The next day.
Bryan and Sarah shouldered their packs and left the lakeside house that had been their home for a week. Behind the new fence, Angela and Barton waved goodbye, calling out their farewells.
Kenneth walked beside them, his eyes repeatedly drifting to the assault rifle slung over Bryan's shoulder. Greed flickered in his gaze.
There was a gun shop in town, but it had exploded on the night of the outbreak. Every weapon and round of ammunition inside had been destroyed. Otherwise, Kenneth wouldn't have been so fixated on Bryan's rifle.
Ha. Knew he couldn't resist.
Bryan caught the covetous looks from the corner of his eye and smirked internally. He'd give this guy a lesson he wouldn't forget.
They passed the bridge, now a nightmare landscape of corpses and spreading fungus. The pathogen had turned the dead into fertilizer, sprouting clusters of white-and-red growth that crept across the concrete. The sight was stomach-churning.
At the edge of town, Bryan pulled out a hand-drawn map covered in small squares, each labeled with a location type.
Most of the squares marked "grocery" or "restaurant" had red X's through them—either looted clean or destroyed.
His finger traced across the map until it stopped at an unmarked area on the town's northern outskirts.
"There's a warehouse near here. Used to store construction materials, but there's a small section for food supplies. We can find what we need there. Plus, there's a road from there that goes straight to Dallas."
"What?!"
Kenneth stared at Bryan like he'd lost his mind. They were on the southern outskirts. Going north meant crossing the entire town.
"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? And why would a construction warehouse have food? Listen to me—that convenience store we hit last time probably still has stuff left. That should be enough for you two. Then we come back here and you can head to Dallas the safe way."
Bryan shook his head.
"No. We're going to that warehouse."
"You—!"
Kenneth's face flushed with anger. He wanted that rifle, but not at the cost of his life.
Fine. No more pretending.
His original plan had been to use these kids as pack mules, then take everything—weapons and supplies—once they'd done the heavy lifting. But if the brat was going to be difficult...
He raised his pistol and aimed it at Bryan's head.
"Kid. I don't know if you're stupid or just pretending to be smart. Maybe you figured out what I was planning and decided to make things difficult. Doesn't matter."
"Moving already?"
Bryan showed no fear. If anything, his lips curved into a smile. He raised both hands slowly.
"I thought you'd at least wait until we'd gathered the supplies."
"Shut up!" Something about Bryan's composure made Kenneth uneasy—but one glance at the gun in his hand restored his confidence. A bullet solved everything.
His face twisted into a cruel grin. "Hand over the rifle. No tricks. Since you helped us out before, I'll let you live—"
The word "you" had barely left his mouth when Kenneth realized something was wrong.
There should be another person here.
Sarah. The quiet, obedient girl he'd barely registered as a threat.
He whipped his head toward where she'd been standing—
Empty.
Shit!
He spun back to shoot Bryan first—
A rush of air behind him.
A burst of pain at the back of his skull.
Darkness.
THUD.
Kenneth crumpled to the ground. Behind him stood Sarah, gripping a wooden club with both hands, chest heaving.
Bryan gave her a thumbs up.
Sarah managed a shaky smile, dropped the club, and kicked the unconscious man.
"You were right. He was so focused on your gun that he completely forgot about me."
Then doubt crept into her voice. "What if I'd missed? He could have shot us both."
"Wouldn't have mattered."
Bryan walked over, picked up Kenneth's pistol, and ejected the magazine. He showed it to Sarah.
"I unloaded his gun before we left. This was really just practice for you—building up your nerve. Can't have you freezing up every time we run into infected."
"I do NOT freeze up!" Sarah glared at him, then looked down at Kenneth. "So what do we do with him?"
Bryan's expression turned serious.
"My thought was to have you kill him. We're going to run into situations like this again. Better to get used to it now, while there's no real danger." He glanced toward the distant lake house. "But he's Angela's father. If that girl loses her dad... she probably won't survive long out here. I know you two got close. So I'm not going to force you. Your call."
He fished a single bullet from his pocket, loaded it into the magazine, chambered a round, and pressed the gun into Sarah's hands.
Then he turned and walked toward town without looking back.
"I'll wait for you at that gap in the wall by the bar."
Sarah stared at his retreating figure, then down at the gun in her hands.
For a long moment, she was silent.
Then she took a deep breath and raised the weapon, aiming at the unconscious man on the ground.
BANG.
...
Inside the town.
Harsh sunlight beat down on empty, broken streets. In less than a week, this once-lively town had become a graveyard.
Scattered infected wandered aimlessly. Most stood frozen in place, hunched over, hands clutching their heads as if fighting some internal battle. They looked to be in agony.
Two figures entered from the south, moving along the town's edge where infected were sparse. They stopped only when a collapsed building blocked their path.
"Let's rest in here. We'll figure out how to get around."
Bryan sighed, leading Sarah into the yard of a nearby house.
The door was unlocked. Inside, a single infected stood motionless, trembling with that same tortured stillness.
Bryan drew his knife, crept up behind it, and ended its suffering.
After a quick search for useful items, they settled onto the living room couch.
Sarah couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.
"I still don't get it. Why are we taking such a huge risk just for supplies? There are plenty of houses here. Shouldn't that be enough?"
"Fair point. Here, look at this."
Bryan reached into his pack and produced a crumpled note, handing it to her.
Morris—
Where the hell are you? It's chaos out here. If you see this, get to our usual spot ASAP. The Farr Steel warehouse on the north side. I'm not waiting forever. If you get there and I'm gone, tough luck—you're on your own. I'll leave you some supplies and a truck. Don't worry, I locked it. Code's 7736. Keys and supplies are in the hidden compartment under the office desk. Remember: don't die.
Good luck,Ford
Sarah's mouth fell open as she read.
"Okay, calm down." Bryan plucked the note from her fingers before she could crumple it in excitement.
"So THAT'S why you were so confident about leaving." Sarah stared at him in disbelief. "You planned this whole thing."
"Obviously."
Bryan rolled his eyes. Then his expression shifted to curiosity, and he leaned closer.
"Now I want to know—what did you do with Kenneth?"