Never The Right Time- 10K & OC - Z Nation

Full Metal Zombie

Almost an entire week had passed since the group had escaped from Philadelphia, and they had managed to find themselves deep in Amish Country. They stopped next to a large field so that Murphy could go to the bathroom. Addison, Mack, Roberta, and Garnett stood at the front of the truck plotting their next move, while Doc, Cassandra, 10K, and Abigail sat in the back and had a deep, philosophical conversation.

"I'm telling ya, there ain't nothing there! No thoughts, no memories, no soul. Nothing", Doc stated his opinion on Zs as the other three listened.

"Well, they're not dead, they want something", Cassandra shrugged.

"Yeah...brains", Doc snorted.

"You can't want something if you're not conscious...if you don't have a soul", she insisted.

"When my Pa was wounded he told me to tie him up before he turned, made me promise to show him mercy when he died. Kill the brain, you know? I couldn't do it, I couldn't hurt him. No matter what he had become, I stared into his eyes for the longest time just looking for some sign he was still in there", 10K spoke up as everyone listened closely.

"Did you see anything?", Cassandra asked sympathetically, as 10K shook his head.

"What did you do?", Doc questioned him.

"I killed it",10K spit out.

"Damn Kid, you had to put down your own Dad?", Doc sighed sadly.

"I didn't kill him! I killed it!", 10K snapped.

"If it isn't alive how did you kill it?", Cassandra inquired.

 "I piked it, right here", 10K said gesturing to the center of his forehead. "My first kill, I just wish that somehow he knew that I had kept my promise", he trailed off, as Abigail spoke up for the first time.

"On day one, I watched Addy kill what was left of our Mother, and it was exactly how you said it, everything that was once there, was gone", Abigail explained as 10K locked eyes with her. "You know, if you believe what Garnett says, which I do, the virus is a parasite and it lays dormant inside all of us until we die. Which means the consciousness or the soul of the person is completely gone. So unless you believe parasites have souls, Zs don't", she directed her last remark to Cassandra who titled her head in deep thought.

"That brings me to something else! Do you three believe in the afterlife? You know, spirits and ghosts and stuff?", Doc asked before taking a long drag off of his lit joint.

"Yes", Cassandra answered firmly.

"I don't know", 10K shrugged.

"I want to believe that there is more out there", Abigail whispered, wondering where Doc's train of thought would lead.

"What if the people who died are now ghosts and watching their bodies wander around all zombified? ", Doc looked up at the sky, as everyone else smirked.

"As hilarious as that thought might be, that would also mean that your Dad knows you kept your promise", Abigail pointed out to 10K, as Cassandra and Doc watched quietly.

"I hope you're right", he whispered, before reaching over to place his hand on top of hers.

"Me too", she said giving him a small smile.

"Well aren't you two cute!", Doc blurted out, as Cassandra hit him on the arm. Abigail and 10K quickly pulled their hands away and leaned out over the opposite sides of the truck.

"You just had to make it weird", Cassandra scolded Doc, who mouthed the words "my bad" in her direction.

"Alright, guys! We're gonna try to get in contact with Citizen Z and see if there's a way off this highway!", Garnett cut in, addressing the entire group. Everyone nodded in understanding before Garnett started the truck and continued down the road.