The teenager wakes me up by shaking me, and when my eyes are open she whispers, "Zombie.". I sit up and look outside, a single zombie standing in front of the car. I sigh, turn on the car, and repeatedly run over the corpse. When I'm certain he's a stain I try to lie back down, but the teenager stops me. I look at her and she tells me, "It's morning, and we need to get going.". I once again sit up, and hand the survivor a can of meat as she hands me my canteen. As I eat I remember last night. More importantly I remember the girl kissing me. I clear my throat, and when she looks up at me I tell her, "You kissed me last night.". She nods and goes back to eating, uncaring. I once again get her attention and ask her, "Have you ever kissed someone like that before?". When she nods I ask, "Do you know what that kind of kiss means?". The teen gives me a stereotypical teenager look and tells me, "It means I like you.". I nearly choke on some beef, but when I manage to swallow it down I wheeze out, "You realize that means you like me in a,". I choose my word carefully, "special way.". She nods, then asks me, "You still have some of that armadillo meat?". I hand her some meat, finish up breakfast, and resume driving. The teenager still doesn't have a care in the world, and just stares out the window.
My mind is a giant tangle. A teenager young enough to be my daughter kissed me, is aware of what the kiss means, and doesn't seem bothered at all. But the biggest thing is I can't understand why she kissed me. I could understand if I was younger, better looking, or a man. However, the teen kissed me and seems to have decided that she likes me in a 'special' way. I'm not sure what it's like in the cities, but obviously people aren't beating their opinions into their kid's heads. That's good, but I think the teenager might be overlooking many things. We're in a zombie filled world, I'm going to die decades before her, and we're from two completely different worlds. I don't want the girl to think I'd pursue a relationship with her, but I can't find a nice way to say 'don't ever kiss me again'. Then, a strange thought occurs to me. Why the hell shouldn't I allow myself the simple pleasure of a human companion? A few kisses and cuddles (although those are mostly for warmth) have never hurt anyone. I might technically be a pedophilia (the teenager is only sixteen), but I'm not trying to get the girl to get naked. And, she's never been taught what a pedophilia even is. In her world we're just two people who like each other. When the zombies arrived the barriers of hate and discrimination blurred, and eventually faded. I suppose that's all well and good, but it took the world ending for those lines to disappear.
My thoughts are interrupted by the teenager in question hitting my shoulder, and pointing to a road off to the west. I smile, thank her, and begin driving there. When we reach the road I tell the woman, "This is wonderful.". She nods in agreement, then I notice a light flashing on the dashboard. I look down and see that we need gas. Damn. Then, I notice a sign saying a gas station is a few miles away. We might be able to make it. Maybe. We're running on fumes when we reach the station. I look at the abandoned building, and ask the survivor, "Do you know how to siphon gas?". When she nods I hand her the tools and ask, "Would you mind doing that?". She shrugs and gets out. I get out and cover the woman, but when there's no signs of zombies I tell her, "I'm checking the building for food.". The teen is too busy sucking on the plastic hose to do much else but nod. I enter the station, a single zombie inside. I calmly raise my gun, shoot her, and walk into the store. I find a few snacks that aren't out of date, a knife on the zombie's body, and some rope in the back store room. When I have the supplies I head back to the car, the survivor impatiently pressing her face against the window to watch me. I smile, throw our stuff in the back, and return to the car. As I drive the teenager reports, "All filled up, and I managed to find a few gas cans lying around. I filled those up and put them in back,". I nod and tell her, "I got some snacks and a rope.". The teen opens her mouth to say something, but the sight in front of us stops her.
A small child (even younger than the teenager) is cornered in a willow tree, five zombies clawing at the tree. I prepare to drive by the scene. I'm a zombie apocalypse survivor not a daycare, I don't need two people younger than me. It sounds extremely cruel, but it's the truth. The survivor has proven herself useful (and I like her), but the child has only proven she can scale a tree. But when I move to drive around the zombies the teenager slaps my shoulder, and I drive closer to the scene. The survivor asks, "Want to run them over or shoot them?". I shrug and ask, "Why not both?". I slam my foot down on the pedal, slamming into three zombies. I roll my window down and blow one's brains out, the teenager following my example. When the deed is done we exit the vehicle, scanning the area for zombies. We're in an area of Oklahoma that's crawling with the walking dead. I'm surprised the child is still alive. Speaking of which, the teen is opening her arms and encouraging the small kid the jump. It takes a few minutes (I loot the corpses in that time), but eventually the child jumps. The teenager catches her, but grunts and falls to one knee. I walk over, help her, and freeze when I hear a rustling in the bushes. The survivor hears it, and picks the child back up. The child is babbling off questions, but the survivor ignores it and charges back to the car with me. We make it to the vehicle just as the zombie horde bursts through the foliage of the woods, moaning, groaning, and shuffling. I once again slam my foot to the floorboard.
When we're a safe distance away the survivor asks the child (who's smashed in between us), "What's your name?". The child calmly tells the teen, "Babette.". I clear my throat and ask, "What was all that back there?". Babette quickly tells us her story. She was born and raised in a small community of survivors, but not everything worked. Eventually, the city failed and people fled. The child was in a large group of people, and it wasn't surprising when the infection took hold. Those five zombies that were clawing at the tree were her family members. For a child that just watched her family turn to zombies she's oddly calm. It's almost unnerving. I make a mental note to watch the child, and protect the teenager if need be. Babette yawns and asks the survivor, "Do you have any food?". The teenager nods and hands the child some turkey. I glance over and notice the child's bones poking through her clothes, the sunken look in her eyes, and the way she savagely devours her food. The creature is starving. Then, a sudden though occurs to me. Without looking at the child I tell her, "Strip.". The teenager (she was talking) falls silent, I can tell Babette is insulted, and both of them disagree with me. I groan and explain, "We need to make sure you aren't bitten. I'm not going to examine you, my friend will..". That seems to calm Babette down. She isn't thrilled that we're checking her for bites, but she allows the teenager to. That's all I ask for.
I keep driving in silence, Babette and the survivor talking. I tune out their blabber, slightly hurt that the teenager is completely ignoring me. I sigh and think about what's going on. I can tell I've been acting like an ass today, but I don't know why. I treated the teen like she was a child (she is, but in this world she may as well be an adult), I almost abandoned Babette to be eaten (that goes against my heroic nature and morals), and I've been talking to the teenager in a disrespectful way. Ever since I woke up I've been acting out of sorts. Probably just reacting badly to the survivor's kiss. No wonder my two driving companions are ignoring me, I wouldn't want to talk to me either. I make a solemn vow to start acting like my normal self. When night falls I ask the teenager, "Want to drive or get some rest?". She shrugs and says, "I'd like to rest, but I'll drive tomorrow.". I turn off the car and tell her, "Fair enough.". There are three of us, so we can't comfortably do anything in the seats. All three of us move to the makeshift cell where our supplies are stored. We all sit down and eat, Babette once again devouring her meal like a starved wolf. When our meal is done I look outside, decide the time, and ask the survivor, "Can I speak to you in private?". She nods and allows me to yank her outside, away from Babette's hearing range.
I give the survivor a quick apology about the way I've been acting, and when she accepts I go on to tell her, "I don't trust Babette.". The survivor rolls her eyes and tells me, "She's just a kid. Come on, she's only ten.". I hold in my groan and tell her, "You're only sixteen, but I still accept the fact that you could kill me. I'm not trying to start a fight, but I want to know more about this kid. She just happens to be in a tree while we drive by, I've never heard of her community, and she survived months on her own. No child should be able to take care of themselves like her.". The survivor mulls over my words, then says, "Delphine, I understand that before the zombie infection that it was your job to be paranoid, but I think you're overestimating a little kid. All she managed to do was survive while others died. I'm not saying you're wrong or right, but I'll be more careful around Babette if you want me to. Deal?". I nod, then head back to the car. I find Babette asleep in a corner of the prisoner's cell. It's getting darker and I'm tired, so I lie down on the seats and motion for the survivor to join me. The teen moves to lie down, but wakes up Babette before she does. I curse as the teenager asks Babette if she wants to curl up with us, but thank every deity I can think of when the child declines. I'm not sure why, but I don't want that child anywhere near me while I sleep. When the survivor is in my arms I pull her tight, bury my head in the back of her neck, and fall asleep.
Note: I had some trouble uploading this a few hours ago, so a few of you might have read the chapter and been completely confused (it cut off halfway through the chapter). Don't worry, the full chapter (above) is one hundred percent completed. Now, for a shorter matter. I think I'm adding a third story to my current works in progress. Maybe a sequel to The March or Disgusting. It might add a little time in between updates, but I think it would be worth it. I'm planning on opening a poll on my profile. It'll include every one of my stories that I'm willing to write a sequel to (Thirst, Survivors, and Love are the only ones off the table). So, if you want to vote on which story gets to continue, then swing by my profile or leave a review.