-Present Day-
The morning sun brightened up the river. Vonda stared out into the skyline, wondering where she was headed. Lynn and Lucy sat together on the main deck. They were being watched by Gina and John.
"Hey, Luce. I've been meaning to ask you something," said Lynn.
"Ask away," replied Lucy.
"Did you… move on from what happened in Ann Arbor?"
Lucy remained silent. Lynn started sweating as she feared she might have upset her only living relative in the boat. Lynn was ready to apologize when Lucy suddenly moved her lips.
"I think about it at times. Thinking about it makes me feel gloomy and miserable, but I accepted it. I know I can't change the past, but I won't let it drag my future down. Well… whatever future I might have," said Lucy.
"You never felt angry about it? Just… sad?"
"Of course I felt angry. Then, I started thinking, if I acted on my anger, how would that help me? How would that help anybody?"
"But when I let my fury loose on the roamers, I felt relieved!"
"Do you still feel relieved now?" asked Lucy.
"I… don't. I think I see what you're talking about, Luce. I'm ready to accept what happened to Francisco."
"Lynn, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Francisco's death is not the only death you're going to have to accept and move on from. I understand if you feel angry and heartbroken, because I do feel angry…"
"Luce, you're scaring me. Whose death are you talking about?"
"Luan."
"What? Luan?"
Lynn noticed that Lucy was more serious than she usually looked. Lynn sniffled while being confused. Just as she felt she was ready to move on from what happened to Francisco, she now had to deal with the painful loss of her older sister. Lynn couldn't believe it.
"How?" asked Lynn.
"Benny was brought down to the main deck with us while Sherry was feeding you and Vonda breakfast. He told us that it happened back in the fight in Albany. While the group fought off the Piranhas, Benny attempted to protect Luan from the roamers. But then it happened."
"But then what happened?" sniffled Lynn.
"Sherry shot Luan in the head amidst all the chaos."
Lynn covered her eyes as she released her tears. She shook her head. She sniffled again and wiped her eyes.
"No. I don't believe it. I won't believe it until I see Luan herself."
"Luan was shot in the head, Lynn. How could she survive?"
"People survived gunshots to the head before, Luce! I won't believe it. Not until I see her!" And Jason world have told us!"
"Did he tell you about Francisco?"
"No he didn't. But I wasn't mad at him. When I had the chance to talk to him, I asked him why he didn't tell us? He told me that he thought he could save Francisco without telling us. He didn't expect Lola would get in the fight so he had to make a choice. He saved Lola again and I'm glad she alive. And until I see Luan I'm going to believe she's okay.
Sherry was inside the upper level of the cabin. With her was Missy, chained to the wall. Her cap was missing. Along with Sherry and Missy were D and Becky. D and Becky's hands were tied with each other's corresponding hands as one pair of hands hung from one side of the chair they sat on. Becky and D were blindfolded and gagged with rags and towels as they sat behind one another in their wooden chairs. Both teens were sweating intensely as the room began to feel like hell.
"Yes, yes, I know it's hot in here, but the sooner you tell me where you guys are heading, the sooner I let you guys go," grinned Sherry.
"How do we know you're not going to follow us?" asked Missy.
"As long as you guys don't plan to reside in upstate New York, I'll leave you guys alone."
"So, why do you need to know where we're going?"
"Ever heard of a peace of mind? George is never going to stop trying to hunt me down, so I need to know that he is as far away from me as possible."
"Don't worry about it, Sherry. We'll be very far. Trust me."
"I really don't trust you. Are you going to waste my time? Because I don't like to waste time."
Sherry loaded her pistol and pointed it at Becky's head. She then shoved the barrel to come in contact with Becky's head to make a point-blank kill. Becky felt the cold tip of the gun and started breathing heavily and sweating more intensely. She was crying out something, but her voice was muffled by the rag in her mouth.
"You hear that? That's the sound of someone who wants you to fucking tell me where you guys are going before I blow her brains out."
"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you! I'm heading… MY group is heading for Maine! There's this town called Houlton! We're traveling there! I told you now! Will you let the girl and the boy go free now?"
"Houlton? That's bordering Canada isn't it? That's awfully close to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia."
"So, you know about it," puffed Missy.
"I'll let you guys go," said Sherry.
Sherry removed Becky's blindfold and looked at her in the eyes. Her pupils shrunk as she continued to sweat through her oily hair. Sherry removed D's blindfold and makeshift gag. She then cut the rope that tied both of them together. Becky stood up and removed the rag in her mouth. Sherry looked at them.
"Any word about this to my daughter, and I'll make sure that the little goth girl goes through a painful death."
"Fuck you. That goth girl happens to be Lynn's sister, who you decided to not harm for you daughter's shake. I won't tell but this is all going to end with you dead."
"Ways that? Because of Jason. Just how is it that he know that this won't end with your group dead?"
Missy stopped. She knew telling Sherry about Jason was dangerous, but knew it was too late to stop now knowing she would try forcing her to talk. She sighed and looked Sherry in the eye.
"Because he knows the future."
The RV was in the road, driven by David, along with Vanzilla, driven by Richard, and with Sergei's car, driven by Sergei. They drove back near the bridge to retrieve Chunk's car. Jason offered Chunk that he would drive his car while he rested, but he tell he didn't have to as he could tell that he was just as tried as him. After long minutes of discussion to who should drive the car, a decision was made. The heat from the sun was made weaker by the A.C. powered by the car batteries in each vehicle. Lori lied next to Bobby as she continued to sleep while Richard followed the RV in the road along the Hudson River. Carol was driving Chunk's car as she was the only one able to since Chunk, Jason, and George was sleep deprived, Missy and Becky were missing, and Bobby, Dana, and Leni were never able to get their license.
Lori woke up with a question that she always wondered about. Lori turned on her walkie-talkie and found herself unable to.
"Lisa, you're carrying batteries, right?" asked Lori.
"Which ones do you desire, AA batteries or AAA batteries?"
"AA batteries."
Lisa tossed three batteries at Lori. Lori equipped the batteries on the walkie-talkie and turned it on.
"David? Can you hear me?" asked Lori through the walkie-talkie.
"Yeah, I can hear you fine. What is it?"
"I have a question that most people in the group probably wondered about. Why do you want to go after General Black?"
"It all began with Richard first."
"That's right. General Black used to be a Lieutenant Colonel who commanded my squadron. He had good intentions to save most people in his younger years. But his pride took over and he wanted to become a war hero. He did things that shouldn't be spoken of, but he did them anyways. After becoming recognized among his peers, he was hired to recruit people into a type of special forces."
"And that's where I come in. My wife, Sandy, was recruited by General Black to complete special missions in which she combated terrorism. One day, a taxi was ordered to pick her up in the Bronx, which was the last time I saw her. She was supposed to come back within the range of a few weeks, but it's been six months and she still didn't return. I got worried, and after doing some of my own research, I found out that General Black forced my wife to do the missions against her will. I contacted Missy and Richard, and that's how I found out that Black usually targets families in order to get people to bend to his will."
"Sounds like him," said Bobby.
"You have more family members?" asked Lori.
"Yeah. I have a son. His name is Seth, and uh… I'm sure he's still alive."
"You don't know?" exclaimed Lori. "Where is he?"
"He's in Miami. Although, it is slightly possible for him to be in New York if he happened to travel to New York in May 30th. If he did do that, then, I don't think he's alive since New York City must be overrun with roamers."
"Where in Florida did Seth live in?"
"Seth lived in Miami. He probably moved up north away from the city."
"Or he could've moved south to the Florida Keys," said Bobby.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that if my wife is still following General Black, then she must be in Maine."
"It does matter," said Lori. "Are you going to go to Florida after this?"
"I can't think about it now. For now, Houlton is the main goal."
"I understand. I personally don't want you to go to Florida to retrieve him," admitted Lori. "You're our leader, and if we ever need one in Houlton, like if there was a council or something… you should be a part of it."
The group all sounded like they agreed with Lori. Nodding heads and doubtless murmurs allowed David to know what kind of leader he is. Lori spoke once again.
"My grandfather used to be in the Navy, and you remind me of him often. My parents would respect you, just as my siblings and I do."
-May 30, 2016-
"It's time," whispered Sherry. "It's time for a new beginning."
The second floor of the warehouse was filled with zombies falling down the stairs and into the ground floor. A lot of FBI agents turned into the beasts that started to devastate New York. Some of the FBI agents ran outside of the warehouse where they would take cover behind their vehicles. They took out their guns and aimed at the warehouse.
Inside the warehouse, many of the agents were trapped in corners, rooms, and in between shipping containers. The dozens of zombies would surround the agents and devour them, taking the force of the bullets without a thought. The screams of the agents being ripped apart by hungry zombies filled the building. Blood poured into the floor and gunshots were fired into the walls. The zombies continued their relentless devouring of human flesh and the screams faded.
The agents in the tunnel were puzzled about what was occurring upstairs in the ground floor. The man rewiring the wires that would unlock the magnetic door stopped with his task and looked at the leading special agent. The growls and groans were faint, though the agents still heard the sound of the pack of zombies.
"What the hell is that?" asked one of the agents.
"Maybe the Piranhas are attempting to scare us off?" wondered another agent.
"Is anyone hearing it upstairs?" asked an agent in his hidden microphone.
"Yeah! We don't know what it is! But we do need help! Our men turned aggressive!" yelled one of the agents outside of the warehouse.
"We gotta go help them!" said one of the agents, after hearing the other agent's cry through the wire in his ear.
"You!" said the leading special agent. "You gotta keep working on this magnetic wire! We'll go upstairs to figure out what the hell is going on!"
The agents moved quickly upstairs. They arrived upstairs and were met with the sight of packs of zombies. The zombies moved towards them. The agents pulled out their guns and commanded the zombies to halt. The agents were pushed back down the stairs and back into the tunnel. They finally started shooting at the zombies. The bullets hit their chests, legs, and arms. One of the agents managed to shoot a zombie in the head which killed it instantaneously.
"Shoot the head!" yelled the agent.
Two more zombies were shot and killed while the agents started fumbling for their magazines. The zombies swarmed inside the tunnel and started devouring the agents in the front. The zombies continued to go deeper into the tunnel where they started crushing the agents to death. The man rewiring the wires was caught in the swarm and was bitten in the leg before being crushed by his fellow agents.
"What the hell?" exclaimed George. "What's going on out there?"
The lights started to flicker in the warehouse. Suddenly, the lights went out and the door was now being pounded over and over. Sherry did not expect the power to go out and she ran towards the door. The door needed to be pulled from the outside to get inside the small room, but the zombies, as a group, might have enough strength to bust the metallic door open. The agents were now just tiny pieces of flesh and bones in the ground that the zombies ignored. The lantern flickered in the room.
The girl in the cell growled and started standing upwards. George and May were shocked to see Cassandra's bleeding mouth and eyes. Her face was pale and her eyes were golden, much like those of the zombies in the tunnel. May lifted the cage and held it up for George.
"May! Get me the hatchet over there!" yelled George.
Sherry watched as May ran towards George, handing him the hatchet from the desk. George grabbed the hatchet and swung it at Cassandra's head. Cassandra groaned as she fell to the corner of the cell, finally laid to rest, after months of suffering, by the man who promised her that the suffering would end. May lifted the cage again and allowed George to escape from the cell.
"No more of your fucking games, Sherry! You're going to tell us how to get out of this mess or we'll kill you!" yelled George.
"Woah, hold on. If you kill me, you're going to guarantee your death since I have a couple buddies coming down here to rescue us. I need to stay alive for this!"
George and May walked towards Sherry. Sherry lifted her gun and aimed at George. George dropped the hatchet and took a step backward.
"Smart," said Sherry, as she looked back at the zombies. "Now, what I want you guys to do is–"
May kicked the gun out of Sherry's hand and took a hold of her arms. May punched Sherry in the chest and then in the face. Sherry covered her jaw just as May punched upwards at her stomach.
"Maybe, we'll feed you to the zombies!" yelled May Hannas.
Sherry reached for her gun before George stepped on it. May dragged Sherry into the corner of the room by the cell and picked up the hatchet. Sherry quickly picked herself up and jumped away from the hatchet. May swung the hatchet again which cut Sherry's right hip.
"Fuck! You gotta listen! I'm a… very reasonable… woman! My death means yours!"
"I'm done listening," said May.
-Day 51-
A large explosion caused a roaring fire to streak across the trees in a park. Rogue soldiers were gunned down. A loud shot was heard and then another as two young delinquents fell. The sounds of ribs cracking and a woman yelling. A gunshot pierced through a man's face and then another one through a woman's face. A lamp shattered as another man was shot from the distance. Blood oozed out of a man's neck as it poured through the water. Splashes of water jumped out of the river as two people were shot. The sound of a skull cracking as a mallet bludgeoned their face. Lori looked at the blood-stained bandage on her left palm. She closed her hands and opened them up again.
"I need to change those bandages," said Carol, catching Lori off-guard and making her flinch. "Sorry, for scaring you."
"No, it's alright."
Carol bent down on one knee to take a closer look at the hand. Lori noticed that Dana refused to eat. Lori nudged her and snapped her out of her deep thoughts. Carol opened up the bandages and saw the cut healing itself. She rolled up a fresh roll of bandages around Lori's hand.
"Hey, Dana. Something wrong?"
"No, it's just… I miss Becky. I miss Tad too. Lori, you should've seen Tad. His hands and his face were so mangled. It made me sick… and I can't seem to stop thinking about him like that."
"You're not the only one. When Jason told what was going to happen to my little sister. I could only imagine my little sister being carried by my brother, just like he said, I couldn't shake away the image of Lola being so… grotesque. It's literally been a month now, and even though I still think about the first time I could have saw her like that, my good memories about her has replaced those thoughts."
"You mean these thoughts are going to fade over time?" asked Dana.
Lori nodded. Dana wiped a tear from her eyes, and she hugged Lori. Carol stood up and smiled before tossing the dirty bandages away in the ground. The group finished their breakfast and headed back to their on the road, everything was quiet. It has been quiet ever since the threat of the Piranhas loomed when they first attacked the group by the bridge. However, the passengers started to talk once more. Darcy climbed out of her seat next to Bobby and Jason and went to sit next to Lana, Lola, and Lisa. Bobby kept a careful watch on the four girls as Lori lied on his lap, taking a nap.
"How are you feeling, Darcy?" asked Lisa.
"Not so good. My mommy used to tell me that killing people was bad. It looks like everyone is killing people, like Lori, Jason, and that man."
"Well, you know those ugly people that walk slow?" asked Lana. "They're supposed to be killed."
"Yeah, I mean there already dead anyway," added Lola. "So, there's nothing wrong with killing them."
"The roamers? I know that I'm not dumb. I'm talking about people like you and me!"
"What Lori, Jason, and David did to those people was necessary in order to ensure our survival. I'm sorry that you had to see that and it'll take some time to understand, but the enemy needs to be killed so that the good can live," explained Lisa.
"So, we kill anyone who is bad like those people we saw?"
"Yes, we do," responded Lola and Lana.
"No, we do not," said Lisa. "Not everyone who's bad deserves to die. There are just some conflicted people like Bruna!"
"Like who?" wondered Lola and Lana.
Lisa sighed.
"That Piranha that we captured and released. Not the big guy, Gus. The woman."
"We got lucky with her! Sometimes, we don't have the time to figure out who is conflicted and who isn't," exclaimed Lana.
"Yeah, Lana's right. That guy Gus didn't look conflicted when him and his friends attacked us," added Lola.
"You two might not, but I do. In a matter of seconds, I can figure out when someone doesn't intend to do something evil."
"I agree with whatever Lisa is saying," said Darcy. "She's very smart."
"Whatever," said Lana. "Lisa's idea is going to get us killed someday."
"Don't frighten her, Lana!" exclaimed Lisa. "Darcy, ignore what she said. I know what I'm talking about."
"Okay, Lisa. I trust you."
Carol held the wheel that she once held when she drove the van from Detroit to Royal Woods. Chunk set in the passenger seat looking over his shotgun. She adjusted the mirrors and noticed that Sam and Luna were not talking to each other. They stared out the window. Carol and couldn't help but break the silence.
"Are any of you planning to learn how to drive soon?"
Luna and Sam looked at Carol without saying a word. Their glossy eyes told Carol that they weren't in the mood for small talk.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but distract us from this sorrowful life," sighed Carol. "I need something normal again. Even though things can't go back to normal, our conversations can."
Sam and Luna continued to stare at Carol. Carol began to get nervous as she feared she might have upset both girls. The mood in the car turned very awkward.
"We were going to get ready to take our driver's exam when we turned 16," said Luna, breaking the silence. "But you already know that won't happen."
"Honestly, you don't even need to ace the driver's exam to get a complete understanding of driving," said Carol. "You just need someone to instruct you how to drive and you practice. Just like how you practice how to play a guitar, you practice driving and that's how you get good at it."
"Is it really that easy?" asked Luna.
"Once you get the hang of it, sure! You can even ask Lori how easy it is. In fact, she can help you out once we make it to Maine."
"And I can help you both if you want, I don't mind," said Chunk.
Luna smiled. She laid her head on Sam's laps and looked into the roof of the car. Sam placed her hands on Luna's hair and started to play with her hair. Luna looked at Sam and smiled. Carol and Chunk looked at her mirror and locked eye contact with Luna. Carol and Chunk winked and then looked ahead in the road.
"Are we ever going to talk about the letter?" asked Sam.
"What letter? Oh, yeah… that letter. What is there to talk about? Didn't you make it clear that you only saw me as a friend?"
Sam lifted Luna upwards and moved her hands to her cheeks. She smiled as she leaned closer to Luna and softly placed her lips against hers. Luna's eyes remained open as her face started glowing with a rosy color, before she slowly closed them. Carol took a quick glance at them and grinned. Sam released her lips from Luna's face and she started blushing as well.
"I was too frightened to reveal my true feelings. I would've died from embarrassment, and don't even get me started on… my parents," explained Sam before pausing. "But none of that matters anymore, right?"
"Right!" agreed Luna.
"I'm happy with you and there's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone else has bigger things to worry about!"
The two girls embraced each other as the van moved ahead in the road. Carol no longer questioned whether she should keep on living. She made her choice. She wants to stay alive to witness the happiness that can be formed even during an apocalypse.