Zero stares at the holographic map before him, the entire country of America labelled with each of its states. He and Serenity are back at the crowded shed, the latter sleeping what's left of the night away, a couple hours at most.
He stares down at the state of Arizona, that is where they are right now. Two is to the right, at Kansas, and Three is north, in Washington. He'll worry about Four and Five later, seeing as they're both in different countries. He can only handle one thing at a time.
In order to get to three, who is in an American Government Facility, he'll need all the manpower he can get, so Kansas has to be his first priority. Until then, Three will just have to endure whatever it is they do to him until then.
He sighs and swipes the map away. The sun is starting to rise, and he frowns when a strange whir sound reaches him. Curious, he gently moves Serenity's head off of his lap and onto the ground. Careful not to step on anyone, he stands up and moves to the slightly open shed window. He peers outside, not seeing any of the dead, but the whirring sound seems to be getting louder. He glances up at the sky and pales at what he sees in the distance. A flying machine he learned the humans call a plane blinks in the sky.
"Shit, shit, shit," He murmurs, his heart picking up pace in his chest. He has no doubt it's the American government, or what little is left of it. He glances back at a sleeping Serenity, did she leave behind a trail for them to follow without realizing it?
His jaw clenches and he looks back up at the sky. It's a decent distance away. His eyes zoom in on the craft, and the precise distance shows up in his mind. Fifteen miles away. They don't seem to know their precise location, so they'll be wandering around in search of them. And if they stay where they are, they'll be found in no time.
They can't be captured. It may take them to Three, but they wouldn't be strong enough to escape, and then they would fail their mission.
"Fuck." He turns around. "Hey," He kicks Calvin in the shin, rousing him from sleep.
"Man, what-" Calvin starts, but Zero cuts him off.
"Get up, now." He hisses. Zero kicks Jay on the butt, only the latter grumbles and turns away. Zero kicks him again, harder. "Wake up " He snaps.
Calvin sits up, blinking away his tiredness. "Zombies?" He moves to shake Lizzie awake, his movements jerky as adrenaline rushes through him.
Jay grumbles but sits up, staring up at them with tired brown eyes. "What?" He slurs.
Zero has a split second to decide whether he wants to lie or tell the truth. So he goes with a half truth. "There are bad people searching for me. I just spotted them, and we need to move or we're all fucked."
Jay's eyes widen, "What?" He squeaks, gaze clashing to his other comrades.
"Why is it always something with you two?" Lizzie grumbles, her voice rough from just waking up. Her frizzy red hair is pulled back into a ponytail, loose strands framing her freckled face.
Zero scowls at them, "I'll explain later. Right now we need to move."
He stares down at Serenity. Twenty-six percent of her brain has been unlocked. He doubts she'll wake if he tries to rouse her. Behind him, he can hear the three humans gathering up their stuff. Not seeing another option, Zero straps both his and Serenity's things to his back, and hauls her over his shoulder.
"Holy shit," Lizzie mumbles, green eyes widening at the sight. "Is she comatose or something?"
"Or something." Zero mutters. Once everyone is ready, Zero gestures for Calvin to go first.
Calvin peers out the shed door, and as if this is a stealth mission, jogs over to the nearest house and hides behind it. Lizzie goes next, and then Zero and Serenity. Jay is the last to join them.
"Are we not going to question this?" He hisses as soon as he's with Calvin. Jay glances at Lizzie, staring at them with disbelief. "We're just going to follow him blindly?"
"No one's keeping you here." Lizzie shrugs, peeking around the corner, unphased by his complaining.
"If you want to leave, leave." Zero bites out, "I'm not forcing you to tag along." When Lizzie gives the signal that it's clear, Zero jogs a path away from where the plane had landed.
Calvin and Lizzie follow after him, leaving behind a reluctant Jay. He rubs at his neck and scoffs, "Damn it. What the hell did I get myself into?" He grumbles before following them. Before he reaches them, he pulls out a pocket knife and etches a symbol into one of the houses. When he's done, he jogs to catch up with the others.
"Calvin," Zero says, "Can you hold Serenity?"
Calvin glances at the sleeping girl and raises an eyebrow, "Uh, sure?" He takes her, putting her over his shoulder as Zero had.
Zero leads a path, turning and zigzagging between houses as if he's already trying to lose someone that's on their tail. Every once in a while he will glance behind them, but whenever Calvin looks back he doesn't see anyone. The others are quiet, with Jay being the only one to question where they're going but the others ignore him.
The sun rises higher in the sky, going from dawn to late morning. Sweat begins to emmit from their skin, making their clothes stick against them. They went from a run down neighbourhood to a suburban area, with once nice houses on every street. Calvin and Zero switch from carrying Serenity every other hour, giving the other break when needed.
"Isn't this far enough?" Lizzie pants. She pauses at the back of the group, leaning down to plant her hands on her knees. They're sore and shaky, and she just wants to take a break.
Zero pauses, his arm curled around Serenity's upper thighs to keep her in place. He scans the area, and nods, gesturing at one of the houses. Calvin and Jay take up the front, scanning for any zombies. When the house is clear, the five of them take temporary shelter inside.
"So, can we finally know what's going on? Who are we running from?" Jay demands as he plops down on a worn out sofa. Dust flies to the air and he coughs, waving his hand in front of him to whip it away.
Zero doesn't answer right away. He gently sets Serenity on the spot next to Jay and huffs out a breath. He wipes his brows of sweat, and fans his face. Then he shrugs, "I pissed some people off. Now they're looking for me."
Lizzie chuckles, "That seems to be normal for you." She says.
Zero shrugs, "It is." He pulls his backpack off and pulls out his canister only to find it empty. "Shit." He mutters. "Which one of you wants to find some water."
"Lizzie and I will." Jay doesn't hesitate to volunteer. Zero narrows his eyes at him but nods his head. He hands his canister to Lizzie when she offers to take it, and turns to Serenity.
When the door closes behind Jay and Lizzie, Zero crouches down and feels Serenity's head.
"So," Calvin clears his throat and slides down one of the walls to sit on the wooden floor of the abandoned house. "What happened last night? With her?"
Zero doesn't stop his inspection, but he can feel the heat of Calvin's stare on his back. Zero knows this human isn't stupid. Calvin is smart, he's observant, and he knows something is going on with them.
"Sleepwalking." Zero answers instead. It's what he told Serenity, he might as well keep up the lie.
"Really?" Calvin scoffs, crossing his arms over his shoulder. He frowns down at the guy, and then shifts his gaze to the girl who has yet to wake up. "I know we haven't exactly done anything to gain your trust, but you've already gained ours."
Zero tilts his head back to stare at him, "So?"
"Without her," Calvin nods at Serenity, "We'd be zombies right now. The three of us owe her our lives, literally. If she's an alien, then fine, looks like a pretty human one." He sighs and then rubs his hand through his shirt hair, "Look, I'm not going to lie. Between the walking dead and aliens crash landing on earth, you can't hide how suspicious that is. But her…" he trails off and Zero narrows his eyes on him.
He stands to his full height, arms muscular arms crossing over his shoulders, and tilts his head. "Her what? Don't stop now."
Calvin smirks and scratches his left temple, "I don't care if we end up being pawns in whatever the fuck this is. I'd rather be useful than living day to day wondering when I'll be one of them." He gestures outside, and Zero can only assume he means a zombie.
"Jay doesn't seem to agree." Zero says off handedly.
"Fuck Jay. He's been a pain in my ass since he joined us." Calvin chuckles.
"Alright then." Zero shrugs. "Maybe if you do earn my trust, and you live long enough, I'll tell you some things."
Calvin opens his mouth to say something, but stops. Zero doesn't push him, and turns back to Serenity.