The Life After: Volume One

Episode Two, Chapter Four. "Sacrifice"

"You're seriously going out again?" Alice asks.

"Yes I am. If this is about that little girl, I'm sorry. But I don't want a child right now."

"This isn't about that Jake! It's about the fact that ever since you got here, all you've done is leave!" I shake my head.

"Look, if she's out there, I need to go find her."

"She's probably fucking dead dammit! Don't you get that?"

"That's my wife your talking about!" I shout. She stares at me in shock, then gives me a dirty look.

"Fine, go. You come back with anymore than you and one other person, and your all gone. We don't have supplies to feed every survivor in the Ruin."

"So that's what we call it now? The Ruin?"

"Just go, find your wife. Take a group with you. Come back with any other faces I haven't seen and your gone. Got it?"

I nod, walk over to the van and climb in. I pull it up to the center of town and get out.

"Hey." I say.

"You going on another run?" Enrique asks.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go look for my wife, Alice told me to bring a group."

"Well I can go if you want.  Beats standing around staring at the outside of the gate all day."

"That's fine, I'll take Jordan and Shane too."

"You so sure about bringing Shane along?  You two seem to hate each other."

"We'll be fine."  I say as Shane and Jordan approach.

"You leaving again little brother?"  Shane asks.

"Yeah, for Britt.  If we can't find her, we head back.  I'm taking a small group just in case."

"So who are you planning to take?" Jordan asks.

"You, Enrique, Shane and I. That's it."

"Sounds good. I'll drive." I smile and bump into him as a walk by.

"My van." I say. I open the door and climb in. The three of them continue to stare at me.

"You coming?" Shane walks around the side while Enrique and Jordan climb into the back.

I put the keys in the ignition and start the van, pulling it out of town moments later with the gate shutting behind us.

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Twenty minutes later, we pull into a parking lot nearby a food market. I shut the van off and shove the keys in my shirt pocket.

"Jordan, wait here. Just in case anything goes wrong. Enrique, Shane, I want you two to come with me alright?"

They nod and the three of us climb out of the van, slamming the doors behind us. We walk up to the market and enter through the front.

"You ever seen a Michigan food market with revolving doors?" Enrique asks.

"Yeah, sure I have." I reply giving a sarcastic look.

"Look, we get in, search for Britt. Grab a little extra supplies if we can, and get out. We don't know what's in there." Shane announces.

Enrique and I nod. "I'll take the left with Shane, you take the right half." I order. Enrique turns and heads off in the other direction while Shane and I head to the left.

"Britt!" I shout.

"What are you doing?" Shane asks in a whisper. "You said we don't know what's here. Could be full of walkers."