The first broadcast that announced the zombie apocalypse went something like this:

Due to a number of incidents involving people becoming violent and biting others, the authorities have issued a nation wide request for civilians to report any suspicious behavior to your local police station. If you or someone you know have any information, please call this number

The second one came a few days later. It was much more serious than the first, and it announced that a pandemic had broken loose across the country. This was the first public announcement about the virus.

The government of the United States of America has officially declared our country under the siege of a viral outbreak. Civilians are advised to stay indoors until further instructions. The following symptoms are a sign that someone is or could be infected with the virus: Excessive sweating, high fever, abnormally pale skin/grayish-green, white film developing over eyes, loss of speech, has died but suddenly came back to life

The third and final broadcast was short and sweet, ending radio updates on the outbreak.

God save us all

Radios were mainly silent these days apart from the rare broadcast from people trying to get in contact with other groups but getting a decent signal was even more rare. Alec only ever heard one broadcast in the six years he'd been surviving and it was a brief announcement that the world was gone to shit therefore there were no rules anymore.

"There's got to be rules," Alec had said to his family back in Alicante. "Otherwise we'd be living in chaos."

Both Magnus and Alec made sure there were rules around the farm for the kids to follow. Though Kit and Madzie mostly had free range on the land, the rules were mainly put in place to protect them from getting hurt.

"So where are you originally from?" Magnus asked as both he and Kit began to chop some wood.

"Originally from? Like where was I born and living before the apocalypse?" Kit asked.

Magnus shrugged. "Doesn't matter which. You can tell me whatever you feel like telling me."

Kit let his axe swing down onto a slab of wood. "I don't remember much. I was 8 when things went down but I do remember being in Los Angeles at one point. Whether it was before or after, I can't remember."

"Los Angeles?" Magnus whistled. "You're a long way from LA, kid. That's practically on the other side of the world in teen terms."

Kit gave him a look. "I'm not one of those gullible teens you're probably used to seeing and being around. I know LA is on the other side of the country. Not the other side of the world."

Magnus raised a hand in surrender. "I apologize. You seem like a smart kid. Maybe things really have changed in adolescents these days."

This was a topic Kit wanted to avoid completely so he quickly chopped another piece of wood to change the conversation. "Yeah. Maybe-listen. Where does Alec go most days anyway? He's always gone when I wake up in the morning."

For the last week since the kids showed up, Alec had been going out on scavenges to see if he could find anything fitting for them; clothes, toys, books. Basically anything that would make them feel more at home and more comfortable. Only Magnus was up early enough in the morning to know what he was doing and where he was going. Or so he thought.

"Alec," Magnus grunted as he let his ax slam into a chunk of wood, "is out looking for stuff for you guys. He's been doing this for a week now."

Kit scrunched his face. "Stuff? What kind of stuff?"

"You know. Stuff to help make you guys feel at home here. Clothes. Toys for Madzie. Maybe some books for you-oh and definitely a new pair of shoes. You're definitely not my size shoe."

Kit looked down at his feet. "These were the boots given to me at the last place."

Magnus nodded. "And you'll be getting a new pair soon enough. We just have to wait and see what Alec brings back from his scavenger hunt."

Over in the barn, Madzie was sitting down on a haystack while coloring in a coloring book that Alec managed to find for her. She didn't mind that she only had a few crayons, even if they were mostly the color blue. She loved everything that Alec brought home to her mainly because he was the one who took care of her and Kit now.

"Hey Mads. What are you coloring over there?"

Madzie looked up at the sound of Kit's weird voice. "I'm coloring a frog. I don't have the right green though..."

Kit shrugged. "Make it blue. I'm sure there's blue frogs out there somewhere. Just use your imagination."

Just use your imagination. He'd always tell her this when he didn't want to continue talking to her or explain something. Madzie just huffed and went back to coloring again.

"Did you know," Magnus suddenly appeared by her side, "some species of frogs have red stripes on them?"

Madzie looked up at him. "What's a species?"

Magnus smiled softly. "Species means a type of something. So when I say a species of frog I mean a type of frog."

Madzie nodded. "Is it a tiger frog? If it has stripes?"

A laugh escaped Magnus. "I don't think so. This type of frog has stripes because it's poisonous. The red stripes is a warning to other animals that it can hurt them if it wanted to."

Madzie shut her coloring book with forgotten interest in her artwork. "Can you find any here, Magnus? Striped frogs?"

"I'm afraid not, button. They live somewhere else in the world. But!" He leaned in and gently tapped the tip of her nose with a finger. "You can catch normal, not poisonous frogs here on the farm sometimes. We just have to wait for a rainy day."

She giggled and raced away back towards the house, almost bumping into Kit on the way out. He shifted to the side so that she wouldn't collide into him, exclaiming in surprise.

"Eyes up when you run, Madzie! You need to watch where you're going!" He called out but it fell on deaf ears as his sister took off to the porch. "Was anything you said to her true?"

Magnus looked up from the bucket of water that he was cleaning his face with. "About what?"

"The frogs and stuff. I don't want you filling her head with crap that isn't true."

Magnus straightened his back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I've been on this earth much longer than you have, Kit. I think I know what I'm talking about. Plus I wouldn't fill her head with 'crap that isn't true'. I have no reason to."

Before Kit could retort, Madzie yelled "Alec's back!" from the porch step. He turned and saw Alec coming towards them with a full looking backpack, with Madzie and Blue Bell close at his heels.

"I went into town," he told Magnus. "So before you start yelling at me for going in without backup, let me just say that it was pretty quiet for the most part. Only encountered three dead Forsaken and that was on the way out."

Madzie tugged on his coat with a hand. "What did you bring back? Did you find any toys?"

Alec smiled down at her. "As a matter of fact, I did. They're a little old but they should still serve their purpose."

He opened his backpack and pulled out a couple of dolls. They were Barbie dolls, Magnus knew that much, and they were still inside their packages. Untouched by child hands.

"What are these?" Madzie asked. She inspected the boxes carefully even though she couldn't read what they said.

"Um," Alec cleared his throat. "They're called dolls. You can brush their hair and play pretend with them. You can even change their clothes if you wanted to."

Madzie looked at the dolls one final time before shrugging and opening them up. She seemed content with how they looked and felt so she was soon racing back towards the porch to start playing with them.

"As for you," Alec said to Kit. "I got you some clothes-same with Madzie. Plus I got you a few books too. Not sure if you'll like them or not but it doesn't hurt to take a look at them anyway."

Kit took the couple of books that Alec removed from his bag. "Thanks. I'm not much of a reader but I'm too old to be playing with toys. So books are the only thing that helps pass the time."

Magnus let out a grunt of disagreement. "Nonsense. Though I love books, there are lots of ways to pass time. Alec here can teach you to use a weapon if you wanted. I think he's old enough to handle himself. Don't you agree, Alexander?"

Kit turned to Alec, glee on his face. "Seriously? You'll let me use a gun?!"

"Maybe not a gun. A knife or maybe even a bow. But not a gun. Absolutely not." Alec saw the look on Magnus' face and sighed. "What? He might hurt himself!"

"Max was younger than him when he used a gun," Magnus pointed out, his voice soft. "He saved you once. Remember?"

Alec did remember. It was when they were escaping the horde in Alicante. He was struggling to get over the fence and a Forsaken had grabbed his ankle when a gun went off. Turns out his baby brother Max had shot the zombie in the head and it freed Alec from its grip.

Sighing, Alec waved a hand. "Fine. Maybe we'll work our way up to guns. But for now we'll stick with non-reloadables."

Kit raised an eyebrow. "Don't you technically have to reload your bow each time? Those arrows don't just shoot themselves."

Magnus made a face. "Smartass. Go over to your sister before I notch you onto a bow and fire you into the sky." He watched as Kit just smirked and did as he was told, making his way over to where Madzie was playing with her dolls on the porch. "Kids these days. They think they know it all."

"At least we know one thing hasn't changed," Alec pointed out. "Max used to be the same way. Thought he knew it all."

Magnus chuckled. "I remember that. I miss the little guy even if he did draw a gun on me when we first met."

Alec smiled. "I remember that too. He was so proud of himself that day."

Magnus laid a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "As should you. He was a good kid. Takes after his brother I suppose."

An angry howl from Madzie made both men look towards the porch. Madzie was hitting Kit over the head with a doll while yelling at him. Kit looked unimpressed but took the beating nonetheless.

"They're my dolls! You can't have them!" Madzie yelled at the top of her tiny lungs.

"I didn't say I-ow!" Kit covered an eye with a hand as the foot of the doll poked him. "I didn't say I did! I just wanted to look at it!"

Alec sighed and made his way over to the kids. "Hey now. What's going on here?"

Madzie pointed at her brother. "Kit tried to take my doll!"

Kit pointed at Madzie. "No I didn't! Dolls are for girls anyway!"

Alec snatched Madzie up in his arms before she could pounce on Kit. "Okay. That's enough from the two of you. Madzie, Kit only wanted to look at your dolls. Kit, you need to ask before you just take things that aren't yours."

"Also," Magnus chimed in, "dolls are for anyone who's interested in them. Not just girls. I had a few myself when I was a child. They're good for the imagination."

Alec nodded. "Magnus is right. Now apologize to Madzie please."

Kit grumbled something under his breath. "Fine. Sorry, Mads."

Madzie gave him a final smack on the head with her doll. "It's okay. Did you still wanna play with me?"

Glancing from Alec to Magnus, Kit sighed heavily and nodded. "Sure. Why not."

Alec set Madzie down. She immediately kneeled next to Kit and began to explain to him who the dolls were and what they did for a living and he couldn't help but smile at them as they played together.

"Father of the year," Magnus whispered in his ear. "That was some excellent parenting skills there, handsome."

"Please," Alec snorted. "That's just years of scorning Max for not being nice to the other kids kicking in again. I'm not a parent."

Magnus winked. "Not yet, anyway."

They put Madzie to bed later that night around 8:30. Kit stayed up in his room reading his new books by the candlelight, so Alec decided to read to Madzie before she went to sleep.

"Which one would you like me to read?" He asked her once she was under the covers.

She scanned the three books he held out to her and picked one out. "This one."

Alec smiled broadly at her choice. "Dr. Seuss? Good choice. You'll like this one. It has lots of silly rhymes in it."

So he began to read to her. She was cuddled up beside him on the bed, head resting against his chest, occasionally giggling at something he read out loud or asking a question about a word she didn't know. Halfway through the story, Alec draped an arm around her small shoulders which only made her cuddle into him even more.

Magnus stood in the doorway, listening to Alec's deep voice caress every word as he read them off their pages. He always did love Alec's voice; whether he was merely talking about his hunting trip or even now as he read a book aloud to Madzie, it was a voice that he would always remember and never forget.

"....you're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way."

With the book now finished , Alec closed it with a hand before placing it on the table beside the bed. "Did you enjoy that story?"

Madzie nodded. "One more!"

Magnus chuckled from the doorway. "Maybe tomorrow, sweet pea. We can read all the books you want and we'll visit all the fantastical places the pages have to offer us. For now you need sleep. That means you too, Kit!"

From his room, Kit groaned. "One more chapter!"

Alec grinned as Magnus rolled his eyes. "Alright! One more chapter and then it's lights out-and don't forget to blow out the candle when you're done! We don't need you burning down the house with us inside it."

"So you're saying I can burn the house down when we're not inside it?" The teenager called back.

"Boy, do you want a roof over your head or not?" Magnus snapped.

A pause. "Yes."

Madzie giggled from her bed as Alec rolled his eyes and tucked her in. "Can we read tomorrow after breakfast?"

"We absolutely can. We can even sit outside and read if it's not too cold. How does that sound?" Alec tapped the tip of her nose with a finger and laughed. "Sweet dreams, button."

She waved as they made their way towards the door. "See you later alligator."

Magnus made a chomping motion with his hands and fingers. "After a while crocodile."

Kit's candle was out when they walked by his room. When Alec shone a flashlight in at him, both he and Magnus saw that the teen was passed out on his bed, mouth open with his book on his chest.

"That didn't take long," Magnus whispered.

"He had a long day chopping wood with you. He's probably exhausted." Alec left the door open about an inch or two before tiptoeing behind Magnus downstairs. "I've had a long day myself. If only someone could massage my shoulders...."

Magnus almost leaned into the kiss when he suddenly pulled away and cleared his throat. "Not right now."

Alec cocked his head. "What's wrong?"

Magnus pointed to the stairs. "The kids are just upstairs."

Alec sighed, annoyed that the kids were in fact upstairs. "So I can't kiss my boyfriend?"

Magnus laughed softly and cupped Alec's face. "Oh you know how we get. Tomorrow, okay? I promise."

Alec huffed. "Tomorrow. And I'm holding you to that promise."

----------

It was sunny the next day. As promised, Alec read another book to Madzie. It was another Dr Seuss story, which she really seemed to like, and he read that one twice to her while Kit and Magnus tended to the animals.

"So. You like Dr Seuss?" Alec asked Madzie when they finished the book a second time.

She nodded. "He's funny and he rhymes."

Alec smiled. He was about to take out another book when the loud rumble of an engine grabbed his attention. Leaning to the left on the porch swing to look past the side of the house, he saw a dark green pickup truck slowly making its way down the driveway.

"Madzie!" Kit exclaimed. He made his way up the porch, scooped his sister up in his arms and raced into the house before Alec even had a chance to ask what was wrong.

Magnus saw the truck too. He was in the barn brushing their horse, Daffodil, when he heard the engine. It sounded like a person wheezing for air; definitely a sound he'd never forget.

A man climbed out once the truck stopped moving. He was tall and slim, with long hair tied back into a ponytail. He smiled once he saw Magnus in the barn, waving to show how friendly he was.

"Hello there! Sorry to bother you but I'm from a few counties over and I'm looking for my kids. Have you seen them?" He asked.

Alec felt his heart leap into his throat. He swallowed before answering the stranger. "And who might you be?"

The stranger bowed. "Sorry. Got ahead of myself there. I'm Lorenzo Rey. I own a produce farm a little ways away. Nice to meet you."

Magnus was hesitant about shaking Lorenzo's hand but did so eventually. "Magnus. And this my boyfriend Alec."

Lorenzo nodded. "Magnus. Alec. Pleasure. As I said, I don't mean to bother you. My kids went missing about a week ago and I haven't seen them since. You wouldn't mind if I came inside for a bit? It was a long drive and I wouldn't mind a drink to quench my thirst."

At the mention of kids, Magnus crossed his arms over his chest. "We haven't seen any kids in over a year."

Beside him, Blue Bell rumbled a low growl while baring her sharp canines. Alec rarely saw her as threatening as she was now; the only time he ever saw her reveal her teeth was when she smiling.

Lorenzo looked past Magnus' shoulder towards the backyard. "Haven't seen any children in over a year, you say? Then why is my girl's jacket hung up on your clothesline?"

Things suddenly moved so quickly that Alec almost didn't have time to react. Lorenzo had taken out a knife from his pocket and brandished it, making a move to stab Magnus. But Alec stepped in between them and raised his arms to stop the knife from bearing down onto Magnus. The knife tore open the skin on his forearm, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Magnus! Get the kids and get out of here!" He grunted in exertion while trying to fight off Lorenzo.

"What about you?!" Magnus yelled over the ruckus of the fight as well as Blue's frenzied barking.

Alec punched his attacker in the stomach. "I'll catch up! Just go to the rendezvous point!"

Magnus nodded and raced inside the house. The kids were nowhere to be seen so he immediately checked the upstairs bedrooms. Kit's room was empty, so he checked Madzie's. When he made it to the doorway he was met with the sound of a gun clicking.

Magnus froze. Kit froze too and looked apologetic as he realized that it was only Magnus in the doorway so he put the gun down. Madzie ran into Magnus' arms, tears streaming down her face.

"It's him. Isn't it?" Kit rasped. "Outside. I recognized the sound of his truck when he pulled up."

Magnus nodded. "It's him. Alec's outside now trying to fight him off so that gives us enough time to make a run for it to the meet up point. Do you think you can do that?"

Kit nodded. "Yeah. I can do that."

"Good. Now take your sister and run to the rendezvous. I'll be right behind you. Don't look back."

"You're not coming with us?!" Kit exclaimed over his shoulder as Magnus pushed him towards the stairs.

"Don't worry about me. Just get your sister out of here. You hang on to your brother, Madzie. Don't let go of him."

Madzie nodded as Kit picked her up into his arms.

"Okay. Go. Now!" Magnus gave them a shove. Kit raced downstairs and from the bedroom window, Magnus could see Kit take off towards the woods as fast as he could with Madzie in his arms.

He grabbed their emergency bags that both he and Alec packed a week ago with the essentials such as food, water, clothes. They were thoughtfully put together because Alec strongly believed that the man who held the kids captive would come looking for them eventually. Over the course of the year and a half that they've been together, Magnus learned that if Alec had a gut feeling about something, he had to go with it because it was usually right.

Once the bags were grabbed, he made his way towards the woods without looking back over his shoulder where Alec was still outside fighting Lorenzo. He could hear cries of pain, which sounded oddly like Alec's, but didn't dare look back.

Kit jumped in fright when Magnus ran towards them. "Magnus? Where's Alec? Is he okay?"

Magnus gulped down as much air as he could before answering. "He's fine. He's just...getting a few extra things before we leave."

Madzie wiped her tear stained eyes. "Why are we leaving the farm? Why can't we stay?"

Magnus offered her a comforting smile. "It's not safe there for us right now, sweetie. But don't worry about the animals. The barn doors are open so they can go where they please."

Madzie nodded but said nothing more.

Twigs cracked close to where they were hidden in the brush. Magnus immediately raised his gun, poised to shoot, but relaxed when he saw it was only Alec. "Alexander. Jesus, you scared us."

Alec stumbled towards them. He didn't look too good; there was a cut on his forehead and his face had seen better days. His arm also looked like it was soaked in blood.

"Alec!" Madzie yelled. "Are you okay?"

Alec chuckled and nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay. Most of this blood isn't mine. My arm is bleeding but that can be easily bandaged."

Magnus cupped his neck and kissed him fervently. "I'm glad you're okay. Remind me to take a look at your wounds later once were far enough away from here."

Kit glanced past Alec towards the house. "What did you do to him?"

Alec looked at Kit. "Lorenzo? Don't....don't worry about him. He's been taken care of."

Magnus gathered Madzie in his arms when she tugged on his sleeve to be picked up. "You're safe now, sweet pea. You both are."

For the first time it felt like Kit could finally breathe. "Thank you. Both of you. What you did for us....you didn't have to do but you did anyway. Why?"

Magnus glanced at Alec. "We're a family now. Family takes care of family. Right?"

Blue Bell barked enthusiastically, causing the little group to laugh at her antics.

"Alright. Let's get the hell out of here before things get worse. Do you guys have everything you need from the house?" When the kids nodded, Alec ruffled Kit's hair affectionately. "Good. Because we could be out in the wild for a while. What's our motto?"

At the same time, Kit and Madzie said "No place is safe. Only safer."

Alec smiled. "Exactly."