With Lilly and Larry having abandoned them, and the truck stolen, the group were back to square one yet again. Weeks passed, and the hopes of civilization returning to normal were rapidly decreasing. Every day it seemed as though more and more of the dead were rising, and with the dead rising, the supplies were decreasing. Food and water, things they needed to survive, were becoming harder to come by.
"Shit!" Nick growled to himself. He missed the shot once again, scaring off the potential game. He was really starting to wish that he'd paid more attention to the crossbow lessons Pete had been giving him. The crossbow had been one of the few lucky finds, but other than that, nothing.
"We shouldn't waste any more arrows," Luke pointed out, frowning. "We're startin' to lose more."
"You really think I'm trying to?" Nick shot back sarcastically.
"I'm just sayin', Nick, that we should be careful with the amount we use."
Nick rolled his eyes. "You sound like my damn uncle," he retorted. "Speakin' of, where are he and my mom?"
"I told 'em to go on and head back to camp since you were taking so damn long," Luke replied. "Hopefully your mom found us something to eat, I'm starving." He grabbed his stomach as if to prove his point. They had a few things, but Helen was in charge of rationing and preparing the food to make sure that it would last them.
Nick lowered the crossbow. "Yeah, me too, let's head back," he said.
In the short amount of time that Larry and Lilly had abandoned them, the four had managed to leave the small safe house and make camp on the outskirts of Macon in a few tents they had managed to find. The area was a bit secluded, so they weren't totally out in the open, but still, it wasn't safe. Nonetheless, it was all they had without traveling further. A long term plan was up in the air; for now, the group focused on surviving day by day.
"So how much time do you think has passed?" Luke inquired as they walked through a small path in the woods.
Nick shrugged. "Few months probably."
"It sure as shit doesn't feel like that," the other man replied as they approached camp. Pete had already gotten the fire going, and Helen was preparing a can of beans for dinner that night. It wasn't much, but both Nick and Luke were grateful.
"Catch anything?" Pete asked.
"Nope," Nick answered.
"Well, next time let me do the shootin'," he said as he poked the fire with a stick, rolling his eyes at his nephew.
"I'm glad you're back safe," Helen jumped in before the conversation could go negatively, after all, that happened a lot these days with Nick and Pete.
"Yeah, me too," Nick replied, thankful that his mother had intervened.
"This area's still clear, thank God," Luke added. "We ain't seen a lurker for days."
"Let's keep it that way," Pete said.
A few minutes later, the beans were ready, and Helen began to ration out portions. The four would still be hungry, but at least they wouldn't have to go to sleep with a painful knot in their stomachs. A little food was better than no food out here.
They ate in silence for some moments, and it was times like this where Nick almost wished that he and Luke were back in that pawn shop. He didn't exactly miss the place, but he'd definitely rather spend a night in there than another night out here. He knew better than to complain, though, no matter how much he sometimes wanted to.
"Anyone else find it weird that we haven't seen a lurker for awhile?" he broke the silence. "I mean, it's crazy. They're usually all over the damn place. No way they all just disappeared."
"Think we killed all the ones close by?" Helen inquired, turning to her brother. Pete shrugged.
"Maybe, or someone decided they were gonna attract 'em with a bunch of noise," he countered.
They heard a small rumble of thunder. It wasn't raining yet, but from the way the nearly dark sky looked, it probably would soon. Nick groaned and took off his hat, running his fingers through his dark hair.
"Damn it," Luke muttered.
The tents were better than no shelter at all, so when the four were finished with their beans, they put out the fire before the rain did, and headed inside them. They weren't the greatest protection from the rain, but at least they would be mostly dry.
"You all go ahead and get some sleep. I'll keep watch," Pete volunteered as he took the pistol used for night watches and headed out into the rain. There was a nearby tree that sheltered him, so that's where he sat.
Nick sighed as he laid down on the makeshift bed inside the tent; they were lucky enough to stumble across some blankets not too long ago. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this shit up," he complained.
Luke scoffed. "And you think we're just okay with it?" he questioned. "We're in the same boat as you, Nick."
"We need a plan," Nick intervened. "And a good one."
"Pete's been workin' on something," Helen said.
Nick sighed again."And why's he the only one who has a say so? Huh, Mom?" he asked. "The shit ain't fair."
"Look Nick, now ain't the time to be complaining," Helen replied.
"She's right," Luke commented. "We're lucky to be alive," he continued, and Nick only rolled his eyes. He would never say this out loud, but if this is what their quality of life was going to be, then maybe he'd rather be dead. "Just quit worrying about things and get some sleep. You're cranky when you're tired," Luke attempted to joke.
Nick didn't answer him, just stretched out on his bed. "Night."
"Goodnight, hon," Helen replied, getting into her own bed. Luke followed suit.
After just a few hours of restless sleep, Nick woke up to what sounded like something being hit. He sat up, looking around with a frown. Helen and Luke were still asleep nearby, so the noise had to come from outside. It was still raining, so he put his hat on and decided to see what was going on.
He noticed Pete just sitting down, so with nothing better to do - and he doubted he was getting back to sleep anytime soon - he decided to approach him.
"Heard a noise," he said without greeting. "What happened?"
"Just a walker, but I took care of it," Pete answered, turning his gaze over to a corpse that was laying face down. "Probably best I didn't wake y'all," he added, chuckling.
"Not like I was gettin' much sleep," Nick grumbled. He walked forward and took a seat next to his uncle. He wasn't the best at apologizing or even offering the slightest ounce of forgiveness, but he was sick of feeling like this and he was sure the others were, too. He sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time. "Look...I'm sorry for, you know, what a shit I've been lately. I'm just so fuckin' tired." Here, he picked up a nearby rock and threw it in a random direction, as if the rock was a key source of his problems.
Pete gave a tired smile. "Don't worry 'bout it, son. Believe me, I'd love to be outta the woods, too. But there ain't any choice."
"That helps," Nick muttered, more to himself than to Pete. There was a long silence. "See anything weird on watch?"
"Nothin' weirder than the lurker I just killed," Pete answered with a chuckle. Then, his expression turned serious. "I've been thinking of a plan. It's gettin' colder, we can't stay out here much longer. I was gonna discuss this tomorrow, but I say we go north."
"North?" Nick questioned. "Why the hell would you want to go north?"
"It's gonna get colder, and I don't think there's anything else for us here..." Pete trailed off. "We've done went to all the stores, searched high and low for supplies and shelter...and look where we are. Sleeping in tents in the woods!" he said incredulously. "We ain't got nothing to lose, Nick."
Nick shrugged, sort of agreeing on his uncle's last statement. "I guess it is better than sittin' around waiting to die."
"There's got to be something for us there...hell, maybe we could even meet more survivors, ones that won't fuck us over."
At that, Nick had to snort. "Doubt that." He was still sore about the whole Lilly and Larry situation.
"So tomorrow?" Pete proposed. "We'll gather what we have and go north."
"Sounds like a plan," Nick replied. "Hey, I'll watch for a while if you wanna get some sleep," he offered.
"You sure, boy?" Pete asked.
Nick nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Alright." Pete got up, patting Nick briefly on the back. "Goodnight, Nick."
"Night, Uncle Pete."
He watched as the older man disappeared inside the tent, feeling somewhat glad that they had thing patched up, for now at least. How long would it be before he started complaining again?
It was a long night, but morning eventually came. The ground was wet from last night's rain, and the sky was still overcast, but today was generally cooler. As promised, Pete proposed his plan to Helen and Luke.
"You sure about this?" Luke inquired.
"Damn right I am," Pete said. "Can't sit around here forever. We don't know when more lurkers are gonna be back around here. I say we go while we still got daylight."
"Maybe we'll be able to find an indoor shelter tonight," Helen pointed out, trying to remain positive. Despite the temper she and her son shared, she had a bit more of a level head. Pete gave a single nod in agreement.
They packed up what little supplies they had left, including the tents, and were on their way yet again. Nick kept hold of his rifle, as usual, in case anything or anyone decided to jump out at them. He just hoped neither Pete or his mother would take it away from him as if he were a child should something go wrong.
Luke turned around soon after the journey began, and his eyes widened. "Holy shit. Are y'all seeing what I'm seeing?"
The others turned around, too, and had the same initial reaction.
"Jesus H. Christ," Pete murmured.
The horde that was nearby was bigger than any one of them had ever seen.