I manage to make a high-pitched whistle, but stop when Delphine all but flies into the room with her gun drawn. She looks around and asks, "What was that?". I sheepishly tell her, "I was whistling.". She gives me an exasperated look, puts her gun up, and turns to leave. Before she can escape I ask her, "What are you doing?". She freezes and tells me, "Preparing food.". I nod even though she can't see me, and tell her, "Okay. Do you think we'll be leaving any time soon?". She obviously can sense I want to have a conversation, so she turns back around. She shrugs and answers my question, "I'd guess in roughly four or five days at best, maybe a week or two at the worst. Do you think you'll be able to make it to the car? I'll drive it up here to help, but it's still a little bit of a walk. I could always carry you if you want.". I simply tell her, "I can manage. Probably.". Delphine smiles and says, "That's the spirit. I'll go get us some food. Any preference to how it's prepared? I can make some meat grilled or roasted instead of souped.". I love the soup, but I think I would like to try it some other way. I tell Delphine I'd like it grilled, and the woman quickly leaves to prepare the food. It seems like we aren't doing much. Well, I'm not doing much. Just sitting around, eating, and relying on Delphine. I sigh, and go back to whistling.

Delphine POV:

I pick up some parts of the doctor, take them outside to the balcony, and begin to go about starting a fire. I'm glad the teenager wanted her meat grilled, we're almost out of water for stew. The lake seems clean, but the zombie virus could be anywhere. I quickly prepare the teenager's food, put it in a bowl, and return to her. She grins when she sees the food, and digs in when I give it to her. I'm not hungry, so I simply sit and watch the woman eat. The filthy girl tears into her food without thought, makes noises like a dog, and shows no knowledge of utensils. I never looked at the teenage while she ate, but I can now clearly see the signs of the city in the way she handles herself. I briefly remember all the food I use to throw away, and how I would have been disgusted if someone ate like that. But now I understand, and couldn't really care. The teenager is filthy, starved, and doesn't care about her manners, but I'm the exact same. I crack my back, moan at the relief I feel, and begin to get ready for bed. When I climb into bed I once again feel the woman try to kiss me. I don't try fighting, I simply allow the teenager to kiss me. She kisses me for a few minutes, then settles down to sleep. I move a little to get comfortable, and feel a piece of paper under my elbow. I pick it up and about to throw it away, but stop when I notice Elisif's signature.

I rub my eyes, squint in the darkness, and try to read what's on the paper. My eyes are probably about to pop open my skull by the time I'm done reading. The damned doctor was immune to the zombie virus (but in the end not knives), the group of zombies must have been her 'crack team', and she had a cure with her. I'm not sure where the hell the vial of ZWXZ is, but there's no way in hell I'll find it. The psychotic doctor probably smashed it against some wall or threw it down a drain. That bitch had the ability to save the world, and she ended up being our lunch. I could look in every single room of the hospital, but I doubt I would find it. Suddenly, the survivor asks, "Something wrong?". I crumble the paper into a ball, throw it over my shoulder, and answer, "Nothing.". She nods and curls up near me, wrapping her arms around me. I close my eyes and try to sleep, but I can't. I end up staying awake all night, the teen happily sleeping beside me. When the sun rises I sneak out of the room, prepare breakfast (some leftover doctor), and bring the food into the teenager. I wake her up, give her the food, and sit down to enjoy a nice breakfast with her. When the food is done I pat her on the leg, then tell her, "I have to go work on the car.". I pop my extra gun from my belt and give it to her. She examines the weapon and asks, "What's this for?".

It's so she can kill herself if I die while I'm out, but I tell her, "In case of an emergency.". She nods and says, "Good-bye.". I nod and quickly leave, making sure my remaining gun is ready. I see a few zombies near the house, but I manage to sneak around them. When I reach the car I quickly put down the jacks, move them to the front of the car, jack it up, and take off the ruined tires. Then, I go to the ruined car and get the one remaining tire. Now the car has three good tires, but is still missing one. I sigh, begin examining the cars along the road, and take the tire in the best condition. It's still a crappy tire, but it'll do. Finally, the car has four tires. I smile, sigh, and sit down. My sweat is soaking through my shirt, but I can't take it off. After a few minutes of resting, I force myself to stand back up and go to work. I jack the car down, force the hood open, and groan when I look inside. A engine gasket is cracked, oil has exploded all over the place, the bracket is broken, and a major fuel line has been cut. Damn it, this will take a while to fix. I sigh, take off my shirt, and begin to wipe up the oil. It doesn't help much, but any help is still help. It takes all day, but eventually the oil is gone. I look up at the sky, the moon high in the sky. Damn it, I was out longer than I was suppose to be. It's a miracle zombies haven't found me. I blink, shrug, and go back to work. If I'm going to be late, then I might as well be damn late.

Survivor POV:

I'm seriously considering masturbating when I hear the door open, and that idea is thrown out the window. I know I probably shouldn't have been considering the act in the first place (I learned in school that it can cause blindness and carpal tunnel), but I'M BORED! I'm safe, well fed, and warm, but I can feel my mind slowly rotting from the inside out. However, I have more pressing matters when Delphine comes into the room. She's smiling, her teeth standing out against her grubby face. The woman comes into the room, throws her hands up in the air, and tells me, "It's done.". I look out the window and tell her, "It's the middle of the night.". My elder nods and tells me, "It is, but we need to go. I'll take the supplies to the car, fill it with gas, and drive up here. You ready to go?". I'm absolutely not ready to go, I thought we would still have a few days. Then again, what better time than the present? I'm not going to get magically get better in a few days, and we need to go. So, I nod and tell her, "Do what you have to do?". I hear the woman gather our things, and see her leave with the supplies in her arms. When she's gone I once again revive the idea of masturbating, but decide I don't have enough time. It turns out I do, but I'm too paranoid. If something went wrong I could hurt myself. My leg is injured, and I don't want to explain to Delphine how I manage to rip the stitches out of the skin.

When Delphine returns her face is grave, and I know what it means. She clears her throat and tells me, "The zombies heard the engine starting, and I ended up having to hotwire the car. I'm lucky to be alive, but the monsters are still coming.". I'm about to say something, but Delphine cuts me off by crossing over to me, collecting me in her arms, and heaving me up. My leg begins to spasm in pain, but I manage to control it and try to mentally block out the pain. I can't, and end up whimpering on the way to the car. Damn my weakness. I close my eyes, take deep breaths, and ignore Delphine's hurried footsteps. Finally, I'm dumped into the seat and Delphine sits down beside me. I hear her start the car, but the engine only stutters. My elder curses, does it a few more times, and sighs when the car finally roars to life. I feel the metal contraption begin to move, and manage to put my seatbelt on. The belt is rotten and green, but I keep it on. My leg is proof of what happens in a car wreck. I look out the window, watching the world fly past. I ask Delphine, "Where are we going?". My elder leans over, pats me on the shoulder, and tells me, "Canada.". I chuckle, rest my head against the weak glass window, and closer my eyes, allowing sleep to take me.

Delphine POV:

I see the car's headlights before they see mine. I pull off to the side of the road, shut my lights off, and wait. Eventually, a car with Des Moines written on the side flies past. I groan, it's been this way even since we arrived in Iowa. The state was one of the few to hold out, and even now they're still trying to hang on to 'civilized' life. If we were caught, then we would be taken in, examined, and reintegrated into the normal population. Thankfully, we haven't been caught yet. When the car is long gone I flip on my light (damn it, only one of them is working now) and pull onto the road. The survivor is still asleep, slightly snoring. I look at her out of the corner of my eye, watching her chest slowly fall and rise. Now that we're safe I have a sudden urge to have a more 'physical' relationship with the teenager. I've come to terms with the fact that she likes me, she hasn't been taught 'women who have sex are whores', and she's probably been wanting to have sex with me since Branson. However, I still want to wait for a little bit. Her leg needs to men properly, I don't want to take her virtue (if she still has that) in the back of the car, and I'm still feeling guilty about what I did back in Missouri. There might have been a change that the cure for all of humanity was in that hospital, but I didn't even look. I shake my head, force those thoughts from my head, and keep driving. I did the right thing. The survivor is safe, I'm safe, and we have a ton of food to get by for a while. I did the right thing. I must have.