Walking. That was all we ever did now. I was fully convinced that California wasn't even there anymore. And if it was it felt like it was on the other side of the universe. I was at the back of the group, 10k walking beside me. We were all walking through the woods, a river sounding like it wasn't too far from us. I watched everyone ahead of us, mainly watching the back of Murphy's head. I was so angry with him. He had changed more than I was willing to admit to. What he had done to Cassandra, the baby. I had no idea where my own niece was and he wasn't going to tell anyone anytime soon.

But as we kept walking 10k reached out and took my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. He knew I was upset about my brother and always seemed to know what I was thinking. We kept walking mostly in silence, the occasional murmur from someone, usually Murphy complaining about something, until we came to a small opening. There was a small dock with an old pontoon boat tied up to it. It had been a long time since I had been on a boat, much less even seen one running. But I was hopeful, maybe this was our luck turning around finally.

"Well, the Mississippi sure ain't what it used to be," Doc said as he readjusted one of his suspenders on his shoulder.

"But we can move faster on the river than we can on foot," Warren said as she seemed to survey the area, "We can take this south to Memphis then head West."

"Can't we find another one?" Doc asked as he picked his medicine bag back up.

"No," Warren said as she pulled out her machete. I shrugged my shoulders, pulling my gun out of its holster on my thigh as we all walked closer to the dock. However, Murphy caught my eye as he just stood there. I turned and looked at him, Vasquez doing the same as we both turned and looked at Murphy.

"Don't you want to come help us out?" Vasquez asked him.

"No," Murphy said as he crossed his arms, "I don't. And by the way, I can't swim." Murphy finally decided to join us.

Once we got to the boat, the Zs were pretty easy to kill. They didn't seem to be bothered by us, they seemed to be after something.

"Easy, I don't want any trouble," a man yelled as Warren ripped a tarp off of him. We all stared down at him, wondering what he was doing.

"What are you doing here?" Vasquez asked, seemingly already annoyed by this man.

"It's my boat," the man stuttered. I shrugged my shoulders as I looked from Warren to Vasquez.

"Makes sense," Doc said just as I was thinking it.

"Well, it's ours now," Vasquez said.

"Now wait a minute," the man said as he sat up now, "I don't like this deal, can we negotiate?" But before anyone had a chance to answer him Vasquez pulled out his gun again, pointing it at the man, "Hey listen, this boat ain't easy to operate. Plus, I know the river, the channel patterns. I'd make a great asset."

I looked around at everyone. This dude was annoying but I know I didn't know my way around.

"Forget it," Vasquez said, "You talk too much."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, listen," the man said, trying his best to argue now, "I can keep quiet." I raised my eyebrows, something was telling me that wasn't true.

"Can you take us south?" Warren asked, finally speaking up," To Memphis?"

"Well, hell yes," he said with confidence.

"Well, let's go," Warren said as she looked from the man on the floor in front of her to Vasquez. The man quickly jumped up, still talking, as he got into the driver's seat. I turned my back to the group, looking out over the river. If we really did manage to get this thing running and usable that was nothing short of a miracle. I was so tired of walking and tired of Murphy complaining about walking. However, my dreams were cut short when the man tried to start the boat.

"Does this thing actually run?" Addy asked, cutting the man off mid sentence.

"I swear, it ran as soon as yesterday," he said, defending himself.

"10k, Raven, check the motor," Warren said as she stared at the man. 10k and I both nodded our heads as I placed my gun back on my thigh, 10k slinging his around his chest. We both grabbed hold of the motor and pulled it back with all we had. Or at least all I had, that thing was heavy. But once we got it out of the water, we realized what the problem was. A Z had lodged itself on the propeller. Him and I both turned and looked at Warren as she slightly nodded her head. Addy took that as her que as she walked up next to me, swinging her Z whacker, giving the zombie mercy.

Luckily it wasn't much longer before we managed to get on our way. We all managed to get our own seats, Doc, 10k and Addy sitting in the back with Murphy. Vasquez and Warren sat up front on one side as I sat across from them. I had laid back, propping myself up on my elbows as I leaned my head back. I had rolled up my pants as high as they would go, shedding my outer layers exposing the spaghetti strapped crop top I was wearing.

"What are you doing?" Vasquez asked. I opened one eye, looking over at him as he looked at me with confusion.

"Tanning," I said like it was nothing, going back to what I was doing. I heard Addy giggle as Vasquez just scoffed. I got comfortable again, my feet just hanging off the end of the bench I was laying across.

I had almost fallen asleep when Doc got up, walking to the front of the boat.

"Hey, I think I know those dudes," he said as he looked out over the water. I sat up now, looking in the same direction when I saw two guys in a paddle boat. Most of everyone followed suit, getting up and walking to the front of the boat.

"Oh my god," I said as I realized who it was that we were all looking at.

"Is that?" Addy added.

"Sketchy and Skeezy?" Warren finished. We were all shocked and confused.

"Hey, slow down man," Doc said, the man driving repeating what he said as he started to slow down the boat.

"Hey," Vasquez countered, not wanting to stop for the two, "We are not slowing down."

"Yea, for once I agree with him," Murphy added from the back. I just turned and looked at him, hoping he would shut up.

"Aye aye, sir," the man driving said again as he sped up.

"Hey, do what I tell ya and slow down," Doc said frantically, "Those are my friends." However, Vasquez now pulled out his gun again, pointing it at the man's head.

"Is that really necessary?" I asked as I looked up at Vasquez. He only eyeballed me before Warren pushed his arm away from the man driving.

"Let's check it out," she said as she looked up at Vasquez with a stern look.

"This is a mistake," Vasquez countered, but seemed to back down.

I sat up now, rolling my pant legs back down and tucking them into my boots and putting on the raggedy flannel once again. I leaned over the back of my seat as Skeezy and Sketchy paddled up next to us.

"Doc, well I'll be damned," Sketchy yelled.

"Well if it ain't tweedle dee and tweedle dumbass," Doc joked as he got closer to our boat.

"Oh man, your guys' timing is perfect," Sketchy said as they floated in their paddle boat next to us.

"What happened to him?" Addy asked as she pointed at Skeezy. Looking over at him he was covered in what looked like tar and chicken feathers as he sat there with the biggest smile like nothing was wrong.

"He fell in with the wrong crowd," Sketchy answered. I couldn't only assume what that meant, "Hey, kid, you still shooting out the lights?" Everyone turned to 10k, knowing that was the only person that could do something like that.

"Yea," he said as he looked around at us all, who knew what they were about to make him do.

"Great, then help us with this gear, will ya?" Sketchy asked as he pointed to the couple trunks they had somehow gotten onto the back of their paddle boat.

"You are not bringing that on board," Vasquez told them. For once I agreed with him. I knew better and knew that they were up to something and it probably wasn't anything good.

"Sir," Sketchy started, making me laugh, "With all due respect, this is valuable booty, worth about four weeks of road time."

"You get one," Warren said, making them come to a compromise.

"Alright, we are taking this one," Sketchy groaned as they turned to figure out which one they wanted.

"What about the salt and pepper shakers?" Skeezy asked as he tapped on the other box they had with them, "I think they are in this one."

"Now or never boys," Vasquez said as he was getting fed up and annoyed. I just giggled as I watched them trying to decide.

Once they did decide which one they wanted to take they paddled over closer to us. 10k and Doc stood on the side of the boat, ready to try and get whatever it was that they wanted so bad. Vasquez stood off to the side, watching as Skeezy and Sketchy struggled. I finally decided I should probably help too, getting in between Doc and 10k and I grabbed one of the handles on the trunk.

"On three we pull," Doc said as he looked over to 10k and me, "One...two...three." With a big tug I pulled with all I had. With the three of us it was easier now and we may have pulled it a little too hard as we all fell back, the trunk landing on all three of us. Warren and Addy were quick to help us as they lifted the trunk and set it to the side. Addy held out her hands, one for me and one for Doc. I quickly accepted it as she hoisted me up. Standing there, dusting myself off, Sketchy was standing in front of me, a smile on his face.

"Can I help you?" I asked as I pulled my flannel a little tight around myself.

"I sure hope so darling," he said as he stepped closer to me, laying it on thick, "You know, nights get pretty chilly out here...and lonely." He gave me a wink as I opened my mouth to let him have it. However, 10k was quick to my side, putting his arm around me and standing almost in between me and Sketchy.

"Watch it," 10k said quietly as he stared at the man. Sketchy simply took a step back, raising his arms as he walked to the back of the boat with everyone else.

"Just so happens you guys caught us on the upswing," he said as he took his seat next to Skeezy, "Long gestating plans have been percolating and coming into fruition all at once. Been a pretty good season for us." He reached behind Skeezy, pulling some feathers that were still stuck to him.

"Where the hell did you find all that stuff?" Doc asked as he pointed to the trunk that almost killed us.

"Oh yea, we stayed in Memphis for a bit," Sketchy explained, "Happened by a little place, you may have heard of it. Former home of the King."

"You looted Graceland?" I asked, shocked. Doc laughed as he leaned back slightly, seemingly as shocked as I was.

"Oh, we cleaned the place out," Skeezy added, "We had a couple of truckloads of authentic Elvis swag until we ran into a little trouble." He waved his hands around, like he was trying to dismiss the whole thing. I could only wonder why he was covered in chicken feathers. It always amazed me the two of them, the kind of situations that got themselves into and more so out of.

"And if you were all the way in Memphis, how is it that you ended up here?" Addy asked, bringing us all back down to earth and the current events.

"Oh, we took a river trail up north in Nebraska until we ran into some angry Albanians who did not like us," Sketchy started explaining.

"I could only imagine," I said to myself, barely loud enough for 10k to hear it next to me. He let out a quiet chuckle but continued listening to their story anyways.

"Skeezy here damn near lost a leg," Sketchy continued.

"Well, what happened?" Doc asked, genuinely wondering what had happened to them.

"They were going to chop off my leg," Skeezy informed us, the closest I had ever seen him come to telling the truth.

"It was nothing a little discourse couldn't mend. We are all just animals," Sketchy said, eyeing Warren and Addy as he reached out to them, "Looking for a connection." Both women rolled their eyes as they looked at eachother and I was glad I was sitting on the opposite side.

"Oh," Skeezy seemed to suddenly remember, "Plus we got them with 'The Murphy'." All of us quickly turned our heads looking at the two new members on this boat. What did they mean 'The Murphy'?

"Excuse me?" my brother said, that being the only thing that seemed to grab his attention.

"Yea, it's just this thing we do," Sketchy explained, "It works because of Skeezy's passing resemblance." Skeezy then gave us his best impression of a model.

"Resemblance?" Murphy asked. I turned and looked at him now. I knew this wasn't going to end well and either one of them or all of us where going to end up in trouble, again, "Is that so? And what exactly does this Murphy look like?"

"Over seven feet tall," Sketchy said, he was getting into story mode as he stood up, ready to make this more over dramatic than it needed to be, "Red eyes, teeth like a mountain goat, and he walks around on all fours," I glanced over at my brother and could tell he was already over it, "And he can blend into his surroundings like a chameleon."

"Yea, when we saw him in Louisiana, he was green as moss. We saw him again a week later in Texas, looked like dirt."

"You don't say," Murphy and I said at the same time. Neither one of us could believe what we were hearing.

"He's dangerous as all hell," Sketchy continued, "I saw him turn a man inside out using his mind. Literally, the guy's spleen is just hanging over his waistband."

"Most people don't understand…"

"Oh, I understand," Murphy said, finally speaking up, "You two are a couple of lying morons who spoiled a rather pleasant boat ride."

"I resent that," Sketchy said as Vasquez had finally had his fill of them too.

"I've heard enough, I'm throwing you both over," he said as he stood and walked towards Skeezy and Sketchy. They both put their arms out, hoping to try to stop Vasquez from throwing them in.

"Now, come on," Doc said, trying to be the peacekeeper.

"You can't throw us overboard," Sketchy started explaining, I was curious to see how he was going to try to talk himself out of this one, "Look, there's zombie jams down river ok? It would be like feeding us to the piranhas."

"Your stories just get dumber and dumber," Vasquez said. He was completely done with whatever they were trying to sell.

"No, no, no, it's true, it's true," Skeezy tried to defend, "All up and down the Mississippi."

"They start in Lake Onalaska and they drift their way down," Sketchy explained hurriedly. I huffed as I sat up a little and crossed my legs, giving their excuses my full attention now.

"Boys," Doc said as he placed his hand on his forehead, "You're just digging a deeper hole."

"No," Skeezy said as he turned to Doc, "I swear on my mothers eyes." I rolled my eyes at this point, shaking my head as Vasquez went to take a step closer. But as if on cue the whole boat shook. I gasped as Vasquez almost fell, grabbing the metal railing behind me. My hand immediately shot to 10K, grabbing a hold of his shirt as he grabbed my leg keeping me in place next to him.

"Zombie jam!" the boat driver yelled as I looked over the edge and saw more zombies than I had ever wanted to. I quickly grabbed all my belongings, not that I had many left by now, as I was pushed between Doc and 10k.

"Zombie's onboard!" the boat driver yelled this time. Warren was quick now to stand as well as we all looked around for a way out of this mess. But it was starting to look like we only had one option now, and that was to jump overboard and hope for a miracle. 10k quickly turned and looked at me for a moment, like he was silently telling me to trust him. I quickly nodded my head as he grabbed my hand and pulled me up onto the seat with him before jumping over the side railing. The cold water was a shock to my body for a moment before I came back up for air.

I was quickly shocked back to reality again when someone landed in the water next to me, nearly pulling me under with them. I panicked, thinking a Z was going to try to pull me under as I started kicking and swimming as fast as I could. However, in the panic I had managed to let go of 10k's hand.

I had never swam so fast in my life. By the time I had made it to the shore my heart was pounding and my arms were like jello. I had pulled myself up onto the shore line, taking off the flannel I had been wearing and wringing it out. I layed back as I tried to catch my breath, closing my eyes and just being glad I had made it out of that mess alive. Everyone around me was also trying to dry themselves out as much as possible when it hit me...10k wasn't here. Immediately my head shot up, looking around, hoping that I was wrong.

"Wait a minute…" I said, now sitting up and my heart racing again, "Where is 10k?" Warren looked down at me then around to the group that was there. Doc and I locked eyes as we both were in a full panic now.

"10k!" Doc yelled across the river. But there was no answer. I immediately stood, looking to the other side of the river, hoping to see him waving for us. But no matter how much we yelled for him or tried to look for him, it was useless, he wasn't there.

"Doc," I said quietly to him, thinking the worst. He looked down at me, a sad, sympathetic look on his face.

"I'm going across," he said as he threw his shirt off his shoulder.

"Doc, you won't make it," Warren warned before he had a chance to move. Doc and I both turned to look at her.

"I'm going with him, we have to get him," I pleaded. Warren looked at me, about to say something when, of course, Murphy had to interrupt.

"No, you don't," he said as he dumped water out of his shoes, "And what makes you think he's on the other side anyway?"

"That kid's a survivor. He ain't going out like that," Doc defended.

"And he wouldn't leave me like that," I said a little quieter and directed straight at Murphy. Him and I stared at each other for a long moment before he finally looked back down at his shoes.

"As romantic as that sounds, that is not much to go on," Murphy said. I stared down at the shoes he was putting on, thinking about throwing them back into the water.

"That's the East side of the Mississippi you're talking about," Vasquez added.

"Yea, so?" Doc retorted.

"I'm heading West," he said as he turned and pointed at Murphy, "So is he."

"Oh, is that right?" I said as I put my hands on my hips, scrunching my nose at him.

"Doc, Raven," Warren said softly, "You guys can't go back in there."

"What are we going to do Warren?" Doc asked.

"We can't just leave him," I added.

"Hey, hey," Addy said as she tried to calm everyone down, "We are not going to leave him." She looked right at me, a lump starting to form in my throat as I was thinking of the worst. "He probably just floated downstream, right? So, let's head South, we will find a spot and camp out." Addy looked over at Warren, making sure she was ok with that plan as well.

"There is only one direction he could've gone," Warren said, "We will stay on the river's edge. If he's on the other side he will give us a signal." I huffed. I knew she was right but I didn't want to hear it right now.

"And what about getting Murphy to California?" Vasquez asked. I crossed my arms, opening my mouth to start arguing with him when my brother decided to open his mouth instead.

"Yeah, what about that?" he asked. I walked over to him as he stood, squaring up to him as he stared down at me.

"We will put in 24 hours of looking for him," Warren said, mediating before it could go any further, "Then we head west." I turned from Murphy, looking over my shoulder at Warren. She was right. I knew she was but I wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Come on, Doc," I said as I picked my flannel up off the ground, throwing it on. He nodded his head as he walked out of the water, the two of us joining up with the rest of the group.

As we continued to walk down the river bank, Doc and I kept yelling for 10k every so many yards.

"Can you stop yelling," Murphy said, annoyed as he looked at me.

"Can you stop being a jerk?" I asked as I turned around. I stared at my brother for a moment before I punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he said dramatically, clutching his arm. But before I could turn back around to look for 10k again, Murphy smacked my arm. I turned back to him again, my mouth open as I gasped. I huffed as I went to take a step closer to him, about to punch him again when suddenly I was lifted in the air.

"That's enough," Vasquez said as he sat me back on the ground a few steps away from Murphy. "This isn't going to find him any faster."

"No," I said, "But it will make me feel better." Murphy and I eyed each other, glaring. I shook my arm out of Vasquez's grasp, turning back to Doc, helping him search for 10k.

Night had fallen by the time Warren stopped us to camp for the night. After Warren and Vasquez got a fire made and we had eaten the little bit of food we had left, Doc and I stood on the water's edge. Addy and my brother both had fallen asleep, somehow. Sleep was the last thing on my mind since 10k was still missing. I was so worried about him.

"Did you see that?" Doc yelled, knocking me out of my thoughts.

"See what?" Warren asked at my side. I turned and looked to see where Doc was pointing. But I couldn't see anything.

"A light! There was a light flashing way down the river," he explained. I stood on my tip toes, straining to try to see what he was saying.

"So you saw a light. What does that mean?" Vasquez asked from his spot next to the fire.

"Maybe it's 10k?" I asked, hopeful.

"Did anybody see it?" Doc asked, turning to Warren and Vasquez. "Roberta, you saw it, didn't you?"

"No," she said quietly as she looked from Doc to me. She had a sad look on her face. I knew she knew what I was feeling.

"How can I be the only one to see it?" Doc asked. He threw his arms in the air, frustrated that no one saw what he did.

"Maybe because there is nothing to see," Vasquez said as he threw something into the fire. "We've gone far enough South. We head West in the morning."

My mouth dropped at what he was saying. He turned to Warren now as I continued to stare at him. He couldn't be serious. He was going to rip the world apart avenging his family but he wasn't going to let me do the same for who I wanted?

"Who put you in charge," Doc asked, seeming just as offended as I was.

"That's rich coming from you," I said as I crossed my arms. He turned and looked at me.

"You're losing your head," he said as he continued throwing little pebbles into the fire before looking at me. "Jeopardizing the mission." I simply raised my eyebrows. I was surprised he would say something like that to me. And just when I thought I was getting through his tough guy skin.

"What would you know about the mission?" Doc asked. "You're just here to collect a bounty. I mean who the hell are you anyway?" Doc turned to Warren. "Why are we dragging him along?"

"Don't get it twisted, old man," Vasquez said.

"Old man? That's rude," I scoffed.

"I'm escorting this prisoner to California and I'm not putting him in danger without a damn good reason," he said.

"And I assume this isn't one of those reasons?" I asked.

"No," he said matter of fact.

"Well it ain't up to you," Doc said as he took a few steps closer to Vasquez. However, Vasquez just threatened him and luckily Warren was quick to stand and end the argument.

"Settle down. Nothing is happening tonight and in the morning we will reevaluate," she said as she looked at all three of us. I nodded my head as I pulled my flannel closer around myself, Warren walking over to me and Doc.

"You don't believe us?" Doc asked as she joined us.

"Yes I believe you," she said as she gave us a pep talk. She knew how much 10k meant to the both of us and neither of us were going to let him go without a fight. I didn't care if I had to fight Vasquez, Murphy or more river Z's. I was going to find him again.

Finally she told the both of us to get some sleep. We nodded our heads and turned back to the river, looking over it.

"Come on Doc. Maybe we just need to get a good night's sleep," I said as I patted his arm. He nodded his head before sitting down next to me.

"Maybe you're right," he mumbled.

"We will find him tomorrow, I have a feeling," I said with a smile as I laid on the ground next to him.

The next morning, Doc and I were the first ones awake. I quickly threw on my flannel that I had used as a makeshift blanket and threw my back pack on. After we all ate something quick we decided to go a little farther South. I was glad the others seemed to be on our side against Vasquez. I may be losing my brother but I wasn't going to lose 10k too.

After a few hours of walking and yelling for 10k we came across the best thing we possibly could have, a small canoe.

"Doc look!" I said as I grabbed his arm, dragging him with me closer to it.

"Oh sweet Jesus, hallelujah," he said. We both threw off our bags, throwing them in and getting ready to push it off the bank.

"Oh come on, you really think you can get this thing all the way across? Both of you in it?" Addy said as she came up behind me, trying to talk sense into us.

"We are sure as hell gonna try," I said as I turned and looked at her.

"Raven," Warren said as she walked around Addy.

"Don't waste your breath Warren," Doc said.

"Well what do you expect us to do? Wait for you?" Murphy asked, standing next to me. He looked down at me, almost like he was offended that I was going after 10k. I mean, at least 10k wasn't the one who tried to blow me up with a doomsday weapon or leave me for dead more than once to some zombies.

"Do whatever you want," I seethed. I took a step forward, having to look up at my brother. He looked down at me like he was trying to think of something to say. And if I knew what was going through his head, it was going to be something hurtful. He had always done that, even when we were younger. When his feelings were hurt, he made sure to hurt yours even worse. But he simply turned to Warren, telling her they were going to leave Doc and I here and head West.

By this point I was done with the arguing. I turned, throwing my bag in the boat along with Doc's. As the rest of them stood around and argued I got to getting the canoe ready. Luckily there were two paddles and some rope in the bottom of it. I didn't notice any holes or anything that would jeopardize us and pushed it a little more into the water.

"We'll head South as far as the Gortner Bridge. If you're there, we will regroup," Warren said as she looked from Doc to me. "Otherwise, this is it." I looked at her as she shook her head, sad that we were wanting to do this. I glanced over at Addy as she shook her head, chewing on her lip to keep her emotions in check.

"We managed to meet once in this world, I'm sure we will again," I said with a smile. Without another word Doc and I turned to push the boat into the water.

After going as far down the river as we could we made it to Gortner Bridge. Doc and I looked at each other before we decided to head for the shore. We hadn't been able to find anything that would have pointed towards 10k or where he could have gone.

Once we made it to the shore we pulled the boat as far up as possible. Doc sat back in it, not wanting to sit on the rough gravel of the shore. I took my bag out, tossing it on the ground as I got a water bottle out, taking a small sip. I offered it to Doc but he just ignored me. I knew he was upset about 10k. He saw him like a son and wanted to protect him. However, I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard Addy yelling for us. I turned towards the bridge, seeing her waving at us.

"I'm going to go up there and talk to them," I said. "Maybe we can talk them into waiting a little longer." However, I was met with silence as Doc continued to just sit there. I huffed, throwing the water bottle back in my bag before throwing it over my shoulder.

I walked up to the bridge, Addy meeting me at the edge to help me over the concrete that had fallen apart.

"Find anything?" she asked as I dusted off my hand on my pants. I simply shook my head as I turned to the other end of the bridge.

"I told you," Murphy said as he leaned on the metal, looking at me.

"Thank you big brother for your support," I said sarcastically. He simply shrugged his shoulders as he turned away now. Addy then told me that they spotted a car on the top of the hill and that Warren and Vasquez had gone to work on it and see if they could get it started. At least that gave us some time to wait for 10k to show up. I just knew he would.

Luckily not much longer, Doc had finally joined us. Him and I both stood in the middle of the bridge, staring at the blocked end, waiting for something to happen. Or at least some sign of something.

"We've waited long enough, time to go," Vasquez yelled as they pulled the new car up onto the bridge.

"Just wait a minute," Doc yelled over his shoulder.

"You know, there aren't a lot of people who look out for each other in this world anymore," Addy said as she walked up to us. I knew what she was trying to do. She was going to try to pull on our heartstrings and get us to leave. I couldn't handle it. I had already put 10k through so much, I wasn't going to leave him behind now. Not when I was starting to fall in love with him.

I simply shook my head, stepping away and walking over to the metal railing and looking over the river. I wiped my cheek, not wanting anyone to see the couple tears that fell freely. I wasn't going to give Murphy the satisfaction of seeing me this upset. However, I was pulled from my thoughts when a hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up, seeing my brother looking down at me. For once in a long time he actually looked like he felt bad. With one last glance to the end of the bridge, I turned towards the car, Murphy putting his arm around me. He may have not been the best brother growing up but he always seemed to be there when it mattered. And right now, it really mattered.

But once we made it to the car, opening the door I thought I heard something behind us. I turned, seeing something fly over the top of the barrier.

"Wait," I nearly yelled, shrugging Murphy's arm off my shoulders as I took a couple steps away from him.

Once Doc and I managed to get Warren and Vasquez to listen to what this lady said, my spirits were lifted. Apparently she knew 10k and he had sent her here to meet us. But he was in trouble now. The town that he was in was putting him on trial with Sketchy and Skeezy and it wasn't looking good.

"I knew it, I knew he would have survived!" I said to Doc as we followed the lady back to the town. He gave me a big smile and put his arm around me.

We finally made it to the town, having to sneak through some empty buildings. The first thing I noticed was a circle of zombies, all roped together. But once I peaked around the corner I saw 10k. He was looking down at the ground, like he had been defeated. And Zeros. I noticed the one guy holding the gold club was the guy from the weed farm. But I pushed that to the side for now, right now, we needed to save 10k. Across from me, Addy and Doc stood with guns trained on 10k and the others.

"Pull!" I heard. Then my heart sank. I watched as the world seemed to move in slow motion now as the three of the men standing there suddenly dropped. Luckily, before the rope even had a chance to snap Doc and Addy aimed their guns, shooting the ropes. I watched as 10k dropped to the ground. I let out a breath I had been holding before running through the crowd of people standing between me and 10k.

"10k!" I yelled as I finally made it to him. He looked up at me, a smile spreading across his face. I quickly helped him stand, seeing that his hands were tied behind his back.

"I knew you would come back for me," he said as he went running around the wooden structure, heading for a truck that had a creepy smile painted above the cab.

"Let's boogie," Doc said as he ran up to us, helping me get 10k to the truck Warren was getting in.

Once we all made it into the truck we all piled in, having to cram into the small space. The ride to the bridge was a bumpy one, several Zs following us. But as we drove I untied 10k's hands, looking him over to make sure that he was okay. I grabbed his hands, looking at the rope burn on his wrist before looking back up at him. He gave me a small smile, taking his hand from my grasp and placing it on my cheek. But before anything else could be said or done Warren brought the truck to a stop.

"Let's move!" she yelled as she jumped out of the driver seat, the rest of us following. I grabbed 10k's hand, refusing to let him go this time. But once our feet hit the ground he crawled on top of the truck instead of over the barrier with us.

"Wait," I yelled.

"10k!" Doc yelled at the same time. I watched as 10k laid across the top of the truck, like he was talking to someone. Luckily he didn't seem to wait too long, jumping over the barrier just in time before a Z slammed into it. Thankfully, we made it over unscathed as he and I both ran towards the car. Everyone else had piled into it, Murphy waiting to sit in the front until we got into the back. 10k looked back again, watching as more Zs gathered at the barrier. He climbed into the car first, sitting behind the passenger seat. I quickly climbed in after him as my brother pushed me in so he could get in too. However, there weren't any empty seats left. But before I could make a decision on anything, I felt someone grab my hips, dragging me down to a seat, then I realized the seat under me moved and I was sitting in 10k's lap. Before I could argue and sit somewhere else, Murphy slammed the passenger seat back, climbing in and trapping me in 10k's lap. Not that I was arguing, I was just surprised. But even if my brother's seat wasn't trapping me in, 10k's grip on me did. He had one arm around my waist, the other across my legs, keeping me on his lap. He looked back again at the truck before turning back around. He gave my leg a squeeze looking at me intently. I couldn't help it as my cheeks heated up, causing me to wiggle slightly. But his hand on my hip grips me tighter, causing my cheeks to flush even more. I was hyper aware of his hand behind me as his thumb slipped under the hem of my shirt, rubbing a small circle on my skin. I took a deep breath, keeping myself in check.

We got 10k back, now it was onto the mission.