I sigh in relief as the sun begun to slowly rise, I glance at Aurei, she was a wild sleeper and she still is, her hair was still parted and in a low ponytail but her whenever she sleeps, she has a mean glare on her face, and I didn't know something like that was possible.

I stand up to see small embers inside the wood, but sadly we ate the last can of food, so we'll have to go hunting when she wakes up.

"Please tell me that you got some rest." Aurei mumbles, sitting up. She's onto me....

"A little." I lie, standing up on my feet, I felt a little hot, I gaze down at the dried blood down my arm. If I didn't get it fixed soon, I could get a quick infection.

Aurei stands up, glaring down at me.

"You're lying, I'm not a fucking kid Avery." Aurei snaps as she crosses her arms. I let out a deep sigh, she's fourteen...but hopefully when she gets older she won't become a cold hearted killer.

"Hey, we need to go hunting, stay close." I said, Aurei nods quietly then takes out her switchblade.

We creep through the woods, she looks left and right. Dad taught her how to hunt rabbit, she almost shot a
deer but it got away.

I had my revolver close to my side, and I glance over my shoulder to see Aurei creeping beside me. I look down to see dead birds.

"We don't know how they ended up like that, we shouldn't take the risk." Aurei whispers, I nod. Aurei knows a little more about hunting more than I do. We kept walking through the woods, Aurei grabs my shoulder.

"Look." She whispers, pointing at a brown hare that was eating bits of something in the grass, I grip onto the handle of Joe's old dagger, then I creep towards it, but I quickly back away when I see a roamer collaspe down and tear it's tiny body apart.

A ear peircing gunshot startles us, and the roamer that was eating the rabbit collapses to the ground with a bullet hole in its head.

"Woah, woah!" A low voice whispers, it belonged to a guy, I point my gun at the man who had his hands up, immediatley surrendering.

"Don't take a step closer." Aurei warns.

The man's eyes dart towards Aurei, he smiles as he lowers his gun. He's pretty dumb to use a gun just to kill a roamer, knowing there's more out here in the middle if the woods.

"I will shoot." I warn, noticing the deepness in my voice. I glare at the man then I feel something cold press at the back if my head.

"Try it." A high pitched voice whispers.

"Lydia!" The man shouts, glaring at the little girl behind me who was pointing the gun at the back of my head.

"No Dad, she pointed the gun first, and she'll know to never mess with us." She said. Never in my life had I wanted to slap a child in their mouth until now.

"Vice versa." Aurei shot back, I can almost see Aurei glaring at the little girl with the gun in her hands, I felt it tremble.

"Listen little girl, put the gun down. You clearly don't know how to use it." I snap, her dad stares at her with a pleading look on her face.

"Please Lydia." He begs, staring at her, I felt the girl lower her gun from my head, for one long silence I turn around to see a little girl glaring at me. She had light brown hair that went down past her shoulders, olive colored skin and she wore a beige jacket over a stained white shirt, she was skinny then I see Aurei giving her the most menacing glare she could give.

"W-we have food! Shelter!" The man stammers, walking closer to us, my eyes stay fixed on every move he makes, I've been in wrestling for a year and a half before Dad died...so if I can take on Joe and Juan...I can definitely take on this skinny little man...but I shouldn't underestimate them off the bat...

"Why should we trust you?" Aurei gets the word out before I did, we were thinking the same thing...if there's any sign of some sort of sadistic monsters then I could have them killed in a heartbeat...but then again...I couldn't bring myself to kill a little girl...but if she was bit or proven far gone...I wouldn't hesitate.

"It's just us...and my mother." The man adds, smiling at me. I purse my lips, I'm no going to prove myself gullible.

"Have you killed anyone?" I ask, staring back at him.

"N-no!! Why would you ask me that??" He asks, acting like some sort of saint.

"Answer the damn question." Aurei snaps, glaring at him. I wanted to nudge Aurei to stop grilling him...after all he was the one with a gun, anyone with a bigger brain than ego would know better than to rile up the person with a gun.

"No...if you're asking me if I kill those things...yes...but not a actual person, I could never do that." He stutters, walking towards me and grabbing my gun and unloading it, only two bullets came out of the cylinder and into his hand.

"We have ammo...you can trust us..." He reassures me, stepping closer. He holds out his hand as if he's waiting for a handshake.

"Jeffrey." He said, then he raises his eyebrows. He wants me to introduce myself.

"Avery." I said, he passes the gun back to me, I nod my head towards Aurei, but she kept her nerve, staring straight ahead. Jeffrey walks forward, motioning his hand for us to follow him.

"This way." He said, the little girl behind me jogs after her Dad. By looking at Aurei's face, she hated immature people.

Lydia looked about Aurei's age. But by judging the look on Aurei's face...they seem way different...I hope that these people are normal...but not liabilities like Cassie...again, she was annoying but she didn't deserve to die.

I dodge poison oak, Jeffrey steps towards a small, rustic house, it looks abandoned.

How can they be sure that it's safe? Yeah, it's covered in moss but we can never be too sure, maybe I can convince Jeffrey and his daughter to come with us...if they stay alive...I wouldn't kill them just for the shelter...all good things must come to an end sooner or later.

"This is it." Lydia said, gripping onto her gun. Again, I could tell that she didn't know how to use it...by the way she held it.

We step inside, the kitchen had broken coffee mugs, a corkboard full of old newspapers, and a old sofa in the back. Aurei catches up beside me. Once you've wronged Aurei pretty bad, she won't trust anyone...she'll keep to herself although she's already independent.

"You can relax, you could use the bedroom upstairs, just know that we have no electricity." Jeffrey chuckles. Aurei shrugs, forming her lips into a straight line.

"At this point, we don't need it." Aurei said firmly, walking towards the staircase. Jeffrey turns to face me, raising his eyebrows. She didn't blink an eye when she said that...I'll have to talk to her later...

"The guest room is to the left down the hall." Jeffrey informed as Aurei walks up the stairs. I sigh, grazing my fingers over my cut, I wince as the stinging sensation shot through my body, just touching it hurts like hell.

"Yeah, thanks." Aurei said calmly without looking at Jeffrey, he nods, then crosses his arms.

"You've been out there for a while, no?" Jeffrey asks, turning towards me, Lydia glares at me, pursing her lips. It gets on my nerves when children act tough and they know everything. I don't know what I'll be like if I was ever a mother....

"That's your daughter?" Jeffrey asks, Lydia turns to me.

"No, she's my sister." I corrected him, Lydia rolls her eyes.

"She seems mean, I don't like her." Lydia said, crossing her arms and glaring up the stairs.

Knowing Aurei, she knows the basics of hunting...unlike Lydia...but she didn't know what Aurei went through...there are days when Aurei is so mature that I forget that she's still a girl....But like it or not...I will teach her how to use a gun.

Jeffrey glares at Lydia, he purses his lips as his green eyes peirced through hers, just by looking...Lydia isn't as tough as she seems...but I won't say anything...this is a father-child situation.

"What? She acts tough but she's just nothing but dead weight-" Before Lydia could finish her rant I give her the meanest glare I could give her. Aurei may be a little annoying but she's way mature than this little girl and she had no right to talk about my little sister like that.

"Don't talk about my little sister like that." I said grimly. But I back down, if she was older I would've kept lashing out at her, but her father was here.

"Lydia! I never raised you to be this way! Go to your room now!" Jeffrey said quickly and pointing upstairs. Lydia grits her teeth, avoiding eye-contact with him.

"And hand me my gun. What was I thinking of letting you hold it when you don't know how to handle a weapon." He said sternly, Lydia hands him the gun then jogs up the stairs.

"I'm sorry...Lydia has been like that since this whole disease thing started." Jeffrey said apologetically, he places the gun onto the table then he looks down at my bloody arm.

"I have bandages, and extra things in a first aid kit upstairs in the bathroom. I'll make sure this place is secure from the biters." Jeffrey adds, walking back outside the door.

I nod and start walking up the stairs, towards the open door revealing teal-colored tiles. I stop dead in my tracks when I hear groaning coming from the bedroom. I grab my gun, pressing my ear against it. I heard brief moans then I quickly pull away when I hear one of the doors open.

"What are you doing?" Aurei asks, walking up towards me. I curse myself for doubting Aurei's maturity level when it came to the most serious events.

"You're checking the place." Aurei said with a shrug, looking at me with the most unreadable look on her face.

"Do what you have to, if it doesn't seem safe, we get the hell out of here." Aurei whispers, knitting her eyebrows at me.

"Language." I warn.

"Avery, that's the least of worries in a world like this." Avery adds, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms, staring straight ahead.

That's true. A world full of psychopaths, murders, rapist and emotionless survivors...and the only thing I worry about is her tone. To be fair, your tone can get you killed. Never rile up the person with the gun.

I walk into the bathroom, the sink had spilled toothpaste and tarnished pennies. I look down at some towels covered in dried blood.

I open the small cabinet, only morphine was there, alcohol, peroxide and a couple boxes of insulin

"Avery." Aurei calls, I turn around to see her holding the first aid kit in her hand, I smirk as she her face hardens. She wants to clean and bandage my cut.

"I don't have a say do I?" I ask quietly, looking down at her, she furrows her eyebrows at me like Mom used to whenever I swore at the dinner table.

"No, you really don't." Aurei adds, pushing me towards the closed toilet. She opens the first aid kit then grabs the alcohol that was in the cabinet.

She's slowly changing...usually people would say that children adapt better to certain changes in life...and for one thing...they're right.