Open up, Survivors Inside

Chapter 15

Puffer ended up going out to get some fresh air, seeing Travis and Ben talking quietly. He was about to head towards the front of the train when Ben looked at him. "It was me..." Ben mumbled, which caught Puffer's attention.

"Ben!" Travis looked ready to shut his friend up, but Ben just shook his head at him.

"You better not be saying what I think you're saying," Puffer started, but deep down he already knew. Ben had been acting way too guilty for someone that was innocent.

"I was the one giving the bandits supplies," Ben said, "It's all my fault."

"Why? Why would you do that?!" Puffer questioned, doing his best to keep his anger down.

"They said they had my friend, that he was with them," Ben replied, "By the time I realized they didn't it was too late...they said they'd kill me, kill all of us. I'm sorry Puffer..."

"Did you know?" Puffer asked Travis.

"Only after we got on the train the first time," Travis admitted, "He told me while we were looking around."

Puffer pinched the bridge of his nose. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? "Fucking...do not make those kind of choices again," Puffer snapped at Ben, "Leave that shit to the adults. Tess could have lived if you hadn't of done that."

"I-I know," Ben mumbled, "I was thinking of telling Kenny..."

"Fuck no!" Puffer said.

"Thank you! I've been trying to tell Ben that for an hour," Travis sighed.

"If you tell Kenny, he will kill you Ben," Puffer started, "He'll blame you for Duck getting bit and Katjaa having a terrible end. Do you really want that?"

"N-No...but I feel awful for it," Ben said.

Puffer was silent, then he sighed, "Then at least wait until things have settled down." Puffer knew he shouldn't be so lenient on Ben, but he was a kid still, even as Ben was closing in on the adult years. Puffer was pissed, of course, and there was no way in hell he would ever trust Ben with the supplies again. Still, now wasn't the time to pull a Lilly. He was better than her.

"Oh shit! Hold on everybody!" Kenny's shout could be heard.

As soon as the breaks went off, the three held onto the railing, looking at one another in confusion. "What was that for?" Travis asked as Puffer went to take a look.

"Oh...oh fuck off," Puffer growled. Hanging over the bridge was a tanker, specifically a fuel tanker, meaning just ramming into it wasn't an option. Hooray. As everyone got off to look at the situation, it was clear they couldn't get past. Meaning they would have to move on foot. Something Puffer was worried about seeing as his ankle's swelling hadn't gone down much.

"We have to get rid of it," Kenny said, "There has to be a way."

"You gotta get ahold of yourself," Chuck started, "This a crew here."

"This ain't shit," Kenny replied, a bit annoyed.

Chuck was about to reply, but a stranger's voice cut them off, "Yo, you keep screaming like that and you're gonna get your face chewed off."

Puffer looked up to see a couple standing on the bridge, looking down at them. "Are you guys gonna be trouble?" The woman said, "Because we could've just kept walking."

"Could be, who are you?" Lee asked, moving a bit closer.

"Two people who have a strategic position on you," The woman replied, unamused by the comment.

"Come on hon," The man said, then turned back to the group, "You guys got a problem with your train?"

"Yeah, you're standing right in front of it," Kenny huffed.

"Dude, it's a wreck. It's not so bad from up here," The man said, "Send one of your buddies up to have a look."

Puffer knew it would have to be him, seeing as Kenny was in no state to go up and work with a plan, while Lee's "introduction" wasn't the best. Right as Puffer was about to head up, Kenny made him pause, "Anything goes sideways up there, we won't let them escape."

Puffer gave a nod and moved to the ladder, carefully climbing up. His ankle hurt like hell, but he would deal with it later. As he headed up, he could hear the two bickering about something. "What about when-" the man started.

The woman cut him off, "Stop it."

The two paused and looked over when Puffer made it up, "Hey dude, I'm Omid."

"Puffer," Puffer replied.

"Christa," the woman said, "What's the deal with the train?"

"We're driving it, or were," Puffer answered, and Omid looked stoked by this information, "We haven't been doing the best lately, and we could really use some help."

"What's in it-" Christa began, but paused when she spotted something behind Puffer.

"Oh shit!" Omid started, "Goddamn, you guys have a kid!" Puffer turned and, to his surprise, saw Duck peaking over. Of course he would snoop.

"Duck," Puffer sighed as Duck climbed all the way up.

"I couldn't help it!" Duck replied, "I wanted to see who it was."

"Do you know how long it's been since I've seen a kid? Shit, what's your name?" Omid asked Duck.

"Kenny Jr., but I go by Duck!" Duck replied, walking over.

Puffer wanted to laugh at Omid's reaction to seeing Duck, because damn these two had to have been isolated from groups for a long time. "See, things are looking up," Omid said to Christa.

"You're not his dad, he down there?" Christa asked.

"Yeah, he's with the others," Puffer answered, "We've been to hell and back."

"Everyone down there cool?" Christa asked.

Puffer gave a nod, "Yeah, Chuck's new but the rest of us have been a group for a while. There were more of us...but shit happened."

"We're sorry for anything that's happened to you guys," Omid said, "That train is awesome, though."

"That tank is your real problem," Christa hummed, looking at the bent latch for the tankers, "We'll help you with it, but if we see anything we don't like, we're moving on, alone. If you can get it down, the rest should be easy. We'll some down and settle in, and see if we can help."

"Sounds good," Puffer said, leading the way. As he climbed down, there was sense of hope growing. Things were starting to look up.