Seeing as life is never easy, it should have been no surprise to any of us when the bud broke down. We had only been driving for a few hours, Jesse telling us that we weren't too far away from where we needed to go. But there are too many little ones for it to be safe for us to wander outside the bus for a long period of time.

The bus had spluttered, giving us very little warning before it died in the middle of the road. Jesse had cursed giving the steering wheel a fierce hit before storming off the bus. Grandpa and Tate had followed after him, seeing as they were the best mechanics out of all of us.

The rain had turned from a fine mist into a steady drizzle, and I have a feeling that it will be down-pouring in the next hour or so.

All of the younger pack mates are getting restless. But seeing as we have been trapped on here for a good hour, the bus being stubborn, I don't blame them for getting restless.

"How much longer do you think this will take?" Gwen asks, her head resting in my lap. There are no seats in this bus, so different than the few I have seen throughout my life. This bus is just stock full of weapons in the front and blankets and pillows in the back.

Stroking her hair, I shake my head. "No idea. But hopefully, we will be out of here soon."

Dad and Nik are outside the bus on patrol, while Papa stands guard at the entrance of the bus. This situation has all the adults tense. They are the ones who have lived out in this world for years before our pack lands were established. They knew the dangers of not moving, sitting in a prime spot for whatever might come.

Darcy is fast asleep next to Mom, while Theo stands talking to Papa at the door. It is only when I see Dad tense up, pushing Theo further inside that true fear starts to spread through me. Shaking my sister's shoulder, I push her off of me so that I can stand up.

"Ow, Matty," she grumbles, rubbing her head where she had smacked it on the floor. "What the hell?"

"Something's going on," I say, not as quietly as I thought. Taylor, Micah, and Avery are on their feet in seconds. Mom wakes up at their clambering, eyes confused for a second as he takes in the tense atmosphere.

Not even five minutes later, a commotion comes from outside. Jesse pushes Dad to the side, charging up the steps and practically throwing himself into the driver's seat.

"Jesse?" Micah says, stepping up to his mate.

"They're coming." Jesse is frantically trying to turn over the engine, but it isn't quite catching. He rolls down the window, sticking his head out to yell something at Tate and Grandpa. "There are too many, more than before, and they are headed straight for us."

He tries turning the engine again, and while this time it gets closer to catching, it still stalls.

"Fuck," Jesse growls, yelling something else out the window.

Micah comes to the back of the bus. "Everyone grab a weapon, and take a position at any open spot."

We all scramble to do as he says. There are only five windows that open. Micah, Taylor, Avery, Mom, and Beckett take up positions, while the rest of us make sure to stay out of their way.

My heart is pounding, and I wrap my arms tightly around my siblings, trying to console a crying Darcy. Noah is doing the same for his own siblings, but seeing as the youngest are only three, he is having a lot more difficulty.

Henry walks up to join Dad at the front of the bus, putting another barrier between us and the approaching creatures.

"Try it again!" Grandpa yells. There is no use being quiet now, the creatures have already found us.

Holding my breath, I watch as Jesse turns the key one more time. Just when I think that the engine is never going to catch, the bus roars to life. Jesse lets out a loud whoop, catching us all off guard. It is unusual to hear him so excited.

"Everyone on!" Dad yells, stepping back from the door. Tate and Grandpa are the first ones up, while Nik and Papa take a minute to reach us from where they were keeping watch.

"Step on it," Papa says, words completely breathless from running. "They are closing in on us quick."

Jesse doesn't hesitate, barely managing to close the doors before stomping on the gas. The bus is slow to get started, and never really gets up to speed.

"Jesse, what are you doing," Papa says, voice tight with tension. His eyes are fixed on one of the windows, watching as the infected and humans come into view. "Go faster."

"I can't," he grits, hands tense on the wheel. "The bus won't go any faster."

"It's the engine," Grandpa says, stepping up next to Jesse. "It's about to give out. We were barely able to get it started again."

"Shit," Papa and Dad say at the same time.

Slipping away from my siblings, I slowly approach the nearest window, which happens to be the one that Taylor is stationed.

"Oh my god," I whisper, eyes wide as I take in the sight before me. There has to be over a hundred of the infected and humans combined. They are managing to keep pace with the bus, which is a terrifying sight. The laughter of the humans is audible over the groaning infected, making it easy to find them in the horde.

"Get back down, Matty," Taylor says, and for the first time in months, his voice isn't filled with contempt.

The infected are too close now, way too close. They are climbing over each other to reach the bus. The force of it causes the bus to tip, and I stumble, falling to the ground. My wrist throbs at the impact, but I don't have time to dwell on it before the bus is hit again. This time, the force of the blow has the bus up on two wheels, barely managing to keep from tipping over.

"Everybody hold on!" Jesse yells, just as the bus gets hit for the final time. Falling back, I scramble to hold onto something. My hand closes around one of the few seats that hadn't been ripped out in the remodel, the metal groaning as it takes my weight.

The bus flips completely, the little ones screaming in terror. My body slams harshly against the bars of the seat, making me cry out as I feel one of my ribs crunch. As the bus flips again, I lose my grip on the bar, sending me flying to the ceiling, hitting my head so hard that my vision whites out.

Ringing, all I hear is ringing. It feels like I am swaying, but I am almost positive the bus had finally stopped rolling. Something is going on around me, screaming cutting through the ringing in my ears.

It feels like everything is in slow motion as I push myself up from what I now realize is the ceiling of the bus. We must have landed upside down. Blinking my eyes, I look around the bus, noticing that I seem to be in the best shape. Half of my pack mates seem to be unconscious, while a few others lay groaning, unable to move.

Noah is laying the closest to me, his arm best at an awkward angle, and a laceration across his cheek. Blood covers half of his face, matting down his hair.

"Noah," I croak, giving his good shoulder a shake. He groans a little but doesn't open his eyes. "Noah, get up." But it seems he can't.

The groans of the infected are everywhere, coming from all sides of the bus. The only thing protecting us is that the windows are too small to be crawled through. But the door...

Turning to the front of the bus, I see that the door is cracked open. Papa is laying in front of it, keeping the infected from being able to push inside.

Crawling as quickly as one can with a beaten up side, I make my way over to the door. Papa is laying on his side, hands torn open. "Papa," I whisper, shaking him. Desperate for someone else to be awake in this, I give his shoulder a vicious shake. He doesn't move, at all. Fear courses through me, that maybe he isn't just hurt. "Papa, wake up!" Hauling back my hand, I slap him hard across the cheek. His eyes fly open then, making me breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank god."

"Matty?" he grumbles, pushing himself up. He winces when his palms touch the ground, but doesn't stop. "Are you alright."

Nodding, I sit back. My eyes widen when I see that the door is slowly opening, now that Papa isn't laying against it. A few infected peek through, making me scramble for a weapon. "Papa, look out."

He turns, slower than normal, but doesn't hesitate to grab the nearest knife, efficiently stabbing two infected in the head. Crawling back over to him, I help to push the door close, locking it.

"What are we going to do?" I ask, leaning against the wall next to him. "We're trapped in here."

Papa shakes his head. "No idea." He looks around the bus, eyebrows crinkling in concern. "Is anyone else awake?"

"No," I whisper. Looking down, I try to fight back the tears. "Noah's alive. But I was too scared to check on anyone else."

Papa looks tense. "We need to check."

Even if I don't want to, I force myself to nod. The thought of any of my pack mates being dead is terrifying, but I can't ignore it forever. Papa goes to the back of the bus, while I start checking on the people up here.

The only one to wake up from my shouting and shaking is Jesse. Grandpa groans, but doesn't fully awake.

"Matty, get some cloths," Papa yells from the back of the bus. Not stopping to question him, I crawl over to a bag of clothes that managed to get snagged before we left. Grabbing as many things as I can, I slowly make my way over to Papa.

He is crouched over Henry, a very pale, shivering Henry.

"Oh god," I whisper, letting Papa take the clothes from me.

Henry looks horrible, skin deathly pale. A piece of metal, a bar of some sort, is buried in his torso. Blood is oozing out from around it, never stopping.

"Don't pull it out," a worn voice says from behind me. Turning, I see Taylor crawling over to us. He doesn't look too well either, glass shards from the window protruding from his face and neck. "If you pull it out, he will bleed out." He takes the clothes from Papa, using them to press down around the bar. "Keep pressure on it."

Nodding, I do as he says, replacing his hands with my own. Taylor leaves then, going to check on others.

The noises of the infected are getting louder, but it is the sound of breaking glass that has me worried. Without removing my hands, I look at the door, seeing that a human is trying to crawl into the bus, not minding the broken glass that is cutting him up. Jesse manages to easily stab her, though, and uses her body to distract the infected trying to come inside.

"We aren't going to last much longer out here," Jesse says, eyes staying fixed on the door.

"There are too many. We won't stand a chance if we try to leave." Papa leaves my side, going to join Jesse at the front of the bus.

"We're just gonna have to-"

But Jesse stops talking then, his brows crinkling in confusion. Following his gaze, I can see why he is so confused. The infected and humans are turning away from us. Some of them drop to the ground, dead. But most of them just leave, obviously scared off by something. That something has me tensing. What could possibly terrify an entire horde of infected. The only possible thing that comes to mind is a claiste.

Jesse seems to be on the same train of thought, because he is tensing in attack, ready to take out whatever may be coming.

But a familiar voice, saying a very familiar name is all that greets us.

"Matty!" a voice I haven't heard in weeks yells. The tears well up, and all I want to do is run towards the person, but I can't. Henry needs me.

"In here," I yell back.

The moment seems to stretch on forever, but eventually, Rowan is ducking down, pushing the dead human aside and crawling into the bus. Other people are standing outside, and Jesse steps outside to join them. But I ignore them for now, eyes fixed on Rowan.

He doesn't look so good himself, almost as pale as his brother. But he doesn't pause, making his way over to me and wrapping me in a tight hug.

"Thank god you're alright," he whispers. He leans down to capture my lips with his, and I can't control the tears.

"We're alright," I say, gaze falling down to my stomach. Rowan doesn't notice, too intent on holding me as close as possible to see where I am looking. The only thing that matters right now is that we are all together, somehow surviving the worst situation. Leaning against him, I press a kiss to his neck. "We're alright."