Whoo! Finally: Chapter two! Thanks for the reviews guys.

It was just a can of raviolis, and they had that fake beef in them that made me cringe and think of preservatives... and Patient Zero. But I was starving, and shoved the meat-packed noodles into my mouth two at a time. Guttural, animalistic moans escaped me as I ate. It was soooo good, I couldn't stop myself. The can only made me hungrier, but my new-found best friend was already pulling another off the little kerosene cooker and handing it to me with a quiet "Eat up."

I thanked him through the sauce, beef, and slightly undercooked noodles, and dug in. He watched me for a second, and in my hunger-crazed mind, I knew it should have bothered me, but it didn't. After about a minute of sitting there watching me ear, he stood with his gun in hand and climbed up onto the roof of the truck. Maybe to get away from the disgusting sight of me mauling his food, or to watch for zombies. I really didn't care at the moment, too focused on stuffing more of the unhealthy food into my mouth.

When that can too had been scraped clean, I sat nervously in the bed of the truck, looking up at the back of his curly mop of a head. "So... Um... Thanks." I finally said after a long moment.

The guy shrugged, and went back to watching for zombies.

I sat there for another minute, playing with the plastic spork. "Sorry I almost shot you."

"Sorry you didn't."

I jerked back, my paranoia made me grab for my gun. "What? Why's that?" Was that some sort of warning? I eased the barrel up towards him, ready to blow his brains out if he turned and tried to jump me.

But the guy just shrugged again. "I'd rather be shot than be eaten by a zombie."

Oh. I lowered my gun and scratched my head. "Well... alright then. So..." I was loathe to leave the safety (as far as I knew, at least) of the truck, but he didn't seem to really want any company, and I had to find a safe place to bunker down for the night. "So I guess... I'll be going." Silence. "Um... thanks again for the food." Still nothing. "Gotta... find a good place to sleep tonight before it gets dark. And you probably want to find somewhere too..." Still nothing. I let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright. Well... later dud-"

He was suddenly sliding off the roof of the truck. "Get in the truck." He called.

I was half-out of the bed, one foot on the rear tire. "Uh... what?"

"Zombies. Get in the truck. There won't be time for you to barricade yourself somewhere. Get in!" He was slamming his door shut when I saw the line of freaks on the horizon.

I dragged the tarp back over the bed and snapped it into place before sliding into the cab. He hit the gas and reversed down the abandoned highway as the first zombie started crawling up onto the hood.

I didn't have any supplies. A good base. Any fellow survivors. It still felt almost painful to leave the city with this stranger. We drove in absolute silence as darkness descended on the world, staring straight ahead and never speaking a word to one another. When the little digital clock on the dash read 1am, he reached behind our seats and pulled out a box of Nutter Butters, placing them between us. I nibbled on one for a long time, savoring the taste of the peanut butter. I hadn't realized exactly how much I had missed the greasy, nutty flavor, and was sad when my first cookie was gone. Thankfully there were more, and I pulled another from the box, still just nibbling on it. Around 3am, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, and I slumped against the window, asleep before my head hit the glass.

When I woke up a few hours later, my new friend was nowhere to be seen. I started to freak out a little, and twisted around in my seat, clutching my shotgun against my chest. His door was open and his double-barrel lay across the seat. Swallowing nervously, I got on my knees and crawled towards the open door. "Uh... dude? Where are you?" I called. My response was a sound at the back of the truck, drawing a startled scream from me.

The stranger was at the door in a flash, still zipping up his pants. His dark-ringed eyes were wheeling frantically in his head as he searched for threats. "What? What is it, what happened?" He demanded.

I was still struggling to gain my breathing again- his appearance had pulled another terrified screech out of my mouth. "S-sorry... I... you weren't here... door open... heard a noise..." I lowered my gaze, ashamed of my childish fear as the guy rolled his eyes and climbed back into the cab.

"I had to pee. Guess I should have told you or something, sorry."

I shrugged. "Sorry I freaked."

He pulled out two boxes of those single-serving breakfast cereals that kids flip over. That I used to flip over. I didn't much care for Apple Jacks, but right now they were like a gift from the gods. "Thanks."

We ate in silence for a while, and I examined the road we were on. It stretched for miles in either direction, with no cars or zombies in sight. The silence between us, at least for me, was awkward. I didn't even know this guy's name, but we'd nearly been in a shoot-out, he'd fed me, and let me ride with him out of the zombie-infested city. We'd just met, and already I had freaked out when I thought he was being eaten. I finished off my cereal and tossed the carton out through the window like him. "So um..." I scratched my head. "What's your name?"

Before I even finished the question, he was shaking his head. "No names." He sighed heavily and looked down at his knees. "Attachments are dangerous now, and if we know each others names, we'll have one."

"Oh." The cab was quiet as he played with the lanyard dangling from the keys. So I was disposable to him. That's okay... he was disposable to me too. "Well... is there something I can call you at least, besides 'that guy' or 'dude'?"

The guy shrugged. "I guess you can call me Columbus."

It almost made me laugh. "Like the city?"

He nodded.

It was funny. I wondered why he'd picked that name. Maybe Columbus had been his hometown before the zombies. Or maybe it's because that's where we met up. I thought for a moment, wanting to follow his example. What were feminine-sounding city names? I thought about something from Hawaii, but couldn't remember much. I finally picked a name, and tossed my hair over my shoulder dramatically, sticking my nose in the air and striking a pose the best I could in the cab. "Beverly. Beverly Hills."

He laughed this time, and for the first time since we met, some life seemed to come into him. The corners of his mouth pulled up in a big goofy smile as he laughed, and his eyes lit up. I didn't get what was so funny about it, and sat back self-consciously in my seat while he finished laughing.

When he finally quieted down, he shook his head. "Sorry. Just... it's funny. Long story."

I shrugged. "Alright. So.. what do we do now? Do we... go our separate ways? Do we stick together for a while?"

He gestured through the windshield. "We're in the middle of nowhere. I didn't think you'd want to go our separate ways here."

I grimaced. "No, I don't. But I meant... thinking ahead..." I turned to look at him. "What do we do? Pretend we never met each other and go on with our lives?"

Columbus shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

I thought on it for a few minutes, playing with a hole in my jeans. "Could I stick with you? At least for now? I don't have any supplies, or my own car, or anything. No family or friends that I know of that survived..."

He turned the key in the ignition. "Next stop, Beavercreek."

D-ZombieDragon: Thanks. I figured I'd give him a little moment of shine for once. And don't worry, I will. Just very slowly probably.

Willowfur: Updates will probably be a little slow. I have lots of stuff to do, but they will come.

shialuvr222: Thanks. =D