'Remind me again why we're going to bloody Malibu?' Marcus grunted over his shoulder to Sam. 'Bound to be looted out by now.' He gripped the steering wheel tighter.

For nearly a month now, he'd been able to keep Angel and the young intern safe in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, taking advantage of the hikers' trails and recreational huts that dotted the area. The rough terrain meant the rotting creatures were few and far between, and and the hard climb meant they were even slower than usual. Things were beginning to change, however. They were seeing the things more frequently now, as they drifted out of the massive population centre of Los Angeles. Four million people, eaten alive, he thought to himself. And they were beginning to see more evidence of people closer by, too. Marcus didn't trust people before the outbreak; he certainly didn't trust them now. He'd scoffed at the rumours of cannibalism that had been broadcast before the last radio station shut down. Even so, human beings could do terrible things to each other, and he had two young women under his care.

A choking sound from the engine brought Marcus back to the present. 'Damnit,' he hissed under his breath. 'Damn, damn, damn.' The Toyota Tacoma was sturdy and reliable, even though it was a good 15 years old. That wasn't the problem. He cut the engine and let gravity propel them down the road. The fuel needle was firmly in the red. He wasn't sure it would restart once they got to the bottom of the hill.

The two young women. He knew Samantha Williams almost as well as he knew his own daughter, and he'd worked with her for a matter of days before the outbreak. At least he could have some sort of adult conversation with Sam. Angel... Well, it was like Angel was a different species entirely. She wouldn't address him with any more than a few mumbled monosyllables. Still, even that was a bonus compared to the cold silences and the withering stares. Each one of those was a dagger in his heart. He knew he'd been a rubbish father, he admitted it openly, but at the same time, Angel's mother hadn't given him much of a chance. He didn't know if Angel blamed him for not saving her mother or for having separated Angel from her the morning things really got bad. Though she hadn't wanted to go. he'd taken her to work for father-daughter day. The irony. Still, it had saved the girl's life. Her own home would have been completely over-run by now, Marcus was sure. First fatherly thing I've done in my life, and she killing me for it, he thought.

The trees began to thin out as they neared the bottom of the hill. He could see the sun glinting on the abandoned cars on the Pacific Coast Highway. Marcus pulled the handbrake. 'Okay, listen, we're going to have to foot it. I'm not bringing the truck down to the highway. We'll go down there and see if we can siphon some gas.' He pulled his pistol from his jacket. 'Angel, grab the gas can. Sam, you ready?'

Samantha stared for a while at the awkward interaction between Angel and Marcus, ranging from cold stares to awful silence, she knew this was a wrecked father & daughter relationship; it didn’t take a scientist to figure that much. Everyone was quiet for a while, much to Sam dismay; she didn’t like the silence because she was more likely to be energetic and babble all the way through especially in awkward situations like this. However, for the meantime she appreciate the quietness, after all the commotion she and her group had experienced for the past month, a moment of silence did not sound bad at all.

It had only been a month since she first meet Marcus and Angel, they had come together because of the internship that Sam had applied to and they had stayed together ever since. Marcus being the oldest one had taken care of Sam and his daughter and had kept them safe. Oh the irony she thought to herself, being under the care of someone was not something Sam was used to, except with her best friend Kim of course, Sam had Kim’s back and she had hers.

Marcus led Sam and Angel thought the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains where they noticed an increase on the infected, and an increase on the number of deaths. The news channel was a bloody mess; nobody knew what was happening, unless they experienced the outbreaks beforehand, it was only a matter of time before the radio station and the news channel shutdown. This is madness! Sam’s troubled mind repeated.

"Remind me again why we’re going to bloody Malibu?" said Marcus, while he tightly clung his fingers to the wheel, Sam turned her gaze away from the passenger window to Marcus troubled stare as he spoke again, ‘bound to be looted out by now’ . Sam didn’t say anything because she was distracted by the Toyota Tacoma engine making unexpected noises. "Just what we needed" she replied in a low barely audible whisper. Sam was no an expert in mechanics but one thing was clear, the truck was not going anywhere. Marcus spoke again, "okay, listen, we’re going to have to foot it. I’m not bringing the truck down the highway. We’ll go down there and see if we can siphon some gas." After he reached for his pistol he continued, “Angel, grab the gas can. Sam, you ready?" to which Sam nodded, "I’m ready, let’s just get this over with" she said as she grab hold of the car handle, it took her a little while to open it because she was shaking, she couldn’t hide it, the idea of encountering another cannibal, another monster scared the living out of her.

Sam was clearly afraid, she wasn’t coping well especially because she had already killed two infected, there was no other way she reassured herself, they had tried to bite her when all the ruckus happened. The first one approached Sam in a sudden movement, it was a young man in his mid-twenties, or that was before he turned into a cannibal. He killed a woman in front of Sam’s eyes, tearing and biting every ligament from her neck, devouring hastily before he turned against her. After he pinned Sam down he had tried to bite her, Sam pushed him as hard as she could to which caused him to fall to her side, she quickly pulled herself up, however he grabbed her leg with an inhuman strength, at his strong grip Same knew she didn’t have any other choice but to bash his head with a strong kick. The second one she had been able to kill with a trembling hand and a very sharp knife.

Angel was looking out the window of Marcus's truck dismally. Everything had fallen apart in a matter of weeks. From the first day it had been terrible, a life she knew she wasn't supposed to be living. Yet somehow here she was, coasting down a hill with her father and young woman named Samantha, whom worked at the same place as her father. They were a strange bunch, but at least they made it this far.

She'd been fortunate enough to be spending the day with dear old dad while her mother and stepfather were traveling. Of course, she had no idea if they'd even reached their destination. She also didn't know if her mother or any of her friends were still alive. They could be walking corpses like the rest of the world was turning into. It was something out of a horror movie, unbelievable yet adrenaline pumped. She had to give those filmmakers credit; they were incredibly accurate in the stress that comes along with trying to survive from flesh eating monsters, let alone yourself.

The blonde scowled even more as Marcus addressed her, telling her to get the fuel can. Was it her fault that he hadn't stocked up on fuel sooner? No, it wasn't. Every time somebody else did something wrong, she somehow got dragged into it. She wasn't the magical solution to everything. After all, just look at her parents. One was doing who knows what for a living (she suspected that Marcus had a few... other jobs of choice) and the other was a perfect miss between an attentive parent and an absent one. It felt like she could never win in these situations, in any situation really. She was always one step behind everybody else, yet others saw her as being one step ahead.

Grunting in response to her father, she grabbed the fuel can that was at her feet and clutched it for dear life. Right now, this really was a life or death situation. Even if the world was a living Hell, she would prefer to be alive as apposed to being one of those wretched things.

Angel waited for either of the adults to leave the car. She noticed how shaky Sam's hand was. On the surface, she was annoyed by this woman who had butted into her life and now couldn't even open a door. But she knew that they were all scared. No one wanted to be torn limb from limb and eaten alive. None of them were ready to face death. She was scared, terrified beyond imagination, but she would not admit it.

She was the only one who hadn't killed one of the flesh eaters yet. Marcus had his trusty pistol and with a well aimed shot or two could down a zombie. Sam had managed to bash one's head in with a swift kick and kill another with a knife. The innocent Angel had no weapon of her own other than the two sitting with her in the truck. She trusted them with her life, but not much else.

"C'mon, let's go," she urged, wanting this all to be done with. They were dangerously close to civilization, whether it be destroyed or struggling on like they were. She was anxious, not wanting to be caught defenseless against any sort of foe.

"Don't leave," Rayna had begged him after the party. It had been dark in her room, and they had both consumed too much alcohol. But Koby stayed with her…-

When Koby first saw Jake with Rayna, he immediately thought “leftovers”. They were both crying on the bathroom floor about their mistakes – their regrets…-

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a slut such as yourself slept with my best friend, The arguments they had before they barely knew each other over Jake…-

“I thought I was going to be home alone today,” Rose’s voice purred across the room to Koby. His lips were on her’s in seconds, and they hadn’t even noticed Rayna rushing in and out of the sorority…-

Drunk kisses at parties… Always pulling away too soon…-

The fights, “Stop living in a fairy tale Rayna,” Koby’s words would have hit her harder than the last line of insults. He believed everything he did, she wanted because she was with someone else. He believed all he ever was to her was a rebound...-

“No, Rayna, I don’t think I do. Because I don’t think I can be with someone who likes someone else,” Koby was just outside the door when Jake was almost shouting at Rayna. It hurt to see her in such pain…-

“I have nowhere else to go… I’d be on the streets… Again…” Rayna had asked Koby if she could move in. Her and Jake were done, and the sorority had to be left since the homeowner hadn’t paid their due. Koby took Rayna in…

“You can kiss me now,” The words had rung through Koby’s mind the whole time that he held her up against him…

“I love you too,” It was whispered, it was quiet, but Rayna had finally said it to Koby, sending goosebumps all along his skin...-

“Rayna Grey, will you marry me?” Koby had finally popped the question! Rayna was jumping up and down, squealing yes a million times, her eyes watering. It had taken over a year for Koby to get the guts to ask her, and Rayna was expecting it soon. Koby smiled, standing up from his on-knee proposal. Rayna cupped his face and brought his lips to hers…-

“… You are now Koby and Rayna Hale, you may now kiss the bride,” Koby leant in, cupping the beautiful face which was to be his, and sealed the deal. She was now his Rayna Hale…-

“I want to have kids…” Koby’s voice was nervous, but Rayna had frozen. Surprised. “I want to have a family with you,” He said a little more confidently. A smile spread across Rayna’s face, and they went off to the bed room, teasing each other…-

“Oh my gosh, Koby!” Rayna squealed from the bath room. Koby frowned and slowly walked through their bedroom to the bathroom, where Rayna was standing in her underwear, holding a little stick. “I’m pregnant!” Koby’s jaw dropped. Excitement pulsed through him. He ran up to Rayna, picking her up and letting her legs wrap around his waist. A million kisses were trailed up her neck to her lips. “I love you,” Koby said, looking up in her eyes. She smiled down at him, “I love you too,” … -

Koby had been holding Rayna's hands while they watched their small tv. It was a final cry out about the zombies before their tv cut out. That was when they had lost complete eletricity. Everything was cut off. No internet, no connection to anything. Koby had already put planks up on the doors, shadowed the windows with curtains and put more planks up against them. He was lucky that the warehouse down in the city was open and free for everybody to grab whatever they needed... Well it wasn't like there was anybody there to stop him.

Rayna looked up at Koby, her eyes full of worry, almost sadness. She looked down at her not-so flat stomache. Koby looked down at her stomache too, a large buldge underneath her clothing. He placed a hand on her stomache, almost expecting something to happen, something to react, but nothing. There was just warmth, and a connection to the little being his wife was carrying. He looked back up at his wife, and smiled. His deep green eyes were warm, full of love and everything he wished for their future. Rayna looked up at him and tried to smile, but all that spread across her face was worry. Koby planted a small kiss on her lips, and a kiss to her stomach.

"We'll be fine," He whispered to her. He glanced around their newly boardered shelter that they had adopted in the middle of the town, staring at all the planks that was serving as protection. A constant droan was heard outside, the moans of all the undead walking outside. Koby hadn't been game enough to look. It was gruesome. The first time he had been close to a... a zombie was when he had to make a dash to the closet grocery store. They were raiding the fresh meat. It was disgusting, and he had vomited every where. But he got canned goods, enough to last the both of them a couple of weeks. He had to make trips every day to get a good enough storage held, but the sadness he felt was over whelming. He would see maybe a handful of real people at the grocery store and on the quick run back to the new house. It was disappointing. There was basically no one left. The biggest pang of fear he felt was for his unborn child. How were they going to deliver this baby when it came to it? Rayna was six months along!

Rayna nodded, taking in a shaky breath before trying to smile again. Koby knew that she was probably hungry, but they had to ration out their food, and it wasn't easy. They had disagreed about how much food intake they should eat, but they had settled on three meals a day. It wasn't easy, especially for a pregnant woman and her husband, but Koby was determined that they would manage. He looked across the room to the fridge and then to the cupboards. He sighed, "We'll need to be eating the frozen and cold stuff now... Especially since the powers out," He said quietly. He rubbed the back of Rayna's hand in comfort, and instinctively she looked down at her hand, then her belly again. Koby bathed in her beauty, the way she so instinctively reacted to his touches, and the way she would look at her belly. All of that, all of that was his, and his alone. He was so proud of that. But to think that an apocolapse had started just as he was getting his family together... He was verging on falling apart. But he was keeping it together for Rayna, for their unborn child.

Koby stood up, stretching his limbs. The new house they had adopted was located in the middle of the town, closest to the essential buildings that held everything they would need, but maybe almost the most dangerous place. Herds of zombies had been coming through maybe once a week in the past month, scaring the living daylights out of Koby. They would bang on the walls, the windows... Nothing had gotten in, not yet. But it was most definitely something he was unsure about. He knew they would have to move soon, but it was too risky, especially with a baby on the way. So many thoughts had been going through their mind, but he didn't know what to do.

"Koby," Jake called out to him. He turned to face his, uh, "friend". He raised an eye brow and Jake gestured for him to come over. Jake and Rose had come with Koby and Rayna once the apocalypse started. It was their group, their family, despite their differences, they couldn't picture themselves without them. They were suffering a great lose of their friend Andrew, who was eaten by a zombie, right in front of Jake and Koby. Koby remembered vaguely, driving like a manic with Rayna to Jake's house. As much as he'd hate to admit it, but Koby still had to be a brother to Jake. He remembered Jake just standing there, watching Andrew on the lawn, tackled by two, three maybe four zombies, getting eaten. Words couldn't describe the scene before him.

"You know we have to move again soon," Jake lowered his voice. Rose was sitting in a corner, sleeping. That's all there really was to do, sleep. There was almost nothing to do. Koby looked down at Jake who also sat against a wall. Koby nodded and pursed his lips.

"We can't, not yet, especially when we don't know where," Koby shrugged. "Rayna needs to be relaxing, preparing for the baby in the next couple of months," Koby kept his voice low too. It wasn't something to be reckoned with. 24/7 they were surrounded by zombies. The group understood the risks of moving Rayna, but they had up to three vehicles outside for travelling, but where could they go?

Rayna came up behind Koby, placing a hand on his back. "I'll be fine guys," She forced a smile, but it was weak. Her face was more pale than usual, and Koby didn't like it. He sighed and tried to smile back, but it hurt when he knew Rayna was struggling some days, more on others. Jake shrugged. He couldn't even look at Rayna, no surprise.

Ignoring his daughter's scowl, Marcus hopped down from the cab, extracted his pistol from his jacket pocket and scanned the woods on his side - all clear - before rounding the pick-up to check the other side. All clear too. He straightened up, and his eyes fell on Sam as she struggled with the door. He hadn't quite figured her out yet. She still displayed snatches of the bubbly personality he'd been introduced to in the equipment room as he'd gathered his camera, power pack and cables before they'd headed out for the day. More and more, though, she seemed withdrawn. She'd mentioned a friend, Kim, but wouldn't be drawn much further. Everyone had lost someone, Marcus mused. Everyone except me. Maybe life had done him a favour, giving him no friends. The only person he cared about in the world was in the pick-up, doing her best to make him pay for all the wrongs he'd done her - more specifically, all the rights he hadn't.

And Sam had taken the middle watch last night. It was the hardest one, trying to go to sleep knowing you'd be woken in a matter of hours, then trying to go back to sleep after hours of pumping adenelin, knowing your life was in the hands of someone you'd just dragged from a deep sleep. Marcus tried to take the middle watch as much as possible and make up for the lost sleep during the day, safe in their secluded, boarded-up shack, but last night he'd given in. He felt better for it today, though, and was determined to make the most of it. But running out of gas put a real dent in his optimism. The day was already turning to shit.

He shoved his pistol back in his pocket and grabbed the crowbar and a 5ft length of hose from the back of the pick-up and set off down the road. Even from a distance he could see the highway's two lanes were rammed with stalled vehicles. People fleeing from Los Angeles, people fleeing to Los Angeles. The government had urged people to congregate in big cities, the better to protect large groups. Marcus wondered how far down the road to Los Angeles people had driven before realising the city was lost, and turned around and fled. Was there anywhere to flee? Was anywhere safe?

Scanning the highway in both directions, Marcus couldn't see anyone - anything - walking along the road. They could still be in the cars though, trapped by seatbelts and locked doors. That was one small mercy: Despite their relentless stength, those things were pretty inept when it came to operating the most simple device. Walking along the row of cars, he selected an SUV. It's doors were open, and its driver and passanger seats were stained dark with old blood, but it was empty. 'I used to hate these bloody things before,' he said. 'Bloody Yanks and their big cars.' Now, though, an SUV was the best bet for fuel. He prised open the tank cap and fed in the hose, then pulled it out again. Less than an inch of it dripped with golden fuel. 'They musta kept the engine running.' Marcus rolled his eyes. 'What were they thinking? Come on, let's try the next one.'

Inside a large department store, gruesome creatures lurked in the darkness. Some were big, some small, some skinny and others large. Some were children, while others were adults. However, there was something similar about each and every one of these things; they were all humans, and they were all dead. In the modern world, these creatures were known as zombies.

The undead had been hiding in a dark sporting goods store that was two stories high, and full of items that had caught dust ever since the apocalypse, or when the infection broke out. Nobody who had wandered into Sufferman's Sports that day was safe. They had all been bitten, and then locked inside. They had been left to die and rot. Their skin was tearing, their eyes had turned a color that was as dark as the night sky, and most importantly, they were hungry. Almost a month without food, without flesh, and they would REALLY start to rot. Of course, at that time, none of them had expected the surprise that would come next. Out of nowhere, a cage filled with big, hairy, black rats came sliding across the dusty floor, right in the center of the store. Not only did the rats' squeals make a ruckus for them to hear, but immediately the zombies could smell the sweet scents of fresh meat. Quickly, the creatures limped over to the cage, moaning as they pushed themselves out of they way to get a bite of the food. However, with their lack of intelligence, they zombies only found themselves struggling to open the sealed cage.

As the monsters were distracted by the bait, a girl with a bright blue hoodie slipped quietly past the scene, not making a sound as she scurried up the stairway that led to the second floor of Sufferman's. She smiled as she saw that there was nobody on the second floor with her. Of course, zombies were much too stupid to climb stairs. Kim shuffled past the canoes, tents, and bikes as she made her way to the part of the store she was looking for; the hunting section. She had been running low on ammo, and raiding these abandoned sports stores was the perfect way to refill her empty handgun. Ironically, there were sports stores all around Malibu, as surfing was popular and people needed a place to get their boards. However, there weren't too many places where hunting gear was sold. Kim considered herself lucky to find a place such as Sufferman's.

She took a look at the weapons section, getting a look at all the rifles and things that hung on the wall. However, she needed to find the place where ammo was kept. There was a door to the right of her that looked suspicious. Perhaps she would check there. When she grabbed the knob, she cursed under her breath, realizing that it was locked. She grabbed a bobby pin, and started to pick the lock. It felt weird doing it, as she hadn't practiced it in such a long time. Then again, she hadn't needed it. Ever since the days when she spied on her father while he was doing his lab work, Kim didn't need a lot of things.
Once she could feel the insides of the knob loosen, she turned the handle, and she was in. An assortment of bullets and weapons lay in front of her. Although they had been sitting for a while, the boxes still looked shiny and smelled like they were new. Without hesitation, Kim packed the box of bullets she needed, and stuffed them into her leather backpack, while taking some out of the box and clicking them into her empty magazine. She checked to make sure that was all she needed, and then put the other stuff she had taken out back in its rightful place. She had planned not to take anything she didn't need, but when her leg bumped into a sturdy box that contained a very unusual weapon, she couldn't resist.

She grabbed the arrows to the crossbow located underneath the sales desk, clipped them into a compartment in the crossbow, and then clipped the crossbow unto a strap in her belt. With a handgun, a small stun gun, and a crossbow, Kim knew she wasn't traveling light. Then again, the more variety of weapons she had, the better. Things would run out eventually, with a hell on earth and all. Kim looked down the stairs, and took a deep breath. She drew her handgun, and stealthily tiptoed down the steps. As she reached the final step, however, she was surprised to find that the zombies she had worried over were completely oblivious to her presence, and were still trying to get the rats out of the cage. Maybe pulling those rats out of the dumpster wasn't such a bad thing after all, she thought to herself. A half smile on her face, Kim cruised right through the shelves of various goods, and paraded through the front door. That's when she heard the loud beeping sounds.

An alarm? How on earth could an alarm used to stop kleptomaniacs still be functional after the outbreak? Whatever the reason, it was bad luck for Kim. Every beep that sounded made a wave of zombies stare in her direction. They didn't hesitate. Right when they saw her, they ignored the rats, and started to quickly limp in her direction. "Shit." she cursed, as she pushed her way through the doorway, and started to run out into the open daylight, exposing herself. She had found a way to open the locked doors, so she knew the zombies would be coming out any moment. She held the pistol out in front of her, ready to fire once the monsters had shattered the glass door. That's also when she heard moaning sounds coming from behind her.

More zombies? This was starting to become chaos. In a matter of seconds they would all be surrounding her. However, it took Kim less than a millisecond to start taking action. She shot her way through the wall of zombies, and slipped past the remaining creatures as they approached her. She ran with all her might, until she saw a black motorcycle sitting on the side of the street. She plopped her body unto the seat, and breathed a sigh of relief as she found the key still in the cycle. She turned the key, but her breath of relief turned into a sigh as she realized that the cycle was almost out of fuel. She stomped the gas pedal, and in the blink of an eye, she was off. As the bike moved faster, Kim became more aware of how to steer it. It was almost like driving a car, only she was a lot more vulnerable.

Her eyes calculated a piece of large rubble in the street. It was large enough that it could send her off course. She was about to move her arms to change direction, when she felt cold fingers clenching her neck. She looked back to see a zombie right behind her, barely holding unto the motorcycle. The guy must have been hiding underneath the bike as she was driving it. It was so hard to keep her balance with one hand on the bike, but with a quick punch, Kim was able to launch the zombie off of the bike. She watched to see the undead fly off into the road, and then turned her eyes back to the road, finding the piece of rubble only a couple feet in front of her. She was going to die. In a moment of desperation, Kim wildly pushed the handles of the bike. She held on for dear life as the bike violently turned on its side, and then lifted back up. She had done it. She was still alive. She had kept the bike in balance. She didn't wipe the sweat off her brow, but took a deep breath as she continued to pay attention to the road. For some reason, she felt like she had a better chance of killing herself than being killed by a zombie.

Rayna breathed deeply in her sleep as the nightmare repeated.

She was in the hospital for her daily check up when the doors were locked. She grasped Koby's hand so tight, she knew what was going on. The zombies had arrived, taking on the hospital. She was almost 5 months along and they were having another check up. She could see people rushing for exits, blocking doors and clearing the halls. She clung to Koby as the doctor told them not to worry. But all they did was worry. With their first born on the way, what would happen? Would she even survive long enough to see her child? Suddenly Koby was a zombie and he bit her neck, waking her from the dream.

She rubbed her eyes, noticing Jake was still on watch. She looked back at Koby who was half awake. She knew he had trouble sleeping ever since the apocalypse started, and it hurt her to see him suffering. The pregnancy did help her sleep, being tuckered out from the kicking and hormones. The hormones had been killer. She cried everyday, but usually tried to go away when she did. She knew that Koby hated seeing her weak like this. But the moments where she wasn't crying, in pain or throwing up, she was happy. She knew the little being growing inside could amount to big things, whether making her own safe town or finding the cure. She had hope for the baby.

Rayna was helping go through the food with Rose when she accidentally cut her finger. "Ouuch.." Rayna winced in pain. She noticed Rose quickly going to get the first aid kit they had aquired from an empty school bus. Rose began wrapping her finger and holding pressure. "..Thanks.." Rayna said quietly as Rose went back to chopping vegetables. Rayna then heard her name over by the men talking. She walked over, trying not to make too much noise. "I'll be fine guys," She said with a forced smile. She knew they were talking about moving. Last time they brought it up was a week ago when Koby insisted they stay. But the old cafe wasn't working anymore. The boards on the windows were getting weaker and they could hear more zombies coming by. Floods of even bigger zombies. Rayna knew they needed to move soon, or else some bunch of zombies was going to break in. "I know you want to look out for me," Rayna said as she put her hand on Koby's shoulder. "But we are all going to die if we do not get out of here. I think we need to head to a smaller town... Somewhere less populated?" Rayna said with one hand on her belly. The lump of her was now starting to fidget. She reached for Koby's arm as he rubbed her back. "It's fine... Just the little rascal keeps kicking..."

Jake cleared his throat, "I agree. We'll soon be dead. So start packing, it's time to move out." Rayna then smiled again, this time with a little feeling. Feeling of relief. She headed to where Rose was still dealing with the food. "Start packing. We leave tomorrow."

Rose came over to where the rest of the group was, she couldn't help over hearing Jake, Koby and Rayna speak about moving. "Won't it be too risky to move? So soon?" An unattractive frown engulfed her features. Koby sighed, looking at Jake who was shaking his head.

"It'll be too risky to stay," Koby spoke for Jake. He had his arms now crossed over his chest, letting go over Rayna. A loud bang on the window beside them made them all jump, standing up in a group together. The banging continued, hushing the four of them until the beast outside the window gave up and moaned, walking away. Koby let out a sigh of a relief, a foolish smile on his face. "See?" He raised an eyebrow, speaking quietly. Rose shrugged and slowly walked back to the food she was preparing.

Jake, Rayna and Koby all stood in a little group in silence. There wasn't much to say anymore, there wasn't much to do. Life was now on hold until they figured out what life really was. The baby was the only last bit of hope left for all of them. Jake was shattered, becoming almost depressed from missing Andrew, where images came into his mind every now and then of his friend. A shaky sigh escaped his lips as he looked down at the ground. He was an probably the most excluded person from the group before the apocalypse started. But Koby had assumed to accept the past and move on. They had to be friends.

"Alright," Koby sighed, looking at Rayna. "I'll go get our stuff together, we'll eat then we've got to go, while it's daylight. We have all our cars here," His voice trailed off as a plan began to form in his mind. "Where will we head?" He looked back at Jake who leaned against the floorboards, taking a view from outside.

"Away from here, anywhere where there is less... things," His voice was gruff and final as he turned to face them all again. Rayna was looking at the ground or at her belly, Koby couldn't tell. But he placed his arms around her pulling her in.

"Go help cook, eat, I'll get things sorted," Koby smiled at her and nodded. She tried to smile back before wondering over to Rose. Koby turned to face Jake again. "We have three cars here, Rose's, mine and yours," Jake nodded, understanding where this was going. "I'll take Rayna, of course, and all of our stuff, but we need you or Rose to take things like blankets..." Koby raised his hands in a balancing scale, trying to get across his plan in so many words and less. Jake nodded slowly.

"Alright," He slurred out the word. "We can't carry too much. We need to find a gas station sooner rather than later as well," Jake stated. Koby nodded. He fumbled with his hands as the moaning outside the bordered window grew louder. Koby cocked his head to the side, urging Jake to walk away from the window.

"After we eat, we run out to the cars packing our things, we leave the girls in here until we're ready," Koby began, imagining it all in his head. "We'll grab any sharp objects that we can find, and kill them if they get near us. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves," Koby looked at the cafe's kitchen, hoping that there will be some knives available. Jake nodded and breathed heavily.

"Let's get this shit together and go," Jake said. Koby nodded and headed towards the lounges where customers would once have sat in relaxation, but now where himself and Rayna slept. He picked up clothes, shoving them into the suitcase they had brought with them. It would be heavy, but at least they wouldn't have to carry it for long. The thoughts he had of doubt about how long the cars would run varied. Jake and himself could always get the gas out of Rayna's car from where they left it, but it would be too risky. Koby doubted there would be much gas left at the station to begin with. With a sigh, he zipped up the suitcase and watched Jake brush cans of food and the rations into plastic bags and tying them. Rayna had begun to help him. Rose had almost finished preparing the meal.

Koby waited at the entry of the cafe and waited for Jake. It looked like they had almost everything they needed for the moment. Just blankets and other various items that could become useful was left. "We'll open this door and run straight to the car. They are parked literally just outside the cafe." Koby explained. Jake rolled his eyes nodding, holding onto the handle of the door.

"Ready? One, two... Three!" Jake swung open the door, letting Koby dash out to his car and Jake followed to his own. Koby opened the door quickly but silently, trying to be as stealthy as possible. He threw the suitcase in the back seat before hearing a low growl from inside the car. "Shit!" He yelled. A zombie sat munching on a snack - maybe a nosy animal? Perhaps human? - in the front seat. Koby heard Jake slam his car door shut, and he appeared behind him. The zombie was too busy to notice just yet.

"Quick, back into the cafe to get knives and everything else we need then we're gone!" Jake hissed, pulling Koby by the arm and dragging him inside. Koby was almost frozen to the spot, but finally budged. Koby leaned against the wall inside as Jake closed the cafe doors. Was this the life he wanted his child to grow up in? How can he let Rayna into this world? He was nervous, scared, but he knew there could be a safer place. Rose and Rayna appeared with some food to quickly chow down.

"We have to be quick," Jake said to the girls. They both nodded, Rose biting her lip in fear. She would be driving in her car alone. Jake looked at Koby before looking back at Rose. "I'll drive behind you, Rayna and Koby will drive in front," He explained. Koby just nodded, agreeing.

Once they finished eating their last meal, Rose and Rayna had collected the last final items that would become important later on before Jake, once more, swung open the cafe doors. Koby clutched onto Rayna's forearm and ran with her towards the car. "Stay behind me," He hissed at her, knife poised. He ran around to the front where Rayna would be seated but the zombie from a little earlier was gone. He frowned, looking into the back. Nothing. There was no more remains of whatever it had been eating either. "Quick," He gestured for her to get in. She climbed into the car, taking deep breaths to calm herself, and Koby got in behind the wheel. He looked behind him outside, waiting for the go sign.

He heard a car horn, assuming either Rose's or Jake's, but started the car up. Rose had peeled away from the cafe and pulled up beside Koby. "I'm ready, Jake is behind me," She shouted through the window. The moaning of the zombies became louder and more aggressive. Koby nodded and drove forward, throwing a U-turn, away from the depths of the city. Before he managed to pick up speed, zombies were throwing themselves towards the car, one managed to even climb on top, but soon fell to the ground from the speed the car picked up. Koby looked in his mirror and saw Rose right behind him.

"Okay, okay, we're alright," Koby said in reassurance, more to himself than to Rayna. She was pale, but smiling, and that made Koby feel good. He placed a hand on her thigh and she entwined her fingers with his. "I love you," She whispered, smiling at him. "I love you too," He smiled back before looking back to the road.

Angel slowly lowered herself from the vehicle, looking around cautiously. There wasn't another person or being in sight other than them. Even the sea gulls that commonly flew above the beaches and the city had ceases to soar above them. It was eerie and unnerving, and though she was focused on not being scared, she anxiously picked at her nails.

She followed her dad with halfheartedness, trying not to think about what could be lurking. The blonde guessed that Sam was following behind her but didn't turn to check. If she got left behind that was her fault.

Angel stayed close to Marcus as they maneuvered around the cars. They reached an SUV and her father started talking to himself. Maybe he was just plain insane, but hadn't he always been? Well, insanity and absence were two different things and not necessarily always excuses. She sighed and set the fuel can down, brushing her hair out with her fingers while looking in the side view mirror.

Eww, I look terrible. I wish I could take a shower or get some descent sleep. sighing once more she shot her father an annoyed look, as if it were his fault that the car had no fuel. She picked up the fuel can again and began walking to the nearest SUV.

Sam was finally able to open the door, she knew hoped Angel hadn’t seen her that way, she didn’t want to scare even more the poor girl who tried hard to look tough on the outside but Sam knew she was just as scared or even more so than anyone else in the truck. She saw her scowling at her father’s command, and she couldn’t really understand exactly what was her problem, not that she knew a lot of Marcus or Angel for that matter but still, her attitude was completely arrogant and Sam didn’t like it in the slightest. What a brat she would often think, even so she understood that she couldn’t judge her, Sam had tried once telling her a remark to her bad attitude to which Marcus had stopped her from saying anything because he mentioned something about not being a good father to her. Either way Sam wasn’t anyone to intervene between family business.

Sam took the middle watch the day before, falling asleep seemed like an impossible task thinking that you could get killed in your sleep was not exactly a factor that could help you sleep. She didn’t want to worry anyone else in her group, because she knew she had to take another watch soon so that Angel and Marcus could get some sleep too, so she pretended she had fallen asleep when in reality she was only thinking of her family and her best friend Kim wondering if they were alive in the first place. She was glad when she had to stop pretending to be asleep.

Sam headed outside trying to make up for lost time wishing they could get the hell out of that place. All she wanted to do was run away from all that commotion and all the craziness that was going around. She saw Marcus placing his pistol back into his pocket and grabbing a crowbar instead. It seemed like a good idea, they didn’t want to draw more zombies into eating them.

After walking for a while they noticed the highway crammed with vehicles, some were still running while others simply stood there motionless. People from L.A tried to run away after they saw what was happening, meanwhile others were barely entering the city trying to find refugee or who knows what were they expecting to find here Sam thought for a moment. Sam imagined the expression in the faces of the people, the face of disappointment seeing that what they were running from was even worse in L.A.

Sam noticed Marcus heading towards an old SUV, and Angel following after him as she bit her nails anxiously. Sam didn’t follow as quickly, instead her body moved towards another car whose doors were also opened. She noticed a leather bag that seemed heavy at the eyes, it was held by a woman that appeared to be in her mid 30’s, she was covered in blood and her face was almost unrecognizable, even so the bleeding was more noticeable around the area in her neck. Sam knew the bag contained weapons that her group could use, which made her hand move slowly to grab whatever was inside the bag. Her hands were trembling again, but she was unarmed and wasn’t as lucky as Marcus to have a pistol at her disposal. Her thin fingers were finally able to grab the bag, but pulling the bag was a completely different story, the woman’s grip on the bag was extremely hard, Sam had to pull in order to get it off of her hands.

Sam was about to go back with Marcus an Angel who seemed annoyed as always when she felt a cold hand grabbing her arm, she jumped away in fear but the hand would not let go of her. It was the woman, or what was left of her, no, she’s one of them, she’s an undead!, Sam opened desperately the leather bag with her other hand being unable to use both of her hands because of the woman’s tight grip. She was able to grab the first thing that she could, she cut herself trying to get it out it was obvious it was a knife, and the bag fell to the ground. She was finally able to grab the end of the knife and didn’t think twice before cutting the woman’s hand, after all she wasn’t a woman now, and she was definitely not human. Even after she cut her hand her hand was still clung into her arm, Sam shook her hand off In disgust and letting out a shriek, this can’t be happening was all she could think after the knife fell from her hands.

After grabbing the leather bag and the knife that had fell from her hands from the pavement in a hurry, she turned around to go back to her group that seemed to be unaware of what had just happened. She came closer to her group as she saw Marcus trying to retrieve some gas from the SUV only disappointed to find out there wasn’t even much gas left to start with. Marcus spoke annoyed ”They musta kept the engine running, what were they thinking? Come on, let's try the next one.” to which Sam replied with a nod and said "Let’s go get that fuel now" with a little more confidence now that she felt safer since she had a weapon. She held the leather bag tightly as she tried to keep an eye close to Angel just in case another zombie popped out of nowhere, after all the poor girl was unarmed.

Marcus pried the caps off two more fuel tanks; each time the hose came up dry. 'Someone's been here before us,' he said to Sam, pointing to the driving column of each car. 'Look, no keys. That's how they got at the gas. We need to find a car with those things still in.' He called back to his daughter: 'C'mon Angel, keep up.'

He passed another five or six empty vehicles before stopping at a station wagon. In the front seat, writhing in their seatbelts, were two of the dead who appeared to have once been a professional, suburban couple. The man in the driver's seat wore a charcoal-gray suit heavily stained with blood on the right-hand side, where half his face appeared to have been chewed off. What was once a woman sat beside him, grotesque gaping wounds to her throat. A pair of Raybans sat incongruously on her head, nestling in platinum-blonde waves. Behind them, two small creatures roamed the back seat unrestrained. They slammed against the closed window as Marcus approached, angry hisses escaping their mouths. 'Here we go, this is the one,' he said. 'Sam, keep an eye on those little biters, would ya?'

The fuel cap span up into the air as Marcus applied the crowbar. The dipped hose came out showing there might be a gallon of gas. He took the gas can from Angel, grimaced, then sucked hard. The bitter, metallic taste of gas filled his mouth and he gagged as he put the hose into the mouth of the can. He spat as the fuel glugged out of the station wagon, then washed out his mouth with a sip of water. Nothing would get the taste out of his mouth until he ate later that day, but at least it got rid of the cloying sensation that his entrie mouth was coated with gas.

'Right, let's go,' he said once the flow from the fuel tank ran out. 'See ya,' he waved to the two undead children in the station wagon, and headed back up the Pacific Coast Highway. He glanced out west to where the Channel Islands were just visible in the clear mid-morning sun. The reporter and soundman he'd been with on the day everything went to hell had insisted that an island would be the safest place to hide out - after all, those things couldn't swim or sail. Even though he'd felt Angel wanted to go to the islands too, Marcus had put his foot down. There was nowhere to run on an island in the event of another outbreak - or if raiders came. He and the soundman had come to blows when the latter suggested he was endangering his daughter; being much the smaller man, Marcus had come off the worse, but the bruises had faded after a week.

He stopped in the middle of the road and turned back to the station wagon. He smashed the passenger window and stepped back as the stench of week-old rot, blood and worse billowed out and the passanger growled and struggled against the seatbelt. The two in the back clambered clumsily to get through the gap in the seats. Marcus drove the sharp end of the crowbar through the undead passanger's eye, then deftly caught the sunglasses as they fell off its head. He jogged back up to Angel and held them out proudly. 'Look Angel, Raybans. Present.'

"Aren't you smart?" Angel muttered under her breath, commenting on her father's sudden common sense. Maybe she should give him an award for it. Add that to the other... none, unless he were to get an award for worst dad she currently had. She even liked her stepfather better than him, which was truly saying something. Their mangled relationship would not likely mend anytime soon, but the events of the weeks past had been something of a learning experience for both of them. As much as she hated to admit it, she was thankful that Marcus and Sam knew how to and would keep her safe. It was really all that anyone could ask for in times like these.

The blonde was tempted to walk slower than before, but thought better of it in case she got too far behind her father. She picked up her pace a bit and jumped back as the small children, or rather what would have been children, pounded against the window of the car. Was this even safe? She prayed that the glass would stay. Nobody wanted to die here, not today.

The fuel can had been taken from her and so she casually leaned against the car next to the station wagon, a convertible which was thankfully free of any undead passengers. The lucky civilians must have made a run for it, or at least tried to. She shuddered a bit at the thought and distracted herself by looking over at Sam, a young woman who always seemed more alert than Angel did. She gave her credit for taking the middle shift last night, as it was everybody's least favourite. Waking up in the middle of the night and going back to sleep did not work well for the blonde.

Angel bit her lip as she waited for Marcus to finish, gazing absentmindedly at Sam. She did not notice the leather bag that the brunette now carried, absorbed more and a sort of day dream where everything was normal again. Her friends were still by her side, at least the ones she cared the most about, and her mother wasn't with her stepfather, rather they were free to be on their own. It would have been a nice life, but time or fate had other ideas.

Marcus was finished soon and his daughter slowly started walking back the way they had come, unsure of where else to go. She was stopped a few moments later however by a grinning man whom she was supposed to call 'father'. He held out a pair of sunglasses to her, offering them as a present. She wearily took them and stuck them on top of her head, eerily similar to the passenger who had just been wearing them. Angel didn't think it was bright enough to wear sunglasses and she also didn't want to show Marcus that she was actually quite thrilled by the small gift. Simple things were pleasing and she liked presents. She gave a half smile and nodded in response, too stubborn to say 'thank you' to him. Maybe someday she would, but for now he was lucky to have gotten a smile out of her. He was also lucky that she hadn't noticed where they had been resting moments before.

She looked back at Sam, wondering what her reaction would be. It was then that she finally noticed the new accessory she had. "What's that?" she asked her, pointing to the bag. If there was any sort of food in there, or something to properly wash her face with, she might just hug her.

Sam kept wishing that every time that Marcus tried to fuel the gas tank it would come out full, however every time it was a disappointing outcome. Marcus advised Sam, "look no keys. That's how they got the gas. We need to find with those things still on it". Sam understood what Marcus meant but did not make any gesture, instead she wondered if this nightmare-like situation was ever going to finish.

After passing a handful of vehicles, Marcus stopped at a vehicle in which two corpses stood still. Sam couldn't quite recognize the bodies, or anything in that matter, in fact she didn't understand why he had stopped. Out of curiosity she came closer , as soon as she was almost side by side with Marcus strange noises emanated from the vehicle. Sam came closer and saw a couple or more like what was left of them. Behind them two of the biters slammed themselves against the window wanting to do to them what they had done with them what they had done with the couple. Marcus then suggested, "Sam, keep and eye on those little biters, would ya?" to which she replied quickly, "you don't even have to ask me twice" after smiling trying to comfort him, she knew he was worried about her daughter too.

Sam kept an eye on The vehicle praying so that the undead children would stay in place. She imagined to worst possible scenarios and gripped her leather bag even tighter now. She needed to keep herself safe but most importantly she needed to keep Angel safe. She wondered whether to give her a weapon, there must have been something the leather bag that she could use but she imagined Marcus reaction when he saw Angel with a butchers knife. She shook her head and decided it was better for her to take the guns and that maybe later she could convince Marcus into letting Angel have a weapon. She turned to look at the blonde and saw her being distant and distracted. When her father wasn't around she seemed much calmer and much younger, like a little girl that was just as afraid as everybody else.

After Marcus came back with some gas, he smashed the passenger window of the vehicle where the corpses awaited to get out. and he's gone... He's really lost it now she thought. Maybe the gas that he had put in his mouth had made him turn crazy now. Sam was surprised when he saw giving his daughter a pair or raybands, despite the weirdness that they had just been on a corpse who's neck was covered in blood it was still a thoughtful gesture, he's really trying was all she could think of. She wasn't as surprised at Angels reaction though, the blonde simply put the shades in desdain, still she smiled at her father. Sam simply starred at Marcus feeling sorry for him, what a shocker, but it was not as bad as i thought she would react she quietly laughed. This wasn't a funny moment, not at all but at these times she could use any type of humor.

She smiled at Angel and said, "they look good on you". But the blonde girl didn't hear, instead she starred back at Sam looking at her new accessory the leather bag, she asked, "what's that?" in curiosity. Sam was surprised and searched for what could possibly make the young girl curious. Her eyes stopped at the leather bag which made her nervous. She wasn't particularly good at lying and she didn't quite understood why would she even lie about it, but part of her wished that she didn't know that her new accessory contained a whole set of knifes and who know what else. She hesitated a moment before she spoke but decided to be honest, "It's just something I found in one of the cars we saw before. I just thought that a pair of knifes would always come in handy."She finished trying to sound casual as if it was the most normal thing to carry. Now you've done it, scare the little girl why don't you she asked herself. She stopped before she talked again, but before she did, she decided to open the leather bag to grab a much smaller knife, however it was sharp enough to cause some damage and to defend herself in case one of those disgusting creatures attacked her. She grabbed the first item that she could, it was a fighting knife, not a small knife... she thought but at the moment it seemed like the best choice. Sam grabbed the knife firmly, but for a moment she hesitated, finally she slowly handed the knife to Angel's hands.

"Take it" Sam finally said, she paused for a moment starring at the girl, with a face full of concern she continued "I know that you're just as scared as we all are, but I also know that you are a strong girl. I don't wish for you to use it but I also don't want you to be unarmed... "she stopped for a moment, she imagined Kim in Angel's eyes now, "we can't take that chance. I'm sure that you'll dad will understand. But.. for now don't tell him I gave it to you will ya?" She asked winking her right eye. She turned to see Marcus, and for a moment she stopped to hear the background the sound of the undead approaching, give us a break will you!? was the first thought on Sam's head.

Was that a gas station up ahead?

Yes. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of driving along the abandoned roads of Malibu, Kim had found an old-looking gas station a couple of feet in front of her. She breathed a sigh of relief, as she had cruised slowly on the motorcycle for the past hour in order to conserve gas. She would watch painfully as the needle would plunge down quicker and quicker until it could just reach the letter 'E'. Now she could wipe the sweat off her brow, and rest easy knowing that she could refuel her bike. That was, if there was still any gas left.

Fortunately, there was. She had never refueled a motorcycle before, but it was similar to filling up a car with gas, and so she had no trouble at the pump. Finally, a time when she didn't have to worry about gas prices. As she stuck the the nozzle back on to the fuel pump, she flicked her blue eyes from side to side, scanning another "dead" part of Malibu. Weeds started to peak their heads out of the pavement cracks, and only after a month, the convenient store in front of her looked rusty and old. Either this place had been abandoned long before the outbreak, or Kim was living in some sort of dystopian future movie. Possibly even both. Never mind that, the important thing right now was to figure out where she was going, and even more importantly, how to not get herself killed. Although it was tempting, she decided not to approach the convenient store. Not only did it look like it would fall to the ground if she entered it, but there was no telling what lurked inside. Maybe she would look later for supplies and alcohol, but for right now, she would leave the motorcycle near the pump, and approach a crumbled highway bridge that lay in rubble on the street.

She sat on the broken cement and concrete aimlessly. What time was it? Probably mid-afternoon. Kim's iphone was still charged, but she never turned it on unless in dire situations. She wanted to conserve as much battery life as possible, if ever came a day that cellphone reception existed again. There were so many people she needed to call; her aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins....who knew if they were dead or not? She left that thought in her mind for a moment, and then quickly threw it away. No sad or dramatic moments now, there were more important things that needed to be done. She picked up a broken bottle up off of the ground, and placed it up on a high part of the broken bridge. She leaped off of the pile of concrete, and took stance on the road. She grabbed her crossbow, equipped an arrow into the arrow track, and looked through the scope. She took a deep breath through her nose, and focused on the green bottle. She heard the glass shatter as she pulled the trigger on her new weapon. She ran to inspect the glass. The top bottle of the glass had already been shattered, but from her aiming, she had managed to make a dent on the side. She was a little disappointed, as she had been hoping for the center, but the side was close enough. She sighed, knowing that it would take some time to get better at aiming. Of course, it was similar to a gun, but it was heavier than the ones she had used. Kim scrambled through the rubble, searching for the arrow that had been shot. It lay face-down in the cement. She retrieved it and clipped it back into its compartment on the projectile weapon.

A couple minutes later, Kim found herself sitting on the remains of the bridge once again. Sitting on it might have felt strange, but that was the point. It was out of the ordinary. Wild colors of spray paint were left splattered on some of the cement scraps. This reminded her of something. She unzipped the leather bag held tightly unto her back, and searched its contents. She pulled out a hard black case, and twisted the lock from side to side, sliding in the combination. Once that was done, she opened the padded case, and exposed the vial of blatant green liquid to sunlight.

She gingerly pulled the vial out of the padding, and with two hands, held it up to the sun. It glimmered and gleamed, sparkled and shined. This vial of liquid was so beautiful, and yet its functions were unknown. Kim had guarded it every day, unsure whether it was useful or incomplete. She had no idea if she would be able to find someone who could figure out its mysteries. For all she knew, it could be the ticket to saving the world, to saving lives. For all she knew, it could just be a vial of green liquid. If that was the case, why was she even keeping it? To be honest, Kim didn't care all that much to save the world. She had been willing to accept this new life that she lived in. However, she kept the vial because it was one of the only things she had left of her father, the old man who had taken care of her. It was his last work, and so in some way, it was a part of him. To Kim, guarding it was like guarding his life, and this time, she wouldn't let it break into pieces.

Suddenly, the green bottle from before rolled out from the shadows into the street. She silently gasped, knowing that she had thrown the broken bottle into the rubble after using it for target practice. In order for it to move out like that, something had to have moved it.

Someone was there.

She dropped back into the street, and drew her crossbow, strapping in another arrow. She aimed it at the source of the movement. Her finger was glued to the trigger, and in silence, she waited for another sign of life. There was another sound of movement, and Kim approached closer to the rubble. Whatever it was, it was coming from underneath the remains of the bridge. Her shoulders tensed as she looked around, hoping to find whatever the sound came from. Suddenly, a loud noise shrieked from behind her, and Kim swiftly turned around to find a small greyhound barking at her. Only a false alarm. She dropped her crossbow, and gave a half smile to the mutt, but the dog just stared at her. It stood its ground as though it were a statue. Kim stared back, and there were a few moments of uncomfortable silence. After a minute, the dog lost interest, and ran off somewhere along the road.

Later, Kim still sat on the bridge, drinking from a silver flask. There was still a little bit of hard liquor left, and unfortunately she knew that she would have to go into the abandoned store if she wanted to have a chance of filling her container back up again. Yes, as smart as she was, Kim had developed an alcohol addiction at the young age of eighteen. She knew it was stupid, and she knew it was wrong, but she did it anyway. After all, although she didn't do it much, there were times when she felt like she needed to be just a little drunk. At least getting drunk could get her through a hard day. Being sober for too long was like being underwater, and then needing to come back up for air. She put her hood up, and chugged down the last swig of alcohol. It burned the inside of her throat, but she had gotten used to the sensation. With the empty flask in her hand, Kim stared out into space. Hopefully people wouldn't show up if she were to become intoxicated.

Angel nodded as Sam explained that she had found the bag some cars back. It was logical enough, though she still wasn't sure what possessed her to look through that certain bag and happen to find knives in it. She couldn't help but laugh as the dark haired girl said, "I just thought that a pair of knifes would always come in handy." For some reason, the thought of them trying to devour the undead instead of the other way around came about in her mind. She could picture it now, hovering around a half-animated corpse with their knives, ready to gut it like a fish or carve it like a turkey. It was a morbid thought, but still amusing to her. Of course, she didn't try to explain this to her father or Samantha. At best they would probably think she was mentally deranged. But then again, who wasn't a bit mad in this situation?

Sam then proceeded to open the bag and reach in, producing a fighting knife with an ornate looking grip on it. She examined it slowly, striking a chord of fear in Angel. What if she suddenly lashed out her and gave her a deep cut? The moment was gone as soon as it had come as Sam extended her arm towards the young blonde, handing her the knife.

Taking it carefully, she examined it in her hands, wondering if she could really kill a zombie. Just the thought of it seemed scary. She understood perfectly that they were dead and not people. But it still struck her as murdering and she wasn't ok with that. She had never killed anything bigger than a fly before.

She looked back at Sam as she began to speak again. "I know that you're just as scared as we all are, but I also know that you are a strong girl. I don't wish for you to use it but I also don't want you to be unarmed... we can't take that chance. I'm sure that you'll dad will understand. But.. for now don't tell him I gave it to you will ya?" Angel smiled and nodded, knowing it wouldn't be hard to keep something from Marcus. Just as Sam had seen Kim in her eyes, she saw her mother's in the other girl looking at her. A deep longing for her mom began to surface but she shoved it back down, not wanting to think about that right now. For now, they focused on surviving.

Speaking of which- the low moaning of the undead could be heard now. Angel shivered a bit, uncharacteristic on a sunny Californian day, but appropriate. She thought that there best chance was to retreat quietly and hope the zombies would find something or someone else to eat. That sounds terrible, she thought briefly before looking between Sam and her father. She was in no position to say what they should do since she was the youngest. While they didn't sound too close, they could be here in a matter of minutes or seconds. It was impossible to tell with the cars crowding the highway and blocking her view.

"What should we do?" she asked them in a low voice, gripping the knife in her hand tighter. Flight was always her preference over fighting. Chances were this could be an actually horde, which meant they wouldn't win unless one of these cars had a large amount of weaponry in it. those chances weren't so good.

Marcus halted in his tracks, holding still as possible to ascertain whether he had heard what he'd thought he'd heard. Was it just the wind in the trees? Wishful thinking, he told himself. There wasn't even a wind. That ongoing moan meant only one thing: Walkers, and lots of them. He glanced back to Angel and Sam; the two young women seemed deep in conspiratorial conversation, their blonde and brunette heads together. For a brief moment Marcus thought of them as two young friends hanging out together, at the mall or where ever young Americans hung out before the world as they knew it ended. What kind of lives would they have led? What kind of lives could they expect now, his daughter and this stranger he'd taken under his protection.

The moment was abruptly dashed as first Sam, then Angel, snapped their heads up, their gaze to the treeline, as they too heard the sound of the approaching dead. They must be coming downhill, Marcus thought, out of the woods. That's why we can't see them. He ducked down behind a car, gesturing for Angel and Sam to do the same, then scuttled along behind the cover of the stalled traffic to the women. As he got to them, the first Walker appeared 20 feet up the highway, stumbling into the ditch between the woods and the highway. Marcus flicked a glance behind them. Nothing but the Pacific. 'Okay, look, we've got to get back to the truck,' he whispered, glancing from one scared face to the other. 'I know, I know, they're coming right down that way.' Another two Walkers appeared from the treeline, also falling into the ditch, but the first one had regained its footing and was now bumping against the highway barrier. 'We can't stay here, and we can't take off on foot up the highway, we don't know what's up there.'

He set the can of gas on the ground in between them, and fished the keys to the truck out of his pocket. He took a deep breath, rubbed a hand over his face and gave Angel's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. 'Alright, here's what we're going to do,' he hissed. 'We don't know how many's up there, but there's five down here already...' - another Walker fell out of the tree line - '... make that six, and they'll be over that barrier soon enough.' Even as he spoke, two Walkers toppled head-first over the highway barrier, and groaned and spluttered as they righted themselves. 'Oh bloody 'ell' Marcus hissed, his stomach doing flip-flops with fear. He squeezed Angel's trembling shoulder again. 'Take the gas and the keys and get back to the truck. But don't bloody move until you know they're all following me.' He shuffled past Angel and Sam, gripping the crowbar, and crouched into a sprinter's starting position. ''ang on,' he said, now raising his voice above the creatures' moaning. He turned again and pushed the gun into Sam's hand. 'When you get there, wait five minutes if you can - and only if you can - then get the fuck out of there.'

Edging round the corner of a sedan, Marcus saw three Walkers had now vaulted the barrier, and some 20 Walkers crowded in the ditch. The three on the highway were shambling aimlessly, meaning they hadn't seen or heard his little group yet, and Marcus had driven his crowbar through the base of its skull and into its brain before they registered his presence. He gagged a little at the stench as he pulled the crowbar free with a sucking noise, and lashed out at the second Walker as it turned towards him. The sharp end of the tool opened up its temple and it too slumped to the ground. By now the third was approaching. It was always hardest to kill them when they came straight on; the arms got in the way of his swing. 'C'mon, you big bastard,' Marcus shouted. The Walkers on the far side of the barrier began to howl, bumping each other as they pressed forward.

He began to back away. The Walker followed, as did the group on the other side of the barrier. At least now they weren't pressing against the barrier in one spot - one more scrap of protection for Angel and Sam, he thought. He glanced back to the car they'd been behind, but couldn't see behind it and so didn't know if they'd moved on already. Out of the corner of his eye, Marcus saw he was alongside the station wagon from which he'd taken the Ray Bans for Angel. The driver was thrashing furiously in his seatbelt, the passenger was slumped out the window, ichor rolling slowly from the eyeball he'd punctured - and no sign of the little ones. A chill ran through him, and Marcus whirled round, swinging his crowbar in case one or both of the small monsters were behind him. The howl of the group in the ditch rang in his ears; the snarl of the Walker he hadn't killer grew louder. 'C'mon you ugly fuckers!' Marcus yelled, voice cracking. 'Come and get me, dinner's here!' Turning away, he ran at a jogging pace from the undead, banging his crowbar on the metal highway barrier. He couldn't see if more were coming out of the woods behind him, but the treeline ahead at least was clear, and in the distance he could see an off-ramp. If he could make it that far, he would be able to double back and try and find the truck, and Angel and Sam with it. If he could make it that far.

Samantha stared at the girl as she grabbed a hold of the knife, she smiled and Sam wondered what occupied her troubled mind as she seemed somewhat distant.

Sam eye’s opened wide open as the groaning sounds increased,”What should we do?” Angel asked in a low voice. Samantha quickly grabbed her bag even more firmly before making a decision and before saying a word to the blonde girl that was seeking answers. She first stared at Marcus seeing if he had noticed, when she noticed him rushing to their side in a quick move. He then moved quickly to take cover and gave them signals to do the same.

“For now, we follow your father”, she finally said touching Angels back with her hands pushing her slowly and carefully towards her dad’s direction. When Sam finally ducked next to Marcus he spoke again with his firm tone, “Okay, look, we've got to get back to the truck” He said, much to Sam’s surprise, it was obvious the sounds emanated from the truck so how could he even possibly think that they were going towards that direction. Almost as if he read her mind he spoke again, “I know, I know, they're coming right down that way.” Sam was about to say something when she got distracted by two walkers that were coming closer towards their direction, hungering for their guts, bumping in the highway barrier.

Sam waited for Marcus to continue once again “we can't stay here, and we can't take off on foot up the highway, we don't know what's up there.” Sam agreed with not being able to go on foot, but the idea of going straight towards the walkers seemed almost suicidal. Is there no other no other way? she wondered for a moment wishing there was an alternative, none was her own response.

As Marcus set the gas cans on the ground and fetched the truck’s keys, Sam couldn’t take her eyes off from the walkers that continued to increase in numbers, the same one as before, a woman with sportswear, a tall man, and so it went on until there were five. She stopped counting as Marcus gave directions, “Alright, here's what we're going to do. We don't know how many's up there, but there's five down here already.”He paused for a moment and another walked was making his way through, “... make that six, and they'll be over that barrier soon enough.”

Finally two walkers were able to make their way through the barrier, Marcus cursed them before addressing Sam and Angel,“'Take the gas and the keys and get back to the truck. But don't bloody move until you know they're all following me”. Sam nodded obediently but before leaving he grabbed his gun, Sam was worried he was going to waste bullets but he explained, “'When you get there, wait five minutes if you can - and only if you can - then get the fuck out of there.” Sam grabbed the gun with a powerful grip not letting go, this time more confidently. However using the gun would be her last resort after all the whole point of the plan was to be invisible to the walkers.

Samantha waited on Marcus putting her own hand at Angel’s shoulder, where her father’s hand had been before wanting to comfort her. She felt endearment towards her and felt great responsibility over her, she somewhat reminded her not only of Kimmy but of her mother, she saw her as someone she needed to protect. She also felt extremely grateful to Marcus who had kept them safe all of this time, whom she owed her life and would always be in debt with. Sam saw him as the fatherly figure that she had never had, and she felt appreciated and trusted, after all he trusted her with his only daughter.

Sam watched Marcus on action as he killed the two first walkers with the crowbar, he then yelled at the other one, “C'mon, you big bastard”. Sam starred at Marcus for a while thinking of the best time to make a run for it as she still had her hand on Angel’s shoulder. She released her shoulder to grab the truck key’s before placing it on her jean’s left pocket, she then grabbed one of the gas cans with her left hand while her right hand held tightly to the fire gun.

Sam whispered to Angel ”Don’t forget what I told you before Angel, I know you’re a strong girl. I need you to grab a gas can and have the…” she paused for a moment ”present I gave you before ready. “ Just the thought of her using the knife was more than unsettling to Sam. ”When I tell you to, grab the things and walk beside me.
After Marcus finally managed to distract the other walkers Sam whispered to the young girl, ”Now!” she signaled to Angel.

She grabbed her shoulder by the side and finally sprinted rather than walked towards the same direction where they had come from. During the time it seemed like the best way to go. They passed the exact same vehicles one by one, from the one where Marcus had gotten the gas from to the one where the two undead children stood. ”Wait a minute” she hesitated for a minute showing her surprise to Angel, ”there’s something wrong here…” she looked to the blonde girl wondering if she had realized the same, ”where are they?! “ she asked a little too agitated to the young girl, ”they’re not here…!”.

Sam paused for a moment, realizing it was a mistake the minute she did so. A strange sound that almost looked like a cry combined with a bizarre grunt sounded near them. No… this wasn’t a normal walker, this was different, this noise sounded much different. She turned to her side and then to her back seeking for the walker that could probably cause such strange noise when she was one of the undead children sprinting towards her and Angel.

Sam grabbed the gun thinking twice before pulling the trigger, they couldn’t just throw away Marcus effort just like that, and instead she put herself in front of the girl waiting for the undead child to make his move first. The mini version of a walker came closer to the girls, pulling his cold dead hands towards the blonde girl, wanting to grab Angel first rather than the dark haired girl. Another identical groan suddenly appeared, it was none other than the other unborn child standing merely feet away from Angel. As soon as the first young walker got close enough Sam knocked it down with the gas can being careful not to spill the gas they had so hard acquired. As soon as it was on the floor and before it had any chance to get up, or before the other one got any closer, Sam grabbed Angel by the arm again, ”Run Angel! Run!”

Angel followed Sam back to her father, the low moans of the walkers stumbling there way unnerved her. Once they were beside Marcus, she couldn't help but to repeatedly glance around in case one of them got too close. As she looked around, she listened to her father talk. “Okay, look, we've got to get back to the truck." The blonde couldn't help but give her dad a horrified expression. Why did he want them to go towards the walkers? Why not write 'food' across their foreheads and start screaming and dancing? "I know, I know, they're coming right down that way.”

“We can't stay here, and we can't take off on foot up the highway, we don't know what's up there.” Angel would have preferred to go up the highway, but knowing that she had no say in these sorts of matters she kept her mouth shut and continued to glance around. Another walker stumbled over the barrier, making about six of them on their side of the road. She ducked down a bit more so that they wouldn't spot her and turned her attention back to her dad as he told them to go to the truck and wait there if possible while he acted as a distraction. She had hardly noticed either of them touching her shoulder.

She might not like Marcus as much as she should, but she wasn't sure how she felt about the possibility of him getting mauled by the walkers. She wasn't given much time to dwell on it though. He soon left them and killed two of the zombies with his crowbar before yelling at another one.

Angel turned to Sam just as she turned to her. ”Don’t forget what I told you before Angel, I know you’re a strong girl. I need you to grab a gas can and have the… present I gave you before ready. When I tell you to, grab the things and walk beside me." A shaky hand reached over to grab the fuel can, as her other was occupied by gripping the hilt of the knife. She could only pray that all would go well for them.

"Now! Sam grabbed onto Angel and the two sprinted the way they had come, passing by the cr from earlier. Sam stopped suddenly and Angel looked to her, wondering what was wrong. ”Where are they?!they’re not here…!” The blonde could only give her a confused look in return. Were they looking for someone now? "Wh-?"

She was cut off by an unusual snarl and suddenly saw one of the undead children coming towards them, hands reaching out towards her. She stifled a shriek, not wanting to attract any more unwanted attention to them. Another soon appeared at to the left of Angel, blocked only by the car. Sam moved protectively in front of her, holding the gun in front of her but then thinking otherwise. The brunette grabbed the fuel can and hit the child with it when it was within reach, knocking it off balance. Once it was down, Sam grabbed her arm again and started running. Angel didn't need to be told twice to get the heck out of there.

The Ray Bans bounced on her head, but probably wouldn't fall off in her tangle of hair. She glanced behind them and saw the children, walking faster than before after them. But there would be no way that they would catch up to the girls unless something drastic happened.

Angel suddenly fell, her arm being torn away from Sam's grasp. She fell with a thud to the ground and grunted. It was a good thing that Sam had been holding onto the fuel can, or else there wouldn't have been a reason to return to the truck. A tug at her ankle made her turn her head and she saw a lurker pulling at her, laying under a car hidden from view if one was standing. She let out a squeal and started to flail, kicking her foot wildly until it had let go of her. She rolled over on her back and looked in the direction they had come. The two small walkers were closing in. She scrambled to her feet and turned around, bewildered and looking for Sam. It was then that Angel realized she had dropped her knife and bent down quickly to pick it up.

Sam gripped Angels arm tightly wishing she could somehow push her in front of her so that the walkers could not get ahold of her but was faced with shock as the young blonde girl fell to the ground in front of her eyes. The smaller undead were getting closer, but not close enough, Sam's hand were no longer steady as they were when she was holding unto Angel, instead her fingertips were shaking in despair and fear.

Sam was in shock as she saw the events unfold; angel was still in the ground when a walker that was hidden suddenly grabbed her ankle. A drop of sweat came across Sam's forehead thinking she could been bitten. "Angel!!" yelled the brunette in desperation. She moved closer to the girl trying to save her, but as she got closer she noticed her as she kicked the walker until she was finally released from its grip seemingly unharmed. Sam let out a small sigh of relief before turning her eyes to the smaller treats, they were getting even closer and their groans could now be heard in clarity.

Sam starred at Angel as she moved over and as she was searching for her. She was close to her but not close enough to help her, she tried moving closer when her eyes stopped once again in shock, Angel had dropped her knife.

Angel finally grabbed the knife just when Sam was finally at arms reach from her. She had no choice but to leave the gas can in the floor until she could get Angel to stand up. She lend her arm to the girl to help her get up in a rush, after all the little walkers had somehow managed to stand just a couple inches away glaring at the two girls with eyes full of nothing else but hunger and bloodthirst. Waiting... for a single mistake from either one of them so they could attack them while they were at their reach.

OOC: I'm really sorry for my extremely late reply. I hope this RP is not dead as I am kind of thinking it is. Also, I hope this post is ok.

Even over the howling of the group following him, Marcus could hear his heart thumping. It was partly from exertion - his mouth was dry, sweat dripped from his brow and stung his eyes, his lungs were ragged - and partly out of fear for Angel and Sam. He should be with his baby, as he hadn't been all these years, not running in the opposite direction. It was all he could do not to charge back to Angel, make sure she was okay, that none of those things had grabbed her, his little girl - no matter how grown-up or how sullen she could be. The rational part of his mind just about won out, and he skipped back another few steps, banging his crowbar on the highway barrier so the horde of Walkers would stay focussed on him.

But he had a problem. The big one on this side of the barrier was much closer to him than the group in the ditch. Its longer stride, and the smoother road surface meant it had outpaced the others, and if they lost sight of him, they might turn back to Angel and Sam. There was only one thing for it, but its long reach - Marcus guessed this one was a good eight inches taller than him - posed a significant danger. If his swing his one of those long arms, Marcus could be grabbed and pulled in and bitten, either to be torn apart on the blacktop, or to succumb slowly to the poison in his veins, and rise again to hunt the living, even... even to hunt down his own daughter, his own flesh and blood...

A clang from the barrier brought Marcus back to his sense. He shoved such morbid thoughts out of his mind and scanned the cars further down the road. First and foremost, they appeared empty of any surprises. Then he spied what he was looking for.

Leaning against the highway barrier, Marcus shouted and rattled his crowbar, making as much noise as possible, drawing on the group in the ditch. He let the Walker on the road get within two feet of him, then ducked under its outstretched arms and vaulted onto the hood of a jeep abandoned in the traffic. He gripped the crowbar by the curved end in two hands and raised it above his head as the big Walker shuffled near. An animalistic roar burst out of him as he swung down and split its skull, and he had to brace his foot on its slumped shoulder to pull the crowbar free.

By now, the group behind the barrier appeared to have caught up with him. From his vantage point on the jeep, looked beyond them, and could see no stragglers. But he couldn't see Angel or Sam further up the road either, so that was no guarantee of their safety. He could only hope the noise he and the group of Walkers were making was drawing any danger away from them. Then, just before he jumped down, far-off movement caught his eye. Marcus glanced behind him to the off-ramp. His route off the highway and back round to the jeep was swarming with undead.

Angel quickly grabbed her knife after fumbling around for it for for a few seconds. When she looked up again to see if any walkers were near, she instead found herself face to face with Sam. Good God she had come back for her! She wanted to jump up and hug the brunette for not just leaving her to die on the ground. But now was not the time to rejoice, it was time to leave. With Sam's arm extended toward her, she stood up and looked around for any danger.

The two undead children were close by, staring them down. They were going to die now, weren't they? She wasn't even going to die with somebody she knew well like her mom or friends. Heck she was going to die why did it matter who with? What about all those people who died alone? Or the ones who died without knowing it? Death, that's all there ever was now.

The blonde looked at the two children, waiting for either of them to make a move, just as she was. She anxiously clenched the knife in her hands, shaking at the prospect of having to kill something. Or being eaten alive; there was always that option. She bit her lip and picked at her nails. Looking at Sam, she saw that the other girl was unnerved too and also trying to monitor the movements of the small walkers. Cautiously, Angel bent down looked underneath the near by cars, not seeing any other hidden walkers in her peripheral vision. She rose again and looked at Sam.

Suddenly a distant roar came from the opposite end of the high way. "Dad?" she asked aloud and looked in the direction of the roar.

Sam kept her arm on Angel, trying to give her strength and to find strength for herself at the same time. Both of them were standing now and had an advantage agains the smaller versions of walkers.

Adrenaline kicked it without second thoughts as the feeling of survival overcame Sam, she was not going to die here and she was definitely not letting blondie draw her last breath here. No matter what, we stay alive she whispered to herself in desperation. Sam continued studying their every move, figuring how to make it out of this one. She kept her arm on Angel, thinking to shover her to the side in the last minute in case they both charged on Sam, so that she could have time to run away, an awful thought but a possibility. For a slice of a moment she saw herself being eaten by the two undead children, as she had seen others being eaten before, and the thought only made her sick. No, I will not die today.... not like this! her mind yelled in anger.

She then heard Angel ask "Dad?" which caught the brunette off guard. She couldn't move her eyes for a millisecond from the walkers so she couldn't answer Angel's plea. Instead she called for her, "Angel! they're coming!." Somehow it didn't seemed like they could make a run for it this time. Sam grabbed ahold of the pistol as tight as she could, praying that she didn't had to use it for it would only worsen things at this point. Her finger lingered by the trigger, a small movement and she could shoot a hole through one of the undead children's head, but she would not have enough time to get rid of the other one.

There was only one thing she could do now, hope that she could push the second one to the ground so that Angel would have enough time to stab him in the head. I trust you Angel she said in a sort of mindlink with her, hoping she could read her face that she needed her just as much as she did.