Chapter 14: the road to richmond

Chapter 14: The Road to Richmond

Earth – Lomo’s Underground Lab

Dan sat on the makeshift hospital bed, rolling his shoulder as Lady Lomo finished securing the last of his stitches. Despite the nasty stab wound he’d suffered from the cultist’s sword, he had healed remarkably fast—a combination of Lomo’s surgical skill, Starlight’s magic, and sheer dumb luck.

Lomo adjusted her glasses. “You should be dead. That blade nearly clipped your kidney. If I wasn’t a genius, you’d be buried in a ditch by now.”

Dan smirked. “Would’ve been a badass way to go, though.”

Trixie, standing beside him, huffed. “That’s not funny, you reckless idiot.”

Sam crossed his arms. “I dunno, getting stabbed while torching a cult in the name of a girl sounds kinda metal.”

Pops snorted. “Boy’s got a point.”

Lomo rolled her eyes, grabbing Dan’s E.O.D. suit from the workbench. “I patched this up the best I could. Reinforced the armor, cleaned out the stab wound area, and added extra plating. But you need to take it easy.”

She held up a welding torch, pointing it at his face. “If you rip my stitches open, I will personally sew you back together with barbed wire.”

Dan grinned. “Noted.”

Sam smirked. “I like her.”

Kenny Stays Behind

As they geared up to leave, Lomo looked at Kenny, who sat patiently by her side.

“I need to keep the dog,” she said plainly.

Everyone immediately reacted.

Trixie gasped. “You can’t take Kenny!”

Pops frowned. “Now hold up, Doc, that mutt’s been with us since Philly.”

Lomo adjusted her coat. “And that ‘mutt’ is immune. If I study his blood, I might be able to develop a cure.”

Sam rubbed his chin. “A cure?”

Lomo nodded. “Think about it. A biological immunity to the infection. If I can isolate what makes him immune, I might be able to synthesize a vaccine.”

Dan knelt next to Kenny, ruffling his fur. “What do you think, big guy?”

Kenny licked his face, then trotted over to Lomo and sat beside her, tail wagging.

Dan sighed. “Guess that’s our answer.”

Starlight wiped a tear from her eye. “We’ll come back for him, right?”

Lomo smirked. “If you survive Florida, sure.”

Pops chuckled. “Lady’s got confidence.”

With one last farewell, the team loaded up into the RV—leaving Kenny in Lomo’s care, along with the hope for a cure to the apocalypse.

The Road to Richmond

With Pops driving, the RV rumbled toward Richmond, the once-thriving city now a crumbling wasteland. The roads were blocked with burned-out cars, remnants of the military’s failed attempts to contain the outbreak.

Dan, now back in his repaired E.O.D. suit, leaned against the window. “Man, this place is worse than D.C.”

Sam nodded. “Cities are death traps. We grab what we need and get out.”

Starlight sighed. “At least we don’t have any more cultists chasing us.”

Trixie gave her a look. “You just jinxed us.”

Pops bit into a Snowball. “Relax, kid. Can’t get worse than zombie elephants.”

Then—

They rounded a corner—and saw the hospital.

Richmond’s Blocked-Off Hospital

The Richmond General Hospital stood tall amid the ruins—completely untouched by the undead.

But something was wrong.

The entrances were barricaded, welded shut with thick metal plates, windows reinforced, and makeshift barbed wire wrapped around the perimeter.

Dan frowned. “Somebody sealed this place tight.”

Sam pulled up the binoculars. “No signs of movement. Either they abandoned it, or someone’s still inside.”

Pops cracked his knuckles. “Only one way to find out.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “And that is…?”

Pops grabbed his shotgun. “We break in.”

Dan grinned. “I like the way you think.”

To Be Continued…