Stick Together

False Security

"Jesus fuckin' Christ!" Kenny screamed in terror. "Guys! Look at this shit!"

He was referencing the giant mob of dead people, walking in unison, heading straight for the illuminated chalet. Consisting of about 500 biters, it was the largest the group had ever encountered.

"What are you—," Dakota popped outside to see what Kenny was talking about. "Oh shit."

His next movement was to the congregated people at dinning tables. His first words were, "We've gotta go." His second words were, "Grab all the goddamn food and water you can, and let's hit the road."

About 5 minutes later, all nine group members were running from the fast approaching herd of unprecedented mass. Of course, Jesse and Lily were somewhat to fully incapable of walking, so they abstained from running and were carried by some of the others. For what seemed like hours, they ran until they entered the Green Bay city limits. They cleared a street and entered a bar because Wisconsin possesses the most amount of pubs and bars of any other state in the US, or at least it did. They set up a resting area for Jesse, now unconscious, and Lily, now very conscious, after sweeping the bar. Finally, Kenny chugged a half-filled bottle of whiskey.

"Pace yourself," Cameron warned. "That's strong shit."

"What do you know about alcohol?" Kenny burped.

"I'm not an idiot," she sassed. "I know what whiskey is."

"Good God, I'm absolutely exhausted," Elle whispered to Dakota. "I'm gonna go look for a seat that isn't wooden and hard."

"While you're doing that, can you find me fuckin' club soda, or even Sprite," Kenny burped again. "Jesus, this is difficult to swallow."

"I bet that's what Elle was saying the other night," Andrea slapped her knee and laughed. "Christ, I'm tired."

The next morning, Dakota, Andrea, Kenny and Aaron ventured out of their bar to find a map of Wisconsin or of even Green Bay. They were admittedly lost out of their minds. They searched far and wide until they finally reached a rest stop on a deserted highway on the outskirts of Green Bay. With trepidation, they entered the old building severely in need of repairs of many types. They definitely didn't expect what they saw on the inside.

A camp of about 15 people resided inside of the rest area, where about 80% of the people remained at that instance.

"Holy shit," Kenny mumbled, baffled by its modesty.

"Can it be—," one of the camp dwellers began. "Other people—living people!"

"We just want a map to get to Ottawa," Dakota explained, avoiding any deeper conversation.

"You're about 800 miles too far west," a man emerged. "And why they hell would you go to Ottawa?"

"There's apparently a refugee camp for survivors," Andrea chimed in. "We want to find it."

Suddenly, a man, behind Andrea, smacked the back of her head, pulled her hair and held her at gunpoint.

Her captor yelled, "Give us all your shit, or your lady friend'll die."

"Let go of her, asshole!" Kenny lunged towards the man, and he fired his gun, the round piercing Kenny's right bicep and exiting through the tricep on the other side. He screamed out in pain and fell to the ground.

"Jesus," Dakota gasped. "You crazy fuck!" He whipped out his pistol and felt the gun explode in his hand, as another bullet entered it. Another camp dweller had shot his firearm, essentially breaking Dakota's index and middle fingers.

Finally, Aaron took his shot, and didn't miss the lunatic fondling Andrea. His lead found the captor's forehead, killing him instantly. He swung his revolver around to the rest of the group. "Map. Now!" he demanded. "Give me all the fucking maps you have."

A child emerged and handed Aaron five maps of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the upper Michigan peninsula. Andrea helped Kenny onto his feet and the four left as if nothing had happened. When they finally arrived back at the bar, Andrea operated on Kenny and Dakota as best she could with the supplies at hand.

"Christ, Dakota!" Elle exasperated in a private room in the back of the bar. "You could've died!"

"But I didn't," Dakota mumbled. "And you would've been fine if I had."

"Bullshit! I couldn't move on without you!" she argued. "I wouldn't live without you."

Dakota just looked at the ground with a dismal face about him. There he'd stay until he fell over to sleep an hour later, accompanied by Elle beside him, and her newly found happiness and worry, both relating to her beloved Dakota, where even in an alternate universe, she could never even think of hurting him.