Chad, Erin, and Diana watched Braden pace back and forth, while Ben walked up to them with his hands on his head.

"There's no way out," he told them as he dropped his arms.

"There has to be a way out," Braden responded.

"No, there isn't. I checked everywhere," Ben said almost yelling. "No ladders, no ropes, nothing."

Chad was staring at something bright coming from the bottom part of the wall, trying to figure out what it was, while everyone else was panicking.

"Now what are we going to do?" Diana asked.

Chad began to make his way over towards the bright circle. "Make our own way out," Chad spoke as he walked stepped up to a small circle in the wall.

Everyone looked at him in confusion, keeping their gaze on his every move. "What?"

Chad kicked at the bright circle without warning, causing the wood to smash into pieces. The new guy realized what he was doing and joined in. He start stomping on the wall and the two forces started to create a much bigger hole in the back wall sitting almost at Chad's shin. Ben started to do the same thing, and after a while, it became big enough for all of them to jump out of. Everyone stood at the edge, looking down at the green floor below them.

"That's a little too high, don't you think?" Diana asked.

"It's our only way out," Chad told her.

They took deep breaths before Diana and the boy entwined their fingers together.

"Ready, Diana?" The guy asked.

"Ready," Diana said. "Let's get this over with already, Braden."

They both took a step and pushed themselves off the ledge before hitting the floor and rolling. Ben jumped next without thinking. Erin took a step backwards as she shook her head.

"Come on, Erin," Chad told her.

"No. It's way too high," Erin said. "I can't do it."

"It's the only way out." Chad pulled Erin closer towards the edge. "We have to. We can't stay here."

"No."

"Come on." Chad took hold of her hand. "We can jump down together, but remember, once you hit the ground, try to roll on your side, okay? It will make it a lot easier to get up."

Erin nodded and clutched Chad's hand tightly. She looked terrified, and she was shaking.

"On the count of three, we jump," Chad told her. "One...Two...Three!"

He jumped and took Erin with him. They both hit the floor, and Chad rolled and got up quickly. When he turned around, he saw Erin struggling to get up, so he ran over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her up and beginning to run.

"Come on, Erin!" He yelled at her.

"Come on, you two!" Ben called out. "This way!" He pointed to the forest, where two other figures were already running towards.

Ben waited until they were close enough to be able to see where they were going before running into the forest. Chad looked behind him to see a few of the Infected following and pushed Erin forward. Eventually, they were only a few feet away from each other as they ran through the forest. Braden was in front, behind him was Ben, in the middle was Erin and Diana, and then there was Chad at the back, making sure that nobody would fall behind. The Infected weren't that far behind , as the group had ran into a small herd of them awhile back.

As they were running, Diana tripped over a vine, screaming as she fell to the floor. She slowly made her way to her knees when an Infected lunged at her, tackling her to the floor. She let out yet another cry as she tried to fight off the infected female. Chad ran even faster, and once close, he took out his crowbar and swung the hook into the Infected as he ran by. The Infected's head swung back, along with its body, as it fell to the floor. Chad stuck his hand out to her and she quickly took it, allowing him to lift her back to her feet. He pushed her forward as they began to run again.

By the time the evening had come, the group could finally see a road ahead as they got closer to the edge of the forest. Ben was in front this time, and he continued to run, even when he got onto the road. As he tried running across the road, a red van smashed right into him, causing Ben to land on top of the hood before rolling to the floor. Everyone stopped in their tracks, a shocked expression crossing their features.

"Ben!" Chad screamed as he ran to his brother.

The sound of a car door opening was followed by footsteps, and then a voice. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" The driver said. "He just came out of nowhere!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Erin stepped forward.

"I'm sorry! I didn't see him!" The man repeated.

"Watch where you're going next time, man." Erin pushed him.

"It was an accident!"

Erin tried to hit him, but Braden grabbed her before she could.

"Ben?" Chad shook Ben's body, trying his best to wake him up. "Ben, wake up."

Ben moved slightly before rapidly patting his hands up and down his body, making sure that he was still in tact.

"I'm alive," Ben said.

"Ben!" His two siblings yelled at the same time that they saw him move.

"Are you okay?" Chad asked in concern.

"Well, I'm alive," Ben looked down at his body. "So yeah, I guess so."

"You could have gotten him killed, you asshole!" Erin yelled.

"Erin, be quiet," Chad ordered. "Stop trying to start an argument. Ben is fine and that's all that matters."

"He almost got-" She was interrupted.

"He isn't dead. Yet," Chad told her.

Suddenly, the sound of grunting was heard, and the bushes began to shake. Everyone turned to look at what was coming from behind them, and after a few seconds, an Infected stumbled out of the woods and turned his head towards them before letting out a piercing screech with his mouth wide open. Its eyes widened as they slowly backed up.

"Come on," Ben said as he tried to run.

"Get in, hurry!" The man, said motioning to his car. "Come on. Get in."

Chad pulled Ben back and ran to the car with everyone following. Once the car door shut, the Infected started to pound on the windows and the side of the car, causing everyone to let out a scream. The man looked around his car before pushing down onto the gas pedal. They all looked back to see the Infected chasing after them, but it soon began to fade into the distance.

"Why would you bring them with us?" The woman who was sat in the passenger seat asked in annoyance.

"I had to," he replied. "They were being chased by those things. I had to do something."

"So that something is to bring a bunch of strangers with our kids, Tom?" The woman quietly yelled at him while she turned to look at Erin carefully.

"Dammit, Mari, they're just kids, for crying out loud," the man, Tom, whispered through gritted teeth.

"They could be dangerous," Mari told him, "For all we know."

"Well, if they were, don't you think they would have threatened us by now?" Tom looked at her.

"I still don't trust them."

"I couldn't just leave them to be chased by those things, Mari." Tom glanced at his two girls in the back. "What if that was our kids in that situation?"

"Don't do that, Tom." Mari shook her head. "Don't bring our girls into this. They're safe with us."

"No, what if that was them, huh? What if our kids were in the same situation? Wouldn't you want someone to help them if they could?"

"Of course I would want someone to help my babies."

"Then what's the difference between what we're doing?" Tom kept his eyes fixed on the road. "They're just kids, Mari. We'll just have to see if they're dangerous or not. And if they aren't, we could use their help. They might be able to help keep our girls safe."

With that, Mari shut up and sat back as she let out a sigh. By nightfall, everyone was asleep except Tom, Braden and Chad. Tom looked at the two wide awake boys in the backseats through the rear view mirror.

"So what are your names?" Tom asked Chad and Braden.

"I'm Braden," Braden said and then pointed to Diana. "The blonde girl on the floor is Diana."

Tom nodded in response. "And you, kid?"

"Chad." Chad raised his head a little and then pointed to Ben sat next to him. "This is my brother, Ben, and the other girl is my sister, Erin."

Chad looked at everyone taking in the family before him. He looked at Tom, the man who saved them, and took in his light skin that was a neutral color, it wasn't pale like most and it wasn't tan at all. He had an athletic built, which Chad could tell by his the tight grey shirt that hugged to his arms. He had brown eyes and brown hair that incorporated into his growing facial hair.

"Well, nice to meet you, both," Tom said. "I'm Tom. This here is Mari, my wife." He pointed to Mari. "The girl in front of your brother is my daughter, Vanessa, and my youngest, M.J."

His eyes went to Mari, to her brown hair that matched her husband's along with her eyes. She had a tiny frame and from the way they were sitting he could tell she was the same height as her husband. She had fair skin and looked like the type of women who could tell a man off but can be sweet at the same time.

Eventually he looked at the two girls who shared the same

Both boys nodded in reply before one spoke up. "Hey, Tom, do you know what happened?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, do you?" Braden asked.

Tom shook his head. "All I know is that a virus infected some major scientists, and it spread from there."

"Is that it?" Braden asked.

"Besides the fact that the military were dropping care packages in every major city, and that there's a safe zone, yeah."

"Where are you heading?" Chad asked.

"The safe zone. After the school got overrun, we decided it'd be best if we get out of the city and try for a new safe place."

"Oh," The boys said at the same time.

"Do you think there are any safe zones still standing?" Braden asked.

"I don't know, but we have to see." Tom let out a sigh and looked ahead.

"Thanks for the help," Braden said.

"Yeah, we really appreciate it," Chad added.

"No problem," Tom said. "I couldn't have let kids stay out there running for their lives, especially when I have two little girls of my own."

"Well, again, thank you," Braden smiled.

After a while, Tom and Chad were the only ones awake in the car. Tom looked back at Chad and smiled.

"Kid, you know you could go to sleep?"

"Yeah, but I thought you might need someone to keep you company," Chad replied. "And to make sure you don't fall asleep at the wheel."

Tom let out a chuckle. "Alright, boy. How old are you, anyways?"

"I'm seventeen, why? How old are you?"

He laughed again. "I'm forty. And no reason, you just look a lot younger."

"How young do I look?" Chad looked down at himself.

"You look around twelve years of age."

Chad cursed under his breath and shook a hand through his hair. "No." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Tom laughed at his reaction. "I'm guessing someone told you that before?"

"Yes, and I don't look twelve at all," Chad denied. "Some people say I look older than I actually am."

"Whoever told you that obviously doesn't know what older people look like."

"Whatever," Chad mumbled.

Tom laughed quietly, and Chad smiled a slightly in response. It wasn't long before that smile faded and his eyes widened.

"Look out!" Chad pointed at the front mirror.

Tom looked ahead to see a shadowy figure walking into the middle of the road. He quickly reacted and turned the wheel, causing the car to turn on its side and roll along the road. Everyone was awake, screaming and trying to hold on to whatever they could hang on to at this point.

*Edited