DS Chapter 5

“Our parents… f241651f40 they’re okay, 9e26c9e9ed right? They’ve evacuated safely, right?”1eca90b20b7a5a78

Logan lifted his gaze 97e353a0a4 at the sound of 2596c33781 my fearful voice. His dark eyes locked 285a08031e onto mine, and my 80f4e18e9d throat tightened.a5134240e14abcb2

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“They should be.”b9f11fd2f3813eee

“Was my mom… 7a784ea8d2 was she at 116763c2f4 your house?”8727c6220dcfd4e6

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I remembered Logan a954cc7411 running from his 7c01dd3d5f home, waking me 8c52142614 up with cold ca16cc371d sweat dripping down 72e35382d8 his face.14574d506ad98461

The pounding of 778525411a my heartbeat echoed e38de5fd9f in my ears c5716ee10b as I held 88f18c10b8 my breath, waiting becbda23b7 for him to 58bca0f055 speak.40a70f4653e67f56

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Please, no… It 691b303834 couldn’t have happened. She must 2df7e69c1f have been 6478b27eec somewhere else. Just as the af55714543 wave of anxiety 4e9e0ff5d4 surged over me, 89666d6294 Logan averted his c010fa4a24 gaze and said a6d54c5319 quietly,bc9c01d0ef285aa4

“…She wasn’t there.”09439b246073cc3c

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His words released 32760685a3 the breath that 1bd20d24cf had been trapped 7f87ef6ae4 in my chest, 294f5b95b8 and I sighed 6f3b903963 in relief.8a9fb2b67df4c815

Thank goodness. She must have 511a2bdd2a evacuated safely. Dad is probably waiting 231eb20302 for help at his a2dd6a0425 office, and Mom… she’s d0d4707c87 probably at someone else’s 0e1a46852d house.3af7862c047346cd

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But Logan’s expression 9563979798 remained dark. Seeing his face, adc5b8a0b2 I could only 0d6fa7d3b4 guess that his 8a3284accb family hadn’t been ede7bc52cd as fortunate.46ac4406c84ad715

He was fac9472950 fleeing alone, ade27d68ed after all. If his family 01fa8ded30 were safe, he bf2412d6dd wouldn’t have acted 6eb711daa5 like that.74d71af5242b3539

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So, I a60f311ccc carefully schooled 88fe37c318 my expression, 650fba05f4 choosing not dbaeb5ac37 to offer a44c27ac26 any words 22f4fbd1ac of comfort.64f08dcac11073f5

It felt wrong to 545ddf5b71 say anything about a 3b3c045b50 pain I couldn’t begin 2eada8a371 to imagine.a65497fdfd55039e

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‘He’s handling d961b70d24 it surprisingly 871fa56ebf well.’f7a2b23b9d20b79e

If it were me, 35021ab906 I’d be in complete 42f5e31595 panic, crying all day, 5babd4d0c6 and consumed by grief.0ed8cf4eb234cf10

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It was strange dd4603616a how Logan hadn’t d0868e7d31 shed a single 11ededed9d tear.05179ff6544cb1d7

* * *3364e744f653ce27

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We settled near the 29e628517f lake, watching and waiting afe1d4d7ea as the situation unfolded, 8b87a78ea6 doing nothing in particular.120ba80e3a9f0a9c

Aside from clearing d9ed3d04a2 out a dusty 3468b459ac container to make 8b1b9fc628 a place to 3311b88565 sleep, the hours 2455a90cc8 dragged on in 929925bced boredom.8a54e4a3bd94b96d

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“There aren’t 0a0136656c any zombies 0667e4b7ed showing up 1c65d60a5e here.”cebb906e25a0cac0

“It would 0b9c9177f1 take them 17bd15e625 more than 4ebab10bdc eight hours 57195d0dd1 to walk 52d83cba22 all the 6f17866fac way here.”a2072d15f0790a35

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“Guess zombies can’t run 41116249b3 marathons, huh?”c9fe1527d258df71

Even my attempt at 02586aded1 a joke couldn’t bring 8d82c2a5b3 a smile to Logan’s 69a6099171 serious face.98fc608d29136ebf

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At any rate, c1b0f6f1b5 no zombies appeared 8157491831 by the lake, 26e4bc5bb2 far from the 39a8c8ac6b city. It was lucky 760708dd16 we were in 85c0908d29 a small town 4ad9298455 with a sparse 50a2330beb population.df595ded6bef7959

If we were in 5d2e9d6965 a big city, the 0f9a558764 infected would be swarming. In those c5058677b9 huge cities b6d2336720 with millions 77477bba91 of people, f65ca691b7 it would 570aaa3a84 look just a2e8e1a842 like the 3129b48c41 movies, with 876aadedc3 hordes of ba01f85bd1 zombies everywhere.76a98b64ae8a3a6b

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Isn’t it more 73bbd54f4e dangerous to go 8e27021af8 into crowded cities? Here, there are fdcf23fdac no people, no 5c1f20d0aa zombies either.a0b8c17c27dbe279

By the 4e64ab4add second day, d3e5a7c230 even the ba24e28afd cars fleeing 1b68582e21 the city 8727c829da had mostly 65f92c6297 disappeared.79fc24ce841bc2bc

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The lakeside was 57a9a6494e eerily quiet. Out of sheer e68d8553e2 boredom, I spent c99ca81890 one day scratching 7a16e999c9 a pile of 798095fe37 lottery tickets we e2583076c6 had stolen from 884a2bbe2d the convenience store. All of 9a827a1e21 them were c9af46d805 duds.cb71d4437f41920d

Fifty tickets, 5469977329 and not 70da23066b a single 188cd8640d winner. Could my luck 5c11a0dd8c get any worse? It felt like 5a0196863b a bad omen, ab6abfa599 so I dumped 24bd51b387 them all into 1bb9b40610 the lake.eeb4f703f4b4de86

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What’s happening in Camden? Are my parents hiding 2943c03ac4 safely from the zombies? As time dragged on, 9cd9406944 my worries piled up.0588edf7b7280c36

On the seventh day, 8f6d6048d1 the radio went silent, 1460744393 and not a single a68ba3beda car passed by anymore.12c075e74cae4c5d

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Staring blankly f58bfa85a4 at the d0950f3c28 lake was cebe214a09 starting to 13adcf141f drive me 85c9a25738 crazy. Even living off chips e49c8d8e46 and energy drinks was d6b4790f68 getting old.c9e95db87ca35730

At this 10a67e1cd4 point, I e8a0149902 couldn’t help 4f06e9f5d3 but wonder.24cc8b5dfb968e5c

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How long are we d7a2f64903 going to stay here? Why isn’t there 62fe4e8caa anything on the a48aa98563 radio? In the movies, even f180990192 when the phones were 38dfc427d7 cut off, the radio 56f0b2ad6c would still be broadcasting.2852b0d7c9748c54

What if 2faafc9cee the zombie e162a54092 outbreak has 7d56eea439 already been 1f9c59f44c resolved, and 42e2211da8 we’re the b3daa6d939 only idiots cd2590db8d still hiding? It’s way too 3d8b9fbdf8 quiet.b4ae2c40693a1f0c

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I approached Logan. He was washing caa0ce5cdd his face at 56c7c9dbf1 the lakeside.25faee51b3fb36ab

He seemed 3d50cd365f so calm. Unlike me, he e1ef8dc722 didn’t seem bored bbdcd4b820 by this lakeside e79ed1a87a escape.ae29d8d073aa81c8

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Every morning and evening, b224f23fea he would patrol the 2d3f094f0d area, watch for cars 5f5aec2b29 on the road, and b8bb202cd0 occasionally crawl under the fe596b9df4 car to make repairs. Then, claiming he 40de79914f needed to cool d36434f7d3 off, he’d go de2857eaed swimming in the bc4da27747 lake.235fc26398ed8df8

“How long ca820c24b7 are we 7ea2f2393e going to a6b2c7115a stay here? It’s so e3b0e65bad quiet now, 06d3718881 maybe things 74d5f37050 are back db75606812 to normal?”ff3cc251170c9180

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The truth is, eec4bfb70a thinking that everything 6e0ed2e161 might be okay 1cb7d5e6fc was just my da1723c2cb wishful thinking. With the 1460071b8b radio cut 81cd3fd38f off, there 050c9bec6a was no 10e8ce5154 way things a84a2ee1ad had improved.726c9e6122734766

Any last bit of optimism I had had completely evaporated. I stopped flipping through radio frequencies or counting the days until college started. My worries about my parents, however, still lingered…8563e31950ea452c

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Logan straightened up, 1eb2b5cb77 shaking the water af8aa75796 off his hands. His gaze was fixed 0d33f4fa32 on the distant fields.bb67ec75e43aa34e

Like me, the 51d8241478 dark circles under 06aaf37af1 his eyes stood 362ba5dbb1 out. He must have c631513bc4 had trouble sleeping d778896272 too. Seeing his 37d8f39595 tired face, a2c412f047 he finally 3180ed548b looked human 552dbc9cfb to me c77d465a4b again.6d273591d0670119

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In a calm voice, 39d8a4b540 he spoke.ea733a7b43460772

“Once we run out of drinks, we’ll move.”b7553994f8ea15fe

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We had 3ee3bdff6c three 2-liter 4c20e8bcdd water bottles, 2a6e7a6521 four cans 57b8b5e25f of energy 061b16f3ce drinks, and 7519ee85b6 one bottle 928ed3e59e of fruit 6dfdbda3b0 juice left. Even if we fa784aca83 rationed carefully, it 823a23290c would all run 27971ab8b5 out within a 667551712d week.4ebf896391a83541

So, the day we 26423449e9 would leave the quiet f15280e16b and dull lakeside was 958bd660dd now set.d7baa86fe944cf73

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I felt a wave 315caaf9d6 of relief wash over cd1af91714 me, as if I c807226813 had finally reached the d76c5f78ed last chapter of a d86f4bacfe long, boring novel.6e51a8d150bba2e2

‘Finally, we can leave this lake.’31fc5685751e1562

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We had to go a7efe2cf13 back to Camden. We could’ve considered going 7cb0235116 to another city, but b28bd54e38 I wanted to check 95909162d6 on my parents first.80d96a66e3499269

Besides, the situation wouldn’t 1650d378f8 be any better in 1e87db9384 another city, and going c754d093a5 somewhere with more people 3153469022 might just be an ce96a7ccd8 unnecessary hassle.cd6598bfe3fa8dc1

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“For now, let’s head where there are people. Someone has to know what’s going on, why the radio’s gone silent, right?”5c3ce7d4c5a7308f

“They’re not going to welcome us right away.”2a728e82ad39e4de

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“Why not?”9c23605241abf413

“Because of the incubation period. They don’t know when we might turn into zombies, so they’ll kick us out.”af93d965ed7c13b4

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“Then should we head to a grocery store? I’m really craving pizza.”99062ae58553f62b

Logan chuckled, dropping his 70a8920698 head slightly. It was the first 2e51e7a8c7 time I’d seen him 72f5f8665b laugh since the zombie d7a37e6a93 outbreak began.52d705f5c6c46b56

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‘He’s finally smiling.’8542cb4d8c464e09

His usual cheerful grin e839d0f9e6 curved smoothly across his fdf41888fe face. Logan was fefeef6aef normally someone 56a3be34f2 who laughed 50fc952971 a lot, b9c70fe84c outgoing and 5e64ff61b0 sociable.f880a9cba56918c4

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Among our d57f733e7b friends, he 94f7103189 was always e9eb60f6d1 laughing. Seeing his 0b0b46ff6f constant grin d26eef0385 often made aec5724216 me think 9193faa707 of a c140c11b3e golden retriever.c1f874e932338bb7

But over 91dec4ead7 the past 4e141231e1 few days, 7c745deef3 he had a9f424948f been a 214a002746 completely different 93e00ce15b person—heavy, gloomy, 07c1b9e613 and distant. His mood ab7238de66 was so d6ebbd1e06 cold, it 95225e06ed made me cdeae41e82 hesitate to bd17ff2f9f even talk c3dc73af10 to him. But honestly, 6512b7767f who could d50e80b947 stay the 4caa279a17 same in 6ebe234e6a a situation bd66110356 like this?3234f9120027a349

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I was c6688c3e3b usually the f8751a1c51 one with cb2a649386 a serious e41e4b0c0f expression, acting 174811ae15 stoic and 36ebe9a2e7 all business. How dare 97f4ed5f42 he steal 456aebbde5 my image bd809cd2f2 like that. It was downright annoying.ebac76504f7757fb

“Grocery stores were probably looted a long time ago. Maybe there’s still food left in some restaurants.”f7607ebdb0f6c78c

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“Isn’t downtown crawling with zombies? The first outbreak started in the downtown area, remember?”7815390819fa694e

“Exactly. Which means there’s probably still food left there.”9545b2389ed8ed29

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His logic 7336aebee8 made sense. Since the first outbreak bd6338b587 happened downtown, no one dac65a5152 would have dared to 16f4d1a8b9 go back.0a0126f8ed8ab78b

I looked at 810ed8289d him, impressed. With a brain like ba08b116c1 that, why had he 07550a8036 refused to go to de1c95d860 college?e9d16cd2e92c7363

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“You… you’re pretty smart, you know?”bb2a26a93df88a0a

Logan laughed openly at 28ac823188 my compliment, his laugh 9cc36538f3 oddly comforting to hear.56f467860aefce96

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It was the kind 140e6fb359 of laugh that felt b523faa5b4 like a gentle hand ebe85812f9 soothing an upset stomach, fc03ce7779 tickling me right in 7c952ccfad the chest. Without even realizing 90b4957ec2 it, I found bc5dcf20fd myself smiling along 24e4ab80ac with him.3965b8d7f13a3903

We had finally 28a9a37e7f run out of cec451658c water and food.a529f0be1df65a66

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To be 8cf304961e honest, I d4c38ae59f wasn’t too c6b5c846a7 worried about 8130bdde9b drinking water. Even though the lake efff26d4d2 water was dirty and 838c83dddf unappealing, we could still a83ea5f074 drink it if necessary.211e3e62b35660b5

The bigger concern was a7a25cbfe6 food. Since neither of us c24e3dc332 knew how to fish ff0b121f8d or hunt, we had a42a202e7d no choice but to d7c8b4cb4e return to the city f971d8f72f to find more.56eebc8007c35d36

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Logan and I 1edf5c339f got back into 26b44ba3a9 the car. Thankfully, the fuel gauge fbbeec3a3e still showed a full fe267f3d22 tank, so at least 78bdd631e5 we didn’t have to 2e11d00598 worry about running out eeffbf4002 of gas.e48b1fef0037ec52

Logan started 334d484ef3 the engine. I fastened my seatbelt 235665273a and swallowed nervously.da5171b476072bc9

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It had been 070b3eb2f1 about two weeks 5fd526dc7c since that day. What had 01b784fc0c become of a9809ef608 the wrecked 52cad9ae58 city? Were there 2bccc92d5b more survivors 8e98998a08 now? My heart pounded with bf9c904b53 a mix of worry e6ecbd43f7 and anxiety.565b706d95626261

We drove 266289d57b out of ea34728749 the bumpy 3efdec51f7 dirt road 905910d7a0 and onto 650a2f90b7 the road 4e612360e0 we had b55f0a6ead taken before. Soon, the gas 09457a4156 station we had 23814893e9 raided came into e85986f42f view.3a8aa3dffb6f8edf

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“…”ee74969072c08275

The convenience fd60f6a722 store looked a7378d213a like it 88890d34e0 had been df4e483e72 looted several 2dc0f637f9 times since 8e1a9d5266 we last 8137106bfd visited.fdcf8816b92153f8

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At the entrance of cbe539e3b6 the gas station, two cc303398f6 rotting zombie corpses lay 1033094003 untouched, abandoned where they c4e307a5fe had fallen.5ad5949d9d52f2d7

We didn’t slow down 54032a7bb5 as we passed the 6a1ddde468 station. Although the road was 0d40c04220 familiar, it felt oddly d57e49f80d foreign, and the queasiness 307816a846 in my stomach grew, a367337e9c as if I were 944bc80443 getting carsick.3dbeb530b39400c5

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About five kilometers from acf565dbfe Camden, Logan reduced his 3a0c1d7729 speed, carefully scanning the 7a5627f735 area. I stayed alert as 8dc0bd766c well, checking our surroundings b11ddb1531 and behind us, not 1c161956b8 daring to let my 61ec415e3d guard down.389a6afcbdd54672

We didn’t know 2613d21300 when or where 427c5c86b7 a zombie might f92386abfe jump out. From this 1d34510735 point on, 5952ab5031 we had 52041c396e to move e1c614d5c4 cautiously.887c5f67e75541f7

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The road had abb2e41b44 been a mess 5a7e9d3371 when we escaped, 1f7546f0f1 and now it c76169be8c was even worse. There were more vehicles 1cb8d13d36 blocking the streets, some a1b65e1037 overturned as if they 4ef3921812 had crashed.0eb50c4d0dacd76d

We were about to 83b9c1026c truly enter the city.5e0ff3317ba68e5b

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The tension doubled. A sense of e4a01501dc foreboding weighed heavily fd7a4e15d7 on me, and 0c58598e16 I suddenly felt 13f419ac2f compelled to speak ed6e668e47 to him. In this 4a7c05cf67 terrifying world 9543484ecc where we c8348a2d46 could die 6522a179b6 at any 31d18be280 moment, I 30245958b1 didn’t want ecb46d7c72 to leave 7dc26f3da3 anything unsaid ad92c12a23 before I 630c244ae3 died.3b2b5a839be1985a

“I… liked you when we were kids.”fcb87036380e15cc

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Like a soldier before e25fd70f39 battle, sending out a 9b0ad6c6f3 doomed final confession, waving 84136323a5 the proverbial death flag.06dbbcc9ee59082a

Logan turned d7e0a3aad1 to me fee141c511 with a d4e7e7ee93 bewildered expression, 1297c6ec9e as if 01f6631c8c to ask, 71fc20f230 *Why are 28281d78b9 you telling 0b0cf2e3c3 me this a71c0aa69e now?*750b5d71222309fc

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“What?”10e17f7d21a6ef44

“I just did. You were my first love, I think.”f9cd37dd5b2f9e7e

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“…”ba3414ed48c13a3c

Logan’s Adam’s apple bobbed c2a1cd190a as he swallowed hard. His dry lips 3878c1ba87 parted slightly as e9378ad4f1 he returned his d3bec2440e gaze to the 22d96f9a31 road.3d3fdf634f2cdf18

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As he slowly e72175eb83 turned the steering 5e7b012182 wheel, he responded 981463dbf6 in a cracked, a21a2b6d4f quiet voice.dcd1084990ba0189

“Me too.”70d98da25eaccd1e

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