Tyres crunched over scattered debris as the van put downtown in the rearview mirror. Tommy sagged against the passenger seat, relief washing over him that they were still alive. But it was quickly replaced by a gnawing frustration. They’d risked everything for nothing.

Laila glanced at him in the glow of the dashboard lights. “You alright?”

He swallowed hard. “Yeah, I’m…I’m good. How’s Micky doing?”

Laila’s expression tightened. “He’s been better. The withdrawal really seemed to hit him hard today.”

Tommy rubbed his throbbing temple, suddenly aware of the ache blossoming there. “Why’d you come after us?” He held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful as hell. But—”

“We got worried when you didn’t come back. Jimbo said you’d only planned on being gone a few hours at most.”

A mirthless laugh drifted from the backseat where Roxy sat slumped. “Yeah, well, plans changed real fast.”

“What happened out there?” Laila asked. “You need me to get back to the other van?”

“The van’s gone,” Roxy said. “Burnt to a damn crisp.”

“Those sons of bitches torched it,” Zero said.

“Jesus…” Laila bit down on her bottom lip. “What the hell happened back there?”

Tommy sighed. “We went into the city to look for meds for Micky—”

“That van was our lifeline,” Roxy cut in. “We lost everything—supplies, ammo, meds.”

They torched our ride and nearly took us out too,” Zero said.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Laila said, holding up a hand. “One thing at a time. Tommy, what were you saying about finding meds?”

“Right, yeah.” Tommy nodded. “We hit up that mall downtown first, but it was stripped clean. You should’ve seen the place, Lai. Totally ransacked.”

“Like a war zone,” Roxy said. “So much blood…Oh, and then we went to check out Union Station next for any pharmacies.”

Zero shook his head. “Dumbest idea ever. That’s where they ambushed us. Came out of nowhere, blazing away. Full on firefight.”

“You were attacked?” Laila’s eyes went wide. “By who?”

“No clue,” Roxy said. “Just wanted to put some holes in us, that’s for sure. Crazy bastards.”

Tommy leaned back. “Had to bolt, man. Took off across the rooftops with those dead-heads shambling after us. Thought we were goners for sure.”

“Wait. The zombies had guns?”

“No, no. The people at the station had guns”

“Yeah, the dead-heads came later,” Roxy said. “It was intense.”

“Roxy went down for a sec there,” Zero said. “That blade of hers…saved our asses more than once.”

“I can’t believe you’re all still alive. What about the van? How’d you get separated from it?”

Tommy shrugged. “We’d circled back around after shaking our hunters…the people, I mean.”

“And that’s when we saw it,” Roxy cut in, her voice cracking. “My van, completely torched. God damn shame.”

Zero’s jaw clenched. “Yeah, whoever those shooters were, they struck while we were getting our asses handed to us.”

“I’m so sorry, you guys,” Laila said.

“Don’t be,” Tommy said. “You showing up when you did? That was a straight-up miracle.”

Roxy sighed, deflating back against the seat. “You’re not kidding. Another hour out there and we’d have been done for sure.”

“Damn straight,” Zero said, shifting to glance out the window.

They lapsed into an exhausted silence as the van barrelled down the empty road.

Tommy stared out the windshield, replaying the events of the last several hours in his mind.

So much had gone wrong so fast. How many more close calls could they endure before their luck ran out completely?

A muscle ticked in Tommy’s jaw as the hopelessness of their situation threatened to overwhelm him.

He sagged back into the seat, wincing as fresh aches made themselves known. His temple throbbed where he’d caught that glancing blow.

“Hey. You’re alive, though.” Laila’s words cut the silence. “All of you.” A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth. “That’s what matters most right now, yeah?”

“Damn rig’s gonna be awful cosy with all of us packed in,” Roxy said.”

Laila snorted “That’s for sure. But we’ll make it work.”

Zero leaned forward, bracing himself against the back of Laila’s seat. “Speaking of which, what’s the plan from here? “ He paused, rolling a shoulder with a soft grunt. “Because I don’t know about the rest of you, but I could seriously use a few winks and a chance to get this walker funk off me.”

Roxy grimaced down at her gore-splattered shirt and jeans, giving a violent, full-body shudder. “Oh, I second that motion, believe me. A fresh change of clothes would be heavenly right about now.”

Zero sniffed. “Except our clothes were in the van.”

“Well ain’t that just perfect.”

Laila kept her gaze focused ahead. “I say when we get back, you should all try to grab some rest. Get ourselves sorted out properly when we’ve had some sleep.”

“Agreed,” Tommy said. “We’ll plan our next steps when we’ve rested.”

Roxy went to say something then nodded. “Your right. I’m spent.”

Zero nodded. “Me too…”

The warehouse loomed into view. Laila slowed and guided the van towards the shutters. Tommy peered through the windshield, eyes straining to make out the details as they came to a stop.

Laila kept the engine idling as Tommy stepped out.

His fingers found the catch to the heavy steel shutters and he hauled them open just enough to slip through.

He waved for the others to follow before sealing the warehouse once more.

In the dimness, Tommy could just make out Jimbo seated across the way.

Tommy swallowed against the tightness in his throat, shoving aside his own bone-deep weariness. He made his way towards the nest of bedrolls and makeshift pallets they’d assembled before leaving. A huddled form shifted in the gloom.

“Micky?” He cleared his throat. “Hey man, it’s me. It’s Tommy.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Micky stilled for a moment his eyes found Tommy in the darkness.

Tommy crouched and placed a hand on Micky’s forehead.

“T…Tommy?”

He clasped Micky’s shoulder with a firm squeeze. “Yeah, buddy. I’m here.” The tremors wracking his friend’s slight frame were unmistakable. “How’re you holding up?”

Micky’s features twisted as if the simple query pained him. His teeth ground together. “How...how d’you think?”

“Right, right. Dumb question.” Tommy rocked back on his haunches.

His gaze found Jimbo. “You okay?”

“What happened out there, dude?”

Tommy huffed out a bitter chuckle. “You don’t even want to know, believe me.”

Micky twisted where he lay,. “Did you…?” His voice cracked, tapering off before he could give full voice to the question.

Tommy’s throat tightened. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Micky. I…we didn’t find anything. Not this time.”

His eyes bored into Tommy. “What the hell, man?” Micky surged up from his pallet. “You said….you promised!”

Tommy took a step back, hands raised. “I know, I know! Just take it easy, okay? You’ve got to—”

Micky was on him before the words could fully form. His bony fists hammered against Tommy’s chest and shoulders with surprising force, each percussive blow sending bolts of pain through his already battered body.

Tommy grunted, curling inward in a desperate attempt to cover up. “Micky, stop! Just…stop!”

But the onslaught didn’t relent. If anything, it only grew more ferocious, more unhinged.

Zero streaked across Tommy’s vision. One thick forearm whipped around Micky’s throat from behind, the other snaking down to trap his flailing limbs against his chest in a vice-like clinch. “Easy there, druggy boy. We’re all on the same team here, remember?”

Micky bucked and twisted, thrashing in Zero’s grasp. A litany of guttural snarls and inarticulate shrieks poured from his throat.

Tommy could only cower, sheltering his head as the violence slowly bled from Micky’s struggles. He risked peering up to find Zero straddling Micky, pinning him face-down on the ground.

“Don’t hurt him.”

Zero gave the barest of nods. “You got it.”

Micky’s struggles tapered off until only the ragged breathing filled the warehouse.

Tommy shifted onto his hip, sweat chilling against his skin. He could taste blood mingling with the salt on his lips.

With shaking limbs, he pushed himself fully upright, wincing at each fresh ache.

Zero sat back, keeping one knee braced firmly across Micky’s midsection as he worked the smaller man’s wrists together with a length of nylon cord. “Just a precaution for now.”

Tommy nodded. He didn’t trust his voice at that moment. Didn’t trust much of anything as his gaze landed on Micky’s prone form.

“I…I didn’t mean…” Micky spoke in little more than a cracked whisper.

Tommy eased closer, bracing himself on hands and knees so that their faces were mere inches apart. He could smell the sour tang of Micky’s fever, the faint musk of old sweat and sickness. It was a reek he knew all too intimately. “I know, buddy. I know you didn’t. We’ll get through this. Same as we always have. You and me, right?”

Micky managed a vague nod, his gaze already losing focus once more. “Thirsty…”

He gave Micky’s shoulder a squeeze before clambering back to his feet. He made his way over to their supplies and rummaged through until he found a battered canteen. Unscrewing the cap, he crossed back over and knelt down beside Micky.

“Here, drink this slowly.” He tilted the canteen to Micky’s cracked lips.

Micky gulped down the water at first, some dribbling down his chin, until Tommy pulled it away. “Easy, easy…take it slow.”

After Micky had drained half the canteen, Tommy re-capped it and set it aside. He turned his attention to the nylon cords binding Micky’s wrists behind his back. “I’m going to take this off, Micky. But you need to promise me you’re going to be cool, okay?”

Micky nodded. “I swear, man…”

With a couple of tugs, the cords loosened and fell away. “There you go. Let’s get you comfortable. Try and rest. “ He rolled Micky onto his back.

“Thanks, man. I’m...I’m sorry about before.”

Tommy patted his arm. “Don’t even worry about that right now. Just focus on resting up, okay?”

“He’s right,” Laila said. “And he should take his own advice.” She crossed over and crouched next to Tommy. “Why don’t you go get cleaned up? Jimbo and I can look after Micky for a while.”

Tommy opened his mouth to protest, but Laila shook her head. “You need to take a breather too after what you all went through back there. Just a little while, then you can re-join us.”

He wanted to argue, to insist on staying by Micky’s side. But the pain and exhaustion couldn’t be denied any longer. With a resigned nod, Tommy pulled himself back to his feet and took a couple of stumbling steps back.

The weight of everything crashed down on him—Micky, the outbreak, the deaths…

His legs buckled and he crumpled to the ground, hot tears burning tracks down his cheeks. His chest heaved with ragged sobs. “I let him down, Lai. I promised Micky and I-I couldn’t… failed. I’ve failed all of you.”

Gentle hands grasped his shoulder. “You did everything you could, Tommy. No one is faulting you for that. The world out there, it’s not built for making or keeping promises anymore. All we can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and holding onto hope.”

Tommy squeezed his eyes shut, struggling to regain control over his breathing. “How…how are we supposed to do that? After today? We’ve got almost nothing left.”

“We’ve got each other. And sometimes, that has to be enough to keep us going. To keep us holding onto that last shred of hope that things can get better.”

He opened his eyes again, his gaze finding hers. “You really believe that? Even now?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I have to. The alternative is giving up completely. And I’m not ready for that, are you?”

A tremor ran through Tommy, but he shook his head. “No…no, I’m not.”

“Then we keep moving forward. Day by day, hour by hour if we have to.” Laila stood and held a hand out to him. “Starting by getting you taken care of. You’re running on fumes, Tommy. First things first, get cleaned up, change out of those filthy clothes, grab some food and rest. Then we can start figuring out our next moves, alright?”

With effort, Tommy grasped her hand and allowed her to pull him back up to his feet. “You’re right…you’re right, okay.” He drew in a breath, forcing down the tide of despair trying to resurface. “I’m just…I’m worried about Niamh and Sean too. If they’re even still—”

“Don’t go there,” Laila cut him off. “Not until we know for sure one way or the other. Until then, you’ve got to believe they’re still out there somewhere, waiting for us to find them. That’s what will keep you going, Tommy. Holding onto that hope.”

“Okay…okay, you’ve got a point. I hear you.” He mustered up an attempt at a smile. “A wash does sound pretty amazing right about now.”

“That’s the spirit.” She pointed towards the far end of the warehouse where a rickety door stood ajar. “Through there, you’ll find the bathroom we’ve been using. Surprisingly, the plumbing still works fine. Not hot water, but hey, can’t have everything.”

“Thanks, Lai.” Tommy yawned and ambled towards the van. He dragged out a towel and fresh clothes and made his way to the bathroom.

Stripping out of his filthy, gore-splattered clothes, Tommy piled them in the sink and turned on the taps.

He scooped up a hands-full, rubbing it over his face and through his matted hair with a relieved groan.

While the water ran to gradually fill the basin, Tommy retrieved a tattered washcloth hanging nearby and worked on scrubbing the stubborn stains from his clothes. The cold water helped numb his aching hands as he kneaded and worked the fabric.

Once the basin was full enough, he dumped his soaked clothes in to let them soak further while he scrubbed himself down as best he could.

By the time he finished and towelled himself off, his clothes were wet but free of blood or grime. He wrung them out and draped them over the sink to dry while he pulled on the fresh set of clothes.

Tommy emerged from the bathroom to find most of the others already settled onto their bedrolls. Only Laila remained awake, keeping watch in the flickering lantern light.

She looked up at Tommy’s approach and offered him a smile, gesturing towards the vacant pallet.

He lowered himself down with a muffled groan, his battered body reminding him of each tumble and impact it had endured throughout the day’s trials.

Laila’s gaze drifted over towards the supplies as Tommy settled onto his pallet with a groan. “You should eat something before you try to sleep.” She stood and made her way over, rummaging through their dwindling stockpile until she found a couple of protein bars. Returning, she handed them to Tommy with a canteen of water. “Not exactly a gourmet meal, but it’ll help get your strength back up.”

Tommy accepted the provisions with a nod of thanks. “Appreciate you looking after Micky.”

“Of course.” Laila sat back down cross-legged. “That’s what we do—look out for each other. We’re family.” Her eyes narrowed as she studied Tommy’s face. “You’ve got one hell of a mean bruise coming up on your forehead there.”

Tommy gingerly prodded at the knot with his fingertips, wincing. “Yeah, just a little souvenir from our daring escape.” He tore open one of the protein bars and took a bite, chewing slowly.

“How long do you think we should hole up here for?” Laila asked.

Tommy paused, the half-eaten bar resting on his knee. “You want to stay?”

“I don’t know…” She shrugged. “It’s the first place that’s felt even remotely safe since this whole thing started. Maybe we could take a couple of days, let Micky recover his strength before we move on again.”

Tommy shook his head, a weary sigh escaping his lips. “I hear what you’re saying, but we can’t afford to dawdle too long. We’re not even halfway across the country yet.”

Laila regarded him for a long moment. “Okay, you’re right. I’ve got the van’s tank filled up, so if the others are good to go, we can head towards Kansas in the morning.”

“How far is that?”

“Five or six hours, if the roads are clear.”

“Here’s hoping.” He finished off the protein bar and started on the second. “But knowing our luck, we’ll probably end up hitting some tornado.”

“But then we might end up in some magical land and meet a talking scarecrow. Could be fun.”

“Yeah. Until the singing starts.” He pulled up his blankets. “I think we deserve a little peace and quiet for once on this trip.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Reminds me of that thing Henry Rollins said about the punk life in vans, moving from town to town.”

Tommy snorted. “Yeah, well, after all this? I’m not sure I ever want to hit the road again…assuming there’s anything left to tour by the time we’re done here.”

“There will be. We can’t lose sight of that—Zombiepalooza is still out there, Tommy. It has to be. That’s what we’re fighting for, what’s keeping us going.”

A wry grin tugged at the corners of Tommy’s mouth. “Zombiepalooza. Feels like a lifetime since Lake Tahoe.”

“We’ll make it happen. DIY all the way. But for now, you need to get some rest. We’ve got a big day of driving ahead.”

He stifled a yawn, polishing off the last of the protein bar. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that.” Resettling himself on the pallet, he closed his eyes with a soft groan. “Just a few hours…that’s all I need…”