Kelly looked around as she followed the other recent orphans into a large cafeteria. The guards all wore Hazmat suits as though they were all diseased as well. Adults were dying left and right of some mysterious disease. She looked around the room at all the kids, young and older like her. The head cheerleader was there, the quarterback. The disease didn't spare people because of popularity or money, it affected everyone. She looked at the clique's still huddled together. The nerds sat in a corner, jocks took up the middle, preps were against a wall, goth's were in a corner, and then there were others who she had never seen before. She didn't know where to stand. She was good at archery, but not a jock, not quite a nerd, and definitely not preppy.

The heavy double doors slammed shut, as if telling her of impending doom. A pink hazmat suit walked up to the podium and all eyes turned towards it. It cleared its throat.

"Well, due to the recent plague, a select few of you will be sent to survive on an island. Thus providing a cleaner environment in hopes that some of our race will survive," the pink hazmat suit said. Somehow Kelly didn't trust whoever was in that suit. She adjusted her backpack on her back. They had to pack some clothes before the assembly.

"You seniors have been chosen to learn to survive on this island. Now go, and keep hope alive," the suit said. They were ushered by gun wielding hazmat suits through another door. Something didn't sit right with her. Why did they have guns? Were they afraid the orphaned students would fight back? Why would they be afraid? She was brought to a bus with the twenty or so students that were assembled. She plopped down next to Simon, her nerd friend. He pushed his thick glasses up and smiled at her.

"Hey, we have a chance at surviving, right?" he asked with a shrug.

"If you call it that," Kelly muttered.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I don't know. Something doesn't sit right," she said.

"Hey, Monica!" Simon called, waving a hand to the nerd who sat with them, "Kelly doesn't think this is right."

"I agree," Monica said, "They never said we would have houses on the island. What if it is more like a throwing us to the dogs? So they don't have to deal with us anymore."

"You guys are so cynical," Simon said shaking his head. The buses loud engine revved up and the students all found a seat. Kelly sat back and watched as the bus passed cars of deceased bodies, skin rotting off of bones. She tried to pay more attention to the scenery but the death seemed to draw attention. People were dying too fast for the clean-up crews. Her eyes felt droopy as the bus drove on. Before she knew it they were ushering the students off the bus. She felt a slight stinging in the back of her neck. Absently she rubbed it and assumed it was because she slept wrong.

The Hazmat people passed them each a backpack as they stepped off the bus. It was parked on a large flat vessel and they were being pushed off the boat, onto the sand. Kelly couldn't tell if it was drowsiness from the bus or something else. She stretched on the sand and waited for the group to decide who was going to lead them. Kelly looked around and determined that there were twenty people, eight girls and twelve boys. She rolled her eyes as two of the guys started fighting already. The quarterback, she couldn't remember his name, quickly broke up the fight and took on the role of leader. She opened the backpack and found a bow and arrows, as well as some water and bread. Simon pulled a taser gun from his bag, and Monica pulled out a shotgun.

"What the hell kind of animals do they think are on this island?" Kelly asked with a frown.

"Wow, I have no idea how to shoot this thing," Monica said tucking it into the back of her pants. They looked around at the people they were left with. Most of the girls looked like absolutely no help. The cheerleader clung to the quarterback. She really should know their names but she was new to school there in Salem, Oregon. He immediately had everyone start to make a camp, because there were no buildings in the area. They went to work creating some shelters and gathering wood for a fire. Looking around Kelly noticed the way people were grouping together. It seemed that not everyone agreed that the quarterback should remain the leader.

She saw one of the shady newcomers whispering with the other jock. She glanced at the quarterback, who looked at her at the same time. It was like a secret conversation. He nodded as if to say he saw it as well. The newcomer, who she found out was named Vince, had suggested they put their weapons together. Brian, the quarterback said it wasn't a good idea because they didn't know what kind of animals they were up against. She saw how Vince's eyes narrowed. She had a bad feeling about him, and she had the feeling Brian was on the same wavelength. A couple of guys went out into the wilderness to find fresh water, and Vince went with them.

Simon moaned as he passed her with his arms full of palm leaves.

"I wasn't made for hard labor," he complained.

"Oh, please," Monica said passing him and shaking her head. Simon smirked and followed Monica. Kelly shook her head. Of all the people she ended up on the island with, she was glad those two were with her. She looked over at the other girls. Three of them were just sitting on the beach like it was a vacation. Kelly sighed and went back to work.

As the sun began to set they were able to set up a few temporary shelters and put together wood for a fire. They were able to catch a few fish. As her stomach growled she seriously thought about digging into that bread, but she had to make it last. Brian had Darren take the first watch. Everyone would take turns keeping watch and switching out every few hours. Her turn wouldn't come for a few more nights. She didn't like the thought of having to share a shelter with guys. The other girls took the small shelter, leaving Kelly, Simon, Monica, and three other guys to take the larger shelter. She laid down next to Monica and shivered. A guy laid next to her, their backs touching. Although she and Monica didn't want guys on either side, the guys did make sense when they said it would be safer for the girls to not be on an end. She lay there awake for a little while and, when her eyelids refused to stay open longer she drifted off to sleep.