---

---

@Boston Bridge@mickilennial Diane and Paul somehow ended up bumping into one another whether they took a single car or had their own separate cars and followed each other. (leave this up to you guys.) They would eventually find themselves across the street from the local Shell Gas Station. There they would see an MRAP parked at one of the diesel gas pumps, and a few people getting out of it and headed into the store and three cops came out quietly talking to each other and a man with a scruffy looking beard and long hair stepping away lighting up a smoke.

@Sadie Si-woo would find himself eventually in West Caldwell, he would see a minimart nearby as well as a little girl with a lacrosse stick and swinging at it. Knocking Korean woman off of her bike and a loud. "Whyyy." coming from her as well to, and a woman who was at the pumps of the minimart making her way over to the scene to investigate.

---

---

---

---

"Some water would be fine." Isaac said to Kali giving her a slight smile. "I'll wait here don't worry about me." He said to her in a reassuring way. "Yeah no problem at all." Flynn would say and look at Billie and gave her a slight smile and nod to her as he got out and stretched slightly as he looked at the three officers talking amongst themselves. He decided to keep his distance from them regardless. He moved to the other side of the MRAP and pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes taking a little smoke break. "Really Flynn near a gas station?" Gus said looking over at his friend which made him shrug slightly and moved further away but still within sight of their vehicle.

Inside of the shop things were rather chaotic, a few of the customers were scrambling to get their things and get out of the store, there were two very overwhelmed clerk workers checking out customers as quickly as they could. June and Billie would see a man in his forties with a very bloody looking arm grabbing a pack of gauze. They both would notice that it was a rather nasty looking bite mark, and the guy looked like he was running a fever as well to.

---

---

---

---

Kaitlyn would finish buying the supplies that she thought she needed, a lot of canned goods as well as a gas cannister to from the minimart filled with another gallon or two with gas. She started to put her things into the truck of the car, when she heard what sounded like a little girl. Her attention turned to see a scene across the street, just in time to see the girl swinging a lacrosse stick into a biker sending her flying and landing onto the ground. Kaitlyn quickly put the things away and quickly made her way over towards the two she dealt with kids back at her job late teens mostly but had some experience with kids around AJ's age.

Kaitlyn held up her hands to AJ in a none threatening way. "Calm down alright?" Kaitlyn said while keeping her distance as she approached Shin-ae and knelt down next to her. "Are you okay are you hurt?" Kaitlyn asked looking at her while still keeping her attention on AJ in case the girl did attack her Kaitlyn did a once over again noting the scrape on the woman's knee. She would see someone else in the distance as well to slowly approaching. "I'm Kaitlyn how about you two?" She asked trying to make some small talk.

---

---

The woman she had struck tumbled down to the ground in a loudening crash.

AJ frozen in place. Her posture had grown stiff as she gripped the crosse. Blood pressure ran sky high, and her chest heaved with every breath she took. She had kept herself safe from that... thing. It wasn't going to feast on her flesh any time soon, like they had done to her coach.

A voice spoke out from behind AJ. An unfamiliar voice. She didn't quite make out what they were saying.

"I-I," AJ spoke. Her voice quivered. "I got it. I-I told it to stay back, but it kept coming."

But then the voice walked passed her, and approached the woman she had just struck.

"No!" She called out, taking an unsteady step forward. "Stay back!"

Her concerns were quick to fall upon deaf ears. The stranger knelt down in face-ripping-off-distance, and asked if the other woman was alright. Alright? Why would anyone care if it was alright? It was going to eat you! Why won't she listen? Why couldn't she take her words for truth? Had she not seen what they did yet? A tightness grew within AJ's chest as she feared for the worst to come. The "oh-god-help-me-its-eating-my-face-AAAAAA" part. The part that more often than not came with death and a grisly mess of blood and body parts. She didn't want to see it happen to another person, even if they were flirting with the idea of their own death.

As the woman shifted, wheezing out what air was left in her lungs, AJ readied for another strike. Her shoes skidded against the asphalt in panic as she took a defensive stance. She wasn't going to let it make her chow. Not now. Not ever.

Yet, before she could strike, it spoke.

It. It spoke.

Oh god. Oh no. Nononononononono. She had just swung at someone. A living, breathing person. Not one of those things.

"O-oh my god," She replied. The crosse was hurriedly dropped, and AJ rushed to the woman's side across from the stranger. "I'm so sorry! I-I thought you were one of those things!"

AJ glanced at the woman, and looked for any sign of injury from the impact. She immediately noticed the cloth covering the knee had been shredded, no doubt from the impact the woman took as she hit the ground. Haphazardly swinging the duffel bag around her, AJ hastily dug through the compartments to look for any kind of medical supplies. Neosporin. A band aid or two. Something that could at least help the injury until it could be properly looked at. She had to have something in her bag to help—after all, her mom had made her carry first-aid after the last accident she had during practice.

Still, as desperately as AJ dug, she found nothing. Her face went pale. Crap. It was probably still at home, and not in her bag. She was a goner if her mom found out, provided the woman she had just knocked out didn't get to her first.

"U-Uh," AJ anxiously said, looking across at the stranger. "Kaitlyn, right? AJ. You, uhm, don't happen to have a band-aid or something on you?"

---

---

With toilet paper on the mind, Lex followed the group into the gas station. It was crowded, with people buzzing about and employees trying to keep up with the chaos. Were it not for the fact that people were eating each other a river over from where she was, it might've been comparable to a free day at the museum. The flow was difficult to keep up with, and she knew full well how the clerks felt as the constant beep of a scanner was heard not far off from where she stood.

"Right, right," Lex spoke, largely to herself. "Now where is it?"

Her eyes scanned the gas station aisles, trying to spot the toilet paper. Motor oil, no. Gift cards, nah. Surely this gas station had some to have some kind of toilet paper for sale. It might be an expensive off-brand or something, but Lex was willing to take anything to save herself and anyone else the trouble of being able to properly go the bathroom.

Eventually spotting the toilet paper out of the corner of her eye, Lex turned down the aisle it was in. There, however, she locked eyes with a man with a bloody arm, clearly from the bite wound she soon noticed. In his hand was a pack of gauze, which Lex had known would likely help stop the bleeding from the pressure it placed upon the wound. But the bite itself? Well, Lex was no doctor. Just a security guard with some basic first aid knowledge. It probably needed stitches, she figured.

"Hey," Lex cautiously called out for her own safety. The man already seemed panicked, so she didn't want to startle him. "The gauze might help stop the bleeding, but you're probably going to need that stitched. It's just going to get worse if you don't."

---

---

Kali nodded in response. Still, she felt uncertain about leaving him alone. Of course, Kali was used to him playing the "cool, tough guy". He had helped wrangle her co-worker away from Jeff, and saved them from the kid who had tried to attack them outside her apartment. But this time, it felt different. She struggled not to worry, despite him asking her not to. Something was up, but Kali wasn't certain what.

"I'll see what they have," Kali responded, and stood up from her seat. "Hopefully they still have some in the coolers."

Following some of the group into the gas station, Kali was met with pandemonium. It was like the dinner rush all over again, but instead of a desperate rush to get food out onto the floor, this time it had been people panic buying necessities at convivence prices.

Dodging the mess and crowd, Kali broke away and made her way over to the coolers, and immediately thanked her lucky stars that there was still some remaining. The prices made her bite her lip; she knew she could only afford so many with what money she had. But did money even matter anymore, with people mauling each other in the streets? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to take one or two... with how bad it was in the gas station, they probably wouldn't even notice she slipped one into her purse.

Kali glanced outside, watching the officers that they had escaped with. If she was going to steal, maybe it wasn't a bright idea to do it when you were right in front of the law. Deciding against the idea, Kali grabbed what she could afford, and made her way to the check outs.

---

---

Before entering the gas station, Billie lingered on the military jets flying towards New York. She didn't recognize the type of jet. Would they fire on U.S. citizens with this level of outbreak? How high on the chain of command did the orders come from to destroy the bridges? Too many questions. Right now, they needed to get supplies and stick together. Half the aisles were ransacked to oblivion, she wouldn't help. "Flashlights, batteries, antibiotics, water." Time for the buddy system.

Inside, Billie kept a close distance to June at the beginning. The first stop was at the snack aisle. June was stockpiling on gummy worms and other snacks as though there would never be anymore. Wanting to feel useful, she grabbed one of the remaining gummy worm packages. If June ever ran through her cache, which seemed likely, it would be a nice present. She followed June towards the electronics section. Finally. Billie grabbed two flashlights and their respective batteries. One for her and the other as a spare. Right as Billie looked up, June was halfway across the store towards the energy drinks. There goes the buddy system.

Billie tossed her pack of gummy worms in her basket before grabbing a case of water bottles. She lifted the case onto her shoulder to carry with one hand semi-free. She headed towards the gas station's questionable medicinal aisle. She grabbed a handful of pill bottles: aspirin, Advil, flu medicine, and some cough drops. Not perfect against human rabies, but what could you do? Nearby was a man with a bite mark examining the gauze. Open wound. Bleeding. This man was a walking contamination for this strain of rabies to Billie. She turned to Lex and whispered to prevent the man from hearing. "Hey, don't get too close. The blood might be infectious." She headed to the checkout line. In a hurry, she slapped down enough cash to pay for her goods and some extra. With her flashlights, water, and medicine, she rushed back to the MRAP.

---

---

The past five hours were a blur to Diane. Four hours ago her school underwent a lock-down with maniacs rushing around attacking each outside. In the last hour, hysterical family members breached the school entrance to find their children before...before they started ripping each other. The police couldn't stop them all. Diane found herself running home until Paul intercepted her. Three days ago she received a notice that Paul appealed the court's custody decision. This prick (excusing her language) couldn't live without finding a way to damage AJ's and Diane's life even more. If it weren't for AJ's life in danger, she would have spit on Paul's face and slammed the door. At least, she would want to. Knowing Paul, he would twist every interaction with Diane to make her sound like an irresponsible mother unfit to raise AJ.

"It would be so much easier if you let me call AJ on your phone! Keep your eyes on the road!" Diane didn't like raising her voice, even at Paul, but in her frantic state all the manners were tossed by the wayside. "Okay the tracker app shows AJ near the Caldwell Mini Mart! It's only a mile away." Diane rose her head as the two passed near a military vehicle parked by a gas station. "Paul, Paul, look!" She pointed to the MRAP. "Maybe they can help us!"

Another long groan emerged in response to the woman's inquiry, hand clenched tight around the blood seeping from her leg. After the groan petered out, Shin-ae's eyes finally opened just in time to see the lacrosse warrior rushing at her. She jerked back, wide eyes wary, though the effect was reduced somewhat by the wince. It took her a moment to realize that the crosse was lying forgotten on the ground now, and the rush had been to crouch down beside her and ask frantically if she was okay.

Well, that made a nice change.

Shin-ae gasped a few more times until the breath finally caught in her throat. "Shin-ae," she rasped. "I'm Shin-ae." A moment passed as she tried to formulate something to say to the two of them. She could partially forgive AJ for taking a swing at her, she thought, given the state of things, but she couldn't deny that it certainly didn't endear her, especially after--

She jerked upright, leg wound forgotten, as she realized that her backpack was feeling significantly lighter than usual. Glancing frantically around, she caught sight of her violin case lying eight or nine feet away. Still latched, still shut tight; the padding would've kept it safe. Hopefully, at least, she'd never let it go flying like that. She let out a long breath from her newly-functional lungs and made to stand up--and then suddenly remembered she was bleeding. She gave AJ a long look from the corner of her eyes. Frankly, she trusted Kaitlyn more with her knee if she was going to trust anyone. Completely disregarding the fact that she smacked Shin-ae off of her bike, a panicky teenager was the last person she wanted to let near an injury.

"AJ, yes?" Her voice was tight, shot through with anxiety, suspicion, and pain. She tilted her head to the side, indicating where the case was lying on the ground. "can you get my violin for me?" With any luck that would keep the girl at arm's length. Almost as an afterthought, she looked back to Kaitlyn and finally removed the hand from her knee. It wasn't a severed wound or anything, it wouldn't be crippling or life-threatening. But it was pretty bad, as scrapes went, and she hissed in a tight breath as the adrenaline from the tumble and the endorphins from the long bike ride started to run down and the pain intensified.

It took her that far to realize the implications of what AJ had said, and a queasy look painted her face. "Wait, does that mean--" Did that mean that it had gotten out of Manhattan already?

---

---

---

---

The chaos of the gas station was far from fun. June's social anxiety was attempting to cause an emotional breakdown inside her head. Externally, she held the most uncomfortable smile in her desperate attempt to hide just how overwhelmed she was feeling today. Between watching the deaths of people she knew, losing her most prized possession, watching the collapse oh the local everything, and about to be dragged into an isolated cabin that she had no idea where it was because her other options consisted on running on foot for a few hundred miles, she was having a day. And by the looks of people around her, she was getting off easy. Sure, she wished she could express her empathy better than offering snacks, sure she wished she could help more than offering up snacks, and sure she wished she could do more to keep herself under wraps other than snacking on snacks. But alas, in this situation, snacks were her best friend. Though at least some of the people she was present with seemed to have decent heads on their shoulders, and most didn't give off creep vibes! She was still unsure about the rest. Though it made her wonder if she gave off creep vibes...

Finishing off the order, she turned to the clerk who checked her and her supply of snacks, magazines, and energy drinks. "Thanks dude. Uh... get home safe when you can yeah? Or if not home somewhere else you feel safe." She was sure they had their reasons for staying, working in retail under normal circumstances was hard enough, working in it while cannibals ate people in the streets? "Nothing this job offers is worth the risk." She tried to speak up sympathetically paying for her order with her credit card, and leaving $200 in cash for the two clerks hoping that it may help.

When June turned around she realized the value of the buddy system, and how flawed her attention span was in keeping to it, and noticed that she had lost Billy, and... she couldn't be totally sure she knew everyone's names yet but she was sure she lost them all in a store that she could see wall to wall. "Mother Fucker..." She swore realizing she now had to either navigate the store with her tower of energy drinks to look for her people, or she had to book it to the truck to drop it off and hope they were already there. Then she saw Billie in one of the side lanes and walked over to her with her leaning tower of energy drinks topped with a basket of random snacks, gummy worms, and magazines. June however was clumsy and slow like this, and wished she had a backpack on her to load some of this up with. Problem for later. As Billie rushed out to checkout and rushed out the door June could do little more as she caught her breath and spoke up. "wait wait wait!" But it came out as more of a squeak as the lean woman found herself quickly unbalanced forcefully setting down her loot. on the shelf, staying close so no one would try to claim it. She had missed Billie due to her own lack of ability to stay focused on task. Fuck. She did however notice one of the other woman from the truck!

LEX! Her name was LEX! June worried how awkward it would be if she had already forgotten the woman's name... always a weak point for the woman. And she was talking too... a dude who had seen better days. Pushing her loot down the shelf so she could get closer to Lex and the injured man without having to carry her loot June spoke up. "We shouldn't stay here longer than we have too. It's getting crazier by the moment." And what if more of the monsters came up? What if they were already here? What if their only hope of escape was the monsters getting distracted by mauling and eating someone else? But she also pitied the man in his situation. "There's gotta be an urgent care or hospital nearby, it may be a bit crazy but someone has got to look at that sooner or later, maybe wash it out with alcohol or somethin'?" She did want to help, but she was still shaken up, and did everything she could to not get too close to anyone, staying behind Lex but close enough to offer the woman assistance if she could. Alas, what aid that could be was limited. "Does anyone with us know how to stitch?" June tried to whisper quietly.

---

---

---

---

---

---

The man that Lexi was trying to talk to slowly turned his head around, the look in his eyes appeared to be vacant, then a rather very loud gurgly sounding growl came from the man. He was infected, and he spotted his next meal and started to charge forward towards Lexi managing to tackle her to the ground, and started to attempt to try and bite at her she'd be able to keep him away from her for now. Another customer stopped and saw the attack and started to let out a loud scream getting the attention of the other customers. And panic in the gas station suddenly turned into chaos as the customers grabbed whatever they could and left.

Diane and Paul would see from where they are in the car a herd of customers quickly getting out of the store, and getting into their cars or running away on foot. Flynn turned around to hear the loud yelling as he turned around, seeing a number of people getting out of the gas station along with the police officers with them and quickly sprung into action and headed inside.

Flynn followed shortly after everyone else as well to he would see Lexi on the ground and quickly kicked the zombie off of her knocking him onto the ground. "Are you two okay?" Flynn asked looking between Lexi and June as well to, the officers would draw out their guns looking at the members of the group that they had came in with. "Hurry up and get out." One of them ordered.

---

---

---

---

"Yeah I got some in my car." Kaitlyn said as she got up looking at AJ for a moment. "Make sure she doesn't get up." She said as Kaitlyn made a run towards her car, she started to search around the supplies that she had gotten. She got lucky with finding a bunch of canned goods inside the mini mart. She eventually saw the first aid kit she managed to snag before leaving the city and grabbed that, before closing her car and running back over towards the two. Kaitlyn pulled out the first aid kit and handed it over to AJ, and gave her a friendly smile. "It's nothing to serious just a nasty looking scrape. There should be some alcohol in there and some gauze." Kaitlyn told her.

Kaitlyn looked over to the violin case that Shin-ae had pointed out and got up making her way over towards it, she grabbed it and made her way back to the two girls. "Here you go." Kaitlyn said looking at the two for a moment. "Where are you two from?" Kaitlyn asked trying to make some small talk, luckily there weren't any infected nearby for now at least.

---

---

"R-Right, right." AJ replied to Kaitlyn. Keeping an eye on Shin-ae was the least she could do. "I can do that. Just don't take too long, please."

As Kaitlyn returned to her car, AJ sat in awkward silence. She hadn't been certain what to say, if anything at all, outside frantically apologizing to the woman. Her stomach churned. AJ hated herself for what she had done. She was horrible. A horrible person. God, why did she swing? Why didn't she see the bike? What if the injury was worse than it appeared to be? A million questions had ran through her head, and yet she had no answer to any of them.

Thankfully, it didn't take Kaitlyn long to return. In her hand was the first-aid kit from her car, which, by Kaitlyn's diagnosis, should be enough. It wasn't serious. Just a nasty-looking scrape that could be cleaned up with alcohol and gauze.

"Okay," AJ spoke, taking the kit from Kaitlyn. "Could you go get her violin? I should be able to handle this."

While Kaitlyn left once more to go pick up the violin case, AJ popped the kit open from the latches. Inside the kit, she found several medical supplies, including a couple alcohol pads alongside some gauze. She had known the process well by now; her mother treating many of her sports-related scrapes and burns in the past. As long Shin-ae didn't object, she could treat the injury.

Opening one of the alcohol pads, AJ moved to clean the injury. "It, uhm, might sting a bit. I'll try to make it quick."

AJ gave Shin-ae a moment to prepare herself. The sting from alcohol on a fresh wound sucked, even if it was momentarily. After a few seconds had passed, she began to wipe the scrape with the alcohol pad until it looked clean enough for her to apply the gauze. Pushing it against the wound, AJ fixed the gauze in place so that it could do its job until it was time to remove and replace.

"It should be fine for now." AJ explained to Shin-ae. "But please keep an eye on it, okay?"

Placing what supplies she had gotten out of the kit back inside, AJ handed the first-aid kit back to Kaitlyn so she could put it back in her car. As she did, Kaitlyn decided to make some small talk—a momentary distraction that AJ felt relieved for.

"Glen Rock," AJ explained. "We were on our way to a game in Caldwell when an accident happened... and Mr... Mr. Everett... He—"

Unfortunately, the moment of relief hadn't lasted long as memories flooded back. She began to relive it in her head, remembering how her coach had his throat ripped out trying to pull someone from the wreck. How they were forced to escape from the emergency exit to get away from the carnage that was unfolding outside the bus.

Clamming up before the two women with tears welling in her eyes, AJ grew silent and refused to speak anymore.

---

---

As Lex tried to advise the man, some of her fellow evacuees stopped by with advice of their own. Billie had mentioned that the blood might be infectious, while June suggested that they got out of here while they still could. Both sound ideas, yet Lex felt there still something that they could do. The idea of ignoring a clearly injured person for their own benefit just didn't sit well with Lex.

"I don't know," Lex whispered back. "I only know what the museum had us learn. CPR. Basic first aid. Nothing about stitching open wounds."

As Lex responded to June, the man turned to face the two women. His eyes seemed vacant, empty of any thought. Before Lex could react, the man growled and charged her, knocking the security guard off her feet and on to the ground. She had taken by surprise, yet by sheer luck was able to keep the man from ripping into her flesh as he tried to repeatedly bite her.

"Get the fuck off of me!" Lex exclaimed, attempting to push the man away from herself.

Thankfully, rescue came quick. As if she had been heard, no doubt from the sudden shouting within the gas station, Flynn burst inside and kicked the zombie away from Lex. Scrambling back to her feet, Lex quickly thanked the man as he asked if they were okay.

"I-I'm..." Lex replied to Flynn, albeit clearly shaken up. "I'm fine."

When the group of officers arrived, Lex was quick to comply with their orders. She didn't want to stay here any longer, and if anyone could handle the situation, it would've been the police.

"C'mon, June!" Lex called out. She reached out to grab June's arm, and attempted to pull her along with her outside where the MRAP had been parked. "Grab your stuff and let's get out of here!"

---

---

Waiting in line with what she could afford, Kali quickly paid for her items at the register. She waited for the cashier to put the bottles in a bag, and then headed out to the MRAP not far behind some of the others that had evacuated with them from Manhattan.

"I didn't have much on me, so this is all I could grab." Kali explained, catching up with Billie. "But with what you bought, I think we might be fine for awhile if we ration. Maybe Gus knows if there a stream nearby the cabin that we could use for fresh water in the future."

As they reached the MRAP, Kali climbed up the steps and made her way back to Isaac. Twisting off the cap to one of the bottles she had bought, Kali offered the bottle of water that he had requested to her boss.

"Here, Isaac. Drink a little bit at a time. It should help cool you off."

While she waited for Isaac to take the bottle of water from her, the sound of screaming within the gas station drew everyone's attention. Flynn and the cops rushed inside, while Kali watched a crowd flee the building. Some ran to their cars, others ran on foot down the road. Standing on her toes, Kali desperately tried to spot Lex, June or anyone else that had been riding with them, but to no avail.

"The others are still in there." Kali worriedly commented to Billie. She felt she could trust the cops to handle the solution, but she didn't like the idea of standing idly by while someone could get hurt. "Should we go after them?"

---

---

The way things had escalated in such a short time was something else.

These were the kind of situations you saw in fiction and it did shock Paul, even if he had remained relatively composed given current events. When the first reports went out he had thought how disease control would handle things, how the military would coordinate, and how to plan around it. He was impulsive, but measured, then again all of the thinking he could possibly do was thrown into a blender when he came to realize his daughter wasn’t anywhere safe. Paternal instincts came in from there, and then, he went to find his very bitter and quite upset ex-wife to try to coordinate their efforts.

Considering the papers he had left at her door over the weekend he was surprised she hadn’t turned into a raving lunatic. Fortunately, that had not happened so far; though, she was a very loud and manic person.

“If you think so.” He remarked, as he stopped his car, knowing Diane would want to investigate. His eyes scanned the road for any trouble, and then back to the tracker app. “If they won’t help, it won’t take us long at all to find her.”

It wouldn’t take him long to go a mile, barring the troubles he had driving.

---

---

---

---

June paused for a moment as Lex explained that she was in fact, their medically qualified person. At least to a degree. "fair, fair. Maybe the first aid kits have a thing explaining it?" She could have sworn she looked into a first aid kit once and saw something like that, then got squeamish and looked away immediately. Surely all first aid kits have them right? Or at least some... or at least some others than the one she looked in. June almost didn't have the chance to respond when the man lunged for Lex. What did June do in that moment? She froze.

It took way too long for June's train of thought to kick back into gear, being shaken up by the sound of the front door opening harshly. That metallic thud of the door swinging open reminded June that something in her had to act. Something in her could act. Seeing the man on top of Lex, June was still scared shitless. She worried about what would happen should the man turn on her, would she get torn apart too? Was he contagious? Would she end up just like him?! She didn't know, and that idea scared her. But she refused to do nothing, rushing across the lane she grabbed the fire extinguisher off the wall and turned around just in time to see Flynn knock the dude off Lex. So her reaction time was slower than a dude outside, really said something about freezing in the moment. Seeing the attacker standing now June charged the man swinging the blunt improvised weapons with a harsh screech as she swung the blunt instrument with all her force!

Only for it to wiff, missed entirely as she misjudged the distance. To her luck, or what she could claim to be expert skill, the rebound as her arms sprang forward again, the blunt fire extinguisher flying nearly strait up into the attackers chin. For a brief moment June sword she saw the dude go airborne and fall flat on his back. A second after she had accomplished her feat of strength the clang of the blunt weapon hitting the floor shook her out of her short term mental freeze as Lex grabbed her arm and began to pull.

Quickly the woman's humor of a shell returned, replying to Flynn with a two finger solute with her free hand she spoke up. "Right as Rain Captain." June said in her best English sounding accent. Not realizing she was shaking as she spoke and was dragged. Then Lex Mentioned the loot. And June's excited face broke. "Shite, my booty!" She joked trying to suppress her fear. as she took a step back to the leaning tower of snacks grabbing it with both arms, but doing her best to still stay in the grip of Lex. Something about a woman who didn't freeze under stress taking the time out of her day to make sure she didn't get left behind was reassuring. June despite carrying the tower of loot stayed close enough so Lex could still keep dragging her by the arm as they ran. She didn't have to be told twice to get the hell out of the way of the dudes with guns as they dealt with the problem.

There was a long, awkward silence after AJ broke down, or at least that's how SHin-ae saw it.

Although Shin-ae hadn't exactly wanted her anywhere near her scrape, she had to admit that she'd cleaned it up fine. And she'd gotten her violin in the end, so really, everything turned out fine. Until AJ did, in fact, start crying. Shin-ae wasn't exactly sure how to respond to it, she'd never been good with kids, and really, never been good with upset people in general. But Kaitlyn's question was still sitting there, and it seemed like bad form to not answer it at all. Hence the silence. While she waited for some kind of magic to break the impasse--or for an arbitrary length of time that felt 'long enough' after AJ started crying, she busied herself with checking on her instrument.

Running her finger softly along the case--lingering for a moment on the bite mark that Meredith had left there and swallowing heavily--she unlatched it with delicate hands, lifting the violin gingerly out like a glass infant and inspecting it. Nothing was broken. Frets were firm. Strings were still in place. She ran a fingernail softly over them, and the soft strum told her that it was still in tune from playing it last night. Placing it carefully back in its cradle of deep blue velvet, she pulled the bow out next. This was the part she'd worried about the most; it was a thin, delicate piece of equipment, after all. But she needn't have worried. It was still just as intact as it was before. The rosin was still sitting in its nook. She let out a long breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. Fine. It was fine.

Another moment passed before she realized that probably more time had passed than was strictly necessary, and became belatedly aware of how awkward the silence was. Replacing the bow and closing the case, she coughed lightly into her hand, then turned to Kaitlyn. "Manhattan, Upper East Side. The whole city basically blew up so I got out as fast as I could."

She tested her leg for a moment, wincing at the still-painful alcohol sting, before standing up and walking slowly and with a light limp over to her fallen bicycle. Even before she thought to kneel down to inspect it, she heaved a long, quiet sigh and searched around on the tarmac. Ah, there it was. Another few feet away, she bent down and picked up the snapped-off left pedal.

A part of her wanted to say something to AJ. She'd liked that bike. But her brain managed to catch up just in time to remind her that yelling at a child who had watched her coach get killed, or at least that's what she could gather happened, would be a horrible thing to do, and would leave her feeling guilty for who knew how long after. The least she could do was to not put her foot that hard in her mouth. Maybe she could find a way to repair it somehow, though that'd mean she'd need to walk it for a while.

Tossing the pedal up and down in her hand a few times, she returned to where she'd been, sitting down again next to her violin and applying as much pressure to the gauze as she dared. She almost opened her mouth to speak, but stifled the impulse at the last moment. She didn't know if she'd already committed a faux pas. It'd probably be better if she stayed quiet for a while.

---

---

As Billie rushed back to the MRAP, all she could do was think about the injured man inside. "It must be a new strain of rabies, right? I've seen in it wild animals before, they get bit, scratched, or come into contact with blood or saliva. It isn't airborne, God help us if it is. But, fuck what do you do? Bathe in alcohol? Just stay out of contact. Stay out of contact, Billie. It doesn't matter who." Living in the podunk backwoods of Arkansas, she knew to avoid any animals that shows signs of rabies. If bitten or even touched, the safest plan would be to consult a medical professional. "Why didn't I go into pharmaceutical science? I'd have a better fucking idea what to do!". She didn't realize she was speaking to herself when Kali grabbed her attention.

She turned to Kali forcing a smile. "I'm so glad you grabbed extra water too. This will keep us plenty hydrated for a couple days to sort things out." . As the two walked back to the MRAP, she matched her pace with Kali. "There is bound to be a river or creek nearby for us to procure water if we need to stay in quarantine for a while. Depending on the cabin, it could even have a well or a water pump!"

Billie hopped into the MRAP to store the water case in a secure spot when she heard screaming from the gas station. She rushed to the back doors of the car to see Flynn and the officers rushing inside the gas station. Bystanders flooded out of the doors towards their cars or to flee into the streets. Billie darted her head around to see Lex and June both missing. "No, no, please, oh God, no," she muttered to herself. Billie grabbed Kali's arm to pull her back inside the MRAP. "Kali, get in. Stay where it is safe." She understood Kali's concern. While June and Lexi were still strangers, Billie wished to help them; however, if Flynn and the officers were saving the Lexi and June, Billie decided to take responsibility to protect Isaac and Kali. She held her rock hammer tight and ready to swing.

---

---

Paul being reasonable for once? Diane for a second couldn't believe he would listen to her. As her ex-husband slowed down to a stop, Diane was already halfway out the door. "Officers, officers! Please, I need help! My daughter, my daughter, AJ- As she began to address the police officers, screams erupted from the gas station. While the police officers charged into the store with guns drawn, a horde of bystanders flooded out into the streets. Panicked, Diane darted her attention across the parking lot. If not the police officers, then maybe the military? Except, where were they? Why was a military vehicle parked at the gas station with no military personal present. "Paul, Paul, where is the military? Why are-wait," her voice drifted off as she watched civilians entering into the MRAP. No, no it couldn't have devolved so rapidly. Where was the military? Where was FEMA? Where was the armed forces to organize emergency support and resources? If these petty civilians were capable of stealing an MRAP, who could she rely on?

Defeated, Diane covered her mouth as she began to cry. The possibility with staying with the police officers for safety and as a way to get away from Paul was better than relying on her ex-husband. Every moment she was with him felt like a stab in the gut, yet now she had to return to him for help. She climbed back into Paul's car with the tracker app ready. Fighting through the tears she conveyed AJ's location. "She's, um, AJ should still be a mile ahead down the street. Let's just go, please."

---

---

---

---

---

---

Isaac turned to look at Kali as she climbed back into the MRAP he accepted the bottle of water and started to take a large swig of it before handing it back to her. "Thank you." Isaac said giving Kali a slight smile to her as he leaned back slightly, he was still sweaty and very clamy looking as well to. Gus was finishing up filling the tank when some lady came up to the car yelling for the officers, he looked at her and was about to try and get her attention. "What do you need lady?" Gus yelled out to her as Diane got back into the car, he looked at the other person in the car for a moment wondering what was going on really.

Flynn quickly started to make a run for the exit for the little store and back over towards the group. "Alright we should get going." Flynn said as two of the officers started to return to them as well. "I'm not sure how this all started in the first place at all really or what this is." Flynn said to Billie. Gus looked at June, and Lex for a moment and rolled his eyes slightly seeing the food that they got. "When I said food, like actual canned food not snacks bagged shit aint gonna last long.. " Gus said grumbling slightly as he closed the gas cap to the massive vehicle his attention still looking at the couple to see what they would do.

---

---

---

---

"Hey, hey it's okay." Kaitlyn said looking over at AJ and gave her a friendly smile as she gently rested a hand on her shoulder trying to comfort the young girl. "I have some food and water in my car if you want some." She offered to both AJ as well as Shin-ae, as she slowly started to get up she took a moment to see the slightly damaged bike. "I don't think you'd be able to get far with the broken peddel and with your injured leg. If you want you are welcome to come with me, or if you want me to drop you off somewhere as well to if you have any family nearby." Kaitlyn offered, as she looked at AJ. "Same to you as well if you need to or if your parents live close by to." Kaitlyn said to AJ hoping that they would be able to find her parents.

For Jack staying in the city wasn't a smart idea at all, he would along with a few other civilians and police officers were able to get out of the city. He ended up finding himself in West Caldwell after being separated from the group, he would be able to see Kaitlyn, AJ, as well as Shin-ae nearby in front of the mini mart. Kaitlyn took a moment to look at the car seeing it slowly approaching wondering who it was.

---

---

AJ didn't understand. How was any of this "okay"? People were ripping each other apart in an attempt to feast on living flesh. She watched her coach die before her own eyes. Her teammates were nowhere to be found, and she was lost somewhere in Caldwell. None of it had sounded the least bit "okay" to AJ.

She sniffled her nose, and took off her helmet. With her gloved hand, AJ wiped away the tears that had formed across her face.

"I'm... I'm going to see if I can get my parents to pick up." AJ finally spoke up, looking back at Kaitlyn who had since placed an arm upon her shoulder. Though she had long been cautioned against taking rides with strangers, AJ was willing to go against her mother's teaching and accept Kaitlyn's willingness to help her get back home. She didn't want to spend another moment out here, not knowing if any other cannibals might've been lurking nearby. "Just give me a second, please."

Digging into her duffel bag, AJ pulled out her smartphone. As she unlocked her lock screen, a flash of notifications appeared across the top bar. Numerous missed calls. Several voice mails. All from her mother, who must've been worried sick about her. She quickly tapped her way into her contacts, and pressed the call button once she had found her mother's number.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

The line successfully went through, having been picked up from the other end.

"Mom?" AJ immediately blurted out as the line connected. A barrage of anxious, worried questions soon followed, spewing like a torrent over the phone. "Mom? Are you there? Are you still at school? I-I'm with some others; Kaitlyn, and uhm, Shin-ae. Mom, Mr. Everett... He.. H-he..."

Her tone began to fill with the solemn unease she felt before, and AJ had to force herself to even mention what had happened to Mr. Everett.

"He's dead, mom."

---

---

Rushing back to the MRAP with June not far behind, the duo had made it safely out of the store and past the cops that were now rushing inside. She took a moment to catch her breath, clearly still in a state of shock from the events that had transpired. The man had seemed fine, minus the obvious bite wound that he had. Yet before she had realized it, he had rushed at Lex and attempted to make a snack of her.

The events played over in her head. Bite wound. Crazy guy. Bite wound. Crazy guy. It happened so quickly, as if he had gone insane in mere seconds. If Flynn (and also June) hadn't been there, she most likely would've been chow right now.

"Thank you, again." Lex spoke to Flynn following his return from the gas station. Thanks were obviously in order. "I owe you my life."

As she waited with abated breath for the police to return, Lex turned to Gus, who had clearly been disgruntled with their haul. She glanced at the bags and other such items that they had acquired from the gas station before all hell had broken loose. Energy drinks, minimal water, and snack food. They weren't off to a good start, barely better off than they were moments prior.

"I didn't have time to grab anything." Lex explained to him. "One of them was inside. I thought he was still... well, human, but then he tried to attack me. If it hadn't been for Flynn and June, he probably would've had taken a chunk out of me."

---

---

"H-Hey!"

Kali called out in surprise. She had been taken off guard by Billie, who suddenly yanked her into the MRAP. Like a child and their mother, Billie ordered Kali to stay put inside while she armed herself with her rock hammer. Staying quiet, Kali waited for a few seconds to pass before she decided to speak up and break the tense silence.

"I think we're okay, Billie." Kali replied, carefully placing a hand on her shoulder. She didn't want to startle Billie, who seemed panicky, and in turn take a rock hammer (especially the spiked end) to the gut. "Look, they're on their way out, see?"

Reaching past Billie, Kali pointed to Lex, June and the others who were now making their way out of the gas station. Thankfully, or at least in so far that Kali could see, they all appeared fine. Shaken up for some, but ultimately fine.

"Are we in the clear?" Kali asked the group, concern showing as Lex mentioned being attacked. "Is everyone okay?"

---

---

---

---

Maybe, just maybe, June wasn't the ideal member for the end of the world. When it came to fight or flight, she froze. When it came to fighting she couldn't do a lot until it was push to shove, and she'd probably need to be shoved a couple times to get going. She didn't have the stomach for killing either. Even animals she couldn't muster it. Despite being a potentially extremely lethal shot at medium range with a rifle, she'd break down in tears in the woods the only time she ever attempted to go hunting with her father. To add to it, what she considered supplies was not the same thing as what most people considered survival supplies. Three large packages of energy drinks, a butt load of gummy worms, some chips, a pack of what she is pretty sure is beef jerky but she has some doubts, and plenty of magazines with less a less than decently dressed cast on them. "Well, if you don't want any gummy worms I shall not share then." June attempted in her most over the top entitled noblewoman voice trying her best to not break down laughing at a mediocre joke at best. "Also its a fucking mad house in there. Most the shelves are already getting cleared out." There was also the fact that she paid for all the supplies she grabbed, so she figured she got a pretty solid say on what was purchased. Plus, she could live off this stuff exclusively for... She had to think about it as this was pretty close to her normal diet excluding a few microwave meals, take out meals, and whatever food the few conventions she went too offered. The humor was also a great way to hide how scared shitless she was! She got close to the infected man... did she catch it? In that moment of considering if she was infected or not, she felt herself get woozy and her arms get weak. Oh god was she sick?!

Then she remembered she was carrying several large packs of energy drinks and wasn't nearly as strong or in as good of shape as she was in highschool or college. These fuckers were heavy. Pushing her loot into the truck and heard her name. She was mentioned?! In a positive light?! Despite freezing up at first, June absolutely took the moment to accept the praise. Doing her best cool dude pose while leaning against the rear of the massive truck she smiled, tipped her non-existent hat to the Lex and spoke up. "Twas no big deal." She said in her best western tough guy tone. "Just come to me should you need assistance again yeah?" June said the western accent slipping as she leaned into the more cool dude vibes. Clearly out of her element accepting and wanting more praise.

Though she realized how cringe she must look at the moment, and decided that this was enough attention. So abruptly stopped the charade and climbed into the truck without saying a word. She did still have some manners, and would offer a hand to everyone climbing into the truck (After securing the energy drinks and snacks) and help them inside. But she had that sinking feeling again of what if that interaction had gotten her infected? Her gut felt sick, her limbs weak again, she swore she could feel her blood pressure dropping. Or rising... she wasn't sure either way how it worked... But it all felt wrong! What if everyone she helps into the truck was now infected because she spread it to them?! WHAT IF SHE DOOMED THEM ALL?! No, this anxiety wouldn't do. Grabbing one of the energy drinks she opened it and downed nearly half of it in the first few gulps. There, much better. "Okay? debatable. Alive? Sure. Clear? Also debatable. But as no one is trying to eat our spleens then you know? A bit of an improvement." She said with a strained chuckle to Kali's questioning.

---

---

In a moment of adrenaline paired with panic, Billie stopped breathing while waiting for an infected casualty to rush towards them. Just one good swing against the head. If this rock hammer could bust through rock, it would bust through a skull just fine. When Kali placed a hand on Billie's shoulder she nearly jumped. Jolted back to attention, she took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. "You're right. You're right. I just didn't-", she paused. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to rush in to help. How could she just stand there doing nothing?

As Lexi and June hopped back into the van, she eyed the haul. Junk food? Energy drinks? Sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade she could understand, but not energy drinks. At least Kali brought water. Billie was about to complain when Gus beat her to it. She shook her head and clenched her fist. As the two reported the attack she began to look them up and down for injuries. Were either of them contaminated? How could they even tell? Billie grabbed the back doors of the MRAP and peered towards the gas station. "I'm glad you two made it back. Good job back there, Flynn. And June." She narrowed her eyes towards the gas station doors. A pair of sunglasses would be handy right now. "What is taking those cops so long?"

---

---

"That bastard!

She didn't mean to throw the glass. She didn't mean to shatter it against the floor; yet, she needed to break something. Months and months and months of court hearings, packing up nearly twenty years away, arguing over what was hers and what was his, fighting for her child, for that cheating bastard to appeal the court order. AJ would be eighteen in two years, and that sick man still had to find a way to ruin her life. He couldn't wait? He couldn't allow Diane to be a mother for AJ?

Diane sunk down sobbing onto the kitchen floor while gripping a paper towel roll. "He doesn't even love her. He never loved me. Despite all of Paul's attempts, she still got the better end of the deal in the court proceedings. "I'll use all of his goddamn money to pay for my goddamn lawyer." Diane reached for her phone wanting to call her lawyer, but as a sobbing mess, she couldn't muster the energy. "Was I never enough? I did everything for him and was I not enough?" She slumped onto the floor staring at the broken glass. "I hate him, I hate hime, I hate him..."

His escape from the city had been spontaneous and haphazard… but not ill-advised. In the end, it was the only prudent option Jack had at his disposal, particularly when the infected had breached the make-shift shelter they had erected inside a public works office and scattered the handful of survivors who had taken refuge there. There had been five of them in all, including himself. Initially, it seemed feasible to keep everyone together without too many setbacks. He was accustomed to managing a small group, but such thoughts were naive. He should've known better; things were always different in a crisis situation. He soon discovered this terrible truth when the infected had stormed the area and penetrated the barricades, allowing them to enter the office without restraint…

The teacher—was her name Sue?—had become the first victim. She quickly succumbed to the mob after freezing under duress, followed by the two janitors, brothers who had worked for the city for decades. Their efforts were valiant under the circumstances, an earnest attempt to avenge their fallen comrade despite their lack of poise. Nevertheless, Jack admired their courage. Their sacrifice had been the perfect distraction, affording him and the young intern, Ben, enough time to flee from the premises.

That’s how he found himself behind the wheel of the battered Chevy Impala. It had belonged to Ben, the stereotypical ‘beater’ often utilized by the poor college student. As long as it got him from point A to point B, Jack wasn’t going to judge—especially when the young man was no longer around to defend himself or his property. The infected had ambushed him while attempting to reach the vehicle. It took all of Jack’s willpower to push on in the aftermath of that terrible moment, gritting his teeth to drown out the frantic screams, his knuckles white against the steering wheel, as he sped away from the scene and abandoned Ben to his fate.

One bite; one scratch.

That’s all it took.

Ben had suffered both.

Jack had to keep reminding himself that there had been no other choice. The boy was already dead at that point. If he had tried to save him, he would’ve eventually turned, and then—

"Goddammit," he suddenly uttered, his foot pumping the brake pedal as a group of pedestrians suddenly came into view from a nearby storefront. He hadn’t registered their presence due to his turbulent thoughts, though he couldn’t dismiss his initial fear—what if they were among the infected? It was the source of his trepidation, prompting him to approach with caution.

However, upon closer inspection, they weren’t exhibiting any telltale signs of disease. That raised his spirits, if only marginally. After facing so much adversity over the past 48 hours, perhaps he had finally hit a stroke of luck. If these survivors were cordial and open to collaboration, maybe there was a chance. Maybe there was a shred of hope that things could work out.

Maybe Claire was still alive.

That idea lingered, nagging at the back of his mind and causing him to inhale sharply through his nose. Despite everything, that’s why Jack had resolved to drive north; he wanted to reach his daughter before it was too late.

Jack latched onto that thought for inspiration as he stopped the car and lowered the window. "Hey," he called with a lazy wave. "I hope I’m not intruding. I was passing through on my way out of the city, and… well, let’s just say I’m glad to see someone alive and well out here."

A rueful smile touched his lips. "It’s been a tense couple of days."

---

---

---

---

---

---

Gus quietly grumbled to himself as he looked at the supplies. "Well there should be some canned goods at the cabin." Gus said as he finished up filling up the gas tank and closed the gas cap, and putting the gas nozzle back up as well to. "Alright lets get going." Gus said as he looked at the couple in the car not to far for a moment wondering why the woman tried to approach a few moments ago before heading into the driver's seat. A gunshot could be heard from inside of the little shopping part of the gas station, just then two out of the three police officers came out. One of them was holding their arm and what looked like a bite wound on his arm and blood was sliding down his arm.

"No problem." Flynn said as he went to climb into the backseat of the MRAP with the others, his eyes wondering over towards Isaac who really wasn't looking good at all. "You didn't happen to get a medkit or any medical supplies while you lot were in there to did you?" Flynn asked the group as Gus started to get the MRAP's engines started, he really hoped that Isaac didn't get bit or anything they would be in a lot of trouble if he ended up turning on the way over to the cabin.

Gus was about to leave when the officers suddenly approached the MRAP, he quickly locked the front doors and made a beeline to lock the rear door as well to. "One of em looks like they were bit I aint letting him in." Gus said as Flynn tried to get up to try and help when Gus shoved him back down into his seat.

---

---

---

---

"Alright then, just try to not wander to far." Kaitlyn said to AJ as she went to go and call her mother, she went back to tending to Shin-ae's scrape. The woman had gotten silent as she gently nudged the woman to say something as she finished up wrapping the wound, when a car came up a beater of a looking Chevy Impala slowly approaching them and a window rolling down revealing an older looking man behind the wheel.

"Yeah the last few hours have been pretty crazy.." Kaitlyn said as he looked at the man, he seemed to be alright and he didn't have any bad intentions by the looks of it really. "I'm Kaitlyn, this is Shin-ae and AJ luckily you got out of the city then since they blew up the bridges and tunnels leading into the city." She said as she put away the first aide kit. "Where are you headed?" She asked him.

Shin-ae let a long breath out as AJ went to call her mom. She was sure there was plenty of emotion passing between the two over the airwaves, but it let Shin-ae disengage from the girl, and the awkwardness faded a bit. She'd do well to keep her voice down, but the implicit social barrier that someone crying caused had fallen enough to climb over. Another few winces came from her as Kaitlyn tended to the scrape--it wasn't a severe wound, but it would absolutely get infected without treatment, and it was bleeding an awful lot for an abrasion.

Ah, it seemed like Kaitlyn wanted her to say something. She supposed she had gone silent without much word of warning. She was about to open her mouth to say something--an apology, maybe? Gratitude? A shared anxiety over the state of the world? She wasn't sure--when she became aware of a loud engine, and a beat up old car came into view. She supposed it was a good thing that the man stopped; more people without the mystery disease could never be bad.

That was, if he was without the mystery disease.

She let Kaitlyn speak first as she pondered what she was about to say. What would get her the information she wanted while sounding the least accusatory? She didn't want to alienate him before they even met. The man had a car, after all. If he let her tag along, then she could conceivably fit her bike in the back to get the pedal put on somewhere. Sure, it wasn't a mountain bike, but if she were attacked out by someone, she would sure rather have it than just her legs.

As Kaitlyn finished introducing her, she rose--putting as little weight as possible on her scraped-up leg--and inclined her head. "As she said, I'm Shin-ae, Shin-ae Yun." She paused a moment, shifting a bit uncomfortably. "Before you left the city, I don't suppose you were...injured in any way?" Good. That sounded good. Got across the question: had this man been bitten, was he a liability if he either attacked them or had a dizzy spell or something in front of the wheel? And it did it without sounding too obviously that she distrusted him.

It was an illness so bad that they'd blown up all of the bridges and tunnels leading out of Manhattan. She didn't want to think what had happened to the people who were inside the Lincoln Tunnel or on the GW Bridge when it happened, there was no way they had been fully cleared. And she really, really didn't want to take any chances.

Then, almost as an afterthought, "it's nice to meet you." Good. A bit ingratiating, without being obsequious. She hoped.

---

---

"She's, um, AJ should still be a mile ahead down the street. Let's just go, please."

Today was not a good day.

Still, Paul was surprised Diane had given up so quickly, but then again not seeing military or police around marked vehicles would make him a little wary, too. Fortunately, they hadn’t burned a lot of time. When Diane said AJ was only a mile or so up the street a sense of relief came over him, though his mind immediately combated it with questions. What if she had dropped her phone? What if she was hurt? He could feel the anxiety swell in his gut as they pulled out of the street’s shoulder.

He still had plenty of gas in his 2019 BMW 3 Series Sedan. That was at least one positive.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” He remarked as she asked him to drive. “The street looks pretty clear. We’ll get to her soon.”

As Paul made sure to drive carefully around any would-be collisions or obstructions, somehow, that’s when Diane’s phone came to life.

---

---

Billie gripped the back doors while crouched down. Upon hearing Flynn asking about a medkit she called out, "I have one in my backpack, along with pain pills, hold on." She scooted back from the doors towards her seat. "Tell me, Isaac, what is the problem? Fever? Anxiety?" From the grocery bag, Billie began pulling out the gas station medication. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. She had a collection of ibuprofen, motion sickness pills, antacid tablets, as well as allergy medication. Billie eyed Isaac up and down with concern. She didn't see any bite on him like the man from the gas station, but was he sick like them?

Seeing the officers rush towards the MRAP, Billie tried to inform the group. Before she could get a word in, Gus slammed shut the doors and locked the MRAP. "Bit?" She glanced between everyone in the car trying to gauge their reaction. She opened her mouth to say something, but her voice stopped. This was safe right? If the rabies had a fast transmission rate to enter the system of a person with an equally fast reaction across the body, quarantine must be maintained. However, not everyone here might agree with these precautions. Instead, Billie decided to keep her lips shut for now.

---

---

Diane scrambled to her phone hearing a Taylor Swift song she set for AJ’s ringtone. “AJ? AJ! AJ! AJ! AJ! Where-”, she stopped talking once she heard her daughter’s voice on the phone. Shin-ae? Kaitlyn? Diane didn’t recognize the names of them, but assumed they were fellow classmates of AJ. She sank in her seat hearing the news of Mr. Everett. Why him? Everett was one of her close work friends from the school. With the start of the new school year, she informed Everett of the divorce and her concern for AJ's mental health. Afterwards, she asked him to help keep an eye on AJ for her. He was good, he was nice, he was helpful. She placed a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from crying for Everett. Saving AJ was top priority.

Diane placed the phone on speaker to allow her ex-husband to listen to the call. When it came to AJ, she was willing to cooperate with him. She still believed he cared for AJ. "L-Listen to me, AJ. Stay right where you are. I’m with-I’m with your dad. We have the tracker on your phone, but can you tell us exactly where you are? Are you safe? Are you hurt?”