The highway roads seemed almost desolate as Pete continued to drive. The sides were strewn with hundreds of bodies, some fresher than others. There was still light in the street lamps, but how long would it be before they finally shut out?
"I think I see a sign for the campground," Helen pointed out as they took an exit, crossing a bridge. The other lane was filled with empty, ransacked cars. They were fortunate enough not to be stuck anywhere.
Pete took a look at the gas, about three quarters of a tank left. They would be able to get there, but where would they be able to find more diesel?
"We almost there?" Nick inquired. It had been nearly two hours, but he was already sick of being in the car. He desperately needed to stretch his legs, and would be thankful to do so once they arrived.
"Be patient, just a little ways," Pete told him. Nick couldn't help but to roll his eyes at "be patient."
The campsite was, surprisingly, empty, and filled with a bunch of RVs. There were several bodies and a few walking ones - Pete had decided to call them lurkers during the drive - and they hoped that nothing was as dangerous inside.
"We should check, make sure nothing's wanderin' up in here," Pete said. "Maybe look for other survivors, too."
"You sure there are any around here?" Helen asked.
"Best to look and see," Pete replied. "Everybody grab a weapon, just in case. Nick, you and Luke stay together, so will your mom and I."
"Got it," Nick said with a nod. He took a rifle and handed one to Luke. The two of them made their way to the first RV, and Nick looked over at his friend in concern. "You alright, man?"
He shook his head as they walked behind Pete and Helen, gripping his rifle tightly. "I just..." He swollowed hard. "I know I wasn't that close to 'em...but it was hard seein' my parents like that," he answered truthfully.
Nick looked at him a little puzzled, remembering the answer he gave Pete earlier. "Like what?" he questioned.
"Dead," Luke stated bluntly.
"What?!" Nick asked incredulously.
He nodded. "Just layin' there."
"Shit...I'm sorry, man."
"It's okay." Luke shook his head again, holding the rifle tighter.
They stopped in front of the RV door, and after making sure it was unlocked, Nick counted to three on his fingers and opened it wide. Both men aimed their rifles around, but at first glance, the place seemed empty.
But what was all that blood on the floor? What had happened?
Nick turned to Luke. "You go this way, I'll go the other?" he suggested, and Luke nodded.
The only doors that Nick had to check were the bathroom and what seemed to be a child's bedroom. There was nothing out of place in the bedroom, not even a speck of blood. The bathroom, though, was different. A dead walker lay face down on the tiled floor, its stench making Nick feel sick. The shower curtain was open, indicating that there was nothing else in there. Suddenly, the clicking of a safety broke him out of his thoughts.
Nick whipped around, coming face-to-face with a somewhat older, dark-haired man, in his late thirties or early forties, pointing a revolver at him with shaky hands.
Nick, eyes widening at the sight of the gun, gripped his own, not knowing whether or not to point his back at the person. "Who are you?"
The man briefly remained silent, glancing around. "You're not...one of them?"
"I'm not," Nick replied. "Look, I don't want any trouble, alright? I ain't here to hurt anyone." To emphasize, he put his rifle down and held his hands up. This action made the man, who Nick noted was a bit pale, lower his own gun.
"Is it just you?" the man questioned.
Nick shook his head. "I'm here with my family. My mom, my uncle, and my friend checking out the rest of the RV. We're just looking for a safe place to stay until we can figure out what the hell is goin' on," he answered honestly with the stranger, because the man still had a gun, and even though he was shaking, you could never be too sure if he was going to use the weapon or not.
That's when Luke came from the other end of the RV. "Nick? You alright?" He called out, before noticing the stranger. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, before approaching the two.
"That's my friend," Nick gestured.
The strange man put down his gun fully. "Well, you all look harmless, so I guess there's no need for this."
"Thank you," Nick said, nodding for Luke to put down his gun.
"I'm Liam," the stranger introduced. "And this is my RV, or was, I guess...until all this shit happened."
Luke extended his hand to shake. "I'm Luke, and this here's Nick."
"It's kinda nice to see some friendly faces around here after all this," Liam replied. "You both from around here?"
"A couple hours away," Nick answered.
"Guess you had to evacuate, then," Liam said. "Some of 'em came outta the woods, freaked the hell out of all of us. We had no choice but to fight them, some of us bare-handed. Not many weapons out here, y'know?"
"So I'm guessin' that explains the bodies?" Luke inquired.
Liam nodded, then looked solemn. "Not all of them come from the ones that attacked. I knew a couple of 'em out there. Good people."
"Sounds like this shit is getting worse..." Nick trailed off.
"What about you?" Luke asked. "You alone?"
"Yeah," Liam answered. "The kid's bedroom belongs to my nephew, when he comes to visit. I'm just hoping my family's safe through all this."
"I heard voices," Pete called out as he and Helen walked into the RV. They both turned and noticed Liam. "Now who's this?"
"This is Liam, this is his RV," Luke explained. "Liam, this is Nick's mother, Helen, and his uncle, Pete."
"Nice to meet you all," Liam said with a small smile.
"Likewise," Helen replied. "Nice to know there are other survivors."
Liam nodded. "I don't have much out here in the RV, but you know, what I do have y'all can help yourselves to it," he explained. "Good people gotta stick together when times are tough."
Helen smiled gratefully. "Well it's been a long day and somewhere to sleep would be awfully nice."
"Sure," Liam said. "Go on and take the extra bedrooms." He began to walk away. "If you need me for anything, come find me." But as he was walking away, Nick noticed some unusual markings on the back of the man's neck. They were red and splotchy and looked like teeth marks if he were being honest with himself. Immediately, he nudged Luke who gave him a quizzed look.
"His neck," Nick whispered, and the other man followed his line of sight before turning back to Nick.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I think bite marks?"
"What the hell are you two over there whisperin' about?" Pete interjected as he was deciding which room he was going to stay in. Neither Nick or Luke answered though, because they didn't want to get a lecture from Pete. "Well?" the older man prompted.
"He had bite marks on his neck," Luke finally said quietly.
Helen had a sad look in her eyes, "I saw them too," she admitted.
"So?" Pete questioned. "That could mean anything."
"Uncle Pete," Nick stated solemnly. "You know what we saw out there...and we're not completely sure on how this shit all starts..."
"What do we do?" Helen asked, glancing at the three others.
Nick remembered some of the zombie movies he and Luke used to watch as kids, how people would turn into one of them after a bite mark. But surely it couldn't be like that, right? That was fiction, but what was going on was real. Was it any different now?
"Wait it out?" Luke suggested before Nick had a chance to answer. "I mean, this guy's offerin' us a place for the night. Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt. If somethin' happens, we'll figure it out, right?"
Pete thought about it for a moment, then: "Fine. We'll keep an eye on him. But I ain't itchin' to be thrown out if we're wrong."
"We won't," Nick said a little rudely.
"Alright, alright...enough serious talk," Helen got out. "Let's get on to bed and we'll figure out everything in the morning, including where we're gonna go," she said with a nod and headed into one of the bedrooms. Nick followed her, while Pete and Luke went into the other spare bedroom. They were all tired, but they knew they probably wouldn't sleep well due to everything that was happening in their surroundings. When would they get answers? When would they know what all of this was?
Only time would tell...and Nick had a feeling it wouldn't be any time soon.