• Conner and I walked silently along the back wall of the school, his hand never far from my reach. I wasn’t sure where he was leading me and I highly doubted that there would be any form of weaponry on school campus. And the thought that Zombies could be lurking anywhere unnerved me.
    “You must be a real sadist,” I spat, eyeing the gun that he twirled at ease. I heard him chuckle, amused.
    “Hey, it’s kept us alive so far, hasn’t it?” He stopped suddenly and I ran straight into him. He felt so…warm.
    “Do you hear that,” he whispered, almost as if he wasn’t aware of my presence, but instead, simply asking himself.
    “Hear what?” I asked, anxious. Instinctively, I moved closer to Conner, aware of my vulnerability. He continued to stand, motionless.
    “Hear what?” I repeated; this time my heart beat frantically. It was more rhetorical, though, for I knew the only thing that would have resulted in Conner gripping his gun were….Zombies.
    “Damn, how’d they find me?”
    “Find who? Who are you talking about, Conner?” I asked, bewildered.
    And that’s when ‘they’ appeared. And in ‘they’ I meant 4, normal, breathing, human beings.
    “Long time no see, pal,” a man exclaimed, looking fit for his age. He smiled the brightest, as if he were being acquainted with an old-time friend. Traces of dirt were painted on his face, while dried blood hung onto the ends of his hair.
    “Well, look who it is, Chief. Thought you had hit the ground,” hissed Conner, vehemently. I felt his hand reach back and gently touch my arm.
    I took that as a sign to stay behind him.
    “Conner, who’s that girl behind you?” asked the young woman standing next to Chief. She smiled, as well, but her eyes told a different story. They seemed spiteful. With blond hair braided back, her green eyes sparkled in contrast with her pale skin. A gun was slung on her back.
    “It’s none of your business, Kris.”
    “What do you mean it’s none of my business! She’s a liability!” Kris took a step forward, her hand reaching for her shoulder. I felt Conner tense up.
    “That’s enough, you two!” Chief ordered. “Pull out your weapons and I’ll kill you both.”
    “Chief, we shouldn’t be lollygagging too much longer,” a young man advised from behind Kris. From what I could see, he looked fairly young.
    “So, are you tagging along, Conner?” Chief asked, smiling again. Chief nodded in my direction.
    “I’m declining, Chief,” he answered, standing straighter.
    “If that’s your decision, then so be it. But Kris is right; that girl is a liability. I wouldn’t keep her around for too long.” And with that, Chief, Kris and the two men behind them, walked off.
    I stood there in disbelief. I was a liability? What did that mean?
    Conner turned around to face me.
    “I’ve cleared most of the school. After this, we’re headed downtown.”
    “We?” I asked bitterly.
    “Yes, we. Who else is going?” He stared at me, oblivious.
    “If I’m such a liability, then why are taking me along? I’ll only slow you down.”
    “What? No! Don’t listen to them!” Conner began to wave his arms around frantically. “They’re a bunch off stuck up pricks, who think their skills are what’s going to save the world. They’re no better than those Zombies, especially when it comes to their IQ…”
    “Conner, if I’m what’s going to get you killed, than you shouldn’t bring me along. You have the skills necessary to survive alone; I don’t.”
    I found him stepping closer to me. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm.
    “Stop with this s**t already. It’s not fooling anybody. You don’t want to be left behind and neither do I. So, let’s stop pretending I’m a hero and just get going.”
    He let go and proceeded to walk on ahead.
    “What were you doing before all…this, Conner?” I broke the silence that had followed us.
    “I worked at my father’s shop. Cars, anything mechanical.”
    “Do you think you’ll go back to it when everything is over?”
    “When everything is over? Amelia, this will never be over. Our lives, as we know it, are forever changed. I can’t go back any way; he’s dead.”
    “Oh…” I darted my eyes off the back of his head. I knew what that felt like, to be alone. It made you feel hollow, as if something had clawed it’s way through your chest. .
    “What about you? What were you doing before-you know-climbed into the closet with me?”
    I grimaced at the embarrassing memory.
    “I was planning my sister’s wedding. She was going to get married 2 months from now and I was supposed make sure all the small details had been covered.” I kicked dirt up with my shoe. We had finally left school campus and were now walking in a trail hidden from the road.
    “How old are you, Amelia?” Conner asked, stopping in his tracks. He turned to look at me. For the first time since I had run into him, I was finally able to see his features.
    His blond hair swayed slightly in the breeze. With a defined face, his lips were drawn tight. Blood and dirt had dried on his cheek, covering a light row of freckles. His eyes sparkled blue in the sunlight.
    “I’m 22,” I answered. He continued to stare at me as if my age had revealed a terrible secret.
    “You’re just a baby!” He suddenly burst out laughing.
    “What? That’s not funny!” I retorted. “I’m not that young! And how old are you, old man?”
    “You’re definitely a baby! I’m 28.” Conner quieted down, wiping a tear from his eye. I growled.
    “Oh, come off it, Amelia. I was only kidding.”
    “It wasn’t funny,” I pouted, crossing my arms. This guy was turning out to be a real jerk. “For a man your age, you sure act like a child.”
    “Honey, in this profession, laughing is like having a paid vacation.” Conner gave my shoulder a little punch and we were off again.

    After what seemed hours, we finally found ourselves at an abandoned gas station.
    “Why are we stopping?” I asked, glancing around. The place was uncomfortably quiet.
    “We need food and supplies.” Conner walked ahead of me to the garage that sat behind the building. “You stay there,” he ordered.
    As told, I sat down on the platform where the gas pumps sat. Finally able to catch my breath, I ran my fingers through my hair.
    Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw something move from within the store. Darting up, I felt my heart beat furiously once again. I stared intently at the door, expecting something to rush out, but alas, there was no more movement to be found. And then…I heard a cry. A child’s cry.
    “You’re just imagining it, Amelia,” I comforted myself. I took a seat again, this time pre-occupying myself with my shoe laces.
    And then, I heard it again. And for certain, I knew it was a child.
    “Oh god!” I exclaimed, jumping up. There was a child stuck in the store!
    Without any further hesitation, I ran towards the entrance, afraid that the child was badly injured.
    “I’m coming for you!” I yelled. I pulled opened the door and ran into pitch black.
    “Hello?” I whispered, suddenly uneasy. I couldn’t see anything!
    Carefully, I took deliberate steps. I felt something against my shoulder and as I was about to yelp, I realized it was only a shelf.
    There came another cry.
    Panicked, I held my hands out in front of me, desperate to find the child.
    “Where are you? You have to tell me where you are or I can’t find you!”
    Another cry.
    “Please, I want to help you! Don’t be afraid, I’m human!”
    And then with an unknown, uncontrollable force, I was knocked down. I felt my face hit the hard tile below me. A strong metallic flavor slivered down my throat; I had bit my tongue.
    Suddenly, I was yanked up and thrown across the room. I began frantically reaching for anything, when my hands came upon a lighter.
    Without delay I popped it open. I was greeted by a Zombie on the other side of the room.
    Everything about it was grossly distorted. It’s eyes drooped as its rotting flesh sagged. I was met with an unwelcoming stench.
    “Oh god!” I exclaimed, barreling over. I wanted to puke so bad!
    All of a sudden, it began to run full force at me. Jumping up, I ran behind the nearest shelf, knocking it down after me. The Zombie growled viciously, continuing to chase me. I had to find the door!
    It let out an Earth-shattering scream and before I could reach the only source of light, the door, I tripped over the newspaper stand. I fell to my knees.
    And from there, I knew it was all over. I could feel the monster stand right over me. Squeezing my eyes shut, I curled up into a ball.
    But instead of feeling the teeth of a savage beast, I felt glass shatter from above me and heard the rang of a bullet as it pierced the door. The Zombie dropped instantly to the ground.
    Conner slammed open the door.
    “What in the hell were you doing! I told you stay outside!” he yelled, furious. Grumbling to himself, he walked past where I lay and over to the Zombie. He put another bullet in its head.
    “I’m sorry…there was a child in here,” I squeaked, shaking. As I tried to sit up, I felt a sharp pain travel up my leg. I let out a grunt.
    “What’s wrong,” he asked, rushing over to me.
    “Nothing,” I lied, using my arms to get me to the wall. There I sat back. Glancing down, I could see blood ooze down below my knee.
    “That isn’t nothing.” Conner came over, kneeling before me. He lightly touched my leg.
    “Ah!” I yelled, panting heavily.
    “You really screwed up your leg, Amelia,” he declared, pulling on something from behind him. It was a medical kit.
    “No s**t, Sherlock,” I spat, bitterly.
    Conner glared at me angrily.
    “The least you could do is thank me! I saved your sorry a**!”
    “You shouldn’t have left me alone in the first place! And I told you, I heard a child cry.” Biting my lip, I looked up to the ceiling, tears forming around my eyes.
    “What child?”
    “There was a child in here, Conner. I heard it. It sounded hurt.”
    “Amelia, there’s no one here…this place is deserted.”
    “But I--”
    “We’ll talk about it later, Right now, I need to clean you up.”
    As Conner rummaged through his kit, I began to think about how the others had been right. I was a liability.
    “There were right,” I said.
    “No, they weren’t.”
    “What makes you say that?”
    He looked up from where he was placing bandages on my leg.
    “Because every one deserves to live, Amelia. If I had left you behind, I’d just be the same as them. They’re a bunch of cowards, doing what ever it takes to get ahead. Hell, when the time comes, it wouldn’t be surprising if they began killing each other to stay alive. That’s the kind of people they are.”
    “But Chief--”
    “Don’t let his appearance fool you. He’s not your normal grandpa. He’s just as deceitful as the others.”
    “Wait, there’s more than just those four?”
    Conner tied off the bandage. I winced.
    “Oh, there’s a lot more than those four. And all of them are the same. A bunch of hot heads, if you ask me. That’s why I left them.”
    “What are they, Conner?”
    Conner stood up and grabbed my hand. I stood up painfully.
    “They’re ex-military. Originally, when this all started, only those in active duty were called to fight. But as our numbers began to dwindle and the infected began to increase, the government got desperate and called out everybody who had had military experience.
    “It got to their heads. They believed that they were being called forth because of their talents, but it was just because there was a low body count. Now that there is no government or order, all the agents have scattered. Most of them have realized that there is strength in numbers and so they group into pods.”
    “And you went on your own?”
    “I was suffocating. We were only getting so far. It seemed every day we were killing Zombies and yet, their numbers never decreased. Of course, it didn’t help that we were fighting in towns filled with people. It was a horrid feeding ground. And those that weren’t consumed…well, the virus took over and they soon lost any trace of their humanity. I wanted to try to lead them somewhere isolated. To give citizens the change to find refuge, but Chief insisted we continue the fight. Hell, it was always ‘continue the fight.’ It didn’t matter that our bullets were killing innocent people. His only objection was to kill. No matter the cost. I couldn’t take it. So, in the midst of another fight, when the group ran North, I ran South.
    “I thought that by being by myself, I could focus on finding a solution. Had I been with a group, it would have been too noticeable. Being alone, I was inconspicuous. I had had just as much, maybe even more training than most of the people in my pod. I knew how to take care of myself.
    “But they eventually took notice and instead of focusing on their task, Chief had had it in his mind that I had deceived him.”
    “But he let you go today…”
    “Which is surprising since he’s been chasing me ever since. But for some reason, I don’t think that’s the end of him. I have a feeling he has something up his sleeve. Chief may be forgiving of a dispute, but he will never forgive abandonment.”