After 30 Days

Forty-Seven Day 60

They were the same words that Marcus had so coldly delivered to us, back at that roadside carnival that had nearly become my worst nightmare.

I wasn't sorry to have put the car in gear and drove away. Not even when I looked in the rear view mirror and got my last glimpse of Marcus, standing alone on the side of the road with every possession he had in the world scattered in the dirt and a red tear streaking his face.

He had tried to kill us all, had tried to kill Shawn, and he had killed Maya. I didn't know what had happened to Bill, but I was blaming his being gone on Marcus too.

I wasn't sorry that he was going to die, and I wasn't sorry that he was going to do it all alone. People like him only made it harder to survive this new world. Not always, but sometimes, you got what you deserved.

I drove for several minutes, putting what I figured was just enough space between us and soon to be zombie Marcus, before bringing the car to another abrupt stop. In the spirit of people getting what they deserved...

"Get out of the car."

I used the rear view mirror to meet Sam's eyes, letting him know that I wasn't joking.

"Wh-what?" He stuttered.

"Get out," I repeated myself. Next to me, Shawn turned around in his seat to look at Sam. He didn't seem like he was going to disagree with my order, instead fixing a hard stare on the man in the back seat.

Sam looked genuinely confused. He fumbled with his backpack and reached hesitantly for the door, but stopped himself. "But, why?" He met my eyes as he asked the question.

"You can't trust a snake," I reminded him. I still wasn't clear on just how much of the plan to get rid of us he had been in on, but I was done taking chances. Sam had clearly had some sort of arrangement with Marcus, and that made him the enemy.

I was dead serious and Sam seemed to know it. His shoulders slumped and he reached for the car door again. "I'm sorry," he said it quietly. "I really didn't know that he was going to try to kill everyone." The door opened and he started to climb from the seat.

"Wait," Shawn stopped him. "Why did you help Marcus with whatever you did for him? Were you really that close?"

Sam laughed bitterly. The sound was harsh. "No. That's the worst part. I didn't even know the guy until we stumbled into each other while we were searching the same house." He flopped back into the seat. "He said that if I would help him out with something, he would get me into their community and I could stay."

Another harsh sound that might have been a mirthless laugh.

"He told me that you all were dangerous and that you had Ned fooled. He said that he had a plan to lure you far away where we could lose you, and you wouldn't be a problem any more." The last part he said mostly to himself, "And I believed him. Was I really that desperate?"

My mind was racing again. The implications of what he had said were trying to sort themselves out in my scrambled mind.

Shawn found his voice before me, breaking the silence that had fallen in the car. "Are you saying that this whole trip was all a part of Marcus' plan?"

"Yes."

"What about DC?" Shawn's voice was brittle.

"I've never even been there." Sam admitted. "I have no idea if there's a CDC anymore, or if anyone is trying to find a cure. I just repeated the story Marcus told me."

The admission nearly took my breath away. Grappling with the realization that the whole trip, and all of the terrible things that had happened during it, had been for nothing, I twisted around in my seat to look directly at Sam. The horror that must have been in my eyes was reflected in his.

"Hold on a minute," Shawn spoke too loudly, a desperate edge to his voice. "Alex had heard about possible immune people too. Marcus didn't just make that up."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, he was thrilled when it turned out that someone else had heard the rumors too. He said that having someone from your own group confirm his story was pure luck."

It really had all been for nothing. The story about some CDC lab somewhere, working to find a cure was just that. A story.

"But, I got bit." Shawn was almost whispering now.

"Yeah. Congrats. Apparently that part of the story is actually true," Sam sounded bitter. "If there is a CDC, or whoever, out there, you would probably be their favorite guinea pig."

I flinched at his last words. They embodied everything that I was most afraid of happening when people found out about Shawn.

"I was just so tired of being alone. Everyone that I knew is gone," Sam said quietly. "I really am sorry about Maya and Bill. They seemed like good people."

"They were," I told him. "The best." 

He didn't say anything else as he climbed out of the car and closed the door softly. This time, Shawn didn't stop him. 

We drove away and left Sam standing along the side of the road, all alone again. This time, I did feel a little bit bad.