Restless

Chapter 7

Eleni's light breaths and snores made Neri almost nod off as well, but she refrained. She had to think of a strategy, not just "if we can walk we will."

She sat up, and stared into the woods that had come into light once her eyes had adjusted to the dark. Her arm was propped on her knee, and her hand was holding up her head.

What if we could find another vehicle? she wondered. Maybe from parking lot, or someone's house way out here. Is that logical? Neri nodded to herself. Yup, it's settled. We're going to get a new car.

Neri glanced down at the sleeping girl next to her, and smiled. Eleni's brown ombre hair still fell in loose waves around her, and looked perfect though they had gone through Hell and back. Her Linkin Park t-shirt could've been worse for wear, and her converse sneakers were already dirty. Her jean shorts were almost totalled, but they'd both have to live with it, considering that Neri's were in a nearly identical condition.

An idea hit Neri like a bag of bricks, and she slapped her forehead. We'll gain more ground if we go now, when it's safe! Jeez, I'm stupid.

Her hand went to gently shake Eleni's shoulder so that they could begin their walk, but a small groan stopped her movements. Neri remained frozen, listening for confirmation. Another snort was louder, closer, the second time around. She grabbed for the .357 Magnum in the belt she wore, and spun around. A few feet away was the Restless, growling helplessly as it wandered just five feet away from them.

She bit her cheek to stop her gasp, but didn't shoot. This was the first time Neri had seen one up close.

The eyes of the Restless were nearly white and clouded over, and one of its legs were broken. It was a man, and his dress shirt was torn to shreds, revealing his gouged out ribcage. He continued walking, right towards the women.

Just as Neri was about to pop the trigger, the Restless man walked past her. A few inches to her left, so close that she could smell the fermented flesh of his chest. She nearly gagged, but looked over her shoulder and turned to face it again.

These things really are blind, she thought, and clenched her jaw as she pulled the trigger. A bang accompanied the sound of the body hitting the ground, and Eleni bolted awake with a shriek.

Neri actually chuckled at the terrified Eleni, who was breathing heavily after the gunshot woke her.

"Screw you!" Eleni said accusingly, pointing a shaking finger at her friend.

Neri laughed harder, thrusting her handgun back into the leather holster before standing up. She offered her hand to Eleni, but she just pouted and turned away stubbornly.

She placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, I'm sorry."

Eleni looked like she was trying not to laugh, but stayed still.

"Fine, I'm really, truly sorry... And I'll get you a new car."

"Huh?"

That got her attention, and Eleni spun on her bottom to face Neri. She grinned, and pulled Eleni to her feet without her consent.

"We're not going to walk the whole way to Ottawa, that's just stupid. We're going to find a car as soon as possible, and drive there. When you think about it, a car could be in a close proximity to us if we just know where to look," Neri said. "Besides, it's safer to go at night. During the day we'll hole up somewhere if we get tired."

"Okay." Eleni yawned and picked up her gym bag, then adjusted her AK-47 on her back before nodding at Neri.

They both began at a sluggish pace, and walked until the sun began to come up. Eleni held the compass, and gave a few glances to it every few minutes to make sure that they were going straight. There were very few Restless that walked around, because no big cities were anywhere to be seen. The countryside was more peaceful, but it would be in a city or a populated area that finding a car would be a possibility. Unfortunately, they had to risk it if they wanted to get to the Canadian border.