S1E07:
"Good morning people. Welcome to the third day of the sixth month of the year aught-three A.Z. if you're listening to this, it means you're still alive. So congratulations. Or condolences. You know, whatever." Bailey heard Citizen Z's voice over the radio as she sat in the back seat of the truck between Cassandra and Warren. Mack and Addy were on a motorbike ahead of them as they passed a sign that said 'Welcome to Kansas' but Bailey didn't think Warren saw it. Her mind was far away as she gazed out the window blankly, she hadn't said anything since she'd gotten back in the car, she'd barely even had any food or water while Doc drove. Actually, no one spoke, they all just listened to Citizen Z over the radio, it was like they'd left their thoughts back in Province Town.
"If you're noticing more despair in my voice than usual today, it's because we lost someone special. I know, we lose people all the time. Getting your face chewed off by a Z is more common than making it to your next birthday. But this guy. . . this one's worth mentioning. Charles Garnett, First Sergeant, Army National Guard Reservist, was an honest-to-God, real, live, actual good guy. He fought for other people, not just for his own survival. And he did something that's pretty much impossible these days. He gave people hope. Remember hope? Remember thinking that we might actually come out on the other side of this thing? Yeah, that. Sergeant Garnett died trying to give us a reason to hope. And for that. . . " he started to sniffle before he pulled it together, "Sergeant Charles Garnett, on behalf of a grateful nation, or whatever the hell we are now. We salute you."
They didn't drive much longer after CZ's eulogy, something went wrong with the truck and Doc was forced to stop. Addy saw them and signaled to Mack to turn the bike around. There was smoke pouring heavily out the engine and 10K hopped out of the back and crawled under to check it out.
"Radiator?" Mack asked when he and Addy had parked the bike.
"Yeah." Doc said.
"Fixable?"
"Don't know."
"Gee, if we only had a mechanic." Murphy grumbled as they all got out of the truck except Warren.
"You got to let her deal, man." Doc said, "She's got that post traumatic stress."
"She's got post-traumatic stress?" Murphy asked as Mack reached in and checked the engine. "The whole world's got post-traumatic stress. Actually, there isn't anything 'post' about it. We all got plain old present tense, all traumatic, all stress all the time. What makes her so special?" he asked walking around to Warren's window to bother her. Bailey followed, she might agree with Murphy that every survivor had something they were still dealing with, a past kill or a past loss but it didn't mean he shouldn't let Warren grieve. She stayed back ready to step in if she thought he was pushing too far, surprisingly, Murphy actually made a good point instead.
"Hey. Wake up. Hey. You can't just check out. We got a job to do." He said before catching a glimpse of himself in the side mirror, "And I am running out of time. And California is still two thousand miles of bad road away. And we are not going to make it without you. Cause it's not like they're gonna follow me, or the old man, or the Wonder Twins or Texas Hatchet Massacre back here. Hey." But Warren only turned so she wouldn't have to look at Murphy anymore and he gave up.
"All right," Mack said doing all he could for the engine, which wasn't much, "Addy and I will scout up ahead. See if we can get some help."
"We will?" the red head asked.
"Yeah."
"Yeah, I dunno guys. I think we should stick together." Doc said as Bailey leaned on the driver's door of the truck.
"No, Doc, don't worry. We're just going to scout ahead and circle back around and find you. I mean, it's not like you're getting far in the truck. Come on, Addy."
Addy gave a shrug and left Bailey with a quick hug before getting on the bike with Mack again and heading off down the road.
"I found a leak in the radiator hose." 10K said shuffling out from under the truck. "Taped it up a little bit, but we're not going anywhere unless we get some water in there."
Doc started collecting water bottles and canteens and emptying them into the radiator. Bailey pulled out her bottle from her messenger bag and took one last swig before handing it to Doc who looked sad that he had to take it.
"How's the throat doing kiddo?" he asked.
"Pretty good." Her voice cracked after not being used in so long. Doc had taken a look at the patch job Cassandra had done on one of their pit stops. He looked impressed and told her she'd done a good job but still undid the dressing to stitch up the wound to help prevent infection and hopefully help it heal quicker. Bailey had tried not to talk to give her throat a better chance of healing fast.
"I get thirsty." Murphy said as Doc snatched his water.
"We all get thirsty." Doc snapped back before dumping the water into the radiator and 10K jumped up from the ground.
"I'll drive." He volunteered.
"Knock yourself out Kid." Doc said getting in the passenger seat. Murphy sat between them leaving the back to Cassandra, Bailey and Warren. 10K put the truck in drive and stepped on the gas, a little too hard making the vehicle jerk forward.
"Whoa! Whoa, easy there Kid, easy." Doc said, "Who taught you how to drive?"
"Uh. No one." 10K admitted and Cassandra and Bailey shared a look before grabbing their seatbelts.
"Hands on the ten and the two." Doc instructed, "And easy on the gas."
Addy POV
"Nothin' out here. No people, gas, not even Z's. Nah, we gotta go back, there is no help out here."
"There's no help back there either." Mack replied with a dull voice.
"We have to go back Mack, We have a mission. We made a promise."
"No we didn't we never did. Addy the only promise we ever made was to each other – stay alive."
"Look yeah, okay maybe we didn't say the words and we didn't sign an oath. But. . . we all stand for each other, we don't leave each other behind. Garnett came back for me when those cannibals kidnapped me. And now you want to leave Warren? She needs us, they all need us."
"I just think, maybe we have a better chance on our own like in the beginning."
"And Bailey? She was with us at the start to. You're just planning on leaving her?"
"I'm sure she can handle herself. And we're not leaving her alone, she'll have the others."
"Mmm-hmm. So how long?" she asked.
"What?"
"How long before you think you have a better chance on your own and leave me behind too?"
"Addy, whoa hey. I came back for you. The cannibals, I came back for you I'll always come back for you. You know me."
"I'm not so sure anymore . . . about anything." She admitted.
"Alright." He said with a sigh putting his helmet back on, "We'll go back."
"Okay."
Bailey POV
"Go right." Murphy said when they came to a fork in the road.
"Why right?" Doc asked.
"Why not?"
Soon they passed a sign with the letter Z with an X over it.
"No Z's. That's a good sign." Doc said. The next sign they saw said 'Gun Show Today Only', "Getting interesting." Doc said as they passed the next sign, "Liquor! Now you're talking. Murphy we're going to have to let you navigate more often. Congratulations, son, you're now the designated driver."
"What's that mean?" 10K asked.
"It means step on it." Doc laughed and 10K sped up. They quickly arrived at a camp, it was set up on open farmland and had a large grey barn and a mill where it looked like they processed hay and wheat. There were several other trucks, vans, cars and assorted other vehicles in what looked like a makeshift parking lot and two men with guns patrolled the entrance.
"Y'all armed?" One asked.
"Obviously." Cassandra said and Bailey raised an eyebrow hoping this wasn't another check your weapons at the door type place.
"Good." The first man said, "We don't have time to babysit anyone." He said as they let them inside.
"Guns and liquor. What could go wrong?" Murphy said reading another sign. They got out of the truck after 10K parked, Warren was still in a daze as she followed Doc, 10K and Murphy. Bailey brought up the back of the group with Cassandra as she looked around with worry on her face.
"Hey." Cassandra asked tapping her arm and getting her attention, "You okay?"
"Yeah." Bailey said crossing her arms and facing forward though her eyes still darted to every person they passed. "No." she admitted, "I just. . . hope Addy and Mack are here somewhere."
"You're worried about them." Cassandra said moving to walk closer to her, their shoulders nearly touching now. Bailey nodded which irritated her neck a little, it would probably be another day or two before the stitches could come out and she'd be left with a scar but until then Bailey was in a fair amount of discomfort, though she kept telling herself it was better than being in pain. She brought her hand to her throat and rubbed trying to soothe the irritation.
"Stop messing with it." Cassandra said pulling her hand away, "It won't heal if you keep touching it."
"Well, slap my ass and call me Sally." They heard Doc say, "If it ain't Sketchy McClain." Doc said slapping his hand and giving his old friend a one armed hug.
"How'd you get way out here?" Doc asked when they'd parted.
"We traded our way up in the world." Sketchy replied before turning to Bailey, "How you doing Hawthorne?" he asked stepping over to give her a hug too then he led them inside the gun show.
"You see zombies, they move in mysterious ways. We were on our last legs when we came upon this truckload of sweet weaponry under attack. We had to give the former owners mercy. And in return, they gave us this wonderful vehicle, with enough gas to get us here to Kansas." He said leading them to the grey barn and an open field where they'd parked an eighteen wheeler full of guns and ammo.
"Oh, hey Skeezy!" Sketchy called, "Look what the living dead dragged in!"
"Doc!" Skeezy cried from the back of the open truck, "Hawthorne! I heard you were toast back at Camp Blue Sky!" he laughed moving to a table where they'd displayed the best of their collection. "Don't just stand there. Get your ass in here. We need another sucker."
"Bite me Skeezy." Doc chuckled as Bailey reached over the table to give Skeezy a fist bump.
"Hey, I got to show you the new and improved Z Whacker." Sketchy said holding up a two pronged fork you'd use for barbequing. He laughed then noticed, "Hey speaking of Z Whacker, what happened to the girl you were with? Did she. . . " then he drew a line across his neck as he asked about Addy.
"No, man. We're still traveling together." Doc explained, "They went ahead looking for help. Kinda thought they'd end up here."
"No, haven't seen 'em. And I'm pretty sure I'd notice." Sketchy said. "Here we've got our latest innovations in zombie fighting technologies. Small arms. Hot potato. Siege weapons. Brain obliterators. You name it, we got it. Just sit back, relax and forget about the apocalypse."
"Aren't you worried about the Z's?" Cassandra asked.
"Look around." Sketchy said, "We're in the middle of nowhere Kansas. We're surrounded by hundreds of square miles of nothing but fallow farmlands. There's no Z's here. Nothing for them to eat. They've all moved on to the big cities. Don't you worry, I'll protect you." He chuckled but no one else laughed at the joke, "Yeah, but anyway if one were to come amble by, to say we're prepared is an understatement, right?" he asked turning to Skeezy who nodded in agreement. "Over there is the FU-Bar. Home to the finest and probably actually the only corn whisky and moonshine between here and the Miss. . . Whoa." He said as Warren marched off to the bar and Murphy followed behind her "Somebody's thirsty."
"Listen man, we need a new vehicle." Doc told them, "Ours is dying a slow death. You think you could help us out? You know for old times sake?"
"No can do, my friend." Sketchy said with a tip of his top hat, "I'm an entrepreneur, not a philanthropist. But there might be a way you can help yourself. Our first annual live zombie shooting contest." He said pointing to a sign.
"What's the prize?" 10K asked.
"Hey Vernon. Show our friends here first prize." Sketchy said and Skeezy jumped into the back of the truck and came back with a rifle that was as long as he was tall.
"Wow." 10K said mesmerized. "That a real fifty caliber M-82 Barrett?"
"Gen-u-ine." Sketchy said, "Plus we'll even throw in a few hundred rounds of shells."
"Seems like a little overkill." Doc commented.
"Yeah. But there's a lot of guys who like their toys." Sketchy pointed out looking at 10K as an example, the sniper hadn't taken his eyes off the gun since Skeezy brought it out. If only he looked at me like he's looking at that gun, she thought before shaking her head and thinking, Crap, she'd been doing such a great job of keeping thoughts like that out of her head since Missouri. "A lot of guys who might be willing to trade a vehicle for a sweet piece of steel like that fifty. You know what I mean?"
"Where do I sign up?" 10K asked sounding excited.
"You think you got what it takes, little man?"
"Are you kidding me?" Doc stepped in, "This kid could kill a Z at fifty yards away with a rubber band and a paper clip."
"All right. Sign up's in the FU-Bar. If you do win and you want to trade it for a bad mama jama vehicle, you wanna talk to a guy named Wannamaker. Oh and if you want side action, talk to Vernon. But uh, do not bet against that guy. Darren Cooper. Ex-Ranger sniper. Fifty confirmed kills in Afghanistan, lethal as they come." Sketchy warned.
Bailey turned to see 10K taking in his competition, he had a look of determination she'd never seen before as he chewed his lip nervously but his eyes were hard, he wasn't going to let that military buff beat him easily.
Doc grabbed him gently by the shoulder and turned him around as they headed into the FU-Bar to sign him up and look for Wannamaker. Murphy immediately came over to them and gestured to Warren who was sitting at the bar downing a mason jar full of some murky substance Bailey assumed had alcohol in it.
"Hey, you got to do something about her. I'm not waiting for anybody."
"I know Murphy, keep your shorts on." Doc said, "Have you seen a guy in here named Wannamaker?"
"What are we making friends now?" he snarked back and Doc walked around the bar looking to see if anyone looked like a car dealer.
"Anybody know anybody in here named Wannamaker?" he finally called out running out of luck.
"Who wants to know?" the bartender asked.
"Oh, we're just looking to trade. Just a little business. My friend said he might have a vehicle."
"Yeah, Wannamaker's got cars."
"Do you know where he is?" the bartender didn't answer he only looked over to a man who was passed out under a table.
"Uh, hey! Uh, hello!" Doc called bending over trying to wake the guy up but he only kept snoring.
"He's not gonna wake up. Once Wannamaker's down he's down." A man sitting at the table said, "Check back in forty eight hours."
"Well, what about you? Mr. . . " Doc asked.
"Forman."
"You look like a car man." Doc said.
"I don't drive cars. I drive machines." The guy replied.
"Any, uh, machine you'd be willing to let go of?"
"Depends. What do you got to trade?" he asked eyeing Cassandra who flicked him the bird.
"Don't worry Darlin' you're not worth it." He said as his eyes wandered over to Cassandra's left where Bailey was standing. She was smiling goofily at Forman while she twirled her hair on her finger and bit her lower lip. She felt 10K's eyes on her but she didn't look away from Forman as he smirked and winked at her. This would work like a charm, she thought. Like she told 10K back in Virginia, she was good at reading people and Forman was like an open book.
10K POV
Bailey walked closer to the table and sat on top of it right in front of Forman, she crossed her legs at the knee and leaned back on one hand, her other arm draped across her lap.
"What about me baby?" she asked in a tone 10K had never heard before, "Am I worth it?"
Forman only smiled drunkingly and looked her up and down, "You just might be."
Bailey giggled as she twirled her hair, "So what kind of machine you ride?"
"Oh, is that what turns you on?" Forman asked and Bailey bit her lower lip again and nodded, "Ain't nothing as sweet as the Formanmobile. Bio-diesel, solar-powered, quiet as they come. Kitchen, bathroom, fully regenerative internal plumbing system, complete with marine grade PEX fittings. Built in we got an NSV machine gun, flame thrower, cattle gun, grenade launcher, doom whistle, plus the usual wheel spikes, all that." As he talked Bailey had slid off the table and onto his lap wrapping an arm over his shoulders. Doc pulled 10K and Cassandra over to the sign up line but 10K couldn't seem to take his eyes off Bailey. He couldn't help but keep looking over at the table where they'd left Bailey with that Forman guy who had wrapped an arm around her waist. She gave a high pitched laugh at something he said which only made his grin widen and 10K's scowl deepen.
"Shouldn't we be watching out for her?" he asked Doc and Cassandra from where they stood in line for the shooting contest. "And not leave her alone with that guy?"
"Eh, don't worry Kid." Doc said nonchalantly, "I've known Bailey a lot longer than you have. Trust me this ain't her first rodeo, she knows what she's doing."
10K turned to Cassandra hoping that with her past she'd agree with him that they shouldn't use Bailey just to get a better car.
"I don't like it." Cassandra said but Doc still persisted.
"Your cannibal friends might have had some good tricks but trust me, Bailey's got more. She reads people the way you and I read books and knows exactly how to play them. I've seen her play the badass, the prostitute, the innocent orphan girl, you name it. Trust me, she's got this."
Cassandra then shrugged as she looked at 10K, "It's not like we forced her into it. Let's give her a chance, unless we see things go south."
Then the line moved forward and Doc pulled him up by his sleeve. He couldn't help but look over his shoulder at Bailey one more time with a bad feeling turning his stomach into knots, something he felt was more than just worry about her.
Bailey POV
The FU-Bar emptied out not much later as most people went to watch the gun show.
"What happened here Darlin'?" Forman asked her as his finger traced the stitches under her chin. She just smiled and shook it off like it was nothing.
"I just like it a little rough." She said leaning in, Forman tried to go in for a kiss but Bailey pulled back. "Maybe we can go somewhere more private? You can show me your ride. . . maybe more." She said suggestively and Forman jumped at the idea. She got off his lap as he stood and put his cap on before he wobbled a bit and took her hand leading her to the Formanmobile. Before they made it there though he muttered.
"I got to drain the lizard king." He slurred and Bailey saw her chance. She leaned in as he wrapped his arm around her and whispered in his ear.
"Don't be too long now." She said seductively as she reached into his back pocket and cupped his backside. He let out a moan of pleasure before he pulled away and headed to the back of the barn. Once he was out of sight Bailey looked down at the keys in her hand and smirked to herself.
"Too easy." She said pocketing the keys and heading to watch the shooting contest.
Murphy POV
He got tired of watching Warren drink herself into a coma and decided to take off. On his way out he noticed that Forman guy Bailey had been flirting with taking a piss behind the barn. He didn't know where Bailey had gone but Forman didn't seem in a hurry to get back to her as he zipped up and stumbled back before passing out in the dirt. Murphy jogged over to him to make sure he was really passed out.
"Hey Forman! Forman, you okay?" when he didn't respond Murphy bent down and started checking his pockets for car keys. He wasn't having any luck when Forman suddenly came to and pushed him over.
"What are you doing?" he muttered as they struggled rolling in the dirt and hay. Forman punched him in the face a few times, maybe he wasn't as drunk as Murphy had thought. Then he ripped a few of his shirt buttons revealing his bites and newly grey tinted skin.
"Zombie." He said as he jumped back, "Hell, what are you?"
He pulled a knife and not knowing what came over him Murphy growled and charged grabbing Forman and biting him right on the collarbone. He fell to the ground muttering zombie over and over and Murphy found a rock and hit him in the head knocking him out. Then he dropped the rock and took off. He turned the corner of the barn and ran right into Bailey.
"Murphy what the hell?" she asked regaining her balance to keep from falling. "Is that blood on your mouth?"
Damn it, he thought as he tried to wipe it away, luckily Bailey shook her head, "Know what? I don't have time for whatever freaky thing is going on with you. Here." She pulled Forman's keys from her pocket. "Make yourself useful and find what vehicle these belong to. I'm going to find Doc and the others."
Bailey POV
Bailey made it over to the shooting contest just as someone shouted "Zombie!" and Darren Cooper stood up freshly zombified. All the other shooters stood from the table and fired taking him out almost instantly.
"Nice shootin everybody!" Sketchy said through a traffic cone he was using as a megaphone, "Hey people checking out inventory over at the barter tables, watch stray bullets, thanks."
Bailey found Ten Thousand and made her way over to him. "Hey where'd Doc and Cassandra go?" she asked as he knelt back down at his place at the table.
"Dunno."
"Okay just keep shooting." She said and he nodded returning to his scope. She looked around figuring Doc and Cassandra would be back, she just hoped it would be soon, they needed to get outta here.
"We've got five contestants left." Sketchy said, "Next target. Cowboy hat. Fire!" the first two men who shot missed, then the only girl shooter hit the target, followed by the last man then 10K.
"Snyder, you're out. Mulligan, you're out." Skeezy said, "Good shootin Mulligan. Better luck next year. If there is a next year." He said looking through his binoculars again.
"All right we've got three contestants left! So let's up the ante and let's take it up to four hundred yards!" Sketchy announced as Cassandra returned and found Bailey.
"Hey."
"Hey." Bailey said turning to her with her arms crossed, "What's up? Where'd you guys go?"
"Something with Murphy. He bit that Forman guy and got into some trouble. Doc and I got him out of it." Damn, Bailey thought, that meant he probably didn't get the Formanmobile. Murphy, you had one job.
"Where is Doc?" Bailey asked as the snipers all took their shots but she was ignoring all that now.
"On his way."
"Okay well, he's almost done here." Bailey said gesturing to 10K who was smiling after hitting the target. Then Doc showed up.
"We need to get out of here." He said urgently.
"Yeah but we can't." Bailey said.
"Not yet anyway." Cassandra added.
"Oh, he's still in it?" Doc said looking over to 10K who was preparing his next shot.
"Oh yeah." Cassandra said.
"That's our boy!" Doc said gleefully.
"All right, three contestants left and we're going out to FIVE HUNDRED YARDS!" Sketchy announced.
"Why are you called Ten Thousand?" Bailey heard the female sniper ask. She was young and very skilled, especially for her age, Bailey couldn't help but be impressed.
"It's how many Z's I plan to kill." 10K answered not taking his eye from his scope.
"How many you got?"
"Well, I'm not counting today. . . 2,119."
"I'll still get more than you today." The girl said with confidence.
"Maybe." 10K replied, "Maybe not." He finished with a smirk.
"The dude with the coveralls! Fire!" Sketchy shouted and the last guy between 10K and the girl missed his shot.
"Sorry you're gone!" Skeezy said.
"You got this kid you got this!" Doc cheered.
"You ready to give up?" 10K asked the girl.
"Never." She said firmly.
"Never?"
"If this is your attempt at trying to psych me out it's failing miserably." She snapped which led Bailey to believe that it wasn't failing as much as the sniper girl wished it was, even though Bailey knew that wasn't what 10K was trying to do. He'd win this, honestly, without any dirty tricks, he didn't need them, his skill was enough.
"Stay focused." The guy standing behind the girl said, Bailey assumed he was her father.
"That gun is mine." She said turning to 10K who – like Bailey – seemed to see a desperation in the way the girl spoke. This might have been a game for many of the others but Bailey was now getting the impression that for her, that gun meant she and her father got to keep surviving.
"Zombies!" Skeezy suddenly shouted, "Zombies inside the perimeter!"
"Okay listen up everybody!" Sketchy said through the traffic cone, "We need a few people to go check and clean up some Z's and find out what's going on at the perimeter."
"Look people no one's gonna win anything unless we stop these Z's from spoiling our fun. All right?" Skeezy added which seemed to motivate many of the spectators.
"Stay here, you keep shooting." The girl's dad told her before he went off with the others.
"Okay!" Sketchy said calling attention back to the contest, "We're five hundred yards out, and we can't go any further! So best shot wins! This is for all the cookies! First up. . . the judge. Fire!"
"Ladies first." 10K offered.
"Screw you. I'm no lady." The girl replied making 10K glance at her before looking through his scope.
"Okay." He lined up his shot and fired hitting the judge in the center of his forehead making the crowd cheer. "Beat that."
"Okay." The girl said in a mocking tone. Then she did something even Bailey was shocked at. She lined up her shot so perfectly that it went through where 10K's shot hit.
"Two bullets one hole." Skeezy said as 10K and the girl looked at each other, Bailey noticed that 10K seemed to be stuck between being impressed and nervous.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got ourselves a barn burner here." Sketchy said, "This thing's going into sudden death overtime! So come on over and see me and put down your bets before the next round!"
"Okay." Bailey said turning to Doc and Cassandra, "I'm going to get Warren and get her to the truck." Then she knelt by 10K and put an arm over his shoulders, "Nice shooting 10K, keep it up." She said and he smiled and gave her a nod before she headed back to the FU-Bar.
"You were such a badass." She found Warren saying to the bartender who had now turned zombie. But he had one arm chopped off and the other stuck to the counter by Warren's knife. Bailey wasn't sure what was going through Warren's mind, but she did know enough to not mess with a woman in mourning, especially when that woman had military training.
"Oh, man. Not like those blind idiots." Warren continued pouring herself another drink, "Always dreaming of a life that will never come back. No, you weren't blind. You saw it, and you faced it. So when you told me there was a way, a way to live again. . . I believed you. You made me believe you. How could you do that to me? You gave me. . . hope. That I, that we, could have some kind of life and I. . . I loved you for that. Then it got you killed. You had hope, and it made you weak. It made me weak. How could you do that Charlie? How could you. . . give me all of that. . . and then take it away?" Warren said standing from her bar stool and putting on a pair of leather gloves. "How could you?" she asked then started punching the zombie like he was a punching bag at a gym, "How could you die?" Punch, "How could you?" Another punch, then she removed the knife from the Z's hand and threw him to the floor. She straddled him and kept on punching. When she got all her anger and frustration out she pulled off her gloves.
"If you don't have a reason to live, you might as well die. That's all you did. Cause you gave me a reason, and it was a nice one. A beautiful lie, really. It won't ever be beautiful like that. But I'll find a reason to live. I will." Then she pulled out her machete, "I give you mercy."
"Warren." Bailey called softly after she'd plunged her blade into the Z's head and the woman turned and looked at her from over her shoulder, "Warren, we've got to go."
Together they walked out of the FU-Bar and into complete chaos. There seemed to be Z's coming from every direction but the closest one was an elderly man with his pants pulled down. Luckily his shirt was long enough to cover himself, Bailey had seen a lot in three years of apocalypse but that was a nightmare she didn't need. She pulled out her hatchet but before she could do anything Warren's voice stopped her.
"Where'd you come from?" she asked plainly looking at the Z as she pulled her gun from its holster. Bailey thought she might have trouble given all she'd had to drink but she hit the Z straight between the eyes. Then she grabbed her machete in her free hand and walked into the hell that was swarming them. She shot another zombie right in the center of it's forehead and stabbed another in the stomach then brought her gun under it's chin and blew it's brains out. Warren pulled back and let the body drop before swinging her machete at the next zombie that lunged for her dropping that one instantly too. She made another flawless headshot on the next one then swung her machete so hard she cut the skull in half on the next Z. Bailey was stunned as she stood behind Warren then she saw Doc and Cassandra run over and they looked just as surprised as Warren decapitated the last two Z's with one swing.
"You're looking better." Cassandra said with wide eyes.
"Who's next?" Warren asked as the four of them made their way to the truck. When they made it there Warren took the drivers seat this time and Doc had shotgun. Bailey was stuck between Murphy and Cassandra in the back and couldn't help but bounce one leg nervously as they waited for 10K.
"How much longer are we going to wait for him?" Murphy asked looking out the window at the chaos that still hadn't calmed down around them.
"Not much." Warren replied and Bailey became even more nervous. She really wouldn't leave 10K, would she? After everything he'd done for the group?
"He'll be here." Doc said and only a second later they heard a familiar voice shout.
"Hey!" 10K was running right for their truck when a fresh zombie grabbed him from the right, he'd had both hands on his gun so all he could do was struggle against the zombie's hold on his shoulders. Warren and Doc jumped out of the truck and Warren aimed her gun.
"Get him!" 10K shouted.
"I can't get a shot!" Warren called back.
"Hold him steady, Kid!" Doc yelled.
"I can't!" 10K shouted and Bailey could hear the fear in his voice, he thought this was it for him. Then the Z opened its mouth and snapped its teeth toward 10K's neck then there was a loud BOOM and there was a gaping hole in the zombie's skull where it's face had been. As it dropped they could see the girl 10K had been competing against behind the fifty caliber rifle. Doc ran forward and grabbed 10K and shoved him into the truck between himself and Warren. 10K rested his rifle on his left shoulder and wrapped his arms around it like a kid might hold their teddy bear. The whole right side of his face was covered in Z blood and Bailey reached into her messenger bag on the floor of the truck and pulled out a rag. She leaned forward and passed it to 10K who gave her a grateful nod before he started wiping off his face.
"I hope we catch up with Mack and Addy." Cassandra said as Bailey sat back in her seat.
"Me too." Bailey said looking out
the back window to where it looked like a large dust cloud was forming.