“Pull over, Marina.”
“No chance, we are not stopping,” I stuttered, still freaking out.
“I said pull over, Mar,” Viola repeated, firmly. “You’ve been driving like a maniac for the past 10 minutes. Take a moment to relax. I don’t want a car crash to be the thing that kills us.”
I took my foot off the gas and let the car slow itself down. I triple checked every mirror before reluctantly pulling in at the side of the road.
“Breathe,” Viola instructed, as she, too, looked all around.
“This is uncharacteristically calm for you,” I joked nervously, trying to slow my heart.
Viola smiled, “Well, someone’s got to have it together, but I can promise you that I’m actually bricking it right now.”
We both laughed nervously as I did my best to shake off my wild panic. A few deep breaths did wonders and I put my game face on.
“Okay,” I said, decisively, making an action plan. “Rules:
1. We stick together at all times.
2. Do not let the kids out of your sight.
3. If we see people, we stay away until we know they are safe.”
Viola nodded and added, “And as soon as we can, we join others. Safety in numbers, right?”
“Right,” I agreed. “First stop, food and water. Let’s hit Walmart.”
“There’s a Sam’s Club next to it too,” Viola reminded me. “Then we go to Mom’s. I have to know if she's alright.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” I gulped, forcing myself to put the car in gear again.

The streets were eerily quiet compared to how they’d been when we’d last been here. There were still people around, some not so healthy looking. My skin prickled as I realised there were also bodies scattered around. I’d never seen a dead person before and suddenly I was faced with more than I ever could have imagined. They were all disfigured in some way, marred by bites and scratches. My stomach turned at the sight and I closed my eyes, trying to preserve what little nerve I had left. We pulled in as close to the entrance of the Walmart as we could.
“Lock the door after I get out. Don’t open it for anyone, don’t speak to anyone. If I’m not back in 15 minutes, you go. If it’s not safe for you to stay, you go. If I don’t look normal when I come back, you go. Got it?” I instructed, looking around the car. The coast was clear enough for now, but I wasn’t sure how long I’d have, or what waited for me in the looming building.
“You can’t go alone,” Viola protested, casting a horrified look in my direction.
“Have you got a better plan? What, trail two kids around with us inside?” I asked, pointedly. Viola opened her mouth but no words came out. I pursed my lips, “Thought not.”
“Be careful, Mar,” she warned, putting her hand on my arm in gesture of comfort that was appreciated, but didn’t really help. I nodded at her and then, with a final check, swung the car door open. We were sheltered from the noise of the outside world while we were in the car, but being out in the open exposed me to it. It was unnerving enough to make me want to get back in and drive away as fast as possible, but I knew there were essentials we would need to get by. Before my courage could escape me amidst the ambient noise of distant gunshots and shouts, I burst through the door into Walmart.

I grabbed a basket with no hesitation, racing immediately towards the hunting section. I could hear that I was not alone in here, and it wasn’t just healthy, sane people judging by the panicked scuffles and yelling. I shoved past small throngs with little difficulty, constantly keeping my eyes on the move to check my surroundings. I dived down into the aisle with the gun display. Someone had already smashed it up, but there were still slim pickings to be had which was better than nothing. I grabbed us a couple of small handguns, making a note to find ammo elsewhere – my luck had run dry, those shelves were bare. There was still a good selection of knives left though, so I raided that and got us stocked up. The next stop was powdered food. As I rounded the corner onto that aisle, I collided with someone, knocking me back to the floor. I scrambled backwards from where I’d landed as I frantically assessed what I’d crashed into. As my eyes lifted, I was met with an outstretched hand. It belonged to a man with wild blue eyes and shaggy blonde hair. I made a quick judgement and decided to take his hand, letting him pull me to my feet.
“Thank you,” I muttered as he turned back to casually browsing the selection of emergency kits.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied, cocking his head to one side. His movements were slow and carefree, like there was no need to hurry. “I’m Adam.”
“Right,” I replied slowly, not offering my own name back. “Well, I best be going. Because, you know, there’s all kinds of dangerous shit going down,” I reminded him.
“Oh I know,” he conceded, still seemingly unbothered. He glanced over at me. “My faith will protect me.”
“Right,” I repeated, raising an eyebrow. The guy was clearly bonkers, so I grabbed what I needed and took flight back towards the doors, away from him.
He called after me, “Only the sinners must pay, I will be safe.”
“Good luck with that,” I muttered to myself, running for the hills. I swiftly dodged a pair of clawing hands with a yelp and increased my speed, trying to shake anything that might be on my tail. Seeing a clear pathway to the front of the shop spurred me on. Pushing through my breathlessness, I slammed though the doors back out to the parking lot.

The space in front of the store was empty. I looked around wildly for Viola's car, it had just been here. I’d not been more than 5 minutes. As my gaze passed over to my left, I could see why Viola had fled. There must have been 10 people gathered around the limp body of a teenage boy, viciously scraping their nails over his flesh, ripping it as they snarled. Before I could stop myself, I let out a whimper. One of them looked up at me and twisted her jaw with a sickening crack. I shook off my paralysing fear and ran, letting the adrenaline carry me. The basket hindered me somewhat, but it was too important to part with so I held on to it as I sprinted across the lot for dear life. I heard a car in the distance screaming towards me. I snapped my head towards the roar and relief washed over me. Viola. I changed direction and took off towards her. As soon as I was alongside her, she slowed enough for me to rip the door open and throw myself in, pulling the basket in behind me. I yanked the door shut and frantically punched the lock down just as the woman, now followed by the others, got to the car. Viola accelerated with no hesitation and rocketed away from them.
“Sorry, we had to go-” Viola began, shakily.
I cut her off, “Don’t apologise, you did what you had to. What I told you to do. I’m not mad, but fuck I’m happy to see you now. Let’s get out of here.”
She didn’t need telling twice. As she sped away from the store, I thought of the unconcerned man I’d met, and how he’d soon meet the same fate as the teenage boy outside the store.

They had been gone for a while now. My brain was busily cooking up reasoning for it, most of which I didn’t really want to think about. I began furiously picking at a scab on my arm to try and distract myself from the thoughts.
“You shouldn’t do that,” came Hallie’s voice, startling me.
“Christ, Hallie. I thought you were sleeping,” I laughed nervously, pulling my fingers away from the dry skin.
She sat up, rubbing her eyes, “I was. Where is everyone?”
“They’re looking for fuel,” I replied, scowling. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” I said, trying to reassure myself as much as her. Swallowing my panic down, I returned my attention back to my scab as the worry came creeping in again.
“Can we stay with them?” Hallie pleaded suddenly, blindsiding me.
“Hallie, we’re not supposed to be travelling with other people, remember? I don’t really know how we ended up here,” I bit my lip, feeling more confused than ever. There was a deep-rooted mistrust of other people swirling in the very core of my being, and yet somehow I felt safer with these guys. Part of me wanted to stay with them, take up their offer of a haven for Hallie and myself; but in the back of my mind was our number one rule.
Travel alone and never trust others.
“I like them,” Hallie put in, like that would be a deciding factor.
“It doesn’t matter if we like them, we don’t know if we can trust them,” I sighed, wistfully wishing that I had her mind. How easy it was for her to make a quick judgement based on a one-time travel game.
“They were nice to us. They’ve taken care of us,” she reasoned.
“So far,” I countered, ‘and right now they could be planning how to leave us for dead.”
“Wouldn’t they have already done that?” Hallie persisted, making me bury my head in my hands.
“Hallie just let me think, okay?” I snapped, trying to silence her questions. She fell quiet, pouting over my reprimand. I tried to mull things over in the peace, but I didn’t get a chance as the van door was wrenched open. I launched myself backwards, dragging Hallie with me.

“Kinda jumpy, aren’t ya?” Jimmy grinned in from the doorway. I breathed a sigh of relief before shooting him a look of contempt.
“You could have been less dramatic in your arrival,” I glowered, narrowing my eyes at him. I pulled myself up and helped Hallie up before sitting back down.
“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked genuinely, climbing in to sit next to me.
“Aren’t you driving?” I questioned, trying to mask the hope from my voice.
He narrowed his eyes at me, “You don’t like my driving?”
“Do you care?”
“Nope,” he sang happily, “because I know that you do really. Everyone does.”
“Right,” I smirked, “I’m sure they do.”
He pouted, “They do," he insisted, quickly adding, "Except Brian. Brian decided that it’s his turn, so now I have to sit in the back with the losers.”
“Maybe that’s a wise move,” I suggested. “Though I’m not sure how I feel about being dubbed a ‘loser’.”
“I meant Z,” Jimmy shrugged, earning himself a punch in the arm from the man himself as he clambered into the van.
“None of us really wanted you back here either, for the record,” Zach grumbled, sitting himself down, causing Jimmy to clutch at his heart theatrically. As the last of the boys filed into the van, armed with a couple of canisters of gas, Brian fired up the ignition. I prayed he was a better driver than Jimmy, who only seemed to have one setting: reckless.

Matt wrapped his knuckles on the partition and the van pulled away smoothly, much to my relief.
“Next stop, Cali,” he grinned at me. The thought of it crushed my heart, and I was unable to return his smile, choosing instead to look away.
I want to see California before I die.
Viola’s words echoed around my head with a sharp sting. They clung on to me, suffocating me. She never got to see it, and now I was doing it without her. I never even wanted to go. It had been her plan to go East, her dream to see the coast and paddle in the sea, it was all her. I was just along for the ride. I’d promised that we’d get there, but I had left her behind long ago. The only piece of her to come with me was the memory of her that haunted me, whispering in the corners of my mind.

Notes

He's arrived...
Don't worry, you won't see him again for a little while.