In Your Eyes [TWD]

°•four•°

We stayed on the road for a couple months even after visiting the prison and farm.

We went through the Carolina states, our path led by the ocean. When finding secluded beaches, we'd stay for a couple days, wondering if this is what life would have entailed for us if the world didn't change. 

For over a week, we stayed in a huge hotel, one that only people with paychecks bigger than we could imagine would be able to afford. Yet, we roomed on a different floor each night- taking full advantage of the space for ourselves. It was also helpful once we found the giant pantry was untouched.

In South Carolina, we found a race track. Once we cleared it of the couple dozen walkers from outside the fence, we stayed there for another couple weeks. That was where we took enjoyment in the large space and Carl began teaching me to drive. Considering the open area and all the time in the world, it was a miracle I still managed to run over the cones Carl placed before us. But, it was a working progress. And, it was also where we syphoned tons of gas and fuel.

We had a close call when we stopped in North Carolina- the sight of an old broken down train was too interesting to not explore. By the looks of it, it was still on the move when someone turned on board. A few stragglers remained and nearly got to us until we bolted to another train car, locking them away for good. That's where I lost our calendar.

We went to a fancy art museum and learned that they were preparing to hold an auction before everything fell apart. Carl seemed to take pride in smashing a painting with a price tag of '$300,000' dollars. He'd only smiled and said 'bet the rich asshole that bought it is punching the air, he never got to hang it in his mansion'.

By then, I'd lost count of how long we were gone- not having the calendar really made the days run together.

But, as we rolled into Virginia once again and the sights started feeling familiar, it was winter time

Alexandria was closest, so it became our first return back home.

And upon pulling up to the gates, I'd realized that even though we weren't even gone for a year- plenty of time had still passed.

--

"That's absolutely disgusting," Carl cringes, his face crunching up.

"You asked," I shrug, reaching into the bag for another chip and pushing it to his face, "Open."

"No," he denies, holding his head back.

"Say 'ah'," I tease, waving the stale food around.

"I will bite you," he threatens.

"Gross, I don't want your germs," I scoff, tossing the chip back into the bag.

When at the racetrack, we found boxes of snacks in the concession stand. The chocolates and most chips were a pleasant surprise.

The bag I was threatening Carl's taste buds with labelled 'cappuccino' flavor- was not pleasant.

"This is why the world ended. People crossing food breeds that don't exist," Carl decides.

"'Food breeds'?" I repeat.

"I said what I said."

"Okay.." I mutter, throwing the bag out the window.

"Did you just litter?" he questions.

"Got a problem with it, Sherriff?"

"You're going to poison the environment with those devil things," he explains.

"As if the carcasses everywhere on the ground haven't already done that," I laugh.

He snorts, shaking his head as we continue down the road.