Chapter 20:

I quickly shoved the note in my pocket and raced after the guys. I can't believe I didn't pay more attention to him. His whole conversation with me about what life would be like should've been an automatic eye opener for me.
The guys and I dashed outside, looking desperately for Ray. It was freezing outside, the temperature being below zero. If Ray didn't succeed in ending his life on his own terms, then the cold surely would.
I walked up and down the street with Geoff, calling for Ray. The wind blew against my face, freezing me and making me shiver. Geoff wasn't holding up as well either.
"He couldn't have gone far..." I muttered to myself.
The wind stopped blowing for a moment, giving me just enough time to see the footprints in the snow. I pointed to them for Geoff and he nodded, following me as I followed the trail of crushed snow.
The wind continued to pick up and blow against us, slowing us down. At one point, I had to stop due to exhaustion and Geoff was quick to stop as well.
"How did he get this far in this storm?" I growled. Geoff shared the same confusion with me and continued forward, leaving me to catch up.
Hopefully we're not too late...

I didn't know how long it had been. An hour, maybe two? However long it had been, we still hadn't found Ray. I squeezed my eyes shut to stop the tears.
The footprints were covered up long ago but Geoff and I continued forward in false hope that we'd find any sign of Ray. If he was still alive somewhere, wouldn't we have bumped into him by now?
"Michael... We need to turn back. If Ray is out here, then there's the high possibility that he's already done what he set out to do. Besides, we don't need our leader getting sick," Geoff told me.
I stopped, not wanting to admit that he was right. Ray would stay up all night to find me. He was my best friend, the one that I relied on for so many years. He wouldn't just give up.
But, the rational part of my brain spoke otherwise. And right now, it was talking much louder than other part.
"I know," I croaked, letting the hot tears finally steam from my eyes. It brought momentary warmth to my cheeks before turning into cold water that stained my cheeks.
Geoff came over to me and rubbed my shoulder before pulling me into a hug. I gripped onto him tightly, sobbing loudly into his chest as I realized my friend was gone.
First Lindsay... Now Ray.
I was losing everyone I cared about. Who else would be next? What if it was Gavin? My heart dropped just at the thought of it. I almost lost him once, I wasn't gonna lose him again.
When Geoff and I broke from the hug I realized tears were also streaming down his face. I patted his shoulder as a calming gesture and we walked back through the snowstorm.

The storm was slowly beginning to let up. Geoff and I still trudged through it, determined to get back to camp and warm up. I was frozen and the only thing that kept me going was the fact that I would be able to curl up next to Gavin in a warm bed once I got back.
Through the wind, I heard a noise. I stopped in my tracks, confusing Geoff until he also heard the noise.
A walker.
I quickly whipped out my new pistol and searched through the snowstorm. Geoff did the same, taking my back. The noise became louder until I was able to see it.
New tears sprung to my eyes as I recognized the walker.
I sobbed out and Geoff whipped his head to look at the walker. We slowly backed away from it but kept closer than usual to it.
"Why!" I screamed out at the walker, as if it could know what I was saying. Geoff gripped my shoulder while keeping a firm grip on his gun.
"Michael, we have to put it out," He whispered to me, trying to calm me.
"How can you say that! How?!" I screamed at Geoff. His eyes were filling with his own tears but he quickly blinked them away.
"Do you want it to stay like this? Or do you want it to have a good end?" Geoff asked me. I felt myself get angry at his choice of words.
"Stop calling him an it! He's not an it," I sobbed at Geoff.
Geoff said nothing, but he lifted his gun to the walker, readying the shot.
"No... I want to do it," I told him calmly. Geoff looked at me and nodded, letting me take the shot.
I blinked away my tears and lined my gun up with his head. I felt more tears push at the back of my eyes but I blinked them away, trying to be strong.
"I'm so sorry... Good-bye, Ray," I choked out.
I pulled the trigger and his blood splattered out onto the pure white snow. He collapsed in the snow, it becoming a permanent crimson red from the head wound. My knees shook and gave out as I realized that my friend was gone for good. I sobbed out louder and screamed in misery until my voice became hoarse. I heard Geoff's sobs mix in with mine as we watched our friend bleed out onto the snow.
"He was my best friend, Geoff. My best friend," I croaked, looking up at him. Geoff nodded, petting back my hair so he could calm down.
"I know, he was my friend too," Geoff said.
I got up about a minute after. I approached Ray and crouched over him. I felt terrible for what I was about to do since he was my friend and not some random civilian but I needed to do it for the group. I removed any weapons he had on him, which included two knives. I noticed one had blood stains on it and I wondered if he used that to kill himself.
Once I removed every salvageable item from him, I looked down at him, kissed his cheek gently in a friendly gesture and closed his eyes for good. He looked peaceful, like he was sleeping.
But he wasn't sleeping. He was far from sleeping.
"What do we do with him?" I asked Geoff. Geoff looked down at him and sighed.
"I guess we could bury him. I wouldn't feel right leaving him out here," Geoff told him, crouching down next to him.
"Same here," Was all I said.
I lifted Ray into my arms gently. He flopped limply in my arms and I noticed that despite his skinniness, he was pretty heavy. I figured it was because he was dead and couldn't regulate his weight anymore.
I carried him the entire way back to camp. I didn't care if his blood was beginning to soak into my clothes. I didn't care if the smell of death was going to be clinging to me for days. I didn't care if my arms were beginning to cramp. I carried him the entire way back, feeling as though I was doing a deed to him.
When we made it back, Geoff quickly ran inside and told everyone about Ray. Everyone gathered outside and watched me as I gently laid Ray on the ground while the guys began digging a hole for him.
Many people were crying. In fact, everyone was. I tried to stay strong for the group. Besides, I had cried enough.
Once the hole was done, I jumped down inside it while the guys lowered Ray's body down to me. I held him gently in my arms before crouching down and laying him gently into the hole.
Everyone came around and threw a handful of dirt onto Ray's body, saying something about him or to him. When everyone had gone around, Jack, Ryan, Geoff, and I began filling the hole back up again, sobbing loudly into the early morning over the loss of our dead Achievement Hunter and friend.
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So, my original idea was to give Ray a happy ending where his life was spared... But then I was like, fuck it, nobody's died yet. So yeah, sorry guys!
I really hope you guys are enjoying. I hope that this can give me some future ideas because I've kinda ran into some writers block with this. (Also, if anyone had any ideas out there that you're willing to share for this, I'd be grateful! I'll give you credit of course.)
Thanks for reading!