CHAPTER 20
I pulled over near the bridge to get some fresh air. The bridge was wide open, and it was around 7:50 a.m. I was planning to wake up Christian around 8:30 so he could drive. The sunrise from earlier had faded, and now the sun sat high in the sky. There were barely any clouds—close to none. It was a windy day, so it wasn't hot at all. I stood outside for a few minutes, letting the wind hit my face and blow my hair away. It was refreshing. Peaceful. Serene—yet oddly quiet.
I inhaled sharply and exhaled just as sharply. Then I sighed softly and yawned, getting back into the car. Once I shut the door, I noticed Christian awake, leaning back in the seat.
Christian's POV:
I woke up with the sun's rays shining directly into my eyes. I groaned and sat up, eyes adjusting to the light and my surroundings. When I looked out the window, I spotted Perry standing near the bridge's fence, totally zoned out. I glanced at the car clock—8:01 a.m. I must've knocked out around 5:45.
It was dead silent. So quiet it didn't even feel like we were in a zombie apocalypse anymore. I couldn't stop thinking about Ruby and Nicole. I'm not that close to Nicole, but we're still friends. And Ruby? She's my closest friend. Losing her made all this ten times worse. I can imagine how Perry feels without Nicole too... though that doesn't mean I'm going to say anything about it. I just hope both of them are safe.
Now's not the time to let emotions ruin things. If we don't learn to cope with each other, we'll end up dead. Preferably not.
Perry got back into the car. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror.
"Awake?" she asked stupidly.
What kind of question is that? Of course I'm awake. I rolled my eyes.
"No, I'm not. Are you breathing?" I said, raising a brow.
"No, I'm not," she replied with a smug smirk.
What's her deal? Ugh, whatever. "I don't have time for this," I scowled and looked away. I heard her laugh slightly, which just irritated me more.
I scoffed and slumped back in my seat. It was only now I noticed we were on a bridge. It felt oddly familiar... but I decided to ignore it.
Not sure how long we've been driving, but I'm guessing more than an hour. I sighed, turned, grabbed the snack bag, and pulled out a random bag of chips. I munched while staring out the window. No clouds. No zombies. Just wind and sun.
Sigh... it really is boring. If the others were still here, we could've played Uno. But nope—just me and Perry. The worst match possible. Negative compatibility, probably -100.
At least I could finally see the other side of the city. A small relief.
Perry's POV:
I glanced at the clock. 8:17 a.m. Christian's munching was the only sound. It was too quiet. No zombie noises, no chaos. Was the zombie population lower on this side of Seoul? I couldn't be sure. But I can't risk getting jumped again.
Guess I have to deal with Christian for now. He's such a pain.
The silence grew more deafening with every passing minute. I didn't want to break it with unnecessary conversation, so I kept quiet. The clock read 8:30. I glanced at the rearview mirror. Christian was lying flat on the seats, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Hey, could you drive?" I asked, forcing myself to be polite. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't agree.
"Since you asked so nicely..." He paused, grunted, then sat up. "I guess I could drive," he said casually.
Since he agreed, I pulled the car over. We switched spots. I took the back seat—finally, some space.
"By the way, how much longer until we reach the other city?" he asked, glancing at me.
"An hour or so. I already drove two," I replied, leaning back into the seat.
He gave me a small nod and started driving. I figured I'd take a nap. There was really nothing else to do, and I needed rest. I closed my eyes. They instantly felt heavy, and the sounds around me began to fade.
Christian's POV:
I stayed quiet. The only sounds were the car engine and us shifting in our seats.
From the rearview mirror, I could see Perry was falling asleep, so I stayed silent and focused on the road. I'd wake her up once we got to the city.
I couldn't stop wondering how Nicole and Ruby were holding up. Especially Ruby. We had no lead on her—nothing. But maybe we'd find something at that building.
I just hoped they weren't zombified. And honestly, if the four of us really are the only ones left, we should also try finding other survivors at some point. Just in case.
An hour passed. Finally, I made it to the city. No zombies in sight. Perry was still asleep. I should probably wake that idiot up. But maybe I could rest for a bit too... Still, we probably need to move.
I turned around—only to notice something strange in the trunk window.
There was... blood.
But no zombies.