Cody

“A car?” I asked the determined man in front of me. “Seriously?”

“Damn serious,” Durbin said, a smirk trailing his cracked lips.

Durbin's beard was growing in from the weeks of not shaving it, making him look gruffer than usual. Pulling open the door of the old Chevy, he sat down in the red padded bench seat, the truck squeaking as his weight settled. I opened the passenger door and leaned inside, resting my hands on the seat.

“The odds of the truck starting are slim,” I said trying to reason with him. We had no time for this; Desi was waiting on me. “Not to mention you don't have the keys.”

“Who says I need the keys?” Durbin asked, his brow cocking up to his hairline. “Ever heard of hotwiring?” Leaning down, he reached below the steering wheel pulling at cords until they came loose, dangling down to the floorboard.

“Still,” I said, my voice growing with irritation. “It's not going to start. The battery is most likely dead. This truck is old anyways.”

“Old and reliable.” Durbin argued with me again, refusing to leave the truck and continue walking.

“Can we just go?” I asked as he began to fiddle with the cables, inspecting each different one in his fingers.

“You need to have some optimism, boy.” Durbin's casual voice was now serious, his eyes drifting away from the wires to look at me. “You and I both know that that leg of yours has been slowing us down.”

As if on cue, my calf began to throb where that infected woman had bit me. I tried to ignore the pain as I said, “What are you talking about? I'm fine.”

“Bullshit.” He shook his head at me. “It hurts, and it's getting worse. I can see the pain on your face every time you move your leg.”

I looked away from him, knowing he was right. It was getting worse. The pain I had felt the first day of walking has become almost unbearable, but every time I think of why I'm making this trip the ripping and tearing simmer, but never fully goes away.

“Face it,” Durbin said, making me look back at him, his eyes pleading with mine. “If you keep walking on that leg then you're not going to make it to Vegas alive.”

“I'm going to keep going,” I told him firmly, my eyes narrowing at him. “Nothing will stop me from seeing her face again.”

A smile curled at Durbin's lips. “Exactly,” He said. “Which is why we need this truck, so you can rest a little.”

I rolled my eyes at him and sat in the passenger seat, letting my leg relax as the pain receded. Laying my head back, I closed my eyes and pictured Desi sitting next to me.

...

“WAKE UP!” A terrified yell, made my eyes pop open and my head snap up at the speed of light. My gaze fell on Durbin who was still fiddling with the wires, but now his face was red and his eyes kept flicking up to looking out over the dashboard and through the windshield.

“We've got company,” He grunted as he rubbed the ends of two wires together, the engine rumbling the slightest bit.

Slowly, my head turned to look out the window and my body froze in the seat. The street was infiltrated with infected, pouring over the road and onto the grass fields on either side. Even at this distance I could hear their hungry snarls as they made their way towards us.

Quick breaths ran in and out of my mouth, as I gripped the dashboard, trying to calm myself down, but it was no use. I turned to look at Durbin who was rubbing the wires together again, the truck rumbling underneath us.

“Hurry!” I yelled at him, closing the passenger door and locking it, knowing I had no chance of outrunning anyone with my leg.

“I'm trying!” Durbin screamed back at me, spit flying out of his mouth.

“I knew this was a bad idea,” I said quietly, as the herd of infected closed in on us, only yards away from the front of the truck.

Desi's smiling face appeared in my mind, her fingers brushing my cheek, telling me that it will be okay. I imagined lifting my hand to grab hers and hold it to my face, feeling her soft skin against mine and savoring it, knowing I might never get to feel her again.

The engine roared to life, snapping me out of it and turning to look at Durbin. He threw his head back and laughed, cheering for himself and slapping the steering wheel.

Fingernails began to scrape the front of the truck, making me cringe as many pairs of midnight black eyes locked with mine. I backhanded Durbin's stomach trying to get his attention, but he was too caught up in himself and nudged me away as he continued his cheers.

“DURBIN!” I screamed, my face turning red, and startling the infected who roared at me.

Durbin's smile faded as he took in how close the infected had gotten and he jumped when one clobbered at his window. Without warning Durbin dug into the gas pedal, the truck jumping forward, slinging my head back to collide with the back window. Tires squealed as we barreled through the infected, tossing their limp bodies to the side as they collided with the hunk of metal.

Blood covered the windshield as we drove away, blocking our view of the road and I was sure we were going to crash. But Durbin flicked on the windshield wipers smiling as if it were just a rainy day.

Vivian

I lightly wrapped my knuckles on the wood, tapping my toe as I waited for the door in front of me to open. Tucking my hair behind my ears, I glanced at my watch, watching the time tick by as I heard footsteps from inside the suite.

The door opened to a mass of dark brown hair and hateful eyes that stared back at me.

“Evangeline,” I greeted her, a smile playing at my face. Walking away, she left the door open for me and I walked in, my heels clicking behind me. “How nice of you to invite me over for coffee!”

“I didn't invite you,” She said bitterly, as she walked into the kitchen. “You always invite yourself over on Tuesday mornings.”

“I just want to wish you luck on your match tonight,” I said, my voice sounding sweet.

“Right,” Evangeline said, pulling down two coffee cups from the cabinet. “I bet you do.”

I placed myself down lightly on the plush couch, crossing my legs and resting my hands in my lap. “So how did you like your last match-up?” I asked, pressing her buttons. “The audience loved the resemblance between you two.”

Evangeline slammed the coffee cups down on the counter, making me jump at the sound. She turned her head over her shoulder, looking me in the eyes. “Don't pretend that you didn't plan that,” Her voice was cold. “Somehow, I don't know how, but you knew about my battle against myself. About my addiction and eating disorders. How did you know?”

“A handsome boy who calls you Lina told me.” I flashed her a wicked smile.

Evangeline's eyes grew wide as they filled with tears, her eyelids blinking to keep the drops from spilling over. Her fists clenched at her sides as she tried to keep herself in place. “You're lying,” She said through her teeth. “Damen would never betray me. He loves me.” Her voice shook, as her arms trembled at her sides.

“Obviously not as much as you thought he did,” I said, uncrossing my legs and folding the other one on top. “Where is my coffee?”

Evangeline shook her head, trying to clear her mind of what I'd just confessed to her. A tear rolled down her cheek as she turned back to the coffee cups on the counter. I looked down at my manicured nails as I tried to get the image of her sadness out of my mind. Picking my nails together, I focused all of my attention on the clicking noise they made that echoed around the silent room.

When Evangeline walked over to me with both coffee's in hand she looked anxious, nervous. I cocked my head to the side wondering what she could possibly be worried about when she handed my cup to me. Then it clicked.

“Kyle!” I yelled towards the door, smiling as one of my guard's walked in. Evangeline glanced from the man to me, hoping that I haven't caught onto her and that it was just a coincidence that I called him in here. Kyle stopped next to the couch, looking at me, waiting for further instruction.

“You've been up since early this morning,” I told him, patting his arm like I would a pet. “Would you like some coffee?”

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Evangeline's mouth opened to stop me, but she was too late as Kyle took a sip from the cup, a smile on his face as he swallowed the hot caffeine. The smile faded as he smacked his lips.

“What kind of flavoring did you put in this?” He asked, looking at Evangeline. “It's really odd tasting--” His voice cut off as he gagged, his hand wrapping around his throat. His eyes bulged out of his head as he tried to gasp for air, a sick croaking sound escaping his lips.

I flicked my gaze away from dying Kyle and locked eyes with Evangeline. “You tried to poison me?” I asked her, my eyebrows raising. “How dare you think I'd be so naïve!” My voice rose, making Evangeline tense. “You took way too long making the coffee. I'm not stupid, I could see the tension rolling off of you as you walked over here.”

I stood up off of the couch, smoothing down my pencil skirt as I added, “There's no need for me to kill Damen, considering how he told me all of your dirty little secrets before carrying on with another girl at that camp,” I watched as her body shivered under my words and I relished in it. “But there is a need to kill you and I'm going to make it fun for me to watch.”

I glanced away from her and walked towards the door, stepping over Kyle's lifeless body, engulfed in the feeling of power that seethed inside me.

“You'll get what's coming to you Vivian,” Evangeline said behind me, staying put where she stood. “And it will be slow and painful.”

“See you tonight at the match,” I called to her over my shoulder. “It will be your last.”