Mortality

Chapter 9: Savannah

After stopping to deal with some basic bodily functions, I peddled hard to catch up with Cole. He seemed oblivious to the fact he wasn’t traveling alone. My legs were not happy.

I appreciated Cole’s need for speed, but my body was screaming to be given a break already. Meadowvale was big, but we were in the home stretch, so I was trying not to think about it. I knew I had to push just a little bit longer.

He’d remained totally silent since we left the last town almost two hours ago. I’d pointed out the street on the map, and now that we’d finally made it to Meadowvale I had to assume he knew where he was going, because I definitely didn’t.

My bag seemed to be getting heavier on my back, and thoughts of Zack were weighing on my heart. I needed to see my friends again. I didn’t want to think about what was next if no one else had made it to the supply house.

The roads were in good shape; they hadn’t been driven on in months, but we still found ourselves constantly steering around debris, stalled cars, and the occasional body.

“So what’s your plan anyways?” I asked, pulling my bike up alongside Cole’s.

“What do you mean?” His voice made it clear he didn’t want to talk, but it had dawned on me that I should probably find out a little more about this guy. I was bringing him to possibly the only remaining cache of supplies my community had left, after all. He’d helped me avoid some serious trouble already, and I felt like I could trust him, but after the past few days I was beginning to have some real doubts about my judgment.

“You said your dad’s still alive, right? Why was it so important that you find your uncle? What is it you’re hoping to get from your aunt?” I paused for a breath. “I don’t know you at all. Just give me something to work with.”

People usually tell me what I want to know just to get me to be quiet.

“Why shouldn’t I want to find my aunt and my cousins?” Cole asked, picking up speed on his bike as we spotted a couple of zombies approaching us from the other end of the street. We’d started taking back roads and alleyways whenever we could as soon when we’d reached Meadowvale. The town was still overrun with the infected, but most of them had been drawn together in public areas. Areas where they would have had the most to feed on in the early days.

“People don’t just head out into the world in hopes of finding their family. At least not anymore.” My bike wobbled as I ran over a rock. “Just tell me what’s going on. Maybe I can help,” I finished, training my eyes back on to Cole.

“You are helping,” he said, shrugging. “We both need the same thing right now, to find your people. After that, you don’t have to worry about me. You’ve got your own problems.”

I wasn’t sure if I should be offended, but either way, he was right. Even if I did manage to catch up with everyone from New Ravencrest, things wouldn’t exactly be simple from there. We’d lost everything. I didn’t know why I cared so much what this one guy was up to, but it bothered me that he was being so secretive.

“Alright, let’s try this from a different angle. When is the last time you saw your uncle and his family?”

“About four months ago.”

“Okay, so that’s after the second wave of infection hit the U.S.” I let my voice trail off as I tried to put the pieces together.

“Mmhmm,” Cole smirked at me. We both knew I didn’t have nearly enough information to figure anything out, but I wasn’t about to give up.

“Where did you last see them?”

“Back home. Or home since the infection hit, anyway.”

I couldn’t help myself; I had to ask. “And where is that?”