A&AvZ

To Move On (20)

(Third Person POV)

Alan had been laying in bed for the past hour, just sitting and staring at the ceiling. From the way he came home, Second only assumed the worst.

Red and Green asked them questions, still in the dark about the situation. However, the news got to them quite quickly.

Second and Blue could both feel the pits in their stomachs as Alan laid there, not wanting to move.

"I'd just wished I could've finished the real cure in time." Blue whispered.

"..you worked as hard as you could.."

Blue just looked away.

"Weren't we planning on leaving soon?" Second tried to start another conversation.

"Supposed to be.. but I don't think Alan wants to."

"Well, now what?"

"..I have an idea that could bring us one step closer to a cure. But.. it's a terrible idea.. especially considering what just happened."

"Well, are there any other options on the table besides it?"

"No."

"Well, spit it out."

Blue brought Second over to his workspace.

"I've been thinking that if we could examine the starting point of the outbreak.. we could be a step closer to discovering a cure."

"So? That's not a bad idea."

"Yeah, that's not the part that's bad. To do this, we need to go out and capture patient zero, Chosen."

"..that's a death wish."

"I'm fully aware of that fact, but high risk comes with high reward. If we can get him, not only will we be able to study the infection further, we can also cure Chosen, which will no doubt be beneficial to us."

Second considered this. "That's true.. but how would we even find him? The infection is everywhere, and he could have ran off to god knows where. Plus, I doubt Alan would even consider letting us out of here right now."

"Yeah.. you see, the thing about Chosen is that he's still mostly intact. Red told me he had rotted a little, but he doesn't have any extra or less limbs. He'd be easy to spot, also the fact he can fly gives us an advantage. If we were to set a trap high enough, we could make him fly into it."

"What about Alan?"

"..we'll sneak out and be back before he knows it."

Second scratched his head. "I still dunno.. we should wait a bit and see what happens."

"..yeah." Blue looked back out at Alan.

He still hadn't moved.

-

A few days had passed. Alan still didn't feel like moving. He didn't eat. Just laid in bed.

He never told him. Not once. He could have helped. He could've taken care of him. Alan cursed himself for not seeing the signs. How sick DJ had gotten had always given him a bad feeling. Yet he ignored the signs.

Because he trusted him.

Alan rolled over in bed and looked at DJ's previous belongings. The empty bed.

He was there, and then he was gone.

They were supposed to leave together. To make it to the safe states together. And now he was gone.

Alan sat up, rubbing his heavy eyes. Staying in bed was all he wanted to do. Stay here until the infected broke down the door and came to eat him alive.

He looked back over to his computer. The sticks were talking with each other.

Somehow, that made him feel a little lighter. Seeing them moving and alive. They still had a lot of hope. He cared for them so much, as they also cared for him.

Alan took a second glance at the room around him. The hard work they'd done to prepare themselves for the trips. What it all meant.

For the first time in a while.. Alan got out of bed. No. He couldn't just lay there. DJ would have wanted Alan to keep going. Slowly, but surely, he gathered everything into bags, storing the food properly.

The sticks took notice of Alan's sudden movements, they curiously watched him pick up his pace, a new look of determination painting his face. Throwing his bag over his back, he picked up his laptop.

"Alan, what are you doing?" Second got knocked around a bit because of Alan's sudden movements.

"Getting out of here. Tell everyone to buckle up. It's gonna be a bumpy ride." Alan closed the laptop, putting it in his bag.

Second, somehow, felt a little threatened by Alan. He'd never seen him that serious and focused. It definitely wasn't what he was used to. Maybe it was a good thing? Quickly, Second scurried off to tell everyone else what was happening.

...

Putting the cooler in the trunk, Alan opened the door to the driver's seat and put his bag in the passenger's seat before hearing the snaps of branches behind him, slow footsteps, and light growling. Now was not the time. Quickly pulling the gun out of his bag, Alan aimed it at the small group, taking shaky breaths. This group was slow. He could take his time.

One by one, he sniped them down with precision. He was honestly surprised he didn't shoot himself in the foot. Feeling a bit more confident, he hopped in the car, setting up his laptop and opening it in the passenger's seat. It made him feel a little less alone. Fastening the seat belt around it, he started the car and rolled out.

It was gonna be a long ride.