Chapter 13: Bennett

Henry lowered his bat at last and sighed.

"My name's Henry. What about you?"

Betty's lips twitched at the question.

W-What name should I even give? I can't say Betty… its a girl name?

She paused, then shrugged lightly. "You can call me… Bennett."

Henry nodded thoughtfully. "Alright, Bennett. Nice name."

Then he started rambling.

"I don't know about any government bases, to be honest. Me and my buddies are also trying to find one. But if you're looking for somewhere safe to rest for the night, you can stick with us. We've got a jeep, some supplies—though not much—but we've kept it locked down so far. I mean, there's a gas station nearby and—"

Betty's foot began tapping the ground impatiently.

Why is this guy giving me his life story? I just asked a yes or no question.

Her expression was growing increasingly deadpan when suddenly—

"Henry."

A cold voice cut through the awkwardness like a knife.

Henry instantly stopped blabbering, his head snapping toward the sound.

Betty followed his gaze—and blinked.

Eh? Isn't that the guy from the mall? The one in the black suit with the pistol?

A tall man walked toward them, His sharp eyes locked onto Betty suspiciously.

He still wore that slick black business suit, though now there was dust on the cuffs and a faint scratch across his cheek.

Henry turned quickly. "Oh—David. She was just asking about the base."

David's eyes didn't leave Betty.

"…" he said calmly. "You were the one at the mall, right?"

Betty offered a nonchalant shrug.

"Yeah. You were the one aiming a gun at me. Good times."

Henry blinked between the two, clearly lost.

David's gaze narrowed slightly.

"Hey bro, let's move quickly—we need to deliver supplies to the survivors!"

A cheerful voice called out from behind. Betty turned to see a man pushing a cart full of food.

Ethan spotted Betty and raised a hand in greeting."Yo! Cool guy in the jacket—what brings you out here?"

Henry waved happily at him."Ethan, come over here. Looks like we won't have to walk to the base after all."

"Huh? What do you mean? Did you find some petrol or something?"

Henry shook his head with a regretful sigh."Nah, the gas station's still a kilometer away. But maybe we can use his petrol."

At that, Betty immediately tensed. Her eyes narrowed and her fist clenched, ready to throw a punch.

Henry quickly raised both hands, panicking at her reaction.

"No, no! I didn't mean we'd steal it! I meant you could come with us—it's a win-win. You bring petrol from your truck, and we take you straight to our temporary base."

Betty's body relaxed at Henry's words, but before she could respond, David cut in, eyeing Ethan.

"No, Ethan. I don't trust him."

Betty shot David an annoyed look.

'Why is this guy always staring at me like I'm up to something? I didn't even do anything to him… Did I?'

Ethan placed a hand on David's shoulder and whispered,"Chill, bro. He's not some shady corporate spy or whatever."

Then he turned to Betty with an apologetic smile."Don't mind my brother. He's just naturally suspicious of everyone."

David smacked Ethan's hand off his shoulder and spoke firmly,"If you want to come with us, then take off your hoodie."

Betty's eye twitched at his tone and narrowed gaze. She scoffed and turned away, striding toward her truck.

"Fine. I'm out. Your precious jeep doesn't have petrol? Then walk for all I care."

"Wait—bro, don't be mad!" Ethan jumped in front of her, arms spread to block her path."He's just paranoid all the time. Just ignore him, alright?"

Betty gave a small nod."Alright then, I'll go with you."

Ethan's eyes lit up with excitement. He immediately dashed toward the jeep, then hurried back to the truck with a fuel can in hand.

Betty crossed her arms and sighed.

'If they end up not knowing where their base is, I swear I'm leaving. That guy's attitude is seriously testing me.'

Her gaze drifted to David, who was still openly staring at her.

'Still suspicious, huh?'

Ethan's voice rang out, cheerful as ever."Alright, hop in the jeep, brothers! Time to move out!"

Hearing that, David silently walked over and slid into the driver's seat.

"You can sit in the back," he said flatly, not even glancing her way.

Betty nodded, doing her best to resist the urge to punch him, and got into the back seat without a word.

Ethan climbed into the passenger seat beside David. As the jeep started moving, the faint groans of zombies echoed through the cold air.

Betty's eyes locked onto a crumbling building wall where the sound seemed to be coming from.

'So the zombies are still around, huh? And here I thought things were peaceful just because I hadn't heard any groans lately,' she muttered to herself with dry sarcasm.

A chill swept over her, and she instinctively began rubbing her arms. The wind had turned sharper, colder with every passing second.

'Why is the wind getting colder?' she wondered, watching her breath turn into mist as it curled into the air like smoke.

BOOM!

A sudden explosion shook the jeep, rattling its windows. Ethan jolted in his seat and immediately started cursing.

"Damn the government! Are they dropping missiles now?!"

Betty whipped her head toward the direction of the blast. Her heart pounded as she saw the distant mall collapsing in on itself, a cloud of dust and debris rising like a mushroom.

'If I had still been there… That would've been the end of me. Why the hell are they bombing every building now?'

She exhaled sharply and pulled down her hoodie, revealing her face.

"Damn, fem boy—"

"Don't you fucking dare finish that sentence," Betty snapped, glaring at Ethan with a cold, piercing stare.

Ethan flinched, his hands rising in mock surrender, voice trembling.

"Hehe, bro—I was joking, just joking…"

A/n={sorry for late update, my internet connection was cut off}