I was daydreaming. Imagining a ti when my mom didnt eat my dad. When my sister was a normal person. When the family dog was still alive. It wasnt that long ago, maybe a few months, maybe a year. Its hard to keep track of ti in a tropical place like this. The sumrs are hot. The winters are a little less hot. The springs and falls are equally as hot with a bit of rain sprinkled here and there. Maybe soone will know. Whats todays date?
Todays date is lets not get infected by fuckers day, Joe said. Coincidentally, it was the sa day yesterday, but Jas seed to have missed the mo.
Loo twitched in his sleep. He had a rough night, losing his brother to a group of infected like that. I still dont know how they got him. One second, he was fine, the next second, hes screaming and crying for help. Jas was the glue of our group, keeping us grounded. Soone looking in from the outside wouldve called him our leader. And now hes gone. I wonder how long well last.
Were running out of gas; what do I do? Jens voice ca from around the corner.
We have three tanks of gas left. Thats 15 gallons, so, about ninety miles on the road, minimum. But where should we even go? The radios stopped picking transmissions up a long ti ago. Either all the settlents are full and not taking anyone in, or theyve been run over by infected. In the end, our primary focus is food. Keep going. Once we run out, Ill refuel us. Lets try to make it to a truck stop.
Who died and made you leader? Joe asked, raising an eyebrow. His face split into a grin. Oh, right. Jas did. He cackled, and Loo turned over in his sleep. There was a large bump on the back of his head, and bits of dried blood sprinkled the ground. The only reason he was able to sleep so soundly after losing his brother was due to Joes dication: a good ol knock on the noggin.
Im not the leader.
Really. Joe smiled at . Who made the call to abandon Jas?
It was . But. You agreed.
Joe shrugged. After you made the call. Leaders lead. Followers follow.
Theres no way Loo is going to accept that.
Hes going to have to, Joe said and leaned back. He turned his head and lifted the corner of the curtain nearby. A beam of sunlight shone onto his face, causing him to wince. He placed the curtain back down before lifting his eyepatch. Youre the smart one, went to college and all that. He gestured towards Loo. This dumbass? He used to climb trees to chase squirrels. No way well live long if he leads. And Jen? Shes a grade-A moron, even dumber than Loo, thinks were pirates or so shit.
Fuck you. You wanna drive?
Joe chuckled, ignoring Jen. And with those two out of the running, the leader is either you or . But Jen hates my guts, and I conked Loo on the head. You think theyll listen to ? You, on the other hand, well, you abandoned Jas, but other than that, youre cool, level-headed. Rember when we had to put down Wilson? All I saw was red, but youre the one who diated between and Jas.
Hes right, you know, Jen said. And dont feel bad about leaving Jas. You made the right call. It wasnt any of our faults that Jas died; you can only bla it on bad luck.
That reminds , Joe said. Rember how I said there was an infected that was really creeping out because it was just staring? He didnt want for either of us to respond. Well, you also rember Jas saying one of the infected was banging two tal rods together? I think they were the sa one.
Youre saying those infected had a leader? Is that possible? Infected cant think. Theyre like insects, acting on baser instincts. But unlike insects, they arent attracted to light. The only things that attract infected are sound and sll.
Maybe, Joe said. But we cant deny we lost Jas when an unusual infected showed up. I an, think about all the zombie apocalypse movies. Arent there special zombies that appear occasionally? Like so are made up of multiple people and have chainsaws for arms or sothing. What if its sothing like that?
You watched too many shows. Chainsaws for arms? Jen asked. The RV swerved, and I nearly fell over. Damn potholes.
If you havent noticed, Jen, were in the middle of an actual zombie apocalypse, Joe said and snorted. Fine, maybe not chainsaws for arms, but certainly there can be intelligent infected, right? What if Einstein beca infected? You think hed be just as dumb as those bastards?
If youre so smart, why dont you get your ass bit by an infected and find out? Jen asked.
I dont know what kind of kinky shit youre into, but I like my ass free of toothmarks, Joe said. He looked at . What do you think?
It might be possible for so infected to be smarter, but I hope that isnt the case.
I wasnt talking about that, Joe said and grinned. I was talking about Jen. Does she like being bit? You two share a room, and the walls are pretty thin, you know?
The RV swerved again. Jas just died, asshole. Is it really the ti to joke around?
Is there a better ti? Joe asked. Oh, Loos waking up. Should I give him another dose of dication?
No. Its better to confront Loo now while were in the comfort of the RV. I made the most logical choice and left Jas behind. Unfortunately, most people dont run on logic, letting their emotions take control. And I cant really bla them, thats what makes them human. But even if I cant bla them, that doesnt an it isnt a hassle to deal with. I can only hope Loo isnt too angry with .
Hey. Theres smoke drifting up over there; should we check it out? Jen asked.
Smoke ans fire, and fire ans people, usually. Yes, but let talk with Loo first.
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