No Matter the Distance: (w/Muna)

[Turtle of Doom]

Silently, Emma crossed the open plain, making her way back to her hidden ATV and shotgun. What she found was not what she was expecting.

"What the fuck, man!?" She called out at the man currently trying to jack the rest of her gas. He paused, barely glancing over his shoulder and flashing her a devilish smile before continuing. "Where the fuck did you even come from anyway?" His dark blonde hair, fell messily over his face, hiding his eyes as he continued working to fill his dirt bike with the very last of her fuel. Growling, Emma pulled the gun from her waistband and clicked the safety. "Oi! Asshole! I'm talking to you."

Finally responding, he turned around calmly, still grinning. The sun glinted off the metal bar through his eyebrow, and a few days worth of stubble all but hid a lip piercing. "You're not going to need it much longer anyway, mate" His accent was subtle but very clearly there, and very clearly not American.

Emma's lips pressed into a thin line and she took a few steps towards him, trying to make him back off instead of making her shoot him. Every step she took forward he took one back. She would shoot him if she had to. "Why do you say that? I'm still using that gas!"

"I've been following you since before sunup, luv. I saw how sick you are." His smile flashed to a look of sympathy for a second before returning. "Why don't you do some good before you go, then, and help out the healthy."

Dumbstruck, Emma just stared at him for a long time. "I'm not sick." She finally said, unsure if she should submit to a temperature check to reassure him or not. "Yeah, right, mate. Whatever you say." He backed off another few steps. "I saw you get sick."

Scowling, Emma clicked the safety back on, and tucked the gun back into her jeans. "Come feel me, if you don't believe. I was sick because I had to kill a woman last night!" He raised an eyebrow, and cautiously took a few steps towards her, barely brushing her face with the back of his hand. "Oi, alright, then. You don't have a fever."

Emma nodded, and moved closer to the ATV. She looked around curiously. "Where you headed?"
"East... Going to get lost in the south, yeah. Possibly outlast the damned biters in a well protected hill in Kentucky."

Rolling her eyes Emma nodded. "Sounds reasonable. I'm Emma." She held her hand out to him.

"Seth," he said, taking her hand. "Where you headed then?"

"East. You know they say that there's safety in numbers... Not sure I believe that, but with the luck I've had it would be nice to have somebody to watch my back, you know. So, if you want, we could combine our gas, and food and things, and travel together..."

 

[Muna]

Erik tightened his grip on his gun, moving further into the room. "What do you think you're doing?" He was determined to get them both out of there alive.

"Who the 'ell are you?" A man's voice greeted him rudely. A figure off to his left made a sudden lunge for him and he pulled the trigger, watching the dark figure tumble to the ground with a thud. Pulling the safety again and pointing it in front of him, he spoke, "Release her to me or I will shoot you, too." The voice that answered was again, the male. "You shot my wife! Holy shit, you shot my wife!" The voice was panicked, seeming to forget what they were doing. Erik responded calmly, "Your wife knocked out my friend and dragged her down here. She was more of a threat than the unconscious girl."

Erik walked closer to the center of the room, seeing Maisy laying beside a desk. He reverted his eyes to the man who asked about her weapons. "Put your hands up so I can see them." Watching the man's figure move slowly, Erik stabilized his feet. Before he could blink, the figure jumped forward, trying to disarm him. Erik's body was pushed backward, his hand faltering on his gun. Feeling a hard collision, the man's fist connected with Erik's jaw. Erik let go of his gun to use both hands, pushing the man on top of him by his shoulders, trying to get off of his back.

No matter how hard Erik struggled, he couldn't shake the body on top of him. Feeling hands close around his neck, Erik's eyes widened and he kicked his feet, trying to shake him. His throat closed as the foreign hands tightened, cutting off his air supply and causing the world to go silent around him. The harder Erik struggled, the tighter the hands closed, thumbs pushing hard against his adam's apple.

A soft voice could be heard in the background. "Where am I?" Through the ringing in his ears, Erik heard Maisy's voice, recognizing a note of pain behind her question. Adrenaline rushed through his body, springing him from the ground and landing on top of his assailant, hands breaking free from his throat. His fists rushing, he punched the man in the teeth relentlessly, one fist on his jaw, the other hitting an eye socket; over and over, Erik pumped his fists until he could no longer feel a struggle beneath him. He crawled off of the man toward the desk where Maisy lay. Sliding his arms beneath her shoulders and legs, he lifted her and bent down to pick up his gun, carrying Maisy back up the stairs into the sunshine.

Running for the truck, he laid her in the passenger seat and ran to the car she had been siphoning, finishing the job. Dumping the gas into their truck's tank, he threw the gas can into the back seat and situated himself before the steering wheel. Turning the key, he started the engine and sped down the street and out of town. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Seth eyed her warily, as if he was weighing the pros and cons of joining up. Sighing, Emma moved towards the bushes, fishing the shotgun out of the foliage, before turning to him and racking a shell. "Look, you're either with me or against me, and right now, my only thought is getting to my sister. So, we can help each other out, or I can shoot you to keep you from making off with my gas." She paused only to settle the gun into her shoulder. "It's really your choice, but honestly, I would rather not shoot you..."

Seth's easy smile crept back across his lips, and he once again held his hand out to her. She shook her head, waiting for him to explain what prompted his sudden agreement, hoping that it was more than just his own personal desire to survive. "I wanted to make sure you were willing to do whatever you needed to do, in order to survive." Throwing his leg over his bike, he motioned for her to hop on.

Emma began to move, lowering the gun, before stopping herself and re-aiming. "And what are you willing to do to survive?" She asked.

"Whatever it takes." He said flatly. "But you're right, luv. We would both have a better chance if we stuck together. You got your sister to get to, and since we're both headed east, it would be our best chance to stick together, yeah." Keying the ignition to life, he looked her dead in the eye. "Now, you can hop on, and we'll leave together, or you can shoot me, and waste your chance at having backup."

Determination crept through Emma as she lowered the gun, and swung her leg over the motorcycle. She secured her backpack, tire iron and shotgun the best she could and wrapped her arms around Seth. Before he could take off she thought to ask, "Do you know where we are?"

"Oregon." He called back to her as the bike took off with a start, and they were flying over the ground.

 

[Muna]

Erik gave Maisy several glances as he drove, unsure of what to do next. She had been unconscious for the last twenty minutes and he had been trying to wake her up periodically. Realizing he should tell somebody, he dug her phone out of her backpack and dialed the last number: Emma. Must be her sister. Hearing the greeting message, he tried to keep his voice calm as he left a message. "Hi. Sorry, you don't know me. Name's Erik, I'm with Maisy. We ran into trouble in Grove City but we are heading south now. Still planning to head near I-40. I suggest staying off of the interstate. Stay safe."

Hoping that was enough to put her sister's mind at ease for the lack of updates, he pulled to the side of the road. I have to do something. Turning off the truck's engine, he slid over to Maisy and grabbed his water bottle, hoping he wouldn't need to waste much. Sprinkling a cap full onto her face, he ran his hand down the side of her face gently. "Maisy, wake up. Come on now, don't do this." Shaking her by the shoulders, panic rising in his throat, he raised his voice. "Maisy, wake the fuck up!" Placing his hands on her cheeks, he patted her face roughly, trying to get her to come to. His stomach turned as she opened her eyes and he saw stars, her palm connecting with his nose sharply. "What the fuck, get off of me!" Maisy seemed disoriented, though not as much as Erik anymore.

Raising his hand to his nose, Erik pulled it away to see blood. "Maisy, what the hell?" "Erik, I am so sorry. I had no idea it was you." Maisy seemed apologetic enough. "I think you broke my nose..." Erik held the bridge of his nose as tears formed in his eyes. Just what I need. Maisy moved closer to him, gingerly removing his hand from his face. "I don't think it's broken, maybe just a little... fucked up." Maisy grabbed the water bottle and held it to his face; while it wasn't frozen, the coolness of it seemed to help. Looking at her, he couldn't find anything to say. As he parted his lips to speak, she cut him off. "You saved my life. Again. You're going to have to stop doing that, I don't like owing anything to anybody." Erik blinked, not expecting that. "Well, I'm not so sure I was the one that saved anybody, so forget about it."

Erik laid his head back on the seat, waiting for the bleeding to stop before he started driving again. He saw Maisy reach for her bag and said, "I already called your sister to tell her we were heading for I-40. Told her we ran into some trouble, but didn't say what. Figured she would flip if she hadn't heard from you... or about you, as it were." Maisy dropped her backpack without a word, laying her head against the window. Erik turned the key and made his way back to the road. Erik's deep voice broke the silence. "Keep your eyes open, woman."​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma's fingers were numb by the time they stopped. The air whipping around them had chilled considerably as the sun sank into the horizon behind them. They stopped only for natural necessities, and continued forward. They left Oregon, and cut through the southwest corner of Idaho without incident.

Emma was pretty sure that they had crossed into Utah, but couldn't be sure because they had stayed away from roads as much as possible as they traveled not trusting major roadways to be biter free. She had enjoyed not having to be responsible for choosing the path, but she still felt uneasy about having him around.

Slowing to a stop, Seth killed the ignition on the bike, and Emma slid off the back, trying to walk out the stiffness in her legs. "Oh god, man we've got to find a smoother ride." She said, massaging her butt-- it had fallen asleep a few hours back, but she hadn't wanted to say anything. Seth shrugged, "Yeah, but comfort's not high on the list of priorities right now, luv. You can drive a bike right?"

Emma kicked herself for thinking they'd be stopping for the night, and nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while, but I think I can manage." She raised her arms over her head, stretching out her sore back, and silently dreading continuing to ride. "I have some food, we can share a can of tuna or something." She offered, digging through her bag. Finally finding the small can she held it up to him triumphantly and went back to the bag to fish out the can opener.

Seth handed her the can back and she started opening it, visibly shaking from the cool air. Why didn't I grab my jacket? She wondered as Seth shrugged his hoodie off his shoulders and offered it to her. After scooping half the tuna into her mouth she accepted it, and thanked him. "So, do you know where we are, or...?"

"We should be a bit northwest of Salt Lake City, yeah." He paused scratching his ever growing beard. "We should head more south right now, otherwise we'll have to find a way to cross the lake." Emma nodded and drank half a bottle of water before moving back to the bike. "Well, let's get on with it then." She grimaced as she lifted her sore legs over the bike and waited for him to saddle up behind her.

Surprisingly, Emma remembered exactly how to drive the bike, and the long forgotten joy of riding came back. Even in the face of carnivorous dead people, she somehow found herself enjoying the ride. They made their way south, her momentary rush of fun vanishing as the sight on I-80 came into view in the distance.

 

[Muna]

Woman? Who does he think he is? "I'm fine. Just drive." Maisy couldn't help but feel annoyed by this guy, or perhaps from the pounding in her head. She couldn't distinguish what it was that bothered her the most. Unable to stand the uneasy air around them, she asked, "How exactly did you get me out of there, anyway?" She crossed her legs in her seat, shifting her body to see Erik.

"I saw the woman clock you from behind... I couldn't move fast enough to stop her. They dragged you into a cellar, I think planning to rob you or something. I don't really know, didn't ask many questions." Erik spoke bluntly, though his words were vague. "Well, if you didn't ask many questions, what did you do?" Maisy was worried about what this cop was capable of. She watched as Erik sighed, clearly thinking over his answer. "I did what I had to do. They attacked you, attempted to disarm me. I shot the woman, I'm not sure of the status on the man." Erik gripped the steering wheel, not wanting to relive the beating he gave.

Maisy bit her tongue, eyes darting to his knuckles. They were torn to hell, dried blood running down his fingers. "Erik, how hard did you hit him? Are you absolutely sure he wasn't sick?" She was worried about Erik's wounds. "Did you knock his teeth?" He clenched his knuckles further down over the steering wheel. "I don't really remember. Must have knocked something apart, judging by the throbbing in my hands." Erik didn't want to think about that. He had doused his wounds in hand sanitizer but he wasn't sure if it was enough. Taking a breath, he continued, "If I seem sick to you, I'll need you to take my gun and shoot me between my eyes. Can I trust you to do that?" Looking into her eyes, he needed her word. "Yeah. I'll shoot you if I have to." Maisy took a deep and uneven breath as she watched the cop stare at the road. If anything had been bothering him, it didn't show. His face was one of determination.

"We'll have to stop in the next town to salvage some gas and water. This peanut butter should last another day or so." She spoke as she pulled the jar from her bag and scooped some onto the lid for Erik. He took it silently, understanding her precaution. After taking a few bites, he turned his head, "You got it. I think I should be the one to take the lead this time." Erik spoke deeply, a sly smile on his lips. Maisy laughed at his comment, "Yeah, okay. Fuck you guy." Feeling amused, she ate her peanut butter and watched the horizon, hoping their plan of sticking to the back roads would pay off. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Slowing the bike as they approached, Emma felt her stomach drop. "Seth... We have to get through... There's going to be no where to get around." Several pileups were visible even from their location. Smoke filled the air, and a few fires were visible in the massive traffic jam. Mormons are scary enough when they aren't trying to eat your face.

Several bodies were visible in the flickering flames on the highway. "You think those are biters, luv, or live ones trying to escape the biters?" Seth's voice in her ear caused her to flinch. She had forgotten was was there in her amazement at the scene laid before them.

"Could be either, can't tell at this distance, but it looks like some of them are riding bicycles..." The bike sputtered beneath them as Emma struggled to keep them moving forward, but barely at a crawl, afraid of the scene before them, and unwilling to go back.

"Well, mate, I think the bike is going to be best bet to get through them, either way. You feel comfortable enough to drive through that, luv? Or you want to be defense here one the back." Emma pulled the brake, skidding the bike to a stop. "I'll take defense.."

Quickly, he hopped off the bike, and she slid back, allowing him room to take the handlebars. He barely gave her enough time to position the tire iron in her hand and grab his waist with the other hand before he took off. He drove like a mad man, and had the bike moving as fast as it would when they reached the interstate and he started weaving them through the cars.

Seth had managed to angle them to miss the largest groupings of bodies, but as it turned out the few people left alive were locked in barricaded cars. Cowering with wide eyes, screaming at them to help as the passed. Those ambling down the interstate had been infected, and they turned darting over the cars to the sound of the bike. Oh God, I don't want to be eaten.

Seth skillfully maneuvered the bike, dodging several biters, and plowing over the few he couldn't avoid. Emma tightened her grip on her weapon, wishing it was a baseball bat instead of a tire iron, readying herself to swing if the need arose. That's when she saw them. The biters had figured out how to ride bicycles. What the fuck is going on?! Zombies on TV definitely didn't do that!

Seth noticed too late, allowing one of the bikes to get dangerously close to them. Grunting, Emma swung knocking both her and the biter off their respective bikes. She screamed and scrambled to her feet. Quickly, she pulled the pistol and tried to fire at the closest biter, but she had forgotten to click the safety off in her panic. Fuck, fuck fuck! Her fumbling fingers finally managed to slide the switch when she hear the shotgun go off and the biter lunging at her lost the majority of its head in a spray of blood.

 

[Muna]

Erik had been driving for quite some time. Not wanting to attract too much attention with the truck's headlights, he pulled off the road and found an open field away from the road. Unbuckling himself, he turned to Maisy. "We need to set up camp for the night. I have a feeling our lights will be very distracting." Maisy nodded and hopped out of the truck to set up their 4 foot spiked perimeter. Erik exited the truck, intending to help her construct it faster - he felt much safer in the shelter of the truck. He admired the design of Maisy's fence, thinking of how smart it was. The fence was built to have wooden spikes protruding from a criss-crossed wall structure for stability. This prevented the biters from surrounding the truck on all sides.

The two of them were able to finish the wall in fifteen minutes. They climbed over their work and into the cab of the truck, closing and locking the doors. They had managed to avoid biters the whole day, which Erik thought was a blessing. "So..." He said quietly. "What's the plan then?" Maisy regarded him thoughtfully. "I think we're making some decent progress as far as traveling goes. I am a little worried about our food and water situation... we'll need to find some sort of first aid supplies too, if you keep punching people up." Maisy looked out the windows wearily. She wasn't sure how much longer she could sleep in fear, but she felt she had no other choice. She continued, "I think we should come up with a watch duty plan. Let one of us sleep while the other stands guard, maybe a few times alternating throughout the night. I have no idea what a zombie's hunting pattern is like..." Erik could tell she had been worried about the night as he had. "Yeah, I figured that's what we'd do. I'll take first watch if you'd like." Maisy nodded at his suggestion and added, "Yeah, all right. Wake me if you need to for any reason."

Erik gave her a thumbs-up and set his gun in his lap, his finger near the trigger. The night was relatively quiet, save for the rustling tree branches nearby. He lifted his eyes to see the cloudless sky, wondering if anyone else had been doing the same tonight. Blinking, his eyes focused on an approaching figure stumbling over their own feet, almost as if they were lost. As it got closer, Erik realized it was a biter - previously a teenage boy, by the looks of it. Erik shrunk in the seat, pulling Maisy down with him. "Maisy, wake up. Biter, 12 o'clock." Her eyes shot open as she registered what he whispered. She nodded once and placed her hand on her machete. I wonder how she got that thing. Erik's senses heightened in the dark silence that led to the sound of a groaning squish in front of them. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Seth chambered another round, the gun still resting against his shoulder. He had leaped off the bike as soon as Emma fell, against his better judgement. The spray of blood from the first biter was still in the air when he took out the second. "Emma, come on!" He screamed at her, trying to reload the shotgun. Luckily, Emma had regained some composure, and started popping any biter that came near, with remarkable accuracy.

Impressed, he felt a small grin creep onto his face. This girl... He racked another shell and shot a nearby biter. They were getting smarter... Coming at them from all angles, hiding behind abandoned vehicles. "We've got to get out of here, luv." He told her. She agreed instantly, moving behind him. This girl's a genius! She was impressing him more and more. He hadn't even had to tell her to cover his back. Two more shots rang from her gun.

The noise was drawing more and more biters to them. Well, hell, this isn't working out. Trying to assess the situation, his looked around starting to panic, as he blew the head off of another encroaching zombie. They were making progress, but it was slow, and at this rate they would run out of ammo before they escaped the hoard. Unsure what else to do, his mind flickered toward the pint of vodka he'd tucked into his back pocket before setting out. He had considered downing it several times, but the one thing the apocalypse had been good for was his sobriety. Fuck it! He pulled the bottle out of his pocket, shoving the shotgun into Emma's arms.

He twisted the cap off of the bottle before realizing he hadn't thought his plan through very well. Just then he felt Emma stumble behind him, and he spun to find her trying to kick a biter off her leg. Luckily, it was just clawing at her, unable to bring it's mouth down into her flesh yet. She was obviously panicking, not even thinking about the guns in her arms. Shrugging he dumped the clear liquid on the corpse before finally wrenching Emma from it grasp and pulling her along after him. After they were a few feet away he dug in his jeans, and pulled out his zippo.

He hadn't wanted to part with it, but he lit it and tossed it to the alcohol soaked biter, igniting it instantly. The barely had enough time to take cover behind a van before the flames caught the nearest car, and erupted with an earsplitting 'boom'.

 

[Muna]

Maisy's eyes widened as the grunting got louder. Noticing Erik moving his finger to the trigger of his gun, she placed her hand on his and shook her head. "That'll be too loud, dude. Not a good idea." She peaked over the dash to see what their situation looked like. It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight, but she was pleased to see her fence worked in the way she wanted it to. A biter, reaching and impaled just below its chest on her wooden spikes. Erik spoke softly, "What should we do? That sound is going to attract more." Maisy looked beyond the trapped zombie to see two others rushing forward. "Too late. I got this, keep that gun cocked in case I need you to shoot."

With that, Maisy opened the truck door carefully and landed gracefully on the ground. Taking a deep breath, she unsheathed her machete, gripping it tight. She ran forward to the zombie on her fence and without thinking, shoved her machete through his face, silencing his growls. She shoved her blade in deep enough to lift him off of the spike, body falling to the ground with a hard thud. She crouched, hoping she wasn't easily seen. She saw the other two rushing forward, one on each side. Luckily she had enough space between the truck and the fence to stay well away. With another sickening squish, a biter woman was once again lodged on her fence. Lifting her machete, she drove it through the woman's face and pushed her to the ground, rounding to the other side and slashed her arm out sideways, cutting off the other biter's head with a spray of blood.

She did a perimeter check, straining her eyes to see on the horizon. Seeing a few more coming their way, she popped her head into the truck. Erik looked at her shocked, seeing the zombie's blood sprayed across Maisy's face. "You still have your baton, right? Find something else to swing and come help me. Looks like we're in for a long night, my friend." She shut the truck door, stabilizing her stance with her machete in hand, waiting for their guests patiently. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

The explosion worked just as he had hoped it would, drawing in biters in vast numbers as they silently moved from car to car, hiding from zombies as needed. Emma and Seth slowly made their way down the highway, away from the majority of the horde.

"We need to get another set of wheels, luv." Seth said, dragging Emma back to her feet as she tripped over a stray piece of debris. This girl could trip over a line. Seth kind of wondered how she had managed to survive as long as she had alone, and came to the conclusion she was probably lucky enough to not have been caught in any major cities.

Emma pointed towards a fairly well preserved Rubicon that had been driven off the pavement in order to avoid an accident. Hoping for some more luck, Seth circled to the driver's side door and opened it cautiously. The warning bell for the keys began to chime, and he quickly slid into the seat and pulled the door to, motioning for Emma to hurry up. The noise had attracted a few stray biters, and they turned, heading quickly towards the Rubicon. "Come on!" Emma's voice had a tinge of mania to it. "Start the damn thing already!"

Not needing the encouragement in the first place Seth turned the key, and the engine sputtered the battery struggling to spark. "Come on, come on!" Seth urged the vehicle as he turned the key again, the engine finally roaring to life after straining to catch. Pushing it into gear, he stomped on the gas pedal, cutting further off the interstate, and hitting the frontage road before facing the jeep eastward again, they were off. He even managed to mow down three zombies as they lunged forward towards the windows. "WOO HOO!" Seth hollered they gradually left the mayhem of the interstate behind them.

Glancing over at Emma, Seth flashed her a grin as they rode in silence. Emma was the first to violate the quiet. Her voice sounding as tired as she looked. "We can't go through Salt Lake City. The interstate being like that I don't even want to imagine." She studied the horizon cautiously before beginning to rummage through the consoles an glove box. Grinning she came up with a map in her hand, and most of a box of granola bars.

"Hand me one of those, will you, mate?" Seth asked, feeling like they deserved some celebratory chocolate chips and oats. She handed him one, and then went about digging through her pockets. She produced her cell phone proudly, and the familiar sound of it powering up filled the cab. "Yes! Service, and a couple voicemails!" She grinned as she punched the speed dial for her voicemail, and held the phone to her ear. After hanging up she sighed and clicked send, pulling up her recent calls. He didn't see who she was calling but he heard the message she left. "Sorry for the lack of updates, but until recently, I wasn't even sure where I was. I've made it as far as Salt Lake City. I'm fine, and I have backup now too. Maisy, I'm coming, I'll get to you as soon as I can. I love you little sister, and tell Erik I said 'thanks for calling'."

 

[Muna]

Erik watched as Maisy jumped out of the truck with no hesitation. This girl is something else. He watched through the windshield as he kept his finger on the trigger, keeping an eye out for any more trouble. He watched Maisy in awe. To him, she seemed like she was built for this type of combat. Breaking his revelry, Maisy opened the door. She was covered in blood... he hadn't realized he let his concentration get away from him. "You still have your baton, right? Find something else to swing and come help me. Looks like we're in for a long night, my friend." He stared at the closed door before coming to his senses. Digging beneath the seats, he found his taser gun. That won't do much for killing. Continuing his search, he found a baseball bat tucked behind the seat, clearly there for emergencies. Erik hadn't expected to find something so practical, but he opened the door of the truck nonetheless. Splintering the wood with the truck door, he formed a sharp point at the end as he slammed the door repeatedly.

Standing at the ready on the driver's side of the truck, while Maisy took the passenger side, he waited for the oncoming group of biters headed in their direction. As they approached, his mind went blank. All he could think about was survival and making sure Maisy was okay. Before the first zombie hit the fence, he had the sharpened bat in his right hand, baton in his left, ready for anything. He lunged the point of the bat straight forward, entering the closest biter's eye socket with one hard push. At that moment, his left arm swung out, connecting with the jaw of another zombie trying to get beyond their fence. Smack, stab, smacking again, Erik started to drop the undead as if they were flies. Swinging his baton against their heads, shoving their faces into his bat, he had a smooth system figured out after only a few opponents.

More than twenty zombies had surrounded them by this point. He focused on the weakest point in the fence closest to him, trying to keep the weight of biters on the fence light. How much can this barricade hold? Erik didn't have much time to get lost in thought. Instead, his body was lost in defensive motions, swinging his weapons on the left-hand side of the truck and dropping as many biters as he could. Erik's hearing was invaded by the ravenous roar that escaped their throats. Shit, that's going to attract even more. What the fuck do I do? Erik panicked slightly, hoping to come up with a plan quickly. He made an observation about Maisy's fence, noting that it was holding up pretty well, considering how many zombies were accumulating around them.

Running around the front of the truck, he found Maisy in the middle of fighting off just as many, if not more, biters hungry for flesh. "Maisy, we have to get out of here! There's too many of them!" Erik's voice was loud and deep through the hunger that resonated in the air. Though the zombies were unable to move past Maisy's fence, there were too many of them to fend off. "Maisy, we have to go! Right now!!" The panic in his voice was evident as he rushed around the the truck, wrenching the driver's side door open and slamming it loudly. He turned the key, starting the engine, and waited with bated breath for Maisy to join him. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma turned the phone back off and dug though the consoles once again, hoping the cord she'd spotted earlier was a phone charger. Sure enough in the center console the long thin wire was connected to the cigarette lighter. Please with her luck she plugged the phone in, before turning to gaze out of her window. The horizon looked so calm. It was insane to think how nature continued to do it's thing even while the whole world went crazy around it.

Wondering what Maisy was doing, Emma began to fidget in her seat, and she was brought back out of her thoughts by Seth clearing his throat. She turned to him, and his trademark easy grin was painted across his face. What the fuck does he have to smile about? She kicked herself for being so negative and reminded herself that they were both alive, and that was plenty to be grateful for. "Why don't you crawl into the back, and see if the folks that owned this before we liberated it left anything useful behind, yeah?"

Without word Emma crawled over her seat to investigate the vehicle. She'd even be able to check the hatch, being that the whole jeep possessed an open space design. In the backseat she found a small bottle of hand sanitizer and an almost full case of water. Her luck just kept getting better. The very back didn't produce anything more useful than a simple crowbar that would replace her lost tire iron.

Sighing, she settled back into the front passenger seat, and grinned at Seth. "I think you may be a lucky charm, man."

He laughed, "Oi! I'm English not Irish, now!" Emma grinned glad she had found someone so lighthearted to share the trek with. "Why don't you get some sleep, luv. I'll wake you if there's a problem, or I get too tired to continue, yeah. We'll make better time if we drive in shifts." Yawning at his suggestion, Emma barely had enough energy to nod before resting her face against the cool glass window and falling into a fitful sleep.​

 

[Muna]

Maisy lunged her body to put all of her weight behind her blade as she slashed at the biters. They had been trying desperately to reach her, but thankfully her fence was keeping them back. This thing won't hold if more show up... We need to get out of here somehow. Wiping the blood off of her blade against the bottoms of her jeans, she turned and ran for the door of the truck, jumping in quickly. Erik looked relieved to see her. "What are you waiting for? Fucking drive dude!" Erik didn't need telling twice. He put the truck in gear and Maisy briefly appreciated the size of the vehicle as they broke down the fence and started to hit zombies. As she assumed, there seemed to be a sea of zombies coming in their direction from the horizon. "I think we found Grove City." Maisy tried to joke through her terror.

Erik laughed loudly as he maneuvered the trick, crushing as many zombie heads he could with their windshield and the front of the truck. Their tires jumped as they plowed over lumps of bodies, gradually picking up speed as their path started to clear. The hoard was starting to thin as they approached the road they were driving on before. Erik sped down the road, away from the zombies trailing them. Taking deep breaths, Maisy sat back in her seat, staring at the lines of light coming from their headlights. With so many zombies around, she didn't suggest turning them off - they needed to see where they were going.

Turning in her seat, she could see the blood covering Erik's arms and shoulders, spattering his shiny gold badge that lay upon his chest. Unable to contain herself, she laughed at the sight. "Never thought I'd see a cop, drenched from head to toe in zombie blood, whisk me away through a river of biters." Erik looked at her out of the corner of his eye and laughed with her. Winking, he replied, "Just another day in paradise, ma'am." Maisy was glad they could share a few laughs, no matter what was blowing up around them. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Oh God! They're everywhere! Emma emptied her clip into the horde circling them, and when the gun clicked disappointingly she threw it at the nearest biter and grabbed her crowbar swinging it wildly. Maisy fought at her side, wielding a large knife, decapitating biter after biter. Where'd she get that? "Mais! There's too many of them, we have to clear a path!" She could barely hear her own voice over the din of the hungry growls. Maisy moved closer, nodding to Emma and they began working their way through the the crowd of undead.

Occasionally, one of them would turn to deal with the biters coming at them from behind. There's too many of them, we're dead. She still had another pistol tucked into her jeans, but with only fifteen rounds, it wasn't worth the risk of drawing even more. Finally, she saw the opening they needed. She caught sight of the narrow alleyway, and grabbed her little sister by the arm, swinging the crowbar and any of the deadies that got in her way. "Fuck you! We aren't your dinner today!" She screamed, jamming the crowbar into the eye of the zombie lunging at them.

Finally, they made it into the alley. Biters began to trickle after them but at least they weren't surrounded now, and in their hunger the undead would likely trample each other trying to get to them. Not releasing Maisy's arm, Emma took off full speed down the alley, turning at random interval but she carefully avoided anyplace too wide.

The sounds of hunger slowly faded behind them as Emma slowed to a stop. Trying to catch her breath she finally let go of Maisy's arm and leaned forward, her hands resting on her knees. "Emma..." Maisy's voice was eerily calm, and Emma slowly stood up to look at her.

Maisy's eyes were fixed on her arm, staring at the shallow hole now oozing blood. "No. Not you Mais... No." Emma whispered, reaching for her sister.

Maisy took a step back, and looked up at Emma. "I love you, Emma. I'm sorry I was stupid enough to get bit." She laughed weakly, as if trying to make Emma feel better about the situation, and slid down the wall behind her to the ground. Emma hit the ground almost instantly and crawled over to Maisy.

"I'm so sorry, little sister, I was supposed to take care of you, this is all my fault!" Tears escaped her lashes, sliding down her cheeks. Maisy grabbed Emma's hand, she had always been the rational one, and spoke very calmly. "It's not your fault, Em, but I won't be turning into a fucking cannibal either." Maisy paused and squeezed Emma's hand. "I need your gun."

Emma was still sobbing as she shakily handed the pistol over, "No, no no... Maisy..."

She couldn't take her eyes away as her baby sister raised the gun to her head. "Love you,"

~~~~
​

"Emma! Emma! WAKE UP!" Seth was sitting on her screaming, the jeep was no longer moving, and he was shaking her violently by the shoulders.

"Get the fuck off me!" She pushed him off of her, trying to get her bearings. She was still in the jeep with Seth, Maisy wasn't here, she didn't know where Maisy was.
​

 

[Muna]

Maisy's eyes were dropping from exhaustion. Erik had continued to weave through biters, turning every now and then to shake them off. "Erik, I'm gonna crash, man. You cool?" Erik nodded and Maisy leaned her head against the seat, asleep before she knew it.

Waking after what seemed like only five minutes, Maisy was blinded by the rising sun. Looking out the window, she saw that they were travelling along a dusty road, hidden among trees. She didn't recognize where they were, but she was just glad they weren't being chased anymore. Smacking her lips, she wished out loud. "Shit, we need more water." Before she remembered the full details of the previous night, she jumped as Erik's gravelly voice cut through the silence. "Yeah, I'm planning to stop at the next building I see. We're going to need to stock up on gas and water. I figured we could have you drive from there." Maisy suddenly felt guilty for sleeping. Instead of expressing that, however, she nodded. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." She reached down for her bag and pulled out the chicken broth she stole in New York. Desperate, she opened it up and drank it slowly. It wouldn't give her many calories to burn, but it was helpful to have something wet slide down her throat. She handed the box to Erik and picked her bag up again, looking for her phone.

She looked at it, thankful that she was smart enough to keep it turned off. Current-Maisy was also very pleased with past-Maisy for buying an extended battery. She still had about half of her battery left. Listening to Emma's voicemail, she smiled. "Hey, my sister says thanks for the call." Putting it on speaker phone, she figured she would leave Emma a new message. She dialed her "1" speed dial and her heart jumped into her throat as it rang instead of going straight to her sister's sassy voicemail message.​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

"What the fuck, man! I mean, what the actual fuck!?" Emma screamed at Seth, who was currently sprawled in a rather uncomfortable looking position between the two seats.

Seth just stared at her until she stopped screaming. "You were screaming, mate. You wouldn't wake up, so I did what I had to." Emma glared at him for a long moment before the lightening horizon caught her eye. "Did you drive through the night?" She asked suddenly feeling guilty. Seth nodded, "Yep, and I was about to pull over and wake you, then you started screaming, and I didn't really have much choice."

Her dream suddenly flashed through her memory and Emma grabbed her phone off the charger, quickly turning it on to see if she had a message from her sister. To her surprise, as soon as it powered up it began to ring. Maisy's photo and number showing on the screen, Emma heart surged. She quickly answered it. "Oh God, Maisy! Please tell me you're alright!"

 

[Muna]

"Emma! Holy shit!" Maisy couldn't believe she actually caught her sister. "Yes, I'm all right. Would have been zombie toast by now if it weren't for Erik, though. We had some trouble in Grove City and again last night, but we managed to get out. I'm not really sure where we are, but we're driving through a forest. We're planning to stop at the next building to find water and gas. Emma, are you okay? Tell me you found something to kill things with. Where are you? You said you had backup, who is it?" She couldn't help but talk a mile a minute, needing to know her big sister was okay.

Maisy smiled broadly at Erik as she spoke. She couldn't have felt more relieved to hear her sister's voice if she tried. Erik smiled back, clearly happy for her too. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma couldn't help but smile at her sister's voice. The whole world stopped for those moments as Maisy rambled on. "So, we've made it to Utah," Glancing at Seth for specifics he shrugged, and then turned to stare out of the window. "I had a nightmare Mais... You need to be safe, PROMISE ME YOU'LL BE SAFE." Emma trembled as she spoke. "I have weapons, may not be the best weapons, and I'm almost out of ammo for one, but I have them. You got stuff to kill them with, right, little sister? DID YOU KNOW THAT THE DAMN BITERS COULD RIDE BICYCLES? Seth has been a life saver Mais, here," She put the phone on speaker, "Seth say 'hi'."

"Oi! We don't have much time for this, luv! It's your turn to drive." Emma fixed him with a poisonous glare, and he shifted leaning closer to the phone. "'Ello Emma's sister, can you please explain to your bullheaded sibling that I'm right, and we cannot just sit here while she dallies on the phone all morning!"

 

[Muna]

"Ello Emma's comrade. I just found out my sister's alive and yes, while she should help you drive, cool it dude. We haven't been talking for more than two minutes. I'm the only one who can call my sister bullheaded and don't tell me what to do." Maisy was annoyed at the male voice on the other end. Erik laughed at her facial expressions. "Hey man, you should just listen to her. She'll rip you a new one." Punching Erik's arm, Maisy spoke to her sister. "Yeah, I raided a pawn shop back in New York City. Managed to grab a machete and a hunting knife. Erik's a cop, so he's got some state issued crap like a gun and something to whack people with." Maisy shot Erik a teasing grin.

Figuring she should keep the conversation short, she said "Emma, keep traveling southeast if you can. Seems that we're headed southwest, we're bound to meet up somewhere. Stay alive. Seth, if my sister dies on your watch, I'll kill you." Pausing to make her seriousness known, she changed her tone of voice and continued, "I love you, big sister. I'll see you soon." ​