Chapter One:
Tracey zoned out, distracted from the world outside the window. It was all highway and hills, rolling softly away from the world of ninth grade English, just as Tracey wished she were doing. The entire classroom seemed relatively uninterested. It was late May, a couple of weeks before exams began and everyone was desperate to get a break from the pressures of High School. Tracey's school was a small, private Middle and High School, nestled in the small town of Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Yet even with exams so close by, the class's snoring seemed to be in unison and the teacher only droned on, he too seeming drained. Tracey closed her eyes and waited for the bell to ring. She was soon interrupted by another less pleasant noise. The speaker beeped on, scaring several kids back to consciousness.
"The entire school is now on lockdown. All students and faculty must go to the gym immediately. This is not a drill. All must go to the gym immediately." The speaker clicked off.
The classroom went into uproar as the students panickedly hurried out the door and through the halls towards the gym. Tracey quickly found herself by the side of her best friend, Rosie, whose short red hair was easy to pick out of the crowd.
"Oh, my god, this is crazy, what do you think is going on? And why are we going to the gym? That's just strange, we should be cowering in the corner of our classrooms." Rosie said, puzzled, her brow furrowed in concern.
"I have no idea", Tracey whispered. She was a bit panicked herself. The announcement of danger had come so quickly she almost felt ambushed.
As the entire school filed into the gym, Tracey realized just how confounded everyone was. Not even the teachers seemed to know what was going on, and they were too preoccupied in finding out to silence the students. All the people dwarfed the gym, and Rosie and Tracey were left standing, squished among the crowd, unable to find the rest of their friends and hear anyone above the noise.
Rosie studied the crowd carefully. Tracey knew she was looking for her older brother, Liam. Rosie was close to her family, especially her brother. Rosie was a bit of a loner like Tracey, so other than Tracey, her closest friends was her family. In sixth grade, Rosie and Tracey became friends and now they were just loners together. Tracey was the same way. Though she didn't have much family to cling to. She was an only child and it had only been her and her mom for a while. Her dad was in the army and went MIA a little over a year ago, right before her first year of High School.
"Tracey! Tracey!" Rosie said in a shrill voice. Tracey shook her head, her black curls tickling her face. She zoned out again. Rosie's face was full of fear and shock. She soon saw why. The entire gym was ten times crazier than it had been. Above all the screams and voices, Tracey nearly didn't hear it. The soft, gnarled moans that seemed to generate from a horror movie. Neither human nor animal could really mimic that noise. She was instantaneously filled with utter terror.
"C'mon Tracey we have to go find Liam!"
Rosie grabbed Tracey's arm and dragged her towards the manic crowd. They found Liam's own copper red head easily. "Rosie-", Liam started, but she cut him off.
"Liam, you need to get us out of here, now!"
"Rosie, what are you talking about, we're in a lockdown. Granted, it's gotten like a madhouse in here but we cant just leave."
"Liam! Do you not hear and see what's going on around you! There's something…something monstrous out there!" Rosie shouted at him. She seemed angry, but really it was just panic. Rosie was an emotional person, Tracey knew from their many years together and often her reactions to things seemed like many unexpressed emotions muddled together.
"Rosie! That's why we need to stay inside!" Liam said, incredulous and annoyed. He opened his mouth to say more just as the metal doors to the gym were pushed open and the source of the moaning began to creep inside. They were absolutely horrific. They were literally mangled, bloody corpses, upright and walking towards them, looking at them as if they were a meal. Anything that was once human and alive in them were now utterly gone. Rosie screamed like she was being murdered and it joined the chorus of the other screams. Tracey just stood there in shock. Liam's face was drained of color.
"C'MON YOU GUYS! CMON!" Liam shouted at them. He grabbed Rosie by the arm who then grabbed Tracey along with them. They sprinted through the back doors of the gym to the parking lot. Sunlight blinded Tracey's eyes as they began to adjust. The air was full of the smell of decay and blood. It took all she had not to puke. Around her, other students began to head towards their cars as well and in dangerous flurries, cars were speeding out of the parking lot. Some people even just sprinted toward the highway. They reached Liam's jeep and hurriedly jumped inside, Liam at the wheel, Rosie at shotgun, and Tracey climbed to the back seats. Liam jammed the key in ignition, and looked around him, and hesitated. "Liam what are you-", Rosie started furiously. He cut her off. "Aiden!" he shouted. "Come with us! Hurry!"
He motioned towards a high school guy with straw blonde hair, probably a sophomore like Liam, who jumped in the trunk of the jeep. He was followed by a small, sour looking Middle school girl, probably in sixth or seventh grade. She had the same blonde hair and cold hazel eyes. Closer up, Tracey recognized the guy as one of Liam's friends, as she'd seen the two in the halls together on numerous occasions. She just guessed the girl was Aiden's younger sister or something.
"Thanks man, I thought we were screwed back there", Aiden said breathlessly.
As they begun to pull out, Tracey noticed someone, a lanky boy with messy brown hair, looking around, seeming lost and very, very scared. Getting a better look, she noticed it was Jax, a boy in her grade. She felt her heart grow taut as she grew conflicted. Knowing she had to help him, she screamed, "Stop the car!"
"What now?! We need to go! We're gonna die!" Rosie exclaimed, almost screaming.
"Jax! Get in our car!" Tracey shouted at him. His attention swiveled towards them, looking confused.
Tracey rapidly motioned for him to come. Realization replaced the confusion on his face and he sprinted towards them and hopped in the trunk clumsily, nearly hitting the other two, causing the younger girl to shriek.
"Okay, Liam lets go!" Rosie said, still almost screaming. Liam stepped on the gas and swerved out of the parking space and towards the exit. As they reached the Highway, Liam turned on Rosie. "Rosie you need to chill!"
"Chill?! Liam, if you haven't noticed, we're could've freaking died!"
"Calm the heck down, Rosie! Your panicking is ridiculous and doesn't help any of this," he shouted back at her. Rosie shut up and seemed to cower back in her seat, her arms folded across her chest.
"If you don't mind me asking, where are we going?" Jax asked meekly. Rosie turned and looked at Liam. "Liam, where are we headed too?"
Liam was definitely speeding now, but it didn't seem to matter much as they're weren't many cars and they were running for their lives.
"Where do you think we're going? We're going home, finding mom and dad, and hightailing it out of this town." He replied, focused intently on the road.
"Liam. We have other people. They can't just go home with us, they have parents and priorities too." Rosie said back to him.
"Actually, Liam's plan is the best for now. You wont have enough time to get us all home. We can go to your house, figure out what's going on and take the next step from there," Tracey piped up. The others nodded in agreement.
"Always the voice of reason", Rosie said jokingly to her best friend. They only just smiled at each other.
"No, I want-I think we should go home," the girl in the back said, almost too quiet for them to hear. "Vera, no. We're going with this plan. It's a good idea," Aiden said with finality, as if he was a parent and she was a whinny little kid. "Aiden! What about Mom and Dad and our stuff and-"
"Vera, shut it. We're sticking together for now." Aiden looked up and everyone was looking at each other. Everything felt more serious and important. What had happened, from the lockdown to monster invasion, Tracey was trying to figure it all out.
Jax seemed to read her mind. "What do you think is going on?" he said, almost to himself. All eyes were on him. "Like, what do you think this is all about? I mean, I didn't really see whatever that was back there, I just, I never thought something would happen…like what happened". He seemed nervous as he said it and looked down at his hands.
"Yeah, our school was in a total pandemonium," Tracey said, trying to lessen the awkwardness that Jax probably now felt from being the center of attention. Jax was a bit more reserved than the other kids, just like her. Tracey was quiet and preferred to think than to talk and hated being the center of attention too. "I think the world is ending," Rosie said, dead serious. "Oh sure, little Miss Dramatic," Liam teased. Everyone else stayed silent. With everything that happened, the thought didn't seem too crazy.
The car screeched to a halt, parked lousily in the middle of the driveway. They all got out of the car and grouped up. "Alright everyone, I made a list of everything we need." Aiden declared. "Of everything we need? What are you talking about?" Jax asked. "He means to survive." Tracey answered nicely. Jax nodded in understanding. "Liam, we need tents, fishing rods, anything that can be used as a weapon or to acquire food." Aiden ordered. "Rosie, Tracey, we need clothes, blankets, first aid kits, coolers of food that will last a long time and water and anything we can cook with" he continued. "Oh, so you ask the women for the cooking supplies," Rosie said lowly, rolling her eyes. "Vera, help Rosie and Tracey, Jax, come and help Liam and I, Liam lead the way." Aiden finished promptly, almost sounding rehearsed.
"Aiden, not to sound rude but who put you in charge?" Rosie said with enough sass to get her grounded if Aiden had been a parent. "Do you want to survive or not" he bit back at her. Rosie rolled her eyes again and muttered, still with an attitude "C'mon girls lets go organize the essentials." "We report back to the car in fifteen minutes!" Aiden shouted after them. Rosie continued to mutter angrily to herself as they made their way to the house. Tracey knew Rosie never liked Aiden. She found him arrogant and annoying, but Tracey wasn't going to deny that the way he took charge was exactly what they needed at the moment. They were six teenagers who escaped death in a school lockdown and now were searching for supplies as if they were going off to live in the wilderness.
The more Tracey thought about it, the more she realized that she had no clue what was happening and what they were going to do. "Rosie, what's the plan anyways? Everything Aiden is asking doesn't even explain what we're doing. Don't you think we need to find our parents?" Tracey asked, really hoping for some kind of definite answer. They were in Rosie's kitchen now, filling two coolers with water and food. Vera sat on the counter, fidgeting with her hands and trying to avoid looking at anything. Rosie was busy stuffing canned goods and any long-lasting foods into the coolers. "I don't know Tracey. I'm quite frustrated myself. Like what does he even think he's doing? I doubt he even has a solid plan." Rosie nervously glanced over at Vera as she said it, checking to see if she heard her dissing her older brother's plans. Noticing she wasn't paying attention, Rosie looked back at Tracey and sighed.
"But I found this on the counter when we came in" said Rosie. She handed a piece of printer paper with writing on it to Tracey. Tracey looked at it closely. It was a letter from Rosie's parents.
Liam and Rosie, by the time you'll read this, we'll be gone. The military will have evacuated us. I know this is scary and we wanted to wait for you guys but it just wasn't possible. They promised us that the schools were evacuating all the kids, so I pray you don't have to read this at all. But if you are, listen to me. The world isn't safe anymore. An epidemic has started that reanimates the dead and turns them into monsters that will eat anything. They're no longer human. They will kill you. Gather food, fuel, supplies, anything you would need to be on your own. Maybe even a weapon. Be safe and don't lose each other. Everyone is being evacuated to Atlanta. If you're reading this, make sure you get all you need and head to Atlanta immediately.
We love you and we'll see you soon. Stay strong. Mom and Dad.
Tracey just stared at the letter for a while. Rosie continued to pack food and other essentials. In her automatic movements and blank gaze, Tracey could see just how scared Rosie was, and just how much she was trying to fight back a breakdown. Tracey knew the feeling. All of this is just too much. "I'm gonna go tell the guys about this," Tracey said quietly, waving the note in the air. "Alright, I'll keep packing," Rosie said without looking back at her. Tracey made her way through the house and out the door, knowing the way well from the many times being there. The words Stay strong, were still ringing in her head. She thought of Rosie and her broken, fearful face. God, she hoped she could.
Fifteen minutes later, the six of them had a packed trunk full of everything and anything you'd think to need. After showing the letter to Aiden, he and Liam agreed they needed more supplies and weapons to kill what they called the geeks, referring to the living dead that wanted to eat us. Therefore, their load doubled and a new member was added. Liam and Rosie's Dalmatian, Yang, joined the team. He was a loyal, smart and happy dog who stayed by Rosie like the white on rice. They figured his senses and protective instincts would help them and besides, they'd never leave the animal to fend for himself. At least Rosie and Tracey wouldn't. Rosie sat in the trunk with her dog while Liam drove and Aiden navigated as co-pilot. The other three sat awkwardly in the backseat.
Tracey's thoughts drifted. She thought about her mom and worried for her safety, and her dad and wondered if he even knew what was going on or if he was even…no, she told herself and dropped it. Her thoughts also drifted to school and she thought about how ironic it was that just this morning, they were worried about the third period math test because neither Rosie nor Tracey had studied for it. "Teenagers," she muttered, "we're more prepared for a zombie apocalypse than a third period math test."
She smiled at her joke but was surprised when she heard a laugh behind her, belonging to Rosie. Jax smiled too but didn't say anything. Vera only stared through her window, her face scrunched up grumpily.
"Yeah, but we still need weapons, and I mean stuff that's more…effective than kitchen knives." Aiden said in response to Tracey's joke. "By the way, take this right." Aiden pointed the way. They were now bounding on back roads leading to the country. Tracey grew worried about whether or not Liam knew the way to Atlanta. Earlier she'd suggested staying on the highway but Aiden spoke against it, saying that the highways were probably swamped with people like them trying to get to Atlanta. Jax seemed worried as well. He piped up, saying "Guys, are you sure this is the way? Trust me, back roads aren't as promising as they may seem. They'll lead you no where if you don't know where you're going."
"We're not going to no where, trust me, I know what I'm doing here", Aiden said a bit too snappily. She didn't like strife or arguing but Tracey couldn't help but get mad at him. He had no reason to be nasty. She opened her mouth to say something in Jax's defense, but Jax just shook his head at her, stopping her. The car stayed silent, though Tracey thought she could hear Rosie muttering again.
Soon, they pulled up near a weathered old farmhouse, clearly not in use anymore. Several hundred yards away sat an old plantation home oozing Southern Charm. "Where are we?" Rosie asked, as everyone climbed out of the car, Yang staying obediently in the back. "My friend's house. His family was rich rednecks and had a top-notch arsenal that was kept in that barn. I remember it distinctly. I've been hunting with them on their property several times." Aiden said matter-of-factly. "So what? We're just gonna raid your friend's stuff for…what? Weapons? What if its not even there?" Rosie asked crossly. She was always a stickler for the rules and for being respectful. "Please, they kept the good stuff in their freaking house. That's probably what they took. What's your problem with it anyway? Do you want to survive?" Aiden spit back at her. "Hey, man, we're all on edge here all right. Everyone just chill." Liam said. Vera, so quiet Tracey nearly forgot was there, spoke up indignantly, "I am not shooting a gun or killing anything," she said. Her arms were folded firmly across her chest and she had a look on her face so sour it could kill a small animal and rot its body just by looking at it. "Well the little lady finally speaks." Aiden said, still cross. "Look Vera, this isn't a choice anymore. You either shoot or die and we're not covering your butt every time we have to defend ourselves, so you might as well learn."
Her tone filled with venom. "I am NOT using any guns, got that? I didn't ask for you to protect me, I'm just letting you know how its gonna be". Aiden was fuming now. "You don't make the rules here, little lady. I-" Aiden stopped himself and looked at everyone. "Well, we-" he continued but Vera interrupted him. "I'm a part of this we". "Vera, you haven't done a lick-" Aiden retorted but Rosie cut him off, "Aiden its fine, back off. Vera, if you don't want to use guns, fine, but you're at least gonna practice with a knife or something or do something instead of just mope. This is survival of those-those monsters and of living with each other now guys. Either adapt or go" Rosie proclaimed. Aiden looked furious and as did Vera. Rosie just looked exhausted. Jax broke the silence, "Okay guys, lets head to the barn, shall we?" "I think we shall," Tracey agreed with a smile. They began walking side by side towards the barn. Liam walked behind them and Vera off to the side, still moping. Aiden came up behind Rosie. "Look. I get it that you don't like me, but don't tell me how to deal with my sister and don't patronize her like its your place to, 'cause really its not. I'm trying here for Liam's sake but if you don't keep that head of yours screwed on straight, I'll pop it right off without a second thought, understand?" Before Rosie could say or do anything, Aiden ran to catch up with Liam. Inside Rosie was screaming all the profanity she could think.
Tracey, Jax and Rosie gathered in a semi circle in the middle of the mostly empty barn with Aiden and Liam facing them and a chest in front of them. Vera was standing towards the entrance, her back facing them. Clearly getting her to do anything was impossible. Aiden and Liam had to smash the lock on the chest with a rock to break it open. The chest held more than a dozen guns, several dozen boxes of ammo and even some hunting knives. Tracey was beginning to get a little weary of the guns herself now looking at them. The only one who seemed completely eager to handle them was Aiden. "Okay guys, everyone take a gun. These are all shotguns really, but they'll do just fine." Aiden announced, a gun already dangling casually in his hand. They carefully grabbed a gun, one after another and held it tightly.
"Now, this is how you hold it to shoot" Aiden said, showing us the correct position. He went on with all the proper instructions on how to shoot it and where to place what and about how to safely use it and hold it and all that. Then, came the practice shots. We went outside and Aiden set up targets with anything he could find. Vera had gone back to the car. Tracey didn't blame her. She wasn't gun shy. Her father had taught her how to use guns in a proper shooting range and though she hadn't done it in a while, the skill came back easily. But the sound still shocked her, and she felt very aware of all the bullets that were flying and just how easily someone could die from a single shot. After about an hour, they packed up the guns and were on the road again, hightailing it to Atlanta.
Tracey could tell Rosie was a bit shaken up from using the gun. She had a small and slender frame like Tracey and Tracey knew how hard it was to keep her balance when firing a gun when she first started. Jax seemed to do well, though Tracey also saw from the look in his eye and the cautious, untrusting way he held the gun that he didn't like weapons. For Liam and Aiden it seemed like a breeze.
The time slowly ticked by and none of them really spoke unless it was about directions. By the feeling in the air, it felt like someone had died. For most of the way there, it was smooth sailing until we began getting close. There was a loud honk from another car that scared everyone out of their silence. He was coming from the other direction and he swerved to cut our car off, almost causing us to crash into him. Vera and Rosie shared a short scream. "Hey! What are you doing?! You could've killed us! Get out of the road!" Aiden shouted furiously through the window. Yang started to bark towards front. Both Liam and Aiden got out of the car. Rosie started to stand up herself when Liam stopped her. "Rosie, stay in the car." "Liam, I-", Rosie started but Liam cut her off, "Just stay, Rosie. Stay here," he said, dead serious. They all shared worried glances. Aiden and Liam talked with the guy outside for only a few minutes. Rosie watched them intently and silenced Yang. When they hopped back in the car, Rosie asked them urgently, "What's going on?"
Aiden and Liam shared a look and then turned to face the rest of them. They looked grave. "The guy was with his family. He said not to go to Atlanta. Its getting overrun and the military cant stop it and if we turn back down we can beat the traffic." Liam said calmly. "But our parents?! Liam, we can't just leave them, they said-" Rosie said, sounding panicked. Liam cut her off, "I know Rosie. I say we take a vote. Turn back and see what happens or head to Atlanta." "Turn back and go where?" Jax said. "Exactly," agreed Rosie. "We go to Atlanta." Tracey nodded in agreement, not seeing any other logical option. "And if it's overrun?" Aiden asked, his face scrunched up and tense. Rosie looked him dead in the eye. "Then its overrun."
Soon enough, they started to see what the guy was talking about. Traffic the other way began to get heavier and much more rushed, alarming everyone else. Two more arguments sprouted, mostly between Aiden, Rosie and Liam about going to Atlanta. Tracey joined in on some of them and Vera still stayed silent. When the city arouse in front of them, Tracey felt like she was entering an action movie. Military helicopters and planes and trucks were all around. She heard intense gunshot left and right and people screaming. They got closer and closer, but screeched to a halt in the middle of the road as they almost entered the city. "This is way too insane, we cannot go in there!" Aiden shouted at them above the sounds of chaos.
"Our parents are in there, Aiden. Don't you even care about them?!" Rosie angrily shouted back. "Rosie we could, no, probably will die if we drive into that city! Do you not see what's going on in there?!" Liam yelled at her. Tracey piped up, her gut screaming at her to. "We have to. It's our families, guys. We can't just turn back." "I'm with Tracey." Jax said about to say more but Vera interrupted him. "No!" she screamed. "Aiden, drive back now. Drive back home now. This is stupid, we never should have come here!"
Before anyone could respond, they heard a horrific moan and growl near them. The moans and growls multiplied. Looking in front of them, a small group of the creatures made their way towards them. They seemed to separate from the chaos around them. The six teenagers were paralyzed in their seats, unable to rip their eyes away from the monstrosities in front of them. "Aiden!" Vera screamed. "Aiden, kill it! Shoot it! Do something!"
Aiden was shaking. He fumbled for a gun and stumbled out of the car. Liam joined him and soon enough Tracey went right after them on impulse. "Tracey!" Rosie yelled after. She jumped out of the car after her. "Jax, stay with Vera!" Rosie commanded to him. The creatures hungrily made their way towards the four of them. They all held up their guns, but were reluctant to shoot. Rosie was nearly in tears. They were ten feet away. Both Aiden and Liam raised their guns, clutching them tightly.
Rosie was begging them to shoot, full on sobbing now. Her gun was resting limply by her side and her hand was covering her mouth. Her sweet blue eyes were full of tears and horror. Tracey raised her gun and after a second, fired, aiming for the head. The creature nearest to them slumped to the ground. Aiden and Liam looked startled and almost as broken as Rosie as they looked back to see where the shot came from. They moved back and Tracey fired, again and again and again, until every one of the monsters near them had a bullet in their head. The three of them stared at Tracey, who was doing her best not to cry herself. She swallowed her tears. "C'mon guys, lets get out of here." Tracey said quietly, already heading back for the car. No one argued. They hightailed it out of the city. Aiden and Liam were shaken up, but hiding it well and Jax and Vera just seemed solemn. Rosie was torn apart. Tracey was surprised she herself was holding up this well. Perhaps she was used to it. Used to numbing horrible things to move on.
"We need a bigger car." Aiden said soon after they left city limits. Everyone looked at him funny as he parked on the side of the road and got out. They all followed. "What are you doing?" Jax asked. "Just trust me" Aiden replied. He opened the trunk and began to transport things over to a big, grey band van a few feet away. Rosie laughed and joked, "When in an apocalypse" and began to help. The trunk doors of the van had been left wide open. He and Liam emptied out what was left in the van. It was clear to Tracey now that Aiden must've played some kind of sport. Aiden got the key to turn with a bobby pin and everything was packed in, the six of them even more comfortably on their way to no where than before. The van had three rows and a massive trunk. All their stuff seemed to bounce around in the back.
"Where are we going from here?" Tracey asked. She seemed like the only one with enough energy to say anything. Liam answered, "I guess we just try not to die". "Great plan bro" Rosie scoffed. "Got a better one," Liam replied. Rosie stayed quiet. "No but seriously. We have no parents, no sense of direction, the world kind of just fell apart and we're here, riding around a state we're not familiar with in a stolen van," Jax said, sounding more tired than sarcastic. "I say we head to where we can be safe from the infected. Possibly live off the forest or something and try to find others."
And that's exactly what they did. That night, they parked somewhere that looked promising and camped out. From then on, they lived in clearings and lived like backpackers. In the day they desperately searched for others and tried to keep away from the infected. When their supply of food and water was getting low, they knew they had to find others soon. Multiple arguments were had over the matter. They were all terrified for their lives. Then the water and food supply completely ran out.
"That's it, we are done for. I knew if we hadn't stopped so much and just kept looking, this wouldn't have happened," complained Rosie. Another argument was boiling. Rosie seemed to be in most of the arguments these days. Whether it was with Aiden for making stupid decisions or with Liam for being over- protective and treating her like a child. Vera often had arguments with Aiden for both reasons, though she didn't mind being coddled as much. It meant she didn't have to do as much. Though Rosie had the arguments that kept people in line.
In the past few weeks, the roles in their little group really started to define themselves. Aiden was the leader. Liam was his VP, but he also was full-time protective big brother. Jax was surprisingly good at finding safe places and noticing things we wouldn't have, so he was our scout. Tracey was the bravest and the best with a gun, but ironically also the calmest. She was more of the peacemaker than the infected killer. And then there was Vera, who was liability. The only reason the rest kept her around is because they aren't heartless people. But everyone knew that Rosie kept them on track. She was the problem-fixer. "Guys can we not pick a fight? Please." Jax said, he sounded exasperated. "No, Rosie please do continue. Go ahead and list all the reasons why I suck, why I'm a screw-up, go ahead," Aiden spat at her.
Rosie looked as if she'd been slapped. "I didn't mean-I…" she began. "Whatever," Aiden said interrupting her. She stayed quiet in the back, the air in the car familiarly tense. "You know all this fighting wont make anything better," Liam said. "That doesn't matter right now, we need food and water guys," Tracey said firmly. "Lets go to the woods," Jax said, clearly getting frustrated. "No, we need to find others. I know they're here somewhere," Aiden said. "Aiden, We. Are. Dying. We can't just keep going in circles searching for something that's not there," Vera said, losing her temper. "Guys can we all just try to stay calm and think clearly". That was Liam.
"Guys." Rosie said, finally piping up. "I seriously don't need your snarky-ness right now Rosie," Aiden said rudely. "Seriously man? Cool it," Liam said. "Cool it? I have been dealing with that-", Aiden yelled but Liam cut him off, "With that what? That is my sister. Why don't you tell yours to get a grip on reality and do something other than sit there." "Excuse me," came Vera's voice from the back seat. "GUYS!" Rosie shouted. Everyone quieted down. "Look!" Rosie pointed towards the sky, which first was unnoticeable but then became clearer as she pinpointed it. It was a cloud of smoke rising from the middle of the forest. "I think we just found our Others," Rosie muttered. Tracey turned to face her. "Was that a Lost reference?" she asked with a smile. Rosie grinned back. "You know me too well".