Fragmented Zombie

Sudden Disappearance

Once the group got around the witch, they stopped to figure out where they were going. Ayden took over showing where the group needed to go. This was partly due to him knowing Nevada better than the others; and partly due to Becker not telling anyone anything. While the others had their backs turned, Becker took that as an opportunity to slip away. Becker couldn't take not having their parents' research journals any longer. Those journals were important to Becker. And it needed the journals for its plan. Not to mention that Becker needed to check on the mudmen.

The five remaining survivors continued to look for an evac center. The only mistake they made was not checking to make sure Becker was with them. How could they not make that mistake? Becker was always quiet so it was easy for the others to assume it was still with them. Thought that was the least of their concerns. What they needed to focus on was getting to an evac center. They would have to worry about where Becker went once they realized it wasn't with them.

Jaren and Kandace were talking quietly while they walked. Jaren kept their voice low when they told Kandace they were trying to figure out if they had a crush on Becker or not. It wasn't necessarily due to Jaren being aromantic (because they weren't); it was more so they never had a crush on anyone before. And because of that, Jaren didn't know how to recognize a crush. For all Jaren knew, they could have had a squish on Becker and sought out its respect and validation. Kandace, while understanding of Jaren's plight, told them not to worry too much about it. Kandace reassured Jaren that they'll figure it out eventually. The two promised not to tell anyone else about it since Jaren was feeling a bit embarrassed about it. Jaren especially didn't want Vere to know about it. They were in no mood to be teased by Vere about their feelings.

While the other three were wondering what the two were talking about, they didn't question it. As curious as they were, they knew not to pry into the two's conversation as it wasn't any of their business. Even Vere of all people knew that Jaren and Kandace's conversation was private. Vere understood that not everything was about xem and xe didn't need to know what the two were talking about. Which was odd as Vere had a habit of wanting to know things to use against the people xe was talking to.

The group took a left turn and stopped when they heard something. It sounded like a spitter. It had been a while since the five had seen a spitter. They all thought the spitters were rare since they were considered to be 'special infected'. What confused the five the most was that the spitters were listed on the news as being southern bound infected. Which meant that the spitters were primarily, if not only, seen in the south. Since the five weren't in the south, seeing a spitter for the first time was odd. The first two were weird to the group but they brushed it off as a one time occurrence. But seeing another one this up north was even weirder. Did the news get their statistics wrong? Or, did they not know the spitter mutation was spreading rapidly? Regardless, the group knew how to handle it. And if they saw another one, they'd assume that the spitter mutation was spreading rapidly.

Meanwhile, Becker found its way back to the village the mudmen were working on. The first person Becker saw was Dennis. "Hey, Dennis. Whatcha working on," Becker asked.

"Oh. Hey Becker," Dennis said. Don't get mad but Thomas and I are working on a cell-like box.

"I take it its because of Larry?"

"Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

"Just a hunch. Anyway, do you know where Thomas went? I need to talk to him."

"Yeah, he went that way to get a nail out of Robert's foot." Dennis pointed in the direction Thomas went in.

Becker thanked Dennis and followed the direction Dennis was pointing in. Once Becker found Thomas, they asked if he'd seen their parents' research journals. Thomas finished patching Robert's foot and led Becker to the boulder it stood on whenever it needed to make an announcement.