The gray clouds blocked most of the sunlight that shone on the group. David tapped on Lori's shoulder and pointed at Vanzilla. Lori shook her head and returned to her gaze on Lake Erie. David walked towards Richard. David asked Richard if he could drive Vanzilla, pointing out Lori's growing depression.
The vehicles drove at a coyote's pace, while raindrops fell on the roofs. Lori sat by Bobby while looking out the window. She looked at every felling raindrop. Darcy held on to Bobby, confused about what was occurring.
The group passed by a sign that displayed the words, "NOW ENTERING BUFFALO". Lana and Lola looked at pictures of their parents from the photo album that Leni reorganize. Lincoln started at the clouds, pondering about his best friend's situation.
Carol rolled the window on her side of the car and vomited on the moving pavement. She climbed back into her seat and wiped her mouth. Closed her eyes, she groaned as she pressed on her stomach and forehead with her hands. The group stopped by an abandoned warehouse before the sun disappeared.
Lynn slept next to Clyde on the floor of the RV with a damp pillow. Lisa hooked a needle in Clyde's arm and connected it with an IV fluid bag. The next morning, Lynn woke up with reddish and white eyes filled with nothing but sorrow.
Dana's eyelids opened up and saw Lisa making tea. Becky and Tad gasped excitedly and hugged her. Even Vonda stopped frowning and hugged Dana. Lisa smiled and handed her the tea, catching her up with their current situation as the group touched the land of another country.
The RV, Vanzilla, Chaz's car, and Chunk's car stopped at a park. The group watched the waterfall come crashing down on the rocks as it was not caring about the tragedies that people faced in the world. Nature truly didn't care. The dew in the grass magnificently set the beautiful scene of Niagara Falls.
"Hey, Lola are you enjoying the view?" asked Jason as he and Lola watch the waterfall.
"Yes and no, I always wanted to go here for a long time, but not like this I figured my parents would take me here for my birthday and me and my family would watch the beautiful view together. But now it is the end of the world, dead people are walking and eating people, and my parents were taken. This is not how I imagined going here would be like" said Lola tears in her eyes.
"Hey now, I know this is not the way you imagine coming here, but it is a beautiful site and your parents will save them, you will see them again" said Jason patting Lola's head.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Lola wiped her tears and hugged Jason who returned the hug, as Lola went back to staring at the beautiful water fell, Jason walked over to the RV, wanting to talk to Dana.
"Are you alright, Carol?" asked Sergei.
"No, not really. I need to go to the RV. Maybe Lisa can help me out," replied Carol, still pressing her stomach.
Becky, Dana, and Tad left the RV and went inside Chaz's car. Dana felt tense and being around Carol was not making her feel more relaxed. She needed to be as rested as she could to let her abdomen heal. She asked Jason if he was coming, and he told her to go without him and said he'll talk to her later.
"Lori? Where are you going?" asked Lincoln.
Lori looked back at Lincoln and pointed at the RV.
"Babe, don't you want me to come with you?" asked Bobby.
"No, stay here with Darcy," replied Lori.
Lori closed the passenger door and walked to the RV with only her backpack and a bottle of water. Carol walked to the RV as well and started at Lori awkwardly when they arrived at the driver's side door. Carol slowly opened the door, allowing Lori to enter the vehicle. Lori went inside and sat in the seat behind David. Carol sat next to D, Wavehead, and Vonda at the booth table. Missy walked over to Carol.
"You seem to be in pain," said Missy.
"Yeah, going cold turkey is not so fun," said Carol, shivering, despite it being hot as a June day would be.
"Don't you want some medicine or something? That would help a lot," asked Missy.
"I agree. Reduction in oxycodone use seems to be a more fitting choice than abruptly stopping drug use. Besides, it is safer," suggested Lisa.
"Thanks, but no, thanks. I deserve this. After everything I did to Lori in the past year, I think I had this coming."
"That seems rather illogical, but fine. Then at least consume some soup to replenish your health," said Lisa.
Lisa grabbed a boiling flask and some water. After boiling the water, she poured it into a can of soup.
"Wait until it reaches desirable temperatures, and then consume it.
"Okay," whispered back Carol.
Meanwhile, David and Jason attempted to converse with Lori.
"You know what happened wasn't your fault, right? I understand your grief, but you can't beat yourself up."
"Yes, it was. I was the one who didn't prepare the group for the herd."
"Anyone could've made that mistake, even me."
"When the herd did come, I made the terrible choice to do nothing at all."
"You couldn't do anything. You couldn't risk breaking the herd that was following.
"David right, you were in a tough situation, what happened wasn't your fault Lori." said Jason.
"Even after that, I still did nothing! I didn't want to take the risk! Now, Clyde is probably going to bite the dust soon!" cried Lori, breaking into tears.
Lynn looked at Lori and walked over to her, releasing her hands from Clyde's.
"You might've been the one to do nothing, but I was the one who failed to save Clyde. I could've led the group upstairs sooner and Clyde wouldn't have gotten bitten!"
"You two were not responsible for what happened. If anything, I was. I could've done something with the herd, rather than try to outrun it back in Pennsylvania. We all make mistakes, and we have to learn from them. Lori, you could've made a far worse decision, but you didn't." said David.
"Lori, like I said before you have what it takes to be a leader, but you're not ready yet, use this as a learning experience."
"If Lori was such a good leader, then why isn't she the leader anymore? Why are you the leader?" asked Zach, moving his glasses and squinting at David.
"Because Jason convinced me to give up my leadership. And because he is more stable than I am. Emotionally stable," answered Lori. "Of course. He can handle grief the best out of all of us because he doesn't know us too well. Yet he still cares about us."
"Oh. That makes sense," said Zach, looking down.
"Wait. Jason way did convince Lori to step down as leader, you voted for her?" asked Lynn.
"Because she is not ready yet, and she needs to make sure you and the rest of your siblings make it to Houlton, Lola was going to die the same day Clyde got bitten Lynn," said Jason.
"She... was going to die," said Lynn, shocked by this information. "You saved her, I wasn't able to do anything, I could've run to Lola, but I didn't if it wasn't for you, she be dead right now. Thank you for saving my sister Jason."
"You're welcome."
Lynn walked back to the couch and sat next to Clyde, holding his right hand and watching him once again, feeling his heartbeat with her other hand. Carol sipped on her soup and got off the booth table. She walked over to Lori and sat in the seat where Missy usually sits. Missy walked to the passenger seat and sat next to David. Lori glared at Carol while she ate her soup. Lori's expression softened while watching her rival eat peacefully and gracefully. David looked at Missy nervously.
"I should just get you your drugs. Take Lisa's advice. Reduce until you don't have to depend on them," suggested Lori.
Thanks..." said Carol, slurping on her can of soup," ...but no, thanks. I don't deserve it."
Oh, how Lori wished she would've said those words sooner. She would've loved to see her rival suffer, but that was then. This is now, and she felt guilty instead.
"You do... deserve it," stuttered Lori.
"Me? The girl who tried to steal your boyfriend a year ago? Lied to you countless times? Humiliated you and your friends with my fake friends? Tried everything to beat you, no matter what it was. The girl who steal wants to be with that kind of gentleman that you're with?"
Those words would've set off the fuse of Lori's short temper. However, she felt nothing but guilt.
"Better than the girl who showed off her boyfriend to a friend who she knew she liked. Who held a grudge against you. Who led you to the path of drugs. Who didn't care if you died alone or not. Who wanted to beat you until you bleed. Who didn't care if you suffered from withdrawal," sighed Lori. "I don't blame you for liking Bobby. He's always willing to help others, and he is so gentle with everyone."
"You did those things because of me. You do know that I was going to try to impress Bobby on prom night this year by copying your hairstyle, right? I heard a rumor that he was going to come to Royal Woods."
Lori chuckled softly to herself. Carol lifted her eyebrows confusedly.
"I would've guessed so. I did those things because I was angry, and I didn't want to talk to you like friends would've had. If I had, you wouldn't have gone down the path you went."
"I wish things could've been different."
"Me too. You reminded me of the prom night and graduation day that we never had. You were always going to outshine me somehow, in both events."
"I'm sorry," apologized Carol closing her eyes.
Lori grabbed her shoulder and moved closer to her.
"Don't be. In a way, I was always jealous of you when we were close," reassured Lori. "It just literally that we were so close to having those two special days..."
"...and to have it ruined my a zombie apocalypse," sighed Carol. "Nothing but death all around us."
Lori thought about Lola, how she almost died feeling grateful she's that still alive. But something else was on her mind
"You know what? Let this apocalypse be a new beginning for us. I'm sorry for everything. I really am."
"A second chance?" asked Carol.
"Yes. Do you forgive me, Carol?"
Carol teared up. She sniffed and hugged Lori.
"Of course, I forgive you.
Missy, having heard all of this since she was sitting right next to them, looked ahead in the road and smiled. The RV drove slowly through Buffalo. The mood was quite in the vehicles.
-One Week Later-
The vehicles have broken down a couple of times or ran out of gas. Every time it did, Lana had a solution, or Vonda and Lisa would siphon fuel from other vehicles. Lola went to Jason to retard his buck knife, but said she could have it to protect herself and love one, Lola was hesitant at first but agreed.
Syracuse and Rochester were blocked off by herds of roamers, so the group had re-navigate their way to Albany. The fact that they couldn't reach Albany yet concerned David. After countless of restless nights, Missy stopped taking watch over the group. Jason, Bobby, and Luna took her position, all three being excellent night owls. Carol was in much better help and returned with Sergei. Lori went along with her, and then three would converse with each other about their lives. Whenever Bobby and Lori snuggled against each other, Lori felt guilty about Carol.
The group fought off roamers on the road as always. Missy taught them the risky technique that involved killing the newly-turned roamers. Lisa informed the group that the roamers bite couldn't be cured with any antibiotics thanks to Jason information. Benny taught Luan how to move the katana around as if they were fencing. He thought that one day, he could convince Tad to give him the ninjato sword so Luan can use his katana to slice the roamers easier than a pry bar. Jason decided to teach Lori some self-defense moves for one on one fight and hand-to-hand combat. Bobby worked up the courage to tell Ronnie Anne about their family. She fell into a depression, but Lincoln and Bobby helped her get through it. However, she still wanted to see her home, and David accepted her request.
On the last day of June, Francisco walked to the RV and saw Lynn sitting next to Jason while listening to Clyde's heartbeat. He saw how low Clyde's IV bag was and walked further towards the back. The group headed back into Syracuse from another road in hopes of avoiding the herd through another road and headed back to Albany. With the vehicles moving, Francisco stood still and inched his way closer to Lynn. Finally, after a couple minutes he set down on the couch next to Jason, Lynn, and Clyde.
"Hey, Lynn."
"What are you doing here, Francisco?"
Francisco slowly removed his cap and fixed his messy hair.
"I'm here to apologize. Apologize to you for what I did to Clyde," said Francisco.
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to him when he wakes up," harshly replied Lynn.
"Yes, I will, but I need to apologize to you as well. I know how close you two were, and I'm sorry for beating him. I truly am. Lynn, the guilt is eating me alive. All I ask is for us to start talking again like best friend."
"I can't guarantee that we will ever become friends again. I trusted you!"
"I know, I know! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn't thinking straight. Come on, Lynn, you have to know how it feels like to let your emotions take over!"
Lynn looked at Francisco quietly. She then close her eyes and face the ground.
"I do know how it feels. But before I forgive you, Clyde must forgive you first."
"Okay. Thanks, Lynn."
"Don't thank me just yet. Can you tell me what you two fought about. I asked Jason after he told us he knows the future, but he said he wanted you to do it?"
"Now the to tell her Francisco, and please don't be a coward and back out, because if you do, I'll tell you and then smack you." said Jason
"Okay, I was jealous of the fact that he was always spending time with you. Especially after your little argument with him. I thought that you and he were going to become closer than you and me. I got mad and confronted him about it. He didn't want to stay away from you. Now, I don't blame him because you're such an awesome person, Lynn. But I didn't care. I was too mad to care. Now, I don't even know if I'm ever going to be close to you again."
"That's why you beat him? Clyde and I were already close, sort of. You know, I could've with both of you."
"No, You don't understand. I like you, Lynn. That's why I was jealous," admitted Francisco.
Tabby, Liam, Zach, and Rusty looked at both of them Vonda raised her eyes. Jason chuckled a little. Lynn blushed a little and hid her face close to Clyde's chest.
"Did you have to say that out loud?" whispered Lynn.
"Sorry, Lynn."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Francisco, I liked you too. But you lost my trust. You have to earn it back."
"I know, I should've told you when I got the letter. You see. I was nervous. I never had the balls to do it."
"Oh yeah, where did that letter go?" asked Lynn.
"It's stashed in my bloody and roamer-infested locker."
Lynn looked surprised. She always wondered what happened to her school as none of the loud sisters were around to witness the destruction of her school.
"What happened to the school?" asked Lynn.
"You weren't there?" asked Francisco.
"No, I caught an illness. Lisa said I probably caught the infection of the dead. Luckily for me, it didn't kill me."
"Unluckily, others in our school caught it, and they were killed. Margo caught the... what you called it? Infection of the dead? It wasn't just her. A couple of other kids as well."
"What happened to her?"
"She turn into one of them. A roamer. It was... shocking. She had no trace of her former-self inside of her. She attended by biting and tearing their bodies apart. Everyone at school panicked. There was a lockdown. That was probably the school's worst mistake. In almost every class, someone was bitten, and they turned. I ran around the school and I took matters into my own hands. I pulled one of the fire alarms, so my classmates didn't have to stay in that dumbass school. However, they completely ignored evacuation rules and started pilling up around the entrance. I tried calling my parents, but the phone lines were down. I ran into the equipment room and grabbed a bat. I smashed a window in one of the classrooms and ran out of the school."
"Damn. That sounds... horrible and Margo... are you sure it was her?"
"Yeah. Whenever I think about the school, all I think about is her cry and the blood squirting from her mouth. How pale and sweaty she looked. Then, I am reminded of the victims with blood all over their bodies, some with torn necks and stomachs and limbs. It was just like in Detroit. I kill my first roamer in the school, and it was Margo."
Lynn wiped a tear from her eye. She held Francisco's right hand.
"What happened to your bat?" asked Lynn.
"Probably bomb into pieces in Detroit. But you would've seen it. You would've seen Margo's blood dry on the bat."
Lynn knew how guilty Francisco feels about kill one of her closest friends. Francisco broke his silence.
"I hope Clyde wakes up soon. And we three can start anew," said Francisco. "The crazy part is, I don't want to go back to Royal Woods after all of this is over. If all of this is ever all over."
The group stayed in silence. Even Lynn didn't say anything. That didn't bother Jason and Francisco as he allowed the group to process the thought of the middle school being conquered by the dead. What bothered him was that he didn't know was what Lynn was thinking. She was thinking if she really did want to go back to Royal Woods after a cure is created. More importantly. Will she ever make it back to Royal Woods?
"...people are often ignored about the strength, the power of disease and infection..." started Tim Crowley in one of his tapes. "Many people think that something like AIDS could end the world as we know it... and give no thought to what would happen if diseases Ebola or Spanish Flu were to break out. These diseases are unknown to the general public, much like one particular infection. All of you read zombie novels or watched movies with zombies on it right? What if I told you... that there was an infection that would cause a person to act like the zombies that you see in the movies? I know it sounds completely insane, and it probably is, but my sources tell me that there is such a disease..."
Lori pushed the cassette player and rummaged through Tim's backpack. Vonda looked visibly confused and wondered what Lori was up to. She was about to tap Lori's shoulder when she took out a half-ripped label.
"I wonder when this was made. There was already an Ebola outbreak just months ago!" exclaimed Lori, while holding the label up.
She placed it on the label that was already on the tape to connect both labels together. Her hands still placed on the labels, she read out loud.
"ILLNESS. August 8, 1992. is this information about infection of the dead?"
Lisa walked away from the campfire that she sparked up and walked over to Lori. She insisted that Lori continue playing the tape.
"...a combination of a virus and a parasite, which I believe is airborne. If this infection were to ever break out... it could possibly end life as we know it. So, more information about the virus-slash-parasite... let's see... oh, yeah, it has a 5% mortality rate. However, the strain of the infection grows stronger after the death of its host. Yes, the host will come back to life after death... and the infection grows stronger along with it. The infection can be transmitted through bodily fluids such as saliva and blood... and this is the one you have to watch out for... as it has a 99% mortality rate. Symptoms include. heavy sweating, dehydration, pale skin, bloodshot eyes, bags around the eyes, and coughing blood. How would I know any of this? There are scientists testing it out on animals and humans! There are tests being done right now in the CDC."
"Oh, yeah, we believe you. If only people actually believed you sooner, we wouldn't be in this mess!" yelled Lori.
"Nevertheless, this proved to be essential information for my research," said Lisa. "How did this tape not reach the masses?"
"Because he never released that tape," sighed Vonda.
Lori looked at her and paused the tape.
"What do you mean he never released the tape? Wasn't this a video show? He didn't inform people there?" asked Lori.
"I went through all his radio episodes, and he did not mention the infection until 2015. It should be in one of the cassettes tapes in the backpack," answered Vonda.
"May I get a hold of this?" asked Lisa. "For research purposes."
Luan and Benny giggled softly upon hearing her. They quickly stopped giggling after Lincoln looked at them glumly.
"Sure. I mean we are going to be sitting next to each other in the RV anyway," replied Vonda.
Vonda handed Lisa the tape cassette and Lori handed her the cassette player. Lisa walked into the RV and tried on the lights. The group threw their empty cans away from the road. David ordered the groups to go back into their respective vehicles. For the first time in a week, Lori felt comfortable returning to Vanzilla, but not yet comfortable enough to drive.
"Are you feeling alright, babe?" asked Bobby while Lori placed her backpack down on the floor.
Darcy was already sleeping on Bobby's lap and Ronnie Anne moved away from her seat go allow Bobby and Lori to set together. Lori snuggled on Bobby's shoulder. She looked at Ronnie Anne motioned her to come closer to her. Ronnie Anne huffed and closed her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a dejected Lori. Sighing, she released that Lori was still thinking about Clyde and that she needed the comfort from her. Ronnie Anne lied on Lori's chest and closed her eyes. Bobby kissed Lori's forehead and rested his head on the window.