Decimation (Ianthony Apocalypse AU)

day thirty-five

chompers seen: probably about six hundred

chompers killed: 0

near-death experiences: 6

human deaths witnessed: 3

friends left behind: 6

camps infiltrated: 1

dead friends: 1

I couldn't stand the hospital anymore.

Which, I should've enjoyed it like no other. There was a wide variety of food - real food - water, and safety. Not to mention the medicine and staff to heal my foot. But it was just so boring to sit around all day. I needed to get back out there, figure out what was going on in the world. Get back to Sacramento. Find my parents.

So, the day Kelly cut off my cast ("We really shouldn't take it off yet, but it's getting gross under there and we don't have another") and switched me into a big, hunky boot, I knew it was our time to leave.

At first, I'd been joking about stealing an ambulance to get out. But, when we were brainstorming our next move in front of Kelly and Anthony mentioned the idea of taking one, she didn't hesitate.

"It's not like there's anyone else to drive them," she'd said. "You might as well get use out of it."

So, a few days later, there we were. Me, barely able to walk in a sweaty, uncomfortable boot, as we piled our supplies into an ambulance and prepared for our next journey.

"Hey," I heard behind me. I turned to see Kelly approaching, a small smile on her face. "Take these." She handed me a small Ziploc bag of pills. "Take one every day. It's not nearly enough, but it's all we have left. And it's something."

I smiled, tucking the bag safely into the front pocket of my new backpack I'd found in the hospital. "Thanks, Kelly. For everything."

"Just doing my job." She glanced at the ambulance. "Need any help?"

"No, I think we're just about good. And besides, I think you've done more than enough."

She looked down, shrugging. "I'm not gonna be able to much longer. We're almost out of everything in there. And I can't keep this 'power outage' act up for much longer. I'm gonna have to tell them the truth soon."

I smiled a little. "I mean, you can leave them all behind and come with us."

She shook her head, but still smiled a little. "As much as I'd love to leave all my problems behind and go on a road trip with a bunch of strangers, I can't leave them. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Hey, Ian, you ready?" Aaron called, climbing into the back of the ambulance.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." I turned back to Kelly. "Seriously, thank you. I think I might've died from pain by now if it weren't for you."

She put a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, well, just don't go breaking any other limbs and come back expecting the same special treatment."

"I'll try."

She hugged me then, and I smiled and returned the embrace. It was always nice to make temporary friends, it just sucked to leave them behind.

"Good luck out there," she said, letting me go.

"Good luck in there."

And with that, she turned and left, and I hobbled to the passengers' seat of the ambulance, waving at her one final time.