I spend the rest of my day in my room. I was sprawled on my bed, looking at the gray ceiling. I replayed Jake's, Chase's and Kana's words in my head for the 100th time.

"Why were you put there in the first place?"

"I don't think you are ready."

"I know you are going to cause trouble."

I leaned my head on the board of my bed, giving out a big sigh. Everything became even harder than it was. Getting driven away from the Miracles and leaving my family was one of the hardest things I have done.

The journey to Houston was hard enough and when Miracles sent me away to Ground Zero, I didn't believe it was going to get harder. My parents knew the Miracles organization was the safest place on Earth. Even though it was days away by foot, they knew we had to go there.

Before the apocalypse and pandemic started, the reporters talked about the Miracles. They didn't reveal much information, other than it was the future for the lucky ones.

If I looked at it now, I would think they knew about what would happen in April. However, knowing some things about Miracles based on news I listened to when my dad watched TV while I was doing my homework, I knew it was the only option too.

The doctors did not know much about the virus. At first they called it Pandemic Of 2734. It was a hard illness. Every person that got it had a very small chance of surviving.

The death rates increased. The numbers were rising each time I blinked. Homeless were the first one to suffer. For them it was the hardest. By the first week, dozens of people were on the streets, motionless beginning to decay. Then, the second week of the pandemic came. As my family was slowly moving to get to Miracles just like a lot of people did, I was faced with something that made me question life itself.

I moved along the alleyways, fixing the shawl over my mouth, preventing the dust and potential virus from getting inside of my body. The wind lifted my hair into the dance, swirling at an impossible speed. I could hear whistling in my ears but I kept going. My emerald green eyes searched for the open store in the darkness.

It was around 11 or 12 at night. My sisters were asleep, and I saw my mom switching watch duty with my dad 45 minutes ago. We stationed a camp in the back of one of the warehouses. It was intact, and a good hiding spot. I wasn't sure how long we would stay there. We were moving a lot, rarely taking breaks.

Tennessee, where we were now, was the most vacant place we walked by so far. There were barely any survivors left. The streets were empty, still having a lingering smell of rotting flesh. Of death.

I snuck out once I was sure my mom was asleep. My dad was outside of the closest exit to us, holding the rifle, looking if any Infected were coming.

I couldn't sleep, which wasn't unusual. I always kept my guard up, the knife under my pillow stationed, waiting to be used. Thoughts about the world and how we will end up were nagging in the back of my head, arguing, screaming and yelling. I needed to shut them out. The only way I could was to distract myself.

So I did.

I went on a walk. I got out of the warehouse from the other side, and kept notice of where I was going. The only time I turned left was when I was going into the nearby town, otherwise I walked straight ahead

Hair on my neck rose as I kept my guard up. During the night it was lonelier. Scarier. It always was though, even before the outbreak. Whatever it was, let it be going outside, descending down to the basement, taking the trash out, it made you paranoid. It made you feel like someone was watching you, preparing to hurt you.

It was the reason why I liked night walks so much now. I felt scared, but that scared feeling was what I felt preoutbreak too. It made me feel normal somehow. It made me feel like it was close to what it was before.

I always wondered why. Why was night scarier than the day? Why was darkness characterized as danger? The only thing that was different was that there wasn't daylight. Nothing else was different. You could get hurt during the day too.

I spun around, my heart stopping as I heard a can rolling down the street not far away. I gripped the knife tighter around my hand, taking cautious steps forward. I focused, trying to see if there was an Infected close by.

I didn't like using my knife. Even on the Infected it was hard. Drilling a hole into someone's brain, hearing the terrorizing crunch, having a pool of blood sliding down your fingers shouldn't be something anyone is fond of doing.

I only did it once so far. I promised I would never do it again, but I know I can't keep that promise. Not in the world I live in now. I think I will always remember the night I killed the first Infected. Not only the night itself, but the way it made me feel.

I kept taking slow, wary steps forward. I ducked under the trashcan as I heard a voice.

"We can't do this Michelle!" A guy's voice was loud, and angry. If he didn't quiet down, he was in bigger danger of exposing himself and 'Michelle' to the Infected. "We can't just leave him."

I peered my head up, taking a good look at the store. The small lit up candle on the counter was just enough for me to see them.

The dark skinned guy looked at the woman, his eyes wide open. He was shaking his head, cutting Michelle off from speaking. "We can't leave him here to die. It's not fair, he would never leave one of us behind."

"We don't have a choice," Michelle spoke, her voice calm not expressing a tint of feelings. "You see the wound David."

My eyes traveled to the sofa in the corner. A guy was resting, deep asleep. Drops of swear rolled down his face. His white shirt was soaked in blood, still dripping down to the carpeted floor. He was as pale as a ghost. I was unaware of what caused his wound, but Michelle was right. He was in really bad shape.

"He already lost so much blood and we can't stop the bleeding - "

"There has to be a place! A group of people that could help him. A hospital nearby. Something." David's anger turned into hopelessness, his voice becoming a mere mumble.

"It's too late." A woman denied his requests, moving closer to the sleeping guy. She pulled out a knife, her body frozen inches away from him. "I am only helping him."

"Don't do that," David took steps towards her. His voice was begging, pleading for her to understand that there is still hope. "That's my best friend there. Michelle, that's your brother." David expressed, tears sliding down his cheeks.

I couldn't move, my eyes were unable to stop looking at Michelle. Her expression was cold, turned off, emotionless. For a second, her blue eyes broke, despair filling the crystalling orbs. Before David could notice himself, it was gone and she lunged the knife forward. The sharp object was in the guy's throat, the slow motion of his chest going up and down stopping.

I stood up, my feet scrambling back to the warehouse. When I couldn't hear David's muffled sobs anymore I stopped, catching my breath. Hot tears rolled down my face, salty taste entering my mouth.

That was her brother. Her family. Her blood.

It was her blood that she killed.

It was the night that will hunt her forever.

And it was the night I realized that the dead might not be the only problem in this world. That human nature and the hope itself is just as much as scary as the dead.

_____________________
Hey guys!

Finally updated after some time being away. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter. This was a chapter consisting mainly of her flashback. I think it's important to understand and connect to what happened during her journey to the Miracles and Ground Zero and not just the present time.

Please vote and comment on this book. Thoughts, ideas and suggestions are always appreciated. Next chapter is already being written, so be on the lookout for that!