“You know what…?” he asked, still chuckling, now shaking. “You’re right Luke! Enough! Enough of this bullshit we’re doing!”
“Bullshit? Dude the only bullshit is this right here! Cut it out, seriously!” Jeremy demanded, taking a bold step forward. His own anger rising in him again, despite the thick tension in the air. Zack quickly aimed the gun at Jeremy, managed to silence him, and further caused him to evasively return to his position, his anger extinguished instantly with fear.
“Enough of this repetitive cycle, where we get nothing done!” Zack continued, waving the gun around, constantly changing who he was aiming at, never resting on a single target.
“Zack, please man, just… put the gun down,” Cody pleaded, slowly outstretching his arms to Zack and opening his hands wide.
“Zack, you don’t… you don’t have to do this,” Derrick tried to tell him, though it came out in a soft whisper. One that Zack very may well have not even heard, being as wrapped up in his mind as he was.
Zack cocked the gun. “Enough… of this false fucking world we’re living in…”
Everyone paused, not saying another word. They all remained still, genuinely frightened, and uncertain what was going to happen next. The wind blew softly through the open windows, cutting into an otherwise frozen room.
Cautiously, Adam grabbed a bat up off the ground in the silence and gripped it, hard. He took a small step forward, but then stopped, noticing far before any of the others, he was already far too late.
Jeremy broke his gaze on Zack for a brief moment and glanced at the others, trying to better assess the overall situation, and then looked back to Zack, his eyes growing horrifyingly wide.
Zack, without another moment’s pause, swiftly raised the gun into his own mouth, and without hesitation, fired.
The others shouted for him as he put it in, but Zack had more than made up his mind by then. The crack of the gunshot seemed to shatter time’s weight in all their minds. The sound replaying like a broken, horrific record in their ears. An end was marked only by the rough thud of his corpse falling heavily to the floor, the gun rumbling down onto the ground next to him.
All of them stood shocked, unable at first to process what happened. Losing his grip, Adam dropped the bat, gravity lashing it to the floor. It rattled as it landed, eventually coming to a slow, silent, dead stop.
Day 429
“The Burial/The Journey Begins”
The guys surrounded two graves, lying in the backyard of the house; it was the one piece of the outside lawn which they made an effort to remain cut and clean. Luke was putting a cross made of wooden planks into the newest grave: Zack’s.
They had buried him yesterday, but only now were they making a cross. The rest of the day had been spent in solitude for each of the men. Derrick dug the grave, knowing best how to. Chris cleaned the living room as best he could, though the blood had stained the carpet near the couch permanently. Cody tried to hurdle the negative grip he could feel pulling him down. Nolan cried alone in the bedroom, and the others just sat around, like it was any other day.
The silence was palpable, painful even. And yet, none of them were crying. There was hardly even a heavy breath. Were he not there through it all, Luke wouldn’t have understood why. Unfortunately though, he was, so he did. He completely understood.
As time went on for them, living like this, it all just sort of turned it off. They lost the spark, as he always put it to himself. When things like this happened– as unfortunate as they were– they just didn’t have a huge impact on them any more; it just was sort of par for the course. After all, it wasn’t the first time they’d lost someone…
Still, he knew what they all thought, if they could only convey it anymore. Adam was probably torn, half angry at Zack for the madness he’d just put them through, and half tormented that he allowed his friend to get to that place and not be smart enough to see it coming and prevent it. Similar to Jeremy, who would only have the addition of wanting to be sure everyone else was dealing with it properly, especially Chris.
Chris himself was probably heart broken, as was Cody. They both used to have such a heavy heart, filled to the brim with love for their people. Even for someone like Zack, who was never as much a part of their group, he knew they’d both feel broken over having not only lost him, but losing him to his own demons; Cody especially.
Derrick probably wouldn’t even know how to process it. He was never one to show any emotions other than spite and annoyance, even if it was minimal. His heart would hurt, but he’d never show it much anyhow. He’d just go about his day working with his hands.
Minus the work, Nolan would try to act the same, but Luke knew Nolan long enough to see right through the act. Even now, he knew Nolan would only be even more heartbroken than before. Were things how they used to be, he and Luke probably would have talked about it, but the weren’t, much to Luke’s chagrin.
Eventually, thankfully for Luke, as well as the rest of them, the silence was finally broken by Chris.
“I can’t believe he just…” he tried, trailing off as he did, playing again with the neck of his shirt, tugging it lightly away from his own.
“Yeah. Me neither…” Jeremy agreed solemnly. They then shared another few moments of unspoken thought.
“It’s this place, that’s what it is,” Cody spoke up decidedly, gazing around at the others and shaking his head. They all glanced up at him, unsure of what he meant, and why he said it so decisively.
“Huh?” Adam asked, confused.
“You know, it’s this place that’s kept us alive this long,” Luke countered in defense of the house, as though he were almost hurt, and certainly annoyed with Cody.
“No it’s not!” Cody said. “That’s us. We keep us alive! This house just wears us down, keeps us from where we belong,”
“What are you talking about Cody?” Nolan asked.
“Where we belong? You mean, what, Foxtale?” Adam said.
“You know there’s a good chance there isn’t even a Foxtale around anymore,” Derrick argued. “Or a California, for that matter.”
“Maybe, but how else will we know unless we go there, right?” Cody insisted to the group.
“And how are we gonna get there, exactly? We gonna god damn walk? That’ll take forever,” Jeremy argued annoyedly.
“We don’t even know the way back, man,” Chris added. “All the roads are probably blocked with cars, or forestation, or they’re just gone.”
“Or all those… things out there now! Those monsters! You forget about those?” Nolan reminded spitefully, pointing out at the woods.
“Yeah, I’m staying here. We’re safe here; we survive here,” Adam decided. Cody looked around at the others wantingly, hoping for someone to agree with him.
Luke remained silent, powerfully hammering the cross into the dead-earth, and to himself, deep in thought. He thought still about how they used to deal with problems. What they used to be. What Emily might tell him to do…
He hated the way they were living, he knew that much beyond all else. And he knew they did too, even if they were too afraid to want to change it. Maybe if they left… maybe things could finally start to get better. And really, that was all Luke wanted.
Once he had finished with the cross, he rose, and slowly made his way over to Cody’s side.
“I’m with Cody,” he announced, making Cody smile brightly. Cody looked back to the others, now immediately filled with a new sense of confidence in his suggestion.
“What? Why?” Derrick asked, surprised at Luke’s decision.
“Because… he’s right. This place is eating us alive. We can’t just sit around here forever and wait to die one by one,” he explained. “We may be surviving here, but we’re not… we’re not living. We’re not happy. I say we go, find a new way back, and see what we can see. Maybe there’s a few, or maybe even a lot of people there. Or maybe not, but we can adjust to what we find, you know? Who’s with me?”
The others all stood silently, unsure what choice to make, and nobody spoke up. Standing above the graves of their own people, Luke would have thought the message was clear enough; it was to him. He was unhappy with them, but unsurprised. So, he simply adjusted his positioning, turning to look at Derrick, crossing his arms.
“You know,” Luke brought up, “We’ll need someone who can navigate as well as you Der. Who we can trust to tell us where to go.” Cody saw what he was doing, and he liked it.
“Yeah! You were always great with maps and roads!” He supported. “And I mean, no one’s as good with handiwork as you are!”
Derrick’s head perked up, noticing the compliment immediately, as they were in majorly short supply as of late. He smirked a little, and looked at all the others momentarily, who gazed back curiously. He then turned back to Luke and Cody, and after a moment of pause, walked over to the two and stood next to them.
“Okay, I’m in. I’ll fix us up whatever we need made, and I’ll lead us back home!” Derrick said, with a new hope in his tone, and an old light faintly shining in his eyes.
“Oh come on!” Jeremy protested. “You just got all buttered up and went with them because they complimented you!”
"Well, we are gonna need someone who’s as uh, what do you call it… as intimidating, and intense as you too, Jer. Keep us safe from anything we might see along the way, you know?” Cody explained, grinning as he did.
“You are very intimidating. Especially when angry,” Luke agreed, pointing at Cody, supporting his point. Jeremy paused, and lightly chuckled at the comment.
“I… Ah alright, what the hell. Why not?” he decided, stepping over to the group of three.
“Wha–!? Jeremy! What was that!?” Adam burst, shocked at the hypocrisy of Jeremy. Though Luke was not terribly surprised; Jeremy loved compliments.
“Hey, I like being buttered up, you can’t judge me. They spoke to my interests!”
“Your only interest is you!” Adam countered angrily.
“You know Adam,” Luke continued, “We’ll need someone to be our muscle. You know, just in case Jer’s shouting isn’t enough. Someone who could rough up the bad guys if he needed to. I couldn’t think of anyone else to do that but you; well, and Nolan, of course.”
Nolan glanced at Luke and tried to hide it, but he smiled excitedly, as though that comment meant the world to him.
“I don’t care,” Adam shut down, making Nolan frown again. “This is a wildly dangerous and stupid decision you’re making here. We are, without question, significantly safer inside these walls than outside. I don’t care how boring it is.”
Luke sighed, and shook his head in disappointment. He needed this to work. He was too invested already to let it slip away.
“Well Nolan, we still need you pal, you in?” Cody pressed, facing Nolan. He smiled faintly again, and after glancing at Adam once more, firmly nodded, and made his way over. Adam just sighed in disapproval.
“Chris, you’re coming too,” Jeremy said.
“Why?” Chris argued. “Do you have any idea how god damn twisted the outside world might be? How infested Now more than ever?”
“Then you can be our god damn doctor or something, I don’t care,” Jeremy pressed impatiently, then growing oddly sincere. “I’m not leaving here without you.”
Chris stopped a moment, taking that in, and after shaking his own head, angry with himself, he reluctantly walked over to them.
“You’re lucky you need me,” Chris muttered. Jeremy just smirked lightly.
Luke, as well as the others, all stared down Adam now, who was still firmly locked in place.
“Adam…” Luke tried to persuade.
“No,” he insisted. “I don’t care. I’m not going.”
“What are you, afraid?” Derrick questioned.
“Like you aren’t?” Adam spat back, far more venomous than Derrick had asked.
“Of course he is, man, we all are!” Cody defended, though still sounding cheerful. “But all we’ve got is each other, you know? Strength in numbers! And you’re a pretty big number my friend!”
Adam closed his eyes, and thought deeply on what to do. Luke just gazed wantingly at him. He needed Adam to agree. He couldn’t leave anyone behind. He couldn’t afford to lose another one.
“Fine… God damn it, fine!” Adam gave in, marching over to the others. Cody and Luke smiled, and the others let out a collective sigh of relief.
“So what now? We gonna hug or something?” Jeremy asked.
“No, please,” Chris remarked.
“Actually, I was thinking, walking the whole way would be a bitch, we’ve got a surplus of wood, and some good wheels on our cars…” Luke implied.
“So what? You wanna build a cart?” Derrick asked.
“I was thinking a wagon, but sure, we can call it whatever you want. Want to help me build it?” Luke asked hopefully, trying even to add a spark of friendly wit in his tone.
Luke was struck with an outpouring of silence. He frowned, once again disappointed, but not surprised at his friends’ lack of reaction. They weren’t there yet, he supposed. So long as they were with him, that was enough for now.
“Let me rephrase. Derrick, you’re going to tell us what to grab and where to put it, and we’re all going to help build it, or I’m taking all the supplies and leaving without you,” Luke said. “You assholes.”
The others groaned, and all moved to get tools and supplies, while Luke appeared quite pleased with himself. He gazed up at the sky, and smiled gently. He knew she’d want this to happen too.
“How are we even gonna pull it? It’s not like we have any horses or anything, and the wheels aren’t gonna just roll on their own,” Adam remarked spitefully, not but a few moments later. “It’s gonna be tough as shit.”
“W-Well…” Luke replied, laughing nervously. “Let’s just build it first, okay?” Adam gave him an unsatisfied and curious glance, and then turned back, grabbing tools, groaning once more as he did.
It took Derrick only about ten minutes to come up with a plan on what to make, and how to make it. The cars were fairly rusted, so taking the tires off them and dismantling what they’d have to wouldn’t be impossible, though it wouldn’t be a clean job, either. Still, those wheels would be better than anything they could make.
He had Adam and Nolan spend the day cutting through and taking apart Nolan’s old jeep, getting the all-terrain tires off, and refilling them with a manual air-pump. It was tiring, but he assured them this was the best way to get to “his vision.”
Jeremy and Cody grabbed as much wood as their arms could carry, and Derrick had them form what wasn’t already planks of wood into planks, at least as best as they could. Once they would, he, Cody, and Luke would line the planks up in a box formation in the shape of a rectangular shape, similar to the car. Once the frame was ready, they nailed additional pieces together, and Derrick connected the bottom of their new floorwork to the jeep’s wheels as best he could.
Jeremy and Chris bagged all the food they had left, and Adam, Luke, Cody, and Nolan focused on grabbing everybody’s clothes. Chris insisted to them that his be separated from theirs to stay as isolated as possible. he said it would “keep them cleaner.” They annoyedly followed through on his request.
Their work now finished, the guys admired their brand-new, self-constructed means of transportation. It honestly wasn’t that bad, and it was even large enough to fit some of them, but it did look a little beaten up. Honestly, it looked a little shitty. Very shitty, actually. Still, it was sustainable, and, if nothing else, it did fit the theme of the new-world, in Luke’s eyes at least.
“Wait wait wait, I still haven’t gotten a damn answer here! How are we gonna pull this thing? We don’t have any horses, or pedals, or gasoline, or anything!” Adam shouted in with an impatient curiosity, the seemingly obvious situation finally coming to the others in full swing.
Everyone looked down the row they stood in to gaze upon Luke, who li
cked his lips awkwardly, his eyebrows raised, hands in his back pockets.
“Well… this is, in part, where the muscle also comes in…” he answered meekly.
“What!?” Nolan asked in disbelief.
“Hell no,” Adam refused bluntly.
Derrick came from outside the front door of the house with two long bundles of rope, and tossed them down at the feet of the wagon, then staring at Nolan and Adam as well.
“No,” Adam insisted.
Their gaze persisted.
“No!”
No one averted their gaze. Still Adam glared at them all, unwavering. Luke knew he could get them to break eventually. He just had to hold his ground.
“We can switch off, help push up hills and shit, and besides, it’s got tires! So long as you don’t think about it, it’ll move easy, I promise! Please?” Luke pleaded, still trying to sound upbeat, hoping to aid the mood. Cody was always better than him at that part, though. Nolan and Adam paused, both deep in thought on the matter.
They turned to each other, forming a small and separate huddle, and not but a moment later, they turned back.
“We are switching off, I’m not forgetting that,” Nolan agreed, pointing threateningly at Luke and the others.
“And you guys are helping push up hills and around debris. I’m not busting my ass for extra work while you sit and relax,” Adam added.
Luke raised his hand up in the air. “I’m a man of my word.”
Nolan nodded, lips pursed, and Adam just groaned, lips open wide for future complaining.
“Alright boys, off to the great unknown, where danger and certain death awaits at least half of us!” Cody announced, yet again going into his radio broadcaster impersonation. Everyone simply walked past Cody.
“Yeah, really uplifting there Codes,” Derrick chided as he passed him. The others ignored him, up until Luke patted him on the shoulder, though also walking past without a word. Cody tiredly ran his hand through his long, oily hair, and followed them no more than a moment later.
The Way Back (Book 1): The Way Back Page 3
