Ch2

It had been over a month since the world they lived in was turned inside out. This was their new reality

Tess and Ryan were still surviving together. They had long since left her apartment; although convincing Tess to finally leave without Mike was not easy.

He never made it back to her place.

The next few days were sleepless. The days and nights were filled with the sounds of bombs being dropped in downtown Atlanta. Flashes of orange and red and the smell of death engulfed Tess' apartment. Ryan was getting worried about how much longer they'd be safe for. He knew she wouldn't leave without Mike. She was so sure he'd show up soon after hanging up on her. He was too. But he never came, no one did.

It seemed that everyone else knew enough to get away from the city. Ryan knew it too but he couldn't find it in him to pull Tess out of there just yet. To be honest, he also had a hard time leaving the comfort of something familiar. But they had to get away…very soon.

Ryan was finally able to get her out after almost a week, although it was with her practically kicking and screaming. Tess managed to leave some food and water along with a note for Mike in case he made it there and they were gone. She wrote down a couple spots they figured stood the best chance of being a safe zone for survivors. Hopefully, Tess and Ryan would make it to one of them and Mike could find his way there. Tess was not going to just leave him. She was gonna make sure he had something to follow. She knew she had to leave too but it just tore her heart to shreds to finally make that choice. If Ryan wasn't with her, she'd have stayed and died there waiting. But he needed her just like she needed him.

Broadcasts on tv lasted about two days then it went dead. On the first day, she even managed to get a quick call from her family. They mentioned all being together and safe so far at her parent's house. Tess would try and find a way to them although she didn't know how long it would take. They quickly said their I love you's and the call was dropped. All communications ended and that realization hit them both hard.

Ryan was an only child whose parents had died some years ago. He was also single and in a weird way, Tess envied all that. She figured it made it easier to cope with what was going on. Not having attachments seemed like the safest thing right now.

After heading to the CDC turned out to be a dead end (there was smoke still rising from what looked like an explosion where the building once stood), they agreed to head southwest on 85 towards Fort Benning. Ryan had cousins in that area that might be able to help if they were still there. They were survivalists and were prepared for an armageddon that they were convinced could happen at any time. He was never so thankful for those nut jobs as he was now. They mentioned some kind of bunker they built on their farm and if they were still alive, they'd most likely still be there. It was the best shot Tess and Ryan had at having some kind of shelter. Living from abandoned home to home was exhausting and in the course of 5 weeks, they had lost so much weight from stress and lack of food, they needed to find a place to stay put. Plan B was to head towards 95 and follow it north to DC, where the last broadcasts were coming from.

Over the last couple months, Tess and Ryan were able to accustom themselves to their new reality. Ryan knew how to shoot which came in handy. Mike taught Tess the basics in car maintenance some time ago, which helped them when walking became too exhausting and time consuming. They managed to hotwire a car after she couldn't convince Ryan to ride a bike with her. She had gotten her motorcycle license 6 months ago and Ryan thought it was funny to start calling her Hells Angel. The tough and gritty side of Tess was ready to make itself known but Ryan was too chicken. God did she miss Mike.

"Their farm is about 9 miles south of here a ways off the highway. From what we've seen so far, not much is touched a couple miles out from the major roads. Hopefully their place is the same. Seems like everyone left at the same time and jammed up the roads. Back roads and farms should be pretty quiet". Ryan folded up the map and switched with Tess to the drivers seat.

"We need to find a store on the way. Water's getting pretty low and we've been pushing it being without food for so long. You and I both know that's gonna get bad wicked soon" Tess was managing to keep her mind focused and off of Mike for at least part of the day. She had to. She was seeing how hard she was making it for Ryan, who had been nothing but amazing with her.

"You're such a masshole Cortez" Ryan elbowed her playfully as they made their way slowly towards the farm. Sometimes they even managed to smile here and there.

They found some food, water and even a couple knives at a local store. Unbelievable what things made them happy these days.

They slowly drove down the dirt road towards the farm. Didn't look like anyone had been on the path in some time. "Keep an eye out Tess"

"You too" Tess rolled her window down and looked towards the house in the distance. No one was there. Disappointment set in. Where were they?

"You sure they definitely built it in the back yard?" Tess questioned Ryan after they cleared the house and surrounding area.

"I didn't hear the end of it if I ever called to see how they were doing. I never saw it for myself but they mentioned how it blended in and all we'd find is a dirt covered handle sticking out from the shrubs in the b…" As he explained to Tess, he kicked something hard and they both looked down. It was the metal handle.

It was heavy and they both pulled it open. Tess got her gun ready in case anything jumped out. Nothing. "Well this is something alright" Tess smiled as Ryan grabbed his flashlight and slowly made his way down the steps.

Tess found a light switch and they finally saw what Ryan's cousins were so proud of. Had to be a room about 15x15 feet. Every wall was lined with cans, non-perishables and essential personal items. There was a bunk bed on the other side, a generator, and a table with chairs. Next to the bed was a large chest. Tess made her way over and opened it. It was full of rifles, handguns, knives and ammo. Flares, matches, lights were also in there.

"Holy shit. Ryan, your cousins are crazy!" Tess felt something she didn't know was still in her, joy.

They searched the area and house again but found nothing. There were no cars there either so maybe Ryan's cousins were caught off guard and were not home when everything went down. In any case, they finally had shelter…at least for a while. They parked the car behind the house and made themselves comfortable in the bunker. Tess figured if anyone came, they'd check the house and nothing else so they would stay in the bunker and only leave to use the bathroom. They would work out a better plan when they decided it was time to move north, if ever. Maybe all this would somehow end and the world could recover.

"Do you think this will ever get better?" Tess asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I feel like we should do something. Something to figure this plague out. Its bad but its got to be like every other disease we've managed to find a cure for. We should add notes to our journal more often. We don't want to miss anything that might be of use later on." Ryan sighed as he laid back in the bunk.

That itch was still there for the both of them. Luckily, they haven't treated so much as an occasional splinter or sore shoulder from aiming guns all the time. But they still had the need to do something; help in some kind of way. They didn't really run into anyone. They did the first week on the road but Tess and Ryan quickly learned that most people weren't to be trusted. They made it a point to avoid people before they tried to take advantage of them again. People were desperate. It's amazing what new circumstances do to people.

They managed to stay in the bunker with no problem for two long weeks. They tried to regain their strength, they worked out, discussed many new plans for when they had to move on, and even got to know each other better. Although Tess always considered Ryan a friend, work at the hospital left little time for personal conversations and her free time was spent with Mike. She was so grateful that she and Ryan worked so well together and got along even when there was nothing more to do than just hang out in the bunker.

"So you never thought about hooking up with anyone at the hospital? Not even once? God Ryan, even I thought about pulling Dr. Evans into a janitors closet and I had Mike. You really think I would believe that doing something with anyone didn't even cross your mind?" After exhausting every other convo, they reminisced about their time at Atlanta Medical. Tess knew she could be pretty boring but Ryan was painting himself to be so vanilla. She was surprised. He was a good looking guy. Tall, dark, handsome and a doctor? He had to be hiding something. He didn't seem to mind her prodding too much.

"Maybe one or twice but nothing I really dwelled on. Does it even matter anymore? Tess, how did this topic even come up?" Ryan laughed and Tess couldn't help but giggle as she joined Ryan on his bunk. "Fine, but we will talk about this again soon. What else is there to do?" Tess noticed a little glimmer in his eyes when she asked him. He got closer and smirked. Then reached his hand down towards her feet like he was reaching for something. His hand went under the bed and he pulled out a dusty bottle of vodka.

"What the…"

"Found it yesterday when I took a look in the house again. Found it under a loose floor board" Ryan had a huge grin on his face. Tess didn't know whether to hug him or rip the bottle out of his had and take the first drink.

Drinking the liquor straight combined with an empty stomach got the both of them tipsy pretty quick. They probably only took about 4 shots each but Tess' stomach was already starting feel funny and her mouth was numb, a sure sign that she was in fact, drunk.

"I was going to marry that man one day. I'm sure he was gonna propose on our trip Ryan. Do you think I would be a good wife?"

"Tess, any man would be lucky to be with you. You are beautiful inside and out"

"Oooh you hitting on me Ryan? You're making me blush"

"I'm just being honest"

"Well then why haven't you made a move yet?" Tess knew it was the alcohol talking but somewhere in the back of her mind, she really wanted to know.

Ryan paused and grabbed the bottle from Tess. "I think you're done for the night. Getting a little too loosey goosey Tess"

"No really Ryan. Why are you being so good to me? I mean, of course I'm so grateful you've stuck it out with me. You're still letting me survive with you and I can never repay you for all you've done. But… tell me. What's up?" Tess felt him tense. He then sighed.

"I'm gay Tess"...Silence. Ryan was suddenly looking uncomfortable waiting for some kind of response.

"…so does that mean we…. can't make out?" Tess asked with a smirk. She was joking and Ryan was so relieved. Why did it matter either way? Tess was just trying to get him to open up. They had to be completely honest and comfortable with eachother, whether it was about trusting each other out there or just personal things. Ryan loved Tess for that; even if it was drunk Tess.

Tess got up to get ready for bed. This warm, fuzzy feeling she had would lull her to sleep quickly.

Then suddenly, they heard a faint but distinct popping sound.

"That sounded a lot like a gunshot" Tess turned to look at Ryan but he was already headed towards the door to take a look outside.