Crossing Ennis

"You didn't need to ask me at all, man!"

Eugene gritted his teeth as he replied to Gavin's question.

"Are you kidding? Of course it's worth asking. I heard a long time ago that someone had bought up a huge stretch of land near Chambers Reservoir, but the word I got was that the owner was named George!"

"Yeah, that's right. My dad's name is George."

Gavin nodded, then shoveled another bite of food into his mouth.

Watching Gavin tuck into his meal with such focus, Eugene took a deep breath and clapped his hands hard.

Clap!

He let out an excited growl.

"Nicely done, man! So you're actually one of the top five ranchers in Texas. I can't fucking wait to get to your place. Damn rich guy!"

As he spoke, Eugene turned to William and rapped his knuckles against his plate.

"William, hurry the fuck up and eat. Once you're done, we're hitting the road. I can't wait to get to the ranch and grab some cow tits!"

"Hey, Eugene, can you fucking watch your language? There's a kid here!"

Madison raised his beer and cursed at him.

Eugene lifted an eyebrow and shot back with a grin.

"Then can you stop saying 'fuck' yourself, man?"

After trading a few jabs, the two of them turned back to their food in unspoken agreement.

The scene fell silent in an instant.

Nothing could lift people's spirits more than a future worth looking forward to.

Even the mustachioed dictator, for all his skill as an orator, had been most inspiring when he promised everyone bread and milk and vowed to make Germany great again.

Now, everyone remained quiet but ate with gusto. Even Winnie had stuffed her cheeks like a hamster.

Gavin smiled around a mouthful of beef and quickly shoved in the last bite.

He set down his empty plate and walked off alone, crouching by the lake to scoop up some water and splash his face.

Watching Gavin's back, Madison ate faster and soon polished off his plate. Then he went over to Gavin.

As he washed his hands, Madison asked, "Will traveling with three vehicles slow us down? Eugene and the others' old Ford isn't much use, really."

"If we run into a horde of zombies, the Tyrannosaurus and the RV have enough power to break through. But the old Ford..."

Madison glanced back at the old car and shook his head.

"I'm worried it'll break down after just a few miles."

"Yeah, you're right. The old Ford's no use. Tell Eugene to ride in the RV."

Gavin wiped the water from his face and nodded. Madison went straight to Eugene, and the two of them had an animated discussion.

By the time Gavin left the lakeside and leaned against the Tyrannosaurus to smoke, Eugene and William were already unloading their belongings from the old Ford.

As he carried his junk into the RV's storage compartment, Eugene grumbled to William, "I had this old car before I joined the army. If I'd had the money, I'd have replaced it ages ago."

"But things are different now, haha. Do you even need money to buy a car anymore? I'll just steal a Lamborghini when we get the chance!"

"Hm?"

Gavin tapped the ash from his cigarette and asked casually, "Eugene, you know how to steal cars?"

Madison heard him and couldn't help looking over at Eugene, too.

Under their interested gazes, Eugene frowned and asked irritably, "What? It's the end of the world, and you're still worried about whether what I'm doing is legal? Are you guys some kind of justice league?"

"Justice league, my ass. I just think you're finally useful for something. You can steal cars? That's great. Really great, haha!"

Madison slung an arm around Eugene's shoulders and gave him a cheerful thumbs-up.

At six foot nine, he completely dwarfed Eugene, who was around five foot nine.

In the distance, Winnie was folding up the picnic blanket. She saw them and couldn't help giggling.

On the open grass, a child's laughter rang out especially clearly, making Madison and Eugene laugh along with her.

When they'd finished laughing, Madison patted Eugene on the shoulder and said, "Hurry up and move your stuff. I'll check the RV's water supply."

"Sure, you do your thing and I'll do mine. We're the ones stuck doing all the work, unlike a certain quarterback~"

Eugene teased him, then held out his right hand toward Gavin.

"Gavin," he said with a sheepish grin.

"Can I get a cigarette?"

"Not a chance."

Gavin said no, but he went over to the Tyrannosaurus's bed, grabbed a carton of cigarettes, and tossed it to Eugene.

At least during the early days of the apocalypse, especially in its first few years, cigarettes wouldn't be in short supply. They weren't worth much at all.

But when Eugene caught the full carton, he held it high and proclaimed dramatically, "Look at this! A whole fucking carton of cigarettes. If it were a year from now, I might be able to trade this for ten women!"

"Ha! Ten? You'd be exhausted, man!"

Gavin teased him, then tossed his cigarette butt to the ground and stamped it out.

Leaning against the Tyrannosaurus, he continued, "Quit fooling around and get your stuff moved. We leave in five minutes at the latest!"

"For a carton like this, I'll do whatever you say, sir!"

Eugene gave a comical salute and got back to work. He didn't have much in his car, so he was done in just two and a half minutes.

Once he'd made sure everyone was ready to go, Gavin took a deep breath, climbed into the Tyrannosaurus, and started the engine.

The RV followed close behind as they left the clearing and joined the main road, heading straight for Ennis.

As he drove, Gavin rolled down the window and lit another cigarette.

He'd barely exhaled a puff of smoke when he shook his head.

He was smoking a little too often.

But so what? He took another long drag, savoring the taste of the tobacco, and slouched back in his seat with one hand on the steering wheel.

After driving at a leisurely pace for five minutes, Gavin straightened up and took out the map to study it carefully.

This time, he wasn't looking at Ennis Town but at Coskana, more than forty kilometers away.

Ennis Town looked fairly large, with its built-up area stretching for nearly two kilometers along Highway 45.

But in reality, the buildings in Ennis Town were spread out, and its population wasn't especially large. Besides, there was a side road that bypassed the town.

Even if Winnie hadn't drawn a large horde of zombies out of the town by flooring the RV's accelerator, getting through wouldn't have been too difficult.

Coskana, however, was a completely different story.

How many highways and railway lines ran through Ennis Town?

One of each.

And Coskana?

Four railway lines and six highways converged there, making it one of the top three transportation hubs south of Dallas.

Gavin hadn't learned much about the small city before the apocalypse. But just considering its role as a transportation hub, its population couldn't possibly be under a hundred thousand.

As for its built-up area—that is, the dangerous zone in Gavin's eyes—

Well, it was definitely more than five times larger than Ennis.

All in all, Coskana was nowhere near as large as Texas's three giants—Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

But Gavin knew it was more than capable of causing his group plenty of trouble.

He studied the map intently, continually thinking through the various emergencies they might face and trying to work out solutions.

After several dozen minutes of brainstorming, Gavin put the map down and gradually slowed the vehicle.

He'd spotted the junction outside Ennis Town!

When he saw the Tyrannosaurus slow down, Eugene sprang up from the RV's sofa and went to the front with William to look toward Ennis Town.

Madison took out his phone, called Gavin, and put him on speaker.

A moment later, the call connected, and Gavin's calm voice came through clearly.

"Stay close behind me. We'll turn onto the side road directly. The main built-up area of Ennis Town is at least two hundred meters from the junction. As long as we keep up our speed, we won't have to worry about the zombies."

With that, Gavin hung up and suddenly accelerated.

With its engine roaring, the Tyrannosaurus pulled the RV along, and they passed through Ennis without a hitch.

As they left Ennis behind, Gavin saw a few dozen scattered zombies rush out from the edge of town and charge toward the side road.

After confirming that they hadn't stirred up any more zombies, he licked his lips and fixed his gaze on the road ahead.