Mortality

Chapter 30: Savannah

The sun was still low in the sky as I made my way towards the water. The closer I got, the more I regretted choosing this spot to camp out with Zack. It looked like it would take me hours just to skim any water off of the top of an endless sea of mud. 

If this didn't work, I'd have to load my feverish friend back into the car and head farther away from Militia territory. Zack seemed to be recovering, but I wasn't sure he could take the strain. Still, I'd have to try. I'd try absolutely everything. 

The same thoughts that had kept me up the night before plagued me now as I walked out into the murky darkness, all of them centering around the ever-ominous what's next. In the first week after my parents had been killed, that question haunted me, even taunted me. Now it drove me forward, even when there were no obvious answers. 

If we somehow did manage to get Zack back to Cole's people and patch him up, where would I go from there? Zack would want to go home. Cole would probably insist on another attempt to find his idiot brother, but he'd also want to do everything he could to move this Initiative cure forward. I was stuck in the middle, knowing I'd always want a little of both. 

And then there was the big question of the cure. I didn't know enough about it to even hazard a guess at what else needed to happen before the Initiative science guys could start getting this out to the masses. Whatever Cole had given me seemed to be having a positive effect on Zack so far, but could I know for sure that it wasn't just a result of getting him out of that makeshift prison? Probably not. 

If the cure was well and truly real, then there would never be another dull moment in my lifetime. Maybe for the people hiding out in houses and schools all over the country, but not for me. There would always be one more step, one more thing to do to get the country moving again. And what about everywhere else in the world? 

I stopped myself before my thoughts spiraled away from me completely. One day at a time. That was how I'd survived ever since my parents died, trying to use each day to live how they'd have wanted me to. I'd stayed focused and worked towards making myself as worthwhile a human being as I could possibly be. 

I'd learned to fight, and I got damn good at it. I'd made new friends and rebuilt my life without Mom and Dad. I'd fought more than zombies; I was constantly fighting through the guilt of being alive without them. But I'd done my best to make life better for my new community, although that didn't go exactly as planned. Still, the results hadn't been all bad. 

Living the way my parents had was working for me so far, more or less. I doubted that I'd ever be the kind of dynamic, unstoppable woman my mother had been or have my dad's unbreakable focus, but I'd try. No matter how bad things get, Coopers aren't quitters. 

If I didn't find water for Zack here, then I'd find it someplace else. If Cole never showed up, then I'd find out where his people were hiding and bang on their door until they let me in. They'd fix Zack and I'd start helping them fix everyone else. And then I'd ask, "What's next?" 

Movement flashed in the corner of my eye. Determined not to panic, I briefly froze to consider my options when I should have just reacted and dodged out of the way. I was left with only half a second to turn and block an attacking Z as her form charged towards me. 

I threw my arm up to slow her down and swung one of my legs out to knock her off balance, hoping to stop her from using her teeth as her opening attack. 

Despite being covered in blood and grime, it was clear this girl was simply infected and not truly a zombie. I exhaled as I pushed her backwards, knowing I was in for a fight to the death. She moved quickly, constantly zigging while I prepared for a zag.