(A/N:) Oh my god

I'm back lmao- It's finals week and you might be asking- "Why are you updating on finals week like da fuq?" but honestly- I'm finding that since testing periods are 2 hours long- I have a bit of down time plus summer starts after this friday so why not get a headstart, amirite?

I'm sure you're all excited so lets just get right into it shall we?
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3rd POV:

The lyrical chirp of birds roused Craig from his sleep and he let out a small groan, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself up off the forest floor. Somewhat agitated, he wiped away straggling pine needles that clung to his dirty shirt. "Morning," A sleep heavy voice said from behind him, catching him off guard.

Craig glanced over his shoulder to see Tyler sitting up against a tree, his eyes red as if he hadn't blinked in hours. "Good morning," Craig replied with a sigh and walked over to him, looking down at his slack form. "You look like shit," Craig laughed, earning a barely noticeable smile from the exhausted male.

"I got stuck with fire duty," He stated, motioning to a pile of grey and black charred ashes that lied in the middle of the clearing. There was a moment of silence before Craig began to squint at Tyler, crouching down beside him. "What? Did I say something?" Tyler asked, sitting up slightly.

Craig tilted his head a bit to look at the side of Tyler's stubbly cheek. "You have blood on your face..." He licked his thumb and started to run it over the red stained skin in an attempt to wipe it away. "Are you okay?"

"Pft-" Tyler scoffed with annoyance and pushed Craig's hand away from his face, standing up and dusting off his jeans. "Thanks mom," he sneered with sarcasm, "but I'm fine- we just had some 'visitors' last night." Tyler motioned with his thumb to several rotting corpses laying on the outskirt of the clearing.

"How come you didn't wake any of us?" Craig furrowed his brows as he looked down at the limp and lifeless bodies that leaked blood out onto the patchy, leaf covered ground.

Tyler rolled his shoulders, "I had it under control." His gaze flickered away from the ground and Craig followed his line of sight to where Jon and Evan were resting soundly side by side.

"If you say so," Craig simply said, examining the sleeping form of his best friend. He looked peaceful, something that Craig hadn't seen in a long, long time. He understood now why Tyler wouldn't want to wake them and he smiled softly.

"What's got you all happy?" Tyler grumbled as he started flex, huffing as his sore muscles were slowly stretched out.

"Hm, it's nothing." Craig said with a slight shake of his head. "Anyways," he stated as he picked he backpack up and slung it over his shoulder, "We should wake them and hit the road. Food doesn't just grow on tree's you know."

Tyler couldn't help but laugh at this, "Uh," he started with an almost inaudible wheeze, "Actually, food does grow on trees. It's called fucking fruit.." The tall man chuckled, teasing Craig for his choice of metaphor.

Craig huffed, adjusting the straps of his backpack, "You're a fucking fruit, leave me alone." He pouted and Tyler mentally compared him to an angry looking boy scout. The curly haired male turned away from his playful tormentor and crouched down beside Jonathan who was slumped against a tree, snoring as if he was having the best sleep of his life. "Jon-" he started, no response, "JON!" Craig exclaimed firmly in his ear and with a start, the sleeping male practically jumped back to life.

"What the hell!" Jon yelped in surprise, looking around with wide blue eyes. With a few deep breaths, Jon realized what was happening and smacked Craig's arm, who was holding in a laugh at his best friend's amusing reaction. "I coulda killed you!" Jon massaged his forehead in annoyance and passing sleep.

A slight grumbling silenced Craig and Jon's bickering."What's going on?" Evan's groggy voice broke the air and Jon twisted his head to look at him.

As he turned, he came face to face with the Asian male, their noses just barely brushing. With an internal yelp of embarrassment, the North Carolinian sprung to his feet and gathered his stuff. "Well, we should really get going."

Evan, who looked tired and baffled, shrugged off Jon's reaction, running a hand through his messy black quof and rubbing his sleep filled eyes. "Whatever you say." He grumbled, pushing himself to his feet with a grunt of soreness.

Craig and Tyler stood side by side, watching the seemingly flustered Jon and completely unaware Evan as they got ready to head out, laughing the entire time. "Honestly," Craig began, adjusting his glasses, "They're hopeless."

"Agreed." Tyler nodded firmly. With that, the group of four was ready to move on, each of them hopeful, yet weary as to what Ridgefield would offer them, weather it be food.... or an untimely demise. With a silent understanding, they began to tread through the forest, Craig taking the lead as they broke through the tree line and stepped onto the road. The sun overhead reflected off the pavement, casting a grey glow over the nearly golden morning. Everything felt at ease, but something within Jon was telling him that the atmosphere was off.

"Craig-" He stated, jogging slightly to catch up to his best friend, who was walking a bit further ahead than the rest of the group. "Craig." He said again when no reply came.

As if he was under a spell, Craig seemed to wake from a daze and glance up at Jon. "What?" He asked.

Craig had a content expression on his face, but the glint in his grey-blue eyes gave away that he was conflicted about something. "You know it's not too late to turn around." Jon uttered, placing a comforting hand on Craig's shoulder blade.

Realizing what Jon was referencing, the typically happy man's demeanor faltered and he looked back at the vast expanse of road before them. Rather than give a response, he glanced over his shoulder at Tyler and Evan, who were walking a ways back, chatting about something mundane like the weather or the odds that they'd run into a hoard some time soon. Sighing, Craig fixated a stern gaze ahead. "I'll be fine, and besides, we don't really have a choice. We're going to starve if we don't."

With the mention of starvation, Jon's stomach let out a bellowing howl of emptiness and despair. He certainly couldn't deny that they needed food- but at what price? Hesitantly, he nodded, "Only if you're sure... but remember, I'm here for you."

Craig looked up at his friend who was giving him a reassuring smile. The curly haired man couldn't stop himself from smiling back, their eyes meeting in a moment of understanding, before Craig looked forward once more, this time his expression eager and relaxed rather than skeptical and angsty. With an appreciative chuckle, Craig answered, "I know."

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(A/N:) I got BIG plans for the next chapter- it's gonna be HUGE and BEAUTIFUL.

Wowie

Thanks for reading and have a great day~ 😍