Jake Carter's Story

Jake blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes adjusted to the sun. He had just woken up, and his neck was stiff from sleeping in his car. He looked over at Kylie and closed his eyes. "Babe," he said and put his hand on her thigh. "Baby wake up."

"Hmm.. Did we fall asleep in the car again?" Kylie asked as a tired smile crossed her face. Her eyes looked grey as she stared at him. "We need to learn to make it back to your place once in a while, cause all this car sex is getting old," She giggled a bit and reached out her hand to his blank face.

Jake squinted his eyes at her. Either she was going into denial, or she really wasn't awake. He pushed her hand off his face and held it with his own. "Kylie, we slept in the car on purpose, remember?" He said to her, sounding upset.

"Oh my god.." She whisper and tears ran to her eyes. "I.. Yeah," She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Her blonde hair was falling perfectly over her shoulders, despite not having brushed it, or done anything to it in the last day or two. She opened the car door and got out. They were just outside of town. They had been looking for survivors, but had been unsuccessful. Jake had suggested they go to the food bank, or a department store to get supplies.

"Ky," Jake said, stepping out of the car. He walked behind her and put his arms around her waist, and rested his head next to hers. "Let's go," he whispered. They stood there for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only minutes. Slowly, they settled themselves back in Jake's car and began driving into town. There were bodies and blood covering the streets, and Jake had to drive slowly to avoid the mess. He stopped in front of the food bank and shut off the car. Without saying anything to Kylie, he began walking to the door. It was locked, so he just broke it down with a few powerful shoves. Kylie followed after him with a duffle bag and a back pack. "Let's just take what we need and get out of here," he said as he looked around the almost empty shelves. He wished he could assume other survivors had been there, but he knew this place was low on donations and high on needy people. Now he wished he would have taken the time to help them out. All that money he had.. It means nothing now.

"Take what we need?" Kylie asked, crossing her arms. "Jake, if you haven't noticed, we need it all. We need as much as we can get if we are going to survive."

"We can't be greedy!" Jake said, turning to look at her. His voice was raised slightly, although his face looked calm.

"Yes we can! We are the only ones, Jake. We need to stock up the car or else we'll die," Kylie said back to him, gesturing around the room. She looked angry.

Jake's nostrils flared and his breathing deepened. "We are not the only ones Kylie!" His eyebrows scrunched together as he looked at her in disgust. "What if some little kid survived and we took all the food huh?" He yelled, taking a step toward her. She back up, looking like a scared puppy. "How would you feel if we were the reason someone starved? Because we were being selfish! Answer me Kylie!" He was in her face now, staring down at her while tears dripped off her face. "Would you even feel guilty? Or are you too busy putting yourself first like you always do," He said it as a statement, because he knew it was true. "Don't tell me we are the only ones. Ky.. We just can't be the only ones." His voice softened to a whisper when a lump formed in his throat.

"Okay, Jake, it's going to be okay," Kylie said and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned into her hug and fought off the tears. When he pulled back, his face looked determined, like nothing was ever going to stand in his way again.

"No. It's not," Jake said to her and began picking things off the shelves. His jaw was clenched, and a vein was bulging in his forehead. Kylie stood behind him, silently waiting for him to finish collecting what he thought they would need most. He collected the things they needed and put them neatly into the back pack. "But I'm going to make it okay." With that, he walked out of the store and put the bag in the back seat of the car. He pulled out a pen and piece of paper, scribbling a note on.

If you find this, grab what you can from the food bank, and come to the center of town. We'll be waiting there.



"Ahhh!" Minnie half screamed, half sighed. "This is fucking impossible." She crossed her arms and stared down at the engine of her truck. It was smoking and she had no idea how to fix it. She knew nothing about fixing cars, and she considered that her only weakness. "I knew I should have let Leo teach me a thing or two," Her heart felt like it leaped into her throat when she said Leo's name. "I'll find you soon, Leo," she said and turned around, facing the city. No movement. No noise. Just nothingness, threatening to engulf her. She let out a breath that she really hadn't been holding, just to hear the noise. She shut the hood of her truck and climbed up in the cab. She grabbed the two bags that had the most essentials in it; clothing, medicine she got from the pharmacy, energy bars full of carbs, and a deck of cards. The bars would hold her off until she found out a way to fix her truck, then she would come back to the other stuff in the bed of her truck. Over the past two days, the young girl was able to scrounge up a lot of important things. In one bag she had a lot of medical supplies like gauze, antiseptics, more medicine, ice packs and a few other random things that she didn't know what they were. In another she had lots of blankets, socks and gloves. Three were full of food, two of which had nonperishables. She had three cases of water and last but not least, a tent and two air mattresses.

After walking for a bit, she heard some noise. When she looked around, there was nothing. "Must have been the wind," she said to herself. The only problem was that there was no wind. Everything was still. Maybe the earth had stopped rotating, and time itself had stopped. Maybe this really was the end. "God, if you can hear me.. If you're there.." She swallowed hard and looked straight ahead as she walked the sidewalk. "If you care at all, show me a sign.." She said. She wanted so desperately to believe this wasn't the end, but the aching in her chest told her otherwise. She tried to look around, but the blood and bodies was too much for her to handle, not to mention the smell. She looked at the stores she was passing, and almost didn't notice the broken door. She looked down at the glass and then her eyes found a note, stuck to the window.

If you find this, grab what you can from the food bank, and come to the center of town. We'll be waiting there.

Her heart leapt as she ripped the note from the glass. She didn't grab anything from the bank, but rather, began running towards the center of town. She did her best to hold her backpacks close, so they weren't bumping around on her back. At this point, she didn't care about stepping in the blood or on the bodies, she just needed to find these people, wherever they were. When she arrived near the fountain at the center of town, she didn't see anyone. There were a few cars parked, including a very nice looking one on the other side. There were bodies everywhere here, because it was normally a busy place. The fountain was spewing blood rather than water. Minnie became sick to her stomach and she fell to her knees. There was no one here. The note was left behind from before. Or they left without her. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried. The tears wouldn't come.

"Hey!" A voice came.

"What!? Now you show up God? Really?" She screamed staring up at the sky.

"Hey! You! You're alive!" The same voice came, followed by footsteps. Minnie's head whipped around and she saw two people running towards her. She blinked a few times and just stared at them. "Holy shit! She's real Jake. I'm Kylie." Kylie said and reached out a delicate pale hand towards Minnie. "This is my boyfriend Jake," she said and smiled. Kylie looked shocked and relieved all at the same time. Minnie shook their hands and shared the same look of surprise as Kylie. Inwardly, she was thinking that if these two had the odds of both surviving, maybe she and her brother did as well.

"Minnie," she replied. "I found your note. I didn't grab any food because I already have enough, but it's back at my truck. I have a bunch of stuff there.. Do either of you speak car?" She asked. She needed their help to fix her truck so she could find Leo. That was the most important thing.

"Sure, I worked part time as a mechanic in high school," Jake said and shrugged.

"I didn't know that," Kylie said and gave him a weird look. "Does it take the world to end for me to find things out about you?" She asked, and crossed her arms. Jake just shook his head and started following Minnie.

"It's not too far, so we should be there soon. It just started smoking up," Minnie said, picking up her pace to a light jog. Jake followed suit with Kylie in tow.

"Slow down, my head is really starting to hurt," Kylie said, and began to walk. Minnie and Jake slowed as well, and the three walked the rest of the way there.

Minnie pointed to a navy blue Chevy truck just ahead. "That it right there. I have some pain killers if you want some," she said and looked to Kylie. The blonde girl's face was contorted in pain as she nodded to Minnie.

"Yeah, thanks," She said. The two girls sat on the curb while Jake inspected the engine.



After walking the streets for two days, Leo was tired. He and a buddy had driven here together, so he didn't have a car. His friend was missing and so were his keys. He was stranded in a wasteland. He had enough to eat though, that was for sure, although with every bite he took, guilt travelled into his stomach instead of relief from hunger pangs. He was eating when the entire world was dead. Not the entire world. He reminded himself as he kept walking. He saw a body in the distance, in a very strange position. It was sitting, rather than lying down like the rest. She just averted his eyes and kept walking. When he glanced back, it had moved, and was now standing up. His heart leapt and he began running towards it, her.

"Hey! Hey you!" He called out between breaths. When he finally caught up to her, he wrapped his large arms around her and hugged her tight. "My God, I thought I was the only one left," He said and released her. "Sorry.." he said and stuck out his had. "I'm Leo," He said. For the first time he could remember, he wasn't worried about someone hearing his accent. knowing that someone was alive and breathing was enough for him to be happy. For now at least. He needed to find Minnie, and take care of her. He knew full well that she could hold her own, but he still didn't like the thought of her being out there on her own. If she's even alive. He closed his eyes. "Are there any others?" he asked, and kept his eyes shut. He didn't want to see the look on her face when she told him no, as he expected.

Blackwell scanned the landscape.

Well, the best you could scan a landscape from the second story of a ruined building. It was nearly sheared in half diagonally from a 747's wing. The main body was not far from where he just passed. Guess the chemicals got the personnel of the flight control tower before the pilot could be directed to land.

Movement caught his eye. He brought his binoculars up to his eyes instead of the scope on his rifle, so not to scare anybody who happened to see him. If anybody was sharp enough to notice a trained sniper in a Ghille Suit. Two figures sat on the sidewalk, as one fiddled with an old Toyota truck. Living people. Not the freaks that he'd encountered before. After further inspection, he identified the two figures on the pavement as female, and the one working on the truck as male, given by the style of pants.

He considered grouping with them. The more people who could hold guns, the better. Plus, He really didn't like the shotgun he picked up from the gunstore, it was loud and attracted too much attention. As he was debating this in his mind, dark figures flashed at the end of his binocular's vision. They had that same familiar loping the other things had. He brought his rifle to bear and peered down the scope. The figures snuck closer to the group, oblivious to the things only a few blocks away. He flicked off the safety and positioned his scope's reticule over the closest of the figures. Things were about to get ugly. Fast.

Leo stared at the girl as she tried to gather her thoughts. She ran her hand through her dark brown hair while she stared back. "It's nice to meet you Ace," he replied.

His eyes closed, he waited for the answer. She didn't know. She thought she was alone too. He let out a big sigh and put the heels of his hands to his eyes. Leo pressed down hard and imagined Minnie's face. "Well, we can't be the only ones. There has to be more," he said, unsure of where he was going with this. He wasn't sure inviting her along would be a good thing. Eventually there wouldn't be enough food that they were able to find, and feeding one mouth was easier than two. She might slow him down too. He shook his head and tried to rid himself of the thoughts. He knew he was being logical, but there was also the fact that humans don't want to be alone. They need someone or something there with them. Plus, he had already talked to her, he couldn't imagine just running off and leaving her alone. She looked small, but he learned not to judge a girl by her size. He thought of Minnie again, out there on her own. Despite her capabilities, he wouldn't want he alone. He would want someone to take care of her. And he imagined someone would want him to take care of Ace as well, whether she was able or not. "We need to stick together," Leo finally said, after being silent for a while.

He finally looked away from her and scanned their surroundings. There were buildings perfectly intact, cars neatly stopped on the road, and the shops looked like they just hadn't been open yet. There were also bodies covering the streets, cars crashed into light poles and other cars, and some buildings with broken windows. He wondered how that happened, but he didn't spend too much time thinking on it. "What sorts of supplies do you have?" Leo asked her, looking at her backpack. "We should probably find a car or something. I'm sure I can hot-wire it," he mumbles. It's like he was talking to himself. People look at him and expect him to be a meat head, working at a boxing club, but his real passion was for knowledge and logic. Anything he could learn was what he loved. Once he took his truck to the shop and stayed to watch them fix it. He asked a lot of questions. The next time, he went back and asked them to show him specific things. Leo went out and bought some tools, and now he fixes his own truck.

Leo was torn from his thoughts by the sound of a helicopter. He looked around and saw the tail of it, disappearing around a building. Without thinking he grabbed Ace’s hand and broke into a sprint, chasing after the helicopter. As they turned the corner around the building, he saw that it had landed a bit away. He also heard a girl calling out. “Here! Here! We’re here!” He said, looking around for her. The sun blinded him for a moment, but the he thought he saw some movement. AS he tugged Ace along with him, he walked the sidewalk, keeping his eyes peeled for the girl. Finally he saw a blue truck with a girl in a leather jacket standing next to it. “Hey!” He called out to her, and continued walking in her direction. “Ace there’s two people! Possibly more! There could be two or three in the helicopter!” He said smiling at her. For the short time they had to talk, he felt like he couldn’t be closer to anyone. Maybe it was because she was the first person he saw in two days, or maybe because for a brief moment, he thought it was only them left in the world.



Kylie sat with her head between her knees, and Minnie sat silently next to her, fiddling with the laces on her tennis shoes. She stared at Jake while her worked. His grey t-shirt was tight across his muscular back as he worked, and he had black oil stains on the butt of his jeans from wiping his hands. She stretched and laid her head down on her knees so she was looking at Kylie. Now was not the time to be lusting after someone who was taken by freaking Miss America here. Minnie rolled her eyes and redirected her gaze to an interesting puddle of blood in front of her. Not far from it was a woman with her mouth open. Blood was covering her teeth, lips and tongue, and her eyes were open. They looked dead yes, but in a different way. They were white and cloudy. Her skin looked pale from blood loss. There was a trail of dried blood running from her ear down her cheek. It went down and curved slightly around her jaw before it swooped down her neck. Minnie clenched her jaw and kept her eyes locked on the blood. She would need to get used to seeing it, because that was all that was left. Her stomach churned at the sight of it, and her eyes teared up slightly, but still, she wouldn't look away.

"Okay, that should do it," came Jake's voice, followed by a small bang of the hood closing. He wiped off his hands and turned around. "Kylie, are you still feeling bad, babe?" He asked and looked down at her. The only thing he received back was a small moan. Jake's face seemed expressionless as his eyes slid over to Minnie, who had looked up from the blood. She looked like she had seen a ghost. He watched her, but only for a moment before he saw movement in his peripheral vision. "The hell?" he asked, squinting down the street. There were three men walking, or running towards them. It was more of an awkward skip. "Hey!" He called out to them. Minnie scrunched her eyebrows together and turned around, trying to see what Jake was seeing.

She smiled and stood up when she saw the moving figures. More survivors. That meant there was a better chance that Leo was out there somewhere. She looked down at Kylie, but she hadn't moved at all. Minnie took a few steps forward, but Jake grabbed her arm. He was squeezing tight and when she looked at his face, he seemed distressed. "What?" she asked him, trying to tug her arm free. He didn't let go and he pulled her back.

"Don't move. Look at them. They're covered in blood. They never said anything to us when they saw us, and look at how they're walking," said Jake, his voice tight in his throat. He pulled a gun out of the waistband of his pants and pointed it at one of them.

“You can’t shoot!” Minnie said

“Why not? Look at them! They haven’t said a word. There is something wrong about them,” Jake said, shaking his head slightly.

As the figures approached closer, one of them was shot in the head. He jerked back then fell on the ground.

“You shot him?” Minnie asked, angrily.

“No! It wasn’t me!” Jake said back, blinking a few times.

Kylie looked up and saw the dead man. She scrambled to her feet and clung to Jake. He put away his gun and wrapped his arms around the tall blonde girl. Minnie just stood there, staring at the two still coming. They didn’t care one bit about their friend. All they did was look down at him and move on. Another shot to the head and the second fell. Kylie screamed and Jake pulled her tight to his body, backing up. His eyes were darting around, trying to find the sniper, but he couldn’t see. The last shot hit the third on in the head as well, and he fell only a few feet from the three standing by the truck. Minnie blinked and tried to understand what just happened. Jake’s jaw was clenched as he scanned the building, and Kylie’s sobs were the only noise.

A man came walking out of a building with his gun shouldered. He was walking casually toward them and Minnie assumed he was the shooter. She tapped Jake and he pushed Kylie off of him and pointed his gun at the stranger. He wouldn’t have, but given what just happened, Jake suddenly lost all trust.

The man didn’t stop, nor did he say anything. “Don’t come any closer,” Jake said. The man slowed a bit, but began walking again. Soon enough Minnie was able to make out the features on his face.

“Don’t shoot,” She said, and Jake looked at her. He put his gun down and Kylie returned under his arm, seeking comfort from her boyfriend. “Hey,” Minnie called out and started walking towards the stranger.

“Minnie,” Jake said, but she paid him no mind.

“Did you do that?” She asked him, when she was only a few feet away. His eyes were bright blue against his tan skin, and he was very tall. He reminded her slightly of Leo, but this man’s hair was a lot darker, and his build was a bit different than Leo’s.

Colt

Colt watched the man reluctantly holster his gun. A 1911. Classic. He eyed him suspiciously as Colt sized him up. This guy was definitely armed forces, maybe Army, probably Marine.

The brown haired girl stepped toward him. She looked young physically, although her eyes told different. "Minnie." Said the man as she neared. So that was her name.

"Did you do that?" She asked.

He frowned slightly at the question.

"Are you asking me if I did it or why I did it? Because I think you're asking the latter." He addressed the group as a whole. "Haven't you seen these things before?" He got blank stares in return. He exhaled slightly. "I'll fill you in about the situation..." He paused. "...after we find out who those people are," he said neutrally, gesturing toward the two figures in the distance and one by a another truck. He looked up. "And why that helicopter is smoking."

Alexei

"дерьмо!" Crap. Alexei coughed out as fumes sputtered from the top of his helicopter. "Я просто зафиксирован вам месяц назад!" I just fixed you a month ago! He was going to have to set her down. He directed his flight path to the ground. It was going to be a tough landing. Through the smog, he saw a few more people near where he was landing.

Great. Now more people get to see me die. He thought in English. If he was to survive this, he would have to start thinking and talking in English.

The helicopter dropped abruptly.

"ебать." There is no point in translating this, as it would have to be censored.

Jake watched as Minnie approached the man with a sniper rifle. He frowned at her question and began speaking "Are you asking me if I did it or why I did it? Because I think you're asking the latter." Minnie's lip twitched slightly at his comment, but she didn't let it form a full sneer. He didn't know her, and he most certainly did not know what she was thinking. She meant what she said, although admittedly she wanted to know the second answer as well. But, in order to get that answer, he would need to answer the first. Which, he did. Minnie opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again. She didn't want to go making an enemy of the third person she met in three days. Plus, if he truly did have goo reason, he saved their lives, so she t=ought to thank him, rather than criticizing him for assuming things about her. He began speaking once more, but this time his eyes slid over to Kylie and Jake as well. "Haven't you seen these things before?" He asked them. Jake just shook his head and Kylie looked up, whispering something in his ear. He gave her a disapproving look and she returned a rude look herself, letting go of him and crossing her arms. She shivered slightly, even though she was wearing a thick jacket. Minnie didn't respond at all, just looked at him, waiting for him to continue. He let out a quiet breath and opened his mouth once more. "I'll fill you in about the situation..." He paused. "...after we find out who those people are," He said and pointed to a blue truck. It only looked a little bit like Minnie's. As she looked over she saw two more people going the girl at the truck. They embraced and se clenched her jaw. "And why that helicopter is smoking," the man finished. He seemed so calm, and Minnie had no idea why.

"Minnie, we can walk over there and see, and then come back for your truck and supplies. I think we'll need both," He said and began walking. Minnie nodded and turned to look at the stranger with them.

"I'm Minnie by the way," She said to him, then nodded her head towards Kylie and Jake, saying "That's Jake and Kylie." She wanted so badly to call her Barbie, but refrained from doing so. It looked like Jake had upset her, or the other way around... Well either way she was upset and not feeling well.


Leo and Ace were pulled into a hug by the girl and Leo let out a small sigh of relief. He hugged her back and waved away her apology. She went on about how she thought she was the lat person on earth. "Trust me Lucia," he said, after she finished introducing herself. "Not just 20 minutes ago, I thought the same thing. Then I saw Ace, and I hugged her as well," he gave an awkward smile. 'Right, I'm Leo," He said and shook her hand. "You're Italian? I went on vacation there a few times with my family when I was little," he recognized her accent and figured she would do the same with his French accent. She noticed the helicopter just as he and Ace had. He couldn't help but think that the odds of this were impossible. After two days of traveling, he had't seen anyone, and now, in one day, he is meeting three and possibly more. Maybe it was the fact that everyone was walking inward. Sort of. He knew he had been headed back to his home town for the past two days and maybe it was bound to happen. They would all meet in the same spot. "It's smoking. That's not good," Leo said, scrunching his thick eyebrows together. He glanced at the two girls, and once again he had been caught up in the moment. He now had another person he felt obligated to take care of. He shook the thought away and began walking.


Minne and Colt had picked up the pace to a jog. Jake had tried to, but then he slowed to help Kylie along, who had begun to feel nauseous. Minnie inwardly scolded her for being so weak. The brunette girl hated the sight of blood and anything dead and they didn't see her feeling sick did they? She continued to jog, and once they made it relatively close to the three they slowed to a walk. Then, the strangers started walking towards the trail of smoke leading to the helicopter. SHe was able to see that there were two girls, one with a leather jacket and one with a Cowboy's back pack. The one in the middle, the tall male had a strikingly familiar walk to him, not to mention the light grey hoodie he was wearing. Minnie's heart tighter and she began to jog again, not looking to see if her stranger-friend was keeping pace with her. She didn't bother to run silently, and she let the bottoms of her tennis shoes smack the pavement, sending eerie echoes bouncing off the vacant buildings. The figures in front of her kept moving, but when she got a lot closer, the one in the middle turned, hearing the sound of 2 pairs of feet coming towards them.

"Minnie?!" the voice called out and took a few steps in her direction. "Oh, mon Deiu!"Oh my God! he yelled and broke into a sprint.

"Leo!" Minne screamed back and ran towards him She leapt into to his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. "Leo, I'm so glad you're okay, I knew you were still out there!" She said as he squeezed her tight. Leo let her feet touch the ground, but he kept his arms around her, feeling like he'd never let go. He buried his face into her shoulder. After a minute or two, neither were ready to let go, and Minnie was crying into his neck. Leo didn't want to stop the embrace, but he thought about the people watching them, and how they may never see their family again. Finally Minnie stepped back and smiled at him. She wiped her tears away and put her hands over her face, knowing full del everyone knew she was crying, but still trying to cover the redness. She rested her forehead on his chest and he stroked the back of her head.

"I have missed you so much," he said to her, kissing her forehead. "Êtes-vous bien?" Are you alright?[/] He rubbed her arms and stepped back. She nodded and smiled at him. "I see you found others," he said, looking at the three people staring at them. Kylie was going back and forth between grimacing because of her headache, and smiling because she was happy they were reunited. Jake looked pretty neutral and nodded his hello to Leo and the two girls.

"Yeah. Jake, Kylie and Colt," she said, pointing each one of them out. "Vous également?" [i] You also? She asked, wiping her face one last time.

"Si. That's Ace. She was the first one I found. And there's Lucia, we just met her. Did you see the helicopter?" he asked her, his eyes widening slightly at the question.

"Oui," Yes, She said nodding. "We did, we were going to go check it out," Minnie concluded and began walking "Oh," she said a little louder. "This is my brother Leo," she said, looking back at Jake and Kylie, then to Colt. She turned to the two girls that had been with her brother. "And I'm Minnie," she said and did a quick wave.


The group made it around the building, just in time to see the helicopter drop suddenly. It looked slightly out of control, and Leo assumed it was because of the smoke. It would make it hard to see, and not to mention it would suffocate the pilot.

"Trust me Lucia, Not just 20 minutes ago, I thought the same thing. Then I saw Ace, and I hugged her as well."

Lucia smiled brightly at him as he spoke. She recognised the French accent almost as soon as he had opened his mouth. It was strong, like her Italian accent and somehow the knowledge that he wasn't from America warmed her a little. And when he spoke of her homeland and visiting it, she smiled again, nodding her head. The fact that there were two, possibly three, people alive sent floods of relief washing through her. After sitting around in the flat for days without human contact, just the sheer fact that she was talking to walking, breathing humans who were living through the same situation that she was. It was so surreal and she had to step back and make sure that it was really happening.

Just as she opened her mouth to say something more, Leo exclaimed a name is surprise. Her eyes flickered to the other girl stood with them. No her name was Ace. And she looked equally surprised by the fact that he'd called out. And then, just like that, he was gone. Turning, Lucia watched him sprinting towards another group of people. One of them was rushing to meet him and then they were a tangle of limbs. The girl had practically jumped into his arms and Lucia blinked in surprise as she embraced one another. She wondered if she should look away, as it felt like an intensely private moment for the pair, but everyone else was still staring so she kept her eyes trained on the pair.

A torrent of French and English passed between the pair as they caught up with one another. There were introductions and Lucia waved when her name was said, smiling at the other group. She felt somewhat less inclined to hug this bunch. Firstly, it appeared as though the guy and the blonde were a couple and that would have been awkward. And the one introduced as Colt looked a little intimidating. It became evidently clear that Minnie and Leo were brother and sister. What were the chances? When everyone else had died, these two were still alive? It was a miracle. Lucia didn't have anyone besides Ellie and the thought of her best friend filled her heart with sadness. So young and she'd always been so full of life, but now she was dead.

There was no-one else left in the world for her to hang onto.

At least, that's what she thought.

But the past was just around the corner and it would haunt her.



A pair of bright blue eyes watched the expanding group carefully. But really, his blurred focus was upon one of them. Lucia. A well of jealousy and hatred for the unknown man had swelled in his chest when she had wrapped her arms around him and smiled in a carefree manner at him. He hadn't witnessed that smile for years and to see it directed at another caused him to clench his fists in fury. It was a long time since he had seen anything but worry or fear in those eyes of hers.

Antonio had been following Lucia from the moment she had left her little flat. Hell, he'd been following her for days before that as well. He had kept his distance on his motorbike when she had left to travel into the centre of the city, but it hadn't been hard to pull up three blocks away and walk the final distance so that she didn't notice him. Even now, she was too consumed in the group to notice the man watching from the distance. The man who clutched a brandy bottle to his chest, his hands shaking furiously. If only she had turned around. If only any of them paid attention. But it seemed as though no-one noticed him lurking in the shadows.

Colt

He watched the helicopter drop sharply, and veer off, landing in what was left of a park a few blocks away. He would have to check out the pilots condition later, after everybody was done socializing. He seemed fine, as even from this distance looked like he was healthy and was shouting obscenities at his helo.

He kept himself mostly aloof, nodding when necessary and listening carefully. He heard a few Italian accents. It seemed we had a plethora of nationalities.

He felt paranoid all of the sudden, and a sick feeling in his gut. Before the Marines he would've dismissed it, but now, the feeling was as real of any of his five normal senses. He turned slightly, as if to be more engrossed in the conversation, but he turned his eyes to the shadows. It wasn't any of the those things, they would've attacked earlier. It was something -or even someone- else.

He said nothing of it. He kept his face passive throughout the conversation, not that anyone could tell what he felt anyway, body and face obscured by his Ghillie suit. He holstered his rifle on his back, and fully removed the hood part Ghille suit. He felt that he should maybe tell what was going on, but everyone seemed interested in everything else.

He finally spoke.

"We should check out that helo. It may be a rescue party, or a scout from other survivors."

Alexei

Alexei veered his helicopter into an opening, ripping branches off of a few trees as he landed. He swore once more, this time in Russian-accented English. He stumbled out, coughing.

"Sasha! You never do that again! You could been broken!" Ignoring any grammatical errors he may have made, or words left out, he inspected his helicopter. He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"You're okay! You're okay." He turned his eye toward the group of people now gathering together.

"Whoa. Lots of people. Wonder if we have enough supplies to throw party."

Jake chewed on the inside of his lip and glanced around. He suddenly had the feeling of being watched. He couldn't see anything, and none of the bodies on the ground were moving, so it wasn't any sort of... thing. He rubbed the top of his head, then down his face. He couldn't let paranoia sink in, because then it would never go away, and he would most likely die of exhaustion. He took a deep breath and Kylie squeezed his hand. He looked around one last time, and noticed Colt looking around too. So he wasn't the only one with the creepy feeling. Colt stopped looking around and began taking off his Ghille suit. Jake blinked a few times, once again fighting off the paranoia. Kylie coughed next to him and pulled him out of his thoughts. It was a violent painful cough that racked her body. She was bent over with one hand over her mouth and the other over her stomach. "You okay?" He asked her and she nodded, waving him away. He took a few steps forward and watched as she wiped her hand on her dark jeans, then wiped off her face. She had broken a sweat and he figured she was getting a cold after being out here for two days.

"Go ahead, I'm just going to sit down here," she said and sat down on the curb. she put her head in her hands once again and stopped moving.

"No, I'll stay, we don't know if those.." Jake stopped for lack of a word to call the things they had encountered.

"People? Living beings?" Kylie asked sarcastically looking up at him.

"Ky, they were going to.. I don't know what they were going to do, but there was something off with them. They weren't right," he said, crouching down in front of her. The others didn't bother to wait up for them, and went to check out the helicopter.

"Hell, none of us are Jake. We may very be the last people on earth. Those people, they might have been desperate. What if they were just sick and trying to get our attention, our help," Kylie shook her head and put it back in her lap. Jake pulled out his gun and set it next to her.

"Safety's on. Use it if you need to. I'll be right around the corner, call me if anything happens," Jake said, with no response from the shivering blonde girl. He took off his jacket and laid it over her shoulders before turning and following the group.


Minnie nodded at what Colt had said and walked towards the helicopter. A man was yelling at someone named Sasha about being broken. Minnie scrunched her eyebrows together and Leo old her that the helicopter's name was Sasha, and the man was the pilot. "Are you okay?" she asked and walked up to him. She didn't stop to think whether he might be dangerous or not. He said something about throwing a party and Minnie squinted at him, turning her head slightly. She couldn't tell whether he was was joking, or maybe he had damage to the head. Leo came up behind herald put his hands on her shoulders. He was being protective, and telling her that she shouldn't have done that. Normally, Minnie would have hated the gesture, but she appreciated him being there, so she ignored that fact that he was being so silently bossy. Jake walked and stood in front of the two girls. Leo was handling his sister, and like he had found out before, and knowing he was in the military, Jake knew Colt could his own.

Jake wasn't exactly sure what he was protecting, or why he was, but from the three things to the feeling of being watched, he wasn't feeling very trust worthy at the moment. He wasn't sure what to say. What do you want? Well, he figured the answer would be to survive. But did that mean killing them and taking their supplies, or joining them. Hell, Jake wasn't even sure when or if they had actually become a group. In the past hour he had met 5 new people that were all somehow worth trusting, and now all of a sudden one more comes along and he is ready to protect these strangers? He had no idea what was going on inside of him at the moment, but he wasn't about to try and figure it out either.


Kylie began coughing again. She leaned over and let a small amount of bile escape her mouth. Her eyes watered and she wiped them with the back of her hand. Once she could see clearly again she looked at the side walk. It was spattered with blood. She didn't remember that being there before, but now it was. She touched it, and the sticking solution stuff to her finger. She scrambled to her feet and looked in the dark window of a car. Her mouth was bright red and she had a streak of blood above her eye from where she had wiped her face. She quickly cleaned it off and wiped off her mouth and hands. They were pretty clean, and she knew that no one would notice it as something odd. She had a metallic taste in her mouth and couldn't wait to get back to Minnie's truck to get some water. She looked over towards the helicopter, and everyone seemed to be talking. She shrugged and began walking back the way hey had come.

After a few minutes, the truck was in sight again and she sighed. With a bit of a struggle, she pulled herself into the bed and began searching for some water. She grabbed a bottle, then began rummaging through the medical bag. She found some stomach soothers and more ibuprofen. She tilted her head back and swallowed the four pills. The water relived her burning throat, and surprisingly helped some of the stomach pains immediately. She stood up and heard a shuffle and a slide. She looked around, but couldn't see anything. She took another drink, and once more heard the noise. Two people like before were coming towards the truck. One grunted, and the other went around to the other side. Their walk seemed normal, but it was slightly animalistic. Not like a limp, but more like a loping. Kylie took a deep breath as they closed in. As they got closer, she saw their eyes. They were pale and empty. They were seeing, but they weren't really seeing. One, the woman had blonde hair like herself. But her skin was tight across her face. She might have been beautiful once, but now she looked like a corpse. Her fingers were bony and her nailed were long and sharp. Kylie couldn't speak. She stood perfectly still. Why weren't they saying anything to her? The same reason she wasn't saying anything to them? Before she knew it, one was making a loud noise, and two more of them came out of an ally, and came towards the truck.

"We should check out that helo. It may be a rescue party, or a scout from other survivors."

Lucia nodded her response and despite her earlier fear, she followed the others who were making their way towards the helicopter, that had been grounded by its pilot. Smoke still billowed from the engine and she coughed slightly, before covering her mouth and nose. Instinctively, she moved closer to Leo and his sister, for comfort. She needed to stick close to these people. After feeling so alone, they almost felt like a small family since she had found them. Or rather, they had found her. Now, they had to stick together especially in the face of what might be a new-found foe. However, when the blonde girl continued to cough and then excused herself from the group, worry shot through her like a sudden pain. Should they separate? It wasn't a good idea in her mind. Though before she could say anything the blonde girl had gone off and her boyfriend had just let her. Anxiety creased her brow, but who was she to question? It was clearly safe enough for her to leave.

Already something was causing a tingle to creep up her spine and she shuddered unexpectedly. Was it just the unknown people on the helicopter causing her to feel uneasy? Or the fact that one of their number had gone off alone? Or was it something else? Whatever it was it was setting her completely on edge. Trying to shake off the feeling, she looked up at the towering helicopter. Glancing around the group, she made the first move to speak to the unknown. However, she stuck close to Leo, her arm brushing against his gently.

"Hello? Are you okay? We saw the helicopter come down and we've come to see if you're alright." Lucia called, peering into the helicopter, though she held her breath in anticipation.

Alexei

Alexei looked around at the people around his chopper."Well, is not this lucky."

He looked out the girl peeking in from one of the open doors. "Just us Russians in here." He stepped out once more, done fixing the control panel. He surveyed the group. He saw two men who stood differently from the rest of them, confident and obviously militarily-trained. He didn't know what the taller one did, but the one that was about four inches shorter was obviously a sniper, judging from the bolt-action he had strapped on his back and the ghille suit. A blonde walked away from the main group.

Alexei readjusted his Aviator sunglasses, then spoke.

"Allow me to introduce. My name is Alexei. I fly helicopter. Sorry, helicopters. I'm Russian. I have guns..." He held up his AN-94, observing it, then checking if anything was jammed. It was fine. "...and that's about it."

"Who are you guys?"

Colt

"Who are you guys?" The Russian named Alexei asked. Looking around, he took it upon himself to fully introduce himself to everyone. He began quietly, but with a firm tone.

"I'm Corporal Bryant Blackwell of the Marine Corps. Most people call me Colt. I'm a sniper. I just met you all, and I'm sure you know of the recent terrorists attacks on the United States and the world, and the aftermath of it. Well, part of the aftermath." He finished, looking back at the three headshots he'd done back by the truck. "I can tell you more, if you don't know already." Colt stated, turning back to the group and addressing them as a whole.

Jake stood there and watched as the man stepped out of the smoking vehicle. He had a very strong accent and his English was broken. He had a weapon, but he didn't point it at anyone in the group. He had mentioned something about being lucky, so Jake let his guard down enough that he realized he wasn't an initial threat. To himself he decided that 8 people was enough in their 'group', and that they really couldn't afford to have anymore people joining in. Minnie's supplies were limited, and from the looks of it, no one really had much of anything else. He was sure they could find some other stuff, but eventually, they would run out of everything. He was drawn out of his reverie when he heard Colt speaking, and fully introducing himself. Maybe they should all do that, considering he couldn't remember everyones name. He knew Minnie, and now Colt. Alexei just said his name, so that was easy. The girl next to him.. Ace. Yeah, that was right. Then there was of course Kylie, and Levi? Minnie's brother. And the girl next to him. Lucy. He shrugged and figured he would learn the names eventually, if he was wrong.

Leo felt the girl standing close next to him and looked down to see Lucia. She was looking at Alexei, but she did look slightly frightened. Well, didn't they all? Except of course Colt and Jake. Maybe Alexei too. They all looked some sort of military. Colt introduced himself properly and Minnie watched as he explained the so called aftermath of the terrorist attacks. She took a few steps closer to him and away from her brother and Lucia. Now she was sort of in the middle of the group, but she felt less crowded all the same. She didn't notice that Miss America wasn't there until just then. Minnie bit the inside of her cheek and glanced around. Not being able to see her, she knew she should be worried, but she wasn't. Maybe it was because she just met her, or maybe it was her fearless attitude. She looked to Jake and he was standing his his hands in his pockets, looking at Colt. Man he had nice arms. When did he take off his jacket? She shook her head and turned her attention back to Colt, who had stopped speaking.

"Hey before you start explaining all this could I go get Kylie? She's just around the corner, and she really needs to hear this," Jake didn't wait for a response and he jogged to where he would be able to see her. Except she wasn't there. "Kylie?" He called out, his eyes searching the street. The fear that Minnie hadn't been feeling suddenly hit her. She followed Jake around the corner and began looking for the girl. "Ky, where are you?" Jake said and began making his way towards the truck. Minnie followed, calling out for the girl.

Kylie watched as two more people came towards her. "Please, don't hurt me. I.. I have supplies. We can share," she sputtered as she picked up a bag. The two were circling the truck, and the ones coming out of the ally went to either side as well. They only looked at her when she began to speak. One let out a moan, the same one that had been making the noises the whole time. The other three went to the left side, the ride side and the front of the truck respectively, while the 'leader' went to the back. He put his hands on the tail gate and shook a few times. Kylie couldn't help but noticed his fingers were grey-green under the dry blood. She swallowed and backed up against the cab. The two on either side reached for her and she screamed.

Jake heard a scream and he began running towards where the sound came from. "Kylie!" He yelled. Minnie picked up the pace as well, but stayed a yard or two behind him. When the truck came into view there were four.. things surrounding it, and Kylie was in the bed. Just as Jake was closing in on the truck, another came out from behind a car and was right on his heels.

"Jake behind you!" Minnie screamed and skidded to a halt. She looked for anything to use as a weapon and found a street sign lying on the ground. It didn't have the pole, just the sign. She picked it and ran after Jake. He didn't turn around, just ran faster. When Minnie had spoken, the man turned around, and began going after her. She backed up until she was against the wall of a building. Minnie closed her eyes and swung the sign like a blade. She felt it connect and it dug into her hands, cutting her palms. She had sliced it's head off, but the fingers were still twitching. She almost threw up at the smell and the sight of the rotten blood and insides. It's eyes were still blinking and she remembered that Colt had shot it in the head. She clenched her jaw and brought the sign down on it's skull, cracking it open. The thing stopped moving and Minnie bent over and threw up.

Jake kicked one down and lifted Kylie out. Immediately, the one got up and all four were coming after them. "Kylie, run!" Jake said and pushed her away. She ran. When she got to Minnie she stopped and fell on the ground. She had passed up. Minnie couldn't do anything about it, because she was shaking uncontrollably. Jake threw punches and a few kicks before jumping in the back of the truck. He found a tire iron buried underneath Minnie's supplies. He hopped out and swung it at one's head. It hit with a crunch, and the woman crumpled to the ground. The other three seemed angry now. They were reaching for him, and were almost as fast as him, but not quite. He decided it would be best to just out run them, but that meant leading them to the group. "Oh shit." He said, as three more came running towards him.

"Use your sidearm, American!" Alexei yelled at the man who was attempting to beat down the, "Mutated" he dubbed them, a distance away. He aimed down his AN-84's sights when the man dropped one with a blunt object. He dropped to his knee and fired two seven-round bursts in quick succession at the nearest of the figures, aiming for the chest. He wouldn't have been able to pull that off if it weren't for the high rate of fire and the low-recoil of the 5.56 round. One of them jerked to his side, and lay still. The other, however, only stumbled and kept moving toward the man. The other joined it. He aimed down the sights once more.

The first one's head exploded, and the other's head severed from it's body in almost complete sync. Brain matter splattered the ground directly behind the Mutated and the other's head fell to the ground, the mouth still working. Alexei looked to the side. The rest of the group was huddled near the chopper, save for the one named Colt, who had his sniper's scope to his eye, the stock on top of his shoulder to account for the relatively short distance.

"They were lined up perfectly." Was the only thing he said, before working the bolt one more time and standing up. "Give me a sitrep!" He yelled out at the man the Mutated failed to kill. "Is everybody fine accounted for?"

Lucia recognised the Russian accent almost immediately. It appeared that many of them were from many places across the world. And that made her feel a little less out of place in this strange world. At least she had something else she could relate to them about. As well as the world being completely dead that was. As the Russian introduced himself, she gave him a small smile, still standing close to Leo. After Jake had spoken, she gave a small wave.

"I'm Lucia Agnoli. It's a pleasure to meet you. Although the circumstances are completely dire." With a shrug, her eyes followed Jake and Minnie as they went on a search for Kylie. It only caused her to become more anxious, as their group divided further. Biting her bottom lip, she made a move to follow them, gesturing for the others to do so as well. That's when she heard the desperate scream from the road over. Without thinking, she tore off after Minnie and Jake, her feet pounding on the paved street. Her hair streamed behind her as she skidded around the corner. She could hear the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears and her chest constricted in fear of what she might find.

The sight before her shocked her. Jake was grappling with some people who had clearly been after Kylie. But they weren't like people she had ever seen before. It caused her to halt for a moment, but within a few seconds she was running towards them. Kylie had been lifted free, but had now collapsed at Minnie's feet, who was stood completely still, from shock. And in all honesty, she too was shaken completely to her core. This could not be happening. This was just one step too far in all that had happened. Everyone dying had been enough, but these...things caused fear to shoot through her heart like shards of ice. Once she reached them, Lucia knelt besides Kylie, pressing her head to her forehead.

"Did she say her name is Kylie?" She asked Minnie, pulling up her eyelids. "I think she's just passed out. Shock no doubt. She will be okay when she comes to." Pulling her bag toward her, Lucia removed a bottle of water and poured a gentle stream over the girl's face in an attempt to wake her. A gunshot went off somewhere behind her, causing her to jump out of her skin. Twisting her heard, she watched as the Russian man deftly killed two more of the things. Blood splattered the sidewalk and road in crimson puddles that glittered in the sunlight. Lucia's stomach churned and she fought the urge to be violently sick.

Jake was only able to take another down before the rest were taken down by gunshots. He breathed heavily and put his hands to his temple. One head rolled to his foot, its mouth still moving and its eyes still searching. He slammed the tire iron into its eye. He beat it a few more times then looked up. Alexei and Colt were both standing there. Jake put up his arm and waved to say he was okay. He looked around and saw Minnie with her head down, and Kylie was lying on the ground with that Lucy girl beside her. He ran toward her and knelt down at her side, roughly shoving the other girl out of his way. He didn't mean to be rude, but he had to get to Kylie. "Kylie, you okay?" He asked and lifted her head up.

Kylie sat up and used his arm to lean on. "I'm fine. I just panicked," She coughed again. It was violent and this time blood was practically streaming out of her mouth. Jake blinked a few times, and didn't say anything about it.

"Come on let's stand you up," Slowly, they rose together. "Slowly, easy does it," He said, and another bout of coughing took hold of her body When she stood up again, Jake could see her mouth was bright red and there was blood running from her nose. Her skin was hot to the touch. Her eyes were blood shot. Whatever was going on wasn't a cold. He looked to Colt, then Alexei. His heart wrenched as he fought off any negative thoughts.

"Jake," Kylie said. Her eyes filled with tears and streaked down her face. They mixed with the blood and ran off her chin. She spit a mouth full of blood out and began trembling. She made a few grunting noses and her chest visibly constricted. "I'm sick," she said.

"No, you'll be okay. It's the cold, and stress. And you just got attacked. Come on I'm sure the water is still on somewhere... generators.." Jake let his voice trail off. Minnie was throwing up again and Leo had been following Lucia to his sister. He rubbed her back and held back her hair. The thought struck him that maybe the both of them were getting sick, but then he thought about the fact that Minnie hates blood, and she just killed someone. He was cooing to her softly in French, and every so often she would nod. He walked her away from the group and let her get some water. She washed her face off and downed the rest of it. She looked at the bodies surrounding her truck. Some were simply dead, and others... They had just been killed. Leo lifted her out of the truck and they examined the supplies she had collected. Leo couldn't believe she was so prepared. When he asked her about it, she just shrugged. She was feeling a lot better and they went to join the rest of the group.

"How are you doing Kylie?" Minnie asked her and handed her a wet towel. Leo almost stopped her from going near the girl, but a mean look from Minnie made him back off. Kylie didn't reach out for the towel, so Minnie began wiping her face and neck off. Jake held back her hair while the small girl cleaned Kylie off. "Come on Barbie. You have to look perfect," Minnie said, and received a small laugh from the woman. Once she was cleaned off, Kylie turned and faced everyone. They were staring at her, or at least she felt like they were. She knew that what was happening to her was what happened to everyone else. Or at least that's what it seemed like. Blood. And lots of it. She grabbed Jakes hand and squeezed it with what little strength she had.

"I'm sick," she said, addressing the group. Jake began to speak but she started interrupted him. "I have been for a long time," Jake looked at her with a surprised look. She returned a comforting look to him. "It's alright babe, I want them to know. There is no sense in hiding it," she sighed and adjusted her blood freckled shirt. "I will spare you the bloody details, but basically that's what happens. I get very sick and my head hurts, and usually start throwing up and coughing up blood. Sometimes the flares last for a week, and other times a day. The doctors aren't really sure what it is, but they say it's not killing me. I just take pain medications and yeah.." Her voice got lower and she gave everyone an awkward smile. "The stress and everything probably isn't helping either," Kylie said. Jake was staring at her. When she gave him a pleading look he smiled.

"That was very brave of you to tell them," he said, looking uncomfortable. "I'm surprised," he said. Before he could continue, Kylie kissed him on the cheek. Minnie was staring at her, and Leo was doing his best to avert his eyes. He looked around the circle, trying to find something or someone to focus on. He couldn't believe this. He felt so sorry for Kylie. Eventually, Minnie cut the silence.

"I think we should go somewhere else. Who knows how many of those things are out there. Somewhere secluded. Maybe a house or apartment," she suggested. She figured they all might need a shower and to get cleaned up. And they were in a city, there was bound to be somewhere they could go. "And we can re-do introductions. Kinda like Colt did, " she said and looked at him. She smiled and then looked at everyone else. "Tell everyone who you are and you know.. anything else" She tucked her hair behind her ear and bit her lip. Leo nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. He knew Minnie wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible.

"We could walk, or drive," Jake said. "I know Minnie has a truck that can fit two or three, we have a car that can fit two," Jake said. There were more than five people, so that wouldn't work. He would need to hot wire a car eventually. His sports car was nice, but they needed something practical. Like an SUV or big ass pick up truck.

"Lucia weren't you standing near a truck, was that yours?" Leo asked and looked at her. Jake made a mental note that it was Lucia and not Lucy. And Minnie had said Leo earlier, not Levi.

"We'll figure it out," Jake shrugged and wrapped an arm around Kylie. Her eyes were trained on the ground, and her face was growing pale.

Lucia wasn't offended when Jake pushed her out of the way to reach Kylie. Instead, she simply got up and stood back away from them both, though her eyes were guarded slightly as she nodded a thank you to the Russian. It must have been nice for them so have someone that they truly cared about. A pang of loneliness struck her heart. When she had first found these people, relief had swept through her, pushing away all the bad thoughts. But in reality, she was just as lonely as she was before. These people didn't truly know her and they'd simply been forced together for survival purposes. They were just so lucky to have each other that she couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the pair. Not that she had had anyone besides Ellie, not after her mother had passed away.

Exiting her own thoughts, her attention turned to Kylie who had begun to speak quietly. So, she was ill. Well that explained the coughing and the blood she had brought up earlier. Giving the girl a sympathetic smile, she patted her shoulder in a comforting manner. It had been brave for her to speak up and tell them about her illness and Lucia felt truly sad for her. But at the same time, so many healthy, fit people had died, like Ellie and yet Kylie had survived when she was so ill. It almost didn't seem fair. However, the moment that thought popped into her head, she chided herself mentally. No, she should be glad that Kylie had managed to get through what had killed so many others. It was not her place to say what was fair and what wasn't. A lot in the world currently was unfair.

"Lucia weren't you standing near a truck, was that yours?"

"My brother owned a place about twenty miles from here. He and a couple of friends. It's a big place...bachelor pad...but he was kind of...um paranoid I guess? Every man has a zombie plan kind of thing. I know it's a little far but...it's secluded and I guarantee there will be supplies. Guns...food...water...I mean...it's just an option...I can hotwire too...if we need another vehicle..."

Lucia chuckled slightly at the mention of a zombie plan. Well, it seemed like he had been right to prepare for such a situation. So the other girl had a brother that she had lost. She made a mental note of that, whilst looking around at the rest of the group, her eyes meeting Leo's and nodding. "It is my truck around the corner. We can use that to get there as well. I can fit myself and two more in the front and perhaps two in the truck bed, bearing in mind belongings and so on. As long as you can lead the way." Looking to Ace, she smiled brightly at her, sweeping her brown locks over her shoulder.

"Do you mind if I come?"

A voice echoed around the street. Almost instantly, Lucia's demeanor changed from relaxed to tight and tense. The colour drained from cheeks and her eyes widened, as her body completely froze. Panic tore across her chest and she sucked in a deep breath, almost choking on it. When she didn't turn to face the voice, he spoke up again. "Ora, non mi dire che hai dimenticato il suono della voce di mia Lucia." Now, do not tell me you've forgotten the sound of my voice Lucia The Italian words slipped easily from his lips, his voice like silk, soft and tempting. Lucia's body began to shake, from head to toe as she slowly turned around. Only six paces away from her stood the man she had left behind in Italy. The man who had made her life a living hell. The man she hated. Unaware of what she was doing, her fingers reached for the jagged scar on her face, tracing the skin there.

"A-Antonio..." She gasped.

Colt jammed a new magazine into his sniper, working the bolt and ejecting the spent shell out at the same time. Alexei just changed mags. Everyone seemed to be fine. The girl named Kylie didn't look too hot though. He listened to the explanation and nodded. He had seen diseases like this out in the Middle East, but not a lot in First World countries. The others started discussing their plans He stood up. He heard a voice.

"Do you mind if I come?"

Lucia seemed to visibly flinch, as the voice continued in what sounded like Italian. Smooth.

"A-Antonio..."

Not turning around, Colt spoke. "You could have asked us earlier 'Antonio' instead of trying to sneak around around in the shadows like that." He continued neutrally. "You should really make it a point not to step on broken glass when trying to be undetected." He spoke to the rest o the group.

"Me and Alexei can provide overwatch through the helicopter, protect the trucks, like a convoy." He directed his eyes toward Alexei. "If you can do that. How far are you from bingo fuel?"

"Da. I can do that. I don't have an exact estimate, but the fuel should last a few days."

Ace spoke up before Lucia answered. "My brother owned a place about twenty miles from here. He and a couple of friends. It's a big place...bachelor pad...but he was kind of...um paranoid I guess? Every man has a zombie plan kind of thing. I know it's a little far but...it's secluded and I guarantee there will be supplies. Guns...food...water...I mean...it's just an option...I can hotwire too...if we need another vehicle..." Leo weighed the options. Supplies was a good thing. The needed all they could get. They also needed some place to stay. But would they really be staying? There had to be other survivors. The government had to be doing something. There had to be something more to this. He would pulled form his thoughts when he heard Lucia speak.

"It is my truck around the corner. We can use that to get there as well. I can fit myself and two more in the front and perhaps two in the truck bed, bearing in mind belongings and so on. As long as you can lead the way." She said. Leo nodded, the needed the fourth vehicle. Minnie was glaring at Lucia. Why the hell was she smiling. There was no reason to be smiling right now. And she even laughed. Minnie was about ready to scream at her when Leo gave her a stern look. That only fed her anger more. Her eyes turned to slits as she gave him the rudest look she could manage at the time. Kylie was still focused on the ground. She slid down Jake's said and sat on the curb. She really wasn't feeling well. The ibuprofen and stomach soothers weren't working very well. She turned to her side and threw up some more. Jake side stepped out of the way and looked sympathetically down at his girlfriend, although this time he made no move to comfort her. She was tough, and he knew it. She'd pull through. Plus, she might get upset with being babied. He looked to Minnie who surprisingly seemed pissed. What did she have to be angry at? Well, other than the end of the freaking world. She seemed fine a minute ago. He shrugged the thought away as someone emerged from the shadows.

"Do you mind if I come?" The man asked. His voice was like honey. Venomous dripping honey. "Ora, non mi dire che hai dimenticato il suono della voce di mia Lucia." His voice came once more. He spoke Italian this time.

"A-Antonio..." Lucia said. Her hand was on her face, her fingers grazing a jagged scar. Jake and Leo both noticed she seemed frighten and uncomfortable with his presence.

"You could have asked us earlier 'Antonio' instead of trying to sneak around in the shadows like that. You should really make it a point not to step on broken glass when trying to be undetected. Colt said, not even looking at Antonio. This time when he spoke he addressed the group.” Me and Alexei can provide overwatch through the helicopter, protect the trucks, like a convoy." He said. Minnie thought it sounded like a pretty good idea. Colt flicked his glance over to the Russian. "If you can do that. How far are you from bingo fuel?"

"Da. I can do that. I don't have an exact estimate, but the fuel should last a few days." Alexei returned.

So they had a plan, but this Antonia guy seemed to be out of place. “We don’t have room for you,” Jake said harshly. He was sure they could make room but 9 people was pushing it. That was a lot of mouths to feed, and plus Lucia seemed more than put off by his presence.

“Yeah, you’re just going to have to try your luck on your own,” Leo said. He had thought it through. According to Colt, this guy had been lurking in the shadows. Everyone else here seemed fine. Jake and Kylie had found Minnie. They were trusted by her. Leo himself had found Ace and Lucia. They needed Ace because she was taking them to her brother’s house. Lucia immediately tried to care for Kylie. Colt showed that he was on their side by taking down the mutants, and Alexei as well. Clearly they were the only ones who knew about these things. The only person Antonio knew was Lucia, and clearly she didn’t welcome him. It was obvious he wouldn’t be coming with them.

Minnie was rolling her eyes. She had her arms crossed. She really could care less what they did. She wanted to know about these tings and what the hell was going on, not talk to this guy, or about this guy. A quiet and scratchy voice spoke up from behind her. “We can’t just leave him,” Kylie said, standing.

“Yeah we can, Ky,” Jake said. “He hid from us. If he was safe he would have come out from the start. I had a feeling something was off,” He shook his head.

“But what if he knows something about those sick people?” She asked, her eyes pleading.

“They aren’t sick. They are something different. Babe, they only stopped moving with something through it’s brain. He was still moving with his head off. And anyway, Colt seems like he knows something,”

“They..” Kylie began, her eyes weary. She stopped herself and looked down. There was no way they would believe her.

“Well?” Minnie finally called out. “What the hell are we waiting. Those things are out there just waiting for us. Let’s just go. Let’s take this Antonio guy and find out what he is really about,” Minnie said. She seemed angry. “And if he is some sort of bastard we just throw him out. The decision seems easy enough,” She said and threw her arms up. She let her hands slap her legs and she walked off to her truck. She turned it on and pulled it up to the rest. She cut the engine, not wanting to waste gas.

“Kylie and I will go get our car and meet the rest of you back here. My opinion still stands,” Jake said, giving Minnie a look. She returned it with a roll of her eyes. She looked to Leo then to Colt. What would they have to say about him?

Lucia nodded in response to Ace, though her eyes remained firmly on the ground. For a moment the group had refused to accept Antonio into their midst. However, both Kylie and Minnie had spoken up and said their piece, suggesting that they take him with them. In that second, Lucia's blood had ran cold. They couldn't take him. She wouldn't allow him to come with them. None of them understood what he was capable of. But instead of speaking up, she made the mistake of looking up at Antonio. The look on his face stopped dead all her thoughts and she nodded numbly, though her eyes found the ground once again. The cheerful attitude had all but vanished from the young woman as she spoke up.

"Y-You can come. But find someone else's car to travel in." It was muttered in an emotionless voice, as she refused to meet anyone's eye. Instead she parted from the group and headed towards her blue Chevy truck in order to retrieve it for the others. Antonio watched her retreating back, before taking a step after her. But he thought better of it, halting in his tracks and casting a glance at the rest of the group. He was glad that the women in the group had spoken up and defended him against the men. Immediately he felt hostile towards them, especially that Leo fellow. The fact that they were protecting Lucia, when it was his job, caused hatred to bubble inside of him. However, he kept his face calm and simply nodded.

"Does anyone mind taking me? It seems as though Lucia is determined to be...cold with me." He said in a velvety voice, with a small shrug of his shoulders.

Once out of sight, Lucia darted towards her truck, sprinting to its safe interior. The moment she was inside, she locked the doors and pressed her forehead to the steering wheel, tears making tracks down her cheeks. How had he found her? How had he survived? Out of everyone in the world, why on earth had he managed to survive? Why him? Lucia would have given anything for Ellie to be alive, but she wasn't. Instead her worst nightmare was and he was there in America with her.

Wiping away her tears, she jammed her key in and started the engine forcefully. Whacking it into gear, she sped towards the group and pulled up. Gesturing for Ace to join her, she cut the engine so not to waste gas. Who knew when they would be able to top up, especially with those things were walking around and were a direct threat to those who were living. They might not be able to risk it.

Alexei sighed. Europeans and Americans. Possibly the only people left in the world and this. Everyone needs a vodka right now. He thought. Too bad I don't drink. Colt spoke up.

"I don't care if 'Antonio' comes with us or not," the slight malice gone from his voice from his earlier comments. "we just need to double time it to our location. The noise we made is sure to attract more of the things you saw. I suggest hitting the nearest military base as soon as possible. There has to be some military personnel alive and shooting." He finished as the trucks pulled up.

"Ah. Well. Let's git while we can." Said Alexei in a poor imitation of a southern drawl as he started walking back toward Sasha. Colt holstered his rifle, pausing only to wipe some dust of his sheathed Tomahawk. Despite what all that had happened, he hadn't let any of the freaks get close enough for him to even throw it.

"You might need this." Colt said quietly, accurately tossing the pump-action Mossberg shotgun and some extra shells toward Jake as he walked by. "13 shells in total. Use them wisely. Also, ignore what your Drill Instructor told you. Go for headshots first. Kills these things faster."

When they reached the helicopter, Alexei bent down. "Broken skid. Great." He turned to Colt. "You've been in any helicopter crashes?" Colt's face remained impassive, not revealing whether he took it as a joke or not. "A few."

"Good." Said Alexei, hopping in and starting the rotor.

Jake was becoming impatient with this idle chat, but Colt spoke once again. Jake was beginning to actually like him, despite the fact they'd only known each other for maybe 30 minutes. Colt tossed a shot gun at him, "13 shells in total. Use them wisely. Also, ignore what your Drill Instructor told you. Go for headshots first. Kills these things faster," he said, and began making his way to the helicopter.

Jake smirked at the drill instructor comment. "You got it boss," Jake said. He wasn't mocking Colt, but there was some sarcasm in his voice. He hoped Colt didn't take it the wrong way. "Come on Ky," He said and he began walking towards their car. "We're parked in the center or town, near the fountain. Meet us there so we're all together. Then we'll follow Lucia. Minnie, you take up the rear," he said. He and Kylie were soon out of ear shot. Minnie just nodded.

"Antonio, come on you're with me and Leo," Minnie said, and hopped back in the cab. She waited for Leo and Antonio to get in before starting the engine. Leo sat in the middle. He always hated the middle, but he still didn't trust this guy and he didn't want him anywhere near his baby sister.

"Minnie, you know I love you right?" Leo said to his sister in a hushed tone. Antonio wasn't to the truck yet. Minnie nodded. "We're going to be okay, I promise. I won't let anything happen to you," He said. "Look at me," he demanded, this time his voice got dangerously serious. He grabbed her jaw and looked into her eyes. "Say you believe me,"

"I believe you," she lied. She wanted to believe him, but after what just happened, she couldn't. She killed someone, or something.. She wasn't sure at this point. Leo closed his eyes and kissed her forehead just as Antonio was getting in the truck. "I know right where Kylie and Jake are parked. I don't know if Lucia knows this part of town so I'll just wait for her," Minnie said, her voice low. She sounded moody, who wouldn't be? Once the other blue truck was in sight, Minnie shifted to first and began slowly weaving her way through the bodies. Some were two days old, and others were still in pools of fresh blood. The girl tried her best to avoid looking at them.

Soon enough they pulled up to the place where Minnie had met the couple. As expected, they were in the nice silver car Minnie had seen. She stifled a snort. Yeah, the thing had horse power, and it was fast, but could it handle some of those freaks they'd seen earlier? She made eye contact with Lucia, and Jake did the same, after rolling down his almost black tinted windows, signaling for her to let Ace tell her the way.