Rest In Peace..

I couldn’t for the life of me manage to get the man from the gas station off of my mind. How is it possible that he was laying dead on the floor, in his own blood at one moment, and then walking and crawling senselessly outside the gas station the next moment!? My head began to spin and I again became nauseous. I desperately wanted to pull over and climb off the bike to vomit but didn’t dare. I choked down the sick feeling and told myself to think of something different. My mind automatically went to Andy, I thought about what he would do to comfort me and keep me thinking positively. Tears came to my eyes and fell down my cheeks. “Where are you!?!?” I shouted to myself. “Please find me, I don’t know if I can find you Andy!”. My eyes flooded to a point where I was no longer able to see. I slowed the bike and scanned for a good place to park while I wiped my tears and pulled myself together. I could see what looked like a large boulder and drove the motorcycle up to it. I climbed off and pushed the bike behind the boulder and shut it off, I dropped myself to the ground in the never-ending darkness. I quietly sobbed for what seemed like an hour, before I began to feel angry. I wanted to scream and throw a tantrum! I asked myself repeatedly “why is it so god damn dark all of the time!?!? What’s going on!?” I shook my fists and tugged on my jeans. I sat, slumped over my knees pathetically and calmed myself. Once I felt my silent come apart was over, I slowly got to my feet and pulled out my flashlight. I told myself to take advantage of the time off of the motorcycle, I stretched my limbs along with my aching back and fed myself. 

I topped off the gas on my bike and fired it back up, luckily I was getting good gas mileage and didn’t need to add much. I sat and got comfortable on the seat while I allowed it to idle. Listening for the slightest rustle in the bushes around me was difficult with the motor on. To my left I thought I saw a slight flash of movement, I whipped out my flashlight and shined it in the direction and found nothing. Scared to wait around any longer I pushed off and continued my search for a safe place to sleep. My recent tantrum left me more exhausted than I was before.

Two long hours down the road and still no sign of a building or shack of any kind. Do I dare try and rest without a shelter? It may have been best for me to sleep a while against that boulder so that I could’ve at least continued on longer to find a more suitable resting place. But now I feel that I can’t continue any further. Here I am in the middle of what looks to be a flat plain, not even a large boulder or tree to help conceal my motorcycle. I decided I didn’t have much of a choice, if I try to push myself to continue I could crash and lose my one and only mode of transportation. Who knows what could happen to me at that point!

Cautiously, I shut off the bike and climbed off to the side of the smooth road I had been driving on.  My eyes went wild as I scanned every centimeter of the plain with my flashlight. I honestly hoped that if there were something to be found, I’d find it immediately. The largest object I could find was a dead bush that would conceal my bike just enough that hopefully it wouldn’t be recognizable. Next I needed to find a decent area to rest. The ground was coarse and covered in weeds, I’d need to clear an area in order to lie in the dirt. Memories of my incredibly comfortable, soft bed fluttered across my mind. What I wouldn’t give to just have my Andy and my bed back, safe and sound at home. Snapping out of my daze, I used my tennis shoes to scoot the twigs and branches off to the side, making my self a small circle in the dirt to curl up. I repeatedly told myself that I could have been smarter about resting and finding shelters. 

“I guess that’s as good as it’s going to get” I whispered. I checked my bike one final time before removing the motorcycle cover from the pack and placing the key in my smallest, tightest pocket. I spread the cover out over the area I cleared and made myself comfortable.  It must’ve taken me two hours to calm my mind enough to fall asleep. I set my stopwatch on my wrist to beep once after six hours, I figured the one beep would be enough to have me awake and alert. Sure enough, the moment I heard the beep I nearly leapt to my feet. Luckily I remembered my situation and kept still to evaluate anything that may have changed with my surroundings. 

I couldn’t hear the slightest sound, not a cricket or a rustle of weeds from the breeze. This made me numb and nervous, I crouched low to the ground and used the flashlight to scan the area. The feeling of being watched washed over me as a chill slipped up my spine. Frozen in place I was too terrified to move for several minutes. A sudden rush of panic hit me and I jumped for my bike. At the same moment I heard a loud rustle in the bushes not far from me. My heart skipped a beat as I pictured one of the beasts coming my way. I was so thankful that even after the long sit my motorcycle fired up and allowed me to get back to the road and take off without threatening to die. The rustling in the bushes increased in volume and as I shined my flashlight backward I could see the movement. As I began to push for more speed I heard what sounded like a voice.

“Wait!! Stop!!” the voice shrieked. I questioned my sanity as I slammed on the brakes. “Could this be incredibly stupid of me stopping for a stranger!? Should I continue on as fast as I can or see if this person could be of use to me!?” The man didn’t hesitate to run closer to me, arms flailing in the air frantically. I couldn’t spot a weapon on him as I ran my flashlight over him repeatedly. He reached close to twelve feet from the bike when I demanded he stop and introduce himself. “Doctor Joseph Heisler” he panted. “Young lady, you’re the first living human I’ve seen in over two weeks!” “My name is Penny Curtis Mr. Heisler, and you’re the first person I’ve seen in a few days”. “But what exactly do you mean by living?” I asked him. “Dead” he stammered, “the dead are everywhere!”. My stomach felt as though it had shriveled to the size of a raisin hearing this. “What happened to them?! How did they die?” I begged. “Hard to say, many of them have returned from the dead.. different” he explained. My body began to feel frozen and there wasn’t an once of blood left in my face. I didn’t know what else to say, I sat still on the bike and eyed the man standing before me. He was approximately sixty five years old, short and with little hair left on his head. He carried a backpack far larger than mine and it looked to be stuffed full. “Young lady? Are you alright?” he inquired stepping closer. “I’m fine Mr. Heisler, please keep your distance from me”. “I understand you’re afraid Ms. Penny but I wouldn’t harm you, I’ll have you know”. “Misses” I corrected him in my own mind, though I am still not married I felt the need to make it clear I am not completely alone though I did not. “How did you find me Mr. Heisler and how long have you been in this area?” I asked. “Please Ms. Penny, call me Doctor. I have been travelling by foot for almost three weeks now, I’m not from the area, I’m making my way north to a military base in Seattle when I spotted you”. “Is the base still intact and safe?” I asked the Doctor. “Last I heard they had established housing and care for the survivors” he said. Survivor, is that what I am now? What could have possibly happened to cause this and what should I do next? I wonder if Andy too is making his way toward Seattle to reach the base. I cannot chance missing an opportunity like this, I need to go with the Doctor to see if Andy has made his way to Seattle. If he hasn’t I’m sure there will be someone willing enough to help me go look for him. Finding Andy is the last thing I will give up on, I will do everything I can to find him.