Smells Like Winter

22: Drink

Although a few hours ago they were laughing like they had gone mad, the five young outcasts had now fallen completely quiet in the car. It was the type of silence radiating an itchy nervousness that rang like loud bells throughout the interior of the expensive Ford. The mood was sullen and gloomy, anxiety floating in the air.

After switching seats with Maddy, Logan had driven them safely to... Well, Maddy wasn't so sure where they were, actually. They were in the middle of nowhere, at that point.

In Hell. We're in Hell, she thought miserably.

Logan had pulled over somewhere in a thick forest full of dense trees, but the way to get there was pure torture. Thank God Maddy was not on the steering wheel anymore. Logan had swerved to avoid the deep holes of the road, the car bumping and jostling on the rough gravel path, and despite the smooth leather seats, Maddy's tailbone was killing her. Eventually, Logan had managed to park the Ford under the shade of a willow tree, deeper into the heart of the woods.

No one dared to get out of the car. And no one dared to speak.

Carter was breathing heavily, but the bullet thankfully hadn't made its way to his flesh. It had just grazed him, although it was certainly not just a scratch. About half an hour earlier, Sia had cleaned and stitched and bandaged Carter's wound. He had only winced and grunted as she sutured the incision, sweat coating her brow from the concentration.

Ever since, they had all been sinking into the void of that awful silence, and Maddy hated every single bit of it. She needed someone to break that hateful silence, somehow confirm that she wasn't sinking alone.

But no one did. So she would break it herself. She tried to come up with something to say, but her brain was literally like a skillet of scrambled eggs.

"Care to explain about the hole in the decking?" It was all she could think of saying.

"About that..." Logan rubbed the nape of his neck. "We found out about it a few months ago. Mia's leg got stuck in it."

"Oh. Right. Well that was bad." Maddy tried to say something else, but could think of nothing.

"Tell me about it," agreed Logan in the driver's seat, eyes blank, fixed low on his boots.

"At least no one is dead," noticed Mia.

"Yeah..." whispered Sia.

Silence again.

"Where did you find the guns?" asked Maddy, desperate.

"Those?" Logan nodded towards the two slick silver handguns shining inside of the wide open glovebox. "They're my dad's. He bought them about a year ago, when the virus started spreading. They're for protection. You know, against the... infected."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Maddy swallowed thickly.

"And he taught you how to shoot?" asked Sia. "Your dad, I mean."

"Yeah..."

"And you, Carter? How do you know how to shoot?" prompted Mia.

Carter looked at her, his black eyes a cold glacier. "I just do," he uttered briskly. His tone was icy and tight with a flash of anger and sadness he was clearly struggling to conceal.

He had shut down on them. Maddy wondered whether she was the only one who had noticed.

"Jeez, are you a murderer or something?" mocked Mia unbothered.

Yup, she was the only one who had noticed. Or imagined it.

"Where are we gonna go now?" asked Maddy. After what had happened, they could never go back again.