End of the Suburbs

Chpt 14: Split

We finally reach the river.
It's just after daybreak.
People are tired.
Now is the time we can stop and take a break.
V, Duffy, and I gather around to discuss what to do next.
The girl from my dream walks up.
She takes off her mask.
I can't help but stare.
There's no doubt that it's her.
The one in my dreams.
"Where do we go now?" V asks.
I realize everyone looks for me to answer.
"You can come back to the township. Everyone is welcome." I say.
The place is surrounded by water and protected by a wall.
It's safe from infected.
Duffy agrees. 
For now we need food.
We gather in a circle and start to go through the bag.
We pass out food for everyone.
We all sit and eat.
Some of us take the opportunity to wash ourselves in the river.
Not often is there calmness.
This is one of the few times.
Being near the river we won't have to worry about the infected.
We can relax.
V and the mystery girl sit together away from everyone.
Once we're done eating we gather all weapons.
If were going to make the journey we need to be armed.
We gather every container and fill them with water from the river
We take inventory of the weapons.
One catches my eye.
A twisted steel dagger.
It was my dad's.
I made it myself years ago.
"Where did you get that?" I ask
V says he got it from a man who helped him years ago.
He was attacked by a swarm if infected.
The man saved him and was taking him back home.
Something happened and they got separated.
When V tried to find him the Skulkers found him first.
He'd been in the arena ever since.
V's story made me think of Donnie.
He's still out there somewhere.
I can't go back without him.
I have to keep looking.
Everyone packs up and gets ready to leave.
I pull the map from my bag and Duffy and I determine a route to get everyone safely back to Ohio.
I mention that I'm not going.
I have to look for Donnie.
I gather my bag and my swords.
I start to walk in the other direction when I hear a voice.
"Wait."
I turn around and it's V and the mystery girl.
She kneels down and Casper runs to her.
He's a good judge of character.
She embraces him and starts to pet him.
At least one of us gets the girl.
I shift my attention to V.
V lowers his hood and takes off his mask.
"We're coming with you."he says.
He hands me the dagger.
"Why?" I ask.
He says that they're going west.
He tells me they'll help me find Donnie if I help them get as far to the coast as possible.
It's safer to travel in a group.
In the outside world there's a man they call The Reaper.
The Reaper is supposedly the best scavenger in the world.
Anything that needs to be found he can find it, for the right price.
He might even be able to find people.
He does work for cities without a team of scavengers.
He can do things an entire team couldn't.
They need his help.
They don't say why they need they're looking for the Reaper.
I don't need to know.
I tuck the dagger into my boot and cover it with my pant leg.
I agree to let them come with me.
The four of us start to walk.
I lead them to the spot where Bill left the car.
It's still there with everything inside.
I start it with no problem.
We spend the day driving in silence.
It's different than traveling with Bill.
A good type of different.
We drive until sundown.
We need to stop.
The gas tank is almost empty, we're hungry and we need sleep.
We find a a house across the way from a field of corn.
This used to be a farm.
There's a house.
I park the car on the side.
Front door is open.
We split up.
V's girlfriend stays near the car.
I walk the perimeter to see the lay of the land.
I notice a barn in the distance.
I'll have to check it.
Right as I go to step off the porch I hear Casper growling.
He's warning me.
I look into the window on the side of the house and see movement.
It's.......a cow.
I rush to the front just as V slips on the front step.
The cow charges through the front door.
Just as it passed the threshold I swing my sword.
*HACK*
The cow's head drops.
It's body shortly after.
I walk over and extend my hand to help V up.
It's clear he's not used to the outside.
There's no warning before you have to fight.
You have to always be prepared.
Casper and I check the rest of the house.
It's clear.
The safest place is the basement.
The intruders would have to get through 3 doors and down a flight of stairs to get there.
I saw a cellar door from outside.
We can use it in case we need a second exit or a fast escape.
Stepping down into the basement the entire room is set up as a shelter.
There's hundreds packs of ready-to-eat meals water and beef jerky.
V and I still have to clean up.
The dead cow will attract predators.
I get a closer look.
The cow wasn't infected.
Strange.
Either way we still have to get rid of the body.
We drag the body far enough downwind so any predator who it attracts will find it before it finds us.
When we get back the mystery girl has food prepared.
Casper is already eating.
We all sit and share a meal.
Afterwards it's time to sleep.
We need energy to keep moving tomorrow.
I can't sleep indoors.
I wait until V and his girlfriend are asleep before slipping out.
I leave Casper downstairs with them and head upstairs to the roof.
I find a spot that's leveled and lay down.
Just as I start to drift off I hear a noise.
I grab my sword from my bag and investigate.
The noise came from inside.
I look through the window.
Suddenly I'm face to face with the mystery girl. We're so close our noses almost touch.
It's like time is stopped for a second and I'm holding my breath.
Reality sets in.
I remember this isn't a dream.
I step back.
"What are you doing out here?"she asks.
"Sleep." I say.
She looks confused.
One word doesn't explain much.
I elaborate,"I can't sleep, not without looking at the stars."
"Oh."she says.
She looks out onto the roof and starts to look around.
She sticks her head back inside and I walk back to where I was laying.
A second later her legs pops out the window.
I watch as she climbs out.
She almost stumbles but she catches her balance.
She makes her way over to where I'm laying and lies down beside me.
It's like I'm holding my breath again.
"What are you doing?" I ask
"I might as well see what the fuss is about."she says looking up at the sky.
The stars are shining bright in the dark blue sky.
The different colors glowing.
It's like art.
We lay in silence.
I close my eyes.
Suddenly I feel her hand grip mine.
It's nice.
We share a moment as I drift off to sleep.
I don't even know her name.
This makes 10 days since Donnie left.