I was lying on my back when I awoke. The clock resting on the table beside ticked quietly. Suddenly the clock began to ring uncontrollably, and my hand slapped on top of it. The flaps to the tent ruffled slightly, and a hand sneaked in, followed by the same man who had given me the note yesterday.

Even though my eyes were blurry and watery, I could see the relief in his smile. "Good morning, Miss Burg." He ran a hand in his hair. "I'm glad to see you made it through the night." That tiny comment made my even breathing stop for a second.

He quickly noticed by horrified expression and his smile shrunk. He averted his eyes. "I probably shouldn't have said that." He mumbled. "Anyway, I've come to wake you up, but it looks like I came a little bit late." He nodded to my hand, which I then proceeded to move to my lap from the silent clock. "I'll wait outside until you gather all of your things." He quickly left the tent.

I blinked and took at least ten seconds to register exactly what just happened in that conversation. Technically, it didn't even count as a conversation, considering that I didn't say one thing. He didn't even allow me time to talk.

I laughed as I got out of bed, and for the first time since I got out of the hospital, the pain didn't matter. I embraced the happy gesture, and I felt it inside of me as I undressed.


After I got dressed (which is difficult with a broken arm) I poked my head out from my shelter. The blinding sunlight pierced my eyes and shone on me like a spotlight. I had an instant reaction to duck back in to cover, but another part of me wanted to stay outside all day just to feel the sun's warmth that the tent had refused from me.

"Too warm for you?" The man laughed.

"Just not used to it, I guess." I shrugged the answer off and proceeded to follow the man to my transport vehicle.


The air was slightly musky, but in a cozy sort of way. The lighting coming from the window barely lit up the room. In the room were two brown, worn out couches placed parallel from eachother. Above those couches were wide windows, the blinds slightly covering them, allowing only a little light as possible. Behind me was the back entrance, which passengers were to enter for the ride. I walked forward, passing a few cardboard boxes, and making my way towards the front of the bus.

When I approached the driver greeted me. "Howdy!" Ugh, I don't exactly know why, but I can't stand country accents. He reached his hand out. I hesitantly grabbed and shook it. "Name is Earl. I'll be driving you from this checkpoint to the next checkpoint, Abbersdale. Was a beautiful little town before the zombies, it was. But, I guess you don't want to talk about that now, do you? Well young lady, make yourself comfortable, this will be a long drive."

I moved to go sit down, but Earl's voice stopped me.

"By the way, there were passengers that were supposed to travel with you, but you took to long with the recovery and all. You will meet them once you get to Abbersdale. I heard they were very excited to meet you. Well go on, get some sleep. I can see your tired." As I walked away from him, I heard him mutter, "What an interesting group of people they were." as he started the engine.

Great. Because that's exactly what I wanted to hear.