No Matter the Distance: (w/Muna)

[Turtle of Doom]

Seth fumed, and exited the car before the phone call ended. Barely restraining himself from slamming the door and storming off. Fuck, I need a drink. Instinctively, his hand reached for the pint in his back pocket before he remembered that the alcohol was used to make a zombie bomb.

He was pacing a hole in the ground when Emma came out of the car. Her facial expression was one of relief, and his anger began to soften. "Look, luv, I'm sorry I got all grumpy with sis, but I really can't handle this sitting duck feeling." Emma nodded, "They want us to continue southeast. How much gas do we have left?" Seth shrugged, "About half a tank, or so. You still got that map you found? We should plot a course..."

Surprisingly, Emma didn't say anything she just crawled into the driver's side door and began rifling through the glove box. Well, at least she's in the right seat now. Running his hands through his shaggy hair he made his way into the passenger's seat just as she began unfolding the map. He glanced at it, trying to determine about where they were in relation to Salt Lake, finally he pointed. "I got on this highway a while back... It looks like we can either turn and go on I-70 and through Colorado, or we can continue south to Arizona. Choice is yours, luv, you're the one driving."

Emma was quiet for a second, trying to work some things out. "If we go south, will there be places to stop and find gas or food or anything?" She glanced in the backseat at her pack, and her stomach audibly growled. "We're running low on food, unless you've been holding out on me?"

"I have a few cans, and a jar of peanut butter, mate, but that's about it..." Emma nodded. "Colorado may be tougher to get through because it's more populated." Growling she balled up the map and tossed it over her shoulder. "Fuck this! I'll decide when I see what I-70 looks like!" She started the jeep, and pressed the petal, jolting them forward on the road. Seth glanced over at her to make sure she was alight to drive. "Wake me if anything happens, luv."

 

[Muna]

Maisy turned her phone off and sighed. I'm so glad Emma is okay. Before she could speak, a building was coming into view on the right hand side of the road. "Looks to be a fire department." Erik grunted in response, clearly losing energy. Maisy started to think out loud. "I'll go in the front, look for anything that might be useful." His response was, "I'll go around back. They usually keep extra gas around for drifters." Having decided on a plan, Erik pulled to the side of the road, leaving the truck unlocked and ready to take off if they needed it.

Exchanging a determined look with Erik, she nodded and bolted into the abandoned department. It looked as though it had been left behind untouched, as if the firemen had been called to work and never returned. Hearing nothing but silence, she ran through to the office, searching through cabinets. She found a pistol with an extra box of ammo hidden for emergencies. Stuffing it into her backpack, she continued to a kitchen area. To her relief, she found a case of water bottles, several cans of soup and packaged crackers. Opening her bag again, she shoved them inside and lifted the water into her arms, running for the truck. Unloading her haul, she went around back to help Erik. He had been filling a gas can from a car's gas tank, another filled can ready to go. She figured she could fill up the truck and come back for two extra cans of gas instead of one.

Back at the truck, she kept her eyes peeled as she poured the gas. As she looked down to replace the cap, she heard shuffling to her left. Looking up, she saw one lone zombie, seemingly lost. She set the gas can on the ground by the truck and unsheathed her machete, coolly walking up to the biter and slashing at its throat, severing its biting head from stumbling body. She turned cautiously, making sure there were no others. Grabbing the can from the ground, she ran back to Erik to fill the can from another abandoned car behind the building. "Erik, we have to go. Killed a biter just now, there are bound to be more coming this way." He nodded, carrying both gas cans to the truck.

Maisy jumped into the driver's seat, feeling elated. They were stocked for a good while and she was thankful for the help. She grinned at Erik as he settled into his seat, his eyes widening at their new water and food stash. They both grabbed a bottle of water and drank deeply as Maisy drove down the desolate road, feeling truly lucky. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma tried desperately to focus on the purr of the engine as she continued south. They would be reaching I-70 soon. Turning on the radio, she casually flipped through the channels not expecting to pick anything up, at all, but to her surprise after circling the frequencies a few times the radio came to a rest. 94.6. That's weird.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Emma turned up the volume. Static. White noise. Her curiosity felt disappointed. Then she heard it.
"Do-t *static* I repeee *static* DO NOT go *static* --outh! Ille-*static* Immigrants *static* HORDES!! DON-*static* GO SOU-*static* WALL HAS *static*-len."

Seth started to stir, and unwilling to wait for it to happen naturally Emma jammed her finger into his ribs. Jerking up, Seth stared at her. "Oi, what was that, now? Just some payback for me waking you?"

"Shut up, idiot. Listen!" She turned up the radio again, the signal was stronger now, and they could hear the looped message come in behind the fuzziness of the white noise. "Don't, I repeat, DO NOT go South! Illegal immigrants are coming in HORDES! DON'T GO SOUTH! OUR WALL HAS FALLEN!"

Leaning forward, Emma turned the radio off, driving in silence for a while until Seth finally spoke. "Wall?" Emma nodded, "Arizona has a pretty strict immigration policy, they've been lobbying for a wall for years, I guess they put it up, but not in time."

Seth shook his head, and ran his hands through his scraggly hair. "Well I guess that's settled then, eh luv? Go east." Emma just nodded.

 

[Muna]

Erik was able to sleep for quite some time. For the first time since New York City's fall, he had a full belly and was properly hydrated - this made sleeping in the cramped truck cabin much more comfortable. He couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours, but he felt fully rested. Sitting up, he rubbed his hand over his face, feeling his beard starting to grow in prickly. "Have you seen any sign of where we might be?"

Maisy jumped at his voice, clearly lost in her own train of thought. "Yeah, we're about 30 miles away from Winchester, Ohio. I was thinking we might follow side roads off of I-64 until I can get a hold of Emma to find out where they are headed next. What do you think?" Erik figured she had been formulating a plan; she didn't seem like the type of woman to roam. Sighing, Erik realized they were still in for a long journey. "Yeah, it doesn't matter to me. I don't have any plans." He joked, trying to make light of their situation.

Maisy smiled briefly. "Did you have plans? You know, before all of this?" He noticed she had an anguished look on her face. He wasn't sure why it mattered now, but he figured with the long drive ahead of them, it couldn't hurt getting to know one another. He ran his hands through his hair, sighing deeply. "Yeah... Yeah. I did. I was meant to pick my wife up from the airport - she and our daughter were visiting the in-laws in Denver." He paused for a moment, trying to keep himself calm. He hadn't let himself think about this too hard before now. He was afraid it would make him weak. "When we first heard of the cities falling, it came from Denver. There were no flights out of the city. She called me, the morning of New York's evacuation, said they were trapped in the airport. There was static, screaming... the call was lost."

Erik stared out the window, unable to see Maisy's reaction. Instead of waiting for one, he cleared his throat awkwardly and asked the same. "How about you? What were you doing when you realized you had to get the hell out of dodge?"​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma drove onward. Both she and Seth were ominously quiet as they turned onto I-70 and headed east into Colorado, and toward Denver. Brooding about the probable battle and and their likely death within Denver's borders, but the lack of another pass through the mountains, they were both just a little on edge. Most of the vehicles littering the lanes had already been bled dry of gas, or were diesels, which left them wavering too close to empty on their own gas tank.

"Denver is a bad idea." Seth grumbled, staring out of his window. Emma growled, he had broken their silence a few times in the last several hours, just to tell her that exact tidbit of information. "Way too many people. It was probably one of the first cities to fall." Backup or no, I'm going to throw you out of the fucking car if you keep reminding me. Emma surprisingly, was holding onto her temper rather well, considering the lack of helpful input from her current road-dog.

Her jaw tensed, and her neck was beginning to ache with tension. "Look, luv, I'm just saying--"

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!" Emma slammed on the brakes, the tires squealing on the asphalt, causing the jeep to fishtail, almost hitting an abandoned and stalled semi on the side of the road. "I FUCKING GET IT! DENVER IS GOING TO SUCK! BUT UNLESS YOU HAVE A BETTER FUCKING IDEA, KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTH SHUT!" Turning the ignition of and ripping the keys out, Emma threw her door open and stormed off.

"Come on, mate! Don't be like that." Seth jogged behind her, trying to catch up. "I was just trying to say we should stop and make a plan! Look, luv, Cherry Hills Village! We exit there, loot some gas, maybe some supplies, pull the map back out and formulate some coherent idea of exactly where we're going!"

Emma stopped, hurtling the car keys at Seth's face, as hard as she could. "You could have fucking said that!" Seth shrugged. "Oi! I just did, didn't I? Come on, then." He said returning to their jeep. "If you don't want to get left behind, luv, best come along then!"

Growling, Emma stalked after him, sliding into the passenger seat just has he started the car, and headed towards the "Cherry Hills Village" off ramp.

 

[Muna]

Maisy had no idea how to react to what Erik had shared. A wife? His daughter? Oh, my God. Momentarily clearing her head, she heard his last question. Deciding it would probably be best if she just brushed it off, she shared something about her, though it wasn't nearly as dramatic. "I was sitting in class when the news broke. I am - was - a clinical psychology major at NYU. I am lucky enough to not be close to anyone but my sister. I don't exactly get along well with others..." Maisy couldn't help but feel guilty for her situation.

"Erik, I am so sorry to hear about your family. That must be so hard. I feel like an asshole for not asking you sooner." She bit her lip to keep her mouth shut. She was glad to hear Erik speak again. "Nah, it's all right. It happened, there's nothing I can do about it now. They may be gone, but I'm still here. I have to try and stay alive, no matter what happens. If I can help you stay alive, that's a plus." He took a deep breath before continuing. "NYU, huh? I wouldn't have pegged you for a college girl."

Maisy couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it's hard for anyone to peg me as anything most of the time." Several minutes passed in silence as neither of them could figure out what to say. Maisy would never have known Erik had just lost his family judging by how he has acted. Before she could think of something to break the silence with, she saw Winchester appear on the horizon. "Is there anything we need to stop for in Winchester?" Erik paused for a moment, thinking. "Nothing, I don't think. We're pretty stocked for the time being, unless you want to try and find some different clothes and blankets. It'll be getting pretty cold soon."

Maisy nodded in agreement and drove for the town, hoping for an uneventful shopping trip. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

The sun was setting on them once again as they pulled into the little community. Emma gaped at the suburb came into view. Lavish homes with huge gated yards covered the expanse of lush foothills. "Wow, never would have found this place if it weren't for the deadies, that's for damn sure."

Seth laughed, "Me neither, luv." The entire village wasn't very large, and was enclosed in high well maintained evergreens. Cautiously, Seth turned their headlights off and coasted towards the gates. They were simple gates, meant for a simple safe community, just to check in with the security guard before heading of to their homes. Visitors probably would have had to sign in and be escorted to their hosts before all the chaos hit. It was a little piece of harmony in a world gone to hell.

"This place is really creepy." Emma hopped out of the Rubicon and barely shut the door. There was absolutely no signs of humans. No signs of looting, or illness. These homes were not boarded up, or burning down. The cars were nestled cozily into the carports or at the end of the driveway. "I've got a real bad feeling about this, you know, luv." Seth's voice was barely audible even though he walked right next to her.

"We need supplies, and gas, and honestly if these houses have running water I would kill for a shower." Emma pulled herself up onto a brick wall and hopped into a yard. There were no noises, not even animals, so the sound of her footsteps seemed to echo off the emptiness, even though she made sure to run across the grass. Seth followed nearby, but away from her so that they would be able to watch each others backs.

Emma moved swiftly to the porch of a lavish multi-floored plantation style mansion, checking the knob the front door swung open. She removed the pistol from her waistband, and clicked the safety off before entering, moving and checking the rooms before she entered like she had seen on so many cop shows on television. "Clear!" she whispered back over her shoulder to Seth.

"I'm sorry, luv. It really isn't." His normally relaxed tone was tense, and shaky, putting Emma on guard as she slowly turned around. A man with thinning hair, and a widening waist stood calmly, holding a knife against Seth's adam's apple. "Shit." Emma began to panic, not knowing whether to argue for Seth's life or shoot them both. Unfortunately, she didn't have to make the decision.

A zapping sound was the only warning she had before the taser took her to her knees then back to the floor. Her muscles convulsed, refusing to respond as pain laced itself through her whole body. 'Damn my luck,' was the last thought she had before the pain became too much and the darkness took her.

 

[Muna]

Erik couldn't help but wish for more luck as they pulled into an abandoned parking lot of a shopping market. They had entered Winchester, with everything they could need except for warm clothing. While he was thankful for his bullet-proof vest, he had no desire to keep his state-issued uniform; he wasn't a cop anymore. He was just trying to live, just like everyone else on the planet as he assumed. Before they entered the store, he stripped his armor from his chest. Holding it out to Maisy, he simply said, "Ladies first."

Maisy looked at him suspiciously, but took the vest despite her confusion. He was grateful for that. It seemed that they had a tendency to run into trouble in each town they stopped in, women seeming to be the first target. He waited until she strapped it to her chest before he started walking toward the entrance, his gun placed in his hand ready to shoot. They entered the department store cautiously, keeping their ears trained to any unfamiliar sound.

"I'm going to head over here to find some clothes, call my name if you need me." Maisy looked apprehensive as she spoke, but she took off on her own nonetheless. Erik headed off toward the men's department of the store, hoping to find something suitable. He picked a thick coat off of the rack and ripped the tags off, slipping it over his uniform. Moving through the racks, he found some simple t-shirts and jeans, something that could be easily worn and moved in. Once he found clothes he liked, he changed before the rack, not worrying about people seeing. There was nobody here.

As soon as he had finished changing and a he had a few jackets in hand, his attention was drawn to the left side of the store, his blood curdling at the sound he heard. "ERIK! No, stop! What the fuck are you doing?!" Erik ran, heart pounding, as he tried to find his friend. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Seth screamed as Emma collapsed to the ground. Slamming his head back he heard a loud crack as the back of his head connected firmly with the man's nose. The knife fell to the ground and Seth surged forward, ripping the barbs of the taser out of Emma's shoulder. "Come on, luv, wake up, then," he said, shaking her shoulders.

"It's time to go now!" He stood, hoisting Emma to his shoulders. Seth moved as quickly as he could with the added bit of Emma's weight. No matter how small she was, she was currently dead weight. ZAP! "Holy fuck!" He tumbled forward, trying to keep going but a boot to the back of the skull sent him sprawling forward, landing on top of Emma.

"Get the rope, Holly."

The world swam dizzily in Seth's vision. He didn't even have the time to wonder what the rope was for before he blacked out.

 

[Muna]

Heart racing, Erik found himself weaving in and out of clothing racks, following the voices that seemed to be ringing in his ears. Knocking over a few racks, he found Maisy to be struggling with a strange man. The closer he got to them, the clearer he could hear what they were saying. "Oi girlie, just give it to me and nobody has to get hurt! You don't need it, you have those shiny big blades!" He could see that the man had been holding Maisy from behind, arms wrapped around her as he attempted to fumble with the straps of his bullet-proof vest.

Walking toward them slowly, Erik had his hands in the air and spoke calmly, "Hey. My name is Erik. The woman you're scaring is my friend Maisy." As he got closer still, he saw that the man had been holding what seemed to be a sharpened, bloody ruler. "Why don't you put down your weapon and we can talk, yeah?" The man looked at Erik with panicked eyes. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, man. I just need that." His eyes darted off to the side, causing Erik to follow suit. A small boy - no older than six - had been hiding in the clothing racks. Erik understood now.

Knowing Maisy hadn't been able to see the child, Erik stood in front of her and smiled softly. "You trust me?" Maisy looked confused, but nodded nonetheless. "Okay. Don't move." With that, he unbuckled the vest and slipped it off of her, pulling her toward him slowly. Thankful that the man had let her go, he took a deep breath and stepped between the man and Maisy. Holding the vest to the hidden boy, he said, "It's for him, yeah?"

The man's lip trembled, unable to speak. With his hands held up, still grasping the vest, Erik made his way over to the child. Strapping it to his chest, he knew the vest was far too big, but safe nonetheless. Slowly returning to Maisy, he asked her in a quiet voice, "Are you hurt?" Aside from a busted lip, she seemed fine. With her nod, Erik grabbed the clothes she had dropped along with his own and backed away from the man and the boy without a word. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma woke to her whole body aching. The smell of urine permeated the dark, dank room and her wrists were bound behind her back. Wow, it's cold in here. Trying to move her legs she discovered that her ankles were tied together too, and moving caused the rough binding to cut into her skin.

"Emma, luv, you in here?" Seth's soft accent cut through the darkness. "Seth? Seth?! I'm here! I'm tied up! What happened? Where are you? Are you hurt?" A rush of panic overtook Emma in that moment, trying to recall what happened. "You've got to hush, luv." Seth's whisper reprimanded her, causing her heart to jump into her throat, and her stomach to clench.

Footsteps echoed overhead, and Emma heard Seth whimper from his side of the room. "Be quiet, yeah. No matter what. Be quiet." A door opened, washing the dingy room in a hazy light revealing bare concrete walls and a mud-caked concrete floor. Well, temperature explained. A gentle voice came from the top of the stairs causing Emma to sit up and take notice. "They aren't sick, but if we keep them locked up down there they're likely to get that way." It was a woman, and it sounded, to Emma, like she was arguing for their release. Oh please, please, please... Emma began praying to whatever deity that happened to be listening.

Light footsteps hurried down the stairs and scurried across the concrete, before clicking the light on. A bare fluorescent bulb swung from the ceiling. A woman, in her mid-forties by the look of her stood beneath it, the light illuminating her like an angel. Her greying blonde hair was swept up on her head in a neat bun, and she gazed at Emma like she was a wounded puppy. "Oh, you poor dear." The woman came and knelt before her.

Straining to see over her, Emma finally got a good look at Seth. His hair was matted, and covered in blood. Dried blood was caked in lines running down his face, and both eyes were dark and swollen. "Oh God... Seth..."

 

[Muna]

Maisy backed away, feeling like shit. If she had known, if she had seen that boy, she could have avoided a lot of conflict by handing the vest over. At first, she thought the man was after her weapons. Turning and walking faster, she grasped her blades with thankful hands.

Once the strangers were out of earshot, Maisy whispered, "Erik, fuck man. Thanks for that." She shook her head in an attempt to clear her mind and organize her thoughts. He held his hand up, not as a 'no problem' but more of a 'hold up.' "Shh, did you hear something?" Maisy strained her ears and sure enough, she heard some sort of scraping noise coming from behind them. Her fingers tightened around the handles of her weapons, stabilizing her feet. She turned her head grudgingly, focusing her eyes on the room around her. Toppled clothing racks, doors hanging off the hinges of a changing room; broken windows along the wall and sunlight falling over destroyed cash registers. Jeez, who the fuck steals money over weapons? She could no longer see the two others she knew were here...

Blood freezing in her veins and heartbeat pounding in her ears, she grabbed Erik's hand as she saw the hobbling tops of a herd heading their way, snarls faint and pushing clothing racks out of the way with their corpses. "Erik, we have to go. Now!" She pulled at him but he seemed freeze where he stood, a slack look on his panicked face. Without time to think, she pulled her arm back and connected her palm with the side of his face with a smack. "Erik, what the fuck dude? Move it!" With a harder tug on his arm, she dragged him from where he stood and darted her eyes along the walls, searching desperately for a path to take. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Her heart rate increased tenfold as she took in the damage done to Seth. His mouth opened to speak again, but Emma shook her head. Tears rolling down her cheeks she looked back at the older woman kneeling nearby. "What happened to him? Seth is a good guy, lady, and he didn't deserve that...." The woman just shook her head and set about undoing the knots around Emma's ankles. Jerking her feet away from her Emma yelled, "No! Him first! If you're going to fucking help, help Seth first!"

"You hush now girl, I need you to help, and don't be cursing at me." She grabbed Emma face firmly and gave her a stern look. "You understand me?" Emma nodded. Bitch looks like a schoolmarm. "Good then you can call me Holly."

Seth groaned from the other side of the room and Emma's stomach rose into her throat. The tears were coming harder now. "Just hold on Seth, okay. Holly says we'll help you." Emma didn't trust Holly, but the older woman was her only hope right then, and she had to believe in something. Turning to the woman working the ropes Emma spoke. "If you get my hands, I can do my feet. Then you can be working on Seth, while I finish." The look Holly gave her spoke volumes. Her hands weren't going to be untied, not yet. She didn't trust Emma either, and who could blame her really. The whole world had gone to hell in a hand basket, this woman was just trying to find a balance between humane and smart.

She stayed silent while Holly finished with her feet and helped her to her feet. Emma even managed to hold her tongue while the woman untied Seth, even though she wasn't being particularly gentle. After the woman struggled under Seth's weight, Emma moved closer until she could get beneath Seth's arms. She wasn't sure how she managed to hold him up, he wasn't huge, but he weighed more than she did. Emma barely managed to drag both of them to the top of the stairs before throwing herself onto the tile floor, to keep them both from tumbling backward.

"Good hell, woman! What are you going to do with them now?!" A familiar voice--the man from before?--asked. Holly remained quiet for several minutes, helping Seth and Emma untangle themselves before finally looking the man--presumably her husband?--in the face. Holly's kind face showed a hard set determination. Arguing with her would be like arguing with a brick wall. "I'm gonna feed them, and give them clothes, let them clean themselves. It sure would be a shame for them to have survived fever free and everything just to have your nasty boot give one of them an infection."

A tense silence filled the room, leaving Emma feeling more than a little uncomfortable. She looked back and forth between the two. They had probably been a happy couple before everything. Nice house, and nice jobs, with a nice family. The crisis had obviously taken its toll on the two of them.

Unsure of what else to do, Emma cleared her throat, drawing both sets of eyes to her. She gave them a weak, shaky smile. "A shower would be amazing."

 

[Muna]

Maisy scanned her options - the door they came from was no longer an option. Zombies were pouring into the store from that direction. Quickly, she grabbed the clothes from Erik and shoved them into her bag, determined to make this trip count for something. She grabbed his hand and ran along the far wall into a storage area located in the back. They flew through the double doors, hoping they hadn't just trapped themselves. To her surprise, she found a staircase that led up to the roof - dashing towards it, they ran as if their life depended on it. Erik had finally snapped out of whatever his problem was and ran ahead, holding the door open for her as she reached the top landing.

The sky was hazy, as if filled with smoke. Closing the door behind Maisy softly, Erik pushed his body into it to keep it shut and his voice sounded eerily calm. "Help me find a way to keep this door shut." Without hesitating, Maisy ran around the roof looking for something sturdy. Finally finding a piece of lead piping and an emergency ax, she rushed back to the door and helped Erik cross them through the handles to both doors. Turning, they approached the edge of the building with caution. They were met with a whole town full of biters, all rushing for the building they were trapped on top of.

Looking over her shoulder nervously, Maisy's voice shook. "How are we going to get down? Those doors won't last once they realize we're up here." Erik didn't respond. Instead, he seemed to be observing the chaos beneath them as he thought. After a few long moments, he spoke quietly, "We'll have to let the mob either enter or disperse before we scale down the wall. There's got to be a fire escape somewhere..." He scanned the roof's edges, searching for a familiar black ladder. Maisy followed as he started to walk, flinched as he cursed when they arrived to the other side. Looking at the source, she saw that though there was a ladder, it had been broken apart. The two exchanged panicked expressions, heads jerked toward the location of the door as they heard the pipe and ax rattle together. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Holly led them to the downstairs bathroom, helping the girl drag the injured one into the tub. He was in a bad way. "Get his clothes off, girl." She gave the instruction as she turned the water on to fill the tub. Moving back and forth, helping the girl with the boy's clothes when needed and then back to the medicine cabinet to find ointment and some left over antibiotics. I'm going to need these probably, but I can't leave the boy to rot...

Holly was having an epic internal battle. She knew that she wanted to live, but she didn't want to live with the things her husband thought was necessary for their survival. Luckily, they lived in a small community, and the rest of the homeowners had vacated the premises when Denver fell, leaving her and Earl, her husband, to hold down the fort and try to survive without moving. Earl called it "bugging in".

Carefully, she untied the binds on the young man, and helped lift him into the full tub. He was barely conscious, and was going to have to be washed. She'd worked with the elderly before she retired, so she wasn't bashful about having to wash him. "What's his name?" Holly asked as she gently scrubbed the blood off his face with a washrag. "That's Seth, and I- I'm Emma. Is he going to be okay?"

Gently, she began to wash the wound on his head. Now, with the blood washing down his head, it didn't appear to be as bad as she first thought. Probably just a concussion. The swelling was a nice indication that his brain was not bleeding. "Your boyfriend will be fine, dear." Holly said quietly. "Oh! He's not, I mean, we just met. We're traveling together. I'm trying to get to my sister..." Holly nodded, before pulling the boy out of the water, laying him on the bath mat. She tossed Emma a towel. "Dry him off, I'm going to get him some clothes."

As quickly as she could, Holly found some of Earl's old clothes in the hall closet. His girth had far exceeded the limits of these in recent years, and she kept meaning to take them to donate, but now it was probably a good thing she hadn't. Entering the bathroom again, she was pleased to see that Seth was awake again, and Emma had pulled him to a sitting position. "Glad you could join us," Holly said sweetly. "We're gonna get you dressed, then Emma's going to shower while I make some food. Then it'll be time for you two to go. I'm sorry for being like that but I've done all I can for you."

 

[Muna]

Erik looked from the rattling door to Maisy, trying to find a way out of this. "Give me your sweatshirt." Pulling the police issued shirt off his back, he started ripping it into one long, thin strip. His eyes kept darting to the door, noticing the handles were starting to give way. He moved quickly, placing the middle of the long strip of cloth beneath his shoe, starting to twist it vigorously. Once he reaced the end, he knotted it to keep it together. Grabbing Maisy's hunting knife, he split the other end to secure it. Maisy had then handed him her NYU sweatshirt, watching him curiously.

"Maisy, I'm going to need you to hold some of them off. I won't finish this before that door gives way." Sure enough, as soon as he started ripping that sweatshirt, the doors banged open and a group of biters had been sniffing them out. "Shit!" He moved as fast as he could, repeating the steps from before as Maisy ran toward the mob, her machete in hand.

Erik had finally connected the two pieces of improvised rope, hoping it would be long enough to get them to the ground. He quickly tied it to what remained of the emergency ladder landing and ran to get Maisy. "Time to leave, love!" He saw that she was in her element - slashing and dancing between rotting hands, able to keep pace without faltering. Erik's eyes widened as a glint caught his attention. "Maisy! Move!" Fear dripped from his raised voice.

Darting toward her, he pulled his gun from his holster and took aim, but not fast enough. The father who had threatened Maisy in the store managed to follow the hoard and was clearly attempting to help, but he was too unstable. Two loud cracks echoed through the air, the first hitting a biter behind Maisy, the other exploding into her thigh. Erik saw Maisy fall, machete still in hand. His hearing muffled, a loud ring invading his senses as time seemed to stop. Unloading a few bullets from his own gun, he managed to clear a path to her, bent down, and threw her over his shoulder.

His feet were moving fast, his heart racing, eyes fixed on their only means of escape. "Maisy, you need to hold onto me tight. Come on now, it's not as bad as you think." He tried to keep her calm as she moved to his back with a pained grunt, arms securing around his shoulder and neck. Leaning down as he ran, he scooped up their backpack and grabbed the rope, propelling down the side of the building and saying a silent prayer for the fabric to hold. He was nearly there when the landing gave way and they fell the last 6 feet to land in a crunching heap on the pavement.

Eyes scanning the parking lot, he found a clear path to their truck. Standing quickly and throwing Maisy over his shoulder once more, he ran as fast as he could for safety. ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

By the time Emma had scrubbed the grime off and gotten dressed, Holly had a warm dinner on the table for them. Seth had already been fed and was asleep on a couch. Earl, Holly's husband was nowhere to be seen. "Smells great," Emma said, slipping into a chair in front of a steaming bowl of beef stew.

It didn't take long for Emma to devour her serving, and her stomach was aching by the time she was finished. Never thought I'd be clean and full again. She smiled and thanked Holly before moving to the couch were Seth was laying. She gently placed her hand on him, and he stirred. "Oi, it time to go then, love?" His voice was weak, but there was a touch of humor to it regardless. "Yeah, come on, I'll get you to the jeep an then come back for our supplies."

Seth nodded slowly, and grabbed a hold of Emma's arm. She pulled him up, and draped his arm across his shoulder. Emma glanced back at Holly. "I'll be back in a few minutes, I can't carry him and my bag." Holly shook her head, moving to pick up Emma's discarded backpack and the weapons that were piled neatly next to the door. "I'll carry these for you, sweetie."

"Thanks a lot, Holly." Emma muttered as she struggled to move Seth to the jeep. It was a long, grueling trek, Seth's body wearing her out. Finally, Emma managed to push Seth into the backseat of the Rubicon. Smiling at her achievement she noticed Earl standing in the bushes nearby. "What are you doing over there, man?"

"Holly," his voice was rough, and it sounded like he'd been crying. "I love you darlin'." He raised his gun, and Emma screamed, barely hearing her own cry over the sound of the gun. Holly crumpled to the ground at her feet. Emma looked back at Earl, who was slowly re-aiming the gun. Adrenaline shot through her as she slid in through the passenger seat, disturbing the supplies that Holly had just laid on the seat. Emma frantically turned the key. The engine roared to life, and in an act of pure desperation she floored the gas pedal. The front bumper hit Earl with a sickening crunch as he was pulled under the chassis. Emma slammed on the breaks, urging the transmission into reverse and took off into the morning light.

 

[Muna]

"Oh, FUCK me!" Maisy was becoming more frantic as Erik ran full-out to the truck. "Maisy, shut up! You'll have them swarming us if you don't." Nearly slamming into the side of the truck, he threw open the passenger side door and threw Maisy in before running around to the driver's side. Situating himself quickly and turning the key, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to the interstate.

Looking over, Maisy had been holding her leg and writhing, bleeding all over the seat. "Is there a wound on both sides of your leg?" Through gritted teeth, she replied, "No...Shit." Erik knew she realized what he had to do next. When they were far enough away, he pulled the vehicle over and grabbed a t-shirt from their bag, her hunting knife from her belt. Ripping the hole in her pants to make it bigger, he pulled the shirt apart with a rip and tried to give her a reassuring smile. "Maisy, this is gonna suck. I'm so sorry."

Using part of the shirt to clear some of the blood, he found the bullet hole to be swollen. Placing his hands on her leg, he felt around for the bullet - it didn't seem to be too deep, though retrieving it would be no cake walk. Taking a deep breath, he cut the hole in her leg slightly more, causing her to scream out in pain and her leg to jerk away from his touch. "All right, sugar, you're going to have to stay still. We have to get this bullet out." Clearly, none of his words were reaching her ears as she screamed.

Erik had no choice. He reached over and closed his fingers around a piece of the ripped t-shirt, rolled it up and shoved it into Maisy's mouth. They couldn't risk attracting any more unwanted attention. He moved his body to where his legs straddled her untouched leg while holding the other in place with his knee. With one hand clasped over the t-shirt in her mouth, Erik moved quickly, his free fingers digging in her leg to find the bullet. His index and thumb managed to close around a misshapen hard mass and he pulled it out quickly, tossing it on the dashboard.

"Okay... Okay." Erik took a steadying breath before he took the shirt out of her mouth and picking up a bottle of water. Splashing a small amount on her leg to clean it up, he used the remaining bits of the t-shirt to wrap around her thigh in hopes of slowing the bleeding. Sliding off of her, he watched as Maisy gingerly felt her leg. She looked at him with a look of anger in her eyes, though her voice betrayed the stare. "You sure know how to show a girl a good time." ​

 

[Turtle of Doom]

Emma pulled back onto the interstate before the tears began to roll down her cheeks. Seth had been strangely silent for the ride so far, but it was too good to last. "Did you run him over, love?" His voice was strained, but his curiosity must have been eating him alive.

Wiping the tears off her face, Emma managed to mumble something that resembled an "uh huh". Her eyes began to blur as she continued to weave through the maze of abandoned vehicles. The tears still falling as the mechanical sea began to thin out. It could have been hours, or minutes, Emma couldn't tell right then. The look of horror on Holly's kind face was on repeat in Emma's mind.

The road went out of focus again. Emma blinked, shaking her head to clear her vision. Gradually the fuzzy lines cleared. A semi stared them down. "Oh shit!" Emma screamed, slamming on the brakes and turning the wheel. The front quarter of the Rubicon slammed into the semi. Emma screamed, Seth's body hit the roof and fell back to the seat several times as the jeep rolled across the highway.

"Seth! Oh God! Seth!" Emma's mind swam as blood ran into her eyes.

 

[Muna]

The searing pain in Maisy's leg seemed to shoot up to her head. It felt warm with blood and now that Erik's weight was off of her, she could only focus on the throbbing in her leg. It was remarkably hard for her to keep her eyes open, but Erik's deep voice telling her to keep them open kept jerking her back from the fuzzy dream-state that she'd rather be in. Without warning, Erik pulled into yet another parking lot.

"Maisy, I need to find some more medical supplies. Your leg is bleeding too much for my liking and we need to sew it up somehow." Maisy groaned, knowing what that would mean. "There's no way I can walk, Erik..." She winced as she shifted in the seat, attempting to put some weight on her leg. She could push through some pressure, but not much. "Yes, I know. I'm leaving the gun with you, and you have your machete. Keep the windows up and the doors locked, try to make yourself invisible. I shouldn't be long, given there are no more interruptions..."

Is he crazy? Maisy stared at him for a brief moment before she spoke. "You can't go in there by yourself." He smiled at her, which was inexplicably annoying to her. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and got out of the truck without a word.

Seething, Maisy did as she was told - she rolled up the windows and locked the doors, making sure to crouch low enough to be unseen but still being able to observe what was happening around the truck. Still, she was having trouble keeping her thoughts straight. Her eyelids were drooping, her head bobbing with exhaustion. To keep herself awake, she pulled out her phone and turned it on, feeling disappointed to not have heard from her sister.

Calling her number, she was sent to voicemail immediately. When Maisy spoke, her words were slurred, though she couldn't tell herself. "Em. I'm not sure where we are... as far as I can tell, we're still headed inland. I.. fuck. I need to hear from you, sister. I..." Her sentence had been cut off by a loud banging on the side of the truck door. She dropped her phone, not knowing if she hung it up or not.

Outside the window, there had been 4 biters trying to wrench the truck door open. Without thinking of her leg, Maisy pulled her machete from her belt and rolled down the window enough to stick her arm through. "FUCK YOU!" Her rage had rung in the air with a loud thud as her machete was driven through the top of the nearest biter's skull. "Erik, hurry the fuck up..." She continued knocking biters away from the truck with her blade, only to see more headed for the building. "Son of a bitch." ​