IV - Graveyard

"And that is how you make wood burn," said Richard, getting a slow applause out of the group.

"That's a respectable combustion, but my combustion process appears to initialize a fire more efficiently," said Lisa, putting her glasses back on. "Of course, I was unable to initialize the fire as the strength of the sun is too low at this time of the day."

"Or just use a lighter, and create fires faster than you can with dried leaves and rocks, or glasses, my dudes," said Luna.

"Yeah. Not as cool, though," shrugged Richard.

Leni laid her head on Chaz's right arm and looked towards the sunset at the sky. She then turned her head sideways as she and Chaz cuddled affectionately.

"The sunset looks so beautiful, don't you think so, Chaz?"

"Yeah. Not as beautiful as you are, Leni."

"Aww, thanks, Chaz. I think you're beautiful too."

"Hey, lovebirds," called out Sergei. "Dinner's ready."

Ronnie Anne looked from the distance before grabbing Lincoln's walkie-talkie.

"Is dinner ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," responded David.

"We should really talk about saving the batteries on that thing," said Lincoln.

"Yeah," nodded Ronnie Anne. "Maybe."

Richard's fire was burning smoothly while a grill grate stood on the upper tips of the campfire. On the grill grate were cans of frozen meat. Richard and Missy were laughing with each other while eating their canned chicken. Lisa was eating her roasted pork chops, while Sergei put more meat on the grill grate above the fire. Lana and Lincoln burped as they finished their food. The former fifth graders were laughing, as they attempted to burp louder than Lincoln and Lana. Lola came and burped louder than all of them, surprising them all except Lincoln and Lana. Lori and Bobby were talking with Darcy as they ate their cans of tuna. Leni and Chaz were spoon-feeding each other while whispering to each other. Luan was cracking jokes, making Lynn, Francisco, and Benny laugh. Carol was smiling as she was talking to David, who was eating canned peaches. Sam and Chunk were awaiting Luna to return with her guitar. They have never felt this happy together in the apocalypse.

"I got the acoustic guitar, dudes!" said Luna excitedly.

The group chattered excitedly. Some grabbed sticks to roast the marshmallows that they had. David watched all the children enjoying the marshmallows. He smiled with the thought of his grown son, whose fate he was unaware of.

Luna started strumming the strings on her guitar to the tune of Viva La Vida. Then, after strumming the intro slowly, she started singing.

"What a nice night we have enjoyed,

Even if everything around us is destroyed,

And the rotters have me very annoyed,

I can't help but feel a little bit of joy..."

Sam chimed in:

"My family is here and not there,

I would follow them anywhere,

As long as I'm with them, I can't feel despair,

I can't help but feel a little bit of joy..."

Tabby started singing as well:

"The rotters may have taken our home,

And anyplace they have and will roam,

If I'm with the ones I care about,

I would follow them to any biome,

And I can't help but feel a little bit of joy..."

Even Chunk joined the singers:

"Singing with the coolest, most awesome purple Loud,

And the blonde girl with the streak as blue as a cloud,

And the spunkiest girl in the crowd,

I can't help but feel a tad bit of joy..."

Luna continued to strum the guitar as Lori and Bobby cuddled together. Darcy lay her head on their legs, feeling drowsy. Both Lori and Bobby looked at each other with a relaxed demeaner on their face, feeling at peace.

Rocky was patting down a hole filled with dirt as Lucy tried to inscribe the makeshift marble tombstone. However, the graveyard, covered by many trees, was getting too dark for her to see. Her bangs did not help her vision either.

"Okay, Lucy," sighed Rocky as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I think we should head back. I can't really see anything here."

"But Lori hasn't returned to the field yet," said Lucy. "If she had, she would have said something in the walkie."

"Now that I think about it, no one has been saying anything. The walkie is not off, right?"

Lucy looked at the walkie-talkie, seeing it switched on.

"Yes, it's on," she said.

"Maybe her walkie died. I see a fire though. And it sounds like music is playing from the field. Oh man, they better not be roasting marshmallows without us."

"I don't smell food. Maybe they are just passing time."

"And the fire?"

"Well, it is dark."

"Maybe we're nose-blind. I mean, we have been digging and burying bodies for the past few hours. We couldn't smell food if it was shoved up our noses."

"But being at the cemetery at night is the best part."

"Perhaps in a safer world. But that's not our reality anymore. We have to go back before they start looking for us. And the worst thing that can happen is having someone try to look for us and they end up getting killed. I don't want anyone to die looking for us."

Lucy lowered her head.

"You're right," she said. "We have to go back. I was having too much fun that I forgot... someone else could be worried sick."

"Right."

"Okay. Let me just finish this tombstone."

"Lucy!"

"It's just this one. Then we'll go."

"Fine," sighed Rocky. "At least the rotters have glowing eyes. Wait, they do glow in the dark, right?"

A pair of glowing eyes appeared next to a nearby tombstone.

"Ah, so they do. I got this one."

Rocky grabbed Lucy's black shovel and walked over to the nearby tombstone. He thrusted the shovel towards the rotter's knee, causing it to drop down. The rotter then tried to lift itself upwards, but fortunately, its head was pierced by a black shovel. Lucy looked behind her, seeing Rocky standing up above the corpse. She then heard grumbling noises nearby. She stood up, trying to get a better look around the cemetery, but it was extremely difficult to see around herself.

Another pair of golden glowing eyes appeared next to a tree. Rocky walked up to the rotter and smacked its face with the shovel before stabbing it in the skull. He turned to his left and saw two more pairs of glowing eyes along with the sound of growling and chomping. He smacked both of the rotters and prepared to stab them with the shovel. However, as soon as he found himself at the edge of the cemetery, where he stood on top of a toppled iron fence, he saw the moonlight shining onto the roof of hospital and medical center a couple blocks away. But walking through the streets and alleys were many pairs of glowing eyes, many of them walking not towards the cemetery but towards Palmer Field. He then turned to his right and saw rotters walking along the sidewalk before entering the cemetery.

"Oh, no..." he whispered. "Lucy! We need to get out of here!"

"...and I can't help but feel joy," concluded Luna.

The half-moon showed its face, hiding behind long puffs of clouds. Luna placed the acoustic guitar back into Chunk's van. Richard took out a sleeping bag from the RV and placed it next to the front wheels, yawning as Missy began to remove her hat and vest.

"Woah, you guys are going to sleep outside?" asked Lori.

"Yeah," said Richard. "You're not?"

"Shouldn't we find a building to hole up in or something?"

"It'll be fine," said David, looking down from the roof of his RV. "I'll be keeping watch. Now, go on, get yourself comfortable. Sleep outside."

"Don't let the bedbugs bite," said Richard. "Or in this case- the rotters."

"I don't know," said Lori. "The thought of sleeping outside... it makes me uncomfortable."

"Well, you're free to sleep inside the cars," said David. "I'd keep the windows open if I were you."

"Are you going to stay awake all night?"

"Yeah. If I'm being honest, I already got some sleep when we were out there."

"While I was-? Ugh. Whatever. I'm sleeping inside the van."

Lori walked away from the RV and towards Vanzilla. Chaz approached her.

"So, which one is it?" he asked. "Outside or inside?"

"It's whatever you want."

"Where do you think I should sleep?"

"Chaz, it's wherever you want. David says he's gonna stay awake all night so if you trust him, you can sleep outside."

"What do you think is best for the group?"

"To sleep inside, obviously. Chaz, I don't wanna discuss this, I'm too tired from all the running and... umm... searching for Tim's daughter."

"Just hear me out. I need you to think about the worst thing that can happen to the group. Like, rotters eating all of us in our sleep because David fell asleep or something. Something like that. If that can happen, then what are people doing with their sleeping bags outside? Somebody's gotta tell 'em to sleep inside."

"What, you want me to force David to sleep inside? How would I do that?"

"No, not him. The rest of us."

Lori nodded.

"Okay. I have to sleep on it. I'm too tired. For tonight... sleep wherever you want."

Chaz nodded before Lincoln and Rusty approached Lori, appearing really worried.

"Have you guys seen Rocky?" asked Rusty.

"And Lucy?" asked Lincoln.

"No. Why, you can't find them?" asked Lori.

"Ronnie Anne said they were playing hide-and-seek or something, but that was hours ago," said Rusty.

Ronnie Anne, overhearing Rusty, walked over to him.

"Hey, I said it looked like they were playing hide-and-seek," said Ronnie Anne. "I didn't really know what they were doing."

"To be honest, I didn't even notice she was gone," said Chaz.

"Yeah, Lucy has that effect on people," said Lori. "We need to look for them. Where could they be?"

"We looked inside all the vehicles," said Lincoln. "We looked around the field, by the benches, by the seats, but nothing. You don't think they... went outside the field?"

"Check if they took one of the walkie-talkies," said Ronnie Anne. "Would be smart of them to do that."

"It's so stupid of them to even go out there," said Lori, grabbing her walkie-talkie. "Lucy? Rocky? You guys there?"

Chaz checked his pockets, unable to find his walkie-talkie. He then walked over to his car and opened the driver's seat before checking the glove department. However, there was nothing anywhere.

"Hey, Carol?" called out Chaz. "Do you have our walkie?"

Carol shook her head.

"No. It's not in the car?" she asked.

"Nah."

Lori spoke into her walkie-talkie again.

"Lucy? Rocky? Can you two hear me? Please answer!"

Lori looked at the walkie-talkie, not hearing a response.

"What's wrong with this thing? Is it dead?"

"It's not dead," said David. "Look up."

Lori looked up at the roof of the RV, seeing David motioning her to come. She, along with Chaz, Bobby, Lincoln, Rusty, and Ronnie Anne, ran over to the RV.

"What's going on?" asked David.

"Lucy and Rocky are missing," said Lori.

"Jesus... have you guys looked everywhere?"

"Yes, we looked everywhere!" exclaimed Lincoln. "They're not here!"

"Alright, calm down. Um... I'd say we could set up a rescue mission but the risks are insanely high... I mean, it's really dark out there."

"Well, we can't wait until tomorrow morning!" said Lori.

"It's our best bet," said David. "They could be anywhere in the city. We're not gonna be able to see shit without our flashlights. But if we use our flashlights, we're only gonna be attracting the rotters. Pretty soon, it'll be us that'll go missing."

"Oh man, Lucy totally roped Rocky into following her!" groaned Rusty. "Why did Lucy do that?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Lincoln. "If anything, it's Rocky who roped Lucy into following him!"

"No way! He wouldn't just go out there like that! He knows better!"

"And you're saying Lucy doesn't?"

"Hey, you two!" exclaimed Lori. "Stop it! We can't be pointing fingers right now! We need to come up with a plan! Lincoln, come up with something! And Rusty, think! Think about where Rocky could have gone!"

"I can't think of anything!" said Rusty. "What about Lucy? Where could she have gone?"

"There's a cemetery nearby," said Ronnie Anne, feeling very anxious. "Lucy likes cemeteries, right? Would make sense for her to go to one."

"Yeah, that does sound like Lucy," said Lincoln. "Wait, how did you know there was a cemetery nearby?"

"Oh, I... umm... I found a brochure earlier. I-It said there was a cemetery... over there. I threw out the brochure though. I think the wind may have carried it away though."

Lori looked through the windows of Vanzilla and looked at the building that surrounded the field.

"Behind that building is the cemetery?" Lori asked.

"Yeah," replied Ronnie Anne. "It's really big."

"Want me to take a look?" asked David.

"No, you need to take it easy if you want to stay up all night," said Lori. "I'm going to look for her and Rocky."

"Not alone," said Richard. "Missy and I are coming."

"So am I," said Bobby.

"Okay," nodded Lori. "We can cover more ground that way."

"I'm coming too," said Lincoln.

"Me too," said Rusty.

"No, everyone else is staying put. We can't have any more people going missing."

"But Lori-!" exclaimed Lincoln.

"I'm serious! Stay put!"

"Hey, kid, listen to her," said Richard.

"Besides, we only have two flashlights," said Missy. "Don't be stupid. Don't try anything stupid. Listen to your sister."

Lori looked at Missy, who gave her an approving nod. She then looked at Chaz, who also gave her an approving nod. Leni wrapped her arms around Chaz in search for reassurance as the group began to anxiously gather around each other.

"Let's go walk around the field," said Chaz, moving Leni away from the tense situation in the group, earning an approving nod from Lori.

"I'll be back soon," said Lori. "If we don't come back... don't go looking for us. Not tonight."

"Lori..." gasped Lincoln.

Lori, Bobby, Richard, and Missy grabbed their weapons, their flashlights, and their walkie-talkies.

"Switch channels," whispered Richard. "We don't want the group to start panicking."

Lori nodded. Then, they jogged past the vehicles and out of the field. Ronnie Anne looked through the windows of Vanzilla. She started to feel a great sense of unease and discomfort building up inside her stomach as she looked at Lori and Bobby.

After a few seconds, they were out of sight.

Lucy looked around as she started to hear many growling noises. She stepped back and hid behind a tombstone as she saw a rotter walk over the filled holes. The rotter then turned its head towards the edge of the cemetery as Rocky was calling out for Lucy.

"Lucy!" shouted Rocky. "Lucy, we have to get outta here!"

Lucy noticed the rotter now walking in the direction of Rocky's shouts, making her confused. She then saw Rocky leaning against a tree, panting heavily.

"Rocky, over here," said Lucy.

The rotter now turned towards the tombstone where Lucy was hiding behind. Lucy looked at the rotter with even more confusion as the rotter was now headed towards the tombstone.

"What the..." she whispered.

Rocky inhaled and exhaled quickly before noticing the rotter walking towards the tombstone. He saw Lucy behind the tombstone, frozen in place. He gasped and ran towards the rotter, striking its back with the shovel. He then thrusted the shovel downwards, killing the rotter.

"You okay, Lucy?" asked Rocky.

"Yeah. Are you okay? Why are you shouting?"

"I was warning you. We have to... get out of here. We have to go back and warn the others... because there are so many of them... headed over there."

"Oh no. No. No."

"What?"

"The dead... they heard the music. Luna's guitar- they heard it."

"What? No, they can't hear. Lori, Richard, they said they couldn't hear."

"I'm telling you... they can."

Rocky began to breathe more rapidly as he heard the growling of the rotters getting closer and closer.

Lori and Richard each held a flashlight with their left hand while holding a melee weapon with their right. Bobby and Missy held their guns with both hands, moving carefully around the cemetery. The dark trees and bumpy terrain made it difficult to navigate through.

"We split up here," said Lori. "We keep in contact with our walkies. Now go!"

Richard nodded and walked off into a different direction with Missy next to him. Lori and Bobby continued to walk straight, moving further into the cemetery, passing by many tombstones. They saw the light from a different flashlight moving around the cemetery, but it belonged to Richard's flashlight.

Leaves rustled, causing Lori to yelp out in fear. Bobby quickly turned around and pointed a gun at the tree.

"They were just leaves," panted Lori. "No rotters. Sorry, Boo-Boo Bear."

"It's coo- ah!"

Bobby stumbled backwards, tripping over a fresh pile of dirt over a filled hole. Lori shined her flashlight on Bobby, revealing the carved inscriptions on a makeshift marble stone.

"Omg, are you okay?" gasped Lori.

"Yeah..."

Bobby groaned softly as he looked at the tombstone next to him. He saw the sloppy carved writing on the graveyard and looked at the dates. 1991-2016. He placed his hands on the tombstone and picked himself up before wiping off the dirt from his jeans.

"Why, why, why?" whispered Lori. "Why did she have to be so stupid? Out here in the cemetery at night... alone..."

"It's okay, babe," reassured Bobby. "We're gonna find her."

"But what if we don't? Or what if we do and she's... she's..."

"No, we're gonna find her safe and sound. We just got here and we're not thinking those type of thoughts yet. We need to search for this place as fast as possible because Lucy and Rocky need us."

Lori's voice quivered as she found it hard to breathe. She placed her hands on her knees and exhaled deeply as she tried to hold back her tears.

"Hey, hey, just breathe in," said Bobby. "Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Keep doing that."

Lori inhaled and exhaled quickly until her breathing steadied. Her lips still quivered, though it was less noticeable. She looked at Bobby and hugged him as she continued to take steady breaths. Then, she heard leaves rustling louder and louder. Then, she heard footsteps and heavy breathing. She quickly turned around and pointed her flashlight towards a group of trees.

"...there's the light," said a voice behind the trees.

Suddenly, Lucy and Rocky walked out of the trees, panting deeply as their clothes were covered in dirt and sweat. Lori's eyes widened as she gasped softly.

"Oh, crap... we got caught," sighed Lucy.

"Lucy..." whispered Lori before her voice got louder. "What the hell were you thinking? All of us were worried sick about you!"

"Lori, please be quiet!" hushed Rocky.

"Hey! You don't get to tell me-!"

"The rotters are gonna hear you! Many of them... are going back to the field. We gotta warn the group!"

Lori's heart began to beat faster as she heard slow footsteps along with the sound of rotters growling and chomping their jaws together. She pointed her flashlight back at the tree and saw a few rotters coming out. Then, more and more rotters revealed themselves.

"Babe, we gotta go!" exclaimed Bobby.

"Oh my god..." whispered Lori before she shouted into the walkie-talkie. "Richard! Run back to the field! There are many rotters headed back there! Get the cars ready!"

"What about the girl and the boy?"

"They're here! Just go! Go!"

Lori grabbed Lucy's hand and began to run away from the approaching group of rotters. Bobby aimed his gun at one of the rotters and fired it, dropping it next to the tombstone with the dates, 1991-2016. He then grabbed Rocky's arm and ran behind Lori, leaving the dead body behind as more and more rotters passed the body.

A gunshot was fired. The rotters continued to follow the sound of the noise and the waving motion of the flashlight.

Another gunshot was fired. The rotters walking by the buildings outside the field turned back towards the cemetery and began to walk there.

Lori gasped as her flashlight revealed a group of rotters cutting off the path back to the field. She released Lucy and grabbed her golf club firmly before swinging it across a rotter's face, breaking its neck.

"Hey, Rocky, hold this real quick!" exclaimed Lori, tossing her flashlight towards Rocky.

Rocky caught the flashlight and pointed it at the rotters cutting them off.

"Here, Lucy!" exclaimed Rocky, tossing his shovel lightly towards her. "Take them out!"

Bobby fired his pistol once more, hitting a rotter in the chest. He pressed the trigger to fire a bullet to its head, but the pistol was now empty. He grabbed a branch from the ground and whacked a rotter with it. However, it snapped upon contact, only being able to manage to cut the rotter's right cheek. He kicked the rotter back onto a pair of rotters, making all three fall down. However, they all growled as they stood themselves back up.

Lori continued to strike the rotters with her golf club, creating an escape path out of the cemetery. Rocky shined the flashlight away from the rotters approaching Lori and towards a rotter walking towards Lucy.

"Lucy, to your right!" exclaimed Rocky.

Lucy turned to her right, finding a rotter approaching her. Its glowing eyes were locked in on her and its decaying mouth was salivating. She raised her shovel, but something in her prevented her from swinging it. She wondered what it was as she stared at the rotter, looking deep into its eyes. She could see a pupil and an iris under the glowing fluids that filled the outer layer of its eyes. Beneath the eyes, beneath the pupil, she saw a person, a soul that was trapped. A soul locked in a body acting on mindless instinct.

"Lucy!" shouted a muffled voice. "Lucy!"

Lucy did not know whether to feel fascinated with the rotter or whether to feel sorry for it. Perhaps it was a mixture of both. Perhaps a mixture of none.

"Lucy! Lucy!"

Lucy found herself tackled onto the ground. She groaned before finding who tackled her. It was Rocky. And behind him was a rotter. It was on top of him, grabbing his shoulders. And before she could scream out for help, the rotter pulled Rocky back and sunk its salivating teeth deep into his shoulder. And at that moment, her heart sank, her lungs froze, her hands grew cold.

"No..." she whispered as tears ran down her face.

Rocky screamed as blood squirted out of his shoulders and onto Lucy's clothing. Into her hand.

"Oh my god!" gasped Lori.

"No!" exclaimed Bobby.

Lori swung down the golf club and cracked the rotter's skull, sending its bone fragments deep into the brain, killing it. The rotter fell to its side as Rocky fell back. Bobby picked up the flashlight and pointed it around, seeing more rotters stumbling past the tombstones and graveyard.

"We have to go," exhaled Bobby.

"Let's just... let's just stay by his side for a little," whispered Lucy.

"Lucy, the rotters-" urged Lori.

"Please."

Lucy knelt down and grabbed Rocky's hands. He groaned in pain as he closed his hands, wrapping them around Lucy's hands. He was turning pale as blood continued to flow out of his shoulders. Bobby then handed Lucy the flashlight and grabbed Rocky before picking him up. He groaned in agony as the blood in his shoulder began to pour all over onto Bobby's arm.

Lucy moved the flashlight around to help Bobby navigate through the graveyard, but he was struggling to outrun the rotters behind him. Lori ran behind him and smacked the rotters into the ground, giving Bobby mere seconds to move ahead. However, those seconds were put to waste as Bobby found himself cut off by rotters in the front. Lori ran ahead, keeping them away from Bobby. All the jolting movements made Rocky scream out in agony.

"I need to place him down!" exclaimed Bobby. "I can't keep moving him around! It's putting him in too much pain!"

Bobby placed Rocky down as Lucy pointed the flashlight back at Rocky. Lori continued to whack the rotters away from the group as Bobby stood up in order to help his girlfriend.

"Just go..." groaned Rocky. "It hurts too much... and I'm slowing you down."

"It doesn't matter," said Lucy. "We have to keep moving you so you'll stay alive."

"No, no, it's... it's okay. No more. I just... I just want to be at peace."

"No, we can still help you. You just have to keep fighting. Please!"

"No... no more fighting."

"We'll get you back. We're gonna help you."

"No. Leave me. I'm... I'm finally going to see my mom again."

Lucy stared at Rocky as her tears continued to flow below her bangs. She watched as the blood continued to pour onto the ground, seeping into the dirt.

Lori struck a rotter with her club, knocking it to the ground. Bobby then stomped it with its boot.

Lucy watched as Rocky's eyes turned lifeless and his hands grew cold and stiff. His last breath was seconds ago. And he was not taking another.

"We have to go now!" shouted Bobby.

"Lucy, let's go," urged Lori as she grabbed Lucy's arm.

"No," whispered Lucy, feeling her body being pulled away from Rocky.

"We're going!"

"No. No! We can't leave him! Please, we have to get him back! Let me go!"

"I'm sorry, Lucy! We have to go!"

Lori and Lucy began to move away from Rocky's body as the rotters were now walking past it. Bobby followed Lori and Lucy as they continued to run out of the cemetery. Lucy glanced back as she looked at Rocky one last time before the rotters blocked her view of him.

"The hell is going on?" questioned David, looking into his binoculars.

The group members were all gathered together, their voices growing with panic.

"See anything?" asked Lincoln.

"Nah. The damn buildings are in the way."

"Hey, over there!" exclaimed Rusty.

The group turned towards the northeastern part of the field, seeing Richard and Missy running towards the group. Richard turned off his flashlight and placed it in his pocket. As he approached the group, David noticed blood covering the right side of his face.

"Get your guns ready!" exclaimed Missy. "Everyone! Now!"

"Woah, woah, hold on!" exclaimed David before facing Richard. "The hell happened to you?"

"Rotter... got the... jump on me," panted Richard. "I killed it. But I... lost the walkie."

"You couldn't just go back and get it?"

"No. Hundreds... of rotters... on their way here."

"Hundreds?"

"They're gonna come from the cemetery," said Missy.

The group were now completely panicking. Some were bombarding Richard and Missy with questions while others were scrambling to get their weapons. They were knocking over backpacks, sleeping bags, and water bottles. Chunk opened his van. Chaz opened the trunk of his car and the back doors to his car. The group members were now grabbing the guns from inside the crates stored in Chunk's van and Chaz's car.

"What about the others?" shouted Lincoln. "What- you just left them there?"

"They told us to go back," said Richard as he reloaded his revolver. "Lori's orders- not mine!"

David climbed down the RV and entered it. He found all of Lincoln's friends inside- except Rusty. He walked over them as Clyde stood up.

"What do we do?" he asked.

David grabbed his Remington Model 870 shotgun from the display cabinet and began to insert it with pellets.

"Just stay here," said David. "Don't drive this car. I will be back."

He opened the door to the RV and left before closing it. Clyde, Liam, Zach, and Tabby all looked at each other before scrambling to the windows. They looked outside and saw Missy grabbing more ammo for her AR-15 rifle. They saw Benny grabbing an M4A1. They saw Luna pulling out an UZI submachine gun. They saw Sam taking out an MP5 submachine gun. They saw Luan grabbing an M9 pistol. They saw Lynn readying her baseball bat and Francisco holding up his golf club. They saw Sergei and Chunk grabbing knives. They saw Lola, Lana, Darcy, and Lisa running to Vanzilla. Carol, who was holding Lily, was behind them. She placed Lily inside the van and prepared to wait inside before realizing something.

"Chaz and Leni!" gasped Carol. "I gotta warn them."

Carol closed the door and ran away from Vanzilla and past the campfire. She quickly approached Richard.

"I need your flashlight," said Carol. "I have to get Chaz and Leni back here."

"What the fuck are they doing all the way over there?" asked Richard.

"Chaz didn't want Leni to find out Lucy was gone. Leni panics easily, I think."

"Okay, go them."

Richard handed Carol his flashlight. She then turned it on and ran towards the northwestern part of the field, slowly becoming smaller and smaller within the group's sight. David walked over to the campfire and began to kick dirt into it.

"I'm not seeing any rotters," said Rusty. "Are you sure there were hundreds?"

"Sure as hell," said Richard. "They were just behind us. I don't know why they're not here yet."

"Maybe Lori is leading them away from here," said Lincoln. "Maybe that's why they're not back yet."

Carol continued to run to the opposite side of the field. Chaz and Leni turned towards her, looking at the flashlight become brighter and brighter.

"Leni! Chaz! You guys... have to... come back!" warned Carol as she struggled to catch her breath. "Rotters... coming... here!"

"Those rotters?" asked Leni, pointing towards the west side of the field.

Carol looked over to the west. She saw many tiny yellow circles in the distance moving east. Upon seeing the flashlight, some of the glowing eyes turned towards Carol, now stumbling her way, causing her heart to beat faster in fear. The tiny yellow circles were becoming larger and larger.

"Let's get you back, Leni!" exclaimed Chaz. "Carol, let's go!"

Chaz grabbed Leni's hand and began to run back to the vehicles. Carol looked back at the large distance that she had to run again. Her heart was beating so fast, she felt like fainting on the spot. However, a sudden rush of adrenaline gave her the energy needed to follow Chaz and Leni.

David turned towards Lincoln. Then, he caught sight of the many, many pairs of glowing eyes that were coming their way from the west side of the field. Not coming from the direction of the cemetery, which was east. It was coming from the city.

"Over there!" he shouted.

The armed group members raised their guns and fired at the groups of rotters headed their way. The gunshots were now echoing across the field as the muzzle fire lit up the area. Smoke puffed out the barrels and blood squirted out of the rotters' bodies. David, Richard, and Missy ran ahead, firing their weapons at the rotters' skulls. Some of the group members stayed a bit behind as they struggled to get a couple good shots on the rotters. Most of them were missing, and those that were able to hit the rotters were hitting their limbs, torso, and even neck, but not their skull.

Luna struggled to fire her UZI. Benny approached her.

"Ever shot a gun before?" asked Benny.

"No!" screamed Luna. "I can't get this thing to work!"

Benny grabbed the UZI and switched the safety off. He then fired a few shots at a nearby rotter, killing it. He handed the submachine gun back to Luna and pointed at the magazine release button.

"Press that to take the magazine out!" he stated. "Not now though! Only when it doesn't have any more bullets! Then, you slide in a magazine! Got it?"

"Yes!"

Luna aimed into the iron sights of the UZI and squeezed the trigger, letting an onslaught of bullets fly out of the barrel. The recoil caused the bullets to completely miss, not being able to hit a single rotter. Sam was doing the same mistake, which was dumping an entire mag at once.

"Burst fire!" yelled Benny. "Press the trigger for a bit then let go! Control the recoil!"

Sam burst-fired her MP5, managing to hit the rotters. She burst-fired again, this time killing the rotter that was approaching her. She tried to burst-fire at a different rotter, but she was back to missing her shots.

Luna released the magazine and reached into Chunk's van, grabbing another one. She placed it inside the gun and watched the others fire their weapons. Luan fired a couple shots from her pistol, hitting multiple rotters, but none of the bullets could hit their skulls. However, there were so many bullets flying and tearing the rotters' skin and muscles apart that they were falling to the ground, even though they were not killed yet.

David fired his shotgun on each rotter one by one, taking them down with ease. Richard fired his Python over and over, trimming down the massive group. Missy fired multiple times, causing a body to drop each second. The rest of the group were barely making a dent compared to the three former soldiers. Luna was losing confidence.

Carol, Chaz, and Leni were now getting close to the vehicles. However, the group of rotters split into two and were now cutting off the three teenagers. Chaz looked back, seeing another group of rotters walking behind them. They were completely surrounded. Chaz then looked at the former soldiers. They were busy trying to keep the rotters away from the vehicles. Carol's shouts and screams were unable to stop them from defending the rest of the group.

"Please help us! Help us!" exclaimed Carol.

Luna turned towards them and aimed her gun at the rotters. She exhaled deeply and began to burst-fire the UZI, shooting bullets into the rotter's skulls, dropping them quickly. She moved to the next rotter and dropped it. Then another. And another. She was not missing. If she missed, that meant a bullet that could potentially hit Carol, Chaz, or Leni. She continued to clear out the rotters as Richard joined in to help her, using his knife to kill off the rotters. However, they were not going to be able to free Carol, Chaz, and Leni in time.

"No!" shouted Luna as she released a magazine. "Leni! LENI!"

Chaz heard Luna's screams and felt his heart sink. His eyes expressed sorrow as he grabbed Leni's hands. He looked at both Leni and Carol as the rotters were now mere feet away from them.

"Grab Leni's hands and run around me. And don't stop running, Carol."

"Wha-?" gasped Leni.

Chaz yelled as he ran over to a group of rotters in the side. He then tackled a group of rotters, immediately catching the attention of the nearby rotters, who now began to kneel down and reach for his body. The rotters sunk their nails deep into his back and began to chomp down on his body as he screamed. The rotters began to tear his skin and muscles apart as he tried to crawl out. An opening was created for Carol as she ran around the group of rotters huddled around Chaz, dragging Leni with her as she cried out in tears.

"NO!" sobbed Leni. "CHAZ!"

"I'm sorry, Leni!" cried out Carol. "I'm sorry!"

Chaz continued to scream in agony as the rotters grabbed his face and began to tear it apart. The rotters below him were now eating into his stomach and chest, causing blood to squirt out of his body in many different areas. He took one last look at Leni through the legs of the rotters before a hand reached for his eyes. His bloodcurdling scream sent chills up Richard's spine as he continued to fire at the rotters. David and Missy joined Richard and Luna in killing off the rotters coming from the north. Luna was left speechless as Richard stabbed the rotters on top of Chaz. Tears shot out of her eyes as she realized that Chaz was still alive as he lifted his hands in a struggle to escape. However, all the rotters around him were now killed off. But Chaz was unaware of that as many cuts, scratches, and gashes surrounded his entire body. So much so that he was starting to choke on his own blood. At least, Luna heard choking sounds as Chaz's face was completely unrecognizable.

Luna turned to her side and vomited into the ground as Richard looked down at Chaz. Gunshots and screams were still going on in the background, but at this moment, all he could focus on was Chaz's deformed and partially ripped face. He closed his eyes and shook his head before placing a bullet into his revolver. He then aimed his Python at Chaz's head and took a deep breath before firing his revolver. The choking sounds stopped. He sniffled as he looked away, now finding himself staring at Chaz's hat in the ground next to David. He then looked at David, finding him fighting the last remaining rotters in the field.

The gunshots continued to echo across the city. Then, after the lights that flashed from the field were gone, a moment of calm now washed over the city.

Lori, Bobby, and Lucy jogged out of the cemetery. Lori grabbed the iron gates and slid it across the asphalt, causing a metal scraping sound. She looked at the cemetery as Lucy and Bobby awaited her. Then, they all headed back to the field, holding each other's hands. They crossed the streets. They ran past the buildings. They passed the tennis courts. Then, they jogged past the vehicles and stepped into the field, now coming to a sudden and breathtaking stop.

Lori found Leni sobbing as Carol tried to reassure her. Upon seeing Lori, Carol stood up and stepped away, allowing Lori to kneel down next to her. She then looked around the field, finding decaying bodies on the ground all over. She then saw what looked like Chaz's clothes worn by a mauled body. She looked at David, Richard, Missy, and Luna standing over the body, each of them left with nothing to say.

Luan gulped as she tried to hold back her tears, but was unable to do so. Benny hugged Luan as she cried into his chest.

Lincoln ran over to Lucy and hugged her. Rusty jogged over to Lori, but was unable to find his little brother.

"W-Where..."

Lori looked at Rusty, unable to find the right words to break the news to him. Her eyes bubbled up with tears as Bobby placed his hands on Rusty's shoulders and knelt. She wrapped her arms around Leni's shoulders, allowing her to weep into her arms, while having trouble holding back tears herself. As Bobby continued talking, Rusty covered his eyes and fell to his knees, now sobbing as Bobby sniffled softly.

Ronnie Anne walked over to the group and saw many of them in tears. However, what broke her heart was the sight of Rusty crying for his brother. Her heart sunk as an immense feeling of guilt began to press against her chest, now realizing the ramifications of her actions, or lack thereof. And as the group members were now returning to her vehicle, all she could do is think about what she could have done differently. This thought raced across her head over and over, even after the vehicles have completely left Palmer Field.

The vehicles arrived at the parking lot of the medical center. Richard made sure the doors to the medical center were locked shut. Luna made sure the gates were secure. As far as David could tell, there was no way for the rotters to enter the parking lot.

There were tents scattered around the parking lot with two beds in each of them. The group members picked their own tents and went inside, now hoping to sleep the night away.

Lori placed Darcy on the bed next to her. She wrapped a light blanket on top of her and caressed her hair softly before walking to her own bed. Bobby was already lying there, eyes completely open. Lori lay down on the bed and wrapped the blanket around her legs. The two of them stared at the roof of the tent, not saying a word.

Lincoln looked to his side, seeing Lucy in a separate bed, her face looking away from him. She was clearly in pain.

He then saw someone enter the tent.

"Ronnie Anne?" whispered Lincoln.

"Shh. Come out."

Lincoln glanced at Lucy, who remained still and faced away from him. He then walked out of the tent and followed Ronnie Anne to Vanzilla, hidden away from everyone else.

"Ronnie, what's going on?"

"What was in the book?" asked Ronnie Anne.

"Huh?"

"The book that you found back in the park. What was in there? Names?"

Lincoln looked at Ronnie Anne, who was sweating intensely, even though the night had plenty of breeze.

"Lincoln!"

"Yeah. Names of everyone the rogues had in Ketcham Park. The ones that are in Houlton now. But you can't tell anyone."

"Look at you, Lame-O. Keeping secrets from everyone else?"

Lincoln sighed with guilt. Ronnie Anne looked down.

"Is my... family there?" she asked.

Lincoln shook his head.

"I'm sorry," whispered Lincoln.

"Don't be. It just means they weren't there when the bombs dropped. I'm sure they'll find someone in Royal Woods who will tell them about where we're going. Or maybe even better- we'll cross paths with them."

"Yeah. That's exactly what I was thinking."

Ronnie Anne rubbed her arms.

"What about Rocky's?" she asked.

"Rocky's father is in the logbook. Ruddy Spokes. Not his mother though. But that makes sense, considering she passed away a while ago."

"I know."

Ronnie Anne leaned her back against the van as her breaths shuddered.

"Fuck."

"What is it?"

"If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone?"

"Okay. Only if you promise not to tell anyone about the logbook."

"Deal."

Lincoln nodded. Ronnie Anne tried to muster up the strength to tell her secret.

"So what's the secret?" asked Lincoln.

"Oh god, please don't be mad at me..."

"Ronnie, you're my best friend. You can tell me anything."

Ronnie Anne nodded.

"I... I saw Lucy and Rocky at the cemetery earlier. I was going to drag them back to the field but Rocky somehow convinced me not to. He made me feel bad for him because of his mother's death. So I didn't want to get him and your sister in trouble. How stupid of me. Now Rusty's dad is never gonna see Rocky again. Fuck me."

Ronnie Anne had tears rolling down from her eyes. Lincoln looked at Ronnie Anne and felt sorry for her. But he also felt sorry for Lucy, who couldn't even look at anyone the moment she left the graveyard. She wanted to blame someone for making her sister grieve.

"It's... okay. It's not your fault," said Lincoln.

"It is. And you know it too. Look at you. You want to scream at me, right?"

"I don't."

Ronnie Anne wiped her tears.

"I can't tell if you're being serious or if you're just a good liar. But it doesn't matter. Whatever you feel towards me... doesn't compare to what I feel towards myself."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ronnie."

"Yeah, whatever," sniffled Ronnie Anne. "I'm just glad you're a good listener."

Ronnie Anne then let out a tearful chuckle.

"Look at us. Not even two weeks into this new world and we're already keeping secrets from everyone. We're just two assholes aren't we?"

"My secret is for the group's sake."

"Uh huh. That's what I should keep telling myself, right?"

Lincoln remained silent as Ronnie Anne wiped her tears again.

"Goodnight, Lame-O."

"Goodnight, Ronnie."

Lincoln watched as Ronnie Anne walked back to her tent. He simply stood there and looked up at the moon in the sky before letting out a big sigh.

The iron gate scraped against the asphalt again. A squirrel sat on top of a pile of dirt a nearby footstep spooked it off into a tree. Birds were chirping as they saw a few rotters wandering around the cemetery. Then, one of the rotters were stabbed by Richard. Another was stabbed by Missy. And the third one was struck by a golf club held by Rusty.

They continued to walk along the tombstones, looking down at some of the unfilled holes where they found a couple rotters trapped in each hole. Then, they stopped.

"I... I think that's him," sniffled Rusty. "Oh man... oh man. N-No. Rocky..."

Missy wrapped her arms around Rusty and held him in a reassuring hug as Richard walked towards the lone redhead rotter walking to the edge of the cemetery. Richard stepped on a twig, snapping it, which caught the rotter's attention. The rotter turned around, revealing itself to the three survivors, having the appearance of Rusty's late little brother. The zombified-Rocky growled as its eyes glowed softly against the glimmering light, which showed the bite mark in its shoulder. Then, as it raised its hands to grab Richard, it was stabbed through the eye by him. Rusty cried into Missy's stomach as Richard picked up the body.

A black shovel was thrust into the dirt, throwing away dirt from the ground to make a hole. Then, another hole was being dug up.

A body covered by a blanket was lowered down into the hole before Bobby shoveled the dirt back into the hole. Richard wiped the blood off his walkie-talkie with a towel as he watched Chaz's body being lowered into the second hole. Tabby whispered into Rusty's ears as Rusty nodded softly, sniffling as he continued to stare at the hole. Lynn and Carol both placed a marble rock each in front of the graves.

Leni, Lucy, and Rusty stood in front of the graves in silence as the group stood behind them. Carol placed Chaz's hat on top of the marble rock in front of Chaz's grave and walked back to his car. The rest of the group returned to their vehicles, moving slowly and quietly. Then, Sergei opened the door to Chaz's car and sat in the driver's seat, getting a surprised look from Carol. Sergei inserted Chaz's key into the ignition switch and started the car. Then, he moved the car and followed the convoy of vehicles out of Palmer Field as Carol clicked on the button on the walkie-talkie.

"Where are we going?" asked Carol. "Hello?"

Carol looked at the walkie-talkie and attempted to switch channels. However, no sounds were made. Sergei looked at her.

"What happen?" he asked.

"Batteries are dead," said Carol. "I think we got some new ones around here..."

"Day thirteen," said Lisa as she spoke into a tape recorder. "A new discovery has been made. It appears that the infected have an ability that we weren't aware of... that I wasn't aware of. The infected appear to be attracted to sound waves just as they are attracted to movement. Evidence to support this can be tied back to Day 10. Such evidence would include the explosions in Detroit..."

The doors to the RV, Vanzilla, Chunk's van, and Chaz's car opened. The group members all walked out of their vehicles and crossed the barricaded traffic jam that separated the parking lot outside the Michigan Stadium from the golf course.

"This would have been a much better place to set up base at," said Lola.

"Yes, everything's better in hindsight, right?" sighed Sam.

Lori looked at the stadium towering over the parking lot.

"I know how important Vonda is," said Lori. "But the city is too dangerous. If we can't find her after a week, we'll leave. If anyone wants to, you're free to go back to Royal Woods. I understand if you don't want to continue this trip."

David grabbed Lori's shoulder and leaned close to her.

"What are you doing?" he whispered. "Are you trying to encourage these people to give up?"

"My friend died," said Lori. "Rusty's little brother died. We're nowhere close to Houlton and we already lost two people. If people want to give up, we have to let them know it's okay."

"No," said Rusty. "I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm not gonna give up. I'm not just gonna let... what happened mean nothing. I'm going to see my dad again. I will."

"No one's turning around," said Tabby. "We ain't got nowhere else left to go. We only got each other."

"Word," said Liam.

Lincoln nodded, looking at Ronnie Anne, who looked away.

Lori nodded, feeling sorrow and guilt grow in her heart. She looked out into the golf course, feeling incredibly dejected. She was just not in the mood to play golf.

"So, we're gonna go street to street?" asked Francisco. "It be faster to look for Vonda that way."

"I don't know," said Lori. "It's... risky."

"I think this is a waste of time," said Lynn. "We should already be on our way to Houlton. Vonda probably isn't even here! She probably ditched as soon as the rotters laid waste to this dumb city."

Lori sighed and looked down. She looked at Leni, who was lying her head on her shoulders, whimpering quietly. She then looked at Lucy, who was sitting away from the group. She sighed again and closed her eyes.

Then, upon hearing a loud banging noise coming from the barricaded traffic jam, she immediately opened her eyes. David, Richard, and Missy all aimed their guns at the traffic jam.

"Oh, I know I didn't just hear someone call my city dumb," remarked a female voice as she hopped over a car. "I wanna know who- oh. Woah, relax there."

An older-looking redhead teenager walked across the bumper of a car before leaping down. She wiped the dust off the back of her black skinny jeans and brown backpack before looking at the group.

"Hey, easy there!" exclaimed redhead teen. "Don't shoot. We're friendly."

"Becky?" whispered Lori.

Becky walked closer to the group while holding up her hands. She was wearing her striped light-green and blue sleeveless shirt. Her brown sandals stumbled on a little bump as she entered the golf course. The dark tint to her dark-red hair gave her a distinct look of her companion next to her. Around her neck were binoculars and in a holster around her belt was a Glock 17 pistol.

After her came Dana, sporting her long-sleeved off-shoulder shirt, striped with white and lavender colors. She wore a black dress which gave the appearance of a skirt and lavender socks with brown leather boots. Her hair was bent into a ponytail and she carried a machete.

After her was Tad, a tanned 17-year old man, with long brown hair, a growing mustache, and thick eyebrows. He was wearing blue shorts, white flops, and a turquoise shirt with an alien logo imprinted on it. He was carrying a machete as well.

And behind him was a 13-year old girl, who had red-orange wavy hair, reaching her shoulders. She was slightly taller than Lynn but smaller than Luan. She was wearing a curved hem top with dark-purple jeans and brown leather boots, matching Dana's. She was carrying a black leather quiver, with two dozen arrows, each arrow having black and red fletchings. She carried a recurve bow with her left hand and stared at the group silently.

"I can't believe it," gasped Lori. "Becky! Dana! And it's nice to see Tad too!"

"I knew it was you," said Becky, lowering her hands as she walked towards Lori. "I watched your group yesterday. You guys were far... but even with this old binocular... I still knew it was you."

As Lori and Becky hugged each other, David, Richard, and Missy lowered their guns and looked at each other with confusion. Tad approached Bobby and gave him a fist bump.

"Nice, Bori lives!" said Tad. "Or was it Lobby?"

"Lobby," said Lori.

"Bori," said Bobby.

"What? It's Lobby."

"Who calls it Lobby?" giggled Dana.

Lori gasped as if offended before breaking into soft laughter. She then walked towards Dana and hugged her. Leni remained quiet as she walked over to Becky, giving her a tight hug.

"Hey, Leni," said Becky. "You don't seem so happy seeing us."

Leni rubbed her arm as Lori and Tad hugged. Bobby released Dana from their hug and turned around.

"We just lost two people in our group," said Bobby. "One of them was Chaz."

"W-What...? Chaz...?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Becky. I know you two were close."

Becky scoffed in self-denial. However, she looked around the group and saw the depressed mood that all of the survivors were feeling. She then looked at Leni again and hugged her tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Leni..."

"I'm sorry too..."

After a few seconds, Becky and Leni released each other from their hug. Becky then turned towards the rest of the group before spotting a specific person.

"Ugh, Carol is here?" she groaned.

"Nice to see you too, Becky," huffed Carol.

"So, Lori..." said David. "Seems like your family's got a knack for finding people you know."

"Yeah. They're friends of Bobby, Leni, and I. We went to high school together. The redheaded one is Becky. The brunette one is Dana. And the guy is Tad. The fourth one... I don't recognize. She looks familiar though."

"Well, you don't look familiar to me," said the 13-year-old. "I've never seen you people before in my life."

"Feel free to introduce yourself," said Lynn. "I'm Lynn. I'm also thirteen years old. But don't let that age fool you. I can kick your butt anytime I want to."

"I'm Vonda. Feel free to stay away from me."

David gasped. Richard's eyes grew wide. Missy turned rapidly towards the girl.

"Wait, wait," said Lori. "Did you just say Vonda?"

"Yeah. That's my name."

"Vonda Crowley?"

"How'd you know that?"

"We know your dad. Or at least, we got his cassette tapes. Tim Crowley's your dad, right?"

"Yeah! Where is he?"

Lori's smile slowly faded away.

"Your dad... is no longer with us," said Lori. "A group of soldiers working for a corrupt general took him down."

"General Black and his rogues, right?" asked Vonda.

"Yeah."

Vonda sighed as tears ran through her cheeks. She quickly wiped her tears away before clearing her throat.

"I knew it was gonna happen one day," she said. "I always told him to stop chasing after these big conspiracies. But he always told me it was much bigger than I thought. I guess... he was right. Everything he said... turned out to be true. And I suppose that's why... the rogues killed him. That is why it happened, right?"

"We think so. General Black tried to label him as a terrorist. But we both know that's not true, right?"

Vonda nodded.

"After the bombing in the Detroit safe-zone, we went to his room and found his cassette tapes. We played each one, although some of them were distorted. We also found a picture of him and you in Disney World. Here..."

Lori took out the picture of Tim and Vonda and handed it to Vonda. Tears dropped onto the picture.

"You look so young there... which is why we didn't recognize you," said Lori.

"Yeah," whispered Vonda. "Puberty tends to change your appearance."

Lori grabbed a cassette tape from her backpack and placed it into a cassette player. She then handed the cassette player over to Vonda, who stared at it before pressing the play button.

"Hello, people. I'm Tim Crowley and I'm 18 years old. I'm entering..."

Vonda sniffled as Becky, Dana, and Tad surrounded her, each of them giving her a hug. She then stopped the recording and looked up with anger in her eyes.

"Tell me everything that happened to you guys," said Vonda.

The sun was descending again, though it still remained high in the sky. A bump coming from the traffic jam caught the group's attention, though David already knew that it was Vonda returning from her house. She carried another recurve bow in her hand while Tad was carrying a ninjato sword. They leaped from the bumper of the car to the parking lot ground.

"Seems like you've spent the last two weeks in here," said Lori. "So you know how dangerous it could be out there."

"Yeah," said Becky. "But it doesn't matter. My mom and dad would've gone to Detroit. And if everything you found on the rogues is accurate... then they gotta be at Houlton. Nothing is gonna stop me from getting there."

"Me either," said Dana.

David smiled as he passed the teenagers, who were entering Vanzilla. Then, he approached Vonda.

"What we're asking you to do is... a lot," said David. "Your father was a very important man. Which makes you very important. Which is why you shouldn't do this alone. Do you have anyone else in your family who could come with us? Anyone else who might know what your father knew?"

"Nah. My mother left me us when I was little. I mean... I only remember how she looks like because of the pictures that my aunt showed me. My aunt from my... mother's side. And my dad... he's been a loner since. He never remarried. And my aunt did stay with us... but I'm pretty sure she got herself in the riots that happened like a week ago. Not sure. Not that I really care... 'cause she was an alcoholic douchebag."

"Looks like you're more important than we thought."

"Well, there is another guy," said Vonda as she entered the RV. "His name's Bill Brooker. He lives in Medway, which is like 50 miles away from Houlton. He's really the guy who taught my dad about radios and stuff. He also knows about a lot more than me. So really... he's the important one. All I know how to do is shoot arrows."

David glanced at Richard and smiled.

"I still think you're really important," said David as Vonda closed the door to the RV. "Tell me everything you know about the shit that went down in this world."

All the group members entered their vehicles. David started the RV engine and began to drive the vehicle out of the parking lot. The other vehicles followed it in the usual order: Vanzilla, then Chunk's van, then Chaz's car. After a few minutes, the skyline of the city was now behind them as they headed south, getting miles closer to the southern border of Michigan where they would cross to Ohio.

The dead continued to wander around in Palmer Field. One certain rotter walked over two gravestones. The one with Chaz's hat on top of the stone read:

CHAZ

1999-2016

Loving friend and loving son

"Nothing gives happiness like doing something you love, with the ones you love."

The other, with a knife hanging a string attached to the rock read:

ROCKY SPOKES

2008-2016

Loving brother and loving son

"The ones who do not make it will watch and guide those who will, in the journey ahead."

End Credit Song

Cinnamon - Jome

Oh no! Shit went down and now we have dead characters! And many, MANY, more are going to meet their demise! Or who knows? Maybe they will all make it? Now the path to Houlton won't be a short one and it will surely not be an easy one, but the group can make it... right? Find out next chapter! See you guys again in 2-3 weeks and have a nice weekend!