For two weeks, the survivors remained safe in the bunker. Because of the stockpile of food and the security of its steel walls, they saw no need to venture outside. The density of the walls made the bunker inherently soundproof, so for the first time in a while, they didn't have to hear the moans and screams of the Infected. It was the closest thing to a vacation that they'd had in a long time.
Unfortunately, the easy times could not continue indefinitely. Food, although it had been plenty at the start, was finite, and after two weeks it was beginning to run out.
"Who the hell builds a bunker like this," Francis asked one evening, "and doesn't stock it with, like, a year's supply of food?"
"The best guess I can make," Bill said, "is that they didn't have time to stock the bunker with enough food before the apocalypse hit. Also, this bunker was probably not meant for eight people, so we're eating eight times as quickly."
"Does this mean we need to get back out there?" Louis asked.
"It certainly looks that way," Rochelle said. "Damn, I could've gotten used to living here."
"This place provided a respite," Bill said, "but it was never meant to be the long term solution to our survival problem. We need to find a community that is self-sustaining and safe. That's the end game."
"Then when do we head out?" Coach asked.
"Tomorrow," Bill said. "Everyone get a good night's sleep, and then we'll pack up as much food as we can carry with us and head out in the morning."
The survivors lay down to sleep one last time in the bunker. As the others began to nod off, Zoey went to Ellis's side and kissed him on the cheek. "How are you holding up?" she asked in a whisper.
"Fine," Ellis replied. "I mean, a little scared, too, but there really ain't nothing out there we haven't already seen."
"Don't tell anyone else," Zoey said, "but I'm scared, too. The important thing is that we don't let fear paralyze us out there. Otherwise, we're dead."
"Thanks for that reminder," Ellis said, but he gave Zoey a reassuring smile. "I s'pose as long as we stick together, we'll be okay."
"Absolutely," Zoey said. She kissed Ellis on the cheek again. "Goodnight."
"Night."
The two of them fell asleep holding each other close.
Morning came far too soon and, with it, the realization that the survivors had to leave. Everyone ate a solemn, quiet breakfast, and then there was no more use for delay. They gathered at the exit of the bunker, guns at the ready.
"On the count of three," Bill said. "One, two…"
Before he could finish counting, the ground began to shake.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Nick yelled. "We haven't even left the damn bunker yet."
"We need to wait here and see if it passes us by," Bill says.
"And if it doesn't?" Francis asked.
"Well, we've taken down Tanks bigger than this," Bill said.
The survivors remained deathly quiet, and after a few minutes the shaking slowed down. Once the ground stayed completely still, everyone took a collective sigh of relief.
"We need to go now," Bill said, "before that son of a bitch has a chance to circle back around."
Bill opened the door, and the survivors moved fast. They left the bunker and then the house, and once they were on the streets they took a look around them.
"Not much here," Louis said.
"The Tank must've scared them off for the time being," Rochelle said. "One question, though. Where the hell are we going?"
"We need to scour the rest of the city," Bill said, "and see if there are any other survivors out here."
The survivors made their way through the streets quickly. After a few minutes, commoners started to come back out now that the Tank had been gone for a while. They conserved their ammunition around these Infected, choosing to save their bullets for the more dangerous specials.
As they went down one street, they could see a Boomer straggling about ahead of them.
"Give it a wide berth," Bill said, leading the survivors around so as not to attract its attention. Suddenly, they heard a growling noise.
"Hunter," Rochelle whispered. "Watch the buildings."
The survivors looked around them. With so many tall buildings on the street, it was hard to determine where the Hunter was lurking. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, and the Hunter leapt out of a window, broken glass falling to street level. Coach took it out with a well-aimed shot from his shotgun, and the Hunter fell to the street. Unfortunately, the Boomer had heard the commotion and vomited on Coach. Coach shot it dead as well.
"Fuck me, I'm covered in Boomer shit!" Coach yelled.
"Everyone, form a circle around him!" Bill yelled.
The other seven survivors surrounded Coach while he tried his best to wipe the bile off of him. A swarm of commoners came rushing towards them. The survivors kept the commoners at bay with well aimed gunfire, but then they felt the ground start to shake again.
"That damn bile attracted the Tank!" Francis yelled. "Now what?"
"We need to hole up at that gun store!" Bill yelled. "Follow me!"
The survivors followed Bill through alleys too narrow for the Tank to follow directly. They moved quickly, hoping that Bill remembered how to find the store from earlier. Even with the shortcuts, the Tank was able to keep pace with the survivors. They hustled into the store and bunkered down behind the counter.
"We should have all the weapons we need here to get that son of a bitch," Bill said. "Reload and get ready!"
The survivors did not need to be told twice. Everyone stocked up on as much ammunition as they could carry and then stopped moving, waiting for the Tank to barge into the store.
The ground trembled beneath their feet, and they heard the door get thrown off its hinges by the Tank. They rose from behind the counter and peppered the Tank with gunfire. Still, it did not slow down, and it barreled towards the survivors.
"Hang on!" Francis yelled. He threw his shotgun aside and picked up a grenade launcher that was on the shelf behind them.
"The fuck are you doing?" Bill yelled. "You can't shoot him with that at this range, we'll blow up with him!"
"I got a plan," Francis said. "Coach, follow me!"
Before he even had time to think about what that meant, Coach followed Francis away from the counter. The Tank roared and began following the two of them, who were headed for the exit. Once the two of them and the Tank were in open space, Francis fired the grenade launcher. It exploded when it hit the Tank and made it stumble momentarily. Francis quickly reloaded the launcher and fired another shot. This time, the Tank fell to the ground, and after a moment when it tried to crawl towards Francis and Coach, it stopped still.
"Is that thing really dead?" Coach asked.
"Sure as hell looks that way," Francis said. "And look, you're not attracting any more of these lovely zombies."
"Hallelujah," Coach said. "Let's catch back up with the others."
Francis and Coach returned to the gun store and behind the counter, where the other six survivors were still waiting. "Sounds like you took out that Tank," Louis said.
"Dead as a doornail," Francis said, "whatever the hell that phrase means."
"That was some quick thinking," Rochelle said. "How'd you realize it was after Coach?"
"I've seen Boomer bile before," Francis said. "Other than that, it was instinct."
"Well, you saved our asses," Ellis said. "Thanks."
"Don't thank us yet," Coach said. "There's still zombies out there, and we haven't found any other survivors. I think this city might be totally abandoned."
"There has to be a better way to search for survivors," Zoey said. "Trying to go down every street in this damn city isn't getting us anywhere. We need a better plan."
"I agree," Bill said, "and I think I have an idea. This store has to have flare guns stocked somewhere. We can fire one in the air and see if anyone follows."
"That's gonna attract a ton of zombies," Rochelle said. "Are we sure that's the best idea?"
"You got a better plan?" Nick asked. "I mean, shit, we can just fire it outside and wait in the store here. With all these guns here, there's no way we can't hold out."
"Nick's right," Bill said, "and I know it's not perfect, but it's the only plan we have. Everyone spread out and see if we can find a flare gun."
The survivors looked through the gun store. It wasn't all that large, so Zoey was quickly able to find them. "There's four here. That should be enough to get anyone's attention."
"Grab all of them," Bill said, "and we'll fire one outside. If we need to, we can fire up to three more."
"Here goes nothing," Zoey said. She went outside the store and fired the first flare gun into the air. The shrieking noise and light irritated the nearby Infected, so Zoey went back into the store and the survivors peppered any Infected that ventured into the store. Soon, the Infected died down, but unfortunately no other survivors appeared.
"Son of a bitch," Nick said.
"It's okay," Zoey said. "There's three more here."
"Fire one more," Bill said, "but if no one comes after that, there's two possibilities. Either no one else is here, or whoever is here is too afraid to come out."
"Fine," Zoey said. She went outside and fired the second flare gun. She went back to the gun store and the survivors waited. There were no commoners anymore, as they had been gunned down after the first flare was shot. Unfortunately, again, no one appeared to respond to the signal.
"We're on our own," Bill said.
Francis slammed his fist on the counter. "I don't believe this. There's no way we can stay here now."
"Unfortunately, Francis is right," Bill said. "We need to skip town at this point."
"Oh no," Nick said. "We are not going to wander through another forest hoping to find a town with decent people in it. We need a better way to travel."
"I can't believe we abandoned the stock car," Ellis said. "That was a sweet ride."
"We wouldn't have had to abandon the car," Nick said, "if we hadn't run into these four schmucks."
"Hey!" Zoey said. "The four schmucks you're referring to are the reason we've all survived this long. You might want to show a little gratitude."
"Enough bickering!" Bill yelled, and the rest of the survivors fell silent. "We talked about this. You don't want to risk attracting the Infected by taking potshots at each other. Instead of fighting, let's figure out how we might find some damn transportation."
"Right on, Bill," Louis said. "This city's got to have an abandoned van somewhere that we can use to drive out of here."
"I think most of the people living here evacuated when the Infection hit," Rochelle said. "That means vehicles are going to be hard to come by. Even if we find one, there's no guarantee that it's going to have enough gas to get us anywhere. I'm sure a lot of gas was siphoned when people were evacuating in a panic."
"So basically," Nick said, "what you're saying is we're shit out of luck."
"With that attitude," Bill said, "we certainly would be. Now hang on, I think people in major cities were being bussed to safety as a way to get people evacuated more efficiently. That means our best bet to find a working vehicle would be near a bus station."
"Great idea," Louis said, "but how are we going to find a bus station? We have no map to go by here."
"Use a little logic, son," Bill said. "Most bus stations are developed near highways. We look for highway signs, we should be able to find a nearby station."
"That's...not the worst idea," Rochelle said, "but it still sounds like a bit of a longshot."
"I'll take a longshot over no shot," Zoey said. "Let's go."
The survivors, lacking a better plan, stocked up on as much ammunition as they could carry before leaving the gun store. Along that ammunition, Zoey took one of the two remaining flare guns and gave Louis the other one. They began scouring the streets again, but instead of looking for survivors, they looked for signs pointing them to the nearest highway. Commoners were still straggling, but the Tank from earlier had deterred most of them. After searching the streets for half an hour, Francis finally saw a sign leading them to a nearby highway.
"Nice work, Francis," Bill said. "We'll follow these signs and see if we can find that public transportation station."
As the survivors followed the signs, the number of Infected started to grow. They kept the commoners at bay as they followed the signs, while also keeping an eye out for any special Infected that might be lurking. Oddly, they did not notice many specials, which was a relief to most of the survivors except for Bill.
"Cheer up, pal," Nick said. "This is actually going decently for once."
"No specials?" Bill asked. "I don't like it."
"Look over there," Louis said. "That sure looks like a bus stop to me!"
"But look," Zoey said. "I don't see any cars."
The survivors took a look at the bus stop, only to realize that Zoey was right. There were absolutely no cars in sight.
"Damn it!" Francis yelled. "How the hell did this happen?"
"Whoever didn't get on the bus probably didn't have a way to drive here," Bill said. "So when the buses left, anyone left behind probably commandeered any remaining vehicles and hightailed it out of here."
"What the hell are we gonna do?" Nick asked. "I'm not walking across an abandoned highway for weeks trying to find the next damn city over."
"I don't know," Bill said, "but I'll tell you what we're not gonna do. We're not gonna panic, we're not gonna snip at each other, and we're not gonna whine and moan. We are going to figure this out, or we are going to die. Your choice."
"I'm almost ready to choose death at this point," Nick said. "I've dealt with enough bullshit for a lifetime."
Zoey stormed towards Nick and slapped him across the face. "Get it together right now or we'll leave without you."
Nick, stunned by the sudden gesture, finally quieted down.
"Our best bet now is to take a look around, make sure we actually don't have a way out of here," Bill said. "Let's move."
The survivors searched through the bus station, looking desperately for some kind of vehicle they could use.
After fifteen minutes of looking, Louis suddenly hollered. "Bus!"
The other survivors gathered around Louis, who was pointing to an abandoned bus. They ran to it immediately.
"Nice find, Louis!" Coach said, giving him a high five. "We can use this to get out of here."
"Can we?" Bill asked. "We have no idea if this thing even has fuel to run on. We also don't have a key."
"I can try to hotwire it," Nick said. "I have, uh...some experience with doing that."
"If you manage to get this bus started," Bill said, "it'll be one of the most useful things you've done since I met you, maybe in your entire life."
"Har har," Nick said. "Gimme a sec." He went into the bus and began finicking at the driver's seat.
The other survivors kept watch for Infected. After five minutes, the engine of the bus roared.
"I got it!" Nick yelled. "Everyone get your asses in here! We're driving out of this damn ghost town."
"That's amazing!" Louis said. "Thanks, Nick."
"No problem," Nick said, "but does anyone even know how to drive this thing?"
"I used to drive a school bus," Coach said. "I should be able to handle this baby no problem."
"Then get your ass onto this seat and let's take off!" Nick said.
The other survivors boarded the bus, and Nick surrendered the driver's seat to Coach. He shifted into gear and put on the gas. Soon, the survivors were driving towards the highway. Once they were on the highway, they saw that there were no Infected in their way.
"How much gas do we have in this thing?" Bill asked.
Coach checked the gas gauge. "Half a tank." He then looked at the signs on the highway. "Enough to get us to the next town over at least."
"Awesome," Ellis said. "So, are we just gonna hop town after town and see if we can find any other survivors?"
"We could try that," Bill said, "but I think I have a better idea. Coach, is that radio working?"
"Let me try," Coach said. He fiddled with the radio to see if he could find a frequency that was broadcasting. "Nah, Bill, this thing's shot."
"Shit," Bill said. "I was hoping we could find a frequency with a survivor broadcasting out from a ham radio."
"Then what are we gonna do?" Louis asked.
"We need to find a way to fix that damn radio," Bill said, "or we need to find an abandoned ham radio somewhere. I'm afraid both options are pretty unlikely."
"Well fuck us, then," Nick said. "Just when I was getting my hopes up."
"Then we revert to searching the next town," Louis said. "We either find other survivors, or we find a radio we can use to reach out. Worst case scenario, nothing changes."
"Do you always have to be such an optimist?" Nick asked. "It gets on my nerves."
"Do you have to be mister doom and gloom over there," Louis asked. "That's just depressing."
"Man, if you knew anything about my life before this, you'd be a pessimist, too."
"Really? Then why don't you tell us? We've got nothing but time."
Nick stayed silent for a moment, then turned his head away. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Fine," Louis said. "Then maybe we should just be quiet."
"Works for me," Nick said.
The survivors slumped into their seats and let their minds wander. Zoey looked out the window to watch the horizon as they drove. At many parts of the highway, they could see cars that had long since been abandoned. Many were rusted over and missing tires.
"Wish we could get some gas from these cars," Ellis said. He was sitting next to Zoey.
"Yeah," Zoey replied. "Too bad this bus only takes diesel."
"Damn," Ellis said. "It's like being on an island, surrounded by water, but it's all saltwater so you can't drink it."
"An apt metaphor," Zoey replied.
"Huh?"
"Never mind." Zoey leaned back and guided Ellis's arms to wrap around her. She kissed his hand and looked up at him, smiling.
"Even with all the shit going on," Ellis said, "you're so strong. How do you do it?"
"It's an instinct," Zoey said. "I've been through a lot of shit, so after a while I had to learn to toughen up. People see me as a frail woman, and they try to take advantage, so it was either get tough or get walked all over."
"Damn," Ellis said. "Not sure what to say to that."
"I don't expect you to get it," Zoey said with a sigh. "Men don't have to deal with a lot of the shit women put up with."
Ellis gave the comment some thought. "I guess I kinda get what you're saying."
"You're a sweetheart," Zoey said, kissing Ellis's other hand this time. "I wish there were more guys like you out there."
"There ain't many guys left at all," Ellis said, "at least based on what we're seeing."
"Then I'm pretty lucky to have found a guy like you," Zoey said. "Imagine if instead of running into the four of you, I ran into four guys like Nick. One Nick is more than enough."
Ellis laughed. "Yeah, I'm pretty glad we didn't run into four Francis types."
Zoey chuckled and snuggled closer to Ellis. "I'm just glad all eight of us are equipped to survive."
Towards the other end of the bus, Rochelle was sitting with Francis.
"Look at those two," she said, pointing to Zoey and Ellis. "Young love is a precious thing, especially now."
"Hey, we've got a little something ourselves, don't we?" Francis asked.
"Sort of," Rochelle said. "I still don't know why I'm drawn to a guy like you."
"Gee, thanks," Francis said. "Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?"
"Actually...yeah," Rochelle replied. "You're not the type of guy I would normally like, which means you're actually able to compensate by being more likeable."
"Oh, I guess that is a good point," Francis said.
Rochelle gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If we ever did need to repopulate the Earth, I could pick a worse partner."
Francis chuckled. "Stick with me, we can repopulate the Earth like five times a night."
Rochelle laughed and slapped Francis playfully on the arm. "That's pretty funny."
"Despite my rough exterior, I have a sense of humor," Francis replied. "In my biker gang, I was the joker of the group. I could make my gang groan at least five times a night."
"I'll make you groan five times a night," Rochelle said.
"I guess five is our baseline," Francis said. "I mean, I think I could go like ten times if I really needed to."
"Challenge accepted," Rochelle said. "Maybe we can make a bet."
"Betting how often I can finish with you in one night?" Francis asked. "You're on."
"Okay then, once we actually have a chance at some damn privacy, we can give that a shot. I don't think you can get to ten."
"I bet I can do at least ten," Francis said. "So, what are we betting?"
"If I win," Rochelle said, "you have to make me breakfast in bed for, like, a month."
"Sure thing," Francis said. "If I win, then...you have to do whatever I want, in bed, for a week."
"Excuse me?" Rochelle said. "I don't know if I'll agree to an entire week."
"Four nights?" Francis asked.
"Three."
"Deal."
Rochelle and Francis shook hands and laughed. "What kind of things do you want me to do in bed?"
"I don't want to say it out loud," Francis said. "Don't need the other survivors hearing that kinda talk."
"Fine. Whisper it to me."
Francis leaned over and whispered in Rochelle's ear. She slapped him on the arm again.
"You're a real weirdo, you know that?" Rochelle asked. "Still, a bet's a bet, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be waking up to breakfast for a month."
"We'll see about that," Francis said.
Towards the front of the bus, Bill, Louis, and Nick were sitting just behind Coach.
"We are damn lucky we found this bus," Nick said.
"We're lucky you knew how to hotwire it," Louis said. "Thanks for getting us out of that town. We owe you a big favor."
"Just keep me alive," Nick said. "That's the only thing I can ask for."
"Really?" Bill asked. "You said you wanted to die earlier."
"I was blowing off steam," Nick said. "Fuck, man, you think if I wanted to die that I'd still be here talking to you? I've had a few dozen chances to give up and let the Infected kill me, and I never took one. What does that tell you?"
Bill gave Nick's comment some thought. "You're right," he said. "I apologize."
"It's fine, old man," Nick said. "You've done more than enough to help us. I don't always like to admit it, but I'm glad we have a guy like you leading the charge."
"Don't sweat it, kid," Bill said. "If I wasn't around, someone else would've stepped up."
"That someone wouldn't be me," Nick said. "I'm the last person people look to for leadership."
"Then it's a good thing there's six other people here willing to do it," Bill said. "You're a stubborn ass, Nick, but you're not a bad guy. Someday I hope you can see that."
"Don't hold your breath," Nick said, but gave Bill a small smile all the same.
"Hey, Coach," Bill said. "Whenever you start to get tired, you can pull over and we'll sleep it off."
"Sure thing, Bill," Coach said. "I should be good for another couple hours at least."
As Coach continued driving down the highway, the survivors were left pondering what would happen next. Little did they know that the next town they stopped at would test them more than they could ever hope to expect.