The Dead Live (Book 3)

Chapter 18: There It Is (Shannons POV)

I sat there, in the fairly uncomfortable car seat for just a bit of time. I blinked a few times, as I then lowered my head to the ground once again. I was not sure what it was with this lady, or if she was normally like this. If that were the case than I could say for sure, that she was not a fun lady to be around.
I shook my head, as I wanted to just say that it was more likely the fact that she, and I, had both seen some very important people to us, die right in front of our eyes. I was not sure if that were the case for her, but I just wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt at least.
I lifted my head back up to her, as I saw that she was staring me down, with a not so happy look on her face as well. I blinked, as I was not sure what it could be. I felt like maybe it could be the fact that I was wasting a lot of precious time, but she could not really blame me for that, surely right?
I let out a bit of a quiet sigh under my breath, meant at her, as I then went ahead and nodded to her, to get her attention, which I was sure that she had her attention on me already. I then turned my head, and my eyes on the road that was in front of me.
I knew the area was familiar, and we were close to where it was that the bus took me back home, after a long, and boring day at school. I just could not get the rest of the pieces of how to get back home, in to my brain. I closed my eyes once again for a couple more seconds, which I was sure Lilly was not all too happy about.
I remembered my mother taking me around, and teaching me how to drive, after I had gotten my permit, as I thought it through my head, and tried to remember land marks that would get it all going for me. I felt like I knew the way back, but at the same time, I did not want to get lost.
I opened my eyes, and then I blinked a couple of times, as I thought of something that I had not thought of before hand. I knew the address to our home. I could just tell Lilly what it was, and then we would not have to worry about not knowing the way back to my house.
I looked over at Lilly, and I blinked a few times, as she looked a bit confused by the look that I had on my face at the current moment. It was a bit more of an excited look, as I then nodded to her, and then began to speak to her, at the exact same time as well.
"Do you have your phone with you? I left mine at the house..." I said to her. As I thought about what it was that I had just said, and why that had even been the case in the first place. It then hit me, as I had forgotten that my mother had not wanted me to take my phone with me to the DMV.
She had said "this is a special moment for you, and I do not want you to get distracted by that thing." I always thought it was a bit strange, how my parents were atheist and all, but they did not like technology, and all of the cool gadgets that came with it.
I blinked a few times, as I knew that was not where my head space should be at, at the current moment. I then looked back over to Lilly, who I could see her just staring of through the window that was beside her, as if she had not heard a word of what it was that I had said to her just now.
Lilly stared for a fair bit more time, as she all of the sudden began to laugh like a maniac. I blinked a few times, as I was a bit shocked, and a bit confused as to what was going on with her at the same time as well. She was acting as if she had just gone full on crazy.
I felt bad for her, but at the same time, I knew that the same stuff that had happened to her, had happened to me as well. I seemed to be handling it a bit better than she was, though I doubt she would view it like that, just based off of the fact that I had wanted to leave a letter for my father, to let him know what had happened, and where I was at.
Lilly put her head on the steering wheel for some reason, as she closed her eyes as well. It seemed like, now, it was her turn to have a bit of time to just think on all that was going on right now. I did not want to stop her, or interrupt her, so I just looked at the road ahead of us.
It had been a while since I had seen, or heard a car drive past us, as it was as if it had all gone dead empty, as if the world had all just disappeared. It felt all so cold and scary, as it put shivers down my spine, just even thinking of all that was going through my head at the current moment.
I wanted to look away, but it was all around us. It was all just dead, every where, with not a soul in sight. I thought that maybe if I just closed my eyes, I could perhaps clear out all of those dark thoughts that were swarming through my head, all at once.
I knew that would not work though, as I knew that it would only make me feel worse, and it would only make me think more on all that had happened, and all that was continuing to happen. I almost wanted to turn on the radio, to hear the news, and find out all that was going on right now.
I knew that it was a bad idea though, as I knew that it too would only make me feel worse. I did not know what to do... What was it, that I had even planned on doing in the first place? It all seemed to be going so fast, and not a single thing that was going on at the moment, seemed to be real.
It was as if I was in some movie, but it was a horror movie... Or maybe I was in some sort of movie, kind of like a messed up version of The Truman Show. I wish that were the case, but it all was too real, and what kind of messed up person would make my mother get torn apart in front of me?
I shook my head, as I stared at the road that was ahead of me, once again, as I felt like that was my best option. I saw all sorts of familiar sights as well, but I just was not sure why I could not remember the way back home from where it was that we were at currently.
I had been down this road, and this high way so many times, but for some reason, this time, it just would not click in to my head. I stared for a bit more time, until I finally heard Lilly speak to me, in a bit of a response to what it was that I had just said to her.
"I don't have a phone... If you cant remember where it is that we need to go, than this is a waste of time... Your father is done for any ways, if he is in the down town area. That is the worst part of the city right now..." She said to me, as I looked over to her at the same time as well.
I saw her staring my down, as it made me a bit nervous as well. I thought about looking away from her, but I then began to realize just how important all of this was to me. It began to make me a bit furious, as to what it was that she had said to me just now.
I stared right back at her angrily, as she looked at me a bit confused as to what it was that was going on with me at the current moment. I did not have my thoughts on what it was that she was thinking at the exact second however, as I was more just angry at what she had just said to me.
I tried to shake it off though, as I knew that now was not a good time to really get in to any sort of arguments, or a fight none the less. I then blinked a few times, as I let out a bit of a loud sigh, that I made sure that she could hear as well, as I then began to speak to her at the same time too.
"I can't just give up on my father like that... If we go down the exit, I might be able to remember some of the area that we are driving through, and I could potentially lead us there." I said to her. She stared me down once again, for a fair bit of time.
I did not let it scare me though, as I did not hesitate to stare right back at her. She looked back over to the road that was ahead of us, as she stared at the exit ramp that was not too far in the distance either. On a normal day, there would be far too many cars to see the ramp from this far away.
This was not a normal day however, as there were no cars on the free way at all right now. I stared at it, much like Lilly was doing right now. I was not so sure what it was I was thinking, or what I should be thinking of at the current moment.
I wanted to get this over with, as it was building up a lot of stress in me right now. I squeezed my fist up tight, as I did my best to hide all of the anger that was building up inside of me at the exact moment. Just like those therapy sessions that my mother took me to.
I had to make sure that the death of my mother could not be in vein though, as she had meant the world to me. I looked over at Lilly, as I felt like, now, it was my turn to be the adult. Lilly to my surprise however, already had her eyes on me, when I looked over to her.
I blinked a few times, as I was a bit surprised, as annoyingly enough, it then took out all of the thoughts that I had just been thinking of. Lilly looked at me for a bit more time, with a bit of a blank look on her face, as she then began to speak to me.
"I have less than 100 miles of fuel left in this car... The gas stations will all be closed, and out of fuel... So if you can't find this within a couple of minutes, than we are leaving." She said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, as I was a bit surprised that she had even told me, yes.
I stood there for a few moments, as I was not sure what was going on, or how to handle all of this. I blinked a few times, as I then looked at the ramp that was a long ways ahead of us. I stared at it for a bit of some time, as I was not sure what to do.
I had just been a bit surprised that she had said yes to me in the first place, as she seemed like a lady that was always going to tell me no. I turned my head back over to me, as she still continued to stare at me, for a fair amount of time.
She let out a bit of a loud sigh, as she then put the keys back in to the ignition, to start up her old and raggedy car. After a few more seconds, and me hearing the loud noise of the car starting, I then decided to speak to her as well.
"Thank you for this..." I said to her. She stared at the road that was ahead of us, for a fair amount of time, as if she had not heard what I had just said to her. I then watched as she moved the shifts of the manual shifted car, as she began to drive the car up on the side of the road, and over to the ramp that was right ahead of us.
She did not seem to have heard a word of what I had just said to her, though I knew that I had made it loud and clear for her to hear. I let out a bit of a more quiet sigh, as I looked at the road ahead, as I tried not to worry too much on what was about to happen.
We then began to slowly drive over to the ramp that was ahead of us, which I was a bit confused on. I knew that if you drove slow, it would mean that you would get less miles per gallon, so I was a bit lost on what it was that the lady was doing right now.
We were driving maybe 30 miles an hour on a road that clearly said 70, but it was not as if there were any cars going by us, that would get any angry at us, as I looked around the roads, to make sure what I already knew, was actually still true.
There still were no cars driving through, and I was not sure if she was driving this slow to be extra, or to make sure that we were actually going to the correct way that we needed to go. I stared at the road though, as we began to go up the exit ramp.
Once we were up to the top of the ramp, Lilly then stopped her car at the red light, as if there was going to be a lot of people that were going to be driving across this intersection, at the current moment in time. I shook my head though, as I knew that was not where my thoughts should be at, at the current moment in time.
We stood there for a few moments, as Lilly stared at the road that was ahead of her once again. It was almost as if she was already ready to get back on the high way. I blinked a couple of times though, as Lilly then turned her head over to me.
I looked at her for a couple of seconds, as I could tell, that she looked tired, and worn out, like she had just had a long day of work, and she just wanted to go home and get some sleep. I did not blame her, as it had been a pretty shitty day as it was, so far at least.
Lilly stared at me for a fair amount of time, with a bit of a blank look on her face, as if she had no idea what was going on right now, nor did she seem to really care either. I looked at her a bit confused, as perhaps she too was starting to become one of those crazy people as well.
I was not sure how the virus actually spread, as it had not been told on the news, or hardly any where else. So I did not know what was going on with her. She blinked a few times at me, as she then began to speak to me after a bit more time had passed.
"My friend told me to help you... So... I will do so... Now, where is it that you are trying to take us to, next?" She said to me, with a still blank look on her face as well. I did not know what to do, or whether to get back, or perhaps get out of the car, and just run.
I had no clue what was going on at the moment. I felt like I was just over thinking it, and she did not have hardly any emotion right now, which made sense as well. It also made sense as to why she might be a bit tired as well.
I shook my head, as I tried to shake off all of those those thoughts at the same time as well. I knew that my thoughts had to be focused on what it was that she had just said to me. I turned my head over to the roads, around the intersection, as I tried to remember the way back home.
It was a bit hard for me, as I really did not pay all that much attention to the road whenever I was on the bus. When I was actually driving, my mom always told me, that it was better to learn the roads myself, rather than using a phone to tell me where it was that I had to head off to.
I looked ahead of me, as I knew that was just the ramp that was used to get back on to the high way. The same to get off the high way, which we had used right behind us. It left it the left side, and the right side, and for some reason I was having a massive brain fart.
I knew that I should remember the way to get back home from here, but for some reason, even with the land marks, I still could not remember which way it was, for the life of me. I looked over at the left side, as I stared at it for just a couple moments in time.
I then blinked, as I realized that there was a bridge that was beside that way. I realized at the same time as well, that I did not go down that bridge, when I went this way to get back home. I stared at it for a bit more time, as I then looked over to the right side.
I then began to see familiar places all over the place, that I had not recognized before. The gas station that I usually went in to with my father, when I was in the car with my father on the rare occasion at least. I also saw a couple of fast food places as well, such as a Wendy's and a Subway.
I remembered that I had just gone to that Wendy's not too long ago as well, when we had been heading over to the DMV. I stared at it for a bit of time, as I remembered eating the fast food with my mother, as it too had been one of the last memories of me being with her.
I shook my head though, as I saw, from the corner of my eye, that Lilly was getting quite a bit annoyed that I still had not told her where it was that we needed to head off to. I blinked a few times, as I tried to shake off all of the sad thoughts, and memories from out of my head.
Lilly let out a bit of a sigh, as she then began to tap her fingers on the dash board that was in front of her. I stared back at her, as I then decided that now was the time to speak to her, after the moments of silence, and me trying to think of what was going on, and where it was we were trying to go.
"Turn right... Its going to be a mile or so down that way... I am just trying to think right now." I said to her. She looked at me for a bit of some time, as if she had not heard what I had said to her once again. Though I was fairly sure that I had made it loud and clear, as to what it was that I had said.
I then heard her click on something, as I heard a bit of some flickering noises, and I realized that she was using her turn signal. Not that there was any reason to do so in the first place, as the roads were the most empty that I had ever seen them. I suppose it was just a force of habit for her.
After a couple more seconds, she then turned the car to the right, and she began to drive down that way. I looked at her for a bit more time, though I doubt that she really cared 1 bit, as I then turned my head over to the road that was ahead of us.
I knew that I needed my eyes, and my mind focused on where it was that we were going, as I still was not to familiar with the area that we were in, at the current moment in the first place. We had just moved in here a few months ago, as well.
I stared at the road that was ahead of us, as she still continued to drive slow on quite an empty road. I looked around, as I saw familiar signs, but it was not where my main focus was on at the current moment, as I was making sure we did not drive past the apartment complex.
Lilly suddenly began to slow the car down, even slower than it had been before, as I looked over to her, a bit confused on what it was that she was doing at the exact moment. She seemed to have her eyes glued on something, as I turned my head over to it, to see what it was.
There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, on where it was that she was looking, so I was not so sure what was the reason that she had stopped the car in the first place. I stared at the place that was in front of us, as I saw that it was an apartment complex.
I blinked a couple of times, as it was not out of the ordinary in this area, but, I then realized why Lilly had also stopped the car at the same time as well, as I was sure that she was worried that we might drive past it, as I had not made it all that clear, that I knew where it was that we were going over to.
I looked over at Lilly, as I was just about to speak to her as well. She interrupted me, just before I had the chance to do so however, as I squinted my eyes at her, as I then listened to what it was that she had to say to me, at the exact same time as well.
"Is this the complex that you were talking about?" She said to me. It then made sense as to why she had stopped, and why she was driving so slow, as I then began to understand that she was just confused at the current moment, as I knew that she did not want to drive past it as well.
I looked at the complex that was in front of us for just a couple more seconds, as I remembered that the bus did stop at this place, to drop a couple of kids off of the bus. This was not my home however, as I shook my head more to myself, as I then looked back over to Lilly.
Lilly was still staring at the area that was ahead of us, as she was now beginning to realize at this point, based on the fact that I was still yet to respond to her, that this was not where my home was at. She turned her head back over to me, seeing that I was looking at her.
I blinked a few times, as I let out a bit of a soft sigh, that only I would be able to notice. Lilly was staring at me, with the same blank look on her face still, as if she had not a clue what to do. Which to be fair made sense as well. I shook my head at her this time, rather than my self, as I then began to speak to her.
"No... It is just a little bit further down that way." I said to her, pointing straight ahead, at the road that was right in front of us as well. She blinked a couple of times, as she then looked in front of us. After a couple more seconds, she then moved the manual shift that was right beside me, once again.
She car then continued to keep going, but at an even slower rate than it was going just before. As it seemed as if we were maybe driving 20 miles per hour at the exact moment, on a road that clearly said 45, on the sign that was right in front of us.
This time, I did not look back, to see if there were any cars waiting on us, as I saw plenty of cars in the parking space at the complex, but basically none on the road. No one was going to get upset at us, for us driving this slow at the current moment.
Lilly stared at the road that was ahead of us, as if the road had a mind, and she was trying to read it. After a couple of seconds more though, she kept her eyes on the road, as she began to speak to me, and I listened to what it was that she had to say.
"Well... Just tell me when to stop the car." She said to me. I nodded to her, which I knew she had not even seen from the corner of her eye this time, as it was clear that she had her eyes, and her mind on the road that was ahead of us, right now.
I looked at the road that was ahead as well, as I knew that was where my eyes should be, as I did not want to drive past the place. I was sure that she would do as she had said she would, and she would keep on driving us to the so called, 'safe place'.
I looked at the road for a bit of some time as well, as I looked around at the sides, just to make sure that we had not driven past anything, or perhaps missed something either. It was not the case, luckily enough for me at least, as I did not see anything out of the ordinary.
We then began to turn the car across a corner, and once we were across that corner, I realized where it was that we were at, right away. I got a bit excited, as I tried to hold it in. I then began to speak loud and clear to Lilly, that way she knew not to drive past it.
"Stop!" I said at first. Lilly instantly hit the brakes, as she looked around, though we were still a fair distance away from it. I blinked a few times, as I looked at the complex ahead of me, as I then began to speak back to Lilly. "There it is..."