We backed away from the Eastport checkpoint, the weight of failure hanging in the air like a bad stench. Daisy clenched her jaw, knuckles white against the steering wheel, and I could tell she was furious. I didn't blame her. We were so close, and now the border was blocked off by a bunch of trigger-happy soldiers.
"Fk," Ethan muttered from the back seat, his voice a low growl. "Now what? We just keep driving until we hit a wall?"
"Shut up, Ethan," Daisy snapped, her eyes scanning the road ahead. "We'll find another way."
We took a sharp turn off the main road, heading down an old, barely visible path that led into a valley. The trees closed in on us as we descended, the shadows stretching long across the ground as the sun sank lower in the sky. The truck bumped and rattled over the rough terrain, and I gripped the door handle tight, feeling uneasy.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked, glancing at Daisy.
"No," she replied flatly, "but we don't have any other options. The main roads are a death trap. We'll cut through the valley and avoid the military checkpoints. We just need to—"
BOOM!
The world exploded around us. The deafening roar of the blast filled my ears, and in an instant, everything went sideways. The truck lifted off the ground, flipping through the air like a toy. My stomach dropped, and I felt myself slam hard against the door as the vehicle spun out of control.
We flipped again, metal screeching and glass shattering around us. I lost track of how many times we rolled—two, three, maybe four—until finally, with a bone-rattling crash, the truck landed upside down, skidding to a violent halt.
For a moment, everything was still. The only sound was the ringing in my ears and the faint groan of the damaged truck settling in the dirt. I gasped for breath, feeling dazed and disoriented. My body ached all over, but I was alive. Somehow, we were alive.
"Fk... everyone okay?" Daisy's voice came from somewhere nearby, groggy but intact.
I blinked, trying to clear the dizziness from my head. "Yeah... I think so."
Yabe was next to me, her eyes wide with shock but otherwise unharmed. "Senpai... what happened?"
I groaned, unbuckling my seatbelt as I carefully crawled out of the mangled truck. "We hit a mine. Shit, I didn't even see it."
Ethan's voice came from the back seat, muffled and strained. "I'm alive... barely. Jesus, that was close."
Liza, tangled up in her seatbelt, was already cursing loudly as she struggled to free herself. "Fk this shit! Are you kidding me? We just survived a goddamn landmine!"
Daisy was the first to pull herself out of the wreckage, her face grim as she took in the damage. The truck was a total wreck—upside down, one side completely blown apart by the explosion. It was a miracle none of us were seriously hurt.
"Holy shit," Ethan muttered as he climbed out, rubbing his head. "How the hell did we survive that?"
Daisy let out a long breath, clearly still in shock but trying to stay focused. "Doesn't matter. We need to move. This truck's done for."
I nodded, shaking off the last bit of dizziness as I looked around. "Let's salvage what we can."
The others quickly followed suit, crawling back into the wreckage to grab whatever supplies were still intact. A couple of cans of food, some water, our weapons—anything that hadn't been completely destroyed in the blast.
Yabe held up her backpack, which, miraculously, had survived the crash. "We still have the medicine," she said quietly. "Thank goodness."
"Good," Daisy said, her voice tense. "We'll need that. Let's get moving."
The sun was sinking lower, casting long shadows across the valley. The once-quiet path now felt like a trap, and the sense of danger hung heavy in the air. We couldn't stay here, not with the possibility of more mines or worse.
As we gathered the last of the supplies, Liza groaned loudly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Great. Now we're on foot. This just keeps getting better and better."
Ethan glared at her. "Would you rather be dead?"
"No, but I'd rather be anywhere but here," Liza shot back, her bratty attitude kicking in again. "This is bullshit."
"We don't have time for this," Daisy snapped, slinging her rifle over her shoulder. "We need to get out of this valley before nightfall. There could be more mines—or worse."
I nodded in agreement, adjusting the pack on my back. "Let's go. We can't stay here."
We set off down the narrow path, the wreckage of the truck fading into the distance behind us. The valley stretched out ahead, dense with trees and uneven terrain. The air was cooler now, and the quiet was unnerving, the kind of silence that made you constantly look over your shoulder.
Yabe walked beside me, her steps careful and steady. "Senpai... do you think we'll be safe?"
I sighed, glancing around the darkening woods. "I don't know, Kohai. But we're still breathing. That counts for something."
As we moved further into the valley, the weight of what had just happened settled over us. We were on foot now, with no clear destination and only a handful of supplies. But somehow, despite the odds, we had survived. And for now, that was all that mattered.
***
The Moyie River stretched out before us, the water glistening under the late afternoon sun. The river wasn't wide, but it was fast, its surface swirling and churning over rocks and fallen branches. On the other side lay Canada—our next big hurdle. The trees on the Canadian side were dense, towering pines that cast long shadows over the bank. Beyond them, the mountains rose, their snow-capped peaks cutting sharp lines against the fading sky.
We carefully crossed the river, stepping from rock to rock until we reached the other side, our boots sinking into the muddy bank. The air was cooler here, fresher, and for the first time in a long while, I felt like we were finally getting somewhere. But the reality of our situation quickly set in as Daisy paused, surveying the path ahead.
"We've got over 200 miles to go," she said, her voice flat as she adjusted the rifle slung across her back. "Banff is up in the mountains, and we're gonna have to make the rest of this journey on foot."
Ethan let out a long groan, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Are you serious? 200 miles? On foot? Fucking hell."
Liza, still keeping up her bratty attitude, rolled her eyes. "Great. First, we get blown up by a mine, and now we're trekking across the wilderness like some kind of wilderness survival show. This just keeps getting better."
Daisy shot her a look, her eyes narrowing. "You've got two options: walk or sit your ass down and wait for a zombie to find you. Your choice."
Liza grumbled under her breath but didn't argue, kicking at a loose stone as we started moving again. The path ahead wasn't really a path at all—just a narrow strip of land between the trees, with the river winding beside us. The landscape here was rough, with steep hills, jagged rocks, and dense forest on either side. The farther we walked, the more the towering trees seemed to close in around us.
"You know," Ethan said after a while, trying to break the tension, "Canada's supposed to be all nice and friendly. Where are all the Mounties with their maple syrup?"
Liza snorted. "Maybe they're too busy apologizing to the zombies."
I laughed, the image of a Mountie offering maple syrup to a zombie crossing my mind. "Or maybe they've just politely asked the zombies to go away."
Yabe, walking next to me, smiled softly. "I've heard Canadians are really nice… maybe the zombies up here are nicer too?"
Ethan grinned. "Yeah, maybe they'll offer us a cup of Tim Hortons before they try to eat us."
Daisy rolled her eyes, but I could see a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You guys are idiots. Keep your focus. We're not out of the woods yet. Literally."
The jokes helped ease the tension, but as we walked, the weight of the journey ahead pressed down on us. The forest was dense, with towering pines that blocked out most of the sunlight, casting long shadows over the ground. The underbrush was thick, making every step a bit more difficult, and the air was cool, with a sharp bite that hinted at the colder days ahead.
"Do you think we'll see a moose?" Liza asked after a while, her tone sarcastic. "Or maybe a beaver building a dam?"
Ethan chuckled. "You know, moose are dangerous as hell. If we see one, we better hope it's not in a bad mood. Those things can fuck you up."
"Great," Liza muttered. "So now we've got to worry about zombies and moose."
Yabe, ever the optimist, looked around with a thoughtful expression. "At least it's beautiful here. I've never seen trees this tall before."
She wasn't wrong. Despite the danger and the exhaustion, the scenery was stunning. The mountains loomed large in the distance, their snow-capped peaks gleaming in the fading light. The forest, though dense and dark, had a wild beauty to it, with the smell of pine and earth thick in the air. The Moyie River, though narrow, was a constant presence, its rushing waters providing a kind of background music to our trek.
"Yeah," I said, nodding in agreement. "If it weren't for, you know, the apocalypse, this place would be perfect for a camping trip."
Ethan grinned. "Hell yeah. We could roast marshmallows, tell ghost stories—oh wait, we're living one."
Liza rolled her eyes again but couldn't hide a small smile. "If we find any marshmallows, I'm claiming them all."
The banter helped pass the time, but the reality of our situation was never far from my mind. We had a long way to go, and we were on foot with limited supplies. The road ahead was uncertain, and there was no telling what we'd face before we reached Banff—if we reached it at all.
Daisy, ever the pragmatist, kept her eyes forward, scanning the woods ahead as we walked. "We'll need to find shelter before nightfall," she said, her voice all business again. "We can't risk being caught out in the open when it gets dark."
Yabe nodded, her face thoughtful. "I saw a cabin near the river earlier, Senpai. Maybe there's one nearby where we can rest."
"I hope so," I said, glancing at the sky. The sun was sinking lower, casting long shadows across the valley. "We don't want to be out here when it gets dark."
We continued walking, our feet crunching against the leaves and twigs that littered the forest floor. The jokes had died down as the seriousness of our journey set in again. We were in Canada now, but our destination was still a long way off. All we could do was keep moving and hope for the best.
Q: Would you have tried another way to get into Canada?