II - Strangers

"Jesus, what happened here?" asked Richard, staring at a boy's body in the middle of the highway.

David knelt down and placed his hand on the boy's head. It was hot to the touch. His face was red, his eyes open, and his body stiff. He then moved his hand to the side of his neck.

"He's dead," said David. "Fuck... if only we had been here a few hours earlier."

"This heat really is no joke," said Richard. "C'mon, let's go back inside."

"Yeah."

David looked to his sides, seeing the dead city of Cleveland. He then looked ahead, seeing mirages all across the highway.

A few hours passed by. The RV continued to maneuver around the abandoned vehicles in the highways, when David and Richard noticed a few stragglers.

"Hey, Richard. You see them right?" pointed out David.

"Yeah, I see 'em. Nobody told them hitchhiking's dangerous?" responded Richard.

"Honey, they look like... teenagers. Look at their faces, their sweaty hair- God- they look exhausted," said Missy.

"And they managed to survive in this shithole city around roamers for two weeks? It's a damn miracle," commented Richard. "They finally decided to get the hell out of Dodge on Day 15, huh?"

The group of survivors consisted of six people, worrying David, as he could see his personal space being more violated with each coming guest. Vonda looked out the window and dashed to the sofa. She opened the upper cabinet above the sofa and stashed her arrows inside. Just in case.

David drove closer to the group and spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"David to all. Slow down your vehicles."

"We're stopping for them?" asked Richard.

"Why not?" asked Missy.

"We don't know who these people are."

"They're gonna die out in this heat," said David. "Can't have any more kids dying on my conscience."

The vehicles slowed down until they came to a complete stop. The teenagers reached for their guns as they all froze on the spot. David opened the RV door and walked out, taking out the shades from his eyes.

"Gentlemen. What are you all doing out here?"

A Puerto Rican teenager walked in front of his group. He had long black hair that reached his shoulders and a cap worn backward much like Lana's, but it was black instead. He had a purple shirt along with baggy jeans and chains around his pockets. He wore a gold necklace and had a Glock 17 behind his pants. He also had a tattoo of grapes on his right arm.

"Wassup, y'all," greeted the teen. "Y'all have AC in this car?"

"We do."

"Nice. Hope y'all don't mind if we janguearamos with you guys. Me and my homies need to cool off. Plus, a ride anywhere away from this shithole would be good too."

"Sure thing," said David. "We don't have a lotta space... but it's enough. But first, what is your name?"

"Oh, my name's Carlos. My homeboy with the buzz cut is Esteban. My other home with the shades is Angel. And homeboy over there with the purple jeans is Adriel."

"What about the other two fellas over there?" asked David.

"Oh, the Haitians? Yeah, I know 'em morenos too. The tall one is Derrick Tyre Chery, but we call him D. The short one is Wesley Hill, but we call him Wavehead."

D was six-feet tall and thin. He wore a white shirt with a blue circle on it and khaki shorts. He had short hair and wore a tiny watch on his right hand, along with a pair of blue and white sneakers. He carried the same gun that Carlos carried, as did the other group members did.

Wavehead was about Luna's size and was of average weight for his height. He wore a black shirt with white thin lines, giving the appearance of sleet, and white cargo shorts. He had dreadlocks that hung in a wavelike manner, hence his name, and wore thin rectangular glasses. He wore black sneakers and a black belt. He was the only one in the group who didn't carry a gun, carrying a trench knife with a gold handle instead.

"For our safety, I'm gonna need you fellas to hand over your weapons," demanded David.

"Aight, we can do that. What's your name?" asked Carlos, grabbing his friends' guns and handing them to David.

"I'm David. I'm gonna introduce you all to my group," answered the leader, putting on shades while handing the guns to Richard. "David to all. Come to the RV."

"Ay, yo, I'm just wondering, when can I get my piece back?" asked Carlos.

"When we find a good place to drop you guys off," answered David as the rest of the group crowded themselves outside the left door of the RV. "The tall blonde girl is Lori. From right to left, their names are Bobby, Darcy, Leni, Lily, Luan, Benny, Francisco, Lynn, Lincoln, Ronnie Anne, umm… Lucy, Lola, Lana, Lisa, Carol, Sergei, Luna, Chunk, and Sam. Inside the RV from left to right is my best buddy Richard, his wife Missy, Rusty, Liam, Tabby, Zach, Clyde, Becky, Dana, Tad, and Vonda. Everyone, this is Carlos, Esteban, Angel, Adriel, D, and… Wavehead."

"I had a cousin named Carlos. And an uncle named Carlos as well. And some variations," said Bobby.

"I'm sure they ain't more handsome than me. Where are y'all heading? How are y'all saving food?" asked Carlos. "Come on, homes, come head inside!"

"Yeah, come inside," said David.

"We're going to Maine," answered Bobby.

David glared at Bobby, though Bobby seemed unaware of the risk of what he just said.

"We're rationing food," said David. "Everyone, you can head back to your vehicles."

Lori and her group headed back to Vanzilla, unsure how to feel about the guests. Luna, Sam, and Chunk walked back to their vehicle. Sergei and Carol walked back to Chaz's car.

Carlos and his friends headed inside the RV. They looked around in awe and gave each certain looks of satisfaction. They slowly made their way to the back of the RV and took off their backpacks. Some placed their backpacks on the table while the others placed their backpacks on the floor.

"This place is damn cool!" gasped Wavehead as he looked inside the bathroom.

"Y'all have some chips and shit?" asked Adriel.

"No," replied David, getting increasingly frustrated with the teens. "Why, you want me to go in the city and get you some chips too?"

"Nah, man, I was just asking."

David started the car and drove off. Missy handed the boys water bottles in an effort to keep their mouths hydrated. As she walked back to her seat behind Richard, some of Carlos's group members inappropriately stared at her butt. Esteban wolf-whistled, which stopped Missy in her tracks. The group focused their attention on Carlos's group, becoming uncomfortable. She formed an angry smile and looked quickly at the floor before turning to the boys, crossing her arms.

"Damn ma, why do you look so pissed?" asked Esteban.

"Hey, come on, man," said Wavehead, trying to hush Esteban.

"Did you guys just stare at my ass?" asked Missy, already knowing the answer, demanding an explanation.

"So what if we did? Ain't my fault you look fine," responded Carlos, snickering.

"Hey, guys, are we going to have a problem over here?" said Richard frustratingly.

"Yo guys, can you chill?" exclaimed D. "She's married! Her husband is right there!"

"Missy... do any of these boys interest you?"

"No," said Missy.

"They always say that," chuckled Carlos. "I'm eighteen. I don't mind tapping that MILF ass."

"Hey! Shut your goddamn mouth!" yelled Richard, getting up from his chair.

"Get over here then!" yelled back Carlos standing up.

The two walked closer together yelling at each other. Even Missy cracked her knuckles and made a step forward.

"Hey! Hey! Calm down! Both of you!" shouted David.

"You kids need to learn some fuckin' respect," hissed Richard. "In fact, I don't even know why we picked your asses up! Let's toss them outta here!"

"We're sorry, guys," said D. "My... my man here is an idiot. He truly is."

"Just keep all y'all mouths shut."

"Understood."

Carlos went back to the table, scratching his head. Missy shook her head and sat in her seat. Carlos's group chattered among themselves.

"What's their play here?" whispered Missy.

"What?" gasped Richard.

"Don't know," said David. "Though I may have an idea."

David continued driving, now leaving Cleveland.

Meanwhile, Leni sat next to Lori, slowly going through her backpack. Darcy napped on Bobby's lap and as Lori set her eyes on this wholesome sight, she smiled.

Lucy wrote poems after poems, writing about her guilt and how much she missed Rocky.

Francisco and Lynn wondered what happened to their favorite sports team, but Lynn often drifted away from that subject and thought about Clyde.

Ronnie Anne and Lincoln would read comics, despite the tough girl hating the graphic novels, but Lincoln always somehow convinced her to read them with him.

Benny looked at his bruise and saw that it was barely noticeable.

"Leni," whispered Lori.

No response.

"Leni?"

Still no response.

"Leni, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what do you want me to do?" finally replied Leni.

"Can you organize all the pictures I grabbed from the house?"

"Okay. How do you want me to organize them?"

"However you want it, as long as it looks nice."

Leni took out the pictures and started organizing them inside the empty photo album. Lori needed a way to keep Leni distracted from thinking about what happened to Chaz. If Leni was too depressed, she would be unpredictable given her petite intelligence. However, something else bothered Lori. As the hours passed by, she noticed that Lincoln attempted to talk to Clyde, but received no response from him. She was not annoyed at Clyde; in fact, she no longer felt just pity for him but loved him like she loved Lincoln and her sisters. What bothered Lori was the fact that someone else would answer, someone who Lori assumed was Carlos.

"Yeah, can you pass the walkie-talkie to Clyde?" asked Lincoln through his walkie-talkie that he used to communicate with Clyde before and during the Global Infection Event.

"Is Clyde the little nerd with the round glasses? Looks like a lil' version of Wavehead?"

"Yeah... that's him."

"Yo, Clyde!" shouted Carlos before turning to the walkie-talkie. "What's your name again?"

"Lincoln."

"Lincoln wants to talk to you! No? You don't want to talk to him?"

Lynn swiped Lincoln's walkie-talkie.

"Hey! Tell Clyde that Lynn wants to talk to him!"

"Hey, Clyde! Lynn wants to talk to you! No? You don't want to talk to her either? Sorry, y'all. Clyde don't wanna talk."

"We can talk to you though, Lynn. How old are you?" said Adriel.

"I'm good. Here you go, Lincoln."

"Aww, don't leave me hanging like that."

Lynn moved away from the device and cringed.

"Lincoln? Can you pass me the walkie-talkie?" asked Lori, agitated at the boys.

Lincoln handed the walkie-talkie to her older sister, almost afraid for the boys. She kept her left hand on the wheel and held the walkie-talkie with her right hand.

"Can you guys not do that with my little sister?" said Lori. "That's literally creepy."

"Is this the eldest?" asked Esteban. "Word, these guys are creepy as hell liking an older woman or a young girl. But you… you are about the perfect age if I'm not mistaken."

"I don't think my boyfriend would like that."

"Man, to hell with him. You need a real man."

Lori felt very heated and felt the urge to leave her van, enter David's RV, and start choking the boys.

"You know we don't have to give you transportation," warned David. "We can just drop you off in this town, and it would only be a little easier than what you guys went through in Cleveland. So I suggest you guys shut the hell up."

"Ese, we're just playing around," said Adriel passing the walkie-talkie to Carlos.

"Yeah, damn," said Carlos. "Only thing fucked up about us is that we play too much. Sorry about bothering y'all. Especially you, Lori. By the way, call me when things don't work out too well with Bobby."

Carlos snickered.

"Hmph. Here you go, Lincoln," huffed Lori, passing back the walkie-talkie to her brother. "Don't talk to them."

The group all agreed to eat in their vehicles instead of camping outside. As Carlos's group suspected, they aggravated David and Lori's group enough to make them not want to talk to them. It did not matter to them anyways. They had a plan and they were going to stick with it. They did not need to make friends with them. That would in fact, hinder their plan. They knew that no matter how their plan went, they were never going to see David and Lori's group again.

With the sun already set, and the group exhausted from the ride, David decided to call it a day and allowed Carlos's group to leave. Carlos's group stepped outside of the RV and looked around the dark highway, seeing the woods surrounding both sides of the highway. Anything else, they could barely see.

"Hey, y'all. Can't we just stay here for the night? It ain't safe out there at night," pleaded Carlos.

"No," said David. "Have a good night."

"C'mon, man, you serious?"

"It's way too dark out there, bro," said D.

"You were told you were being dropped off at night," said David.

"I know, but... where are the buildings, bro?"

"Or the houses?" asked Wavehead.

"You're really gon' drop us off in the middle of nowhere?" asked Adriel.

"You're in I-90. Hardly in the middle of nowhere," said Richard. "C'mon, David, let's go."

"Wait, guys," said Bobby. "Something about this doesn't feel right. I mean, look how dark it is already. It's only going to get darker from now on, right?"

"They knew what the agreement was about. We didn't have to help them, but we did."

"Come on, Bobby, you really don't think we should actually keep them around for one more second, right?" asked Lori.

"Hey, we're right here," said Carlos.

"I don't want them around anymore," said Missy.

"I thought we were all about saving people," said Francisco. "These guys look like they never been out of the city. They think this place is the middle of nowhere. This place with abandoned cars all around us."

"Word," said Carlos.

"We have done more than enough for these people," said David. "They're tough guys. They can handle it."

"This ain't our streets, though. Back there, when the people were still around, poking your head around in some streets that weren't yours out when it was dark and all the cops were out from sight, man, you were just lookin' for trouble. What changed? Only the monsters that hold these streets. The zombies, yo."

Francisco looked at David, raising his eyebrows.

"He's right," said Francisco. "This world goes for anyone, even the tough guys. I think we all know how dangerous nighttime can be. If we don't give them some kind of shelter, they'll just stumble around and get lost, and that's one thing you don't want happening at all. Not at night. These people ain't saints, but they don't deserve to die."

"God, Francisco..." whispered Lynn.

"Alright," said David. "Carlos, I'm letting you guys stay here for just this night. Morning comes and we go off our remaining ways. I suggest you start thinking about where you wanna go then."

Many of the group members were clearly disappointed, but they didn't have the courage to speak up. They feared what the others would think of them if they suggested practically sending them away to die.

"Thanks, ese. We'll be out of your nut sacks tomorrow. Promise," thanked Carlos. "And is that what you call 'em? Roamers?"

"Yeah. We called them rotters before."

"Why not just zombies?"

"I have no clue. It wasn't my idea. Now go to sleep. That goes for everyone. I'll keep watch up on the roof of the RV."

Carlos, Esteban, Adriel, Angel, D, and Wavehead walked back into the RV. The group set up a small tarp in between the roof of the vehicles and placed sleeping bags on the grass where the vehicles parked. They also taped string along the exterior of the vehicles and attached them with cans with metal balls inside of them. It served as an alarm, just in case some of the roamers came too close to the group. Some remained in the vehicles to sleep while others opted for sleeping outside, where they felt they could sleep better with brisk wind blowing on their faces.

At the booth table, Carlos and his friends were all asleep. At least, until Carlos and Angel opened their eyes, being the only ones to not have fallen asleep.

David, carrying his shotgun, sat on a lawn chair on the roof of the RV. He took off his shades and rubbed his face.

-Five Months Ago-

It was snowing in a dark evening.

"Goodbye, Mom!" said a young man, about 18 years old.

"Goodbye, my beautiful boy," said the young man's mother as she hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, Sandy. Stay safe. I love you," said David as he gave the young man's mother a kiss on the lips.

"I love you too, David. You too, Seth. This mission shouldn't take too long. General Black likes to finish his missions quickly," said Sandy to her husband and son.

"I bet he does," said David, chuckling. "Good luck."

Sandy walked away with her bag of black ops uniform. She had a black jacket on and two pairs of jeans to go with her black boots. She had a blue scarf around her neck and her hair in bangs. She hailed a taxi as the snow started to set harder in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. She got inside the taxi, and the taxi drove away, leaving David and Seth alone.

"I'm going to leave in a couple hours. I can't miss my flight to Miami," said Seth to his father. "But for now, I still got time.

"Could fix you up something to eat."

"Nah, I'm good. I just want to chill for now."

"Alright, Seth. Want to watch a show before you leave?"

"Sure. Watcha' wanna watch?"

PRESENT DAY

David was zoned out. He stared at the empty field around him and paid no attention to the roamers wandering in the distance.

Carlos and Angel quietly snuck around the RV. However, they couldn't get any further than a couple feet away from the booth table since the other group members were sleeping on the floor. Angel went in the bathroom and turned on the lights. Carlos took out his flashlight and shone it on the closet. Angel put his shades on since the light proved to be too bright for him. He only saw a bar of soap, a bucket of water, toilet paper and a toilet with a sink next to it. He grumbled and continued to look around.

Carlos only found more toilet paper until he shined the flashlight above it. Then, he found the guns that have protected him and his friends even before the apocalypse. He snickered quietly and went into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Lori found it difficult to keep her mind quiet as she tried to get some shut-eye, so she grabbed a flashlight and exited Vanzilla. She walked to the RV and saw David staring out into the field. She shined the flashlight on David's RV upwards to the roof onto his face. Carlos and Angel froze where they were, and saw a silhouette of someone outside of the RV. However, Lori did not know anyone was awake since Carlos and Angel were inside the bathroom. David slowly snapped out of his zone-out and looked at Lori. David went down the RV and greeted Lori.

"Why are you awake?" asked David.

"That's what I was going to ask you," said Lori.

"I'm on watch-duty, remember?"

"Isn't that Richard's job?"

"Yes, but tonight I let him rest. Plus, I'm watching out for those douchebags to see if they'll try anything. So far, they haven't."

"I don't think you should be awake. You need the energy to drive the RV."

"Richard's taking the wheel tomorrow. I'm gonna take a little break from pressing a pedal all day long. You should go to sleep. I assume Bobby can't drive."

"He can... he just needs more practice."

"Nobody has the time to practice in this world."

"Wrong. I think people have all the time to practice. Just not us."

"Heh. What makes us so unfortunate?"

"We could have just stayed in Royal Woods with the others. The rogues must have picked that place for a reason. They must have thought it would have been safe."

"But it wasn't. If people like us were able to breach it, then it was never going to be safe."

"Maybe not."

"Besides, they never intended to stay there. Houlton was always going to be the main base for holding their prisoners."

"I guess."

David looked at Lori. He then lowered his guard and shook Lori's shoulders.

"Hey, kid, cheer up. We're going to save your family. Things will eventually work out for us."

"I know. It's just... the thought that people like Carlos and his asshole friends had to be pushed out of their homes because of the roamers... I doubt they knew they were going to have to leave home eventually. Do you think they'll ever return?"

"No. Cities are bad enough as they are. Roamers made it worse."

"What about Royal Woods? Do you think I'll ever make it back with my family? Or... was that it? Was the last time I saw Royal Woods... the last time?"

"I don't think you should worry about that yet. We should worry about making it to Houlton first."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm such a worrywart, aren't I?"

"It's not a half-bad quality to have nowadays."

Meanwhile, Carlos and Angel left the bathroom and grabbed their guns. They hid the guns in their bags.

"Remember," whispered Carlos. "We need 'em putos to drive us a little further. Then, with Esteban, Angel, D, and Wavehead, we can light em up."

Angel nodded his head and went back to the bathroom, closing the door.

"Did you hear that?" asked Lori.

"I heard," said David. "There's someone awake inside the RV."

"How much you want to bet it's one of those douchebags?"

David and Lori climbed down the roof of the RV and walked inside the vehicle and turned on the lights. Carlos flinched and was only a gasp away from waking everyone up. Then, he sighed loudly, waking almost everyone up. They all stared at David and Lori, then they noticed Carlos was awake.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked David.

"Fuck! You almost scared the shit out of me! I just needed to piss, but my mans Angel was inside," responded Carlos.

Angel came out of the bathroom and motioned his arms towards the bathroom.

"Oh thanks, ese. I was waiting for like a whole ass minute. Now can you guys turn off the lights? People in here need to sleep or do their business."

"Come with me."

David pointed at Angel.

"You too."

Lori followed David as he dragged Carlos out of the RV and shoved him away from sleeping survivors. Angel followed them, looking nervously as Lori seemed to reach for a weapon in her hip.

"Hey, man, what's your problem?" asked Carlos.

David slammed Carlos against the RV and took out his pistol. Angel then went against the wall too.

"Hands behind your head and stretch your legs out."

"The hell is this?" asked Carlos as he listened to David's commands.

"Just me being careful. You too, Angel."

David patted Carlos's pockets, checking to see if he had a weapon on him. He went down to his ankles but found nothing.

"Hey, why don't you grab my balls too while you're at it?" complained Carlos. "Asshole."

"Hey, man, shut up. Turn around. Keep your hands behind your head."

"Were you a cop before all this?"

"No."

"You sure act like one."

David lifted Carlos's shirt and found nothing but tattoos.

"Oh, no wait, I got it. Soldier."

"Almost."

David then began checking Angel for weapons.

"Almost? Oh... a Marine."

"Yeah."

David then pulled a switchblade out from Angel's pockets.

"Care to explain this?" he asked.

"What? It's just a knife," said Carlos. "He can't protect himself?"

"Oh, I understand why someone might have a knife. I just wanna know why he has a knife and you don't."

"Well, that's simple. I didn't want to do anything that got me in like, serious trouble."

"Yeah?" chuckled David. "Your jokes earlier seemed to indicate that you like trouble."

"Hey, ese, like I said, my mouth got a mind of its own. I play too much. I'm not gonna lie about that. But a knife? I mean, of course, I would never use it to hurt others, yo. But would y'all believe that? Just one look at me and y'all would believe I'm not some motherfucker looking for trouble? No. That's why I got rid of the knife. But here I am, still in trouble just 'cause I'm brown."

"Christ."

Lori scoffed.

"You think we're being racist?"

"What else could it be? You're like profiling us or something."

"You've been acting like assholes all day! Of course, we would literally suspect you guys of doing something bad. You know nothing about-"

"Lori... just let it go. We were obviously wrong."

"You mean, you're not gonna like handcuff us or something?" asked Carlos.

"Nah. You can go back inside."

However, just as Angel reached his hand out to get his knife back, David turned around and tossed the knife away.

"We got more knives," said David. "We'll give 'em to you tomorrow morning."

"You know, they ain't lie about Marines being badass. You scared the shit out of me. You had everything in control."

"You don't have to kiss up to me. You're not convincing me to let you stay another night."

Angel walked inside the RV. Lori looked at David, who motioned her to go back to Vanzilla.

"No kissing up, sir. Just an amount of respect. I was gonna join the Marines myself."

"But then what? They don't accept felons?"

"The whole apocalypse thing happened. Turned eighteen too late."

David looked at Carlos. The teenager got quiet, shutting his lips as if not to say anything else that would get him in trouble.

"Hey, kid. It's alright. I don't know if they would have accepted you, but it's clear that you really wanted to join. But the discipline, the responsibilities, were you going to be ready for that?"

"I don't know. But I wanted to find out."

David sighed.

"You were going to use the bathroom, weren't you?"

"Yeah, man. You almost had me pissing my pants back there too."

David chuckled. Carlos smiled as he headed for the RV.

"Hey," called out David.

Carlos looked back.

"Sorry that I frightened you."

"Oh, that's alright... sir."

Carlos went into the RV. He turned off the lights, leaving only the light from the bathroom the only source of light on. But even that light would soon disappear as Carlos closed the door. David sighed and climbed up the stairs. He felt awful about scaring the kid, but even after scaring him, the teenager still had respect for him. David rubbed his forehead and groaned.

Vonda, who held a knife, looked at the shadowy figure of Carlos as he walked back to the booth table to sleep. Then, Vonda slid the knife under the couch and fell into a slumber.

-Four Years Ago-

"Mr. Crowley. It is disappointing to say that I am here to inform you that your daughter, Vonda, has been suspended from our school for three days for fighting with another student," said the principal.

Vonda was sitting outside of the office. After a couple of minutes, Tim came out of the office. Vonda and her father walked out of the school together.

"You know, my friends told me to beat up Randy. I didn't want to do it, but, but, Angelica and Martha told me to," explained a nine-year-old Vonda.

"They don't sound like real friends, Vonda."

"They sit with me in lunch and we talk. That's what friends do, right?"

"Yes, but you have to learn when someone might be too toxic to you. If they tell you to do something you really don't want to do or make you feel uncomfortable, then you shouldn't hang out with them. You can go ahead and make more friends. However, you can't trust them all. You have to find the right people that you can depend on and trust them. Not everyone can be trusted, Vonda. Understand?"

"I think so. I'm sorry, daddy."

"It's alright. Come here and give me a hug," said Tim, crouching to hug Vonda.