I had known what was happening as soon as it did. My mom had been telling me scientist had been working on a potion that could heal the dead somehow. I guess it worked, just not the way anyone had planned. The government canceled the project after the first test results, but somehow our super geniuses accidentally infected everyone. No one knew until it was out of controlled. Next thing I know I'm at the mall with my best friend and her older brother hiding in a changing room.

None of us made any sound. We were all so quiet while the undead walked outside. One walked by us, its shadow moved across the floor. It looked like he was just going to walk past us when Layla, best friend mentioned above, made a small noise that sounded like a whine. Everything was quiet again, but then the undead began slamming on the opposite side of the door, growling and grunting.

Layla was about to scream when I put my hand over her mouth. So far the door was holding, and we were safe, but for how long? We can't stay here all day.

The undead began to crawl under the door. By that time Layla and I were screaming. Keith (Layla's brother), Layla, and I huddled into the corner, waiting for the inevitable. Looking for any hope, I opened my purse and saw my old cross pin. The bottom came out in the shape of a sword. The undead was through and was about to charge at us. I grabbed the cross and threw it. I figured it wouldn't do much, but it hit the man in the center of his forehead, above his eye brows, and he fell down.

Again, we were all quiet. Only this time Layla and Keith's eyes were on me. Trembling, I walked over and pulled the cross out of the undead and wiped it on his shirt. Slowly I stood up and turned to Layla and Keith.

"C'mon, we got to get out of here." I told them. They stood there for a moment before following me to the exit. We made it to the parking lot, which was infested with the undead. "If one of us could get to the car..." I muttered to myself. If we separated, then one of us would be unprotected. I turned to Layla and Keith. "Follow me. We're going to try and make it to the car." They nodded. As soon as we were outside we ran to the car. As we were running, one of the undead grabbed Layla and she screamed, causing undead to notice us.

"Get to the car!" I ordered Keith as I rushed to Layla. When I got to them I jabbed my cross into the undead's head and grabbed Layla's hand. Keith had gotten into his car and pulled out of the parking spot. Layla and I got in and slammed the door before Keith zoomed off, away from the mall. I let out a sigh.

"Are you two okay?" Keith asked.

"Yeah." Layla said.

Keith looked at me through his review mirror. "Kayla?" He asked.

Well geez, I just stabbed two men in the head. "I'm fine." I said. He didn't look convinced, but nodded anyways.

"We need to go make sure Mom's okay." Layla said. My heart skipped a beat as I thought of my seven-year-old brother, who was staying with Layla and Keith's mother. Did the undead get him? I pushed the thought out of my head. No, Layla's mother is watching him; they should be fine. Luke is fine.

I repeated the thought over in my head the whole time until Keith pulled up in front of his house. I clutched my cross and followed Layla inside. My heart dropped when I saw the front door wide open, but I went inside. Layla's mother was lying face down on the living room floor. Her neck was bitten into and was missing pieces of flesh. Layla gasped before breaking into sobs. I quickly began looking in all the bedrooms for Luke. They were all empty.

"Luke!" I yelled desperately. I knew I should've been comforting Layla and Keith, but I had to find my brother. A small noise came from the kitchen. "Luke?" I called as I rushed there. Another small noise that sounded like a whine came from underneath the sink. Not breathing, I opened the door and saw Luke curled up into a tight ball. I let out a sigh of relief as I pulled him out from under the sink and embraced him. It seemed like forever before I pulled away and we headed back to Keith and Layla. Layla was sobbing as she clutched her mother's head.

Keith came up and stood by me. "We need to get out of here." I whispered to him. The two of us had an art of talking to each other without Layla every finding out, even in front of her. He nodded.

"You two stay her with Layla while I go get supplies. We'll need food and water." He said. I looked at him. "We can't stay here." He said. I knew he meant the Atlanta. We needed to get to the country side, where there were less people, and less undead. I also knew he was right, so I nodded. He left the room, leaving me alone to try and comfort my best friend. I knelled beside her and placed my hand on her shoulder. I didn't know what else to do; I had never been good at comforting. Part of me was expecting her mother to come back as one of the undead, but she remained still. Keith came back and gave me his car keys. I took Luke to the car and started it before making sure he was buckled in. I moved to the passenger seat waiting for Layla and Keith. After a while they came out. Layla looked dull and grim. Her usual glossy almond hair was in her face.

Everything was quiet as Keith drove away from the house.

"She told me to go hide and she would come get me." Luke said at one point. He had this way of making everyone feel better. I smiled sadly and pushed his strawberry-blond hair back. "She saved me. Layla looked at him and gave him a small smile. I smiled at both of them before looking out the window.

Soon the sun set and Keith pulled over and turned off the car. "C'mon, I have some blankets in the trunk." He said. I looked at Luke and Layla, who were asleep in the back seat, and got out of the car. Keith pulled out five blankets, and I raised an eye brow. He probably didn't see it since it was dark. "Someone's an over packer." I said.

"Better be safe than sorry." He said. I smiled.

"Yeah." I agreed. "How are you holding up? With your mom?" I asked.

"I'm better than Layla." He said. I reached out and squeezed his shoulder before he pulled me into an embraced. We stayed there for moments until he pulled away. Silently we grabbed the blankets and headed back to the car. I put one on Luke and Layla before returning to the front passenger seat. Keith handed me a gray blanket, which I took.

"Do you think things will get better?" I asked at one point.

"Yeah. I do." He said, looking at me. "For us anyways." I nodded, because I believed him.