Crossing Ennis

"You didn't even need to ask me that, man!"

Gavin had barely finished his question before Eugene gritted his teeth and spoke to him.

"Are you kidding me? How could it not be worth it? I heard a long time ago that a huge tract of land near Chambers Reservoir had been bought by someone, but the word I got was that the owner's name was George!"

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

Gavin nodded, then shoveled a mouthful of food into his mouth.

Watching Gavin eat with such focus, Eugene took a deep breath and gave a heavy slap to the table.

Smack!

He let out an excited, low growl.

"Nice work, man! To think you're actually one of the top five biggest ranch owners in Texas. I'm so damn excited to get to your place—you damn rich guy!"

As he finished speaking, Eugene turned to William and gave his plate a heavy knock.

"William, eat your damn food! Once you're done, we're hitting the road. I can't wait to get to that ranch and milk some cows!"

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

Madison raised his beer and cursed.

Hearing this, Eugene raised an eyebrow and retorted with a smirk.

"Then can you drop the 'f-bomb' from your own vocabulary first, man?"

After a few more jabs at each other, they both fell into a silent rhythm of eating.

The scene instantly quieted down.

There is nothing more inspiring than a future worth looking forward to.

Even for a speaker on the level of that guy with the mustache, his most inspiring points were always the promises of putting bread and milk on everyone's table and leading the nation back to greatness.

At this moment, seeing that everyone remained silent but ate with great vigor—even Winnie had stuffed her cheeks until she looked like a hamster—Gavin bit into his beef and smiled, quickly finishing the last bite.

He set down his empty tray and walked off alone toward the lake, where he crouched down and splashed some lake water on his face.

Watching Gavin's retreating figure, Madison sped up his eating, quickly clearing his tray before joining him by the water.

As he washed his hands, Madison asked, "Will taking three vehicles be too sluggish? Eugene and the others' Old Ford is basically useless."

"If we run into a horde of zombies, the Tyrannosaurus and the RV might have the horsepower to punch through, but the Old Ford..."

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

"I'm worried it'll break down before it even gets going."

"Yeah, you're right. The Old Ford is pretty useless. Tell Eugene to move to the RV."

Gavin wiped the water from his face and nodded at Madison. Madison immediately went to find Eugene, and the two had a heated discussion for a moment.

By the time Gavin left the lakeshore and leaned against the Tyrannosaurus to smoke, Eugene and William were already clearing their things out of the Old Ford.

As he hauled his junk into the RV's storage compartment, Eugene grumbled to William, "I had this old car before I even joined the army. If I hadn't been broke, I would've replaced it a long time ago."

"But it's all good now, haha! Who needs money to buy a car anymore? Later, I'm just going to steal a Lamborghini and take it for a spin!"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Gavin flicked his cigarette ash and asked casually, "Eugene, you know how to hotwire cars?"

Noticing Gavin's comment, Madison couldn't help but look over at Eugene.

Facing their intrigued gazes, Eugene frowned and asked irritably, "What? It's the apocalypse and you're worried about whether I'm breaking the law? Are you guys some kind of justice warriors?"

"Screw justice warriors. I just think you're finally useful for something. Knowing how to steal cars is great—it's really great, haha!"

Madison threw an arm around Eugene's shoulder and gave him a beaming thumbs-up.

His six-foot-nine frame instantly loomed over Eugene, who stood around five-foot-nine.

In the distance, Winnie, who was folding a picnic blanket, saw the scene and couldn't help but laugh.

Across the open grass, the child's laughter rang out clearly, making both Madison and Eugene chuckle along.

After the laughter died down, Madison patted Eugene on the shoulder and said, "Hurry up and move your stuff. I'm going to check the water levels in the RV."

"Yeah, you do your thing, I'll do mine. We're all just laborers, unlike some Quarterback over there~"

Eugene teased, reaching out his right hand toward Gavin.

"Gavin."

He said with a sheepish grin.

"How about tossing me a cigarette?"

"Not a chance."

Despite saying that, Gavin went to the bed of the Tyrannosaurus, fished out a carton of cigarettes, and tossed it to Eugene.

At the very least, during the onset of the apocalypse—especially in those first few years—cigarettes were never in short supply and were essentially worthless.

Yet, after catching the carton, Eugene held it high and shouted with exaggerated flair.

"Look at this, for fuck's sake, a whole carton! If it were a year from now, this might just trade me ten broads!"

"Ha, ten? You'd be exhausted, buddy!"

Gavin teased, tossing his cigarette butt to the ground and crushing it under his boot.

Leaning against the Tyrannosaurus, he continued to Eugene.

"Quit the chatter and go load your gear. We have to move in five minutes, tops!"

"For the sake of this carton, I'm all yours, Officer!"

Eugene gave a comical salute before getting back to work. There wasn't much in his vehicle, so he was finished in just two and a half minutes.

Confirming everyone was ready, Gavin took a deep breath, climbed into the Tyrannosaurus, and started the engine.

The RV followed closely behind Gavin as they left the clearing, climbed onto the main road, and headed toward Ennis.

While driving, Gavin rolled down the window and lit another cigarette.

He couldn't help but shake his head after exhaling the first puff of smoke.

He was smoking a bit too frequently.

But so what? Taking another harsh drag, Gavin savored the taste of the tobacco, slumped his body back into the seat, and steered with one hand.

After driving for five minutes in this relaxed state, Gavin straightened up and pulled out a map with his right hand to examine it closely.

This time, he wasn't looking at Ennis Town, but at Coskana, which was over forty kilometers away.

Ennis Town didn't look small, with its urban area stretching nearly two kilometers along Highway 45.

In reality, however, the buildings in Ennis were spread out, the population wasn't very high, and there was even a bypass road that skirted the town.

Even if Winnie hadn't floored the RV and drawn out a massive horde of zombies, getting through there wouldn't have been too difficult.

But Coskana was a completely different story compared to Ennis!

How many highways and railway lines ran through Ennis Town?

Only one of each.

And Coskana?

It was a major transit hub with four railway lines and six highways intersecting there, easily ranking in the top three transit towns south of Dallas.

Although Gavin hadn't looked into that small city in detail before the apocalypse, just considering its status, the population couldn't be less than a hundred thousand.

As for the urban coverage—the danger zone in Gavin's eyes—how should he put it? It was definitely at least five times larger than Ennis!

All in all, while Coskana couldn't compare to the "Big Three" of Texas—Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio—Gavin knew it was more than capable of causing his team serious trouble.

Therefore, Gavin studied the map with intense focus, constantly weighing potential accidents in his mind and simulating solutions for each one.

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

He saw the turnoff outside Ennis Town!

Seeing the Tyrannosaurus decelerate, Eugene, who had been sitting on the RV sofa, stood up abruptly. He and William moved to the front of the vehicle to look toward Ennis Town in the distance.

Madison pulled out his phone, dialed Gavin's number, and put it on speaker.

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

"Follow me closely. We're turning onto the bypass. The main building district of Ennis is at least two hundred meters away from the turnoff. As long as we maintain our speed, we don't need to worry about the zombies."

With that, Gavin hung up and slammed on the accelerator.

With a roar from the engine, the Tyrannosaurus and the RV left Ennis without a ripple.

As they finally pulled away from Ennis, Gavin saw a few dozen scattered zombies rush out from the edge of the city, lunging toward the bypass.

Satisfied that he hadn't stirred up a larger horde, he licked his lips and set his sights on the road ahead.