Ascension

'RV park up on the left!' Stewart said.

'I see it, do we stop there or go on further? I think the town is still ahead of us.'

'Stop here! We might be able to get a truck and crash in a camper trailer.'

'Stewart, why on earth would you prefer a camper over a house?' asked Max.

'Well, we could pull it with us.'

'No!' both men answered at once. They spoke loud enough to wake Javier and Ruben in the back seat.

'What?' grumbled Ruben, whose gun had thrust out the window as he shook off sleep.

'We are stopping.' Answered Bill.

Ruben glanced at the sign as they pulled into the park, 'At an RV park?'

No one said anything, they all just watched as the headlights of the truck illuminated the park as they drove in.

'Kinda sparse.' Max said.

'No shit. It's summer, why isn't the place full?' asked Stewart, 'Pull up to that building there.'

'The shitter?' asked Bill.

'Yeah, there is a fifth wheel and camper there and we can use the facilities. My bladder is about to burst.'

'Fine. Max? Any zombies around?'

Max took a moment and said, 'No. It looks empty. That is weird. I thought the place would be crawling….'

Bill pulled into the empty slot beside the bathrooms and the light from the truck showed them that the door to the camper was open. A long dark streak of brown stained the side of the trailer, starting at the door and ending near the front, where the large pickup was parked.

'They've been here at least. Everyone keep your eyes peeled, just in case.' Bill said.

Max shook his head, but didn't say anything, knowing the place was empty of both humans and zombies.

They piled out of the truck and checked the bathroom. There was a light switch by the door and Max tried it, nothing happened. He hadn't expected there to be power, none of the lights were on in this part of the country now.

Everyone had flashlights ready, both to mount on their guns and portable lights as well. All of them had opted to turn their gun lights on and searched by waving the barrels around.

'Whoever came up with gun lights was a genius.' Max said as he verified that the men's room was empty.

'Yeah, yeah, but I think night vision equipment would be better. It wouldn't be as noticeable from a distance. So try not to keep waving your gun around.' Ruben said pushing past Max to get into a stall. 'And find me some paper for the shitter, this stall is empty.'

'Yes sir!' Max said.

'Don't call me 'sir' idjit!' the old man said with some warmth.

'Yeah, I know, you work for a living.'

'The oldest cliches are the best. Anyway, I'm retired.'

Max broke into a locked storage closet that was situated between the ladies and men's restrooms. Inside he found several cases of toilet paper.

'Who needs toilet paper?' he called out as he went inside the bathroom again.

Stewart had opted to use the men's room and came out of her stall and looked towards the showers. 'I don't feel dirty enough yet to need a shower. Definitely not dirty enough for a cold shower in the dark.'

'Suit yourself.' Max said, washing his face with the cold water from the sink.

'Let's go check the camper, see if we can use it.' Bill said to them after everyone had finished. 'Javier, you and Max each take an end of the trailer. Ruben I want you to keep an eye on our truck and watch our backs. Stewart you get the job of going inside and seeing how bad it is. I will check the truck in front and see if I can find keys.'

Everyone split up and headed to their positions, with Stewart pausing by the open door of the camper.

'Empty, right Max?'

'Empty.' He confirmed.

Easing inside the open doorway, Stewart turned on her flashlight and shielded the lens partly with one hand to keep the light dim. The kitchen was in disarray, there were bowls and open boxes of food strewn on every part of the floor. The bloody streak from outside began at the doorway and did not lead inside. There were only two ways to proceed, toward the main bedroom or down the galley where there was a door set between a table and a built in bench seat. Stewart opted for the bedroom frist.

The queen sized bed filled the room almost to capacity and the small shower and toilet area attached to it was empty and looked untouched. The covers and sheets on the bed were ruffled, as if someone had been sleeping there only moments before. Cautiously Stewart put her hand down on the bed, it was cold. Feeling along it further she could not detect any warmth. Breathing a quick sigh of relief she gave the room a cursory glance and spotted a key ring hanging from a coat rack, along with a heavy black leather belt.

Stewart grabbed the keys and turned to check the back end of the camper. It ended in a doorway, just beyond the kitchen table. The floor creaked as she moved along it and just as she was about to twist open the door handle, she heard Bill whisper to her form the doorway.

'Stewart? Anything?'

Straightening, Stewart said, 'Clear so far, I'm going to check the back, it looks like there is another room here.' She turned the knob and pulled the door open. The room beyond was filled with boxes and equipment. Almost buried under the detritus was a motorcycle with knobby tires. Stewart poked around among the boxes, to make sure nothing was hiding behind them, and didn't find any zombies.

'All clear here Bill. The only blood is at the entrance there.' She walked towards him and held out her hand, 'And I found the keys, I bet they go to the truck out front.'

Bill took the keys, 'A good bet. Whoever owned this rig had a key saver under the bumper too.' Bill held up a small rectangular box with one hand, he slid it open to reveal a key, which he matched up to one on the key ring.

'So do we hide out here until the morning?'

Bill nodded, 'Yeah, I'll go get the others and then we'll set a watch. I want two people up at all times.'

'We need two of Max.' Stewart muttered.

'That would be nice, yeah. So…I spoke to Trish before we left.' Bill said, mentioning his wife.

'Yeah?'

'She said, well, she said you and Max were involved.'

'It's complicated.'

'He's like a brother to me. I don't want him to get hurt.' Bill said.

'Are you shitting me? Is now the best time for this?'

'It's the first time I've been able to bring it up. I'll leave your personal stuff to you and him. I just want to know if you're fine for this….' Bill waved his hand around.

'This? You mean this mission?' Stewart started laughing.

'Well, yeah.'

Still laughing, she said, 'A little goddamn late now, isn't it? I mean, unless you are planning to leave me here or something?'

Bill turned his head sideways and looked at her in the dark for a moment, then let out a soft laugh of his own, 'I hadn't thought of it that way.'

'I mean what would you have done if I had said, 'no'?'

'I didn't think you would.'

'Then why ask?'

Frustration crept into Bill's voice, 'I don't know. I just feel responsible somehow…'

'How is that possible?'

'No, I mean as your officer and all.'

'Oh. Now I get it. No fraternization among squad mates.'