CHAPTER 2

When they arrived at the building's garage, everything was chaotic. There were: cars crashed everywhere with a deafening and out of sync alarm sound in the air; people crying as they hurriedly stuffed their stuff into vehicles and some corpses of people who were there at the wrong time. Trying to avoid obstacles, Veronica covered Anna's eyes when the girl stopped abruptly and screamed at the sign of an elderly decapitated woman, probably run over by a car. Aidan heard it, came back and pulled them by the arm. – We need to go. Don't look at that. – That made Veronica wake up and run again.

The four arrived in the family car. – Think fast! – Veronica tossed the keys to Aidan, who took them easily and placed the children and backpacks in the back seat. After making sure they were safe, she got into the front seat and shouted: - Seat belts! - Turned to confirm, but something hit the car and they were pushed sharply to the left. – All good? Go! Go! Go! – Aidan stepped on the gas backing up. He dodged the monsters that had invaded the building's garage with a big spin making Veronica's dizziness return.

Fortunately, the exit door was open and considerably free, so they managed to get out. But the car was quickly surrounded. – Where to?! – Aidan turned to Veronica who was still watching the creatures follow and the level of destruction everywhere. – Ronnie! Where?! – He was getting worried and stressed, they were in a dangerous situation and his heart was racing. The sweat on his palm made the steering wheel slip, so he alternated between holding with one hand while wiping the other.

They passed over a dead monster, waking Veronica up – Ah? Yes! To my parents' cabin ... Do you remember where it is? – She turned to him. The car moved quickly as they dodged everything, breaking at least ten rules in thirty seconds.

He said agreeing: - Yes, ok, hold on and stay down. – Making a rather illegal turn for someone like him, it was a rare occasion. But difficult situations call for difficult solutions and, in his mind, the only thought was to get them out of harm's way. Veronica grabbed the car seat with all the strength she had and kept her eyes closed because it was moving too much. Aidan knew she always had a problem with car travel. Threw up almost every time and that was when she was fine. He could only imagine how it must be now. – Sorry, Ronnie. Hold on, please. – He just wanted to stop and hug her, but there was no time for that.

Aidan glanced at her. The guilt was eating away at him. She pushed her head against the back of the seat, trying to provide some stability. – Relax Aidan, just go. – And he did the best to drive with as few moves as possible. It was an almost impossible task, but there was a lot of training and alternative paths with a better chance for emptiness.

Veronica focused on her hearing, the children of people shouting, horns and gunshots. "Bad idea. New plan." Focused on breathing and not thinking about anything else. Perhaps the less you have in your mind, the less chance there is of getting sick. "You can ... breathe in, breathe out and ignore everything else. Again. Inhale ... Exhale ... And ignore everything else. Damn it! It's not working." While she fought with herself, she felt small fingers brush on her arm. Recognized the touch, knew it was her sister trying to comfort her and feel bad. She should have been the one to protect the girl, but it seemed the other way around. – Thank you, Anna... – Whispered, still keeping a gentle grip.

After a while the car stopped turning, so Veronica opened her eyes. But doing so, her vision showed they were going straight and the road was calm. Too calm. There were a few abandoned cars with open doors and blood everywhere. Veronica made sure the locks were activated and released her sister's hand.

- It's not just me, is it? There's something weird... – Veronica nodded trying to find any sign of life around, but it had nothing. – I don't like this, people... There is a chill in my neck that is warning me.

- You are a pessimist, Aidan. – Jack said from the back seat while grabbing Anna's hand.

Veronica disagreed. – He's right. Something is wrong. – They walked for another kilometer when she shouted: - Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate! – Several monsters jumped in front of her and others came running. She turned the body quickly, making her head spin and saw many more were coming from behind. They were surrounded. One threw himself on top of the hood and the little ones screamed. Veronica took the gun, rolled down the window, turned to Aidan and said: - Sorry. – Soon she shot the one stuck in the car, making the body fly away, knocking down two others on its way.

- Damn it! – Aidan shouted as he quickly turned the car around to dodge three monsters blocking the way. However, during the sudden movement, Veronica lost her balance, was thrown on top of him. With luck, the gun fell on the floor of the car. – Sorry! – When she reached for it, the injured arm made a wrong move causing the gun to slip into the back seat.

She let out a cry of pain making Aidan's head turn toward her. – I'm fine! Ignore it. – "As if it were possible... Congratulations, idiot." He thought when she closed the window.

- Anna! Very carefully, but incredibly carefully, grab the gun and pass it to me! Do not squeeze anything! – Veronica held back the vomit and turned to her sister. When the gun was in the little girl's hands, she grabbed it and set the lock again. – Go, Aidan, go! Anna, put on your seat belt. - The incentive made him try to go faster which was not exactly possible for the car or the way, but it made him more confident.

The car practically shouted and the noise was attracting attention, but they kept hitting the monsters and soon were out of concentration. When the sight of trees appeared in the distance, he said anxiously: - Almost there... Come on, come on, come on... – The forest road was just ahead, so Veronica closed her eyes and waited. And then, everything was calm and very quiet. Opened them again and took a deep breath to only then realize she was holding.

- Yes... Good job, Aidan. – The retching passed and she smiled still not believing. But happiness was short lived, there were several abandoned cars blocking the road. – 'Cause of course.

Aidan laughed. – Relax, there is a path through the forest we can follow. – He flashed his famous comforting smile and she became sixty percent calmer. – Hold on. – "Oh, no ..." she thought. The car took a sharp turn and swayed again.

They were passing through the trees, which should be worrying enough on its own, but her strength was gone. – Wow Aidan, how did you get your driver's license? – Jack broke the silence making everyone laugh. Little seconds of peace made the climate infinitely lighter.

She felt Aidan take her hand and squeeze it sweetly. However, with one hand through the trees was not the best choice so he let go. – Just a little longer.

Short after, they were quietly walking down the road with the only audible sounds being their own breath and the stones under. – Sleep a little, children. We are still far away. – Veronica turned when she had no answer and the two had already fallen asleep. "Lucky..." was all she could think of, but it didn't stop her from smiling. – Reduce the headlights, we don't want to attract anyone. – Aidan followed and Veronica turned to pay attention to the trees, making sure no one came to attack them.

Neither knew how to cut the silence, let alone if they should. What should they say? Their minds did not have enough time to absorb everything and the few moments of peace seemed too short. When her body calmed down, the truth came out. Her arm started to throb and adrenaline that served as a type of relaxer drained away.

Veronica began to move and mumble under her breath. There was pain, but she didn't want to wake the kids. Aidan was paying attention to her body language – How's the arm? – Their eyes met. Both were oozing worry, tiredness and fear. At that moment, there were only two things: first, she could never lie to him because when kids, they made a promise of total honesty that both intended to keep until no longer possible; and second, there was no good enough answer that could convince him not to worry, because it was… well, it was him.

So only one thing came to mind. The only phrase she found that is not exactly a lie. – As well as possible. – She felt that this wasn't what he wanted to hear, but instantly, it was the sincerest she could be. He wanted her to smile, he wanted her to think about something different.

- Hey... – It caught her attention. Veronica glanced and he said with a playful smile: - How mad would you be if I told you that I always wanted to participate in a zombie apocalypse? – Aidan mocked and started to laugh at her incredulous face.

- They're not zombies! Nobody is eating anyone's brain... – She straightened, turning more towards him with a slight smile on her face. Just like that, he achieved his goal.

Continuing the joke, Aidan replied: - Oh, come on... They contaminate through the bite, have no consciousness and did you see their eyes?! Those are the eyes of death... – Aidan spoke in a dark voice and then burst into laughter. She started hitting his arm trying to get him to stop.

- Quiet... The children are sleeping... – He was quiet until he looked at her smiling with a raised eyebrow, which made her laugh. – Okay, there are some similarities... - That moment seemed perfect, as if there weren't hundreds of dangerous people who could jump at any moment and attack them. It was just the two of them... and a few children sleeping.

- I'm just saying. I paid a lot of attention on Walking Dead to exactly this situation! – He spoke assertively, but whispered now. Veronica simply smiled at the boy. – Then relax. I'm ready for whatever comes.

- I know... - She gave him a questioning look. – I guarantee we will see how much of this is true. But to be clear, they are not zombies.

He paused. – Or are they? – The two laughed some more and Veronica could feel the sleep start to weigh.

The silence returned for a few minutes while the two enjoyed the brief breath in the middle of everything and watched a beautiful forest unfold. It was then that she remembered: - Did you call your mother? – Asked, killing the mood and feeling bad for not being more concerned about him or Jack.

He got visibly sad. - Yes, I called while packing the backpacks. She said that she is doing well and that they are doing their best at the PCASD. But she loves us and in the worst case, it is for us to go east and find our uncle's farm in the neighboring city. – He said without much hope. His mother had a lot of work and recently spent little to no time at home. It affected Aidan and Jack a lot. Veronica tried her best to distract them when they missed her too much. But it was difficult.

Cautiously asked: - Does she know what caused all this? – Veronica adjusted herself trying to find the perfect position for her arm so the pain would ease, but the truth was clear: there was none. And although the conversation was distracting, it wasn't exactly medicine.

- I didn't have time, there was an emergency and she hung up. But that place has always been sketchy, so chances are an experiment went wrong. - Veronica gave up, looked at her hands and started to play with the gun handle. "True, the PCASD raised many questions, and the reporter in the morning had said the outbreak started in that area." – I didn't want to tell Jack anything for fear that it would worry him, but I need to see how she is. Her office is right in the middle of it all and this is anything but coincidental.

Veronica looked at him talking to himself. Aidan was holding the steering wheel firmly and his breathing was uneven. She reached out and gently placed it on the hand that was closest to her, it made him look at her with such vulnerability that it broke her heart.

She's the only one who knows this side of him, and it made her feel... special. She loved him so much that she would do anything. - Don't worry, that building is a fortress. – And it was. It was so secure, it didn't even look like a commercial building. – They must have several preventive measures, until the virus is cured, so everything will be resolved soon. She must be fine, but as soon as we get to the cabin and leave the two of them, we'll come right back to find her.

Aidan went through a mix of emotions. He didn't want to put her in danger, but also knew the best answer was: - Deal. – The two shared a mutual respect and appreciation and would die for each other if needed. Of course, neither were looking for this alternative, but would go to the end to ensure the other was well.

With every meter they hit the road, it was one more thought. The night had come quickly and Veronica was tired, without even realizing, she snuggled and closed her eyes. – Hey, do you want me to drive? – Asked a little groggy.

Aidan smiled fondly as he struggled with his own sleep – No need, just get some sleep. – Answered in a soft voice and the world around her was lost to the darkness.