Where We Go | Book Three

15. Like You Taught Me

We split ourselves between the two vehicles instead of cramping ourselves into one. Ben and I joined Lucy in her truck while the others followed behind. 

In Lucy's black Land Rover, Ben sat up front in the passenger seat and I sat in the back, watching the back of their heads move with the bumps in the road. Lucy's driving was nothing to complain about, but I wouldn't dare sleep.

"You guys look pretty rough," Lucy broke the silence. "That woman with you... What was her name?"

"Julia," I replied.

"Julia," she repeated. "How long has she been like that?"

"A few days now," I explained. "She was shot. I got the bullet out but patching her up has been a struggle. We're pretty much out of supplies."

"You got the bullet out?" she pried.

"Yes."

She exhaled a breathy laugh. "I'm impressed. A lot of the guys back in Land's End still squirm at the thought of anything like that."

"Not your doctors, I hope?" Ben questioned.

The corner of Lucy's lip turned upwards. "Luckily not," she said. "Julia will be just fine once we get her back. Our docs deal with those kinds of injuries all the time."

"All the time?" Ben turned with furrowed brows.

Lucy laughed. "That's not what I meant. We're not getting shot all the time. I meant they're used to dealing with bad injuries. You'd be surprised at the state people get themselves into when they go outside the fence."

"I'm sure I can imagine," Ben mumbled quietly. "You said it was your family who set up Land's End?"

"It was!" she said proudly. Her enthusiasm caused her to swerve too far around an Infected and the car jolted as we hit the curb. "Oops," she muttered, as a tinge of red flushed her cheeks. "Yeah, it was my family," she continued, pretending like nothing happened. She tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. "I guess my mum wanted somewhere that was safe for everyone. She didn't understand why everyone would want to fight this by themselves."

Ben shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess that makes sense," he replied, shifting his stare out the window.

"How are your family?" she asked with a slight turn of her head. "Your mum was doing some pretty big research before, wasn't she?"

Ben seemed tense as he looked over. "You remember?"

"Vaguely," Lucy said, looking to her left. "What was her name again?"

"Jackie," Ben replied slowly.

"Jackie! That was it," she repeated with a smile in her voice. "I remember her now. Is she part of the group you're looking for?"

"She's dead," he replied simply.

"Oh," she exhaled. Any trace of hope from her words was gone just as quickly as it had wrapped around them. "I'm sorry about that... Hopefully, you'll be able to find the rest of your group though."

"Yeah," Ben mumbled. "Hopefully."

Lucy glanced in the rear-view mirror and her doe-like stare caught my own drying eyes. "How are you doing back there?"

"Me?" My brows lifted as she caught me off guard. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

She laughed at the answer, turning her attention back to the road. "So..." she addressed the car with a smile in her voice.

"So, what?" Ben asked.

"How did you guys meet?" she asked waving an index finger. "Don't think I haven't noticed."