When the survivors awoke in the morning, they prepared a quick breakfast. All of them were too grim to talk to each other, thinking about leaving Coach behind. Finally, Zoey felt she had to speak up to break the stifling silence.
"I can't believe we had to leave someone behind again," she said.
"Please don't start," Bill said.
"Look, I get it," Zoey replied. "This wasn't the same situation. I know for practical reasons we had to leave Coach behind, but it still hurts."
"I am completely with you on that," Rochelle added. "Coach didn't deserve what happened to him. Part of me wants to march right back to that bus and carry him until we can find a wheelchair or maybe a group of surgeons who could take care of that compound fracture. It just wasn't in the cards."
"We had the chance to bring a doctor with us and we didn't do it," Zoey said.
"Zoey, I don't think one doctor would have made a damn difference," Bill said. "Coach's number was up, as callous as it is to say it like that. We now need to make sure that no one else gets left behind."
"Then we need to get moving," Zoey said. "Maybe the next town will have other people."
"I hate to say this," Francis said, "but I don't think that's gonna happen. This part of the country is completely wiped out. We were lucky to run into these guys."
"I'm getting really tired of this shit," Nick said. "Feels like we're in a routine now. Go to the next town, look for survivors, find jack shit, stay a while, then take off. If we can't find civilization soon, I think we're gonna have to make one for ourselves."
"I wish I could disagree," Rochelle said, "but I think Nick's right. None of us have any farming experience, but I think we need to settle in somewhere and get learning quick. We can't keep relying on abandoned bunkers for our food."
"Fuck, I'm the last guy that wants to do that," Nick said, "but I don't see any other options."
"Fine," Zoey said. "Then instead of a city, we need to find an abandoned farm. I think we have a problem, though. Has anyone seen any signs of wildlife?"
"No," Bill said. "I think the Infection wiped them out, too. It didn't turn animals into zombies, but it killed them outright. We just spent days in a forest, and there was nothing there but Infected. Finding farm animals is not going to be an option from what I can see."
"So we're gonna have to spend the rest of our lives as vegetarians?" Nick asked. "Damn. I can't even remember the last time I had prime rib."
"Listen to us!" Zoey shouted. "Has this apocalypse really made us this jaded? We just had to say goodbye to one of our friends, and we're complaining about prime rib? I can't believe this."
"You're right," Nick said. "I'm not even gonna try to make a joke out of it. To be completely honest, I feel like shit leaving him behind, but things have been so fucked up that it's hard to feel anything anymore."
"Can we at least do one thing?" Ellis asked. "Maybe we can stop taking pot shots at each other and start getting along better. Nick, I know you like to make jokes all the time, but maybe you can stop making fun of us."
"Single me out, why don't you?" Nick said.
"Nah, it ain't just you," Ellis said. "What we;re dealing with sucks, I get it, but maybe if we all tried to lighten up a little, it might make surviving a little bit easier."
"I agree with Ellis," Bill said. "Trying to stay positive and keeping an upbeat attitude in the face of all this adversity should make dealing with this shit easier. We need to get moving. If we follow the highway, we'll find a town somewhere, and maybe there'll be a farm nearby as well."
"Here we go again," Nick said as the seven survivors rose to their feet and started walking.
As they trudged along, following the highway, the clouds above them started to thicken, towering and dark.
"Didn't realize a thunderstorm was in the forecast," Nick said. "It's that sugar mill all over again."
"That rain's gonna make it harder to see," Bill said, "especially if it starts pouring hard."
"With those clouds in the air, it's pretty likely," Rochelle said. "Stay close to each other and keep alert."
After about half an hour, the rain started to come down hard. The wind whipped around them as well, and soon it was nearly impossible for them to see. An occasional bolt of lightning lighted up the area, but otherwise visibility was low.
"Everyone hold hands!" Bill yelled. "We can't leave anyone else behind!"
"I can barely hear you!" Francis yelled.
"We need to find some shelter!" Louis added.
"Where?" Nick asked. "There's nothing in sight!"
"Forget shelter for the time being," Bill said, "and keep moving!"
The survivors stayed close as they walked. They could only hope they were walking in the correct direction. They heard the sound of someone or something grumbling.
"Who's making that sound?" Nick asked.
None of the survivors could answer that it was them.
"Who's got the machete?" Bill said. "We can't risk firing our guns with this poor visibility!"
"I've got it!" Ellis yelled, but suddenly he was tackled to the ground. "Help!"
Zoey moved quickly, able to find Ellis pinned to the ground by an Infected. She shoved it away from Ellis, picked his machete up from off the ground, and slashed at it. Blood poured out from the wound, and the zombie crumbled to the ground.
"Over here!" she yelled. "Ellis and I are over here!"
The rest of the survivors joined them.
"The fuck happened here?" Nick asked.
"I don't know," Ellis said, "but I can't move! I felt something stab me and now I can't get up!"
"Stab?" Bill asked. "And now you're paralyzed? Zoey, where's the Infected?"
"Behind you," she said.
"I need to take a look," Bill replied. "Francis, cover me."
Francis kept his eyes peeled while Bill inspected the zombie Zoey killed. "This doesn't look like any other Infected I've seen. It's got no eyes, but large ears, and it has a tail with a stinger on it. The stinger's got blood on the tip, so that's what must have stabbed Ellis."
"Are you seriously telling me we're dealing with zombies that can paralyze us?" Nick asked.
"Unfortunately, yes," Bill said. "I only hope the paralysis is temporary."
"Ellis, try to move," Zoey said. "Please! I can't leave you behind, too." She began hyperventilating, and Rochelle went over to her and started rubbing her back.
"It's okay," she said, trying to make her voice audible through the rain without making it sound like she was shouting. "Just take some deep breaths. We're going to be okay."
"Ellis," Louis said. "Please...um, tell us you can move."
"Argh, hang on," Ellis said. "I think I can twitch my fingers a little."
Everyone gathered around him to see what was happening. After another minute or two, Ellis could move his arms a little.
"Looks like that paralysis was temporary after all," Bill said. "Nick, help me get Ellis upright."
"Okay," Nick said. The two of them grabbed Ellis and hoisted him off the ground.
"You tell us the second you can keep upright," Nick said.
"Okay," Ellis said. "Hope we don't find any of those guys again."
"Agreed," Rochelle said. "Come on guys."
They started walking again. The rain died down enough for them to see the highway that they were trying to follow. Everyone was drenched to the bone, but no one cared about the weather. Everyone wanted to make sure Ellis would be alright.
After a few minutes, Ellis spoke up." I can feel my legs again," he said. "Try to let go."
Nick and Bill let go of Ellis, and he stumbled a bit, but was able to keep himself upright.
"Thank God," Zoey said. "How's it feeling now?"
"I'm shaky," Ellis said, "but I bet in a couple minutes I'll be better."
"You know what?" Louis asked. "You were the first guy to be attacked by that thing. I think you should name it."
"Really?" Ellis asked. "That's fucking awesome."
"You got a name in mind?" Francis asked.
"Stinger," Ellis said. "On account of the stinging thing on its tail."
"Stinger it is," Bill said.
Suddenly, the survivors heard a deathly scream. It was far enough away not to hurt their ears, but reminded them immediately of the Screamers they had first met in the forest a few weeks ago.
"I hope that Screamer can't find us," Ellis said. "I don't feel like losing my hearing on top of everything else."
"We need to give it a wide berth," Bill said, "and hope it doesn't alert anything more dangerous."
The survivors decided to keep closer to the highway, as the scream had come from the opposite direction. Occasionally they heard it scream again, almost as if it was trying to track them down. Thankfully, Ellis was able to sustain his own weight again, making it easier for the survivors to move quickly. Unfortunately, the rain started coming down heavily again.
"I saw an overpass not far from here!" Nick yelled. "I say we wait under there until this storm subsides."
"Agreed!" Bill said. "It's not worth the risk of one of us getting lost! Let's move!"
The survivors followed Nick to the overpass. Once they were out of the rain, they were able to relax for a moment.
"Don't get too comfortable," Bill said. "Keep an eye out for that Screamer or any other Infected that might slink by."
The screaming sounded like it was getting more distant now, thankfully. No other Infected were nearby either.
"I just had a thought," Nick said. "Was that Screamer trying to track us while we were moving?"
"It might have an ability to sense motion," Bill said. "Now that we're not moving, maybe she lost the trail."
"Then we really shouldn't be talking, either," Zoey said.
The Screamer made another scream, sounding closer this time, so the survivors silently agreed not to talk. They stayed motionless and quiet while the screaming became more distant. When they could no longer hear it, they were able to finally relax.
"Good thinking, Nick," Bill said in a whisper. "I think you hit the nail on the head there."
"Don't get too comfortable," Francis said. "There could be more than one of those freaks out there."
The survivors remained still, trying to hear if any other Infected were nearby. All was quiet except the pounding of the rain.
"I think this would be a good time to have a quick lunch," Bill said.
"I'll second that," Louis said.
"How's your head, Louis?" Zoey asked.
"Um...a little better. Still kinda woozy, to be honest, but not bad."
"Wish we could get you the proper medical treatment," Zoey said, "but that's just not possible these days."
"Listen to that fucking rain," Nick said. "Fuck, it's like a monsoon out here."
"Maybe that'll drown out your fucking complaining," Francis said.
"Maybe," Bill said. "It might also prevent us from hearing Infected coming, so be cautious."
The survivors sat to eat a small portion of their remaining rations. They had expected to be able to drive a bus to the next town, so they needed to make sure to conserve their rations for the unexpected walking ahead.
"I don't think that rain's gonna let up for quite some time," Nick said. "You guys want to hear a story?"
"A story?" Zoey asked. "I'm not really in the mood."
"It's okay, babe," Ellis said, wrapping his arm around her. "I think a story would be a good change of pace."
"Yeah, but it's Nick we're talking about here," Francis said. "I'll bet you like ninety percent of it is bullshit."
"I'm serious!" Nick said. "No bullshit from me, promise."
"Actually, I think some bullshit would be good for a laugh," Francis said. "Hit us with all the bullshit, man."
"Normally, I'd take you up on that," Nick said, "but I'm in a sharing mood. Leaving Coach behind has made me really think about how I present myself."
"Really?" Zoey asked.
"Don't sound so surprised, toots. I took his good nature for granted, and you know that when Coach told you something, he was always shooting straight. I used to think that kind of straight shooting was a sucker's game, but Coach showed me that you can be genuinely awesome without lying your ass off."
"Okay then," Bill said. "Give it to us straight, Nick."
"Here goes nothing," Nick said.
Most of you guys know that I made my living in a less than reputable manner. I was a gambler, a high roller. I hopped from town to town, made a fuck ton of enemies everywhere I went, but I was living big. I had plenty of money to throw around because I cheated. I could never stay in one place for very long, but the nomadic lifestyle suited me. I was fucking over dudes and fucking bitches everywhere I went.
My mom, bless her soul, never approved of my lifestyle. She said that I was gonna get myself killed if I kept it up. It got so bad that I gradually called her less and less. That was a mistake, because she ended up dying of cancer, and I didn't find out until after the funeral.
When that happened, I got deeper into drugs, deeper into gambling. Not as deep into women, because that started to feel uncomfortable. My life stopped feeling as lavish and started feeling more chaotic. I kept my trademark sense of humor with me. It was the only way I knew how to deal with the shit I was dealing with.
Then the Infection hit.
At first I thought the whole thing was bullshit. I hear all kinds of shit on the road with some of these gamblers, and I don't follow the news, so to me it was just a bunch of nonsense. I ended up at a bar one night and stayed until closing time. Had to take a leak before going to my motel to pass out. I saw a fucking Witch in one of the stalls.
It was just the two of us in the bathroom. She looked like hell, you've seen it before, but I was seeing it in person for the first time. I could tell she wasn't just your typical junkie. I decided to give her some distance and take a leak in the back alley instead, but then a bunch of hooligans came into the bathroom hollering about some shit.
The Witch was agitated, started growling, and I tried to tell these jerkoffs to shut the fuck up. They laughed in my face, but their smiles disappeared real quick when the Witch let out a scream and came sprinting for them. I got the fuck out of the way, but the other guys weren't so lucky. One slash from her, and blood started pouring out of the throat of the nearest guy. I didn't stick around long enough to see what happened next. I ran as far away from that fucking bar as I could.
Once I was out of breath, I realized that whatever the fuck was going on, I needed to start paying more attention to it. I made my way back to the motel more carefully, in a haze and dizzy from what I had just seen. Normally, I'm sure I would have been so fucked up on drugs and booze that I would have blacked out and not even remembered what I saw. That's how bad this Witch attack was.
I always carried a pistol with me, but after what I saw that night, I realized a pistol wasn't gonna cut it. If I ever ran into a zombie like that again, I knew I was gonna need something more. I went to the nearest gun store and bought myself the best fucking weapon I could afford: an AK-47. The best thing the fucking commies in the Soviet Union ever designed. And thank God for the second amendment, too, because it was real fucking easy to qualify to pack that kind of heat. It was harder for me to get my driver's license.
Now that I felt like I actually had a shot to defend myself, of course what would I run into next but a Tank. You might think I'm bullshitting, but I'm not. And wouldn't you know it, I was the only one nearby packing the kind of heat I needed to keep him at bay. Unfortunately, as we all know now, it takes a team effort to level one of those bastards. I wasn't much of a team player even in the best of times, so I had to run.
The first place I thought to go was back to that gun store. Hopefully, the owners knew a thing or two about the weapons they sell, and as it turns out, I was right. We were able to hold off this meaty bastard by attacking from all sides, confusing him about where to attack. We leveled the Tank, but just before he died, he got a swipe off at the owner's oldest son.
I helped them take him to the hospital to try to get him some help, but the hospital was being overrun with the Green Flu. It was early enough where people hadn't made the connection yet, so we thought leaving him there was the safest place for him to be. It ended up being the worst mistake we could've made. I didn't stay long enough to really find out what happened, but at this point I decided that starting to watch the news wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. The hospital was overwhelmed when people with the Green Flu turned into zombies. Hundreds of people were killed. It made national attention, you might have remembered seeing it on the news yourselves.
Well, at this point, I had a pretty bad feeling that we as a society were fucked. I had always been a lone survivor, but now I was surviving against something entirely different. I had to teach myself how to become a better shot so I could fend off zombies. I don't say this enough, but finding other survivors like you guys who actually know what the fuck they're doing is the only reason I'm still alive now.
The rest of the survivors paused for reflection after Nick's story was finished. Ellis was the first to speak up. "Shit, man, I had no idea you nearly got killed by a Witch and a Tank that early in the apocalypse."
"By all rights, I shouldn't have survived," Nick said. "The only reason I stand a fighting chance now is you guys. Shit, Coach was always the first one to stand in front of me to protect me from these fucking zombies. Shit...do you think we should have stayed with him until he died? We fucking left him to suffer back at that bus all by himself."
"Nick, normally I'd agree," Bill said, "but his cries of pain would have alerted the Infected. That Tank may have come back for more after leveling our bus. We couldn't afford to wait for him."
"Do you guys think he's still alive back there?" Francis asked. "We haven't walked that far from the crash. Maybe we can go back and check on him."
"I wish we could," Bill said, "but it's not feasible. We need to keep our survival first and foremost on the agenda."
"Damn," Zoey said. "I wish I could disagree, but practically speaking, there's no reason to go back there."
"Fuck," Rochelle said, a tear falling from her eye. "He really deserved better than what he got. He was the best of us."
"Shit, Roch, you're gonna make me cry now," Ellis said.
The survivors finally allowed themselves a moment to properly grieve their fallen friend. Whether he was still alive or not back at that bus didn't matter. To them, Coach was dead, and there was nothing left to do except keep moving forward.
They looked out from under the overpass, and the rain had subsided enough for the sun to start breaking through the clouds.
"Looks like we can get moving again," Bill said. "We can cover some decent ground before finding a place to rest for the night."
"Hold on just a sec," Rochelle said. "We just had a moment here to remember our friend. There aren't any Infected nearby. I think we should formally say goodbye to Coach before we continue."
"You're right," Bill said. "This would be the best possible time for us to pay our final respects."
"Thank you," Rochelle said. "If no one else minds, I'd like to be the one to say something."
"Go ahead," Bill said.
"I've talked about my first experience running into Coach. So much was uncertain about the Infection at that time. No one had a damn clue what was going on. I was in journalism, and we had no idea what was happening either. I went from reporting the action to surviving it, and I felt completely lost and out of my element. When I met Coach, I know he was just as scared as I was, but the way he composed himself was entirely different. I guess being a man of faith gave him enough confidence to hang onto as much sanity as he could. That was something I always took for granted before the Infection, but I don't take that for granted anymore.
"No matter what shit we had to deal with, Coach always remained positive and hopeful for a better future. If it wasn't for him, there's no way in hell I would have made it this long or ever met any of you.
"It is so unfair that he had to be left behind. I'm not saying any one of us deserves to be here less than him, but he had what it took to find a way to adapt to this new world we live in, and because of one stupid moment of bad luck, he paid the ultimate price."
Rochelle had to stop speaking for a moment to gather herself, but after a few deep breaths she was able to continue.
"Whatever happens to the rest of us, we have Coach to thank more than anyone. He's the reason we've made it this far. We better try as hard as we can to stay alive and give it everything we've got. To do anything less would be an insult to his memory."
Rochelle had nothing to say after that, but the rest of the survivors gathered around her for a group embrace. They held each other for about a minute before pulling away.
"Thank you for those words, Rochelle," Bill said. "I think you managed to say what we're all thinking."
"Looks like we've got more sunshine coming out," Zoey said. "We should get moving."
"Any objections?" Bill asked. No one had any complaints. "Then Zoey's right, let's move."
The survivors stepped out from under the overpass. The grass was soaked as they walked across it, but no one felt it appropriate to make a complaint. For the rest of the day, the survivors made an unspoken agreement to be more grateful for the opportunity they had to survive. With Coach gone, they all realized that despite how bad things were in the world they lived in now, they were still lucky to be alive. All they could hope now was that Coach had been able to die peacefully. Knowing the world they lived in, it was likely that he did not, but no one wanted to accept that at this moment. Believing that he had died peacefully was the only hope for him that they had left, and no one was willing to say otherwise. All they could do now was take the opportunity he had given to them to keep surviving.