Elizabeth had figured out how to operate the truck, apparently it wasn't all that complicated, so we were rolling down the tunnel in no time.

John was in the back seat with me, he had removed his over-shirt and was looking at his left arm where he had been shot. "It doesn't matter how much pressure I put on it, it's still bleeding."

He was starting to grow a little pale, I couldn't tell if it was from worry or blood loss but it wasn't good. "What should we do?" I asked.

"I'll need someone to stitch it back together. None of you would happen to know how to do that, would you?" When no one answered he shook his head. "Didn't think so..." He closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers. "Alright..." He took off his belt and began wrapping it around his arm. "If I don't tie this off I'm not gonna make it out of this tunnel, let alone to a surgeon." He had to strap it on tight, tighter than I would have imagined to get the blood flow to slow down. "That's the best I can do for now." He leaned against the window.

"So where are we going?" Elizabeth asked from the front seat.

"I don't know, I don't think we ever planned this far ahead." I said back.

"We need medical attention, or at the very least medical supplies. And I get the feeling we're not going back to Ashville." She added.

"I have an idea." John said. "There's a prison not far out of town. If the staff is still there they have an infirmary. They usually aren't the best equipped, especially not for our situation. I know they send people to the hospital for more serious surgery all the time, but I still think it's our best bet."

"Ok, I know where it is." Elizabeth replied.

It was a few minutes before I asked John "Were you going to do it?"

"Do what?" He asked me back, still looking into the darkness out of the window.

"Were you going to kill me?" I had to wait a long time for his answer.

"I don't know... maybe..." It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but if he had denied it outright I don't think I would have believed him. He continued "I certainly didn't want to if that makes you feel any better."

I waited a little bit to ask my next question. "So... Why did you ever take money from those assholes?"

John drew out a long exhale. "I guess I owe you that much." He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "When you first start out as a cop, it all seems so simple, right is right, wrong is wrong... but then things change... Or maybe I should say you change. I never wanted to take a bribe Mark... I just got into a bad situation."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Alright, so one day I'm out on patrol. It was early in the morning, and things were kind of quiet. That's when a call comes over the radio. It's a domestic dispute, and I was hoping that it wasn't who I thought it was.

See, this shit head Gregory Shills was a real piece of work. He was the scum of the earth, but I think the worst part was that he was just smart enough to not get caught... When you're a cop you get to meet a few of these people, they just keep popping up, but never seem to go away for good.

Anyway, I guess his girlfriend had a penchant for running her mouth, whereas he had one for closing it, with his fists... Piece of shit. But she never filed charges so... There was nothing we could do. I knew one day we were either going to find out she went missing or come upon her battered corpse. And that's just the way it is sometimes.

Well, things were different that day. When the address came over the radio I was the closest unit by a long shot. I knew if I could catch him in the act we could at least do something. So I rushed to the scene thinking that this time I might just get him. Well, that's not what happened.

I came around the corner to Shills on the ground surrounded by six guys. He was beaten within an inch of his life. So Harry is there, and he walks up to me and gives me some bullshit. 'Morning Officer. Me an' the boys were just out for a walk when we came upon this gentleman in need of some help... I think we've got it covered though.' He pulled out a fat stack of cash and shoved it right in my hands. Then he says 'I think we'll be done by the time you take a ride around the block.'

It wasn't even about the money, I couldn't have cared less about that, but seeing someone finally take that bastard down... It just felt right, even if I knew it was wrong. Shills called out to me 'Help, they're going to kill me. Please help.' Yadda yadda yadda, he was begging me.

But I just looked right at him and said 'You earned it.' So I took the money, rode around the block and sure enough, they were gone.

What I didn't know was that one of the bastards had caught me on camera taking the bribe. So Harry comes to me and gives me a deal, take money to look the other way and try to keep attention away from them. I couldn't exactly say no, if I didn't take the money they were just going to force me to by threatening me with the evidence. It was a shit deal, but my only other option was to turn myself in...

That's part of the reason I was so willing to skip town. I was already planning to before all this shit started. When the drug bust happened, I knew he would come knocking... It was only a matter of time.

If it wasn't for this zombie shit I would've been long gone. Since my partner died I shouldn't have even been at work. They give you time off for that kind of shit. Hell, you get a couple weeks just for having to fire your gun. But emergency services get the shit end of the stick in situations like this. We weren't staffed to handle this crap, so they called me in. That's just my shitty ass luck I guess."

He paused for a moment before bringing up the elephant in the room. "If any of you aren't comfortable being around me... I understand. We can split up after we make it to the prison, one way or another."

"No, that's alright." Dennis said, his voice still emotionally drained. "You risked your life to save Jill when it mattered... You made mistakes, but I don't think you're a threat. So long as everybody else is ok with it, I won't push you away."

"I'm fine with it." Elizabeth said nearly as drained as Dennis. "What about you Mark?"

As I looked at John I could tell he was genuinely remorseful. And as I didn't think he had anything else to hide I didn't want to hold it against him. "I guess... he can stay with us." We were quiet for the rest of the ride.