Ford leaned against the truck as he watched Evey in the grass with Josie and Joey. He wondered if she was trying to replace the void of the little girl that was infected at her house. He was curious if it was her daughter, but he did not want to ask. He was afraid that the kids would slow them down, but he did not have the heart to kill an Immune child.

"You've been staring for five minutes," Johnson said, bringing Ford back to reality. "It's starting to get creepy."

"I'm thinking about those kids," Ford said.

"Sure you are."

Johnson leaned beside Ford. He brought the water bottle up to his lips as he watched Evey and the kids. Josie and Joey were spinning and would stop and then stagger. Evey had a wide smile on her lips and clapped.

"She's cute, you know?" Johnson said.

Ford cocked his head to the side as he watched Evey. Ever since he saw her during the Cleansing, he prayed that she would be Immune. Her dark green eyes and splatter of freckles across her skin immediately caught Ford's attention. He found the gap in her front teeth endearing and was amazed that during an apocalypse her biggest worry was two children she did not know.

"We killed her entire family," Ford said. "Are you forgetting that?"

"One day that will be a distant memory," Johnson said.

Ford rolled his eyes as he pushed himself off of the truck.

"She's probably a good fuck," he said. He looked over at the other soldiers wanting to change the topic. "Gomez and Harrington, get over here."

They stepped away from the civilians they were talking to and came over to Ford's truck. Johnson cleared his throat before standing straight.

"I have a plan to get us by for now," he said. "I am not getting any answer on the radio."

"Do you think we're the only ones alive?" Gomez asked.

"There are other crews of Immune," he said. "We just have to find them. This is a safety in numbers kind of situation."

"We should go North," Harrington said. "Avoid the cities. They couldn't have been cleansed in time."

"I say each of us takes a truck," he said. "You're responsible for each person in your crew. We'll try to stick together, but there is the chance that we'll get separated."

They all nodded and agreed.

"I'm not taking the kids," Harrington said.

"Neither am I," Gomez said.

"I've got it," Ford said.

Johnson snickered and put his hand on Ford's shoulder. Ford shrugged him off. He stepped away from the group and grabbed more water bottles.

--

Evey was playing with Josie and Joey when Johnson called out to them.

"Everett," he shouted. "We have to go."

Evey stood and brushed the grass off her legs. She grabbed the kids' hands and they walked toward the truck. Evey helped them crawl into the backseat. She fastened their seatbelts. Josie had Chester clutched to her chest. She closed the door and got into the passenger's seat.

The driver's side door opened and Ford climbed in. He passed two water bottles to Josie and Joey. He had already twisted the caps loose for the kids. He sighed as he turned around.

"Where are we going?" Evey asked.

"North," Ford said.

"Where North?"

Ford shrugged.

"Somewhere safe before dark," he said.

The trucks pulled out of the gas station with Johnson's truck leading the pack. Ford was the last to leave.

"What are we going to do when we get North?" Evey asked.

"Keep you safe," Ford said. "I'm responsible for the three of you."

"Excuse me?" Evey asked. "We're not your responsibility."

"You'll die without me."

"Teach me how to use a gun."

"Not happening."

Evey crossed her arms and slumped back in the seat. They rode with a heavy silence between them. Evey tried fiddling with the radio, but all of the stations were static. She stared out the window as they drove through ghost towns.

--

The sun was setting when the trucks pulled off of the highway. They went into a small town. The radio on Ford's chest crackled.

"This town has been cleansed," Johnson said. "We should be okay."

Evey pushed herself up as they drove down the street. A few bodies littered the yards, but other than that there was no sign of life. An eerie calmness fell over Evey. Each truck pulled into a driveway of a home next to each other on a street. The Immune gathered in the street.

Evey stretched her arms up over her head as she stepped out of the truck. She peered into the backseat to see the twins were asleep.

"If this town was cleansed then where are the Immune?" Gomez asked.

"Not a clue," Johnson said. "I am having trouble radioing anyone."

"We're staying here for the night?" Nicole asked. "How do we know none of those things will come?"

"The four of us are going to stay on watch," Johnson said. "We're going to rotate. Ford, you're first."

Ford nodded.

"Let me clean out this house first," Ford said.

Evey raised a brow.

"Clean the house?" she asked.

"Gotta get rid of the bodies," he said.

Evey sucked in her bottom lip as she nodded. She pictured the awful sight of her family laying dead on the kitchen floor. Has someone been ripped away from their murdered family as she had been by Ford?

"I'll wake the kids up when you are done," she said.

Ford said nothing as he turned to go into the home. Darkness was overtaking the sky. The air turned cool and Evey rubbed her arms. She walked across the lawn to Fiona, who was standing next to Harrington's truck.

"How are the little ones?" Fiona asked.

"I think that they'll be okay," Evey said. "They're sleeping."

"It has been one hell of a day."

Evey ran her fingers through her curls. She couldn't believe that this morning was when Ford and Johnson came into her home. Yesterday was when she saw her first cannibalistic act. It seemed as if she had been stuck in this hell for years.

"I can't believe this is happening," Evey said. "I feel like I am going to wake up from this nightmare in the morning."

"This is our new reality," Fiona said.

Evey looked over her shoulder to see Ford coming out of the house. He opened the back door to the truck and pulled Joey out. He carried Joey into the house. His eyes were barely open and his thumb was in his mouth. Evey said goodbye to Fiona and walked over to the truck. Josie was rubbing her eyes. Evey unfastened her seatbelt and carried her inside.

Ford had set Joey on the couch, so Evey placed Josie beside her brother. Evey walked into the kitchen and could hear Ford follow. She opened the cupboards to see what she could cook for dinner.

"Don't let them play in the backyard," Ford said.

She did not have to ask. She knew he meant that he hid the bodies in the yard. She wanted to ask how many there were, but she did not want to know. Ignorance was always bliss.

"I'm on watch for a few hours," Ford said.

He did not wait for Evey to reply before leaving the kitchen. Evey found spaghetti and a jar of pasta sauce. She hummed to herself as she cooked. She listened as the twins woke up and ran around the living room.

Once she was finished, she set three plates down on the dining room table. She called the kids in and they took a seat beside each other. Her heart broke as she listened to them talk about their family while they ate. They were smiling and giggling as they talked and she was unsure if they realized their parents were dead.

Evey collected the plates once they were finished and tossed them into the sink. She did not bother washing them as she did not know if anyone else would be in this house ever again.

Josie and Joey followed Evey up the stairs. Evey turned on the lights and peered into each room until she saw what looked like the bedroom of a little boy. The walls had bright blue paint and there was a red racecar bed. The twins jumped on the bed.

"Bedtime," Evey said, pulling back the sheets on the bed. "Lie down."

Josie and Joey crawled into the bed. Evey tucked them in and watched them yawn. Josie put Chester between the two of them.

"Mommy always reads us a story," Joey said.

"A story?" Evey asked.

They nodded. Evey got up off the bed and picked the top book off of the stack on the dresser. She sat on the edge of the bed, opened the book, and read out loud to them. After, she ran her fingers through their hair and got up off the bed. She took one last look at the kids before turning off the light.

Evey went to the bedroom across the hall. She opened up the dresser drawers and found a pair of sweatpants. She changed out of her shorts and tied her hair on the top of her head.

She went down to the kitchen, made Ford a plate of spaghetti, and carried it outside.

It took Evey a moment to recognize Ford. He had changed half out of his uniform. He was now in a T-shirt that exposed the dark tattoos on his arms. His gun was resting against the bench he was sitting on. He looked up at Evey and furrowed his brows.

"Go back inside," he said.

"You need to eat," Evey said.

"I'm working."

Evey rolled her eyes and sat next to Ford.

"Everett, go back inside," he said.

"Not until you eat," she said.

"I can't."

"What? Is Johnson going to yell at you? If you see one of those things, put the plate down and shoot."

Ford let out a huff of breath before grabbing the plate. Evey smiled. They sat together and watched the silent street.