CHAPTER 3.

A single hour of sleep felt like none at all. Echo's mind began running like a clock, she could feel the drowsy and nauseated side of her. Her thoughts became to evaporate. Going a single day without rest thankfully wasn't torture to Echo. For twenty-minutes drowsiness drowned her mind into thick toxicity. She felt like her brain was in a violent whirl, trying to organize the chaos and understand what happened a couple of hours ago. Her mind snaps out from the freezing point and back to reality.

Echo shaded her eyes from the bright rays of sunlight beaming through the windows. Trees, and overgrown fields passed by. Everything started to come back to her, Breanne was up, and so were Hannah, and Myles. She slowly felt the vehicle rattle and come to a stop. The vehicle stopped on the side of the gravel road, shaded by a small area of ​​thick brush from the forest. She raised her head and inhaled deeply. They made it out of the city, but she could tell by Myles's locked jaw, that it was about to get worse.

"Shit, we're out of gas," Myles mumbled.

"Myles, language." Hannah reminded Myles, knowing Breanne might catch onto the bad habit. Myles cringes at his mistake and steps out of the car.

Echo followed Myles's lead. She hoped the situation wouldn't turn into anything worse than searching for fuel. Hannah passed Echo the map before she exited the vehicle.

Myles snatched the map from Echo and unfolded it onto the hood of the car. A soft wind etched its fingers through the trees.

"We're on the back roads, outside of Atlanta. There should be something out here, we need either Octane or premium. Premium is uncommon outside the city, so we'll have to siphon whatever we find, except diesel." Myles suggested, explaining to Echo about his knowledge of cars because he was an excellent mechanic. 

Hannah's vehicle was something not very many people see now in days. It was a 1969 Mac Ford Mustang.

"It's that, or I could hot-wire a vehicle that has half a tank of gas if we're lucky." Echo remarked.

Myles shook his head, "I wouldn't risk it, if you connect the wrong wire, you might set off the alarms and draw the creepers in, basically ringing the dinner bell." Myles concluded. Myles straightened his black sweater and looked back at the map. 

An awkward silence stretched between the two.

"We have six hours of light left. I think we should get going. Make sure to tell Hannah and Breanne to stay at the car, but stick low, in case any biters show." Echo shaded her eyes and looked at the sky. A small frown formed on Myles's face, and he gave her a simple nod.

Echo easily could read that Myles didn't want to leave his family to stay by themselves. Anything could happen, a herd of the dead could be wandering out of the city and somehow stumble upon them. She placed her hand on Myles's shoulder, stopping him from rounding the hood.

"Stay. Stay with them, I'll be back in a bit." Echo decided, leaving Myles in his tracks.

Myles inhaled sharply at the idea, "I can't let you do this on your own, Echo."

"I know, but if something goes wrong while I'm gone, you'll be able to defend them." Echo reassured Myles. 

Myles shook his head stubbornly, "I don't even know how to kill one of those things-"

*SNAP!* 

The noise alerted the two there was something nearby. Echo watched as one of the dead limped its way out of the bush, but its arm was missing...

"You have one shot. Show me what you got." She handed her brother her blade. Myles inhaled deeply before going after it. Echo concluded everything Myles witnessed back at the house, he would be able to remember something. Myles at first was cautious when it reached out for him, snapping its jaw, ready to feast on her brother. Myles circled it waiting for a golden opportunity. He kicked it in the chest, making it collapse onto its back. Myles knelt down and stabbed it in the head before it wrapped its hands around his leg.

"Not bad, not bad." Echo chuckled. Myles furrowed his brows with confusion. 

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Thanks." Myles replied, trying to catch his breath.

Myles handed her the knife when a second one came out. She wiped the blood from each side of the blade on her pant leg.

"I recognized things back in the city, retracing each and everything I knew- everything I witnessed in the city. They can smell you and they can hear you. Let me demonstrate." Echo sliced ​​part of her arm. It was minor and small.

Myles widened his eyes, "What the hell are you doing?!" Myles looked at Echo like she was insane.

"Alright smart-ass, you want to teach the class?" Echo questioned coldly.

Her brother stepped back when the walker spotted the two.

Echo squeezed the tiny cut, cringing at the itchy pain it gave off, like a paper cut. She crouched down, hiding from the walker, along with Myles. The dead stumbled around clawing its fingers on Breanne's window. Echo slowly approached the walker, behind the car, and squeezed the droplets of blood that leaked onto the gravel below them. Before the dead could catch Echo red-handed, it rotated and knelt down to the blood. 

Finally, Echo took the chance to stab it in the head. For a moment there she knew Hannah didn't exactly appreciate her Husband nearly getting eaten by one of the dead. Learning how to defend themselves was key to Echo. Protecting her family was a top priority, and she carried that weight on her shoulders. 

"Impressive indeed. Just wait until I get my hands on a machete." Myles joked, which slightly scared Echo. Killing something that was alive or now dead, changed you. After the small practice session the two had, Myles turned somewhat more darker and enthusiastic, almost as if it was a game. But she knew this was only for the good of her family.

But Breanne was a completely different story. She was going to teach her how to survive, but at a slow pace. She wanted Breanne to keep her innocence and not turn into a cold-blooded person who didn't know the difference between right and wrong.

Echo took off jogging down the gravel road, hoping she didn't waste too much time teaching her brother. She could barely think about much, besides first priority was gas to make it down five more miles to reach the Military base she grew up in.

Sometimes Echo wished that this wouldn't have begun in the first place. That she could pretend like it was the old days when she would return from a tour. And the first thing she would do is draw a hot bath, probably snack on something that she hasn't had in forever, and watch movies with her family.

But things changed, Echo wouldn't dare to give up on her family, nor leave someone in need of help. But point a gun at her or her family and they best pray she's dead. Echo didn't look back until she spotted a small home hidden in the forest.

The paint was falling off, it looked like no one there in a while. She pushed the door open, ready with the hunting blade she carried. She quietly listened for anything, she knocked on the side wall and announced that her presence was made, without trespassing.

"Anyone here?" She questioned.

She waited patiently for a couple of moments, there wasn't a single answer.

The silence drove her up the wall. Was the world really that gone? The questions flooded her mind.

"I'm here to borrow some gas." Echo tries again.

Not a single answer. She expected it, the place reminded her of the place she grew up in. Beer bottles on the floor, cigarette buds on the floor, and fast food containers on the coffee table in the living room.

She continued into the kitchen, scavenging anything she could. The second she opened the fridge she gagged and slammed the door closed. Whoever lived here hasn't been here in a long time. Echo strode into the living room seeing a door connected to the living room. 

Then Echo stopped when she heard loud snarling, it came from the Garage. Echo inhaled deeply then opened the door, taking a few cautious steps back. It snapped its jaw at her, half of his cheek was torn out showing the bone structure of his teeth. The usual shiver would crawl up her spine. Before it took the chance to devour Echo into bits she struct it in the forehead with her blade. She twisted the blade and ripped it out of its head. 

Echo's heart was solid ice when it came down to threats, people and the dead who wanted to hurt her. She had no sympathy for the living dead. Perhaps it was from the abuse, maybe it was the hardening of the Military. But being able to separate that from the real world kept her alive.

Echo wasn't a cold, spineless, killer. She had as many feelings as an average Human-being, but she was less sensitive unless she failed. Echo always had that soft spot for her family. And she vowed from the day she found Hannah, Breanne, and her brother, Myles, that she would protect them with everything she had.

Echo searched through the garage, finding tractor oil, to different types of oil, including brake fluid. She took anything that looked useful to a vehicle. Then she hit the jackpot, she spotted a red jerrycan. But a pit formed in her stomach when it said diesel. Echo huffed and continued to search the shelves that were covered in cobwebs. Then she spotted something at the top of the shelf. It was long and was in a sheath.

A machete.

The look on Myles's face when he sees this. Then something underneath the shelf caught her eye. A second jerrycan, she bit her lip and prepared it to say diesel...

And it said-

********

Myles sat on the hood of the Mustang. He cupped his hand and lit himself a cigarette. It's been a couple of hours since Echo walked off, determined to find what they needed. Its also been hours since he has spoken with Hannah. He was giving his love life a check, thinking back on the argument that fueled divorce papers. He was so glad that those papers were never signed.

It was dark for him to think that he was glad the world ended, just because of those papers. But the truth was, he couldn't live without Hannah and Breanne. There were too many happy memories of him and his wife, even the day Hannah gave birth to Breanne. He recalled Echo practically raiding the gift shop, she couldn't decide on what to get for Breanne.

The moment he saw Hannah drive up to his place and he gave her a kiss on the cheek was everything. That beautiful spark came back. The spark he lost when Hannah told him that she hated him for always working so late. But he knew she didn't mean it. And he was ready to fix whatever he did, even if it wasn't him at all. He crawled off the hood of the car and climbed into the front seat. Taking a small glance at Breanne, who was reading a couple of comic books.

And Hannah's gaze was glued to the empty road ahead of her. Her focus didn't shift over to Myles. Either she was worried for Echo or she just wanted to get moving.

"Hey." Myles greeted Hannah. Hannah shifted her focus over to him and smiled.

"Hey." She replied. Her eyes immediately dragged to the road ahead of them.

Myles took it slow and took his time. Carefully thinking of his words before he spoke. He gently intertwined his hand with hers. A fuzzy feeling rushed through his chest when she intertwined hers with his.

There was still something left between the two. And he was going to glue the pieces back together.

"Hannah... For everything that happened the night you left, I want you to forgive me." Myles started. He swallowed thickly, waiting for an answer.

"I want to, I really do. You're just going to have to give me a bit of time." Hannah solemnly admitted. That sentence crushed Myles's heart. What if she never forgave him? Those thoughts started to sink in, and his heart felt like it was split in two.

"If that's what it takes, then sure. I should have never raised my voice and called you the things you didn't deserve. Just know I am willing to go as far as the vow we made on our wedding day, 'till death do its part.' At that moment something crumbled inside of Hannah.

She began considering that she was too hard on Myles. Hannah's eyes swelled with tears, threatening to escape.

"I'm sorry too. I can't allow you to carry the blame after I've accused you of so many things. I-I just can't cruelly do this to you." Hannah sobbed. Myles's chest swelled with hope and sadness. He hated seeing women cry, especially his wife.

"Come here," Myles whispered gently wrapping his strong arms around her in a tight and lovable embrace. He still couldn't believe some things were returning to normal, even after watching Echo smash a couple of corpses to pieces.

Myles was lucky to have his sister here. Everything she's been through, scars etched into her skin, and invisible bullets in her lungs were the result of her survival. She once crawled the incline of limbs and blood, the flesh becoming ash. Yet that's when Echo saw reality. Reborn to protect her family, she would continue to spread ashes wherever she went, if that was the cost of protecting her family.

A/note: Hey everyone! Thank you for reading, votes and comments are always appreciated. I am taking this story more on a slow burn and trying to build that strong family bond, after all, Echo hasn't seen them in years which should feel more on the awkward side.

So, so far which is your favourite character so far?

Lol, see you all soon and I will be updating shortly. :)

-Hayley.