The glass doors slammed behind them as both women ran back to their Jeep, their knives and guns making soft clicks as they came into contact with their belts. As they neared the vehicle, Eleni pulled out her keys and unlocked it, earning a brief honk. They ran to the back, and opened up the rear to shove their stuffed bags inside. After throwing them back in and packing up the rear leather seats, they shut the hatch and ran back to the driver and passenger doors. Flinging the doors open, Eleni didn't even wait until they had their seat belts on before hitting the gas and revving the engine.
They didn't know where they were going, but they would find out soon as Neri's hand reached for the radio again. She flicked it on, and began to mess with the stations for a second time.
"Do you expect music?" Eleni questioned, smiling.
Neri shook her head, but laughed. "No, I don't know... I'm just looking, I guess. Or entertaining myself. So far, it's the latter."
Eleni chuckled, and stepped on the brakes to avoid some debris and fallen trees.
"If you want..." the radio crackled.
Eleni's eyes locked on the radio. "Go back, I heard something again."
Neri nodded, and began twisting the knob slowly, changing the stations gradually for the correct tuning. Her forehead creased in concentration, and the Jeep pulled over to the side of the road.
"Here, let me help," Eleni offered, and punched the console like before.
There was a sharp squealing, and then voices could clearly be heard.
"...come now. So far, we think we're the last ones. If there's anyone hearing this, then listen carefully."
Both of their eyes widened, and pressed their lips together in anxiety. Neri turned it up as much as the vehicle allowed.
"We have a shelter. All the survivors, from what we know, have managed to come here. There's a wall that separates us and them, and we can guarantee safety." The person, whose gender was indistinguishable, cleared their throat. Wherever they were sounded quiet and safe, because the growls of the Restless were not present in the background.
"We have limited food, but enough to sustain us for a long while. The army is here too, Canadian and American. Now, if you want to find us--"
The radio cut out. Their jaws dropped, and Eleni began launching her fist into the knob again. "Not now, not now!"
"...in Ottawa. The remains of Ottawa, Canada's capital. It's next to the Great Lakes, and the near Niagara Falls. Come here, if you can. We need everyone we can find," the person finished. "Come to the ruins of Ottawa."
The radio cut out, and a dull buzz took over the air. Eleni and Neri exchanged glances, before jumping out of their seats and tackling each other with hugs. There was a safe place on Earth, they weren't the last.
"There's a chance for us!" Neri exclaimed into Eleni's hair.
"All we have to do is get there!" Eleni yelled back, her lips spread in a huge grin.
She turned back to the wheel with newfound confidence, and pulled out into the suburban highway again.
"We're gonna live, we're gonna live, we're gonna live," Eleni chanted over and over in a little tune. "Where is Ottawa?"
Out of Eleni's disorganized console, Neri pulled out a map book of Florida. She stretched it out and tried to flatten the creases of the pages, and turned to the first page. A map of the United States was printed on it in a dull green, labelling the States. Neri's grey eyes looked it over, and then she asked, "Did you grab a compass?"
Eleni thought for a moment, and furrowed her brow. "I think. Want me to pull over again so we can check?"
"Mmhm."
The Jeep parked on the side of the road, partway in the shallow ditch filled with untrimmed grass. Eleni hopped out and went to the back, beginning her search for the compass while Neri looked over the map in greater detail.
It'd be faster to trail the coast, she thought, but it's more heavily populated. There may be more Restless there... She bit her lip. So to stay safe we'd have to go through the States northward, but it'll take a little longer...and gas is in a scarce supply. We definitely won't get there without having to refuel on the way.
"Found it!" Eleni jogged back, adjusting her rifle as she passed the compass to Neri.
Neri nodded her thanks, and steadied the compass, until the needle pointed to her left. "We're headed west right now"--she smoothed out the map for Eleni to see--"so we just have to turn off at the next right to go north."
"Exactly where is Ottawa? Far away or near the border?" she inquired.
"The border," Neri replied, and looked at the map again, her finger showing the way. "It's unsafe near the coast, and there's probably more Restless there too. We'll have to go through the States, but it'll take more time."
Eleni's mouth quirked to the side, and began staring intensely at the map. "Which way is it?"
"Almost straight north," Neri muttered. "We'll have to go through Florida to Georgia, to South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, to New York. Ottawa's just above there."
Eleni nodded. "Okay, sounds good. How long is the trip?"
She paused in thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe twelve hours, give or take."
Eleni walked around to the other side of the vehicle, and jumped in. "Then let's get going as soon as possible!"
Neri packed away the booklet, and began thinking about what Ottawa was like. What's my home like? she thought.
Meanwhile, Eleni's thoughts were differential from the road she should've been paying attention to. I wonder how Mom and Dad are... And Grandma and Grandpa. Are they okay? Or are they...no, they're alive. I can feel it in my gut.
When the Jeep swerved as they took a right, the countryside splayed out in front of them. It wasn't as compressed as the city, and half an hour passed in silence. The tall skyscrapers of Palm Harbour slowly faded as they continued down the highway, having to turn every few minutes to avoid cars that had been abandoned, or were filled with Restless. There were fewer, but there was still enough to be cautious.
With a sigh, Eleni looked at her gas tank. It was only half full. She tapped it with her finger, and frowned. "We should fill up as soon as possible."
Neri agreed. "With what's left, yeah. Actually..."
"What?"
"Let me drive for a bit. Just to give you a break."
Eleni's brows raised. "Huh? Do you know the way?"
"Just north."
She sighed a second time, and slowed down the vehicle for the umpteenth time that day. Neri hopped out of the leather passenger seat, and walked around to the driver's. She jumped in just as enthusiastically, and Eleni gave her a skeptical look.
"What?" Neri asked when she saw it. "I'm not a bad driver, we're not gonna crash. Just you remember that I've had my license for two more years than you!" She poked Eleni's cheek, and her frown melted.
"Fine, fine. But you have to pay for any damages!" she said.
Neri giggled. "Where's that money gonna go? The banks are all down. And the law firms."
She huffed and sat back, fiddling with a loose string on her t-shirt. "Alright, you got me. But let's at least switch off every few hours so we don't overwhelm ourselves."
"Agreed. And as soon as we find a gas station, we'll take 'em for all they've got."
With that, Neri's Puma sneakers touched down on the gas and began at a reasonable speed, launching them further down the highway and farther away from civilization.
It was 9 p.m. already, and dark as pitch. Neri had been driving, then switched with Eleni, and now it was her turn again. Eleni was less sure too, because the only thing they could see was 50 feet of pavement in front of them from what their headlights illuminated. They were hours away from Florida, and there wasn't a single gas station in sight. Both of them were slowly becoming more anxious by the moment as the gas tank gradually emptied.
"Should we stop for the night?" Neri asked.
Eleni shook her head. "We have to find gas now, because if we stop, it may not start up again tomorrow morning."
There was a bit of a pop, and both the women stared at the gas meter. The little pointer highlighted the E, and both of their faces fell. The Jeep started to lose speed, and rolled downhill for a minute before it came to a stop.
"Dammit," Eleni muttered, and fell back against the seat.
Neri sighed and let her head hit the steering wheel, letting out a prolonged honk.
"Don't do that," Eleni warned, "What if it draws Restless?"
"Then they would've found us by now," Neri stated monotonously.
She sat up anyways, and peered out the dark windshield like Eleni was.
"Do you think we'd have a chance of walking to a gas station and grab some jerrycans?" Eleni asked.
Neri shrugged. "Worth a shot, I guess. Let's grab some stuff, so we're safe."
They got out of the Jeep and trailed to the back, sorting through their supplies. Before they departed, they sat in the back and ate some bags of chips, a chocolate bar, and each drained a bottle of water. The girls agreed that they would each take their AK-47s, their handguns, and their knives, because they were already strapped around them and a hassle to remove; and emptied their gym bags so that way they could carry more supplies back. Eleni grabbed the solar-powered LED flashlight she'd taken from the police station, and shoved it in her bag in case they'd need it. One water bottle was brought for each of them, and then they shut the hatch and began their lengthy walk.
As they began to walk down the highway, they noticed that there were no Restless in sight.
"Why is there no..." Neri wondered.
"I'm wondering the same thing," Eleni replied. "They didn't even show up after you honked the horn for ten seconds straight."
She shrugged. "Well I'm not gonna worry about it, 'cause it just means that we're safe for now. In the daylight, they'll probably come again."
Eleni snapped her fingers. "That's it! Do you think they're drawn by light, not sound?"
"It'd make sense if they were deaf."
Eleni clapped her hands. "We finally figured something out!"
"Keep your voice down," Neri warned. "There might be things other than Restless out there." She motioned to the nonexistent side of the road, so dark that they couldn't even see if there were trees or just flat grass.
Eleni nodded, and they continued walking for a straight hour. It was definitely past 10, but neither one of them had a watch or any idea what time it was. The night grew increasingly dark, if possible, to the point where the women walked with their shoulders touching to make sure they wouldn't lose one another. If Eleni's theory was correct, then she'd save her flashlight for when they got to the gas station, so she wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.
"The stars are really nice without the streetlights ruining it," Eleni whispered.
Neri gazed up, and smiled a bit at the painted blue and black sky, dotted with little white orbs. "Yeah, it does. Maybe the apocalypse was good for one thing."
"Especially that cluster of stars over there, they're really nice." Eleni pointed to the horizon, to a few oddly shaped lights.
Neri's grey eyes narrowed as she focused on the little lights cluster, until she saw them for what they really were.
She gasped. "Those aren't stars!"
Eleni tried looking harder. "You're right, they're lights! Of a building!"
"Then let's hope it's a gas station, because there isn't a city anywhere near here!"
They began to walk a little faster, and stayed on the road to make sure they wouldn't lose their way. It was another hour's walk to finally reach the small store, and both women were grinning ear-to-ear as they walked into the light provided by the fluorescent signs.
Half the ceiling outside had collapsed, and the lights with the illegible logo flickered, casting just enough light to see. It was a gas station, to their advantage, but it seemed that most of the gasoline was in puddles on the ground. The small pools of gasoline were paid no mind as they ran through the lot and the broken glass doors that had been busted off its hinges. Eleni pulled out the flashlight and turned it on. The light was so bright that it lit up the entire building, revealing broken shelves filled with more junk food and old sandwiches that they weren't willing to touch. The no-longer-freezing freezer had cartons of milk in it that had evidently gone bad, but behind that in the storage closet were red plastic jerrycans.
"Found them!" Eleni called, and waved Neri over from stuffing dried apples and saltine crackers into her bag. She'd even found three more bottles of water.
Her knives swayed as she jogged over, and grabbed the two cans that Eleni handed her. They avoided the puddles of gasoline as they walked out, and began to fill up the four jerrycans they found. Only the last of the pump pressure remained, so Neri filled both her cans before her pump ran dry, and the other one only filled one and half of Eleni's jerrycans. She shrugged, knowing that it was as good as it was going to get, and walked over to Neri.
As the two were about to depart, a Restless walked around the corner of the building, spying the light from the broken road sign, which Eleni and Neri just happened to be standing in.