New Roads, New Dreams

The early morning sun shone down on the misty forest. Crystal-clear dewdrops clung to the lush green plants.There was no smell of decay in the air today — instead, a faint aroma of broth drifted lazily through the mist.

"Don't touch it yet, it's not ready!" Lori scolded lightly, smacking Jason's hand away as she stirred the pot over the fire."This is my new invention — venison soup. I even found two radishes, dried them, and added them in. It's great for replenishing energy in the morning and tastes amazing."

"I think it does a bit more than just replenish energy," Jason said, rubbing his hands together mischievously.

Yawning, he stepped outside the tent, blinking at Rick."I saw you sneak some deer antler slices into the pot, too," Jason teased, his eyes narrowing. "The effects must be... impressive."

The past few days, Rick had been exhausted — working nonstop day and night until he could barely stand.

"Go on, get out of here!" Lori laughed, waving her spoon at Jason.

"Morning, Sheriff," Jason greeted Rick with a grin.

"Morning... I guess," Rick mumbled, trying (and failing) to stifle a yawn.

Seeing how drained he looked, Jason shook his head and rolled his eyes."You really ought to show some restraint," he said dryly. "Food's running low. Nutritional supplements too. If you keep... exerting yourself so much, you'll end up completely useless."

"Ahem," Rick coughed awkwardly, clearly understanding the jab. He waved Jason off."Yeah, yeah, I got it. Let's just eat."

When the venison soup was finally ready, the women took only a few careful sips — but the men, especially Rick, practically inhaled it.Even after emptying his bowl, Rick still looked unsatisfied, clearly needing the boost.

After the simple breakfast, everyone began packing up tents and supplies.Thankfully, they had gathered a few more vehicles over time; otherwise, moving all their stuff would have been impossible.

But one problem still remained.

Jason stared down at the large shell casing from the tank he'd salvaged earlier.There was no safe way to bring it along. If it exploded during travel, it would destroy everything.

"Forget it," Jason muttered, sighing heavily."Maybe the next group of survivors will find you."

Reluctantly, he left the shell behind.

Before leaving, they also left behind a tent and a small stash of food — a small act of kindness, hoping to give the next survivors a bit of hope.

"For a better life... let's move out!" Jason called.

The group piled into their vehicles and slowly pulled away from the old camp, heading down a rough, winding mountain road.Following the map, they carefully bypassed Atlanta and took an alternate route.If everything went smoothly, they would reach Jason's targeted destination by nightfall.

The scenery along the road was still beautiful — rolling hills, endless trees — but the charm was marred by broken-down cars and scattered corpses.

"Hey, does this count as a road trip?" Glenn joked from the back seat, sensing the gloomy mood and trying to lighten it."I always wanted to just hit the road, go anywhere I wanted... and now it's finally happening. No bosses, no bills — total freedom!"

"I'm afraid only a nerd like you would think that," Jason said, sitting up front, lazily chewing on a piece of beef jerky.He scoffed, curling his lips in disdain."Ask anyone else here — their dream is probably finding a nice place, building a little wooden house, starting a farm, herding sheep, riding horses every day... Now that is what real life looks like."