FSE

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6 years ago was when it all started. A virus, a disease that sprang from the back woods of Scandinavia, fast and incurable. It took only 2 months until outbreaks began to pop up in the United States. Chaos ensued; riots and war filled the streets. A small scratch by anyone carrying the virus, anything that opened the skin, was all it took to be infected. Those who were infected basically began to slowly decay, even when they were still living. But your memories vanished as it took a stronger hold of your nervous system. After you passed out, you would come back to the world several days later; a beast with only one thought: to quench the hunger. They could die from starvation or by being killed. The only problem with killing the Infected is that the Virus escaped the body by becoming airborne. I've never shown any symptoms, but it's merely luck. None of us had respirators. I guess we were all just seeing how long we could hold out. It didn't matter that much to us, to live anymore. We were just outlasting the other survivors. There was nothing special about us. I'm not saying we have grown immune to it. It takes much longer to become immune to something so strong than just the 6 years I've lived in it. But then again, I'm no scientist. I presume only time will tell if we can last, breathing the infected air or not.

From our family of four, only my brother and I managed to escape. My father was a police officer and my mother was an ex-Marine so David and I were familiar with guns. They always made sure that we could protect ourselves. For the first few years it was just my brother, his best friend, and me. We travelled from city to city, searching for any survivors. Sometimes we would find them but it would be too late. It was only two years ago when we started to find survivors we could save. We had a group of 25 strong and healthy humans. But in that deadly raid by hostile survivors, drawing large groups of Infected to the area, only 9 of us survived.

After that incident, David had changed. He had been a bright and funny person, always wanting to make others laugh and smile amidst the darkness that engulfed our world, but once his best friend was shot in the raid, David had to kill him before he "zombified", as we call it. My brother was now very cold and distance. He was our leader and held onto some optimism for the group's sake. I had changed, too, becoming very sardonic and unapproachable. My brother and I often fought, the fights always ending in tears and a guilty conscience.

It was the end of the world as everyone perceived it to exist. Maybe it was Mother Nature's way of cleansening the Earth. Maybe it was the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Whatever or whoever you choose to believe, one desire ruled over your life: survival.

~*~

"Clara, could you hand me the eggs?" Jenna asked. I nodded, moving towards the refrigerator. In some cities the electricity was still working, because of the solar cells and wind farms still hooked to the grid. We had brought some chickens along with us from a farm back in Wyoming. Though none of the food in the refrigerator was good, the canned foods were still okay.

I took our makeshift basket out and began to hand her eggs as I said, "David and Liam have been gone for a while." We moved around a lot, trying to stay ahead of the group of humans who attacked us several months ago. They kept following us no matter how we tried to lose them.

"They are more than capable of taking care of themselves," Jenna smiled. "Don't worry about them."

"I know I shouldn't worry," I sighed, leaning against the counter. "We've all lived in this chaos for six years. We should be more than capable of taking care of ourselves."

Jenna nodded, remaining silent while she scrambled the eggs. "Speaking of taking care of, can you go and check on Aaron. I think his bandages need to be redressed."

"Alright," I got the bandages and walked towards the living room. Aaron had cut himself on shards of glass when we were escaping from some of the Infected.

He was sleeping on the couch, bundled under blankets. I stopped in the doorway, watching him. He was actually a member of a group that raided us a couple months ago, the one that was following us. He had been wounded and left. Liam had found him and brought him to David. My brother was going to kill him, but something came over me and I stopped him.

David didn't talk to me for weeks and I was responsible for taking care of and protecting Aaron. If he turned, I was the one who would have to kill him. He was stubborn and refused to speak to any of us, even me, though I was by his side most of the time.

I sighed and walked over to the couch. I sat down next to him, trying not to wake him up and succeeding. I began to unwrap the bandages on his arm and to clean his cut. It was ravaged and painful to look at, but at least it wasn't infected. He had no fever and the only bad thing he had was a temper. I got up and began to return to the kitchen. I felt his hand grab my wrists. I turned back to him, his strange amber eyes looked up at my blue ones.

"Clara," Aaron whispered my name for the first time.

"What?" I said cautiously. He sat up, cringing as he hit his wound.

"Thank you," he said, his lips barely moving.

I glanced at him, confused. Unsure what to do, I bit my lip and pulled my hand away. "You're welcome." I walked back into the kitchen, my stomach churning. Should I be glad that he is now talking? He was just so sudden and it caught me off guard. I didn't expect anything and I felt bad for being so curt with him. It wasn't fair for me to do that to him, even if he has been a jerk. I guess it was the way I was raised, to want to be nice to even the mean people in the world. Surprisingly, this tendency stuck around despite the way things have turned out.

Karli, an 11 year old girl, and her older brother, Stephen, who was 16 years old, were sitting at the table. You could tell they were related. They were nearly twins with their dusty blonde hair and similar facial structures. Stephen's eyes were greener and Karli's were an icy blue. They got along fairly well compared to David and me. We didn't even look alike. He took after my father with the dark brown hair and brown eyes freckled with specks of green. I was like Mother with the dark auburn waves and deep blue eyes. But we all had the fair skin, slightly tanned from the years usually spent out in the sun.

"How is he?" Jenna asked, wiping her hands on the towel. She had set the table for seven people. Ben and Drake were upstairs on watch in case anything happened. I shrugged in response to her inquiry and leaned against the wall.

"We're back," David entered from the back door followed by Liam. They set down several bags on the counter top. There was the clunk of metal.

"What did you get?" Karli perked up a little, a light returning to her eyes.

"Hopefully something useful!" Stephen growled, glaring accusingly at David and Liam. I'm not sure why but David wouldn't let Stephen go with him whenever he goes out. I'm the same age as Stephen but I'm allowed out on searches with the others. Maybe it's because I've grown up with guns and weapons. I could also skillfully use a knife or my hands and feet when needed. Maybe, even though it doesn't look like it, David trusts me to always have his back.

I stayed where I was, watching as the two kids began rummaging through the bags. They pulled out many canned goods and several medical supplies.

"We got some more canned food and medical stuff," Liam explained. "It was quiet in town today."

"That's odd," Jenna narrowed her eyes. "The Infected should be roaming. They always are."

"That's what we thought," David nodded, glancing over at me. I looked at the floor. So what if he was my brother? Everything had changed since the infection started, I didn't feel as close to him as I used to be. In fact, I wasn't very close to anyone in the group.

"Can everyone come and sit? Breakfast is ready," Jenna put her hands on her hips, breaking the silence that had fallen on us. Even though she was in her mid-twenties, like my brother, she had taken over the motherly role for us. The siblings sat down. I waited for the others to sit down before I took a seat. Aaron had never eaten with us and I usually had to take it to him. So there was always an empty seat. The empty seat was always between me and David.

"This is good, Jenna," David smiled. Jenna became flushed and I rolled my eyes.

"Clara helped me today," Jenna said. "She's been doing lot lately." I glanced up at her. I know she's trying to help my brother and I bond more but it was hopeless. Why could only David and I see that?

"I'm sure she has," David picked at his food. I stared down at my down at my food, the pain of hunger slipping away. Stephen, who was sitting beside me, looked at me nervously.

"David, we talked about this," Liam said quietly, turning to my brother.

"Oh, so now you've taken to talking behind my back?" I glared.

"Just shut up and eat, Clara," he started shoving the food into his mouth.

"I'm not hungry," I mumbled, pushing my plate away. I stood up and headed out of the kitchen.

There was the screech of a chair on the wood floor. "You get back here and eat this!" David yelled. I turned around, fear choking me from replying. His fist pounded the table and everyone recoiled.

"Leave her alone," a new voice entered. I felt him behind me. Aaron stared coolly at David. David was first surprised then bemused. I could hear a chuckle in his throat.

"Are you really going to start talking now, boy?" David shook his head. "You have no place in this group and you're the one who decided to not talk to any of us, not even your savior."

"David, please," I put up my hands.

"Don't get in the middle of this, Clara, you tried to save him once but he clearly wants to die," David came around the table. I could feel the tension rising. Liam and Stephen rose but stopped before making a move towards David. He was the leader of the group. They wouldn't dare defy him like I have.

"David, stop," I stayed rooted in place.

"Why are you sticking your neck out for someone you can't even trust?" he looked hurt. That made my skin crawl.

"Just shut up!" I screamed. "I can't even trust you so why the hell do you care?"

"Clara," Aaron put his hands on my shoulders. I glanced over my shoulder and looked up into his eyes, dark abysses full of the nightmares that haunted me. He smiled gently. "You don't have to be my guardian anymore." His hand came up and his thumb wiped away a tear. I hadn't even realized I was crying.

"Don't touch her, you bastard!" David yelled. I was slammed into the wall as David attacked Aaron. I slid to the floor, gasping and staring at the brawling men in complete shock. Liam and Stephen ran towards them, trying to pry the two apart. All I could think of was what David had said. That was such a contradicting statement to how he treats me. I stood up, Jenna trying to comfort me. I brushed her off and pulled my 9 mm out of its holster on my hip. Jenna and Karli gasped with realization of what I was going to do.

"Stop it," I said calmly as I pressed the barrel against his temple. David stopped punching Aaron and stared at me in horror. That's all that was in everyone's eyes, horror of what I could do.

"Clara, you wouldn't really...?" David trailed with such disbelief in his voice. I ground my teeth. He was such a hypocrite.

"No. You know I could never kill you, but I sure as hell can threaten," I hissed through my teeth. He reached for my hand and I pressed harder. "Let Aaron go." David complied as he really had no choice. Aaron crawled away to the other side of the room.

"What's this about?" David stood up, my gun following him.

"The fact that you're such a hypocrite!" I snarled. "I don't need you're protection, David, and you never gave it to me before. Is it because Aaron was being nice to me? Or are you jealous?"

"Clara, are you really that childish to believe I was jealous?" his eyes were full of pity.

"Just shut up, David, I'm not a kid anymore. This world has changed us all. I can choose who to be friends with and you can't interfere. You're not my big brother anymore. You've made your choice clear." I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks adding sting to the bitter words. David stumbled back, heartbroken and delving into utter distress. I shook my head and turned, leaving everyone and going up to the last two members of our group.

"Hey, Clara, what happened?" Ben stood up as he noticed me standing in the doorway.

"David," I shrugged. "I've come to relieve you two so you can go eat."

"Thanks," Ben smiled, taking his rifle and heading downstairs. John stood up from his post and walked over to me. He held my face, wiping away the tears that still streaked my face. He frowned, searching my eyes for something. He lightly kissed my cheek and walked downstairs. With a deep, shuddering sigh, I sat down and picked up a nearby rifle, staring out the window at the Infected roaming below.

They often filled me with great sorrow when I watched them. They were so despondent; their big eyes sunken back into their head, their gray flaking skin stretched tight like a canvas over the thin frame of their bones, and their gate was so slow and limping at times. Today there was a young boy. He was about six years of age. He had black hair but only clumps of it remained on his peeling scalp. Some of his skin had fallen off his limps and I could see the shine of the bones in the sunlight. His blue pajamas were in tatters and barely clung to his frame. The car pattern was covered with blotches of blood. With a painful turn of his head he stared up at where I was. My breath caught as half his face was skinless and the bone was visible and parts of it chipped.

I thought sullenly about what my family had been. My mother had been a kind woman, even for once being a Marine. She had been tough, but always had a soft spot for everyone. Well, almost everyone. Both my father and mother had been good people, but they'd been prejudice against the mutations, which many people had dubbed Furries. David and I were both raised to hate them. They went against our Christian belief. Humans created them, not God; therefore they were frowned upon by many Christians alike. Some embraced this new world that was dawning but the rest of us would not accept this unnatural change. Some in our group had discussed maybe finding the Furries, for protection, but David and I had put our feet down. I remember the first time I saw a Furry. At first, there'd been only fear in my heart, but that was quickly replaced with icy hatred. I found them revolting creatures that should never have existed.

As I was lost in the thoughts of my past, a hand appeared and touched my shoulder. I bit my tongue, the coppery taste of blood and the sting of the pain swam in my head as I spun around, brandishing the rifle.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Aaron removed his hand quickly. He took the seat beside me and stared down at the Infected. I relaxed and leaned the rifle up against the crumbling stone wall. "What were you staring at?"

"The little boy," I whispered. "They always sadden me."

"Why?" Aaron looked at me but I had returned to staring at the boy. He had turned away and was now shuffling down the road. Some of the Infected weren't entirely too smart; usually the young, old, and injured. But the other Infected were cunning and sly. They could hide and then sneak up behind you while barely making a whisper. By the time you realize they are there, it's over. Maybe through my training or just some lucky sense I've inherited I have been able to sense, feel, and hear them coming. I'm not bragging or trying to seem like I have a superiority complex but everyone knows it: I'm an asset to any group. Only problem is, I never wanted to be. It feels good to be wanted, but merely for your skills? It just isn't the same.

"They are suffering," I tilted my face towards him. "They are stuck in an eternal hunger where they feel no satisfaction, even after a full meal. They don't die from the starvation, they merely wither away till they are nothing, but how long would that take?"

"I think you are thinking far too much about it," Aaron sighed. His fingers lightly ran across the back of my hand. It felt soothing. It was a tender touch, something I hadn't felt in a long time. It reminded me of how Mother use to get me to sleep. "You're tired." He stated.

"No I'm not," I shook my head, trying to shake the sleep off.

"You didn't sleep last night," Aaron glared. "You were up all night, watching over me because you were afraid my wound had been infected."

"Aaron," I cringed at the truth. So I had worried about him. If it was infected, David would have surely killed him and I had worked too hard to keep this sorry piece of crap alive. He stood up and pulled me up by my arm. I opened my mouth to object but he dragged me into one of the upper rooms.

"Go to sleep, Clara," Aaron shoved onto one of the beds. "You're a good shot, but you need to be plenty rested." My shoulders drooped and I complied. We always had several searches throughout the day to make sure we didn't miss anything and to keep looking for survivors. David would want me for the midday one as everyone, Infected and human, travel the most then. I lay down, realizing how tired I really was. My eyes closed and I gave into the peacefulness of sleep.

~*~

"Let's keep moving," David waved for us to follow. We had visited several stores so far, killed many Infected, and have come up with nothing. We ran across the street, crouching in the shadows. Aaron, Stephen, Jonathon, and Ben followed behind us. I had finally convinced David to let Stephen come with us. After the incident this morning he didn't treat me like a child. "Aaron, Jonathon, and Clara, go into this store. Stephen, Ben and I will be next door." I nodded and led the other two into the store.

"It's just a music store," Jonathon frowned.

"There might be some stuff we could use," Aaron insisted. We began to search through the store. There were several instruments on the walls. All in 6 years worth of dust. There was a very pretty oak, acoustic guitar that was up on the wall. Before the Virus, I had used to play guitar. That's the first one I have seen in a long, long time.

Aaron noticed me just standing there and walked over. "Did you used to play?"

"Yeah, a long time ago," I bit my lip. "I probably won't be able to remember much anyways." I returned to searching, coming up empty handed.

"There isn't anything here," Jonathon appeared from the back room. "Let's go see how the others are doing. Hopefully they'll be luckier than us." I nodded and we exited the music store. We began to walk over to the next store.

"Wait, what's that?" Aaron questioned. Jonathon and I stopped, following his gaze. And two blocks over was the entire gang that had been following us.

"Shit," Jonathon whispered. Roughly grabbing me, he shoved me into the store and pulled his gun. David glanced up and saw the gang. Aaron and Jonathon entered the store, guns drawn.

"How the hell did they find us?" David whispered. I crouched down, pulling out my gun. The gang had seen us. There was no escaping them except the back door into the alley.

"Everyone duck!" Stephen yelled as the attackers drew their various assortments of weapons on us. As they shoot at the glass windows of the store I stayed behind the counter. Jonathon was beside me.

"Are you okay?" he asked. I nodded, breathless.

"Jonathon, take Clara and get out of here," David ordered.

"But, David!" I objected.

"Don't, Clara, you're all I have left. I just wish I had appreciated you more." He frowned. "Now go!" He leaned around and shot at the attackers. Jonathon dragged me from where I hid and we ran out the back.

"Go around, don't let them escape!" a voice echoed throughout.

"All of the Infected are going to be coming here because of this noise." Jonathon noted. "We need to move quickly." I didn't say anything and merely followed. I glanced behind to see half a dozen of them after us. We broke into a run, adrenaline bringing more spring to our steps. Bullets whizzed past us, never finding their mark as we weaved through the alleys. We were almost free of them. Right as we turned the corner, we came upon even more of the gang with their guns readied.

"Jonathon!" I screamed as he was shot. He crumpled to the floor in the fetal position, his blood flowing quickly from him. I kneeled beside him. He opened his mouth to tell me to run but it was cut short by a gunshot. His blood and brain matter sprayed on me and the broken asphalt. His clear eyes became milky and he lay limp in the street. I felt the tears swelling but a hard backhand from one of the men replaced the sorrow with bitterness. I scrambled to me feet and tried to pull my gun out. It was merely knocked out of my hands and I was roughly shoved into a nearby wall.

"No one can save you now, girl," the scarred bald man grinned maliciously. "You can scream if you wish but it will not help you."

"What do you want?" I cringed from the closeness of his body. There were three scars running from the top of his head, traveling right across his face. It went over part of his nose and there was scar tissue on his lips. I wondered how he could have possibly survived that. Or maybe that was before the Virus.

"Please, you know what I want. You know what we all want. You're one hell of a pretty girl and there aren't many girls around these days," His fingers played with the ends of my hair.

"Don't touch me," I tried to push his slimy hands off of me. I let out a shrill scream before he punched me in the gut and the air left me. I fell to my knees, gasping. The bald man reached down and slid his hand around my throat. In a matter of second the world whizzed by and I was dangling in the air while beginning choked. My bloodied fingers scratched desperately at his hand. Though I drew blood, his grip only grew tighter. I could only pray that someone had heard me or, by the grace of God, I could get out alive.