~ Luke ~

Jeremy jogged up and clasped hands with Justin and Derek. Jeremy looked my way.

I most certainly didn't want Jeremy to think I was staring so I casually started looking around.

Jeremy leaned close and said something to his friends and as one, they looked at me.

"Did he mention the Annie thing? Damn, he really doesn't like me huh?"

Brick clapped his hands and ordered everyone into the vans. Jeremy and his friends got in one, while Ralph, Dominik and I got in the other.

Brick was the driver of the other van, the one that had the jock wannabes in it.

Brick came over and opened up the door.

"You two listen to Ralph. He's in charge of this van. You do as he says, when he says it. We will split up to cover more ground and meet up back here around 8 P.M. or when the sun starts to set."

With that he smiled and closed the door.

Ralph sat happily in the driver's seat while Dominik sat in the passengers.

"So you're the new guy huh?" Ralph said, turning in his seat to look at me.

"Yup, that's me." I replied unenthusiastically.

"Heard you gave Chris a few good ones. Man what I would've given to see that."

My face flushed from embarrassment. "Oh yeah... you heard about that huh? Word sure does travel fast."

Ralph started the van and pulled up to the gate, "Yeah, well don't beat yourself up over it. It's nice to have had someone put him in his place." Two people grabbed the fence and pulled the gates opened.

I looked over at Dominik who was examining his spear. I mustered up the courage and finally spoke to him.

"Don't say anything stupid..."

"You uh, you making a spear?"

"And there went the stupid."

Dominik didn't even look up. He held it above his head and waved it around.

"What this? No, no. This here is my magic wand I'm going to use to turn everything into frogs."

Then a snort followed. Dominik couldn't hold it in.

I thought I angered him at first, thought he was another person with a smart mouth.

"Yeah man, this is the best one I've made so far. My other one broke, so I had to make this new one. Been working on it all day."

"Broke? He used something as dangerous as a spear on something?"

"Broke? How did you manage that?" I asked, but I really didn't want to know the answer.

"One of them came out of nowhere, a man. Grabbed Kenny, the guy who use to occupy this van before you. I stuck it in the thing's chest, but that did nothing I tell ya. The sonuva gun walked forward, further onto the spear, with his arms out flailing, trying to grab onto me. And his jaw kept snapping open and shut. Making a sickening sound as his teeth cracked against each other. Kenny then tackled him to the ground, which made it land on my spear and the bastard snapped it."

I envisioned all this happening, it was something out of a horror movie alright.

"Where's Kenny now?" Another question I didn't want to know the answer of, but asked anyway.

Dominik was silent a moment.

"He, uh, stayed behind so we could get back to the van." He rested the spear on his lap and looked out the windshield. "That was almost a week ago."

"A week?! How long has this zombie nightmare been happening without me knowing?"

"He could've made it you know. Ran away and hid." I tried the encouraging route.

Dominik shook his head, "Nah man. He was bit. He's out roaming the streets by now. The bites and scratches always kill ya. Except old Seth. That lucky guy was bit in the hand while working with an electric saw and the blade was still going as he pulled his hand away and cut his hand off. He lost a lot of blood, but he's still alive."

"Maybe it didn't spread through his blood fast enough before it was cut off... only way to know for sure is to test it."

I ceased that thought. There's no way in hell anyone is going to volunteer for a "what if" hypothesis.

Time dragged on, but finally Ralph rounded a corner into a small town. I hadn't paid any sort of attention to where we were going or which ways we took. I honestly had no idea where here was. I had totally spaced out.

It was a nice little town. Several stores connected at the sides along the sidewalks. Everything seemed old-fashioned. The road was weathered pavement, the buildings were built with rust, brown and black colored bricks, and the recent generation lamp posts added a nice modern feel to this rustic town.

It would've looked like a normal day in this town, except for a few things.
One: there was no people. On a day like this, there would be people outside.
Two: the shattered store windows, the litter on the ground, and the abandoned cars.
Three: there are hungry cannibalistic corpses wandering the earth.

The van came to a stop in the middle of the street. Ralph and Dominik unbuckled, but didn't open the doors.

"Are we going to get stuff or... have a party in the van?"

"We have to see if it's safe before we get out of the van." Ralph seemed to have read my mind.

After a few moments, Ralph nodded his head and opened his door. Dominik did the same and opened the side door for me. I hopped out and gave the town another look while pulling a black backpack over my shoulders.

"You think there's going to be anything left? Looks like looters got everything." I had to ask because that's the vibe I got from this town.

Ralph walked around the van and stood next to us. "You wouldn't believe the things people look over in a time of rush and urgency. Good medicine, clothes," he paused and nudged me, "condoms."

Dominik and Ralph laughed while I stood there, surely like a ripe tomato.

My face lessened its redness and I realized something; I didn't have a weapon.

Dominik had his spear, Ralph held a crowbar, and me? Well, I have a whole lot of nothing.

"Um... do you think I should have a weapon too?" Ralph and Dominik looked at me.

Ralph scratched his head. "Uh... there's nothing in the van I don't think."

Dominik reached into his pocket and pulled out his knife. He set his spear against the van, reached out and placed the pocket knife in my hand.

"This is Ronda. Please don't bend, break or lose Ronda."

I looked it over. It was a simple red handled knife. It was also heavy.

"Do you know how to use it?" Dominik took it from me.

"Um, you slash and stab with it right?" I joke, trying to figure out what he meant.

Dominik sighed and held the knife out.

"This is the grip. The blade swings in and out of it. See this little doo-dad?" He pointed to a piece that stuck out from the top of the handle, "put your finger on it, pull down and flick your wrist," as he said it, he did it, "and the blade will come out."

The blade came out exactly as he said. A black blade that looked sharp as all sharp could be.

"This little mechanism here," he pointed inside the handle, "you push it to the side and push the blade down to close it."

It wasn't like I had never seen or used a knife like this before. I also didn't know all this explanation would come from a simple misunderstanding.

"Got it?" Dominik said as he handed it back.

"Got it." I mimicked what he just showed me with the blade.

"Great!" Dominik picked up his spear.

I put Ronda in my front pocket. "So which store first?"

Ralph looked around before coming to a conclusion. "Two major ones first. The pharmacy," he pointed to a building with the word pharmacy on it, but it was missing a few letters so is looked like P arma y, "and the grocery store." He pointed to a building across the street from the pharmacy. "Then, if we have the time, we'll hit up the clothing stores."

"I don't know much about medicine so... I'd be helping out the best by getting food. I know what that is for sure." I wasn't lying. I love food, I mean come on. Who doesn't?

"Alright. You two head to the grocery store and I'll search the pharmacy. Anything you find, put it in your backpacks and meet out in the street in 10 minutes for a check-in." Ralph adjusted his backpack and headed to the pharmacy.

Dominik and I nodded.

This was my first Scavenger mission. I just want to hurry this up and get back home to Lucy.