Fracking Apocalypse - a ZNation 10K/Tommy Fanfiction

S6E02

S6E02:

CZ did what he could to keep in contact with the camp in trouble so they could be prepared when they moved in and became Newmerican citizens. Bailey was able to leave her shifts at the supply building, Katie – her friend that 10K had saved the day of the bombing – was going to cover for her and Bailey's time would be compensated with the trip since she wasn't exactly taking a vacation and was still contributing to the community. Once Doc had heard they were going he did the same thing claiming that since all his patients had at one point been in the same position as those in this camp they understood. They also weren't mentally unwell enough that they couldn't last without him for a few days and actually wished him good luck on the mission. In the end they packed up a jeep that Bailey and 10K drove down and Warren and Doc each drove one of the busses that Estes had once used to store the Talkers in during the election.

They drove for two days and stopped about halfway to upstate New York to check on their gas and call Citizen Z and see if there was any change in their target location. As 10K got out of the jeep to go talk to Doc and Warren Bailey's stomach growled, but not with hunger, and she took a few deep breaths hoping it would help settle it. Her stomach bug from election day still hadn't completely gone away but it did hit her every now and then. Tommy had wanted Red to check her over and even after Red had told them she found nothing wrong he'd still been a nervous wreck. She hadn't told him her nausea was still going on and she'd been doing a good job of hiding it from him so far. She took a few more deep breaths happy that it seemed to be passing but it did make her more nervous about how 10K would react if he found out she'd been ill this long and hadn't said anything to him. When he opened the door and got back in the jeep she gave him a small smile and asked how it went.

"Fine." He said buckling in, "Citizen Z said the camp's location hasn't changed but they are getting worried about the Z's so Warren wants us to push through the second half of the trip so we can get there as soon as we can."

"How are we looking on gas?"

"We should make it. We'll probably stop and stay the night with them, then we'll use the extra gas cans we brought and refill before heading back."

They were quiet for a bit while they drove with the two busses following them. Given the time of year the trees were pretty bare but as they got further south where it was a bit warmer Bailey noticed more of the trees had held onto their colorful leaves not ready to give into the winter chill yet. She knew soon enough the first frost would come and they'd drop their leaves for the season but for now she sat back and enjoyed watching it all pass by her window.

"I've missed this." She said softly after a while, readjusting her jean jacket to keep the cool autumn chill out. "All the traveling. Seeing new places of the country."

"Me too." Tommy agreed with a small smile, "I mean, Altura's great, it's safe and secure but. . . I've kind of missed living on our own. And with how fast Newmerica's filling up it just feels. . . "

"Crowded." She said knowing what he was talking about, then she chuckled, "After the outbreak and all the deserted towns we saw I never thought I'd describe anything as crowded again. Unless we were talking about zombies."

His smile widened and he glanced at her. "Maybe we'll have to go on a vacation sometime. Find a nice deserted town and camp out for a few days."

She laughed at the new post-apocalypse definition of a vacation and smiled at him, "That actually sounds really nice."

Then they both laughed a bit at how odd it sounded as they kept driving.

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It took them another day of driving before they found the camp by late afternoon and Warren immediately went to speak to the leader. The camp was maybe a good forty to fifty people, all smaller groups who had found each other on the way to Newmerica, consisting of people from as close as Maine to as far south as Florida. Thanks to constant communication with Citizen Z they had been expecting their team to arrive and almost instantly started breaking down their tents and packing their things. Bailey saw a few old looking trucks and a hummer that were off further back in the camp and guessed that those must be the broken down vehicles, though she suspected they weren't really broken just out of fuel. Doc helped Warren split the group into two so they knew they'd have enough room on the busses for everyone and their supplies. Meanwhile Bailey and 10K helped take down tents and hammocks and started loading them onto the busses, quickly filling the back seats.