Footsteps in the pavement sounded loud and clear as Sherry strode through the road. Leaves and branches rustled in the air around Sherry as she continued to move quickly ahead. She found a car nearby and she jogged towards it. She found a box of tools near the car, just sitting in the road, waiting for someone to use them. As she walked towards the box of tools, a roamer popped out from behind the car and lurched towards Sherry. She walked closer to the roamer and attempted to kick it away, but the roamer grabbed her foot before she was able to touch her chest with her boot. The roamer opened its mouth and leaned closer to her leg. Losing her balance, she fell down to the ground and groaned.

"Shit," she whispered.

The roamer did not let go of her foot after falling to the ground with Sherry. The roamer raised its head and growled at Sherry. It dragged itself closer to her body as Sherry looked for the box of tools. The box was sitting to her right as she dragged herself towards it, just like a roamer. The roamer kept chomping in the air as it neared its teeth into human flesh. Sherry grabbed the handle of the box with the tip of her fingers and pulled it closer to her. The box rolled sideways. She pulled it again, and the box rolled sideways again. She was then able to open the box with both of her hands. She wriggled her leg, pushing the roamer away from her foot, although it still kept a grip on her right boot.

"You're so fucking irritating," she hissed.

Sherry searched through the box and found a screwdriver and a monkey wrench. She grabbed the screwdriver with her left hand and the wrench with her right hand. She pulled the roamer near her by pulling her right leg closer to her chest, and she thrust the screwdriver into the roamer's scalp.

"What the fuck?"

The screwdriver was stuck on the roamer's head and was unable to fully penetrate through the skull and deep into the brain. The roamer growled louder as it was starting to claw her jeans. She smacked the roamer away with the wrench and she was able to free herself. She crouched towards the roamer and swung the wrench down at the roamer's forehead. She swung it again and again, harder with each swing. The crack of the skull was louder until all that was heard was the mushy sound that would come off of a gelatin dish splattering everywhere.

"That was so fucking disgusting. There better be something good inside the car, or else I will lose my shit."

Many yards away from the car, behind two trees, two people stalked Sherry. They watched as Sherry stood up from where she sitting at and she looked inside the car windows. The wind blew throughout the road, causing the air to be less than dry. Both stalkers crouched closer to Sherry as the winds disguised the sound of their footsteps.

"Looks like she can handle herself pretty well," whispered Missy.

"Indeed. Now, what's she doing?" Richard whispered back.

The door handle was unlocked, so Sherry opened it and looked around. She got inside the car and rummaged through the glove department and the back seats. She found nothing but bags of nuts and chips. She then attempted to get out of the back seats, but her hips pressed on the horn of the car wheel.

A loud horn sounded.

"Oh, you have to be shitting me!" she yelled in frustration.

She took a bag of nuts and stuffed it in her left pocket as she escaped from the car. Richard and Missy looked around them to see if there were any roamers nearby attracted to the horn. Sherry held the wrench in her right hand and started running away from the car in the direction towards Albany. Richard and Missy quietly followed RV moved slowly along the road that Sherry took. However, knowing that the vehicles were going to take that road, Sherry had switched roads as soon as she was out of everyone's sights. Everyone but Richard and Missy.

"So they're alive," said Dana. "They're alive, right?"

"Yes, they're alive," said David.

"What happens if they're not alive?" asked Rusty. "What if Sherry tricked us?"

"I doubt it. She cares too much about her daughter. If she did trick us, however, she'll regret it. As of right now, Richard and Missy are following her."

"They are?" asked Wavehead. "How much time are they going to take to follow her?"

"They're following her until she reaches Albany. Richard and Missy are already prepared with food and water. It shouldn't take too long since they can reach Albany by nighttime."

"Hopefully they'll be alright when we find them," said Dana. "Our friends, you know."

The vehicles continued moving ahead. In another road, Sherry was catching her breath as she knelt down to the pavement. Richard and Missy quietly drank their water and continued to watch the woman. The woman stood up and found two roamers approaching her. Richard and Missy increased their concentration on her, but then a noise came from behind them. It was the cracking of a branch and the sound of rustling leaves. Richard and Missy aimed their guns at whatever was behind them.

"Oh, fuck!" silently whispered Lori. "You guys almost gave me a heart-"

Missy grabbed her, covered her mouth, and pinned her to the ground as quickly and softly as she could. Sherry stood up and looked around the trees, trying to pinpoint where the noise of the rustling leaves came from. Sherry saw a couple leaves move from where the three stalkers watched her. As she moved closer, a squirrel dashed across the road from where the rustling leaves were, catching Sherry's attention. The squirrel ran into the trees in the other side of the road. Sherry took her eyes off of the squirrel and prepared to kill the two approaching roamers.

Missy took her hands off of Lori's mouth and wiped it on the pile of leaves underneath her.

"What are you doing here?" mouthed Missy."

I was following you here!"

"We know. What are you doing here?" mouthed Richard.

"I want to follow Sherry too!"

"Did you follow us this whole time?"

"Yes! Sherry's leaving! Let's go!"

"You gotta go back with-! You know what? Okay. Fine. Follow us. But you gotta be quiet," whispered Richard, as Sherry moved further and further away.

"It's going to be a long walk," whispered Missy. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah. I can handle it, though."

"You're a lot tougher than I thought, Lori. But foolish. And reckless. Ever thought about joining the military before?"

"Eh, I always saw myself as a CEO in the future of some business in Michigan."

"True shouldn't underestimate Lori, I know your not just say."

Lori and Missy turned around to see Jason.

"Jason what are you doing here?" asked Missy.

"I'm following Sherry too, the only difference is I'm better at stealth," replied Jason.

"Let's go before we lose her, and thanks for coming" said Missy.

The four stalkers continued to follow Sherry as she remained unaware of their hidden presence. The sun continued to dive into the horizon as the stalkers were on Sherry's tracks. Richard, Missy, and Jason were focused on Sherry from many meters away while Lori felt exhausted under the summer heat and the immense pressure that she felt in her foot. She always hated to admit that she was wrong, but Lori didn't have a choice. She would have to take a break before she injures herself.

"Hey, Missy," whispered Lori.

"Yes, Lori?"

"Remember that day when there was that herd? In New York. In this state. In the start, I mean, near the border of the state. Remember when we learned about the trick with the eyes? Twisting the knife into the roamers' eyes?"

"Yeah? I do remember it. It was a month ago, Lori."

"Remember how we all felt like the day after the herd attacked us? Well…"

"Don't tell me you're exhausted," sighed Missy.

"It's not that I can't keep going on. I just… need a break. That's all. A couple minutes can't hurt, right?"

"That's fine, that day was exhausting," said Jason.

Richard and Missy looked at each other. Richard seemed as if he was going to say something, but Missy was the first to break the silence.

"I understand. I do remember that day and the day after it. I remember how exhausted you were, but I also remember how emotionally broken you were. You deserved your rest then and you deserve your rest now. Jason told what was suppose to happen to your sister. I know how it feels like to lose your little sister," said Missy.

"I'm going to keep following Sherry. You guys stay here. I'll-" said Richard before being interrupted by his wife.

"No, you shouldn't. She just stopped. I think she's taking a break as well. Perfect timing,"

"Wait, you had a little sister?" asked Lori.

"Yes. Car accident. She lost her life to some drunk driver. It was about ten years ago and I still remember arriving to the hospital where they took my little sister. The doctors couldn't stabilize her, so she lost her life, while the other driver was able to walk out of the hospital a few weeks later. When I arrived at the hospital, I saw the doctors rush into a room. The room that she was in. I walked in there and saw a doctor writing down the time of her death. Eight fifty-two. I was never able to tell her how much I loved her, or even a proper goodbye. She was just taken from my life from circumstances that neither one of us can control. The point is, no matter how angry I felt towards the driver, I wasn't able to do anything to him. I can't kill him because that's immoral, so he was able to roam the Earth for a couple more years. Just like the undead beings we face. But I learned to move on from it. I accepted how things were, but it wasn't so easy. Besides my husband providing me unconditional love, I was able to move on by keeping a piece of my sister with me. Her vest. The same one I'm wearing now."

"You knew I have been angry at the world for nearly taking my little sister. Angry at the roamers. Angry at the gangsters. You knew."

"I saw you the other night when we were at the cabin. Now, I know that almost losing Lola was terrifying, but she's still here and you do have the love of your siblings. And your boyfriend, Bobby. And even us. We're family, right?"

"Right," said Lori. "Thanks. That was really helpful."

"I was just speaking from my mind," replied Missy.

"Sorry for interrupting, but it looks like a van is approaching Sherry. Heads up. It might belong to one of the Piranhas."

Missy and Lori stood up, taking cover behind some trees. Their footsteps stayed silent as they approached Sherry. Sure enough, a black van braked as soon as it neared Sherry. Sherry smiled and walked slowly towards the van.

"It's about damn time. Give me something to drink. I'm thirsty as hell," Sherry panted. "We gotta go to Albany ASAP. David and the others are heading there. We need to stage an ambush. Scare the others away, but capture George."

"What about the prisoners?" asked the driver.

"We'll kill them. We have no need of them anymore. But hurry. The race has just begun, and David is probably already close to Albany."

Richard, Missy, Jason, and Lori looked at each other. They were all puzzled by the van's surprising and sudden arrival. None of them were able to come up with a decision to whether they should continue to follow Sherry or if they should stop her. However, as Richard and Lori tried to come up with ideas, Missy and Jason jumped out of the woods, pointing there rifle at the van.

"Stop right there!" shouted Missy.

"Christ!" gasped Sherry. "Doug, give me a pistol."

"Here's your ol' reliable," said the driver.

Doug handed Sherry her .45 ACP pistol. She jumped out of the van and her smile faded away as she noticed that Missy and Jason had their guns pointed at her.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" asked Sherry. "Weren't you supposed to leave me alone a while ago?"

"Yeah, but I had a bad feeling in my gut that you weren't going to do something right. Looks like my gut was right. What is this about the race to Albany? Killing our people?" asked Missy. "Vonda gave you another chance for a reason!"

"Right. If you lower your gun and leave, I promise I won't kill your people."

"I don't believe you. Tell your driver to get out of the van."

"And don't try anything stupid. I will not hesitate to shot you down," said Jason.

Sherry whispered something to the driver in the van. The driver seemed to be whispering back, but Missy could not make out what he was saying. She walked closer to the van sitting in the middle of the road. Richard and Lori watched out for any nearby roamers, but there weren't any. Not yet at least.

"What's the hold up over there?" asked Missy.

The driver got out of the car and lifted his hands up while holding a pistol in one of his hands.

"Drop your weapon!"

"Do it fast or I'll shoot both your kneecaps," said Jason.

Doug, the driver, looked at Sherry. She nodded. He turned to look at Missy and began to lower his weapon to the floor. Moving at a slow pace, Missy's patience was tested. Missy aimed her gun at Doug, and watched as he continued to move his hands slowly towards the ground. He knelt as he kept his grip on the pistol. He then came to a stop, still gripping the chamber of his pistol, all while keeping his glare at Missy's face. His hands hovered a couple inches above the pavement.

"Well?" asked Missy. "Are you going to drop it or not?"

"Don't try anything Sherry," said Jason. "I got my eyes on you,"

Jason kept his focus on Sherry not giving her the chance to shoot, suddenly the back van doors open to reveal a Piranha jumping out and aimed his gun at Jason. Jason saw the piranha and aimed his gun at him. He fired his gun hitting Jason right in the stomach, Jason shot back and his bullet when throw the gangsters head. He dropped to the floor after feeling the sharp pain in his stomach.

"Jason!" yelled Missy.

Seeing her chance, Sherry raised her pistol quicker than Missy could turn her gun towards her. Having the woman in her sights, Sherry fired her gun at the woman, striking her in the chest. A red gaping hole appeared between her vest and in her shirt as she dropped to the floor. As her arms fell to the ground, her grip on her rifle loosened and she coughed out a small amount of blood.

"NO!" yelled Richard.

Richard came out of the shrubs that he and Lori were hiding in, shooting his Python at the two Piranhas. Doug entered halfway inside driver's seat as he grabbed the grip on his pistol. His first, second, and third shot missed Sherry as she jumped behind the car. She shot a couple bullets at Richard, all which missed him and hit the trees near Lori instead. A few roamers came out of the trees that the stalkers were hiding in and walked towards the shooters. Jason held his stomach and ran behind a car, he pulled up his shirt and saw that the bullet did not go too deep, he inserted his fingers into the wound stretch it out enough to pull the bullet out and applied pressure on the wound. Richard hid behind a car and he shot his fourth shot at a roamer that was approaching him. Doug shot a couple bullets at the car before closing the door and starting the vehicle. Sherry jumped inside the van while Richard came out of his hiding spot. Richard aimed his revolver at Sherry and teared up before he pulled the trigger. Suddenly, a loud gunshot roared and Richard flinched. His revolver and right thumb flew out of his hands and into the ground.

Sherry closed the rear doors of the van. Lori covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened. Richard stumbled to the floor and attempted to grab his revolver with his left hand. He kept losing his balance as he was unable to properly place his right hand into the ground. Sherry opened one of the rear doors of the van and aimed her pistol at the man. Lori came out of the shrubs and shot a burst of bullets into the van. Sherry ducked to the floor of the van as Doug drove it away from the scene. Richard chased after them, blood dripping from his missing thumb and a gun in his left hand.

Jason gut up grabbed his gun and made his way towards Missy. Lori ran towards Missy, limping as fast she could. She dropped her cane to the ground and noticed that Missy was still alive. Lori dropped to her knees, scraping it as she moved closer to Missy.

"I don't remember it hurting this much," groaned Missy.

"You're going to be okay. You'll be fine. Just stay strong!"

"Yeah we just got to patch you up," said Jason. "Doug was suppose to be the only one to come here, I guess she didn't want to take the risk of me stopping her.

Lori looked around for a safe place to drag Missy at. She looked at the car that Richard hid behind in and decided to drag Missy there. Missy groaned harder as Lori pulled her closer to the car. A gunshot rang from a couple dozen meters away.

"Tell my husband I love him," whispered Missy weakly.

"No! You're going to be alright. It's just… tell me how to patch you up!"

"So just stop talking like that, I think I can help," said Jason.

Missy lifted herself slightly so her back can lie on the rear bumper of the car. The rear bumper of the car touched the ground as it was destroyed by unknown forces that the group will never know about but it now serves as a place for Missy to rest in.

"Lori. Jason. It's too late. My heart… it's ripped, I think."

There was silence. Jason held his head and closed his eyes trying to stop the tears of coming out. Lori looked into Missy's eyes. She then shook her head.

"No. That's not fair. It's not fair!"

"I thought I had it this time. I was so close."

"Lori! Lori. Jason. It's alright," groaned Missy as she started closing her eyes. "I hope you get to see your parents. Jason like I said before you can't save everyone, even if you did save me, I probably die later on, it's not your fault so don't blame yourself for this. Remember, the both of you don't lose sight of what's good and bad. Sometimes…"

Missy hacked strongly into the ground where splatters of blood lied. She then sighed.

"Sometimes, you have to do things you don't like, and it might feel like you're losing your humanity, but… you have to do it with good intentions. Lead your family. Show them what's right. I believe in you, Lori. And Jason I believe in you too, help Lori lead her family.

The sound of the van appeared again and it came closer to the man and two women. Lori looked around to see where the sound was coming from as she wiped a tear off from her right eye. The van approached the man and two women as Sherry opened the door again. Jason and Lori ducked and covered their heads. The van made a U-turn and Sherry was able to see both women and man in the ground, hiding behind the car.

"Time to finish the job," shouted Sherry. "I hate loose ends."

Sherry aimed her pistol at Missy and fired it once more. The bullet struck her head, causing her entire body to lean stiff against the car. Sherry aimed her gun at Lori. A bullet struck the license plate near Lori as she ran away from the car. She grabbed her rifle and unloaded the entire magazine on the van, scaring the two Piranhas away.

"Drive, Doug, drive! This girl is going apeshit on us!"

Lori tossed her AK-47 to the ground and ran towards the van, even though she knew she couldn't catch up to it. Jason grabbed his M4A1 and slowly walked towards Lori. The van made a turn and then another one to put the three Piranhas on the road back to Albany.

Richard arrived at the intersection where the Piranhas made a turn with their van, and he decided to run back to where Lori, Jason, and Missy were. Lori stood still, traumatized by Missy's sudden death. Jason put his hand on her shoulder trying to get her attention. Richard stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw Missy. He walked closer to Missy, noticing the bullet hole in her forehead. Richard lied on the ground, holding his hands tightly, and released his tears as the love of his life no longer became part of his apocalyptic life. The wind brushed on Lori's face and hair, revealing tiny drops of blood on the right side of her hair. Jason finally let his tears flow out and held his abdomen.

The RV engine hummed as it approached the location of the source of the gunshots that they were hearing. David noticed that there was a person with fair hair along with a jet black hair person behind a car with her face hidden from his view. He drove the RV closer to the destroyed car and stopped it. David stepped out of the RV, while George stepped out of Vanzilla. They walked closer to the car, holding their guns. David noticed on the ground that there was an AR-15, a makeshift cane, an AK-47, and small puddles of blood. Suddenly the person with fair hair stood up, revealing herself to be Lori. The jet black hair person also stood up and revealed himself as Jason.

"Lori? Jason?" David said in surprise. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

Lori's trauma revealed itself in her eyes as she continued to stare at David. She shivered softly, as the temperature of the air began to drop into a mild one.

"What happened, Jason? Lori? What are you two doing out here? Jason what happened to you are you okay?" asked George.

"I'm fine, I just need to stitch the wound. Lori I can't say, and Richard needs help," replied Jason in a tired voice.

The passengers got out of their vehicles wondering what the situation was outside. Dana saw Jason ran over and helped him to the RV so Lisa can stitch his injurie. Richard then stood up from behind the car, his eyes glossy and red, and with blood dripping from his hands.

"Carol. Patch me up," said Richard, his voice broken.

Carol gasped as she saw Richard's right hand, missing a thumb. She grabbed his hands gently, taking him inside the RV. David walked behind the car and he felt his heart drop. He remained silent. Most of the group members walked towards David and saw what surprised him. Missy was sitting in the ground, with a hole in her chest and a hole in a forehead. Her lifeless eyes stared into the distance before David peacefully closed them. He gently took off the dog tags around Missy's neck and stored it in his pockets. David and Sergei looked at each other and nodded. Sergei grabbed Missy, lifted her, and walked towards the woods, where Richard accompanied him.

"Did Sherry do this?" asked David. "We saw a van coming in this direction and we thought it belonged to her or one of her people."

Lori looked at David silently and nodded her head. David pinched his nose and sighed heavily. Lori walked away, with Jason following her, heading to where Missy was going to be buried at.

Lori and Richard took the vest out of Missy's body.

Sergei dug a long hole using Lucy's shovel that was kept in the RV.

Richard lowered Missy into the hole softly.

A wood plank was being written on by Richard.

The wood plank served as a tombstone, which read:

MISSY BOLTS

February 14, 1978 - July 23, 2016

"You know what we have to do, right?" asked Richard.

"Yes," said George. "No capturing her this time. No second chances."

George looked at David. David turned to look at the group. Lori leaned her head on Bobby's shoulder while holding Missy's vest, finding comfort by him and in the vest. Dana stood next to the girl who had strikingly similar hair to her. As a roamer approached, the girl moved away from Dana and was ready to unsheathe her katana. However, Sam stabbed the roamer in the skull with her ice pick, which stopped Luan in her tracks.

"And this is why I announce… that we have to eliminate all of the Piranhas!" declared David. "They're a threat to this world. We have to end the threat. Then we'll no longer be hunted."

Fury boiled up in Vonda. Of course, Sherry did this. Of course, Sherry did that. It's Sherry. Why wouldn't she do it? Vonda felt stupid for giving her poor excuse of a mother a second chance at life. Vonda fully resented her mother at this point, and it seemed as if there was no going back.

The group walked back to their respectives vehicles as the race to Albany was set in motion. Sherry's headstart gives her a large advantage, but with Albany being a couple miles away, there was no telling who would decide the fate of the hostages. The RV, Vanzilla, Sergei's car which was formerly Chaz's, and Chunk's van, moved to return to the former headquarters of the Piranhas.