Plagued

[CelticSol]

Jackie's jaw went slack as she watched the incoming hoard. "Oh, fuck," Jackie parroted in a whisper. She leaned forward, putting her hands on the dashboard, and watched the hoard as if as if realization of what she was looking at had not quite dawned on her yet. Then, her eyes widened, her fingernails dug into the dash with enough force she left crescent-shaped divots, threw herself against the back of her seat like that would protect her, and not quite soft enough for the boys to not hear her, shouted, "Jesus Christ, Walter, turn the damn car around!"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Dad, is everything okay?" Carl squeaked from behind them.


"Everything's fine, son." He said. He leaned over to Jackie and took a deep breath. "We can't do that... If we turn around, we'll hit the other horde. We're going North, one way or another." He swallowed down his fear as the horde slowly inched closer. "You buckled up, boys?" He asked.


"Uh-huh." They both said in unison. They seemed so cute for a moment then. Walter nodded and then quickly drove forward, but hastily drove it off course so they hit a green field - they were going full-speed down a hill, though. It was worse than being on a rollercoaster for Walter. He hated rollercoasters. The boys even started crying at it, but they came down and hit the bottom, and the suspension sounded like it was about to come through the bottom of the car.


They made it, though.


"Fuck. Me." Walter gasped, and then leaned back in his chair. "We can still go North, on the upside... Do you think you could climb into the back with the boys?" He asked.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie's fingers have dug so hard into the dash that this time, her nails actually made small rips in the material. Her expression was tight. She looked incredibly sick and green from all the jostling around, but after swallowing and taking a lot of deep breaths, she looked a bit better. "Yep," She squeaked, "Yep. I can do that."


Jackie unbuckled her seat belt, and after a bit of stumbling around, cursing, and general clumsiness, managed to wedge into the middle seat of the car, between the two boys. She didn't really want to be between the twins, so she turned to Daniel, who she knew was a little more comfortable with her, and spoke, a little breathless from trying to get into the seat. "Do you want to switch places with me so that you can sit beside your brother?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

Neither of the twins really seemed to care at that time. They were too upset - they were almost certain that they were going to die. They both just turned to her and hugged either arm and started sobbing into it. It was too much to deal with for someone their age - keep in mind that these two kids had never even seen one of these undead people before, so this was all new to them. They weren't really sure what had upset them most.


They sat there and sobbed to her. They would have hugged their father if they could, but that wasn't possible. Plus, they didn't mind Jackie - Daniel quite liked her, but Carl was indifferent. He didn't think that she was so bad, though.


When Walter noticed that there was no change of seating he made a move again, and started going across the field at a somewhat quick rate, but the speed stayed average. One slide and it'd all be over for them, if they crashed into a tree or something. He didn't really say anything, but when he looked in the rear view mirror he gasped a little. A lot of them were tumbling down the hill now.

 

[CelticSol]

"Walter, I've kind of got some idea of what we should do in terms of where were going," Jackie said, her voice high with stress. She took her arms out of the grips of the boys, wanting rather to wrap her arms around them than have them get crushed by the twins. She hoped they'd be okay, but they seemed indifferent to everything right now.


She tried to meet Walter's eyes through the rear-view mirror. "The way you're going, it looks like we're heading up to Maine, maybe up to Canada or something, yeah?" She doesn't wait for him to respond, she just plows forward. "Listen, I was born in Canada, okay? That's where I know the lay of the land most. Learned all the geography in school, learned population density and all that sh- stuff. But where you're heading is going to be pretty fu- frigging dense. But if we go a little farther east and skip over Montreal, then head further up North, there shouldn't be that many hoards. There shouldn't be much of anyone there. It's worth a shot, and it's better than staying here."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"We won't last in Canada." He said. "It's too cold, and we don't have anywhere near enough stuff to actually set up a proper life basis up there." He sighed a little and tapped his hands down on the driver's wheel. He was only half way across the field right now, and he felt so exposed, and felt like he was being watched.


"I've got family that live in New Hampshire. We can head there - it's closer to us right now, and it's our best bet at getting some sort of help. It's not a busy state, and we've got more of a chance of finding ground up there than we do up in Northern Canada. We'll consider Canada later, but honestly... Right now, I suggest we take the first chance we have and find a way up to that place my family owns... It's in a small town, nice and quiet, and for all we know, it might not have even been hit yet." He said, taking a deep breath.


"It's our only hope right now. There's supplies in the town that we can find, and hopefully we'll be alright there, at least for a while until we can figure out what's going on." He explained. The boys said nothing but merely let out a whimper as they shuffled right up to Jackie's side and snuggled up to her, their arms wrapping tightly around her body and eventually meeting each other's at either side. Their arms overlapped each other, and so on, but they didn't care. They were just sobbing into her side right now.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie nodded, silently biting down her bitter disappointment. She was hoping that if they had gone to Canada, she might've had a chance to find her family. Maybe find her brother. He had loved those horror games, with the zombies and survival. His favourites had been Left 4 Dead and DayZ, and he had played them near constantly with the devoted, faithful dedication of a true fan. She had even played those games with him and enjoyed them, which seemed sick now, seeing the world fall apart around them. Just like it had in the games. It was different now though, because if a game ever got too stressful, or it started to scare her, she could turn it off and stop playing, then it was over. But now, this was real, and it wasn't something that would go away.


She could only hope that the things he learned from that game would be useful to him now.


She rubbed the twins' backs soothingly. Her mother had used to do something of this effect, but she hoped it had been the motion, rather than the comfort of a mother, that made everything feel better. Jackie bit her lip, trying to fight off the emotions. Just like them, she would probably not be able to see her mother again. They had each other, and they had their dad, but she couldn't say the same for herself. As far as she knew, her family was already dead, or had become one of those things.


Swallowing the lump of emotion down, Jackie finally scrounged enough courage to speak. "I-" She began, her voice still thick with stress and grief. but thankfully, her voice didn't crack. She quickly dashed the words she had been planning to say, pursing her lips. "Good point," She finished lamely, and this time, her voice did crack a little bit. She blinked away her tears and tried to hide how much it bothered her that he could see his family and she couldn't.

 

[DrTrollinski]

He noticed that she was upset, or something like that, right after he objected about going to Canada instead. He couldn't change his route now, no way, but it was more than possible for him to propose an offer for her. The voice crack said it all, and he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit guilty.


".. Jackie... If we get up to New Hampshire first, and we get what we need... We'll go up to Canada, okay? I promise that, but... Before we do that, I recommend that we stay in New Hampshire for just a little while to get prepared, and then after that, we'll go straight North. That's a promise." He said. "Plus... I've always wanted to visit Canada, anyway." He smiled a little. "How come you voted on going home to Canada, anyway? Purely just to see the place again, or have you got people there, too?" He asked.

 

[CelticSol]

His words, though she was grateful, she couldn't let him take them there. Her family lived in a fairly rural area, but it would still be difficult and dangerous to get there. So Jackie didn't really crack a smile, she just shrugged. "My brother, my mom, and my dad are there. Typical family. Dad is ex-military, so he probably kept them safe. And if he didn't..." Jackie shrugged, seemingly uncaring, but the tears in her eyes showed that she was hurting. "I'm not going to endanger us all for the false hope that my parents and brother are still alive. If they're already those things, then would've been no point."


She crossed her arms, her lips pursed. "Plus, Canada gets cold, and even with winter coats, we're not going to be ready for winter unless we get to exactly the right place, and that's one of the most populated place in the country. And even to get to where my parents are, we have to cross through the densest, highest populated areas of the country. It'd be like going through NYC. There's no point."

 

[DrTrollinski]

(I hope you don't mind, but I'm really tired so I'll have to reply in the morning)

 

[CelticSol]

(That's fine. I won't be able to respond to yours until later tomorrow, but I'll try to get it in as soon as I can. Sleep well!)

 

[DrTrollinski]

"If you say so, Jackie." He said, sighing gently under his breath. He felt sort of bad now, he wasn't sure if he'd scared her out of going back to Canada, and she was just agreeing with him so that there was no further upset, or if she was actually genuine in her words. At least he offered, so that couldn't really backfire on him now. She insisted that they didn't go to Canada, and right now, all that mattered was making sure they all survived. Jackie might not have realized it, but Walter did care about her as well - she'd been quite a big help since he met her, but right now, he didn't know how to return the favor.


Soon enough, he came out onto a main road, and the driving was nice and smooth once again. The boys instantly began to calm down, but they were still sobbing.


"Is--.. Is it over?!" Carl whimpered in question.

 

[CelticSol]

"Yeah, it's over," Jackie breathed, relief evident in her voice. She then looked to the rear view again, trying to give Walter a convincing smile. "I say so, Walter. It's better this way. It'd be pointless, and we'd probably get caught by the things." Since the kids had started to be around them, Jackie had very clearly started calling the zombies 'the things' rather than anything else. Out of some sort of thin, weak protection for the boys in the harsh reality of things? She didn't honestly know. They had cried up a storm when they'd seen them, but there was a chance - slim, but still there - that the boys didn't know exactly what they were. She prayed she was right. "It'd be the same if I asked you to go back to New York for two of my friends. It'd be a complete waste of time, they'd just be-" She stopped talking, her jaw clacking shut.


She leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes and breathing out in a long, slow sigh. Courtney and Evelyn - with the former being as innocent and kind as a doe and the latter being a tough as nails former delinquent like Jackie - would've lived if they banded together, but separately, it was unlikely. What Evelyn lacked in survival skills she made up for in brute strength and how well she could handle weapons, and what Courtney lacked in violence, she made up for by being able to make something that was not only edible, but delicious, out of nearly anything.


She supposed, in this situation, they would have been infinitely more useful than Jackie if they had found Walter, rather just her. Evelyn would've been able to help Walter with stuff requiring strength, and Courtney could help him with handling the twins and helping him feed them. What could she do? Maybe she could find edible shit, but it sure as hell ain't gonna be pleasant. She used to play baseball, and had restarted the hobby when she moved to New York, so she had a wicked hard swing with a baseball bat, but it wasn't anything compared to a gun or how hard Evelyn could hit something. She was god damn near useless standing beside the two of them.


But it didn't really matter that they were more useful or better, because they were probably already dead.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Alright, then... I'm glad we're on the same ground." He smiled weakly and then leaned back in his chair. Finally, he was getting close to a main road. He was starting to feel a little less nervous, and the feeling of being watched was finally beginning to vanish. He was thankful that it was fading, and he didn't know if the other three shared the same fear. It didn't matter, though, not anymore. Seriously, what would being watched do to them? Would it really matter now that there were these... things running around and eating everyone? Of course it didn't matter. It never would.


Walter felt even more useless then Jackie did. So far, he'd been a mere comfort item and a driver. What good was that? Driving wasn't rocket science, and comforting two children was never hard. Promise them they'd be alright, and promise them that 'you'd be there for them' even though you could damn well die at any given time, and they were fine. The tears stopped, because they found strength in you and each other - How was that a good thing? If you promised them you'd be okay, and then ended up dying, just how the fuck did that help them?


It was safe to say that Walter felt terrible about it.


He was a computer geek that worked out, that was all there was to it. Sure, a forensic computer analyst was a fancy title, especially when you were one of the renowned and higher-ups, but what did that mean when people were running around eating each other and attacking the innocent? What the hell did knowledge in Operating Systems and Coding do for you in that situation?


Nothing.





"We're going up to my wife's brother's place... He has a few kids of his own, so if he's still there, it'll be a bit of a squeeze... It's better than nothing, though. Strength in numbers. He's a good man, but he won custody of his children a few years back when he found evidence of--.. Well, of his wife cheating on him, pretty much. Solid evidence, clear as day. He's got the kids, but they're so sweet, you know." He smiled a little. "You've got Andrew, he's... God, he's gotta' be about twelve or thirteen by now... Then you've got... Christopher... He's the same age as Carl and Daniel. Finally, you've got little George... He was only about three years old when we went to see them last. We all went to visit and stay with them when the boys were five or so. You remember that, guys? Sharing a room with your cousin Chris?"


"I remember..." Daniel sniffled, finally calm now.


".. Me too." Carl said in agreement with a nod. The both of them were still clung onto Jackie's sides, but they'd stopped crying, at least.


"Yeah, well, you might see them again, but don't get your hopes up, okay?" He smiled. "I'll tell you something, Jackie... It's not rubbed off on any of them boys. their mother doing all that... It's a shame, really, that it happened, I mean... They're such good kids, and yet, it seems like their mother just stopped giving a damn once she and Rob had their divorce. Don't be fooled about Rob, though. He's a real great dad... He hit a bit of a rough spot when he was going through his divorce, and that's when the kids sort of suffered a little..." He sighed. "The older one, Andrew, he was ten at the time, but I really take my hat off to that boy." He explained. God, thinking about all of them really did make him feel a little sad. "Trust me... That kid, ten years old at the time, he used to look after his younger brothers... Think, three years ago, Chris was five like these two were, and George was three - for the first two months, he cooked dinner for them all and his dad, he made sure Chris and George were bathed each night, made sure they both brushed their teeth, and made sure they both got into bed on time... In the mornings, he got up an hour earlier so he could get himself ready for school, and then he went and got Chris ready, too - he made him breakfast, made sure he'd been to the bathroom, helped him get dressed, made sure he brushed his teeth, made him lunch for school, packed his bag, made sure he had everything he needed, and then walked him to school - thankfully, they both went to the same school at the time." He smiled a little.


He hoped that they were all okay, now that he thought of it. From what he remembered when he spoke to Rob on Facebook or over the phone, he'd met a nice woman about a year ago, and she had a good job and helped him look after the kids - he lived in a nice house beforehand, and seeing as he had custody of the kids, he got to keep all of his possessions.


"Oh, before I forget to mention... Not only did he do all that, but he used to wipe the youngest one's butt at first - over the two months he actually did the rest of the potty-training, would you believe it. For the first few weeks once all the custodian terms were set, and before his father went back to work after the divorce was finalized, on his way to school, Andrew dropped George off at day care on his way to school, and then picked him up on the way home, too." He said. "His dad took care of it all after that. Well, he took George to daycare each day, but that was it, and he was forced to seeing as he had to go back to work. Andrew still had to do everything else..."


He was glad that the boys knew all of this already. He wouldn't be talking about it, otherwise.


"Poor kid didn't get a minute to himself... One evening he called me up while I was working overtime... He was crying, sobbing... He said he didn't want to do it anymore. I was worried, but luckily he was just referring to the responsibility he had... I said to him 'Son, take my word on this - keep doing what you're doing, and it'll all come together in the end. I promise. It'll all get better soon.' And you know something? After the full two months, his dad came around, treated him to some weekends alone with him while he called up someone to babysit - his other brother's wife, actually, seeing as she was on maternity leave, and he just took him out to some nice places. You know, took him bowling, took him to see movies, took him out for lunch, paintball, swimming, fishing, took him to sporting activities, took him to some place where parents could go with their kids to cook food for fun - hell, he took him camping a few times... Now, though? Andrew's really close with his dad and brothers, and now everyone loves him to pieces." He smiled warmly and sped the car up just a little once they reached the main road. "Another fun fact about our family... All of the children that are born are all boys - We haven't actually had a single girl just yet. Apparently it's been that way since before my wife was born - she was the first girl in... Christ, I don't even know how long. She had four brothers, so she was outnumbered." He laughed. "Rob's the only one who's still close to us... The others are all either right over in the West Coast, right up North, or not in the country. Still, all of their kids are boys." He grinned.


His next question was something he hesitated on.


"Well... I know you have a brother, so I won't ask about siblings... You have a boyfriend at all? Married, anything like that?" He asked. "If you don't mind me asking, I mean." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

(I might be bringing in another character soon, but depending on what happens, it might happen much later.)


"Yeah, a boyfriend," She answers automatically. After a few seconds, her face screws up into a scowl that's too harsh for her softer face. Well, it wasn't quite right. She sighed. Since he had told her some stuff, she decided she should do that same. She rolled up her jacket, which she had not taken off the duration of the time she had met the Greenes', but as she rolled them up, she revealed semi-healed, but still fairly dark bruises along her wrists. She held them up, and upon closer inspection, the bruises were vaguely shaped like long fingers, as if someone had grabbed her much too tightly. "He wasn't very good to me, as you can see."


Closing her eyes and leaning forward, she kept speaking , though quietly, so Walter was the only one that could hear her. "Met him at a bar, it was great maybe two weeks or so. If I think back on it now, I really should've seen it coming, because then he went awful really quickly after the two week mark. Got a bit hands-y with me, and I didn't like that. I told him so, and he hit me right here." She brushed her fingers across her right cheekbone, which, if you looked closely, had a yellowing bruise. "Broke up with him after that, and after that he started stalking me and all this really creepy sh- stuff, and I was a week from getting the restraining order approved when everything went to hell."


She had gotten the point across with the bruises on her wrists, so she didn't know why she was still talking. Walter didn't really need to know. She had just kept talking on and on, and now he was probably weirded out. She rolled her sleeves back down, breathing out in a gust. It was likely that he'd be weirded out, or he'd pity her, and she didn't want either, so she just put her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands and pretended she was cool as a fucking cucumber.

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Eh, some men are like that. Good on you for stepping up to him, though... I respect you for that - A lot of people wouldn't have done that because they were too scared. Well done." He smiled a little as he looked at her in the rear-view mirror, and then slowed the car down just a little bit. He was happy that he met Jackie - she seemed cool, and it looked like she knew how to handle kids, too. God, Walter wouldn't be able to cope if he had two screaming kids in the back of the car while he was trying to drive.


"Jackie..." Daniel called her, and then pointed at Carl who was on the opposite side of her. He was all snuggled up now, and he was fast asleep. ".. Do you mind if I sleep on you, too?" He asked. ".. I'm really tired and the drive to New Hampshire's really long... Do you mind?" He asked softly, pushing out the most friendly smile that he could manage. Daniel did actually look quite tired - they were up really early today, so there was no surprise there.


"If you want to sleep, Jackie, you can go right ahead as well. I'll wake you up if anything happens, but Dan's right. It's a long car journey from here." Walter muttered quietly to her, looking in the rear-view mirror at Carl. D'aww. He looked so cute when he was sleeping.

 

[CelticSol]

"Sure, kiddo," She smiled, but then, struck by and idea, began to take off her jacket, which was surprisingly difficult to yank off without elbowing one of the kids in the face, and put it in her lap, then took off the sweater she had underneath. Taking her jacket in her hand, she very carefully took her sweater and draped it over Carl, gently enough that he wouldn't wake up from the disturbance. A grin - almost completely carefree and genuine - lit up her face. "There. I'll be the pillow, but now, we have blankets, so if you get cold, you can snag my sweater and use that."


Then she looked up to Walter, surprised. Biting her lip, she shifted a bit. Sleep sounded great, but she didn't know what sleep would bring her. After all, she had - technically speaking - committed murder today. And saw herds of zombies. And saw a young girl getting her head chewed on. She shuddered at the memories flooding her head, then looked back to Walter. "It's not likely I'll fall asleep, or have a good rest, but I'll give it a shot. If you need me to take the wheel so you can get some shut eye, wake me up and I'll take over."

 

[DrTrollinski]

(My next post will probably be quite long, but I'm on my phone. I hope it's okay if I post tomorrow some time )

 

[CelticSol]

(That's fine. )

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Just try, at least... We're all safe in the car, and I'll wake you up if anything happens." He said. "Hell, I'll wake you up when I see a deer cross the road if you need me to." He smiled a little and then leaned back in his chair, leaving the three of them in silence. It was actually nice to get some time away from talking, as arrogant as that sounds. For some reason, he really felt down. Well, of course he did - He'd just sealed the deal of possibly never seeing his wife again, the mother of his two children. It's sad, the night before all this happened, he was talking to her about potentially having another child.


He wanted that dream to come true, but now it was gone. It was dust in the wind, but... Even while he was driving along and thinking about things, he couldn't help but feel happy. Happy that he'd met someone else he could trust, and happy that Colette didn't take the boys with her when she went to find her family. Perhaps she knew the danger. Perhaps she knew that things could go wrong, but... Why? Why would she abandon the children that she gave birth to? It was confusing, and something he didn't want to think about.


He flicked on the car's built in CD player and turned it down to really low volume, so it was just audible but not too loud. He was doing it as a method to help the others fall asleep - it was Country music, soft and gentle, and quite peaceful, too. Top hits like Willie Nelson and Eric Church, and then right across the board to Gary Allan and other faster-paced artists.


Daniel put his head down on Jackie's lap, right on top of the folded up jacket, and then closed his eyes while smiling just a little. It was nice to get a look away from the outside world and just to relax. He was in a position that only a kid could make look comfortable - he was lying down, but still had the seatbelt around him. Incredible, right? Oh well.


"Thanks, Jackie..." Daniel murmured under his breath, snuggling up to her just a little. At least they were all going to have the chance to get some rest.

**

​

Carl slowly woke up from his slumber and put a hand to his groin. Great. He needed to pee. He didn't actually recognize where they were now, but the sun was beginning to set, and he could tell that they were no longer in New York. He was right, too - They were in Northern Vermont. Walter was hoping that they could get there uninterrupted, but he wasn't sure how well that that was going to go down. They were literally out in the middle of nowhere, so there weren't any of the dead things around.


"Dad..." He whispered as he leaned forward and shook his shoulder. Walter tilted his head just a little and raised his eyebrows, but kept his eyes on the road. ".. I gotta' pee..." He added, eventually. Walter sighed and then nodded. He was about to complain about him not going before they left the house, but he realized how many hours it had been. He imagined that Daniel needed to go, too, so he slowly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car, the engine dying down.


"Jackie... Jackie, wake up, eh? You too, Daniel..." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie stirred a bit, then her eyes slowing opened. She had, thankfully, not dreamed of anything, but her sleep had not been particularly restful, and she could feel the bag under her eyes before she spotted the dark, hanging circles in the refection of the rear-view mirror. She ran a hand through her wild hair, which had curled and tangled in her sleep. Moaning a bit at the interruption, she finally blinked awake. Carl was fully awake and pulling at the crotch of his- oh.


"Y' gotta be fuckin' kidding me," She whispered, then groaned again. Daniel was warm in her lap, and she was comfortable enough that if she wanted, she could fall right back asleep in the car. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, yawning widely, then ran her fingers through her hair in a vain attempt to untangle her dark hair. She mumbled curses to herself, quietly enough that Carl couldn't quite make out what she was saying. She ran her fingers through Daniel's hair, hoping the gentle gesture would wake him up.


"Wake up, Daniel," She said, leaning her head back in total defeat. "If I have to wake up, so do you."

 

[DrTrollinski]

Daniel groaned quietly and then slowly sat up from Jackie's lap, rubbing his face and eyes with his hands before looking around. Lots of a trees, foliage, and a long road. Hm. Where were they? This certainly wasn't New York. He knew that much, just like Carl did. He saw his brother was sitting on the edge of his seat, seemingly bursting in need of a bathroom. That must be why they'd stopped. Come to think of it, he needed to go as well. He had a bit more of a stronger bladder than Carl, but... It didn't really make too much of a difference. If nature calls, you answer - simple as that.


"Where are we?" He mumbled within a yawn.


"We... Are in North Vermont right now... We might have to stop at some place for the night, if we can find anywhere, and we should be able to get to new Hampshire tomorrow morning at some point, or at least tomorrow afternoon. It all depends on how early we leave." He explained, and then looked back at Carl, and then back to Daniel and Jackie. "Carl needs to pee." He said.


"Daaaa-aaaaad!" Carl whined in embarrassment, quickly bowing his head and looking away.


"What? It's not like Jackie isn't going to know, anyway." He shrugged and then looked at Daniel, taking a deep breath. "Do you need to go, son? We want to stick to the road after this stop, so even if you don't need to go that bad... I think you should try, alright?" He said, Daniel quickly nodded in agreement.


"Uh-huh... I do need to." He said, Walter smiled and reached into the back, ruffling his shaggy medium-length hair. Ah, this kid was so joyful to even talk to - they both were. He looked up at Jackie after a minute and smiled at her.


"Jackie... Think you could go with them and just keep a look out in case something happens? I'd rather stay with the car, if you don't mind." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

"Aha!" She exclaimed, grinning wide. Her voice was still a bit groggy from sleep, but her eyes were bright with amusement. "You just let me tag along so you could put me on kid duty!"


The grin and teasing tone to her voice makes it very clear she isn't being serious, but nonetheless, she looked over to the two boys, then grabbed her bat from the floor and held it tight, her eyes dropping to the weapon. This was her weapon, she thought to herself. All the the apocalypse games she had played and every show she had watched, each character a signature weapon. In the Walking Dead, it was Daryl and his crossbow, in Resident Evil, it was Alice and her dual weapons. The thought brought her to a screeching halt, and the baseball bat, which she had seen for nothing more than equipment for baseball, suddenly felt more dangerous than before.


Though her expression was decidedly more solemn than it had been before, she looked up to the boys again. She reached over to the door and opened it. "You guys ready to go?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Uh-huh." They both said in unison before hopping out of the car, one after the other. They looked around for a moment and then looked back into the car and at Walter.


"Dad, where do we go?" He asked.


"Go behind a bush, or something... Don't wander too far and make sure you're near each other and Jackie in case something happens, okay?" He said.


Before he could even finish his sentence, Carl had nodded and ran off of the side of the road and into the little forest area. Daniel trailed nearly right behind him, and they exchanged some brief conversation before they both disappeared behind the same large bush, where they were completely out of sight but had a chance to do their business.


How cute is that? Going behind the same bush and everything, that's what twins are all about, for sure - this sort of stuff was all normal for them.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie suppressed the urge to roll her eyes before she climbed out after them, holding back her laughter as well. Travelling and moving around a lot from dad's job as a kid had made her be able to go without bathrooms for a long time, and she guessed she'd be able to go without until they got to New Hampshire. Jackie took the elastic hanging on her wrist and tied up her curly hair into a loose ponytail, looking for any zombies in the area. She wanted to give the boys privacy, so she only checked their way once in a while, and only if she heard noises.


She wiped her eyes, imagining that her simple makeup from the morning before was either gone or smudged over her face, but she didn't care either way. A good thing about the whole apocalypse thing is that she'd be under no obligation to do her makeup or shave. She chuckled to herself a bit, finding some morbid humour out of her hopelessness. The whole situation was in of itself funny. The impossible not only becoming possible, but happening. She supposed that most of the geeks and nerds who had made zombie survival kits (her brother included) would be set.


She was envious of their somewhat deluded forethought.


And another thing for her was her family. Though she knew for a fact that her family would be alright, worry consumed her. The rest would most likely not be. There was only two members of her family who could handle a gun well. Well, if you counted her cousin, Annie, who had married into the family, that would make three. Remembering Annie and her husband (Jackie's biological cousin), Tex, made Jackie actually laugh out loud. Both of them were crazy as loons, true kamikazes if she had ever seen any, but if they could use a gun anywhere near as good as they could play lazer tag, then the zombies would be fucked.


Her laughter died off a little bit. Though she knew, of all people, they would have some sort of strategy already in place - being the special forces, power couple they were - Jackie worried. She'd give anything have those two on the crew. They would be so useful in protecting the boys, and yet... Jackie checked the boys to make sure nothing had snuck up on them, then looked deeper into the woods. And yet, she couldn't really be sure if they had lived. Nothing that would've been expected to happen seemed to be happening in this piece of shit hell.