Rule #22: People are dangerous.

You'd think that's a no-brainer right? Everyone knows that. The living are always more dangerous than the dead, and should be met with the utmost caution. 

Easy.

I don't really know about that. Not the people are dangerous part! I get that. One hundred percent I get that, because I've lived it. I just don't know how easy it is to follow that rule.

It's why we're so unfriendly. Because getting friendly with the wrong people gets you killed.

But the apocalypse kind of does funny things with humanity.

It leaves two polar ends of the spectrum. Either humanity at its best, or humanity at its worst.

I'm not really sure if there's a huge difference between the two.

A lot of your people would say Shane is humanity at its worst. I say he's humanity at its best. But that's because I've seen a lot worse than Shane. Plus I, you know, love him. It's all about perception, though, right?

What makes someone the 'bad guy' anymore? Someone who kills? Someone who steals? Someone who rapes?

What about someone who lies? Someone who says they have your back, but they don't? How about someone who's not willing to see it for what it is?

How about... someone who's not willing to get violent? Or someone who's not willing to fight?

Does that call for peace make them a 'good guy'? Or does it make them stupid? Easy to take?

Two years ago, someone who called for peace was probably a good guy. I don't know.

What I do know is that, today, someone who calls for peace, or who says we shouldn't succumb so easily to our more base, animalistic nature, is one of four things: delusional, self-righteous, a liar or dead.

If it's all the same to you... I'd take a killer over a liar. An animal, with teeth and claws bared, over someone who says it's better not to fight.

Sorry. I know I'm getting a little philosophical here. But this is something I've held onto for a while, because there's no use voicing an opinion when you know the other people around you are just going to agree.

Hopefully it'll all make sense here in a second.

But... another funny little trick the apocalypse plays?

It's that you know people are dangerous, but at the same time, you kind of want to find people. You want to know that you're not the last five human beings rattling around in a big empty world.

It's an ugly trick. It causes fear and pain and disillusionment of humanity or what the hell ever. It's cruel, is what it is, but you fall into the goddamn trap every single freaking time.

Because when it comes down to it, we're social animals. Pack creatures. We want to add the things that make us strong, and sometimes that other pack or the lone wolf you pick up is the key to your pack's survival.

Sometimes they're the downfall.

Sometimes... you trade one for another, and you're never quite sure if the trade was worth it.

It had just been the five of us for maybe three months. Maybe four. It felt like it'd been a long time, but at the same time, it'd been much too short.

That's probably an apocalypse life lesson: Time isn't real.

Two years, for example, is an eternity when you've scraped and fought for it. It's been more than I deserve with these people that I love. But at the same time, it's much too short. Because you'll never have enough time.

I'll never have enough time with Shane. It wouldn't matter if I died forty years from now, or a week from now. Time's not real at the end of the world.

But that's me being fatalistic again isn't it? And probably more than a little dramatic and I can kind of see your eyes glazing over while I wax poetic over here.

That's fine. You didn't sit down to hear this story so I could ramble on about the philosophy, or lack thereof, of the apocalypse.

Anyway.

Like I'd said, it had been just the five of us for a long time. We trusted each other. We loved each other. We taught each other. It was us against the world and it was working and nobody wanted it to end.

So it did.

It was a routine run. One might almost say it started out boring.

Of course, you wouldn't ever say anything like that out loud, because you know karma's just waiting around the corner to kick your ass and prove you wrong.

But it was quiet. Eerily quiet. All of us went.

There was just something in the air. Not something bad, just... something. Things were going to change.

We walked up to the supermarket and Viktoria, looking at the already broken chain, said, "This is going to be a waste of time."

Kyle rolled his eyes at her and said, "But what if it's not?"

"That's not really an argument, Kyle," Viktoria started, but stopped when Shane waved at her.

I nudged Vik with a shoulder and said, "It's not like we have anything better to do."

She stuck her tongue out at me, but smiled, and I said, "What if we found pineapple?"

Viktoria adores pineapple. She eyed the storefront with renewed interest and said, "What if we don't?"

"Then I'll take your watch tonight. But I'll bet you that we do." I grinned at her, machete tapping lightly against my leg. We were watching the streets leading up to the store, and both looked back sharply when Shane pounded on the glass doors.

Viktoria turned back to me and said, "You have a bet."

We shook and waited, the bright sun balancing out the chilly air.

"All right. If there is anything in there, it's takin' its own sweet time comin' up here." Shane yanked the door open, waving us inside. "Head on a swivel, guys. I don't feel much like having a surprise today."

I cocked my head at him as I passed, frowning at the shadows under his eyes. We'd been going hard, forced to move a lot lately and food had been a bit slim. I didn't think he'd been sleeping. I didn't know why.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back for a kiss, which I wasn't arguing about, but was surprised by. He kissed me softly, then harder, then stopped and tugged at a loose strand of hair. "Hey. You love me right?"

I rolled my eyes. Nine times out of ten, that's what Shane says. That or, 'love you too,' even when he says it first. I don't really know why. But, honestly, I think I'd be scared to death if Shane just straight up said, 'I love you.' The one time he had was after he'd almost gotten bitten. It seems... heavier. Like he reserves it for the really crazy things.

But I nodded and smiled at him before following the others into the dim store. I could already see the other three moving through an aisle, flashlights moving over mostly empty shelves, grabbing the few things they did happen upon.

I kept sneaking little peeks at Shane from the corner of my eye as we went down a different aisle. I could hear the others getting farther and farther into the store. That little episode at the door had weirded me out.

I mean, neither Shane nor I does that. If we're working, we're working. It's kinda like a weird PDA rule between the two of us. It bothered me that he'd done that, because it's not something he does. It feels too much like goodbye.

Now I think he was just feeling the reaper a little. You know, that little hair-raising thing you get when you know something's coming? Like just before a big crack of lightening when all your hair stands up on the back of your neck.

He was just feeling spooky.

We'd gotten deep enough into the store that we needed flashlights. I couldn't hear Kyle and the kids, but that didn't worry me. The two of us had managed to scrounge a box or two of mac n' cheese and a couple cans of baked beans, which was a pretty good score. Kind of rare.

I didn't register the whisper at first. Or I though it was just the others having looped around. There was a subtle tap and Shane stopped walking. I froze when he did, listening hard now, but I didn't hear any growls.

Apparently, neither did the other group.

Remember about not stepping over bodies?

Shane clicked off his flashlight and I followed suit, hooking a finger through one of his belt loops so I wouldn't lose him in the dark. I heard the rustle and subtle click of the safety when he drew his gun and tensed up. I couldn't remember the last time he'd used his gun.

We waited, and I heard another tap, a squeak. Shane's breathing. My heart. Then a horrid, wet, ripping sound.

Screams erupted and I gasped, not having expected the outpouring of sound.

Shane turned his flashlight back on and started moving toward the sounds cautiously. Quickly, but cautiously. Feigning helplessness is a neat little trap, but this didn't sound like a trap.

It sounded like someone was dying.

I followed Shane, careful to stay a little behind him in case he needed to reverse course quickly.

I swear my eyes about popped out of my head when we got to the right aisle.

There were people here. And they were making an obscene amount of noise.

There actually were a couple zombies in the store and they were drawn right to the screaming girl, a teenager, in the middle of the frozen goods aisle. Shane ran up, knife suddenly in hand and took out two zombies before stopping about five feet away from the strange group.

There were six of them. I could see four standing around two people on the ground.

One of them, a woman, threw herself quickly between the others of her group and Shane, who made a sort of placating gesture at her. She had a knife, but I couldn't see a gun between them.

She said something I couldn't catch over the screams. Shane said, "Get her to shut up."

The woman nodded curtly, and I could finally make out what had happened.

I saw half a body leaned against the refrigerators. The blood around its mouth was shiny and fresh and my heart wrenched a little when I saw the gaping hole in another girl's leg, too high up on the inside of her thigh.

It was a bite.

I looked at Shane and he shook his head. There was nothing I could do anyway.

It felt weird. I felt like I was looking at a bunch of aliens, minus the green skin and antennas. Then of course, that feeling was compounded by the odd guilt of intruding on their sorrowful moment.

The first woman, the one who had most likely warned Shane to stay away from them, knelt next to the screaming girl and shook her shoulder sharply. "Laura. You must calm yourself. This will not help Mandy."

Laura, the one screaming, pushed the other woman away, but she'd stopped screaming. Instead she was rocking the smaller one, the bitten one, back and forth.

The other woman sighed and then walked over to us, almost scarily calm. She had the same resignation on her face that I probably did, but it was distant. Which made me wonder how long this woman had known the others of her group.

I could see another woman, a man, and a boy who looked a little older than Vik.

Shane still had the gun, and the woman looked at it in a kind of odd way. It wasn't exactly afraid. If I had to put a name to it, I would almost have said jealous.

She was gorgeous, with masses of dark hair tied back in a thick braid. Her eyes were dark, most likely brown, but it was hard to tell in the flashlight glare. Her skin was a smooth, light brown and her build was athletic. Like a long distance runner. She was taller than me, but only by half a head.

We stood there, looking at each other, with no idea what to say. None of us was inherently threatening at the moment, and Shane had helped them, stopping those zombies Laura's screaming had drawn.

The woman finally broke the silence. "Who are you?"

That's kind of a weird question, isn't it? I mean, what does it even ask specifically? You can't really know who someone is unless you know them. It's a deep question that can only get a shallow answer at first.

Shane's eyes darted to each person in turn, lingering on the girls on the ground. "Shane Moore," he finally said. "Raleigh Wells."

I turned slightly, watching from the corner of my eye when Kyle and the kids ran up. Shane pointed at them. "Kyle Moore. Sacha and Viktoria Socolovich."

I watched in almost amusement as they, all three of them, gave this new group identical scowls of suspicion.

The woman pursed her lips, sharp eyes cataloging each weapon we had, searching for the ones we had hidden.

I kinda already liked her.

Briskly, she pointed to those of her group as she introduced. Starting with the boy, she said, "Sam Fowler." She pointed then to the man and the woman nearest him. I noticed she was crying, gripping his hand tightly. "Melanie and Brayden Harper." Her voice softening, a thread of sadness weaving into her words, she pointed to the girls on the ground. "Laura Fisher."

She bit her lip, choosing not to introduce the almost dead girl. Then she turned to us again. "Danielle Spiers."

Shane beckoned her a little closer, which she did reluctantly and, lowering his voice, said, "She'll turn."

Danielle nodded, her face strained. She made a 'wait' gesture at us, then went back to kneel beside the girls. Softly, she said, "Laura. We can't.."

But the other girl started screaming again. "No! Get the hell away from us Danny! Just leave! All of you!"

I winced, looking around. Viktoria pressed closer to me, also watching for the dead.

Danielle tried again. "Laura..."

It's too fast. Remember?

Laura's words and screams grew in pitch and franticness, ending in a horrifically wet gurgle when the one who had been bitten turned, then tore into what I later found out was her sister's neck.

Shane moved faster than anyone. He slid to a stop next to the two, knife sinking into the dead girl's head, dragging the other girl away. Trying desperately to save her. He couldn't have possibly moved any faster, and it couldn't possibly have mattered, but try telling him that.

I dropped to my knees next to them and put my hand against the bite mark, but... she was dead. It was just a matter of seconds.

Her carotid was gone. An entire section of artery just ripped away. Blood squirted through my fingers, sluicing down my arms and there was no stopping it.

We couldn't let her turn. I looked up at Shane and stood, getting out of his way.

He swallowed hard, looking down at the slight body in his lap. Kyle tapped the handle of his knife against Shane's shoulder. Shane took it.

The girl was shuddering, convulsing as her brain cried for oxygen. I tried to wipe her blood off, but just managed to smear it around more and bit my lip, turning away. She was gasping and I knew her lungs were filling with her own blood.

I heard someone, I think it was the man, yell, "Wait!"

But Shane ended it. The only mercy he could possibly give her, taking away her pain forever.

Someone took one of my hands and started cleaning away the blood. I looked over and Sacha said, "You tried."

I nodded, letting him clean the blood off, still staring at the girl.

Death is just too damn fast. Even when it's slow, it's too damn fast. There's never enough time.

I glanced up and caught this look on the man's face. I didn't know what it was, but I was sure I didn't like it, especially since it was so obviously directed at Shane as he stood, staring at the blood soaking his pants.

Danielle's face was still. Slowly, looking at the two girls, she whispered, "Vaya con Dios."

Her hand went up to her neck and I watched as her elegant fingers played with a small, ornate silver cross hanging from a short chain. Looking at Shane, she said, "Thank you."

Shane just shook his head as he walked over and gently pulled the knife from the other girl's head.

Then, we all just kind of looked at each other. Measuring. Testing. Weighing.

Viktoria said something in Russian to Kyle, who relayed it to Shane, whispering in his ear.

Danielle continued to watch as Sacha cleaned the blood off my hands and arms. When he had done as much as he could, I kissed his forehead, making him wrinkle his nose at me, but he nodded.

Danielle's attention turned fully to me and she said, "Thank you for at least trying."

I shrugged. I hate that word.

Try.

Yoda was right you know? You either do something, or you fail. What the hell is trying?

Shaking my head, I said, "There was nothing I could do."

She offered me a small smile. "I know."

Danny is wonderfully pragmatic about death.

We were still left with what to do though. How do you share something like what we just had and then walk away?

The short answer is you don't.

Danielle looked back at the others of her group, then turned, startled when Shane asked, "Do you want to bury them?"

Somehow, the shadows under his eyes looked worse, and he couldn't stop staring at the girl. She wasn't exceptionally young. Probably about Sacha's age, but her death seemed to have really rattled him.

Danielle nodded mutely and Kyle muttered, "I saw some sheets and stuff we can wrap 'em in."

Shane nodded and I took his hand. Sacha looked at me and said, "I saw a hardware section back there. We can find some shovels."

I practically dragged Shane away, leaving Kyle to keep an eye on the other group. Kyle shouted something in Russian and Sacha just waved a hand over his shoulder.

Shane was too quiet, that reaper breathing down the back of his neck again.

We found the shovels, then the sheets. We wrapped the girls, and Shane and Kyle carried them outside.

We buried them.