Mark stiffly climbed to his feet, seriously saying. "I don't believe that. Zero, you were shot with one of those things in the wild. If it's trying to save us... Why would it hurt you?" Zero lowered his eyes to the ground, his features falling to a saddened look. Mark felt bad dashing his hopes, but he was still recovering from the chaos. He ability to be gentle when breaking bad news hadn't caught up to him yet. From the tent, Nate told him with those same black eyes and distorted voice. "It shot him because he's infected. You all are." Everyone whirled to look at him with scared eyes. Nate staggered from the tent, taking a seat on a rock. Nate wasn't dressed like a woman anymore. He was shirtless with just a pair of black shorts on. He looked sweaty and tired. The plant around his arm looked even worse. The plant looked paler in color than when he'd last seen it. Nate brushed his wet bangs from his eyes, informing them calmly. "The infection is in the plants. The plants create the very air you're breathing. Every breath you take... you absorb it in small doses. Over time, you'll either become immune or you'll turn."

Mari covered her mouth and nose, leaning into Kenny's chest to hide her fear. Kenny wrapped an arm around her, swallowing hard as he let that sink in. Mark looked at Zero, saying a bit grimly. "See...? We had our shot and we blew it." Mark moved shakily toward the tent, when Nate extended a leg out to stop him. As their eyes met, Nate told him softly. "The polluted chemicals of this earth made me... It's my job in nature to fix this... Or the world will die. But I can't do it on my own. I need your help, Mark." Mark shrugged, retorting gruffly. "What could we possibly do? We can't keep running from those things... Eventually, we will all die." Nate put his leg down, telling him with fragile eyes. "Everything eventually dies. As we speak... I am dying. But what I leave behind is all that matters. You may never see the new world... but you can still save it and give the survivors a chance." Mark sank to his knees in front of Nate, beckoning for Nate's arm to look at it. Nate extended his arm out and Mark reached out to touch the plant wrapped around him.

As his fingers drew close to it, he saw a pedal curl up and turn white. When he touched the white pedal with gentle fingers, the pedal crumbled into small white seeds. Nate's other hand saved the seeds from falling to the ground. Mark didn't know what to do to help it. Nate's hand grabbed Mark's wrist to turn his hand palm up. Pouring the little seeds into his hand, Nate leaned forward to whisper to him. "Sean told me you want to have a little farm... plant these around your farm. They'll clean the soil. They'll keep you safe. Help me save my world... So, we can save you." Mark looked at the little seeds, uttering out anxiously. "I don't understand. What's happening to you?" Nate cupped Mark's hands to protect the seeds, answering a bit breathlessly now. "To cure the poison... I have to absorb it. I turn it into a cure as it passes through me... but so much... It kills me. I can't do this on my own... I need help. I need you to look after them... Nurture them. Help them grow. Humans used to care... We need you. Don't forget about us... We haven't forgotten you." Nate's grip on his hands loosened, before falling to his sides.

Nate leaned back on the rock, tilting his head back as the black of his eyes leaked down his cheeks like tears. The more Nate cried the clearer his eyes got, until they were back to normal. Mark watched the plant on Nate's arm turn completely white, before crumbling into more tiny seeds as Nate flexed his arm. Mark quickly rose to collect the seeds, yelling to the others. "Quick! Get a bag!" Mark collected all that he could, until Mari rushed over with a little cloth coin purse from the truck. Opening the little bag, Mark did his best to poor the seeds inside. Some floated away on the gentle breeze but the majority of them, he saved. Taking the purse, he snapped it shut and sat back on his heels. Nate sat forward, clear tears now streaking lines down the black ones along his cheeks. As Nate cried, he held his arm where it had been. Mari moved to Nate's side, asking in a soft motherly voice. "Nate? Are you ok?" Nate nodded, but more tears ran down his cheeks as he took deep breaths. Mark guessed the connection with it had took a strong emotional toll on Nate.

Mari wrapped Nate in a hug, before asking Mark with a torn expression. "What do we do now?" Mark looked up at the others to see they were all staring at him with drained expressions. Seeing the plant die had taken the hope right out of them. Standing up, Mark looked around them at the vast dessert landscape. The sun was starting to rise, lighting up the area in warm sunshine. Taking a short breath, Mark told them confidently. "I don't know what you guys want to do... but I set out looking for a home to start over... and that's what I'm going to do." Without another word to them, he moved to the tent. He needed to see Sean. Slipping into the tent, Mark saw Sean sleeping across a sleeping bag. His chest was bandaged, and his black veins were gone... but his bangs were still a purple whitish color. Stashing the seeds in his pocket, he crawled over Sean to lay next to him. Snuggling in behind him, he ran his hand along his bare arm. His pale skin was warmer now but covered in bruises and dirt.

Nestling his head in over his shoulder, Mark kissed his skin. Words could not express how he felt. Mixed emotions overwhelmed him as he snuggled closer to Sean. His mind kept replying every bad thing he had ever said or done to him. Torturing him. Even if Sean was alright. Would he be alright with him being around? Had he done enough to save him? Did he still love him? Fingers tenderly ran through his hair slowly, causing Mark to stop breathing. Sean's touch was the only comfort he wanted to know. Sean's groggy voice whispered to him softly. "Hey... You're still here. I thought I dreamed it." Mark huffed lightly, smiling as he told him in a low voice. "You saved my life." Sean raised an eyebrow, asking perplexed. "I did?" Leaning up more, Mark kissed his forehead. When he leaned back, he looked into Sean's eyes. Sean's eyes were white with only a slightly different shade of white where the blue of his eyes had once been. Mark cupped his cheek, asking him nervously. "Sean... Can you see me?" Sean blinked, before nodding and telling him with a smile. "Yes. Why?"

Mark wasn't sure he wanted to tell him. So, he pulled on his long purple bangs, smirking out. "Just wondering if you noticed that your bangs changed color." Sean took his bangs from Mark to look at them better, chuckling out. "Huh... He did say some things might be permanent." Mark raised an eyebrow, retorting curiously. "He? You talked to the plant?" Sean nodded, his hand going to Mark's cheek as he told him coolly. "We talked for a little bit. He said he cured me... but the chemicals in the test strain they gave me were... potent. Some things will never go back." Sean's thumb brushed across Mark's cheekbone, upon saying softly. "Like my eyes..." Mark tensed up, causing Sean to slip in sweetly. "I can see the reflection of them in your eyes. I know they were the one thing you liked about me..." Mark shook his head, taking ahold of Sean's wrist as he told him. "They weren't the only thing I love about you. I have so much that I love about you." Sean adjusted better, blushing with a grim smile as he asked. "And Amy?"

Mark cupped Sean's face, purring over his lips. "I lost the Amy I loved. And I'm so sorry if I ever made you feel like you had to compete with her memory. It wasn't fair... I've been afraid to love you... but when I thought I was losing you... I couldn't think of how I'd go on. You've always been there for me... Do you still love me? Can you forgive me?" Sean smirked a little, mumbling out. "Oh, Mark... You big dummy. Of course, I still love you." Mark smiled, shifting over Sean to kiss him passionately. Sean winced into the kiss, groaning a bit in pain as he arched his back beneath him. Mark rose off him, breaking the kiss to breathlessly ask. "Jack? You ok?" Sean giggled lightly, just as breathlessly admitting. "Sorry. My back is sore, and your weight is..." Mark smirked, grabbing Sean's arm to help coax him over him instead. Rolling over, he pulled Sean over him and cupped his face to bring his lips down to meet his as he whispered hopefully. "Better?" Sean nodded, pressing his lips to his again. As their passion grew, Sean's hands grabbed Mark's shoulders to steady himself and Mark broke the kiss with a sharp hiss.

Sean jerked his hands off, timidly saying. "Sorry..." Mark glanced at the bandage over his stabbed shoulder, before telling Sean carelessly. "Don't be. I'll live. Don't stop." Sean rested his hands above Mark's shoulders, laying over him better to continue their kiss. Mark ran his hands down Sean's bare sides to keep him close. Pain or no pain. Nothing mattered to him more than kissing Sean. Sean hissed from his bruises, but Mark just kept his touch light to comfort him. Moving his hands to Sean's hair, he ran his hands through his bangs. Sean broke the kiss, shivering as goosebumps sprang up along his skin. Blushing, Sean mumbled out without looking at him. "Maybe we should wait until we both aren't... in such pain?" Mark chuckled, tilting his head to get a better look at Sean's faded eyes. They were frightening at times to look at, but whenever Sean blushed and hesitated. Those eyes of his reflected a kind of pure innocence that made Mark smile. He had always thought that his blue eyes had made him breathless... but now it felt like it was just the emotion Sean expressed through his eyes.

Brushing his knuckles down Sean's cheek, Mark told him lovingly. "I'll do whatever you want." Sean's eyes drifted back to him, before he told him with a bright smile. "I wanna save my first time with you. I don't want to hold anything back." Mark rose up onto his elbows, telling him in loving whisper. "You still want to find a house with me? Settle down?" Sean nodded, rolling off of him to lay back down beside him. Snuggling close, Sean yawned against his chest and sleepily mumbled out. "As long as we can grow coffee beans and potatoes..." Mark rolled his eyes, but hugged Sean closer. After a minute of silence though, Sean blurted out. "Mark... Why were you and Nate dressed like women?" Mark laughed heartily, before mumbling out close to Sean's ear. "That's a long story." Sean yawned again but purred out. "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine?" Licking his lips a bit nervously, he reluctantly gave in and told him. After he was done with his side though, Kenny came in to tell them that they should get moving.

Packing up, Mark laid in the truck bed with Sean and Nate. While Kenny drove on with Mari and Zero in the truck. Once they were comfortable, Sean told them his side of the story. They only stopped to stretch their legs, feed everyone, and refuel. Each time, switching who sat in the front and back. After three days, Mark drove through the night to early morning. His wounds were healing well, and he wasn't wearing the bandage around his neck anymore. The brand on his neck nothing more than another scar that he hoped would vanish. Leaning on the door, he hummed to the CD playing softly in the truck to keep himself awake. Beside him, Sean was sleeping against the door and Mari was sleeping against him. Mark smirked to himself, then stopped breathing as the morning crested the vast open grasslands. Lifting his head off his hand that was resting on the door, he stared at the mountains in the far distance on one side. On one side of the long stretch of dirt road, Mark watched the wooden fence surrounding a nice patch of farmland pass. Slowing the truck, he carefully turned onto a smaller road that lead up to a cozy looking ranch home.

There was even a nice wooden barn set off from the house. The place looked beautiful and untouched by the horrors of the plague. Parking the truck, Mark removed his tactical shovel and slipped out with Chica hopping out of the truck bed to join him. Slowly approaching the house, he called out curiously. "Hello...?" He stopped a good distance from the house, listening to every sound on the gentle breeze. Moving to the house, he knocked. When he didn't get a response, he tried the knob and found it locked. Glancing around, he flipped up the door mat hoping to find a spare key. He searched the dead flowerpots and under the rocking chairs on the porch. Nothing. He was about to give up when he noticed the garden gnomes beside the door. One was dressed like a cowboy sheriff and the other like a bandit. Raising an eyebrow, he bit his lip and mumbled out. "Bandit?" Picking up the bandit gnome, he grinned as a key fell out. Picking it up, he opened the door and slipped inside. He went room by room, peeking around. The place looked clean.

Making his way upstairs, he checked the rooms. The rooms were filled with craft supplies. Sewing machines and yarn for knitting. There was even a room built like a library or study with a desk. He found a bedroom with posters of rock stars and some packed boxes that had 'college' written on them. While other boxes had 'garage' written on them. He guessed by the state flag pinned to the wall over the bed that they had managed to get to someplace in Wyoming. Moving to the master bedroom, he noticed the letter on the dresser by the door. Leaning against the doorframe, he read aloud to himself. "Mr. Thomas, we heard about your situation. While we are sorry that your parents have passed away. They were months behind on the mortgage. We can't offer your family another extension. Pay in full by Monday or the farm legally belongs to the bank." Mark crumbled the letter in his hands, shaking his head as he mumbled out. "Shit... What a year he must of had..." Tossing the letter back onto the dresser, he kept looking. There were no bodies in the house. Which only made him believe that Mr. Thomas had locked up and went into town at the time the outbreak hit.

Downstairs, Kenny yelled up in a panic. "MARK?!" Mark jumped, then moved to the banister to call back down. "What?!" Kenny's voice relaxed as he called out to the yard. "It's alright! He's inside!" Shaking his head, he made his way down the steps with Chica at his heels. At the bottom, he told Kenny firmly. "Kenny, take Zero and go check out the barn. It looks like the place is clear... but they might have some animals." Kenny nodded, leading him back outside and announcing aloud. "Zero, come help me clear the barn!" Zero hoped down from the truck, then asked curiously. "Mark? Is Mari and Sean with you?" Kenny looked behind Mark, before his eyes widened. On the porch, Nate pointed and said. "Isn't that them by the barn?" Everyone turned to look, before cursing and running out across the field toward the barn. They yelled for them to stop, but they seemed distracted. Mari had handed her katana to Sean and was crawling into a hole in the barn. Mark ran as fast as he could through the tall grass. Sean vanished into the barn as Mari opened a door beside the large double barn doors.

Reaching the door, Mark shoved it open and jumped inside. Mari jumped in fright, snapping out. "What?! What's happening?!" Mark pointed at her, snapping back. "What are you two doing?! This pace could be..." Mark drifted off when he saw a group of sheep laying in some hay. They'd gotten out of their stalls. He couldn't believe they were still alive, but the storage room was broken open and dry feed was spilled out across the floor. There were lots of mice, but the sheep didn't seem to mind them. There was even a trough that was pumping water in as the level got too low. Mari took advantage of his silence to slip in as she pointed to the hole. "We were trying to find you, when Sean saw something slip into the barn. We approached and heard them." Mark moved into the barn more to find Sean sitting in an open stall with something in his arms. His heart raced a little, when he asked nervously. "Sean? What have you got there?" Sean slowly turned around, his eyes big and watery as he cooed out. "Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen?"

Mark exhaled as the little white lamb in Sean's arms bayed softly. Bending over, Mark took breaths to steady himself. Sean snuggled the lamb, causing Mari to rush over and drop down with him to pet it. Mari squealed as the lamb sniffed her cheek with its small fuzzy nose, telling Sean in giddy tone of voice. "Aww, that must have been the little escape artist! He's soooo cute!" Kenny and Zero chuckled, while Nate hopefully asked Mark as he inched toward the lamb himself. "So...? Does that mean we are going to try setting up here?" Mark blinked, asking curiously. "We?" Kenny puffed his chest up, saying coolly. "It's a big farm... You'll need some help getting set up. Couldn't you use more hands to help?" They looked at him so hopefully that it pulled at Mark's heartstrings. He couldn't deny that getting this place going would take a lot of work. Giving them a nod, they rushed in to hug him. To Be Continued...