12

We better drive.

To see? At least someone had a little common sense," Dave says and helps to put his backpack in the Dumpster.

Mindy sits in the front seat. "I call it a shotgun," she says, and points the shotgun out of the passenger seat window. Dave climbs into the driver's seat, which leaves the table for you. A small window separates you from your companions and you open it so you can talk to them.

Dave pulls the truck out of the parking lot and down a steep incline to a paved road behind the Cathedral. After a series of bends, the road straightens out and goes beyond what your eyes can see. The sun begins to descend over the high tree line, and the low hum of insects cuts under the hum of the truck's engine. You taste moisture in the air and your skin itches when the wind blows in your arms. The sweet smell of pine is unbearable as you drive down the lonely road. "How are you there?" asks Dave. "Okay," you respond. "I've been at the Cathedral for a few months, Rezo. We know people from the area, like the Thompsons on this farm we're going to. We went back as soon as the outbreak started to check on Joe Thompson and his parents. cooks some mean biscuits. We usually buy eggs and milk from them." "When was the last time you heard of them?" Mindy asks. "Not for a week at least. There's also a town up ahead called Temperance. We only went through this place, Hunter's Bar. Sort of a pigsty, but cheap beer."

On the side of the road, you see several figures running out of the forest towards the truck. Their angular limbs poke at tattered clothing and, even from a distance, you can tell they're undead.