IV - Losing Ourselves
A couple of hours passed by. The sun was setting, signifying the end of another long day.
Inside the RV, Lynn and Clyde sat next to each other at the booth table. Tabby looked out the window as Liam stared ahead at the wall. Zach fiddled with his fingers as Rusty kept his eyes closed, whispering to himself.
"Lynn... I'm sorry," said Clyde in a low voice as the air conditioner hummed. "I should've forgiven you before. It was stupid... getting mad at you because you didn't want to hurt me."
Lynn looked at Clyde, remaining quiet.
"When I had a gun pointed at me, I thought about how life is too short to hold grudges. Life is even shorter in this scary world, especially for someone like me."
"No, don't say that," said Lynn. "You'll make it, along with everyone in this RV."
"Come on, Lynn. I am a weakling. Weaklings do not survive in a world infested by the dead. Only the strong will live. And guess what, Lynn? You are strong. You are the strongest girl that I know. You will make it."
"C'mon, you're strong too. Look, it's been almost three weeks since Day 1, and I'm pretty sure Rusty is losing his mind. But look at you... that mental strength of yours is nothing to laugh at."
"I meant actual strength."
"Actual strength doesn't mean crap. I'll make sure that you make it as well. I ain't gonna let you think that you'll die in this new world."
"Lynn…"
"Clyde, I'm not letting you die. That's a promise. All you have to do is not lose yourself."
"Yeah, and I have to be dependent on your strength to live, right?"
Lynn rubbed her shoulder.
"You're clever."
"Hey, we can't ignore the fact that you are the strongest girl in our group. I would say strongest person, but I heard David can deadlift 270 pounds."
"Wow. Give me a few years and I'll beat him."
Lynn and Clyde laughed softly. Lynn then sighed and brushed her hair aside.
"And here I thought you believed that Lori was the strongest girl."
"Well, it does take strength to fight off four killers, a couple rogue soldiers, and many roamers, all carrying whatever skin crawling disease they have. But I see something special in you, something that I haven't seen in Lori. It's almost like I can see a warrior inside of you, burning whenever you fight off the roamers. It's like you're made for it. You're like an Amazonian. You even got your own bow! Not to mention that you're beautiful as well."
"You think a sweaty girl with freckles and a ponytail is beautiful?"
"If her name is Lynn Loud, then yeah. A-A-And just to be clear, I'm not talking about your dad."
Lynn laughed and blushed.
"Smooth, Clyde. Smooth," smirked Vonda.
Clyde scoffed before Lynn grabbed his face and made him face her.
"You're too sweet, Clyde," said Lynn. "I can see why Lincoln loves to have you as a best friend."
"Hey, I'm just telling the truth," said Clyde. "It's not exactly the hardest-"
Clyde then flinched as he felt Lynn's arms wrapped around him. He smiled as he hugged Lynn back.
After a few minutes, the group stopped and parked their vehicles on the side of the highway, near a sign that signified they were three miles away from the Pennsylvania-New York border.
David looked at his watch. It had almost been 24 hours since they last ate.
Sergei opened his car and took out a box of canned food. The group gathered around, taking their rations.
The group ate quietly. Leni clung to Bobby and Lori. It seemed she never wanted to let go of both of them. Bobby would talk with Clyde and Lynn as Lori played with Darcy. David, Richard, and Missy sat together, watching Lori. David stuffed a slice of canned peaches into his mouth.
"You know, what happened earlier had me thinking... you're gonna have to break the news to Lori soon," said Richard.
"What news?" asked David.
"That she can't be the leader. It's gonna have to be you."
"I agree that David is a better fit, but why do we have to break it to Lori soon?" asked Missy.
"What happened earlier... Lori is strong-willed, I'll give her that. She definitely has what it takes to survive in this world. She can take matters into her own hands. She can take action. She's protective. She can make her own decisions. She is leadership material... and that is precisely why we have to tell her soon. The more confident she becomes, the less she's going to be willing to let someone else make the decisions for her group."
"Right. I agree," said David.
"I thought you two were in agreement; she was going to manage her group and you would manage us two, plus Wavehead and D. We have the same goal, so it should work out, right?"
"We may have the same goal, but we're not gonna have the same ideas about how to achieve that goal. Sooner or later, Lori is going to make the wrong call. And with her whole group right behind her, what are we to do? We're the minority here."
"You could make the wrong calls too."
"Yeah. I could. We all can't be perfect. But... I do have the most experience in this group. And I also have the least to lose. You have Richard. He has you. Wavehead and D got each other. Lori has her friends and her siblings, and her siblings have their friends. We saw what happened with that redhead kid. People lose the people they love... they start losing themselves. If Lori loses the people she loves, she'd lose herself. She wouldn't be fit to lead."
"I thought we weren't going to lose any more people other than Chaz and Rocky?"
"We can try, but frankly, we are nowhere close to Maine, and look at the threats that we've already faced. Shit, our luck's gonna run out soon."
"True. Well, I see now. You'll tell Lori yourself?"
"Yeah, when the time is right."
"Good luck with that."
Lynn and Clyde hugged each other before stacking their cans together.
"I'm going to grab my stuff from the RV, and then head back to the van, okay?" said Clyde.
"Okay," smiled Lynn.
Clyde walked to the RV and went inside. Francisco snuck behind Lynn and spooked her. Lynn yelped, catching some of the group members' attention.
"I saw that coming from a mile away," said Lucy. "Good spook, nevertheless."
"Thanks, Luc–"
Lynn grabbed Francisco's collar and moved him and herself away from the group.
"Francisco! God! Why the heck did you do that!"
"Sorry, Lynn. I just wanted to see what you and Clyde were up to."
"God."
"What, you get scared that easily?"
"What? No! Its's just..." said Lynn before clearing her throat. "We were just talking about who knows more about Lincoln. It's actually kind of surprising to see what Clyde knows about Lincoln. It's almost scary– like that crap you just pulled."
"What's almost scary is the amount of time you have been hanging out with Clyde, and how close you two already became."
"Well, we were friends before all of this. I'm sorry, is me hanging out with Clyde bothering you?"
"No, I'm just joking, Lynn. Busting your chops, haha. What else were you guys talking about?"
Francisco already knew the answers to the question that he asked Lynn. He just wanted to see if Lynn would share these answers with him, her best friend.
"Clyde and I also talked about making sure that we can protect each other."
"And?"
"And what we knew about each other."
"And?"
"And just crazy things that happened in our house before the Global Infection Event."
"And?"
"Alright, quit busting my chops, Francisco. You can ask Clyde any more questions you have. You two would make good friends."
"I'm sure we would."
Francisco walked into the RV, leaving Lynn to walk back into the group's sights. It was a little dark inside the RV since the sunlight did not pass through the curtains too well at sundown. Clyde was packing up his stuff when he looked back at Francisco.
"Hey, Francisco. What brings you here?"
"Just wanted to ask you a few questions."
"Ask away."
"How do you really feel about Lynn? Vonda told me you called her beautiful."
"She is beautiful, and I happen to like her a lot as a friend."
"It's much more than that, isn't it? Come on, be an honest boy, Clyde."
"It… is more than that. I might like her romantically… but if I do, so what? Can't a man be allowed to feel?"
"Ah, so we got a romantic here! That's cool, that's cool. It's just... you won't do anything with her. Not just 'cause you're a geeky nerd, no offense. It's also because I won't let you do anything with her. She's my best friend and you're staying away from her. Got it… Clyde?"
"Hey, man, I don't think you can let Lynn do anything. She makes her own decisions."
"Hey, man, I don't think you get it. You don't know Lynn at all, right? If you did, you would know she's not into you. I'm just trying to let you know so that you won't get your own little nerdy heart broken."
"No, I think you don't know Lynn at all. If anything, I should be telling you to stay away. My nerdy heart will be fine. I wouldn't want to see your stupid wannabe jock heart be broken."
Francisco let out a small laugh. Suddenly, he punched Clyde in the nose, spraining it. Clyde fell to the ground, dropping his glasses. As Francisco stood over him, Clyde kicked upwards, hitting Francisco in the stomach. Francisco held his stomach tightly as Clyde stood up, noticing that blood was running down his nose. Francisco then shoved Clyde to the floor. He swiftly grabbed his shirt and punched his face three times.
"You fucking bastard. This is how I make you stay away from her!" yelled Francisco as he swung his fist at Clyde's chest.
Clyde coughed and struggled to grab Francisco's arm. Instead, his attacker grabbed his hands and held them tightly to his stomach. Clyde yelled as he was being beaten in the stomach.
"Get away from me!" yelled Clyde as he shoved Francisco away from him.
Francisco, almost losing his balance, held onto the sofa. He quickly regained his balance and stomped Clyde in the foot. Clyde yelped in pain. Clyde struggled to find his walkie-talkie. After pushing Francisco away again, he found it sitting on the floor next to the booth table. He ran towards it, but not before Francisco kicked his butt, sending Clyde forward to the booth table.
"That's what you get. You should've known I was going to kick your ass!" yelled Francisco as he walked slowly towards Clyde.
Clyde held his stomach tightly again since he slammed it against the booth table. Getting on his knees, Clyde grabbed the walkie-talkie.
"Help!" cried Clyde, before Francisco kicked the walkie-talkie away from him.
Francisco stepped on Clyde's left wrist, making him yell in pain.
David then busted inside the RV, turning on the lights, to see the 13-year-old boy stepping on the 11-year-old boy's wrist. Lynn and Lori were right behind David.
"Francisco! What are you doing?" yelled Lynn.
Francisco looked at Lynn and then back at Clyde. He opened his eyes widely and let go of Clyde's wrist. Clyde was whimpering in pain and Francisco closed his eyes.
"Oh, fuck. What did I do? I'm… so sorry guys. I gotta go!" cried Francisco as he rushed to leave the RV.
"Hey, slow down there. Where the hell do you think you're going?"
"I need a minute."
"Explain yourself. Now."
"Things got heated with Clyde and I," gulped Francisco. "I'm very sorry, I got carried away. I really need a minute."
Francisco then bolted out the back door. Lynn ran towards Clyde. Clyde was bleeding and swelling from his nose.
"Get Lisa!" exclaimed Lynn as she held Clyde in her arms. "Clyde, what happened?"
"Like he said. Things got heated between us… and he got carried away," said Clyde, coughing.
Lori and Lisa ran inside the RV. Lisa grabbed a towel and wiped Clyde's face.
"Nothing's fractured," said Lisa.
"Oh, thank goodness," said Lori.
"Do you... do you have anything for the pain?" asked Clyde, trying to hold his tears back.
Lisa nodded.
"Hold on."
Lisa walked over to Sergei's car and opened the trunk. She rummaged through the bags, looking through the medicine. However, there were no painkillers to be seen. She walked back to the RV as Lynn held Clyde's hands.
"It appears we lack painkillers," said Lisa.
"Maybe Carol has some," said Lynn.
"I went through her inventory. She only possesses multivitamins and melatonin. It is for her own personal use."
"Could it hurt to ask? Please, maybe she has something."
"Very well. It would not hurt to ask again."
Lisa walked over to Carol, who was standing by her car, picking at her nails.
"Greetings, Carol."
"Hey, Lisa. What happened? I saw Francisco run out of the RV. He looked really upset."
"We are still figuring some things out. Do you by any chance have painkillers?"
"Me?"
"I went through our inventory. I could have sworn we had at least one bottle of oxycodone."
Carol swallowed hard as she looked away. She then looked at Luan and Benny talking with each other.
"Umm, I think Benny used it all for his gunshot wound," said Carol. "Not that there was much to begin with. Maybe Carlos and his friends took it for themselves when we weren't looking."
"I see. Well, thank you, anyways."
Lisa walked back to the RV. Carol lowered her head and sighed before closing her eyes in shame.
"Apologies, Clyde, but you will just have to endure the pain," said Lisa.
"It's okay," said Clyde. "I think it's starting to go away on its own."
"That's the spirit, Stripes," said Richard before whispering to David, "I think we should call it a night."
"Oh yeah," agreed David.
-Day 3-
The fire was spreading around.
A barricade of cars surrounded the stadium. Roamers crawled through the barricade. Gunshots went off. Protesters cried out as bullets struck them and roamers devoured them. Roamers stepped over the signs they carried that were now on the ground. People hid behind the riot shields while others ran.
Rioters looted stores. Police fired at the rioters, and the rioters fired back. Windows were shot up. Doors were shot up. Cars were shot up. Bodies were clawed in. Roamers rose from the streets and began their hunt.
The rampant gunshots attracted more roamers to the stadium. Eventually, the police were surrounded by the roamers.
Vonda peeked out of her window and saw the roamers piling up over the cars, allowing the police to get caught by them. One by one, Vonda saw the roamers eat the officers. Suddenly, a few roamers started clawing at the door. Vonda ran upstairs to her room and grabbed her bow and her quiver of arrows. She opened up the window, climbed to the roof, and stared out into the world. The world she saw was one of madness, one that has lost its way, a world on fire. She crawled around the roof and found the roamers. She stood up and shot an arrow at each of the roamers.
"Please, come back, Dad," whispered Vonda to herself.
PRESENT DAY
-Day 17-
Vonda woke up to a tense morning. She was the first one to wake up. She went to wash her mouth and face as usual, which awoke everyone else in the RV.
"I'm so stupid. I'm so stupid," repeated Francisco.
"Okay, stop," said Lincoln, his arms crossed. "I know you're stupid. Just tell me why you beat up my best friend."
"It was for a very stupid reason. Since I'm so stupid. I'm so stupid."
"We're not going anywhere with this. Just tell me!"
Francisco stayed silent. Lincoln sighed. He got out of Chunk's van and went inside the RV. He saw Lynn pressing an iced can to Clyde's stomach.
"How do you feel, buddy?" asked Lincoln.
"Fine," replied Clyde. "Except, my stomach hurts when I try to get up and my nose is just throbbing. Give your sister, Lisa, a big thanks from me. She is fixing my glasses too. Also, thanks, Wavehead, for offering me your glasses! It was thoughtful of you, for while Lisa fixes my glasses."
"No problem, bro! I don't need them right now!" said Wavehead, while he kept his eyes closed and his face laid on the booth table.
"Can you tell me why you two fought?" asked Lincoln.
"It's no use, he's just going to say–" said Lynn.
"That discussion is for another day," said Lynn and Clyde simultaneously.
"All right. I'm going to be at Vanzilla. You two are going to stay here?"
Lynn and Clyde nodded. Lisa came into the RV and handed Clyde's glasses back to Clyde. Clyde handed back Wavehead his glasses. He then put on his own glasses and sighed at Lynn.
"You're great at stitching," said Clyde.
"Yeah, I often stitched myself after I got hurt from playing too rough," replied Lynn before lowering her voice. "You sure you don't wanna tell me what happened?"
"I will tell you. Just not now."
Lincoln and Lisa headed back to Vanzilla. Lori turned around from her seat and faced Lincoln.
"Anything?" she asked.
"No. He won't say what caused them to fight."
"You think it's something embarrassing?" asked Lola. "'Cause I don't see any reason why he wouldn't spit out a reason."
"I don't think so. He didn't look ashamed at all. He has this air of confidence. Like telling us would not even be worth his time."
"Or maybe it's embarrassing for Francisco," said Benny. "That would mean Clyde is more humble than I thought."
"We'll find out soon enough. But until then, I guess we shouldn't bring it up anymore."
Lynn and Clyde went back to Vanzilla. Francisco walked to the RV, avoiding eye contact with them.
Upon stepping onto the RV, Francisco received a bunch of glares. Almost all were judgmental. The only one who seemed to look at him without malicious intent was Rusty, who seemed completely indifferent to anything that happened.
All the doors closed and the vehicles began moving again.
The sun was at its highest point as two crows were pecking at an amputated leg. The sound of an engine approached. The engine got louder and louder until the crows flew away. The vehicles ran over the leg while passing under a large sign stating 'New York-Pennsylvania Border.'
As the vehicles continued to drive, David looked in the distance and saw a line of toll booths guarded with red and white traffic barriers.
"David to all. Slow down. I see two people. We're gonna stop. Gotta see what these people want."
"Chunk to David. What if they try to maraud us?"
"Doesn't seem like it. Can't even go ahead, they got some line barriers blocking the road."
The RV stopped right before the toll booths. The other vehicles came to a stop too.
A woman with black hair tied in a bun and glasses walked to the RV. A bald man, who had glasses too, followed the woman. They both wore blue toll booth uniforms. They had black pants and black shoes. They carried an UZI submachine gun in their hands. They both also had tattoos on their back neck that resembled a piranha. David rolled down the window.
"Good afternoon," said Madison. "You got quite the carpool here."
"Yeah, and it's certainly not helping out the low gas mileage in this thing," quipped David.
Madison laughed quietly.
"My name is Madison, and this is my coworker Kevin. We're sorry to stop you. We just need to see some passes or proof of identification that you are allowed to come here. Show me anything and you'll be on your way."
"Seems like you guys missed the post-apocalypse memo. We're in the middle of one."
Madison and Kevin laughed.
"Clever guy, huh? We're not fond of clever guys around these parts."
"Sorry, can't help but note how ridiculous this looks like."
"I'm sorry, but I'm asking for passes since I have a group to protect behind this borderline," said Madison, pointing at a large white line painted across the highway.
"Can't we just pass through whatever you're protecting?" asked David. "We're heading much further than here."
"Nope, sorry," said Kevin. "I'm guessing y'all don't have passes, so I need you guys to leave."
"Can't you guys just lead us through this road?"
Kevin shook his head.
"Where do we get these passes?" asked David.
"If you don't know, then you already can't go through," said Madison.
"Where are we supposed to go?" asked Richard, reaching for his hidden revolver.
"Anywhere, but around here. Go to the Albany area or the Hudson area. We don't have more patrol guys guarding that area since we don't control that area."
"That's very close to the cities," said David. "I would want to avoid those areas."
"Too bad. Don't make me ask again," said Madison, getting ready to raise her UZI.
David looked at the group. Richard had his hands on his Python. Missy already had her pistol held against the wall, away from sight. Then, David looked back at Kevin and Madison.
"Whatever you're protecting, you two won't be enough to keep it safe. All it takes is a bad group to drive through those gates... or kill you two."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a warning. If we wanted you dead, we would've killed you two already. But we're not like that. We're good people. I just hope that's something that sticks with you while you're sending us to the cities."
"Go. Don't come back."
David scoffed as he moved the gear shift in reverse. He then grabbed the walkie-talkie.
"David to all. Turn your vehicles around. We're taking a different road."
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Kevin.
Kevin and Madison headed back inside the toll booth and watched as the vehicles turned around and away from the tolls. Richard and Missy moved their hands away from their guns.
"This is really inconvenient," spoke David into the walkie-talkie. "Our trip is going to take a couple weeks longer if we go the long way to Albany."
"Are we really going to listen to them?" asked Lori.
"We have to."
"What do you mean, we have to? Can't we just, like, I don't know, run through the traffic gate or something?"
"They had these tattoos on the back of their neck. I've seen it before. It's from a gang that calls themselves the Piranhas. They're local to the Hudson River areas. Including Albany."
"You mean they aren't actual toll collectors?"
"They could be. They could be leading us to a trap by sending us to Albany. Either way, we don't have the luxury to be sure. They're armed, and they seemed in a rush to get us out of there. But something tells me that they are trying to protect the remaining Piranhas, and I really doubt they're hanging around the cities anymore. It would make sense for them to head west to the countryside to avoid all the roamers."
"I'm just pissed that we're gonna have to wait longer to see our parents. Ugh, jerks. Do we really have to take the longer route?"
"They may just be trying to do us a favor. I doubt we want to come across the Piranhas. We don't want a repeat of the incident we had with Carlos and his group. So, yes, this means we are going to take the longer route."
"Right..."
The road back was a long and rainy one. The drivers were forced to see the deceased corpses of their attackers, though the passengers remained blissfully unaware as the areas around the highways always looked the same: either desolate or blighted.
The group took a break further down the highway. The group members ate inside their vehicles as it seemed that the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Either way, if it wasn't for the rain, the tense emotions between some of the group members were enough to keep everyone inside their vehicles.
While the group ate inside the vehicles, roamers would sometimes stumble upon the vehicles and bang against the windows. In one instance, Lola was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when a roamer suddenly banged on the window.
Lola yelped and dropped her sandwich.
"What happened?" gasped Lori, turning around.
Lola was too frightened to speak. She looked at the glowing eyeballs and the maggots that surrounded its wounded cheek. Its nails were ripped apart and its ribs could be seen popping out from its chest. Saliva and blood dripped from the roamer's jaws. It then began scratching against the window, though its nails weren't long enough to do any damage.
Lori grabbed her golf club and stepped outside into the rain, walking around the van as she gripped the club firmly. She then poked the roamer, causing it to turn around and focus its attention on her. The roamer walked away from the van as Lori backed away, being careful to not run into another roamer. Lori then swung the club at such amazing speed, that the head flew off the roamer's body. She panted as she allowed the rain to wash off the blood from her club. She then walked back to the RV, placing the club by her seatbelt.
Lola looked at the roamer and shuddered before looking at her sandwich on the carpet floor, picking up dust and crumbs. She picked up the sandwich and took a bite from it, reluctantly swallowing it.
After a urine break, the group members got back in the road. However, Lincoln decided to hop onto the RV, hoping to see what he can get Francisco to say about his fight with Clyde.
"Francisco. Francisco!" whispered Lincoln loudly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I was thinking. What is it?" replied Francisco.
"My best friend won't tell me why you nearly beat him senseless."
Francisco stared at Lincoln with remorse. He knew what he did was wrong, but he did not insist on telling anyone else the reason why he did such a thing.
"Can you tell me why you beat up my best friend?"
"It's really none of your business, Lincoln. Really"
"How can you tell me it's none of my business? Clyde is my best friend! And now he's lying in pain on a sofa inside an RV!"
"The reason doesn't involve you, okay?"
"So, it involves someone?"
Francisco did not reply. He looked at the fields outside through the back windows of the RV.
"Clyde told me about how much he loved hanging out with Lynn," said Lincoln. "He also mentioned how he doesn't have a puppy crush on Lori anymore… see where I'm going with this?"
Francisco looked away from the window and looked at Lincoln, frustrated.
"Hey, man, you're really putting me on the spot. But, yeah. It involves Lynn…"
"Do you know how much respect Lynn had for you?" exclaimed Lincoln. "Lynn sees you as a monster now! She just didn't respect you, she actually liked you. The whole thing about her liking you as a best friend is crap! She actually wanted something more–"
"Don't you think I know that? I know she liked me! She did this thing with a love letter and shit! And the thing is I like her too! But so does Clyde! So I told Clyde to back off and to not talk to Lynn! But goddamn it, he didn't wanna listen, and I became so jealous, and I lost myself for a moment there! And now I feel like a steaming pile of crap. Is that what you wanna hear? I know it was wrong to beat him up over a girl! I know it was wrong!"
Silence overwhelmed the RV. The raindrops could be heard dripping on the road. Lori's and Lincoln's friends stared at Francisco.
"Are you done over there?" asked David as she looked in her rearview mirror.
Francisco took a deep breath.
"Sorry, sir," said Francisco.
"You should apologize to Clyde," said Lincoln. "He's a forgiving person. And you should tell Lynn how you feel. She might be mad at you for a couple days, but as soon as Clyde recovers, she will forgive you. However, don't expect Lynn to fall for you again. You really ruined your chances with her."
Francisco sighed. As Lincoln prepared to stand up to walk over to his friends, Francisco grabbed his arm.
"Would I have done this before all this? Or is this world making me lose my mind?"
Lincoln looked at Francisco, becoming anxious just from looking at his guilty eyes.
"I don't know," said Lincoln.
A few hours passed and the rain had not gone away.
The vehicles came to a stop.
As the windshield wipers were clearing out the raindrops, David peered out into the road with his binoculars. He saw many roamers marching together.
"Jesus," said David. "I never seen that many bunched up before."
"It's a group of roamers?" asked Richard.
"More like a horde of roamers."
David grabbed his walkie-talkie.
"David to all. There's a horde of roamers in the distance. We can't go any farther down the road. Everyone turn around."
First, Sergei turned his car around, as Carol looked at the moving figures in the distance, unable to distinguish them from the trees in the distance.
Next, Chunk turned his van around. Luna and Sam gasped as they noticed the figures in the distance approaching, their heads appearing as silhouettes against the dark clouds in the back.
Then, Lori turned Vanzilla around and followed Chunk's van. Leni and Lily didn't look back, neither did Bobby and Darcy. However, Clyde and Ronnie Anne did, as well as the other Louds in the van. They could see a disorganized line of glowing eyes all staring at them as their legs stepped closer and closer to their direction.
Finally, David turned the RV around, allowing the group members inside to get a good look at the roamers as their jaws could be seen opening and closing. Lincoln, Francisco, Wavehead, and D were the only ones who could get a good look. Then, as the RV drove away, the raindrops blurred out the horde.
"Where do we go now?" asked Sergei, holding his walkie-talkie by his mouth.
"There isn't another road between here and the border," said David. "We may have to drive off-road. We just need to find a good spot to do that."
After the sunset, the rain disappeared, revealing the beautiful stars in the sky and a milky streak. Some of the group members ate dinner inside their vehicles. Others ate outside, heating their food in a fire.
"So, Becky, Dana, and Tad. How did you guys escape the university in Ann Arbor?" asked Lori as she heated her can of chicken soup.
"Care to tell her, Tad?" asked Dana.
"Sure. On Day 1– or the Global Infection Event, as they called it– Becky, Dana, and I were walking around UMich when we looked at the TVs around us. You see, Dana showed Becky and I this video of your school. People were running, screaming. There were cops trying to shoot at the roamers. People were losing their minds, just like that video Joey showed us that other day, remember?"
Lori nodded.
"Anyways, we wanted to look at the news to see if it wasn't like some sick prank or something. But some of the staff members were trying to flip to different channels, but they were all showing the same thing. It was news of the dead coming back to life in cities like Chicago and Flint. Some of the staff members decided to turn off the TVs, I guess so that we don't freak out or whatever. But when went to eat lunch at this cafeteria, we saw the news playing, and the thing is— it was the same damn news. It was replaying on a loop on the TV— on every TV. They weren't even talking about what happened on Royal Woods. We definitely knew something was going on when we had all those police cars outside UMich, but this... this was something else."
Tad looked at the campfire.
"You know... we didn't even leave the cafeteria where we were at on the day we got there. Soldiers came in and had the place barricaded. We were told to stay— only for a few hours until they can get things under control. But they never did. So we stayed there for like three days. They kept us fed, they had these makeshift beds for us, but man, not being able to go outside was driving us nuts. Not to mention we were dying to go home. Our parents... man, they must have been losing their minds. Then... all hell broke loose."
The campfire waved with the wind as David sat nearby, listening to the story while eating his canned peaches.
"Some of the students from the other high schools got into an argument with the soldiers. Apparently, one of their friends snuck outside and then snuck back inside, but now he was sick. They were arguing what to do with him before the soldiers decided that they were going to 'put down' the student. His friends got mad and tried to take the guns away from the soldiers. I don't know what happened since I tried to get Becky and Dana away from the scene, but somehow, gunshots went off and a glass door shattered. Next thing you know, roamers were flooding into the cafeteria, creating this crazy panic. Becky, Dana, and I got the hell outta there. But everything was locked. Luckily, there was this college student— a worker at the cafeteria where we were at—"
"Devin," said Dana.
"Yeah, Devin. He showed us how to get out. He gave me and Dana these machetes and had us follow him to the roof the building. We then went down this fire escape ladder, but when he landed on the alley, he saw roamers blocking the exit. So he made it so that the roamers walked past the fire escape so that we can get down safely. He tried to kill them with his own machete, but all the chopping he was doing did nothing. He didn't know... he had to go for the head."
Becky held Dana's hand as the latter lowered her head.
"When we left the alley, we heard him scream. I could've went back and saved him... but I just wanted to leave and go home."
"You were scared, I get it," said Lori.
"Was I? How come I came across this zombified cop while we were on the run... and I didn't hesitate to kill it because I saw that he was carrying a good-looking pistol? The same one that Becky has? I should've been scared of that roamer cop, right?"
"I... could've done something too," said Dana. "I had a machete too. I could've went back and saved him. The only reason he did this for us was because he trusted me."
"We can't save everyone. But it's important to remember that you were thinking about each other. And also... that pistol saved the lives of everyone in this group. It's the one I used against Carlos's friends, remember?"
"That's true," said Tad.
"I don't know... I still can't stop thinking about it," said Dana. "He screamed out for me. And I just abandoned him."
"It's alright, Dana. We didn't even know how to kill them back then," said Becky. "You could've gotten yourself killed too."
Dana nodded. Tad continued to look at the campfire.
"The whole world was on fire," said Tad. "The sky was red. Buildings were burning. Cars were burning. People were screaming. There was smoke everywhere. We didn't know where the hell to go. We just ran away from all the craziness. That's when we found ourselves in the golf field— exactly where we found you guys— but you guys weren't there yet. No, you guys wouldn't come for another ten days. So, we tried calling out for help, trying to see if anyone was willing to shelter us... and that's how we met Vonda."
Lori looked at the stars before lowering her head and standing up. She walked over to her friends, knelt down, and gave all of them a large hug. Tad and Dana closed their eyes, the latter letting out tears, while Becky looked at the fire.
David couldn't help but feel sorry for the teenagers.
After the group members finished eating, they headed back to their vehicles to sleep. Richard climbed on top of the RV to keep watch.
"You're gonna be good up there?" asked Missy.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," said Richard. "Not feeling tired today."
"Okay. Night, honey."
"Night."
The stars seemed to twinkle as crickets chirped and mosquitoes buzzed. The leaves swayed with the wind and the clouds moved slowly.
Richard was surrounded by darkness. He sat on a lawn chair, holding a thick branch and a pocket knife. He then began to whittle the branch, removing the bark before carving the wood.
The stars sailed across the sky with the wind as owls hooted and crickets chirped. The stars then began to fade away with the dawn.
Richard was working on the eyes on the owl that he whittled out of the wood. He was concentrated trying to get the shape right. However, all of a sudden he heard growls and the sound of a rumbling in the distance. He looked ahead and saw hundreds of roamers in the distance. He then saw a few stragglers a few meters away from the vehicles.
"Shit," he whispered.
He pocketed the carved owl and climbed down the RV ladder before taking out a larger knife. He jogged up to the stragglers and stabbed them through their skulls before knocking on the vehicles as he passed through them. He then jogged back to the RV and holstered his knife as he took a seat on the passenger seat.
"What is it?" groaned David.
"Horde," said Richard. "It's here."
David grabbed the walkie-talkie.
"David to all. Emergency! We have to leave now! This is urgent! I repeat, we have to leave now!"
"Lori to all. We're ready to leave."
"Sergei to all. We're ready."
"Chunk to all. We're all set."
"Wait!" exclaimed Dana. "Vonda is missing!"
"What?" gasped Richard. "What do you mean she's missing? I would've heard her leave the RV."
"Yeah, she's really not here!" said Becky, checking the bathroom. "Are you sure you didn't hear her leave?"
"It's possible she could've left while I was picking off the stragglers near our cars."
"We have to get her."
"Fuck," groaned Richard. "We have a horde catching up to us. Let's go, hurry!"
The group members came out of their vehicles, looking around the highway. David and Richard jogged around the woods next to the highway on one side and Missy and Lori checked the other side. With each passing minute, the horde got closer and closer.
Then, the first front line roamers were mere seconds away from the vehicles.
"Everyone go back to your vehicles!" exclaimed Richard.
"Vonda!" shouted Lori.
"Come on, Lori, let's head back," said Missy.
"We're not abandoning her, right?"
Missy shook her head as she took out her knife.
"Richard!" exclaimed Missy. "Honk the horn! Maybe Vonda is lost!"
"That's gonna attract the roamers!" exclaimed Richard.
"The horde is already here! Just do it!"
Missy stabbed a roamer that was walking up to her. She then jogged past Chunk's van and thrust her knife forward, killing another roamer. Lori raised her golf club and swung down at a roamer, bludgeoning its skull.
Richard ran into the RV as David stabbed the stragglers. The kids inside Vanzilla watched in terror as the roamers limped past them.
"Should we be helping them?" asked Becky.
"No, stay inside," said Richard, getting on the driver's seat. "Last thing we need is disorganized chaos."
Richard then slammed his hand on the horn, letting out out a large blare from the RV. He then hopped out of the RV and closed the door.
David grunted as he swung his knife ferociously at two roamers before seeing Vonda come out from the woods, holding four dead squirrels around her belt. Surprised, she grabbed her bow and arrows and began to fire her arrows at the roamers, taking out the stragglers. She then noticed the body of the rest of the horde to her far left, realizing they were only minutes away from reaching the vehicles. She gasped and ran to the RV.
"Vonda's here!" shouted David. "Everyone back inside now!"
David followed Vonda into the RV as Lori went back to Vanzilla. Missy and Richard hopped back into the RV and David quickly started the vehicle. The RV then made a swift push forward and was now driving quickly while the other vehicles followed it.
"Where the hell were you?" asked David.
"I was out hunting for some food," replied Vonda. "I got four squirrels. You're welcome."
"Eww," groaned Dana.
"We already have food," said David. "You didn't have to that risk."
"You said it yourself, the trip was going to be delayed for a few more weeks because of those assholes at the border," said Vonda. "I looked at the food. If it's gonna take us more than a month to get there... then the food will not be enough to sustain us."
"We could always find more in nearby towns if we're running low."
"We can, but it's not a guarantee we'll find anything. You know... we're lucky that we have all this food. Others don't have the luxury so they're gonna look anywhere they can. We're not the only ones out here. Towns will be empty of stuff. We should really be saving our canned foods for when we really need it. I think we have to get used to hunting and eating whatever we can find in the wild."
"That's not the issue. The issue is that you endangered the whole group! Now we got a horde on our back!"
"Richard should've said something then when I left the RV!"
"The whole place was dark, I couldn't see a damn thing," said Richard. "I didn't even know you left."
"I should've figured, you looked totally zoned out carving your stupid owl."
"Careful, Robin Hood. It's to prevent myself from falling asleep. It's not like I want to get my blood pumping every goddamn second of my life. You should've said something."
"Well, I never had to ask or tell anyone anything. What am I, a prisoner?"
David let out a frustrated chuckle.
"You don't work well with others, do you?" asked David.
"What's that supposed to mean?" puffed Vonda.
"It's a nice thing you did- it's thoughtful, really. But have you told any of us what you were planning on doing? Did you even ask anyone if they could help you out with hunting? What if you had died? We wouldn't have known what would've happened to you."
"Right, because I definitely plan on dying."
"You think you won't, but you never know. We already lost a group member like that."
Rusty looked at David. He then turned towards Vonda.
"Oh, and I suppose I'm a poor little girl who needs hand-holding? Come on, I'm different. I have survival skills."
"You just don't get it, right? We were willing to risk our lives to find you. We wouldn't have abandoned you."
"You don't have to risk your lives. I can handle myself."
"You're not an outsider, Vonda. You're part of this group. You have a responsibility to this group."
"Whatever. All I'm saying is to stop treating me like I'm so important."
David grumbled. Vonda dropped the squirrels into a sink and began to skin them as Dana and Zach looked away. Rusty shook his head in disgust, not by the dead squirrels but by Vonda's attitude. However, he kept to himself.
Richard looked to his right. He looked at a road that would take them off the highway. However, the exit was clogged with cars that would be impossible to maneuver through. He sighed.
Missy looked to her left. She saw an off-road field that they could go through to get to a neighboring road. However, before she could tell David, roamers began to stumble onto the field, looking into the direction of the RV.
"I know," said David. "There's no other route."
"How far back is the horde?" asked Missy.
"About fifteen minutes back. But as soon as we get to the car cluster ahead, they're gonna be right on our tail. By the time we reach the border... the entire horde is going to be on us."
"You think they'll let us through once they see the horde?"
"They should. If they don't, then you know what to do."
Missy nodded.
"You'll have no qualms about it, right?" asked David.
"Of course not. If they're denying us entrance, they're practically leaving us to die. Makes them killers in my book."
"Good. Let's hope they aren't."
Sweat dripped from David's face as he maneuvered the RV around the cluster of cars in one section of the highway. Lori held her breath as she followed close behind while Chunk had to take deep breaths. Sergei hummed as he kept glancing at the rearview mirror, noticing the roamers getting closer. Carol held on to her seat as she could start to make out the detail on the roamers' clothes.
"This is bad, this is bad," hyperventilated Carol. "What are you doing? Go already!"
Sergei continued to hum as he slowly turned his car around the burned toppled school bus. He then turned left and escaped the car cluster. He took a breath of relief as Carol gulped.
"Told you to relax," said Sergei.
"Yeah, well I wasn't exactly comfortable with the fact they were that close," said Carol.
Sergei drove the car under a sign that stated 'New York-Pennsylvania Border.' He could already see the RV parked by the toll booths in the distance.
Vanzilla came to a stop as Madison walked up to the driver's window of the RV.
"Did you guys get those passes?" asked Madison.
"No, but you have to let us through," said David. "Goddamn horde is on our back."
"A horde?"
Madison looked in the distance, seeing roamers walking through the car cluster, following the car Sergei was driving. As the car came closer and closer, more and more roamers walked out of the cluster, causing Madison's heart to start racing. She then saw Lori come out Vanzilla.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"You see that, right?" asked Lori. "You gotta let us through!"
"Get back in your van!" exclaimed Kevin. "All of you- if you don't have your passes, you can't come through!"
"Are you kidding me?"
"Listen, Kevin," groaned David. "We can't go back. There are roamers blocking our way."
"We don't care!" shouted Kevin. "You led them here! Now, you lead 'em out!"
Madison then raised her UZI.
"Fine, fine," hissed David. "Go back, Lori, we're turning around."
Lori looked at David. Her heart was beating fast, but with one slight nod from David she listened and ran back to Vanzilla. The RV turned around as Lori pressed on the gas pedal, following David. Lori grabbed her walkie-talkie.
"What are you planning on doing?" asked Lori.
"Just follow me," said David. "I'm going to get close to the herd. Then, I'll turn around again. You will all do that too. Then, we'll drive to the border. None of you stop. No matter what."
"We're going to run over the gate?" asked Lori.
"We'll have to."
"What about their guns? They're gonna shoot us, aren't they?"
"Don't worry... I got it handled."
Lori placed her walkie-talkie down, leaving a large handprint of sweat on it. Bobby, who was sitting next to Lori, looked at her.
"Babe...?"
David turned the steering wheel around, coming inches away from the horde. He then looked at Richard and Missy. They both nodded as the group members all held each other.
"Don't worry, kids," said David. "This RV is bulletproof."
David then slammed his foot on the gas pedal.
"What the hell are they doing?" asked Madison.
"Maddy, they're not stopping," said Kevin. "Maddy!"
Vanzilla turned around, following the RV as Lori stomped her foot on the gas pedal. The Louds all shouted as Bobby held onto his seat.
Madison and Kevin raised their UZIs, aiming it at the RV. Then, they began to fire at it before Richard poked his head out from an open window on the left side of the RV while Missy leaned out from the right side. They both fired their pistols repeatedly, sending bullets flying towards Madison and Kevin.
Kevin screamed as bullets struck his legs, splashing blood around him. He fell to the ground as Madison gasped and tossed herself to the side, struggling to get inside the toll booth.
The RV collided with Kevin at full speed, slamming his body against the pavement and crushing him as it ran through the traffic gate. Madison screamed as the RV narrowly missed her. Her black pants were now stained with the flesh and blood of Kevin's body. She then noticed another vehicle coming to her. She picked up her UZI and pointed it at Vanzilla.
"Close your eyes!" screamed Lori.
Lori shifted her steering wheel a bit to the left. Vanzilla slammed Madison against the toll booth, creating a harsh noise as its metal body scraped her organic body against the steel box of the toll booth as it smeared her blood across the toll booth. Sparks flew as the Louds screamed, though the sound of metal scraping against metal and bone drowned it out. The van then stopped scraping the toll booth, dropping Madison onto the toppled traffic gate. All her ribs were horrifically crushed, and her legs were broken and dislocated. Bruises and gashes appeared in her face as she coughed out blood onto the asphalt. Blood quickly poured out of her chest as she tried to breathe. However, her throat was quickly filling with blood. She shut her eyes in pain as Chunk's van and Sergei's car both ran over her shattered legs.
The second she opened her eyes, she saw roamers above her, their hands reaching out for her. Tears flowed out of her eyes as she struggled to raise her arms to stop them.
The group watched from the distance as the herd became smaller and smaller.
David was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Francisco looked out in the back, horrified at what Lori did. He tried looking at Lori, but seeing how distressed she was, he quickly closed the curtains for the back windows.
Lori was shaking as Bobby took deep breaths, keeping his eyes closed.
"Oh my god, oh my god..." Lori mouthed to herself.
"Is it over?" whimpered Darcy.
"Yeah," gulped Lori. "It is."
Darcy opened her eyes, along with the rest of the Louds. Her eyes then widened at the sight of the blood smears on the window next to Luan. Luan whimpered and looked away, as Bobby couldn't turn his eyes away from the blood-stained window.
Lori continued to shiver. She struggled to get her words out as her throat began to feel clammy. But nevertheless, the words came out anyways.
"Bobby... did I... did I just cross the line there?" she whispered.
Bobby remained stunned. He could not get his eyes off the blood-stained window.
- Day 3 -
The world on fire. It was mad, yet Vonda has already adjusted. She didn't grow any less sarcastic, but she did get more serious. She didn't get any less quiet, but she did grow more confident. An outcast adjusted easily to the world.
She quickly grabbed her perishable food and ate whatever would spoil first. She saved her nonperishable food in her living room. She closed all the curtains to the windows in her home. She lit some candles and grabbed a pamphlet that her father wrote for his own personal use.
"Hey! Anyone!" yelled Tad.
"Anyone! Please come help us!" shouted Dana.
"Over there, guys!" Becky exclaimed.
Vonda went to one of the windows next to the door and peeked outside. Becky, Dana, and Tad walked closer to her home. She dashed to the living room, grabbing her bow and arrows.
"This has to be it. Someone has to be here," said Becky as she stared at the zombies with arrows on their heads.
She knocked on the door. Becky nervously tapped her foot before another explosion a few blocks away caught the group's attention. Then, the door opened slowly.
"Oh, thank god," panted Dana. "Can we seek shelter here? We're miles away from home and we need somewhere to hide from the zombies!"
"What are your names?" asked the redheaded girl.
"I'm Dana. This is Becky and Tad."
"Hi," whispered Becky. "Hope you don't mind our weapons."
"I don't. You can come in. My name is Vonda. Vonda Crowley."
End Credit Song
The End of the World - Rob Dickinson
If you needed a cliffhanger, then here's one: a herd is coming for the group, and herds are never good! If you didn't need one and I just made you anxious, then sorry but: A HERD IS COMING FOR THE GROUP, AND HERDS ARE NEVER GOOD! You'll see what I mean in the next chapter. If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review and don't forget to follow if you enjoyed this story! See you guys in 2-3 weeks!