Fragmented Zombie

Surviving on Hope and Fear

After arriving in Wendover, Utah, the group stopped momentarily to grab their bearings. The survivors needed to know where they were going before continuing their drive. It wasn't hard to find a sign that was somewhat helpful. Ayden looked around to see if there were any other signs around. Once Ayden was able to confirm that there was only one evac sign for what could be miles, he turned to the other survivors to explain where to go.

"Okay, I have a good idea of where to go. However, I cannot confirm that anyone'll be there," Ayden stated with a mixture of confidence and uncertainty in their voice.

"So, I take it there IS an evac center somewhere around here?" Kandace questioned, sounding hopeful.

"Well, yes, but it's about two miles down that way." Ayden pointed in the direction of a traffic jam.

Great! First the infection now THIS? You have GOT to be kidding me," Jaren said with a disappointed tone. Vere, who was double checking the engine of Kandace's car, looked over xyrs shoulder. After seeing what the others were talking about, Vere pushed xemself off of Kandace's car. "To make matters worse, without the right tools, I can't do anything to fix Kandace's car engine," Vere said. This was one of the first and few helpful things Vere willingly did in over a decade.

Hearing that, Kandace groaned and muttered angrily under her breath. In fact, she wasn't the only one. Jaren and Charli were equally as upset as Kandace. Ayden pinched the bridge of his nose while closing his eyes. Becker and Vere looked at each other with blank expressions on their faces. It was as if the two had known something like this would happen.

Ayden sighed out of frustration and said, "Speaking as the guy with the prosthetic leg, I really hate to say it but we're going to have to walk it."

"Great! More walking," Charli said sarcastically.

Becker, who hadn't said anything the whole time, started passing bags to their respective owners. Becker didn't seem to want to add to the conversation. That or there wasn't anything for them to contribute to the conversation. Becker was the first to get situated and took the role of the silent leader. Though, the only thing that had stopped Becker was Ayden stating that he was switching to his crutches. The walk may not have seemed that far, but Ayden didn't want to take any risks. After all, Ayden had been sore from having their prosthetic leg on for more than a few hours.

Once Ayden had his leg situated, the survivors started heading towards the evac center. The survivors weren't sure if anyone was still at that evac center. And if anyone was, the group would have to hope they don't leave before the survivors get there. Although, promises couldn't be made. After all, why would anyone want to wait for a group of survivors they can't prove exists?

That was the thing about evac centers; they had to evacuate people as soon and as fast as possible. They couldn't keep waiting on anyone else. It wasn't fair to the people that were already there and had been waiting for hours if not days to be evacuated. It was hard to keep your head up when it felt as though everyone around you had failed you. But in hard times hope was one of the few things you have left to survive off of. Well, that and fear. Though, it was proving to be hard to survive on nothing but hope and fear. Unfortunately, that's all that the survivors had.

While the survivors were walking, Jaren and Vere walked on either side of Ayden to make sure he didn't fall. Ayden was grateful that Jaren and Vere were keeping an eye on them. But at the same time Ayden felt as though it wasn't necessary. While Becker, Jaren, Ayden and Vere were focused on walking, Kandace and Charli kept an eye out for landmarks. This was to make sure they knew where to go in case the group had to back track.

After a few feet, the survivors could see the cause of the traffic jam. A tree lies lifelessly on the ground. The tree appeared mostly burnt as if someone had set the tree on fire. That, or the fire could've been caused by the ten to fifteen cars that had crashed into each other after four of them had crashed into the tree. The cars that had crashed still had people in them. Unfortunately, one of them had a baby in it. What's worse is that no one seemed to have called for help after the crash. And if someone did, it didn't get there in time.