quick update because I'm done with my classes and had a lot of free time on my hands. enjoy!

Motorcycles were sort of scary, Cat thought, and not just because Sam drove like a maniac.

Cat worried more about the fact that it was loud and attracted a lot of unwarranted attention. Cars were preferred; they were quieter and safer, but strangely hard to come by. The ones they had either wouldn't start or were out of gas or in pile-ups on the road and impossible to move. So far, they've had no stroke of luck with cars, and Sam had jumped on the chance for a motorcycle the moment they came across the mechanics.

But, she figured as the engine purred beneath her and her arms hooked tight around Sam's waist, she trusted Sam. She saved her life, after all, and who was Cat to question her judgement?

"You don't have to hold on so tight!" Sam called over her shoulder, steering them onto the highway and exiting Barstow. Right away, they passed an abandoned car accident in the middle of the road. Two infected were trapped inside of an upside down car, pawing at the broken windows and gnarling as they passed, hanging by their seatbelts.

Cat, although happy she was going to see her friends again (though a bit nervous, because Sam and Jade might try to kill each other), was almost scared for leaving. After clearing the area around the garage and putting traps up, they had been safe there. They had called it home, despite its dust and dirt and dry air, for months.

"Sorry!" She squeaked, her voice drowned out by the engine. She loosened her grip around Sam and instead hooked her fingers around her belt to hold on without suffocating her.

They pushed through the lines of cars backed up onto the highway, weaving between them easily. The largest pile-up was mostly behind them, which they had seen on their way to Barstow months ago. It was almost impossible to go through and was crawling with geeks. At the rate they were going, with Sam pushing at high speeds that both excited and nauseated Cat, they would be able to reach Beck and Jade at their meeting point in no time, provided there were no complications. Cat subconsciously looked down at the walkie talkie hooked to her belt to make sure that it was still there.

It was still strange to Cat, looking around the highway, to see California so lifeless. A few geeks straggled behind the dividers and around cars, but they were going too fast for them to be any danger. Cat had been on this interstate many times before, when she went to visit family. It was quiet now, just the two of them on an open road, surrounded by dirt and sandy hilltops.

Cat didn't think she would ever get used to the world being this way.

"This can't be it," she remembered telling her brother, her hand clutched tightly in his. "This can't be how the world is going to be."

"I'm sorry Kitkat," Andrew had said, and his voice echoed in her ears as ill and feverish. He'd been bitten when they were escaping the city with their parents and their car had been bombarded with geeks, but Cat hadn't realized that until much later. "But it is."

Andrew had never sugarcoated anything like her parents did. Whenever he was around, which wasn't much - the Valentine's never really knew where he was, unless the police had called them to tell them that he was arrested or in the hospital, or if her parents admitted him to a rehab center - he had always told Cat how it was. He'd tell her he was messed up, he'd tell her the truth whenever her parents wouldn't, even though Cat wasn't stupid and could figure it out on her own. Most of Andy's weird problems only stemmed from his drug abuse.

She missed him. She missed her parents. She wondered if they were okay, if they had tried looking for them. She wondered where they were, and if they were still alive, and thought, if they weren't, how awful it would be if Cat had outlived her entire family.

Only a few away from the city, Sam gradually eased off the accelerator and slowed the bike down to an abrupt halt. The engine hummed smoothly, and one of Sam's boots kept them steady against the ground. "We got trouble," Sam said nonchalantly, gesturing ahead of them. Cat peered over her shoulder; the road was completely blocked by cars and a massive, overturned eighteen-wheeler truck that looked like it had caught on fire some time ago. Behind it, there was a herd of geeks, who trudged along and turned lethargically to the sound of the motorcycle. Sam turned the keys to turn it off.

"There's too many of them," Cat said quietly, her eyes wide as she stared ahead of them. Her grip on Sam's jeans grew tighter unconsciously. "What do we do now?"

"We can go around, through the fields, but we need to get rid of some of the G's first," Sam suggested. "Don't wuss out, they're all trapped behind that truck - we can take them." She added, as if sensing Cat's incoming comment. Cat hopped off of the motorcycle and watched as Sam's foot eased out the kickstand and got off. Sam's hand went for her belt, pulling out a hunting knife and flipping it between her fingers with indifference. "Come on, kid! This will be fun!"

Cat's eyebrow raised expressively. "Fun?" She repeated as Sam climbed on top of the truck, geeks grabbing at her feet. The first time Cat had killed one it had been her brother, and she'd gotten sick shortly afterwards. Eventually, it got easier. But never fun.

"Hey, something to make our afternoon a little more exciting," Sam said, though she scowled when she brought her knife down, through a geeks skull, blood splattering onto her boots. She kicked at their hands when some of them got too close to her ankles, and Cat's heart jumped. "You gonna help or what?" She called over the garbled sounds and snarls of the infected as they piled over each other and reached for Sam in endless hunger.

Cat sighed and, approaching the truck, had to jump to heave herself up the side because she was too short. The herd wasn't very large, but the amount of them as they were now would cripple their plan to drive around them, and the noise was much louder the closer she was. In front of Sam, bodies were falling left and right, and although her friend had said it would be fun she did not look very happy to be doing it, with her gritted teeth and furrowed brow. Blood stained her arms and the sleeves of her denim jacket.

"Try to catch up," Sam said, turning to her and plastering on a grin. She wiped her forehead with her forearm. "Mama's on a roll."

"Well, this is it."

Beck put the truck in park at the shoulder of the highway and pulled the keys from the ignition, dangling them from his fingers. He turned his head to look at Jade seated in the passenger's seat, her brown hair tangled and falling over her shoulders in waves. She was staring out the window, green eyes squinted against the glare of the sun, her arms crossed over her chest. The only indication that she was anxious at all was the way her knee kept bouncing up and down.

There was miles of open road ahead of them and not a biter in sight. They had come armed, but it was a relief that they didn't seem to be needing them. Beck hoped the road was clear for Cat and her new friend.

"So, what do you think about a new girl?" Beck asked, trying to make conversation in the silence of the car.

"I think she better be trustworthy," Jade snapped, pushing the car door open and slamming it behind her. She moved to the front of the car, pushing her sunglasses over her eyes and leaning against the bumper, staring down the highway.

Following her lead, Beck leaned beside her, their arms touching lightly. "If Cat trusts her, we can too."

"Cat will trust anyone that so much smiles in her direction," Jade said, though there was a rare hint of fondness in her voice. Beck remembered what it had been like when they all believed Cat was dead. Jade hadn't so much said her name in months and shut down anybody who tried to talk about her. Beck didn't blame her.

"You don't really believe that," Beck countered, smiling softly. "Cat always had good gut instincts."

"Has," Jade corrected, crossing her arms. "You don't need to talk about her in past tense anymore."

"Right."

They fell into a comfortable silence, leaning against the bumper of his car as the sky turned orange overhead. As the day settled into afternoon, the air got cooler, and the palm trees around them swung gently in the slight breeze. Beck was glad for the quiet; there was so little of it lately provided you stayed with the group. They often didn't split up. Safety in numbers, Mr. Vega had said.

Beck knew that was true, and it was better to stay together, but Trina was driving all of them up the wall and it was good to get away from them for a little while.

"Maybe we can go on a small supply run after they get here," Beck suggested, nudging Jade slightly with his elbow. "We're running kinda short on food, and we should find gas."

"Whatever," Jade said. She didn't look at him, too focused on the highway. Her fingers gripped tighter at the quarter sleeve of the flannel shirt she was wearing. It was Beck's, one that she borrowed often. He didn't mind; he thought she looked good in his clothes. "What's taking them so long?"

He shrugged, following her gaze. "Be patient."

"Don't tell me what to do."

Beck figured Jade was being extra snippy because she was nervous, although he couldn't see why. He was excited to see Cat again - it had been too long without her, too long thinking that she was dead. It was a relief that they were here, that they had somehow managed to find her after months of nothing. Beck had no idea why Jade could possibly feel anxious.

Yet, he didn't push. He knew his girlfriend would withdraw into herself and snap at him if he asked, and he didn't feel like starting an argument. Instead, he kicked the toe of his boot against the concrete, loose pebbles skirting across the road, and let it go.

They stood in silence until they heard the engine of a motorbike echoing along the highway. Beck straightened, his hand falling the the gun holstered at his hip - he didn't know when the action became so automatic. Beside him, Jade pushed herself from the bumper of the car as well, squinting. "Cat didn't say anything about a motorcycle," she said, her lips pulling into a smirk.

"Maybe it's not them." Beck shielded his eyes from the sun with one hand as the engine grew louder.

"It's them," Jade said. She nodded her chin. "Look."

A black motorcycle was speeding toward them along the curve of the highway, but even from the distance Beck could see a blonde-haired girl seated in the front, and behind her, a girl with chocolate brown and red hair who was attached at her waist. They waited with quiet anticipation, breaths held as the bike slowed to a stop in front of them.

The blonde girl, Beck recognized from Keenan's party; an Internet sensation from the iCarly web-series. The sleeves of her denim jacket were cuffed at her elbows and speckled with spots of dark red blood. Sam stepped off of the motorcycle and chivalrously helped Cat hop off as well. Beck did not miss the way their hands linked together as they walked over to them.

Cat looked changed. She still looked like Cat - with her beaming smile and dark eyes a thousand shades of brown and unrelenting curiosity - but there was something that struck Beck as different. Gone was the heels and the skirts and flowing shirts, replaced by a pair of jeans and bloody sneakers and a slightly worn-looking grey tank top.

Her hair was still a deep red velvet, but her roots had begun growing back. Beck couldn't remember it being that color since before high school.

It was all subtle differences, like the hunting knife attached at her thigh, but they were there. But then again, he supposed, all of them had changed one way or another and he shouldn't have been surprised.

"Jadey!" Cat cried as they approached, and she released Sam's hand to immediately launch herself at her best friend. Jade met her halfway, and laughed slightly as she folded her arms around her smaller frame, hugging her close.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Kitten." Beck heard Jade whisper as they held each other tightly. The way her voice wavered made him think that she was holding back tears.

They stayed in each other's embrace for a while, holding onto one another tightly, before Cat pulled back, her smile watery. Her eyes flickered over Jade's shoulder and met Beck's, and she flounced over to hug him next. Beck pulled her to his chest, one hand protectively at the back of her head. To see that she was here, alive and well, overwhelmed Beck with such relief it could have brought him to his knees.

"I missed you guys so much," Cat said against him, her voice muffled by his shirt.

Beck's arms tightened around her briefly before he pulled away, a lump in his throat. "We missed you too, C," he said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Everyone is really excited to see you again."

Cat smiled excitedly. "I can't wait either!" She said, bouncing on the heels of her feet and folding her hands in front of her.

"Why are you two bloody?" Jade asked, raising her sunglasses and staring over at Sam, who was perched on the motorcycle, not sure what to do with herself and staring wistfully over at Cat.

"There was a herd of geeks not too far from here," Sam said, and Cat turned over her shoulder as if she forgot she was there. "By some overturned truck. We had to get rid of a few before we could make a little detour around them."

"Oh! Guys!" Cat exclaimed. "This is my new friend, Sam. She saved my life a couple months ago."

"Internet star," Sam said, looking playfully smug. "Not like any of that matters anymore."

When it was clear Jade wasn't going to say anything, Beck stepped up and reached to shake her hand. "Any friend of Cat's is a friend of ours," he said. "Thanks for looking out for her."

Sam shrugged, the picture of nonchalance. "We looked out for each other," she said, sounding the slightest bit bashful as she released Beck's hand and reached to adjust her stained sleeves. Her lips poised into a scowl. "It gets lonely out there, you know? And she's somehow an expert at finding chips in impossible places. Won me over with some stale pringles."

"That's a sick ride," Jade commented as she returned to Beck's side, smirking.

"Yep," Sam hummed, patting the seat affectionately. "She's a beauty."

Beck flipped his keys in his hand, and they dangled between his fingers. "Jade and I were thinking that we could go get some supplies on the way back," he said. "There's a gas station on the way to the house that could have some things that we're running short on. We didn't try it out for gas yet, but with how dry most of the stations are around here…" He trailed off, shrugging. "You two okay with a pit stop?"

"It's going to be dark soon," Cat said, biting at her lower lip as she looked over at Sam, who was already starting up the bike.

Sam revved the engine, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Loose blonde fringe hung over one of her ears. "We'll be fine," she said. "I hope there's fatcakes."

As Cat got on behind her, Beck and Jade went back to the truck. As he started it up and Jade slammed the door behind her, he glanced over to his girlfriend, reaching to grab her hand with a knowing smile. "What were you so nervous for?"

She watched as Cat hooked her fingers around Sam's belt before turning her head to meet his eyes. "I was worried she'd be different," she said. "And to be honest, I still am."

"Why?" Beck asked, kissing the tips of her fingers.

Jade was silent for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was quiet, softer than usual. It was sincere and honest and vulnerable. "Because," she said;

"This world is going to break her."

Cat and Sam are so gay for each other and they have no idea. anyway, remember to please leave your thoughts and feelings in a review! I am glad to see some people are enjoying this so far :)