Caught In The Crossfire//A 10k Story

Chapter 3

We were driving for 20 minutes in silence before Doc spoke, "Well as fun as our conversations have been, I'm gonna catch up on some well needed sleep".

I giggled at him and smiled. It wasn't long before loud snores filled the silence. "Have you really been alone all this time? "10k asked me, staring at me intently. I was surprised he was talking to me, since he doesn't seem to talk a lot.

I nodded my head slowly. "Yes I have. Well other then a few encounters with some nasty people in the city." I say quietly. He seemed to tense up." Oh," was all he said after that.

He really doesn't talk much, then again he doesn't know these people, apparently he just joined them like me. Although within the first 5 minutes I spilt my whole sob story to Doc, Warren, Charles and Murphy.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I questioned him. He looked back at me and softly smiled. "It's hard to speak to people I don't trust. But these people are good people." He spoke softly. I guess it made sense not to trust everyone you meet. If we did that, we would end up dead.

"That makes sense," I mumbled. He bowed his head and looked back out at the fields. I couldn't help but stare at him. His hair was messy but it worked for him. There was something about his face that held my stare. He had what looked like oil smudged on the side of his nose. His body was the perfect blend of athletic and casual. He turned to look at me and caught me staring. My cheeks flushed a dark shade of red and he awkwardly chuckled.

We spent the next hour getting to know each other and talking about random things. It was weird, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, we just started talking.

"I would have never guessed your favourite colour was light blue," He chuckled as he addressed my all dark clothing. "Well the more you know," I replied with a giggle.

We were now sat next to each other, our arms brushing against each other every so often. He smiled at me and kept looking at me. He was looking straight into my eyes. We hit a large bump and Doc jolted awake. "What, wha.. I'm awake," He grumbled as he sat up.

The truck slowed to a stop. We were in a town somewhere between New York and Philadelphia.

"Why are we stopping?" I asked getting up and jumping down. "Wait up," 10k muttered and jumped down after me. Warren climbed down, followed by the others. "We are stopping for a bit, we need gas and rest. Murphy your with me and Charles. Doc, Addy and Mac. Then Jaime and 10k," She ordered and we all walked off in different directions.

The weather had changed a lot in the past 2 hours. The wind was now freezing cold and nipping at my nose. I shivered and zipped up my body warmer. "Cold?" 10k questioned. I shook my head as I knocked on a store door. "Nope, it's just windy," I whispered.

When nothing emerged from the darkness of the shop, I opened the door and stepped inside, my pistol ready and 10k for backup. We were in a convenience store. It was eerily quiet and the air was stuffy inside. We did a quick search of the store for anything, living or dead, and once it was clear we then started collecting things. Even though we had plenty of supplies it never hurt to have too many.

I laughed to myself as I see a sunglasses stand and grabbed a pair with two large sun Emojis stuck onto the side. "10k?" I whispered. His face popped out from behind a display with a worried look. A huge grin appeared on his face when he saw me. Slowly, he stumbled over, his grin growing with every step. I started laughing and he stepped in front of me.

He pulled them off my face to reveal tears streaming down my face. I tried to stop laughing as I wiped them away. "Your funny," He chuckled and I calmed down. "I'm obviously a comedian," I joked and shook my head, turning back to the mints I was collecting. "Yeah," 10k said from behind me, going back to his task.

We met up with the others about 30 minutes later. We tossed a few plastic bags into the truck and Warren parked at an angle outside of a gas station. "We are staying here tonight so get comfy," Charles sighed as he opened the door. 10k and I strolled in, side by side, and set up some sleeping bags by the empty candy section. We were quite far apart but still close enough we could talk without disturbing the others. Mac said he would take watch first, then Addy, then Warren and then Charles so 10k and I didn't have to get up at all during the night.

We all had a meal of canned beans and soup as we sat and talked. We were all sat on the dusty floor surrounded by rotting food and broken freezers talking for 2 hours before dark. Well, 10k didn't speak much, mainly just laughed and nodded along. Eventually the sun started to set and we decided to head to bed.

"So? Did the dog get there or not?" 10k asked with wonder in his eyes. He was talking about the story I was telling about my aunts dog crossing the state to find her. I laughed and nodded my head, "Yes, 10k, he did. And he was completely fine,". He acknowledged my response and sat on his sleeping bag. We talked for longer before we finally said goodnight and slept.

2 days later......

We finally decided to start driving again. We managed to get hold of someone called Citizen Z who has been giving the group instructions and directions for getting Murphy to California.

My mind was blown when I found out that Murphy was the saviour of man kind. At first I didn't believe them, I thought they were all crazy. But after Murphy flashed the bite marks that littered his torso, I believed him. He was injected with a test vaccine for the virus and it had worked as he was bitten 8 time and unbelievably is still alive. Murphy had warmed up a little, he was talking more and was less shaky.

We all clambered back into the cramped truck, Garnett was driving with Warren in the passenger seat giving directions. Mac, Doc and Murphy squished into the back seats and me, Addy and 10k settled in the cargo bed.

Me and Addy had become really good friends. Even though we had only known each other for a few days, it feels like a few years. I felt like I knew more about her than I knew about any of my other friends before the apocalypse. 10k and I had become friends aswell. It was strange, I was never good at making new friends, but I guess the apocalypse narrowed down the options.

I smiled and let out a giggle, Addy was talking about something amusing and I felt my head start to fall onto 10k's shoulder, I was still a little sleepy from having last watch last night. He jumped from the sudden physical contact and I move away, embarrassed. I glanced up at him shyly and mumbled an apology, although I think he was bushing a deeper shade of red then I was. When he blushed it was more noticeable because of his complexion. Even though I'm awkwardly pale, because I'm ginger, my cheeks are always rosy. I scooted a little further away, not wanting to make him to feel uncomfortable.

"Whoop, 5 miles to Philly!" Addy shouted making it less awkward. 10k glanced at me and smiled shyly. Damn it Jaime, why can't you be normal around good looking people. I blushed harder and turned to look at the scenery rushing by.

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