My chest now hurts and my breathing is becoming harder to do. “We were playing in our yard when the neighbor’s dog was loose. It jumped over the fence and chased her around. Until it finally… got her.” My shaking voice turns to a whisper.
Riley locks eyes with me as she sits up straight, eager to listen more about it.
“I… watched it maul her. Too stunned to even call for help. And at that moment, I didn’t see it as a dog but as a monster… a monster in disguise. And she died for nothing.
“My father loved her so much and he blamed me for her death. He started beating me up every day and night after he’d chugged bottles of beer. One day, he saw the same dog on the loose again, and when I saw it, I became extremely furious and at the same time, scared of it. Then my father handed me a gun and taught me how to use it. I wanted revenge so I didn’t think twice about it. I pulled the trigger. I was six at that time.
“The neighbor found his dog dead but never found out who did it. We were never known in the neighborhood cos we barely got out of the house. He forbade it. I never even had kindergarten before. It was too much for me as he always hurt me. He’d just wake me up beating me with a belt. So, I finally left. I waited for him to fall asleep and got out of my window. I was in the streets when Nathalie found me, and I couldn’t be happier that I met her.”
“I’m glad about that too.” She replies.
“I’m sorry for her unacceptable actions earlier. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“No, it was supposed to happen. I would have avoided a concussion if I tried harder.”
“Still, she knocked you out.”
She chuckles as if she’s not taking her injury seriously. “You ever told her about Marcielle?”
“Nah. I never dared. As of now, you’re the only person who knows about her and my past.”
“Is that why you always seem to be hesitant about sharing your feelings?”
“I’m not sure. I’m an open person, remember?”
“And yet you’ve never opened up to her about it.”
I scoff, dropping my head down. I guess she’s right. I only think I am confident in sharing my feelings with other people, but I actually am not. If I were, I would have told Nathalie the truth. “Well, it seems like you already know so much about me. Why don’t you tell me yours?”
She chuckles, shaking her head. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Come on, it’s quite unfair for me, you know?”
Her smile fades as if I have done something bad.
Right, I guess I did. “Sorry.”
“I believe I lost my dogs and cat.” “Why’s that?”
“They must have been infected by now.”
“Really? You think animals could be bitten, too?”
“I saw some in school. They ran along with the horde.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
She sighs. “I’m sorry for you, too.”
I nod as I force a small grin.
“I think sometimes we just have to lose someone we really love just to find ourselves.”
“Clever. I’m still really looking for who I am, though.”
“Me, too. Maybe we can… find ourselves together?”
I look at her with a genuine grin. “Yeah, we can.”
Her cheeks redden and I see her gulp. We lock eyes, but then she turns away. I remember being usually the first to look away but now it is the other way around. She doesn’t say a thing, and our ambiance falls into quiet. She leans on the window, distancing herself, and I’m okay with it. I might have made her speechless.
Well, that’s a point for me.
I watch her reflection and a smile grows on her face. Then she loses it all of a sudden when she finds me looking at her. I turn away and let her be. I watch the road and it feels like the speed is a little slower than before. Finn repeatedly hits the accelerator but it doesn’t make the bus run faster. Riley notices it too as she looks over at him.
She asks, “Is something wrong?”
“Yeah, something very, very wrong.” Finn answers. “We ran out of gas.”
The bus finally stops, making the crowd express their reactions by gasping. I knew this would happen. But right in the middle of a cornfield and the twilight is just getting started. “Alright. Don’t panic, you guys. We all know this was gonna happen. Let’s grab our backpacks and weapons and we’ll walk on foot from here.” I announce to them.
“Wait, can we just stay here for the night and leave in the morning, yeah? It’s too dark out there, we may never survive it.” Lenore responds.
Well, she’s got a point.
“Zombies can’t see in the dark. They’re blind, remember?” Riley stands up and faces the others as she replies.
“But how did they even catch some of us if they were blind?” Mark asks.
I answer, “by the scent.”
Kirby lifts his hand up. “Well, if they could track our scent then we shouldn’t leave, right Claude?”
Claude shrugs and replies in an almost quiet tone. “Don’t know.”
“Well, I drove you til the bus’s last drop of gas, so I should get to decide.” Finn grabs his backpack and hangs it on his shoulder. “Who’s comin’?”
“I’ll come,” Riley answers, also wearing her backpack.
I look at the others who are still hesitant about it, then I walk to my first seat and get my backpack out. Stephen, Nathalie, Aaliyah, and Adam stand up from their seats as they also pack up their stuff. I say to the ones who are still sitting, “It’s really up to you guys.”
We all head down to the ground, looking around to make sure our way is clear. We hold our weapons out and turn on our flashlights as we start walking. I stand beside Riley, looking at each other’s eyes. We both know what is ahead of us and that we shouldn’t be surprised.
“Wait up!” Lenore shouts, peeking her head out of the bus exit. She retrieves it and then her foot takes a step onto the ground. She runs toward us, then holds Aaliyah’s hand. They look back and we all watch the others gain some strength to come out of the vehicle. I smile, proud of the choice they made. Gwen approaches us and faces Riley, and I sense another batch of tears in her eyes. She offers her hand and Riley, without a beat, holds it with hers. This is what trust looks like.
We continue walking, heading to a town called Montgomery, the first town to pay a visit to the city of Eastwood. The first state out of six. Well, the journey’s just started, and it won’t end very nicely either. But what matters right now is that everyone trusts each other. It brings people together in peace.
As silence overwhelms us, and only our footsteps we can hear, Ysa must have noticed it as she starts singing at a low volume. The song sounds like a country song, and it’s familiar. The lyrics are about wishing for good love and life. As she finished the second stanza, all of us begin singing along. We try so hard to keep it low, so it won’t be loud enough for the zombies to hear. We sure are having a good time.
I notice Riley stays silent, vigilant, I believe. She lets us have our fun while she keeps her guards up. I should do the same thing, too. I look around while singing some words, pointing my flashlight at a distance. The road seems clear, nevertheless. I keep my head up in my front, and their singing continues.
Then a huge gasp startles me.
“Riley! Wake up!”