VIVIAN DAVIS SAT ON THE HOOD OF HER BEST FRIEND'S CAR, HER GOD-BABY SLEEPING IN HER ARM'S.

His small body rose and fell against her chest, the only calm thing in sight. The silence of the highway was eerie, broken only by the low murmurs of worried strangers and the distant thud of helicopters.

The traffic was at a stand still on the highway. Everyone had turned their car's off to conserve gas. Most people were standing on the street, talking to each other and trying to figure out the situation. Some had camped out, bringing out portable heaters and camping chairs. Some people were a little too prepared, in Vivian's opinion.

Vivian rocked slightly, absentmindedly rubbing circles on the baby's back. Little baby Liam. Twenty months old, and he had no idea the world was falling apart. He didn't know what it meant to be afraid. Or trapped. Or helpless.

God, she wished she didn't know either.

"How is he?" Jillian asked, setting the diaper bag next to the brunette.

Vivian looked down at the little boy nestled in her arms, "He's sleeping now."

"About time." Jillian sighed, stroking her baby's head. The gesture was soft, automatic. Like this wasn't the end of everything. "I got him, I'll put him in his seat."

Jillian took her baby from Vivian's arms and walked around to put him in the car seat. Her arms felt empty as soon as he was gone.

 Trevor came out from the woods, wiping sweat from his brows, "No one knows what the hold up is."

"I'm sure by morning we'll have answers." Jillian stated, standing up fully after putting her baby in his car seat.

Vivian slipped her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone. Still no bars. Still no messages. She stared at the blank screen, willing it to light up.

Nothing.

No word from her siblings.

She should've never come to Georgia.

Trevor looked over at the brunette, "How are you holding up?"

"Phones are down." Viv sighed, closing her phone and putting it back into her pocket, "Looks like I won't be getting back to Chicago any time soon."

Her voice was steady, but inside, her stomach was churning.

What if they're already gone?

"I'm sure your family is fine." Jillian squeezed Viv's knee, "Besides, this can't be much worse than Chicago."

Vivian smiled and knocked her shoulder into her best friend's, "Chicago's worse. Which is why I'm so worried. I haven't been away for this long since I went to college."

It had been hours since the announcement for everyone to make their way to Atlanta. It was the safe zone. So naturally, everyone began to pack and drive.

Vivian was only visiting. It was only supposed to be for a few weeks.

But then they started cancelling flights. Airports were shut down, along with bus stations. Vivian had no way to get back.

So she was heading into the city with her best friend and her family when she should be trying harder to get back.

The sounds of helicopters reached her ears and the brunette glanced up, watching the military aircraft go by. The baby began to cry and Jillian sighed, "Damn helicopters." She mumbled before going back to comfort her child,

"Fucking babies." A man in the yellow car in front of them scoffed, "Gonna bring more freaks down on us."

"No, that's gonna be your smell, big man." Vivian scowled at him as she slipped off the hood of the car, "Can't believe men like that have wives and children." She said to her friend, sending the man a dirty look,

"I'm hungry." A young boy piped up as he played checkers with another girl,

"I know, Carl. We all are." His mother said from the jeep next to Trevor's car.

The woman from the yellow Cherokee spoke up, "Why don't I get him something to eat? Ed's into all this survival stuff. We've got enough MREs to feed a small army."

Carl's mother nodded, "I'd sure appreciate it."

Vivian didn't miss the way the woman's husband followed her, scowling. She heard them bickering through the open car door.

People like that always got loud when the world turned quiet.

The brunette rolled her eyes and reached into her bag, where she grabbed a bunch of snacks from their last stop to get gas. Gripping the two Big Kat bars and a bottle of water in her hands, Vivian went over to the kids and handed them the candy, "Here."

They both looked up at her with big eyes and smiled as they took the candy, "Thank you!"

Vivian nodded, her throat suddenly tight. Seeing them reminded her of her two younger siblings, Emmett and Debbie.

A woman approached her, the boy's mom, "Thank you for that."

Viv shrugged. "Don't want them getting cranky now."

"I'm Lori." The woman introduced,

"Vivian." She replied, 

Lori opened her mouth to speak some more but the man who she was with, her husband maybe?, slammed his hand on his steering wheel as he played with the radio frequencies.

She turned and walked back towards him and Vivian turned to her friends, "Maybe I should scout ahead? See if anyone knows anything."

Trevor nodded, "I'll come with." He turned to his wife, kissing her forehead, "We'll be back."

"Stay safe."

Vivian didn't look back. She didn't want to see the fear on her best friend's face.

They passed more people, more cars, more strangers trying to survive in their own makeshift camps. Some were laughing, some crying, some yelling into broken phones.

Vivian felt like she was walking through a dream—a fevered, slow-motion disaster.

Then she heard them again.

Helicopters.

She stopped dead, eyes scanning the sky.

Viv darted off the highway without a word, feet crunching through the dry brush as she followed the aircrafts' roar. Trevor called after her, but she didn't stop.

She needed to see.

And when they broke through the trees onto the ridge, she did.

Dozens of people were gathered, staring at the burning skyline ahead.

Atlanta.

Explosions rocked the air, black smoke curling into the clouds like a funeral pyre.

Vivian felt her knees weaken, "Oh my God," she whispered.

She clutched the edge of a tree, heart racing. Her chest ached.

They were sent here. They told them Atlanta was the safe zone. What the hell were they thinking?

"What are we supposed to do now?" Her voice cracked. She wasn't even sure who she was asking.

"Survive," Trevor said beside her, eyes locked on the chaos. "That's all we can do."

Vivian nodded faintly, but inside, everything was unraveling.

She couldn't reach her family. Couldn't get back to Chicago.

And now the one place they were told to go for safety was burning to the ground.

She wanted to scream.

Instead, she swallowed it down.

Her best friend was back on the road with a baby depending on them. She couldn't afford to break.

Not now.

Not yet.

She just prayed Chicago wasn't next.