Jess POV

Backing up will only get me so far.

If these…things could be any less noisy, my nerves wouldn't be constantly over capacity. Their faces—gray, red scabs dripping blood, jaws lazily rising and falling. But I don't try to look at where it's bleeding.

I've managed to stay awake this long and I intend to stay so. You have to be now.

They never sleep.

A group, maybe seven, staggering down the hall, grumbling with each step. I've used up all of my space. The dead end will meet me in a few seconds—

There! My back crashes into the wall. And even though they are slow, they don't cease their steps…I didn't bring a weapon. We gave them all to Mandy and Terry and Charlie in the big room. I don't have anything that could do as something sharp—the table? The small table on my left side.

Fifteen feet away.

I grasp the table with two hands, and attempt to lift it. Too heavy! Bolted to the floor. My arms ache with the sudden, blitzed effort, and I try to stay composed, and to not look up, their bloody faces will catapult me to darkness before they even get the chance to bite my shoulder—

I feels the walls behind me, still facing the oncoming horde, my eyes closed, my breathing struggling to stay steady, grabbing for anything.

Ten.

I can duck and crawl through their legs. I'm tiny. And that will throw them off their feet. But then they'll fall on top off me and—the thought makes me sick and distressed and dizzy and I dismiss it.

Stay, stay, I convince myself. There can't be any giving up. No stopping, at all. That's what we all promised when it first happened. I swore it. I told them I wouldn't give in. No turning around and crying. None of what I'm used to doing. No being weak—

Five!

Heart sprinting, my reaching fingers find a doorknob behind me. It's a door. Grip it and twist and there's an opening behind me and I go inside the dark room and leave the door and the ghost of me for the Clawers to graze at.

My name hits me before the smell. "Jessie!"

"Finn," I answer, keeping my palms high on the door, letting my heart slow down, my eyes still squeezed shut. The noise of the Clawers still come through. But they can't hurt me. They can't get to me there.

But here? I spin around, searching for a threat, but it's too dark and too quiet in this room. And smells too bloody and like…decay. The effort throws my head into turmoil.

"Jess, don't look anywhere, and don't look where you think I am." Okay. I won't. I don't wanna look at anything…what I want is to get out of here.

Why did we decide to get a new house for shelter? Our other one was completely fine.

Oh. It got overrun by Clawers. I forget that quickly—and that's why she should stay outside, because we can move easier there. I tell them that everyday and they don't listen to me.

"Jess, breathe," he says, sounding like he just went through an ordeal of his own. I hate how I've become the weakest of the group just because of my fear of blood. I guess, in actuality, it does make me the weakest…I don't like being taken care of, though. "Are you alright?"

The door supporting me, shutting out the Clawer's commotion, I lean my head back against the door. One knee bent. Can't lock them. "Oh…kay." Things start to get heavier and harder to understand and my head isn't attached to me and the dizziness is taking over again but it's just my head, not my whole body—if it's my whole body, then I'm in trouble.

I push through the haze. I have to. I shove the words out. "Why don't you come over here so I know you're not a Clawer?"

"They don't talk. And I can't. I'm completely fine, it's just my shirt that's not. Clawer…left themselves all over me…"

"Yep. Got the picture." I sigh. Sure helps me a lot. "You got them all?"

"Easily. I guess that door locks behind you but we'll stick some furniture behind it just increase the group increases."

"Thank God."

"You're not often the one to thank anyone."

"There's not too many people in the world anymore to thank," I answer, keeping a hand over my nose.

"That's what happen when you're with us too long," he laughs. "You're clothes get dirty and your hair is filthy and you want to be with anyone else but us."

"You guys have kept helpless little me alive for this long," I remark. "But I want to see if Mandy is alright."

"Got it. Head towards the door—near that lamp? I'm gonna come over here and make sure they won't get through."

Amanda POV

The whole world must be gone.

Char is to my right and Maybeck is to my left. I've stayed behind them, almost the whole time…this sharp spear I hold, which we found a few houses ago, I haven't had to use it yet and I don't want to ever—

I know they aren't people. I know that they can hurt me and Jess and Finn and I'm still afraid of killing them. I'm afraid of killing anything, and with my luck I live in a world now where I can't be scared. There's no time to be scared now...

"Mand, you alright?" Maybeck asks.

"Yeah," I answer. Both of my friends have the same kind of weapon as I do. We ran out of ammo just this morning. Our group has shot the gun only a few times, just the guys have, and only on the Clawers, and never in the head, where it'll kill them—just in their leg or arm so it'll slow them down.

They understand that these things are dangerous but they still don't have the heart to end them like that. We were just thrown into this mess…and I want out but there's no way…

"There must be a larger room adjacent to this one," Charlene remarks. "They just keep on coming in."

This rooms smells musty and the dated furniture is damaged, pushed against the wall. The navy wallpaper makes it darker than it already is, being that it's late night.

The Clawers have black eyes and missing limbs. Much, much uglier than what I would have thought the dead would look like alive. Probably looking a lot like us, though, with the torn clothes and wild hair. Groups of ten tottering toward us, and we're keeping our distance, behind a…pile…of the Clawers, then extending our weapons, getting them in the head. A cycle. Hoping the flow doesn't increase.

I'm trying to stay useful by kicking the Clawers back or sticking their lower bodies but they're coming too fast, and it's too loud and Charlie and Maybeck are getting them down so so quickly. Normally I'm a step ahead of things. I'm always the one with the plan. Right now I'm so unsettled to move more than slightly forward.

My escape into my thought opens up my area and a Clawer manages to climb over the pile and pin Charlie back. She shrieks and I realize myself.

"No!" Maybeck exclaims, caught up with a Clawer stuck in his spear. "Manda!"

I don't know how to react, as the weapon becomes so heavy and the target so tiny and the range where I can get the Clawer and not Charlie is dangerous and—

Her screeches convince me that I have to do this and I stab the Clawer in the eye and it slides down Charlie's body and thumps onto the floor, the loudest sound all night.

Char doesn't even pause to run over to me and grab my shoulders and ask, "You alright? You're so pale."

We've gotten used to the motion of disregarding ourselves and seeing if the one next to is okay. And that's why I feel selfish, letting my fear take over what needs to be done…what I don't wanna do…what I feel horrible for doing…

I nod, but I know I'm shaking and that if I stay here any longer they're gonna get us all. A Clawer approaches the both of us and Maybeck kicks it down and jabs it repeatedly in the head. Charlie disconnects and goes back to defending the area. Quivering with each strike I look away and try to shake off this uneasiness inside me.

It's won't go away. I don't answer the other two's questions because I'm trying too hard…to get the sound of the Clawer's drop out of my head…but it just won't leave.

I raise the spike.

Philby POV

"I can't hear anything."

"That's the good thing about them…you know when they're coming."

"But it's in droves." Willa carefully watches her footing in this dark, small room. Maybe a bedroom. Our sneakers are worn and it can take one wrong step on something sharp to impair us. All we seem to do now is walk. Kind of like the Clawers.

"Not always," I answer. "Not when we're prepared."

"We have three more rooms to clear," Willa sighs. "I'm done. I want to sit down and breathe for a moment."

"We haven't done that for years. Even before this hit."

She shakes her head. Willa's usually the positive one but this constant moving from place to place has worn away her optimism. I miss her smiles and her laughter but she isn't completely gone yet. There's still nights when we're all making jokes and she'll light up.

None of us are completely gone yet.

"We need more weapons."

"We need more ammo."

"I feel like guns are a waste," she says. "No, it's not my pacifist shining through. Guns're unreliable." The crossbow she holds has been attached to her ever since this whole thing started. "You're in an attack and you run out of ammo. You're done."

"Says the girl with ten arrows left."

"And I use them wisely." She smirks. Or something like a smirk that I can determine from the spotty lighting. "It's the only weapon I have on me and you have none right now. So. Stay close."

I nod, taking a good look at her. "I missed that."

"Missed what?"

I don't know how to how to answer, but before I do, I hear the growls.

Willa's at the ready in seconds, firing one arrow after another towards the door, where the Clawers leak in. She backs up with each attack.

"Stay in one spot!" I suggest. I feel useless, with nothing to strike with, but Willa seems to be taking care of it all. I can still offer my ideas.

"Why?"

"So they'll pile up!"

"Do you want to get through this room or not?"

"We could always move the—" I spin around to find a bony corpse walking on stubby legs, reaching for me. I kick him back, and turn to Willa who's quickly losing the arrows—three left! And there's four coming at her.

I stumble back, trying to lead my pursuer away, but it's fast for its apparent deterioration. I test out my idea—I hop to the side and it follows my direction.

I glance over to see Willa drive back a Clawer to the wall, then smash its head with the front of the cross bow. "Wills!"

She looks to me and her eyes alight. "I'm out of them!"

Which I was aware of. "Quick! Pull away the dresser!" I hope she understands my words even though they came out so fast. She looks confused but does as I say, grabbing the sides of the wooden furniture piece that was against the wall and pulling it back.

Keeping my eyes on the gray thing, I back myself up through the space between the wall and the furniture. The Clawer follows me. As soon as I'm out of that area, and the Clawer is still behind the dresser, I shout to Willa and hope she got the message.

I watch as the space is closed and the Clawer is crushed. Bones snap.

It's silent.

"Why didn't you just have me kick it down and get it in the head?" is the first thing she asks.

"It was very quick. Didn't want it to turn around and get you."

She stares. "I don't need any protection."

"Well, I do. You're the one with the weapon."

She stares me down. Then is satisfied. "Nice save."

Finn POV

The sound of the Clawers direct me to the main room. I find a group as large as the ones we usually see outside on our runs. Willa and Philby are entering the room from the other side's door.

I try to find Mandy but before I can, I take down a few Clawers, as Jess stays behind me. Willa smashes a few in the head with her crossbow—maybe she ran out of arrows and couldn't retrieve some from the corpses.

There's two straggling around, and I thrust the spear forward in its eye. With a cry, Charlie gets the last one, as Philby locks the doors around us.

That's when Amanda starts screaming.

I whip my head around and I find nothing attacking her, no injuries, but she holds her head in her hands and leans against the wall, her voice strangled and helpless. Jess flies over, taking the shoulders of the shaking girl. Charlie drops her spear, and it stays in the head of the Clawer. She keeps her hands up, not knowing what she did.

She grabs my gaze, shaking her head, eyes huge in confusion. I shake my head.

"No, no, no!" Amanda keeps on screeching and sobbing.

"Is she alright? Is she alright?" I demand from Jess, and only after I say it I realize how my tone doesn't make the situation any easier. Jess frantically looks up and down, searching for a scratch or cut on Amanda but finding none.

"She was fine, she didn't get hurt," Maybeck promises. Trying to convince himself. He has his first good look at me. Sees the red on my shirt, I guess. "Dude, are you alright?"

"Not mine," I mouth. He understands.

"Mandy, Mandy, baby…" Jess whispers desperately. "Mandy, what's wrong?"

"I…I…" She's breathing too hard and crying too much and I want to get over there, but with me covered in Clawer guts…

Charlie looks to us and says softly, "She had to kill one of them. I was trapped and Terry was too and she had to get it—"

Manda hasn't had to kill any of the Clawers yet, ever since it's began. Never said a word about it. But the anxiety in her eyes every time there's an attack or we have to clear a house…I should have known.

I curse and push my hair out of my eyes. I should be there with her!

"Finn? Where's Finn?" she asks Jess. Can't hear any of our other voices.

"He's fine," Jess says, smoothing Manda's hair back in an attempt to calm her down.

Amanda sounds and looks scary and red and dangerous, as she asks again. "I swear, Jessie, if he's not and you're lying to me—"

Jess might start crying too. "I promise! I promise he's okay! He just…can't see you…right now…I promise."

I almost want to speak but I don't want to freak her out. None of us know what to do. One wrong move and she's thrown into another whole round of crying.

She tries to look behind her sister and sees the bodies and the spear still stuck through the recently killed Clawer. She yelps, her excessive breathing not coming back as she almost drops in Jess's arms and all of us reach out in unison to help. But she manages to stay upright. And I'm useless here.

And I hate the Clawers.

"Okay, we need to get you off your feet," Jess says, and Mandy forlornly nods her head, biting her bottom lip and hugging herself, as she slides down and sits with her knees close to her chest. Shivering. "Here, hunny," Jess beckons her to lie her head on her shoulder, and her sister refuses, trying to stay strong.

Because we all made that promise to no give up and she applies it even to now.

"Manda…" I try.

A few tears of hers leak out as she obeys, hiding her face from all of us, turning her body into Jessie as her sister strokes the crying girl's hair and whispers things into her ear. I hear her voice softly singing during the silence. Amanda slowly gets calmer and calmer until she's still.

We broke her.

And the nights will only get longer.

"I think we all need a break," Jess says after our silence. She whispers carefully, one arm around her sister. "It's been constant."

We're all in agreement.

Charlie goes off with Philby and Maybeck, looking back with an apologetic look. I don't know who's to blame or if we can even blame a person. It's the Clawers, it all fault…they messed this whole world up…they could have only attacked Florida or only Orlando but they messed up my friend's world. Broke Mandy.

And I won't take that lightly.

Willa comes up to me, taking her mother role yet another night. With her hand on my forearm she tells me, "I'll grab another one of Philby's extra shirts. You stay here with the sisters. We're gonna clear out the Clawers from this room first and burn them outside."

"You sure it won't attract them?"

She waits. "The area is heavy with trees. And we need to get them out of here. I'll burn them myself if I have to."

I know the comment wasn't supposed to sting and she meant it with all of the love in the world. But even Willa's hardened.

"We'll figure out where everyone's sleeping after." And she leaves the room.

Drained, I look over to Jess, who's had her eyes on me. I shake my head.

She gestures her head over to the side, squeezing her eyes shut, scared of the sight of the blood even while she's safe. "Go get changed."

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

So the reason I did not put this in The Walking Dead section also (as in, section of KK crossovers) because I am not including TWD characters in this story. New characters? Perhaps. The only aspect of TWD in this is the Walkers…which I called Clawers…not just "zombies", because then it's uncool.

Thought of this back in the beginning of March. And knew that I had to do it. Call me crazy! But today within three hours of doing this I made some new discoveries about the characters and that's what I'm here on this site for—to get as close as I can to seven characters I love so that I can do more with my own characters. And for Jor. I'm here to make sure she sleeps because she never does lol

I do not have a set climax or ending for this. (When I thought of this I was like "Okay no I am exhausted, I am not thinking of another climax goodbye"). So this is another aspect of my experimental, risky year. Just to do it. Will it be finished? I don't know. This is just here to post more chapters on, it is not like one of my other multichaps where I do have every little thing planned. Wouldn't even call it a multichap. It's a story. I have eight chapters completely planned and for the next eight weeks I plan to update this. When I run out it'll be summer (and I would have been out of school for a while then) and I'll proceed with summer oneshots.

I'm doing Famanda and Wilby in this story. Wanna try out a story with no Charbeck or Jaybeck and Jesslene. See how they are single. So mayyybe I'll stick a little in there at some point. Mayyyybe. This could be in between the time of 6 and 7. DHIs could have happened. Maybe not. They are all still close close friends.

And this is special because it's my first long project in first person! And I didn't hate doing it. Some characters will be better than others since I've worked with some longer. And for the last three months it has been everyday doing a Char POV haha. But this'll be something new, with the guys, that I've never done.

My goal is to get my pacing down and to get closer to the guys, since I never use them. This'll definitely help me out with action and other POVs. And Mandy/Wills 1pov specifically bc I've never done them in that voice

"Warm Shadow" by Fink is a good song for this…it was used in TWD…haha. I need a song for every mc so here you go. Maybe not every chap.

It's rated T because of the violence. I don't think I'm gonna use guns. And this story really won't be that bloody or graphic. Just the killing of the Clawers. Same stuff as usual with how I do my romance and all.

I'm very excited to do this and I hope you'll take another look next week. I'm writing this so that any fan of KK can read it—you don't have to know about TWD to read this.

I'm insane.