EPOV

Trudging through the dirt and debris scattered along the silent street, I desperately tried to keep my senses aware of every movement and sound. So far, the only echoes were those of the threadbare soles of my own boots as they maneuvered through a minefield of discarded and forgotten personal belongings and refuse. The dry air in the Nevada desert could really make sounds carry. The click of a chambered round in Jasper's Glock alerted me to the fact that he and Emmett had finished their search of the Little A'Le'Inn Restaurant.

"No dice, cleaned out," Emmett whispered as a despondent looking Jasper slowly shook his head.

"Fuck, Ed, I just don't know. It's getting harder and harder to find any of this shit on Carlisle's list," Jasper hissed. "I mean, Jesus! Ali is really sick this time! What the fuck do I do, Ed?"

I looked at my brother-in-law with as much compassion as I could muster at the moment. "Look, Jazz," I breathed out slowly trying to maintain my composure and keep my emotions in check, "I know this shit is really hard on you. I asked Carlisle to let you stay with Ali, but he insisted the three of us go on this little excursion with as deep into Dreg territory as we are going. Don't you think I'm worried about Ali too? I mean she's my sister for Christ sake! We're lucky she survived the fever at all. And now to risk losing her to something as arbitrary as a fucking respiratory infection? It's taking everything in me to keep a level head. I know you are used to me as the Sarge and being able to answer all your questions and handle any situation. But dammit, Jasper, I need your head in the game too. This isn't the fucking SEALS anymore, got me?"

Jasper nodded woodenly, looking everywhere but directly at me. "I-".

"Shh!" Emmett hushed us and motioned for all of us to move off the street and into the shadowed alley between the restaurant and some store called Newman's. Picking up the pace, we quickly hoofed it into the alley and hunkered behind a charred dumpster, guns at the ready,

"What did you hear?" I quietly growled in Emmett's direction.

"Shuffling...growling...snapping, you know those fuckers have a distinct sound! We need an escape route, quick Sarge!" Emmett's voice was rising as the sounds of a horde of Dregs got closer.

"Calm the fuck down," I whispered harshly, "and don't call me Sarge."

I quickly stood up to peer into the mottled window of the rickety. "Holy fuck! This is some kind of doctor's office or pharmacy! Looks clear. Emmett, crack the back door lock and let's move the fuck inside. We may have to hole up for a while until they move on. Jasper, cover the rear. Move, move!"

Within five seconds, Emmett had broken the lock on the back door of the little pharmacy. We made our way inside the dark and musty back room, guns drawn, and instincts on high alert. Dust particles wafted around us in a chaotic blizzard, only to settle on rows upon rows of countless pill bottles.

"Hell yeah!" Emmett breathed. "We finally hit fucking pay-dirt!"

I grabbed the back of his shirt, garnering his attention, and motioned for him to shut the fuck up and get down. Jasper quietly closed the back door, with barely an audible click of the deadbolt, and joined us on the floor. I could hear the faster approaching pounding of feet on pavement and the insistent growling indicative of the Dreg horde. My heart sped faster at the thought that I had led us here and may not be able to get us home. My eyes slipped closed as I let out a silent prayer that our presence would go unnoticed by the monsters outside.

Fifteen minutes passed uneventfully. Just when I thought we were in the clear, a straggler bounced off one of the windows, gnashing his teeth together. The force of the blow wasn't enough to break the window, but it did break the deafening silence in the backroom. A soft whimper followed by a quiet sob drifted to my ears from two isles behind our current location.

Emmett's eyes, wide as saucers, bored into mine from across the aisle. I immediately realized my mistake. In our haste to get inside and away from the horde, we neglected to clear the rest of the building. Fuck! Stupid rookie mistake may get us all fucking killed. After all, we couldn't be the only scavengers.

As silently as possible, I moved myself into a squat position at the head of the aisle. In one sweeping motion, I swung my arms and torso over, drawing my gun into a kill position at the same moment, ready to fire at my intended enemy.

However, instead of being met with the cold eyes of an adversary, I was met with the softest eyes I had ever seen. Framed in thick black lashes, their vibrant green color was only intensified by the moisture that slowly seeped from their outer corners. Big fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she raised her hand to her mouth, trying to squelch the loud gasp that escaped through her plump pink lips.

Dumb ass that I am, I was so stunned by her simplistic beauty, I neglected to lower my weapon. Poor girl.

"Shit, sorry...sorry!" I holstered my weapon and held my hands up raising into a kneeling position. I tried to make myself seem as nonthreatening as possible. "I promise I mean you no harm, please calm down. Jazz, Em! Get over here. You won't believe this."

My eyes remained trained on the wisp of a girl in front of me. With the shock wearing off, I could concentrate more on the details surrounding her presence. She looked to be in her early twenties. Long dark mahogany hair framed a sweet heart shaped face. Her porcelain skin had smudges of dirt and the tips of the fingers on the hand she held to her beautiful mouth were raw and somewhat bloody, as if she had clawed her way from underground. My gaze slipped down her long, graceful neck, past her collar bones to the garment that was barely clinging to her lithe little frame. A hospital gown? There isn't a hospital within a hundred miles of this podunk little town. The gown, bearing no hospital insignia, was marked with the sole letter "B". The poorly fastened garment was also filthy and ended right above her cute little knees, which were also covered in dirt and grime with new bloody scratches marring her beautiful skin. Worst of all, though, were her little feet. They must be what brought her to the pharmacy in the first place. The sole of her left foot looked like shredded hamburger meat and her right foot was tucked up near her lap, poorly bandaged with an entire roll of gauze. Her right foot must be worse than her left, as the bandages were already soaked through with blood.

Jasper and Emmett took that particular moment to come barreling around the corner, causing a shriek to erupt from the fragile creature. I was off my knees in a split second clasping my hand over her mouth to quiet her cries, a sharp spark shooting up my arm upon contact with her skin.

"Hey, hey, hey. Shh, it's okay. They're with me. My name is Edward. The blond surfer over there is my brother-in-law, Jasper," I stated pointing to the corner where Jasper stood stoically, observing the room. "And the big gorilla behind me is my best friend, Emmett," I mumbled, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. "They didn't mean to startle you. I won't let anyone hurt you, I swear it," I told her in my most soothing voice.

I trust you.

All of this excitement must be getting to me, now I'm imagining things. I slowly released my hand from her mouth and looked back at the two gaping buffoons I call brothers. "Watch it ass-wipes, you scared her."

Looking back at the beautiful creature beside me, I gently took her hand and lowered my mouth closer to her ear so I could whisper. "Sweetheart, I need you to be really quiet, okay? No screaming, just whisper. I don't want those things outside to come back. They are hyper sensitive to smells and sounds. Now, do you have a name, sweetheart?" I asked.

Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders as she shook her head no. She raised one finger to the "B" on her gown.

"Does your name start with a B?" I implored. Again she shook her head no. With the same finger, but more forcefully, she jabbed the bloody tip at the letter on her gown. I took her hand in my own, trying to calm her. "It's alright, sweetheart. Just B it is."

I looked back to my brothers, their expressions mirroring my own emotions. Emmett blew out a long, slow breath and finally voiced the wonder that we were all feeling at the moment.

"Fucking A, Ed. It's a chick! We haven't seen another healthy female besides Ali and Esme in over six months. Shit, what do we do?" Emmett's concern for the little female rung true.

I responded with the only answer I could. "Given our circumstances, we are going to pack up every valuable item in this office and we are going to double time it back to camp."

Jasper, who had not moved an inch since laying eyes on our new discovery, suddenly sprang into action. Ripping the extra duffles from Emmett's pack, he made quick work of emptying every shelf. Haphazardly tossing pill bottles into the bags, I had to remind him to only take bottles with labels. We couldn't take the risk of mislabeled or unknown medicine. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I mumbled, "Don't forget the Albuterol and Nebulizer. And for God's sake, try and get everything else on Carlisle's list. I swear this mad scientist bullshit is getting out of hand."

Emmett was clearing out anything of use in the front of the office, having already checked the other interior rooms for more supplies. Poking his head into the back area, he quietly asked, "Hey, Ed? How do you propose we get her back to camp? By the looks of her feet, she isn't going to be walking anywhere soon. And we're a two hour hike back to the Humvee."

We had left the Humvee hidden on State Highway 375, and hiked the rest of the way into Rachel so as not to attract any unwanted attention from the Dreg. We would be hiking back to the Humvee loaded down with our bounty and I would have to carry little B. Granted, not the most ideal situation. I sighed, looking into B's frightened eyes. " I am well aware of the precarious predicament this puts us in as well as the inevitable shit storm we are going to face back at camp. What would you suggest? Leave her here to fend for herself?"

The fresh tears and soft mewls coming from the fragile creature in front of me alerted me to just how big of a fuck up I truly am.

"Oh shit," I cursed my own stupidity. "B...I didn't mean it okay? I would never leave you behind. I will get us all safely back to camp. I swear it." Her soft cries eventually turned to light sniffles as her green eyes peered straight into my soul. "I'm going to have to carry you piggy back, okay?" She looked at me with the most curious expression on her adorable face. "You know, hoisted on my back with your legs around my waist," I explained. "But first, I need to properly bandage your feet before we hit the road. Is that okay with you?"

She slowly nodded her head in approval. While my brothers finished packing our most essential treasures in the duffles we were able to carry, I swiftly bandaged B's feet and made sure that we packed all of the items needed to fully treat her injuries back at camp. What we wouldn't be able to carry back with us was placed into trash bags and hidden above the ceiling tiles for later retrieval. Emmett was right when he said we hit pay-dirt. Unfortunately for us, our next supply run would have to be Vegas.

Jasper walked over and picked up my fully packed duffle and slung it up onto his shoulder. He would be carrying both mine and his as I had much more precious cargo to worry about. His clear blue eyes looked B over carefully. Turning to me he asked, "Why hasn't she said anything? Aside from a few little noises, she hasn't uttered one single word."

"I don't know. Shock maybe," I replied. "She seems to understand us fine. Her appearance is definitely out of sorts and I'm sure, given her injuries, she has a hell of a story to tell. We'll get to the bottom of everything once we get back to camp. I really need to get these meds to Carlisle and Ali." Looking over at B, she quickly lowered her head and averted her eyes while a beautiful pink blush graced her dirty tear streaked cheeks. I sighed, "I guess she'll talk when she's damn good and ready."

I readjusted B's hospital gown and knelt down with my back facing her. "Come on, Princess B. Up you go."

She maneuvered onto my back as quickly as possible and locked her legs around my waist, crossing her feet at the ankles to keep herself anchored. She wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled her nose against my cheek. A feeling of warmth bloomed in my chest. Turning my head so that I could see her eyes, I began to explain our current circumstances.

"Okay, B, here's the deal. We're about to leave this building. Now, those monsters from earlier are gone, but that doesn't mean there aren't a few stragglers running around. Although the Dreg usually hunt and travel in packs. They have horrible eyesight, but their hearing and sense of smell are enhanced. I don't expect to have any real trouble, but just to be on the safe side, we don't really talk to each other while travelling. We use a series of taps or hand gestures if we need to communicate. So, if you need anything, just tap me on the shoulder," I instructed. "Emmett will take the lead while Jasper takes the rear, sandwiching us in the middle. Okay? Once we get back to the Humvee, we will be all set. I don't want you to worry. We're going to be fine. I just really need you to stay quiet."

B nodded her head and tightened her grip around my waist. We quickly made our way back out the back door of the little office and into the alley. So far there was no sign of Dreg, all was quiet. We headed off down State Highway 375, trying to stay as close to the buildings as possible. That last horde that moved through a while ago, was headed for Las Vegas. The hordes seem to be drawn to the bigger cities, which is why our camp is further out in the desert. If luck is with us, we won't pass any Dreg moving toward the city. Once we get out onto the highway, cover is extremely limited. We have a few tricks up our sleeves to deter the Dreg should we come across some stragglers, but if faced with a horde, we would have no choice but to make a run for the Humvee. I prayed we wouldn't have to.

The hike had been mostly uneventful, The Humvee was less than a mile from our current location. I had marked out paces on the pavement with chalk on our way into town, so we would know how far away from the Humvee we were.

"Ed, man, we've got trouble," Jasper declared. I swung around, facing the opposite direction. Squinting my eyes, I could see what looked to be a looming dust cloud quickly moving toward us.

"Jasper, get the specs."

As he pulled a pair of binoculars from his pack and peered through the tiny lenses, I felt my stomach drop in anticipation of the worst. His eyes never leaving the binoculars, Jasper muttered, "Fifteen maybe twenty Dreg headed straight for our location. I wonder what's driving them. It's rare to see a horde this far out."

B tapped softly on my shoulder and pointed down towards my waist, alerting me to the fact that the bandages covering her mangled feet had become saturated and were leaving a small trail of blood in the dry desert dust. "Fuck," I breathed. "They're following us. Well...her, actually. Jasper, pass your pack to Emmett and run ahead to the Humvee!" I ordered, tossing the keys in his direction.

He caught them with precision and tucked the binoculars back into his pack. "It's going to be a close call, Ed."

"I know, just run...fast. Emmett and I will continue up the highway in your direction. We'll meet in the middle. Go. Now!" I growled, readjusting B on my back and preparing to haul ass. "B, hang on tight and do not let go no matter what, okay?"

Jasper shot off like a bullet from a gun, determined to get to the Humvee and make it back to us before those bastards reached us.

I took off right behind him, albeit considerably slower. Emmett slung mine and Jazz's duffles over his shoulders, gave one more glance behind him at the approaching dust cloud of death and decay, and took off right on my tail. Hearing his heavy footfalls behind me, I took a quick glance over my shoulder at the beauty clinging to my back. "Emmett...if I go down...just get her to the camp. I can't explain right now, but she's...important." I was already losing sight of Jasper. Looking down, I saw a comforting mark on the pavement. Three quarters of a mile to go. The Dreg were gaining, though, with maybe only a quarter mile separating us by the looks of that dust cloud. Maybe less. Fuck.

Emmett and I ran as fast as our cargo would allow. Half a mile to go. We should be seeing Jasper soon. From behind me, I heard Emmett's footfalls stop altogether and a hard thud as all three packs fell to the dirt. I swung around to see Emmett pulling his sniper rifle from his pack. "Emmett, what..."

"They're getting too close, Ed. Keep going and I'll take some down to widen the gap. Go...go!"

Round after round fired off as I turned and headed down the highway. I could see movement up ahead through the dusty haze. After another minute, the unmistakable camo paint of the Humvee came into view. A few seconds later, Jasper was skidding to a stop beside us.

I quickly unwrapped B from around my waist while opening the back of the Humvee, setting her inside with as much care as I could afford. I didn't bother fastening the belts. In a post-apocalyptic world where the former upstanding citizens now try to rip you limb from limb and eat your flesh, I find seat belts to be a hindrance and extremely counterproductive to the ultimate goal of staying alive.

I swung myself into the passenger seat and pointed down the highway from where we just came. "We have to go back for Em. He stopped to take down some Dreg and buy us some time until you got back to us. Go, hurry!"

Jasper floored the gas pedal and we lurched forward in Emmett's direction. Over the roar of the engine, I could still hear the consistent crack of the sniper rifle. Less than a minute later, we were skidding to a stop right next to Emmett, kicking up dust all around us. Jasper and I were out of our seats and loading the packs within a few seconds. Looking up, I could see that the horde was less than fifty yards and closing fast.

"Let's go! Move it!" I yelled, loading the last pack and jumping into the back seat next to a quivering B. I wrapped her in my arms and hauled her into my lap, slamming the back door of the Humvee closed. Jasper darted to the driver's side as Emmett hauled his large frame into the passenger seat. Jasper quickly threw the Humvee in reverse and pressed the gas as the horde descended upon us. Emmett grabbed his piston, lowered his window, and began firing into the sea of flesh eating monsters. As each one dropped, it seemed another gnashing, growling creature took its place.

B began screaming as oozing, decayed hands clawed at her window. I tried to soothe her as best I could while silently pleading with Jasper to get us the fuck out of here.

"Shh, B. It's okay. You're safe. We're going, we're going," I cooed, running my fingers through her hair and praying to whatever higher power was listening that I was telling the truth.

Steadily putting distance between us and them, Jasper swung the Humvee around in a half circle and floored the accelerator, racing down the highway away from Rachel and back towards camp.