Freya pushed the trolley with her remaining strength which wasn't much. Looking down at the food, she debated leaving them behind as her legs struggled to keep up.

"How far?" Greg asked, walking slightly in front of her.

"Not too far now," she replied.

"The smoke is thicker, I can't see the trees anymore," Greg mumbled.

"Okay, do you have your belt on?" she said as she stopped the trolley.

"Yeah, why?"

"Give it to me, I'm going to tie the food down so it doesn't fall. We're going to run now," Frey said, stopping the trolley.

"Okay," Greg said, taking off his belt and handing it over to Freya.

"Okay, now we're going to run as far as we can til we're outta breath. I can see the roof from here so it's not too far."

Greg nodded and they began their sprint. Running faster, Freya found it was difficult to push the trolley across the stones and dirt and lagged behind her brother.

Greg turned his head, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get to the house, I'm right behind you!"

Greg did as he was told and ran towards the house much faster than Freya.

The smoke was approaching quicker than Freya had anticipated. She felt eyes on her with every step she took. The sound of rustling leaves made her hair stand on end. Her eyes were watery, slightly sore from the strange smoke that loomed just behind her.

She could see the clearing and the house finally came into view.

Almost in slow motion, she thought she saw a figure move from the corner of her eye. It was intuition telling her that they were there. She was now in the midst of the smoke and with whatever lurked the darkness now.

Impossible, she thought. The smoke had appeared in daylight hours which both baffled and terrified her.

Greg was in the doorway, his hands eagerly waving in the air as she slowed down. Someone was behind her and she knew it.

Turning her head, she saw a formation of creatures walking her way. They were so much more unnerving to look at from close. Their mouths were open wide like they had no mandibles, groaning loudly as they moved. And their limbs were coiled around the joints, almost hindering their ability to walk yet they managed to run faster than humans.

"Hurry!" she finally heard Greg yell.

Pushing the trolley with all her power, she charged for the house, knowing the creatures behind her were running, too.

They were groaning and mumbling, their voices getting louder and louder until finally she shoved the trolley inside and lunged forward but it was too late.

She felt her wrist burn and screamed in pain as it pulled her. Greg pulled Freya hard enough to escape the creature's grasp and then slammed the door, locking it.

Freya fell to the floor with a thud, her body writhing in pain as she held her wrist. Greg ran to get a glass of water and then poured it over her wrist.

"Ahhh!" Freya screamed in pain.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Greg asked, struggling not to let his tears fall.

Freya's screams died down several long minutes after and she lay on the floor, hugging her wrist. Greg watched in horror, feeling helpless as his sister struggled to tell him anything.

"I'm okay, I'm okay," she whimpered, tears trailing down her cheeks.

Outside the house, the groans of the infected grew louder. They were around the house but there was nothing they could do about it except sleep the night away within the safety of the walls.

Hours after Freya had fallen asleep on the floor, Greg carried a blanket out of the bedroom and put it over his sister. The house was dull as Freya's soft snoring filled the silence.

Greg walked into the living room without emotion. He wondered about the men they'd met at the store, curious about the alliance they seemed to have. Greg hadn't known anyone other than his family and the Jones' in the past year and a half so seeing new faces was possibly the biggest highlight yet.

He looked over his shoulder at Freya and sighed, sadly. The air was almost damp and though it wasn't dark outside, the smoke brought a shadow over the house. Playing with his fingers, he sat down on the sofa and kicked his legs up.

He listened to the groans of the creatures outside slowly fade as it began to rain. The soft pitter patter against the barricaded windows relaxed him, at least he could pretend that everything was okay.

But truth was, his parents were still gone, dead bodies hung in the back yard and bloodthirsty monsters lurked outside the walls. He could pretend that he didn't mind it all. But you can only pretend for so long before feeling the weight of it all press down on you.

•

Greg poured some orange juice for Freya the following morning, spilling some over the counter by mistake. Hurriedly, he washed the spilled juice down the sink and used a towel to dry the rest of the mess.

"Hey, Freya?" he said, walking to her where she had fallen asleep the previous night.

"Hmm?" she mumbled, her eyes still swollen from a troublesome sleep.

"Here drink this," he said, handing her the cup.

She winced as she put down her injured wrist and used the other hand to take the glass from him. "Thanks, bud. Have you had any breakfast yet?"

Greg shook his head. "Alright, sit down. I'll make us some," she said as she finished the juice.

"No, shouldn't you rest?"

"I'll be fine, just give me a minute," Freya said, getting to her feet.

She almost lost her balance and put her hand on Greg's shoulder for support. She stood still for a long moment before walking out of the room and disappearing upstairs. Her back hurt like hell, having slept on the floor all night. And if Greg hadn't had covered her with a blanket, she was sure she would've frozen to death.

Freya found the study and looked through the desk's drawers. Finally finding a pair of scissors, she walked across the hall and to the room where her parents were staying. Pulling out a pair of tights, she cut a piece of fabric and grabbed the antiseptic spray from the bathroom cupboard before walking downstairs.

"Hey Greg? Come here and help me with something," she called from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna wrap this around my wrist and I need you to tie it really tight, okay?" she said after spraying it with antiseptic.

Greg looked at Freya's wrist before taking the cloth. Her skin was now patterned with a number of deep burn marks. He tied the cloth tightly and then tied a second knot on Freya's instruction before taking a step back.

"Great, thanks. What do you wanna eat?" Freya asked.

"We have eggs, right?"

Freya nodded, "Yeah, we do. Go on and check if the radio is working. It worked the last time we were here," she said as she pulled out the eggs from the trolley.

Freya pulled out the pan and lit the stove. Waiting for the oil to heat up, she thought about the next move. They could only stay locked in the house so long as the food supply didn't run out. And how long would they survive with zero medical supplies.

She tried not to think about her arm and how likely she was to get an infection.

Food, she thought. The men had made it clear that they weren't intent on sharing which added to her worries. Where would they get more? The run between the house and another store would be longer than the one she'd made yesterday.

Looking at the wall, she sighed. Would they stay in the same house til the end of the world finally caught up with them? The questions kept piling up on one another.

"Freya," Greg said from the kitchen door.

"Yes?"

"There's someone outside."

"What?" Freya turned around.

"Someone's watching the house."

•