The Railroad

Chapter 4

Things were being thrown into a backpack carelessly as George debated on what he needed. He wasn't quite sure where exactly he was going, but he knew he couldn't stay here.

The things his father had said... George couldn't believe it. Any of it. He'd always thought his father to be one of the best, he had always looked up to him. But any remnants of those feelings were gone from George's mind the second he heard the words his father had said to his advisor.

After grabbing everything he could think of, George zipped the backpack shut. He took one last look at his empty bedroom, taking in how truly bare it looked. There were no decorations on the walls, no photos of his family on his dresser, no trivial items on his desk or nightstand. George had never had time for such things, no care for anything other than his work. He hoped, on top of all else, that this could change as well.

The brunet left the barren room that was an example of his life, heading downstairs to where the chauffeur was reading the morning newspaper. Why he did this eluded George, it never said anything new. But he read it nonetheless.

"Morning, Arthur. Could you take me to the hospital?" George asked the older man.

"Greetings, Mr. George. What could possibly be so urgent that you would request such a thing at this hour?"

"Wilbur had a treatment yesterday, I just wanted to check up on him."

"Ah, I see," Arthur said monotonously, refolding the newspaper. He grabbed his coffee and keys off a side table and headed out the door to the garage.

George followed him, trying not to draw too much attention to the bag thrown over his shoulder. He doubted Arthur would comment on it, but he didn't want him to be suspicious, for there was a possibility he might call George's father. That was the last person George wanted to talk to right now, the one person with whom he might not be able to conceal his anger for the topic at hand.

Who he really wanted to talk to was his mother. But that was impossible now, there was no chance of a future in which she returned to him, embraced him with her kind smile and gentle perfume. The brunet missed her desperately. He wanted her back more than anything else, he would give anything.

Compared to the drive there, the ride to the hospital was painfully slow. George wanted his best friend's advice; he was feeling so lost that he feared he was about to drive off a cliff. Wilbur would know what to do, he always did.

The brunet was quick with his goodbyes to Arthur, and he raced inside. He wasn't surprised to see Wilbur asleep when he arrived, so he knocked on the glass screen. When the tall brunet didn't stir, still overcome by blissful sleep, he became more aggressive. After a few loud bangs on the glass, Wilbur sat up, glancing around until he saw George's face, illuminated by the soft yellow light of the visiting room.

He clambered out of bed, stumbling to the window and collapsing into the chair there as he was still exhausted.

"You're back already!" he exclaimed, voice groggy and low from misuse. "Does this mean...?"

"Yes, I did it, Wil. I found the cure," George whispered, reveling in the sight of Wilbur's expression. The light jumped back into his eyes as they became glassy, filling with tears. A ghost of a smile began to form, and it quickly turned to a wide grin, his eyebrows pulled upwards and together as he cried softly.

"You did it, Georgie. I always knew you would," George's best friend murmured, not even caring about the tears spilling down his cheeks. "Do you have it with you? Can I have it right now?"

George stopped smiling. This was the only vial of the only known cure to zombie-ism in existence: if he was to give it to Wilbur, it would be completely gone. And, on top of that... there was another reason he couldn't give it to him at this minute. He pressed his lips into a thin line as he met Wil's gaze sorrowfully, unsure of what to say.

"What is it?"

"There's only one. It's right here-" George reached down into his backpack, pulling out the vial that contained the reddish-orange liquid "-and I don't think I can duplicate it right now."

"Why not?"

"Because of something I heard my father say when he was on the phone this morning." George continued to tell Wilbur the entire conversation he overheard (leaving out a few certain details that Wil didn't need to know), gauging his reaction carefully with every word said.

"Woah," Wilbur breathed after George finally finished. George raised an eyebrow as if to ask Wilbur for his thoughts. "Do you know why?" the taller asked. George shook his head, but he was lying. "Hm. You know what I think?" Wilbur began, "I think that you need to leave. I think you need to leave Tallahassee, take that cure to Raleigh and duplicate it, then mass produce it from there."

"Wh- Wilbur, I can't just leave! One, my father would find out and try to stop me. Two, how would I even get out? Tallahassee is a walled city, remember?"

"I can stall your father. Once he realizes you're gone, Arthur will tell him you came here, so he probably will as well. I'll lead him on some wild goose chase, buy you some time. You'll be halfway there before he even realizes you've left."

"I can't let you do that, I'd be putting you at a huge risk. And besides, I still don't have a way out."

"There are coyotes. They have connections, they can smuggle you in and out of the city and the guards will be none the wiser."

George sighed, staring into his best friend's big eyes. The brunet could tell that Wil meant this: he thought that this was the right thing to do. It meant he was possibly giving up the chance at being cured, at being able to see his loved ones again, but he meant it. He wanted George to do this.

"I have hope," Wilbur muttered. "It'll all workout. I love you, George. So much."

"I love you too, Wil." George paused. "So how do I contact one of these coyotes?"

~Word count: 1,063~

A/N: ok, this one is very short, i am so sorry lol. the next chapter gets interesting though, so i hope it makes up for this. off topic, but i have been listening to pebble brain religiously. it's literally just so good. my favorite song is probably concrete, though model buses is a close second, followed by the fall. i hope everyone is doing well!