MAY BE SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC. THIS IS A WARNING FOR AL FUTURE CHAPTERS TO.

Silence. Well, apart from the gentle rustling of the trees and the soft singing of the birds.

A tall, well built man emerged from a large house and looked out at the greenery.

"Ed, what are you looking at?", asked a woman who looked to be in her early 30's or late 20's.

The man, Edward, looked back at the woman. "Just admiring the Flare free area while it lasts", he said sarcastically.

The woman sighed, rolling her eyes subtly. "Don't start that again Ed. We're immune!"

"Are we? As far as we know we've all just got lucky", he said, scoffing at the last word. Lucky. Because that's what this is. Luck.

The woman looked as if she had already given up with the conversation. "Just try to keep positive Ed, if not for me then for the others. They don't need the negativity", she said.

Ed nodded half heartedly. "Sure, sure. Must protect the kids and all that. That's what's gonna get em' killed Sandra!"

"Killed?! How on earth will that get them killed?", she asked, disbelief of his words clear in her tone.

"Because they're gonna stop being careful! They'll want to go out to see other parts beyond this village and some filthy Crank will get their hands on them and boom... they're gone", he said, doing a 'boom' action towards the end.

Sandra laughed and scoffed, both at the same time. "You're acting like they're 5! They're teens, almost adults. They can handle themselves"

Ed just started walking away, deciding he wasn't going to continue this.

Sandra sighed and turned to face him. "Ed wait!", she called, walking to catch up with him.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him. "I get it, ok? You lost everyone to the Flare and you just don't want to see it happen again. But I know you, the first chance that one of them has the Flare you'd pack and leave. Because you're so scared to catch it. We NEED to think about THEM"

Edward nodded after a few minutes, letting out a small sigh.

Sandra smiled, patting his shoulder once. "Thankyou"

She walked away, heading back inside.

"Sandra?", called out Edward, looking at her.

"Yeah?", she replied, turning to face him again.

"When you said I lost everyone to the Flare... I didn't"

Sandra looked at him, a look of confusion on her face.

"I've still got you", he said, a small smile spreading across his lips.

Sandra smiled, a small laugh escaping her lips. "You're so soppy", she laughed.

Ed chuckled, a rare grin showing.

Edward and Alexandra, usually just called Sandra, had known eachother for many years. Their families were friends and they were close, despite the 11 year age gap. Their bond only strengthened over the years and Ed considered Sandra his best friend and although he didn't like to admit it, Sandra knew.

Sandra walked back inside, leaving Ed alone to stare at the greenery once again.

Back inside, a few people were in the main living room.

A boy, who looked to be 18, was running around the room with a bag of crisps.

"TJ GET BACK HERE!", yelled a girl with beautiful red hair. She must have been the same age as the boy, TJ.

TJ kept running, laughing his head off. "Catch me if you can Cassie!"

A woman with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes stood in front of TJ, stopping him. She looked around the same age as Sandra.

TJ halted, stopping as he almost collided with the woman.

"Give them back to her TJ", she said sternly, though you could sense the laughter in her was begging to come out.

TJ sighed and placed them in Cassie's hand, who triumphantly nodded.

"I wasn't going to eat them. I was just messing around", he said, honestly.

"I know TJ, I know", said the woman.

TJ was the resident jokester. He was very smart too, a quality often overlooked because of his inability to keep a straight face for more than 3 minutes.

"Mel, what's for breakfast?", asked a boy, the same age as TJ.

He was with a girl, also the same age. She had dark brown hair with a front fringe. She had brown eyes that twinkled.

The blonde haired woman turned to the boy. "Cereal Matt, that's what"

Matt furrowed his eyebrows. "No big breakfast today?"

Melanie shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. We've got a huge food shortage"

The girl with him frowned. "What? What'll we do now? Should we go out and find some?", she asked in a  concerned tone.

Melanie shook her head. "Not yet Mia, we'll wait for Ed and Sandra. We can't risk everyone going"

"Why not? We can't get that Flare can we? Not if we're immune", said Matt, confused.

"I said not yet. Now leave it at that", she said, her stern tone back but this time she meant it.

The others just looked at eachother.

Sandra walked in, closely followed by Ed.

"How is everyone?", she said brightly, her face warm and gentle.

"Not good Sandra, we've got no food", said TJ.

"TJ! Not no food just... less food", corrected Melanie.

The pair who walked in looked at eachother uneasily. They needed the food, especially with 8 mouths to feed.

"Right. Well we'll go down to the shops today", said Sandra.

"But they're miles away!", said Cassie.

Because of all the danger of the Flare Disease and people being extra cautious, not many people opened businesses. The ones that did usually opened them up in far away places and charged quite a lot. Something about the possibility of becoming a Crank made them charge highly.
The nearest shop was about 60 miles away.

"We have no choice Cassie. Don't worry, it'll just be Ed and I", said Sandra.

"Why can't we come along?", asked Mia.

Ed looked at her like she asked what colour the grass was.

"Because it's dangerous kid", said Ed.

"But I want to help! You've done nothing but care for us so why can't we give something back?", asked Mia.

She looked over at Matt for some help.

"O-Oh yeah, I'll come to. Mia's right, we want to help", he said.

Matt liked Mia ever since he first saw her at the school gates. She had her hair tied up, her fringe out, her smile was bright and she had a guitar strapped to her back.

He had no idea how she felt about him but they quickly became close friends.

Mia smiled at Matt, the sight of her dimples sending a funny feeling through his body.

Sandra was genuinely considering this. Ed gave her a look which said 'don't do it', instantly making her think of their conversation outside.

Cassie noticed the look and quickly joined in. "They're right! You might find all the shopping hard to lift"

Cassie was definitely the bold one in the group. She just wanted to get out, staying in the small village all day everyday wasn't Cassie's idea of fun.

"Steady on there girl we aren't 80 yet!", said Ed, his Welsh Accent strong.

"Alright, alright fine! If it'll make you all happy you can come along! But someone will have to stay with Lani", said Sandra.

Just then, as if one cue, a young girl who must have been 16 or 17 walked in, an innocent smile on her face. "Why does someone have to stay with me? Where are you going?"

Sandra turned to Lani, giving her a sweet smile. "Lani, honey, we're going to get more food and supplies. We don't know how long we'll be and we can't risk anything happening to you. Don't worry though, someone will stay with you"

Lani nodded, a look of sadness visible in her eyes. She had epilepsy. She could manage it but if she started having seizures it would slow the others down which wouldn't be the best thing, especially because of the distance they needed to travel.

This often happened with Lani. She was kept in bubble wrap, metaphorically speaking of course, though if it wasn't for the fact it was impractical they'd probably use it. Extra care was taken when it came to her and it did make her feel a little upset sometimes. She didn't want to be seen as the baby of the group, though she was the youngest.

"I'll stay with her", smiled TJ, wrapping an arm around her. "We'll have heaps of fun", he laughed, being comforting.

Lani couldn't help but laughed and nodded. "Of course we will"

Sandra smiled and patted TJ's shoulder thankfully.

"Good Lad", said Ed, already packing some money in his backpack.

The others got ready to go, saying their goodbyes.

Matt and Mia were walking together. Their hands were so close together Matt had to resist the urge to hold hers.

"What do you think then? About all this?", asked Cassie, walking to them.

"About what?", asked Matt, confused.

"Well, why they always protect Lani. I mean, she's great but she's hardly special. She doesn't have powers or anything like that. It's not fair that she gets special treatment. We've all been through the Flare crisis haven't we?", said Cassie.

"Yeah but she's had to do it whilst having a serious medical condition. That alone makes it a miracle for her to even get this far because of how hard it was so you know what- I'd say she was pretty superhuman", said Matt, slight defense in his voice.

"Matt's right. I think it's sad that she can't come out with us and has to be looked after all the time. When is she ever going to get the chance to be a teenager?", said Mia, compassionately.

Matt smiled proudly at Mia, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

Mia could Matt staring and gave him a bright smile.

Cassie just rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess you're both right. Still, it would be nice to be treated the same once in a while"

"Could you kids stop chatting long enough for those legs of yours to quicken? At this rate the shopkeeper would've died of old age!", called out Ed, but a small chuckle escaped his lips.

              *2 HOURS LATER*

They were walking back, each holding 3 bags of supplies. The kids looked exhausted but continued to walk.

Mia could feel her legs beginning to give in. She fell to the ground.

"Mia! Mia are you ok?", asked Matt, concerned as he ran to her, stumbling a little because he was tired.

Mia nodded, slowly trying to get up. "I- I'm fine, honestly. Just really tired from all the walking"

Matt held her by her waist so she could steady herself. His heart almost stopped when she pulled herself closer to him, regaining her balance.

"The Village is only 30 minutes away and if something was wrong with Lani TJ would've came and found us. Why don't we rest here for a bit?", suggested Melanie.

"Oh Mel I have never loved you more", exclaimed Cassie, dropping to her knees and breathing heavily as she felt her legs ache.

Mel just laughed a little and looked over at Sandra and Ed to make sure it was ok, to which Sandra replied that of course it was ok and Ed just nodded.

After resting up for 20 minutes, they began walking again.

They were now approaching the village.

"SANDRA! ED! MEL! PLEASE COME QUICK! CASSIE, MIA, MATT!", yelled TJ, the panic and alarm in his voice making them quicken their pace and run.

"What is it TJ? Is it Lani?", asked Sandra, running.

All TJ did was point out at their village.

A white mist with hints of green engulfed their house, spreading to the other houses in the village.

Their eyes widened as they stared at this mysterious fog.

"Lani's inside, she got me to call for help", said TJ, fear in his voice.

"O-Ok TJ, calm down, don't worry. It's probably just bad weather, let's go see shall we?", said Sandra, trying to keep herself and everyone calm.

Everyone ran to the house, cautious of the mouldy looking mist.

Lani lay outside the front door, her face pale and sweaty. Blood was running down her nose and out of her mouth, causing her to choke slightly.

The sight made the kids physically want to be sick, though they knew they had to be strong.

Ed was lost for words as he struggled to comprehend what was going on.

"Oh Lani! It's ok sh... sh... it'll be ok", comforted Sandra, moving Lani so that her head was rested on her lap. She tilted Lani's head foreward as she coughed painfully.

"What exactly happened?", asked Mel, frowning as she struggled to understand.

"We were just talking! I was making jokes and stuff, like normal. Then the next thing you know, this smoke thing comes in through the window. I tried to fan it away but it didn't work. I didn't think it mattered much until Lani started coughing and gasping for air. B-Blood starts coming down her e...her...", he said frantically, his tears overcoming him.

Matt hugged him. "It's ok mate... just take it easy"

TJ nodded, trying to compose himself. "S-So then... I carry her out to the door but she kept calling for me to get help so I opened the door and lay her down gently so she could be visible for people who might try and help her. Then I ran out to get you all", he said, rubbing his forehead.

Melanie nodded. "Thankyou TJ, you did the right thing. Don't worry, Sandra can save her", she said, desperately trying to give hope.

Mia hugged Matt and cried as Cassie held onto TJ, the pairs watching Ed and Sandra desperately trying to save Lani, who was choking and gasping in agony.

Mel held Lani's hair back, whispering comforting words to her.

Despite their efforts, Lani's eyes began to close as she choked up the last bit of blood.

None of them could ever forget the expression on her face and her last words.

"Please... help me. I... I don't want to die like this"