The Bad, The Ugly, And Us

Road Stories

"I remember back way back, me and Julia were just 16 years old and we snuck outta the house to meet my friend Andre. He promised us a party we'd never forget and a few drinks. Of course us being 16 years old we both agreed to sneak off and join Andre at that party. Boy when we got back Dad was furious" me and Julia both chuckled, "I took the blame for forcing Julia to come with me and that night he beat my ass with a belt to teach me a lesson. That was the last time I ever crossed our dad." We all started laughing, Julia chimes in, "yeah our dad was one of the meanest sons of bitches out there but boy you'd be mistaken believing he didn't care about his family. Our dad was a family man to the end and I miss him greatly to this day." Julia looks down, clearly saddened at the memories. Derrick then looks at Julia, "I'm sorry Julia and Dylan, I can only imagine how bad that must suck."
"Thanks Derrick, but I'd take the uncertainty over what you went through any day." Derrick just looks away before cracking open another beer. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, I shouldn't have" I say to Derrick.
"Hey I know what will cheer us all up" Max says with a smile on her face. She pulls out a deck of cards from her bag.
"Cards against humanity, a classic" Julia says big smile on her face. We play the game for what must be hours, lots of laughing, lots of smiles. So far the road trip hasn't been nearly as bad as I thought it'd be. Just yesterday we hit a store with plenty of canned food. We stockpiled quite a lot of stuff. Derrick insisted on the beers though, thought it'd take the edge off the shitty reality of it all. I will admit it's made for some fun nights on the road.
*THUMP THUMP*
"Looks like all our chatter has brought the dead to us."
"I got this" Max says as she picks up her golf club. She takes care of the zombies. After some time passes Derrick stands up, "alright guys it's late maybe we should pack this up, dial down the lights, I'll take first watch. The rest of you should get some sleep, we are gonna be up bright and early tomorrow to hit the road, our destination is close by."
"Julia, I'm gonna go up with Derrick for a bit, I'll be back in a bit alright."
"Alright Dylan just stay safe alright."
"Always am little sis." I smile at her and then leave the RV. I climb to the top where Derrick is, rifle in hand.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping Dylan?" Derrick asks.
"I'm not feeling tired, figured I'd give you some company."
"You know Dylan that night that that asshole killed Andrew, I was going to kill myself. He was all I had in this world especially after our parents died. I couldn't bare knowing that on top of that my brother didn't make it either. The only thing that stopped my from it was your sister Julia."
"How did she make you change your mind, I noticed you two were getting awfully close."
"She showed me that good people still existed in this world. Andrew was now gone and I'm still heartbroken over it but her upbeat attitude and amazing smile really pulled me back into the light. I'm glad you two decided to join us that night, it means the world to me and I know if Andrew were still here he'd think so too."
"Thanks Derrick, always happy to help a friend. You've been nothing but nice to us and welcomed us with open arms. You're an amazing guy Derrick and you're very strong. We are all lucky to have a leader like you."
"That's the other thing though and I don't really know how to say this but-"
Derrick was cut off by the sound of rustling in the shrubs near the woods. He aims at the woods with the rifle. I pull out my handgun and crouch next to Derrick. I whisper up to him, "do you see anything?" He doesn't respond just simply keeps staying aimed in. After a moment Derrick finally says something to me, "I think we are being watched."