Chapter One

"So, what do we do now?" I asked my dad. It was daylight and we were out in the yard, and my husband wasn't home, and I didn't have to work, all things considering.

Dad sighed. "We need to go to Yuma."

I nodded, understanding that reasoning. It was the sunniest place on earth, or at least the sunniest place in America at least, so I doubt many vampires would be there. Dad also owned properties there, so it did make a lot of sense. Not to mention, Yuma was also home to a military base, which would provide protection for whatever humans could make it there.

"Okay, then how are we going to do this?" I didn't bother to ask about or mention mom. I knew she had been bitten and she did complete her change, and it drove a wedge between my parents, not that things were already good between them to start with. My husband Frankie had also fallen to the epidemic, my brother-in-law, Ed, told me this when he dropped his daughter Alannah off with me yesterday. He gave her to me because he feared that Frankie might try to change him, and he didn't want his 6-year-old to be around that kind of danger.

Dad sighed again. "I just went grocery shopping before this outbreak broke out, and I'm going to pack those, since we need to get all that we can take. But we need to go now, while it's still early in the day and go get some more supplies." He said. "Thomas told me that no one is working at the Walmart or Sam's across the street there, so we'll have to loot."

I raised a brow. "Loot?" I asked. "Isn't that illegal?"

Dad snorted a bit. "Darling, we're in the middle of an apocalypse, there are no laws right now." He said. "We need to go now and get what we need and get packed tonight and leave at first light, before those vamps get themselves organized." He told me. "Jonah can watch the kids."

My younger brother was only 10, but was the second eldest child in the family, and he was actually quite mature for his age. "Okay." I nodded. "Give me 5 minutes." I then went back next door to my house and got my two-year-old daughter, Belle, my five-month-old, Marlie and my niece and took them to my dad's. Then dad and I walked over to the Walmart and Sam's Club that were side-by-side. We went to the carts and dad got some zipties out of his pocket and zipped tied two large Sam's Club carts together and told me to take it, before doing two more.

"Should make it easier." He shrugged at my questioningly look. We went in and there were a few other humans here, not many, apparently, they had the same idea we had. And just as dad said, no one was working.

Dad glanced over to me. "Let's just to make this as quick as we can and get the hell out of here."

"Agreed." I nodded, going to the side closest to us, which was the health and beauty. "This is really weird." I murmured, following my dad, figuring it was best that we stayed together. We would start on this end and make our way around.

I took just about all the bottles of my favorite brands of shampoo, as well as for Alannah and Belle, feminine products, bubble bath, body wash, the whole nine yards. Dad had to get his dogs some food and I had to get them for my dog, and my cats. As well as Belle's hamster and Alannah's rabbit.

"So, toys?" dad asked. "And clothes?"

I was going to say no, that they had plenty, but that wasn't true, Alannah didn't have a lot of toys, her father had only packed her two weeks' worth of clothes and her favorite toys only. "Uhm, we're just going to have to throw and go." I told him.

We went by the toys, and I went down the girl's toy aisle, and just literally threw stuff in the buggy. I knew that Alannah like Monster High, Ever After High, Bratz, Legos, Shopkins, and Frozen, just to name a few, so I got whatever I saw on those. Belle was obsessed with barbie and baby alive to name a couple. We probably spent no more than 15 minutes in this section, before moving onto clothes, I didn't get much here, at least not for my girls, because I knew that they had clothes already, but Alannah, she didn't have much at all.

We then headed to the baby stuff, so I could get as many diapers and wipes as I could, as well as baby formula, toys, etc, most of what I grabbed, I didn't get too good a look.

We went by school supplies and the food section before we left Walmart and quickly went to Sam's Club and got everything we could there and back home. I push the two buggies into my garage, where I would get the stuff packed tonight before going to get the girls and brought them back home. I put them all down for a nap (though I had Alannah laying on the couch with a movie) while I got everything put in storage containers in the trailer. I also made go bags with snacks and such for Belle and Alannah and for my siblings, as it would be around a 26-hour drive to Yuma from here in Nashville.

I put all the cold stuff (not many) into some large coolers and put them into the trailer as well. Once all of that was done, I worked on packing our stuff. I got out my suitcase and threw my clothes and my uniforms into them and just zipped them. I packed all the stuff that couldn't be replaced such as pictures (except for duplicates that I left for Frankie) and Belle's personalized baby stuff and then the girl's clothes and toys that they already had and put them in too, before I was satisfied with what I had packed.

After feeding the girls supper, and it got dark, they each got baths before I put them all in my bed for the night. I laid in bed with a lamp on and a piece of paper and a pen as I thought about what to write to Frankie.

Frankie,

I know you'll hate me for what I am about to do, but I had to leave. You know that I would refuse to make the change. I made a promise to keep these kids safe, I made a duty to my country when I enlisted, and I intend to keep that oath. You need to understand the choice I made. The choice of leaving you was the hardest one that I've ever had to make, because you're my husband and I love you, but I had my family to think about, our daughters to think of. And your niece to think about. I can't let anything happen to them, I don't want this life for our children. I owe them that much. I will be safe, we will be safe. Please don't worry, and always remember, I do love you.

Love you Always,

Breanna

I finished the letter and folded it up into an envelope and wrote his name on it. I placed it on the nightstand and looked over to the girls. I had only been 19 when I had Belle, and Frankie was 21 and was also in the army, which is where I had met him actually, I had decided to enlist when I was 18 and graduated high school. I sighed and turned off the lamp and fell asleep before the alarm woke me up at 6 that next morning.

Dad and I had decided to leave at dawn that morning. I made sure to dress the girls warmly that morning, as it was a bit cold in January. I placed Alannah's booster seat in the front seat of my jeep and got her settled in with her go bag, pillow and blanket, as well as her favorite stuffed animal and I did the same with Belle in the back seat before getting Marlie in. I jogged across the yard and handed dad the go bags for my siblings before coming back to my jeep. I put one of the cat's carriers in between the car seats in the back and the other on the floor between the seats.

I put the rabbit cage on the floorboard at Belle's feet and the hamster on the other side. I got the dog settled in her bed in the back of the jeep in her bed. I waited until dad was ready and followed him.

We drove pretty fast, and we were able to drive nearly at 90 mph since there wasn't anyone else on the road. Halfway into the drive, I got a phone call. The caller ID on my car showed up as Ed.

"So I am going to assume that Frankie got my note?"

"Yes, he did. I'm with him now." He gave a sigh. "He changed me."

My face fell. While I wasn't that surprised, a part of me had hoped that he wouldn't be because of Alannah's sake. She deserved to have her father in her life, as she didn't have her mother, as she had died in a car accident when Alannah was 3 months old. She had had Alannah in the car, and the baby had survived, and Ed had been raising her on his own.

"I had to check in." He said. "I have to know that Alannah is okay, that you're all safe."

"Yeah, we're on the run, and she's safe. I didn't want to leave, but I am going to protect these kids at all costs. Alannah is here if you want to speak to her."

"Alannah."

"Hi daddy!" She kicked her legs against the seat where she was sitting beside me in her booster seat.

"Are you okay? Are you behaving?"

"Yes daddy."

"Listen, Alannah, daddy has to stay away for a while, so I need you to be on your best behavior for aunt Breanna, do you understand?"

"Yes daddy." She looked like she wanted to cry right there on the spot.

"I love you."

"I love you too daddy."

"You said Frankie was there?" I asked. "I need to speak to him."

"Yes, he is." Ed said. "I'll get him." He said. "Good luck and thanks for taking my daughter."

"That's not a problem." The he handed the phone over to my husband.

"Breanna?" Frankie's voice came over the phone.

"I'm here, look, you know I was never going to make the change."

"I know, I read your note, and I know you." He told me. "But that's not what I was going to ask you." He said. "I just wanted to make sure that everyone was really alright."

"Yes, we're perfectly fine. Like I told your brother, I have all of them including Alannah and we're on the run." I sighed. "I made a duty, to the country, and I'm not going to turn my back on it."

"I should let you go. Please be safe, for my sake Breanna. I love you."

"I love you too." I told him before we hung up.

Because we were driving so fast, at almost a 100 mph, we were able to get there within 18 hours, and didn't stop, not even once until we reached Yuma. We made it to the city line, where we saw that soldiers were working into the night were putting in a wall and some fences and they stopped dad and I stopped behind him. A solider came to my window and I rolled it down.

"ID please." He said, after a moment of shining the light in, studying us to make sure that we were still human. I reached into my console and got out my military ID and handed it over to him to inspect.

"Okay Lieutenant Dalton, here you are." He said, handing me back to my ID. "Everything is in order, you may come in, but once you do, you cannot leave." He said. "It's not safe."

"Is everything safe and secure here?"

"Yes lieutenant." He said. "Everything is, and we're in the process of adding extra security measures." He glanced back. "General Kane, I know will want to see you, he'll probably stop by tomorrow." He rubbed the back of his head. "You're still lucky to be human, even the president has fallen under the epidemic." He said.

I nodded. "So has most of my unit. Some of them should probably be coming here shortly.

"Alright, you're free to go, and I'm sure that General Kane will be in touch soon." He said, before stepping back.

I then followed dad to his place and while he pulled in the drive, I stopped in front. He came to my window and handed me a key. "It's house 3496, just down the way here, a couple blocks down." Dad had two houses in the same housing development and was giving me the other one. "You can do what you want with it. I'm going to get the kids settled in and I'll check in in the morning."

"Okay, thanks dad." I told him before driving that way. It didn't take me long to find the house and I pulled into the driveway and under the carport (the garage was on the other side) and opened the side door before going to get the girls into the house.