-Day 99-
Lori stood in front of two roamers. The wooden floor has been stained. And she knew it. She made a warning. A warning that should've been shared among the other children.
The group murmurmed among themselves outside of the cabin. Before Lori went outside though, she checked inside the cabin. The radios were still intact and the candle still flickered softly. She then saw two tapes on the table, lying next to a cassette player.
Although Lori was done studying the roamers, Bobby and Sergei still held them, as the two monsters growled and chomped the air around them.
Lori motioned Sergei and Bobby to come outside. Sergei and Bobby turned around and pushed both roamers away from Lori. The three of them fled from the cabin and closed the door.
Lori gulped as she picked on her nails. Bobby hugged Lori, reassuring her, but something about Lori's expression told Bobby that she wanted to be left alone at the moment. Bobby and Sergei walked back with the group.
George and Jason came back to the rest of the group as he came out from the woods with David next to him. David's had a bruise in his left eye, multiple cuts in his face, and blood running down his forehead, lips, and knuckles.
Lori's eyes widened as she studied David. She didn't say anything as she could assume correctly what happened to him. There were more important matters at hand. She approached David.
"Did you know they were infected?"
-Four Days Earlier-
"Lori, you gotta believe me!" said Lynn. "I saw Richard push D off the store! I think."
"Bobby, what time is it?" yawned Lori.
"Six… thirty."
Bobby yawned along with Lori from across the room as she stretched her arms. She rubbed her hair as she blinked at the rising sun. Leni and Darcy remained asleep.
"Lynn. I literally did not listen to a damn word you said. Why are you up so early?"
Ronnie Anne arose from her bed and blinked at Lincoln. He waved his hands softly. Ronnie Anne smiled and waved back before going back to bed.
"I need to tell you something! Something very important!" exclaimed Lynn.
"Can it wait?" asked Lori.
"No! I have to–"
Lincoln tapped on Lynn's shoulders.
"What use is it to tell her now? She's too tired to do anything!"
"But–"
"We can wait. Richard isn't going anywhere."
"Fine," grumbled Lynn. "We'll be back at eight. But it's urgent, okay?"
The hour hand moved slowly as the minute hand in Bobby's watch moved quickly. Using a mouthful of water from her water bottle, Lori rinsed her mouth. She put on her blue tank top and her brown cargo shorts. Then, she combed her hair to the sides of her face, realizing how long it is. She equipped her gun belt and placed her hatchet in it, next to the empty holster. She held Lily on her arms and gave her to and Lincoln entered her room. Lori stood in the room with her arms crossed, looking out the window. She turned around.
"What is it that you needed to tell me?" asked Lori.
"I needed to tell you something about Richard," said Lynn, closing the door. "He's dangerous. I would know because I saw him kill D. With my own eyes."
Lincoln looked around the room and noticed that Ronnie Anne and Bobby's bed was empty. He also noticed that Leni and Darcy slept unbothered by any noise in the room.
"After clearing out the streets, I tried to run back inside the department store. But then… I had a feeling in my gut. My gut was telling me not to enter the store. I continued to beat the crap out of the roamers outside of the store and that's when I heard the gunshots. I ran back to this building, but I stopped halfway into my run…"
"Why'd you run here?" asked Lori.
"I had to make sure that they– Richard, Jason, Becky, and D– had to make sure they could get here safely."
"Then what happened?"
"I ran back. Only this time, I went to the alley of the department store. That's where the gunshots were coming from. That's where I saw Becky in the ground. A couple roamers tried to take a bite at her, but they were shot by… Richard, I think. Then I saw Jason jump out the window he hit his head when he got down and some fell on top of him, but he manages to kill them. Then…"
Lori looked at Lynn as she held her breath. Lincoln looked at Lynn as if he was hearing this for the first time again.
"Then, he shoved D out of the store with his own hands. He must've broke his bones cause he wasn't able to move outta their way… outta the roamers' way."
"What, the roamers devoured him?" said Lori.
Lynn nodded.
"Richard jumped down. He grabbed Becky's gun and shot him in the head. Now, this might be a hunch or whatever, but… it looked like he was going to shoot Becky as well and I think he was going to leave Jason behind for the roamers. He was thinking about it. If he was going to do it… I guess you could say I saved Jason and Becky."
Lori sat down at her bed and placed her hands together. She sighed and looked at Lynn.
"Are you sure Richard pushed D?"
"Yes. Lori, what are you going to do? Are you going to take George's handcuffs and lock him up in the RV? Interrogate him? If you do, ask him–"
"No, no, no. I'm not doing any of that. I'm going to tell David. Let him handle it," said Lori as she stood up.
"What? Why? We can't waste time!" argued Lynn.
Leni and Darcy moved around the bed and blinked. Lori grabbed both Lynn and Lincoln's shoulders, moving them near the other bed.
"I can't do any of that. I'm not the leader. I haven't been for two months."
"But, David trusts you to make these kinds of decisions! You could do it!"
"Alright, I understand, shush. I'm not going to do it because I don't want to carry that responsibility! Doing that… it would just create a lot of stress that I don't need."
"You don't have a damn clue how to handle this, right?" asked Lynn.
"Shut up," said Lori, looking at her younger sister dead in her eyes. "It doesn't matter if I knew what to do or not. I'm not going to do anything."
"Then, I'll get him myself," replied Lynn, clenching her fist. "I can't believe how much of a pussy you became."
Lori stomped her right foot in the ground, causing Lynn to flinch. She stared down at her younger sister with fire in her eyes.
"You're not going anywhere, Lynn. Get this through your fucking head! I want you guys alive! Whatever I do will have consequences! God forbid I piss Richard off and he goes after you guys!"
Leni stood up and yawned. She then walked to the bathroom. Darcy got up and yawned as she waited for Leni to finish in the bathroom. Lynn rubbed her arms as she looked at the carpet in the floor.
"All I want to do is… see Mom and Dad again," said Lori. "The more they lose– I can't do that to them. We're almost there and I won't risk anything to ruin that opportunity! Lola and Lucy wounded even be here right now if it wasn't for Jason.
Lynn looked at Lori and struggled to speak. However, she was able to whisper two words.
"I'm sorry."
As Lori made her way out of the room, she paused and looked at Lincoln and Lynn.
"Stay here and watch Leni and Darcy."
Lucy made her way through the hallways looking for Lynn and Lincoln as she walked through the halls she spotted Lori walking towards her.
"Good morning, Lori have you seen Lynn or Lincoln anywhere?" asked Lucy.
"Yeah, they had something important to tell there in my room watching Leni and Darcy right now," said Lori.
"Thanks, I'll see you later."
"See you later Lucy."
Lucy walked towards Lori's room and opened the door and sees Lynn leaning on the wall and Lincoln setting on the bed while Leni played with Darcy.
"Hey Lynn, Lincoln, I was looking for you," said Lucy.
"Oh, hey Lucy, do need help with something?" asked Lincoln.
"No, I just came to check on you, well Lynn mostly I noticed yesterday that she looked tensed about something, and I wanted to know why?" said Lucy.
"Sorry if I worried you Luce, it's because of Richard I think is a treat to the group," said Lynn.
"Why is that?" asked Lucy.
"When I went back to go help the other, I saw Richard push D out of the window killing him and I think he was going to kill Becky and leave Jason behind before I stepped in and help them," answered Lynn.
"Is that the important thing that you talked about with Lori?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, Lori said that she'll let David handle it. I called her a pussy thinking she was scared to do anything. But it was because she doesn't want to risk endangering us," said Lynn.
"She just looking out for us, and she knows your looking out for us too Lynn," said Lincoln.
"Thanks, Linc but I'm going to keep an eye on Richard in till Lori tells David so we can deal with him," said Lynn.
"If you think Richard's a treat then I believe you Lynn, but David might not take it too seriously, Richard is his friend after all," said Lucy.
"Yeah, you're right where probably going to need evidence," replied Lynn.
"But how are we going to get any evidence, there's no evidence at all," said Lincoln.
"Why not ask Jason? If Richard a treat to the group, then he should know," suggested Lucy.
"I don't know, Lisa said that he might have a concussion from the fall. His memory is probably not working right?" said Lincoln.
"Maybe but he could remember some little details," replied Lucy.
"Lucy's right, we'll ask him later even with little details it will help us stop Richard before he tries to kill one of us," said Lynn.
The bags in the RV were kicked and smacked as Vonda stumbled around. Grasping her head, she struggled to find a place to sit, despite a sofa and a booth table sitting where it has always sat.
With a yelp and a fall, Vonda groaned as she placed her back against the RV wall.
"Get outta here!" she yelled.
She looked around and saw no one. She groaned again as she pressed her head. Her arm felt tugged by an invisible force, so she closed her eyes and panted.
"What's the matter? Afraid of seeing me again?" said the voice in her head. "How can you even live with yourself?"
Vonda clenched her fist and stood up.
"Get the fuck outta my head!"
She walked to the closet next to the booth table and opened it. A blue vest hung in the back. She grabbed it and threw it across the RV.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" she cried out.
She walked over to the RV and grabbed the vest, tossing it to the window. However, she heard a muffled clatter as it hit it. She grabbed the vest and noticed that one of the pockets were unopened.
She opened the pocket and reached into it, touching a sturdy item. When she took out her hands from the pocket, a cassette tape sat between her palm and fingers. It was labeled, 'FOR YOU, V'.
She reached into her backpack and took out her cassette player. The clicking of the tape was followed by the click of a button.
"Hello there, my daughter," said the soft voice in the cassette player. "I'm surprised you're hearing this. Didn't think you would want to listen to my voice again. If you're listening, either I'm gone or I have died, but nevertheless, I have something important to tell you…"
David set the can of peaches down and grabbed his can opener. The tool ripped open the lid. Lori stood next to him.
"...and that's what Lynn proposed. Of course I can't do that, but you can. What do you think?"
"I think you should get some breakfast," replied David.
"You… don't believe Lynn."
"I've seen how Richard acted before. He's broken. He's aggressive. He's lost. But he's not a traitor."
"You don't believe my younger sister?"
"Everything probably happened fast. Lynn could've imagined that Richard pushed Derrick. It happens, Lori."
"So we're just going to assume she's wrong? What if she's right?"
"Even if Richard did push Derrick, there's gotta be a reason. He doesn't do things without a reason. I know him."
"How well do you truly know him?" asked Lori.
"I'll talk to him. Now, go on downstairs. Get yourself some breakfast. Long day ahead of us."
"Always is."
Lori left the room. David followed her and softly closed the door. He headed towards the stairwells.
The light swept over the teen's eyelids like sand. As she opened them, the light caused her blue iris to sparkle. She blinked twice as her eyelids opened at a snail's pace. Her eyes rolled over to the left.
Carol yawned and placed her arms on Richard's chest. She looked up and met his eyes. She smiled and snuggled her head against him.
"That was SO inappropriate," giggled Carol.
"Well," whispered Richard in a husky voice, "you're a big girl now. You can handle it."
"Shut up!"
Carol continued to giggle. Richard sighed as he wrapped his left arm around Carol's bare sides.
"I feel so happy, right now, is that normal?" asked Carol. "Should I feel bad?"
"No. It's times like these that make this life worth livin'," said Richard.
"Good. 'Cause I was thinking–"
A knock on the door.
Carol's eyelids completely opened as she hid under the blankets. Richard stood up and grabbed a robe from the closet.
"Not there! Here!" whispered Richard loudly.
"Right!" Carol whispered back.
Carol struggled to place her white T-shirt on as she ran into the closet. Richard closed the closet and tightened his rope. He walked towards the door and paused. He turned around and noticed Carol's clothes lying in the floor next to the bed. He grabbed the skirt, socks, bra, panties, shoes, and shirt and placed them under his bed.
Another knock on the door.
Richard walked to the door, unlocked it, and opened it.
"What is it?" asked Richard.
"Good morning," greeted David. "Do you smell that?"
"Yeah. It was fucking humid yesterday. Sorry, I took a while to answer. Had to cover myself somehow."
"It's alright. I was just going to ask you how the run in the department store went. There's been some discussion going on, and I still don't have the full story. Mind telling me what happened yesterday?"
"Now's not such a great time," muttered Richard. "Let's talk about it later. I–"
"No, no. I get it. It's just… I'm a little anxious about finding out what happened to Derrick. Later's fine though. Later's fine."
"Anything else?" asked Richard.
"Breakfast is ready. Come down when you're hungry."
"Right."
David left and Richard closed the door. He locked it and opened the closet. Carol looked out timidly.
"He's gone," said Richard. "It's just the two of us now."
Carol's smile grew.
"Where are my clothes? I'm kinda hungry."
"Under the bed. I'll get 'em for you."
The patio in the middle of the apartment building served as the dining area where food was distributed to most of the group members. Leni, Darcy, Lynn, and Lincoln came down to the patio. Jeffrey and Preston came down as well. Jason and Meli came down too. However, Becky, Dana, Wavehead, and Lisa chose to remain upstairs.
"Hello, Leni!" exclaimed Preston.
"Hey, Preston! Sit with me by the flowers!"
As Preston and Leni wandered off, Carol walked into the patio, rubbing her stomach. She didn't wear her usual purple shirt. Instead, she kept her white T-shirt on, with more clothing underneath than there was minutes ago.
Jeffrey tapped David in the shoulder.
"Sorry, I do not mean to disturb you. I just needed to warn you that there are large swarms of demons outside of the department store. That means–"
"They'll come here, sooner or later," said David. "Alright, thanks for the info. I'll check it out later."
"Are you sure you want to wait until later?" asked Jeffrey. "I insist you go see what's happening now."
David set his can down as Vonda walked into the patio. Her foot scurried to the table like a small mouse as she held the cassette tape.
"Everyone. You all need to hear this."
David and Jeffrey walked closer to the table as the girl inserted the cassette tape into the cassette player.
Lori gasped and clenched her left chest as she heard the voice in the audio recording.
"That's… your mother," said Lori. "I don't wanna hear this."
"Trust me. You do," said Vonda.
"...there's a way to decipher the tapes. Go to Medway. It's about 40 or so miles southeast from Houlton. There's a man who knows your father well… he'll decipher the tapes for you. He'll also tell you everything you need to know about General Black and K.H.A.N. I know about the families in there… hope you save them in time… I wish everyone good luck…"
Vonda looked at David.
"She must've figured out that I really didn't hear all the cassette tapes."
David placed his can down and rubbed his chin. Lori looked at him while holding Bobby's hands.
"We're leaving Portland as soon as possible," said David.
"What about the supplies?" asked Richard as he came into the patio.
"Elder," said David. "Show me the swarm outside."
The roamers infested the street in front of the department store. They growled together and formed small, but many, groups. David walked away from the window while Jeffrey's eyes remained glued on the swarms.
"God bless their souls," said Jeffrey.
"Come on, Jeffrey. Let's go downstairs."
"Brother David. What happened to Elder?"
"You actually take that seriously?" asked David.
"Well, yes. You don't have to call me that, but it is a sign of… mutual respect."
"Respect is earned, Jeffrey."
Vonda walked over to Jason who is leaning against the wall.
"Hey Jason," said Vonda.
"Hey Vonda need something?" asked Jason.
"No, I came to give you something it a tape my mom made for you."
"I don't know if I want to hear that woman's voice again."
"Jason it's important I listen to it, and you should too."
"Okay play it."
Vonda inserted the cassette tape with Jason's name on it into cassette player and played it.
"Hello Jason, I know my voice is probably the last one you want to hear aright now but please hear me out... When we first met I'll admit you scared me back on that bridge but you also made me want to know who you are I'm not going to lie I actually wanted be with you, that's why I wanted you alive I found you interesting and dangerous kind of like me, when I found out you knew the future I know my chances of killing George were not high and that this would most likely end with me dead but I still can't take that chance. Vonda told me you both see each other as siblings and how much you care for each other so please look after my daughter make sure she lives a full life... I know you probably hate me but that's all I ask, goodbye Jason and good luck in saving those families I love you..."
Jason stood there shocked at what he heard not expected any of that.
"I'll be damned, I thought she cared about no one other but herself and you, guess she did have a heart in there, I will keep that promise for her even after everything she's done. Thanks for letting me hear that."
"No problem, I know you'll have my back and I'll have yours I'll talk to you later bro."
"I'll talk to you later too sis."
Tabby leaned on a wall in the patio, eyeing Lincoln. Ronnie Anne looked at the purple streak in her hair until her eyes met Tabby's face.
"Now, that I think about it," said Tabby, "Lincoln is kinda cute."
"Woah!" exclaimed Rusty. "You like Lincoln?"
"Shut up! I only said he was cute!" growled Tabby, "And I'm with Liam for crying out loud."
"You know you don't have to be afraid of me," said Ronnie Anne. "I don't like Lincoln anymore. Go ahead. Tell him."
Rusty and Zach snickered. Tabby grabbed Ronnie Anne's arm and walked to corner of the patio.
"I'm not afraid of you, idiot!" said Tabby. "The boys will never stop teasing me if I ever tell them I like Linky."
"Linky?"
"Ahh! Lincoln! Look, Ronnie Anne! It's not that I'm crushing on him. I just feel… lonely. Liam's been distant from me since we left New York that I started to feel lonely."
"We all do. Well, except my brother and Lori. And Benny and Luan. And Luna and Sam. And Dana and Jason. Oh! Poor Becky."
"Becky?" said Tabby, scratching her head. "Oh my god, where is she? I completely forgot that she and D were a thing!"
"No one knows either!" added Ronnie Anne.
David walked into the patio with Jeffrey. Tabby and Ronnie Anne walked back to Rusty and Zach. Both girls were breathing rapidly as they eyed the boys.
"Attention everyone!" said David. "I don't mean to alarm anyone, but there is a potential threat in this city. That means we can't scavenge for anything."
"We knew it was going to happen," said Lynn.
She tried her best to keep her eyes away from Richard. She blinked quickly at him before looking at David.
"The amount of roamers in this place. It's so damn high. Can't risk another victim."
"Exactly," replied David. "Get ready! We're rolling out at O-Nine-Hundred!"
The engine in Vanzilla grumbled. Becky wrapped her arms around Dana and Wavehead as she limped towards the RV. The AC in all three vehicles continued blowing cool air.
David walked to the counter with his backpack and passed through a small opening. He laid his backpack down on the carpet and dug his hand into the bag. His hands held an M1911 as he pulled it out the bag. He dug into the bag again and pulled out a tall, wide, empty can. He placed the pistol in the can and covered it with the ripped lid. He placed the can inside a drawer behind the counter and closed it.
George read a small note before Vonda entered Vanzilla.
"We're a man empty in the RV," said the girl. "Just wanted to see… if you wanted to come."
"Yeah. Just give me a minute."
Vonda nodded and closed the door. George finished reading the note and sighed. He rubbed his face and looked at Vonda, wiping the sweat on his forehead. He placed the note back in his pocket before noticing that someone was staring at him. The shadow faded away from the RV window as Vonda entered, making George feel uneasy.
"Nice to have you here," David told George. "I don't think I said it enough."
"Trust me David you really don't," Jason told David.
"Are we ready to roll out?" asked Richard.
"Yeah, just waiting for…"
"We're here, we're here!" exclaimed Rusty.
"Calm down, Rusty, they never leave without us!" said Zach.
"And if they did, we stopped them and go back for you!" added Liam.
"Late. Again," sighed Tabby.
Luna watched Carol start the van as she and Chunk stayed in the backseat of the van. She looked at her leg and struggled to move it. Sam turned around while in the passenger seat.
"Lisa doesn't want you to strain yourself. We'll know, sooner or later, if you can walk," said Sam.
"Rad. I'm looking forward to knowing if I can take walks with you," said Luna.
"Don't worry Luna I have fate that you'll walk again," said Chunk.
"Would this make you feel better?" asked Carol as she inserted a CD into the car radio.
"Don't worry about a thing… 'Cause every little thing gonna be alright…"
Luna closed her eyes and smiled.
"This is perfect," sighed Luna.
The RV, Vanzilla, and the other van went back on the road, moving away from the apartment building. The roamers near the department store scattered around, moving towards the unknown sound that roared in the distance.
The north star shone brightly like a firefly in the sky. Looking at the other stars, Richard saw an image of Missy. The breeze reminded him of sitting next to the fan while he and Missy watched Breaking Bad together.
"Hey. You better be awake up there," said David, climbing up the RV.
"Can't even remember when was the last time I slept well."
Richard lifted his back from the RV roof and moved towards the lawn chair. David stood next to him, looking at the stars with him.
"Despite sleeping on soft mattresses," said David, "some of us couldn't sleep. I– it's normal, nowadays, I suppose. Can't imagine what kinda night terrors the little ones get."
Richard continued to watch the night sky. David turned towards him before finding himself staring at the stars again.
"I can tell something's wrong. You look like you got a bullet up your ass that you just can't take out."
Richard's smile slowly grew.
"These past few days… feels like we're not getting outta this."
Richard looked away from the stars. He faced David.
"I'm lost. I mean– there's nothing waiting for me at Houlton. What do I do? I can survive, but how do I keep living?"
"The group cares about you. Think about them. You saved most of their lives."
Richard nodded his head. He looked back at the stars
"You… what did you come up here for? Worried about me?"
"I wanted to talk more about what happened yesterday. You seem to be carrying heavy weight."
Richard stood up and looked at David."If you're talking about what I did to D, you gotta know I did that for him.
"David moved a pace backwards."I know. I just wanted to know the full details about how Derrick allowed himself to be consumed. I heard he was pushed from the store."
"Who'd you hear that from?" asked Richard, moving his head closer to David. "Becky?"
"No. Not a word from her since yesterday. I think she's too distraught to say anything."
"Who said I pushed D?" whispered Richard.
"It doesn't matter. That's all I heard from the group."
"Whoever it is, that person's right," said Richard, turning around. "I did push D to the alleyway."
Richard took a seat, looking at the night sky again.
"The roamers… they had us surrounded. Becky jumped through a window and ended up spraining her ankle or some shit."
"She also sprained her wrist," added David.
"D wanted to jump, but I guess he was too scared or some shit that he refused to jump off. You see, just earlier, D was scratched by a roamer in his arm. Scratch went in deep."
"I think that's another way to get infected," said David.
"Exactly. I wanted to save him, David. I pushed him off so that the roamers wouldn't get him. Then, I jumped off so I could've saved D by slicing his arm off. But then… the van was gone."
"That's right. Lynn told them to go back to the apartment."
"And because of that, I couldn't save both Becky and D. I couldn't carry both of them, and so I tried to decide who I would save. But it hit me. D was already dead. The roamers were coming and he was infected. So I grabbed Becky's gun and… gave him a merciful death."
David looked away from Richard.
"I know," said Richard, "it sounds terrible, but you understand now, right?"
"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I won't hold it against you. It might've not been the best thing to do, but I understand that you did what you had to do. Like D would've said, shit happens."
David yawned and checked his watch.
"You want me to cover your shift?" asked David.
"Nah, I got it. Go to sleep."
David walked back inside a small house. Richard looked over to the next house and noticed Carol walking towards the RV. He stood up and climbed down the RV. They both entered the closed the door and turned on his flashlight. Carol tiptoed and grabbed Richard's shoulders and kissed him.
"Feeling tired?" asked Carol.
"Eh, just a little."
"I saw you and David talking. Whatcha talk about?"
"What happened yesterday. I told him what I did to D. He understood. Though, something feels strange."
"What's that?"
"Someone's threatening me. I noticed it when the van was gone yesterday, leaving Becky and I behind. Then, someone's watching me, and they told David what I did."
"Couldn't be me. I was with you all night. No way I told–"
"No, I have someone else in mind," said Richard. "Lynn. She's got something against me. I'll find out what it is."