Play Your Cards

Full Metal Zombie

The group stops by the side of the road. 10k takes his slingshot and shoots one of the z's walking down the road. Ace pulls out her slingshot and shoots the other one.

They both look at each other and chuckle lightly.

"Amish Zombies. Really? Really?" Addy says

"They tried to quarantine themselves from the rest of society. Keep the z's from spreading the infection." Garnett explains

"That was right before we knew Romero had it right. We were all carrying the virus. Didn't matter who you were or how you died." Mack says

Ace walks over to Addy and Garnett.

"Night of the Living Dead. Great movie, sucky reality. You know what I don't get? If the z's didn't spread the virus, how did we all get infected?" Addy asks

"Best guess I heard, it was spread by birds. Some kind of parasite piggybacked on the bird flu. Stays dormant till you die." Garnett says

"You know, take it from somebody who knows firsthand. Other than the fact that they find brains delicious, when it comes to zombies, nobody knows nothin'." Murphy snarls

Warren comes back, and Murphy goes to the bathroom next, extending their time they remain on the side of the road. With a long sigh, Ace walks over and helps Mack with the engine. He immediately nods over towards the large wrench beside the radiator since his hands were full. 

"Hand me that?" He asks, watching as Ace immediately hands over the object without a word. 

"You never were a mechanic, were you?" Mack asks her, hopeful she can take over the difficult task he's been dealt. 

"I already told you." Ace laughs, shaking her head. 

"Well, tell me again. I forgot, okay?" Mack jokes, digging into the engine compartment once more. 

"Well, at first I was a refugee in the military and then a voluntary nurse. And in high school, I took classes in electronics... but I was never a mechanic."

Mack sighs, finally taking a step back from the truck, "Didn't you help with self-defense training? Where'd you learn to kick ass like that?" Mack asks her, smearing grease across his forehead.

"That too." She snickers, stepping over towards the driver's seat to check if the truck will start. 

Thankfully, the engine roars to life, and they all climb into the truck to continue their mission. 

Ace climbs into the bed of the truck and leans on Addy as Garnett begins driving off down the road. Her head rests in Addy's lap as she falls asleep to the gentle rocking of the vehicle. 

From the other side of the truck bed, 10k stares at her as she goes from looking too intimidating to approach to harmless in an instant. The contrast shocked the boy, locking him in a deep trance at how interesting she seemed. 

"You have a staring problem." Addy points out, snapping the boy straight out of his trance. 

10k snaps himself from his gaze and looks over at Addy like a deer in headlights.

"What's up with you? What's got you so fascinated?" Addy asks.

"Everything." He says, looking back down at the girl.