Piper was right. The trip was long and unbearing. She even had to stop to fill the tank with more gas from the trunk. When she got back into the driver's seat, I just had to ask her, "How did you know there was a survivors' camp?"

"After the outbreak, the government went crazy and searched out the last survivors. They broke into homes and took anyone who wasn't infected. The FBI came from everywhere. They broke down my family's door and tore me away from my mom and step dad. They said they were infected with the virus. They said I wasn't allowed to even touch them because they were so paranoid. Some of them arrived in quarantine suits, some came with bulletproof vests and shotguns." She dropped her head in sorrow and shook her head. "They didn't even let me say goodbye. It wasn't until I got into the back of the government car that I heard two gunshots go off in my own home...my parents were gone that afternoon." She took a deep breath to relax herself.

"Piper..." I said, understanding exactly how she was feeling. "I-I'm so sorry. You don't have to say anymore."

But, she did, anyway. "The infected stays behind, Dipper. The survivors get to go far away into a camp. The infected are the ones who are left behind and forgotten, while the others are given the chance to live on and suffer. Ya' know what the worst part was?"

"Piper, please. Stop it." I cautioned her.

Neglecting my request, she went on. "The worst part of it all was my parents didn't even know! They didn't know they were infected! They had no freakin' idea!" I sensed a bit of humor and disgust in her tone of voice.

"Piper! Cut it out!"

I watched her as she laid her hands and head on the steering wheel and stay that way for a moment. I could hear her sobbing. It was a little awkward to see this side of her. Besides, I always saw her as strong and able to face her fears head-on. After she had calmed herself, she lifted her head back up. "Sorry about that." She mumbled. "You have no idea how long I needed to get that off my chest." She let out a few more tears and I saw her chest rise and fall unevenly. I dropped my head, not sure what I should say, so I didn't.

Piper continued to drive and after three hours, she had finally stopped the car. "We're here." She said, making it sound bittersweet. She parked in front of the most tallest, chunkiest, rustiest iron gates that I have ever seen in my life. The gates had to be at least ten times my height, or taller. Even staring up at them, made my head dizzy.

Silence filled the air and if it wasn't quiet enough, I could have missed it. My walkie-talkie was sending static feedback. A girl's voice was barely able to break through it. "...Dipper?"

Immediately, I scrambled for the walkie-talkie in my bag. I had buried it under my blanket, which muffled the speaker. I only pulled it halfway out before I started to think otherwise. Mabel was gone. The sound of the walkie-talkie could have just been a glitch. Or maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me. It wasn't until I heard the voice again that I actually responded back. "Dipper? ...Are you there?"

"Mabel?! Mabel, is that you? C'mon, say something! Let me hear you! Let me hear your voice..."

But, alas, no one had answered me. The walkie-talkie went mute. I began to wonder if I was just losing it. I was just too attached to Mabel and it was hard for me to move on without her. She was gone, though. I can't do anything about it. She was gone and I was never going to see her again. I tossed the walkie-talkie on my bag carelessly and sighed. Piper was watching me the whole time. "C'mon, Dipper. Let's go get some fresh air and check out the camp." I followed her out of the car, swinging my bag over my back.

Then, all at once, I heard shotguns being locked and loaded. Men were shouting, too. I followed Piper up to the two iron gates and couldn't help, but, gaze up at the sky-high gates. Alongside the gates were attached guarding towers. It took me a second to recognize them, but, there were men running high above us in solid black FBI uniforms. They scurried along the paths of the towers above us, getting in their positions. They had their guns all pointed at us. "Stay back!" One of them yelled. "Make another move and we will shoot!"

"Surrender and drop your weapons!" Another one ordered loudly. Piper was the first one to pull out her pocket knife and drop it. I hesitated, at first. Then, I decided to pull out my Glock 19 and drop it next to her's on the ground. "Now, kick it away from you!" The same man instructed us. We obeyed, putting our arms up to show them we surrender. I looked up at Piper's relaxed face and saw no signs of fear from her. How was she doing that? I could practically feel my legs wanting to give up on me. As if she had been reading my mind, Piper said to me, "Don't worry. They do this every time. They won't actually shoot us, it's just protocol. Plus, they know me."

"Know you?" I copied.

"Stand down, soldiers! It's just Piper! I trust her! Let them in!" A woman's strict voice roared in. I stared back up to the gate's pathway to discover a woman who was dressed just like the guards and had dirty blonde hair that was held up in a tight bun. The men ran towards the gates' levers, preparing to let us in. The iron gates simultaneously yawned open with a low groan. The doors slowly revealed a wide, yet, old and aged warehouse. Inside were more government guards with thick, all-black guns. Piper picked up her pocket knife and put it back in her boot. I copied her actions, picking up my gun before I entered the gates. The woman with the bun met us down. She climbed down the stairs that led to the sky-scraping gates' pathway.

"Hello, Piper." the woman greeted. "Nice to see you back alive and well. Who's your new friend?"

She approached us in a calm manner. Finally able to see her eyes up close, I found friendliness and no coldness. I knew right away that she meant us no harm. On her lips, she opened them and formed a white-teethed smile. She rested her hands on her hips.

"This is Dipper. I found him wandering the highway."

The woman laughed, probably amused by my name. She then turned to me with her bright, happy face and said, "Dipper, huh? Well, welcome, kid. You have no idea how lucky you are!" She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a single shake. I took it that she meant I was lucky to be alive. "How old are you, Dipper?"

"Twelve." I answered, dully.

I saw her mouth the word, "wow" and stood up. She remained looking down at my face. "Oh, I'm Chief Vicky. If you need anything, I'm here." With that, she walked off. After, a pair of guards came up to Piper and I. They patted us down and lifted our sleeves and shirts. Piper told me they were just checking for zombie bites. We were both clean.

They led us into the iron building. Some windows were shattered and some remain intact, but, with dirt smudges that were very noticeable. However, there was more to see on the inside, rather than the outside. Survivors were everywhere. I even heard a baby crying. It was shocking to see these many survivors. They took up every corner of the room and they each had their own beds. The warehouse's ceiling was high up, but, not as high as the gates. The building, itself, had to be at least three stories high. The survivors stayed on the ground level. Piper, knowing her way around, gave me a tour. As we walked past the crowd, I heard people gasping with joy and happy to see Piper back. "You sure are popular here." I said.

"Oh, yeah." She stated over her shoulder as she kept trudging over to a door on the other side of the warehouse. "I've been living here ever since I could remember. I have seen many people come through that door many times before." She pointed to the double doors that we had just entered through with her thumb.

Out of the corner of my eye, were gaping cracks in the ceiling and birds could be seen fluttering in from the outside. They were the type of summer birds who would tweet and chirp and sing a melodious tune of their species. They seemed to like to rest inside of the warehouse and sit on the wooden boards that held up the ceiling. The sun shone clearly through the windows and reflected onto the warehouse's rusty, worn ground. As she led me out to the other room, I discovered even more survivors. The only thing that was different about this room, was that there were more beds set up and less people. Also, the noise level had calmed. "Well," Piper began. "Go on. Pick a bed and get yourself settled in. I'll be right back. I'm gonna go talk to Vicky for a sec'." She left, going out the same door we came in.

I was left alone, unpacking my belongings onto my bed. I put my walkie-talkie into a drawer that had a tiny lamp sitting on the side table. I tried to keep myself busy and not catch the stares of the eyes on my back. I could tell even the smallest child had their eyes on me. I didn't realize it was a big deal to witness another survivor come in. Maybe it was the fact I was just a kid. The thing I didn't expect was something rubbing up against my ankle and sniffing me. I peered down to find it was a long-haired golden retriever. "Hey, there." I muttered to the dog. Her stared up at me with his friendly eyes and wagged his bushy tail back and forth. His ears went back and he stuck his tongue out, panting. He seemed well-trained and knew when to keep his distance and sit, patiently waiting for me to pet him. I kneeled down gently and began scratching him behind the ears. I guess he was the only one brave enough to approach a newbie. Underneath his beautifully blonde coat was a red collar. On it, were four letters that spelled 'Cody'. "Your name is Cody?"

By this point, people were grinning, noticing that I was kind and didn't mind the attention. A little boy about a quarter of my size came up to me and began petting Cody, too. I gave him a warm smile and he did the same back. "This is the camp's dog. His owner is gone, now, so the survivors take care of him."

I huffed a laugh, then, the boy asked, "What's your name?"

"Dipper."

"...That's a weird name."

"Yeah, so I've been told. What's your name?"

"I'm Zack." He said. I looked at him, seeing myself. He had my hair, but, with a blushed face. He had a bit of freckles, as well. "So, is it just you?"

"Yeah." I sighed.

"Where's your family?" His voice sounded upset. My quietness told him they weren't going to show up anytime soon.

"Zack?" A woman's voice called from across the room. I looked up to see, who I thought was, his mom. She held out her hand, telling Zack to come with her and leave me alone. He took his little hand and wrapped it in her hand and walked back to their side of the room. He made one more quick, solemn peer over his shoulder before turning away again.

Cody stayed, but, not for long. I stared at him as he got up, did a complete twirl around the spot he had just sat on, and sat there once more. It wasn't long before his playful mood faded and he trotted away from me. When nobody gave him attention, he proceeded to find a comfy, empty area and lay down. Every time someone or something moved, his eyes and ears would follow the direction of the happening, though would only keep him occupied for a few seconds.

I laid on my back on the bed and beholded the ceiling above me. That's when I began to worry. Piper hadn't been back in a while. Where was she? I sat up and tried to keep it casual as I trudged to the door. Sure enough, nearly everyone's head turned to me. I tilted my hat a bit more towards my face to hide the eyes that fell on me. Pushing the door open, I wished deeply it hadn't screeched. How could anyone not miss that?

"Piper?" I called to the hallway. The walls were built out of cement and bricks. The warehouse wasn't in its best shape. It had many flaws like graffiti on the walls, some nonsense words that included, 'style' and 'live hard' and 'envy'. They all were made into bubble letters that were squished together. I could definitely tell this place was rundown just by the way torn boards and dirt littered the ground. All the garbage was lazily shoved to the side of the hallway for people to walk.

"Piper? Where did you go?" I beckoned her. I tried to keep my voice free from the embarrassment of not knowing what I was doing or where I was going. The corridors were like a maze. I forgot which hallway Piper had taken me down, so I probably seemed like some lost, confused kid roaming around.

I realized I had successfully gotten myself lost without any effort. Although, curiosity got the best of me and I went further into the depths of the never-ending corridors. It had gotten to a point where I had reached a dead end, where the warehouse mysteriously stopped. At the dead end, a door was dragging me in, stealing my focus. Alongside the door was a wide window to the view of a room. My gut began to churn, warning me to turn back, but, my feet pushed me forward. I knew I was probably lucky to get this far through the guard-free halls, but, I needed to stop. I kept my breathing steady and silent, peering slowly behind me to check on the coast. Nobody was there. I was safe, for now. I went closer to the window, finding something even more unsettling - a quarantine sign. It read, "Quarantine zone. Infectious virus. Authorized personnel only."

I felt shivers crawl up my spine. I was definitely not supposed to be here. Yet, something kept drawing me there. Like, I was meant to be there. As if there was something I needed to see; something for the universe to reveal to me to let me know. I continued to reach nearer and nearer to the window, until the sight of a flashy, yellow quarantine suit of a man made my heart jump out of my body. Once I found it, I poked my head into the window a second time. His back remained turned away from me as he occupied himself with a patient on one of the many beds - hospital beds, it appeared to be. Each of the patients had an oxygen mask on their face, covering their mouth and nose. They were evenly spread out from one another and had their very own heart rate machines and IV poles, connected to tiny tubes that were injected into their arms. There were many of them, however, only one of them had caught my eye. She was the one who got my attention.

It was her.