Chapter 17: I got that part (Shannons POV)

Lilly stood there for a bit of some time, as she stared at the road that was ahead of us. It was almost as if she had not heard a word that I had just now said to her. I knew that she had though, and that she was more than likely just processing it through her head.

I did not know what went on in her head, nor did I know this lady at all. I was always told to never get in a strangers van, or a car, especially if you were a woman, but I did not have much of a choice in the situation that I had been stuck in.

It was choose that, or just die, and I had to take my chances. She seemed alright so far, she just did not seem to give a care about the rest of the world. She just wanted herself to be safe, and to me it felt a bit greedy, but I am sure she was thinking of it, such as 'only the strongest survive'.

It kind of made me sick to even think of any thing like that. I blinked a few times, as I then looked away from her, trying to get those thoughts from out of my head. All that really mattered now, to me at least, was to make sure that my father knew I was okay, and what had happened to my mother.

I could just do as Lilly had first said, and keep going, but I knew that I could not live, if my father was still out there, and looking for us. I let out a bit of a sigh as well, as Lilly looked away from the road, and right at me, after she had heard me do so, just now.

She squinted her eyes at me, as if she was the one that was suspicious. I had not meant it that way, nor did I want to push her, as this was her car, and she could just so easily throw me out on the side of the free way, if she just did so choose to.

I lowered my head to the ground, as I was not sure what it was that I was doing. I felt like maybe it would not be such a bad idea if I did in fact get left on the side of the free way. I knew the way home from where we were currently at right now, and I had the keys as well.

The question really was, would I even be able to get back home? I had to assume that these things were all over the cities, and the streets, as I had even seen us drive past a few on the free way while we had been driving in the car.

I shook my head, as I did not want to try my luck with that. I would be more safe, and I was sure that I would be okay if I just stuck with Lilly. She seemed to know a lot more about all of this than I did. Just as I thought of her as well, I then heard her begin to speak, and I looked up to her, to hear what it was that she had to say.

"Fine... If that is what you want... But if we go near your place, and there is a bunch of those things around there, than it is a no go, and I am driving off." She said to me. I looked at her for a few more moments, as I then let out a bit of a smile.

She squinted her eyes at me once again, as I was sure that she was a bit lost as to why it was that I would be any sort of happy at the current moment, and my current state of mind. To be fair, I was not sure if I even knew the answer to that question.

I blinked a couple of times, as I knew that was not where my thoughts should be at, at the exact moment. I then nodded to her, as a bit of a thank you, as I then looked at the still dead road that was ahead of me. I then began to speak back to Lilly at the same time as well.

"Thank you... Do you have a notepad or anything that I can leave on the door?" I asked her. She looked at me for just a couple of moments, as I then saw her begin to look around her messy car, to see if she could find any of what it was that I was looking for.

I felt like it would not be the case, as I was not sure if there were all that many people that really left a set of note pads in their car. Lilly looked around for a bit more time, as she then let out a bit of a loud sigh as a response, just as I had done not too long ago.

Lilly then looked back over to me, as she then shrugged her shoulders at me too, as it seemed as though she had no such sort of luck, which I had also expected to be the case as well, so I was no such sort of disappointed when that had been the case.

Lilly stood there for a bit of time, as she then focused her eyes on the still empty road that was ahead of us, almost as if she expected something to happen. After a bit more time had passed, and we sat in the car in dead silence, she then turned her head over to me, and began to speak. I listened to what it was that she had to say to me as well.

"No... I just have these papers that you can see all over the floor. You can use that if you would like, but I do not have any pieces of tape... So you can take you can take it at your own risk, if you want to hope that the paper will not just fly off in the wind." She said back to me. I looked at her for just a couple of moments, and then I nodded back to her as well.

I thought about it for a bit more time as well, as I had the keys to the house, so I could just go in, as I was sure that I was bound to find some sort of tape in the place. At the same time though, I was not sure if I really did want to go in to the house either.

There were so many pictures of my mother that were hung across the wall, or were on cabinets, and I did not want to think back on what I had just seen happen not to long ago. I almost just wanted to cry, just thinking back on it, even right now.

She had just wanted to make sure that a person was okay, that sounded like they had needed some help. If there was a God out there, than he certainly was a fucked up God. Just because my parents did not believe in him, did not mean that they were not good people.

I tried my best not too get too angry, as I held it in. I then turned my head over to Lilly, as I saw her squinting her eyes, as if she had a bit of a suspicious look on her face, which I had to assume she had seen the look that I had just had on my very own face.

I shook my head, as I then thought of another idea that might be possible for us to consider, as it came up in my mind at the exact same instance as well. I stood there for a little bit longer, and then I nodded to Lilly, who in turn nodded back to me, though she still had her eyes squinted at me. I then began to speak to her, doing my best to try to ignore her.

"What if we just went in to a general store, and we got some tape from there? I will pay if that is the case." I said to her. She looked at me for a bit of some time, as she kept her eyes squinted on me as well. I began to feel a bit nervous at the same time too.

She was a bit of a strange woman, and I really was beginning to start to wonder if I had in fact perhaps gone in to the wrong car. I wondered if she was lying to me, about all that was going on, and she was just trying to kidnap me, and take me to some crazy place.

I shook my head though, as I shook those thoughts from out of my head. I knew that was not the case, as I knew that the roads were dead empty right now, meaning that everyone was told to stay insides at all times right now, just as she had told me was the case.

I also had just seen my mother, and her friend get torn apart in front of me at the same time too, and I had to assume that it was not just some sort of staged thing. I was quite sure that I was not on some prank TV show right now, as this was too crazy for that to be true.

I then turned my head back over to Lilly, as I heard her voice at the same time as well, as she then began to speak to me at the same time too. I sat there for a few moments, with a bit of a blank look on my face, until I focused my attention on what it was that she had to say to me.

"I just told you that the world was in quarantine! If there even was a store open right now, than everything that is in there, would be dead empty." She said back to me. I looked at her for a bit more time, as I kept that same blank look on my face, that I had just had a few seconds ago.

She rolled her eyes at me, as if I was some kind of idiot, which I am sure I did seem like quite a bit of a fool right now to be fair, as I really did not have a single clue in the world, as to what was all going on all around me at the exact moment.

I then lowered my head down to the ground, as I stared at all of the papers that I could see on the floor. I did not have the best vision in the world, but I could see some of the words on the pieces of paper, that were scattered all across to floor.

At first I had just thought that they had been some sort of spam mail, or tax papers that she had just left sitting there, but as I began to look for a bit more time, I then began to notice that it was not the case at all, and it felt like she might have known that perhaps all of this had been coming all along.

I was never one to get in to very many conspiracy theories, though I did feel like there was a lot of fishy stuff going on with the government, even if my father worked at a government office. And what I saw on the papers in front of me, it seemed as if a lot of those theorist were right this time.

I looked at one of the papers that had the largest, and most bold outline of text on it, as I read what it was that it had to say, 'World is ending... Pray for forgiveness, and repent!" I felt a bit sick, as I almost wanted to laugh at it, at first, just because it was always what I had grown up like.

To laugh at religion, and to laugh at the fact that people believed that there was a God out there. There was nothing for me to laugh at right now, as perhaps they were the ones that should be laughing right now. They had been right, and no one had listened to what they had to say.

If my parents might have perhaps listened to it, than maybe, just maybe, my mother would not be lying on the floor of the DMV hallway right now, being torn apart by a crazy man. I shook my head, as I tried to shake out all of those thoughts at the exact moment.

The conspiracy theorist had been saying that the world was going to end, since the beginning of time, so of course at some point they were going to be right. I blinked, as I then turned my head back over to Lilly, who I saw just had her eyes on the free way that was ahead of us, once again.

"I guess you are right... There is no use..." I said back to her. She stared at the road ahead of her for a little bit more time, until she then turned her head back over to me at the same time as well. She looked at me, as she then began to squint her eyes at me, once again.

I blinked a few times, as I was a bit confused with this lady. It did not seem that, no matter what I said, it would make this lady happy. I could tell her to keep going, and drive off to the place that she wanted to take me, and she would be upset that I was to give up so easily.

Or, I could tell her to stop, and to try to make a note for my father, and she would be upset that I had made her stop, and I had 'put our lives at risk'. I lowered my head to the ground, as I was starting to hope now, that she would in fact just throw me out of the car that I was stuck in.

I did not want to live any longer... There was truly no point in it... I just wanted to sit on the side of the road, and hope that one of the crazy people came after me, and did the same thing that the one in the DMV had done to my mother.

I sat there, staring at the floor below me, as I felt like that I just wanted to start crying, and have an endless stream of tears fall from my eyes. Lilly began to respond to what I had just said however, and I lifted my head up, to hear what she had to respond to me with.

"Well geesh negative Nancy! Did your mother have the only key to the house on her or something? Surely you have something in there right?" She said to me. I stood there for a bit of some time, as I then once again put a blank look on my face, just as I had done a few moments ago.

Lilly then rolled her eyes at the same time, as she then took the keys that she had taken out of the engine, when she had stopped the car, and then she put them back in, as the car made a bit of a loud noise, as it then began to start up.

I blinked a few times, as I then realized that she was about to start driving off, if I did not go ahead and speak back to her. I looked down at my pockets that I had my keys in, and then I looked back over to Lilly, as I then nodded to her in response.

She did not seem to be paying me one bit of attention at all at the moment, as it made me a bit angry. I then began to speak loudly to her, to make sure that she was paying attention to me, and was not about to just drive off, and go past my home.

"Yes! I have the keys!" I said to her. She sat there for a few moments, as I saw her keep her hand on the shift, as it looked like she was going to put it on the '1' spot, which I had to assume meant that she was getting ready to go ahead and start going.

She kept her hand stuck on it for a bit of time, though she did not move it. I wondered if she had perhaps heard a word of what it was that I had just said to her. She was a bit of a strange older woman for sure. Eventually after a bit more time had passed though, she turned her head back over to me.

She squinted her eyes at me, just as I had seen her do earlier, as she let out a bit of a big, loud sigh, as if she was trying to be like one of those kids at my school, and trying to be extra on purpose. She turned her head back to the road that was ahead of her, after we had a bit of a staring contest.

I was not sure if I had won, or if she just did not really care that much at all. I would take the benefit of the doubt, as I took in the satisfaction of it. After a bit more time of her staring at the road though, Lilly then began to speak back to me, as I listened to what it was that she had to say.

"Next time do not take so long to respond... Okay? Now... Tell me where it is that we have to go." She said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, as I let out a bit of a joy of relief at the same time as well, that she had finally made her decision, and that I was going to be able to save my father.

If my father was not already dead at least... I shook my head though, as I knew that I had to keep a positive attitude on this, though there was not all that much to really be positive about at the current moment. I blinked a couple of times, as I took in what she had said at the last part as well.

I did not want to test my luck any further, as I knew that I had to go ahead and start to speak to her, before she did in fact just drive off. I blinked a couple of times, as I looked at the road that was in front of me, so that I could regain my focus as well.

I stared at it for a bit of time, and then I turned my head back over to Lilly, as I then realized where it was, that we were at right now, as I drove past this area on my way home from school every day. I then nodded to her, as she nodded back to me as well. I then began to start to speak to her, so that she knew where it was that we had to go.

"Well... First, we need to go past the exit ramp that is ahead of us... Right over there." I said to her. She stared at me for a bit of time, as she then shook her head at me for some odd reason or another. I was a bit confused as to why she had done so as well.

I was just doing as she had asked for me to do. She had told me that I needed to show her, or tell her where it was that we needed to go. I had to assume that she was not used to driving around this area. No... She just did know where it was that I lived at...

I shook my head, as I knew that was not the reason that she had shook her head however. I stood there for a bit of time, as she looked down at the ground, as she laid her head down on the steering wheel that was in front of her as well. It was as if she felt like she was going crazy right now.

She stood there for a bit of time, as I felt bad for her. I shook my head though, as I just looked back over at the road that was in front of us, as I knew that was where I needed my focus on right now, as I was doing my best to try to remember where it was that I took to get back home from school.

I then heard Lilly begin to laugh, which shook off any and all thoughts that I was trying to think of in my head at the current moment. I turned my head over to her, a bit confused as to what it was that the lady had found so funny at the moment.

Lilly sat there for a bit of time, as she began to pound her head in to the steering wheel for some reason. After a little bit more time, she lifted her head up though, and then she looked over at me, as she then began to speak to me as well.

"Yes Shannon... I got that part..."