IV - We Find Each Other

-Day 23-

The highway was empty where Tim and Maria were walking. Carlitos looked around his surroundings, noticing a large body of water to his left. He raised his arms and reached for it as sweat slowly poured down his head.

"How long until we're there?" asked Maria. "This baby carrier is hurting my chest."

"We should be there anytime now," answered Tim as he wiped the lenses in his binoculars.

"How do you know we're not lost?" asked Maria.

"As long as Lake Erie's to our left, we won't be lost," said Tim as he looked into his binoculars. "I think we're here! But something's wrong…"

Tim removed his binoculars and ran ahead.

"Wait!" exclaimed Maria. "What do you mean something's wrong! Tim!"

Tim stopped in the middle of the highway as he looked at the toll booths that stood in the New York-Pennsylvania Borderline. Maria caught up to him, panting.

"No, no, no!" gasped Tim. "Oh… no. Oh, Christ!"

"Tim, what are you pointing at? What are you–!"

Maria became breathless as she faced the ground ahead of the broken traffic gates in the ground.

An undead body lay on the ground, struggling to stand up as its body was mangled up. The undead body was staring at the three survivors.

Tim walked up to the mangled living corpse and removed his throwing knives from his pockets. He aimed it at the roamer in the ground and raised one in front of his face before swinging it forward and releasing it. The knife struck the skulls of Roamer Madison.

He crouched and grabbed his knife before turning the roamer's heads over. He found what he needed to know.

"Can you please tell me what anything's about?" pleaded Maria. "I am getting REALLY freaked out."

"This one was a Piranha," said Tim. "The Piranhas are a group–"

"Piranhas? I know who the Piranhas are," said Maria. "I heard about them in the news. I also treated a couple of them in the hospital I worked at. I know what you just did. You looked for the piranha tattoos in the back of their necks, right?"

"You know a lot more than I thought," said Tim. "Just not the kinds of stuff that I wanted you to know about. But here's something that you don't know. Their leader… Sherry… is Vonda's mother. And from now on, she will be our ally until you find your family. Then we'll go our separate ways."

"So this one was supposed to help us out?"

"There was another one… something terrible clearly happened to them."

Tim turned around and glanced at the high sun.

"Look, Maria. I need you to stay by my side for the next few weeks. I know you want to go home and see Roberto and Ronalda, but you need to stay with me. The road ahead of us will be extremely dangerous, dangerous to the point where you and your nephew won't be spared by the tip of a bullet. These people are very dangerous and there is nothing they won't do to ensure their own survival at this point."

"But my children? They're out there and you're saying this area is dangerous? Why would you involve your daughter with these people? What kind of father are you? You know how worried sick she must be?"

"I know the Piranhas are dangerous, but it's not just them. Look, there has been a plan to ensure the safety of the others through means that could've arguably taken many routes. It was a planned project, and by the time we see it, we will see the aftermath of it and–"

"Tim, Tim! Slow down. Good? Good. What are you talking about?"

"The Dust Zone. Remember when I told you that the KHAN would create an area called the Dust Zone? They did that… in Day 5."

Tim cleared his throat.

"They nuked the entire city of New York and decimated tens of thousands of people in the blink of an eye… before taking out millions more soon after. There were some of the strongest radio jammers in the city and very little hidden passageways to the safe-zones of New York… yet I could've infiltrated it like I did in Detroit. The military had nothing to do with it. They weren't rogue. I could've saved their lives along with the other civilians that were in the safe-zones just by warning them what was going to happen. But you know why I didn't choose to? Because I wanted to make sure I got to see Vonda as soon as possible… you know, alive. It will forever tear my conscience down. I don't know what kind of person that makes me… but I know what kind of father that makes me."

"I'm… sorry," said Maria. "Lead the way. You seem to know where you're going."

Tim placed his knives back in his holsters before walking ahead. Maria followed him, rubbing Carlitos' head as she stared ahead, glad that she and her family didn't go to any of the safe-zones in New York. If they had, their deaths would've been a statistic for the KHAN.

-Present Day-

The atmosphere remained tense in the bus though the situation with the illness remained calm. A slight knock on the iron bars that were locked outside of the open windows alerted Jace, who heard it next to him.

"Down here!"

Jace placed his face on the iron bars and looked down.

"Lana? Hey, what's up?"

"I have Lizzy and Izzy! Look!"

Lana held up the two lizards, as Jace flinched away from them.

"Take care of them for me," said Jace. "I-I can't take 'em back. Not in this condition."

"Sure thing. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling just fine. You're not supposed to be near me. I don't wanna get you sick."

"It's okay, I have a strong immune system. I can't get sick easily!"

"Oh, then, uh, I don't want my lizards to get sick!"

"Okay. I'll see you later then. Bye, Jace!"

Jace smiled as Lana walked away. He wiped the sweat of his face and looked down at his hands, his shivering hands. He placed his hands on his forehead, though the warmth was not able to cool his chills.

Lana returned to the train station, in search of more bugs to feed the lizards with. She climbed up the stairs that led to the platform of the train tracks, and found Simon Weber sitting in a bench, looking up at some distances away.

"Hey, Weber! Wanna have fun with my lizards?"

"No."

Lana allowed the two lizards to crawl around her shoulders. She looked at the boy puzzled.

"You sure? They're pretty fun and–"

"I am sure. I don't want to have fun with your lizards."

Lana rubbed her arm.

"Okay… what are you doing up here?" she asked.

"I'm trying to look for birds. My favorite thing to do is look at birds. But there aren't any birds around here. I don't know where they went. But I did see a sparkling light ball in the sky over there."

Lana looked up to where Weber pointed at, however, she didn't find anything. She then looked down at the street through handrails at the edge of the platform. She saw the return of the RV.

"More specifically, I'm looking for crows," continued Weber. "When I find one, I'm going to treat it nicely. You know they remember your face forever? They don't forget who you are. They must pay attention to detail. Kinda like me."

Lana gasped and sprinted away from the platform and down the stairs. Weber looked at her, then at the RV, before finding a couple people coming out of it. He remembered them, but he felt no longing for them. His expression remained unchanged.

"Lincoln! You're back!" Lana exclaimed as she ran up to her brother.

Lincoln dropped to one knee and hugged Lana. Lori lifted Lily upwards as she giggled. Then, the girls switched turns, hugging another sibling. Finally, both Lincoln and Lori knelt down and hugged Lisa. Bobby and Ronnie Anne came out of the RV, smiling at the kids while noticing some passengers coming out from the train station or a bus. They approached the group in the RV as more people came out. Hana, Kimi, and Becky came out next, with the redhead girl waving at the other survivors. Then, Benny and Luan came out of the RV, prompting both Lana and Lily to run up to her and give the girl her fair share of hugs. Lisa awaited her turn before giving her sister a warm hug as well. Clyde walked up to Lincoln and wrapped his arms around Lincoln, patting his back. He then gave Ronnie Anne a bro handshake before they hugged each other as well. Carol walked up to the group and was met with a hug from Lori, Bobby, and Becky, who were all careful not to squeeze Zoey.

All eyes turned towards the RV as one last member walked out. Clyde's eyes watered as the bus survivors were left speechless. Lynn wiped the sweat off her face and squinted as a smile grew on her face. Lily and Lana ran up to her, leaping onto her, causing her to stumble a bit, but her strength allowed her to hold them. Lisa walked up to her and hugged her legs.

"My goodness," said Lisa. "Miracles really do happen, right? I really thought we lost another sibling."

"Lost another sibling?" mumbled a puzzled Lana. "You died, Lynn?"

"A lil' bit," she replied, a frown forming on her face. "You guys did lose a sibling. It's just ain't me."

Lisa gulped. Lana and Lily looked up at Lynn with worried looks on their faces.

"I… I can't–" she stuttered.

"You don't have to," said Lori. "I'll tell them."

Lynn nodded as she walked over to Clyde, getting ready to hold him. The crowd stood around Lori as she walked to the center of the road. Her eyes became glossy and her eyelashes became wet.

"General Black took away the life of my sister Leni."

The crowd murmured among each other. Mrs. Anderson, who used to sew clothes with Leni, felt her heart grow heavy. Lisa closed her eyes and already began her denial stage. Lana was shocked, her eyes bubbling up and her mouth left wide open. Lily looked around, her mouth quivering as she tried to figure out the sudden drop in happiness.

Ronnie Anne took a step forward.

"He also killed Rusty and his father."

Lincoln covered his face, causing Lily to run up to him with tears in her eyes. They both held each other close as Clyde laid his head on Lynn's shoulder, taking off his glasses to rub his teary eyes.

"But one thing is clear. General Black is dead. I don't know who killed him… but I finished his ugly corpse."

Luan then stepped forward.

"I killed him."

Murmurs exploded as Ronnie Anne turned around. Dr. White removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes as he took a couple deep breaths of relief. Benny raised his eyes and couldn't believe what he heard.

"For what he did to my mom and dad, and Leni, and Dana, and… me."

Benny walked up to Luan and held her, comforting her as she began to sniffle. The murmurs died down as they looked at Luan, feeling sorry that a girl her age suffered so much loss that she had to resort to murder.

"It's okay," said Dr. White. "You all have been through a lot. Come inside with us. You all need the rest, and we have a lot to tell you people. And you're not going to like it. I'm sorry for your loss. I truly am. But I do have to tell you about our situation so we don't lose more people."

Lori nodded. She walked over to the train station with Dr. White, followed by her group, as the rest of the bus survivors stayed around the buses. A crow passed by the group and landed on top of Bus 3.

The small white car arrived at a Harlem neighborhood as the sun was nearing the horizon. They parked next to an empty RV and an empty van. Kotaro, Luna, and Sam exited their car and looked inside the van, finding nothing but backpacks and clothes. Then, they looked inside the RV, only finding Reiji the roamer, staring at the survivors blankly while tied to a half-closed closet.

"No one's here," said Sam.

"But these are definitely from our people," said Luna. "This is Hana's. And there's nothin' in the world like Vanzilla. They're definitely somewhere close by."

"We should check some of the houses around here," said Kotaro. "Which one would you hole up in?"

Luna pointed at a small yellow house that was in the best condition. The windows were barricaded and a tall, gated, locked fence surrounded the house.

"Can you unlock the fence?" asked Sam.

"No," said Luna. "Leni could've."

Kotaro slipped his hands inside the gate and tried unlocking the fence from the inside. But it was not that type of fence.

"Damn, how do you get through this?" groaned Sam. "Think we can climb this?"

Kotaro placed his foot on a metal bar that stood low in the fence.

"That could be the only way in," he said.

"Wait, dudes!" gasped Luna. "You hear that? A car's coming!"

Kotaro quickly hopped off the fence and ran behind the RV. Luna followed him and lowered herself as Sam grabbed her AR-15 and placed herself behind the edge of the RV. The vehicle turned around from the intersection and began driving slowly to the RV and Vanzilla. Sam peeked slowly.

"Another RV?" she whispered.

The older RV parked next to the two vehicles, as Sam backed herself behind the white car. She heard a door open followed by footsteps in the pavement of the road.

"That didn't work so well last time, babe, remember?" said a familiar young male voice.

"Didn't work for the both of us," said an older male voice.

"Yeah, maybe," said a familiar young female voice. "Still, there's nothing much I could do about it. But don't forget. We have a whole lotta people. She could lead the ones that she's been with, while I lead the original group, you know?"

Sam turned over to Luna, who stood up with a curious look in her face. Sam knew the voice sounded familiar, but Luna was confident enough to reveal herself from the RV without a weapon pointed at the strangers.

But it's because they weren't strangers.

Sam stared at the group as Luna ran towards Lori and Luan, all giving each other their best sisterly hugs. She also stared at Kotaro giving David a firm handshake while checking up on each other. Bobby and Benny then walked up to Sam, greeting her and patting her, as she continued to stare at the group blankly.

"Something wrong?" asked a smiling Luna.

Sam smiled and shook her head. She sighed in relief and walked up to the group as David walked to the driveway of the yellow house.

"How do you get inside there?" asked Sam.

"Back door," replied Benny.

"Ohh," chuckled Luna. "We shoulda' checked the back, right, Sam?"

Sam nodded and followed the group inside the house to gather all their belongings.

The sun dropped below the horizon, and the stars began to appear in the sky, floating next to the bright, waxing gibbous moon. The four vehicles arrived at the train station near the Harlem River. Simon Weber remained in the platform of the train station, with a can of apple juice next to him, observing the group members come outside their vehicle. One more reunion for him to observe, though he did not care at all. He was just bored from not finding any more crows.

As Luna hugged her siblings, she was caught speechless when she saw Lynn, sitting in a bench outside the train station. Lynn's face glowed as she began jogging towards Luna, who covered her face with her hands.

"Lynn… you're alive!" she exclaimed.

"Yup, alive enough to give you a noogie!" cackled Lynn as she leaped upwards to Luna and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"No, wait! How? I thought… I killed you! I shot you!"

"That was you?" gasped Lynn. "Shit hurted like a bitch, but guess what. My vest caught it! And my shoulder feels a lot better too."

Luna was at a loss for words again. She then lunged towards Lynn and hugged her, both of them falling to the ground while giggling. Sam held her rifle strap while chuckling softly. She then caught Weber looking at her, before he withdrew his head away from the guard rails. Slightly creeped out, Sam began to wonder about the fate of one other person.

"I have been pondering slightly," Lisa said to Kotaro, Luna, and Sam. "What occurred to the rest of the passengers that you were traveling with?"

"I have no idea what the hell happened," said Kotaro. "Almost all the passengers were sick, and we ran out of fuel for the bus. I went to get more fuel while the girls went to hunt for food. When we came back, we saw… blood and guts. All the passengers have turned… every, single, one. And we killed them all. And we abandoned the bus. We don't know how the hell they all turned so fast, but I'm guessing it has something to do with a new disease spreading around?"

"That's right," said Dr. White. "A malaria with some strain affected by our familiar plague. So far, it took the life of four of our own. It's spreading like Ebola. So that bus over there… it's quarantined."

"Is Jace in there?" asked Luna.

"Yeah, but–"

"You have to let me see him!" she exclaimed.

"It's too risky."

"I don't care, I have to see him!"

Dr. White glanced around the large group.

"Fine, but wear some non-latex gloves and a surgical mask. And try to avoid contact."

Luna nodded.

Moments after, the bus door opened, with the rocker girl taking a step inside. She saw Jace and Preston at the end of the bus. She ignored all the coughing and groaning ill passengers, and ran straight towards the end.

"Jace, you're– you're alive!" she sighed.

"Is that you, Luna?" groaned Jace as he opened up his eyes.

Luna pulled down his surgical mask and smiled at her best friend. Jace rubbed his eyes and smiled back before pulling Luna's mask up to cover the lower part of her face.

"So, how are you feeling?" she whispered.

"You got eyes, moonrock. Pretty ones too. But if you haven't noticed, I'm fucked up."

"You… moved on quicker than I thought."

"Well, Leni's a beautiful soul," whispered Jace. "You seem surprised."

"Yeah, it's just… it seems that the others still haven't moved on from what happened to Leni. And you were close to her. Just thought that– nevermind, just tell me how you moved on from her."

"Woah, woah, slow down," said Jace. "What are you saying?"

"Leni… passing away. What do you think I'm talking about now?"

Jace's mouth dropped.

"I thought you were talking about how I used to have a crush on you! Oh my– you're playing around right? This has to be a joke!"

Luna shook her head before lowering it.

"I'm sorry. I thought you knew. Didn't want you to find out like this."

"She… died? But… how? She was supposed to be safe. I told her to go with Carol and Haley. If she wasn't with Carol, then she was with Haley."

"Haley ain't here either," said Luna. "I saw the entire battle through the scope of my rifle. I saw Black… and he… just shot… it's hard telling you. But the General killed her. And Luan killed the General."

"Is anyone watching right now?"

"Huh?" wondered Luna.

Jace turned towards Luna, his eyes full of tears. He sniffled and turned back away.

"It's my fault," he said. "I should've gone with her. I should've kept her safe. Instead… I sent her out there. I sent her out there to get killed. Me."

"There's one person to blame."

"Me."

"No, it's General Black. And he's six feet under now. You did everything in your power to make sure she was safe. You don't deserve the blame you're giving yourself."

"Nothing you say is going to change my mind. If I hadn't said what I said, she still would be alive. It's simple. It's my fault. Now, just leave me alone."

Jace turned over and groaned while sniffling. Luna lowered her eyes and stood up before looking back at him.

"I promise…" she whispered, "I won't let you die. I won't let anyone else die. I'll save your life. Even if you don't want me to."

Luna walked away, leaving behind a sniffling Jace, covering his face out of shame. Luna took one last look through the metal bars in the window before walking away.

-Day 60-

Tim shut the door to the car along with Maria, who was holding Carlitos on her back. The breeze blew strands of hair from both adults as they looked onto the warehouse that stood next to the docks. Then, they began walking towards it.

"The plan was for my daughter and I to never find out about this place," said Tim. "But Sherry saw it as a necessity to tell me about her business when the first roamers were created. That was the moment she knew… all my 'conspiracy theories' weren't too far from the truth."

Tim walked passed stained blood in the pavement while Maria couldn't help but feel nervous as she got closer to the warehouse.

"She never shied away from the fact that she was involved in this roamer business herself, and that's exactly why she felt obligated to tell me. For her own safety. To make sure she wouldn't risk her life or risk her crime business."

Tim opened the door to the warehouse. Maria looked around the dark-red mess that was plastered on the floors and walls of the warehouse.

"Her partnership with Quirino gave her connections with the KHAN. And with those connections, she was able to acquire a roamer herself, months before the Global Infection Event. Now, I'm not exactly sure what she needed a roamer for, but it was very important that she had one. It helped with my own studies."

Both adults walked down a corridor before entering a door to their left.

"I don't know how, but the KHAN must have figured out that Sherry and I were working together. So they stopped sending her more of the infected. But she kept studying the roamers themselves. And she did study the one thing that no one else did, not even I, for I was too focused on the scientific stuff about the roamers. She studied their behaviors in regards to the passage of time. After all, she did have time. Lots of it."

Tim lowered himself by Sherry's table, reaching the bottom drawer before asking Maria for a hairpin. She gave him her hairpin, and moments later, the drawer was unlocked. Tim then lifted a small journal in the air.

"What is that?" asked Maria.

"Her studies. I wasn't too sure myself as she was very discreet about it. But one of the things I learned from her? The longer a roamer goes without their vision, the more they rely on their hearing. And vise-versa. Adaptation. Signs of evolution."

Maria placed her fingers on her temple and began massaging it.

"This is a lot to take in," said Maria.

"It is," said Tim. "People are crazy. Nature is crazier. I got what I needed. We can head out now. Find a place to hole up in. Think your neighborhood's safe?"

"I think so," said Maria. "Maybe it is safer now."

The furnitures were moved to block all the entrances and exits in the bodega. Then, the candles that belonged to Rosa flickered in the living room. Tim lied down in the living room couch and made himself comfortable before falling asleep. Maria placed Carlitos in his crib.

She looked around. There were candles in the dinner table. There were clothes that Maria wasn't familiar with. Towels of blood were scattered around the kitchen. Empty bottles of antibiotics and painkillers in the once-empty trash can. And no note.

She opened the door to Bobby's room. The bed was made. The clothes were in a nice stacked pile. Everything seemed unmoved.

Then, she opened the door to Ronnie Anne's room. The bed was unkempt. The clothes were scattered all over the place. Everything was messy.

With welling drops of liquids in her eyes, Maria sat down on the bed with a pen. She looked out the window, staring into the dark neighborhood, before writing into the sheet of paper. And she kept writing, unaware of the eerie quietness of the city.