Where are you going?

Chapter 17

Julia's POV

When my eyes opened after the sunlight hitting my face, I could see Kiwi and Shaely playing with each other and I felt Colby's strong arms around my waist. I turned around in his strong grip and noticed he still was asleep. His long lashes were making shadows under his eyes, his strong features made me almost wanna touch them, but of course I didn't. I noticed the bandage around his lower abdomen and small stains of blood where the wound was. I stayed in that position for a while, just trying to understand what kind of person he was by looking at him. When I finally could be free from his grip, I stood up and walked towards the bathroom. I turned on the lights and looked in the mirror for a couple of minutes before washing my face and doing my business. I heard the dogs walk around, and I thought of how they might need some fresh air, so I walked the out on the balcony with some food and water. Shaely had been with me since I was a kid and she was like a sister to me, if that even makes sense. Kiwi was adorable and honestly fitted Kat perfectly even though I only met her a couple of days ago. I wished Kat knew he was fine, and I was taking care of him, I honestly just hoped for her to by alive with Violette and Tara so that I could see them again. The girls were the only ones I knew in the city, if Colby didn't count of course. Colby had helped me and the dogs in safety and he saved me from Adam at the motel. Even though he had done all that, I didn't fully trust him, but I trusted him more than ever. I hoped for him that he slept good as well, I think we really deserved that after everything. That reminded me of the radio last night. I knew I easily could leave LA and run for safety in San Francisco but I needed to find Violette and then we would make that decision together. I missed her so much, her laugh, her eyes, her blond hair, her jokes, her goofiness, I missed it all and I wanted to hear her voice again. I wanted to know if she was okay. I went inside after feeding Shaely and Kiwi and I saw Colby moving around in his sleeping bag only covering half of his body. He then turned around and opened his eyes. "Good morning." I said before walking in the kitchen to make some breakfast and weird as that sounded. It was weird to wash your face and sleep or just make breakfast after everything. After all the blood, the screams, the death tearing people apart. "Good morning.". Colby's voice was raspy and sounded like he still wasn't completely awake, but he walked towards the kitchen counter and sat on one of the bar stools and looked like he was waiting for the food to come on a plate for him. "You slept well?" he asked while looking at me. I felt his eyes roam over my body and ending at my eyes. "Better than ever.". "Me too.". I then handed him the sandwich I had made and ate while enjoying the comfortable silence between us.

"What's the plan then, Julia?". I thought about it for a second while gazing into the air. "We should drive and look for them. We're not gonna find them in here.". He looked at me with his piercing eyes and ate the last of the sandwich. "True.".

It didn't go long before me and Colby were dressed and going down to the white BMW to look for our friends again. Colby was highly skeptical of us taking Shaely and Kiwi with us, so I didn't go into a further discussion about that for now. We agreed on going in the city to check it out, maybe there was something we needed, like a phone or just some people that could help us. That was what I thought but Colby explained to me again, how the city wasn't just filled with people you could trust. The sun was up above us and it was clear to us what was laying around us in piles. Black plastic bags were covering the sides of the road and it made both of us nauseous of the thought but Colby kept going until we saw what we were looking for. A payphone next to a newsstand at our right. Colby stopped in front of it and I walked out into the warm concrete almost burning off my converses. I looked at the payphone after looking at my surroundings. The newsstand was in the same building as a subway, that didn't look open or running at all, and neither did anything else around. The quietness gave me the creeps and the heat only made it worse and almost unbearable but I needed to check something. Since I lost my phone and hadn't seen a running TV, and I had no idea if we even had any connection with the outside world right now. I was going crazy from hearing the radiobroadcasts, and maybe a newspaper or just a tv could help me get a little more sane. "Why stop here? I don't think subway is open." Colby asked jokingly while turning of the engine of the car. "I'm trying to use this phone and call Violette or just anyone. You could look inside for a TV or any other news panel than a fucking radio.". "Sure. But we should leave soon, I don't like this place.". "I agree.". I went inside the Subway to look for anyone that could help us, or perhaps some change for the payphone. The food was still on the table looking fresh while chairs had been moved and the sunlight hitting the entire room where people once were eating at. You could clearly sense that people had been panicking and running from this place in a hurry. I thought about the situation for a second. If people were leaving the subway while it was open, that meant people around here already knew about the virus before at latest 9 pm, while the party me and Violette were at happened around 1 or 2 am. It wierded me out by the thought of half of the city already being infected by the terror before the young and drunk people inside that house had no idea. I saw some money on the side of the subway table and some phones we might would be able to use. I grabbed the money and phone before grabbing a coke from the beverage cooler and opening the door to look at Colby who had his attention at some of the newspapers. The heat was making small waves and shaping the air while I was trying to read some of the headlines myself. "Nothing, huh?". "Well no, but look....". I looked at where his fingers were pointed and grabbed the newspaper as he kept on walking by the bookcases of the outside newsstand. I could hear his footsteps scrape against the ground as he was walking towards the car, comprehending what he had read and understood why we stopped. An article in the New York times were talking about a pandemic that hadn't found place before and that we should expect it soon, but no one was listening. Even the article was a small part in one of the pages but the numbers were clear. People weren't ready for whatever was coming and then a picture of people in Hong Kong wearing masks to protect themselves. I didn't even think about that. Colby was in the Subway now and I could see him grabbing a coke as well after looking around at the mess in the small fast food place. The sun was burning against my skin and I could feel my body heat increase from the black clothes I was wearing. In every inhale I could sense the heat but also the death around us, the weird smell of trash and the burned down engines laying around us. I put the newspaper in my pants and grabbed the coins to put them in the payphone while trying to stand in a small shadow formed under the payphone. It grabbed the handset and put the receiver close to my ear and dialed after putting the coins in. "Pick up, Violette. Pick up.". I waited a while and was scared to hear the voicemail the tenth time but then I heard her voice filling the quietness around me. "Who is this?". "Violette?! It's me, Julia! Holy shit is this actually you?". "What's going on! Are yo... oh.". Colby was out of the subway now but discovered I was on the phone. He held a couple of sandwiches I couldn't wait to bite into but right now, I was only focused on one person. "Yeah, Julia this is me. OMG I miss you. I have so many questions but i...". I heard some voices behind her and it bothered me since I couldn't recognize them. "Violette?". "Yeah, sorry. I need to know if you're safe, Julia? I don't have much time.". "I'm fine, Violette. I'm good and safe and... I just wanna find you and bring you back home right now.". "I know, I know. You're not hurt? What happened even at.. you know, the party.". "I don't know. A lot happened that we couldn't control. What about you, are you okay?". "I'm...I'm fine. I'm with Tara and Kat and some of their friends... but um...". "What?! Violette?". "We're downtown but we're not alone. We are safe and hiding right now but safe, trust me.". My breathing was getting heavier as she spoke more hesitantly and Colby noticed. "Violette, where are you?". "I can't say. Don't come looking for me, Julia. I hope you're not alone right now.". "What?! I'm coming to find you.". "NO! don't. Julia, are you alone?". I looked up at Colby and saw him nodding before answering. "no, I met someone. He's good, I trust him.". I looked at Colby again but this time his eyes were looking at something else and his hand was holding the gun I hoped he wouldn't have to use. "We have to go, Julia." He said while walking towards the car, but I had to know where Violette were. "That's good, bye Julia.". "No, wait Violette! Violette?!". I didn't hear her cut the connection but my hand couldn't let go of the handset until Colby grabbed the other hand and yanked me inside the care. I just felt the newspaper in my pants, the coins and the i-phones left in my pockets and then a burning sensation in my eyes before they watered. "JULIA! DRIVE!". I was woken up by Colby yelling and I then saw him in the back mirror with the gun shooting at the creatures running against us. I turned on the engine and pushed down onto the speeder and drove before turning straight towards Colby. I then opened the door to guns shot and held still. "No, leave Julia.". "I'm not leaving you, now get it!". I saw the creatures in the back, front and on both of our sides as the adrenaline was pumping inside of me and the sweat coming out of my body. Colby quickly jumped in shotgun but rolled down the window to then hanging out of if while shooting the creatures at our right. We were surrounded by them and they were running from every look of it with their half-dead limps and faces with scars and inflammation all over them. I then looked in front of me and hurried with putting of my seatbelt and grabbing the wheel hard. Colby did the same and nodded at me while aiming on some of the closest runners by the car. He gave me permission and I pushed hard down on the speeder while trying to follow the yellow lines in the middle of the road. As I pressed down, the car went full speed into the crowd of zombies running against us and now getting crushed into each other, while some were laying on the ground as we drove off. The bodies were flying to our sides as we kept on driving through the crowd and Colby held on to his sides while I pressed down until we were free from them. I could hear his harsh breathing and hissing in the background while my mind was running off and my eyes were following the road and my surroundings. I could still see wrecked bodies filling the road and the smell of the creatures filling the air with death. I could still see the zombies in front of me and how their body parts would fly off and land on the cooler to later land on the ground. Their faces looked infected and their pale skin was reflecting the sunlight as their red eyes were burning into my own. I could hear the screams from the party now, I could smell the alcohol and sweat before feeling some strong hands grabbing my own. "STOP, JULIA! BREAK!". I shifted my foot immediately and it landed on the breaker as the car slowly stopped and the bodies were gone. The blood and screams and the smells of them were gone. "Sorry.". I looked to my right, at Colby and noticed the scared look he had plastered on his face with the piercing blue eyes. I saw how his nostrils were flared and his breathing was almost uncontrollable. His face had some blood on his face that wasn't his and I felt his hands slip away from my own and grabbed around his hair. He tangled his hands into his hair as he sat down in quietness looking down on the floor. I looked at him again and noticed the blood and his white shirt. "Colby, lay down now!". "I like that dominance, but I don't think this is the right time for th...". "no, your wound! I need to check it, idiot.". I quickly unplugged my seatbelt as well as Colby's before i looked at the wound under the bandage. I was right. The stiches were only half intact and some blood was forming. It wasn't bad but I needed to stich it as soon as we were back. "it's not bad, just don't move too much and put pressure on it.". I saw him put is shirt against it and hissed in the pain. "Thank you for not leaving me.". I looked back at him trying to hold in the pain he was feeling but at the same time forming a small smile on his face as I did the same. "You would've done the same.". I looked in the review mirror but saw nothing behind us and kept on going forward. Colby guided me through LA to end at the hospital but we didn't come far since we both slowly noticed a car driving behind us. "Slow down." Colby said while looking in the side mirror. He wasn't bleeding as bad as I thought but it wouldn't be long before the rest of the stiches were broken and the wound would be open again. I slowed down and noticed Colby grabbing the gun before the stranger driving a black car pulled up next to us. "Stop and drop your weapon or we'll shoot both of you!".