2.37

This time around I was not given a choice on where to sit, Will directly dragged me into the jeep with him, Noah and Victoria, and gave me a gun.

"Do these even still work on the dead things?" I asked, giving the gun a once over like how Hannah would in my memory. I'd rather just stick with my swords, but they didn't hold much weight if we ran into more people with guns playing bandits.

"Headshots still work," Victoria raised her gun and mock fired it at my own head, "just make sure to aim right to destroy enough of their brains."

"Ignore the brains, aim right at the cores instead," System interrupted, making me unable to hear whatever Will said next.

"Got it," I smiled and put the gun away to climb inside the jeep. Victoria drove, Noah gave directions and Will was on lookout sitting shotgun, meaning Noah had to sit in the back with me.

"So did you manage to make it so we don't have to go through any more towns?" I asked Noah, attempting to be polite as I stretched my neck to view the map and the line he'd drawn in red, then saw another in green. I wondered which one it was we were taking.

"There'll be one town on this route, but it has a large population, whereas there are four small towns on this route," he explained, remaining nonchalant. Seems I was worried over nothing, he was being very well behaved.

"So which one are we taking?" I asked, noticing the first route was shorter.

"The one with one town, if it's overrun we'll lure the majority let the truck pass, divide, and conquer," Will replied.

"And you thought I was safer with you," I muttered, not liking the plan at all. I'd have selected the second route and paced it. Seems Noah was in a hurry. It's funny how what was once a nine-hour trip could take days.

The sun hung high in the sky, glaring through the clouds. The sparse desert landscape felt so dead. Yet all around I could feel the energy of plants alive and surviving despite the harsh conditions.

I no longer needed to be touching the actual ground to feel for them, System alone could filter the energies around me and let me know what was where just like a radar. Only Noah never showed up on that radar making me worried there was a lot more to him that I was unaware of.

Then again, this was a soul that had travelled back in time. 

I watched him quietly across the back seat, his finger tracing along the map as he glanced out the window in a world of his own.

"Pull over," Noah explained when we spotted the signs of civilisation in the distance ahead. We'd already passed a few abandoned cars on the road and dried dark blood stains and even passed some remnants of what were once human beings now turned to roadkill.

Once pulled over, everybody gathered outside to discuss the plan going forward. I leaned against the truck, standing beside Alex not really paying attention, System was doing that for me.

Instead, I focused on a shopping list I wanted from the town ahead, wondering if was there a chance to get away to get what I wanted to stash.

"We'll be taking the long route through town drawing the attention, you guys leave fifteen minutes after us taking the short route and stay in touch via radio," Noah explained, then double-checked the radios were working before they herded everyone back into the vehicles.

"Is there any chance I can go shopping whilst we play bait?" I asked Noah as we strapped in.

He gave me a look like I was ridiculous and didn't even entertain answering me. I let out a heavy sigh and used the radar to look for high concentrations of the virus. Using this radar made me feel like I was in a video game.

"Ah, there's quite a few isn't there?" I tutted, feeling the highest concentration of the virus not too far ahead of us.

Both Noah and Will glanced at me funny, then I remembered it was thanks to System I could sense them, they wouldn't be able to. I missed Ty, he'd understand.

"You know it would be best to hunt them now before the plum becomes a pumpkin," System nagged, eager for more nuclei. I wasn't sure who between us was the most hungry for power.

"Can I see the map again please Noah?" I asked, leaning over to take it without waiting for an answer. His hands clasped over mine just as I brought it to my lap. We shared an awkward moment of silence as we just held each other and stared. Then he finally let go, coughing to clear his throat.

"What are you planning?" He asked, clearly suspicious.

"Just double checking the meet-up point," I smiled, looking at the farm on the outskirts where we would meet with the others in the truck.

Ensuring I took the map in myself and not just by relying on System I passed the map back, "thanks."

As Noah spoke Victoria pressed the horn of the car, so I never heard what he said. I looked around and realised we were in the middle of a street. I'd been so used to not watching my surroundings that I'd never realised the sparse desert was now a dystopian urban landscape.

Cars were crashed or abandoned making the jeep need to use force to clear the way occasionally. A mix of the slow decomposing zombies and the mutated dead with the green hue began to gather from alleyways, doors, and even falling from windows at the sound of the jeep.

Noah opened the sunroof. He gave Will a quick tap on his shoulder and passed the map. Once sticking out the roof he used his electric powers to fry the brains of zombies blocking the way.

Each time the jeep knocked into a zombie or a stray car I felt pieces of my soul flee my body. I worried just how long the jeep could cope before it couldn't take it anymore before we were would be forced to continue on foot.