To me, Roberta Warren was the leader. Doc was that one guy you could count on to take the tension off and make people laugh. 10k was the group's silent sniper. Cassandra was what seemed to be a fearless badass. I couldn't think of any other word. Sure Roberta was a like a fearless bad-ass as well, but she was already defined as the 'leader'. Me? I was just the outcast. The freak the group picked up off the side of the road. Quite literally, actually. The first couple of days the group picked me up, it all seemed to happened so fast. Now, days went by slow. People were starting to talk to me, ask questions. At this point I wanted to kill more zombies instead of talk.

As for Cassandra and my secret, I was almost positive she knew. She hardly talked to me, but she stared at me a lot. My phoenix that followed us kept a fair distance, and nobody seemed to notice. At least, not until now. I should have known. Somebody was bound to notice a bird following us wherever we went.

10k had one eye closed, the other focusing on the lens on his gun. It was pointed to the sky, and my curiosity got the best of me as I sat at the back of the truck, fiddling with my thumbs.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"That's the first thing I've heard her say in days," Doc whispered. We were parked at some random person's house out in the desert. Roberta insisted on going inside to look for supplies. Cassandra went with her. We were told to stay out here, just in case. My leg was bandaged up, and thanks to me, the last of our medicine was used on me instead of Cassandra. The guilt ate me alive, because I knew someone like me wasn't worth it.

"We haven't killed any zombies in a while," 10k stated.

"That's supposed to be a good thing, kid." Doc told him.

"Well, that bird. The red one up there? The only thing flying in the sky?" 10k pointed out. My heart stopped as I eyed him with caution. "That's been following us for the past couple of days." He mumbled.

"Well then kill it, it might be a zombie bird!" Doc exclaimed.

10k was silent, letting us know that was exactly what he was doing. I grew uneasy, my jaw clenching.

"You alright there, Phoenix? You look like you're gonna throw up..." Doc trailed.

My eyes were focused on 10k's finger which was on the trigger. He didn't pull it quite yet. He seemed to be watching it, waiting for the right shot. When he got it, his lip twitched as if he were fighting back a smile, and pulled the trigger.

My heart stopped and I pounced on him the moment I predicted he was gonna pull the trigger.

"No!" I screamed in panic, grabbing both of his arms and holding him down. He had pulled out a knife on me, but I used my strength to hold him down. Then, he kicked my injured leg, and I winced. He took the chance to flip me over, and hold me down, his knife to my neck. His leg pressed my injured leg down, and my eyes went glassy as I stared at him with hatred and intensity. I fought back the tears. I didn't know if he shot my bird or not.

"What the hell!" Doc shouted, Cassandra and Roberta running out, hearing the gunshot.

"What happened?!" Roberta demanded.

"She attacked me!" 10k growled.

"Who are you, huh? Were you planning to kill us all this whole time?!" Cassandra demanded. "I knew something was up!" She fumed.

"Why'd you attack him?!" Roberta questioned, looking at me with hard eyes, staring daggers at me. I was silent, staring at 10k, not moving a muscle.

"Is she...crying?" Doc paused, staring at me.

"I-im not-" I was cut off when I felt 10k press the knife up against my skin.

"Doc, what happened?" Roberta asked, turning to him.

"Well 10k here said that a bird was following us for the past couple of days. When he shot at it, Phoenix here tackled him down." Doc explained. There was silence.

"You shot him." I hissed, breaking the silence.

"The bird?" 10k asked. "Was that yours?"

"He was all I had left." I spat. 10k loosened his grip on me. Everyone glanced at each other. There was another moment of silence. I pushed 10k off of me, revealing my bloody wound had opened up. I wiped my tears away, before jumping off the truck. I grabbed my stuff and limped away in silence, determined to find my bird.

"Phoenix, wait!" Roberta called out. I kept walking. I put my fingers to my lips, and whistled helplessly. No response. No bird cry. I whistled again. Nothing. I fell forward, before picking myself up, and starting again.

Why did I go through the trouble for this bird? Because at my lowest point in life, which was before the apocalypse, the bird saved me. It helped me, kept me company when nobody else was there. Loneliness can drive a person insane. I might already be driven mad, but at least I held onto my humanity when that goddamn bird comforted me. It was the reason why I was alive.

I put my fingers on my lips again, and whistled. Sure, I might have attracted the zombies. I can almost smell them coming near. I knew the others followed me, but gave up. I knew they were watching me from a distance.

Finally, I reached my bird. A trail of my own blood was behind me, and my leg was in pain. But all I really cared about was this bird. The red, beautiful bird was on the ground, covered in ash. It was now a chick. My bird died, but the mythological creature set itself in flames before it crash landed, and out came another bird. It had the same memories and all, just a new body. This was my first time watching it die, and it pained me, seeing my phoenix's ashes from its old body. I dropped to the ground, unable to walk anymore. I had tired myself out, and I just wanted to sleep out in the heat, cuddling with my bird and guitar case close by.

The bird chirped at me, staring at something behind me. I heard a low growl, and I found a zombie next to me. It stared at the bird, more attracted to it then me. After all, it did represent both life and death. Rebirth.

It stared at it hungrily, and I held my breath. If zombies got to it, my phoenix might die for sure. I dropped forward, cupping the chick on the palms of my hands and bringing it to my stomach, using my body as a shield. I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. I didn't have the energy to fight. I could hardly stay away. I heard the zombie growl, then I felt a rush of wind. The zombie roared as it attacked, and my body tensed. Then there was a gunshot.

"Phoenix!" Roberta called out angrily.

"Goddammit, kid. You're even more reckless then any of us on here." Doc sighed. They brought the truck over here, driving it into the sand. 10k knelt by beside me, but I refused to move.

"I'm sorry I shot your bird." 10k said softly, yet in an awkward way, "and hurting you."

I sat back up, my arms to my chest. I opened the palms of my hands, and my bird popped up it's head.

"I swear it was bigger when I saw it fly." 10k muttered.

"What's this?" Cassandra questioned, pointing to the pile of ash. Roberta knelt by it, pinching some into the palms of her hand, examining it.

"I think it's ash." Roberta mumbled.

"What the hell is that doing out there?" Doc asked.

"Are those feathers?" Cassandra asked, before pulling out her gun and pointing it to me.

"Cassandra, stop." Roberta asked. "Can't you see she's distressed already?" She said as Cassandra lowered her gun. "Phoenix, we need answers, and we need answers now."

I was silent for a moment, staring at the bird. "It's my bird."

"I know that, but can you explain to us what this is?" Roberta asked.

I stared up at Roberta, then 10k and Cassandra, remembering the night I saved them from the missile. There was a reason why I stayed away from people. Because eventually, they all ask questions. Luckily, before I could say anything else, my eyes rolled back to my head, and I fell to the ground, the bird safely in my hands. Darkness swallowed me whole, and the pain in my leg finally stopped.

"-Mommy, look!" I exclaimed excitedly. I pictured my mother's face, expecting her to smile and pat me on the head and say 'good girl, I'm so proud of you'. I held up my report card revealing my high grade I managed to get. It was difficult, and I could hardly understand what the teachers taught me, but I managed to push through it. I grinned happily, my chubby cheeks tinted just a bit, my bangs swept to the side. My black hair was in pony tails, and my smile seemed to lift my cheeks up so much I had to close my eyes.

My mother ignored me, an agitated look on her face. She had a scowl on her face, and my smile faltered.

"Mom?" I questioned.

"Go talk to your dad." She ordered, "I'm busy."

"But Daddy's drinking with his friends." I said, gesturing the male Filipino sitting in our backyard, belting out laughter.

"Just go Melissa. I don't have time for this." My mother sighed heavily.

"But look-" I said, trying to show her the paper in my hand.

"Melissa Rose, do what I say. Why can't you do that? Are you that stupid?" She questioned, a hard look on her face.

I was silent for a moment, before nodding. I turned my heels and dragged my feet towards the screen door that lead to the backyard. I stopped when I was facing my dad, and I gulped, shyly looking at his friends.

"What do you want?" My dad asked. "I'm busy, Melissa."

"Um.." I glanced down at my paper, frowning, before looking at him. "Never mind." I said, turning around and heading back inside.

"Melissa!" My dad called before I stepped through the door. "Go get me beer."

"Okay."

As I turned around, I could hear my dad talking in Tagalog, our native language. They think I can't understand them, but I didn't need to know the language fluently to know my dad was making fun of me with his friends.

When I woke up, we were on the truck. My leg was bandaged up, and I seemed to be curled up in a ball. My phoenix cuddled with me, its presence keeping me warm. I sat up, finding Cassandra sitting next to me. I was inside the truck with Doc, 10k, Cassandra, and Roberta.

"Oh, look who's awake." Cassandra announced.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About a day. I think all the questions we were asking got to your mind." Doc answered.

"We won't ask you anything else unless you tell us this. Will you and your bird be a danger to us?" Roberta asked. It seemed like a day gave her time to calm down.

"No." I promised. "I just grew up with him. I never really had a family and this bird was the closest thing I had to a friend." I paused, "I just really care about him."

"That's the most I'll probably ever hear you say." Doc mumbled.

"We would have stayed in that house in the desert but your damn whistling attracted zombies. We had to leave." Roberta informed me. "But we did get more medical supplies. Next time, you should tell us things before hand so we don't attack you like that." She said. "We're stopping by another place for food. Don't go off running. You're not in the greatest condition." She said, parking the car as she did so. "Doc, come with me. 10k, watch them. The girls in this group aren't doing so well."

10k nodded obediently, and with that, they left. There was a moment of silent as I rested my head against the window, watching my bird nuzzle it's neck into my hand and play with my finger.

"Tell me something," Cassandra said. "And tell the truth. I've been in your shoes before. I didn't tell these guys what they needed to know, and it almost cost a friend's life. Are you dangerous?"

"We can be." I said quietly. I had no energy to try to lie.

"We? You and the bird?" Cassandra asked.

"Will you guys kill me if I told you?" I asked.

"That depends in what that is." Cassandra responded.

"This is my phoenix." I said quietly.

"Is that what you named it? You and your bird share the same name?"

"No. Can you keep a secret?"

"Just answer the question." Cassandra asked impatiently.

"This is my phoenix. He's special because he's the phoenix." I hummed.

"The mythological creature? They aren't real." 10k informed me as a matter of factually.

"They're as real as zombies." I whispered.

"Now another thing." Cassandra said. "Just tell me a yes or a no." She paused, "Were you that girl that saved me from the missiles?"

There was more silence. The bird looked at me, perching it's wings and squawking at me, telling me it was alright to say so. I could feel their stares at me as I kept my gaze on my phoenix. I nodded slowly, confirming Cassandra's suspicions.

"How'd you do it?" Cassandra asked. "Are you even human?"

I lifted my head off the window, holding out my bird. It jumped onto my shoulders, nuzzling it's head into my neck as if saying it was okay for me to show them. I closed my eyes, gathering my energy, focusing the heart around me. My blood began to boil, and I felt the heat coursing through my veins. I could feel the mask flashing across my face, and I could hear Cassandra gasping in surprise. My whole appearance changed for a moment, with the leather jacket, whip and all, and I went back to normal. I opened my eyes again, before resting my head back on the window. I only showed them a glimpse of what I looked liked and what I could do.

"I'm human." I mumbled. "Just different."

"That not just different. I saw you absorb fire into your body. I saw you walk through the fire like it was nothing before I passed out. How'd that happen to you?" Cassandra asked.

"Please don't tell." I said, pain in my voice when she asked me how it happened to me. "I don't want to say. I can't. I just.." I trailed, my voice strained.

"It's okay." She said, before hesitating, looking back into the building "I won't tell."

"I won't either." 10k assured. I almost forgot he was there. He was just so quiet...

Somehow, I had to put my trust on these two people. They were the first ones to hear my secret.