"No matter what we have to keep them out," David and Adam began to go around the room, barricading whatever opening they could. "Let's hope they don't find him."

Maeve cast a glance at the tarp-covered buck carcass, a pool of blood accumulating from it. If she focused, she could smell the metallic stench in the air. It wasn't as bad as human blood, or infected's blood, but she could do without having to smell it.

Nervously, she held the rifle up, ready to shoot down any infected. A sour sensation flooded the pits of her stomach. The firearm seemed to scorch her hands despite how cold it was. There was nothing more she wanted to do than throw the weapon away, but she couldn't. The bow on her shoulder couldn't be used at the moment.

Disarrayed wails and agonized screams met her ears. They became louder and louder. Though there could've been only a dozen, their vocals meshed together, creating an orchestra of a thousand.

She could see their flailing bodies race toward the mill. Clickers and runners alike. They were starved, and the four of them were the three-star course meal that would fill their rotted bellies for days. That's exactly what she feared the most. There were more infected than there were of them. Just four people against an army of fungal victims.

What a cruel play of fate, indeed.

"Make every every shot count," Adam commented, tight-lipped as checked the clip of his pistol.

"Don't tell me what to do." Maeve shot back, her anxiety heightening. Despite her nerves screaming at her, she was ready for a messy fight.

Outside, a couple of runners raced across the snow-plastered path, snarling like rabid dogs. In the blink of an eye, they were already inside, lunging at whoever moved.

Bam!

One was downed, shot by Ellie. Adam and David killed the other two. She hadn't a chance to pull her trigger. She rechecked the rifle's chamber, making sure she hadn't imagined the bullets.

"Clicker!" Ellie shouted suddenly from amidst the shooting and shrieking.

The infected in question seemed to pop out of thin air. Its fungal-plated face was bleached from the frosty temperatures. It made it all the hungrier. The clicker lunged at them, at her.

Whatever God was out there, they surely played favorites because they didn't favor her. Her finger wrapped around the trigger, tugging it back. She expected a kickback from hell, but instead, the firearm clicked, with no explosion or fire to save her.

"The fuck--!" The gun jammed at the last second, which led to her getting it smacked out of her hands and being tackled to the ground. The clicker tried to lunge its face at her, its cleft mouth snapping open and shut loudly.

"Mae!"

"Agh!" Quickly snatching her knife from her pocket, plunged the blade into the clicker's neck and then its temple. It soon lost its fight and drooped onto her. She hurried to push the body off her. "Stupid thing!"

"You okay?" Ellie was by her side within the blink of an eye, helping her back up.

"Yeah, fucking rifle's jammed." She glared at the gun and then at Adam. "Thanks for the heads up, dude!"

Adam's face screwed up. "It's not like I planned for it to jam, Mae."

Fuck. She and Ellie shared a regretful expression. Dammit, that was going to haunt her. His saying her name gave her chills fiercer than the cold. She glared at him again and then refocused on the problem at hand: the infected.

"I'll just make do," she turned her glare to the oncoming infected, and pulled the bow from her shoulder, grabbing an arrow from her bag. "You really should take better care of your firearms."

Adam made an amused chuckle. "Noted."

More infected entered the front area, trying to climb in through the partially boarded windows. She was quick to lose the arrows she had, which were only three. The arrows ran out instantly. It frustrated how flimsy the arrows were, almost breaking on impact. She supposed because it was colder, the infected's bodies hardened

"Fucking hell!" She cursed aloud and whipped out her knife while dodging an arm trying to hit her.

"Quite the vocabulary you have!" Adam shot the infected before her, his shot caused its face to burst apart.

"Are you as sensitive as you are irresponsible?"

"Not at all," he shot another infected. "Just surprised a quaint girl like yourself can talk so big."

"You're sexist too," she grunted, slicing a runner that came at her. "Why am I not surprised?"

More infected appeared. There was no end to them. The screams of the infected became louder and deafening. Maeve thought their defense was going well, but there were too many infected for them to handle them all. She feared there wouldn't be enough bullets to deal with them all.

"Screw it!" David grunted out, hurrying to the back door. "We're getting outta this room!" He delivered a powerful kick to the boarded exit, breaking the hinges. The door slammed against the wall behind it, making a loud bang. "Alright kids," he rushed into the entranceway. "This way."

"Do you even know where we're going?" Maeve huffed out, the cold air burning her lungs.

"We've never set foot in this place."

She made a sound of bewilderment. "Fucking for real?!"

"Take it easy before you burst a vein!" Adam barked, seemingly amused by her shock.

They ran up a set of stairs, into another part of the building.

"I'll block their path," David rushed for a heavy metal shelf near the doorway and began pushing it. "Cover the stairs!"

Close behind them were two clickers that quickly ascended the stairs. They were shot at, but that only slowed them down.

"Son, help me!" David struggled against the heavy shelf.

The boy didn't hesitate to assist his father and positioned himself beside him. Together, the shelf moved swifter, scraping against the concrete floor loudly.

Ellie continued to shoot at the infected, enabling the shelf to barricade the opening. A breath of half-relief left her, at least that issue was dealt with...although it was probably way too early to celebrate.

"Fucking infected," she cursed again, backing away from the shelf that now was being pounded on by the infected. "There's no end to them."

"Let's go!" Ellie grabbed her by the arm, dragging her behind them as they entered a new part of the building.

This part had parts of the catwalk caved, and some of the roof was broken too, which let snow in. Snow was everywhere.

"It's clear," Adam informed them, and they continued. "This way."

Maeve held down her growing anxiety as her feet thumped the set of stairs leading to the overhead catwalk. They hurried across a small bridge, it creaked under their weight, making loud snapping and groaning sounds just as she made it to the other side. The metal collapsed under Ellie, sending her into a snowy pit of other broken factory equipment. A strangled cry of pain escaped her as her body slammed against the metals.

"El--" Maeve bit her tongue, realizing she almost said Ellie's name. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm..." Ellie's pale face grimaced while she gasped. "...f-fine..."

"More clickers," she heard David behind her. "Get outta there!"

"C'mon!" Adam grabbed at her shoulder, urging her to move before the clickers could arrive.

"I won't leave my sister!" She argued.

"You don't have a fucking choice!" Adam grabbed her more fiercely and shoved her toward the unbroken catwalk. "MOVE YOUR ASS!"

She nearly tripped over her feet, but she was quick to regain herself and hurry away with the males. Her blood boiled at being forced away from Ellie; however, it simmered in comparison to the reality of being chased by clickers. Just a few feet behind them, certain death followed them with greening teeth and split craniums.

"Dad!" Adam's voice blared out, struggling as one of the clickers caught up to them and grabbed him. He fought against it.

She moved quicker before she knew what was going on. Her knife struck its forehead, stabbing through its protective fungal plate. Its body immediately collapsed and the other clicker was shot by David.

"Fuck..." Adam briefly patted himself down, making sure he wasn't bitten. "Thanks."

She made eye contact with him, seeing something flicker around inside that translucent blue color. Though his eyes were incredibly beautiful, something dark lingered in them, something beyond his smokescreen of kindness and compassion. It triggered something in her, nothing but jumbled nerves and a twinge of uncertainty and fear. It was only a second that she locked eyes with him, but it seemed like a prolonged minute before she found herself looking away, pulled back into the real world.

"Don't mention it," she said.

Something bubbled in the pit of her stomach, something acidic and it scorched her insides. Like before, it was a feeling of suspicion of ulterior motives. How could she begin to trust them? They came out of nowhere, being friendly, and then bam! They're being attacked by infected, though that might be unrelated.

However, it was...she couldn't shake how odd it seemed.

Or how strange of a coincidence it was.