[Announcement at the end of the chapter! If you like this story I'd appreciate you checking it out.]

We drove away from the prison town with a new song in our hearts. Well... I did at least.

"That went well." I smiled, sitting in my usual seat of shotgun inside Ducky.

Jacob didn't smile. "You got shot."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

Jacob turned to me and I noticed the exhaustion in his eyes. I hadn't realized just how tired he was.

"Locke, please, don't joke about this."

Nicole snorted. "Who are you and what have you done with Jacob?"

This time he did smile, albeit wearily. "I just don't want her making a habit of it."

"Third times the charm and all." Nicole said. I noticed her mimicking shooting a rifle, then she mimed getting shot in the head.

I rolled my eyes at her. "It's not like I do it on purpose!"

Callie yawned and leaned against the window, her eyes fluttering softly shut.

"So is anyone gonna tell me what's the deal with Xander?" I asked, lowering my voice to a hush as Callie began to fall into a state of sleep.

"Jacob, you do it."

Jacob sighed. "Xander is how I know Nic. He took her in after Nicole ran away from Carter. He was my best friend and the only family Nicole seemed to like. I even moved down to California to be with him. So when the zombies hit we'd all be living together for a while, neither of us prepared to deal with a fourteen year old, much less the apocalypse."

Nicole interjected. "Xander sent me to sleep away camp for the summer, claiming it would do me some good. The nightmare happens, chaos, bloodshed, the whole shebang, and I find myself the only survivor of the camp massacre, probably thanks to my contraband." Nicole flipped out the blade of her pocket knife. "After nearly a month of walking and attempts at contact, I finally get a good signal. I couldn't reach Xander, so I called Jacob. He tells me my cousin is dead and to meet him at Avalon Creek Amusement Park. You know the rest."

"Oh wow." That was a lot for a fourteen year old to handle, especially by herself.

I didn't exactly know how to respond to that. I let the silence settle.

Then I figured out how to bring up the mood.

"So I got a serious question for the two of you."

"Another one?" Nicole let out a hollow chuckle.

Jacob snorted, from behind the wheel.

"I'm serious, guys!"

They settled down, resuming an uncomfortable quiet that didn't really fit. It certainly didn't fit Jacob who could easily be dubbed the Man Who Said Too Much.

"Which superhero hits the most home runs?"

Nicole groaned immediately, banging her head against my seat.

A widespread grin crossed Jacob's face. That set me back at ease.

"Which one?"

"Batman."

Jacob laughed. "Now that was dumb."

"Pfft, it was just like yours!"

"Oh please, my jokes are amazing."

"No they're not." Nicole scoffed.

"Okay, non-believers, try this one on for size. What do elves do after school?"

I'll spare the dumb jokes, but it went on like that for a while. Nicole and I shook our heads as Jacob told jokes with the most amount of cringe possible.

God, it was good to be free.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Not my best chapter, but 2020 will bring some great ones. I swear. Happy New Year!

Okay so just a little thing. I was considering doing a fun little Q and A for this story cause it's one of my most popular stories, it's a new year, and I thought it might be fun. I know there probably won't be many questions but I thought it might be fun to offer the opportunity. So three chapters from now I'll answer any questions you guys leave for me.

You can ask about me, the story, any of my other projects, make suggestions, or just ask something totally random and bizarre. I trust you guys not to be invasive, so I think this might really fun.

So of course, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!
~Oz