I decided to stick with Eric and his family. After weeks of being alone I enjoy having people to talk to. Last night we all agreed on heading out in the morning. Kyra walks ahead of me on the leash.

"Where are we even going?" Liam asks his father.

"Yeah, where are we going? We can't just keep walking down the road hoping that we stumble upon a place to stay only to leave the next morning. What we really need is a place to permanently stay," Olivia says.

"It isn't safe to stay in one place permanently," Eric responds.

I roll my eyes as they continue fighting. I agree with both of them. Of course, a place to live would be great, but the risks are just too high. The arguing slowly turns to yelling. Now I want to be alone again.

"Can you quiet down? You know the zombies are attracted to sound," I say.

They stop the fighting. Kyra starts barking. I look ahead. A woman is walking in our direction. She's got sunglasses on. She stops then she reaches us. Kyra snarls at her. She tries her hardest to run at the woman.

"Hi, where are the five of you headed?" she asks.

"We don't even know. What about you?" Eric replies.

"I'm just trying to find a place to hole up. It's dangerous out here," she responds.

Eric leans against a tree.

"Do you want to come with us?" He offers.

Kyra starts biting the woman's shirt sleeve. I try pulling her back.

"Kyle, you got to get that thing under control," Eric says to me.

"Kyra, stop!" I yell at her.

She sits down and continues to growl at her. What's wrong with Kyra? She doesn't act like this around the others.

Kyra bites her ankle. The woman falls. Her sunglasses land next to her. Eric pulls out his gun.

I realize the woman has dilated pupils. The zombie pulls out its gun. She shoots Eric. Olivia grabs the zombie's hands. They fight over the gun. Liam picks up Eric's pistol. He shoots the zombie in the head. I look over at Eric. Blood spills out of a gunshot wound on his leg. He tries to stand up. He yells in pain before slumping back down to the ground. Any second zombies are going to be here. Olivia and Liam help Eric to his feet. Liam hands me his gun. I hold it in my hands and stare at it.

"If you see any of the dead shoot them," he says.

Should I mention to him that I have never shot a gun before?

"You don't know how to use it, do you?" Olivia asks.

"Not really," I reply.

Amelia takes the gun.

"Let's move!" She says.

"Kyle, run ahead of us and find a place we can hide," Olivia says.

I do as I'm told. I move as swiftly as I can. Zombies emerge from the surrounding forest. Amelia shoots each one as they come. One swipes at me. I dodge it's attack. Seconds later, a gunshot goes off and it drops.

I glance back. Eric is moving at a snails pace. He's not going to make it. I push forward. I see a house in the distance. I sprint to the front door. I push on it. Something is blocking it from the inside. Amelia helps me push it open. Eric, Olivia, and Liam are far behind.

"Go help them while I get this open," Amelia says.

I hand her Kyra's leash. I hurry down the porch steps. I reach the others. Olivia pulls out her gun. I put Eric's arm over my shoulder and help him walk.

"Come on! Hurry!" Amelia yells to us.

The four of us finally get inside. I push the shelf that was blocking the door back to its original position.

Zombies encircle the house. They are searching for a way in. They pound their fists on the doors and windows. Eric sits on the couch.

Liam goes into the bathroom and comes back with gauze. I stand by the front door. If those things outside get in, it's over for all of us.

Olivia starts patching up the wound on his leg. He can't walk by himself now. We almost died out there. This is going to make everything ten times harder. The wound will take months to heal.

I look down at Kyra who is lying by my feet. If it wasn't for her, that zombie would have killed us. She saved all of our lives.

I go into the kitchen. The zombies watch me closely through the windows. They don't growl they just stare. They start growling when I look back at them. How did everything get messed up so badly? How did I get here? What did I do so wrong to be abandoned by my family?

"Hey," Liam says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Thank you for helping us. My family would be dead if it weren't for you. I have to give some credit to Kyra though. She was the only one who knew that lady was a zombie," he says.

The sound of glass shattering upstairs alarms us. The both of us rush to the source of the sound. One of the zombies might have broken a window on the second floor. I arrive at the second floor. I open the door to one of the bedrooms. Broken glass is all over the floor. A rock lays on the carpet. I walk through the doorway.

Liam is in the hallway. A zombie jumps out from behind the door. It tackles me to the ground. Liam pulls it back. It bites his arm. Blood gushes out from the bite.

"Kyle! Get this thing off me!" he yells.

I pull out my knife. I stab the zombie in the head. Amelia stands in the doorway. She gives Liam a concerned look.

"He's bit!" She says.

I turn my attention to the window. I need to get this covered or seal off the room. Blocking the door to the room would be a quicker temporary solution. We block the door with a shelf. I head back downstairs. Eric is asleep.

"Are you okay? I heard yelling upstairs," Olivia says.

"Liam was bitten," Amelia says.

"Look, you guys need to get out of here. I can distract the zombies while you escape," Liam says.

"No! We can find another way to get out of here,"
Olivia says.

"Mom, there is no other way. I'm going to die either way. Please, just get out of here," he says.

"Whatever we do we need to do fast. The zombies will get in any second," I say.

She hugs her son one last time. Amelia wakes Eric up. They tell him about Liam. He says his goodbyes. Liam walks out the back door. The zombies at the front of the house run to the back. I open the front door. Time to run.