Dave awoke with his heart beating loudly in his ears. His eyes rolled over to his clock that said 3:00 am. It was Saturday.
"Why am Ah up so early?"
Normally when Dave couldn't sleep, it was because something bad was going to happen. He could feel it in his bones. With a quiet growl, deep in his throat, he turned the television on.
Static.
Dave flipped through some more channels only to be greeted with more static.
"What the hell is goin' on?" he mumbled his southern accent heavily noticeable.
Dave was only 22, about to be 23, with an amazing face that showed he was young. Only a few scars gave him character. All and all though, he had an almost flawless face. Green eyes, slightly covered by his blackish brown hair, looked out the window. Everything seemed normal.
He jumped only a bit when his phone rang. It rang the ringtone that was for his best friend, who only called when she was scared or needed her car fixed, for Dave was a mechanic.
"What?" Dave asked, sleep heavy in his voice.
"David, its Willow. Get to my place now, I'll explain everything later."
"Why do Ah have ta tell ya this all the time, call me Dave, not David…"
"Why do I have to tell you to stop with all your fucking complaining? Just get your ass over here now." Yelled his friend, her voice was followed by the click of her hanging up.
Dave tossed his phone onto his pillow, followed by cracking his spine a bit. He then got up and walked over to his closet. Pulling on his favorite black T-shirt, with a zombie hand on it and his dark blue, almost black, jeans he began to fully wake up. Walking back to his bed to get his phone, he also put on his black hat with a random silver 85 on the front. He always made a joke about how 8-5 equals 3, which so happened to be his favorite number. He was never good at jokes.
Grabbing his keys and his navy blue hoodie, he walked out to the garage area of the apartment building and went to get on his dirt bike. He was used to being called an interesting person, because everyone around his home was an uptight kind of person who hated dirt and 'hicks' like him.
The ride to Willow's house didn't take very long, but long enough for Dave to think about his friend. Willow was a mysterious person. She had chocolate-brown eyes that compared to Dave's deadly green ones would make any guy fall head over heels in love with her any guy except for Dave. He didn't like her like that because he felt like an older brother to her and she liked being a little sister to him. Her red slash brown hair reminded him of chocolate as well. Everything about her was chocolate, everything but her skin color. She was one of the palest people that he had ever met.
Even though Willow and Dave have known each other since third grade, he never knew her last name. She never told anyone. He never told his as well, but somehow she found out.
Finally making it to her house, Dave remembered that she sounded worried on the phone so he ran up her front porch stairs. Before he could even knock Willow opened the door.
"David you're here! Thank goodness."
"Really? Ah thought Ah was still at my house, sleepin'."
Willow rolled her eyes while she let him into her home, for like the thousandth time. The house was just as mysterious as her.
What was really weird was that there were three people sitting in her living room. Dave noticed that he has never seen any of these people before.
"Guys, this is my friend-"
"David Ross! Pleasure to meet you, I am Willow's brother. She has told us all about you." A man exclaimed, cutting Willow's sentence short.
"Sorry David, that's my brother Eric. He's very….jumpy sometimes." Willow whispered.
"Ooooh, I'm Bree, their cousin!" cheered another girl with dark, cropped, hair that had pink highlights in it.
"Okay, not that it ain't nice ta meet'cha all, but why am Ah here?" questioned Dave.
"You haven't heard?" asked the last person on the couch. He flipped his long blonde hair out of his face.
"Didn't hear what?" confusion was dripping from the southerner's voice.
"There is a virus that is spreading around the country. It started in Florida and it is now here in Georgia." Eric explained.
"People who become sick with this virus forget who they are and they change. Once hey change the turn on the non-infected and try to eat them. Once you are bitten there is no saving you." Bree continued Eric's story.
Dave stared at the floor thinking.
"This…shit, is a lot like the game on your shirt." Willow added.
Looking at his shirt and seeing the zombie hand in the center, Dave's eyes grew wide.
"Zero still thinks the infected can be saved though." Bree mumbled, glaring at the man on the couch.
'Who the hell names their kid Zero?' Dave thought to himself.
"Well, have ya guys seen any of 'em?" Dave asked aloud.
"….Naw." Zero said with a smirk, as he mocked Dave's accent.
Zero got up and went to the kitchen, un- able to see Dave's death glare or hear his growl.
"Don't worry about him David; he just thinks you and I are going out or something. I mean that's just gross, right?" Willow whispered to her friend.
"Yea that is gro-… wait what?"
"Shhhh… go to bed David."
As Willow walked away, Dave began to realize that the end of the world was going to be hard to accept.

The next morning everyone awoke to the sound of a bone chilling scream. It was from Bree’s room.
    Taking two stairs at a time, Willow made it to the youngest survivor first, opening the door just in time to see an infected, which was finished climbing in the window, grab Bree and bite her shoulder. Bree’s screams only grew louder.
    Suddenly a loud gunshot drowned out Bree and Willow, who didn’t even notice she had yelled out for Bree. When Willow turned around she saw Eric, his glasses askew with a Desert Eagle in this hand. Using his free hand to run through his short brown hair he closed his eyes and sighed.
    They both looked over at Bree sitting on the floor, half awake, crying. The zombie next to her had blood pouring out of its chest onto the floor. Bree’s blood was also mixing with it.
    “What happened?” Zero asked when he came running into the room with Dave right behind him.
    “Holy shit…,”whispered Dave.
    Willow didn’t move or respond; she only walked over to Bree and sat on the side next to her that wasn’t taken by a dead, dead guy.
    “Willow…. I-I’m sorry….. I l-left the window o-open last n-night….,” Bree tried to apologize through tears.
    “Shhh… it’s okay. Now you don’t have to live in the shitty world we are part of anymore.”
    Bree smiled which caused Willow to as well. Slowly the smile on the younger of the two; Bree was 19 and Willow is a young 22; turned into a blank expression. Her eyes went from hazel to an all glowing red. Her fingers turned into knife like claws, her hair color faded to white and it grew even longer to hide her face. Her skin suddenly turned grayish. As Willow stood up and backed away, Bree started to sob.
    “Eric…. hand me the gun….,”Willow hissed. 
    Eric paused as he thought what he was told over in his mind.
    “But… she’s family.”
    Bree stopped crying and began to growl.
    “Guys jus’ shoot ‘er” Dave ordered quietly.
    “The two siblings started to argue in whispers, but soon their whispers grew louder. Bree grew angrier, and Dave’s and Zero’s fear began to grow as well.
    Zero groaned and walked over to Eric, grabbing the gun out of the taller man’s grasp, he aimed the pistol at Bree’s head.
    “Nooo,” Eric yelled as he tackled Zero.
    Eric was a little too late, as the bullet was shot. But, it just barely missed Bree’s face and instead it went into her arm. It had no effect except it made her growls turn into a make your ears bleed screech.
    Everyone froze; fear on their faces was a lot more noticeable. Eric was on top of Zero’s back, Willow stood to the side hands over her mouth, and Dave stood in the doorway; still reaching out to grab Eric before h did something stupid.
    Bree stood up and started to run at the non-infected. Willow was the first to react as she cursed under her breath and ran. Zero pushed Eric off of him and ran too. Eric was in such a panic that he forgot how to work his legs to stand up. Dave just stood in there, still frozen with fear. His brain unable to work properly, he just stood there. Eric saw and scooped up the pistol that Zero left behind.
    One bullet. Bree was still running. Two more bullets were fired. Eric panicked when she still didn’t die. He kept on firing, most of the bullets missed Bree completely, but the ones that hit her had no effect on her.
    Dave was brought back to reality when he heard a gun being shot. Looking at the figure running at him, his face lost all of its color, yet he still could not move. 
    Suddenly one last bullet was shot and Bree fell to the floor right at Dave’s feet. Looking down at the body Dave’s breathing went back to normal, slowly.
    “Uhhh, thanks Eric.” that was all Dave could think about saying.
    “Wasn’t me.” 
    Hearing Eric’s response made the mechanic look behind him only to see Willow. She had a shotgun in her hands, smoke flowing out of the barrel.
    Zero walked up behind her.
    “Nice shot.” He mumbled.
    “Thanks.” She breathed.
    Walking over to Bree’s dead body, Zero examined the corpse. When he was done staring, he tapped her leg with his foot.
    “Now what?” he asked.
    “Ah say we get outta here.” Dave suggested.
    “AH…. Don’t care what you have to say.” Zero growled.
    The two glared at each other, slowly Dave’s frown became as smirk as he flipped Zero off without a word. Zero only grew angrier. 
    “Girls, girls… your both pretty now lets just pack up and find an evac station.” Willow said with a smile.
    “Only if Ah don’ have ta share my bike with lady hair over here.” Dave laughed as he pointed at Zero, who was thinking about killing a hick instead of zombies today. 
    Even Eric laughed at that along with Willow and Dave.
    Well, for the most part, they laughed as much as they could without feeling awkward since they felt like it was wrong to laugh after Bree died.
    Eric began to walk around the room as he looked at pictures on the walls. He chuckled at the picture of Willow wearing Dave’s hat, and Dave trying to get it back. That was in high school. The same year Willow met Zero and fell in love with him. There was a picture of Zero on the wall too. It was one of the school pictures that allowed you to get your name on it if you paid extra. 
    Dave was also thinking about the past. When he was younger he remembered always having a bad dream where he was hit by a car. That said dream caused him to have anger issues. No one knew it but he still had that same dream every night. As long as no one made him angry, everything would be okay.
    Everything that wasn’t ruined already, thanks to the zombies.

“Ready” Eric asked, fear of leaving well known on his face.
    “Ah am.”  Dave said with excitement.
    “AH….am.” Zero mocked.
    Willow rolled her eyes while Dave glared at Zero.
    Eric had grabbed a small machine gun from Willow’s gun collection, along with a bottle of pain pills. Zero grabbed a baseball bat and a first aid kit. Willow gave her shotgun to Dave with a disgusted look on her face and took two handguns instead. Dave also picked up a defib unit, in case they needed to revive someone.
    “Why don’t we use that on Bree?” Eric asked, pointing at the defib unit with hope in his eyes.
    “Ya, lets bring back a zombie….,” Dave mumbled.
    “Dave, shut up.” Willow hissed at him.
    He simply put his hand in front of his chest to say he gave up or to protect himself. Willow pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
    ‘God, he’s so stupid.’ Zero thought.
    Eric had decided that they should pack food and clothes. Willow got the food while Eric got clothes, blankets, coats, etc. Dave and Zero sat on the opposite sides of the room. Not looking at each other, of course
    After a few minutes, Dave’s eyes began to wander. They widened when he saw Willow’s guitar in the other corner on Zero’s side of the room. He began to smile as he got up and walked over to it. 
    “Awe, baby hick is gonna play me a song.” Zero said as Dave picked up the instrument.
    “Why do ya hate me so much?”
    “You suck.”
    “So do you then.”
    Zero snorted while Dave walked back over to his ‘seat’ and strummed the strings on the guitar a few times.
    The mechanic’s fingers began to play a quiet melody on the strings. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he started to mumble a song.
        Willow had secretly walked back into the room to see Dave singing to himself. She couldn’t help but smile.
    Zero pretended to cough so that Dave would stop showing off. It worked. After glaring at the blonde, Dave saw Willow and blushed when she started clapping. Zero pouted.
    “That was so good David!” Willow exclaimed.
    “Naw man, Ah wasn’t even really singin’ so don’t try ta say that Ah am any good.” Dave mumbled with his cheeks red.
    “Better listen to the hick, Willow, he sucks so don’t pretend just to make him feel good about himself.” Zero said.
    Dave glared as Willow started to yell at Zero.
    “Just leave him alone, he’s my best friend.”
    “So, I don’t give a rat’s ass about him.”
    Dave joined in with a mumbled, “Guys just stop please.” 
    “No, I’m tired of the way she likes you more than me!” Zero yelled.
    “Well when you act like a jealous piece of shit, I’m going to like someone more than you, Zero!” Willow screamed.
    “You're a crazy bitch!” Zero hollered as he grabbed Willow’s shoulders and pushed her onto the floor.
    Dave’s blood began to boil with rage gnawing at his brain. The only thing on his mind was static, much like his TV back at his house. What he did next, he didn’t plan, it just happened from the anger towards the taller man for hurting his friend. His grip on the guitar grew tighter as he let out a loud growl.
    Standing up, the southerner lifted the ‘weapon’ over his head, and with the satisfaction of seeing fear in Zero’s face, he brought it down on the other man’s skull. The sound of bone cracking awoke Dave from his angered state. His face went from anger to fear as he realized what he did.
    Eric came running down the stairs right at that moment.
    “I heard yelling, what’s goin-“
    It took Eric a minute to realize what happened before he got down the stairs. Willow sat on the floor, face frozen in a blank stare. Zero was on the floor, blood pouring from his head. No doubt that he was dead. Eric finally looked at Dave. Still holding the bloody guitar, his face had no color to it. He looked like he was about to hurl. 
    “Eric…. leave him alone…” Willow tried to say normally.
    “Dave, what did you do?!” Eric questioned, ignoring his sister.
    Dave never responded. He just stood there, as if he was waiting for that puke that Eric thought would come. At first Eric jumped when Dave dropped the instrument next to Zero’s body, but he jumped even more when Dave bent over and threw up right by Willow’s couch.
    “Ah didn’t mean ta!” Dave tried to say while he puked.
    “He was my best friend!” Eric yelled as he grabbed a fistful of Dave’s hair and pulled him to a standing position.
    Dave could only cough while Willow demanded that Eric leave her friend alone. Eric only ignored his sister again.
    Punching Dave right in face made Willow scream at her brother even more. Eric let go of Dave letting the southerner fall to the floor.
    “Ah outta kill yew too” Dave mumbled, blood pouring out of his nose.
    That earned a kick the face.
    Willow screamed louder than ever.
    “Willow just shut up!” Eric yelled, turning to see the girl pointing at the window.
    A huge horde of infected were running towards the house, the survivors didn’t realize that their yelling and all of the blood everywhere alerted the zombies.
    “Fuck me…..” that was all Dave could mumble before he blacked out.
    
‘Shit, Eric help me get him out of here. Please!” Willow ordered as she tried to carry Dave.

    Eric looked towards his teammates then to the horded. He sighed then went over and moved Willow out of the way.
    “Go get the supplies, I’ll get Dave.”
    The two managed to get every bag of food, weapons, ammo, medical items, attire, and everything in between, just as the infected reached the house. Luckily, Zero’s human flesh distracted the zombies long enough for the survivors to escape.  

A few days passed since the drama at Willow’s house. The group of survivors went from five to three in a matter of twelve hour or more. With one of the three unconscious, staying alive seemed hopeless. 
    Eric had Dave in his arms, bridal style, while Willow carried all the bags of supplies. Every once and a while Eric would look down at Dave and growl, followed by clawing at the man’s arm. Willow never noticed Eric’s actions or that his actions soon caused Dave’s arm to bleed.
    “Eric?” Willow whispered, breaking the silence.
    “Hmm?”
    “I want to thank you, for saving Dave.”
    “You love him.” 
    “What? He’s my best friend.
    “Who you love.”
    “Eric, I love him as a friend.”
    “Whatever.”
    The two stopped talking until a few more miles of walking, lead them to a gas station. Once they got closer they noticed that the door was broken and that the inside of the store was a mess.
    “I guess people freaked when the infection hit town.” Eric mumbled.
    Luckily there were no zombies inside, but there wasn’t any supplies that could help them survive. The two decided to set up a small camp, inside the small store. Laying Dave down on a blanket, Eric sighed. 
    “Man, I’m really sorry for what I did.” Eric whispered to Dave, acting like he would be able to hear him.
    “I was just so angry. I guess I let my anger control me like you did when you got mad at Zero.”
    Willow walked by the two men, sorrow all over her face as she listened to her brother talk to her friend.
    “I just wish you could hear me.”
    Suddenly, the sound of someone walking outside startled Eric.
    “Eric come on; let’s go see what that was.” Willow whispered.
    Grabbing their weapons, the two walked towards the front doors. Once by the door they noticed a shadow of a person. The person was holding a weapon.
    “Either that’s a human, or zombies can use weapons. If so fuck this shit and kill me now.” Willow joked.
    Looking around the corner they saw a man, with short, brown hair, glasses, and he had a black jacket, that was really fancy, on.
    “Hello? Anyone here?” the man yelled out.
    “Who are you?” Eric called out.
    The man walked to the door. He put his hands in the air to show that he meant no harm.
    “Look I’m just a normal guy trying to stay alive.”
    “Why should we trust you?” Willow asked.
    “Well maybe I can help you guys along the way. I do know that there is an evac station in Atlanta.”
    The two siblings thought it over in their heads. Looking at each other, they slowly nodded.
    “Alright, get in here before any infected see us.” Eric ordered.
    The three walked inside, Willow leading the way, Eric in the middle, and the newcomer behind them all. The man’s gaze went around the entire place, once it landed on Dave, his hazel eyes grew wide.
    “Oh my God, what happened to him?”
    “Why should we tell you if you won’t tell us your name?” Eric growled.
    “Because, he’s my brother!”
    “Wait you’re Dave’s brother?” Willow asked.
    The man nodded. Willow looked at Dave then to Eric.
    “He told me about you. Dave said that you were not to be trusted.”
    “Look lady, that was before all of this zombie shit.”
    Suddenly they heard coughing from the corner of the room. All eyes went to Dave, who was spitting out blood.
    “David! Thank God, we thought you were dead!” Willow cheered.
    “Ugh, my head. Wait….Mitch?” Dave mumbled, rubbing his forehead.
    All eyes went to this so called Mitch.
    “Yeah Dave. It’s me.” Mitch whispered.
    “How are ya alive?”
    “Do you deny my badass awesomeness?”
    “Heh, naw, even though Ah am the badass.”
    Willow and Eric just stood there while the two men talked.
    “So what happened to yur country accent?” Dave asked.
    “I’ve lived in the city for a long time Dave.” Mitch said, turning serious.
    Dave rolled his eyes with a smirk on his face. 
    “Whoa, wait. You told me not to trust him.” Willow said, looking at Dave.
    “Well, that was in…. yeah fifth grade Willow.” Dave said, glaring at his friend.
    Normally it didn’t take much to get Dave angry, but when he talked to Willow, she never caused him to lose his good mood. So this angered look she received, startled Willow.
    “Okay, I’m going to go take first watch.” Eric suggested, trying to get away from the awkwardness.
    “Oh, hey Eric.” Dave said in a sweet voice.
    “Yea?”
    “Go fuck yourself.”
    Mitch had to fight back a laugh. Since he didn’t get to see his younger brother in over ten years or more, he never got to see the serious side of Dave. Willow only glared at the two brothers. She began to realize that they were so different.
    “If you guys are brothers, then why are you so different, hmm?”
    “Dave and I have the same dad but a different mom.” Mitch explained.
    “Yeah, my ma is jus’ like me, and Mitch got more of our dad.” Dave added.
    “Uhhh, okay I’m so confused.” Willow whispered.
    After a few hours, everyone got to know Mitch more and the new member got to know everyone else more as well. Even though Dave trusted his brother, Willow just thought he was bad news. Eric did to, but he didn’t show it because he wanted to be friends with Dave again.
    At one point, around nine according to Mitch’s watch, the group decided to head out to find a better place to stay the night. Following a map that Eric brought along, they managed to find an abandoned hotel. By the looks of it, the building was an evac station. Sadly everything and everyone was gone. 
    Once inside Eric went up to the roof to clear his mind. He didn’t realize that someone was following him.
    “Man this is some crazy shit.” Eric mumbled to himself.
    “You’re telling me.” 
    Eric turned to see Mitch standing by the stairs. The look on the man’s face scared Eric a bit. Anger and a bit of secretiveness was plastered onto Mitch’s face.
    “I didn’t know you followed me.” 
    “So you tried to kill my brother.” It wasn’t a question.
    “He killed my best friend and I let my anger get the best of me.”
    “Well, I wonder what would happen if I let my anger and wanting to protect my brother take over.”
    Eric stared at the man; confusion was noticeable in his eyes, while Mitch’s eyes showed that he knew something.
    Before Eric could realized, a loud screech came from behind as a large, slimy appendage wrapped around his torso, before it could pull him away, Eric looked at Mitch and saw that he was smiling, Mitch saw the infected and didn’t warn Eric, and he wasn’t going to help him either. Eric only had time to scream, as the creature’s tongue pulled him to his death.

    Hours went by. Hours that were filled with Willow’s sobs and screaming. She sounded like the zombie that Bree turned into. Always crying and getting mad when someone tried to go near her. Once again they were down to three people in there group, and Willow only trusted one. Mitch had taken first watch while Dave tried to comfort Willow.
    “Willow?”
    “What Dave?” she no longer had emotion in her voice. Her glow of happiness was gone and all that was left was a shield that shocked everyone near her.
    “Wanna come up with some names for all the infected we fought?”
    Willow sighed, followed by looking at Dave for the first time in hours. Her eyes seemed to have lost their color. They were also red and puffy from crying all day. 
    “Bree became a bitch.”
    Dave didn’t know how to respond to Willow’s statement, so he just stared at her for a while.
    “Umm, okay Witch it is then.”
    “Whatever got Eric was an asshole.”
    Dave sighed, and then he stared at his friend again. He knew she was hurt, but she could at least try to help herself feel better.
    “A’right, what do ya wanna talk ‘bout?” Dave was becoming annoyed with her depressing attitude. It wasn’t going to bring Eric back.
    The group tried to find him after Mitch told them what happened, the story that they were told was that Eric and Mitch were talking on the roof when Mitch turned away from the other man, all he heard was a scream. Turning back around Eric was being dragged away by a zombie’s tongue. Dave didn’t quite believe the story, but for once Willow did.
    “I’m still confused. You and Mitch are related, but you guys are so different.” Willow mumbled.
    “Honestly… were differen’ cause…… Ah was adopted.”
    This time Willow stared at Dave. She had never known that her best friend was adopted. Scarring the younger of the two Dave wrapped his arms around Willow, holding her in a tight bear hug.
    “Ah’m sorry for Eric, an’ Bree, an’ Zero. Ah feel like Ah’m getting’ everyone killed.”
    Willow then noticed that Dave was crying, but she didn’t notice Mitch walk back in. Mitch stood in the doorway and watched the two friends sit there hugging. He quietly coughed and both Dave and Willow looked over at him. Dave quickly moved away from Willow, embarrassed, while Willow looked at Mitch.
    “Aw shit, now Ah’m cryin’. Guys ain’t suppose ta cry.” Dave said as he wiped away his tears.
    Willow, smiled at Dave and then her stare went back to the other man.
    “What is it Mitch?” she asked.
    “I was thinking that tomorrow morning; we should head out for the evac station, or a better safehouse. Hopefully, we might find more survivors.” Mitch said, shrugging his shoulders.
    Willow nodded as Dave sat there with a blank look on his face. Mitch noticed it, but didn’t say anything at the moment; he figured that he was upset about Eric. 
    “Well, I guess we should get some sleep.” Willow mumbled as she stood up and cracked her neck.
    As Willow walked towards all of their supplies, she leaned over Dave and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Mitch rolled his eyes while Dave’s face grew red.
    “None of this is your fault….” Willow whispered so only Dave could hear.
    Dave smiled and Willow walked away. Laying down right where he was at, Dave couldn’t help but grin. Yawning, Mitch laid down on a blanket that Willow set out for him. 
    ‘Tomorrow will be a better day. Dave will not get hurt and if anyone hurts him like Eric, I will kill them too, even if it’s Willow.’ Mitch thought to himself. 
    When Dave was almost nine and Mitch was eleven, (Dave being seven when he was adopted.) the two boys were outside, playing tag or something. At a young age, Mitch liked to boss Dave around because he believed that the younger boy was his ‘replacement’ or that his parents liked Dave more. On that day, Mitch let his jealousy take over way too much. Basically, little Dave didn’t see Mitch run up behind him. He did see the car as it hit him. As soon as Mitch realized what he did, he promised that he wouldn’t let anything happen to his little brother.
    Because the car he was pushed in front of was speeding, it hit Dave hard enough that he doesn’t remember that day. Mitch was grateful for that.
    After remembering that awful day Mitch finally fell into a deep sleep, along with Dave. But, Willow stayed awake. How could she sleep when her brother was dead? A few hours had gone by and she decided that if she couldn’t handle the pain tomorrow, she would end it all. Even if it hurt Dave, she would do it because she loved her brother, and she wanted to see him again.
    After a few more minutes, Willow finally fell asleep. Tears rolled down her cheeks, as she tightened her grip on her pistols in her dream like state.
    Not a single zombie bothered them that night. It was like even the infected knew that they were upset and that the group didn’t want to be bothered and that they needed their sleep. Either zombies still have some humanity in them, that allows them to be nice for a bit or they had enough humanity in them that allowed them to plot or plan a way to kill the survivors tomorrow, when  they tried to cheat death another day. 

    Morning came too soon for the group’s liking. Willow woke up first, followed by Mitch who watched as the only female made “breakfast”.  They enjoyed crackers, beef jerky, some bread, and water. When Dave finally woke up, he was very moody. Mitch tried not to laugh when he walked into a wall; he glared at him and mumbled something about being tired. 
    “Okay… what’s the plan?” Willow mumbled, still depressed.
    “Well after we eat and WAKE UP!” Mitch yelled into Dave’s ear, “We can head towards another safehouse.”
    Dave only jumped when Mitch yelled, followed by glaring at him again.
    “Ah don’t wanna wake up.” Dave wined.
    Shaking her head, Willow stood up from her chair and started to pack everything they removed from their bags. Dave stomped towards the small, gas station bathroom, leaving Mitch alone.
    Awhile later, Dave came running towards Willow and Mitch, suddenly full of energy.    
    “Guys, my phone!” he yelled with a huge grin on his face.
    “Yes, and?” Willow asked looking at the phone Dave presented.
    “We could call fo’ help!”
    “Who the hell are we gonna call for help?” Mitch asked.
    “I swear to God Dave, please don’t say Batman….” Willow complained while Mitch smirked.
    “Aw c’mon. Ah ain’t stupid.” Dave whispered. Mitch rolled his eyes with a smile. Willow just stared at him. Turning on her heel, Willow walked out the doors. Dave grabbed his shotgun and a backpack, running to keep up with Willow. Mitch grabbed a baseball bat that they found a few days ago, during a horde, along with another bag. 
    Once everyone caught up with each other, Mitch led the way, Dave behind him, and Willow in the back.
Hours went by and luckily they only ran into a small horde. Dave tried to keep the spirits up by playing games like eye spy or twenty questions. Mitch barely played along, but he wasn’t mean to his brother. Willow tried to ignore the others. She would glare at Dave when he tried to get her to interact with them. Eventually, she became so mad that he yelled at Dave to, “SHUT THE HELL UP.” She had tears in her eyes as she thought about Eric. The way he smiled, the way he protected her from everything. 
Willow then noticed that Dave stopped talking all together. He was thinking to himself. Thinking about how he is always annoying people or how he gets them killed. With a small sigh he ran after Mitch, who was being attacked by another one of the infected that Dave called a jockey. 
“I hate those things.” Mitch growled, after Dave saved him.
“Really? Ah thought ya love them things.” Dave said; sarcasm dripping from his words.
Mitch flipped Dave’s hat off his head and continued walking. Dave laughed while grabbing his hat, and then followed Mitch down the highway they made it to. Neither of them realized that Willow was far behind them. 
    Willow’s heart was pounding in her ears. She imagined Eric. Seeing him smiling at her as she ran to hug him. Looking down at the two pistols in her hands, she remembered what she said she would do if the pain was too much.  A small smile appeared on her face, the tears finally falling and blurring her vision.
    ‘For you Eric. I’m doing this for you.’ Willow thought to herself. 
    Mitch looked over his shoulder and saw Willow. He saw the look in her eye and he knew what she was thinking. He once had that look in his eye when he had pushed Dave in front of that car. Shrugging his shoulders he turned around thinking that if she killed herself, it would be one less person to take care of or harm Dave. He tried not to smile.
    ‘About time. I didn’t want to have to kill any more people myself.
    Dave saw Mitch look back and followed his gaze. Willow pulled one of her pistols up to her head. She was smiling and crying at the same time. Mitch kept walking and Dave froze. All signs of happiness leaving his face. He almost fell on his knees as he became light headed.
    “W-illow…. put the gun down.” Dave stuttered.
    “I’m sorry, but Eric needs me.”
    “Eric wouldn’t want this.”
    “Did you think I wanted this?”
    “What ‘bout me? You’re my best friend!”  his voice cracked.
    Dave grew silent, looking down at his feet, he tried not to cry. Hearing a small click of Willow’s gun, the man looked up, fear on his face. He lunged forward, grabbing Willow’s arm that was holding the gun. Mitch turned around, wondering why Dave wasn’t still behind him. 
    “DAVE NOOO!” Mitch screamed when he saw Dave pull the gun away from Willow. Dave didn’t notice that it was aimed at him more now. The female’s grip was still on the weapon. Trying to fight Dave for the gun, she tightened her grip even more. 
    Looking her in the eyes, Dave saw that the real Willow was gone. All that was left was a shell of the girl he secretly loved. He started to realize that his protective big brother role was a cover up for his true feelings around the time when Zero pushed her. Dave decided it was now or never to say something to Willow.
    “Willow please. Ah… Ah love you.”
    Willow stopped moving as she stared at Dave. Her grip on her gun was still tight. She didn’t realize that her grip was growing tighter. Willow’s finger pulled the trigger.
    Everyone jumped at the sound of the gunshot. 

Darkness was all Dave saw. He remembered hearing the gun going off. He didn’t remember where it went though. He had a feeling that Willow shot herself and he must have fainted or maybe he just shut himself out from the whole world. Sadly, he couldn’t remember. 
    The gunshot was so loud that Dave could barely hear talking. Actually, it was screaming. He also felt hands on his chest. Maybe Mitch was trying to talk to him, but then again, the hands that were putting pressure on his chest felt too small to be Mitch’s. 
    Dave began to realize that he was cold. He also noticed that the screaming was getting louder.
    “DAVID!”
    “Shit, you see what you did Willow.” 
    Willow? She’s still alive? If she is still alive, and Mitch is still alive then what happened that is making them scream? All of these questions and many more were buzzing through Dave’s mind. His unconscious mind.
    Willow had her hands over the hole in Dave’s chest. Blood was still pouring out of it. Mitch was standing behind her, arms crossed, praying that Dave was okay.
    “If you didn’t have to go all suicidal on our asses, Dave wouldn’t have gotten hurt.” Mitch growled.
    “Mitch, I already said I was sorry, now please help me!” Willow snapped.
    While they argued, Dave’s eyes fluttered open. He groaned at the pain in his body. Everything hurt. His eyes looked down at his blood covered chest. 
    “The hell….?” He whispered at the sight.
    Willow’s head spun around to look at Dave. Tears filled her eyes as she began to apologize like crazy,
    “David, I am so sorry, I wasn’t thinking clearly and it was an accident.” 
    The southerner’s head tilted to the right as he smiled. All color was gone from his face after losing so much blood.
    “Willow it’s okay. Ah mean, Ah understand why you tried ta kill yourself.”
“Dave, that’s not why she’s apologizing.” Mitch said, obviously annoyed with something.
    Willow looked down at the ground, sadness in her eyes. Dave’s eyes darted between his fellow companions. Now he was even more confused.
    “What happened? Did a zombie get me?” Dave’s voice was barely louder than a whisper.
    “No, this fucking bitch shot you!” Mitch yelled, now enraged.
    “I didn’t mean to okay! My finger slipped and I didn’t know the gun was aimed at him or I would’ve let go of the gun when he told me-“Willow tried to defend herself, but she froze as she remember what Dave had told her.
    ‘Willow please. Ah…Ah love you.’
    Everyone was silent. To be honest, they were secretly surprised that not a single infected bothered them at this moment when they were so vulnerable. Their surprise state was interrupted when an infected that they had never seen charged right at them. One arm was huge and the other looked like a helpless string attached to a yo-yo or something. Since Mitch was the only one standing, the zombie ran at him at an unbelievable speed and carried him away.
    “Shit Mitch!” Dave yelled out.
    The infected was now pounding Mitch into the ground. Picking him up and then slamming him down onto the asphalt with the muscular arm only. Mitch began to scream out in pain when he heard something crack after a while.
    Willow jumped up and grabbed her pistols. She glanced at Dave and then back at Mitch. She decided to run after the infected that was seconds away from possibly kill Mitch, leaving Dave to fend for himself if any other zombies came.
    Shooting the infected in the head a few times ended its tainted life. She kneeled down by Mitch to see any wounds he had. Putting her hand over her mouth to keep from puking, Willow saw what Mitch heard crack earlier. His forearm had a bone sticking out of it. Blood poured from the hole left in his arm. Mitch was unable to move that arm.
    Behind her, Willow heard screaming. She turned to see a hooded infected tearing away at Dave’s chest.
    “SHIT, GET IT OFF ME! GAHHHH!”
    Willow grabbed her pistol and aimed it at the zombie’s head. She missed the first time, but managed to shoot it in the back of the head. Dave weakly raised his hand. He was smiling.
    “T-thanksss….”
    Willow smiled as she helped Mitch to his feet. The man groaned at the pain and hissed when they started to move. As they got closer to Dave, they noticed that the mechanic was getting to his feet. Slowly.
    “Dave, what are you doing?” Willow asked.
    “We’ve gottah…get ta that saferoom one way ‘er another…” 
    The group started to walk again. They only stopped when Dave collapsed a few times. No matter how many times he fell, Dave would get back up and refuse the help that was offered. Willow began to worry more. Her best friend was still losing a lot of blood and no matter what she or Mitch said; he wouldn’t let them heal him at all.
    As the sun began to set, Mitch was able to walk on his own. Not as well as normally, but the pain wasn’t as bad so that was a good sign. He still couldn’t move his left arm so it was wrapped up against his body with gauze that was in a health kit they brought from Willow’s house. Eventually, Dave took some pain pills, but that was the only thing he did to help himself. He was still collapsing, more than before. Every time he would blame it on being tired, but no one believed him.
    “Look guys. It’s a saferoom!” Mitch exclaimed pointing at a house with a red door.
 Running as fast as they could, the tree made it inside without alerting any infected. Willow was the last one in and once everyone else was inside she closed the the door and locked it up. Dave walked over to a corner of the room and sat down, letting out a huge breath of relief. Mitch ran up the stairs to find a bathroom, and Willow walked over to Dave and began to work on his injuries.
    A few moments later, they heard Mitch return. He wasn’t alone. Behind him was a man with a rifle pointed at the back of his head. The man appeared to be in his early twenties, like everyone else here, and he had on a red t-shirt and black jeans. His hair was black as well and the style was very “skater boy” type theme. His icy blue eyes gave everyone chills. His skin was very pale but it was also covered in blood. 
    “Who the hell are ya guys?” He asked. He had a very slight southern accent, but it wasn’t as heavy as Dave’s.
    The group remained quiet for they were all to scared for Mitch’s sake and they were in shock that the met another real human being. The all knew that there might be a chance that he had been infected and he just didn’t change yet, but they all ignored that possibility. They just wanted something good to happen for once. No one could blame them.