I ran outside, looking to the woman and the girl just behind the fence, then down the long, deserted road.

   "Please! We need your help!" The woman yelled, the girl cowering behind her, refusing to make eye contact.

   I quickly approached them, pointing my shotgun in their direction.

   "Keep your fucking voice down!" I whispered furiously, scanning the road once again for any movement.

   The woman looked into my eyes. "Please, I need to get her off the road." She said, wrapping an arm around the girls shoulder.

   I looked from the woman to the girl. "She your daughter?"

   The woman looked at her, then back to me. "Y-yes. Please, ma'am, I'm begging you."

   My hands tightened on the shotgun, my eyes darting between the two of them.

   'Don't trust them, this has to be a trap.' I thought to myself.

   Then, the girl spoke. "Please, miss..."

   Her eyes bored deep into mine. "Please..."

   With a sigh, I lowered the gun and opened the main gate. "Hurry up, before I change my mind."

   The two quickly shuffled through, making a beeline for the house.

   I closed the gate before following behind them.

   We made our way inside and closed the door behind us.

   The woman sat the girl down on the couch before turning to me. "Do you have anything to drink?"

   My hand tightened on the shotgun once again. "First, I want names."

The woman nodded, sticking her hand in my direction. "My names Dr. Mackenzie Parker and this is Laila."

I looked at Laila, then back to Mackenzie before shaking her hand. "Lance Corporal Iris Deckard, United States Marine Corps."

   Mackenzie's eyes widened a little. "You're military?"

   I looked down, releasing her hand. "Used to be..."

   Then, I headed into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a few water bottles...

   After a little while of silence, Laila drifted off to sleep leaving Mackenzie and I to talk in the kitchen.

   I stared at her from across the table, shotgun still in hand. "So, what exactly are you a doctor of?"

   She nervously tapped her finger nails on the table. "I'm an infectious disease specialist... Could you put that gun away? Guns make me nervous."

   I looked down at the shotgun, then back to her. "Tough shit, you asked me for help. Were you working in the city?"

   She sighed before nodding. "My team was trying to get a handle on this whole thing before it got out of control."

   "Well, you guys did a hell of a job." I replied.

   She pursed her lips before asking, "What about you? What're you doing out here?"

   "My platoon was in charge of the evacuation, but we were overrun." I said.

   She raised her chin to me. "So you went AWOL?"

   My fist clenched around the grip of the shotgun. "I was the only one left, I had no other choice."

   We stared each other down for quite a while before I decided to speak. "What's with the girl? I know she's not your daughter."

   She was silent for a second before answering. "... Ive been looking after her since the outbreak started... I think her blood might be able to be used as a cure."

   My eyes widened a little, my heartbeat picking up. "How?"

   "AB Negative, only one percent of the population has that blood type. It's considered a universal plasma, any other blood type can accept it. And, I think we can use that to make a cure." She replied.

   I stood from the table then, leaning my shotgun against the wall before looking at her. "Where are you taking her?"

   "The last transmission we received was from a lab in Chicago, we think they might still be active."

   I folded my arms over my chest. "So you aren't sure?"

   She stood then. "It doesn't matter, we don't have any other choice. And we need all the help we can get."

   I shook my head. "You can stay for the night, but that's it. I'm not risking my life for a pipe dream."

   "It isn't a pipe dream, this could spell the end to this hell. We can save what's left of our world, we-"

   I raised my hand. "Cut it out with this 'we' bullshit. I'm retired."

   Her face fell. "So you're just gonna sit back and do nothing when the chance to end this is right in front of you?"

   "Damn straight." I replied before grabbing my shotgun and heading outside.

   I looked up at the sky, orange hues shinning over the tree line, the sounds of the dead starting to perk up.

   'How can something so beautiful rest over such ugliness?' I thought, looking at the sun rise.

   Then, I noticed a line of the undead making their way towards my fence.

I grabbed the metal rod and made my way towards the fence, Mackenzie's words drifting through my mind.

I lifted the rod, looking the first one right in the eyes, his teeth chomping hungrily, his fingers reaching out for me.

My eyes wandered down to the wallet chain hanging from his belt loop.

The wallet hung open, a faded family picture inside.

With a sigh and one last look at him, I dropped the rod and headed back inside.

Mackenzie looked up from her spot next to Laila on the couch.

"You realize that you're asking me to participate in a suicide mission, right?" I asked.

"Maybe I am... But, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm asking you to help me save the world. To save us. All of us." She replied.

I closed my eyes, my fists clenching at my sides.

"Corporal?" She questioned.

I opened my eyes. "If we do this, then you have to listen to everything I say. Every order, every command."

"Yes, ma'am." She said, standing quickly.

"Good, then start by calling me Iris. I'm not a Lance Corporal anymore."

She nodded. "You got it."

I shook my head. "I'm gonna regret this... Grab anything that we can use, we got a long ride ahead of us..."