Don't Let Me Go

Signal

"We've been walking forever," Dan complains as he, Dave, and Minx move through the forest, "And we're going the wrong way. The highway is back that way."

"Going back that way is suicide," Minx replies, "The other's know it, too. There's got to be a middle ground we can meet up at later somewhere."

"How do we even know they'll find this magical middle ground?" Dan rolls his eyes, "We should just head back to the highway."

"You mean back to the infected," Minx turns back to him, glaring, "Because that's all that's back there. They'll find us. Cry, Ohm, and I came up with signals in case we got separated. So shut the fuck up and follow me. We'll be fine."

The three friends continue to walk in silence, nothing but the wind and the fading sounds of the infected to accompany them. Dave keeps taking his hair down and then putting it back up, Dan just stares at the ground as they walk, and Minx stares straight ahead, her hands clenched tightly around the gun Dave gave her. She looks back at them and she sighs, stopping, "Dave."

He looks up at her, "Yeah?"

Dan stops, tilting his head lightly. Minx shakes her head, "Your hair isn't safe."

Dave looks offended and Minx rolls her eyes, "That infected back on the road almost killed you because he grabbed your hair. If I hadn't been fast enough, you'd be dead. I don't want to risk that again, your hair needs to be cut."

Dave continues to stare at her like she stabbed a puppy and she holds her hand out, "Hand over the knife so we can get this over with."

"Can't we just.. Put it up?" Dave asks.

"You'll still get grabbed that way," Minx replies, "Just let me cut your hair, Dave."

"No way," he replies.

She frowns, "Now isn't really the time for a fashion statement, Dave."

Dave frowns, "Cut your hair."

She rolls her eyes, "Fine, I'll cut mine after I cut yours."

He hesitantly hands over the knife, "Okay.."

"Keep watch, Dan, say something if any infected get close." Minx says, stepping behind Dave, taking his hair in her hands.

Dan nods and looks around as Minx uses the knife to cut Dave's hair. It takes too long, and Dave complains but finally Minx finishes cutting Dave's hair. His hair is cut unevenly and barely touches his shoulders. Minx steps back, "Now, put it up if you can."

Dave puts his hair into a fairly tiny ponytail. He crosses his arms, "Let me cut your hair now."

Minx rolls her eyes, "I can do it myself."

She pulls her hair up like she's going to put it in a ponytail and then she uses the knife to saw off the locks between her head and the hand holding her hair. After she's done, she shakes her head, dropping the cut off hair on the ground, "Happy now? Let's go."

They continue through the forest and Dan starts to fall behind them. Minx continues her pace, not noticing Dan but Dave slows to walk beside him, "Are you okay?"

Dan shrugs, frowning, "No, but who is?"

He sighs, "I'm worried about Phil. He isn't like me, or you, or her. He.. Is having a real hard time adjusting to what's happened."

"He's safe with Cry and Ohm," Dave smiles reassuringly, "We'll all be back together in no time."

"It's not that simple," Dan shakes his head, "I just hope we find them soon."

...

"Shouldn't we be going back to the highway?" Phil asks.

"We will, just not yet." Cry replies.

"What do you mean?" Phil asks, "How are we going to get back to the others if we're heading away from them?"

"Trying to cross with as many infected as there are back on the highway will get us all killed," Ohm replies, "Minx knows this, so she's most likely doing the same thing as us. We are going in two different directions, but just until we can find a safe way to make contact, to let them know where we are so we can meet up again. She's waiting for our signal, and we're waiting for hers."

"How does that make sense? If you're both waiting for a signal, how will you know how to find each other?" Phil looks helplessly confused.

"We only send a signal once we've found a safe place." Cry states, "Ohm, Minx, and myself all have a flare gun, and if we're separated, we find a safe place to wait, and send up a flare once it gets dark so we can find one another again."

"But.." Phil frowns, "What if you're too far to see it?"

"We won't be," he says, "Our plan is to make sure we're staying somewhere where the sky is always clear on all sides."

"Have you guys been separated before?" Phil continues to question them.

"No, but our plan is good," Cry looks back at him, "It may not seem like it, but we know what we're doing."

They continue through the woods in silence until the treeline thins and they are standing in front of what appears to be a small town. Cry and Ohm exchange glances. The town seems like it could be safe, but there's still the threat of infected, and the trees flank the west side of the town. Ohm frowns, "If they're in the west, we not be able to see a flare if the trees are too much cover. Should we stick to the woods until we come across something else?"

Cry looks around, "Mm, you have a point. Our plan is always make sure we're somewhere where the sky isn't covered."

"I don't think your plan will work," Phil states softly, "We won't see anything if we just stay in the woods either. What if they run out of flares before we can see any? What would we do then?"

Ohm crosses his arms, "Maybe we should head back, find the highway farther down the way. It might be more clear, easier to cross that way."

Cry nods, "Okay, that sounds good. We'll head back."

He looks up at the sky, "We won't have the light much longer, let's not waste it."

They move back into the forest and head back the way they came. It takes several hours, and night falls around them by the time they come across the highway again. There doesn't seem to be any infected nearby, so they sprint across the highway and cross the field of farmland until they pass into another forest, the highway far behind them. Cry takes a flashlight from his bag and they continue through the darkness. They finally stop walking when they come across bundles of hair lying on the ground. They all exchange confused and worried glances, and then they continue on.