“Isn’t it obvious?” Ryan asked with a smile. Even he admitted, he could’ve responded in a nicer tone than what he did, but she didn’t seem to notice or mind. “With this, we can plan our routes accordingly and save ourselves time remembering where to go.”

  “Um, no offense, but do we need to? I mean, we’ve been here for so long. I’d like to think we’ve got everything memorized by this point.”

  “Ah, come on, I don’t think it’d hurt,” Taylor replied. “Who knows? Maybe something happened on one road, and we’d have to take a detour or an unfamiliar route to get there.”

  “Exactly!” Ryan exclaimed, briefly forgetting to keep his voice down.

  He quickly covered his mouth as his eyes darted around the area. Luckily, none of the other zombies noticed or paid any attention, so he sighed in relief.

  “Fair enough.” Karin replied, crossing her arms, almost like she was lost in thought.

  “Not to mention, as a bonus, we can travel to other locations outside of the city. We’d have the means to get there efficiently.”

  “I don’t know about that...” Taylor muttered to himself.

  “Huh?” Ryan blinked. Did he catch that? Since when had Taylor acted seriously about something? Especially if it could only benefit the group and not hurt them? “Taylor, did you...?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing, sorry.” He waved it off. “Since we’re here with the map, do you have any suggestions we could go to that might benefit us?”

  Ryan didn't believe something was wrong, but didn't inquire further. Now wasn't the time.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Hmm, let’s see...” He turned to look at the map.

  They had visited many locations, and almost all of them were either cleaned out or too infested with zombies to revisit. The group had been good with food and water, so that department had no issue.

  They still had necessities, trinkets, and games to keep them entertained. Even if one needed sunlight and exercise, they could just go out in the front yard or hang out on the balcony (the rooftop was normally off-limits).

  Ryan tapped his chin. Maybe Karin was right. Maybe it was a waste of time coming here and gathering this intel, since they already knew about a lot of these places. Or maybe not.

  Then it hit him. A lightbulb flicked in his brain. They could at least mark off which places they’ve been to and which ones were safe. It’d be better than memorizing or guessing and ending up in hot water as a result.

  Still, looking into the outskirts of town could prove useful despite the potential risks. If there was someone else out there, there was a chance of rescuing them. There was still hope, after all. For now, he needed to focus on staying alive and connected.

  As he scanned the map carefully, one particular location came to mind, and his finger ended up stopping at it. It was a hospital—not just any hospital, the Angelstone Community Hospital, where his buddy from work, Carl, had stayed. Memories of being in the hospital resurfaced, both of him visiting Carl and being stuck inside one himself. He wrapped his arms around his body and shivered, not wanting to relive those unpleasant thoughts again.

  His face lit up; something else clicked in the back of his mind.

  “Hey, do we still have medical supplies back at the base?”

  Karin thought about it for a moment, but drew a blank. “You know, I’m not sure. I don’t think we’ve even been in a situation where we’ve needed to use one. At least, not one I can remember off the top of my head.”

  “Hmm...” Taylor tapped his chin and stared at the ground, also lost in thought. "If I recall, we still have a med kit left. I don't remember off the top of my head how many bandages we got in there, though."

  “That’s not good...”