Can I just say, "Holy moly!" This story, ever since I started updating it more often, it's been getting more and more votes. I'd be at school and checking my phone when "BLING", another vote pops up in my notifications! Thank you guys so much! It really does mean a lot to me! Now, without further to do, a new chapter!

The voice was a teenage girl's. Sure, her voice wasn't like my sister's sweet and gentle voice, but, it was definitely one-of-a-kind. It sounded as rough as sandpaper, however, that didn't mean her voice wasn't gentle. I heard the sympathy in the way she talked. Up above me, relaxing her body and leaning on the edge of the bridge, was a tall, thin teen. She had long, shoulder-length, bright, purple-dyed hair that was up in a perfect ponytail and bangs that fell in her face. She wore a grey beanie and a regular black sweater over her dirty white spaghetti-strapped shirt. She had on ripped, dark skinny jeans and black, knee-high converse boots with white laces. I would be lying if I said she wasn't pretty.

Despite the fact I hadn't seen another survivor in a few days, I had no interest in talking to her. "Leave me alone...please?" I said, rubbing my nose and sniffling back tears.

For a couple of seconds, she stayed quiet. Then, she said, "I get it. That was me when I lost my family. My mom and step dad, actually. But, the point is...you can't just shut the whole world out, kid."

"I just don't trust anyone. For all I know, you could just want to kill me or something."

"But, when you do, you miss the chance of meeting other people - good people who won't want to kill you. Look, I know it seems tough right now, but, you're only making it harder on yourself by doing what you're doing."

I rubbed my arm and stared down at the ground where the zombie I had just slaughtered lay. Finally, I answered her back. I raised my voice, so she could hear me from where she stood. "You know a lot for just a teenager. What's your name, anyway?"

"My name's Piper. What's your's?"

"Dipper." That's when I realized what she had said before. "Hey, how did you know I lost my family?"

She huffed a laugh. "C'mon, man! Everyone here has lost someone close to them. I know how you feel. I felt what you're going through, too. Why don't you come up here so I don't have to keep shouting to answer you?"

At first, I hesitated. Then, she spoke up again. "What are you scared of? I just want your stuff and to shoot you." Piper cracked up and then, reassured me. "Seriously, though. I'm not gonna bite. Come on up. I'll give you a ride to the nearest exit."

"Ride?"

"Yeah. My old car still works. She's just a bit scratched up and broke, but, she's a fighter. Runs just fine." She pulled out her car keys and flashed them to me. "What do ya' say, Dipper?"

With that, I put my faith in Piper. She told me I had no good reason to not trust her. She drove me into town, while I told her what happened earlier. I sat next to her in the passenger's seat and looked out the window. To get around, Piper had to drive off the road to dodge other vehicles. As she drove, I told my story. "That night, she told me she was bitten and left to keep me safe from her. That's when I found you."

"Damn." She mumbled. "That's harsh. I don't know what to say. I'm sorry, Dip."

Her instant nickname for me gave me shivers. Mabel used to call me Dip. Not anyone else. Only Mabel was allowed to call me Dip. "Dipper." I corrected her. "It's just Dipper." The way she said it so casually, like we have been close friends for our whole lives gave me an unsettling feeling in my gut.

"Oh, right. Sorry - again." At moments when the cars stopped blocking the road, Piper would get back on it. Every time, they started again, she would turn off the road. The silence only settled for a few seconds before she decided to begin the small talk a second time. "What kind of name is Dipper, anyway?"

I cleared my throat, before I answered. "Piper?" I snickered.

"Touché." She chuckled back. "So, is there a reason for your name?"

"Uh, actually, it's a birthmark I have." I took off my hat and lifted the bangs of hair to reveal my Big Dipper birthmark that was plastered on my forehead. "I started hiding it after people made fun of it all the time."

She took a second and glanced over at me to see it for herself, then, quickly turned her eyes to the road. A smile grew on her face. Then, she unexpectedly changed the topic on me. "I must say, kid. You got some guts sleeping outside. I'd like to think that you made it this far without doing something as dumb as that."

"Oh, yeah. I guess that was pretty stupid on my part." I said. I looked out my side window and saw a sign that read "Welcome to Oregon."

"What the?" I said, lifting my head off of my hand that supported it. "Oregon? But - that can't be possible!" I tried to turn my head to look behind me at the sign as we passed it. We couldn't be in Oregon! It was too far away from where Mabel and I use to live.

"Why is that?" Piper asked.

"That's crazy! My sister and I, we live back in California! We live in Piedmont!" I let out a small hysterical laugh before going on. "I can't believe we've been walking away so far from home!"

"Piedmont?" Piper repeated as if she had never heard of such a place in her entire life. She made a face as she kept her eyes on the now-free-from-cars road. She continued to repeat the name as if trying to recall if she had ever heard it. Finally, she said, "Nope. Doesn't ring any bells."

I sighed. "It's close to San Francisco."

"What?! Man, you're a long way from home, huh?"

"Yeah." I muttered. "Guess so."

All of a sudden, the car's engine failed. It slowed to a stop and Piper gave an irritated moan. "That's just great." She complained. Quickly changing the subject, she said, "I'll be right back." She took out the keys and tossed them at me, at which I reacted by fumbling to catch them.

"Where are you going?" I questioned her.

She leaned her arm over the top of the car and poked her head inside the car. She kept her other arm draped over her open driver's seat door. She managed to look relaxed and comfortable as she did so. "I'm gonna go check under the hood. When I tell you to, I need you to restart the car."

I awkwardly nodded like an idiot and slid over to the driver's seat, waiting for her instructions. I watched her lift the red-painted hood of the front of the car and peek inside. After some minutes of sitting, I asked, "Hey, uh, is everything okay?"

"I don't see a problem. Dipper, can you try the key now?"

I did as she had requested and put the key into the slot and twisted it to the right. The car let out a groan of life, only to be silenced again.

"One more time, please?" I heard her raised voice say over the sound of the engine. Once again, I turned the key in the ignition with no such luck. At last, Piper came back to talk to me. "Well, looks like we're stuck here for the long run." She said. "The battery is dead. We have to stay here for a while and steal some battery power from the other cars."

Keeping her actions cool and casual, she began to go to the trunk of her car to grab battery connectors. As she made her way back to the front, I just had to ask her, "How do you know so much about cars?"

"Oh, my step-dad used to be a car salesman. He used to teach me everything when it came to cars. He taught me how to change a flat tire, recharge a battery, and even hotwire a car. Thanks to him, I realized I wanted to work with cars for a living. I was pretty close to getting out of high school and graduating, too. But," She looked up at sky and let out a breathy, yet, short sigh. "The world apparently had plans for me, as well. I mean, who would have guessed we'd all be fighting for our lives one day?"

"Heh, yeah." I lamely exclaimed in awe. Piper surprisingly was very smart. It almost seemed as if she was fine with accepting this dreadful, devastating, zombie apocalypse. I tried to say something that would make me sound at her level, however, all that came out was, "My dad used to work with computers." A slight smile came across my face and left just as fast as it appeared. "He's...gone now." I wasn't planning on telling her anymore about my past life. It was in the past, afterall. It's been done and there is nothing I can do to make it better.

I couldn't stop the flood of guilt from washing over me, so I let it come. I squeezed my eyes tight shut and felt a little blush bloom on my cheeks. Of course, I did feel responsible for killing my own parents, but, I did it out of self-defense. Self-defense or not, unfortunately, I was still going to have this guilt that creeped up on me from time to time. Gosh, if only they were still with me. I wouldn't have to deal with being lost in another state right now, or even the loss of my twin sister who was infected.

Getting deep in thought, I noticed Piper had been staring at me. When I looked up at her, she stared at the ground to avoid eye contact. She went back to working without saying anything. I knew she understood me, but didn't know what to say. I found myself slowly progressing back inside the car while Piper proceeded to do her thing. With a car that was conveniently close, she connected its battery to her own. After that, she came back into the car and settled in. She adjusted her beanie, so it didn't fall off her head and rested the back of her head on her hands. She closed her eyes, too.

"What now?" I asked.

"Now," She breathed with exhaustion. "We just wait."