A modern day caravan traveled down the back streets of Ysyvanor's land, the land that once was owned by Edgridge before they lost a majority of their territory in a war decades ago, many who live in these displaced cities and renamed towns still consider themselves Edgeridgers, refusing the new IDs and government housing. A 'settlement' was made, Edgeridgers who refused the Ysyvinorian aid. Many were created, en mass Edgeridger's made these small towns and villages, but one town once housed every vehicle in that line, all these cars had fled from a settlement near the border of all three nations on the western land mass, a few days drive from the border of Edgeridge and the Aryt Drak mountains, still legally in Ysyvanor's nation but the people there would tell you differently.
A small town called Benslow, named after an old man who helped put it on the map, the proverbial map, as only local maps tend to acknowledge the town. That's where they all used to call home.
The line of vehicles moved forward, over dirt roads and side streets, leading was a pick up truck, a thick bodied and well used one, it looked like it used to be gray, or maybe red, there was plenty of rust and discoloration that made it hard to tell. Two men were sat in the front with plenty of supplies tied in the flat bed.
Close behind was a large silver SUV, there seemed to be plenty of movement on the many seats inside but the woman who was driving kept the SUV straight, trailing in the middle was two wagon cars, one with wood paneling and lots of luggage tied to the roof, the one behind was an olive green color with piles of blankets and camping gear pressed against the back window.
A minivan was behind those, dark blue and meticulously cleaned but the tinted windows gave nothing away.
Then pulling up the rear were two sedans, a silver and a black one, both just as filled with supplies as the others.
The silver sedan, second to last in their train of cars, was driven by a tanned woman with long black hair. She held a hand held radio up to her short pointed ears clicking the plastic against her expensive looking earrings “Are we nearing the rest point? I'm running low on gas.” she spoke into it before it beeped off, she held it up still waiting for a response.
Another voice quickly piped up, sounding a bit static through the radio “I need 'ta stretch my legs, I ain't used to moving this little!” a higher voice called, a deep country accent in her tone which was shared by many in the outskirts cities of Edgeridge. And in the deep voice that replied next.
“Well baby if you need some exercise alls you gotta do is ask.” a man's voice laughed into the radio just before a second man's voice scolded him “C'mon bro.” before what sounded like a slap led an obvious scuffle, the radio went quiet for a brief second until the slightly higher of the two similar voices spoke “'Bout 'nother ten miles Bonnie.” said the second man. Bonnie gave an annoyed whine in reply. Letting it sound through the stereo.
“Ooo, I like the sound'a that.” replied the first man's voice, having snatched the radio back.
“Alright now.” Snapped another woman's voice, one of two other women in the lively minivan.
An older man's voice came next, there were two women talking casually in the background of his sudden shout “Watch the chatter!” his tone scolded “Batteries are harder to find now than they were back in boot camp, and twice as worse!” he ranted and the younger woman's voice tittered at his ornery tone “Now, when they were made in Edgeridge owned factories they had damn near three times the lifespan! When me and Spencer-” “Dad...” the younger woman's laughing voice cut him off “The battery." Then their voices went quiet, his daughter having saved the radio from him.
With a bit of a back and forth the caravan moved on, trudging forward through the forested back roads.
The woman in the silver car gave an amused grin as she shook her head.
Further down the roads the tall pines began to thin and revealed a large brick building, the desaturated red and browns were chipped in places and the bright pot lights were long dead but the seven cars all drove into the near empty parking lot, an eighteen wheeler and a spare few abandoned vehicles remained but no owner's were in sight, they didn't see anyone or anything moving aside from the gentle wind rustling the pines.
The cars moved around each other with ease, like they were used to one another, weaving until they formed a circle, driver's side inward, and they all began to exit.
First out was a tall woman, Bonnie, her muscular body tanned by work in the sun she stretched her arms in relief, taking in a deep breath of the fresh forest-y air.
She looked over at the SUV and watched as the passenger's exited, two women and a small boy stepped out, the women were chuckling as the boy dashed between them and past Bonnie. He trotted over to one of the two sedans and waited for a young girl to step out, she was short and stocky with smooth brown hair pulled back into two short pigtails. Her dark almond shaped eyes lit up the moment she saw him “Cooper!” she ran over to him “Did you see how big that deer was a few miles back?” she asked excitedly.
The boy nodded his head quickly, his fluffy hair stuck out from under his knit cap and his smile was just as bright as hers “Yeah! Did you see Its horns?” he exclaimed.
“Antlers.” corrected a familiar voice, the higher pitched of those two men in the pick up approached the growing group in the middle of the circle, he was an average looking man with short pointed tusks and notched ears showing his Orcish ancestry, he and the taller man that walked beside him had short brown hair, the taller with a crew cut and the shorter had spiked, short messy hair, they both had tanned skin and looked alike despite the height difference.
The taller man ran his tongue over his teeth before he spit onto the concrete “Should'a shot the big ass thing.” he said snarkily.
“Ralph.” sighed another with Orcish ancestry, a woman who also looked a bit like the two men cementing the fact the three were siblings, she shared their hair color but her skin was a shade or two lighter. She shook her head at him and sighed as the woman walking with her spoke up “What have we said about swearing in front of the kids?” she scolded and Ralph waved her off.
“Seriously?” the other woman with blonde hair in a short bob remarked, her tone clearly suggested she was offended but all Ralph didn't was give a pointed tooth grin.
“He's sorry Nancy.” The shorter brother said, before he slapped at Ralph's chest and muttered something under his breath, Ralph scoffed out a laugh at him before shoving him to the side.
Cooper approached the Orcish men with the young girl close behind “Remember that cool row of horns you had in your hunting cabin? Do you think those were bigger?” he then looked at the girl “Aw I wish I could show you, it was really cool and each one had a story too!” he said looking excitedly at her.
“Were they?” she asked, her gaze shifting between Cooper's light steel blue eyes and sheepishly looking to the Orcish brothers.
“Uhh, we-” “Hells yeah, I shot a buck up 'n the Aryt Drak mountains that was 'least double the size, was too big to get back to the cabin so I had to leave it there. Bigger by far.” Ralph interrupted, speaking smugly, patronizingly.
“I doubt it.” Bonnie sneered.
Before the bickering could continue other voices distracted their conversation.
The last two cars emptied and the final six approached, a family, an older couple and their daughter appeared. They shared some looks but the daughter seemed to take more after her mother, the three all hard rich brown skin and black curly hair, the two older were slow behind her, looked to be in their sixties with the wife leaned forward on her cane.
The younger woman held a hard look on her face, hands on her hips as she surged forward. Her deep hazel eyes immediately locked onto Nancy, a light skinned woman with blonde hair who was the mother of Cooper, she stood over him as she scolded him on obscenities.
“Everything alright?” she asked, raising a thin brow.
Nancy nodded at her with a dismissive smile, shooting an incredulous look towards Ralph which made her return the look knowingly.
Laughter distracted them further. The final three of their little group were sharing jokes as the younger three approached.
Two of them walked close side by side while the other trailed a single step behind.
The last trio was a group of teens, a pair of siblings and a girl a bit younger than the two, she had blonde hair and short off white horns and the brother and sister pair looked to have Human ancestry, with brown hair and peach colored skin.
The boy of the three pulled away from his sister to lean into the blonde, he whispered something in her ear and she giggled as if she should be ashamed.
They all gathered around and gave a courtesy glance to one another. Finally together there were fourteen people in total.
“So,” Ralph said adjusting his belt as he tugged his low beaten jeans up his slight beer belly “We just gonna sit 'round gawkin' at each other or are we going to get a move on?” he asked, raising a thin brow.
Iona, the older couples' daughter, gave him a scowl in response to Ralph's self satisfied smirk and rolled her eyes, the man beside Ralph rubbed the back of his neck noticing Iona's glare despite Ralph himself ignoring it, she then looked back to Nancy “You three watch the kids again?” she asked and Nancy nodded at her.
Three of the women, Nancy and Arlene, the woman she drove with, alongside Dixie, mother of young Penelope who was stuck to Cooper's side like glue, all walked along towards the SUV Nancy drove in. Before the older couple could pipe up Penelope went to the woman's side and took her free hand leading her with them towards the SUV, Penelope's soft voice sounded as they went “I haven't been this far north before. Have you ma'am?” she asked with a smile and the older woman gave her one back with a shake of her head.
“Would you help me get my chair?” asked the elderly woman, her expression half way between sleepy and smiling.
“I can do it Mrs. Stokes!” Cooper exclaimed, jumping as he raised his hand on her other side.
“Aren't you sweet.” she replied warmly.
The remaining, after Iona snapped and gestured for the three teens to join the 'kid group' over by the SUV were the main back bone of their group, the hard workers, or that's what Ralph would insist. There were five now, standing at the center of their transport circle.
The shorter man shifted on his feet, adjusting a large compound bow on his shoulder. His head was down but he gave a shifting look over the group. Expecting one of them to speak first.
Ralph, his older brother, sniffled before he sucked in a deep breath but whatever he meant to say never left his lips as Iona spoke first, she called out “Bonnie?” as she dug the map from the back pocket of her snug jeans and the brunette perked up immediately.
She towered over the two on either side of her, Renáta, the fancy looking woman who drove alone and Wyatt, the shorter man beside Ralph. She rivaled Ralph in height, the two often bicker over who the taller is but Ralph refuses to 'prove' it, claiming they have no real way to measure it leaving them in a limbo of comical unknowing, which leads to banter five times out of ten.
Iona waved her over and Bonnie trotted to her side to look over the map, Ralph, growing impatient scratched the side of his head and grumbled out “C'mon bro,” he said slapping the shorter man on the shoulder who quickly shot a glare at him in response “Let the woman talk, they ain't gonna get their hands dirty,” he shot a glare back to Renáta who did her best to ignore him “We'll go work.” he sneered sarcastically to which his brother muttered in annoyance but his complaint was too mumbled to make out.
“Wyatt,” Iona called not even looking up from the map as Renáta gave Ralph a glare “After you siphon the gas take Bonnie 'n see if there's anything worth taking in the rest stop.” she commanded naturally, her focus in her mind while running her finger along a road line of the map.
“'Kay.” briefly the archer glanced back at her but looked away when Ralph nudged him forward, nearly tripping over himself.
“And get some extra gas to Renáta!” she shouted but she didn't get a response, he kept on trudging forward with Ralph at his side.
They approached the rust covered pick up and stepped to the back, the bed was filled with supplies, coolers tied down and bagged tents tucked into the back. Tied along the trunk door were three gas canisters.
Ralph grabbed one and Wyatt grabbed a second.
Far enough away they could hear the two groups talking but they weren't close enough to make out, Wyatt kept by Ralph's side as his older brother grumbled. They weaved between the rest of the vehicles and moved towards the abandoned cars. Wyatt glanced back to the group just once, towards the circle of planners.
Renáta tapped her chin once, squinting down at the maps to better read the small printed names “So Eastben was a bust, we know that, but what about here?” she poked at the paper wrinkling it under her polished nail “This little town, Esberg, know anything about there?” she asked tilting her head back to Iona, a pinch of worry on her brow but Renáta had a hopeful look on her face.
“Nah,” Bonnie shook her head “Even before Esberg was big on crime despite bein' so little, don't think it'll be safe.” she added now bringing her finger to draw an invisible line down a few side roads, they were shown by a faint light green line, there would be no guarantee it was paved, it could even be gravel or dirt for all they knew but it gave a wide berth to Esberg and still kept them mostly north, even if it leaned slightly to the East.
Iona frowned, it was a slight lean but she didn't want to go any further East than they had to, that was towards the major cities of Edgeridge, Adamsbury and Southern Pools especially. She stood studying the map as the group all got to work around her, falling into a familiar routine.
“Any news from the big cities?” asked Bonnie.
Renáta shook her head “Not from Edgeridge,” she said with a shrug, looking over to meet Bonnie's scrunched expression “Ysyvanor has been a black out on the news front. Aryt Drak is holding it off but from I heard the capital has a few cases of infection which, as we all know, means they're probably doomed by now.” she said with a casual tone but slowly her expression faded, she looked downtrodden before looking back up and forcing a smile on her red painted lips, despite the pending apocalypse Renáta kept up her makeup routine, albeit more minimalist “At least that side of the pass, I haven't heard much about Port Yov or Lahvcan.” she pulled out her phone and flipped it open, frowning as she tapped a few buttons while she continued speaking “But, but I haven't gotten through to anyone in a while so, who knows.” she finished looking at the gray screen. A red strike through the service icon.
Bonnie shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to her other leg “I, I had a pair'a friends who's spending some vacation time in the Free Isles, reckon they're doing okay?” she asked nervously.
Iona worried her bottom lip distressed at hearing Bonnie's voice drop somberly, she inched closer and nudged her with an elbow “I'm sure they're doing well, it is an island after all.” she said with a faint grin.
Bonnie nodded weakly in reply. She looked away briefly, calming herself down as she watched over the group of kids.
Nancy pulled out a large dark blue cooler bag from the back of her SUV just as Penelope arrived with Ruth, the older woman on her arm and Ruth's husband, Irvin, was trailing behind them. Dixie huffed as she lugged a folding table from the trunk and dragged it towards them, Cooper trotted over and grabbed at the other side to help.
Penelope looked over at her mother as she began to unfold the brown squared table then back to Nancy, she pulled a water bottle from the cooler and took a drink, relief washing over her face as the cool water soothed her dry throat. “Are we having dinner?” Penelope asked, looking a bit excited.
Nancy nodded as she drank, exhaling loudly she dropped the bottle to her side “Yes, help us set up will you?” she asked and Penelope nodded quickly in reply.
Penelope went to the trunk and started to hand out a few bags to the three teens, the younger girl with blonde hair took a cooler from Penelope with a meek smile and carried it over to the small table, she set it down as Dixie began to unpack some water bottles “I hope the next town works out better than the last,” she said looking over the dwindling numbers of plastic bottles “We need more supplies if we're going to wait this out.” she added as she zipped the cooler shut again, now less than half the amount they had before remained and Dixie frowned.
“Irvin?” Arlene called as she shifted their supplies, looking through what foodstuffs they had left, she saw a variety of cans the group collected through their travels, they'd been on the road just under two weeks and they'd gone through everything they managed to take from their homes, except the crummy MREs Irvin and the McKinley brother's brought along.
The older man looked her way, a smile forced on his wrinkled face “Yes?” he replied.
“Did you get that old radio working again?”
Irvin scoffed, waving his hand in mock offense “That's a beautiful piece of Edgeridge military technology, missy. It just needs a few knocks and we'll be picking up anything outside of Wolvehalle! And maybe Paskeer, that might be out of range too, but anything else! Ha! I'll have that thing singin'.” he spoke animatedly, before he looked over at the three teens who all gathered around the folding table “You kids wanna help me lug that thing over?” to which the boy groaned.
Ford, the brother of the sibling teen pair rolled his eyes but before he could grumble his protests the small blonde, Ella-Mae, jumped up and exclaimed “Of course Mr. Stokes!” She then tucked her wavy hair behind her long ear. “I might need some help with it,” she looked over to the siblings “Fronie?” she asked looking at the sister, who nodded in reply.
Ford sputtered, he pulled his hands out of his pockets and followed after them “W-Wait I can carry it!” he shouted before he got to their sides.
Irvin had his eyes shut, smiling over at Arlene who gave him a weak one back.
Ford moved, sped up to push between the two girls, eyes settling on Ella-Mae first his sister rolled her eyes, he looked back to the wagon stuffed with supplies “You know, I doubt I'll need your help carrying that thing.” he said cocking his head to look down at the short Draconic girl “I was one of the top pitchers on my team.” Ford added with a smug smile.
Ella-Mae nodded obliviously “I know Ford, I've been to your games.” she replied politely.
Fronie burst out laughing, she shook her head as she opened the unlocked trunk.
Far off on the other side of the parking lot Wyatt and Ralph approached the large eighteen wheeler, it was a commercial shipping truck, the side of it had a large advert for a furniture company totting the guarantee of real Siaé Basan wood straight from the Mother Tree, the two weren't paying much attention to the chipped paint, instead they were stepping over to the two cars, Wyatt trailed a step or so behind Ralph as he led them forward tapping the jerrycan against his leg.
Ralph glanced over at him but Wyatt wasn't paying him any mind, he was staring forward, eyes half glazed looking at the blue minivan in front of them, it was parked a few spaces down from a white pick up and behind that was woods.
Ralph spit, an old habit he never lost even after he ran out of his chew, he then tossed the rubber hose to Wyatt who caught it with little fanfare “You do the suckin'” Ralph said with a dry chuckle.
“Man...” Wyatt whined but he didn't protest as he knelt down. Wyatt popped open the gas tank cover of the blue minivan and began to snake the rubber hose inside “I did it last time, didn't I?” Wyatt mumbled and Ralph lightly slapped the top of his head, Wyatt grunted, his eyes shut in agitation but he didn't bother with back chat as he snapped “Gimme that.” and yanked the jerrycan from Ralph's hand, he brought it to press against the side of the tire “Just watch my back, alright?” Wyatt said with a scolding tone that seemed to go over his brother's head.
Ralph chuckled “Yeah yeah.”, leaning back against the car after he tossed his crossbow on the roof of it, he gave a cursory look around but wasn't paying too much attention, the area around them was quiet, tall pines some distance off with a wide empty field of grass between the thick forest and the rest stop they stood at.
Wyatt grimaced after giving the other end of the hose a quick wipe off with his flannel over shirt, careful not to poke a hole in the hose with his tusks he took a deep breath.
“Iona keeps settin' you up with Bonnie.” Ralph remarked looking down at him.
Wyatt sputtered as gas came pouring from the hose, he quickly shoved the other end into the mouth of the jerrycan “So?” he replied.
“You just gonna let'em keep bossin' you 'round?” Ralph said with a casual wave of his hand, he twitched his brow when he saw Wyatt roll his eyes.
“Like yer doin' any different.”
Ralph scoffed, he moved slowly as adjusted his jeans, pinching beside his pockets stitches he tugged up his pants before pushing himself off the car, he turned and drove his boot down knocking into Wyatt's shin, kicking him over on his backside he hit the concrete with a grunt “What the hells!” Wyatt snapped but Ralph just gave him a smug look of amusement as he sauntered back to lean against the car again.
Ralph settled his hands back into his pockets “Stop yer whinin'.” he scolded without much change in his tone, titling his head he looked back towards the eighteen wheeler as he ran his tongue across his bottom lip “I told those ladies we'd have better luck goin' straight to Esberg, I got friends there. But no, no, don't listen to Ralph,” he complained, squinting his eyes and waving his hands in dramatic agitation “'stead let's go with what the Drakish bitch said, but all that did was waste two days 'n a spare tire.” he went on, dropping his head to the side staring off by the edge of the rest stop building's outer wall. “You didn't do shit to back me up either.” he snapped. He saw movement and squinted.
“Arlene 'greed with 'er.” Wyatt retorted which just made Ralph's expression drop.
“Sis' barely ever left Benslow. She don't know any better that's all.” Ralph defended with a more stern expression, the amusement left him and he glared down at his little brother but before he kept up his rant he saw Wyatt removing the tube, he glanced up briefly and the two met eyes before Ralph took that as his queue to leave, he pushed himself off the car lazily and dragged the crossbow with him, the back of it tapped against the car door as he hung the strap over his shoulder, he made an exaggerated cartoonish face mocking Wyatt before Ralph reached down to a thickly bound machete hung on his hip.
Wyatt rose to his feet as Ralph whistled, tilting his head as he watched an infected Veriyn stagger towards them, he scoffed, spinning on his heel he whipped the blade from its sheath and waggled his finger egging the thing on, to come closer, as if it understood.
Wyatt glared at the back of Ralph's head “Hey! It's yer turn fer the hose!” he shouted but Ralph waved him off again. Twirling the weapon before he sped up and charged the undead, driving the machete down into the infected's skull, stepping back with a triumphant whoop as Wyatt angrily approached the next truck.
Ralph came back around, arms wide open “What'd'ya think 'bout that baby brother?” he bragged mockingly, raising a brow before pointing the dripping machete towards him.
Wyatt shook his head “C'mon man, let's get to work.” he snapped, his tone low and agitated.
Ralph gave an arrogant sneer at the back of Wyatt's head “Pfft, what's got your panties in wad.” he mocked speeding up to follow him closely.
“Nothin'.” Wyatt grumbled, he then shot a look backwards towards the main group.
Irvin's hand came down on top of the bulky radio, his proud grin was beaming with positivity despite the fact all the radio did was spit out static.
Ella-Mae gave a wavering smile “Maybe there aren't any signals?” she said, trying to please Irvin who didn't seem to be paying her any mind as he kept fiddling with the dials and buttons on the large device.
“We haven't heard anything since the emergency broadcasts stopped this morning.” Iona chimed in as her and the others finished their plans and approached the rest of the group.
Irvin nodded “But!” he exclaimed, all excited to show the youngster his old military tech, patting the large chunky radio “If I expand the range maybe I can pick up a different nations broadcast,” he said but then his face twitched with disapproval “If Spencer could see me now, using a fine piece of Edgeridge brilliance to translate some other nations drivel.” he grumbled before slapping the top of it, right on the massive battery pack attached to it and the radio suddenly got louder, the static continued. “Ahh...” he grumbled. Staring down at it bewildered.
Ella-Mae smiled wearily to him “We'll get it fixed.” she added with a gentle pat to his shoulder. Irvin screwed his lips shut in annoyance but he still looked to Ella-Mae with warmth in his eyes.
“Told you it wouldn't work.” Ford remarked, leaning into his sister's ear to whisper. She chuckled in response.
Dixie scolded “Hey,” as she bumped a water bottle into his shoulder startling the teen “Be nice.” she added before handing a second bottle to Fronie. She sheepishly took it with an embarrassed “Thank you.” keeping her head down the whole time.
Penelope grinned as she, Cooper, and Nancy all finished plating up fourteen small portions of canned goods, a bit of beans and cut up chunks of mystery meat.
Just before Penelope began handing out the meals Nancy tossed a few crackers onto each plate. Cooper and Penelope took two trays each and began handing them out, Fronie grabbed a plate for herself as Ford took one for him and another, turning on his heel he offered it to Ella-Mae with a big grin, she took it with a nod of thanks.
Ford beamed at the smile on her face.
Her soft steps approached the elderly couple, between Irvin still tinkering with the machine and Ruth lounging back.
Ruth turned, looking towards her but she didn't seem to focus on her “Penny?” she called warmly.
“Mrs. and Mr. Stokes.” Penelope greeted, Ruth was sat resting in a folding beach chair with colorful purple spots and painted metal and she perked up when she saw Penelope come nearer.
“Oh sweet thing thank you.” Ruth smiled as she shakily reached towards her, to be safe Penelope guided the tray to her lap, Penelope gently clasped her hand and brought it to her plastic fork “Doesn't this look good, you 'n Nancy always make somethin' out of nothin' don't you.” Ruth added which caused Penelope to beam with pride.
“Thank you ma'am!” Penelope nodded politely before turning to give the second tray to Irvin who kept fiddling with the radio.
He blinked a few extra times as Penelope finally managed to get his attention by gently tugging at his dark suede vest.
“Huh?” he grumbled, blinking as he pulled himself away from the radio he then leaned down to better see Penelope “Oh!” he exclaimed before he nodded in thanks and took the offered meal.
Cooper gathered up two other trays and brought it to Bonnie, she looked down at Cooper and bobbed her head in appreciation.
“Thanks buddy!” she said with a cheer, she took the plate and examined it. Canned meat and beans, nothing she wasn't used to. In fact she was looking forward to it. Cooper's cheeks turned red at the praise before he turned to trot over to Renáta.
Renáta gave him an expectant look before she nodded her head preemptively “Cooper,” she greeted as he offered her a plate which she accepted with cheery thanks. “Such a gentleman, like always.” she complimented giving him a small smile which he returned tenfold.
With a nod and a wave goodbye Cooper ran the few feet back to the brown table. Nancy, Penelope, Arlene, and Dixie, remained by the folding table still handing out the last few meals before they grabbed their own.
Bonnie dropped her head as she began chowing down on her meal, her smile wide and cheeks puffed with food. A glance around the camp showed most of the other's had began eating too, after another bite Bonnie paused, two voices drew her attention and she twisted to the side to see the brothers approach, Wyatt carried the jerrycans and quickly yanked the rubber hose from Ralph after the third time he hit him with it.
She turned back to her plate as the two entered the car circle, Wyatt set the gas cans down by the table.
“This dinner?” he asked, looking over the group until he saw Nancy nod. Before he could reach for a tray Cooper was in front of him, he recoiled, then took a step back, almost knocking the tray Cooper held out of his hands, Cooper inched closer and Wyatt stared at him “Thanks.” he blubbered as Cooper pushed the food into his hands.
“Wyatt can you show me those knots again?” Cooper asked, quickly returning to his side with a tray of his own, he scooted closer to sit down in the grass right by Wyatt's heavy boots as Wyatt leaned back against Bonnie's car's hood.
Wyatt had already popped a chunk of meat in his mouth, pressing it into his cheek he managed to spit out “Can't.” as he chewed.
“Manners!” Penelope scolded, her thin eyebrows pinching together in mock anger before she spun to the side to look at her mother “You're not supposed to talk while eating.” to which Dixie nodded in agreement.
“That's true.” Dixie added with an amused smile before she ran the cracker through the saucy beans.
“Why not?” Cooper asked before sticking the plastic spoon in his mouth, staring up at Wyatt as Ralph grabbed his own plate.
Wyatt kept his mouth shut this time, he was chewing and shrugged his shoulders instead of speaking, tilting to the side he jerked his head towards Bonnie. Cooper looked at her but she met his gaze with a deer in headlights look, mouth full she swallowed and choked out “What?” sheepishly, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand after.
Iona swallowed a mix of beans and meat before adjusting her lean, between Wyatt and her parents she glanced down to Cooper then back to Bonnie “They're gonna clear the rest stop, make sure it's safe for the night.” she explained before taking a second bite.
“I still don't see why I'm not goin'.” Ralph complained before chowing down another bite, crunching the crackers under his chipped teeth.
“Can't trust you not to screw around.” Iona snapped, clearly done with the conversation she turned to Arlene instead “So after this stop we're going to keep north, how's our water supply?” she asked tilting her head away from Ralph to briefly make eye contact with his sister, Arlene shook her head in amusement as she drank down a gulp from her bottle.
Arlene shrugged, “Getting low.” she remarked quietly, Bonnie was scarfing down her food as fast as she could while the group kept on, Penelope sat in the grass by Wyatt's feet, closer to Cooper as the two began to chat, patting the bag beside him Cooper brought up a book Bonnie found on her last run and Penelope nodded as she chewed.
“It's 'bout knights.” Cooper said with a gulp.
“About.” Nancy corrected.
“It's about knights.” Cooper repeated as Penelope giggled, a smile spread further across his lips hearing that, mouth wrapped around her spoon she gave a half cocked grin.
Fronie rolled her eyes, crunching down on a salty cracker “Man, one thing I don't miss is Mrs. Ricksmith's book assignments.” she said as she ate, spilling crumbs down onto her loose t-shirt.
Ford scoffed “I hated her!” he exclaimed shaking his head “I'm not gonna waste my time on that, I'm not gonna be a writer or whatever...” he paused briefly, staring at the spoon hanging in the air in front of his mouth, “Well, I guess I'm not gonna be anything anymore, am I?” he said, growing a frown towards the end.
Fronie's brow pinched together, glancing his way “We can still be whatever!”she exclaimed “We'll make a settlement, meet up with some of the other people out there. Make a new team, maybe we could even name it after you.” she ended a bit mockingly, with a playful smile all in good fun but still Ford gave an exaggerated pout.
Ella-Mae took another bite before looking down at her fork, she then lowered her gaze to her plate “I never thought much on what I would do,” her voice turned wistful, eyes half lidded “I thought I would have plenty of time...” her hollow voice trailed softly.
Nancy placed a hand on Ella-Mae's shoulder giving her a sudden shock, she nearly poked Nancy with her stubby horns when she jumped. She then looked back up at her as Nancy spoke “I heard you were a good baker?” she asked trying to cheer the girl up.
Ella-Mae gave a sheepish nod “I liked to, yeah, me,” she paused, a crack in her voice before she continued “Me and auntie would bake-” Ford's voice broke out, murmured “Mmm!” with a fork still in his mouth, he yanked it out before using it to point towards her “Those lemon muffins you made for Richardson's bake were so good, I spent my whole allowance on them!” he said with a cheer.
“Sure, that's why you bought them.” Fronie interjected flatly. She then looked over at Ella-Mae and nodded slightly, saying “They were good muffins though.” as she took another bite.
Ella-Mae looked back at Nancy as she pulled her hand away, returning to her own meal. Ella-Mae's gaze fell, watching her fork be smothered in bean juice “Maybe one day, um, if we ever find the supplies I could make them for you all, again.” her smile grew slightly “I remember auntie's recipe.” Ella-Mae finished, scooping up a fork full of beans.
“We'll need lemons!” Penelope exclaimed, suddenly revealing she was eavesdropping. She lowered her head, rubbing the back of it “Uh, I mean, it's been a while since I had a muffin! I'd like to try yours.” she said with a chuckle, forced but jolly.
“That would wonderful.” said Nancy.
“Speaking of supplies.” Iona began. “Do we need to make a pit stop before our next town?” she asked, making sure to give herself plenty of time to breath and talk between bites.
“Well,” Arlene looked to Dixie for help and she nodded despite being mid-bite. “It might be for the best, we could stretch it, but, it would be a stretch.” Arlene said drawing worried looks from Ella-Mae.
“Are we going to be okay?” Fronie asked, letting her plate rest on her lap, a look of concern on her face before she looked down at the bottle by her feet.
“Should we drink less? Save it for the others?” Ella-Mae asked gaining a look of guilt on her face, screwing the cap of her bottle open and closed.
“No, no honey,” Nancy waved her hand, pinching her brow together “No, you drink, it's okay.” she assured before looking over the group “There will be plenty of water when we get to the military.” she finished.
“Sure,” Ralph said, whistling, stabbing at the chunk of meat with his plastic spoon. “That last outpost was right empty but I'm sure the next ones gonna be paradise.” he said with a sarcastic sing-song tune.
Iona shot a look his way but went mostly unnoticed, he rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“It won't be paradise but it's better than us driving around on our own.” Renáta stated, tilting her head to look at Ralph, or try to as he avoided her gaze and looked back to his plate.
“Since they already evacuated the cities we'll find dad there, won't we mom?” Cooper asked, looking up at Nancy.
She gave him an awkward smile, unconvincing if you looked half way close enough but she nodded to avoid his focus, looking over at the chunky ham radio and gesturing to it “Heard any news? New local broadcasts? Instructions? Anything?” she spoke quickly before chomping down on another bite.
Irvin huffed, breaking up his crackers like breadcrumbs “No, nothing, not since they put the last one on loop.” he replied. Before the conversation could continue Bonnie shot up like a spark, all energy she stepped forward and twirled a large well tended lumber axe in her fingers before letting it come to a stop against her shoulder.
She turned and pointed towards Wyatt who looked at her with puffed cheeks filled with food and grumbled, his exasperation didn't deter her enthusiasm as she cheered “Let's get goin'.” at him.
Wyatt rolled his eyes before he licked his fingers, wiping his hand on his jeans he pulled the bow back onto his arm.
He kept the plate in his one hand, flash light in another “Let's git 't over with.” he mumbled passing by her, her grin didn't falter as she trailed after him.
Wyatt planned to make it an easy, quiet, trip. Only for his eye to twitch in annoyance as his brother's voice called out behind him.
Ralph swallowed just enough to speak, a few larger chunks escaped with his words as he blurted out “Maybe some alone time with big Bonnie'll cure that case 'a blue ball bitchin' you got!”.
Dixie snapped “Ralph!” as Bonnie and Wyatt entered the building to the sound of Ralph laughing. She looked over at him with a furious expression “Watch what comes out of your mouth! There are children for Gods' sake!” she added, voice low and scolding. She nearly dropped her plate when she stood up in a huff all while Ralph grinned at her.
“Mom?” Penelope called quietly.
She felt the anger flood from her as she sighed, turning to look down at her daughter she forced a smile to ease herself and Penelope “Yes?” she replied, she wasn't looking but she could still feel Ralph's smugness staring at her and she fought to keep it from annoying her.
“After Cooper's done reading this may I?” she asked, gesturing to the book Cooper had produced from his backpack.
Dixie blinked a few times, looking at the book it showed five knights stood before a castle on the cover, their banners a checkered pattern of teal, purple, and terracotta orange. She turned briefly and glanced at Nancy. She gave a mod of approval and Dixie looked back to her “Of course.” before she gave a nod of her own to Cooper “It's very nice of you to share Cooper.” she ended politely.
“It's pretty good Mrs. Thyme, if you wanted to read it too.” he said without glancing her way, still looking down at the book in his small hands.
“Thank you Cooper.” Dixie replied.
Ralph rolled his eyes as he finished eating. Tossing his plate aside he shoved his hands in his pockets and sucked in a breath. He glanced to the radio but didn't care enough to bring it up, instead he turned and made his way back to his pickup.
Once he was a few steps away Dixie sighed in relief, she turned and looked at Nancy making an exasperated gesture as if to say 'Can you believe that guy?' and Nancy shook her head with a drained chuckle.
“Sorry everyone.” Arlene sighed. From the tone of her voice it was clear she shared much of the annoyance that came with her brother.
Ella-Mae moved to pick up Ralph's left behind plate and stacked it on top of her own, she glanced down to the book and asked “Is that a Five Knights of Keerta fairy tale?”, Cooper raised his head long enough to nod 'yes' before he returned to the cover. Ella-Mae then looked over to the siblings, Ford had just finished scarfing down his plate when Ella-Mae reached out her hand offering to take it from him.
He stammered, but grinned. “Thanks Ella.” he said before handing it over.
“Uh huh.” she hummed back before checking on Fronie, she still had a few bites left on her plate so Ella-Mae left her to it. She brought the used dishware to a small bucket and submerged them in soapy water.
Fronie glanced at Ford who was lost staring at Ella-Mae with a half cocked grin and Fronie tried her best to come of with some sort of scathing burn to shoot his way but by the time she finished chewing Ella-Mae had moved to rejoin them.
Ella-Mae held a gentle air, she always wore a soft semi smile and she again greeted the two with nothing less. She opened her mouth to speak but Dixie called out to them first.
She turned and saw Dixie waving her over “Would you take Ruth's tray?” she asked but suddenly before she managed to get to Dixie's side Iona was on her feet.
“I got it.” she said so casually they didn't realize how curt she was, she moved to Ruth and leaned in “Let me take that mama.” she said, reaching down to her mostly empty plate.
“Oh bless you sweetie.” she replied before she gently pulled Iona down to kiss her cheek, which Iona forced a smile at.
“Love you mama.” she replied as she pulled the tray away, she then turned to her father who was already holding his empty tray out towards her, his focus was back towards the radio again, free hand pressed to his chin quizzically at the large device.
She took the tray and moved towards the same bucket Ella-Mae approached and dropped the dishes in. Suds spurt from the bucket and poured down its side but she wasn't waiting to see it pool on the ground.
Then she returned to her own tray, a slow eater she was a little over half way done.
“How's it going dad?” Iona asked.
Irvin grumbled, he didn't give a response in words but the way he mumbled and opened the back panel of the radio showed he was still trying.
Arlene placed her things in the washing bucket and moved back to the main group, she shook her head attempting to get her thoughts straight “So, where next? Where are we stopping for water?”
“Maybe there's a vending machine inside?” Nancy added optimistically.
“We'll need more than a few bottles from a vending machine.” Iona interjected, finally delivering her own empty tray to the washing bucket.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Ella-Mae's soft voice asked.
“Oh no,” Dixie replied, reaching over to shake her shoulder gingerly in a comforting gesture “No, we'll get Ralph to do it.” she said with a stuffy tone, looking a bit perturbed but still humorous.
Iona scoffed “Sorry Arlene but I wouldn't trust your older brother to pick up smokes, let alone something as important as water.” she said snarkily before she looked back over to Ella-Mae who was shifting her gaze between the group nervously “Don't worry Ella-Mae, me, Bonnie, or Wyatt will find some more in the next town alright?” she ended as she crossed her arms.
Dixie nodded in agreement “Bonnie and Wyatt are searching that place right now, they've gotten pretty good at it huh? I'm sure they'll find whatever we need soon.” she said with a final pat to her shoulder, Nancy gathered Penelope's and Cooper's trays before she moved towards the bucket, smiling reassuringly at Ella-Mae as she walked by.
Cooper nodded “Don't worry Ella-Mae, before we all met Wyatt had a cool farm!” Cooper exclaimed “And he'd track deer all the time to make us venison dogs for mom's barbecues, I bet he could find us anything we need!” Cooper cheered, looking up at her large gold eyes which were filled with worry.
Ella-Mae was about to speak up when Ford suddenly grabbed her, she yelped, then froze up in his hold “I'll look out for you,” he smiled “They can go off in the woods and I'll keep everyone safe.” he spoke with confidence, pulling Ella-Mae further into his side.
She looked down, face scrunched and turning red.
“Speaking of Bonnie and Wyatt, I wonder what they've found.” Nancy mentioned. She peered over at the rest stop.
Inside the brick building was dark. Lights broken and furniture tipped over, the main room looked like a train station waiting room almost, walls lined with benches with additional seating further into the room, three rows of pay phones were placed squarely in the center with another door to the back left, and on the right wall was two more doors, each with a bathroom sign of a silhouetted figure.
Bonnie held her heavy axe up ready to strike, she lifted a flashlight in the other hand aiming it around the dim room. She kept a keen eye, looking for anything.
She listened close, straining her hearing for danger- chewing. All she heard was chewing. She looked to her side and saw Wyatt was still eating his dinner, a deadpan expression on his face as he swung his flashlight around the other side of the room.
Bonnie scoffed, or was it a chuckle, with a minute shake of her head before continuing further in.
Her beam of light scanned across the room, over the benches with abandoned purses and suitcases. Not too far from the door was a set of three vending machines, one for soft drinks, one for water, and one for overpriced foodstuffs, each one was busted open and empty.
She stepped over the wrought iron seats and used the back handle of her axe to push open a large pale pink handbag open checking for anything useful inside. She saw no wallet, no phone, it looked to be a few pairs of clothes, sunglasses, she saw a baggie with toiletries. She'd throw away the toothbrush but the rest could be useful.
Wyatt clicked his tongue to draw her attention, she spun around axe at the ready and brought her flashlight to his, a hairy looking white fuzz spread from out from under the door frame, it looked to pool by the bottom hinges before a thin trail dripped forward down the uneven linoleum floor, marked and stained from years of use.
She rose a bushy brow at him and he stepped forward towards it, Wyatt scarfed down the last of his food before tossing the plate to the benches carelessly “Keep close.” he called as she drew nearer, he wiped his hand before he pulled out an old looking hunting knife, the blade looked pristine but there was slight rusting around the metal pins at the top and bottom of the personalized handle that gave away its age. He fanned his fingers over it before creeping towards the door.
The blue painted metal was chipped with a handle that looked tampered with, Wyatt paid it no mind as he approached and drove his boot hard beside it, the door gave in immediately and slammed open as his boot crushed the fuzz beneath it. It was slick, his boot smeared red across the tiles as he wobbled and nearly slipped but Bonnie reached out and gripped his arm to stabilize him, with a sigh of relief he gave her a nod of thanks.
They both shined their flashlights into the room and grimaced.
There were two bodies, they were pressed together and moving. Bonnie shut her eyes and let out a disgusted groan, bringing a hand to her face as she did so.
What looked to be the remains of two Veryin, a trembling hand bound in vines reached towards them from a body desperate to get close, the two undead looked to have melded into one, roots and vines binding broken bodies together by their torsos, plant matter and leaves sprouted from injuries littering their combined form, they could hardly move but they tried to, their arms attempting to drag themselves forward but the weight of their bodies and the white fuzz that blanketed them molded them to the ground, sticking them to the linoleum.
What looked like the beginnings of a rose bush sprouted from their backs, reaching up as if it wanted to latch onto the ceiling, sharp petaled flowers struggled to bud in the dark, looking browned and shriveled.
Groans left the infected's throat as Wyatt approached, he wanted to look away but couldn't and with two swift moves he stabbed both heads, despite only one putting in an effort to move. He pulled the blade away with a grumble of disgust and backed up towards the door “Just 'n office, lets keep it shut.” he added, gagging slightly, before he shut the door hard, hoping to stick the broken door in the frame.
Bonnie nodded before she reached forward and gripped the broken handle, with a hard yank the metal whined and gave under her strength, screeching against the frame as she wedged it shut.
“Bathrooms?” Bonnie asked. Happy to distract herself from the dreadful sight behind the door.
Wyatt nodded, he wiped his blade clean against an abandoned briefcase, uncaring of the gory smudge he left against the black leather he turned to follow after Bonnie.
He gave a brief look around “Anything in the bags?” he asked. He almost seemed sleepy, eyes half lidded and voice trailing, he wasn't paying his full attention.
“We'll check after we clear the place.” she clarified Bonnie led him forward, towards the bathrooms with silhouetted signs, she stood in front of them and took in both doors, stained and old she grinned cheekily, a titter leaving her plump lips as she playfully pushed him towards the 'boys' bathroom, he shot a half smirk back at her before he stepped inside.
Four stalls lined the left wall, greenish painted metal segmentations blocked out sight of the latrins, two more urinals were attached to the left wall with the right being a full line of sinks and mirrors.
Wyatt groaned as he knelt down and shined his flashlight across the bottom of the stall walls, he saw the bottoms of toilets but no blood, no footprints. Nothing. Not even an unsightly stain on the floor, so he moved on. He pushed forward towards the back of the bathroom.
Looking around the small room he held a generic frown. He didn't see a lot out of place in the normal rest stop men's bathroom, it wasn't the cleanest but compared to some of the sights he saw before it looked pretty pristine to him. Watching the doors as he swung each open just to be safe he got to the end of the room, finding what he expected: fuck all.
Nothing but empty stalls and wash paper gently moving from the wind he brought.
Wyatt grumbled. He turned to look at the right side of the room, at the long mirror that rested above the sinks.
He saw himself. Half lidded gaze, scruffy but thin facial hair, he saw the lines on his face. Despite his youthful features Wyatt looked older, his cheeks lined wearily and dark eyes bagged.
He looked away just as quick, satisfied the room was empty and unable to look at himself any longer he moved back towards the bathroom door, back to the main room.
In the woman's bathroom Bonnie quickly scurried to the first stall and slammed it open, flashlight in one hand and raised axe in the other, she saw nothing, deflating she moved quickly to the next and shoved the stall open with the same enthusiasm, only to deflate again when she saw nothing.
Then she moved to the next one, with a heavy kick the stall flew open and again it was empty. Arriving at the final stall she pushed it open and again pouted in disappointment. Then she felt relief. At least she wasn't going to be forced to kill anything and for her that was enough, even if it was anticlimactic.
She shined her light across the stained sinks, scuffs left behind from make up or dragged bags left the counters marked and dirty looking, the place certainly didn't get cleaned, Bonnie would bet the custodian was infected, or hopefully fled before anything happened.
She angled her light to see herself in the mirror, leaning in she examined her face in better detail, the sight of herself caused a slight frown to tug at her lips, she puffed out her rounded cheeks at the unkempt reflection in the mirror, Bonnie was never too bothered over her looks, working sometimes fourteen, fifteen hours a day on the farm left her less than clean after a shift but that doesn't mean she liked seeing herself look like a mess, she adjusted the large hat on her head, then with a groan she flicked the straw bill and knocked it off her own head, letting it hang by a string around her neck she leaned against the counter. Palm flat for a moment before she started brushing her fingers through her hair, she pulled the ties free and let her medium brown locks fall around her shoulders.
Patting her hair down best she could, fighting with a few knots she managed to put it back into loose pigtails tied low on her head, she stuck her straw hat back on and took another, closer, look at herself. Her large freckled cheeks and rounded chin added with her button nose and big eyes gave her a soft look, then her brow pinched together, she ran her fingers over a small cut on her collar, she groaned, the wound had already scabbed over, by when? “How ain't I notice this?” she thought to herself with a befuddle expression.
She shook her head then turned towards the bathroom door.
By the time she stepped back out into the main room she saw Wyatt was already picking through a suitcase, setting a few pairs of rolled up socks aside on the bench beside the luggage. There were a few packs of supplies next to that, a plastic sealed deodorant, a few pairs of undershirts, on top of it was a baseball cap with the symbol of a local baseball team.
“Anything good?” she asked, approaching his side.
“Socks for Coops,” he gestured vaguely to the small tower “Nothing we can eat.” he remarked before pointing behind him to another stack of luggage.
She nodded and walked to the other side of the room and leaned her axe against the metal benches, she grabbed up a thick wheeled case and set it down on its side, zipping it open revealed more clothes, a few warm dresses and many pairs of underwear, Bonnie wasn't that desperate for clothes yet so she pushed those aside and looked for something a bit more useful.
Bonnie and Wyatt moved through every bag, eventually emptying the lot of them and gathering as many pairs of socks, bags of toiletries, and decent spare changes of clothes they could find.
Wyatt took the thick black wheeled case and yanked the handle out, he angled it to drag behind him as Bonnie effortlessly dragged a dufflebag up onto her shoulder, gripping the handle of her axe she looked back to Wyatt and smiled “Place is safe, so let's go grab the others! Ready to try out them new sleeping bags?” she said with a bit of excitement in her tone “The one I got 's insulated, no more cold toes for me, no sirree!” she added with a cheer as Wyatt strolled forward.
“So yer the one who tossed them sleepin' bags in the truck.” Wyatt said hiding the amusement in his voice, his back to her Bonnie didn't manage to see the small smile on his face, nor did he see her suddenly blubber, then she giggled cheerfully.
Bonnie nodded before she trailed after him “Do'ya think Irvin's gonna tell more boot camp stories?” she asked as the two approached the door.
Wyatt only shrugged in reply.
They stepped to the main door, ready to rejoin the group and get everyone ready for another night.
Wyatt pushed the door open with his hip, opening it with his weight he held it open so Bonnie could slip through with ease, the colorful sky was turning deeper shades of pink and yellow, fading further into dusk.
The entire group was back in the middle circle, either huddled around the radio chatting while Irvin slapped at it again and again or a small group sat on a few blankets relaxing and conversing. Arlene looked their way, standing up when she saw her brother and Bonnie approach, a look of relief on her face.
“Everything go okay?” she asked, giving them both a quick once over but Arlene couldn't help but pay a little more mind to Wyatt, nervously checking him for injury and looking pleased when she noticed they both looked fine. She smiled.
“Yep.” Wyatt nonchalantly replied. He looked at her for a brief second as he spoke before his eye searched for his brother, Ralph was leaned against their pick up, sat in the grass with his hat tilted down to block his face.
“Just don't go into the office.” Bonnie added, stepping out from Wyatt's side “We jammed the door, no danger, just, gross.” she clarified, not too keen to remember the ghastly sight, deep down she knew it was seared in her mind, now though, she'll wave it off like she did to Nancy's concerned look.
“Then is it safe to move everyone inside?” Iona asked, prying her gaze away from the map.
“Yup!” Bonnie gave an enthusiastic nod. She tossed the luggage beside Ruth's chair but far enough away not to disturb her, Ruth was asleep and she didn't budge an inch when the rush of wind puffed out as the bags hit the ground.
“Just a few more minutes!” Irvin shouted. Slamming his palm on top of the radio before he began to play with the two antenna “It's close, I can feel it!” he added with a chuckle, as the radio played nothing more than static.
“Okay dad,” Iona appeased running a hand along his back as she passed by “We'll get the camp set up inside, if it's not ready by then try it in the morning okay?” she said, knowing he wasn't paying attention, speaking more so for herself as she moved towards the cars.
Irvin murmured a “Yeah, yeah.” as he kept on fidgeting.
Nancy ruffled Cooper's head, nearly knocking the cap off of it, which caused him to groan and pull away closer to Penelope “Go on, go get your bags.” she said warmly.
“Okay,” he grumbled, then he glanced back to Penelope “We can keep reading inside.” he said with a grin, then he paused, turning to look at Wyatt just before he managed to pass by “Can I borrow your flashlight?” he asked, stopping him in his tracks.
Wyatt paused for a brief moment, he gave a glance down at Cooper giving him an exaggeratedly stern expression, to which the boy just smiled wider at, Wyatt rolled his eye then yanked the flashlight off his belt and handed it, handle out, towards Cooper.
“Thanks Wyatt!” he exclaimed snatching the flashlight and looking to Penelope with pink cheeks “See you inside!” before he scrambled to his feet and ran towards his mother's van, Nancy trailing not far behind. Dixie took Penelope by the hand as they returned to their own van.
Bonnie went to gather her things, more than ready to assist the other's like she normally did, as Wyatt split off towards his truck.
Iona got her and her parent's things while everyone else got their night time supplies together.
It wouldn't be long before they all settled in for the end of the day. Hopeful for another uneventful night in the new world of infection.
