As I stepped inside, to see a woman giggling, singing.

This must be Joe's wife, Bianca.

Aurei gets shoved behind me, causing both of us to fall to the ground.

"Both of you can share a room, and you'll get some food tomorrow." Joe said.

"Jaun bring them in their room, don't forget to lock it." Joe warns.

Jaun leads me into the room with Aurei, it had a mattress, and a radio, it had no windows so we couldn't climb out, and it was pretty cold.

Aurei sits on the mattress, before Jaun closes the door, I spot an hatchet against the wall.

As we heard the door lock, Aurei held her head in her hands.

I walked over to her, sitting down beside her and putting my arm around her shoulder.

"I'm okay." Aurei said, looking down.

"I know you better than that." I argue, looking her in the eyes.

"Just scared." She admits, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Don't be, you have to be strong. Even when you feel like you're about to piss your pants...don't show it to them, because you're not vulnerable." I said, looking down.

"We gotta get out of here." Aurei whispers.

"And we will, but you can't panic." I said as I stood up.

"I wish Dad was here..." Aurei mutters, curling herself into a ball.

Soon as she said that, I grew silent. Dad taught me ways to survive out in the woods.

"Just get some rest Aurei, God knows that you need it." I mutter, sauntering close to the door, pressing my ear against it.

"Your wife isn't right Joe." A familiar edgy voice said calmly.

"Bianca is fine, she's just a little nuts but she's not crazy Adam." I heard Joe protest.

"Sorry Joe...I'm just-"

"Shut the fuck up Adam! Go to sleep, we have a big day in the morning..." Joe

Bianca...no wonder she was dancing as if she was drunk...she's gone.

Dad always said that once a person loses everything...they would put it all on theirselves and lose it...once they do they are far gone....

Even though I'm not a huge femnist, Joe was heavily against women and how they fight. Although Joe lost a son, and his wife....for that, I pity him.

But these men were sexist, if I would, I would kill Bianca and make them follow us and become roamer bait.

But I had to watch Aurei, whatever I do she does later on...

Monkey see, monkey do...to follow my drift.

Like when I started swearing, she did too. I started to cry less, and so did she. Aurei can go from a annoying little sister to a quiet, very mature girl, and she did.

But it was only for her to live, to keep her blood running, to avoid looking vulnerable.

Even though we're not going to escape just yet...it's impossible right now.

Like Dad said, sometimes he would have to cleanse the neighborhood. He meant that he would have to put people down. End them. Because the world has failed them.

I've went hunting numerous of times, sometimes with Aurei, although I would forget keeping a close eye on her. But now, more than ever, she needs to stay within my sight, she needs to listen.

I regret slapping her, but it had to be done. If I didn't she would've panicked until she had a athsma attack.

It happens so many times, when he panicks, she hyperventilates, then she struggles to breathe and I have to do what I have to do

Never in my life had I panicked,  only during Dad's trip to the hospital.

He's was a good man, ever since he got shot our uncle stayed with us.

But our uncle was from the military. So whenever I lose hope, he would yell right in my face to get a grip.

After that, I was never the same. To me its a good thing, I wouldn't cry, I'll just stay quiet. But often, I tell myself to never do that around Aurei.

Because if you live with violence, you learn hostility and fear.

But I'm seen as the stern one, a heartless woman, mouthy.

I honestly don't really care how people see me.

It's Aurei I'm worried about, she's still a kid behind that poker face of hers.

But now the undead broke out and that inner child of hers vanished. But like I said, it's for her own good.

If we get out of this, hopefully I'll be a better sister.

I walk back to the mattress, laying down beside Aurei, turning away.

Soon, my eyelids grew heavy and I begun to drift to sleep.

———––——–––––—————–––——–

The door opens, loud enough to wake me up.

"Wake up. Fall back asleep and watch what happens." Juan warns us.

I shake Aurei, glaring at Juan.

Aurei sits up, rubbing her eyes, staring at me then her eyes dart to Juan.

I slowly got up from the mattress, then saunter towards Juan. Joe walks up behind him, whispering something in his ear.

"Walk." Juan orders, pressing a gun behind my back as Joe grabs the back of Aurei's neck, she does nothing but stare straight ahead.

Juan leads me outside, there were no roamers at sight, he shoves me into the van. Again, I was welcomed by the smell of cigarettes and whiskey.

Next, Aurei was pushed inside, she scurries onto her feet and sits next to me, looking straight ahead.

Joe sits in front, Adam in the passenger's seat and Juan sits next to us.

Soon as Joe starts the car, Juan puts a gun next to my temple, but I do the same thing Aurei is doing. Stare ahead.

She usually does that to prove she's not afraid. How she wasn't vulnerable.

Joe starts to drive down the faded road as I look around. Between Joe and Adam, they had the hatchet.

Whever they were taking us, we weren't going to like it. But if they were planning to kill us, it would've been already done.

As Joe passes streets full of the undead, their skin decaying, and one had it's jaw ripped off.

But Joe drove past them, then down the street, there was a grocery store up ahead.

Joe turns left, pulling into the parking lot. There were a couple of roamers staggering around.

Juan forces us out of the van, then Joe walks up towards me, with the hatchet in his hands.

"You and your little sister are gonna go in there, and you're gonna grab us some more canned food, you come out alive we won't kill you." Joe said, blowing smoke in my face.

"It would be easier if I had a gun." I shot back.

"I don't trust you just yet, now go." Joe said as he pushes me forward.

"Can I just go? Aurei can stay." I asked.

That would mean if I died, they'll kill her, and if she did come with me she would almost get eaten alive by roamers or bit....

"The more the merrier Avery, she's going with you." Joe said, staring at me with his cold, grey eyes.

I nod, running to the grocery store as Joe and his men put down the roamers that started to limp after us.

Roamers are surprisingly slow...but when they pack, it becomes deadly. So there is no advantage.

I slowly open the door, wincing as Aurei crept up behind me.

"Stay close." I warn, then slowly walked past the room where all the shopping carts were.

They were all bunched together, some were even on the floor, whatever happened...must have been great chaos.

The gunshots grew louder, then my heart skips a beat when I hear the groans of the undead.

Aurei crouched down, crawling past the spilled food all over the floor. I grip onto the hatchet...furrowing my eyebrows.

The roamers begun to stagger down the aisles. My feet cramped as I crouched down and started grabbing everything, using a basket that I found on the floor.

Aurei does the same, grabbing cans of peaches, more beans, corn. I started to grab bottles of whiskey.

My stomach does a flip when I hear glass smash against the floor, I quickly glare at Aurei who stares down at the cracked glass.

"Shit!" Aurei hisses, quickly grabbing more bottles of beer, then she hurries towards the section where the dried meat were.

I hurry after her as I hear the roamers moan louder, carrying the basket of goodies in my hand.

A roamer, about five feet tall topples over Aurei, she gives out a short yelp as the roamer tries to bite into her flesh.

Then I begun to see red, not blood. But  my hands grew sweaty as my heartbeat grew louder, I grunt as I run towards the roamer weilding my hatchet in the air.

With one powerful swing I hack into the roamer's skull, he sill growls as he tries to reach Aurei's stomach. I grit my teeth, giving another swing.

These weren't people, they're corpses that prey on the living, and I had to kill them all to stay alive.

I weild the hatchet into it's skull, which was pretty thick, the blood begun to get across my face but I didn't care.

I put my foot to it's neck, pulling the hatchet out with all my strength, the blood getting all over Aurei, but her eyes were fixed on me.

I pull her up, I didn't say anything but more roamers came our way, they had their hands out towards us.

Aurei grabs the baskets, running behind me. I wield the hatchet across a roamer's skull, halfway decapitating it.

Then a roamer grabs ahold of my arm, pulling it closer to it's mouth as it tries to bite into my flesh but I whirl the hatchet into it's skull, kicking it into the shelf.

I run slamming a shopping cart at the group of roamers, then I dart down the aisle, then I shove a roamer over to the side, running down towards the center, and through the door.

Aurei grabs another can as we run towards the door.

I push it open, waiting until Aurei runs past me. Then I walk outside, I wanted to kill Joe for putting my sister's life in danger.

"Woah shit! What happened to you?!" Joe yells.

Any man would think it's impossible for a woman to come put out walkers. But in general, it's impossible for one person to get out alive, but I only killed four roamers.

Aurei shoves the two baskets into Adam's hands then glares at Joe.

"This bitch is covered in blood!" Joe howls.

My nose twitches, he enjoyed seeing me fight for our lives, I had no time to think, I just killed the ones that were close.

No confidence, no fear, no sympathy. I felt nothing after I took on those corpses that used to be people I went to school with, waved at as I passed their house, argued about who deserved the last turkey on Thanksgiving. They weren't those people anymore.

But that feeling I had, it wasn't adreline rush, nor some moment where I'm immediatley badass and could kill everything so skillfully.

In fact, I killed the roamers so sloppily, but as long as they're down, I'm not worried about it.

"Avery." Aurei tries to stop and hug me but I kept walking, violently shrugging Aurei's hands off.

I never wanted to treat her like that. But I'm angry, so angry that I could kill Joe by strangling him until he turns to the dark shade of blue and dies.

Joe smirks at me, then forced us back in the van, this time Adam sat next to us, then he presses his gun next to my temple.

"Avery, I didn't know you had it in you. But you looked so careless, you're not like the other women." Joe praises.

And I'm not like your wife, Bianca.

Joe starts to drive out of the parking lot, Juan shooting at the nearby roamers, his aim was sloppy and he's wasting ammo. If anyone should be killed by Joe it should be him.

Aurei glimpses at me, I nod but still continued to stare straight ahead, and so did she.

When I see Aurei get into a life-death situation, I'm pretty reckless; sloppy with everything, but I don't immediatley hurt everything in my path, only the ones who are threats that were close to me or Aurei.

I never killed anyone, but while I was dating an asshole of a boyfriend, I used to get into pointless fights, and win most of them. Girls would either hate me or pity me.

But now it's different, even if my life is at risk....Aurei always come first. No matter how everyone thinks I'm a heartless woman who is capable of killing everyone in her path.

If my sister's life is at risk, I'll kill anything that causes it or gets in the way.

But even before that. I need to keep my humanity.

And I needed to deal with Joe.