Chapter 4: Billy And The Dead Man

"So... This gun is loaded, right?" she asked.

Wilson smirked. "What do you think?"

She stared at him. "There's only one thing I hate more than idiots. And that thing is sarcasm."

"Um, okay. Sorry."

There was an unsteady moment of silence and then Wilson asked, "Do you know how to use a gun?"

Emily shook her head, no.

"Maybe you should learn, then." Wilson placed the little Bernadelli 7.65 in the reporter's hands.

Shivers went up Emily's spine as he touched her. She usually pushed people away when they attempted to get so near to her. But Wilson's touch was gentle, soothing even and she welcomed him.

"Just hold your hands like this and cock it, like so."

Emily nodded shyly.

"Just point and shoot basically. The safety's off, so you don't have to worry about that."

"I don't have to worry about anything except shooting myself," she muttered, placing the gun in her pocket.

So the two strangers continued wandering, silently without much more than a breath. Up ahead, Emily saw a shape that was unrecognizable with the surrounding fog. "What's that?" she asked, much curiosity embedded in her voice.

Wilson shrugged, "I dunno. Let's go see."

"I'm not so sure we should..." Emily replied.

"We've both got weapons. Whatever it is we can handle it. I've been here for a while."

"What if it's not? I mean, haven't you ever seen a horror movie?"

"We'll be fine."

"You know, by telling me we'll be fine, you've set us up for the ultimate death. I mean, that could be anything from a zombie to a mutilated possessed doll!"

Wilson sighed. "Or it could be someone in dire need of our help. We could be risking someone's life."

Emily gave him an accusing stare and followed him up to the strange object in the mist.

When they got up to there, they saw it was a car wreck. A vehicle was crashed into a fence. A man sat in the drivers seat facing forward, completely decapitated. His head lay on the seat next to him, staring blankly at Emily and Wilson.

"Oh my god," he said quietly.

Emily turned away from the car and held her head and muttering obscenities and wishing she'd never seen that.

Wilson stared into the back seats through the window. "Oh shit, Emily... There were kids in the car. A family..."

"Oh God, oh, please don't tell me they're dead!" she cried.

"No... They're gone," Wilson said in disbelief. "There's no blood. There's nothing at all."

Emily turned back to the car, being very careful not to look at the driver. She peered into the back window of the little white corolla and saw a teddy bear and a few books. There was also a little pink backpack that probably belonged to the man's daughter. In a way, this reminded her of the past; family vacations and such. "Where did they go?"

Wilson shrugged. "How the hell am I supposed to know?" There was a slight pause and then he said, "Let's keep going... Maybe we'll find some survivors."

She silently agreed and continued walking.

After an hour or so, and all hope of finding survivors was lost, they heard it. The wailing of a small child could be heard from a very close distance. Em and Wilson ran towards the sound, soon finding a little boy sitting in the dirt. He was crying alone, probably a victim of the car accident.

Wilson knelt beside the child, "Are you okay?"

The boy looked up at Wilson in fear. He shook his head.

"What's wrong?" he asked, "Did you come from that car down the road?"

The kid didn't answer. He just sat there with his hands over his eyes, hiding the embarrassing tears.

Emily went over beside him and introduced herself, "I'm Emily, and he's Wilson. What's your name?"

The boy took his hands off his eyes and replied, "I'm Billy."

She smiled, "So, Billy, where are your parents?"

"I... I don't know!" he began to cry again.

Her heart shattered like a rose dipped in liquid nitrogen. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "it's okay," over and over again.

Wilson was somehow amazed how sweet she was with the boy. It was as if she'd had children before. "We should get going, Em... We can bring Billy with us."

She nodded, "Billy, do you want to come with us?"

He smiled and took her hand. The three were on their way to victory... or doom.