THE LONG ROAD AHEAD Season 2

S2 EP5 "Masks"

Season 2

"Masks"

Frank woke up at one in the morning. The sky had a grayish-blue hue. It was a great day to go out on a run. It was a great day in general however, Frank had a massive weight on his shoulder and its name was Jacob. This large weight stressed him out. When he shot Jacob, he did it out of panic. He had hoped that Jacob could keep quiet and try to keep everyone's spirits lifted.

"Things are different now. You know this. They don't trust you," Frank told his reflection in the window.

Frank knew that he couldn't convince anyone to go on a run with him. Perhaps Marie, but she didn't seem too useful to kill any Lurkers. Frank knew he'd have to go by himself and honestly, he was okay with that. A run on his own would give him time to think about the next move.

A run was always like therapy to Frank. Killing some Lurkers, move to another building, raid it, and leave. It became routine. However, this run would be different. Not only was he missing Jacob and Tony, but Frank knew that if he didn't come back with enough food, the group would probably hate him more than they already do. Frank stopped thinking about all this.

"Stop stalling, let's go," he told himself.

Frank gathered his handgun, his shotgun, and a machete. He made his bed, threw away some trash from his dresser, and left his apartment. Due to the time, Frank didn't need to sneak out the back. Instead, he walked right out the front, carefully opening the gate and then left the town.

Almost immediately, a Lurker limped over to Frank. He pulled out his machete and drove it into its head, right between the eyes. Frank slid the machete out, and ran up to another Lurker. He kicked its knee so it would fall down on the floor, and then he hacked into the head four times until the Lurker became still.

"Too easy," Frank assured himself.

He then looked into the eyes of the Lurker.

"Then why are you pieces of shit still such a threat?"

Frank ran up the street for about ten minutes and then he pulled out a map of the city that he found.

About eight miles away, the Ocean Crest Aquarium called Frank's name.

Frank knew that if he could get there, he might be able to get some food. If nothing was readily available, at least there would be a good supply of fish.

Frank rolled the map and slid it into his back pocket. With no Lurkers on the road in front of him, Frank continued on.

This walk almost reminded him of the times before. The times where Jacob and he would go hunting in the forest for wild boar. Frank remembered a conversation they had.

"So, you're leaving in a few days?" Frank asked.

"Yeah. With the threat of terrorist attacks rising, they need all the men they can get in Afghanistan," Jacob replied, making sure to whisper so he wouldn't startle any animals.

"You'll be fighting then? Like, you'll get to shoot people?"

Jacob looked at Frank. "It's easier said than done. Shit like that stays with you. You'll always remember the moment when your shot goes through the head. Especially in close quarters combat. One shotgun blast between the eyes, and everything splatters in every direction possible."

"Damn," Frank said.

"Which is why I like hunting. Way easier to kill a nuisance than it is to kill a human," Jacob added. "Funny to hear that from a Marine. Thought you'd be used to it," wondered Frank.