The next morning, after a rough night on watch, I finally got a chance to sleep as we hit the road again. The hum of the truck's engine and the gentle rocking of the vehicle as it rolled over the cracked highway lulled me into a restless doze. Yabe was sitting beside me, her head resting against the window, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. We hadn't slept well for days, and the toll was showing.
Daisy was behind the wheel, as usual, her eyes locked on the road ahead. Ethan was in the back, trying to keep himself entertained by sketching something on the back of an old map he'd found. Liza, sitting next to him, had her headphones in, completely absorbed in whatever anime soundtrack she was listening to, her earlier bratty attitude subdued, at least for now.
We were heading north, avoiding the bigger towns and cities. Crowded places were death traps, packed with both the undead and the desperate survivors who had turned savage to survive. We'd already learned the hard way that trust was a luxury we couldn't afford.
As we neared the Idaho border, the landscape started to change. The endless stretch of highway was flanked by thick forests and mountains in the distance, the kind of remote terrain that felt both comforting and ominous at the same time. The further away from civilization we got, the more it felt like we were escaping the worst of it, but the isolation also brought its own dangers.
I was just starting to drift off again when a loud groan echoed from somewhere up ahead. My eyes snapped open, and I immediately tensed. Daisy slowed the truck as a lone figure appeared in the distance, staggering along the side of the road.
"Another one," Daisy muttered, glancing at the zombie, which was lurching aimlessly toward us. "Fking stragglers."
She didn't even bother pulling the truck to a full stop. Instead, she reached down, rolled down her window, and pulled her revolver from its holster. The zombie, its decayed face half-covered in dried blood, groaned as it stumbled toward the truck, but it was moving too slowly to be a real threat.
Without missing a beat, Daisy took aim, her arm steady as she lined up the shot.
BANG!
The gunshot echoed through the quiet morning air, and the zombie's head snapped back, a sickening spray of blood and bone following the bullet's exit. The body crumpled to the ground, twitching for a moment before going still.
Daisy rolled the window back up, holstered her gun, and kept driving without a word.
"Dang," Ethan muttered from the back seat, shaking his head. "You're getting too good at that, Daisy."
She snorted, eyes still locked on the road ahead. "It's not hard when they're that slow. It's the hordes you have to worry about."
Yabe, who had barely stirred during the whole thing, sighed softly, her voice tired. "It feels like they're everywhere now, even in the middle of nowhere."
"They are," Daisy replied bluntly. "We'll see more the closer we get to the border. Just stay sharp."
I leaned back in my seat, trying to shake the unease that had settled over me. The zombies we'd been encountering lately were mostly alone or in small groups—stragglers, like Daisy said—but I knew that didn't mean we were safe. All it took was one mistake, one moment of letting our guard down, and we'd be overwhelmed.
"Idaho should be less crowded," I said, mostly trying to convince myself. "If we avoid the major highways and stick to the backroads, we should be able to stay clear of most of them."
"That's the plan," Daisy replied. "We keep our distance from the cities and the bigger towns. No reason to go anywhere near the reservations either."
Yabe turned to me, her eyes still heavy with fatigue but filled with quiet determination. "Senpai... do you think we'll make it to Banff?"
I thought about it for a moment, the weight of her question pressing down on me. There were so many things that could go wrong—so many ways this could end badly—but I couldn't let her see my doubts.
"We'll make it," I said, forcing a small smile. "We've made it this far, haven't we?"
Yabe smiled back, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah... I guess you're right."
As the truck rumbled on, the sun climbing higher in the sky, we continued to pass the occasional zombie on the road. Each time, Daisy would roll down her window, take aim, and put them down with a single shot. It had become almost routine, another grim part of our new reality.
After about an hour, we finally reached the Idaho border. There was no sign, no welcoming billboard, just the empty road stretching out ahead of us, bordered by trees and mountains. The desolation was palpable, the absence of human life a stark reminder of how much the world had changed.
"We're officially in Idaho," Daisy said, her voice flat. "Not that it means much anymore."
Liza, who had been silent for most of the drive, pulled out her earbuds and stretched. "Great. More trees, more zombies. Can't wait."
Ethan laughed softly. "Hey, at least we're not stuck in LA anymore. You should be thankful for the trees."
Liza rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. As long as we don't run into any more crazies like those Toll Brothers, I'm good."
I glanced out the window, the vast wilderness stretching out before us. It was strange to think that places like this had once been quiet escapes, where people went camping or hiking to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. Now, they were our only chance of survival.
Daisy shot another zombie as we passed, the thud of the body hitting the pavement barely registering anymore. "Let's just hope we don't run into anything worse."
The road ahead was long and uncertain, but at least for now, we had each other—and that would have to be enough.
***
The sun was just beginning to set as we approached the Eastport border crossing. The sky was painted in hues of orange and pink, but the sight in front of us was anything but peaceful. A makeshift military checkpoint had been set up along the road, complete with barricades of sandbags, barbed wire, and armored vehicles. Soldiers in full gear stood guard, their rifles slung across their chests as they patrolled the perimeter.
The checkpoint itself was a grim reminder of how far things had fallen. There were no civilians in sight, just uniformed men and women, their faces grim and hard, barking orders at the few vehicles that approached. Most people, it seemed, had already turned back. The road ahead was blocked, and there was no way through without dealing with the military.
"Shit," Daisy muttered under her breath, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. "Looks like we're not getting through without a fight."
Ethan leaned forward from the back seat, squinting at the scene ahead. "Do you think they'll let us through?"
"I doubt it," Daisy replied, her voice tense. "But we don't have much of a choice. We can't turn back now."
Yabe, sitting beside me, looked nervous, her hands clenched in her lap. "Senpai... what do we do if they won't let us through?"
I didn't have an answer for her. The checkpoint didn't look like the kind of place where reasoning or pleading would work. But we had to try. We were too far in to give up now.
As we got closer, one of the soldiers stepped forward, raising his hand to signal us to stop. "Halt!" he barked, his voice sharp and commanding. "Turn around! No one is allowed to cross!"
Daisy slowed the truck, coming to a stop just a few yards from the barricade. The tension in the air was thick as the soldiers began to spread out, their rifles trained on us. One of them, a tall man with a grim expression, took a few steps toward us, his hand resting on the grip of his rifle.
"We're just trying to get through," Daisy called out, her voice steady but cautious. "We don't want any trouble. We need to cross the border."
The soldier narrowed his eyes, his expression unreadable. "The border's closed. No one gets through. Turn around and go back the way you came."
Ethan, always quick to speak up, leaned out of the window slightly. "Come on, man. We've been on the road for days. We just need to get north. There's nowhere else to go."
The soldier's face hardened, his tone growing more aggressive. "I said, turn around. This area is under military quarantine. No one is allowed past this point."
Daisy, never one to back down easily, turned off the engine and opened the door, stepping out of the truck. "Listen, we don't have a lot of options here," she said, trying to keep her voice calm but firm. "We're not infected. We've been careful. We just need to get through."
As soon as Daisy stepped out, the soldiers immediately raised their rifles, the metallic clicks of safety switches being disengaged sending a chill down my spine.
"Stay in the vehicle!" one of the soldiers shouted, his gun trained on Daisy. "Turn around or we will fire!"
Yabe gasped, her eyes wide with fear as she grabbed my arm. "Senpai... they're serious."
I could feel my heart racing, my hands tightening into fists. "Daisy," I called out, my voice tense. "Get back in the car."
But Daisy didn't budge. She stood her ground, her eyes locked on the soldiers in front of her. "We're not a threat," she said slowly. "We just need safe passage. We've got supplies, we can trade—"
"Get back in the fucking car!" one of the soldiers barked, stepping closer, his rifle now pointed directly at Daisy's chest. "This is your last warning!"
Daisy finally took a step back, her jaw clenched in frustration. She glanced at me, her expression filled with anger and resignation. "Looks like we're not getting through."
I got out of the truck, raising my hands in a show of non-aggression. "We don't want any trouble," I said, trying to de-escalate the situation. "We've been on the road for weeks. We just want to get to safety."
The soldier's eyes flicked to me, his face a mask of cold indifference. "Turn around. There's no safety here. The northern border is closed, and anyone who tries to cross will be shot. You've been warned."
Ethan opened his door slightly, his voice shaky with anger. "Are you serious? You're just gonna leave us out here to die?"
The soldier didn't respond, but his grip on the rifle tightened. The message was clear: they weren't interested in helping us.
Daisy took a deep breath, clearly wrestling with her frustration. "Alright, alright," she said, holding up her hands. "We're going. No need to shoot anyone."
Slowly, we all got back in the truck, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. The soldiers didn't lower their weapons until Daisy started the engine and began to pull away.
As we drove back down the road, the checkpoint disappearing in the rearview mirror, the silence in the truck was deafening. None of us spoke for a long time, the frustration and fear hanging over us like a storm cloud.
"Fking unbelievable," Daisy muttered after a while, her hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Those assholes would rather shoot us than let us through."
"We need a new plan," I said quietly, feeling the weight of our situation pressing down on me. "There's no way through the border. We're stuck."
Ethan let out a bitter laugh from the back seat. "Stuck with a bunch of trigger-happy soldiers and no way north. Great. Just fking great."
Yabe sat beside me, her hands still trembling slightly as she looked out the window. "What are we going to do, Senpai?"
I didn't have an answer. For the first time in a long while, I felt the cold grip of hopelessness creeping in.
Q: What will you do next?