Those Who Survive

Just Have To Keep Moving

"So.." Thomas smiles softly, "Are you on your own..? Cause you can come with me."

He gestures towards the black truck behind him. Cry tilts his head lightly, "Are you on your own?"

Thomas looks upset as he nods slowly, "I am.. Have been for a few days now.. How about you..?"

Cry doesn't answer for a few moments, weighing his options and trying to figure out if it's a good idea to reveal his friends yet. Thomas doesn't seem to be a threat at all, as far as Cry can tell. Thomas just looks like a regular survivor, just like them. If he had wanted to do Cry harm, he would have by now.

"I'm not alone, actually," he replies, "There are two others with me."

"Well," Thomas shrugs, smiling softly, though his eyes held a cautious expression, "They can come, too. Just as long as, you know, you don't intend to back-stab me."

Cry returns his smile, "We're not, I promise."

This makes Thomas relax a bit, "Okay, good. So, where are they?"

Cry moves around to the trunk of the car and Thomas takes a few steps after him before stopping to wait, being cautious not to get too far from his truck, just in case. He doesn't trust Cry entirely, at least not yet. Cry pulls the keys from his pockets and unlocks the trunk. He then moves to the front and opens the door, popping the trunk. Minx pushes the trunk up, climbing out.

Dan follows after her and Thomas gasps upon seeing him, all distrust for Cry instantly gone. He runs over, calling out Dan's name as he throws his arms around him in a tight hug. Dan's taken aback, blinking a few times in surprise. Thomas pulls back, grinning, "Dan! I'm so glad to see you! How did you even get here?!"

"You know this guy?" Minx asks, arms crossed, with an amused look on her face. Cry looks on, amused as well, he wasn't expecting the exchange to go this way.

Dan nods, turning to his friends, "Yeah, Thomas is an old friend of mine."

"That's great," Cry crosses over to them, "we can continue on together."

Thomas nods eagerly, grinning, "Come on, there's plenty of room in the truck."

"That's a nice truck," Minx muses.

Thomas smiles back at her, "I know, right?"

Dan gets in the front passenger seat while Minx and Cry get in the back. Thomas rounds to the driver's side and gets in. He looks back at Cry and Minx, "I know Dan, and I just met Cry. So, what's your name?"

"I'm Minx," she states, "Nice to meet you."

"So," Thomas turns forward and starts the truck, "How do you guys know each other?"

"We were friends before the.." Cry clears his throat, "Before the infection. We were in the UK, Dan and Minx lived there and I was visiting.."

"So.. It sounds like the.. Infection was there, too." Thomas replies softly.

Minx stares out the window, watching the land pass them by, "It was.. We lost too many good people before we got to this day.."

"I'm sorry," he replies softly, "I've lost people, too. I was.. With my friends since it happened. We were doing fine, but then suddenly.. Quill got sick, and then.. Too many good people got hurt, too many people died. It was just Joan, Talyn, and I for awhile after that."

"They're not with you now?" Dan asks.

Thomas shakes his head slowly, teary-eyed and face grim.

"Joan wanted to go north, but Talyn wanted to stay and wait for the military to come back through, take care of things again. We tried to tell Talyn they weren't coming back. Not after the quarantines failed." he explains.

"What happened to them?" Cry asks gently.

Thomas sighs, his grip on the steering wheel tightening, "Joan and I went on a supply run, and when we got back.. Talyn was dead, one of the roaming ones. Joan fell apart after that, we both did. And then a few days ago, the dead ones got a jump on us, a pack of the running ones. Joan got bit, and I.."

He shudders, tears run down his face, "I ran away.. Joan told me to, and so I did. I just.. Left them.."

"If Joan was bitten, there wasn't anything you could do." Minx almost whispers. Cry looks at her with sympathy before looking back to Thomas, "You have to survive now, for your friends."

Thomas nods, wiping his face, "I-I know. And I am."

He smiles back at them, but he still looks upset, "You guys are lucky I came by when I did."

He faces forward again, "I've been all around Florida since this all started, I'm getting out now, heading north like Joan was planning for us."

"You mentioned quarantines?" Cry questions, "What happened with those?"

"Oh, right," Thomas nods, "For the first two months the military tried to contain the infection, trying to keep the dead ones and the living ones separated. It worked for awhile, but then people started hiding their loved ones that had gotten sick or bitten.."

"Did you do that?" Dan stares at him, "You mentioned your friend Quill having been sick.."

"We did." Thomas sighs softly, sniffling, "Killed three people, but we weren't the only ones."

"It's understandable when you don't know what's really going on." Cry states.

"We were told the sick people were being sent to a doctor," Thomas explains, "But they were lying to us. Joan and I saw a bunch of soldiers killing the people that were brought to them. They weren't even trying to save anyone. And then they started killing everyone. Joan, Talyn, and I were able to escape after that, but the cities that got walled off by the military are all full of the dead ones now."

He sighs, "It's just too risky to try and scavenge there, so we have to move on now."

"How is going north any better?" Dan asks.

"The dead ones are just corpses," Thomas replies, "Joan had a theory that the cold would stiffen their joints to the point that they wouldn't be able to move, and that would be safer for us to survive."

Minx suddenly sits up and Cry looks at her, "You okay?"

"California," she looks at him intensely, "Remember everyone was going to Mark's for his birthday?"

Cry nods, looking confused, "Yeah, I declined to come visit you."

"I declined, too," she frowns, "So, what if they're still there?"

"There's no way to tell if they're still alive," Dan states, frowning at them.

"But we have to check," she insists, "If they're out there, we should join up with them. The world won't fix itself, and it would be better to spend however long left we can manage with our friends."

Cry nods slowly, "You have a point.."

"We don't even know where they are," Dan argues, "It's been like six months, if they're even still alive, how do you expect to find them?"

"Thomas has stayed in Florida for the last six months," Cry replies, "So Mark and the others might still be around California, too."

"There's no way to tell, it's a waste of time." Dan groans, "We should just go north!"

"We will," Minx crosses her arms, "After we find our friends."

"This is insane," Dan shakes his head, glaring out the window, "You're both insane."

"So.." Thomas chuckles awkwardly, "You wanna go to California?"

"Yes." Minx and Cry reply at once.