The headlights beamed on the littered and ruined street. Lori came out of Vanzilla with a golf club and Bobby's Luger, searching for roamers to kill. Boarded windows, empty cans and bullet chambers in the ground, a toppled stop sign, potholes that were never and will never be fixed, grass and weeds growing from the sidewalks, rotting roamer corpses, some who were police officers, a skateboard with a missing wheel, and pieces of trash all occupied the once busy street. Chunk and Sergei came out of their vehicles and led some of the group members along the walk inside the Casagrande bodega. Besides the moonlight, the only things that were illuminating the streets were the headlights from the three vehicles and fire barrels that represented signs of life before the firefight between the criminal syndicate and the group of survivors. Lori remained alert for any lurking roamers, but she was only met with drifting newspapers in the street. A sheet from a newspaper that consisted of four pages, including the headlines, dragged itself towards Lori's right ankle, prompting her to pick it up.
"Ronnie Anne? Why don't you come inside?" asked Lincoln.
"I… don't want to know."
"Know what?"
The vines hanging from the train tracks swung weakly as the wind pushed its way through the city. The shadow of the alleys and the fire escapes remained still as Ronnie Anne and Lori expected it to move. Nothing was revealed through this intense examination and the girls' fear only increased.
"I don't want to know if who Bobby saw were my grandmother, my grandfather, my cousins… my mother."
A loud hiss was heard and a black cat dashed around the bodega and disappeared once again. Lori quickly looked at the cat and aimed her Luger at it. Panting quickly, she lowered her gun and nodded at Ronnie Anne, motioning her head in a way as to instruct her to enter the bodega. The little rebel of a girl entered the bodega and closed the door, keeping Lori out in the open and the rest of the group members inside Vanzilla. Lori looked at the newspaper and read the date.
"May 30, 2016."
She then whispered to herself as she read the headlines.
"Millions infected in New York. Casualties rise in the tens of thousands as the CDC struggle to contain the zombie virus."
The rear doors opened, allowing Leni, Darcy, Lana, Lola, Lily, Clyde, and Tabby to leave Vanzilla and make their way inside the bodega. Lori walked behind the group holding the newspaper with her left hand and the Luger with her right hand. They went inside the bodega where Lori read the newspaper near the windows where the headlights were passed through. Lisa walked closer to Lori and inspected the newspaper.
"Interesting. This is information I have not acquired through the media networks."
"You haven't seen this before? Look, it says that they are preparing to shut down all airports in New York State. Ronnie Anne, when did you leave New York?"
"I left at May 30th, I think."
"Interesting. And not only that. The paper goes on to say that there were reports of zombie outbreaks in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine! By then, forty-one states have been attacked by major outbreaks."
"Well," added Lisa, "I know that one of them was Calif–"
"Here comes Jason, Bobby, and Dana!"
Sneakers and boots touched the ground with a rhythmic tapping while decayed flesh and dried blood poured onto the pavement in very small amounts. Jason, Bobby, and Dana jogged ahead of David and Wavehead who was drenched in sweat. Behind them were Richard, carrying Bruna, George, Luna, and Sam. They fought off the roamers and ran towards the bodega.
"In here!" yelled Bobby.
The runners quickly entered the bodega where they closed the door, preventing a dozen of roamers from entering the bodega.
-May 28, 2016-
"Here you go, you poor sacks of shit," hissed Sherry as she threw two salmon inside the cell.
George grabbed his uncooked salmon and stared at Sherry. Cassandra sunk her teeth into her salmon and bit off the flesh. George remained hesitant as he stared at the fish.
"What's wrong, George? It doesn't matter if it's fucking raw. It's salmon. It's not gonna kill you. Unless it has parasites which would really be unfortunate as you would shit yourself to death."
George sighed and tore off the scales from the fish and bit into the flesh. Sherry tossed a bottle of water inside the cell and left the enclosed room.
"Cassandra."
"You can just call me Cassie."
"Cassie."
"Yes?"
"Was she being serious about the parasites thing?"
"I don't think so. I have been eating salmon for a couple months now."
"You won't be here much longer."
"George? You do know what I meant by, 'it's too late for me,' right?"
"You can't lose hope yet."
"Oh no, it's not that. It's… that I-I-I…"
"What is it?"
"I have AIDS."
George stared at the zombie and realized what kinds of diseases the corpse can fill the room with. He sighed and looked at Cassandra's desperate eyes.
-Day 46-
The moon, not yet full, shone on the rotting corpses outside of the bodega and into the apartment. Bobby, Lori, Ronnie Anne, and Lincoln looked around the familiar rooms while holding a lit candle that once belonged to the Santiagos' grandmother, Rosa.
"Hey, look, Ronnie, Bobby," whispered Lincoln.
Bobby held the candle near the dinner table and found a note. Ronnie Anne grabbed it and read it aloud.
"To Roberto and Ronalda. Hopefully, you enjoyed your trip to Royal Woods to visit Lori, Lincoln, and their family. However, as you could see, there has been a crisis going on around the world. The airports closed so there was no way for you guys to fly back to us, just as there is no way for us to come to you guys. We are taking a trip to Detroit and then Royal Woods in hopes of finding you guys. However, after realizing that you guys are not there, we will come back. So stay put, my children. We will come back and we will be together. We will be together so we can face this nightmare as a family. I'll be back soon. Mucho amor, your mother."
Ronnie Anne's tear dropped to the dinner table and she walked away into the shadows of the living room. Bobby leaned his head on Lori's shoulder and he softly cried in her arms, causing Lori to tear up as well. Lincoln followed Ronnie Anne in the shadows and hugged her as she cried onto Lincoln's chest without holding back.
"How are you feeling Dana?" asked Jason.
"I'm fine, I don't pull my stitches," replied Dana.
"I'm talking about Tad, I understand if you hate me for not saving him," said Jason.
He looked down at the floor, he couldn't bring himself to look at her, after failing to save her friends. Dana put her hands on his face, bringing his head up to look at her, he could see tears in her eyes.
"Jason, I can't expect you to remember every thing that going to happen, and I can't ask you to make sure all my friends make out alive, you did your best that's what matters. Just don't do something that will get you killed okay," said Dana.
"Okay, but I'm not easy to kill." replied Jason with a smirk.
"Yeah I know," Dana giggled as she pulled Jason into a hug with he returned.
"I going to go find David, George, and Richard, I'll see you later."
"Okay, but before you go."
"What?"
Dana smiled and kissed Jason's cheek.
"Thanks for cheering me up a little." said Dana.
"Your welcome." replied Jason with a smile.
"Lisa. I feel like–"
Luan threw up on a trash can and gasped as she held on to her feverish head. Lisa looked at her body but did not see any bite marks. Carol took out a bottle of medicine for Luan to relieve her headaches.
"What do you think is happening to Luan?" asked Carol.
Lisa walked closer to Carol. She leaned her mouth towards her ears and whispered.
"I think she's became infected."
"Infected?" exclaimed Carol.
"Shush!"
"Infected? I'm infected?" whimpered Luan.
"Sigh. I believe so. But don't be alarmed! This is like Lynn's case in which her infection proved to be nonfatal. Remember what Tim Crowley said! 5% mortality rate!"
"What if I am the 5%?" asked Luan.
"Not likely. We are treating your headaches and nausea. You still look worried. The infection won't kill you–"
"No. It's not that, anymore. It's… Benny. I'm scared of what that monster, Sherry, will do to him. I… don't know what I would do without him."
"We worry most about the people that we love. Benny is probably unharmed. It seems that Sherry has a soft spot when it comes to her daughter. She wants to appear as a good mother."
"I don't… love Benny. I just like him a lot."
"Is that really what Sherry is doing?" asked Carol.
"Yeah, the clues are obvious. The warning, the failure to shoot Lynn back at the bridge, the fact that she shot Tad when Vonda wasn't looking, it's all apparent."
"Wow," sighed Carol.
"And, Luan, your denial can be detected through the increase of your heartbeat every time I say, 'Benny'."
Luan blushed as she looked away with annoyance.
"Are you really going to release me if I tell you what you guys want to know?" repeated Bruna after being given a choice in her interrogation.
"Yes. Think of it as immunity," reassured George.
Bruna looked around the familiar warehouse that her fellow friends used to work at. Now, the ropes and fishnets hung around in the empty dock warehouse, holding nothing but empty boxes of ammunition. Bullet holes riddled the area and stains of dried blood stuck on the wall the same place Bruna remembered them. She tugged on her handcuffs which were held around a metal pipe.
"What do you wanna know?" asked Bruna.
"For starters, are there any Piranhas lurking around the city?" asked George.
"No. They all left."
"Where did they go?"
"They went back to our base in the town of Hudson. Our old headquarters."
"Is that where my wife is?" asked Richard.
"If you're talking about the woman that Sherry took hostage then yes, that's where she is headed."
"How heavily guarded is your base?" asked David.
"There's about two guards in each bridge, North and South, four in each corner of the warehouse tower plus an extra in the bottom of the tower, and five on the river view side of the warehouse."
"What about the rest of the warehouse?" asked George.
"I'm not too sure. The ones I said are the only ones that I'm sure of. What are you planning to do to the base anyway?"
"We want to negotiate with your group. But not with Sherry. We are going to capture her."
"And do what afterwards?"
"Take her somewhere else," responded Richard.
"Somewhere where you can beat her? I bet your wife must feel lucky to be with someone as abusive as you."
"That's just how Richards like, over protective when it comes to his wife, but yeah I can see your point," said Jason.
"Hey! I just want to keep my wife safe," replied Richard.
"Shut up, Richard," said Jason. "Your wife isn't someone who needs you to keep her safe all the time, she can protect herself so stop worrying so much."
Jason understood why Richard was worried, but he needs to calm down, worrying isn't going to help anyone.
"Somewhere where she can face justice for her crimes," said George. "She's a criminal, Bruna. I don't know why you want to defend this person with your life."
"I have my reasons, Cane. Is that all? Do I need to be questioned any further?"
"Yes. What is she going to do to the people she took?" asked David.
"Well, she wants to take two of your people as they seem to be related to her. I believe she's holding the others as leverage to lead you guys to her."
"How would she know we would find out about her location?" asked Richard.
"I don't know. Maybe she wanted me to get captured and questioned. Or maybe she's relying on luck. Either way, you and her will meet up at some point. And when you do, you better prepare your asses. My advice? Listen to whatever she tells you to do."
"Yeah that's the worst advice I have ever heard," muttered Jason.
"I'll try my best to follow that," replied George. "One last thing. Are you a lefty or a righty?"
"What?"
"Do you write with your left hand or your right hand?"
"I write… I'm a righty."
"You guys can leave now. I'll watch her over the night."
"You're sure, George?" asked David.
"Yeah, I got it."
"You said you would release me."
"Later. It's too dark outside."
David, Jason, and Richard left the abandoned warehouse and closed the door, before making a walk of a couple blocks to the Casagrande apartment.
"I guess it's just you and me, huh?" said Bruna.
George left Bruna cuffed to the pipe and walked to the stairwell.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I'll be back."
George walked upstairs and walked into Sherry's office. He looked around the room and saw medals and achievements that reflected better times of her life in the Coast Guard. He walked to her desk and opened one of the cabinets. The cabinet contained a note and a picture of Tim Crowley in his younger years with a young Sherry. Tim hugged a smiling Sherry in front of a ferris wheel. George placed both the note and photo in his shirt pocket and opened another cabinet. He found a notepad and a pen to which he grabbed before he left the room.
"Here. Write down any food allergies you might have, any health issues you have, and sign it."
One of the handcuffs were uncuffed and George cuffed it back in the pipe, allowing Bruna's right hand to move. She grabbed the pen and sat down on the floor, placing the notepad in her lap. George walked away.
"Where are you going this time?"
"I'll be back again."
George walked downstairs and was met with a partially empty room. The freezer that used to contain frozen salmon was empty. George pushed the empty, non-functioning freezer out of the basement door. He opened the door and took out his flashlight, lighting the tunnel that reminded him of the tragic end days before the global apocalypse. He looked inside and saw the cell that was as secure as David's RV. He pulled up the metal bars and with his flashlight in his mouth, he directed the light at the corner of the room in which a rotting corpse laid in rest. The long white sleeve shirt that was worn by the corpse was stained with blood that was left for almost two months in their spots. George released the metal bars, causing them to drop to the floor and making a loud banging noise that filled the room. But George didn't care.
The afternoon sun brightened up the dead city that was populated only by 28 people unless there was a group of people in a different area.
"No allergies. Knee pain. What a nice signature," commented David. "George. Uncuff this woman. As promised."
George grabbed a key and uncuffed Bruna. Her wrists were slightly red from the metal constriction, but the hidden excitement of freedom made her numb to the pain. Bruna was given three cans of canned food, a water bottle, and her .45 ACP pistol back, along with a knife.
"Try not to get yourself in more trouble," advised George.
Bruna nodded hesitantly. George walked with David, Richard, Jason, Bobby, Wavehead, Luna, and Sam. The vehicles drove ahead of them, putting some distance between the walking group members and the cars, but not too far that they would go out of sight. Bruna stared at her pistol and placed it in her holster. She picked up her water bottle and closed the door to the warehouse.
"Feeling better, Luan?" asked Carol.
"Not really. I feel stuffy as heck. At least I don't have that annoying headache."
"Look over there," pointed out Lori to Lincoln.
Lincoln looked into the distance where he saw a long boardwalk with a dock that stretched further into the Hudson River. Next to the docks was the RV, with two roamers wandering around it.
"David. David, we spot your RV," informed Lori through the walkie-talkie.
"My RV? I think I see it. Guys, let's go!"
David and Richard stabbed the two roamers simultaneously in their eye sockets and twisted their knives to easily pull it out. David walked inside the RV with his knife out and his flashlight on. The curtains were shut, yet some light still passed through the RV, allowing some things to be easily seen. Richard turned on the light switch and looked around the RV.
"No one's here," groaned Richard.
"What? Did you think they were just going to wait for us to get here," asked Jason.
"No. I was thinking get here before they got away," replied Richard.
"Well guess what, we didn't," said Jason.
Vonda, Becky, D, Lynn, and Missy's bag were left on the floor of the RV along with the bags of Rusty, Liam, Zach, Tabby, Wavehead, Lisa, Jason, Richard, and David. An AR-15 was placed on the sofa where a Glock, a bloody black shovel, a red recurve bow, a quiver of arrows, a baseball bat, four combat knives, and a katana were stacked against each other.
"Where the hell did they go?" asked Luna.
David inspected all the nooks and corners of the RV but found no clues about Sherry's whereabouts.
"They must have gone to Hudson like Bruna said."
"Vonda's bow is not here," said George. "The red one belongs to Lynn, I think. Look. There are drops of blood."
The drops of blood led outside of the RV but not towards the road. The drops of blood led towards the docks and it finally stopped at the end of the docks, where George looked in both directions of the standing river.
"Who did the blood belong to?"
"I think it was one of the Piranha dudes. I shot one of them in the arm, and he was bleeding," explained Luna. "He had a tank top and a blue vest, so his arm was very visible."
"Well, that was John. And if he came here to the docks, then this must mean that Sherry took them to a boat."
"A boat?" asked Luna, puzzled.
"What the hell would they be doing in a boat?" asked David.
"It would be faster," replied George. "It avoids all the unnecessary traffic that no doubt lies ahead of us. It's a direct route to Hudson through the river."
"Looks like Bruna was right. That means we're heading in the right direction."
"Does this mean we're going back inside the RV?" asked Wavehead.
"Yeah. My… hotwired RV."
"Hey. It could be worse," said Jason.
"How could it be worse?"
"We could have found some of the dead bodies of the one who were kidnapped, or your RV could have been destroyed."
"Don't even joke about that, my wife is in danger and who knows what that bitch could be doing to her," hissed Richard.
"This isn't just about Missy you know, Benny, D, Becky, Lucy, Lynn, and Vonda were taken too. So do me a favor and shut up, before I kick your. Are we clear?" asked Jason glaring at Richard.
"Yeah. We are."
Ronnie Anne did not let her eyes off the city for the past few minutes. Even when the vehicles were moving, and the city skyline began to show, her eyes were motionless. Her pupils reflected the buildings in Albany, and when they watered themselves, the roamers following the vehicles became clear. However, much like the buildings, the roamers began to shrink in size and importance, until they were gone from sight, and this was when Ronnie Anne released her sight from the back window of Vanzilla. She faced towards Bobby and looked at him instead, her only living relative in the world.