Desolate

“So what exactly are we going to do with these survivors if there are any?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah, do we really have room for anymore people?” Alex added, “We’re pretty cramped as it is.”

“It’ll be fine,” Charlie grumbled, squinting her eyes, as if the radio tower would appear if she squinted hard enough.

“Was it necessary to leave so soon?” Jordan mumbled softly with her eyes closed and her head rested on Zakk’s shoulder.

“We had to, the zombies were getting closer to us,” Darren replied. Jordan sighed and snuggled closer to Zakk. Her bag was pretty light, but that stupid test made it feel like the bag weighed a hundred pounds. She held the bag protectively under her arm, as if someone would try to look, even though she was going to tell them eventually. She opened her eyes to meet the stares of Darren and Alex. She lifted her head and stared at Zakk, who stared straight ahead with a blank expression.

She opened her bag and took hold of that 100 pound stick. She squeezed it and almost wanted to glance at it. She never really had a chance to look at it. She wanted answers as much as the rest of them did. But looking at the results and letting everyone else see it would make it real. Maybe if she ignored it, it would just go away.

If only the world worked that way.

She put her hand on her stomach and leaned against Zakk again.

“Do you think we’ll eventually get help and this will all end?” she asked softly.

“Probably,” he said with a heavy sigh, “you figure this has only been happening for a few weeks, so the infection has probably only spread through most of this state.”

“But it’s going to get worse before it gets any better,” Charlie added, “I’m trying not to have too high of expectations. We might not make it out of this alive.”

“Way to stay positive,” Alex said sarcastically. Charlie shrugged a shoulder without responding.

“How far is this radio station?” Darren asked.

“An hour, two hours away I suppose,” Charlie said with another shrug.

“Two hours just to go to a radio station where there may or may not be survivors?” Zakk said questioningly.

“Listen Zakk, if we don’t take this chance, more people could die,” Charlie said, “besides, where else were we planning on going?”

Zakk gave an agreeing nod and nothing else was said for awhile.

After an hour of driving silently, Charlie pulled into a gas station and got out of her seat.

“If anyone needs to use the bathroom or grab something to eat, I’d suggest you do it now,” she said, “but first we need to make sure it’s safe.”

Jordan stood up with everyone, but Zakk and Charlie pushed her back down in her seat.

“Why can’t I come with you?” she asked defensively.

“You know why you can’t,” Charlie said sternly.

“I don’t even know if I am or not!” she snapped as she stood up, “even if I am, I don’t need to be sheltered!”

“Jordan…” Zakk grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her. She sighed and licked her lips as she sat back down.

“I’ll come back when we’re sure everything is safe,” he added. He bent down and kissed her forehead before he followed the others out of the van.

“I’ll stay with Jordan,” Charlie said softly. She closed the back doors of the van after everyone had gotten out and sat back down next to Jordan.

“I think now is a good time to show the results,” she mumbled. Jordan grabbed her backpack and held it close to her as she shook her head.

“Jordan! Why won’t you show it to me?!” she shouted. Jordan could feel a lump forming in her throat.

“If I look, and you look, and it’s not a good result, then it’s real and I have to deal with it,” she whimpered.

“Isn’t it better for your health to figure out what’s happening with your body?” Charlie asked gently, “besides, you won’t be dealing with it alone.”

Moaning, groaning and snarling changed Charlie’s expression from sympathetic warmth to serious and bloodthirsty. She quickly raised her gun and kicked open the door with a large thud from the door hitting the zombie in the head. Charlie quickly turned to stare down at the zombie, who was now on the ground. She slowly pointed her gun at the zombie and pulled the trigger. Jordan didn’t see the zombie die, but she heard the sounds of flesh and blood exploding and hitting the ground. Zakk and Oliver ran back to the van with startled eyes and a gun in their hands.

“Are you guys ok?!” Zakk asked urgently.

“We’re fine,” Charlie said with a chuckle.

“Well, it’s safe,” Oliver said, “you guys can come in now.”

The four of them went into the convenience store and before Jordan could go anywhere else, Zakk grabbed Jordan’s wrist and pulled her into the corner away from anyone else.

“Jordan, I want you to tell me the results,” he whispered. Her hand began to shake again as she grabbed that same 100 pound stick and pulled it out of her bag.

“Here,” she said in a tiny voice. His face paled and his eyes got bigger. He blinked a few times before looking back at Jordan.

“What are we supposed to do?”