The Road to Nowhere

Chapter Twenty One: Confession

Song for this chapter is
You Found Me by The Fray

I awake with the distant light of dawn shining on my face, blinding me slightly. I unzip my sleeping bag and slowly sit up. Most of the group is still asleep besides Anna keeping watch while the group slept. I think it was her and Henry who kept watch last night.

The fire from dinner is now a pile of smoldering ashes, a thin stream of smoke flowing up from it.

After putting on my shoes, I stand up and pull out my new necklaces from my pocket. I pull it over my head and put it on, the hawk at the upper center of my shirt. After putting on my jacket I walk over to the edge of the cliff.

I look out towards the rising sun.

I only think about how far we've come.
The people we've lost.
The dangers we've conquered.

And when Anthony died? That seems like a lifetime ago, but the pain is still there.
And it always will be.

I hear footsteps from behind me, and I turn around to see it's just Jesse. He says, "We're gonna leave soon."
"Okay", I answer, "Is everyone awake?"
"Yeah."
I follow Jesse back to camp, where everyone is already packing their stuff.

When Grace notices I have the necklace on, she asks, "You put it on?"
"Yeah", I tell her, "It's a gift, of course I'm gonna wear it right away."
"Well, I think it suits you", Grace tells me, "How old are you now?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm fifteen", I say. I turned fourteen last June, so yeah.

Grace's birthday was a little after winter, so I'm the same age as her now. It doesn't really take long for the group to finish packing. Thomas scratches his brown hair, yawning.

Then we're on the road again.

After a while of walking under the morning sun, we come around some trees and find the scene of a car crash.

It's the exact same car Gordon and Mary drove off in.

The accident looks recent, and the car is crashed against a tree. "Should we check it out?", I ask the group.
"Okay, but let's be careful", Anna says as she draws out her knife. I pull out my knife as well, then I slowly walk to the driver's side of the car. Anna takes the other side.

I peek inside the broken window, and trapped against the steering wheel is Gordon, now a walker.

He slowly looks over at me and gnashes his teeth. There's shards of glass sticking out of his neck, and his eyes are now a milky blue. Blood is splattered in his white hair, too. I look over Gordon and I see Mary, sitting in the passenger seat with a gun in her hand and a bullet hole in her forehead.

She must have shot herself so she wouldn't turn.

Gordon reaches his arms out, trying to get me, but I back up and head back to the group on the road.

I announce, "Its them. Gordon's a walker, and I think Mary shot herself."
Before I get to say anything else, Grace draws her knife and and storms over to the driver's side. We all watch as she stabs Gordon's head again and again.

She doesn't stop for a solid thirty seconds.
She must be filled with hatred for Gordon. After all, he almost killed Jesse.

After one final stab, she walks back to us, panting. "What?", she asks me, slight anger in her voice.
"Nothing", I answer nervously.

Grace puts her knife away, then we all continue to walk down the desolate road. After only a few minutes, Charlie stops dead in his tracks and says, "How long are we gonna keep doing this?"
The whole group turns to look at him.

Charlie continues, "I mean...this. Just walking aimlessly, looking for a 'safe place'. It's like we're on this...road to nowhere. For all we know, there's nothing out here! That's why I want Natalie and I to head back to that town where the herd was."

"Think about it, guys", Charlie says, "the walkers could be gone by now, and we've never been in this part of Pennsylvania before. There could be another herd out here!"

"And who's to say that the herd back there is gone?", Anna argues, "If you go back there, there's no telling if they cleared out or not! You'd be risking your lives!"

"We'll take our chances", Charlie says, "You know what? How about we split up? All of us? I think it'd be better since we won't have to deal with each other's shit."

"What?", Lucy asks angrily, "Are you drunk?"
"I keep a bottle of whiskey in my bag", Charlie angrily announces, "but yeah, how about we go our separate ways. Take David for example."
Charlie points at me and says, "We all know he survived on his own before, so he actually has a chance."

I angrily tell Charlie, "I would never leave my friends, no matter what!"

Charlie starts to walk toward me and says, "Oh you say that David, but what if you and your friends had a really bad falling out. Do you still think you wouldn't leave them?"

"Shut the hell up!", I yell at Charlie. I know the reason he's mad. He probably blames me for the death of Lisa and Tony.

Charlie looks angrier than before and Henry holds him back from getting any closer. Grace looks at me and asks, "David, you wouldn't leave us, right?"

"Of course I wouldn't", I assure her, "You guys are my friends."

"Oh sure they are", Charlie shouts at me.
I give him the middle finger.
He tries to take a step forward but is held back by Natalie and Henry.

"Is there a real reason?", Grace asks, "Yeah, we're close friends but is there more to it?" Jesse also looks at me, waiting for an answer.
"I...", I trail off.
"Just tell me, David", Grace says persistently, "Tell me why you would never leave us. Is it me? Is it because you have no one else? Tell me!"

"I can't be alone again, okay!"

I yell loud enough for everyone to hear, then everyone becomes quiet.

That's my worst fear.

To be alone.

"What?", Grace asks.

"Look", I tell her, "After my parents died, I was alone for four months. Four...months! Then I met you and Jesse. You guys helped me when I had no one else. Then after I left Woodford to look for Anthony, I finally found him. But...just when I thought I found hope, it fell from my reach. You guys are all I have left in this world, and if I ever left you...I would never forgive myself. So listen to me when I say, I cannot ever...be alone again."

This is one of the longest chapters of the story.
I think it was kinda weak XD

Maybe like three more chapters and an epilogue