Dead Blood

Reunion

Eight hours. That's how long they've been driving for, Eight long hours. Felt like forever, but, they only just got into Louisiana. The damn place felt overrun, but, no sign of any cannibals. Another problem was that the sun was getting lower, almost out of sight.
Greg sighed as he checked the time. "19:30." He kept driving a bit. "We should find a place to hold up for the night." He looked around for somewhere with at least a decent room. It didn't matter, as long as it was sealed.
Brandon had followed Greg for a while. He had so many questions for Greg, because he left before Brandon had been able to mention anything about it. They didn't talk a lot, but, Greg was still his nephew, and he didn't want anything to happen to him. "God forbid he gets infected," he whispered as he drove.
Heather sighed as he watched the Impala in front of them. She was relieved that Greg was alive, but, she also wondered what he's been doing for so many years. They haven't spoken to each other since... well, years ago, since his parents died. He didn't really talk to anyone after that, not for a long time.
Guillermo searched for a building that at least had a few beds in it. Each building had a chunk of it missing, but, nothing that would pose an immediate danger. "Hey, Greg?" He asked. "Do you think that zombies could get through those hotel doors?"
Greg shook his head. "They reinforce those to be almost damn near indestructible," he answered. "The only way you're getting in one of those is if you have the key card, or if you have a RPG." He kept checking around each building. No hotels, but, there seemed to be a lot of buildings with studio apartments, which, usually meant one thing. The worst thing of all places in the USA, and they were everywhere. It didn't matter if you lived in Florida, Georgia, Colorado, not even Kansas got a break from these areas.
"Tourist towns," Brandon whispered.
"What?" Heather asked. "What do you mean by 'tourist towns?'" She asked.
"Aside from big cities, these places are the most populated, because people come in from everywhere, because they're on vacation." He sighed and called in on the radio. "Hey, Greg, have we found a place yet?"
Greg shook his head and answered. "Negative, every place here is broken in some way, doors are gone, walls are broken off, it's just a shit storm," he sighed. "How much space do you have in the back of that truck?"
Brandon looked back, checking the bed of the vehicle. There was enough for a few people to sleep in it, aside from one small problem. "The bed can fit up to four, but, they're gonna be real cozy," Brandon responded.
Greg shrugged his shoulders as he checked around. He saw a few walking corpses, enough for it to be a small horde, not enough to be overwhelmed. "Maybe we should stop in a field, have some people stand guard."
Brandon nodded. "It's better than driving around, looking for a decent building and then being overrun with zombies."
They drove a bit longer, checking for a decent sized field. That was a priority, since they needed to be away from both cannibals and zombies. Maybe it's better to stop off the side of the interstate, at least then they would only have to worry about shuffling grass and engine noises coming down the road.
Greg called in on the radio. "Hey, Brandon, what do you think about stopping off the side of the interstate?"
Brandon thought for a moment. He knew what Greg was thinking about, quick and easy, and less to worry about in the sense of being ambushed. "That's not a bad idea, where did you come up with that idea?"
"I don't know," Greg answered. "It just kinda clicked, almost like a mouse on the computer. So, we agree?"
Heather nodded. "So, how are we gonna do bedding arrangements?"
Guillermo peered over at Star. "Well, I already know who I'm getting close with," he smirks.
Star blushes and smiles shyly. "I don't think they'll want to hear us."
"You thought right," Brandon interjected over the radio. "Gregory and I will take the first watch, after that, we'll have Guillermo and mystery person in here take the second shift."
The person, who hasn't spoken a word or even taken off their hazmat suit, just shifted a bit in the back seat. Nobody knew who they were, just that they weren't a cannibal, and that said person is a woman. Neither Brandon, nor Heather knew why she wouldn't give her name, but she hasn't let them down yet.
Greg pulled into an open field, checking around for any zombies or cannibals. The only problem was that there were four cannibals patrolling the field. How did he know? Well, these savages had a way of making themselves look battle worn and they would cover all of their vehicles in blood. "Okay, four hostiles. Two on the left, two on the right. How do we go about it?" He asked.
Guillermo called in. "Okay, Greg and I are gonna take the two on the right, Brandon and mystery person, you take the two on the left," he whispered.
"Hey, I don't take orders from you two," Brandon responded.
"You will if you wanna live, Brandon," Greg whispered back. "Just go through with it, will you?"
Brandon growled as he got his knife out. "Fine." He and the mystery person stepped out and made their way around. Brandon hated taking orders from anyone, it didn't matter if it was his mom, dad, or the President, he hated it. Then again, who really likes listening to others?
Star and Heather stayed in the vehicles, waiting for the assassination to be over. They kinda just sat, bored out of their minds, because they can't do anything to help without getting caught.
Greg came up behind one of them, and tried to stab him, but, it was stopped. The patroller stared at him and smirked. "I don't think so," they said as they punched Greg in the face.
The rest of the cannibals caught Guillermo, Brandon, and the mystery person, all while laughing. "Too easy. How could you fall for that?" One of them asked.
"Well, the ones we've faced usually are stupid," Greg answered. "So, are you like a special brand of stupid?"
They answered with a punch to Greg's face. "You'll only quicken your death," one said as they aimed a gun at Greg's head.
"Good, your former boss killed my girlfriend, so, go ahead," he leaned to the barrel. "Pull the trigger."
For some reason, the mystery person started shaking a bit, like they were angry, or terrified. They just kept fidgeting.
Guillermo and Brandon kept their eyes on Greg, almost in shock. "Gregory, what the hell are you doing?" Brandon asked. "You know they could kill you, right?"
"Oh, I know, Brandon," Greg answered. "But, when you spend three months of your life mourning the death of your girlfriend, and drinking till you can't feel anymore, you start to think that death isn't so bad." He peered up at the wielder of the gun. "DO IT!!!"
Star and Heather went to move, but, they were stopped, dead in their tracks, paralyzed by fear. Heather stood as she watched Greg lean closer to the gun, and it broke her. She wanted to save him, she wanted to save all of them, but she couldn't.
Star felt the adrenaline rush through her entire body, from her head to her pinky toe. She was ready, but, she couldn't move. Something else, not fear, but something else told her that she shouldn't. What was it?
That mystery person then moved away from his target. They could feel the blood moving through their veins. It was boiling, almost like lava, and they moved behind the one cannibal holding Greg, and snapped his neck.
"What the hell?!" Greg screamed.
"Get him!" One of the cannibals screamed, as they all charged at the mystery person.
Now, what was seen, it was out of a spy movie. The mystery person leapt into the air and did a split, hitting cannibals on the left and right. They stabbed the two in the back, literally, and ripped through the skin. The blood had squirted everywhere, on Greg, Guillermo, and even Brandon, all three of them, by the way, petrified by what they were seeing.
The last cannibal, who made the idiotic choice of charging straight at the person, was not spared, to say the least. They, unlike the other two, had suffered a spin kick to the face, and had been knocked to the ground. They had come face to face with the barrel of a pistol, aimed and loaded, right in between their eyes. "Please... please d-don't kill me."
The mystery person, without hesitation, squeezed the trigger as the bullet fired. The body laid lifeless as the pistol was put on safe. "By the way, I'm a she," the person said.
Both Greg and Guillermo's eyes broke open as they heard her speak. That voice, they heard it before. It was that same voice that caused Greg so much happiness, and so much pain. It couldn't be... "No... it c-c-can't be," Greg stuttered. He stood up as he stared at the person, wearing the hazmat suit. "Who are you?"
The mystery girl, now that she was identified as a woman, sighed as she looked at Greg. All she did was slowly undo her suit, and remove her mask.
What was revealed, it proved Greg wrong. Those same eyes that he stared at before she died, were staring right back at him, full of life. That same hair, Auburn, and as soft as when he last felt it. Even the body was still the same. Same curves, same structure, even her breasts were still as voluptuous.
Her lips, moving as she smiled sadly. All they showed was pain. "Hello, Greg," she responded softly.
Greg wanted to break down right there. Hearing her say his name, that same voice, it was both heartwarming and pain inducing. She was alive. "Natalie?" He asked through tears and a choked up voice.