The little school bus that we’ve been travelling in is cramped. There are more people than seats but we’re doing what we can in an effort to ward off fatigue and stress on our joints. In an effort to protect our bodies from any further strain, we decided to pull over and check out a motel on the highway.

We haven’t seen any Undead in quite some time and the building was set into the landscape all on its lonesome. It seemed like a decent place to stop before the outbreak and it was the only option that we could find at the moment. Each of us badly needed to rest in positions that weren’t cramped and just the thought of spending some time off of the bus was making some people giddy with relief.

We were careful of course. We scouted out the area and made sure that the rooms that we used were free of any gore. It looked like the motel had been closed around the time of the outbreak so it was untouched.

And the best thing was that well was on a pressure system. That meant water! Blessed water for as long as the well would supply it! It was cold, my gosh was it cold, but the ability to have a shower was such a good feeling. It’s amazing the little things that you take for granted; showering, applying deodorant, brushing your teeth. And at the motel we could do it all. It was decadent and everyone took advantage of it.

And the beds were luxurious in comparison to what we had been used to. There was a level of dustiness that had accumulated but once you got into the bed, it took you back to a time where your bed was a haven at the end of a busy day. To feel the cool fabric of the pillowcase against your cheek. To wrap your body up in the constraints that the sheets offered was comforting and altogether needed. Heaven. Pure heaven at this moment in time.

We slept in shifts. Someone still needed to keep watch just in case the Undead decided to put in an appearance. From the vantage point of the bus and the office you could see all around. The night was clear and the stars provided a small amount of light to see by. We felt safe in our ability to see anything coming though to be honest, you can never watch every direction at the same time.

Our night passed without incident and leaving the motel was bittersweet. But we all got onto the bus and off we went.

As we were driving down the road, we came upon a young woman walking. Well, she was technically staggering but you could tell that she was alive.

We stopped close to her, trying to determine if she had been bitten and thereby infected. She was barely clothed and it was quite obvious that she didn’t have any bites on her. When she saw the bus, she looked at us for a moment and then started to run. Away. It was a disconcerting reaction but then we didn’t know at the time what we know now.

Ben and Julie got off the bus in an attempt to calm her down, make her stop, anything really. Her flight stole the last reserves of her dwindling energy and she collapsed not too far from where she started. Ben was by her side immediately with some water and assessed her condition. She was dehydrated and malnourished but she would be fine.

Once she understood that we were not out to harm her, she calmed down. She told us her name was Holly and my oh my, did she have a story for us…

Holly had been held for some time at a farm that was fairly close by a group of men that were collecting other survivors. Now you might ask why they were collecting survivors and from what she told us, their intent was to use them to feed the Undead that they had caught. Sickening yes. She told us in what general area the farm was and explained how she managed to escape.

Apparently the men were not only interested in feeding the survivors to the Undead. Once in a while, they engaged in depraved acts with some of the younger, more attractive women. It was on one such occasion that Holly had managed to escape. She was sure that they would be out looking for her but as she had been free for more than a day and on foot, she was beginning to believe that they might not actually be looking for her.

In the end, it wouldn’t have mattered since the men went out every few days looking for more survivors to put in their feeding cages. It was a desperate situation for those stuck in those cages and none of us were sure about what we could do…

Do we decide to help and possibly hinder ourselves in the process? Or do we do what’s right? It’s a big decision and one we cannot make lightly. Tonight we’ll think on it and hopefully by tomorrow our heads will be clear enough to make the decision that is right for us. Pray for those poor souls living their lives in cages, waiting to be fed to the Undead…

The Next Day