"Breathe in, Breathe out. Keep your cool, don't look at your watch, don't look at the sky, just keep on walking."

Autumn did her best to calm down and steady her breathing, but given the situation, she was finding it rather difficult. Being caught up in a moment like that is enough to make anyone panic, but unfortunately panic was a luxury that Autumn just didn't have time to indulge in. She needed to get back to safety before nightfall, before they came out.

It was 20 minutes to sunset and Autumn was 30 minutes away from base. And what was worse, her sister was MIA and they would more than likely be locked out anyway until daylight if they didn't hurry. So now Autumn officially had 2 missions on her hands.

First things first: Autumn had to find her sister. When they first split up this morning, her assignment was to look for medical supplies, while Aeris scouted the area for any scrap metal or things that could be foraged.

"If I were Izzy, what would I do next?" She thought.

Autumn ran a hand over her buzzed hair and took another deep breath. She thought for a moment more about where her sister would potentially go and decided to head down the hill toward the town center to look.

15 minutes had passed by the time she had gotten there, the sky slowly losing its oranges and pinks as they were replaced by blues and black. The shop windows she peered in were all vacant, no signs of anyone. Not a good sign at all.

A harsh, short, 2 note whistle broke her train of thought as a tall, dark figure appeared in a doorway a few yards away.

Autumn whistled her reply back, relieved she had found her sister. She ran toward the shop her sister had hidden in.

"Izzy, what the fuck?," she started. "You know we had to meet up at the first signs of sunset." Autumn's voice was sharp and scathing as she whispered her rebuke. She paused to look up at the sky, now dark with the dusk of evening. "We are so fucking fucked." she mumbled.

Once she looked her sister over for any obvious injuries, she placed her hands on her hips and tapped her foot in annoyance.

Aeris Ismene "Izzy" Gold was normally not one to take her baby sister's shit, usually taking the more "bossy" role,  but she could admit that her sister's tone and attitude was currently warranted. She hadn't intended on being out quite this late, but she had been...preoccupied.

"How long do we have, Autumn?" she asked as she paced the floor. Clearly something had shaken her.

Autumn looked at the sky, which was nearly ink dark with the settling of night time.

"Not even 10 minutes. And we're 30 away from camp, even if we're sprinting."

Aeris glanced around before putting her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Autumn, you can scold me as much as you want when we get back. I know we're short on time, " she whispered. "But...I got a little sidetracked."

Autumn's brown eyes grew wide. She couldn't contain the fear and irritation in her voice. She smacked her teeth and shook out of her sister's grasp.

"Sidetracked how, Ismene? What could possibly make you of all people risk being out here at night?! Did you even find anything useful?" She asked, agitated.

"Watch it, Busy. Of course I found what I was looking for." Aeris scolded her sister, tone just as sharp. Autumn rolled her eyes.

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I... I also think I found another group of survivors. I was headed toward the river and saw some people from a distance." Autumn's eyes grew wide as her sister continued on.

"They didn't look infected, not sure if they're friendly or hostile, but we're definitely not the only ones in the area. At least within 5 or so miles."

Autumn worked her lip between her teeth, leaning back against a wall.

"Well fuck a damn duck." She muttered.

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before continuing. "I don't know if that's good news or bad." She paused to look out of the window and let out a heavy sigh, only to see a stray dog. "But we can worry about that during daylight. The question is are we gonna try and make it to camp or do you wanna risk it out here til sunrise?" She whispered.

"Let's try and make it back. You said we're only 30 minutes, right?" Aeris replied.

"Yeah. We should stay on the main roads though, which is gonna add an extra 10." She adjusted her pack onto her shoulders, with a harshness in her eyes that her sister had only seen once before.
If they were gonna make it back, Aeris knew her sister was going to live up to her nickname.

"You have your piece on you?" Aeris asked, already knowing the answer.

Autumn sucked her teeth again. "Now, why would you ask me a stupid ass question like that?" She pulls out her gun to show her sister before putting it back. "You got your coverage, right?" Aeris nods, tapping the sword hanging on her hip. "Let's move out then, before the guards go in for the night."

The sisters slowly started making their way through the abandoned city, jogging up the hill. The sound of their footsteps and the owls hooting filled the air. They kept their ears open for any signs of them, but once they had walked about 25 minutes, it seemed as though they were in the clear...Until they weren't.

Aeris caught feel of it first, the pale figure moving through the shadows. She tapped on her sister's arm in warning.

Aeris' whisper was just barely audible. "Move real slow, Busy. We're hot right now, and if you have to shoot we're gonna be sitting ducks."

Autumn nodded, hand on her gun. She stiffened for a moment before pressing forward, whispering. "I see them now too."

Aeris looked around. Her voice was straining to keep quiet "It seems to only be a handful for now. Here's the plan: You're not gonna shoot. You're gonna use that knife on your hip if any of them get too close, but I have Lucky, and I should be able to hold them off."

Autumn nodded in reserved agreement. Lucky was her sister's sword that she usually kept on her during scouting missions, named such because it was one of the few things of sentimental value that Izzy kept from before the outbreak and had managed to last over the past 6 years.

The sisters continued and things seemed to go well... until Aeris stepped on a piece of glass, the crack echoing on the pavement. The girls froze in place as any further sounds would start the worst possible cascade of events.

Autumn put her hand on her knife. 3 minutes if they run. A quick signal to let the guards know that they were close. If they timed it right, they could even get a little backup.

Aeris counted how many of the whispers she saw. They were called such from the loud, raspy, hissing they made. If you were close enough to hear it, you were close enough to die.

"Autumn, we've got 5 on us." Aeris whispered lowly, hoping not to attract any more attention to themselves. Her voice trembled.

"Izzy, keep cool," Autumn replied, "We're 3 minutes away. 2 if we run. We're gonna have to make a little noise though. Bruce and Cannon should be on guard tonight on this side. We're gonna count to 30 paces. Move slow and watch your damn step this time. On the count I'm gonna signal, you're gonna boost it,  and we're gonna run like hell. Keep Lucky on the 6."

Aeris nodded her head. "On my count, shorty."
Aeris counted as they walked, never taking their eyes off of the creatures that stalked them in the darkness. They laid eyes on the compound, the two figures of the guards easily made out in the lights.

"28, 29, 30... Autumn, now!" Aeris whispered.

Autumn whistled the signal as loud as she could with Aeris amplifying it before the two of them started to run as fast as they could toward the building.

The creatures weren't far behind, their rasping, the sound of the gnashing of their teeth growing closer and closer.

"Aeris, your left!!" Autumn shouted as she dodged out of reach of one of the creatures.

"Got 'em!" She wielded her sword with a grace that only years of practice could give, slicing the creature down before Autumn could blink.

In the distance, Cannon heard the signal first.

"Ayo, Bruce. I think we have someone coming in." He said.

"Yeah, I heard it too." Bruce snuffed out his cigarette and looked up to see the women running toward the encampment with the creatures hot on their heels.

"Cannon, get ready. It's Izzy and Busy and... oh shit, they got company!"  Bruce got his gun ready as he ran to unlock the gates to the compound.

Cannon whistled his signal in reply to the 2 young ladies and ran toward the entrance with Bruce.

Cannon was the compound's biggest teddy bear, but you wouldn't know it from looking at him. At 6 feet tall and 260 lbs, he was built like a tank. Add in the bald head, ginger biker beard, and the tattoos from the before times, he looked like he could snap a person in half without much in the way of effort.

Bruce looked like he could've maybe been a model back in the before times. He stood about 5 foot 9, 180 lbs, but he was all svelte  muscle and limbs. He was an easy going guy for the most part, but he was one of the best sharpshooters their little settlement had. They could usually be found on guard duty together since for some reason, they made one hell of a team.

Aeris was well ahead of her sister as she had a much longer stride, being a whole foot taller. She paused once she realized she had left her sister behind.

"Autumn, come on!" She pleaded as she looked behind her.

"Aeris Ismene Gold, now is NOT the time to worry about me!" Autumn shouted as she fired off another shot. "Get your black ass in that goddamn gate! I got me! And watch your right side!" She shouted.

With that Autumn pulled her trusty old Beretta out of its holster and began shooting the creatures.
Pop pop pop the bullets sang as each one she fired landed in its target. The monsters fell over dead, their black blood painting the ground.

Unfortunately, Autumn got caught off guard by a creature as it jumped on her from behind, causing her to drop her gun.  She managed to throw it off of her, but clearly the thing wasn't going down without a fight. It lunged toward her again, the commotion attracting more undead.

That rasping growl was the only thing Autumn could focus on as the creature tried to bite her while she held it off. She wasn't one to be easily taken down though. The crunch of bones could be felt beneath Autumn's fists, the hits knocking the creature down long enough for Autumn to grab her gun and finish it off.

Aeris made it into the yard of the compound first. She quickly threw Lucky onto the ground and did her best to catch her breath.

"Bruce....my sister.... Help!" She begged as she gulped for air.

"Izzy, Izzy, listen to me. It's ok." Bruce said as he rubbed her back soothingly. "We got eyes on her and Cannon is giving her backup. Look."

True to his word, Aeris saw Cannon outside of the gate with her sister, killing the last of the creatures that had followed them. He escorted her into the gate and up to her big sister. The girls embraced while Autumn caught her breath.

Bruce was the first to speak. "Come on y'all. Let's get you inside."

Cannon wasn't too far behind. "Every time you get in a scuffle, I remember why we call you Busy, little lady." He said to Autumn, nudging her in the shoulder playfully.

"Oh, stop it you old coot." Autumn jibed. Bruce escorted the two into the compound, which just so happened to be an abandoned community college. Walking through the main corridor, the girls ran into one of the leaders of their group: Cass.