Twisted Condemnation

Uniting

September 8, 2026

"If you get out of bed, come find us, heading for the bridge, bring a stone, all the rage..." -MGMT

I jolted forwards on the mattress, clasping my chest finding it difficult to control my wild heart beat. Striving to rid my brain of the bitter mental pictures my nightmare taunted me with. I looked over to Jenna who was still sound asleep beside me clutching the stuffed unicorn she had tried to name 'Horny'- obviously due to the purple horn sticking out of its head. Ezra and I spent fifteen very long and awkward minutes last night working to convince her to pick another name, carefully avoiding telling her the real meaning of the word. She finally relented, settling on 'Neigh-Neigh.'

"Another nightmare?" I jumped when Ezra spoke.

I pushed myself off of the bed, running my hands through my hair, my eyes on Ezra who was sitting in the desk chair. I nodded, peering out of the small window frame above the desk. The soft morning light was bleeding through the glass, casting a warm orange glow into the compact room.

"Reoccurring or new?" He pressed, leaning forwards towards me in the chair.

"New," I sighed, recalling the images from my dream. I checked, ensuring Jenna was still asleep before continuing. "They are all dead, and we did nothing," I choked back the emotions I felt brewing, the guilt that was strangling me.

Ezra took a deep breath, placing his elbows on his knees. "There was nothing we could do without getting ourselves killed. Nothing that would have mattered in the end, but this..." he glanced at the door hearing muffled voices in the hallway. Taking my hand in his when I closed my eyes in an attempt to not cry. "Getting somewhere that can create a vaccine, that means something. It won't make up for their lives, but it will mean something to those you can save." I squeezed his hand, meeting his eyes. Those ocean blue eyes that could make me feel safe even if I were standing in the path of a tornado.

We silently gathered our supplies, while I strove to compose myself before coming face to face with the trio in the hallway. Waking Jenna was a task in itself, she began crying, trying to hide herself under the blanket and pillow, citing that she didn't want to go back out there with the monsters. Honestly I didn't blame her on bit, I didn't want to either, but we have to. It took us at least ten minutes to finally calm her down, and get her out of the bed.

"She lives," Lorelai rolled her eyes at the sight of me as we entered the hallway, tugging at the rusty brown shirt that swallowed her body, with no pants underneath it.

"Without even as much as a fever," I quipped, adjusting the duffel on my back.

"So sad to see you go," Lorelai forced an exaggerated sad face, her lips transforming from a faux pout to smirk in record speed. I just rolled my eyes. Relieved to no longer have to deal with Lorelai's ill mannered behavior any longer.

Ezra gave me a reassuring glance while he was  clutching Jenna's hand. We were packed up ready to leave, the goal for today is to find another vehicle. Trekking on foot from Arkansas to Oregon did not sound promising to our survival.

"Hold up," Nick exited one of the rooms with a black backpack on his shoulders.

"What are you doing?" The panic in Lorelai's voice was evident, as the smirk quickly vanished from her face.

Nick sighed before looking back at us, "I'm going with them." He turned back to Lorelai whose face was twisted with fuddled anger. "If there's even the remotest possibility of a cure, I have to go. I can't keep living like this."

"What do you mean by that?" Lorelai spat, narrowing her eyes on Nick.

Ezra and I exchanged a silent glimpse, conveying the unease we both felt just idly standing listening to their bickering.