II - Inside Outside
The sound of a Jeep could be heard approaching a supermarket with an empty parking lot, prompting the crows near the road to fly away. The Jeep, along with a few other vehicles turned to the parking lot, stopping right in front of the supermarket.
"A supermarket?" questioned Carol. "People didn't loot this place?"
"Hazeltucky folks don't got the guts to loot this place because of all the roamers inside," said Oscar. "But you outsiders… you guys are different. Lori says you guys did this a million times."
"Maybe even more," said Bobby as he stepped out of the Jeep.
"You got something against Hazeltucky folks, Oscar?" chuckled Calvin.
"Yeah," smiled Oscar. "The worst workers from my crew back in the pre-outbreak days were all from Hazeltucky. I don't know what it is about them, but they lack some serious balls. They were all about the safety rules. You know? Even when it made things a hundred times less productive."
Bobby knocked on the windows with his knife as he waited outside the entrance. Rex leaned against the windows while Luan looked inside the store.
"I'm gonna do a perimeter check," said Bobby.
"That's not necessary," said Guillermo. "I already did one."
Bobby looked at Guillermo suspiciously. He then decided to remain still, ignoring his gut instinct.
"Oh, and don't even get me started on their property taxes," said Oscar. "You'd never catch me dead on Hazeltucky land."
Carol watched as Beatrice paced around. Bobby kept his eyes on Guillermo, who was staring back at him as well. Will looked at the two of them and scratched his head in confusion.
"See anything inside?" asked Rex.
"Nope," said Luan. "I don't even see anything on the shelves. I see the checkout lines. You know, without the lines."
"Yeah, I don't see anything either."
"You know, this reminds me of a good joke. How often does the supermarket restock their milk supply?"
Rex shrugged as he anticipated how Luan would answer.
"Dairy!" said Luan.
"Oh, Christ," whispered Guillermo.
"Stupid," Beatrice muttered to herself.
"Get it?" asked Luan.
"Haha, I do get it!" chuckled Rex.
Luan giggled and smiled as she saw Rex laughing along with her. Will chuckled softly as well while Bobby smiled.
"Oh, and their teams suck too," said Oscar.
"I was never really into sports all that much," said Calvin. "I'm more of a… chess guy. Used to play it all the time with my daughter."
"Hey, Cal," said Guillermo. "We're going in or what?"
"Is it clear?"
"Seems like it."
"All right. Let's go."
The group went inside the dark supermarket and turned on their flashlights. As the last person entered the supermarket, a roamer staggered into the parking lot, walking past the entrance. It then turned around and noticed a few roamers walking inside an open back door. It followed the roamers inside.
"What do you regret the most?" asked Melissa in the video tape.
"Staying home," answered Calvin."I should've known… after the explosion, that it wasn't going to be home any longer. It's just that the memories were too strong for me to let go. Even under all that rubble, I still had hope that I could've made a life out of all the death I saw in there. But it set me on a dark path because staying in a lawless place is what took my daughter and my wife away from me. My Sierra… and my Teresa… I should've just left the day everything turned to dust… but I didn't. I don't regret what I did to their killers."
Lori held the video camera as the recording continued to play. Jackie and Mandee were stirring cups of coffee as they entered the office. Jackie handed a cup of coffee to Jane while Mandee placed Lori's cup on the desk next to her.
Melissa poured maple syrup into the stack of pancakes on the plate while Jane bit her lips as she watched Jackie's bottom half walking away, feeling herself getting hot. She then blew into her cup softly.
"Do I really have to go back home after tonight?" asked Jane.
"What's wrong with home?" asked Melissa.
"Everything."
Lori scoffed as she continued to watch the video tape.
"He's lying straight through his teeth," said Lori.
"You sound certain," said Melissa.
"I'm certain that he's a psychopath. A psychopath and a really good liar. Nothing he says here can be true. It just can't."
"A psychopath is incapable of emotion, devoid of sympathy, lives every day without remorse," said Melissa. "A family man with regrets… if that's fabricated, then he must be the best liar I ever talked with."
"I mean… maybe that part is true… but everything else can't be."
"Lori, I'm not gonna say you're wrong. What I know about Mr. Reed is that he's been very helpful to Oscar, who has taken a liking to him and his crew."
"How can you guys be so blind? I mean, what does he even do around here? Why wasn't he here when we first came? How long was he here for?"
"He and his friends have been here for a month," said Melissa. "They're great hunters. They serve meat, not of the human kind, trust me. Sometimes they take trips that last for days. But it's worth it when the food that they bring back can feed the entire community. We're not dependent on them, but it's nice to save our food stock for another day."
"They're gonna serve human food at the party tonight."
Jane gulped and reacted with disgust. Melissa sighed as she bit into a pancake slice. Lori set the video camera down and took a sip from her coffee, enjoying the bitter taste flowing into her mouth.
"I'm concerned," said Melissa.
"Great!" gasped Lori.
"For you."
"What? Why?"
"Have you ever heard of post-traumatic stress disorder?"
"You… you think I have PTSD?"
"I can't be certain of that. It's simply a concern I have, given your time out there. I don't know enough about your life to make a diagnosis. But based on the experiences I heard from the few people that were out there, it's a very traumatic life out there."
"Shouldn't we all have PTSD then?"
"Not necessarily. I'm certain everyone has reacted with trauma when the dead started to rise. The life out there inflicts trauma to everyone who experiences it. But when that trauma lingers on, even after the traumatic event has been long gone— when you're back home safe— and it haunts you… changes you… that's PTSD."
"But the threat isn't gone," said Lori. "The threats are living inside these walls."
"PTSD may influence the way you perceive situations, especially when you're suffering from an attack. I'm not going to assume that you have it, but if you did, it could explain away your moment of distress back there."
"Then I don't think I have PTSD. I'm not 'perceiving' things. I know what I saw. I know what I went through. You know what I think it is? I think it's the privilege of living behind these walls. I think that's why none of you can see what we see."
"You've been out there for a very long time. We haven't— I'm aware of that. But trust the perspective of someone who's met many outsiders. I believe you should be concerned… because it's not just you. We should both be concerned for Lincoln, Lana, and Becky. I had an interview with all three of them yesterday. They seemed to shy away from certain experiences in their life, a sign of an underlying condition. Much like soldiers do when they come back home. They're no longer on the battlefield, yet, the war comes with them back home."
"What do I do then?"
"We can have a discussion. That is, if you're up to a diagnosis."
"Sure."
Melissa placed down her plate of pancakes. She grabbed a napkin from her desk and wiped it across her lips. She took a sip of water before facing Lori directly.
"What can you tell me about the woman you were three years ago?" asked Melissa.
Oscar opened up a glass freezer door, which was warm upon contact. He grabbed a bottle of liquor and chuckled as he shined his flashlight into it.
"Found it?" asked Calvin.
"I found it," said Oscar.
"Hell yes, brother," chuckled Guillermo, placing down a cooler next to the freezer.
Luan and Rex walked to the frozen foods aisle and saw Oscar, Calvin, and Guillermo placing the alcoholic bottles into the cooler. Bobby, Carol, and Will approached them from across the aisle.
"Can all adults drink?" asked Will.
"Of course, what kinda question is that?" asked Oscar.
"I think he meant those under twenty-one," said Luan.
"I know what he meant."
Bobby shook his head as he watched Oscar close the full cooler.
"Is that what we came here for? Beer?" asked Bobby.
"And liquor," said Oscar. "And soda too. But the cooler's full, so no soda. Tell me, son— have you ever had bourbon?"
"I haven't drank anything with alcohol in it."
"Well, that's gonna change tonight. I already have a bar set up in my kitchen, and Patchy Drizzle makes a hell of a mix."
"I don't think that'd be a good idea."
"Why? Afraid your mother would disapprove?"
Bobby did not answer. He looked at Oscar with an annoyed glance as Luan walked up to Calvin.
"Why are you in Royal Woods?" asked Luan.
"If it isn't the jokester herself," said Calvin.
"I'm not joking around. I'm being serious. Why are you here?"
"I can answer that," said Oscar. "He's proven to be very valuable to the community. His traps are like next level stuff. Plus, there was that one time where a group of former civilians tried to take me to an early grave, but Cal and his men were there to stop them. I don't try to speak ill of the dead, but they were some serious pain in the asses to deal with before Cal came into the picture."
"He killed them?"
"I did," said Calvin. "That's what your group and I have in common. We can defend ourselves with ease."
Carol continued to listen to Calvin before Will approached her.
"'Sup, Carol. I gotta say, you look rather badass with that revolver of yours."
Oscar turned towards her, prompting Carol to turn to the side, hiding her revolver from his sight. She looked at Will as she felt nervous, wondering if Oscar would recognize the revolver from the picture as hers.
"Your hair looks nice too," said Carol.
"My hair? Oh, thanks. I think your hair looks rather nice too. I dig how you have it styled."
Carol looked as Oscar turned away from her. She sighed with relief.
"I'm just gonna cut to the chase," said Will. "Would you like to go to the party with me?"
"Aren't we all going to the party together?" asked Carol, keeping her attention on Calvin.
"Yeah. I meant it as like a date."
Carol lost focus as she faced Will, surprised as to what she heard. She remained speechless as Will anxiously awaited to hear from her.
"Oh, man did I come in too strong? I'm sorry, we don't know each other very well, I get it."
"No, it's fine," said Carol. "It's just… it's been so long since…"
Carol's voice trailed off as she lowered her head, trying to get her thoughts to focus.
"I mean, it's cool if you don't feel comfortable yet. No pressure."
Carol did feel uncomfortable. She then looked at the cooler that Oscar and Guillermo were carrying away. Then, as her thoughts became clearer, she was able to think of a plan.
"Yeah," said Carol. "Okay. It's a date."
"Really?" gasped Will, his voice getting excited before he calmed down. "That's umm… that's cool. Cool. Well, this would usually be the part where we exchange numbers, but… heh, that's all in the past. We could meet up again at the party."
"Wait, is anyone allowed at your house?" Bobby asked Oscar.
"Nah, just VIP," answered Oscar.
"Who's VIP?"
"Your group, for starters. Important people from different communities as well."
"Anyone in this supply-run," said Rex.
"That too. Family of those in the VIP list. It's a long list, but my place is big— it's practically a mansion."
Oscar and Guillermo walked outside the aisle as they began to walk towards the checkout aisles. Then, they saw Beatrice jogging away from the checkout aisles and towards the group.
"The entrance is compromised," panted Beatrice. "We won't be able to get out through the entrance."
"There's a back door, right?" asked Oscar.
"Yeah," answered Guillermo.
Oscar watched as two roamers walked in through the entrance.
"Let's go, let's go," he muttered.
Oscar and the group ran away from the checkout area and across an empty aisle with nothing to offer except dust and cobwebs. Upon arriving at the back aisle, the group encountered a swarm of roamers.
"Set it down, set it down," said Guillermo.
Oscar placed the cooler down as he watched Guillermo take out his knife. Beatrice grabbed a machete from her back— the machete that used to belong to Becky— and began hacking away at the roamers. Luan grabbed her katana and began slicing away heads and flesh while Bobby wielded his knife. Rex quivered as he held his knife out, backing away as the roamers came closer. Will grabbed his knife and began to stab the roamers slowly one by one. Oscar and Calvin stayed back and kept their flashlights on the roamers. Suddenly, the roamers growled behind them. Calvin lifted his ACE-23— which also belonged to Becky— and fired at the roamers.
A path has been created for the group to escape through, allowing them to run past the roamers. Calvin left for the open back door, leaving Oscar behind as he tried to carry the heavy cooler on his own. He groaned as Bobby kept the back door open.
"Just leave it behind!" shouted Bobby.
Oscar groaned in pain as his arms struggled to carry it to the back door. The roamers were then starting to close in on him, prompting Luan to run back inside the store. Using the light from the outside, she approached one of the roamers close to Oscar and decapitated it, causing blood to splatter into Oscar's face, including his glasses. Oscar yelled and dropped the cooler, causing it to shatter all the bottles inside upon landing on the floor, spilling the alcohol all over the bodies.
Luan dragged Oscar outside of the supermarket before Bobby shut the door. They looked around and saw roamers coming into the parking lot. The group quickly ran back to their vehicles, trying to avoid the slow roamers. As their cars began to drive away from the parking lot, the back door opened on its own again since some of the hinges were missing. The red wine poured past the broken glass in the floor and flowed past the hinges that lay inside a can. The can was marked with an X on it.
"What about Calvin?" asked Lori.
"He seems to be of sound mind," said Melissa. "No signs of anything out of the ordinary in his head. But then again, I haven't made an official diagnosis on him."
"Do you really believe he's normal?" asked Lori. "Eating people is normal?"
"The human mind is complicated. Much like yours, Lori. All this time, talking with you… it truly makes me believe your mind has been influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder."
"No… don't tell me I actually do have PTSD?"
"Seems likely. The insomnia, the triggering memories, the loss of concentration, the heightened tension and aggression... it's nothing to be ashamed of."
"No, I just hate that it means you or anyone is not gonna believe me. It's like I'm being gaslighted."
"It's not an official diagnosis. It's possible that you may be of sound mind. But we'll only know when the threat goes away."
"So you do think Calvin's a threat!"
"Eh…"
"I mean, there's gotta be a small part of you that believes everything I said. After everything I told you?"
"I'm not in any power to do anything about it. Only my husband can do something about it, but like I said, he's taken a liking to him and his crew. But I am curious… what would you want him to do?"
Lori looked at Melissa as she placed a finger on her chin, interested to hear her response. They looked at each, not in awkward silence, but in an intriguing wait.
"Kill him," said Lori plainly. "It's that simple."
"We don't execute people here," said Melissa, her tone growing stern.
"What do you do with threats then?"
"We exile them. My husband has exiled a group that attacked him. They have not come back, and I like to believe that our guards are the cause of that. Everything beyond the walls is being watched."
"What about inside the walls?"
"We're going in a circle here. How about this? I look into the matter. You said Calvin and his people are going to serve… human meat at the party?"
"Yeah."
"Where'd you get that information?"
"One of my siblings snuck out. And before you say anything— I know it's against the rules. But that sibling snuck into the barn and found people in there— captured like animals. And Calvin, Guillermo, and Nora were there. Nora mentioned that they were gonna feed us people at the party."
"Okay. I'm going to have his food checked before it makes it to a single plate. I'm putting my trust in you because I believe you will not do anything rash. And you won't do anything rash because I'm telling you right now— do not do anything rash. Understand?"
Lori set the video camera down. Calvin could be seen talking in the recording.
"I do," said Lori.
A group of birds flew across the azure sky. The weather was fair. The mood in Royal Woods was relaxed.
Clancy was walking across the main intersection— Franklin and Rembrandt. He looked across Rembrandt Street, seeing a line of empty rectangular tables joined together, set up in a way similar to a buffet table. In the town center, the circular tables and chairs were moved closer to the edge while making space in the middle of the lot. Unpowered Christmas lights hung across the lamps and table umbrellas, which was to provide light later on in the night. But the real decorated part of the party was inside Oscar's mansion. In fact, all the decorations they had— from balloons to fancy napkins— were stored inside his mansion, leaving the outside lacking in decorations.
Tim, Sam, Fiona, and Miguel arrived at the intersection where they met up with Clancy and a few other people, including Becky and Moose— who gave each other constant glares.
"What is it?" asked Fiona.
"I need you all of you guys to head to DairyLand and grab balloons, firecrackers, confetti—"
"Hold on, I thought we already had party stuff?" questioned Miguel.
"Right, but we need more. Oscar needs more."
"You want us to go to DairyLand for party stuff?" asked Sam. "Wouldn't our energy be better spent looking for water, food, medicine, and other necessities."
"No. We got that covered already. We need party supplies."
"But—"
Tim turned Sam around, making her face him instead of Clancy.
"This is completely—" said Sam before being interrupted by Tim.
"I know it sounds unnecessary, but you gotta do this. Doing these supply-runs makes you gain Oscar's trust. It lets him know that you're willing to contribute however you can."
"Can't I just go on a different run instead?"
"Oscar and his men don't like taking a no for an answer. I wouldn't recommend it."
"Fine. I guess we're going on this supply-run!"
"All of you, yes. Not me. Or Fiona. Or Miguel. I'm taking those two with me to pick up some people from the RenCenter."
"Alright, got it," said Clancy. "The rest of you, get moving!"
"He's coming?" asked Sam, pointing at Moose.
"Yes. Is that going to be a problem?"
Sam looked at Moose, who looked at her back. His eyes were cold, devoid of emotion.
"No, it won't be," said Sam.
Bruna walked in between Sam and Moose, tying her curly hair into a ponytail as she faced Sam.
"I hope it won't be," said Bruna. "'Cause I'm coming too."
Sam sighed as she turned towards Tim.
"Don't worry," reassured Tim. "I know you and the Piranhas have history, but she's turned over a new leaf."
"I hope so," said Sam.
Clancy looked at his clipboard, crossing out items in the list. He then looked up, seeing Becky, hands in her pockets, walking by the town center with her mother and her brother. He tried to forge a smile on his face, but was unable to do so.
"Oh, there's Dad. I gotta talk to him."
"I thought you wanted to spend some time away from him," said Ms. Carmichael.
"I changed my mind," said Becky, jogging towards her father.
"Wait, Rebecca! Oh, so impulsive."
Clancy lowered his clipboard as he saw his daughter approaching him.
"I'm a little busy right now," he said.
"I know, I just wanted to tell you how bad I feel about doing what I did earlier," said Becky. "I shouldn't have taken your gun like that."
"You shouldn't have pulled a gun on Calvin and his crew as well."
"Umm… debatable."
"Don't do it again. You didn't come all this way just to get kicked out."
"You're not mad at me, right?"
"No, of course not. I'm just… concerned."
"Same shit Mom says. 'Oh, I'm not mad, I'm just worried.' But in reality— she's straight up angry."
"I know what you mean," chuckled Clancy. "Yeah, she did do that a lot. But you know me— I don't play with that manipulative crap. I tell it how it is."
Becky raised an eyebrow.
"To you," clarified Clancy.
"Oh, okay. Maybe I can sleep over at your place. We could talk more. Make up for lost time. I mean, I love Mom and Tucker and all, but I miss hanging out with you. Even before all this started, I only saw you once a month."
"We will spend more time together. My place though? Nah, my room at City Hall is way too small. You deserve that giant bedroom of yours. Plus, I wouldn't want your mother to get jealous of us hanging out too much. But don't worry. We'll see each other every single day, and we can talk over lunch, play some pool, maybe even go visit some of the other communities together."
"What about when you ditched me yesterday?"
"I'll try my best to not let it happen again. Or… perhaps… after some time, you could just come with me. All you gotta do is earn Oscar's trust, then you can get to have some big responsibilities. Like bossing people around, heh."
"Must feel good bossing people around, right?"
"Yeah. Lori never let you do it?"
"She has, like two days ago… I think. I don't know."
"Well, it feels good. All you gotta do is get Oscar to trust you. First impressions help a lot, but they're not everything. You two may have started off a bit rocky but…"
Becky watched as her father talked, but she wasn't listening to him. She became tangled in her thoughts racing around, wondering if Lori ever trusted her enough. She didn't. Now, she wanted to know why. Was something wrong with her? A bird squawking in the air snapped her out of her panic. She raised her eyebrows as she looked at Clancy as he read through the papers in his clipboard. She then heard the sound of crutches clacking against the road coming closer. It was Luna, who was limping towards Sam.
Sam turned around and saw Luna with a backpack on.
"Wait up," said Luna. "Let me come with you guys!"
"No, you're not coming," said Clancy, his eyes still on the clipboard.
"I can be your eyes and ears. I'm really good with snipers."
"Sorry, you're not getting your guns back. You're staying here. Can't have any more of that shit from the morning going down again."
"But—"
"Luna, stay," said Sam. "Bobby's mom said you shouldn't be straining your legs too much. You're lucky you can even stand up and walk. And that's good! But don't push yourself."
"But I have a bad feeling about this."
"So do I. But I can take care of myself. And I will be back, right before the party, all safe and sound."
"Fine. We're still on for that first date, right?"
"You know it."
"Sam, the others are waiting for you," said Clancy. "You gotta go now."
"Alright. I'll be back soon, Luna."
Sam gave Luna a quick hug before walking to a truck outside the open gate. She stepped into the back of the truck, where she saw Benny. She smiled and sighed a breath of relief. Then, she saw a few vehicles driving inside Royal Woods. Their engines stopped running, and Oscar and the other supply-runners came out of the vehicles. Oscar began storming away.
"Hey, Oscar— I got a question for you," said Clancy.
"Not right now," muttered Oscar.
"What's going on?" asked Clancy.
"I think he's all pissy that he dropped his drinks," smirked Luan.
"What did you say?" asked Oscar, turning around.
"Hey, man, let's just drop it," said Rex, placing his hands on Oscar's chest.
"Get your hand off my chest, boy."
"C'mon, if you can't be an alcoholic, don't settle for being a rageaholic," said Luan.
"You really need to learn how to shut the hell up and learn some manners."
"Yeah? Who's gonna shut me up? Oscar the Grou—?"
Oscar slapped Luan, leaving a mark on her left cheek. Carol and Will gasped while Rex gulped. Bobby flinched while Beatrice smirked. Luna grew angry while Moose remained deadpan. Fiona hissed in awkwardness as she and Miguel turned to look at each other. Tim turned over to Sam, who had her eyes raised. Becky uncrossed her arm as she reached for her pistol. But she had nothing around her waist. Benny quickly hopped out from the back of the truck as Luan reached for her face, feeling herself getting red.
"Are you alright?" asked Benny, placing his hands on Luan's face.
"Yeah," whispered Luan. "Forget it."
"You're kicked off the VIP list," hissed Oscar. "Don't come near my house tonight. And not a word to this to any of the other communities! Or else, it's the gates for you!"
Benny growled as he looked at Oscar. However, Luan pulled his shirt and forced Benny to turn back to her.
"I said forget it," she whispered.
Luan then began to walk towards her house, feeling completely humiliated. Benny then decided to follow her before Clancy called him.
"Hey, Benny! What about the supply-run?"
"Just go without me. Go."
Clancy turned around to see Oscar, but he too stormed off. Becky crossed her arms, looking at him in a skeptical light, wondering how someone gloating about being in charge could have so little power and knowledge. She then walked away.
Lincoln and Clyde walked towards Rembrandt, seeing Oscar's house at the end of the wall-made three-way intersection. They saw the manhole cover in the middle of the intersection. However, there were too many people in the distance.
"Dang, too many witnesses," said Lincoln.
"I agree," said Clyde. "I think there may be another manhole by Girl Jordan's place— o-or Chloe's house. Wait, they live together, right?"
"Yeah," said Lincoln. "I think there may be one over there. Are there witnesses around there?"
"Witnesses for what?" asked Ronnie Anne, causing Lincoln to gasp in fear.
"Oh, my goodness, you scared me," said Lincoln.
"Why? You're planning a murder or something, Lame-O?
"No. Me and Clyde are just… just— umm—"
"We're just gonna prank Chandler and his pals," said Clyde.
"Yup! We're thinking of stuffing peanut butter down his pants."
"Chunky or smooth?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"Chunky," said Lincoln.
"Smooth," said Clyde at the same time.
"Right…" said Ronnie Anne, expressing doubt to their answers. "So, about that party tonight…"
"Yeah, uh huh?" asked Lincoln.
"So I'm not lame enough to ask you out to a dance or whatever, because dances are boring… but I did hear they are serving fresh chicken, steak, cake… this one guy is apparently bringing in quesadillas, and you know I've been wanting to see you try out quesadillas—"
"Uh huh."
"—so yeah. How's that sound?"
"You sure you want your mom to see us together?" asked Lincoln. "I mean, how would she even feel about you having a boyfriend or something?"
"Ah, she knows already. She's totally cool with it. No need to introduce you to her or anything like that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yup."
"Okay. Sounds good. See you at the party."
"Okay," smiled Ronnie Anne.
Lincoln and Clyde watched as Ronnie Anne walked away. They both sighed as they looked at each other.
"That was a close one," said Clyde.
"Sure was," said Lincoln.
They both began to walk towards the house that belonged to their female classmates. Girl Jordan, Stella, Chloe, and Mollie all lived in a red house right at the southeast section of the community. Across their street was a blue house, which belonged to Chandler and his friends Richie and Trent.
"Are you sure we're gonna make it back to Royal Woods in time for the party?" asked Clyde.
"Yeah," sighed Lincoln. "Hopefully that means we have time to make it to the Farmlands."
"I bet it is. Liam's locker combination shouldn't be too hard to find. [secretary] has got to be organized. I mean, how bad can she be at her job that she doesn't have a file on the combination of every locker in the school?"
"Ehhh, let's try not to jinx anything."
"Right. But just in case…"
"Clyde…"
"Just in case, we have to go back before the party starts, no matter what. We got two girls waiting for us."
"Lynn's going to the party?"
"Yup. She heard about the quesadillas too! We're gonna eat them together!"
"Yeah, we definitely have to make it back before the party or else Lynn's gonna eat all your food."
Clyde laughed as Lincoln approached the manhole cover. He watched as Lincoln lifted the cover, allowing both of them to sneak down into the sewers. Then, just as Lincoln climbed down the ladder, he closed the cover, and the two boys were now gone from sight.
The sun began to set down as the sky glowed orange and pink in the horizon. Sam opened up the lid for a fuel tank in a school bus parked at a parking lot outside of DairyLand. She then grabbed the plastic tube that Bruna handed her and inserted it into the fuel tank. Bruna placed the tube into her mouth and sucked the air inside it, trying to suck the fuel out of the bus. However, after more than a couple dozen seconds of suction, nothing came out. Bruna pulled the tube out of her mouth and tossed it down, groaning out of frustration.
A small group returned to the group back at the parking lot where Sam and Bruna were.
"Any luck?" asked Bruna.
"Nah," said Nadia, one of Lynn's roller-derby friends. "None of the nearby buses have any diesel in 'em."
"You guys didn't find any FEMA camps nearby?" asked Sam.
"No, why?"
"Sometimes we find diesel in them. Well-stored diesel."
"I saw one inside," said Theo, Nadia's boyfriend. "Think it was by the ferris wheel. Or was it by one of the rollercoasters? I-I don't know."
"I guess we'll have to look."
The group walked inside the amusement park, where they had already looted it for party supplies, including balloons, confetti, glowsticks, table covers, and firecrackers. The group split up, knowing that the area has already been cleared out. Sam and Bruna were walking together, looking for any signs of a FEMA camp.
"I hope this isn't awkward for you," said Bruna.
"What is? Us— walking together?" asked Sam.
"Yeah. Because you know— our history. Not us specifically but our groups."
"It's fine. We've met worse people than… well, I don't know. Your group was pretty bad."
"Not all of them were bad. We had our orders."
"Said by every thug and soldier under a tyrant. Look, we don't have to talk. We don't have to be friends. We just focus on the mission and…"
Sam's words drifted off as she stopped at her tracks and gazed upon the sign in front of her. It stated, 'You Must Be This Tall To Ride', with a cow mascot holding her arms out. Behind the sign was an abandoned rollercoaster ride, collecting dust and cobwebs. In her mind, she saw herself and Simon standing in line before they climbed into one of the seats on the rollercoaster. She strapped Simon's seatbelt across his waist as he watched their parents standing outside of the ride. Their father was holding a camera. She and Simon smiled as their father took a picture of them. Then, suddenly, they zoomed off and screamed with the rest of the riders.
Sam blinked and returned to the present. There was no one inside the rollercoaster. No one in line. No one screaming out of joy.
"I just wanted to talk because I didn't want things to feel awkward," said Bruna. "But if you're gonna be like that, then forget it."
"Fine. I don't want to talk anyways," said Sam, walking away from the rollercoaster. "I just want to find this camp and go back to the walls."
"With your stupid date, right?"
"Now, that's just plain—"
Sam's words drifted off again as she saw Moose walking alone in the boardwalk. She jogged ahead, leaving Bruna behind. Bruna raised her arms below her shoulders in confusion before rolling her eyes and walking away.
"What the hell did you do to the gas?" asked Sam.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Moose.
"The diesel in our truck? I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have let us out with an empty tank. Becky's dad wouldn't do that."
"Yeah? And what— that automatically makes me the prime suspect?"
"You have motivation to sabotage this supply-run."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"You want to keep me separated from my group. You got Lori's guns taken away. Luna's, Becky's, Lincoln's, and you almost got Vonda's gun taken away too. You and your people are trying to disable us— I can see what you're doing!"
"You think too highly of yourself," said Moose. "Trust me, last place I wanna be is in an abandoned amusement park with a girl who wants to kill me. I have a home to get back to too. And your friends— they did that to themselves."
"You're not denying anything."
"Oh, for crying out loud, I'm looking for the camp too. I ain't sabotaging shit."
"Then you won't mind if I follow you, right?"
"Whatever you want."
Sam squinted as she followed Moose, keeping her hands close to where her pistol holster was located on her waist.