-Day 32-

Benny slashed the roamer's head off and wiped his eyes once more. Another roamer walked towards Benny, this time appearing as a kid. Richard, Jason, Carol, Becky, and Dana froze as they saw Benny standing still. The small roamer grunted and growled at a higher pitch than any other roamer the group encountered. Benny gripped his katana and swung it downwards, pulling it back once it slashed the roamer's brain. Benny wiped his eyes again.

"Benny? Something wrong?" asked Becky.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just keeping moving."

The missing midnight moon set in on the land of New York, barely visible and illuminating. Richard whispered to Carol.

"Hey, Carol. I just wanted you to know that I'm proud of your bravery, you know, saving lives and partaking in this."

"It's not a problem. Anything to help, right?"

"Trust me when I say this. You are one of the most valuable survivors in this world. Jason, Benny, you girls, the boy, are very important as well, but your medical skills, that is something we need. Even when faced with the threat of an enemy shooting you, you still want to help."

"That's true," agreed Benny.

"I learned it all from your wife, Richard," said Carol. "But thanks for your insight. You're a very valuable survivor as well."

"Do you think we'll make it?" asked Benny.

"To the highway?" questioned Becky. "Yeah, we're keeping a good pace and the roamers aren't wandering too close to us."

"And with me here knowing the future we'll make it," said Jason, with a confident smile that made Dana blush.

"What about Houlton?"

"We will make it," said Richard. "I trust David to lead us successfully to the town of hope."

"Richard. I trust David to watch by back and he will lead us to Houlton successfully, but seriously he can only do so much," said Jason.

"Yeah so can you, I know David will lead us there safely," replied Richard.

"Are saying that because he's your friend or because he's a good leader?" asked Jason.

"Both, I know David will get all there safely," said Richard.

"What about our lives? Will we survive in Houlton?"

"We will," answered Dana. "We can make a better life for ourselves there. Sorry about your father. Sorry that we're most likely not going to return to Royal Woods, but you can build your life in Houlton. You have people who care about you, like me, Becky, the rest of the group, that girl Luan, especially her."

"You're right. What am I worrying about?" asked Benny.

"You can say that again Benny," said Jason.

"This world is chaotic and it may feel like we have nowhere to go, but we have to keep pushing on," said Becky. "Whatever is bothering you, push it away. Whatever evil you face, bring it down. Understand?"

Benny nodded. He decapitated another roamer and thrust his sword into its skull. The group was getting closer to the highway as the evening dusk settled in. The boy turned on his flashlight and led the small group through the road.

-Day 47-

"AHH!"

Benny yelled as a knife was slightly pushed into his chest millimeter by millimeter. Sherry moved the knife diagonally to her right, creating a large cut across Benny's chest. Sherry pulled the tip of the knife out of the boy's chest and placed it on her desk.

"Just so you can remember the time we shared together," smiled Sherry.

Benny huffed and puffed. His wrists were constricted by large shackles that chained him to the wooden wall in a small room inside the top of the cabin. His chest was bleeding across his naked chest, though fortunately, that was the only damage Sherry has done to the boy. The windows were boarded on both floors so Missy, Lynn, Vonda, D, Lucy, and Becky were unable to look inside. Sherry removed a towel from Benny's mouth.

"You're sick in the head," gasped Benny. "What do you want from me?"

"Where are your group going? Where were you going to take my daughter?" asked Sherry, wiping her knife with a towel.

"We're going someplace safe. Vonda wants to come with us."

"And where would that be?"

"None of your business."

"My daughter's going to this mysterious place with a bunch of strangers and it's none of my business?"

"You're a horrible mother. You lead a group of murderous psychos and have a complete disregard for human life! You terrorize people and now you think Vonda will be safer with you? And you left her when she was a child! What's wrong with you?"

"I had to do whatever it took to make sure Vonda was safe! I don't need you alive. But Vonda does. She cares."

"You want her to love you? You want her to call you Mom? That will never happen, considering what you just did to me!"

"Well, she won't find out. She won't find out about this."

"Who says? I'll just tell her!"

Sherry moved closer to Benny, twisting the ends of her hair. She took off her leather gloves and rubbed her hands slowly on Benny's chest. Placing her hips closer to Benny and grabbing his back, she began to lean closer to the boy's face. The boy shivered as she moved her hands lower and lower to his stomach. He moved his face away and panted in fear, though Sherry mistook this as excitement. She pinched Benny's cheeks and rubbed his hair. She leaned in close to Benny's face and pressed her lips against his's. Benny groaned in reluctance and moved his flushing face away.

"What are you doing?" asked Benny.

"Trying to make you feel comfortable," answered Sherry in a sultry voice.

"Are you trying to get me to not tell Vonda about what happened?"

"I haven't been with a man for so long… you know sometimes, I get lonely. Why are you resisting? Many guys like you would kill for a share of what you experienced."

"Well, stop it! I don't care about your loneliness. It's creepy!"

"There's someone else, right? It's that girl, the one that I shot?"

"You killed her and I'll never forgive you for that!"

Sherry frowned and grabbed a pair of oven mitts. She put the oven mitts on and grabbed a pair of iron tongs, gripping a hot piece of iron. She opened Benny's mouth and stuffed the towel inside it. She then shoved the hot iron on his left shoulder, causing the skin to start burning severely. Benny's eyes flooded with tears as the towel muffled his screams. Pieces of his skin peeled off from his left shoulder.

"Tell Vonda about what I just did to you and I'll burn the other redhead's face off."

Sherry walked down the stairs inside the cabin and opened an unboarded window. She tossed the iron out of the window and into the river, creating a splash of water and steam. She closed the window and walked upstairs, where she grabbed Benny's shirt. She pulled the towel from Benny's mouth and wiped his chest with it.

"What are you going to tell the others?" asked Sherry.

"I… was spending time alone… thinking about Luan."

"Perfect. Here's your shirt back. Now, I'm going to get Gina here so she can stitch you up. You're not going to leave this room for a while."

"Ha ha ha... You know it funny. I don't know how but my gut is telling me that Jason knows what your doing and what's going to happen to you when my group saves us."

"Hmm I might as well ask, how is it that Jason knows this thing?"

"I'm not telling you. It won't matter what you do because he knows, I bet he knows where your taking us."

"Will have to see won't we."

Sherry released Benny from the shackles. Benny lowered his arms and stretched them, his muscles feeling sore. The woman left the room and locked it as she walked downstairs. Benny was left alone sitting on the floor, wallowing in his own sorrow, beating himself up for allowing Luan to get shot.

The boat moved away from Hudson, where the Piranhas resided in, away from the bloody city of Albany. The boat continued moving south of the Hudson River, and Boomer did nothing but wave at John and Andrew, who were both standing outside of the boat cabin. The boat then disappeared from Boomer's sight.

The boats in the river floated with red stains on them, some which were capsized and others were torn in half. Lincoln gazed at the river with his binoculars and wondered what had occurred in the river. Lincoln then focused his binoculars on the South Bridge and zoomed in. Large groups of roamers walked through the South Bridge and towards the warehouse. Lincoln then heard a growl behind him.

"Got ya," said Lincoln, as he swung his sledgehammer at the roamer's skull. "And there's more of you guys. Crap."

Lincoln swung his sledgehammer again and again, and once more at the roamers that were walking towards him.

"The gunfire stopped. The roamers are coming. Yet they're not here. Where are they?"

Lori had her eyes closed. Her face was one of pain since she resisted the urge to scratch the burning sensation in her cut hand and foot. Sergei continued carrying her through the wrecked cars and killed roamers. Lincoln rushed to Sergei and halted. Sergei continued walking as Lincoln looked at Lori, who slowly opened her eyes.

"Lori! What happened? Your foot is bleeding! And your palm!"

Lori struggled to tell Lincoln what happened to her. The blood continued to pour as Sergei struggled to apply pressure to her wounds.

"Sergei, let me help!" exclaimed Lincoln.

"Thanks, kid, but we're almost there. Just turn on your walkie-talkie and tell Lisa and Carol to start preparing to treat Lori's wounds."

"Where are the others?" asked Lincoln.

"They're behind us. Now go!" gasped Sergei.

Lincoln ran ahead of the Russian man and made his way out of the bridge. He ran towards Sergei's car and grabbed his walkie-talkie. He contacted Clyde.

"Clyde! Tell Lisa and Carol that Lori is wounded!"

"Lori's wounded?" asked Clyde.

"What? Is she going to be okay?" asked Bobby.

"What kinda wound?" asked Carol.

"It looks like her foot was shot or stabbed and her left palm is all cut up. She looks very weak right now."

"Got it, Lincoln," said Carol, before rushing out of Vanzilla.

David, Richard, George, Jason, Dana, Wavehead, Tabby, Rusty, Liam, Zach, Chunk, Sam, and Luna walked out of the North Bridge. Richard knew that he kept receiving strange looks, some judgmental while others were confused.

"What! I know what you're all thinking. He wasn't innocent. He wasn't like Bruna! He wanted to kill us!"

"That's true. If anything, I feel he deserved death the most out of all friends, besides Sherry," said George.

"That prick deserved, I just wish he suffered before you killed him," said Jason.

"What do we tell the others?" asked Wavehead. "About our friends? The ones that are missing."

"We tell them about it," said David. "They'll have to know. It will be upsetting, heartbreaking even… but I will tell them."

"Good. Chunk! you two okay?" asked Jason.

"Yeah I'm good mate, if I wasn't wearing this face I'd be dead. Thanks," said Chunk.

"Your welcome. And here I want you to have this," replied Jason.

He gave Chunk the SPAS 12 he got from the cabin.

"I don't know Jason. I'm not that good with guns."

"That's why I'm going to train you. So take it."

"Alright Jason. And thanks again for saving me life."

"No problem."

"Liam. How you feel?" asked Rusty.

"I'm fine. My hand hurts a lot, I just need Lisa and Carol to patch me up real quick," replied Liam.

"I'm just glad you alive, I thought I lost you," said Tabby.

"Yeah me too. I'm glad Jason warned me otherwise I'd be dead," said Liam.

"Let's just get your hand and chest fix before you lose anymore blood," said Zack.

"Don't gotta tell me twice."

They continued walking towards the cars and saw Lisa stitching Lori's stab wound on the top of her right foot.

"It's very fortunate that the sharp weapon missed your dorsalis pedis artery. Your foot did not get infected, nor did your left palm, but you did experience quite some blood loss due to the size of the gash."

"Thank you, Lisa."

"Hey! Is she alright?" asked David.

"Yes. The bandage on her hand should prevent her wound from getting infected and her foot wound is stitched up."

"Can you help Liam, his left hand and chest was stabbed during the fight," asked Tabby.

"Yes. Bring him over."

Tabby helped Liam over to Lisa, and she began to stitch Liam's stab wounds.

"Hey, where are the others?" asked Carol.

Bobby walked forward, noticing that Becky was not with them. Just as Clyde missed Lynn, Luan missed Benny. Leni wondered where her favorite goth girl was.

"They… weren't in Hudson. It turns out Sherry never stopped for Hudson. She headed for the Dust Zone, which is New York City."

"Is she crazy?" exclaimed Bobby. "They'll get slaughtered in the city! Can you imagine the herds that they will encounter?"

"There's gotta be a reason why she's going there," said George.

"Jason!" yelled Richard.

Richard grabbed Jason by his shirt collar. Glaring at him.

"You knew are people wasn't there and don't lie to me."

David and George pulled Richard off of Jason. Dana checked to see if he was hurt.

"Richard, calm down," said David.

"No! He knows the future David. He should have told us," replied Richard.

"Jason can't be expected to remember every little detail," said George.

"I didn't tell you all because we needed to take out all the Piranhas at the warehouse," said Jason.

"What do you mean?" asked Carol.

"The reason why I didn't tell you was because the Piranhas at the warehouse needed to be dealt with," said Jason. "Now Sherry only a hand full of people left, and we don't have to worry about find Sherry and are people."

"Why?" asked David.

"Because Sherry's going to come to us."

-Ten Years Ago-

"I can deliver boats, weapons, and I know some guys who would be loyal workers," said Sherry.

"You said you're Coast Guard?" asked a large bearded man with an afro.

"Yeah."

"How do I know you're not going to rat me out?" asked the man.

"Well, I have a husband. And a daughter. If you feel like I ratted you out in some way, you can do whatever it is. But you won't do anything because I won't snitch."

"If you can just give me your address, I'll make sure to keep that in the back of my head. Anyways, it looks like you have everything that we're looking for. It's nice to create more connections."

"Likewise, Mr. Thatch."

"So just give me that address, and you are in. You live close to Hudson, right?"

"Albany. But I travel a lot. Here you go," said Sherry as she handed her new boss a note of her address.

"Are you able to make it here on Wednesday? I'll give your tasks. Your tattoo will come once you have been with us for a year."

"Great. I'll be here Wednesday."

Sherry left the warehouse. She looked at the bustling roads and bridges that moved about around the warehouse. She got in a taxi and headed for Albany.

"What do you mean you're moving to Albany?" asked Tim.

"I'm awfully sorry about this. It's just… I don't love you anymore," explained Sherry as she packed her bags.

"You can't just leave. What about Vonda? She needs her mother!"

"You need to get a job. I'm tired of being the backbone of this family. Besides, I found a better job in New York."

"Your job is more important than your daughter?"

Sherry continued packing her bags. Tim grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Sherry was crying and she placed her hands on Tim's chest.

"I'm sorry, but it's just not going to work out with us. You need to learn how to work and provide for a family. I'm done with this bullshit."

Sherry walked downstairs from the bedroom to the living room. Tim followed her, distressed and anxious.

"What do I tell Vonda? That you just went missing?"

"If you need to. Tell her that I love her and will miss her."

"Sherry! Please!"

Sherry went inside a car with her bags. Tim stared at the car as it drove away from the peaceful streets of Ann Arbor. Tim sighed deeply and walked back inside his home. Vonda came downstairs from her room and slowly walked down the stairs.

"Daddy? What happened?"

"Nothing, honey, just go back to sleep."

"You look sad."

"Daddy's tired. Please, Vonda, go back to sleep."

Vonda walked upstairs to her room. Tim closed the door and lied on the couch. He covered his face with his palms and wondered what he would have to do to take care of his daughter. He couldn't believe that his wife had enough of him.

"I didn't know Sherry had it in her," whispered Tim to himself.

-May 30, 2016-

"Ain't nobody going to help you, May," cackled Sherry.

Sherry stood by two dead agents with a knife in her hands. She aimed her gun at May and forced her inside the magnetic cage. She locked the cage and placed her gun under her belt. Sherry moved out of the tunnel and closed the basement door. She then went back inside the tunnel into the room and looked at a very sick Cassandra, George, and May.

"If this is still about your husband, Ashton Hannas, and your nephew, Norman, then let me tell you this. I took no pleasure in killing them. I only did what I had to do. You guys need a message."

"Your message didn't work, Sherry," said May. "A huge force of agents are waiting upstairs for you. What are you going to do now?"

"Give up. My goal has already been achieved. You guys are just going to rot in here. Or better yet," said Sherry, pulling out her pistol, "I'll kill you guys."

Cassandra fell to the floor. Sherry looked at her with amazement.

"Is she dead? Did she get sick?"

"Yes. Infected with AIDS," revealed George. "One of your nasty ass men probably transmitted it to her and now she has to get treatment."

"I can tell you right now that AIDS doesn't kill you."

"I know! It's an infection that kills you! But if she didn't have this, she wouldn't have gotten sick."

"Do you really think so?"

"Sherry, you mentioned a goal," said May.

"Oh yeah. Do you really think I'm telling you guys?"

"Of course. Might as well, so you can be remembered for something."

"That's right," said Sherry. "Alright. As you guys know, I have a daughter who has a very deadbeat father."

"That's not true! Last time I saw him, he was working as an IT–" interrupted George before being interrupted himself.

"Fine!" yelled Sherry. "You don't want to know about my goal! I wasn't going to tell you anyways! I'll just leave your fate to Cassandra.

"Sherry left the tunnel. George and May looked at each other."What do you think she meant by that?" asked May.

"I might have some clue," whispered George.

-Day 48-

The boat remained still in the river. Lynn munched on a small ham and cheese sandwich along with Vonda. Both girls felt guilty about eating a delicious meal that Sherry whipped up for them instead of the others. After many days of eating canned food, however, both girls couldn't help but eat something fresh.

"How is this fresh?" asked Lynn. "Doesn't bread usually spoil fast?"

"It's fresh because I baked the bread myself," said Sherry. "It's easy. I learned it when I was in the Coast Guard."

"I was never told you served in the Coast Guard," said Vonda, still hesitant in the way she spoke.

"Your father never mentioned it, right?" assumed Sherry. "Well, I did. For eight years. I don't like to talk about it."

"Well, can you talk about how you knew about roamers before they existed and tell me why you think my dad is still alive?"

"Okay," responded Sherry. "Tim was the one who told me what I needed to know about the roamers. First, before I get into anything, you need to know that they come from an infection called necrosis flu. He calls it the Infection of the Dead."

"We already know that," said Vonda. "He mentioned it in his cassette tapes.""His cassette tapes?"

"Yeah. Lynn's sister found the tapes in my father's room in Detroit."

"Are they the ones titled 'Illness'? 'Overpopulation'? 'KHAN'? 'Infection'?" asked Sherry.

"Yeah. How do you know about these tapes?" asked Vonda.

"Patience. For now, if you heard all of the tapes, then you should know that the necrosis flu was developed in a lab. I'm sure it has a real scientific name for it but it was never revealed."

"I bet my younger sister knows," interrupted Lynn. "She's a genius and knew about this."

"Does she know why Tim coined the term, roamer?" questioned Sherry.

"Is it because the zombies roam?"

"Zombies are the name for the monsters you see in the movies, in video games and the ones you read about in novels and comics. My husband also likes to refer that term to the people who turned before the GIE."

"Global Infection Event?"

"Yes. During and after the events on June 1st, 2016, anyone who turned became a roamer, not a zombie. The word, zombie, sounds weird and everyone knows that."

"So, you and my dad kept in touch all of these times?" asked Vonda.

"It was only since last year. He has a plan, which I will tell you about soon."

"What plan?" exclaimed Vonda.

Sherry left the cabin and headed outside to stretch. Missy, Becky, D, and Lucy sipped on their hot cans of soup as they continued to wallow in their misery.