It was hot, far too hot for early October. It could have been the high desert of the empty expanse that was Central Washington, or it could have been the thick patches of leather that Morena had sewn all over her flannel shirt and jeans. She turned to look at her sister, Livia, who was wearing a slightly tattered Army uniform that had the same leather sewn into it.
"Are these patches really necessary? I look like an asshole."
Livia turned her head towards Morena and gave her outfit the once over.
"They're bite-proof. Trust me, you'd rather look like an asshole than end up out there with the oozing masses. Besides, you look cool. Like some kind of post-apocalyptic warrior or something."
Morena thought on this for a second. In the old world, she might have just been the most average person anyone could imagine. Average height, average hair, average looks, and an average personality. Now, she was packing two pistols in holsters on her side, and an ammo belt around her shoulders with a claw hammer stuck into it. She couldn't help but laugh.
"Isn't that what we are?" She asked with a chuckle.
A deadly serious look crossed Livia's face.
"Don't say that," she said, still looking down the winding road ahead of them.
"Say what? Warriors? I think we've both done enough of our fair share of killing in the last few months to qualify, don't you?"
Livia scoffed.
"Not that, genius. The post-apocalyptic part. It's not over yet."
Morena looked at her big sister indignantly.
"Are you kidding me? Look around us, sis. This is as over as it gets. When was the last time we saw another real person? Three weeks? What else would you call it?"
Livia turned to face her, giving her an angry glare.
"It's a temporary setback. Once the military can reorganize, they'll get things under control."
Morena looked at Livia, a little confused.
"Is that why we're doing this? You trying to join back up or something?"
Another angry glare. Morena turned away sheepishly, keeping her eyes squarely on her shoes as they pressed forward.
"I'm sorry," she muttered, just loud enough for Livia to hear it.
Livia sighed, going reflexively into big-sister mode.
"It's fine. I know this hasn't been easy for you, but you're alive, right? And you're not sick. It's a better deal than most people got."
Morena turned her face back to Livia, trying to keep her mind out of the past. She didn't want to say anything, but it just came out.
"Saying shit like that just proves my point. Most people are either sick, dead or...worse. It's over. Maybe these guys out in Fairchild can give us shelter, food and protection or whatever, but that's all we're getting."
Livia put a hand on her shoulder.
"Isn't that all we need?" She asked, putting on a kind inflection.
"I guess," Morena answered, shrugging her sister's hand away, "but is that really living, though?"
Livia put the hand back.
"It's surviving, which is all either of us need to think about right now."
Morena turned to face her, ready to gauge her sister's honest reaction to the question she was about to ask. Ever since they were kids, she always knew when Livia was lying to her.
"What about Dad and Jesse? Do you think these guys are going to be able to help us get any closer to finding them?"
Livia knew the look, and turned away, trying to keep her cool. She knew this conversation was bound to happen at some point. Honestly, she was surprised this was the first time Morena had brought it up.
"We can't think about them right now. Once we're off the road and we're safe, we can start making a plan to cross the mountains. Besides, maybe they went to Fairchild when things started getting bad. It's the safest place in the area."
Morena wasn't going to let her off that easy.
"They're probably up at the cabin. That place is pretty safe, right?"
"It's remote, but that doesn't necessarily mean safe. But if they made it out there, and brought enough supplies, they could be fine." Livia was lying, but she wasn't sure if it was to Morena or herself.
Morena kept pressing.
"Then isn't that where we should be heading? We need to find them."
Livia groaned in frustration.
"We'll find them when we can, but it's getting colder, and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't get our first snowfall in the next week or two."
Morena looked at her sister, but Livia wouldn't meet her eyes.
"Then that's all the more reason to get there as soon as possible."
Livia stopped walking, grabbed Morena's arm, and turned her toward her until they were looking face to face.
"Goddamnit Renny, I want to get to Dad and Jesse as much as you do, but we need to be smart. We barely got out of the tri-cities alive, and we'll be at Fairchild by tomorrow night. We can get some rest and figure out a plan."
Morena broke out of Livia's grasp but kept her eyes locked.
"We would have been there a week ago if you and Marcus weren't so insistent on driving past Ellensburg."
Livia cringed away at hearing that name. That wound was still too fresh. She was hurt, but it was her job to keep things under control.
"That's not fair and you know it. That hunk of shit we snagged would have broken down regardless."
Moran scoffed.
"You don't know that. If we gassed up when we had the chance, Marcus would still be alive!"
Livia was seething, and the veneer of the soldier she once was vanished. All she could see now was her insolent, shithead little sister, pushing her buttons when she knew she was wrong and couldn't win an argument. Without thinking, she slapped Morena hard across the face. She didn't wait for a reaction, quickly letting her little sister go and trudging along ahead.
Morena's ears were ringing, and she wished she could take it all back. She ran up behind Livia, who was already a good clip ahead of her by the time she came to her senses.
"Look, I'm sorry. I know that was fucked up, it's just the stress and the nightmares and…"
Livia stopped dead in her tracks and put a hand up to silence her little sister. She pulled the rifle from her back and started scanning the road in front of them.
"What?" Morena asked, that old fear she'd become so used to the last few months creeping back in.
"Be quiet and don't move," Livia said in a deadly serious whisper. "I heard something."
Morena obeyed, clutching tightly to one of the pistols on her waist and taking the claw hammer from her ammo belt with her other hand.
Suddenly, down the road ahead of them, something stood up. It was a man once, but was now covered in a thick, black substance that oozed from every hole and pore of its body, like molten tar. As it rose from the ditch, it turned its head to face Livia and Morena.
Livia pulled her rifle up, aiming for the creature's head, but before she could take the shot it tilted its head back and let out a piercing shriek. They both covered their ears reflexively, with Livia dropping her rifle to the ground. The sound was almost deafening, even through their hands, and they both doubled over in pain.
Livia regained her composure first, fighting through the splitting headache and grabbing her rifle from the ground. She took a shooting stance and quickly fired a single round at the beast, obliterating its skull and sending bits of blood, brain, and thick black goo in every direction.
Morena was terrified, trying to find her bearings. Why weren't they wearing their earplugs? They went through so much trouble to find the fucking things, but they'd gotten careless after the last week without seeing one of those monsters. Livia quickly turned to Morena, grabbing her by the arm.
"We need to run, now!" She yelled loud enough to pierce through the ringing in Morena's ears.
"Run where? We're out in the fucking open!"
Livia saw her little sister just like she had so many times before in their youth: terrified, lost, and looking for something to grasp onto.
"Just run!" She yelled again, breaking into a sprint so quickly with Morena's arm in hers that she nearly pulled it out of its socket.
They started running down the road ahead of them and heard that familiar, low rumbling sound that told them a horde was coming, and it was close. Out of nowhere, they saw dark, oozing bodies rise from the ditch on both sides of the road. How many were there? A dozen? Twenty? Morena couldn't even think about it.
"We're fucked!" she screamed in a panic. "What are we going to do?"
And then, Livia found their potential salvation. She spotted an SUV a little down the road that looked like it was in pretty good shape. She led her sister there as quickly as she could. Thankfully the door was unlocked. Maybe their mother was looking down on them from somewhere, she thought. She shoved her little sister inside the back door and quickly closed it.
Morena was confused and terrified.
"What are you doing?" She asked, already knowing the answer somewhere deep down.
"Just get down and stay down! I'm going to lead them off the road, down the hill."
Morena felt tears sting her eyes.
"What! No, no, no," she pleaded, "You can't leave me! Please!"
Livia stared her baby sister in the eyes through the car's window. It was time to get tough.
"Do you want to die here?" She asked, nearly yelling.
"No!" Morena screamed, now fully crying.
"Then shut up, lock the doors, and get down. If I'm not back in an hour, you have to keep moving. Get to Fairchild. I'll meet you there, I swear it."
Morena wanted to fight back, but she knew it wasn't one she could win. She never did. She just nodded, trying to wipe away her tears.
"I love you, Renny. Never forget that, okay."
"Okay." She whimpered out with a nod. "I love you too, Liv."
She pressed her hand to the window, and Livia did the same. They both knew what was coming, no matter what the other might say. Morena got down and curled up into a ball on the floor, trying to make herself as small as possible. She had one hand on her hammer and the other over her mouth, trying her best to stifle her cries.
"Hey, you fucks! Come and get some! Over here!" She heard Livia yell from somewhere behind the car. She heard footsteps running off of the road and down the hill to the south, with dozens more shuffling footsteps behind them.
"You're okay. You're okay. You're okay." She tried repeating to herself under her breath. But she wasn't okay. None of this was okay, and she didn't think it would ever be again.
By the time she came back to her senses, it was already dusk. She gave a tentative glance around the outside of the car. The beasts were gone, with their black goo trails leading down the hill the only remnant of them ever being there.
She got into the front seat of the car and saw a set of keys in the cupholder. She wondered if the owner was infected and had got out to throw up and ended up turning somewhere outside. She slowly put the keys into the ignition and turned the starter over. Once, twice, and a third time before the engine sputtered to life. There was a little over half a tank of gas in it, more than enough to get to Fairchild.
She took one last look at the hill to the south and thought about running out there, but she knew it was a death sentence, and Livia would never want that for her. She had to keep pushing on. Livia was going to meet her at Fairchild. She could be there in a couple of hours, and with any luck, she wouldn't have to wait for more than a few days.
She felt a bitter tinge remembering their last conversation. Why did she have to say that about Marcus? Why was she so quick to hurt the only person she knew for sure she had left in this awful new world? She pushed it out of her mind. She would make it up to her big sister as soon as she saw her. She felt deep down that she'd never get that chance, but she wouldn't let herself focus on that. She put the car in gear and started puttering down the winding road ahead, going as slow as she could, always looking to the south, hoping to spot the running form of her Livia in the darkness.
She never saw it.