Stay Alive (Hamilton AU)

Chapter 2

What was going on? John just couldn't even begin to comprehend how this was possible as he started for South Carolina. He knew he probably shouldn't think too hard about it. It would only distract and confuse him too much, but he couldn't help but wonder. Again, he wondered if this was all just some twisted dream that his mind had conjured up. It didn't matter how much he wished that was the case. He knew he wasn't going to wake up. It was real, as hard as it was to believe. And despite all the failed attempts, he kept trying to get ahold of his family, though it all ended in the same result as before. 

The more he tried and failed to contact him, the more guilty he felt for not trying to call them sooner? What if one of them, or all of them had gotten sick? They could all be like these infected people all over town. He should have called when all of this had started, but it had never even crossed his mind! He could have... he would have... he should have. But he had to stop thinking like that. It's in the past. There's nothing he could do about it now, so what was the point in beating himself up over it? He just had to stay hopeful that they were at home, perfectly healthy and perfectly safe. 

He sighed and pocketed his phone, giving his full attention to the road ahead of him. If he was going to try and find out anything, he had to stay attentive and be careful about where he was going. He glanced at how much gas was in the car. Full tank. Good. He was kind of scared to get out of the car for anything. Sure these infected people looked harmless enough, but... he knew that looks could be deceiving. 

It only took about ten minutes before the silence became too much. He was already driving through the heart of town, where there were usually constant traffic jams, but the roads were nearly deserted, save the many stumbling dead people. Oh, why not just call them what they were? Zombies. They were zombies, as much as he hated to admit it. It made it sound so dark. And it's not like they looked like the ones in the movies, with decomposing flesh and dirty, ripped, tattered clothing. They looked human. Just drunk and  void of any emotion. But then again, that could have been because it was just the beginning. Their looks could change over time. But for now, they didn't look like what someone would classify as "zombie" in a visual sense, so he was going to just call them "Infecteds" until they looked otherwise. But back to the point, it was too quiet. He curiously wondered if they had that typical problem of being attracted to sound. His car was pretty quiet, so it wouldn't draw much attention, but if he were to blast some music, would it draw them to him? Would they suddenly turn from docile to feral?

He decided it wasn't worth the risk to find out and settled for just humming quietly to himself in order to fill the silence. This continued for a good hour until he was out of town and on the almost abandoned interstate. That was when he deemed it safe enough to put on some music, but he didn't turn it up full blast like he would normally do when driving. He kept it quiet. Just in case. The only things keeping him from going insane in this strange new environment was the music, and the occasional car with someone actually behind the wheel. It gave him the reassurance that he wasn't all alone after all. Sure, he didn't like hanging around people, but there was a difference between being alone in a room and being alone in the world. 

He drove all day, though he was starting to wish he had something to eat. Something told him, though, that all restaurants and stores were probably closed. Then again, if they were closed, then he wouldn't have to worry about paying... but that was illegal. But of course, who was going to stop him? It was most likely that law had been completely demolished once the dead started walking.  So why not? He got off the interstate and found himself at a town. He drove around until finding a grocery store. And, of course, there wasn't a person in sight. Parking the car and shutting off the engine, he hesitated before getting in his bag and pulling out the pistol. He made sure it was loaded before tucking it into his jeans.

Locking the car as he exited, he made his way to the entrance. Of course, it was locked, but he knew how he could get in. Taking the gun out, he smashed the butt of it against the glass sliding door, causing it to shatter. Food is a necessity, he reminded himself before he could start feeling bad about doing that. I need to scavenge as much as I can. So with that thought, he smashed the door again until he could just step inside. He scoured the aisles for nonperishable items, and, after finding plenty, loaded them up in a cart and headed for the exit. He hesitated, knowing an alarm would sound if he went any further. 

"Oh, fuck it," he mumbled before pushing the cart through and taking off for his car. Sure enough, a loud alarm blared through the building. He quickly unlocked the car and put the food and drink he had gathered in the back before closing the door. Looking around, he could've sworn he saw movement coming this way.  Heart racing, he got into the drivers seat and started the engine. Were they drawn to noise? Was it just a coincidence? He didn't want to stay around to find out. 

Only making sure not to hit the store itself, he turned the car around and started to pull out of the parking lot, though he had to run over a few Infecteds to do so. He surprisingly didn't really care though. As he told himself earlier, the dead should stay dead. So he got back onto the interstate, where there was little signs of life, before calling it safe and reaching behind him to get some food. He just pulled out some crackers and snacked on those for a little bit. Knowing he should really ration what he had, he didn't want to eat too much. 

And then came the problem when he was just driving, music playing quietly, when he saw movement ahead on the roads. Surely, there weren't any Infecteds out here, right? As he drove closer, he noticed a group of three people. Yes, people. He could tell by the way they were acting. Half curious, he slowed down a bit until he noticed something. The guy in the center was pointing a gun while the other two were motioning for him to stop. "Are they seriously going to try and rob me?" John asked aloud. He wasn't surprised. But that didn't mean he stopped. No. 

Instead, he sped up. He flinched a bit when the gunshots echoed through the silence, then laughed a little when they missed. What? Could the guy not hit a target going eighty five miles per hour? He sped past them, just glad he had managed to avoid that, and only slowed down when he figured he was a safe distance away. However, he had to give them credit for trying. And now he knew that interstates, and probably main highways, were dangerous too. So the next chance he got, he got off the interstate and started taking rural roads. 

And, with his luck, the next problem that came along was the issue of running out of gas. With a sigh, he made his way into yet another town before finding a gas station. While he knew this task could be a bit riskier than getting groceries, he also knew that it had to be done unless he wanted to continue on foot. 

John carefully got out of the car after grabbing his credit card, knowing the machine wouldn't let him pump gas without paying. So he did what he needed to do with the gas pump before starting to fill his tank. And the next thing he knew, he was on the ground, letting out a scream as his back hit concrete. Looking up, his heart stopped as he stared into the hungry eyes of an infected.

~~

Seriously, guys, this is a lot of fun to write. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. I literally wrote all of this at school. I could have been paying attention on how to do the homework from yesterday, but eh. My mind was elsewhere. So I really hope you liked. Be sure to tell me what you think! Until next time, Mishamigos!

~MishaIsOurOverlord1