Free Web NovelChapter 155: Chapter 155 - Leaving Whitewater
Iyisha stood a few feet from the Land Rover, arms folded tight across her chest as she watched Marybeth sit inside. She just stared ahead. Face empty. Shoulders stiff.
Iyisha swallowed and looked away.
Malcolm stood near the corner of the building with Waldo. A map was spread between them over the hood of another vehicle. Malcolm’s head was bent slightly, listening. Waldo talked with one hand moving over the paper.
She bit her lip, then walked toward them.
Waldo looked up mid sentence when he saw her. His eyes shifted briefly to Malcolm before returning to the map.
"This is legit," Waldo said, tapping the paper.
Iyisha stepped closer and looked down. It was the same map they had taken from Rick. The creases were deeper now. Dirt smudges lined the edges.
"So we’re safe?" she asked.
Malcolm nodded once.
He pressed a finger along a red line drawn across the page. The paper crumpled under the pressure and Iyisha quickly flattened it with her hand. He shifted and pointed to a red mark near the top.
"Justin mentioned that it’s safer going up through northern Ohio," he said. "Near Lake Erie."
He stopped when he saw the confusion on her face.
"Justin. He’s from Ohio," he added.
She nodded.
"He says Lake Erie’s the safer route," Waldo continued. "There are hunters around Lima, Columbus, and Mansfield."
Iyisha looked at the map. All those cities were marked in red.
"There are hunters here?" she asked. "I thought those are small numbers."
Malcolm nodded once.
"Hey, Justin," Waldo called out.
A man in a lumberjack jacket walked over. Bald head. Thick beard. Solid build.
"You’re the ones crossing into Ohio?" Justin asked.
They nodded.
"Travel near the lake," he said. "Or you’ll be overrun before you know it. Hunters will go for your car first."
Iyisha’s stomach tightened. She had never seen one up close, but she remembered what they had done to Malcolm’s team when they went to check the power lines.
Malcolm studied him. "Are most people using that route?"
Justin nodded. "You’ll see cars. Everyone’s moving fast if they’re smart."
"There are walkers and twitchers up north," he continued, "and bloaters."
Iyisha frowned. "Bloaters?"
Justin blinked, realizing.
"You haven’t seen one." He shook his head. "They look like a blob of flesh. Big. Swollen. Nasty." He made a face and spat on the ground. "Walkers and twitchers don’t go near them. They kind of clump together. Like meat piles."
Iyisha felt her stomach turn.
"But they’re safer," Justin said. "They don’t move. If you need to hide, stay near them."
She looked at Malcolm.
He watched Justin without reacting.
"Ohio is overrun," Justin added. "Move fast past it if you can. If you can’t, stick near the blobs. You’ll want to throw up, but you’ll be safe. Good luck."
He walked away.
"Bloaters," Iyisha repeated quietly.
Waldo nodded. "I’ve heard about them. Never seen one. Some say there are sightings in Tennessee too. Might have something to do with nuclear waste."
He lifted a shoulder slightly. No more explanation.
Iyisha looked back at the red line cutting through Ohio.
Then at Malcolm.
The route suddenly felt longer than it had a minute ago.
Malcolm took the map from the hood and folded it cleanly, pressing the creases flat before sliding it into his jacket.
Waldo stepped back and leaned into the open window of a nearby car, watching the guards move along the perimeter. Rifles slung. Eyes alert.
"So this is goodbye," Iyisha said.
She forced a small smile.
Waldo nodded once.
"I’m staying," he said. "Waiting for Lauren."
"You’re a boss now, huh?" she teased.
He huffed a quiet laugh.
"I leave because of Lauren," he said, glancing around at the secured buildings, the armed men, the stacked supplies. "But also this. It’s too heavy."
Iyisha nodded slowly.
She didn’t know what it felt like to lead something like this, to make decisions that decided who ate and who died, but she could imagine the weight pressing down every day.
"Thank you," she said. "For the things."
He shook his head lightly.
"We should be thanking you," he replied, looking at her and then at Malcolm.
He hesitated. "Marybeth is going with you?"
Iyisha looked back at the Land Rover.
"Yeah," Iyisha answered. "She says she’ll go crazy staying here. Wandering has always been her thing."
"Is she okay?" Waldo asked.
Iyisha watched the way Marybeth hadn’t moved since they parked.
"She’ll be better," she said.
Malcolm stepped closer to her.
"We need to go," he said.
Iyisha nodded and looked back at Waldo.
"We’re going then."
"Stay safe," he said.
Malcolm moved toward the Land Rover. Iyisha followed. She opened the passenger door and climbed in.
The engine started.
The gates began to open.
Malcolm drove them out through the Whitewater checkpoint without slowing more than necessary. The guards waved them through after a quick look inside. The gates slid shut behind them.
The road ahead was clear. No walkers. No twitchers. Just empty asphalt stretching forward.
Iyisha watched the rearview mirror until the compound disappeared from sight. She pressed her lips together and faced forward.
"They fill the tank," she said after a moment. "Maybe we can go straight to New York."
She said it lightly.
Malcolm glanced at her from the driver’s seat.
"If you don’t get into trouble," he replied.
She stiffened.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied his face. Then she caught the edge in his tone.
"Were you joking?" she asked.
He looked at her again.
A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth.
She sank deeper into the passenger seat, turning her face forward so he couldn’t see the heat climbing up her neck.
That smirk.
It was small. Almost playful.
And it made her heart beat harder than it should.
"Stop that," she muttered.
"What?" Malcolm asked, eyes still on the road.
"Nothing." She turned her face forward, watching the empty stretch of highway ahead.
She reached for the folded map from the dashboard and opened it across her lap. The paper crackled. Her finger traced the red line again, following it north.
"We still need to rest at night," she said.
Malcolm nodded.
"We won’t cross Ohio in a day," he replied.
She nodded back, eyes scanning the marked cities.
"Maybe we can check those blobs," she said, trying to picture them. Large. Swollen. Motionless.
He didn’t answer right away.
The engine hummed steadily beneath them. The road rolled past in long gray lines.
She glanced at him briefly, then looked away again.
Part of her felt a quiet pull at the thought of days on the road with him. More hours in the same space.
More time with him.
Her jaw tightened.
Looking forward to reaching New York, she corrected herself.
That was the goal.
New York.
And find her sister, Cena.
