Naira's POV

"The Sheriff....Watson Miller", he replied and we nodded after we gotta know his name.

"Thanks Watson...thank you for saving us", I thanked him and he chuckled.

"What? Did you expect me to leave you guys there helpless, without weapons? Come on ladies, I'm not that tough as I look. The world has gone to shit and we ought to help each other to prevent humanity from being wiped out", he said and we agreed with him.

Watson Miller. He was a guy with a great physique. He ought to have that physique because he was a sheriff. He was wearing that sheriff unifrom and  a cow boy hat on his head. He was tall, had attractive features. The most striking one were his blue eyes that blended great with his fair skin.

"Where should we go now?", Hannah asked.

"We can't be in the city. Its too dangerous. Those gross looking people are flooding the roads. The whole city is infected", Watson replied and Hannah sighed in disbelief.

"We can go to our home. Its in the outskirts, away from the city!", I suggested and they nodded.

"Then can you tell me the address Miss.....??", he looked at me through the rear view mirror.

"Mrs Naira Goenka and its 1870 N Orchard St, Chicago, IL 60614", I replied with a straight face and he nodded.

"So you married?", he asked me back and Hannah rolled her eyes.

"My husband's in army", I replied again with a straight face.

"Oops", he said and I gave him a fake, forced smile.

We reached our home. Everything was quiet there for now. No sign of zombies, no blood, no dead bodies. We walked in and everyone got themselves settled as they were way too tired. I was about to sit down that my phone rang. It was Kartik. I received the call in one ring, and walked away from others.

"Where the fuck do you think you've been Kartik?", I asked him.

"Naira please calm down....I was in a conference so I couldn't pick up your call. As soon as I heard your message, I freaked out. What the hell is happening in the city? Are you alright? Is Kairav alright?", he asked panicking from the other side.

"Thankfully we are. And what the hell do you mean when you say you don't know nothing about this shit? Its all over the news. Kartik you don't know what happened here today. Its like fiction is getting real. We've all had near death experiences. Thanks to some kind hearted strangers, whom we would've just passed while walking on the street on a regular day, that today I and Kairav are alive. You weren't there, you weren't there to save us. God forbid, if anything happened to us today, more worse if we died, you wouldn't know shit about it!", I shouted at him, releasing all my stress but being careful enough that others couldn't hear me.

"Shut up Naira! Enough is enough... Do you think I did this intentionally? Do you even know what are you speaking?", he raised his voice. There was irritation and frustration in his voice. I didn't answer back and remained silent,keeping my eyes shut, trying my best not to burst into tears.

"Naira....stay there only. I'm coming home right now. Please...trust me. I won't let anything happen to you or Kairav", he assured me and a lone tear escaped my eye.

"Come soon", I said, my voice quivering and ended the call.

Just then, I heard the kids sobbing. I walked into the living room to see the kids crying, hugging Hannah. Kairav just sat there completely clueless, staring at nothing in particular. Watson was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. He looked at me but I diverted my gaze from him.

"What's wrong?", I asked approaching them and sitting beside the kids.

"They are crying for their parents", Hannah replied and I sighed.

"Don't worry kids...don't cry over such a small thing. We'll call your parents now and tell them that you are safe here. Then they can come here and take you home", I assured the kids, trying to sound as positive as I could but inside I felt terribly negative. But I had to be strong.

"Kairav....take my phone and call your friends' parents", I said giving him my phone and he walked towards his room, the other kids followed him.

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KARTIK'S POV

I was driving home through the city. The scene was so unbelievable. The zombie like looking people were everywhere on the streets, some walking making snarling noises, while some feeding on the living. There was no sound. Nothing could be heard. Nobody could be seen. It was like fiction is turning into reality. Blood was splattered everyone and half eaten, torn apart dead bodies were scattered here and there.

"This shit ain't real", I spoke to myself as I was unable to believe my eyes. I just wanted it to be a nightmare. Our city had become a graveyard, in just few hours.

I concentrated on the road and continued driving through the quiet, empty, eerie road. After half an hour, I finally reached our locality. The situation was stable there for now. There was no sign of zombies, no blood, no dead bodies. I reached home and parked my car in the drive way. I quickly came out of the car and hurried towards the front door, pressing the door bell many times.

I heard footsteps and finally the door opened. Naira opened the door. I was so relieved to see her, she looked so relieved to see me. As soon as our eyes met, we captured each others lips engaging into a deep wild kiss. We broke the kiss after a few seconds and she held my face in between her palms. She had begun crying and there was nothing I could do to console her. I lowered my head so that our foreheads could touch and held her protectively in my arms.

"I'm here Naira....I'm right here. I wont leave you anymore", I assured her and she nodded still holding my face. I kissed her forehead and we moved away from each other.

I looked down to look at Kairav staring at me like I was nobody. He wouldn't come near me. He was looking at me like he didn't know me, who I was. There was so much fear in his eyes, his eyes were bloodshot red. I hated to see my son like that. I hated to see that look on his face. I didn't want him to go through this at such a young age.

I bent down to his level and caressed his hair. I looked at him with eyes full of love, while he continued to gimme that same goddamn look. It was so long since I watched him so closely. I realised he is growing up. And I realised the many times I couldn't be there for him. I realised how much I had missed. I have to pay back now.

I hugged him tightly, hugging him close to my chest and engulfing my arms protectively around him. He didn't hug me back and I kinda deserved it. I wasn't there for him, when he needed me the most. There was no way he was gonna believe me. Believe me to protect his mom and him, who happen to be my wife and son. I kissed on top of his head and releasing the hug, I looked directly into his eyes, holding his shoulders tightly.

"Daddy's gonna protect you champ....I won't let anything happen to you or your mom. I love you so much", I said holding his small face in between my palms but he didn't reply anything. I sighed and stood up to look at others.

There were three kids who seemed to be from Kairav's school, then there happened to be a lady, probably in her early twenties with blonde hair and fair skin. I diverted my gaze to the other side of the room, to look at a tall, muscular man standing there leaning against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. He seemed to look like a sheriff with the sheriff uniform and cow boy hat.

"I'm Hannah, Hannah Grey. Kairav's teacher", the blonde girl introduced herself and I nodded.

"These are Kairav's classmates. These are the only one who could survive the outbreak. The rest others turned", Hannah pointed at the three fearful children, who were clutched to her dress and looked terribly scared. I gave them a small smile to make them feel comfortable and safe.

"I'm the sheriff....Watson Miller, Cook County", the man forwarded his hand for a hand shake.

"Kartik Goenka....Special Forces, U.S army", I introduced myself and forwarded my hand too, both of us ending up in a firm handshake.

"Kartik...this is the man who saved us from the crowd at school. If it wasn't for him, we would've never made it", Naira said placing her hand on my shoulder and looking at Watson.

I looked at Watson. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Thank you Watson...for saving my family", I thanked him and he passed me a genuine smile.

"This is how we survive now - saving and helping people", he replied and I nodded.

Just then the door bell rang. Naira walked towards the door and opened it to welcome a couple.

"Mom...dad!!!", two of the kids exclaimed in joy and rushed to hug the couple.

Their parents held them in their arms tightly while their kids sobbed in their arms.

"Thank God you are safe", the woman said and kissed her kids on their forehead. The man stood up and walked towards me.

"Thank you for-", he began to say but I interrupted him in between.

"I'm not the one who deserves a thanks...I reached just now. You should thank the sheriff", I said pointing towards Watson.

The man walked towards Watson and hugged him.

"Thank you for saving our kids", he said releasing the hug and Watson passed him a genuine smile.

"I'm not the only Saviour...these two ladies also are", Watson said pointing towards Hannah and Naira. They smiled at that man.

"I'm Thomas....Thomas Adams. I'm a doctor. She's my wife, Rebecca and our twins Quinn and Chris", Thomas introduced his family. His wife, Rebecca smiled at us while the kids were clutched to her.

"I'm Naira, Kairav's mom and he's my husband, Kartik", Naira said pointed at me and I passed Thomas a smile.

"I'm Hannah...your kids' teacher", Hannah introduced herself.

"I guess I'm the popular guy here", Watson remarked chuckling and Thomas smiled at him.

"Where are my parents?", one kid said trembling with fear, her eyes looking suspiciously at everything. She looked the worst. She had no parents, she was staying with strangers. It was genuine for her to freak out.

"I'm sure they are alright Anna...they must be on their way. We've called them, we even sent them a voice message. They must be reaching", Hannah assured her and Anna nodded, wiping her tears.

"Okay....so everybody's gonna stay here. Nobody's gonna step out. Its hell there. We need supplies, I and Watson are the ones who are gonna go out because we are the ones who know to combat", I instructed people and they nodded. Thomas looked at us confused.

"What do you mean we all are gonna stay here? I left all my stuff at our home, all the money, all the useful stuff", Thomas said and I rubbed my forehead.

"You really think money is gonna help you come out of this shit! If you wanna go into the city, GO we won't follow you. Didn't you see how gross the situation is out there?  Its the end of the world now. If we need to survive, we need no money but surviving skills, weapons, clothes, food and most importantly each other", Watson explained Thomas and after processing things in his head for a few seconds he nodded.

"We're with you", Thomas said and his family nodded from behind.

"Alright then....Watson, I need you to come with me to gather some supplies. Thomas, stay here and protect these people. I hope you know how to use a knife and a machete if the situation goes outta control", I asked Thomas and he nodded.

I opened the drawer and took out my pistol. I turned to look back at Naira. She hugged me tightly.

"Be safe", she said releasing the hug.

"You too", I said caressing her face and walking out with Watson.