" We need to stop for food soon.... We ran out a while back." Lila's voice jolted me out of my thoughts, causing me to turn to look at her.

" We've only been on the road for a day. How could we have run out already?" I asked as I straightened in the passengers seat.

" Because for some reason you didn't pack food and what we were living off of yesterday was what I brought." Lila snapped with an annoyed expression.

" Fair enough.... I'll pay for what we get when we stop, then." I awkwardly scratched my arm as I look out my window instead of meeting Lila's accusing glare.

" Fine. We'll stop at that gas station up ahead." Lila said before looking back to the road.

I gave no reply, rolling down the window to allow the wind to blow through my hair.

A small sigh escaped my lips as the warm summer sun warmed my tan skin. The wind billowed through my dirty blonde hair, sending the honey blonde streaked curls whipping behind me... and for a moment I forgot the situation we were in.

That is... Until a woman ran out of the woods and stopped in the middle of the road.

" What the hell?!" Lila yelled as she slammed on the brakes, the car stopping just inches away from the woman.

" Please help us! Our car.... we're stranded..... We can't get the car to start....please...just give us a ride to the closest town!" The woman exclaimed, her icy blue eyes wide with fear as she stared at us. Her gaze shooting to a car that lay along the side of the road with the trunk open. A man sat in the drivers seat with an infant on his lap.

I turned my attention back to the woman.... immediately noticing that there was something not quite right about this woman. For one her eyes were unnaturally light and sunken. The blood droplets staining her blouse were faint but obviously there. Her hair was in a mess which wasn't unusual..... But it just added to the suspiciousness of the situation.

Then there was the fact that throughout the entire conversation, the woman had never once shown her hands. They were always hidden behind her back...

Lila and I turned to meet each other's gazes. Lila's expression telling me that she too sensed something was off about this situation.

" How many of there are you?" Lila asked finally as she turned back to the woman.

A small almost dark smile made its way onto her lips but it faded more quickly than it appeared as her expression went back to a fearful one.

" Just three. My husband, me and my three year old son! Please help us...." The woman begged desperately.

" ..... alright. You can come with us." Lila agreed after a moment. I remained silent, keeping my green gaze on the woman in front of me who smiled gratefully.

" Thank you... Could you help us load some stuff? Like my son's car seat?" The woman asked innocently.

Too innocently.... Her smile was genuine but her eyes.... her blue eyes were wide with anticipation....

" Of.... Of course." Lila said as she slowly unlocked the car door, climbing out of the car with her hand on the wrench next to her.

" Thank you.... Thank you so much..." The woman said as she began to slowly approach Lila. The way she moved unnerved me...it was like watching a cat stalk her prey.

" Lila.... " I whispered after a moment.

Lila gave no reply, her gaze on the woman on front of her.

The woman got closer and closer to Lila, her tongue swiping along her upper lip as she approached.

My attention moved slightly as I caught sight of something moving within the woman's car. A small infant around the age of three sat on a man's lap, his face pressed against the man's chest as the man watched us.... Or so I thought. Something was off... That much was obvious.... probably because in the short time that I was watching him, only the son moved...the man never blinked...not even once.

The infants face lifted from the man's chest..... almost in a tearing motion as a long string of intestines came away from the man's chest.

I let out a scream which caused the child to look at me, revealing his face which was stained with blood as his father's intestines lay between his jaws.

The woman suddenly launched forward at the sound of my scream, her eyes darkening to an almost black color as she tackled Lila to the ground, letting out an inhuman shriek.

Lila's eyes widened but she had already seen this coming as she swung the wrench, colliding the thick metal with the woman's temple.

The woman let out a hiss of pain as she hit the pavement, her head making a sickening crack when she landed. But she didn't even seemed fazed as she jumped to her feet, her blue eyes darker than night as she stared at Lila with an expression that I could only describe as hunger.

Lila quickly climbed into the car, slamming the door shut behind her as she entered. Acting quickly, Lila locked the door and quickly threw the car into drive as she slammed her foot onto the gas petal. The tires squealed against the pavement as the car jolted forward.

The woman began to run after us, her speed was surprising, like she ran track for a living but it was no match for the car as she slowly disappeared in the distance.

" What....the...hell just happened?!" Lila yelled as she gradually began to slow down.

" Honestly..... I have no idea." I whispered, my hands shaking in fear as I clutched the seats for dear life.

" She tried to eat me.... She tried to freaking eat me!" Lila exclaimed angrily.

I turned to Lila with a shocked expression. She didn't really seem scared..... On the contrary, she seemed mad.

" Are you seriously mad because you almost got your face torn to shreds?" I asked in disbelief.

" Yes! Here I was being nice for once and my face almost gets eaten.... That shows what being nice gets you.... stupid zombie." Lila grumbled with an annoyed expression.

" Please don't call them that...." I said with a small shudder.

" Why? It's what they are. No use in sugar coating it." Lila said flatly.

" Yeah... But they're still people....." I began slowly but Lila's scoff interrupted me.

" People don't try to eat other people's faces.... Well some do but those are the weird kind." Lila said, her gaze never leaving the road as she spoke.

Silence filled the car, aside from the faint rumble of the engine. I struggled to think of a reply as Lila and I sat in a newly awkward silence.

" Well.... What if they're just sick?" I asked after a moment.

" Sick people don't take twenty rounds to the chest and survive. Sick people don't walk away from being hit in the face with a wrench and not even bat an eye. Sick people don't rise from the dead." Lila hissed out as her eyes finally darted to me.

I gave no reply as I contemplated what she had said. She was right of course but I was too scared to think what this meant.... If this outbreak got bad then.... That would mean the end of life as we know it.

God I was so naive back then.... But as far as I know.... That was the last day I remember being blissfully unaware of how bad the world really was getting.....