"What the hell? Where the hell did Carla go?" Cynthia asked.
"I have no idea," I replied. "But, my hunting rifle was right there in the corner by the rest of my stuff. Now it's gone."
I looked beyond the minivan that was blocking the entrance. The front gates were cracked open just a little. "Guys, I think I know where Carla's going," I told the others.
Mick hurried up and pulled the van aside and we all ran out into the lot. I popped my head out and looked across the road and there was Carla, charging across the vacant lot and heading in the direction of the campers.
"She's going to get a receipt," Mick said as he hopped out of the van.
"We have to stop her," Janice muttered.
Carla was almost to the buildings on the other side of the lot. We had to hurry if we wanted to stop her. I looked around to make sure there were no dead things nearby. With the coast clear, I darted out from the warehouse and started running across the vacant lot.
"Reid, wait up," Cynthia said.
"Carla!" I yelled. Yeah, it was risky shouting for her like that. I could alert more than just the biters, but as established, I'm not that smart.
Carla didn't acknowledge me at all; she just kept charging across towards the buildings.
"Carla, please stop!" Cynthia yelled. Cyn had caught up to me and we were running side by side.
"She's not stopping," I told Cyn.
"No shit," Cynthia replied.
I had to think of something to get Carla to stop. "Carla, there's no bullets in that rifle!"
Carla stopped just as she was about to cross the street. She examined the rifle and saw that it was indeed loaded. Carla turned and looked at Cyn and I, "Liar!"
"Uh, my bad?" I replied.
Cynthia and I made it across the lot caught up to Carla. The rest of the group was running behind us and they made it too.
"Carla, what are you doing?" An out of breath Angie asked.
"What the hell does it look like? I'm taking out those assholes. It's their fault Maurice and Phil are gone," Carla responded.
"Unless you're an expert sniper and a few of those assholes stood in line, I highly doubt you'll be able to do much damage to all of them. Come on, let's go back to the warehouse and discuss our next moves," I said.
"Fuck that shit," Carla replied very eloquently.
"Carla, if you go in there, guns blazing, you won't last five seconds against them," Mick told her.
"I don't care. As long as I get Carter."
"Yeah, you take him out and then his lackeys lure more dead things to us as revenge," I said. "Look, you're angry. Devastated even. I get it. But going after those pricks with a hunting rifle is like pissing in the ocean. It won't do a damn thing," I said. "Just come back to the warehouse with us. Please, Carla."
Carla thought about it for a second or tow. Then she bowed her head and looked at the ground. Carla took the rifle and handed it over to Mick. "You're right, Reid," she muttered to me. Carla began to cry again. Janice and Ang grabbed her and helped Carla in getting back to the warehouse.
"That could have been a disaster," Cynthia muttered to me as we were walking back.
"Tell me about it," I replied. I kept on looking behind us to make sure Carter and his gang weren't around, watching us.
Once we were all back at the warehouse, we resumed discussing our next move.
"I still say we get out of here and find someplace else," I said.
"Hey, we can go back to the apartments, we have the keys," Ang suggested. "Those guys can come back here at any minute. The sooner we get out of here, the better."
"We should load up the van and drive off," said Janice.
"Yeah, get as far away from those dickheads as possible," I added.
Cynthia took a deep breath and then exhaled. "Look, right now we're all a little strung out. It's been an emotional few days. I say we just all calm down a bit and relax and get a little rest. Carla, do we have to worry about you taking off on another suicide mission?"
Carla shook her head. "No. I'll be okay."
"Good. Let's just have some dinner. And relax a bit. Then we can try and discuss things with a clear head."
After the group ate we all agreed that we would continue discussing our next move in the morning after we were all well rested. We moved the van away so we could move a couple of heavy stacks in front of the gate should the campers return, but as night fell, it looked like they wouldn't be returning.
It was hard trying to sleep that night. Just as I was about to drift off, I heard a few of the biters dragging their feet on the ground as they shambled by the warehouse. I woke up and moved my stuff over to the opposite end of the warehouse, near the back office. Those undead bastards need to learn how to pick up their feet when they walk. Damn.
"Reid, get up," Cynthia said, giving me a light shake.
"Why? What's going on?" I asked. I was actually sleeping pretty well and I didn't want to get up.
"Mick heard something outside and he's checking it out."
I shot up. "Campers?"
"We're not sure."
The stack of cardboard had been moved from the back door of the warehouse. I grabbed my axe and went outside.
"Mick? You out here?" I asked.
"Over here," Mick replied. He was at the front of the lot with a section of the fence covering moved aside. He was looking around the front of the warehouse.
"What's going on?"
"I heard something going on out there. Heard some talking."
"Shit. Really?"
Mick nodded. "Yep."
"Unless the biters learned to converse with one another, I'd say it was the campers."
"There's nothing out here though. I can see right across the lot, and there's not a damn thing."
Mick moved away from the fence so I could take a look. I didn't see anything outside.
"Mick, we have to get the hell out of here. I think we're all going crazy."
Mick moved away from the fence and looked at me. "I think you're right."
Mick and I gathered the group to the center of the warehouse. "Okay, now that things have calmed down somewhat, who actually wants to stick around here?" Mick asked.
Cynthia, Carla, Ang, and Janice all looked at one another, but didn't reply.
"So we'll be leaving?" I asked.
"Looks like it," Mick responded.
"Shit, I'm ready to go right now," Ang scoffed.
"Hold up. We need to decide where we should go," Cyn replied to her sister.
"Screw it, back to the apartments."
Cynthia shook her head. "I think we should go someplace far the hell away from those campers. There's a chance they might find the apartment complex."
Ang frowned. "I doubt that."
"Ang, the apartments are literally down the street," I said.
"Then where can we go?"
"An impenetrable fortress."
"Jackass."
"I don't care where it is. Let's just load up and go," Carla said. "Like, right now."
Mick nodded. "Let's start packing up." And just like that, we were on the move once again.
Janice and I went through the warehouse, making absolutely sure we weren't leaving anything behind. Janice gathered her things and then started to laugh quietly.
"What's so funny?" I wondered.
"I get all settled into a new location, and I'm taking off again," Janice replied.
"We all are."
"Yeah, but I'm the one that wanted to move here first. You all copied me."
I laughed. "Yeah."
After all of our supplies were loaded into the van, Mick and I moved the cardboard stack away from the front gate. I looked out across the vacant lot to make sure our "friends" were nowhere to be found. Thankfully, there was just a lone biter moving around the buildings across the way, but that was all. Before we left the warehouse, Carla went up to Phil's body and said goodbye. She got into the van with the rest of us and Mick drove away. I rode shotgun.
"Where to?" Mick asked us. "Please don't say something stupid like, 'wherever the road takes us.' Either. Or, 'we'll follow the sun.'"
"Can't follow the sun. It's cloudy as hell out here," I replied.
"Mick, can we kick Reid out of the van?" Cyn asked.
"I'll kick you all out so I can have some peace and quiet," said Mick. He's very personable.
When we were a few blocks away from the warehouse, a biter ran out from one of the abandoned stores and slammed right up against the driver's side of the vehicle.
"Ah, fuck!" I yelled.
The dead thing was a skinny female. Her skin was light green in color and she was wearing a blood drenched jean jacket. She slapped on the driver's side window with her blood soaked hands. I noticed that the blood was fresh; looked like she got a hold of a survivor.
"Speed up," I told Mick.
"I can't," Mick replied. A few yards down the road were some wrecked vehicles that blocked the street. Mick couldn't step on it and get out of the area; he'd have to drive up on the sidewalk to get around the wreckage.
"Cynthia, can I borrow your knife?" Mick asked.
"Sure," Cyn replied, handing her blade over to Mick.
Mick rolled down the driver's side window and the dead thing reached in and tried to grab him. Mick then drove the blade into the biter's forehead. Mick pulled the knife free from the undead creature's head and shook the brown bits of brain and blood from it before handing the knife back to Cynthia.
"And I just cleaned this too," Cynthia groused.
I saw someone wander out from the entrance of the store. It was a man wearing a black ball cape, green t shirt and jeans. The flesh had been chewed from both of his arms and the bite wounds were oozing with dark red blood. He charged towards the van when he saw us inside the vehicle. Mick put the van in reverse and backed away from the dead thing.
"Great, we're heading back to the warehouse," I quipped.
"Don't worry, not for long," Mick replied. He stopped going in reverse and then put the van into drive, speeding towards the dead guy.
Before Mick could plow into the undead creature, there came a loud, crack! A jet of blood flew from the back of the biter's skull and the corpse fell down in the street.
"Who did that?" Mick asked.
I turned to my right and looked: Carter and his lackeys were approaching the van. "Shit, Mick you have to step on it, it's Carter."
As soon as the van drove forward, Carter fired at us again, this time hitting the left rear tire. Mick lost control of the van and drove it onto the curb.
"Everyone out!" Carter ordered us.
Shit.
"Hands where I can see them!"
Also, shit.
I got out of the passenger side of the van and faced Carter and his group. All six of the campers were with him, not just Doc and Isaac.
"Hey, Carter. How's it going?" I asked.
"Hi, Reid," Carter replied. "Where were you guys headed?"
"Oh, just a little Sunday drive. If it even is Sunday. I stopped keeping track of the days a while ago."
Carter chuckled, "Me too. So, did you fuckers get my little message the other day?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"Where's that asshole with the curly hair?"
"Stenches got him."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Are you? Are you really?"
Carter shook his head and scoffed. "Nah. Not really. I just thought your group was looking a little light. You know, I didn't appreciate your friend there holding her knife up to my throat like that the other day. I figured I'd teach your guys a little lesson."
Everyone else from the van walked around to my side. "Your fucked up 'lesson' got another one of us, too," I said.
"I don't see that bald guy in your group. Did the dead people get him too?"
"Yeah. Phil."
"Where's that blonde woman?"
I looked at the group and didn't see Carla standing with us. She was still sitting in the van. "Carla's in the van. Her and Phil were together and him dying hit her really hard."
"Damn, sorry I caused the breakup," Carter said with a slimy little grin on his face.
"You're a fucking asshole," Cyn told Carter.
"Yep."
"Okay, so what's this all about?" Mick asked.
"I just wanted to know where you guys were headed."
"Nunya."
"Huh."
"Nunya fucking business."
Carter let out a big laugh, but the rest of his crew just stood there not making a sound. Carter was the only one that didn't have his face covered. "You know, this all could have been avoided if you scumbags would have just let me have the van and the warehouse."
"Well, you fucked up the van. Good luck calling AAA nowadays," I said. It was pretty obvious that Carter was about to kill all of us, so I figured I should get as many cracks in as I could. If I was gonna go out, I was gonna go out a smart ass.
"I'm gonna hate killing you the most, Reid. You're funny," Carter replied. He aimed his assault rifle at us, "Now, I want you to drop your weapons at your feet."
I dropped my axe to the ground, and everyone else did the same with their weaponry.
Carter grew irritated. "Hey, blondie! Get out of the van and over here, now!"
While we waited for Carla to step out of the van, I decided to get one more dig in at Carter. I looked up from the ground and glared at him. "What the hell did your mommy do to you?"
"What?"
"You know, we could have pooled our resources and worked together, but you had to be a psychotic little asshole. I was just wondering if mommy didn't hug you enough when you were a kid. Maybe even daddy slapped you around a little too much."
"Maybe I'll kill your first after all."
"Go for it."
"Reid!" Cyn gasped.
"I'm getting sick of waiting over here. Blondie! Out here with the rest of your friends! Now!"
One of Carter's group, the person in the white jacket that I had seen a few days earlier, muttered, "Carter, the dead will hear you yelling. And we don't have to kill these people You made your point."
"Can it, Nicole. I'm getting sick of your shit," Carter replied. "Don't make me kill you too."
Carla emerged from around the other side of the van and aimed the hunting rifle at Carter, "You motherfucker!" She shouted.
"Carter, look out!" One of Carter's group screamed.
I hit the deck right away and covered my head. I heard a loud bang from the hunting rifle, and then the cracking noise from Carter's gun. Then, everything went quiet for a moment. I lifted my head up from the ground, I saw one of Carter's guy's laying there face up and not moving. Carter was getting back to his feet and dusting himself off and looking around for his gun on the ground.
I got up and was about to charge forward and tackle Carter back to the ground before he could find his rifle when I heard Angie shriek, "Carla, no!"
I stopped, and looked on the ground near the van. Carla was laying on her back, staring blankly at the sky with a bullet wound in the center of her forehead.