The Dead World/Issue 49

Riding the motorcycle around the next bend, Will kept focused as zombies seemed to pour out of the trees from all angles but Will managed to easily swerve around them while Natasha kept her hold around Will as she leaned in close to him which was a bit awkward because of his crossbow on his back but she managed.

"where the hell they all coming from?" Natasha half asked half shouted to Will over the engine but he shook his head shrugging.

"maybe its zombie mating season?" Will suggested giving a small smile and Natasha laughed into his ear at the joke which sent shivers down his spine, sometimes Natasha reminded him so much of his dead wife but Will quickly shook the thoughts out of his head.

Suddenly thought, Natasha's laughing died down as she had a thought "what if the road is like this too?" Natasha asked worridly and Will sighed bowing his head a little in thought before answering.

"I dont know" Will admitted as he looked up to the road and noticed the zombies beginning to clear a little as the two rided around another corner.

"I hope there safe....." Natasha whispered softly and Will wanted to comfort her and tell her everything was fine but truth be told how did he know that things would be, they were pratically surrounded by zombies at every turn and Riley's bandits were still out there hunting for them.

With all this on his mind, Will had to think, would they ever be safe again? Would they ever be able to call somewhere a home for more than a couple of days?...is there any life to go back to?

"I'm sure they are" Will tried to assure Natasha who just nodded and layed her head on his shoulders before taking in his scent and smiling as she let her eyes rest a little.

Sitting in the back of the RV, Daniel gently rocked Matthew who was fast asleep in his arms while staring out of the window at the back of the RV just thinking until he heard movement near him and suddenly became aware of Maria speaking to him.

"sorry Maria, what did you say?" Dan asked but Maria just gestured to Charles who was currently looking over to him curiously.

"Lily's a little tired, are you alright to take over for her?" the old man asked and Dan thought for a moment trying not to look down at Matthew because he'd look suspicious.

"yeh sure" Dan said as he got up before gently laying Matthew down just where he'd been sitting before he got up while Maria looked curiously at Matthew.

"is he ok?....he looks a bit pale?" Maria asked looking up to Dan who masked the truth behind a smile before he answered.

"he's fine, just a little shaken up about what happened is all" Dan stated and Maria nodded giving him a smile as she went back to the sofa and returned to her drawing while Dan walked up to the front of the RV, passing Lily on the way as she walked past him to the back and Dan took her place at the wheel.

However Dan knew he hadn't fooled Charles as the old man leaned over Dan's seat a little so the two of them could whisper to eachother.

"you sure your kids fine? I can check him out if you want" Charles said but Dan shook his head trying not to snap.

"he's.fine." Dan stated and Charles nodded leaving Dan to be alone as he went over and joined Maria on the sofa to cheer the little girl up.

Sitting in the bed of Will's truck, Logan held the shotgun inbetween his legs as he layed back letting his mind think about anything other than the day they've just had....and it aint even over yet, Logan thought to himself.

His thoughts were soon jolted away though as he heard a knocking on the window behind him and turned to see Karen who gave a little wave to him so he slide the window open so they could talk.

"you ok big man?" Karen asked and Logan nodded giving a thumbs up and smile which Karen returned before she turned around and Logan slid the window shut again.

Truth be told he was far from ok, but someone had to be the "big man" and toughen things out and at the moment that looked like it was going to be him....

Laying her head back she smiled at the fact they had managed to escape and closed her eyes peacefully trusting Anthony to not crash or do anything wrong for at least five minutes.

However her little rest was interrupted as quickly as it started when Anthony spoke up apparently unaware of the fact she was going to have a rest.

"you know, been a couple of days since we was alone like this" Anthony joked but Karen just kept her eyes closed and shrugged.

"so?" Karen asked and Anthony pretended to look hurt only to realise the fact her eyes was closed and his attempt was a complete failure.

"so, I miss the fun we have sometimes" Anthony says reminding Karen a little bit of a lost puppy which she couldnt help but find amusing as she spoke.

"didnt know you enjoyed my company so much" Karen said playfully smirking as she did but the response she got from him wasnt what she was expecting.

"yeh well, I enjoy your company, your a great person and a fun woman to be around...your just so nice yet badass, sometimes so much that it scares me" Anthony said giving a little laugh before continuing.

"anyone lucky to have a one on one session with you should feel like they won the world" he admitted completely shocking Karen enough for her to open her eyes and think about what he'd said.

How was she meant to respond to that?...no one had said something as kind as that to her. In the end she decided to do what she always did in a time like this, hide it behind a mask.

"pffft i'm a stuck up bitch that doesnt like anyone" Karen stated scoffing a little as it sounded like so much bullshit that even a idiot could tell she was lying and she was right as Anthony sighed trying to figure out a way to say what he was thinking.

"look....I dont know what happened to you before all this to cause you to seperate yourself but -" Anthony started but Karen quickly interrupted him.

"its none of your damn'd business" Karen spat but Anthony just continued ignoring her.

"you shouldnt let it ruin your life. Your a beautiful fun woman that desearves the best the world and its people can give her....you just need to let it once in a while" Anthony finished keeping his eyes on the road knowing Karen was probably glaring at him.

However it was the complete oposite of that as Karen looked at him genuinely happy about what he'd said and was lost for words as she stared at him but she quickly shook herself out of it and turned to look out the window.

She couldnt let her mask slip, she'd get hurt and she was determined not to let that ever happen to her again.

Driving in the van, Bella and Lewis were in complete silence unsure of what to say to eachother after Lewis had competely snapped at Bella leaving the two both shocked about what he'd said until Lewis finally broke the silence.

"look...i'm sorry ok" Lewis tried to apologise but he didnt know what to say as he turned to look at Bella who just shrugged in return as she looked out the window.

"whatever....." Bella whispered and Lewis sighed slamming the steering wheel.

"fucks sake, will you just talk to me?" Lewis asked resulting in Bella turning to look at him seriously.

"talk to you? about what?" Bella asked tilting her head looking him over.

"talk about how rude you've been lately? talk about how your blaming yourself of all the shit thats happened? or shall we talk about the fact you need to man the fuck up and stop blaming yourself about everything!!!!" Bella shouted at Lewis who was suprised at her sudden outburst as much as she was.

"sorry.....I just needed to get that out" Bella said more quietly and Lewis reached over and gently rubbed her shoulder which she accepted happily.

"its ok, we all need it....is my apologie excepted?" Lewis asked and Bella nodded turning to look at him and give him a smile before she leaned towards him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"good, now lets go and meet up with the rest of the group" Lewis said sharing Bella's smile as he turned the van around the next corner.

Sitting on the motorcycle, Will held his crossbow strap which kept his weapon to his back as he looked around at all the abandoned cars while Natasha who was off the motorcycle paced around awaiting for the rest of the group to arrive.

Unfortuantly all the cars had been looted, Will observed and then turned his head to the sky which was now light as the sun was now in the sky signalling it was day.

However he turned his head to look at Natasha when he heard her sigh and found she was looking out to the entrance of the road, her face full of worry and Will knew what she was thinking before she even spoke.

"they should've been here by now...." Natasha said sadly but before Will could say anything to try and make her happy they heard the sound of a horn honking and turned to watch as Will's truck, the RV and the Van came towards them before slowing to a stop.

Soon Will and Natasha were joined by the rest of their group as they came out of the vehicles and joined the two on the road having warm reuinions between them all as they were happy to see eachother again.

However once they had all calmed down, Bella suddenly double checked as she looked around at everyone and noticed someone was missing and turned to look at Will like everyone else did at that moment.

"where's Aiden?" Bella asked afraid she already knew the answer as Will looked straight into her eyes sadly.

"he didnt make it" Will finally managed to say and the whole group fell into silence again as they mourned their lost friend.

Eventually after a few moments of silence, it was broken when Matthew spoke up to his father Daniel as he came out of the RV followed by Maria.

"hey dad, whats this scar?" Matthew asked and everyone looked at the kid instantly while Daniel panicked as he watched as Matthew moved his sleeve back up showing off the zombie scratch to everyone and they all realised quickly what it was and looked shocked.

"is....is that a zombie scratch?" Lily asked who hugged into her father Charles embrace more as she looked towards Daniel and soon everyone else had looked to the man too as he nearly literally shook as he tried to think of an excuse to cover it up but he soon realised it was pointless and decided to admit the truth.

"yes" Daniel answered earning gasps from everyone as he bowed his head looking to the ground in sadness.

"....yes it is"