A/N: Hello again. I'm not sure if anybody remembers me, but I once had a fic published on this game titled "Why do we fight?". Put simply, I think it could've used a lot more work. I didn't proof read the chapters and i rushed the ending. I decided to re write it, this time more engaging and in-depth. The same characters will be used, however some of their personalities will be different. The story will be the same for the most part, with a few twists thrown in.

I've deleted the original Why Do We Fight and have lost the files. The chapters will be longer, as well.

With that being said, welcome back, or welcome for the first time.

Enjoy.

-Galaxy

-360 Miles Away From Ericson-

The rolling hills were always pretty this time of year. Not that I would know, of course. I'm just assuming that everyone who used to live in these parts before the outbreak thought the same thing. I feel like a foreigner, even though most of the people that once lived here are now walkers or dead. I still get the feeling of being an outsider. It's as if the trees themselves were silently judging me.

Off the top of my head, I wouldn't be able to predict where exactly I was. All I knew is that I was stood upon a bridge that connected two edges of the same deep valley. All around me were the lush rolling hills I mentioned previously. There were a few homes that stood atop the peaks and littered the valley, however vines and trees were beginning to retake them, making them blend into nature itself.

I sighed to myself and closed my notebook. "Whatever." I grumbled and placed the book back in my backpack. The feeling in my head was that of hopelessness and despair - both of which derived from the engrossing feeling of loneliness that formed a hole in my gut. Life really actually kind of sucked. Purpose was something that everyone needed in order to survive. Well... right now I have no purpose. All I do is eat, sleep, walk, and sleep again. How different am I from a walker? Surely not much - they do the same thing.

"Jesus, I need friends." I hoisted my backpack around my shoulders and tightened up the straps. At least the scenery was pretty. Maybe it was the universes way of repaying me after the shit I've gone through. I keep reminding myself that other people have had it worse, however that sort of thing doesn't make happier about my situation. My guardians were nomadic scammers who spent most of their time doing drugs and stealing from others as they traveled across the country. Unfortunately I was forced to tag along. Well... not forced but... what else was I gonna do? I was only eight when I met them. That was nine years ago.

I'm seventeen now, and I like to think that I'm smarter because of that. It doesn't really matter though, as I haven't seen another living person in months. My last encounter with anything other than wild animals or a walker was unremarkable at best. I saw them from a distance. It was an older man with a white beard and ragged cloths. He was wandering around the downtown portion of some city that I couldn't even begin to guess the name of since I didn't spend much time there. The man was wandering aimlessly in and out of old buildings mumbling to himself, or at least I think he was - I only saw his mouth moving through my binoculars. His entire body was covered in walker bites, so whoever he was, it didn't matter much as he's definitely dead at this point. I lost sight of him once he rounded the corner and onto another street.

I moved on shortly after, as I usually do. Sticking to one place was suicide. Sooner or later, you'll get a stroke of bad luck no matter where you settle down, so it's best to keep moving. I also wish I could be all cynical and convince myself that being alone was a good thing, however the mental tax it places on someone is just... riveting. I try to find victories in small things, and most of the time it works. Even still, when I'm alone at night in this massive wasteland of nothingness, it gets to me. I imagine that somewhere, someone is actually living a good life surrounded by friends, families, walls and protection. I wish I was them.

Deep in thought, I neglected to notice that I had now fully crossed the bridge and now had solid land beneath me. At least now I wouldn't be cornered if anything came from one side. The birds chirped loud all around me. It's funny really; Birds and other animals have no idea the bizarre nature of the world around them. They just keep living - totally oblivious to... everything. Then again though, maybe this was the way things were always meant to be. Perhaps humans as a species were never meant to become so intelligent, therefore the universe as a whole struck us down. I'm not sure what, or who god really is. I just know that he's allegedly the creator of all things. My guardians used to tell me that god was all powerful, and all knowing. If he were to be real, then maybe walkers are part of his plan to make us better as a whole? But then again, maybe walkers weren't suppose to exist, therefore he wasn't all powerful? I don't know. The subject of god is so confusing to the point where I don't really think about it... nor do I care.

I let out a sigh and glanced around at my immediate surroundings. The highway kept going straight north and seemed to curl around one of the hills a few hundred feet down. Alternatively, there was a side road that branched off to the right. The road in question led straight up one of the hills, but most of the asphalt was a overgrown and cracked. The darkness that the canopy created around the side road gave me the creeps, however if I were to take the highway, I'd be violating one of the most important rules of surviving out here: Never stick to highways. They're essentially death traps due to the soaring number of bandit encampments popping up seemingly everywhere. I kept a lot of sympathy for bandits. Sure they're bad people, but some really fucked up shit must have happened to them in order for them to go down such a dark path. Even still, if one ever threatened me, I'd do what I'd have to.

"Fuck it." I said to myself and turned down the eerie side road that led into the rolling hills. There was a dingy gas station and a torn up kiosk cooped up on the side of the road right at the 'T' intersection, however searching it for food or other amenities was useless now a days, or at least that was the case for buildings along the highway. Everything was pretty much looted at this point, leaving very little to be found in any building or residence that one would search. That's why hunting is a good skill to learn. With all the collapsing buildings and broken down vehicles, wildlife frequently gets stuck on things like old debris, making them easy targets. That being said though, food was still hard to come by.

As I entered the darkness of the canopy above, I pulled out my favorite weapon - the same one I had kept for years. It was just a long wooden walking stick that I had sharpened to make a crude spear. It was getting a bit dirty and rough around the edges, but it still did the trick. Killing walkers was easy anyways.

The road that led up the rolling hill was long and winded around randomly until it opened up to a clear, open area on top. An old neighborhood that had long since been abandoned stood at the peak, it's homes being encircled by shrubbery and vines. Neighborhoods were always depressing to me since I grew up in a fairly nice one before the outbreak. My mom died during my birth, so I never really knew her, and my dad put me up for adoption once I turned four. He realized he had no money to support both of us, so he sent me away. I can respect his thought process - Why keep something around that'll just get damaged? The foster family I was sent to was actually really awesome. They had a lot of money and the other foster kids were super nice. I did well in school and made plenty of friends. Life was good up until the point when I turned eight, which is when the outbreak occurred.

In a trance and not thinking rationally, I decided to just enter the neighborhood through the main road that led into it, not taking into consideration that it may be home to some unsavory individuals. Perhaps it was laziness, as I have been through this process hundreds and hundreds of times before.

As suspected, the homes were decrepit and the street smelled like a zoo. Most of the windows were broken, allowing for the rotten interiors to spread fumes throughout the streets. I held my nose in disgust and reached into my backpack. Most residential areas now a days smell rancid, so it's nice to have some kind of face wear. I pulled the white bandanna from my bag and inspected the ornate black design that danced across the fabric. I was fortunate enough to find this piece of clothing a few cities back. Again, I could never find a name for the city, though. I wish I had looked harder. All I know is that is was in the state of Tennessee.

"You'd think after nine years, that god damn smell would go away. But noooo." I grumbled. With a tight pull, the bandanna fit snugly around the lower half of my face. Gotta keep moving.

My water supply was running low - only half a bottle, and my food was all but gone. Surely there was something in this neighborhood that I could eat. It was the middle of fall, so it wasn't too hot, nor was it too cold, meaning I didn't have to worry about using too many calories to regulate my body temperature.

I decided upon a brick house that sat on the corner between the entrance road and one of the side roads. It was mostly intact side from a large hole in the roof likely caused by a rotting support beams. I approached the front door, which was only attached to one of its hinges. In attempts to not attract attention, I gave the door a gentle nudge. As expected from an old home like this, the door simply collapsed in on itself and crumpled into two halves. It made a loud noise once it hit the ground. "Jesus Christ!" I flinched in shock. That sound most likely drew the attention of any potential walker within one hundred feet.

With a sigh, I tightened my grip on my spear and spun around, taking a seat on the porch that had a good view of the street. I decided to wait and see if any infected would come hobbling towards me. Sure enough, one did. It moved faster than most walkers I've seen, and it's cloths were fairly clean. Also, it's skin didn't look decayed at all - just pale. This walker had turned very recently. It made eye contact with me and began quickly shuffling over to me, it's mouth growling and biting at the air as it drew closer and closer. Without much though, I plunged my spear into the walkers head, causing it to go stiff from the sudden brain damage. After a few seconds, it went limp and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Gross." I mumbled and wiped the blood from my spear onto the grass. Killing walkers that were recently turned was always more frightening than killing those that were all rotted and unrecognizable. It felt as though you were killing a real person. I shook my head and tried to push that thought to the back of my mind.

This person, whoever they were, was a survivor. Surely they have some supplies on them. I knelt beside the corpse and closely analyzed its features. It was a man with a shaved head and dark brown eyes. Upon seeing this, I reach up to my own hair and pinched a lock of it. "Hm..." I hummed in concern. "My hair's getting kind of long..."

Continuing downwards, the man wore a black T-shirt and blue jeans, the ladder of which had nothing in them besides pocket lint and a small circular battery. "Eh..." I sighed. Nothing.

My eyes naturally hopped over to where I saw the walker come from. There was a home a few houses down with another corpse sprawled out in the front lawn. Well... I got nothing else better to do. I marched forward, spear in hand as I casually tossed the battery into the air over and over again, catching it as it fell. When I arrived at the home, I noticed it was far more decrepit than any of the other ones on the street. I glanced back over to the corpse of the walker I just killed. What the hell was he doing here? This place is disgusting.

Though I thought this, the intrigue still encapsulated me. Perhaps he left behind a backpack full of supplies. My feet carried themselves up the short driveway and to the front door of the home. The knob was caked in a thin layer of dust that I wiped off with my jacket sleeve before turning it and gently pushing it open. Of course, it collapsed as soon as I applied just a small amount of pressure. "Yup." I said in frustration and shrugged to myself as if to say 'Why the fuck do I keep trying to do that?'.

Dust and mold floated out the door and into the air outside. I shouldn't be breathing this crap in, but my curiosity was getting the better of me. It may not seem crazy to someone who's had people alongside them throughout their life, but that unfortunately was not me. I grew curios at every little thing due to the simple fact that I never really had much to lose in the first place.

I stepped inside and immediately noticed that the interior was corroded beyond recognition. It was difficult to distinguish the kitchen from the living room due to the black mold growing on the walls and ceiling. I recoiled back in horror. I'd never seen a building this bad before. Usually homes and offices were still in good condition, however if there was a hole in the roof of a building, it spend up the decaying process exponentially.

"Fucking hell." I muttered as I tried to wave away as much dust and mold from my face as possible. Luckily, the light from outside still shined into the room via a few windows on the wall to my right. Right ahead of me was kitchen, which featured a row of cabinets, and a small island with a lacquer stone top. On the floor next to the stove was a pair of fresh looking gym shoes. Surely they left behind just recently, otherwise they would have long since corroded away. I approached the shoes and knelt down to inspect them.

"Hm... Nike's... Cool." I smirked and peered down at my torn up, dirty black combat boots. "Change is good." I sat down and quickly changed footwear. The difference was recognizable. This would make traveling long distances much easier - at least until these shoes inevitably got torn up as well. Once the laces were tightened and I shook my feet for a few seconds, I decided it was time to leave. Being exposed to this much mold could be dangerous if I waited around long enough. Whatever that recently-turned infected left behind wasn't worth the risk of getting sick. After all, he must have died for a reason.

I began to make my way to the door when I heard something rustle from within the coat closet by the entrance. With a tilted head and squinted eyes, I tip toed over cautiously. "Another walker." I grumbled. "Wonder if this one is recently turned, too."

There was no sounds of moaning or grunting coming from the within the closet - just a faint, high pitched wheeze. Typically, walkers that were a few years old made this noise since their mouths and throats began to deteriorate. Should be an easy kill. Sure, it was risky - I could just leave this walker trapped in the closet for all eternity, however I like to think that if it was me trapped in there, someone would come along and put me out of my misery. Gotta be the best person you can be when nobodies watching, right?

With one hand, I drew my spear back, ready to stab at whatever was on the other side of the door. With the other hand, I slowly turned the brassy-green knob and swung the door open. Once the door swung far enough to hit the stopper behind it, it quickly became apparent that there was no walker, nor was there... anything. I let out a breathy chuckle. I really am going crazy. With a shake of my head and nervous sigh of relief, I continued to the front door.

"W-Wait." A quiet, almost unnoticeable voice pleaded.

Another person. I quickly spun around and pointed my spear in the direction of the voice. My eyes darted around at a mile a minute, desperately searching for anything that moved so I could ram my weapon through its heart. After just three seconds, another faint plead of help. "Please."

My eyes fell down to the floor of the closet when I saw it. The body of a person, covered in mold that had fallen from the ceiling and onto their back. A small, beckoning hand extended out towards me, begging me for something, though I wasn't sure what.

This was a trap. I thought to myself. "Who are you?"

"Water... Please." The person spoke a bit louder, revealing that whoever it was was most certainly a child due to their high pitched voice.

Dammit... You're just a kid. I took a step forward and slid my backpack off, keeping my spear in hand the whole time. "Here." I handed the child the rest of the water and watched as they sat up, causing the mold and dust to cascade off of them, revealing their appearance.

It was a little girl, probably around seven or eight. Her hair was a light blonde and her eyes were blue. She was skinny, too. Not like skinny as in... Well... Normal-skinny. No, she was scrawny due to malnutrition. Her cloths were tattered and I was able to clearly see her rib cage through her torn shirt. She was on the brink of starvation, no doubt.

The young girl pulled the water bottle away from her mouth and let out a satisfied exhale. She wiped her mouth and handed the bottle back to me. "S-Sorry." She whispered, referring to the fact that she drank the rest of my water supply.

I held up the bottle level with my eyes and sighed. "Uh... It's no problem... I guess."

The two of us just sat there for a few more seconds in awkward silence, not sure as to what to say next.

"What uh... What's your name?" I asked.

She glared at me as if confused. "Uhm... Oh. It's Tatum."

She hesitated. Was she lying? I just nodded and slowly rose to my feet. "My name's Kace."

Tatum blinked in confusion. I was fully aware that my name was odd, so this reaction was nothing to be surprised about. She nodded nonetheless.

Seeing as I had done my duty as a fellow human, I got rose back up to my feet and gave a small wave. "Well, I suppose now you'll go back to whoever you're with. It was nice to meet you, Tatum." I turned and tried to quickly exit, still fearing that I was currently being surrounded by a group of bandits that were using this little girl as bait.

"Kace!" Tatum nearly yelled from behind me. It was the first time I was able to clearly hear her voice. It sounded genuinely desperate.

I stopped dead in my tracks and glanced over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

The young girl struggled to stand, using the closet door frame to pull herself up. "My uncle... H-Have you seen him?"

My mind immediately skipped to the walker that I had killed on the street right outside. "Was he bald? Black shirt?"

Tatum nodded.

I sighed and knelt down so I would be eye level with the girl. "I killed him. He was a walker, so it's fine."

Her head lowered and her shoulders slumped. "Oh. Okay."

My eyes squinted. She wasn't nearly as sad as I thought she'd be. "Aren't you upset?"

"I am, but... He was always really angry." She vaguely pointed at a few bruises and cuts on her face, implying that her uncle had hit her, potentially more than once. Tatum continued, "My aunt got bit a few hours ago. We were trying to find a nice place for her rest so she could be comfortable for a while before she..." Tatum began to slur her words and her knees began quivering. She was about to collapse. Was she bitten?

This is a trap. My mind told me once again. Despite this, my arm mechanically reached out to her and held her arm. I gently lowered her to the ground.. A downcast expression remained on my face as I questioned, "Are you infected?"

With dreary looking eyes and a bobbing head, she shook her head. "Hungry."

"Oh. Well um... Here." I once again reached into my backpack and pulled out the very last of my food; half of a granola bar that I found in an MRE. It was stale and the chocolate chips in it were bitter, yet somehow also tasteless.

Tatum glared at it as if it was the food of gods before cramming it down without even stopping to breath. That amount of food wouldn't be enough to satisfy her hunger, but now I could at least bid her farewell without feeling guilty. I preferred to be alone, after all.

"Well then... Good luck with... whatever you're trying to accomplish, I guess." I stood up and turned towards the door.

"Wait!" The girl pleaded again.

I let out a groan and slowly turned around. "What?"

"You can't just leave... I have nowhere else to go."

"Uh... So?"

"I-I can't take care of myself!"

"Look, kid. I learned how to survive when I was about your age. You'll be alright. Think of it as a right of passage."

The panic in her face was enough to make be at least feel a little sorry for her, but it wasn't anything I'd lose sleep over. I gave a small wave before reaching for the doorknob that was no longer there since the door had collapse when I touched it upon entering this disgusting house. I stepped out onto the porch and breathed in the fresh air. I have a lot of things to do. Firstly, I have to refill my water now that it was all gone. Second, I need to find some warmer cloths. Winter is rapidly approaching.

From behind me, I heard a soft, yet pronounced sob. That girl, she's crying. I let out a sigh and slowly turned around. "Ugh. God dammit..." I whispered quiet enough for her to not hear. I saw her sitting there with her hands in her face, tears streaming and dripping off her chin. I shook my head. "Hey!"

The girl quickly glanced up, her eyes hopeful and desperate. "H-Huh?" She whimpered.

"You really don't know how to survive?

She shook her head.

"You don't have any other friends? You, your aunt and your uncle were by yourselves?"

"Mhm." She wiped her cheeks and sniffled.

I wan't really good with other people, especially kids. People under the age of fifteen were extremely rare nowadays. Needless to say, I had no idea how to interact with this child, so I figured the best course of action would be to treat her how I would anyone else.

"You know... I prefer to travel alone." I said dully. I didn't wanna be rude, but I wanted her to get the hint that I did not want her by my side. Even still, the sight of her just sitting there all helpless was enough to at least offer a bit of help.

"But... I promise I won't be a nuisance! I don't know how to stay alive. My uncle never taught me. Please, I just... I just need someone to show me." Tatum's legs began to tremble wildly and her hands shook. It was kind of a pathetic sight. I knew it was because she was so young, but again, I didn't know how to treat this girl. Are kids really meant to be constantly cared for by others? The only parental figures I had were hippies who would've rather spent time doing drugs and staring at the clouds than to take care of me.

"I can show you a few things that I've learned from living in this world. But after that, we go our separate ways, got it?"

Tatum's eyes lit up briefly in excitement, however they lowered into their usual dreary demeanor once she had fully comprehended what I had said. "...Alright."

I extended a hand towards her and lifted her to her feet. "Let's go, then. There's still plenty of time before the sun goes down."

"How do you know that?" Tatum asked as we stepped onto the front porch over looking the torn up and cracked neighborhood street. Two seconds into our agreed partnership and she was already asking questions.

I let out a sigh and scratched my head. This girl was going to get on my nerves, I can already tell. The sooner I teach her how to survive, the sooner we can go our separate ways.

-Ericson Boarding Acedemy-

-Clementine's POV-

The worst was over - Lily was gone.

Though the fight was over, and the damage would cease, I still couldn't find much peace in our victory. I watch as my friends celebrate and talk among themselves about how relived they are, however I just sit back and observe. After all, life would continue whether we liked it or not. We can't be content with our victory - we must drive forward with the intent to survive. Our food supply was low and winter was on it's way. Sitting around and celebrating wouldn't put food on our plates.

Despite these feelings of wavering contentment, there was the underlying realization that new hardships would be encountered. Though nothing in particular stuck out in my mind as worrisome, I still felt the need to prepare.

From behind me, I heard the front door to the admin building open, then close. "Hey." Louis took a seat next to me on the stair I sat on, my head propped up by one hand.

"Hm?" I glanced over to him and gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "Oh. Hey."

"Everyone's celebrating. I figured you would've joined them."

I shrugged. "Not really in the mood."

"Why not?" Louis rested his left ankle on the opposite leg and leaned back on his elbows.

"Food supplies are running low." I grumbled. "Water is getting harder and harder to find, too."

The boy next to me just chuckled as if to say 'who cares?'. "Come on, Clem. We just got rid of that crazy bitch who's been giving us a hard time since... well... months! Try to enjoy this moment with everyone."

With a shake of my head, I rose to my feet in slight frustration. "Look, I'm not trying to be all doom and gloom, but someone has to think practically here."

"I get it, but I think you're stressing over something small. I mean, Aasim caught a few rabbits yesterday. We're set on food for at least a few days."

"Then what?" I asked, my voice illustrated with contempt.

Louis just gave me a concerned look as he tried to piece together an answer. "Then we..." He sighed and stood, expression on his face going sour. "Look, we'll manage, Clem. We always have."

"That's my point. We shouldn't have to keep crossing bridges over and over again to survive. We can become self sufficient and live without any worries."

Louis crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly. I knew what he was about to ask, and sure enough, the word escaped his lips. "How?

I figured he would ask that, yet I didn't have an answer prepared. My mind raced as I tried to string together a sentence that would convey confidence and assurance. "We need to find more people to join us. That way the workload per person won't be so huge."

"Uhm..." Louis shifted uncomfortably. "You wanna bring other people here?"

Before I could answer, Violet approached us. She sported a content smile as she glanced over her shoulder one last time at her celebrating friends. "What're you guys doing over here? The parties that way." She pointed toward the picnic tables.

"Just... Talking." Louis mumbled.

Violets smile quickly faded as her eyes jumped back and forth between Louis and I. "Oh shit." She blurted out. "What happened?"

"Nothing." I reassured. "Just thinking out loud."

"What about?"

I sat down once again on the top step of the admin building porch. My two friends took their place on either side of me - Louis on my left, Violet on my right. "I was thinking about our future."

Violet shrugged nonchalantly. "Hmph. Aren't we all? I'd say we're in a pretty good situation right now."

"Right, but what comes next? I mean we barely have enough food to even get us to the winter." I pried.

Once again, much to my dismay, Violet shrugged. "We can get food, it's not a big deal."

I shook my head and turned my body towards the girl. "This little war that we just ended used up a shit ton of our supplies. We're low on food, medicine, ammo - hell, even cloths."

Violet glanced down at her tattered apparel and grimaced. "What're you suggesting, Clem?" Her tone was a lot deeper, indicating that she was taking this a bit more seriously.

"Well. With winter right around the corner, we need either need a miracle, or we need more people."

"More people?" Violet said with caution. "Clem, we can't trust anybody but ourselves. I mean shit, even Marlon was..." She paused, as if to not offend Louis. "...He was in a tough spot. But even still, it goes to show that we can't just let anyone into our group willy-nilly."

"I know." I confirmed. "I have a plan. Remember the old radio equipment we found in the schools attic?"

Louis held up his hand as he interjected, "Oh my god, I totally forgot about that. We promised each other we would never use it, though. It'll be dangerous to just broadcast our location to the whole world."

"It won't be the whole world," I reassured. "It''ll just be a few hundred miles. Also, we won't broadcast our location, we'll broadcast the location of the nearby town. We can promise people a trustworthy group and hardworking survivors that will make living way easier... Or at least easier in comparison to being alone."

"Some people prefer to be alone." Violet remarked.

"I know, but somewhere, there's somebody alone, and desperate for community."

"So you think they'll just blindly follow the instructions of some random person over a radio?" Louis crossed his arms in uncertainty. "I don't think anybody now a days would fall for something like that."

As much as I wanted to tell Louis that he was wrong, and that there must have been someone desperate enough to join some kind of settlement, I knew he was right. The likely hood of a broadcast actually convincing people to join us was slim to none. There was, however, this underlying sensation within me that said 'What's the worst that could happen?'. I knew what the answer to that question was though: Someone hears it and decides to follow our instructions, he or she randomly stumbles upon Ericson since they'd be in the area and proceed to invade our home. What's worse is when you stop to consider what would happen if a group heard the broadcast. Not all communities were evil, however it seemed as though those that are, are far more persistent than the friendly ones.

All of these facts put together pronounced an issue. Either we broadcast the location of the nearby town to draw people in and hopefully recruit them after a few hours of watching them to ensure that they had no foul intent, or we kept to ourselves and prayed that we'd last through the winter with what little supplies we had. Having a few more sets of hands would certainly open up possibilities, but it came with a huge cost.

I glanced back and forth between my friends, neither of which seemed too impressed with my idea thus far. "Look," I said confidently, trying to hide my own self doubt. "I know it sounds crazy, and I know we just got out of this war with Lilly and her group, but think of the positives that we could possibly come out of this with."

"Possibly." Violet emphasized. "I don't like these odds, Clem. I understand why you're worried about the winter, but we've been through worse before."

"Worse?" I raised an eyebrow. "When have you ever had to face a season like this with little to no food. Not only that, but everyone is still demoralized over everything we've lost over the last few weeks. Sure, we won the war, but at what cost? We're in no condition to make it... At least, not where we currently stand. I mean for god sake it's only October and it already feels appropriate to bust out the heavy jackets."

"Let's take a vote." Louis, who had been mostly silent during this argument, said. "It seems like both of you aren't gonna budge on this, so let's let everyone else decide."

Violet cocked her head to the side and used her right hand to crack her neck as she simultaneously shrugged. "Whatever... I already know that nobody would wanna tell the whole world where we're hiding." She began walking down the steps of the porch and back towards where the rest of the kids were celebrating.

"A few hundred miles." I corrected.

She shooed me dismissively and sat down at one of the picnic tables.

From behind, I heard Louis take a few steps towards me. "Now what?" He asked

I placed a hand on my hip and let out an exasperated sigh. "I... I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait until later tonight when we take a vote."

The boy behind me remained silent. Though I couldn't see him, I was certain that there was an uncertain look on his face. I continued, "Am I in the wrong here?"

"Um... I think so. You might be overreacting just a bit." Louis said calmly.

He may have been right, but that doesn't take away from the fact that things were about to get harder around here. Winter meant that the rivers would freeze over, therefore we wouldn't be able to fish, not to mention the numerous indigenous wildlife that would go into hibernation. "Maybe." I admitted. "I still think that it's a good idea though... Or at least, I think it's our best option. I know I wasn't here during the beginning when the outbreak first happened, and I know that you all have survived winters before. It's just that... I know that none of you had been through a war like the one we just got through. Supplies are tight... too tight. It's going to get worse."

Louis shifted uncomfortably and scratched the back of his neck. "You're not wrong, but do you really think that using the radio equipment is a good idea?"

I shrugged honestly. "No clue. It's better than nothing, though, right? I mean somewhere, somebodies out there looking for a home. I mean even now they're probably wondering if friendship and community even still exists." I glared at the horizon, which was now a crimson red due to the hiding sun. Surely there was someone out there... right?

-350 Miles Away-

-Kace's POV-

"Arms up." I instructed.

Tatum listened and raised both her arms in a straight line level with her shoulders. "Kace?"

I held up a black shirt to her chest to see if it would fit. She only came up to about one foot above my waist, so I needed to find something smaller for her to wear. Her current apparel was too torn up to protect her from the impending freezing weather that would soon set in. This black shirt would not do. I cast it to the side and began digging into the pile of cloths once again. Both of us decided to take shelter in a two story home at the end of a cul de sac. My guess was that is was only about nine in the evening. The only light within the master bedroom in which we stayed was from my flashlight that I had positioned on the dresser so that it would illuminate the entire room.

"Huh?" I said dismissively. She had been asking me questions all day, and it was beginning to get on my nerves. I know that just a few days prior, I was yearning for the company of another person, but now that I had it, I was unimpressed with the sensation it gave me. The only plus side to all of this is that we found a house without any mold or rot on the interior.

"What was it like before the outbreak?" She asked innocently.

I shrugged. If I told her how it was, she'd no doubt go on another spree of questions all night. I'd never get any sleep. "Not sure. I lived on the countryside, so I never saw much of anything." I lied. Of course, in reality, I grew up in a major city in North Carolina. I was exposed to a wide variety of things that this girl would see as nothing short of a miracle. Maybe I'd tell her the truth tomorrow... maybe.

"Oh." Was all she said in response.

I picked up another shirt and held it up to her chest. This one was also black, but the fit was much better. "This one." I confirmed and spun around so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable as she changed.

"Done." She said after just a few seconds.

"Alright... That's better." I nodded upon seeing her in her new cloths. We had already also decided on a pair of black sweatpants for her that we had found downstairs.

"How does it look?" She held out her arms slightly and straightened her back. Did she want me to compliment her? "Looks fine. Better than the crap you were wearing before." I pointed at the tattered clothing that she used to wear. With a yawn and tumble, I fell onto the master bed and placed both hands behind my head.

"We need to sleep now." I mumbled quietly. "Turn the flashlight off."

Within a few seconds, I heard the click of the flashlight, and though my eyes were closed, everything got darker. At least I'd be able to sleep tonight. As I thought this, I felt something push down the opposite side of the bed. "Really?" I turned my head towards her and sighed.

"I'm scared of the dark. Can I just sleep up here, too?" Tatum whispered, though I couldn't see her face.

With a groan that was probably more childish than I intended, I swung my legs off the side of the bed and lowered myself onto the floor. Looks like I'm sleeping down here for the night then.

Not even ten seconds later, a rustling noise shuffled its way over to the side of the bed that I was sleeping underneath. I felt a small hand place itself on my shoulder and keep itself there. It was as if she wanted to make sure that I wouldn't get up and leave her in the middle of the night. How annoying... but at the same time... how innocent.

"Kace?" she asked softly.

"What?"

"Where are we going?"

I took a deep breath in, then let t out gently. To be completely honest, I wasn't sure. Then again, I was never really sure. Just because I had another person traveling with me, doesn't mean I need to totally rethink my way of living... right?