I spent as much time focusing on driving into town as I did analyzing the conversation Mike and I had about dying in my head. Wanting to kill himself was so out of character for him it had me questioning everything. Before the world was ending, we were survivalists, teachers, and hunting guides.
Up until today I always thought we'd fight to the end and make the most out of every situation, that's just who we were. Knowing the end is near and how it'll happen obviously changed Mike's outlook and extinguished his drive to survive.
Maybe I was being selfish by wanting to soak as much of this life up as I could?
"What's going on now?" I heard Mike ask bringing me out of my trance.
Vanessa, a friend of mine, was running down the middle of the road flagging us down. When she came up to my window she was out of breath.
"I thought you'd be coming to town today, so I've been watching for you. You need to turn around and get the jeep out of here. It's probably one of the last vehicles in town," she said slowly still trying to breathe.
"What are you talking about?" Mike asked from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, we've got a load of meat for the community kitchen," I added.
"Keep the meat. A group of military guys came in The Kitchen today and announced they were opening a secret bunker for people to stay in. Most of the newcomers were excited and ready to go but a small group freaked out when they heard it was a two-day drive north. They didn't want to walk the whole way," Vanessa was explaining when gunshots echoed through the town.
She continued after making sure nobody was around, "That small group is now killing anyone with a vehicle. You need to get this thing out of here, now."
More gunshots went off, but these were closer followed by squealing tires. A few blocks away a truck flew through a yard throwing grass then barreled across the street stopping when it slammed into a tree. Flames began licking at the hood when five men came running after it.
The men stopped far enough away from the truck once they saw the flames. It didn't take long for them to notice the Jeep parked in the middle of the road. One man pointed us out and as a group they began running towards us.
"Vanessa, get in!" Mike yelled but it was too late, she had already taken off through someone's yard.
I quickly turned the Jeep around and floored it. For the first few blocks I saw the men cutting through backyards and jumping fences trying to shorten the distance, but I was faster. They didn't fire at us which was good for them since Mike had pulled his own pistol from the glove box.
"I think I've seen enough of these newcomers," he commented looking out the window, "I won't be coming back."
