We drove for a while before Addy pointed out that the car we were in was a convertible. We finally pulled to the side of the road, letting down the top and everyone getting out to stretch their legs. Warren then called us all to the front of the car, wanting to get an inventory in.
"Flashlight, no batteries," Doc said as he threw some stuff on the hood. "Half a bottle of aspirin, no ammo. But I found this." He held up an old tire iron.
"I got two batteries and four bullets," Warren added.
"I got two in my gun and two randoms. And those," Addy said as she displayed what she had. Wait a minute…
"You got gum?" I asked, looking from her to the gum. It had been so long since I had had a piece of gum.
"For repair purposes only," she said, looking at me and raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, but remember fresh breath?" I asked longingly, leaning on the hood of the car. Addy laughed at me as I sighed, missing the luxury of bubble gum.
"I got a couple of bullets, road flares," Vasquez said next to me, bringing me back to reality. I sighed as I stood back up now.
"Other than my knives," I said as I took my revolver off the holter and opened it, "I have a single shot in this one and…" I pulled up my shirt, getting the small gun that I kept hidden. However, when I took it out of the holster, it was ruined. "Oh…nevermind." I said as mud dripped out of the barrel. I quickly took the holster off, throwing it to the side, not even caring. First my weapons bag, then my new Beretta and now this one. Much longer and I was going to completely run out of weapons. But as I got rid of the ruined gun Addy gave some bullets to 10k, hoping they would work in his gun.
"Now, I know this looks shaky," Warren said, looking around at all of us, "but we will find a way to get Murphy to California." I turned and looked at the man in question as he continued to sleep in the back of the car. He had his hat pulled down, ignoring us all as Doc walked over to him, shaking his awake.
"Help me find some food. Berries, nuts," Doc said.
"Edible tree bark too!" I added. Doc nodded his head, pointing at me before turning back to Murphy. Who just mumbled under his breath as he got up, angry that we woke him from his beauty sleep.
It wasn't much longer after Doc and Murphy left that the others seemed to disappear too. Warren and Addy had said they needed to use the restroom and wanted to stretch their legs, Vasquez wanting to scout ahead a short distance. But I knew what he was really doing, he was going to try to find a radio signal. He briefly looked at me before he took off, leaving 10k and I at the car together, alone.
We stood there for only a moment. I leaned back, my hands on the hood as I closed my eyes, taking in the sunlight. I signed, content, when suddenly I was being lifted off the ground slightly, sitting me on the hood. I yelped as I opened my eyes, 10k standing in front of me with his hands on my hips.
"A little warning next time," I laughed as I sat up a little straighter, wrapping my arms around his neck. He looked down at me, one hand on my waist as the other came up to cup my cheek. We stood there for a moment, soaking in each other's presence. "You know, I've thought about it more, when you asked me to come with you after California." 10k looked down at me, his eyebrows raised, waiting for me to continue as he stepped closer to me. My legs wrapped around his waist loosely, his hand moving to my thigh as he pushed some hair behind my ear. "You need to take me on a date first." He looked at me confused for a moment.
"A date?" he asked. I nodded my head, a smile spreading across my face. "In the apocalypse?"
"You never know when an opportunity presents itself," I said with a laugh.
"I've never taken someone on a date," he said quietly.
"Never? Someone as handsome as you?" I asked. He chuckled and looked down, his cheeks turning red. He leaned down, his hand slowly making its way to the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair as the other gripped my thigh even tighter through my jeans. His lips hovered above mine, his breath hot on my face. I grabbed the front of his shirt, trying to pull him closer to me. But he pulled back slightly, gripping my hair tighter as he tilted my head back slightly. I whimpered, sad that he pulled me back but couldn't help the thrill that ran through my body, just from the look on his face. He leaned down, kissing my cheek before whispering in my ear.
"Not until we go on a date," he said in a husky voice. I looked up at him almost in shock at how bold he had gotten. He took a step from me, heading towards the back of the car as I saw the others coming back to join us.
…
Once Warren and Addy came back to the car, Warren honked the horn, signaling that it was time for everyone to come back. She pulled out a map from her bag, laying it across the trunk as 10k and Addy leaned over it, getting a feeling of where we were and where we needed to go.
Once Vasquez got back, he had a long stick, saying he was going to use it to see how much gas we had left in the car. I was hoping it was still a decent amount because I really didn't want to walk anymore.
I sat in the back seat, behind the driver seat, turning around to watch everyone. As 10k leaned over the map, he snuck a glance at me, winking with a small smirk on his face. I couldn't believe what he had done earlier, teasing me then just walking away.
"We have two gallons, maybe three," Vasquez said as he finally stood from the back of the car.
"And if we get ten miles to a gallon?" Warren asked.
"Gets us half way to Plainview," 10k answered. I nodded my head. That wasn't bad, but I would have preferred it got us all the way to Cali. But I was pulled from my thoughts when Doc came walking up without Murphy.
"Where is my brother?" I asked.
"He's right behind me," Doc said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder. I raised my eyebrows, tilting my head to the side, confused as Doc turned around. "Dammit Murphy!"
I couldn't help but laugh as I climbed out of the car, following the others as we all walked off to try to find Murphy. Doc had told us they had gone into the woods, looking for food and assumed Murphy was still with him. But as we continued to walk it was beginning to look like this wasn't going to be easy. I walked behind Addy and Warren, Doc to my left as 10k and Vasquez brought up the end of the group.
"I'm gonna be really pissed if my last words are 'Murphy, where are you?'," Addy said. I laughed. I had to agree with her, I was starting to get pissed that we had to keep getting him out of trouble.
"Murphy better hope he's not around when I reach 9,999," 10k said quietly behind me. As harsh as that sounded, I almost agreed with him. My brother was in need of a beating and I was about to give it to him.
"We have to find him first," I said, glancing at 10k over my shoulder.
"I think it's somewhere around here," Doc said, changing the subject. "And don't eat the bark off them skinny trees." I turned and looked at him, confused. "Starts out tangy then goes south in a hurry."
"Makes sense, I guess," I said as I scratched the back of my head, looking around for any sign of Murphy. But we couldn't find anything.
Finally we decided, or I guess Vasquez decided for us, to go back to the car. I had hoped that maybe Murphy had gone back to the car and was continuing his nap. But once we got back to the car, he was nowhere in sight.
"Damn, I was hoping we'd find him here napping," Doc said as he ran up to the car.
"I did too," I said as I leaned on the car, crossing my arms.
"The slippery bastard's going to end up spending the rest of his days in shackles if I have anything to say about it," Vasquez said, looking from me to Warren. "And I do."
"Honestly at this point I would almost agree with you," I said. Warren nodded her head, she seemed to be thinking about it as well. Maybe that was something we should actually look into.
But after we all stood there trying to think of what to do next, 10k mentioned that there was a town nearby. Warren made the point that if anything maybe he went there. Worst case scenario, if he was kidnapped, maybe it was from someone there.
Luckily it wasn't too far of a walk, the town seeming abandoned as we walked through it. Doc and Addy walked through the backyard of a house as Vasquez and Warren walked in through the front door. 10k and I stood outside, keeping watch on everything. I had my Muela Bowie knife, wanting to save the one bullet I had for an emergency.
"Ghost town," Addy said as she joined 10k and I in front of the house.
"Nothing here," I said. Warren and Vasquez said the same as they joined us.
"Without Murphy, there is no mission. Keep moving," Warren said as she turned and started walking down the street. We all turned, joining in behind her.
"For as important as this guy is, we sure lose him a lot," Vasquez said as he walked beside me.
"If it makes you feel any better, he did this a lot growing up too," I said, looking over at Vasquez. "Sometimes disappear for days then show up like nothing happened."
"Well, we won't be able to find him any faster if we don't split up," Warren said as she turned and looked at us. "10k, Vasquez with me. Raven, you go with Addy and Doc. Meet up in an hour if we don't find anything." We all nodded our heads, turning to go different directions when suddenly someone grabbed my arm, turning around and coming face to face with 10k.
"Be careful," he said quietly. We were inches apart, even in front of everyone. 10k had his back to the group but I could see them all looking at us, making my cheeks flush red. Luckily, the others seemed to not think anything about us as they turned, ready to split up.
"Just because you said that, I'm going to purposefully get bitten," I said with an attitude. However, that seemed to flip a switch in him as his hand went from my arm to grabbing my chin, squishing my cheeks slightly.
"Be. Careful," he said a little more forcefully this time. I simply nodded my head as he let me go, turning to join Vasquez and Warren.
I stood there, stunned for a moment while my brain tried to unscramble itself. Doc had gone ahead a little, Addy looking at me. She had a small knowing smile on her face, her eyebrows raised at me. I cleared my throat, smoothing out my shirt as I walked over to join her.
Thankfully she didn't mention it as we joined Doc, walking up onto a porch of an older house. It was the third house we had come to and we still couldn't find any sign of my brother.
"On three," Doc said as Addy just simply threw open the screen door, kicking in the front door. But this time a Z came running out, heading straight for Doc. He yelled, grabbing it and keeping it an arms length away as I drove my knife into its skull. As it fell to the ground, it still had a tight grip on Doc's shirt, causing them both to fall to the ground.
"That was close," I said as I bent down to help Doc up.
"I said on three!" he yelled at Addy.
"If we do a three count at every house we will be here all day," she said. And I had to agree with her, we needed to find Murphy sooner rather than later.
But after searching more houses and still not finding anything, we met back up with the others. Warren led the group further through town, Doc yelling for Murphy every so often. Surely he was here somewhere, where else could he have gone?
We searched most of the town, stopping at the top of a hill in front of what looked like it used to be their court house or something. Warren suggested breaking up again to search, in smaller groups to try to cover even more ground. We all agreed, everyone pairing off into similar groups as before, 10k and I sticking together this time.
Once everyone split we walked down the sidewalk, trying to find anything that seemed important. At this point I was looking for anything.
"So, where are you going to take me on our date?" I asked as I looked through a car, 10k standing behind me keeping watch. I turned and looked at him over my shoulder, a smirk on his face as he glanced down at me.
"Where do you want to go?" he asked. I closed the car door, the two of us walking down the sidewalk again.
"No, you have to surprise me!" I laughed as I smacked his arm lightly.
"Speaking of surprises," 10k said, "Look at that Z." I turned and looked at what he was talking about when I saw a Z walking down the street. We were close enough it should have been running for us, however, it just ignored us and kept walking.
"Murphy," we both said at the same time as we followed it.
Once we followed it to a building we hadn't been to yet I noticed it was looking through a window. As we stood there and watched it I knew Murphy had to be somewhere in there. Or at least somewhere close. But as we watched I noticed it was doing something weird. It would claw at the window then randomly stop.
"Something isn't right here," I said. 10k looked around before jogging across the street, me not far behind him. Once we made it to the door 10k knocked him out with the butt end of his gun. As I looked through the window I saw a weird looking guy walking up to us.
"Yes?" he yelled through the door. There was something about him, he was hiding something.
"We're looking for a friend," 10k said. The guy seemed to think for a moment, shaking his head before saying that he hadn't seen anyone. 10k went to walk away, thinking that maybe Murphy wasn't here, but I wasn't convinced.
"He's a tall guy," I said. "Kinda weird blue-ish skin."
"A blue-ish fella? Is he ill?" the guy asked.
"Is there anyone else in this town?" 10k asked, getting fed up with him. But the guy just shook his head. "Anywhere else my friend might have gone?" However, the guy just shook his head and told us good luck. With that, 10k grabbed my arm as we walked away.
"No wait," I said as we made it back to the sidewalk. "There is something going on here, something isn't right." Luckily he agreed with me as we took a few steps down the sidewalk. 10k took off his gun and backpack, laying them against the building. I did the same with my bag on my back, putting my knife away.
As we made our way around, we managed to find an open door, sneaking in. I decided to take out my revolver, feeling safer with it than my knife. As we made our way through, 10k checked the corners before either of us went around them. We walked through an industrial looking kitchen. I peaked around, trying to find something that maybe I could take but there didn't seem to be anything.
Making our way through more of this place I started seeing strange things. It looked like old movie posters, taxidermy animals and an old skull.
"What is this place?" I whispered as we walked through.
"I don't want to stay long enough to find out," 10k said as we continued through. However, once we left that room we walked into a different one, red lights and a fog machine. Looking around I was surprised to see three Zs just standing there in the middle of the room. As we walked past them we realized as they came closer to us there was like an invisible fence that kept them at bay. I looked around, putting away my gun as I looked up at the Phyto Zombie. She looked down at me as she slowly waddled over closer, but was quickly shocked, sending her back to the back wall.
"Murphy?" I heard 10k ask beside me. I turned and looked up at a makeshift stage. To say I was shocked was an understatement. He was sitting in a chair that looked like a throne, two IVs in his arms. Whoever it was that had put him here was trying to collect his blood.
"Murphy!" I nearly yelled as I ran over to him, looking him over. He barely opened his eyes, looking down at me as 10k joined me.
"What is this?" 10k asked as he looked around. But it was short lived when suddenly 10k dropped beside me. I turned to see the same man from earlier, a cattle prod in his hand. I tried to turn and run, but he had more reach than with that cattle prod, sending me to the ground as my world went dark.
…
As I started waking up my head was pounding. I groaned, trying to sit up when I realized I had something on my neck. I tried to reach up for it when I realized I was handcuffed to 10k…again.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly as he looked over at me. I nodded my head, leaning back again.
"You bleed slowly," I heard someone say. I leaned over, seeing the same crazy man from earlier in a wheelchair. "Anybody ever told you that?"
"Yes," Murphy said above me. He still sat there, his arms outstretched.
"Well, look how is Mr. Agreeable now," the guy said as he stood, holding up a sign. "Mr. Murphy and his amazing zombie followers!" He looked down at 10k and me before looking back to Murphy. "I'm still working on the title. But, I want to see what happens when you bite a human. Quit lying to me and show me."
"Murphy, you don't have to do this." I said as I tried to sit up again.
"Yes, he does," the guy said to me.
"Do not let him turn us into one of those things," 10k said. I tried to calm 10k down, putting my hand on his shoulder.
"One of what things?" the guy asked excitedly.
"I don't know what he's talking about," Murphy lied. However, as soon as he said it I was surprised by an electric shock racing through my body. I yelped, my hand shooting up to the collar around my neck as I fell back again.
"Patronize me again and you will limp for the rest of your undead life!" the guy said as he pulled out a gun, shooting into the air. "That was just a warning shot. I want to see what happens when Mr. half-zombie man bites a living breathing human being. And it's going to happen now, or I'm going to start putting holes in people!" Once the man had his moment, he told 10k and I to stand. That he was going to unstrap my brother and make him bite both of us. My heart was pounding against my rib cage. I loved my brother but I saw what happened to Cassandra after he bit her and I didn't want that for my life.
"There is nothing to fear," Murphy said as he stood out of his chair, walking over to 10k and myself. 10k had pushed me behind him, trying to protect me from my brother.
"I don't fear you," 10k said. "I hate you. If you're the key to mankind's survival then we should all just go to hell."
"10k," I said quietly as I grabbed his arm. I knew these two men standing in front of me didn't like each other, but they were both important to me.
"Finally, something we agree on," Murphy said as he walked closer. However, the moment was cut short when another shock of electricity set me on fire. I gasped, grabbing 10k's arm even tighter as I almost fell to the ground.
"I'm working here!" Murphy yelled as he leaned heavily on the chair, looking back at 10k. "It won't be that bad."
"What you did to Cassandra was worse than death," 10k said.
"Just let it happen, kid," Murphy said as he walked closer, "You won't be afraid anymore." But mid conversation the guy that was watching us, lit up all our collars. 10k and I both fell to the ground, Murphy looking down at us. I had started to black out again, the shocks getting to be too much for me. I could feel 10k grab my hand as Murphy leaned down to bite him. I knew it scared him and I knew he would have rather died than become what Cassandra did.
Luckily, the more I became coherent, it seemed that Murphy had his own plan. I watched as the three Zs that we walked by earlier attacked the man who had kidnapped us. Murphy stood, walking down off the stage and watching what he caused. 10k reached over, rubbing hair out of my face as he helped me stand. We slowly joined my brother, watching as the Zs ripped this guy apart.
"Look at me!" Murphy yelled at the guy. I leaned heavily on 10k, his arm wrapped around my waist. "Now you know what it feels like to be me. There's no mercy in my world." I just stood there, watching. "Take her away, don't watch this." Luckily 10k listened, taking me away as we went and got the wheelchair for Murphy. I knew he was going to need it, this guy having taken too much of his blood. Just as Murphy stumbled, about to collapse we pushed the chair under him.
"I'm glad you two found me," Murphy said weakly, "But get me the hell out of here." But once he said that he seemed to pass out.
"Murphy?" I asked as I looked down at him, patting his cheek.
"Murphy!" 10k said as he kneeled down beside him. I patted his cheek a few times, nothing working when I realized what that meant. I looked up, the three Zs that were now free, turning and looking at us like we were their next meal. 10k and I slowly took a few steps back, dragging my brother with us in hopes that he would wake up.
"Murphy, come on," I said quietly. 10k also trying to wake him up. We continued to just keep backing up, trying to think of something to do or hoping that he would wake up. Luckily, it seemed like our prayers were answered when Addy and the rest showed up.
"Raven, 10k!" she yelled, "Lead them over this way."
Once they managed to mercy all the Zs I let out a sigh. I leaned on my arm, trying to relax for once a little. However, my thoughts were soon interrupted when I felt my hand lift into the air.
"What are we going to do about this?" 10k asked, motioning towards the handcuffs that were still on.
"You know, this is the second time we have been handcuffed together," I said with a smile as he looked down at me.
"And yet, still not how I would prefer," 10k joked. I raised my eyebrows at him, shocked at what he just admitted.
"Can you please not make sexual advances on my sister while I'm sitting here," I heard Murphy say quietly. I looked from him, back to 10k as his whole face flushed, his cheeks turning as red as Addy's hair. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me as I patted my brother on the shoulder.
Luckily, Warren and the rest of the group were quick to join us. Thankfully, between all of us, someone had a pair of handcuff keys, getting 10k and I out of them.
"Are you sure you don't want to keep them?" I joked, giving 10k a wink. I watched as his cheeks turned red as he turned and walked away. I laughed as Doc got to unscrewing the collar that I had on my neck. Once it was off, I quickly took it from him, throwing it as far across the room as I could.
…
Once we made it back to the car, I had never been so happy to see it. I nearly broke out into a run for it, leaving 10k and Doc in my dust behind me. Once I got to the car, Vasquez had just removed my brother's collar, tossing it away.
"How are you feeling?" I asked as I patted Murphy's shoulder. He simply ignored me, rubbing his neck.
"Is that all of it?" he asked as 10k placed the pole with the bags of his blood in the car next to him. I huffed, frustrated that he was ignoring me. I turned and walked to the back of the car, joining the rest of the group while Warren and Murphy talked.
"So what happened?" Addy asked as I joined them.
"I don't want to talk about it," I joked as I rubbed my neck, thinking about how that guy shocked us.
"Saddle up," Warren yelled to us all as she got into the driver seat. Everyone immediately did what she said, heading back to the car. We all piled in but I was once again the last one to get in, having no open seats. I huffed, just deciding I was going to sit wherever I pleased.
I jumped into the back, taking my seat on 10k's lap again, leaning against the door with my arm around the back of the seat. Warren looked at me for a moment in the rearview mirror, a small smile on her face but turned around without saying anything.
As she drove on, I turned and looked at Addy who had been eying 10k and me. I looked at her as she gave me a wink.
"How was that museum for a first date?" 10k asked quietly, pulling my attention back to him.
"You count that as a date?" I asked, thinking back to what all we had gone through. He nodded his head, a smile spreading across his face. "Okay, fine. I do love a good museum." As we sat there and talked, I absentmindedly started twirling his hair with my hand that was behind him. "We will have to see if our second date beats this one."
