1 | I Am a Survivor of the Zombie Apocalypse | ✅

Chapter 6 - Gimme Shelter

"Why would he do that?" I fume, "I mean – ugh – he's so – UGH!"

Seth looks at me from the other side of the backseat. "He'll be back."

"Maybe," I say, "If the dead things don't get him." And suddenly I'm worried, not angry.

Seth glances at his feet. "He's good at taking care of himself."

"He's so stupid," I mutter, angry again, "He knows it's not safe to go out alone."

Seth looks back at me. "He will be back."

Kacey is sleeping between us. Seth runs his hands through his hair and exhales deeply. I chew on my thumbnail. I guess all we can do is sit here and wait.

And that's exactly what we do. For a long time. Kacey wakes up once or twice, coughing. We give her some water.

It's probably midnight or later by the time the rain stops. Doyle left his blanket here. It's got to be forty degrees outside. He's probably frozen to death or something. Can you freeze to death in forty degrees? I don't know. It might be colder, though.

Seth looks out the dirty car window.

"Should we go look for him?" I ask. I'm so tired.

Seth shakes his head. "He'll be back."

"You've said that too much already," I tell him. Kacey stirs a little, but doesn't open her eyes. She's sleeping with her head in Seth's lap, her feet on mine.

"I know, but it's true."

"We should just go," I say. Some dead things could find us at any moment.

Seth turns away from the window and stares at me. Or at least I think he does. It's so dark now.

"Look, Wynne," He says, his voice tight, "You might not understand this, but I actually care about what happens to Doyle. He's my friend. We will wait."

I feel my cheeks heat up. "You don't think I care about what happens to him? I'm not a monster, I do care about people."

Silence.

Seth finally says, "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean –"

"You did mean it," I cut in, "But let's just forget about it."

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I must have drifted off, because the next thing I know, I'm being prodded in the shoulder with a bony index finger.

"Wynne." Doyle's voice. It's surprisingly soft for such a grumpy person.

"It's about time you got back," I mutter, glancing over at Seth and Kacey, who are sleeping. I guess one of us should have stayed awake and kept watching. We're so stupid.

It seems a bit brighter out. Doyle's hair is still wet, but his clothes look dryer now.

"I found food and shelter," He says, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Great," I say, and mean it, though I'm still pissed about how he flat-out disobeyed me. But if he told me to do something, would I obey him?

"One of you should've watched," He says blankly.

"I know," I'm irritated. He could've watched if he hadn't run off.

He leaves me and walks around the back of the car to Seth's door. He opens it and nudges Seth until he wakes up. Seth looks around groggily for a moment, then says to Doyle with a grin, "Find anything?"