Melissa looked back to see Roman following. She slowed so she was walking even with him. "You don't talk much," Melissa teased lightly.

"What's there to talk about?" Roman asked her.

"Fair enough," Melissa admitted. "Not a whole lot to talk about in the apocalypse, I guess. Maybe besides a zombie count." She laughed nervously at the end, not really meaning it.

"I've only killed two," Roman said, looking thoughtful. "The one on the street yesterday, and one other." His expression was sorrowful. "It was my cousin. We were at a diner when it started. What we think is just some crazy motherfucker comes crashing into the place through the window, right onto the table next to us. It was an old couple sitting there, so Jimmy got up to help. The guy just bit right into his arm. And then it yanked back." Roman shuddered. "I've never heard a man scream like Jimmy did. His arm was missing a huge chunk out of it, and then the guy came back for more. The diner owner pulled out a revolver and shot him in the stomach. By then everyone was starting to catch on that something wasn't right, especially when the guy just kept coming. The owner managed to get in a headshot. The guy went down, and then everyone panicked. They all ran out into the streets, where it was… it was just hell, I guess. Car wrecks, people getting eaten… Jey and I stayed inside. Jimmy wasn't going anywhere with his arm, and no one was going to be able to come help him; we watched the ambulance crash into several zombies and roll into a nearby building. The owner tried to help us bind it up…we even put a tourniquet on to try and stop the bleeding. By then it was already too late." Roman paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "He died in Jey's arms. We stayed inside the diner for about an hour until things calmed down. The owner went to go check on things outside when he was attacked. Jey and I couldn't have done anything if we tried; the zombie just ripped his throat out. Jey and I ducked back behind the counter, and Jey dragged Jimmy's body along. We waited for another hour; I don't even think we knew what we were waiting for. That's when Jimmy moved. Jey started shaking him and whispering his name. Of course, I know now that he wasn't alive. He sat up slowly at first, but then he got to his feet. Jey tried to drag him back down so nothing in the street could see us. Jimmy… he lunged for Jey, who managed to drop down in time so he didn't get bitten. Jey tried to reason with him…" Roman stopped.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Melissa whispered.

"No. It helps, in a way," Roman said before continuing. "It didn't take either of us long to realize there was no reasoning with him, that he was as gone as the man who had come crashing through the window. Jey found a carving knife behind the counter, and went to…to kill Jimmy. He faltered at the last second, screaming that he couldn't kill his own brother. He dropped the knife. Jimmy went for Jey again, and this time he got him, in the exact same spot that the man from earlier had gotten Jimmy. Jey was the one screaming this time. He backed away, and I dived forward and grabbed the knife. I… I stabbed Jimmy in the stomach, but it didn't do anything but almost cost me my life; his teeth barely missed my neck. His feet caught on some of the debris on the floor, and he fell forward, crashing into me. I fell backwards under his weight. I brought the knife up and stabbed him in the head. It didn't kill him, but I rolled over so he was on the floor and I buried the knife in his head. This time he didn't get back up. Jey watched the whole thing, holding onto his arm. He told me that he couldn't let what happen to Jimmy happen to him. He ran outside to where the diner owner had died. I didn't even have time to protest before he took the revolver and shot himself in the head." Roman fell silent for a moment. "A few minutes later Dean and Seth showed up. They found me in the exact same spot I'd been in when Jey did what he did. They somehow managed to get me to the car and out of town. And eventually we found you."

Melissa couldn't find any words to respond. What do you say to something like that... she thought to herself. I'm sorry, wish it hadn't happened?

"Roman…" Melissa began.

"We should probably hurry up," Roman interrupted, clearly changing the subject. "I think Dean and Punk are both in a hurry to get out of here and get as far as we can today."

"Okay," Melissa said softly. She hurried to the men's bathroom, which was blessedly free of zombies.

When she and Roman rejoined the others, they found them standing around a giant pile of cookies, chips, candy, soda, and broken plastic. "I see you didn't want to wait to use the screwdriver to open the vending machine," Melissa commented.

"What gave you that idea?" Dean asked her. "Here, grab some stuff and take it to the car."

Melissa grabbed an armful of the snacks and headed over to the car. She dumped all the food into one of the empty boxes.

It didn't take long for them to load up all the extra food. Dean and Punk, as Roman suspected, were both in a hurry to get moving and rushed everyone into the car, this time with Dean driving. Melissa watched the rest stop disappear around a bend as they started down the road.

She glanced over at Roman, whose eyes were closed. His expression was pained, as if he was reliving his cousins' deaths. Melissa sighed, changing her position so she was more comfortable in her seat. She stared out the window, grateful that she had never been put in the position Roman had been put in. And at the same time it made her feel guilty. It was a conundrum she wasn't quite sure how to deal with.

"What're you looking at?" Seth asked suddenly from beside her.

"Trying to figure out where all the cows went," Melissa joked lightly, not really feeling comfortable discussing what was really on her mind with Seth.

"That's actually a good question," Seth laughed.

"They probably got eaten," Punk commented from the passenger seat. His eyes were closed but he obviously hadn't been asleep.

"Thank you Mr. Optimism," Melissa said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Punk said without a hint of sarcasm.

"Well if they did get eaten, I suppose we should just be glad they didn't turn into zombie cows," Melissa mused aloud.

"Zombie cows?" Punk said with a snort, turning around in his seat to look at Melissa.

Dean took that moment to wildly swerve around a wrecked car.

Punk was swung sideways and hit his head on the side of the chair. "Shit Ambrose, give a man a little warning," he muttered angrily, rubbing the side of his head. "Or at least slow down."

"You did the exact same thing," Dean commented. "I don't recall me complaining."

"You were asleep the entire time!" Punk exclaimed.

Melissa tuned out their bickering. She leaned back up against the window, sighing as she gazed at the empty countryside.

"You doing okay?" she heard Seth ask her quietly.

"Me?" Melissa turned to face Seth. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"You were really cheerful when we got to the rest stop, but now you're back to…"

"Being gloomy?" Melissa supplied.

Seth nodded.

"I guess the zombie in the bathroom threw me off. It felt normal, and everything, when we got there. But then there was the zombie, and it reminded me that the world isn't the way it used to be." Roman's story was what had actually bothered her, but the zombie had as well; Melissa figured a white lie wouldn't hurt. She just didn't feel like it was right to talk about someone while they were in the same car.

"I get it," Seth said. "It did feel kind of normal."

Just delusions of safety, Melissa thought to herself. She didn't say it out loud though.

Melissa has turned back to look out the window when she saw something on the side of the road that caught her eye.

"Wait a minute…" she murmured. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing.

"Those are actual people!"