I stood with everyone else gaping at the camp. It's all over, I thought to myself. This is the end of the road. Cody's hand found mine and gripped it tightly. I turned my head and saw he had already been looking at me; a look of defeat wiped across his face.

His voice was solemn as he spoke, "What do we do now?" His eyes never left mine.

"Well," Rich's twang sounded with leadership. "They're not going to open the gates with all of those infected there. So I say we stage a decoy."

My head flicked over to look at Rich. "What kind of decoy?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. I knew someone would be leaving us.

"Someone's gotta get their attention," Rich explained. He motioned with his empty hand to the gate. "And run them out of there." A slight smile spread across his lips. "Kind of like reverse herding."

"And who do you expect to do this suicide mission?" I asked with a slight arrogance. Even though Rich's practicality kept us alive half of the time, I still didn't want anyone to have to die, and that is surely what will happen.

"Would anyone like to join me?" Rich raised his eyebrows.

"No," Cody said. "You can't outrun them with your leg, you would die for sure." He took a deep breath. "I'll go."

My heart stopped and I dropped my chair leg to grasp Cody's hand with both of mine. They trembled as they held on tightly. "No.." I said pleading with him. I shook his arm trying to get him to look at me, but he only looked out towards the camp.

"The second it's clear you need to book it to the gates," Cody demanded with a deeper tone to his voice. Cody looked over at me blankly, trying to hide all of the emotion behind his eyes.

I glanced over at Rich hoping that he would stop his son from doing something so drastic. Rich's face had turned pink and his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his picture of Josie, his eyes sweeping across it.

"I'll go with him," Durbin said, grabbing all of our attention. "I need to stretch my legs anyways." He walked over to Cody and gave him a slap on the back. "I think I might be able to run a little faster than you." He winked at Cody and gave him a smile, which Cody did not return.

"You can't go," I said to Cody, panic filling my voice. "What am I supposed to do?" My voice cracked at the end and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from bursting into tears.

My eyes flicked from the camp to Cody, weighing my options. Nerves built up in my stomach and I felt my face go cold. "I'm going too." I said quietly.

Anger flashed through Cody's eyes. "No!" He yelled. "You're not coming with us!" I could see him start to break down on the inside.

I took a step closer to him so that our faces were only inches apart and looked deeply into his eyes. "I'm not just going to waltz to safety while you're out there running for your life," I said through my teeth. "I would never really feel safe while worrying constantly if you were okay. I'm going with you."

Cody's gray eyes bore into mine with such intensity he might have burned holes through them. His jaw clenched and I could hear his teeth grinding together as he tried to control himself. I could feel his pulse beat hard through the veins in his hands; I gripped them tighter.

"I'm going with you," I whispered again. I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him gently on this lips. "You can't stop me."

The shotgun cocked behind me, stopping my breath. I turned over my shoulder to see who Rich could possibly be aiming the gun at. The barrel of the shotgun was pointing straight at me. I let go of Cody's hands and raised my arms in the air as a surrender. My heart thrummed hard in my chest and I took deep breaths trying to calm it down.

"Rich," I said as calmly as possible. "What are you--"

"You ain't goin' anywhere with my boy," Rich said with malice. "I'm not gonna let him die for you."

I laid my arms back down to my side. "I never asked him to," I said keeping my voice strong.

"I don't think you have to ask him," Rich said taking a step closer to me. He still had the gun pointed right at my head. "He would die to protect you and that's not gonna happen. You're a sweet girl and I admire and respect you, but I can't let my boy die because of you." Rich's voice cracked and I saw him glance down at the photo of Josie that was still in his hand. "He's all I got left." The practical southern man broke down into sobs.

"And he's all that I have left," I said sweetly, trying to calm Rich down. "Just put the gun down Rich." I took a step forward, holding my hands out to take the gun. "You don't have to do this."

Suddenly, Rich quit crying and aimed the gun at me again. His finger went to the trigger. "Yes, I do have to do this to save my son." I saw his hand clench to pull the trigger. I closed my eyes.

"Stop!" Cody yelled. I peeked open my eyes and saw that Cody stepped in front of me. His arms bent behind him and wrapped around my body, protecting me. "What the hell are you thinking?!" Cody yelled to his father.

"Dammit Cody," Rich said with fury. "Get outta the way!"

"I'm not moving," Cody said firmly. "You're not going to kill her. Not on my watch."

"I'm sorry," Rich said with no apology in his voice. "But I can't let you be distracted by her any more. This is a life or death situation, and I don't think you understand that. You're not thinkin' right with her around. You're willing to save her over yourself."

"Because I love her," Cody said softly, begging to his father. I felt his arms tighten around me as my body fell slack.

When he spoke those words my legs felt numb and it was hard to stand. I buried my face into his back and felt his warm skin against my face. My heart wrenched. And my mind screamed 'NO!'. This could have possibly been the worst time to fall in love, knowing that either of us could die at any second. 'But that is why you have fallen so fast,' my heart argued with my mind. 'You have to live your life to the fullest, and love with all that you have in you.'

"You don't love her," Rich's deadly voice broke me out of my thoughts. "You don't even know her."

"I do know her," Cody retorted, anger rising in his tone. "Everything that's happened has made me closer to her than any regular dates would have. I know that I would do anything to save her. Isn't that what you do for people you love?" Cody's voice filled me with strength and I felt warm from my head to my toes. Rich, however, hesitated. "Mom wouldn't have wanted this.." Cody's voice trailed off and I heard a sniffle from Rich.

"Give me the gun," Cody said, dropping his arms and stepping towards his father. I peeked around Cody and saw Rich with his head slumped towards the ground, as he handed the gun over to Cody. My body relaxed and I let out a gust of air that I had been holding in.

"I'm sorry Desi," Rich said through his hands which were now covering his face.

I didn't say anything to him. I just watched him as his body heaved up and down, rocking with every sob. My heart did ache for the man, but I would never forgive him for what he just tried to do. I don't think I could find it in me to forgive anyone that has pointed a gun at me.

I glanced over at Durbin, who had his arm around Aundrea. The hatred that used to fill his eyes was gone and I could see peace washing through them. He seemed to have changed since I'd first met him, but I will never forget or forgive what he has done.

My eyes turned back to Cody who now had his arms around Rich, saying goodbye. I walked over to Aundrea and knelt down in front of her.

"You've gotta be strong for Rich," I said quietly to her. "He's really sad right now okay?"

Aundrea nodded her head and spoke for the first time in days; her voice coming out a whisper. "Are all of you leaving?"

"Yes," I placed my hands on her shoulders. "Durbin, Cody and I are going to get the infected away from the gate so that you can be safe."

Without warning she threw herself into me, wrapping her arms around my neck tightly. She was silent as she held onto me. I hugged her back and whispered that everything was going to be okay. Then she let go and turned to Durbin.

"Bye-bye Durbin," Aundrea whimpered hugging Durbin's legs. His hand reached down and patted her back. "Why do you gotta go?" She asked looking up at him.

"I have to make up for some things that I've done wrong," Durbin said and looked towards the group of infected at the bottom of the hill.

I stood up and walked back over to pick up my trusty chair leg. Cody had let go of Rich and walked over to me. "Are you ready?" He asked, setting the shotgun on the ground. He stood straight and held my face between his hands. His eyes lingered over my face as if trying to imprint it into his mind.

"Yes," I said, not quite so sure. I started to feel sick, until Cody's eyes locked with mine. "I love you too," I whispered, with a hint of a smile. "If only it didn't have to end like this." I felt my eyes prickle as tears threatened to spill over.

"Don't" Cody whispered, his thumbs lifted and wiped the tears away before they hand a chance to fall. "Please don't cry." He pulled me to him and my face nestled into his warm chest. His fingers laced into my hair, holding me as close to him as possible. We breathed in and out together, trying to savor this last peaceful moment.

When he let go of me I almost burst into tears, but I bit my lip and stayed strong. Cody picked up the shotgun and motioned for Durbin to follow us. I didn't say goodbye to Rich. I did however, give him a curt nod and quickly looked away, acknowledging him in the tiniest bit. I saw Aundrea's figure, out of the corner of my eye, walk over to Rich and grab his hand.

Cody, Durbin, and I were silent as we walked. The closer we got to the gate, the louder the snarls of the infected became. There were soldiers lined up around the inside of the perimeter, armed with guns. One man closest to the gate saw us and nudged the soldier next to him, pointing in our direction. The second soldier took a good look at us.

"Hey!" He yelled. "We can't open these gates until these infected are gone!"

We stopped walking and Cody took a step forward so that he was standing in front of Durbin and I. "Yeah," Cody yelled back. "We figured that much out!"

A few infected in the back of the group turned to snarl at Cody when they heard his voice. Before they could start running Cody cocked the shotgun and shot it into the air. The rest of the infected fell silent and turned to look at us. They were a mass of deformed men, women, and children with midnight bleeding eyes that were filled with hunger. One little boy let out a glass-shattering scream and started sprinting towards us, with the rest of them in tow behind him.