Hello again! I swear I feel so motivated, so I am updating quicker than I thought. I promise after this I might take my time with the chapters. Also, thank you to everyone who has submitted so far, I love every single character that is given to me, so please keep submitting! Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, so Enjoy!

Connor Graf – 18 Years Old

No other zombies have appeared since we have arrived, even as we walk along the highway, I only see dead bodies with bullet holes in their heads. I walk and squeeze my way through tightly packed cars that refuse to move or budge.

I look back after jumping onto a broken station wagon. Shane is climbing over tipped over cars, while he tightly holds his axe handle, I never asked him why he uses a handle for an axe instead of… an axe. But I'm sure he has his reasons.

Emily is further back, inspecting a red minivan. I checked it earlier, nothing useful. She seems to be occupied with holding us back instead of going forward.

"Emily come on!" I yell.

I think I startled her as she jumps and looks in my direction. She starts to walk quicker but is having trouble hopping over the cars. Both sides of the highway are filled with cars, and their blocking many of the exits into the city. I didn't know this cities name, my map didn't say anything about it, so I was caught off guard when I saw it after we emerged through the woods.

It didn't matter though, we had to get through this city. I looked back, and Emily has finally caught up with Shane and me. She looked tired, even though we had a full night's rest the day before.

"Weren't you in track at school?" I ask her.

"There we only had to jump hurdles, here we have to squeeze through the cars." She says not even looking at me.

Shane just continues ahead of us, not even bothering to pay us any attention. "Huh? Wh- hey! Shane! Wait up!" I say running after him.

He is standing on a tipped over SUV and is pointing at one of the roads on the highway. "Look" He says. I still can't get over his deep voice.

I look where he is pointing and see an exit ramp that leads down into the center of the city. I knew this was a bad idea, we should have stayed far away from cities, but here we are stuck in one.

"We could go their and stock up" Emily says, shrugging.

"Yay we could do that and get eaten alive in the process." I say to her.

Emily gives me an annoyed look which actually hurt me "It's just a joke" I say quickly "But still, cities are not a save place to be, let's just continue along this highway and-'" but I didn't get to finish my sentence.

"You got a better idea?" Shane says looking at me "Because as you can see the highway network isn't exactly a safe place either!" he says pointing past the exit. Further away I can see zombies all around the highway. They are shuffling around cars and tripping over cars. There would be no way in hell we could make it past that.

"All we need to do is go into the city and past the highway mess and come out on the other side" Shane says looking at the exit ramp again. "I know the city is a crappy place for a zombie apocalypses, but with the way the highway is, there is no way we can go back and find another route"

Emily was nodding along with him and I knew I was about to get outvoted. I grunted with frustration because I knew Shane was right, there was no way we can use this highway.

"Ok, fine, lets go into the city" I say sighing.

Shane and Emily walk down the exit while I linger a few steps back, careful not to alert any zombies around. But when we exit the exit ramp, the roads are empty, not a zombie or human in sight. I look around at all the glistening buildings and roads, surely their most be one horde of zombies here, right?

Emily is the one in front of us all, and she practically runs around the place. Shane acts with a little more caution, even though he was the one who came up with the idea. I just look around with my pistol in hand, observing every ally and corner we pass.

After walking for awhile we make it to what looks like the central area of the city. There is a massive park in the middle of all these buildings and a huge statue, which right now is on the ground and Is cracked. The park is surrounded by shops and buildings, and lots of cars.

Emily just entered a grocery store called ALDI's and is going around checking what she can scavenge. Shane looks around the square, making sure there are no zombies what so ever. Every time he does fine one, he hits their head with his axe handle.

I just stand in the park and wait for Shane to finish up zombie hunting. Then he comes over and sits down, wiping the blood off with a random newspaper. Emily takes a bit longer but comes running out of the store carrying bags, looking excited.

"Look what I got!" she says and fishes an Oreo box out of the bag. "There wasn't much in there but there was just this big Oreo box free for the taking!" she then proceeds to open the box and pop one into her mouth.

"Want some?" she says chewing. I look at the box, and my mouth starts to water, when was the last time I ate an Oreo cookie, or any sweets at all really. I practically lunge at the box to get one. I have three black cookies in my hand and start to throw them in my mouth. Emily is laughing while I do this.

Emily goes over the Shane and offers him some Oreo's as well, he's hesitant at first by he grabs a few and starts to bite into them, savoring the taste. I on the other hand, have already eaten mine, and I was craving for more.

Me, Emily and Shane all sit on the park bench just taking in the view, and me devouring half of the box Oreo's. I am chewing on one of them when I see a dark masked figure in the distance. I nudge Emily and point at the individual. It looks like another survivor and there moving fast, way to fast, like their sprinting.

"Hey!" I call out. Shane and Emily notice the person now and Shane gets up with his weapon.

"We should just ignore them" Shane says.

But there is something wrong with their movement, because even thought their sprinting, there also slowing down looking back, urging something to follow them. Then I hear a car alarm and I see a horde of zombies, somehow appearing out of thin air. All of us get up and are about to leave when I here Emily scream.

I spin around to see a zombie lunge at her, mouth wide open. Shane is the one who brings his axe handle down on its head, blood flying. I hold onto Emily as she shakes. "We need to get out of here now!" I yell. Shane is nodding in agreement when I hear another girl scream.

It's sounds like a little girl, like a child. Shane freezes and I see him look at the direction of where the horde is. The black figure now has three people by their side, but from this distance I can't tell what they look like.

"Hold on" Shane says, and he takes off toward the group.

"WAIT SHANE!" I scream, running with Emily behind me. I stumble towards Shane, jumping over a hedge to catch up. We make it to the road where there are tons, perhaps thousands of zombies, too many to count, shuffling down the street. Then I see them, the other people. The person wearing a black hooded jacket is a girl who holds out a machete and is hacking away at the monsters who come to close, the next is a teenage boy, who wears a black leather jacket who has a survival knife out and has a katana on his back. I see an old black man holding back a hysterical pale woman who is screaming about something. Then I see a little girl, who is being dragged by a heavy-set walker toward the horde.

The girl is screaming and before I can even get a word out, Shane is running at the zombie smashing his axe handle into it's head. The zombie won't let go, so Shane keeps hitting it in the head repeatedly. The zombie finally lets the girl go and it dies. The girl run towards the hysterical women and starts to cry.

"EVERYONE GET BACK! GET THE FUCK BACK!" The hooded girl yells, backing up when a zombie jumps out at her. Everyone starts to move back as he horde gets closer. I don't know what's going on? But I take out my gun and start to shoot at the zombies in the crowd, wasting my ammo, but I don't really care. Were all backing up when I see a zombie lunge at Shane.

I take aim and fire before the zombie sinks it teeth into his flesh. The zombie drops dead in front of Shane, but he barely pays attention, focusing more on keeping the zombie's back.

"REBECCA WHAT'S THE FUCKING PLAN!" The boy shouts who is slashing with his knife at the things.

"GIVE ME A MINUTE!" she says looking around. I don't pay attention, instead I look at the horde and shooting into it.

"HEY BIG GUY, GIVE ME A BOOST!" she yells at Shane. Shane hits one more zombie and runs over to help the girl up. I hear something rustle and then slide down.

"COME ON PEOPLE! CLIMB!" she screams.

I turn around a notice the fire escape latter is down, first the little girl goes up, then the women. The girl, Rebecca, helps Emily up the latter next. Me, Shane, and the teenage kid are the last few who are still at the ground.

"NICK GET YOUR ASS UP HERE!" the girl yells. The boy, Nick, stabs a zombie in the head with his knife and starts to climb the latter. Me and Shane are the last ones around.

"SHANE GET UP THE LATTER!" I yell, when a zombie lunges at him again. Shane hits it in the head. He nods and starts to scale the latter while I'm the only one down here. I reload as quickly as I dare and shoot at a zombie who gets a little to close for my comfort.

"CONNOR!" Emily screams.

I hear Emily, but don't take my focus off the zombies until I can feel the latter. I quickly climb up while the zombies moan and groan behind me. When I reach the top, I watch the old black guy, who wears a black tuxedo, take out a toolbox and selects a screwdriver. He starts to unscrew the screws keeping the latter in place.

"FREDRICK HURRY THE FUCK UP!" Rebecca screams.

"I am going as fast as I can Ms. Lyons" Fredrick says calmly. He finally gets the last screw off, and the latter lands with a thud, tumbling some zombies over.

"Oh, thank god" the young women said hugging the little girl tightly.

"Were not out of this yet" Rebecca says. "Hey, you" She says pointing at Shane "Mind breaking this window for me?" she asks pointing at the window next to the fire escape

Shane stares at her, he doesn't do it, but gives me the handle to decide for myself. I swing the axe handle back and use my force to punch it through the window. The glass shatters and Rebecca climbs in. I hand it back to Shane and climb in the window.

Were in an apartment, it's a mess. The couch is turned over, and there are broken pieces of glass everywhere. The T.V lays on the floor, with the drawers opened and all of it's contents spilled everywhere. There is a hallway that leads to a bedroom, which is also a mess, and a bathroom, which looks like hell.

The women and little girl sit down on the soft carpet and the girl leans into her mother's arms. Nick sits on one of the stools in the kitchen, and I catch Emily looking at him. The black hooded girl is looking out the window and is looking at the other group members. Fredrick, is leaning right next to the mother and daughter.

I look around this little group that were stuck with because of that unexpected horde. All of them look like nice people, but I can't help but feel awkward about this, only one day ago me and Emily were on are own, now were stuck with six new people in a tiny apartment. I felt cramped, this was weird.

I heard a bang at the door of the apartment and I heard a moan from behind me, a zombie was climbing onto the fire escape balcony and zombies were bursting through the door. "BLOCK THE DOORS AND BLOCK THE WINDOWS NOW!" Rebecca screams. Shane and Nick run to the bedroom together while the old guy holds the door closed. Rebecca goes to the fridge, which is unplugged and unhooked, and pushes it in front of the window. Shane and Nick are grunting, pushing a closet to the door. I help, and together we block the door. The zombies bang on it, but they can't get in, after a few minutes they lose interest and leave.

I start to relax when the hooded girl goes up to me and Emily. "Who the fuck are you?!" she yells in my face, which I gently push away. "My name is Connor, and this is Emily" I say pointing to Emily. She gives a little wave and then puts her head down. "Whatever, I don't care about that, what I care about is why this guy and you kids ran up and helped us!" she says, pointing at Shane and that at me and Emily.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nick says leaning on the wall "They saw we were in trouble and came to help, like any normal person would."

"These are not normal circumstances Nick!" She says through gritted teeth "People are only focused on themselves, there is no way these people didn't help us because they were being kind, they must want something" she says glaring at me.

"Hey!" Emily shouts "Leave me friend alone! We saw you guys and Shane ran over, and we weren't going to leave him to the horde"

The girl turns toward Shane "Then why did you run over, huh?" Shane looks a bit angry, and I think he might consider punching her if the women didn't step up.

"This kind man, saw that my daughter was in trouble" She says through tears "And he came over to save her! Which is more than anything any of you have done for my girl!"

The girl is crying, hiding her face in her mother's shirt, but she peeks out to look at Shane, who is looking at her as well. Rebecca looks pissed, but I can see she is calming down, considering that possibility. She doesn't say anything, but Nick chimes in "Thanks… what's your name?" he ask.

"It's Shane MacCormac" he says looking away.

"Well Shane, saving a child's life isn't something people forget, we should all thank you for saving Alice's life" Nick says smirking "Right guys?"

"Thank you for protecting my girl" The women says, still crying. Shane looked a little embarrassed, I could tell he wasn't used to so much praise. "It's nothing, just the right thing to do" he says.

After that the whole group goes silent, Rebecca checks on everyone except me and Emily, which I guess means were not so trust worthy yet. Me and Emily just sit there on the floor as the sun goes down through the cracks of the window. Were leaning our backs on a counter, watching as Nick and Fredrick fall asleep in the sleeping bags we offered them.

"Today was pretty crazy" Emily says looking at the window.

"Yeah" is all I can reply with.

"Do you think we should go?" Emily says under her breath. I consider it but dismiss the idea. "Nah, there's no way to leave remember?"

"Oh yeah. The horde" Emily says.

Me and Emily sit down and watch the last sliver of sunlight leave the room. I know can see why she likes the sunset, the fridge blocks off most of it, but I can see the orange and gold light mixing together to create a new kind of color I've never seen before.

"Do you miss how things used to be?" Emily ask me.

"Absolutely" I say, I wish everything was the way it was before.

"What do you miss most?" She says, clearly tired after a long day.

That's a hard one, theirs a lot of things I miss, my new car, my mom and dad, my home, working up courage to ask Emily to prom. Millions, possibly billions of things run through my head before I decide on the best possible one.

"Clean clothes" I say.

Emily laughs, and I feel warm inside, all fuzzy and happy. Her laugh makes me forget about the apocalypse, about the world ending, I can truly see hope for us.

"You haven't grown up, haven't you?" she says smiling.

"And you haven't killed me yet, haven't you" I say. I almost say "kissed" but I change the words.

"Oh, you better believe you won't make it out of here alive" she says.

"Than I better be paying extra attention" I say smirking. I look into her eyes, and she stares into mine, and I feel the desire to kiss her, I can feel my brain screaming "JUST DO IT ALREADY".

"Ms. Emily and Mr. Connor" Fredrick says, instantly breaking the mood "I have come to return your sleeping bags."

I look up and he has Emily's pink sleeping bag folded on his arm. "We gave it to you; don't you want it?" Emily says.

"Oh, that won't be necessary Ms. Emily, I am in fact quite comfortable lying on the carpet"

Me and Emily look at each other and start to smirk, is this guy like a butler?

"Thank you" Emily says taking the sleeping bag.

Fredrick nods and returns to the living room, where he starts to position himself to sleep on the carpet.

I eye Emily "Is he a butler?" Emily starts to die laughing "No, I am serious" and that makes her laugh harder.

For once in my life, I feel ok, I feel totally fine, and as Emily's laugh's fill the air, I think everything will be ok.

I am in love with this chapter! Here are the new survivors. Everyone beside Shane and Nick are made by me, so I hope you enjoy them and I am curious on how much you like them? Please review so I know! Here is the next hint for the next chapter.

Hint: "I never asked for this" He whispers

Ooooooohhhhhhh so much mystery! Anyway, until I figure out how to make a poll, here is my question to you guys. Beside Emily and Connor, who is your favorite survivor? Rank them from worst to best!

Take Care

CandleFire45