"That's Dean's line," Melissa said with a smile.
Roman rolled his eyes before gently pushing Melissa in the direction of the car. "Come on, we have to go over the basics before we leave." Turning to face Cody, he told him, "Come over and tell us when you're ready to go."
Cody left them to go stand by the door where Damien was still leaning in taking care of Alicia. Roman, meanwhile, led Melissa around to the driver's side of the car.
Melissa cautiously climbed into the driver's seat, feeling like she was breaking all kinds of rules by sitting there.
"Get the seat and seatbelt adjusted so you're comfortable," Roman told her.
"Is there a way to make me feel comfortable with her driving?" Dean queried from the backseat where he had obviously returned to after taking the pain meds.
Melissa stuck her tongue out at him. "It's called walking."
Dean rolled his eyes before closing them and sinking further down into his seat. "Very funny."
Melissa finally got comfortable. "Okay, what next?" She had a brief idea from when her mom would occasionally tell her something when she hopped in the front seat.
"I have no idea," Roman laughed. "I've never taught someone to drive. Um, let's see, the gas pedal and the brakes, mirrors…"
He spent the next half-hour or so teaching Melissa car basics, while Dean butted in occasionally with a snide remark.
Cody finally approached them. "Damien says we're about ready to go."
"Okay. You head out first. We'll follow," Roman told him.
Cody nodded. "Alright." He headed back to the passenger side of the brown Ford Edge, climbing in.
"Now to find Seth," Roman muttered, leaving Melissa in the driver's seat. Melissa watched from the rearview mirror as Roman found Seth sitting on the hood of the car where Dean had been sitting earlier.
"Are you ready to drive just yet?" Dean suddenly asked.
Melissa jumped slightly in her seat; Dean had been quiet for a while, so the sudden remark startled her. She shrugged in response to his question. "Probably not. But I suppose it'd be much easier than before, seeing as I'm not going to have to deal with merging and stoplights and stuff like that."
Dean smirked. "That's true."
At that moment he passenger side door opened and Roman climbed in, and Seth got in the back seat behind Melissa.
"You want to try this out or wait a little longer to get used to everything?" Roman asked her.
"It's probably better that I learn now," Melissa said reluctantly. "There are no zombies here right now, so it's probably the best time to try."
Roman nodded. "Alright, start it up like I showed you."
Melissa cautiously turned the key in the ignition. As the car purred to life, she muttered to herself, "Partway there…"
"Okay, release the parking brake," he instructed. Melissa could have sworn that Roman seemed as unsure of this as she did. She did as she told and released the parking brake. Roman spoke again. "Now put it in drive." Melissa waited a moment for Damien to get back on the road before putting the car in drive.
"Careful with the gas and brakes," Seth suddenly spoke up. "They're really touchy."
"Not helping," Melissa muttered nervously. She gently pushed down on the gas pedal, and the car lurched forward.
"Told you they were touchy," Seth said.
"Stop being a backseat driver Seth!" Melissa joked half-heartedly.
She carefully turned the wheel, her foot just barely on the gas. She slowly maneuvered the car onto the road, following Damien onto the freeway.
"Alright, speed up now," Roman told her as they got onto the highway. "Get it to 55 miles per hour. That's what we've been doing so far."
Melissa gulped, slowly pushed down on the gas pedal. The car accelerated, letting them catch up to Damien's car.
"Okay, set the cruise control like I showed you," Roman instructed.
Melissa fumbled around the keys for a moment, her clammy hands trying to find the button while she tried to keep her eyes on the road. She set the cruise control and removed her foot from the gas pedal, sighing in relief as the car continued at the same speed.
"Now just follow Damien," Roman told her. He leaned back into the chair, looking slightly more relaxed.
"Easy enough," Melissa muttered to herself. Unlike Roman, who seemed somewhat confident in her ability to stay on the road, Melissa was completely unsure of herself and her ability to stay on the road.
"Relax already. You're making me nervous," Dean muttered from the backseat.
"I haven't ever driven before," Melissa said defensively, resisting the urge to turn around and look at him. "Unless you count a go kart. Which I did once." She placed emphasis on the word once.
Dean apparently ignored her, because he did not reply. Melissa checked the rearview mirror to see him leaning back with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.
The next hour passed fairly quickly, and Melissa slowly became more comfortable with being behind the wheel. It certainly wasn't as hard as she thought it would be.
She was just thinking about if it would have been more difficult with other cars on the road when Damien turned on the right blinker. Melissa slowed, stopping on the side of the road a few car-lengths behind the brown car.
"Why're we stopping?" Dean muttered sleepily from the backseat.
"Damien pulled over," Roman told him.
Melissa took the key out of the ignition. "Should we go see what's up?"
"Probably wouldn't hurt," Roman said. He frowned. "I wish we had radios or something to communicate."
"We can probably find a portable set if we looked around," Melissa said as she opened her door.
Seth got out behind her as she walked around the front of the car. They walked up to the driver's side of the Edge and Damien rolled down the window. "Why are we stopping?" Seth asked.
"Alicia needed to stop and stretch her legs, and she also wanted to get some fresh air," Damien explained.
"How long are we going to be?" Seth asked, looking around, clearly checking for zombies.
"Not long, I imagine," Damien said. "Now if you'll so kindly move, I would also like to get out and walk around for a little."
Seth and Melissa both nodded, heading back to the Suburban as Damien got out. Seth surveyed the area once again. "He couldn't pick anywhere better to stop?" he muttered, glancing at the orchard trees that lined both sides of the highway. "There could be a ton of zombies in those trees."
"I know," Melissa murmured as they reached the Suburban. She looked down, making sure the gun and pistol were still there. She ran a finger over the hilt of the knife absentmindedly. She hardly looked up when Roman joined them by the hood of the car.
She did look up, however, when Cody opened the backseat door on the Edge. She stared unabashedly as Cody helped Alicia out of the backseat, proving that she was, in fact, actually alive.
"Damn, she looks bad," Seth muttered. "Remind me not to catch that particular flu strain. I don't want to have to stay in the car for hours."
"Speaking of staying in the car, is Dean still in the car?" Melissa asked curiously.
Roman nodded. "Told me he wanted to sleep."
"Did you get him to take some of the pain meds?" Seth asked him.
Roman shrugged. "Kind of. I got him to take a half dose of Tylenol."
Seth frowned. "Why didn't he take the other half?"
"He said he didn't need it," Roman said with another shrug. "He said he was taking half or nothing at all."
"Has anyone taken a look at the injuries anyway?" Melissa spoke up. "It's great and all to make sure he's not in pain, but it wouldn't help anyone if he got an infection."
Roman stood up from leaning against the car. "We haven't actually. Might as well do that while we're here."
"Dean's not going to be happy about this," Seth warned as Roman opened the backseat passenger door.
Dean was still asleep in the backseat, and shifted positions as Roman gently shook his shoulder. "Dean. Dean!"
"I don't want it, whatever it is," Dean muttered.
"Melissa thought of something; have you even checked to make sure the wounds aren't infected?" Seth spoke up. "We haven't even seen them since last night, and even then it was too dark to really see anything."
Dean opened an eye and glared at Melissa. "No, I haven't looked. Now can I sleep?"
"No." Roman reached over and unbuckled the seatbelt, causing Dean to swat angrily at his hand.
"Leave me alone," he muttered.
"No," Roman repeated. "Now get out, before I make you get out."
"Someone's in a mood," Dean said under his breath, yet he still got out of the car. He leaned up against the side of the Suburban, still half-glaring at them. "There, I'm out."
"Take your shirt off," Roman told him in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Take your shirt off," Dean muttered caustically. "It's only a few scratches." He still pulled the long-sleeved black t-shirt up over his head, wincing as it caught a few times. It was for the first time they saw the damage David had inflicted.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. Schoolwork aside, I've been a bit reluctant to post this chapter because to me it feels a bit like filler and I'm not too sure how I did on some parts- mainly the driving. (I haven't ever driven before, so I had to look it up.) Let me know how I did, because I honestly have no idea and would appreciate help if I've got it wrong. XD I'll work on getting the next part up soon.