Jones and I took our time getting some food and water before we left Mountain View. John and the others seem sad that we had to go so soon but understood that we had to find our family. The trip was going to be long and hard, but it had the feeling of being free. The sounds of the wind going by as the windows were rolled down and the music from the radio. The soft sounds of the country made my heart soar as I looked at Jones. There were some things that I did not know about him. I wanted to know where his family is and where was he originally came from.
"What happened to your family?" I asked Jones.
"I told you that…" he started to speak.
"And it is a lie," answered him in a heartbeat.
"I lived in Arkansas," he replied, "with my family."
"Really!" I spoke with excitement in my voice, "Do you think I get to meet them one day?"
"Maybe, but I did run off when zombies came around." he replied, "But I think that they would like you."
"Maybe we can see them after finding a place to stay?" I asked.
"No clue," he answered, "they might be dead after all this time."
"I beg a differ," I replied as we finally hit Mountain Grove as the sky started to darken. The night was almost here and we finally stopped at an empty house outside of town. In town would be a death trap, but it seemed normal. The house was broken down a bit as plants started to grow on it once again. Jones went inside to check if it was safe for us to stay the night, but it didn't take long for him to come back. His eyes were filled with sorrow as he got back into the truck. I knew that it had to be bad as he drove off onto the road again. It seemed that we were going to have to stay outside for the night.
The air was cool, but Jones and I lay there in the truck's front seats for the night. He held me there looking outside the window at the stars. He seemed hopeful about something as a smile crawled onto his face once again. The window was cracked so nothing could get in, but something just seemed peaceful being outside once again.
"Jones," I spoke, "I love you."
"I love you too." He smiled as our eyes closed to gain some rest for the night. The sounds of a light breeze and crickets maybe me feel like I was at home. Mom would be sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee as my brothers worked on making a fire. The smell of burgers and hotdogs was cooking on the grill, but it seemed peaceful as Squeaks, and I watched the sky. Stars started to flash across the sky as a smile planted on my face.
"Lize!" my mother called me, "Is dinner done?"
"Almost Mom," I smiled, but it felt off as I knew it was a dream. The world was slowly dying, and I knew that everyone was either dead or missing. I missed my family as I wished for the world to be normal again. Mom was happy with drinking coffee and enjoying nature as my brothers enjoyed both outside and inside activities.
"Lize?" my brother Max spoke, "You seemed distracted."
"Sorry," I replied softly.
"Don't tell me that I and Willie have to kick a boy's ass," he said with a cocky smile.
"No," I answered, "I have just been thinking."
"Don't worry about it too much," he said as he walked away to continue working with the fire. I realized that I was missing my family and it must have been the same with Jones. Tears ran down my face as I wanted them to come back and they would be there with Jones and me. It didn't take long for me to hear Jones's voice calling for me to wake up. The sight of his blonde hair slowly starting to turn brown and his worried eyes as he hugged me close to his heart. All I could hear was his heart beating fast as he was panicking that I was okay.
"Lize," he breathed as I felt tears rolling off his cheek, "are you okay?"
"Yeah," I said softly, "Just a memory."
"What was it?" he asked.
"My family," I replied, "I dreamed about the summer and how we would cook outside."
"I miss mine too," he replied, "we would go camping in Texas. My sister and I would explore around as Mom and Dad would be setting up the fire for the night."
"Maybe we would find them again?" I replied, "Only if you want to."
"I think it would be a great idea." He smiled.
Yeah," I smiled as I looked outside to see that the sun was slowly peaking out over the trees. Maybe we could find our families and see about being around each other once again. I knew that Mom and my brother had to be somewhere in the world and that they were fighting like the rest of us. So, I was going to find them, and that Max would be heading the same way to his boys in Springfield was the best bet.