In This World

°The Long Road°

     Trees fly by in a dark green blur. I rest my head Lazily on the truck seat,  silently stroking Sasha's ears.  "How long have we been on the road?" I sigh, turning to look at Monroe.  Decayed hands let go of the steering wheel and reach for me.  Monroe's face drips blood and half of his jaw has fallen away at the joint.  My eyes widen and I scream, yet no sound comes out.

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     "Monroe!!!" I jolt up suddenly, and the truck swerves to the right. Luckily, we stay on the road. Sasha jumps away from me in a panic and I earn a rather confused look from Monroe.  I breathe heavily and hold my hand to my chest. "Oh my god.... I'm sorry.  It was a bad dream." I apologize, scratching the back of my neck.  "It's okay. But next time don't try to run us off the road." He smiles hesitantly,  returning his full attention ahead of him. Sasha timidly lays back down in the seat between him and I.  "I'm sorry I startled you. It won't happen again." I say quietly, petting her side. 

     The sun creeps slowly down and I sigh. We've been on the road all day, stopping only to fill the tank once.  "Where are we?" I question, looking at the gravel road ahead.  "Honestly, I have no idea. I think we're just outside of Savannah Georgia." Monroe responds,  shrugging.  "Can we stop for the night?" Monroe sighs quietly and smiles.  "Yeah, no problem." We make eye contact for a second and I look away. 

     "We'll stop when I get to a quarter tank." He says, looking at the gas gage. It's haflway between half and quarter.  I nod, 'I guess I can deal with that.' I think.  "Wanna tell me what happened?" Monroe asks, pulling me from my thoughts. He waits for a response, only receiving my awkward shuffling.  "Alright. Maybe later." He nods, looking down the road.

     We continue this awkward silence for another three or four minutes before I hear him sigh loudly.  "Is there something about me that just makes you that uncomfortable?" He chuckles.  I smile and shrug,  looking for an answer.  "I just don't know much about you. We've barely known each other for a day. I don't even know your last name." I say.  "Shelton." He says, glancing at me. "Really?" I question.  "Yeah, what's yours?" He asks.  I debate for a moment on whether or not to tell him. Granted he did meet my sister....  Before he hacked off part of her head. Ew... And I sorta met his parents in the middle of dinner.

     "Lansten. Katherine Elizabeth Lansten." I smile,  earning a smirk from Monroe.

     "That's a beautiful name.  Can I call you Liz?" Monroe laughs.  I glare at him, showing that I am clearly regretting my decision to tell him my full name.  "Allllright that's gonna be a no." He sighs. "Let's stop here for the night." Pulling into a dirt driveway,  he exhales.  I can tell he has reached his max amount of awkward.

     I look out the truck window toward the sunset. "Sasha,  let's go outside." I smile, opening the door and letting her jump out.  I step into the tall, thriving grass.  Walking around to the RV door, I check my surroundings. The pasture is surrounded on all sides by a thick treeline.  Except for the view from driveway, we are well hidden. "Do you think it'll be safe?" I ask as Monroe closes the truck door and locks it. "I think it's safe enough to stay the night." He confirms.

     My stomach churns with fear and I open the camper door.  Monroe walks in closely behind me, letting Sasha in with him. As soon as the door clicks shut, I sniffle.  No longer having the energy to control my emotions, I let the tears stream.  Standing in the middle of the living area, I hug myself, crying quietly.  Monroe looks at me with a concerned expression.  "Kat-" "How the FUCK did this day end up like this?!" I interrupt loudly.  I feel my body heave with sobs as I desperately wipe tears off of my face. 

     "I-I....  I don't...." He stutters, trying to find an appropriate answer. "I watched my math teacher get eaten right in front of me!  My sister tried to kill me!  And I'm stuck in all of this with the school's favorite Fuck boy!" I exclaim, throwing myself onto the couch.  "....Okay, ouch." Monroe grumbles.  "Even worse!  I don't have any tampons!" I grab a throw-pillow and scream into it,  my agony barely audible from Monroe's point of view. 

     "Katherine, I've gone through a lot too." He starts, carefully sitting on the sofa beside me.  "But what is important is that we are both alive, and a lot better off than others." He continues,  resting a hand gently on my right shoulder. "We have each other. If you ask me, that's much better than being alone in this shit.... And we can find some tampons for you tomorrow." I look at him, eyes red and still filled to the brim with tears. He holds his arms out, gesturing for a hug.  I'll admit, he seems like he would give nice hugs.

     I lean into him, resting my head on his chest as he wraps his large arms around me. His heart thumps against my ear and I smile slightly, the sound is comforting. I feel myself still breathing heavily, trying to calm down. "Shh..." I hear over my shoulder.  I feel his arms loosen their grip and let go. I want so badly to stay where I am, but I reject the thought. Sitting up, I look into Monroe's eyes and smile sadly.  "Th-thank you..." I stutter, looking away. "Anytime." He responds.  Standing up,  he scratches the back of his neck.  "I'll take first watch. Go get some rest.  I know all that crying made you tired." He smiles,  turning toward me. 

     He pulls a machete from the bag of weapons and sets it on the small table in the kitchen area. "Alright..." I agree.  I open the slide-door to the bedroom and look back. "Wake me up if you need anything." I say before closing the door. 

     The room is rather small, seeing as the queen size bed takes up most of the space. It is neatly set with four pillows and a heavy comforter.  I kick my shoes off and set them at the foot of the bed.  I let my hair down and comb my fingers through it lazily.  Crawling into the soft bed, I yawn quietly.  'Monroe might not be as bad as I thought.' I smile to myself, resting my head on a pillow.

     My eyes grow heavy and I feel myself beginning to nod off. "Good night." I whisper to no one in particular.  Slowly,  I drift into sleep, my sore eyes grateful to finally have some rest.