Chapter 1: Lift-Off

Stonewood Base, the safest place in the whole world. At least it was the safest place. Now, the husks are closing in and we needed to leave this island/base, and go to the next safest place. All 40 of the buses were lined up, ready to fly off to a better tomorrow. I know it sounds cheesy, but the future is all we've thinking about since we found that new island. I should probably introduce myself.

My name's Ramirez, and I was, or maybe I still am the commander of section of the military focused on protecting people from the storm. What country is this military from you may ask? Sorry, that's highly classified.

The point is, about a month ago, our husk problem started getting out of hand. More powerful ones, we call Brutes started spawning, and frankly our technology hasn't advanced enough to fight back. So, we decided to move our group of Survivors to a safe place. I personally think it's a little chicken of us, but many of my friends are in this group, and I don't want them to get hurt too. As I mentioned before, we have 40 busses that will take us to a safe island, with no creatures or crazy monsters.

We have a lot of buses because of what I'm most proud of: all the people we've rescued. At first there were just about a few Dozen of us, but with our military experience, were able to save around 2,000 people, including children, teens, adults, the elderly, and everyone from all walks of life. So as I helped a small group of people onto Bus 7, I couldn't help but smile a little, even though we were fighting for survival. Another cool fact about these buses is that they can fly. Not like planes, but like a hot air balloon.

My friend, Lars, built all of them with the help of our Constructors, with nothing but some scrap metal and wheels. He also designed these robots to fly the buses, because the island will take a couple days to get to, and the speeds of the buses aren't that fast. I walked back in the bunker and saw Lars fiddling with the controller to the new storm shield generator. Parts of it were loaded up on the backs of all the buses, and we were going to put it together once we got to the island.

"Ramirez, got all these buses loaded up?"

"Yep. Lars, gotta admit that these buses are awesome."

"Probably my best work. You got the rations too?"

"That too. These seeds are gonna kick start the food supply."

"All natural, just the way it should be."

I went back outside to watch a couple of the last buses start to float upwards, when the bunker alarm went off. The pavement turned red with the lights and I ran towards the bunker.

"Lars, what's going on?"

"One of the shield beacons broke! The husks are getting in!"

I grabbed my walkie-talkie and a scar off the wall.

"Everybody on the ground grab a weapon! Sweep the bunker for any people left! Watch out for husks!"

I thought that everyone should have left by now, a couple of us stayed back to check on the explosives we rigged the Island with, they would kill the husks that got on here. I wasn't too worried because everyone staying back were either specially trained or a robot, so I decided to quickly check some of the areas where I thought people would be. I was just about to get onto the last bus when I heard a little girl cry out,

"Somebody help!"

I followed her voice and found the girl curled up under some huge boxes, while husks furiously smashed at them.

"Hey creeps! Pick on someone who has a gun!"

All the husks turned to me, and I went at them with my scar. It was one to ten. They never stood a chance. I quickly grabbed the girl and ran outside, while Lars shouted from the last bus.

"Hurry up! Everyone else is on here!"

I leaped on the bus just as another group of husks spawned right outside. Once the bus was high in the air, I grabbed the detonator and covered the girl's ears. I watched as what once was home be turned into a smoldering mass of rubble. I felt some tears coming on, so I talked to the girl before I would start crying.

"Hey there. What's your name?"

"Mandy," she sniffed.

"Do you know where your parents are?"

"I was following them to the bus but I got lost."

I felt really bad for the girl. She couldn't have been more than 8, and here she was, alone on a bus with a bunch of stone-faced military guys and girls. And me. I went over to my pre-packed luggage and took out the one thing that I would remember the island by: my old teddy bear, Cuddles.

Even though it had been years since I got it, when I was just a kid, the pink fur and smiling mouth comforted me. Now, someone else needed comfort only a teddy bear could give.

"Here you go. Cuddles kept me company when I was a kid, like you."

Mandy slowly looked up and smiled.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Now get some sleep, and I'll help find your parents when we are at our new Home."

Mandy's smile continued as she fell asleep, and I noticed that everyone else was getting tired too. I walked up to the driver bot and tapped a few buttons.

"Estimated time of arrival: 76 hours." said it's computerized voice. I walked to the back of the bus, and found a seat with no one on it. I pushed some luggage out of the way, and leaned my head against the window, watching the stars slowly drift by. The storm's signature purple clouds also mixed in the sky, reminding me of the uncertain future ahead. Still, through all the fear, sadness, and worry, I found a way to sleep, just as the moon rose above the fleet of buses, flying to our new home.

Thanks for Reading and if you feel like it leave a Review and Creative Ideas for Future Chapters and we might use it in Future Installments

till next message bye