The Price of Humanity

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

The city wasn't exactly the safest, or the nicest, place to go. Even before the apocalypse. Naturally, there are quite a few more corpses congregating in the city than in the country where we survived up until now.

The bad thing is that people also gathered there, people that ignored the government's warnings and decided they'd rather take their chances in the city than head out into the unknown.

Short term, that would've been a good plan, everyone running away meant they had full control of the supplies in the city; the supermarkets, pharmacies, people's houses. Anything anyone needs for survival; the city probably would've had it.

But long term? I doubt you could grow enough food in a plant pot to feed everyone you needed too. This meant the city folk started banding together and attacking others.

They formed communities who strip passers-by of their supplies and do terrible things to the people. Trust me, you don't want to hear the stories we've heard.

"Champ?" Zane asks in the seat next to me as I continue driving towards the city. He hopped into the front seat pretty soon after we exited the town and got on the motorway.

"Yeh." I reply, looking at him briefly before turning my eyes back to the road ahead.

"You okay?" Well, I'm a seventeen-year-old girl living in an apocalypse, surrounded by corpses who can walk, I've just been kicked out of my childhood home where my parents are buried and we're now heading towards the most dangerous place we've ever been to try and escape a herd of human eating corpses...

"I'm fine." I say to him smiling. Nothing I can't handle.

We've been driving for about an hour and still have a long way to go until we reach the city. The herd's slow but they'll be drawn towards the city and will most likely stay there, giving us the opportunity to get out in a different direction.

Hopefully without attracting any unwanted attention.

"It's starting to get dark." Zane comments, looking out the window intently. "We should find a place to stop for the night." I look around at the fields spreading far into the distance.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to happen." Zane realises this too and sighs, leaning back into the seat and closing his eyes. "Go to sleep." I say to him. He shakes his head and opens his eyes back up.

"Nope, Gale's already passed out in the back, I'll sleep when he wakes up." I shake my head and roll my eyes, stupid father figure brothers.

"That's ridiculous, go to sleep. I'll scream like the damsel I am if something goes wrong." I joke, he looks around as if assessing any nearby dangers. He scrunches up his eyebrows, squinting in to the distance. "There's no bloody dangers, we're driving on a road in the middle of nowhere. I promise I'll wake you if something goes wrong." I say to him.

He seems to believe me as he takes one more glance around before making himself as comfortable as he can on the leather seat.

He's rests and finally comes to sleep on the seat. I focus my attention back on the road ahead.

There are quite a few main roads that lead into the city and the one we're on isn't the fastest route from where we live. Some of the others would be quicker but this is by far the safest, less cars and less destruction and less chance of alerting the gangs in the city.

I continue driving until the sun begins to set behind us. The car creates a long shadow in front, moving along the ground with us.

I look up into the rear-view mirror to see Gale's head lulling against the cab part of the truck, where I'm sitting. The crates are strapped down with rope which, with the combination of the crate's lumpy contents, surely can't be comfortable to sleep on.

I leave him to it though, since he'd rather sleep than drive. I'd rather see him sleep.

I drive for as long as I possibly can before I start to feel drowsy. My eyes start to close, I don't have the strength to keep my eyelids up anymore. I feel the car swerve and decide that I need one of my brothers to start driving instead of me.

I stop the car in the middle of the road. I don't feel the need to pull over since I hear no cars and few people would dare to go out at night anyway.

Zane stirs but doesn't wake up, I think he still needs more sleep. I look around, up and down the road, as well as the fields around me. Seeing no immediate danger, I turn around and reach into the small hole behind the seats that's big enough to hold a few weapons.

I pull out my katana and open the door slowly, checking to see no corpses have turned up while I wasn't looking.

I hop out of the car and pull my katana out of its sheath, bringing it up and holding it with both hands. I close the door, I've already made that mistake one too many times, and walk around to the back while still on full alert.

While keeping my katana in my left hand I shove Gale's shoulder lightly with my right. He stirs but doesn't wake since he's quite a deep sleeper.

"Gale." I whisper harshly, I shake him more fiercely and his eyes flutter open. His eyes turn to me sleepily and he yawns.

"What's up kiddo?" He mumbles between yawns. I feel my own eyes dropping and yawn myself. God, they are contagious.

He notices how exhausted I am and turns to the cab of the truck where Zane is sleeping peacefully and the driver's seat remains empty.

"Tag, you're it." I say wearily. He nods and gets out of the back, hopping down next to me.

He pats me on the shoulder and manoeuvres towards the driver's door, I hop up onto the back and make myself as comfortable as I can on the lumpy surface.

Which isn't very comfortable, I doubt I'll be able to get to sleep on this. Just as I'm able to give up and open my eyes to stay on alert through the night a familiar darkness consumes me and I fall asleep.