The Road to Nowhere

Chapter 11: Saving Summer

"Cam, mommy isn't coming home." He said to me while he tucked me into bed.

"Why?" I asked holding my stuffed dinosaur up to my chest.

He looked at me with the most despairing look I've ever seen. "She's in heaven now."
We sat there and cried for a while. Him more than me, because I was too young to know what death was. And then we fell asleep in the same bed together.

Looking at Daniel and Phoebe makes me miss my father. Being eighteen and not having your parents is hard. Especially in the world today.

Phoebe gets off of her father's lap and sits on the floor next to the pile of toys. She picks up a small doll that's wearing a red dress and starts to make it bounce up and down as if it was walking. After about a minute of playing, she sets the doll down and pouts.

"It sucks to not have anyone to play with." She sighs.

Linda looks up from the book she was reading and smiles. "Well, I'll play with you."

"Really?" Phoebe looks surprised.

"Of course! Anything to make my little sister happy." She says cheerfully. Linda joins Phoebe on the floor.

"So did you also go to school with Layke?" Daniel asks.

"Yeah, I did. I didn't know him, but I saw him once. He helped Summer get out of the school on Z-Day." I explained. "Wait, why did Layke go to East high when he lived way out here with you guys?" I asked.

"He lived with his mother at the time. He wanted to have a break from his siblings. No one knew that the break would be for a whole year. Sarah, my ex-wife, died when the outbreak started and Layke came back to live with us." Daniel explained.

Loud footsteps coming from upstairs interrupt our conversation. Robbie rushes down the stairs with what looks like my rifle in his hand. Scooter follows, having a lighter approach than his brother.

"We're going hunting." He says as he walks toward the door.

"With my gun?" I ask sarcastically.

He looks down at the gun and back at me. "Maybe..."

I roll my eyes. "You can use it. Besides, Layke and Summer went out squirrel hunting. They should be back soon."

"Um no, they didn't." Scooter cuts in. "Layke took her to the lake for a picnic."

"What?" I say shocked.

That stupid fuck took Summer on a picnic?! What the hell! You got to be kidding me.

I get up from the couch and angrily walk out the door. I can see the sun setting over the woods that are about a mile away. The sunset makes the sky an array of reds, oranges, and yellows. It's so hot outside that I can feel my forehead start to sweat. Wearing a flannel in the middle of July probably isn't a good choice.

Why does Summer like that guy? Is it his blond hair, or blue eyes, or his charming attitude? The only thing he did was save her from a couple of infected at the high school. I have saved her MULTIPLE times! Yesterday, if I wasn't there to help she would have gotten herself killed. I don't understand her. I'm right here! I've liked you for years now! Why don't you see that? We've been stuck in hell and you still don't see it! Every second in the last five months I've lived to keep you alive. You are literally the only thing I think about. Everyday. Every second.

I kick a can that was laying on the ground. It flys through the air and hits the door of the barn. I can't take all these people everywhere. I need to be alone and think. And the barn looks like a good place.