"Seriously how does he drive in this shit?" Those were the sounds of irritating murmurs from a stressful Luna, driving precariously on the blood-covered road making sure there weren't any adults in sight. Minutes have gone by since they left their home to go out on a long journey of finding any survivors. But it would be pretty difficult concerning the car they were using. It was slow and annoyingly loud which made all the kids jump. The last thing they needed was the car to break down; leaving them stranded on the road, where they would be at the mercy of whatever adult that hid nearby. What's even worse is that only a few moments and they'd be running out of gas and Flip's was still half a mile away. Luna's nose flared and like an elephant blowing its nose. Can this go any faster? Me and my family are trying to survive here!

Inside the car, the only sounds that persisted were the sounds of the kid's heavy breathing and rapidly beating hearts. Luna stared at the rear-view mirror and closely examined the kid's on the back. Lucy held Lily in a fetal position while the former sat on her brother's lap and quietly stared out from the window. Lana and Lola sat on Lynn's lap. Lola, gently holding Walt and Geo, and Lana holding hops and Izzy. Charles hid inside Lincoln's bag. How the white-haired child was able to get the dog inside was anyone's guess. Lisa sat on Clyde's lap writing notes on her...well notes.

Luan sat anxiously next to Luna. She had both her hands lay flatly against her knees. Her hair had grown slightly over the past few weeks, even the hole that was ripped off began to grow. She felt a knot form in her stomach as she silently stared at the view before her. Strings of electric wiring twirled stupidly on the ground like a wet noodle. Her eyes squint at the spark it made, pretty cool she thought.

And electrifying.

Luan glanced her head to the front view mirror and saw the crashed airplane coming into view. The smoke had long been gone and all that it's left were pieces of the plane littered around the road and heaps of ashes sprinkled around no doubt they belonged to the dead. Lincoln, Clyde and the younger sisters all shivered at the sight. Memories of that incident flashed in their heads like a light bulb. Lincoln gripped his skinny and veiny fingers against the leathery seats tightly, almost ripping a small chunk of it as beads of sweat dripped down between his temples.

Not long after Luna and Luan told their story, Lincoln decided to inform them of the horrors from how the plane threw them off the ground and how adults came out of the raging fire, which greatly shocked all of them as if what happened to them paled in comparison. They couldn't have imagined how terrifying it must have been to be in such a deadly situation. Still, they hailed Lincoln and Clyde for being brave to move on and keep going to protect the younger louds. To which they both shrugged it off. Lynn however felt very insecure and rather envious of Lincoln's braveness and had been ever since the blast happened. She wouldn't admit it but sometimes, Lincoln was more brave and selfless than she was. While indeed Lincoln isn't perfect, Lynn knew he was better than her mentally.

About minutes pass, Lincoln swore he heard something poke out in a gap in the steel. He quickly set it out of his mind and thought it was just some cardboard cutout or whatever.

Soon, they could see the elementary school coming into view and boy oh boy where the younger kids experienced another flashback.

Images of dead kids lay on the floor with their flesh practically exposed from their torso. He still had nightmares of Stella getting killed by Mrs. Johnson or how kids were devoid of hope as the adults tore into their tiny bodies. He would often wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the ceiling in dread. Usually if not always, Clyde and all the younger sisters would always go to his bed after experiencing the same dreams.

Lincoln blinked and craned his head to get a better view of the school. Wonder if there is anyone still living there.

As if his question has been answered. Luan shouted, pointing towards the roof of the school. "Look, I see something!"

"Where?" Said Luna, still focusing on the road and only slightly glanced her eye at her side. They all turned to the roof and saw a figure standing before running out of sight clearly, the figure noticed them as well.

As they drove closer, they got a better detail of the building. Every window is boarded up and barricaded. Guess I was right Lincoln thought. They continued to start at the building thinking whether they should stay there or keep looking for more. However, they would indeed stay as Luan started screaming.

"Luna, look out!"

They all tensed and wondered what she was screaming before they finally knew why. On there left, were about 30 or dozen more infected adults charged towards them with great speed.

"Shit!" Luna cried out as a tall, muscular and shirtless adult chucked a brick on the side of the car. Leaving a huge crack in the windshield. All the kids screamed in terror as the sounds of brick continuously bounced off of the car. Luna quickly shifted the car in reverse then as she backed up, she looked to see a hoard of grown-ups running towards the car from behind. Luna gritted her teeth as she continued to back away as some of the adults had their heads or torso splattered after getting crushed by one of the tires.

Luna groaned in both fear and anger as she shifted the car back to drive. Adults were beginning to surround the entire car and aggressively banged their fists on each of the windows causing all the kids into a panicked frenzy. The shirtless adult from earlier prepared to launch another brick attack. This time hitting the right window of the passenger seats causing Luan to scream her fucking eyes out. Luna slammed the gas just as the adult lobbed another attack. Though it bounced away, it left an even bigger hole in the front window. Both teens had to carefully brush off any glass that might have fallen onto their respective seats.

Luna kept her foot on the gas and the adult jumped in the air before the car slammed into him to avoid being run over completely.

Only to hit face-first by a pole nearby.

"Fuck!" Shouted Luna as one adult clung onto the hood of the car and tried to claw its way in even as far as biting the cold metal like a wild animal. In contrast to the other infected adults who were practically buried beneath the car, this was a lot smarter, making sure not to let the car slip from its grasp. Luna groaned harder, her veins started popping out, almost breaking the steering wheel as she kept shifting the car back and forth to get the adult out screaming. "Why won't you fall!?"

"Luna, what the hell are you doing!?" Screamed Lynn as she, Clyde and Lincoln held onto the younger louds. "Are you trying to kill us faster!?"

Luna ignored her complaints as her racing mind was heavily focused on the adult.

Suddenly, all those back and forth swaying caused her to crash into another car and enough for it to halt almost immediately causing the adult to fly off the hood and impaled by a shard glass nearby a pile of rubble.

"How do you like that!?" Luna screamed triumphantly as she pulled out her finger. But it soon turned for the worst when she realized the car was no longer moving. Luna's face quickly turned to a look of horror as she frantically turned the keys in the ignition but there was no life left.

"It won't work!" Screamed Luna.

"Oh gee, I wonder why!?" Lynn exclaimed sarcastically.

"This can't be it, this can't be it, were not even far from our house!" Said Luan.

"Had I known it would end up like this, I would have just stayed back home! Shouted Lola who immediately started regretting leaving their home.

Just when everything seemed completely hopeless. Lynn shouted, "LOOK!" and pointed towards the front doors of the school, a group of about ten teenagers that appears to be around the age of Luna and Luan emerged from the doors holding out baseball bats and sharp sticks that were most likely spears.

Turning her neck to the other side, Luna shouted, "Everyone, run for the school!"

Taking every stuff they can carry, all kids quickly exited the vehicle to the right since the left was concealed by adults. Luan got out first, followed by her younger siblings who leapt out. But as the twins tried to get out, they accidentally dropped their pets. Walt quickly flew away while the adults tried to claw at the bird but they missed, Geo's hamster ball bounced towards one of the adults and aggressively sank its teeth against the ball to open, ignoring all the blood that was leaking out of its gums until it finally broke open, Geo tried to run away but the adult grabbed him and tore his head off immediately, ending the poor animal's life.

"Geo!" Lola cried out as she and Lana were being dragged away by Lynn.

Lana turned her head from left to right trying to find her pets. When she found them she tried to break off Lynn's grasp.

"Let me go!" Shouted Lana.

"Are you insane you'll die!" Lynn shouted back.

Lana then bites through Lynn's arm, forcing her to let go as Lana runs to her pets.

"Lana, you dumbass!" Lynn cried but Lana ignored her. When she ran up to her pets that were trying to flee from the adults. She was about to reach down towards them when suddenly a tall adult wearing a mechanics outfit stomped down on Hops, causing the frog's eyeballs to pop out of their sockets, then he swooped Izzy up and bit down and ripped his head off much to Lana's horror.

"NO!" Lana cried.

The adult looked down at her and a hint of enjoyment slowly formed on his face. It was as if he knew what he was doing was tearing Lana up inside.

Lana watched as the adult chewed slowly and forcefully. Savouring the moment. Lana began to reach for her wrench that was attached to her tool belt when Luna came up from behind and lifted her.

"Are you nuts?" She yelled, and began to run, carrying Lana towards the school before the younger sister could say anything.

"Hops! Izzy!" Lana cried again, as the adult became further away, the smug look on his face grew as he continued to chew the iguana.

As they all ran towards the school, Lincoln and Clyde recognized a kid that was holding the door open and waving them inside.

"Rusty!" Lincoln and Clyde both said.

The pimple-faced kid smiled as they drew closer. Luan went inside first then looked back to see and make sure her other siblings made it safely too. Lisa was able to make it through the doors followed by Lucy who was carrying a worried Lily. Lincoln and Clyde followed soon after with the former still had his bag on and Charles popping his head up with confusion as to what just happened.

Finally, Luna and Lynn made it last with Luna carrying a crying Lana. They all looked out as the kids who ran out to defend them began to make their way back towards the school, after realizing that the newcomers were safe.

Rusty quickly closed the door shut, just as the adults were about to reach them. Two older kids then appeared, one placed an iron bar between the door handle while the other wrapped it with chains and locked them.

Lincoln, his siblings and Clyde all breathed heavily as the adults began to beat on the doors. The sounds filled the front hall causing the newcomers to jump.

"Don't worry, they're not getting in," Said a kid from afar. They look to see a smiling face looking at them.

"Stan?" Both Luna and Luan said, remembering his face.

"Glad to see that you all made it." Said Stan who was holding a bat in his right hand. Behind him was Jake who was with Stan during their last meeting and another kid with light brown hair. Jeremy Grayers was his name.

They all looked around the room and found everywhere to be dimly lit with a small amount of light coming from the small holes from the boarded windows and candles placed around every corner. Most of the kids find it creepy while Lucy found it very delightful.

"Thanks" Was all Luna could say.

Stan's smile grew. "Don't mention it."

"Were you able to find your sister?" Said Luan. The last time they saw him, he was looking for his Sally. She hoped that Stan did indeed find him. And thankfully enough, she did.

"Oh yeah, she's safe in the gymnasium." Luan smiled at that.

Luna's mind shifted to earlier and how close they were to dying. "They ambushed us, one of them even threw a brick at us."

"Yeah, we call that one, Brick," Stan told them. "One of us got attacked by him, God rest his soul."

Lana began to sob. "One of them wearing a mechanic uniform killed my pets." She buried her head against Luna's chest.

Luna patted her on the back. She knew how much Lana's pets meant to her, she practically sleeps with them like a teddy bear.

Stan turned to her. "Yeah, we call that one, Grease Monkey and he's one sadistic bastard."

While they were talking Lincoln and Clyde came up to Rusty and hugged each other.

"I'm so glad you guys are safe, I thought you guys died." Said Rusty.

"Same here." Said Lincoln.

"We thought you were eaten by those sickos." Said Clyde.

"Oh, I almost did though, but I was able to fight them back." Said Rusty confidently and both Lincoln and Clyde just looked at him with a blank stare as if he was joking.

"Sure Rusty,"

"So how did you do this?" Asked Luna and the smile from Stan's face withdrew slightly. "It wasn't easy, Me, Duke, Joey and Jake were able to kill off a lot of adults. Turns out those two really know how to put up a fight. Joey and Jake of course. Soon other teens showed up and we managed to kill all of the adults in this school.

"Even Coach Pacowski?" Asked Lincoln.

"Yep." Answered the teen. "We found him stuck in an air vent. It took a lot of us to pull him out and once we began to make progress Duke took a wooden broom handle that he carved into a spear and stabbed him in the back to paralyze him and then he put him out of his misery with a jab to the head."

Lincoln looked at Clyde and then to his younger siblings. They were all relieved to hear that Coach Pacowski would never be able to bother them again.

Stan continued. "Next we used chains to lock up all the doors in the school and then we used the wood from the woodshop room, and the hardware store across the street to board up the windows."

Lincoln thought of all the windows in the school.

"All of the windows?" He asked.

"Well, not all of them," Stan answered. "Once we ran out of boards and decided to stop taking trips to get more, we locked up the double doors leading to hallways that were full of classroom windows we wouldn't be able to board up. Once that was finished we dragged all the dead bodies to the roof and threw them off the school."

Lincoln and everyone else was very impressed with how quickly they were able to accomplish all of that. But then again, when Lincoln and his siblings all worked together on a task, they got it done in no time.

"Where is everyone?" Luna asked.

"Many kids usually hang out in the gym," Said Stan, "others sit around in the auditorium smoking cigs or drinking booze. In fact, I think that's where Duke is right now, let me take you to him."

"Duke… Duke Melville, that dude is in charge?"

"Yes," Stan answered, "He'll definitely want to meet you all."

Luna bit her bottom lip and starred with dread because someone like Duke Melville would lead a group of the kids. After all, he was kind of an asshole. He always had to get his way, like the times where she was in gym class and Duke didn't like the way a certain play to a game they were playing went he'd always go off on his team, and when Luna was younger she was partnered with him to watch over their egg baby. Duke would almost drop the egg on many occasions and when it did, they got in trouble and Duke blamed her for the incident. And since Duke was in charge that probably meant Joey was second in command. He could be just as obnoxious as Duke. He was like a yes-man to him, always hyping him up and going along with whatever stupid shit Duke was getting into. Hell, they were practically gay for each other.

"Alright then." Said Luna, putting up a fake smile as she set Lana down and Lucy handed Lily to her as Stan, Jeremy and Rusty escorted them to the auditorium. While Jake and the other teens dispersed.

As they continued down the hall, they passed a small group of teens who loitered in the hallway. Few of them watched without saying anything as the Loud siblings passed them. However, some of them did smile, while others shot them looks of sympathy because everyone knew who the Loud family was, they were probably the most well-known family in Royal Woods. They knew there were supposed to be eleven of them, but the teens counted only nine. Lincoln watched as smiles faded from some teen's faces once they figured out what that meant. They had to have figured out that whatever this disease was; it only affected people sixteen and older. Which meant that the two oldest of the Loud siblings were dead.

As they reached the auditorium, two teens leaned against the wall next to the doors. One of them noticed Lily and gave a breathy sign and smiled in relief.

"Thank goodness." The teen whispered. The loud siblings heard him but didn't fuss, they assumed that he just wanted the baby to live.

We're here," Stan announced.

"We know," said Lynn. "We've all been here before.

"Oh, right." Stan chuckled.

He opened the door and they took in everyone and everything that was in the auditorium. Like the hallway before, the auditorium was lit by candles, and some kids spread throughout the room. A majority of them sat across the chairs talking among themselves, while others were sleeping on the said chairs.

Stan led them to the stage where Duke sat on a throne that was probably a prop used in a play involving a king, and just as Luna predicted, Joey was right next to him, holding an axe, sitting on a folding chair that didn't look anywhere as comfortable as the seat Duke rested on.

As they got closer to the stage Duke looked up and his facial expression changed from bored, to a look of annoyed confusion. He instantly sat up and was about to say something when suddenly a kid sitting on the edge of the stage pointed at the Loud family and spoke loud enough for the entire room to hear.

"Cheaper by the Dozen: Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling, Hilary Duff, Kevin G. Schmidt, Alyson Stoner, Liliana Mumy-"

"Be quiet, Randy," Duke told the kid before he could finish.

The Loud family was confused by the kids' random outburst. Which woke up some of the sleeping teens. Now, everyone noticed the guests that stood before the stage.

Luan instantly recognized him as Randy Whisk. About the same age as her. Brown reddish hair and blue eyes with a fair skin tone. He wore a plain red shirt and dark blue jeans. She knew Randy was a film buff. He often names actors from a certain movie whenever something reminded him of that said movie. He would only name those who have starred in other movies or that they are famous. Which is a point he made when he mentioned Napoleon Dynamite. So the only way to get him to stop was if you say "Be quiet, Randy." He will cease immediately.

Meanwhile, the loud siblings were just really confused and thought he was just stating the obvious about a movie that we're sure that several people mentioned whenever the loud family came up in a conversation.

Lynn just thought he had Tourette Syndrome.

Duke then turned back to the group. "Stan, where the hell did they come from?" He asked sternly, pointing his spear at the fresh faces.

"Jeremy saw them travelling in a car and he went and got me, they were attacked by Brick and his gang," Stan told Duke. "So, I took a group of kids and helped them out."

"You should've told me first before you went out there," said Duke.

Stan raised an eyebrow. "There was no time."

"You took a huge risk, dude. Do you have any idea how terrible it would've been if Brick and his gang got in here?" Before Stan could say anything, Rusty intervened.

"Lincoln and Clyde are my friends. There was no way I was going to let anyone leave them out there." Rusty started. "Jeremy may have told Stan about the car. But when I saw that it was Lincoln and his family inside the car I had to convince Stan to gather up a group and go out there and help them."

Duke turned to the kid with an annoyed glare. "Rusty, please let the grown-ups talk."

"You're only four years older than me." Rusty protested.

"And enough to put you in a bed, so watch your tone." Duke threatened.

"Look," said Stan, "They're here now, so we should be welcoming them, not questioning how dangerous it was to open the doors.

"We have a good thing going," Said Duke "How can we trust that they won't cause trouble."

"Oh yeah, we'd hate to ruin your well-oiled machine," Lynn finally spoke up, raising an arm and acknowledging everyone who was slouching in their seats.

Duke's gaze shifted towards the girl, he stared daggers into her, but she didn't budge.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to take this place?" He began. He told them what Stan had told them earlier. "We even had to move a fucking bus from outside into the school from the loading dock so show some respect here."

The Louds were impressed to hear that. Behind the auditorium, was a large door that vehicles could pull into whenever they had to make a large delivery. Most of it involved things for plays. Since the power no longer worked, Duke and his crew had to pull on chains to lift open the door while others moved the school bus in. The only problem was how they could fix it up. It needed gas, it's engine needed to be repaired, and it needed new tires.

"Look," Luna spoke up, breaking up the intense atmosphere. "We can help you, I'm sure you'll find us quite useful."

"Oh yeah? And what skills could you all possibly have to offer us?" Asked Duke.

Luna thought for a few seconds. She was a musician, not very useful for survival but she was sure there were other skills she had that could prove useful. Lily was just a baby, so she was out of the discussion. Luan, however, was good with pranks, maybe she could set traps for the adults. Lynn was a very athletic and tough girl, she could prove to be quite useful in a fight, although Luna hated the thought of any of her siblings fighting infected adults. Lincoln was always coming up with plans and stuff like that, he could be a strategist- or something. She wasn't sure what Clyde could do. Lucy knew a lot about how the body and mind worked, she could also contact spirits, apparently. Not sure what good that would do though. Lana was a very useful handyman, she could help with the plumbing in the school and maybe fix up the bus. Lola may have been a pageant girl before all this, but she also knew how to cook and sew. And then there was Lisa. With her knowledge, she could be used to make new machines and a great use for medical care.

Luna told Duke everything that went through her head.

Duke's eyes stared down at Lisa. Lisa, the smartest kid in Royal Woods. She was a goldmine of knowledge, surely she would try and find a way to cure this disease.

"Can you cure this virus?" Asked Duke and Lisa just simply said "No." And after asking why she told him everything that she said to her siblings before which surprised him a little. Even someone like Lisa who probably has a higher IQ than every smart human to have ever lived had no idea what this virus truly was.

Duke just stared down. "Shame." "Okay, you can stay," he said, standing up. "Stan gives them a little tour of the school and then lets them settle into the gym."

Stan put his right hand up to his forehead in a saluting gesture. "Aye-aye, captain."

Duke watched as Stan led the kids out of the auditorium. His gaze was especially fixed on the little brown-haired girl with glasses and smirked. Inside, he was really glad she couldn't find a cure. Cause to him, what happened to the world was a great benefit for him. Now that there were no adults to tell them orders, no one to talk down on him, he could do whatever he wanted, like ruling over kids who are younger than him. It was perfect and just someone like Lisa would jeopardize that, and besides, even if she did find a cure, it would be too late now given the destruction this virus caused around the world.

After that, Stan led the new kids throughout the school. One room—which was the science lab—had the door open and was occupied by a group of kids, and an adult chained down to a table which shocked the newcomers, one of them who Luna recognized as Brian Allen. While not as smart as Lisa, Brian still excels very well in class.

Brian saw them, went outside and immediately closed the door before him.

"Sorry about that," Said Brian who scratched the side of his head.

"Playing with Bob again I see." Said Stan.

"Bob?" Asked Lincoln.

"Long story, anyway, it's a pleasure to see you all." Said Brian and the newcomers simply smiled and nodded. Brian stared at every one of the louds and saw Lisa who he greatly admired.

"Lisa Loud is it?" Asked Brian.

"Indeed it is." Said Lisa.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said and shook hands with her.

"Why do you have that thing chained?"

"Well, I mostly did it to study on why it acts that way, but my colleagues keep interrupting by doing stupid things like poking its crotch, kicking it or other incompetent things."

"Oh, well I have already researched it a month before."

"What did you find?"

"Long story but don't ask me about any possible cure," Lisa said.

"I see." Brian simply said.

"May I see the adult later? I only tested one that is dead."

"Of course, just let me know when you want to see it." Said Brian just as he heard a loud noise coming from the lab. "Dammit, not again, I'll see you all soon."

Brian went back inside and Stan showed them the cafeteria. Thankfully, the stove still ran on gas, although it was running low so they had to scavenge around town and since they were only a month after the green mist, there was still plenty of fresh foods and supplies.

He showed them the nurse's office where a short Indian boy was sitting behind the nurse's desk reading a book and eating a potato chip.

"This is Sanjay Bassi, his dad worked as a doctor and thought him to become one so he's the closest thing we have to a doctor."

"Hello." Said Sanjay and waved his hand at them and they all introduced themselves. Like Brian, Sanjay also had also admired Lisa and wanted her to help with the medical stuff which Lisa couldn't help but agree since it was the only other option she could do.

Then, Stan showed them a chained door.

"No idea what's in there so I don't want you to go there." Said Stan.

He continued to show them the other rooms until they reached the gym. "This is where pretty much everyone sleeps," he said, "You're allowed to hang around with people of the opposite gender, but when it's bedtime, boys sleep on one side of the gym and girls sleep on the other. However, if you have younger siblings of the opposite gender you're allowed to sleep next to them- but only them."

They all nodded. Lincoln was relieved to hear that. Stan opened the double doors to the gym and everyone looked as the new arrivals entered the room.

The Louds studied all the faces that studied them. Lisa counted that there are roughly 48 or so kids in the gym. A lot of them seemed happy to see Lincoln and his siblings, others seemed surprised. Lincoln scanned around the room and saw many familiar faces as Stan continued to lead them to an unoccupied gap. He saw where his friend Rusty is along with his little brother Rocky. He never quite saw him long before the blast and the last time he did was when Lucy tried to impress him so seeing him now was a nice surprise.

He saw his other friend Liam crouching down next to the two and since Zack was nowhere to be found, Lincoln only assumed the worse. He continued to glance at other classmates before glancing at the girls. He saw Girl Jordan, Mollie, Penelope and Cookie; the girl whom Mrs. Johnson bit her in the cheek; judging from the bandage covering her wound. Lincoln assumed she got stitched up. He then saw Cristina, Tabby, Polly, Renne and a few more. In the bleachers he saw that bratty kid he encountered at the store sitting by himself, and even Chandler, hanging out with his reputable group of friends. He hated himself for being glad he's alive. Last time they saw each other, he accused Lincoln of sexually harassing Stella when it was him who made it happen. Just mentioning her really made him sad knowing he would never see Stella again. What's strange is that it happened just a day before the blast.

"I guess this is where you girls will be sleeping." Stan pointed at the girl's side then pointed to where Lincoln and Clyde would sleep. He also told Lincoln that he could sleep next to his sisters on the girl's side of the room if he chose to, but he had to sleep between his older sisters. Unfortunately, Clyde wouldn't be able to sleep next to the Loud sisters since they weren't related. The Loud family felt bad since Clyde had no one. Lincoln told him that after he and his siblings got settled in, he'd sleep next to him from then on.

"It'll be just like a permanent sleepover," He said. That made Clyde smile.

"Stan!" A little voice called out.

They looked to see a little girl, wore a soft yellow shirt and overalls the same as Lana. Stan introduced him to his sister though, the twins and Luan kinda already knew who Sally was, with the former being classmates and the latter being the party clown at her birthday. This is why Sally came to them first.

"She gets excited when I come back regardless of how short I've been gone."

"Where did you find him?" Asked Luan, rubbing the tip of Sally's head, who blushed momentarily.

"Me and my friends all found her and a few other kids hiding in the storage closet, Sally mentioned someone putting them there for safety and hoped someone would find them," Stan stated then continued. "Protecting these kids gave us all the incentive we needed to power through those crazy adults."

His story reminded Lincoln of how he himself put his life on the line to protect his sisters.

Stan then told everyone in the room to make the newcomers feel welcomed. They were all family now. He then told the newcomers if they needed anything, just ask Trinity. He pointed to a tall, pretty, fourteen-year-old blonde girl on the other end of the room who was watching over the younger kids. She wore a soft pink shirt and white jeans. She smiled and waved at the louds before turning her attention back to the kids as one of them almost slipped.

He eventually stepped out to resume his duties—whatever the hell they were—and left the newcomers in the auditorium with a few of the younger kids and a few older kids that were there to also watch over the little ones, but Trinity seemed to be the only person who actually seemed interested in watching them. A few kids walked up to Lincoln, Clyde, and the loud siblings to say hi to them and to ask them what it was like out there and how they survived. A majority were amazed of how they were able to survive a plane crash. Once they were finished, Mollie—the girl who Lincoln and Clyde had rescued from the school secretary— walked up to them, smiling.

She hugged them and thanked them for saving her from Cheryl. Once she left, another girl walked up and Clyde immediately recognized her as Chloe.

So relieved that Chloe was safe. Clyde walked up to her and hugged her with Chloe hugging him very tightly.

"Where's your hat?" Clyde asked but Chloe didn't answer and just hugged him tighter. Not that Clyde cared.

Meanwhile, the louds continued to talk to the other kids with Lynn talking to Polly, Luna with Tabby, and Lisa with Darcy whom the former was so glad she was alive. While the twins, Lucy and Lincoln stared at Clyde hugging Chloe. Lincoln smiled sadly at this then frowned when his mind thought of Ronnie Anne. In fact, for these past few weeks since the blast, he had been thinking of Ronnie Anne day and night. Wondering if she's still alive and a majority believes that she still is.

Now, he knew that he and Ronnie Anne were just friends and couldn't go anywhere further from there. But Lincoln did imagine he and her holding hands stare into each other's soul and share a kiss.

Lincoln sighed, hopefully, one day I will find you, Ronnie. "Guess this is our home now."

Hours passed and the adults who attacked earlier have been dispersed. Lincoln's older siblings and a few other teens were able to gather up some of their things from Mr. Grouse's car. Things like Lucy's journal, Lynn's baseball bats and Lola's staff along with Lisa's supplies. They found a crib for Lily to sleep in that was in the child development room, they also had some diapers that they brought with them. But, eventually, they were going to run out and then they'd have to use newspapers.

A while later, Stan offered to take them to the roof and show them all the pots set up there to plant seeds and grow food. Once they reached the roof, they were more interested in looking out into the town of Royal Woods than they were the fruits and vegetables grown in the dirt.

From there, they could see all the devastation that had resulted from the virus; cars littered the streets, bones scattered everywhere, black smoke billowing in the distance, blood and gut stains on the street, smashed windows on houses and stores, and dead adults lying on the ground. Apparently, not even adults could eat other adults.

They all held each other tightly as they thought of the friends and family and lives they left behind, they were never going to have normal lives again. The kids were responsible for themselves now. No parent was going to make them feel safe, no adult was going to look after them, no teacher was going to teach them. They had taken it all for granted, their parents loved them, cared for them, worried for them. But now they were stuck with their parents' jobs, the older kids were the parents now. They thought they had their whole lives to look forward to, dreams to set up, goals to accomplish, wishes to come true. But it was all lost now.

They were all a lost soul.

"Alright, start talking!" Chris demanded, raising his voice a little as he and the adult stood next to each other. Chris had a Glock 19 at his hand, his brows furrowed and his legs crouched slightly. After chowing down on the fat kid from earlier, he decided to let the adult come inside to have a "friendly chat"

"Who are you?" Asked Chris.

Who I am isn't important.

"When I shoot you, you'd be dead right?" Chris said.

The grown-up pondered for a moment before answering—by thought as the adult couldn't definitively talk— Yes, I could. The adult said in mind. As long as you shoot me in the head at least.

"Typical." Said Chris with sarcasm. "Anything else?"

While your weapons do indeed kill me in an instant, age, however, is out of the list. Once we enter the body, it stays that way forever.

"What about starvation?"

Oh, yes but it would take a very long period for that to occur. Weeks, months and possibly even years. The adult was joking with the last part but then again it was a possibility.

"What do you know about this virus"

This virus as what you call them is a microorganism that resided from that giant dust storm that ravaged around your planet. Once we enter the bodies, we invade their cells and their nerves until we reach their brain. And once we take control, the bodies would acquire enhanced abilities such as strength and speed.

"From how you call "your planet" I assume you are from space?" Chris asked.

Indeed...

"Well, care to explain where you came from and how you managed to spread across the world?"

The adult's face became darker and Chris noticed the fear spreading across his face. Chris decided to change the subject quickly as he would get that answer some other time so he asked. "Why weren't kids infected" and suddenly the adult's face lit up like a kid being given a bar of chocolate.

Their brains weren't fully developed enough to be taken control.

"How old would you be turned into..well you."

About 16.

"Would they turn out like you if they ever reached that age?"

No, once it spread across the world they would continue to linger for about 3 minutes until we stop completely. The only way for kids to get infected was if we somehow re-spread the world. The adult smiled creepily a little bit during that last sentence before turning to a look of worry as if someone else is pointing a gun at him.

"Why do you eat kids? And why wasn't I affected?"

We require the flesh of the organisms living on the planet to keep our minds fresh, if we fail to do so, we become dumber and more savage than we already were. So if that happens we rely on those who are smarter and consumed the most flesh. This is most likely why that virus didn't affect you. You already had the flesh of your species flowing through you.

"Interesting." Said Chris then asked. "So, how am I able to hear your voice in my head, can you speak to each other telepathically?"

Yes, that's how I knew you were in here. I heard your thoughts, and I could sense your brain waves giving off a tremendous amount of energy. You give off a very powerful vibe. Something that I only encountered a few of these vibes ever since we took over the planet a month before.

Huh, that explains why I was able to hear adults talking in my head. Damn, guess that guy I shot at the parking lot didn't want me to shoot him. "So, what about the bodies you've taken over, do they know they're possessed or something, what about that dude, do you know anything about him like his name and shit?"

No, by this time they would have no consciousness, however, I do know bits and pieces of this person's memory, he was a racecar driver who was banned after nearly running over a nearby civilian. As for the name, all I know is Jet.

Chris was about to ask another question but could hear more voices coming from his head, ranging from we serve you, lead us and all kinds of stuff. He got up and peered through the window. Hundreds of Adults stood outside like a large crowd. Each of them was carrying pieces of dead kids.

It seems as though you have quite the audience. They need a leader, Chris.

A leader huh? I like the sound of that. He craned his neck back to the adult. "You'll be my second in command, and from now on you will be named...Crony, something I used to call my old pals back in the war.

Crony smiled menacingly.

Sir yes, Sir.

Chris stepped out onto the porch with his gun stored in his back pocket. He had both his hands on either waist. A confident grin formed on his face as he gazed upon his new army. He was a leader now. In his time in the army, he was always following orders, getting yelled at and. He could see Lieutenant H. Mann staring down at him with a proud smile or he's too busy eating kids.

Chris pondered on what he should do first. He couldn't concentrate properly due to the various sounds of the adults all talking at once inside his mind which gave him the perfect idea.

"Shut the hell up!" Immediately every adult went silent and all the voices in his head ceased. Much to Chris' enjoyment.

"Everyone jump!"

They, including Crony, did just that. Some of them have trouble doing so, no doubt were the weaker ones or that they got their legs cracked.

"Jump again." It was like a wave when they all jumped.

"And Again, and again!" By then most of them were unable to get back up while some did but very clumsily.

"Punch yourself in the face." What followed was the sounds of fist slamming. Chris was overjoyed at the thought of controlling by simply telling them what to do.

"Now, kneel."

Everyone dropped to one knee and bowed their heads to their leader.

Chris smiled to himself. This was too good to be true he could use this army to gather up kids to eat for himself. As far as he knew, there were no other cannibals in Michigan before the green blast, so no other adult would be as powerful as he was.

"Yes, this should be interesting."

Merry Christmas readers! Sorry to keep you waiting, I was just too busy with school and all that and now that it's Christmas break I should have more time to work on this. Also, someone made a Spanish translation of this story. Go check out BettyMars516 for the translation.