Most of you pretty much got it right at who it was who knocked them both out, congrats. :')

Like I said when I updated Fix You minutes ago, FanFiction banned for a couple days otherwise this would have been sooner.

Chapter 3

Ross moved his head slightly from side to side, starting to feel himself waking up. He went to go move his hand up to his eyes to rub them, only to find that he couldn't move either of his arms and that they were tied to something. Ross shot his eyes open and looked down to find himself tied to a chair. A chair that was only just managing to hold his weight. He looked to his right to find Rocky also tied to a chair and knocked clean out.

Looks like he was going to be getting no help off him.

Ross wiggled in the chair, jumping up and down to see if he could break the chair somehow by making the legs collapse.

"I wouldn't bother, it's not going to break."

Ross lifted his head to the female voice that spoke. He saw a blonde girl, possibly older, sat on the counter in front with one leg dangling off and the other on the counter, sat side ways, using one hand to support her whilst the other hung lazily off the leg on the counter with a gun in her hand. Ross moved his eyes left and right, trying to see if there was anybody else in the store right now.

Ross looked back to the girl on the counter, suddenly realising it was the blonde girl from the picture he was looking at.

Rydel.

Or Maia. He could be wrong about the names.

Ross watched at how the girl was deciding on what to do with the gun, shoot him dead, threaten him with it or give it back and let them go. So Ross decided to go easy with the girl "So... what... what's um... your name?" Ross asked.

The girl shot her eyes to Ross with a sort of glare "What's it got to do with you?" She asked, with attitude.

Right there, Ross could tell trying to negotiate with this girl was going to be fun. She's got attitude. Wonderful. "Well, I'm Ross... the other one's my brother Rocky," Ross said, nodding his head towards Rocky as he introduced them both "and... I know your name is either Maia or Rydel because... I saw the picture in the back room," he let silence fall over them both, the girl looking at him suspiciously "so...I'm going to go out on a wing and guess your name... Maia."

The girl raised her eye brows at Ross like he was a complete idiot, the biggest she had ever met in her life. Ross let out a nervous laugh "It's... it's Rydel isn't it?" Ross asked, Rydel nodded like Ross was a little child who needed amusement "th-thought so..."

"Why did you come in here?" Rydel asked.

"Because... um... me and brother... we needed food... not just for now, but because we're-"

"Taking a road-trip to Utah that could take you eight days by foot or eight hours driving to the Escalante Desert to some military base to save everyone," Rydel finished off for him, playing with the gun in she had in her hand. She averted her attention to Ross, looking at him "sounds fun." she smiled.

Ross gave Rydel a confused look "How do you know?"

Rydel laughed, sitting on the counter properly with both legs dangling "You know that feeling you've been getting about somebody following you?" Rydel asked, Ross stared at Rydel blankly "yeah... that was me." she said in a whispered tone, smiling before jumping down off the counter to both feet, leaving the gun on the counter.

Ross nodded, slightly impressed at how sneaky she was "I know a military base that could do with someone like you. You know, if it was still open and well... this zombie apocalypse wasn't happening..."

"I'll hold you to that word," Rydel said, arms folded, leaning forwards slightly. She stood back up straight. She turned around and walked back to the counter and picked up the gun again. She faced back to Ross "I'm going to let you and your brother go," Rydel said, giving Ross hope as he smiled with relief slightly "but on one condition."

Ross nodded "Yes, yes, you can keep the gun to defend yourself with."

"No," Rydel said "you take me with you."

Ross looked at Rydel in disbelief. He laughed a little "Why would I do that?"

Rydel smiled, holding the gun up in the air so that it was pointing up towards the ceiling of the store"Because I'm a mad girl with a gun."

Ross laughed again "Bitch please, you wouldn't even dare fire that thing."

As soon as Ross said that, Rydel pulled the trigger twice on the gun leaving two bullet holes in the roof. Rocky immediately woke up at the sound of a gun being fired and both boys shouted in shock and fear as Rydel fired the gun. She lowered the gun down "I'm sorry, Ross... what was that?" Rydel asked.

Rocky got his breathing back down to normal, but not that back down to normal because he still sounded panicked as he talked "Who. The. Hell. Is... this?" he asked, trying to breathe properly.

"Rydel, Rocky. Rocky, Rydel," Ross quickly introduced them, trying to get his breathing back to normal. He took a big breath, turning to Rocky "she's going to come with us."

"What? Why?"

"Because if we say 'no', she'll kill us!"

"He's not wrong." Rydel said, leaning against the counter.

"Besides, she knows what we're doing anyway." Ross said, shrugging it off like it was nothing and no big deal.

Rocky snapped his head at Ross, looking at him with wide eyes "You told her what we're going to do?!" Rocky asked, through gritted teeth.

"No, she's been following us since last night," Ross told him, trying to reassure him. "She doesn't know about the options though..." Ross whispered quietly so she couldn't hear.

Rydel sighed "Time's ticking guys. The more you all waste time, the more you are putting off saving this god for saken world." she turned to them both, looking at them as though she knew everything of what they were going to do when really she had no clue at all.

Rocky turned his head, looking at Rydel for a moment before turning back to Ross "As much as I hate to admit this, but she's right."

Ross nodded. Both of them turned their attention back to Rydel who looked like she was getting impatient waiting for them both to stop talking and get on with what they're doing. "Just one question," Rocky said "why do you want to come with us?"

"It gets lonely around here sometimes you know. Besides, I need change. This whole year has been the same. Waking up, looking out incase any zombies attack... go to sleep with a gun under my pillow and a baseball bat next to me... then repeat the next day. But as for the rest..." Rydel paused, letting a small grin form on her lips "I don't trust you both enough to tell you."

Rocky scoffed "That's nice. We're practically saving your butt and you don't trust us. Lovely."

Rydel shrugged "Don't feel so offended, I trust nobody. There's only one person in this world I trust and that's myself. So don't expect me to do anything for you guys. Okay? If you guys get into trouble, get out of it yourself. You seem like the type of idiots that would have that happen to you and lets face it... I don't think it'd look good you two being saved by a girl, would it? I mean, it's bad enough you both got took down and tied up by one."

Oh yeah, this was definitely going to be fun having Rydel with them.

Both boys stayed silent, letting Rydel know they got what she was going on about. She smiled in satisfaction, folding her arms and walking in between the two chairs. "I'm going to let you both out now," Rydel said, taking a small knife out from her back pocket "now remember, if you two even think about running... just know I have the gun still and I have the transport." She slashed the rope that was tying Ross's hands to the chairs with the knife.

Once the rope dropped from Ross's wrists, he rubbed each one where he could feel the harsh rope burns. He stood up from the chair and turned around, watching as Rydel slashed the rope tied to Rocky's wrists "Where's our backpacks and whatever else we had with us when you knocked us both out?" Ross asked.

"Where you left them," Rydel said, cutting the last rope tied round Rocky harshly. She pushed Rocky to stand up "There. Happy now."

Rocky got up from where he stood, turning round to Rydel and giving her a glare "Why'd you tie me up with more ropes than Ross?" He asked.

"Because, you were heavier when I dragged you to the chair. Obviously I'm going to tie the one that was the heaviest to the chair more, aren't I?" Rydel said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Rocky shook his head, turning around and going to go find his bag. He hated how much Rydel was wise and smart in that sense. She'd obviously been alone too long or she had done this sort of thing before with other people and there are a number of dead corpses hid in the shop of who refused to bring Rydel with them to wherever they were going.

"Thing is Rydel," Ross said, coming out of the back room with his backpack on his back "you said it got lonely around here for you. What happened to the girl in the picture? Maia? Where's she?"

Rydel had her arms folded across her chest, she looked Ross up and down "She's not here."

"Obviously. But where is she?" Ross asked, now standing in front of Rydel.

"She's gone."

"Gone where?"

"She's dead."

Ross gave Rydel a look that told her he sort of understood why she was being the way she was. Even though he didn't quite fully understand. Rydel continued to look at Ross with a fed up expression before turning around away from him and going over to the counter, where she leaned over it and pulled out a set of keys from underneath.

She turned round and held them up to both of them "Car keys," Rydel said, catching the attention of Rocky who had finished getting everything he needed and brought with him "there is a car sitting out the back of this shop in a garage that hasn't been driven since the apocalypse started. So, it should have a good amount of petrol in it."

Rocky smiled, walking over to Rydel and taking the keys from her "Rydel, whatever your last name is, I'm starting to like you already," he said. He looked at Rydel expecting her to say something to him but she wasn't, instead she just smiled at Rocky knowing exactly what he wanted her to say. Rocky felt awkward looking at Rydel so he decided to speak "er... this is... um... this is where you tell me your last name..."

Rydel laughed "Like I said before, I don't trust you both enough yet.." she walked away from Rocky and over to towards the door at the back.

"What's your last name got to do with you trusting us?" Rocky asked, confused.

Rydel shrugged "Just does. Now c'mon. Do you boys want to save the world or not?" She asked, walking through the door.

Ross and Rocky glanced at one another before following her through the door.

This Rydel girl was definitely an interesting person.

The three all walked out through the back door and into an alleyway where they came face to face with a dirty white garage door. You could tell people had attempted to get inside as there were huge dents in the front and you could also tell people had been fighting zombies or killed by them as there were random bits of blood splattered across the door. Lovely.

Rocky walked over to the door, pulling on the little black handle at the bottom "How are we supposed to get in?" Rocky asked "do you have a key?" he asked, looking over to Rydel.

Once again Rydel grinned at him, walking over to the wall next to the garage. She put her hand on one of the bricks and began to wiggle it around, causing her to get funny looks from Ross and Rocky like she was mad. She did tell them before she was a mad girl with a gun, so they really shouldn't be surprised.

When she had a good grip of the brick with her fingers, she pulled it out of the wall where there was a black button on the side. She pressed the button and the garage door began to open up, making Ross and Rocky amazed. "Did you guys honestly think that I was going to leave the button to the garage in plain sight of people?" Rydel asked.

"But... how?" Ross asked.

"The buttons always been there," she said, putting the brick back into the wall and covering the button. She walked back over and stood next to the two boys "but it's always been visible. When the apocalypse started, I found some bricks, made some cement and built that wall next to the garage so nobody could find it. Of course, I left that brick loose so I could get into the garage when needed. And well... here we are." she said, looking at them with a smile.

Rocky tossed the car keys into the air and caught them "Well, what are we waiting for! Lets get going." he said, making his way into the garage with Ross and Rydel slowly following behind.

It wasn't exactly a car, it was a pick up truck. A pick up truck that looked like it had been on quite a few journey's. Ross stood on the drivers side of the truck, Rocky stood on the passengers and Rydel stood next to Ross on his side. "Are you sure this car is going to get us to Utah without breaking down?" Ross asked, a little concerned by how the cars state was.

Rydel nodded "Yeah, it'll be fine. She can handle more than you think," Rydel said, patting the roof "c'mon lets get going." Rydel opened the door to the back seat and jumped in.

Ross sighed, being unsure before getting in himself as well as Rocky.

Ross took the car keys from Rocky and put it in, trying to start the car at least four times. The petrol tank was over half full, so there was no reason for it not to start up. Ross tried again and it started. He sighed with relief "Fifth times a charm, but I swear to god if this breaks down in the middle of nowhere, I'll cry." Ross said, seeming actually scared by the thought of the car breaking down between Los Angeles and Utah.

He drove around LA, trying to find the exit onto the freeway, as quietly as he could without getting noticed by anyone or anything. They had only saw a couple of zombies as they drove, but luckily they seemed occupied by the person they had caught and were eating or whatever they had caught and were eating. But if a zombie did spot them and chased after the car, all Ross had to do was floor it and drive a couple metres away from them and they were fine.

Rydel sat in the back behind Ross, looking out the window as both boys talked together and sometimes talked to Rydel. She turned to her right where she saw a blanket on the floor. But it wasn't on the floor. It was like it had something hidden underneath it. A box Rydel didn't know about until now, a suitcase.. a person.

As Rydel went to go pull the blanket off, she was stopped by Rocky's voice. "Haven't you got any family Rydel?" Rocky asked.

Rydel shook her head "My family were gone a long time ago," Rydel said, popping her head in between the gap of Ross and Rocky's car seat "besides, I don't need them anyway. I can look out for myself. I'm twenty years old."

Rocky sighed "Wonderful. That makes you the oldest out of us three."

Rydel smiled "Good. Then that means you better do as I say to stay safe."

"Hey," Ross said, keeping his eyes on the road as best as he could as he tried to talk to Rydel also "we're the ones going to Utah, you're just hopping along with us. You better do as we say otherwise you'll find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere."

Suddenly, a boy with brown hair popped up from underneath the blanket and next to Rydel, behind Rocky, looking at everyone confused "Why are we going to Utah?" he asked.

Rydel, Rocky and Ross screamed when they saw the boy pop up in fright, causing Ross to lose control of the car due to the fright he had gotten.

Hopefully you can all get who it was hiding in the back of the car :'') If not, it's understandable because I didn't make it that obvious like I did with Rydel cx

Thanks for reading! :)

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