Search - Chapter One

Ariana

This whole situation must've really exhausted me, because I fall asleep again. When I wake up, we're only a few miles from the outskirts of Pittsburgh. "What happened to checking a few towns over?" I ask, stretching.

"We already did," answers Tyler. "You slept through everything."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I say, a little angry. He just shrugs. "So did you find anyone else?"

He nods. "Turn around." I do, and see a black Dodge following behind us. "There's a couple in there."

I look back at him. "You don't know anything about them?"

"Not much, but they're trying to survive just like us. That's all I need to know."

Those words will stay with me for a surprising amount of time. They make so much sense, yet I can't see why they don't fit together.

I force myself to think about something else. Drew's been awfully quiet. I peek into the passenger seat and see that he's fast asleep. "Did he wake up when you stopped?"

Tyler shakes his head. "He hasn't woken up for a couple of hours. It doesn't really make a difference though; we're all gonna need the rest when we get to Pittsburgh."

"You look like you could use some rest, too. Need me to drive?"

He rubs his eye with one hand, the other placed carefully on the steering wheel. "Yeah, if you don't mind. You don't have to be too careful until you get onto the highway. Most cars won't travel these back roads." Slowly he pulls over to the side of the road and we switch places. "Are you sure you're good to drive?"

"Yeah. I just haven't done it in a while. I'll get the hang of it, though." I smile. "When do you want me to wake you up?"

He peers up at the clock on the car radio. "Eight. Or when you get to somewhere safe enough. Whichever comes first." His expression quickly changes, and he reaches into his belt. "Here," he says, handing me a gun. "Just in case. We don't know if whatever was back there is going to be here too."

I set the gun in between Drew and me, and look back at Tyler. "Thanks. I'll try not to be too much of a reckless driver," I joke.

He chuckles, lying his head on the backseat. "Be careful, sweetheart," he says softly before falling asleep.

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After about two hours of driving and no sign of anything dangerous, I decide to pull over near a large hotel. We could probably afford a room for a few nights, until we decide where we're going. I turn around and gently shake Tyler until he wakes. "Hey," I whisper. "I think we're safe. We're at a hotel. Do you think it's a good idea to stay here for a couple of nights?"

He yawns, sits up, and blinks a few times. "Yeah, I think we'll be okay. I'll fill Drew in on everything. Can you go tell the others?"

I look through the back window to make sure they're still there. "Sure." I get out of the car and start walking toward them. They slowly roll down their window. "Hi, I'm Ariana," I begin.

"I'm James, and this is my wife Christina," says the man in the driver's seat. "Are we stopping here?"

"Yeah, that was actually why I came back here. I haven't seen anyone or anything dangerous since I started driving, so I'm guessing it's safe to spend the night here. We could all share a room to save money, if that's okay with you."

Christina smiles. "Yes, thank you. We'll be there in a few minutes."

As I start back to the car to tell Drew and Tyler, a high-pitched scream echoes behind me. I turn around to see a few of the monsters from earlier nibbling on the arm of a young girl. I turn back and start sprinting toward the car, knocking on the windows. "Drew! Tyler!"

Tyler stumbles out of the backseat, the gun from earlier in his hand. He points it at them and shoots several times. I grab Drew's hand and hurry into the hotel, Christina and James following just behind us. We watch nervously as Tyler kills them, one by one. As the creatures lie dead on the asphalt, he lowers the gun and starts breathing heavily. "Stay here," I instruct them, leaving the hotel corridors to comfort him. "Tyler," I sigh. "It's okay. Let's just go inside and forget about this. We're going to be okay."

It takes him a while, but eventually he nods and answers me. "Yeah. Okay," he says calmly. "Yeah. Let's go inside."

James is talking to the frightened-looking woman behind the counter, Christina is fidgeting in a chair, and Drew is pacing across the lobby. "Drew," Tyler says in a somewhat strict voice. "Calm down. We're okay."

Drew stops, takes a deep breath, and nods. "Okay. Can we just get to our room? I don't feel comfortable here."

James returns from the desk, handing each of us a card to get into the room. "In case we get split up," he explains. "Our room has two double beds, so one of us will have to sleep on the pullout couch. Breakfast is free every morning, so we won't have to spend more money to go out to eat. There's also a pool, courtyard, exercise room, and all the stuff most hotels have. Anything else, we can ask that lady." He jerks his thumb toward the woman he was talking to. "Ready to get to the room?"