Capítulo 4: Chapter 4: On our own.

Mom's car still smelled of her perfume. It was the first thing I noticed when we got in and drove off just as the sun was coming up. I don't know why, but I didn't expect to see so many dead bodies. They were everywhere. I assume they were zombies that, whoever the man was that killed our mother's walking corpse, also killed. Or maybe even others that survived and defended themselves. After so many bodies, Avery began to just keep his head down. He played around with the radio for awhile, but all the stations were just... quiet.

Understandable. I would too if I weren't driving. Maybe I'm just in survivor mode. Because none of this is truly getting to me. Not yet, anyways. I remember being a small child. We had a dog, Jake. Jake and I were out in the front yard while my mother was cleaning her car. She looked away for a second, and Jake had run out into the road and was struck and killed by our elderly neighbor. An accident, of course. My mother, being a doctor herself, was concerned with my mentality. How seeing our dog get run over and killed may cause trauma of some sort.

I went to several sessions of therapy. Until finally, the therapist told my mother, "I don't think this is bothering her. She's more curious than anything else." And I was. I wanted to know what exactly dealt the killing blow. Did it hurt him? Where is he now? What happens after you die?

I am more curious than ever now. What is going on inside these walking corpses minds? Is it them? Like, are they still themselves? Or has something taken over their brains? Like a parasite. I learned in biology of a type of fungus called Cordyceps. Most Cordyceps species are endoparasitoids, parasitic mainly on insects and other arthropods; a few are parasitic on other fungi. I wonder if this deadly virus is acting as such.

After about an hour of stewing over what on earth could be going on in the mind of a zombie, Avery announced that he had to pee. So I pulled over and stood leaned against the car while he did his business. We live, or lived, in the city. Closer to my mother's hospital and the school we attended. But I've always wanted to live out here, in the country. Trees, wildlife, and mountains. Where you could go outside at night and see every star in the sky because out here, there isn't any light pollution.

I breathed in a big breath of fresh air. "This is nice, isn't it?" I asked my brother. Who had finished up and came and stood next to me. He nodded, "Given the lack of dead people, I would say so." I chuckled. "Are you okay, bubs? I know this is a lot and-"

Snap!

We both turned our heads in the direction the noise came from. Just in time to see a group of the undead. 1, 2, 3... 6. 6 of them. And each one different from the other. We hurriedly got into the car, Avery going into the back seat and climbed up front into the passenger seat. I cranked up the car and gassed it. Not even chancing a second look.

"Holy shit!" Avery said, his breathing quickened. I was still speeding away from them, glancing in the rear view mirror. Some of them had turned around, following the car at a slow pace. But one... one was full on sprinting toward us.

"That's not good at all." I muttered. If we are ever in a pickle on foot, having to run from one of those could end bad. "I thought zombies were slow." Avery said softly, his breathing finally more calm.

"Apparently these zombies aren't the ones we've seen in any movie or show."

We drove further and further up north until the gas light came on. I took the next exit that had a gas station, silently praying the town was abandoned and the station still had gas. So far, no dead along the roadside. Walking corpse or twice dead.

We pulled into the gas station, which seemed to be empty. But took precautions just in case. I took the pistol off of safety and cocked it. Stepping out of the driver's seat, I leaned down and pressed the button that releases the trunk.

I filled up the tank in the car and a gas jug my mother always kept in the trunk in case of an emergency. I stuck the extra gas in the trunk and closed it. I was starting to get back into the car when I heard shuffling. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a man.

I turned around fully, trying to make out if he was alive or undead.

"Hey," the man called out. I kept quiet.

"Mind if I tag along?" he said. Something inside of me screamed at me to leave now. And I'm no dummy. I always follow my gut.

I rushed into the driver's seat, smashed the lock button, cranked the car, and gunned it out of there.

"What's going on?" Avery asked, panic washing across his face.

I glanced into the rear view mirrow. That's when I saw them. A whole group, of maybe 15 or 20 people scrambling out of the woods. No doubt they didn't have the best of intentions. Guess my gut was right.

"That man. He said he wanted a ride. But something told me not to. So I didn't."

Avery was turned around in his seat looking at the group of people now. "Good choice." was all he said.

After filling the car up on gas, we drove another hour before we decided we'd park in the woods somewhere and hope no corpses or ill intending folk happen upon us. We agreed that sleeping in the car with the doors locked and the windows rolled up is a better alternative than a tent.

Avery also mentioned that a fire wouldn't be wise either, and I have to agree. We don't know what attracts these things to humans yet. Whether it's heat, scent, or sound. Or a little of all three.

I rummaged through my pack and grabbed the cigarettes. I have earned this after today.

The sun was beginning to set when I climbed up onto the top of the car and lit the cigarette.

"Can I try?" Avery asked. He was leaning up against a tree munching on a granola bar.

I burst out in laughter. "Absolutely not," I said, "just because the world is ending doesn't mean you're an adult."

Avery pushed off of the tree, "Oh come on," he said, stepping toward the car, "just one hit."

I laughed some more, "You sound like an addict. All it takes is one hit. No."

"Whatever," he kicked a pine cone and watched it roll into some bushes, "Stinks anyway."

I shook my head, "Don't give me that. The last thing you or I need right now is a bad habit." He gave me an incredulous look, "Like the one you already have?"

I snorted, "You think this is a habit?" I slid off of the car, "I have had this pack of smokes for a little more than a week now. There are only 3 missing. I rarely indulge."

He shrugged, "Still a bad habit. Even if you don't do it on a regular basis. Smoking can kill you."

I grinned, "Exactly, so why do you wanna try it?"

Avery opened his mouth to say something else, but a crunching noise sounded from behind us. Our heads snapped into the direction of the crunching.

It was a man. His hands were up defensively. His lip was busted, and his left eye was purple and swollen.

"I come in peace," the man said, hands still raised. "I was attacked by a large group of people about 15 miles back. They stole everything I had, including my car. Please, I only need some water and I'll be-"

"Shilo?" I said, recognizing him from middle school. We had the same home room teacher all of 7th grade. When school let out for summer, he didn't return the next year. You know how middle schoolers are. Word was that his parents got busted with drugs and that's why he didn't come back.

Which could have been true. They lived in a trailer park on the outskirts of our town. He was always quiet in school. Never into any trouble. Or loud and obnoxious like the other boys in our grade. And kind. Much kinder than the others. That's what I remember the most about him.

"Shilo Winston," I said again, when he quirked an eyebrow at me. "Celine. From Miss. Daughtery's class? 7th grade?"

A shadow of a smile formed on his lips, "Oh yeah, hey." Shilo put his hands down finally and began walking up to us now. I stepped back a couple of feet.

"I swear I mean no trouble." He said.

"I saw that group of people back there. One of them tried to lure me into helping him."

He shook his head, "I promise that is not my intentions. I mean," he gestured to his busted up face, "look at me."

I narrowed my eyes, "You could have done that to yourself."

Shilo laughed nervously, "Yeah, I guess I could have. But I didn't."

"Just give him some water, Celine." Avery spoke up.

I turned to face my brother. He just shrugged and said, "What? You obviously know him. And nobody's stupid enough to beat themselves to a pulp."

I sighed, "Fine." And tossed him a bottle of water.

He caught it and said, "Thanks, I owe you one."

"So they took everything? You don't have a gun?" I asked. Thanking whatever gut instinct I had not to help the man at the gas station.

Shilo twisted the lid back onto his water bottle, and sat down on the ground. "No gun. And yes, everything. I only had a few MRE's to eat and some water. But I resisted and got my ass handed to me by 5 of them."

I reached into my pack and tossed him the first aid kit, "There should be some ibuprofen or Advil in there. Help yourself."

He nodded, "Thanks."

"No worries, just don't turn on us." I said, half joking but also half serious.

Shilo chuckled, "I won't. I swear it."

The sun was setting. We had been sitting around the car in silence before Shilo spoke again. "I think we ought to move on from here. Gain some more ground. That group wasn't too far out from here when they left me on the side of the road."

"Yeah," I stood up and brushed the leaves off of my pants. "It's a good thing you came here. We planned to sleep in this spot."

Shilo offered to drive, and I let him. Finding that the gut feeling I felt earlier about the man at the gas station wasn't around to say otherwise. After about an hour of silence, I finally asked, "So, where'd you go?"

"Who? Me?" Shilo asked. I nodded, "Yeah, you kinda just didn't come back to school when 7th grade ended.

"Oh yeah," he brushed his fingers through his hair, "Well, I'm sure you heard. The rumors were true. I went into foster care. Had a few different foster families for the first year until I finally settled in with one."

"Were they good? I- I mean, like were they decent people?" He looked a little uncomfortable with me asking so I said, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. I just-"

"No it's okay. Yeah, they were okay. I mean, the dad had some pretty bad anger issues. But other than that, I was taken care of. And not around drugs."

I nodded, and gave him a small smile. "So, what do you think of all this? Zombies. Like actual zombies. It's crazy, right?"

I glanced into the back seat. Avery was sleeping, so I said, quietly, "Absolutely bonkers. It's like a bad dream. I had to shoot my dad, and then watch as someone as shot my mom."

"Holy shit, man." Shilo said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. They were my parents, but we weren't close."

"Still, though," he whistled, "that's traumatic."

I nodded, "I honestly think something is wrong with me, or when it finally does all hit me, that I won't be able to come back from it."

"Nonsense," he said, "you will. I know it's a lot different than your situation. But I came back from my own personal hell. You will be able to, too."

"Thanks," was all I said, and I turned my attention back to the trees passing by in a blur. We drove around for another hour before we decided to pull off onto an exit.

"Maybe there will be an abandoned house we can crash in for the night." Shilo said. I nodded, "I wonder if there's anywhere people are trying to go?" He shrugged.

"I figured driving out through the county that all of these small towns have small populations that there wouldn't be many fiends walking around. They're different, you know? They aren't all slow moving, like on tv. Some can sprint, run even."

He nodded, "I know. I saw one jump up onto my neighbors roof."

I gasped. Jump? "You're joking, right?" Shilo shook his head, "Nope. Not even a little bit."

"So we have zombies that do move slow, some that sprint, some that jump, and some that run?" I shook my head, "I guess we should expect the unexpected with the zombies, then."

Shilo opened his mouth to say something when the radio came to life.

"I repeat if there's anyone out there, please make your way to Terrabone, Tennessee. This place is only accessible by watercraft. The current population is twenty five. Everyone here... turned and have been taken down. We have food and water, places to sleep. If anyone's out there, please... do not try to fight them off. Get into a vehicle and drive here. Blow the horn at your arrival. Terrabone, Tennessee. About 20 miles north of Nashville. Ple-"

The radio went back silent. We're only an hour out from Nashville. Shilo pulled over on the side of the road. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

Havenshire. Surrounded by water. Food. Shelter. Low population. I wonder...

"Do you think there aren't many survivors?" I asked suddenly. "I mean, in general. Not just here but... everywhere?"

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