Anarchy's Rules of Survival

Rule Number Five : Listen Beyond

Waking up I feel a strong arm wrapped around my midsection and memories from last night flood my mind: I had sex with Yeshua Thomas... the 4.0 GPA, Baseball Star, Honor Roll, Yale Bound, Golden boy. Then it's like the flood gates to my memory breaks and the only thing I can think about is Atlanta. "Yeshua, get up." I nudge the peaceful boy next to me in the ribs until he finally sits up and looks at me questioningly. "We've gotta get the stuff together and head out, it's already nearly six thirty. We're sleeping the daylight away." I tell him, not missing his huff of annoyance. "Don't you start that huffing and blowing bullshit, you knew last night I said we move at first light." I snap, standing up and slipping yesterday's hoodie over my head and pulling my hair into a quick ponytail. "Fine, I'll go wake the twins. You look around, find anything else we can take with us... bag it up and I'll have the boys start packing shit to the truck." He says as he slips his shirt over his head. "Thank you, Sunshine." I smile mockingly before making my way over to Daryl's closet.

I wait until I'm sure Yeshua's out of the room before I reach into the top of Daryl's closet and pull down the box I know he keeps his stash in... you can't go wrong with a little Mary Jane. After tucking the small box securely into my hoodie pocket, I begin to look through my brothers belongings- finding a few guns and knives to take with is, along with plenty of ammo for each gun. Grabbing Daryl's old high school gym bag I cram all the weapons into it, along with a handful of his clothes for the boys to wear, then make my way into the living room. "Here, Ez, take this to the truck." I hand the duffel bag off to Ezra, who's already loaded down with the gas station bags from yesterday, and send him out to the car to help his brothers load everything into the backseat. A quick look around the kitchen reveals what I could have already told myself- Daryl left the bare minimum behind. As I move to head out the door, I take notice of a picture frame sitting next to the ashtray on the living room table.

I hardly glance at it as I pick it up and tuck it into my pocket. I already know what it is. Mom, Merle, Daryl and I... he'd burned off the corner with dads face years ago. Walking outside I don't head immediately to the truck, instead I head around back to the shed. A glance around reveals four full gas canisters and yet another Atlanta post card. Calling for Zachariah to help me, I pick up two of the canisters and gesture for him to grab the other two. We hand the canisters off to Yeshua, who secured them in the locking toolbox in the bed before making his way around to the drivers side door. "My turn to drive, I figured you and I could do it in shifts until we can teach Dumb and Dumber to do it." He explains, nodding for me to climb onto the passenger side. It doesn't take but a minute more for the four of us to pile into the truck, eager to get on the road. "Any pit stops, or straight to Atlanta?" Yeshua asks, his eyes flickering over to me as he backs the truck onto the road.

"The postcards aren't of the city, they're of the mountain ranges just before. Daryl wouldn't be stupid enough to actually enter the city." I say, looking both postcards over carefully before passing them to the back for the twins to inspect. "Yeshua, this ones of that place Uncle Eli used to take us fishing every summer." Ezra says, leaning up to hold the card in-front of his brothers face. "I know the way, if you think your brother would be there." Yeshua tells me as we take a sharp curve. I open my mouth to answer him, but stop when a noise catches my attention. "Pull over to the side, behind those bushes, and kill the engine." I snap in a panic, my eyes scanning the road around ahead of us. Yeshua jerks the truck into the bushes and kills the engine, then turns to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Listen." I snap, pointing towards the road. As silence falls over us, and the humming of vehicles fills the space around us. The four of us watch out the window as a group of five or so cards speed past us, fleeing from the direction of the city.

"Wha-" Ezra starts to ask a question, but I reach into the back and cover his mouth before he can. Sure enough, a few seconds later a group of six or so infected comes running around the bend after the cars- the snapping of their teeth and inhuman snarls loud enough to breech the walls of the truck. None of us speak until the infected round the next curb and are gone from our view. "What the fuck?" Ezra breathes when I remove my hand from his mouth, his expression absolutely bewildered. "Daryl used to take me hunting and Merle taught me to listen beyond what I hear." I explain lamely, preparing for the next question I'm sure Zachariah is going to ask. "How did you know the Infected were going to come through right after the cars?" Zach asks, leaning up in preparation of my answer. "The cars were speeding, I could hear them the moment they turned onto the road, so I assumed they were running from something- it was only logical to assume it was either those Expired fucks or other survivors of the virus." Zachariah and Ezra snort at my choice of word for the Infected.

"Expired?" Yeshua asks as he starts the truck and pulls us back out onto the road. "That's the only word I can think to describe them... they're clearly not alive anymore, and some of them are beginning to rot the way expired food does. So, they're the Expired." Silence fills the car as the boys take in what I said, only for Ezra to ruin the newfound quietness with a laugh of exasperation followed by him loudly asking for a cigarette. With an unladylike snort I toss the cigarette cartridge into the back, followed immediately by the neon blue lighter I've been using. "Thank you." Is all Ezra says as he puts a cigarette between his lips and lights it, taking a deep inhale before reaching up to offer me a puff. "How far are we from that fishing hole?" My question is directed at Yeshua, but it's Zachariah that answers. "About three hours, it's off a backroad just before you get to the city and you've got to be carful of what turns you take or you'll end up in the middle of the fucking woods-" Ezra interrupts his brother to put in his usual inappropriate commentary. "-as confused as the day you discovered your private's weren't just for the bathroom."