Darkness was their friend, ally, and companion. The shadows were a blanket to cover their tracks as Starla, Ryon, and Terran attempted to outrun the hunters that were currently on their tail. It wouldn't have been the first time they had to outrun those currently hunting them, all because they had been bitten. Yes, time was of the essence, but that didn't mean they weren't still human. 

The trio had long since lost count of how many zombie hunters they've had to outrun in the passed three days. Since the outbreak had happened, the day they were infected, they had been walking the city they called home as if they had a target strapped onto their backs. Three days of fighting not only losing themselves to the virus, but fighting to stay alive and hidden from those that treated them like rabid animals that didn't have a chance to survive the infection. 

It still amazed them at how fast the community came together to hunt and eliminate the undead threatening what was left of humanity. 

Footsteps echoed throughout the shadows, every step sounding radically different from one anothers. The trio's footsteps were quick and unsteady as exhaustion began to settle deep within them. Three days on the run and fighting the inevitable drained a person. 

Starla thought that Terran had it worse, however. The limp he gained due to becoming the local chew toy for the undead left her worried for her friend. The multiple bite wounds his lower right leg left him with a slight disability and an extremely noticeable limp. Ryon and herself were a little more on the lucky side, their matching bite wounds happened to be on their shoulders, arms, and hands. Sure, holding things could be a problem at times, but it wasn't a problem when it came to their walking. 

Not that tha helped any. 

"Where are we going?" 

Starla's worried and breathless words broke through the crunch of twigs beneath their feet, the shuffling run of nearby dead an the slow calculated strides of hunters mingled with one another. She wanted and needed to know so she didn't feel as if she were running blind out in the open. 

Without looking back, their current lead to their next temporary home, Terran huffed out; 

"If we can get out of here and beyond the park, we can find somewhere to temporarily hold up. There should be plenty of places to go." 

Somewhere, it had been a word used often between the trio in the passed couple of days. The uncertainty of where their next home would be was flying high over their heads like a flashing beacon of despair.

"Somewhere? Somewhere isn't good enough." 

Starla whined, her shoulders slumping as the urge to just stop and drop right where she was began to take over her. Having he entirety of the world against you wasn't what she had wanted for herself or for anyone else. None of them had wanted this nor asked to be bitten like they had been in the first place. 

All three friends came to a staggering halt right where the treeline split the park off from the jogging trail in the forest they stood within. Terran and Ryon turned to face their female companion, one looking at her in disbelief while the other looked at her with a bit of sympathy and understanding. 

Regardless of the looks her friends were giving he, they both understood where she was coming from and how she was feeling. 

Limping over to Starla and Ryon, Terran shifted his teal eyes between the both of his friends. His gaze ultimately landing upon Starla when he finally got his thoughts sorted in his mind, a soft sigh leaving his lips in an attempt to keep his cool. 

"I completely understand how you feel right now. Not having a single place to call home-"

"Ter, it's not just about having a place to call home, it's about having somewhere safe to go and not having to leave ever again." 

Terran and Ryon shared a silent glance between the two of them before returning all their attention back onto Starla. 

"And it's a safe place that we are looking for. However, it is a bit difficult to do right now when we have everyone and their brother after us, but we will find that place no matter how long it takes us to find it." 

Terran gave a gentle and reassuring smile, hoping that it would do the trick and ease Starla's mind, even if just a little bit. 

"We don't have the time to keep searching Terran. We don't know how much time we have left. You know, when we're actually going to turn into one of them." 

Starla raised her bandaged hand, which was still grasped tightly within Ryon's. It was her reminder for all three of them as to why they were running and how they were on a strict time limit. They were lucky enough to have survived the three days that they had since being bitten. 

There was a moment of contemplation while Terran stared at Starla and Ryon's conjoined hands. He took in a long slow breath, letting it out just as slowly knowing that Starla was right on the matter. They didn't know how much time they had left, which was why the three of them risked their lives searching for a way to cure themselves, reverse the effects of being bitten. 

Already knowing all of this, Terran didn't need the reminder, not when he had to force his chewed up leg to work right every waking moment. 

Forcing their hands back down to their sides, Ryon focused his own attention onto his two friends instead of the forest around them. Something needed to be done before a fight really broke out within their tiny group. That alone was something they didn't need and couldn't afford to happen. They needed one another and couldn't risk breaking up their tight bond with one another over where they were going to live for the remainder of their living lives. 

"Come on guys, let's not-" 

The sound of nearby gunfire silenced everyone, loud moaning erupting from within the trees around them. Distant yelling broke out from all around he forest that stretched out far behind them. Swaying lights flashed between the branches of the trees, dim from distance, but obvious it as coming from a hunter that may have been chasing them. 

"We need to go. We can finish this conversation later." 

Ryon said, his voice barely a whisper as he watched the swaying lights from what he could assume was a flashlight. He listened for anything else, the undead already close enough and not needing to get any closer. However, just because they were already infected didn't mean there was a reason to risk speeding up the process by alerting the walking dead of their location. 

Green eyes quickly averted from the forest and back to Ryon upon their obvious need to leave. However, Starla's own conscious was arguing with her, fighting between what she knew was the right thing to do and what was actually right to do for their survival. 

"Terran, Ryon. . ." 

Starla's gentle green eyes moved between her two best friends, her mood having gone from survival to desperation in the blink of an eye. 

Pulling the attention of Ryon and Terran from all the commotion around them and back onto her, they could see where Starla's mind was going. The two men knew she was having a mental battle with herself, contradicting what she was just arguing with Terran about not two seconds ago. 

"Star, no. Whatever is going through that pretty little head of yours, no." 

Terran held his hands up, turning away from the two that were holding hands in front of him. He walked back to the exit of the forest to find somewhere to hunker down in for the time being. He wanted to get off his feet and just rest, the run through the jogging path and around the forest was enough to drain him of all energy. Fighting with Starla was not going to help this situation at all. 

Ter. . . Ryon?" 

Turning a pleading eye onto Ryon, her second companion only stared back with such a conflicted gaze. His mind wanted to go along with Starla, but at the same time, he knew how dangerous it was if he agreed to Starla's unspoken thoughts. 

"I don't know Star. I want to live long enough to find a cure, to see our future beyond. . . well, beyond all of this." 

Sliding his hand from Starla's and moving back away from her, he motioned above his head as if emphasizing what he meant. His feet floated him towards Terran a little bit, believing it best to take things with as much caution as they possibly could. Even if that meant he had to choose between his friends, safety and survival over danger and death. 

"Come on Ryon. If we can help them. . . maybe it will show them that we aren't a threat or danger to them despite having been bitten." 

"Starla, do you hear yourself right now?" 

Terran whipped around as Ryon joined him at his side, looking out over the park and beyond to try and fight their next temporary home. His teal eyes were wide with a no nonsense look filling them as he waited to see if Starla would say anything. 

When she didn't say anything he continued; 

"Not two seconds ago, you were talking about finding a permanent safe place. Now you want to go help those that are trying to hunt us down? Let me just remind you, they aren't hunting us to help us out . . . they're hunting us to kill us." 

Taking a momentary breather from his explanation, he huffed and lowered his voice a bit more; 

"I'm sorry, I can't and won't follow you on this venture. It's suicidal and too much of a risk. I'm going to go find somewhere to call home, even if it is temporary." 

Without another word on the subject, Terran turned and began limping into the openness of the park. His retreat was followed by a spew of raspy coughs that forced their way out of him. 

Both Ryon and Starla looked on with endless worry finding its way onto their faces. Both knew time was dwindling down for all of them, but they had to do something to try and buy them as much time as they possibly could. 

Starla turned slowly, looking towards Ryon and watching him watch Terran. He still looked so conflicted as to who he should be going with despite having made his choice seconds prior. 

"Ry, just go. He needs someone with him as is. I'll be fine." 

Sounding mildly defeated with the decision her friends had made, Starla motioned towards Terran and the distance he was putting between the three of them. 

Even though Ryon had turned to once more voice his opinion against Starla's idea to go help the hunters, he never got to speak them. She was gone and had disappeared back into the denseness of the forest. However, moments after she had slipped into the trees the undead finally made themselves known by coming out from their hiding spots. Their bitten up and rotted corpses were stumbling through the trees and bouncing off the towering trunks surrounding them just to get at Ryon. 

"Be safe and come back to us Star." 

Ryon muttered right before he burst from the treeline and jogged to catch up with his limping friend while putting distance between the hungry undead following him. A single glance over his shoulder was nothing more than wishful thinking that Starla would have changed her mind. Unfortunately it was not the case and it left Ryon and Terran seeking out a temporary nearby building they hoped they could use for safety. A place they could hide and wait for Starla to return. . . hopefully alive.