Greg followed me. Of course he did.

  I would’ve ditched him, but Cire had given me that look—the one that basically screamed "If you murder him, I will be very disappointed in you." So, against my better judgment, I let him tag along.

  Did I trust him? Hell no. But I had to admit... he was useful.

  Greg knew the ndscape better than I did, which made him a half-decent guide. But there was one thing neither of them seemed to care about—transportation.

  "Look, I’m just saying," I started for the hundredth time as we trudged down a cracked highway, rain clouds looming overhead, "walking everywhere sucks. We need something with wheels."

  Cire rolled her eyes. "And gas. And working parts. And keys."

  Greg snorted. "Yeah, Nate, I’d love a nice sports car, too, but st I checked, the apocalypse doesn’t run on wishful thinking."

  I huffed, kicking a loose rock. "Fine. Let’s just keep walking until our feet fall off, then."

  We kept moving, the wind picking up as the sky grew darker. I knew a storm was rolling in before I even felt the first few drops.

  And that’s when we saw it—an RV lot on the side of the road, fenced off, rows of long-forgotten campers sitting there like a gold mine of untapped potential.

  I grinned. "Would you look at that? A miracle."

  Cire sighed. "We don’t have time for this, Nate."

  "Don’t we?" I gestured at the boiling sky. "Because I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not get fried by lightning today."

  She hesitated, gncing at Greg. He shrugged. "Could be worth checking out."

  That was all I needed.

  I was already moving toward the fence, climbing up and over before either of them could talk me out of it. I nded on the other side and gave them my best see? That wasn’t so hard look.

  Greg and Cire followed, and soon we were walking between the RVs, checking windows and doors. Most of them were busted, trashed by either time or looters.

  Then I saw it.

  A beauty of a Css C motorhome, still in decent shape, with sor panels mounted on the roof.

  I stopped dead in my tracks. "Oh, hell yes."

  Cire frowned. "What?"

  I walked up to the door, peering inside. "This one. This is it. The perfect ride."

  Greg scoffed. "Doubt it."

  "Would you just trust me for once?" I yanked on the handle, and—of course—it was locked. I knocked against the side. "Hello? Any undead freaks home?"

  Silence.

  Greg folded his arms. "You’re really going to waste time on this thing?"

  "Yes, I am. And you know why?" I turned to them with a smirk. "Because this bad boy has working air conditioning."

  Cire blinked. "What?"

  "Hot water, too," I added, savoring the way her expression shifted. "And it’s powered by sor, so we don’t have to hunt for gas every two miles."

  Cire looked at Greg. Greg looked at Cire.

  I knew I had them.

  "...Fine," Cire muttered. "If it’s actually got all that, we’ll take it."

  Greg grumbled something under his breath but didn’t argue.

  I grinned. "Great. Now let’s get in there."

  I pried open a side window, slipping in first. The inside was dusty but intact—beige seats, a small kitchenette, a bed in the back. My heart practically sang at the sight of it.

  Then I saw the movement.

  A shape lurched up from behind the table, a rotting face turning toward me, mouth hanging open in a silent, hungry gasp.

  "Ah, shit."

  The Norm—a regur, slow-ass zombie—stumbled forward, arms reaching.

  I didn’t give it the chance.

  With a flick of my wrist, my wrist-mounted crossbow locked into pce. I fired once, the bolt sinking straight between its milky eyes.

  It colpsed, twitching.

  Cire poked her head through the window. "You good?"

  "Yeah," I panted, stepping over the body. "Just had to evict the previous owner."

  Greg climbed in next, eyeing the sor panels through the skylight. "Damn... this thing actually might be worth it."

  I shot him a smug look. "Told you."

  Cire climbed in st, checking the cabinets. "If we’re doing this, we should secure the area first. We don’t want any surprises in the middle of the night."

  I nodded. "Agreed."

  Greg cracked his knuckles. "Then let’s make this pce ours."

  As the storm rumbled overhead, we set to work.

  The storm raged on outside as I stood under the RV's dim interior lights, hands on my hips, mentally blueprinting.

  "Alright," I said. "If we're gonna be living in this thing, it's gotta be fortified."

  Cire sat on the counter, cleaning a knife. "It's a vehicle, Nate, not a fortress."

  I pointed at her. "Not yet."

  Greg sat in the driver’s seat, fiddling with the old radio. "And how exactly do you pn on making this thing apocalypse-proof?"

  I turned, looking out the window at the graveyard of abandoned RVs around us.

  "We strip parts from the others."

  Cire raised an eyebrow. "You really think anything out there is still useful?"

  I smirked. "Only one way to find out."

  We spent hours looting the other vehicles, dodging the occasional stray Norm. I found:

  A metal grille from an old truck to reinforce the windshield.Thick rubber strips from a camper door to add protection to the RV’s tires.A retractable awning, because why not?And best of all... a working horn system I could rewire into a distraction trap.By the time we returned, drenched from the rain, we had enough parts to give this thing some real bite.

  "Alright, help me attach this," I said, hefting the grille up to the windshield.

  Cire held it steady while I bolted it in pce, making sure it was secure.

  Greg, surprisingly, helped without compining, reinforcing the door with metal pting.

  By the time we were done, the RV looked like a beast—sleek, armored, and ready to take on whatever nightmare this world threw at us.

  I leaned against it, grinning. "Now this... this is a home."

  Cire shook her head with a smirk. "You really love this thing, huh?"

  I patted the side. "Like a firstborn child."

  Greg rolled his eyes. "Alright, genius. What’s next?"

  I cracked my knuckles. "We get some rest. Because tomorrow? We take this baby for a spin."

  Cire sighed. "This is either the best or worst idea we’ve ever had."

  I grinned. "Only one way to find out."