II - Disunited
PRESENT DAY
Lori stayed quiet throughout the whole drive until sunset. Bobby looked out the windows as Darcy yawned, getting bored of drawing in her sketchbook.
The vehicles pulled over next to a highway exit that led to a small town to the right. A roamer that was on the highway exit began to climb up a hill to get to the main highway before being stabbed by David's knife. The roamer fell on the grass.
Richard placed some charcoal around a pile of rocks and started a fire. Lori stepped out of her van and looked ahead at the highway. The sign above her stated that Buffalo was ten miles away, yet the right lanes of the highway were completely empty. She raised her binoculars and scoured ahead, seeing no cars at all, only on the left side of the highway.
"What is this?" asked Lori.
"What's what?" asked David.
"The highway. Why is it so empty?"
"Hmm."
David looked around. He saw an electronic traffic sign that was turned off.
"Must've been for military use," said David. "They may have needed a way to go in and out of the city with ease."
"How do you know that?"
"Just a hunch. We passed by a few police cars on the way. There were more of these electronic message boards, all turned off. Must have been a message telling people to stay away from the city. Only one way to find out though."
Richard placed a car battery next to the electronic traffic sign and connected it with the sign. The lights turned on, revealing a message: CLOSED ROAD. TAKE EXIT TO ROUTE 20.
Richard disconnected the car battery from the sign, turning it off.
"Well, there's our answer," said David.
"Is this a good thing?" asked Lori.
"Yeah. Route 20 goes past Buffalo. That means all of this highway must be empty until we get past Buffalo. If it really is all empty, it might take us one hour to get past Buffalo. That's cutting a whole day trip into an hour. Plus, we can lose the horde in the city. It's really good."
Lori smiled. She then frowned.
"We just need the fuel to get past it," she said. "And we don't have that."
"We have a whole lane of cars on the other side. There's gotta be enough fuel to get us through."
Lori nodded. David then saw Bobby approaching.
"I'll give you two a moment."
David walked away as Lori crossed her arms, looking away.
"Hey, babe," said Bobby.
Lori looked at Lake Erie in the distance. She could barely see it with all the trees in the way, but the sunlight was glittering in the water.
"Come on, babe, I just want to talk about earlier."
Lori looked at Bobby, her eyebrows lowered.
"What happened earlier... I meant every word of it."
Lori rolled her eyes as she began to walk away. Bobby then jogged after her before grabbing her arm.
"Let go—"
"Carol is doing drugs," blurted out Bobby.
Lori's eyes widened.
"She's not... in her right mind. She came to me because she thought I could help her. Honestly, it felt more like a venting session about you and Becky and Dana. I hate seeing people upset so I reassured her that she just needs time. All she needed to do was work on herself to make up for the things she's done. And then maybe you and her could be friends again. She then hugged me because she believed me. I made her feel better, babe. That's it. There was nothing romantic about it."
"Becky said Carol was showing off her boobs to you."
"Yeah, I felt like Carol was doing that a lot. She kept pulling her shirt down, you know how you do it when you're taking selfies from the top angle? She said it was hot, but I don't know... she could've just talked to me outside where it was cooler."
Lori closed her eyes and sighed.
"I guess I should've asked Becky to be more clearer," said Lori.
"You think she was doing it to make me feel bad for her? Because she thought her boobs were going to make me forget all the bad things she's done? Because I already felt bad for her, so I don't understand why she did that..."
"Oh, you sweet, naive himbo. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been mad at you."
"It's okay."
Lori gave Bobby a kiss. She then looked at Carol, who was rubbing her nose before entering the RV.
"You can go ahead and eat," said Lori. "I'll join you in a bit."
Bobby nodded and walked to the group by the campfire. Lori then walked to the RV.
Carol looked back as she held a small bag in her hands. Her eyes grew in fear as Lori locked the door behind her.
"Oh, hey, Lori. I'm... I'm just going to use the bathroom real quick if you don't mind. Lori?"
Lori took the bag off of Carol's hands and locked the back door.
"H-Hey!" exclaimed Carol. "Give it back!"
Lori unzipped the bag and turned it upside down, letting all the contents fall. Purple eyeshadow, brushes, lipstick, bottles of multivitamins, bottles of oxycodone, and LSD tabs dropped to the floor.
"What are you doing?" shouted Carol.
Lori picked up a bottle of oxycodone and a few LSD tabs. As she looked at them, she grew more and more disgusted with Carol.
"What is this?" asked Lori.
Carol remained quiet as she appeared shocked.
"Answer me, you bitch!"
"You already know..."
"You're not supposed to have drugs on the trip."
"No one said anything about that."
"Well, I am now."
"How was I supposed to know that?"
"It's called common sense! But I think you already knew you weren't supposed to have them considering you tried hiding this from the rest of us."
"Lori..."
"When Lisa asked you for painkillers, you told her you didn't have any, right? But you did. Clyde needed them and you hid those pills from us. And—and what if I need you to protect my brother and my sisters when we have to fight off roamers? You'll be too fucking high to even give a damn!"
"Lori, I'm sorry, I was going to tell the group. I just needed some advice."
"From my boyfriend, right?"
Carol lowered her eyes as she scratched her neck.
"Tell me, what do you want from Bobby?" asked Lori. "Hey, look at me, slut."
"Nothing."
"Tell me, Carol!"
"Nothing!"
"TELL ME!"
Carol took out a pocketknife. Lori's heart skipped a beat as Carol pointed it at Lori.
"I JUST WANT TO BE WITH HIM! Okay? Is that what you wanna hear? I'm so frustrated that he's with you when he deserves to be with me! I met him first! You... you shouldn't even be in the picture! My life would have been so much better if you didn't exist! So much better! But you... you had to come in and ruin everything!"
Lori had her hands up, breathing slowly as Carol's hand trembled, the sharp tip appearing to be aimed at Lori's throat. She grit her teeth as tears flowed from her eyes. She then let out a pained gasp before lowering the knife. She tossed the knife away and rubbed her head as she backed away.
"I'm sorry, Lori... I don't know what's going on—"
Lori swung her fist at Carol's face. Carol stumbled back and grabbed onto the wall to stabilize herself. Lori grabbed her waist and shoved her to the floor. Lori knelt down and punched her over and over, while Carol blocked her head with her arms.
"Lori! Stop!"
Carol kicked Lori in the stomach at full force and slowly stood up while trying to reach for the knife that she tossed.
Lori squeezed her stomach while trying to catch her breath. She then grabbed Carol's neck and slammed her against the wall. Carol screamed before Lori squeezed harder, turning her screams into gasps.
"You fucking crazy bitch!" yelled Lori. "I allow you in my group and this is what you fucking do? Take drugs and chase my boyfriend? And you try to kill me? I should've left you in Detroit to die!"
Carol grabbed Lori's face and scratched it. She attempted to grab Lori's hair and pull it. This only caused Lori to get even more furious and slam her head against the wall again while keeping her grip across her throat.
The doors struggled to open before knocks were heard from the other side.
"What the hell is going on in there?" yelled a muffled voice.
Carol grit her teeth as her face grew blue and her eyes turned red. She then moved her thumb and poked Lori's left eye, causing Lori to scream as she pulled away.
"Let us in!" yelled the voice again.
Carol inhaled deeply before coughing. As she took a couple deep breaths, she limped over to the baseball bat by the booth table. It was signed 'Francisco' on it. She grabbed it as tears kept running down from Lori's left eye. She then swung it Lori, who blocked it with her left arm.
However, the bat was hard. Lori yelped as she fell down, grunting in pain that rushed across her body from her bruised arm.
Carol swung the bat again before Lori grabbed it with her hands. Lori tossed the bat away before Carol turned around.
Carol picked up her pill bottles and stumbled towards the back door. She unlocked the door and opened it before Lori tackled her, sending her flying forward into the pavement.
"Jesus!" gasped David.
Carol pulled her face up from the pavement, revealing a face with a bleeding mouth and cheek. She coughed out blood before feeling something tugging at her hands. She looked at her hands and saw Lori trying to pull the pill bottle away from them.
"Let it go—!" yelled Lori.
Carol refused to let her grip on the drugs go. David then pulled Lori away from Carol.
"Hey, let go of me!" screamed Lori.
Lincoln watched in shock. He stood in front of Lana and Lola as they trembled in fear.
Carol opened the bottle, dipped her fingers in it, and snorted her fingers. She then let out a violent cough, spitting out blood and mucus.
"What the fuck?" gasped Richard.
Missy ran up to Carol and pulled the bottle away from her.
"Hey, stop it," said Missy. "Stop."
Carol panted as she looked at a struggling Lori.
"Watch it," said David. "Don't me toss you to the ground."
Lori stopped and panted heavily as her hair strands waved across her face. Blood dripped from her lips.
"I was right about you," said Lori. "I was fucking right!"
"You're... you're a monster!" yelled Carol.
"You evil whore! You tried to kill me!"
"I didn't mean to! You, on the other hand—!"
"Both of you, quiet!" shouted David.
The crickets chirped as Leni was tearing up. Bobby was in shock, not knowing what to do. Carol then started crying as she spit out blood from her mouth.
"I'll tell you what happened!" cried out Carol. "She came up to me and started harassing me about my drug problem! She told me that I can't have them and then she started beating me up!"
"You're leaving a very important part out!" shouted Lori.
"Ugh, Christ," said David. "Missy, take Carol away from here. Clean her up."
Missy nodded. She picked Carol up and turned her around as they both walked over to Chaz's car. Carol glanced back, letting out tears of anger while looking at Lori. She then looked away as Lori felt her throat burn with fury.
"You and me have a lot to talk about," said David.
Lori refused to look at David. She then walked back into the RV.
Outside of Chaz's car, Missy and Sergei wiped Carol's face with a damp towel.
"Well, the secret is out in the open, guys," sighed Carol.
"That's the least of our worries," said Missy. "Carol, what exactly happened?"
"Lori. Lori happened."
Lori looked at the bathroom mirror as she wiped her blood-stained knuckles. She then looked at the mirror, trembling at the sight of the scratches on her face.
Bobby looked at David.
"What's gonna happen now?" asked Bobby.
"I'm not sure yet," said David. "This is why we need rules."
The birds chirped as the sun rose from the horizon. Richard yawned as he climbed down the RV and woke Missy up. Missy woke up and climbed to the top of the RV, grabbing a rifle.
The warm wind blew across the empty highway, rolling empty soda cans and plastic bottles around.
Vonda sat next to Missy, watching the waves move slowly across Lake Erie.
Carol entered the RV bathroom, looking at the mirror above the sink. She grabbed a cotton swab and some ointment. She dipped one end of the cotton swab in the ointment and placed it on her lips. She flinched softly as she continued to dap it around, gasping softly at the burning sensation. She then took a bottle of oxycodone and took out an uncrushed pill. She placed it in her tongue and grabbed a bottle of water before drinking it, flushing the pill down her throat. She then looked at her neck in the mirror, seeing purple outlines of fingers on the side. Tears rolled down her face as she touched the bruises across her face.
"Gather up, everyone," said David.
The group members all stood next to each other as David stood next to the RV. Lori stood next to Vanzilla with Bobby, making hard eye contact with David.
"We need to start talking about making some rules," said David. "There are some obvious ones. We don't murder. We don't steal. We don't rape."
"We broke some of those rules already," said Rusty. "We murdered. We stole. And I hope no one here's raped."
"What you think of murder is simply self-defense," said David. "Killing to protect your family? That seems right to me. And stealing? We're taking stuff that no one owns anymore. Fuel, medicine, clothes... if they're lying out in the open with no group claiming them, then as far as we know, it doesn't belong to anyone. But what about when we kill people who may not have posed a threat to this group? What happens when we steal from other people, including each other? Can't have rules without the proper punishments to deal with those who break them. One of these rules is to not assault another person without just reason. The only just reasons I can think of is self-defense or if we ever need to restrain someone. I don't believe Lori had a just reason to assault Carol. Lori says Carol pulled a knife on her. Carol doesn't deny it. Carol says she tossed the knife away. Lori doesn't deny it. Yet, Lori still beat Carol up and Carol claims Lori nearly strangled her to death. Then, Lori claims Carol intended to kill her with a baseball bat. They both claim they weren't really going to kill each other. So, attempted murder? Questionable. However, because Lori attacked Carol after she dropped her knife, she cannot claim self-defense. It was undeniably aggravated assault."
Lori continued to stare at David as he took a glance at her. He then continued to look at each group member.
"Lori should be punished. Punishments can range from a slap in the wrist to banishment, or even death."
Lincoln looked at Lori, who's facial expression remained unchanged.
"Of course, we won't go so extreme. In the old world, assault could result in jail time and some fines. In the military, well, that depended on how well your superiors liked you. And that depended on how valuable you were to the military. But we're not in the old world anymore, and I hate to say it, but we're not in the military. Nevertheless, we must find a way to prevent this rule from being broken again. I'd say we can have someone watch over Lori for the rest of the trip, but I have reason to believe that won't stop Carol from being harmed. Plus, I respect people's privacy. So I got one better."
David then looked at Lori.
"If Lori harms Carol again, then we will banish Becky and Dana from this group."
"What?" gasped Becky.
"How's that fair?" asked Dana.
"Hey, I thought the punishment was about me," said Lori.
"It's not fair to bully and harass Carol. You three already done so, multiple times. It's more times than I can reasonably tolerate. But you're right, it wouldn't be fair. That's why Lori won't do it again. She would do anything to prevent you two from being banished."
"Hold up," blurted out Becky. "Who made you in charge of the rules? You think you speak for all of us? Last time I checked, we were all going to Houlton as a group."
David rubbed his nose and sighed.
"You all seriously didn't think we could make it to Houlton without a leader?" said David.
"Two leaders would have been fine," said Lori. "But now, I'm starting to agree with you. Just one leader would do. But it won't be you."
"You want to be the leader?"
"I can't speak for the group yet. But I'm pretty sure my friends and family would rather trust me than some random guy they met less than two weeks ago."
"Well, why don't we take a vote then?" asked David.
"All in favor of this hard-headed man?" asked Lori.
"I am sure as hell not in favor with an ill-tempered, naive, spoiled woman with no experience in survival," said Richard. "I'm with David."
"Sorry, Lori," said Missy, standing next to David, "but I trust David more. He has actual leadership experience. He was a sergeant, you know."
"Your father is a great man," said Sergei. "But I think we should leave it to the adults."
"Well, I'm for Lori," said Becky. "I noticed there was no mention of Carol using drugs. Should that not be punished?"
"In due time," said David. "When I become leader."
"Maybe you won't be," said Dana. "Next time, don't threaten to kick out people that had nothing to do with breaking the rules."
"Yeah," said Francisco. "That doesn't seem right to me."
Lynn glanced at Francisco before looking away. She closed her eyes before Clyde grabbed her hands. She looked at him, seeing how much more worried he was than her.
"Not that Lori even deserves punishment," said Luan. "Carol was acting irrational. She pulled a knife on Lori! So what if she tossed it away? If we say the drugs made Carol threaten Lori's life, then her tossing the knife away didn't make her any more sober. She was still dangerous because she was still high! You say it's not self-defense, but if I were in Lori's position, I'd fear for my life! Even now, I fear for her life!"
Lori smiled and nodded.
"Being high isn't permanent, man," said Wavehead. "We should be helping Carol, not hurting her. That's not gonna solve anything."
"Yeah, word," said D. "People suffer from addiction. They can't help it."
"Maybe she shouldn't have taken drugs in the first place," said Benny.
"You could've gotten addicted to the drugs had you taken oxycodone for your injury," said Tad. "Luckily for you, you used up all the non-addictive painkillers instead."
"Besides, her addiction started well before the roamers took over the world," said Missy. "But take a look around. I wouldn't blame any of us if we started now.
"It's not just about the drugs," said Bobby. "I think David would be the better leader, overall."
Lori was shocked. She wanted to get angry, but instead, she felt heartbroken.
"You really don't think that, right?" asked Lori.
"I'm sorry, Lori. The stress of leadership is really getting to you. Why not let someone else take over?"
No one else spoke up. Lori looked away from Bobby and stared at the other group members. Her own sisters stared at each other in guilt. David took off his shades and looked at the group.
"Is anyone else going to decide?" asked David.
"I don't know..." said Zach. "We might need more time."
"Y-Yeah," agreed Liam.
"Very well," said David. "We'll look for fuel. Shouldn't take long. We have a whole lane of cars on the other side. After we get the fuel, we'll come back and start the voting. Is that agreeable with you... Lori?"
Lori nodded.
"Let's go."
Vonda sat on top of the RV with an umbrella held over the lawn chair where she sat comfortably in the shade. She looked at the group members scattered around the cars on the other side of the highway, opening up the fuel doors of random cars. However, she noticed that many of the group members came up empty when attempting to siphon the fuel.
She then looked at Vanzilla, seeing Lori walking up to Lincoln.
"Hey, Linc," said Lori. "About the voting. Do you think you can get your friends to vote for me?"
"I think it's fairer if they decide on their own," said Lincoln. "Don't you think?"
"Yeah, I get that, but, like, you know, maybe you can remind them about Detroit and how I got them out of there?"
"I guess I could. Hey, are you okay?"
Lori lowered her head. She let out a disappointed sigh.
"I'm okay," said Lori. "I mean, not really. It's Bobby. I don't understand why he would support Carol. She pulled a knife on his girlfriend. Shouldn't he be taking his girlfriend's side instead of that crazy woman?"
"Well, he's not necessarily supporting Carol, he's supporting David."
"Why would he though? Why?"
"Same reason I will. To relieve you of the stress of being the leader."
Lori's heart went cold after hearing Lincoln's own words come out of his mouth. Lori looked at Lincoln, holding back her tears though she had no reason to. It seemed to her that Lincoln has forgotten about how well Lori performed as a person in charge.
"Lincoln…" whispered Lori.
"I'm sorry. I really hope you understand. Being a leader is tough. You know how many tough decisions you would have to make? I don't want that for you."
Lori gulped. She then nodded softly before walking away. Her eyebrows lowered as she grew an angry expression.
Lincoln looked at her with a face filled with guilt. However, he remained standing, not going after Lori.
Lynn and Clyde approached Lori.
"Hey, you got a sec?" asked Lynn.
"Hey, guys," sighed Lori. "What is it?"
Lynn and Clyde looked at each other. Lynn nodded her head and spoke up.
"We're gonna vote David to be the leader. I'm sorry, but I won't be on the same side as Francisco. He has clear interests voting for you. That's not a good thing."
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Lori.
"He wants to side with you because he believes he can relate with you. And I know. It's different this time. But that's not gonna matter to him. The very fact that people can take your side... that empowers him for some reason."
"We also don't want you to worry about making the hard choices when someone with military experience can do that for you," said Clyde.
"I hope you understand. You know Clyde and I do love you, and we are deeply sorry."
Lori became agitated.
"Why does everyone think I can't handle the stress of leadership?" growled Lori. "It just comes naturally, and I have no problem handling the duties of a leader!"
Lori panted before she took a couple deep breaths. Her voice then started trembling as her voice broke.
"Never mind. Go ahead."
Lynn and Clyde were surprised that the conversation didn't end up with Lori screaming at them. It was worse. Lori was disappointed in them. Lynn and Clyde went back to sitting where they sat and looked at each other with remorse.
Lori wondered where it all went wrong. She knew she took it too far with fighting Carol, but otherwise, she has shown to be an effective leader, especially with leading the group out of Detroit. She has lost the support of most of the group, some who were her family. She continued to stare out into Lake Erie as she nervously waited for the rest of the group to finish siphoning fuel.
Tad placed two tubes into the gas tank of an abandoned SUV before plugging the fuel door with a rag. He then sucked into the shorter tube before gasoline came out of the larger tube. He smiled as his jerry can filled up.
"Freakin' finally," said Tad, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "One gallon."
Tad stood up and turned around, gasping and clutching his chest as he stumbled back into the SUV.
"Oh, dang, you scared me," said Tad.
Becky stared at Tad with her green eyes as she circled around him. She then decided to lean against the SUV and be next to Tad.
"What do you see in Carol?" asked Becky.
"What do you mean?" asked Tad.
"I've seen the way you look at her. Others have seen it too. Dana says you look at her the same way you used to look at me."
"Well... you're both good-looking."
"So is Dana."
"But Dana's a friend."
Becky smirked.
"So, you do like Carol."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Back to my original question, then. What do you see in Carol?"
"She's pretty. She's nice. Her smile is pretty cute. I like the way she keeps to herself."
Becky groaned.
"You still think that, even after what happened?" asked Becky.
"I feel even more bad for her now," said Tad. "What Lori did was uncool. If she really was scared for her life, she should have just restrained Carol as soon as she dropped the knife. David and the others would have understood. I would have understood."
"You know, if it weren't for Lori, we would still be back in Ann Arbor. We would've gone back to Royal Woods and we would have wondered where our parents were our entire life, not knowing that they were on the other side of the country."
"What if our parents are back in Royal Woods? What if they never even went to Detroit? Thing is, Lori could have taken us back to Royal Woods. We could have gone back to check if our parents really weren't there. But that would have delayed the mission. Seeing her family a day sooner is more important than taking the small chance of reuniting us with our families."
"But Lori is so sure she saw your family in Detroit. If your family was there, then mine was probably there too. And she wouldn't lie to us like that."
"She wouldn't? I think she has every reason to. She needs us. And we're her friends. She wants to be surrounded by people she cares about."
"So why did she bring Carol then? She had every reason not to bring her. And yet, she did. And the crazy part is that she was fucking right. Carol pulling a knife on Lori? Admit it, you didn't see that coming."
"I didn't. But I can't say I'm surprised. With the way you and Lori treat her, it's no wonder she's had enough. And the real crazy part is that she tossed her knife away while she was on drugs. Talk about maturity and control."
"Does she... does she even like you back? You defend her like she's your girlfriend or something. Like you have something to gain from protecting her."
"Why are you so obsessed with me having feelings for Carol? You're afraid she might like me back? Are you jealous?"
"I'm not!"
"Then stop bringing it up!"
"I just don't want you to love someone who will just end up hurting you. I used to love her as a friend, you know. And she backstabbed me. I don't want the same for you."
"And you won't? What, you want me to get back with you again?"
"No."
"But you don't want me with Carol."
"I really don't."
"You don't want me and you don't want me with Carol. You know what I think? I think you can't stand the idea of me being with another girl because you still have feelings for me. Remember, Becky. It's you who broke up with me."
Tad disconnected the tubes from the fuel tank. He closed the fuel door and picked up the jerry can.
"So please... don't play these mind games with me. And by the way... if all the minors were placed in a bunker back in Detroit, then why isn't your little brother here with us right now?"
Tad walked away as Becky remained speechless. Becky then kicked a rubber tire hard. She walked away, huffing in anger.
Liam twirled a bucket around before flipping it over and placing it under a tree where there was shade.
"orfay youay, ymay oodgay adylay," said Liam.
"ankthay youay, ymay oodgay anmay," smiled Tabby before sitting on the bucket.
Zach snickered.
"You guys said gay," he smirked.
Tabby rolled her eyes. She then looked at Rusty.
"Hey, why don't you give it a try?" she asked.
"No, thanks," said Rusty. "I'm good."
"Umm... okay. What about you, Zach?"
"I can try," said Zach. "Its-ay very-ay-"
"Eryvay," said Liam.
"Its-ay ery-vay hot-ay."
"Ot-hay."
"Its-ay ery-vay ot-hay. How was that?"
"Itsay kayo-ay. Ain't that right, Tabby?"
"Itsay ucks-say," said Tabby.
Liam laughed as Ronnie Anne walked over to them.
"Oh, hey, Ronnie," waved Liam. "You up for some fun? We're practicin' our Pig Latin. It's a darn hoot."
"Not right now," said Ronnie Anne. "I wanted to talk about the vote."
"The vote? For the leader?"
"Yeah."
"Oh yeah, the vote," said Tabby. "I don't know, I'm still kinda stuck on who to choose..."
"You guys better vote for Lori!" threatened Ronnie Anne with her fist.
"Okay, okay! We were gonna support her anyway," said Liam.
"Y-Yeah!" said Zach.
"I don't know... I'm kinda unconvinced," said Tabby. "The only thing that may convince me is a can of meatballs."
"Okay. You got it."
"Hey, now I want a can of meatballs," said Zach.
"Zach!"
"Hey, be nice," said Tabby. "They're voting for Lori too."
"Fine. I'll give you guys all my cans of meatballs."
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you supporting Lori?" asked Rusty. "Your brother is supporting David. Don't you wanna be by his side?"
"My dumb brother doesn't know crap. He doesn't think Lori has the stones to handle being a boss. She loves being in charge. And she's very good at it."
"You know... it was her decision to go to Ann Arbor."
"And David went along with it. Whatever happened there is not... anyone's fault."
"I don't think you believe that. You do think it's Lori's fault?"
"No."
Ronnie Anne looked away.
"No, not her."
Rusty nodded and looked at Lucy.
"Right," said Rusty.
"I heard Lincoln is going to support David," said Zach.
Ronnie Anne quickly faced him.
"What?" she gasped. "He can't be serious!"
"I don't know, I just heard."
"From who?"
"From Clyde. And you know... Clyde's not a liar."
Ronnie Anne took a deep breath.
"I'm gonna talk to that idiot," she huffed as she walked away.
"Who, Clyde?"
"No! Lincoln!"
Ronnie Anne walked towards Lincoln and punched his shoulder.
"Ow!" exclaimed Lincoln.
"Why aren't you supporting your sister?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"I'm doing it for her," replied Lincoln. "I don't want her to handle the heavy responsibilities of being the–"
"Ugh, you're just like my brother. Don't you think Lori knows? Don't you think Lori knows how the burden of being a leader feels like already?"
"One day, it may be too much for her."
"She won't break because of the burden. You know what will break her? If she's not the leader and something terrible happens to the group, something terrible that could have been avoided had the leader made a better decision. Ever thought about that?"
"No..."
"Well, think about that for a change, Lincoln Loud."
Ronnie Anne stormed away, leaving Lincoln with a heavy dilemma to think about.
The sun began setting down. Some of the group members were hundreds of meters from the vehicles, carrying full jerry cans. They then began to walk back to the vehicles.
Tad walked over to the RV when he was stopped by Missy.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Missy.
"I want to talk to Carol," said Tad.
"I can't let you do that at the moment. You should go on siphon some gas."
Tad lowered his two jerry cans to the floor, making a hard thud sound.
"I did," said Tad. "They're full."
"I'm sorry, Carol doesn't want to talk to anyone."
"You know I don't have any beef with Carol, right? In fact, it's the opposite. I want to make her feel better."
Missy sighed.
"Stay here," she said.
The RV door opened, immediately catching Carol's attention. However, all she saw was Missy. She sighed a breath of relief.
"Someone wants to see you," said Missy.
"Who?" asked Carol.
"Tad. I'm not sure if it's the right decision, letting him in."
"Oh, no, no, he can come in."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. He's not like Lori or Becky."
"Alright. He seems cute. Think he'll ask you out on a date?"
"It's not like that," blushed Carol.
Missy laughed.
"Okay, Carol."
Missy opened the door and allowed Tad in. She then walked out, closing the door behind her.
"Hey, Tad," greeted Carol, sitting down on the sofa.
"Hey, Carol. It's pretty cool in here."
"Yeah. I would've rather they save the fuel, but... Missy insisted."
"Aww, man. And here I was, thinking Carol was enjoying her exotic vacation time."
Carol giggled before frowning.
"Wait, it doesn't come off like that, right?" she asked.
"Relax, I was just joking," smiled Tad.
"Oh. Sorry, I'm a little on edge."
"That's alright. We understand. That's why I'm here. I wanted to let you know that a lot of people in our group support you."
"Even though I pulled a knife on Lori?"
"Hey, I think everyone is surprised you didn't stab her. Though, I'm not. You're too nice to do that."
"I don't know. For a moment there... I really felt like I was going to stab her. Just for a moment, though."
"It was just the drugs. People don't even fault you for that. I mean, look at this world. Who could?"
"I thought people were going to judge me more."
"Some people do. Lori, Becky, Dana... but you were never going to gain their approval anyways. Not anytime soon at least."
"Are you sure people are supporting me? Seems like they're supporting David over me."
"I think by supporting David, they're supporting you by default. I mean, I think it's obvious. If David becomes the leader, he's probably going to have someone like Missy supervise you until you're sober. But if Lori becomes the leader... who knows what she will do. I fear... she may kick you out."
"Do you know who's voting for David?"
"So far, there's me, you, Missy, Sergei, Richard, Bobby-"
"Bobby is supporting me?"
"Yeah," said Tad, lowering his head. "He is."
"Lori couldn't have reacted well to that news."
"Becky didn't react well to hearing about me supporting you. That's crazy, right? I mean, we're not together anymore. She's not in control over who I choose to talk to and support."
"Tad..."
"Yeah?"
"How did you and Becky break up?"
"We got into a lot of arguments over the smallest things. Where to eat lunch. What movie to watch. Which people we can talk to. We drove each other crazy. If I'm being honest, I liked it better when me and her were friends."
"I thought you guys went back to being friends."
"Yeah, well... it doesn't really feel that way."
"You think Lori and Bobby might break up?"
"I don't know. Their relationship is stronger than me and Becky's was. Why? I hope you're not thinking about taking Bobby from Lori."
"N-No! Of course not... I just don't want to be the cause of them breaking up, you know...?"
Tad looked at Carol suspiciously. Missy then opened the door.
"Everyone's back," said Missy. "Voting is about to start."
The group gathered once more around David, who was standing next to the RV. Next to Vanzilla stood Lori.
Carol and Tad walked out of the RV. Becky's eyes met Tad's. Becky quickly looked away as a vein appeared in her forehead.
"Stand by the person that you want as the leader of the group," said David.
Carol and Tad stood where they were while Missy and Richard walked forward. D and Wavehead walked towards David while Sergei followed them.
Becky and Dana walked towards Lori without hesitation. Luan and Benny both looked at each other and nodded before walking over to Lori. Francisco followed them. He looked back and saw Lynn's eyes before she looked away and walked towards David, with Clyde following her.
David's eyes raised. He had not expected to have any of Lori's siblings side with him. He then patted Bobby in the back, trying to comfort him after he walked to his side.
Lori gulped, trying to ignore the pain in her heart. She then felt more comforted as all her other sisters began to walk over to her side. Leni held Lola and Lana's hands while Lucy carried Lily. Lisa walked over right behind Lori while Darcy stood next to her.
"Just to be clear," whispered Lisa, "this is the more intelligent choice for our family. Not because you would make a better leader... but because you can and will protect our family more favorably than the other members of this group."
Luna, Sam, and Chunk walked towards David, as Luna gave a regretful look towards Lori.
"Unfortunately, Luna was right. It's also the selfish choice. In a life-or-death situation... you would pick Luna over Sam a hundred percent, whereas it could be fifty-fifty with David. But that won't happen with Darcy. You will protect her as if she were your own, right?"
"I... I'd protect everyone equally," said Lori.
"Unlikely, Lori. We both don't believe that."
Lori looked back at the people that stood by her. She saw Liam, Tabby, Zach, and Ronnie Anne standing by her side. She looked at Ronnie Anne and nodded, letting out a soft smile.
"I wouldn't be so confident yet," said Ronnie Anne.
Lori looked over at the remaining group members who haven't voted yet. Rusty made his way to David while Lincoln and Vonda stood next to each other.
"Let me get this straight, Lori, you have fifteen votes and, David, you have fourteen votes," said Vonda. "If Lori were to get one of us to vote for her, she'd become leader."
"Yeah," said David. "I guess I should accept my loss then, huh?"
"Not yet. I'm not going to be the tiebreaker. Have fun deciding, Lincoln."
As Vonda was walking over to David, Ronnie ran over to her.
"Wait!" she called out. "Vonda, what are you doing? You know it was Lori who decided to go to Ann Arbor to rescue you?"
"And it was David who went along with that plan," said Rusty.
Ronnie Anne looked over at Rusty, huffing in anger. Rusty gave her a slight smirk, angering Ronnie Anne even further.
"Yeah, well, I'm not going to settle their conflict," said Vonda. "Sorry. Either way, whichever leader we have... shit will hit the fan, regardless."
Vonda turned around and stood by David's group. Ronnie Anne turned around and looked towards Lincoln.
Lincoln was sweating. He looked at Ronnie Anne, who kept glaring at him while walking back to Lori's group. He then looked at Lynn, who motioned him to come over, while a wounded Clyde nodded softly.
Lori gulped. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she took a deep breath.
"I'm standing by…" uttered Lincoln, "Lori."
All of Lori's supporters smiled and clapped as Lincoln walked over to Lori's side. David's group chattered amongst each other in frustration as Lynn and Clyde looked down in disappointment. Bobby sighed and looked away in shame. Carol gasped softly as tears began to set in her eyes. She turned around and opened the door to the RV.
"Carol, wait," said Tad.
Carol closed the door and locked the door. Tad shook his head, wondering how this could be. Missy looked over at Tad and frowned, feeling bad for Carol.
"Why?" asked Rusty.
"She handled being the oldest sister 17 years in a row," said Lincoln. "She babysat you and our other friends. She did this for years. She's not like any of us who would crack under the pressure. She's special. And I'm sure she can handle being the leader of 33 people for a few weeks."
"That's right, Lincoln," said Ronnie Anne. "You let them know."
David walked over to Lori.
"Congratulations, Lori. Try not to break your back taking us to Houlton. Remember, there is no shame in asking others for help."
"I know. But thank you anyways. No hard feelings?"
"There's still Carol. And listen, Lori..." said David as he lowered his voice. "This group may be on the edge of falling apart. The issue on how to deal with her has already divided this group. A disunited group won't stand a chance out there. I hope you do what you need to do to keep this group united and not based on your personal grudges."
"I got just the solution. Someone get Carol out here!"
David squinted his eyes, wondering what Lori had in mind.
Missy and Tad walked inside the RV through the other door. Carol was sitting in a fetal position in the sofa, crying into her knees.
"I want to be alone," sobbed Carol.
"Hey, it's okay," said Missy. "It's okay."
"It's not okay! I'm about to get kicked out! I'm gonna die out there!"
"Hey, we'll do everything we can to convince Lori to keep you in here. I'm prepared to do whatever I can to make sure you stay with us."
"Oh, god... I can't believe more than half the people in this group actually think what Lori did was right. And they're okay with leaving me out there to die."
"Everyone who supports Lori are children," said Tad. "Most of them don't actually understand what's actually at stake here. If we tell them what it means to leave you out there, I'm sure they will protest. I'm sure of it."
"I don't know..."
Sergei walked inside the RV.
"Carol, Lori wants to see you," said Sergei.
"She's kicking me out already?"
"I don't know. But I'm not going to let that happen."
Carol wiped her tears as her breath shuddered. She then walked out of the RV, seeing everyone looking at her. The mood was tense as Lori walked over to her.
Carol looked at the purple bruise on Lori's arms.
"We're going to keep your drugs for now," said Lori. "Lisa will decide how much you will take every day so that you don't get all cold turkey on us. And from now on, we'll have someone supervise you at all times."
Carol sighed a breath of relief.
"Okay," she said with her voice lowered.
Lori walked away, leaving the group members baffled, though everyone felt relieved, and even Becky and Dana weren't upset at Lori's decision.
"How much gasoline do we have?" asked Lori.
"Thirty gallons," said David. "It's should be more than enough."
"That's great. Tomorrow we'll get out of here. I'm starting to get sick of this place already."
David nodded.
The group members walked back to their vehicles, getting ready to sleep as David climbed on top of the RV, getting ready to go on watch.
Carol walked to Sergei's car, but before she entered, Lori stopped her.
"Here you go," said Lori, handing Carol an uncrushed pill. "Only when you need to use it. I won't give you another one until tomorrow, so use it wisely."
Carol nodded. However, Lori was still glaring at her.
"I understood," said Carol.
"And understand this too," said Lori, "the next time I see you talking to my boyfriend... and you're going to wish I had kicked you out."
Carol gulped as Lori turned around and walked away. She entered the vehicle, watching Lori walk away before looking at the pill. She looked at it for some time, trembling as she struggled to keep it away from her mouth. She then pocketed it and closed her eyes as the air conditioning was running inside the car.