Hope On The Rocks/Issue 88

This is Issue 88 of Hope On The Rocks, entitled "Jammed".

This issue is Lia-centric.

710, Jammed
Miles is the second boyfriend I ever had. The first one was Louis Dammer. I dumped him after two weeks. I guess it was because I was afraid of him dumping me. Like, giving a thief all your money so he doesn’t have to rob you. I guess that’s who I used to be. I wanted to change, and I did. And then Kristen came into the picture. I’m sure it’s all because I killed her twin brother. She is getting revenge now. No, who am I fooling? Obviusly Kristen is more attractive than me. She is nicer, more understanding. I get why Miles left me. I do. I sit in one of the beds in the RV, just looking at the floor. I hear someone entering and sitting down on the other bed. I’m not sure who it is, as I’m not looking up. I don’t care. “You know what, Lia?” I hear Al’s voice saying. “My girlfriend died a few days before the outbreak.” I look up. I knew all this already, but I guess he’s gonna say something inspirational now. It’s better than looking at the floor anyway. “Imagine how easy it would have been for me if I had dumped her before she died. How easy it would have been if we weren’t together.” Al says, and it really sounds stupid, but I guess he’s right. This is better than Miles being dead. Well, I guess that’s what he is trying to say. “I get it.” I just say. “Thanks.” Al nods. “You’ll find someone. There’s plently of guys out there waiting to get a taste of you.” Al says jokingly. I can’t help but laugh. It’s a long time since I’ve done that. I think last time I laughed is three weeks ago when Axel told us the story about how he lost his legs. It was so dumb that we just couldn’t help it, and we all laughed. That was a good night. I’d wish we’d have more nights like that. “Yeah.” I say, now smiling. The RV stops, and I hear Timmy’s voice yelling “The road’s jammed. We have to clear it.” “Can’t we just drive around the damn thing?” Gord yells from the toilet. “That’d take days.” Timmy yells. Al gives me a nod, signalling that we better go and help the others.

While everyone else, saving Axel, Geary and Kristen, clears the road, Margaret and I are on watch on top of the RV. I’ve gotten pretty good at using a rifle, but I don’t hope I’ll have to use it today. Noise attracts zombies, and zombies are bad when we’re working like this. “Do you think the Scotland-plan is good?” I ask Margaret. I am not sure myself. Of course, if there’s safe and no zombies there, it’s a good idea. But we don’t know if that’s true. We might end up somewhere where it’s worse than here. “I think so.” Margaret says. “It’s our only chance right now.” I was locked in a room with Margaret and six other women for around a week. The last two months, I’ve really bonded with her. She is really nice and caring. “I guess.” I say. “We could settle down, though. Find somewhere safe. An island maybe.” Margaret smiles. I know it’s just a stupid dream. We’d never survive on a deserted island. Not enough food for all of us, and well, it’s just not easy to live on an island. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” Margaret says. “But I doubt that would be possible.” I shrug and smile. “You never know.” Then Margaret raises her rifle, looking through the scope. Her face turns pale, and I look through my scope as well, now seeing she is looking at: a big herd is coming right towards us. “Neil!” Margaret whispers as loud as possible to Neil, who is closest to the RV. “Hide. Herd.” Neil instantly realizes that she is saying, and runs to tell everyone. I lower the rifle, and lay down on the RV. Margaret does the same. I close my eyes as Margaret proceeds to tell Axel, Geary and Kristen inside the RV. I take a deep breath, and just wait for this to go over.

Deaths

 * None

Credits

 * Al Halib
 * Lia Camper
 * Timmy Ember
 * Margaret Wing
 * Neil Bradson
 * Gord Rivera