummaging through backpacks and tossing their edibles in a pile in examination for how much they had left. Ranging from some crackers, a less than half-full bag of chips, those pringles, some granola and protein bars and a packet of trail mix. "Think we'll be ok till we leave?" Keirstan asked with a hint of worry in her voice.
"We should be...long as we portion it and make sure we all have some." Louis rubbed his head looking at the items; it may look it was enough but in truth, they were running low. It was no help there was ten of them either. Francis looked at the pile then at his girls and pointed, inquiring if they ate anything. Kayla nodded as Beth gave him a thumbs up.
He nodded as Bill moved by putting his jacket on. "Someone come with me. I'm going to gather what we can burn while we're here."
"Sure, I'll come with." Ian volunteered and rose with Jordan. Both grabbed their melees and headed outside with him.
"Let's hope it'll be quiet during the rest of our stay." Louis piped, "it'd be a nice break after all that's happened recently."
"Louis, we're in an apocalypse." Amber reminded flatly. "It's never been quiet since it started."
"We've had some moments of peace." He defended. "Rarely, but we have."
"I guess." Amber admitted. "God only knows what's coming next." She muttered under her breath.
…
To the survivor's luck and Louis' smug glee towards Amber, two days had passed without much happening. A small handful of infected appeared once in a while, which were taken care of without effort and there wasn't any sight or sound of the new special they have yet to meet. But it may had returned sometime during the final night. Keirstan had found and pointed out fresh footsteps in the snow circling the shelter several times the following morning.
Fortunately with much forced bed rest Francis was healing nicely, as he looked and felt better. While showing little to no signs of pain or discomfort. But it was Francis, Bill suspected he was hiding what he felt so they could leave already. Although once seeing he could walk with more stability again, the old veteran gave in. Deciding they could move on. They would have to take great care if he started to slow.
Zoey took in the warmth of the sun and breathed in the smell of pine. "God this feels nice." She commented, for once able to enjoy nature.
"Spring, is that you my friend?" Louis exclaimed to noone in particular. It was certainly warmer now, causing a sweat to break on everybody underneath their winter clothes. Zoey said something to make him chuckle which added some light to the already bright day.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Keirstan gazed around herself, as Jordan rushed up to Ian from behind. He jumped as high as he could and grabbed a tree branch, plunging snow down on his companion. Ian let out an unmanly shriek feeling the cold quickly melt and drip down his back. He arched, yelling as Jordan skipped away. He tripped over an unseen log and fell on his face. So Ian took the opportunity to chuck snow at him.
"Yes." Bill's eyebrow twitched while holding open the maps. Looking the directions over once again. Why do they always ask? He knew what he was doing. He gazed ahead and saw a clearing opening up not far off. As they maneuvered closer, they made out several large train carts parked on tracks. Some that were not in use sat by the sidelines forgotten. A couple of vehicles met the same fate. There were also multiple large buildings. Most appeared to be for storage or garages, one serving as the station, and one showing as a tall watchtower. He folded the maps and tucked them inside a pocket to his coat.
"Riverside's just beyond this train yard. It'll take us northeast right in the town."
"Finally. I can't wait! Ain't got anytime for these zombie freaks.~" Keirstan snapped her fingers while swaying her hips excitedly.
"Why did they have to hold out in Riverside anyway?" Francis spoke up shortly after. "Canada's the worst place I've been to so far. I hate that place."
Amber gave him a quizzical expression, as did Zoey, Louis and Keirstan who stopped her dance. He looked ahead from watching their surroundings, then glanced at the four who were watching him judgmentally. "Hi?"
"Canada." Amber repeated.
"What I said. I hate it."
"We're nowhere near Canada. We're in Maryland..." Louis corrected. A little concerned. He shifted his eyes over to the girls, as Keirstan merely shrugged to a degree Francis couldn't notice. "Wait what?" His face scrunched in wonder.
"We started from Pennsylvania and traveled here. Maryland, U.S.A. The country we've always lived in." The analyst explained, mock criticism of the large man's knowledge lacing each word.
"How long have you thought that?" Zoey questioned.
He shrugged trailing his eyes away. "I dunno." Was the quiet answer. Bill shortly broke into laughter. "And you graduated school. You have no sense of geographic location." He grinned madly.
Francis squinted his eyes menacingly, "least I don't act delirious. I've heard you whisper some weird shit to your gun in your sleep."
The veteran continued snickering smugly. He mouthed insults and threats and glared at something else. "Why don't you say those to his face?" Zoey challenged, causing the biker to look at her and back at Bill. He gazed over his shoulder and stopped. The two men stared at one another until Francis looked away once more, muttering to himself. He wasn't in the mood.
"Lighten up we're just picking on ya." Amber stated.
He opened his mouth but quickly closed it again. Figuring he should shut the hell up so he wouldn't be a laughing stock anymore; Francis lingered behind them in silence now, shooting them bitter looks until something soft exploded against his back. Pausing, he glanced over his shoulder from the corner of his eye. Beth stood staring at him with another snowball in her hand. She tilted her head enthusiastically. Her brother flashed a small smile and turned away to keep going.
Another explosion against his back. Then another and another. Soon there were enough snowballs raining on him from two people. He quickly looked at Beth again, then Kayla caught his eye from behind a train cart. They continued throwing snow at him. He stood there getting bombarded with snow, until he gave in and shot them a challenging face before ducking to collect a snowball of his own. In seconds he was chucking them at the girls, Next the three were dropping their weapons to run around yelling things and laughing at one another while dodging or being hit.
Ian and Louis turned to see this. So did Jordan. "Should we wait for them?" He asked.
"Nah," Ian replied. "I think they'll be fine."
"But..." He stopped. "It'll be alright, we won't be far this time." Louis comforted. It took the guys a couple of tries to have him go, as he was highly hesitant. However seeing they were enjoying themselves, Jordan softened a little and left them alone.
Francis got one directly in the face. He shuffled away brushing snow out of his eyes before tossing another one at Beth, who was in the middle of chucking one at Kayla as well. The older sister threw two at a time then ducked behind a second train cart, where she began to build a pile of snowballs as quickly as she could.
"I think not!" The biker hollered as he charged, he got her in the side of the head before she could raise her arms to shield herself. She then grabbed another and threw it up at him as he did the same, however at Beth, who raced at him and smashed one in his chest. So there they now were, hollering over one another chucking snow at the other and trying to block it in a small space between the cart and a fence.
"This is outrageous!" Kayla laughed as she army crawled away. Tried to, at least, when she felt a boot gently but firmly press down on her back. Another ball was thrown down on her head by one of them. She covered herself when the boot was shoved off and she slithered to escape. Beth hastily backed out with a smile before she threw herself around a corner. She hurled one like a grenade whilst Francis slipped on ice; he jerked backwards but was able to grab on a ladder attached to the train. His next snowball flailed forcefully out of his grasp and exploded against Beth's face when she peered out. She recoiled, squeezing her eyes shut and her mouth flew open and she started spitting the liquid out.
"That one had ice in it you assbag!" She cried making him laugh even more.
"Suck it up." He slyly combated her words. A couple more where thrown at her from behind him until one connected with his neck. He whirled at the source as Beth tossed one in return. He assaulted her while she wasn't looking, then jogged away with a pair soaring by missing him completely. Francis took cover behind a snowbank as a ball fell against the pile, his leg started to ache a little bit, so did his torso but he grinned and pushed it aside to pack two more up, then quickly threw both at the girls. They dodged and hid, continuing to throw the cold frozen liquid at each other yelling battle cries.
The snowball war went on for a time. They soared all over high in the air, the three chased one another across the area; chucking them as they went whilst taking caution not to trip over the frosty tracks. The trio crept through obstacles like the carts, buildings and vehicles where they couldn't be seen to throw one from a safe spot and having a good time. At one point Beth snuck up on Kayla when she was busy trying to keep up with the amount of throws Francis was making. She shoved a handful of snow down her sister's shirt, making her lurch and yelp at the sudden chill on her skin. Quickly Beth chucked another at their brother who attempted to take cover behind some tree branches. But failed, the ball hit him in the chest again. Snow from above fell down on him as well; and he too cried in surprise.
Beth laughed until he burst from the foliage and got her three times in a row. He chased the siblings until the two hit another icy spot. Both tried to keep their balance and get away from him, however he slipped once again, ramming into them full force before either one could scramble out of the way. They were all thrown against another snowbank and landed on their fronts.
"Awe damn it, are you alright?" Francis exclaimed as he pushed himself up. He must've felt like a train to them. The sisters didn't answer right away which deepened his worry. "Hey, you ok?" He poked Beth in the shoulder.
"...You fuckin' Bull!" Kayla finally cried through laughs and placing a hand on her back. "Holy fuck." Beth breathed, rolling on hers and stared upwards. He was about to apologize but trailed off when their laughs increased once they were able to eventually take back the wind that was knocked out of them. "I swear," Beth chuckled, "I saw an x-ray of my back cracking in my head the very second you hit."
"I did too," Kayla agreed. "I felt mine crack entirely. It was nice actually."
"Well there." Francis chortled. "All tension's now gone."
"Thanks to you, broke back bastard!" Beth yelled as they lunged at him. A play wrestle erupted in the snow with more laughs and protests for a while until they settled back down. They laid next to each other, watching the blue sky. Flinging snow in each others' faces.
Images from his dream of Beth staring at him with tears dripping down her cheeks and Kayla shifting to face him with those black eyes flashed through his mind. He finally sat up staring at the ground in front of him blinking. He then glanced at the girls and smiled warmly seeing how content they looked. Beth continued staring up at the sky dreamily, until she closed her eyes.
"You ready?" He softly asked, dropping snow on her stomach.
"Sure, I guess so." Beth smiled back rubbing her face. With that they all rose brushing themselves off, the two staggered as they could still feel the impact; but were fine and collected their weapons. Then headed over to the station they saw the group traverse over during their battle.
The trio climbed a set of stairs, when Jordan stepped out from a room, voicing he was there so they wouldn't shoot. "Told you it wouldn't happen again." He rested his firearm against his shoulder.
"Glad to see." Francis replied. "Thanks for keeping your word man."
Jordan nodded before looking out at the frantic footsteps and wrestling marks among the train carts. He nudged his head leading the way, as Beth laid an arm over his shoulders. Kayla leaped onto Francis' back over his belongings, catching him by surprise again. "Really?"
"Yes really. You be the one to shoot my soul outta my body."
He chuckled as Jordan laughed, "saw that. It was majestic, sparked a tear in my eye." He joked, gesturing at the clearing with his axe.
"Bet your ass it was." Beth chirped.
They hopped off a train and traveled down a road. Passing by a bus and eventually finding a home where they could hear voices inside.
"That's a creepy ass house." Francis observed, tracing his eyes over the structure and property.
"You don't know creepy unless you've urbexed." Kayla playfully punched his shoulder and casually strolled by as he watched her go. "I have before."
"Once! The base!" She teased by the stairs. He squinted his eyes and she stuck her tongue out. He did the same until Jordan thumped him on the back. "It's alright my dude, I've never gone once."
"Yet. Haven't gone yet." Beth raised an index finger to correct him whilst Ian appeared from inside the house. "'Bout time you guys made it!" He boomed, startling Kayla to look at him. "Happy to see you weren't torn up again." He joked darkly.
"Shut up." He earned a hard slap. Ian snickered as they clambered inside. It was a spacious one-story home, completed with a large living room they stepped in and a semi-large kitchen. On their right was a long hall with several doorways.
"We've found an arsenal." Amber motioned over to a gun cabinet when she saw them. "Plenty of ammo for about every gun we have. Whoever's house this was must've been a trigger-happy asshole." She added as Francis went over to examine any proper ammunition for his weapon. Firearms of multiple sizes rested side by side as he looked them over and took what he needed.
"Did anyone find any food?" Zoey called.
"Uh...nope." Louis answered in disappointment, throwing a cabinet door shut. Keirstan and Bill appeared from a stairwell leading to a basement with the veteran shaking his head sourly. "Shit there has to be something somewhere." Zoey grumbled, Keirstan shrugged with a sigh and nodded. Finding food and beverages these days was like finding a gem in the long run.
The team spent time cleaning up in the bathroom; taking turns in stripping down and found body wash to lather grime and blood off their skin as best they could. Since the water wasn't working, a little drinking water was used. The foam was wiped away with old wash cloths, brush their teeth and tried to get some stink out of their clothes with the same soap and body spray. Everyone clipped their nails and cleaned their ears then changed and tended to injuries. The oldest finally healed into life lasting scars.
"Hurry up whoever's in there." Bill instructed when opening a back door. "I'm comin' old man keep yer beard on." Francis huffed from behind the wooden barrier. He exited the restroom, throwing his vest and coat on in the process and grabbed his belongings.
Outside they traveled through a backyard. Some commons heard snow and sticks crunching; so they wandered in the direction to investigate. They sped up in anger seeing who was making the noise. Ian jumped ahead and drove his hatchet into one's face, then pushed it off making a cracking noise. He shoved one back from Amber as she caved in its head with a powerful blow of her bat, the others receiving a bullet between their eyes.
Keirstan gazed down the road, noticing a sign reading "welcome to Riverside", with hell spray painted in yellow over the town's name. A single army truck sat far behind it. She looked across the street, and spotted a fenced in cemetery with the gate broken off and lying on the side. "We could probably cut through there as a shortcut." She suggested.
Kayla took in the scene excitedly as the group approached the graveyard. "Ah yes, my playground." She grinned sinisterly. Zoey eyed her in wonder as she speedily went ahead, slipping in and out of the markers. "See guys! Proof they ain't zombies. The earth wasn't dug up and this is a cemetery!" Francis boomed and pointed.
"They're not vampires you dumbass." Bill shot down with a glare.
"Yes. They. Are."
He sighed and left it alone. "I'm gonna shoot you if you keep doing that!" Louis warned, becoming increasingly jittery as Kayla lurked through the graves.
There was a church not far away.
Ian observed the building with joy gleaming in his eyes. "Could be their main base. Let's go!" He exclaimed taking the lead. Amber followed close, "hey maybe we shouldn't rush towards the people who have the bigger guns." Beth suggested as Bill looked around.
"Let me take the lead and do the talking." He advised.
Hearing this Amber glanced at him and tugged on Ian's hand. "Let's do what he says so we don't get shot."
As the couple obliged, Francis turned around as Beth and Jordan walked by. "Get moving grim reaper." He said, shifting his eyes around attempting to catch her among the stones. "Say somethin' so we know it's you."
Kayla had paused to read some of the graves, brushing dirt and moss away to read the much older ones clearer. Many of them dated between the 1800's to early 1900's. She mouthed the wording quietly, until she caught Francis' voice. "Eh, come on let's get going." He waited until she trotted in view and caught up with him.
Bill noticed it was far quieter than expected. They should of heard something already. Trucks, voices, helicopters. Anything. When they got closer, it dawned on the others as well. Their faces slowly fell realizing there was no sign of movement or sound.
"Shouldn't someone be out here to you know...investigate?" Came Keirstan's perturbing voice. Louis gazed upwards as she asked, "I would think so. Hello?"
It was nothing but quiet.