into the night, weaving in and out of trees in my best attempt to avoid drawing attention.

I hadn't seen the guys that had been hunting me in a couple hours, but I was still on edge.

After having a while to think about them, I had come to the conclusion that if they weren't my friends, then they weren't truly human.

Sure, they look human. But they most certainly weren't.

When the Others came, some people grew crazy and went out of control- exerting harm on others. But for the most part, humans started to work together. Suddenly, a once divided world was fighting for a common cause...and that drew us closer together.

If these 'humans' were chasing me, they were either mad or entirely different...like the Others.

Crickets started chirping and an owl let out a distant 'who'. My eyelids started drooping in a sure sign that I was beyond exhausted, but I continued to trudge on.

I needed to find that school bus.

I needed to find Cassie.

Eventually I started humming softly to myself in an attempt to stay awake.

It made me feel at peace, as humming and singing usually did.

Singing.

It was the one thing I was I was good at.

That was it. Nothing else. It was the one and only talent I owned.

I had always appreciated the gift and the compliments I got, but now?

Now I was really upset that the one thing I was good at was no benefit to me at all.

I could've been good at building fires, karate, kick-boxing, track, or camping- something that actually would've helped me during the alien apocalypse.

But no. I was good at singing. I was like a damned canary- with nothing to offer aside from its beauty and voice.

Except minus the beauty part because let's be honest...I wasn't anything special.

While walking, my foot landed on a twig, causing a loud snap to erupt the silence of the forest.

I stopped humming and froze, glancing around carefully from side to side and back to front.

I couldn't see anything, the moonlight offered little assistance and taking out my flashlight now would be an idiot's move.

I was walking blindly, with not clue of what lied ahead or what followed behind me.

I took another cautious step forward, still wary.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a reflecting light and dropped to the ground just in time to hear a bang and a bullet whiz past me.

My heart thudded rapidly against my chest and my fingers fumbled for the strap on my backpack.

My feet scrambled against the forest floor, lifting my body from the ground as quickly as possible.

I pulled out my knife and zipped the backpack up, dodging just in time to miss the second bullet.

My ears started to buzz; the shooter was close.

There was no way they'd miss the third time.

I took off running, darting to and from trees to distract the shooter. It must be the guys from before. How else would they have found me? Even before the twig had snapped, they must've been close.

Whoever they were, they were certainly not human.

The bangs from the shooter's gun ceased and the sounds of crunching leaves behind me were sure sign that they were now chasing me.

I wasn't sure about a lot of things nowadays, but I did know that this super-human was, without a doubt, faster than me.

I knew that, in the end, I would get tired- my feet unable to move another step, my lungs a degree away from being on fire, and they would catch me.

They'd snatch me away from any hope of finding the yellow school bus.

I let drew in a deep breath, trying to get rid of the crippling stitch in my side. Maybe I would be a lost cause sooner than I had originally thought.

As if by some miracle, the sound of an engine broke the silence and I took a sharp turn to my left, following the steadily increasing spark of hope.

I caught a glimpse of yellow through the trees and my heart raced in excitement.

Was it another school bus?

I pushed myself to go faster, despite the burning of my legs.

I couldn't hear my chaser but I knew he was still there. I knew he was still there- following my steps as quietly and nonhuman-like as possible.

My feet hit the road and I stopped momentarily to wave my hands at the approaching school bus, "Help! P-please!" I shouted, my breath locking in my throat.

I brought my hand up to my eyes, shielding them from the bright lights of the bus as it screeched to a halt next to me.

It opened its doors and I didn't think twice before rushing up the stairs, "One of them-one of them is following me" I said, "I think it's an Other."

The bus driver, an fairly young man wearing an army cap, nodding sternly, "There was a spotting a couple miles back. We just came from there" he said.

I sat down in one of the first seats and glanced out the side window, just in time to see a black shadow on the side of the road before the driver sped away.

"What were the Others like? The ones that you saw?" I asked, gripping the back of the seat in front of me in anticipation.

The driver glanced back momentarily, "They were like us" he said, turning back around to face the road.

The debris on the road seemed to even out the further we got from where I had been picked up. Either it had been cleaned up or people didn't make it that far.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"A safe place" the driver said, "Wright-Patterson. It's an army base for kids like you."

A smile found its way onto my lips and I lifted my eyes up to the sky in relief.

Wait. Kids?

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Just kids? Why not the parents? Adults? The elderly?" I asked, my words jumbling together.

He looked back at me through the mirror, "They'll join you later" he said, "Kids are our number one priority. You are our future" he said definitely.

I leaned back in my seat and let out a small sigh, letting myself watch the world pass by me through the window.

My heart was still racing and my lungs were still strained from the encounter I had with the Other.

Only then did it resonate with me that I had been shot at. Multiple times. I had been shot at, chased, and pushed to the extreme of my physical ability. But I was still here.

Others probably hadn't been as lucky.

We drove for awhile until we turned into the road leading to the army base.

Up ahead was a line of a dozen or so other buses and groups of kids standing in clusters.

I stood up in my seat to get a better view, as did the other kids in the bus.

"There's other survivors? Like us?!" a young girl asked in excitement.

"We're not the only ones!" a boy from the back of the bus shouted.

The two outbursts were the exceptions. The rest of the kids on the bus stayed silent, either too upset about everything or too speechless to say anything.

"Stay seated everyone." the driver said, parking the bus next to one of the others towards the end of the building.

He stood up and I got a full view of him from head to toe.

He was wearing a full army uniform to match his cap, and his tanned face had a deep gash down the side.

No wonder he was so stiff. He, like the rest of us, had gone through a lot.

"Stay seated everyone" he repeated.

I sat down in my seat and ran my hand through my "desperately in need of a shower" hair. Hopefully I'd be able to take a shower when I got inside.

"Ok everyone! Get up and proceed in an orderly fashion. You will be given a number. Please stand in your corresponding circle and wait to be called!" our driver said.

The kids in the bus started to push there way to the front, everyone too impatient to wait their turn.

I stayed in my seat, waiting for the rest of the kids on the bus to dismount the stairs and receive their number.

When it was my turn, I got up from my seat and turned to face the driver, "Thank you for picking me up back there" I said, "I'm not sure what would've happened if you hadn't saved me."

The driver nodded and I took that as my cue to leave.

I was given a number and went to go stand next to the other kids in my designated red circle.

"355" called one of the army officers.

A group of kids all crowded near the entrance and were emitted into the building, led by one of the officers.

Only 7 more to go.

7 more until I was finally safe.

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This is kind of a filler chapter but it's incredibly necessary for upcoming chapters so bear with me!

Comment your predictions for when/how Lucy is going to meet Ben/Zombie ;)

Updates will start to get more regular, probably once every week so stay tuned!

Kisses- A