Don't Be Scared

S2 E3 : 🛑 ZR 🛑 (Ch. 162)

"Not this again!" I begged myself and the others, feeling my stitches ache like the first time I had to jump from a moving vehicle. 

"Everybody off!" Vasquez ordered, ignoring what I had pleaded.

We didn't need an instructor, though; we knew we'd have to jump at some point if we wanted to see the promise land. 

"Oh, fuck me." I groaned out loud.

Instinctly, I intertwined my fingers with 10K's, not caring about how he felt at the moment. I need this more than his feelings need protecting. 

"You've done this before, do it again!" Vasquez shouted towards my statement before.

Without numbers being shouted, our co-leader jumped off of the trailer, proving to be the most brave. 

"We'll do it together."

Before I could really think about his words, 10K jumped forward and since our hands were still wrapped around each other, I was forced off of the platform. Fuck! I shrieked out in fear as I released 10K's hand a little too late and tucked mine close to my body. 

Just like from when I jumped out of the truck Murphy was driving, I landed on the ground a little too hard for comfort. I could feel every rock drive into my back and face as I rolled away from the ongoing semi-truck. 

The breath was knocked out of me as soon as I landed, making my shriek shorten. The rocks and sand turned into grass from the ditch we had all aimed for, which was comforting to me. I'm almost done tumbling. 

Finally, after a minute or two of rolling and tumbling, I finally made a complete stop on my stomach. My arms were below me, crossed over my chest. I began to breathe naturally, gaining sense back to me. 

When I felt no pain surge from any old or new wounds on my body, I actually felt relief wash over my face. My shoulders instantly relaxed down from the lack of adrenaline being pumped through my veins. 

Nothing felt wet against my wrists, there was no leaks coming from anywhere of my body. I was in the clear, this time. 

"You good?" A deep voice asked after coughing out some dusk.

I turned around onto my back, facing the bright sky, "Better than last time."

The world spun around for me as the clouds were tripled until they lined up together to make one. 

"I've never jumped from a moving vehicle in my whole life, and now, boom, twice in one day."

I turned my head to look over at the old man that was leaning on his bent knees, coughing up a storm from the dust the tires of the semi had made. 

"You got any cuts on your arms?" I questioned his well-being, slowly standing up so I wouldn't make myself sick.

It's almost like getting off of a crazy, upside-down rollercoaster. Just less safety features--no safety features at all--, no handles and no one to stop the ride but yourself. 

"No, b--."

"Then, don't complain, old man." I coughed up some dirt after my sentence, feeling it coming from deep within my throat. The sandy air the semi had made began to disappear as the truck was making it's leave. 

The semi had blew it's horn to warn something, or someone, but never once did it make a jerk like it was trying to slow down. From here, we couldn't see any Zs or Blasters. Maybe that's a good thing for Sam.  

When the horn refused to turn off was when I decided that us not being able to see Zs was a bad thing for Sam. 

"Come on, let's make our way back to the medical wagon."

"And if there's Blasters?" I warned them of having to back step.

"One thing at a time." Warren sighed in exhaustion, feeling the effects of jumping and tumbling. 

• • An hour or so later • •

"You sure about Minneapolis?" Warren asked when Addy had suggested that we should head there once we found our new truck. 

We crossed the small dirt path we had once been on, seeing the forgotten truck, parked in the ditch. We felt lucky that all the Blasters had jumped onto the semi with Sam, but I felt little guilt about that. 

He stayed on his own accord, though. No one bounded his hands with tape, and to the steering wheel.

"Wrecking Ball was going on about some herbal cure for the zombie virus being cooked up in an old genetically modified lab out there."

"Uh, hold up." Doc interrupted Addy from talking more as we got in front of the perfectly parked vehicle, that was still running.

Let's hope this didn't eat too much gas. The door wasn't opened, and there was no blood on the side of the door to indicate the driver fled, so more than likely, we had a dead body inside. 

"Marijuana, zombies and GMOs. What could go wrong?" Doc scoffed at his own sarcasm, knowing Murphy and his bad habit of ruining shit for us. 

10K opened up the door of the truck, immediately letting the body that was leaning against the egress fall outside. Flat on it's eaten face. Still on nerves from the recent event, Vasquez was the only one to jump backwards, aiming his ready weapon at the decease.

Jeez, he needs a chill pill. 

Once he confirmed the status--of the body, dead--, he rolled his shoulders as he tried to ease the painful tension, "You people really do attract it, don't you?"

What's that suppose to mean?

"Help me with the hitch." He ordered 10K, growing impatient with the activities needing to be done before we left. 

10K didn't think twice as he left the side of the hood to help Vasquez with the extra trailer. An explosion suddenly sounded off from the right of us, almost spooking me to complete death. Yet, Warren was becoming immune to these happenings. 

We all looked out above the forest, watching the deadly cloud and the smoke rising from whatever went up into flames. 

"A caravan of 20 refugees leaves Seattle's blast zone for Edmonton. They meet seven survivors and one Murphy. How many refugees survive?" Warren riddled to us, a temporary trait given by Sam. 

As she and Doc walked away from us, Addy and I stayed behind, watching the explosion rise into smoke. This would only create more pollution for the world.

"Not one." Addy answered, "Come on."

Addy and Warren took the passenger and the driver's seat while the rest of us climbed onto what was left of the truck's bedding. On the road again, not really singing any kinds of songs along the way. 

|| I'm not the same person ||