Italics = Speaking in German

Alana and Wilhelm stayed in their spots along the tree branches. Rifles up, eyes looking through the scopes. They'd roll side to side where they sat carefully every now and then, hoping to delay the discomfort that was most certainly coming. Bits of bark poked into them and both knew they'd come down from those trees with indentations and scrapes in their skin. What few light that had remained was gone; the group had been asleep in their caravan for a handful of hours. The elder man atop the RV had come down recently, the young Asian man taking his place. The moon was high enough to offer a decent amount of light to the darkness. The man's eyes were drenched with worry. Wilhelm would routinely check on him, not trusting the young man to spot if anyone or anything crept up on the group.

Alana was fighting to keep her head up. A few times she would rest her chin on one of her arms, but each time she'd find herself nodding off. Trying to hold her head up on its own wasn't much better either. Resting it against the tree wasn't even a thought for Alana. That was a sure way to fall asleep. And then fall out of the tree. Already Alana had banged her head on the rifle's scope twice. She wanted to sleep so badly. With so much blockage from the cars on the road both she and Wilhelm needed to keep watch; too many blind spots.

While Wilhelm focused on the road and the young man, Alana's focus was on the road and the man with the crossbow. He sat in the cabin of a truck that had been turned sideways on the road. It was close enough to the RV that he had an open view of the Asian man, allowing him to keep an eye on him. He had only gotten into the truck within the last hour. Up till then he had been walking up and down the road. Walking just far enough ahead but not disappearing from the reach of the RV, he'd stare down the stretch of road, then turn around and head back. Crossbow always in hand. Alana would follow him, keeping him in her crosshairs. She'd clench and release her trigger hand from time to time. She caught him twice looking past the Honda, over the railing and into the woods. He'd keep moving on though. He'd pass by the car the little girl had been hiding under and stare at it. All she could see was the back of his head, but she knew what look was on his face.

Guilt.

They should have turned around. He had thought they could make it through. He led the way. And now that little girl was somewhere out there on her own. If she was still alive, she was scared. If she had been attacked, she was in pain and scared. Didn't matter what her circumstance was, in none of them was she better off. She'd only be better off if he had turned the group around.

That's what he was thinking, what was passing over his face each time he looked at that car. It had to be. She knew it.

She was brought out from her thoughts when her brother waved a hand at her. He pointed one finger behind them and Alana slowly pushed herself up into a more proper sitting position. Keeping her balance she did her best to look round the tree to the woods behind them. It was clear. There was no need for Wilhelm to say anything to her of what he intended to do. She gave a thumbs up. Waiting till the young man on the RV turned his back to them the two began making their way down the tree. There were enough critters and bugs making noise that as long as the siblings took their time moving they'd go unnoticed. Took her almost two minutes to get down to the ground. Leaning against the side of the tree, turning her head from the road then to the woods on her right, she gave Wilhelm a signal they were in the clear. He reached the ground much faster than her. The packs were hidden some fifteen feet further into the woods.

They'd have to be fast. There was no chance they wouldn't make some noise when grabbing their packs from the brush. Wilhelm moved around Alana, heading towards them. It would be easier for him to retrieve them. He left his rifle at her feet. If there was any movement from the group Alana would click her tongue once and Wilhelm would hit the ground.

Wilhelm moved from tree to tree towards the packs while Alana kept watch. He kept low to the ground, doing his best to step where he believed would make the least amount of noise. Standing before the packs, he looked back to Alana, making sure their cover was still safe. Returning to the packs, Wilhelm decided which two he'd grab and then Alana would retrace his steps to grab the other two.

There was a snapping of twigs and crunching of leaves somewhere to Wilhelm's right. Instantly he had lowered himself completely to the ground; Alana was pressed against the tree crouching and trying to determine where the noise had come from. The crouching rendered her ability to see the caravan on the road moot. Edging upwards slowly, she managed a glance of the RV, the young man still there. He was looking off towards the woods with binoculars, but shook his head and spoke to someone down below. Hearing the noise again Alana began pinpointing it. It was still off to the right of her and Wilhelm and didn't sound as if it was nearing them. It was a comfort, but the second source of noise did not comfort Alana. She crouched back down, peering around the tree the best she could without exposing herself.

For a moment she caught sight of the man from the truck. He was making his way past the cars, towards the railing. The rustling sound from the woods continued, getting closer to the road from what Alana could tell, but it wasn't getting closer to her. She and Wilhelm would have to remain still and see how things would play out.

The man must have not made it very far into the woods, sounded as if he didn't even make it them. A buck had jumped out in front of the man, staggering for a second, then regaining its footing and leaping over the railing. Its hooves echoed off the road as it made its way to the other side.

Alana and Wilhelm wasted no time. The moment the buck had emerged the noise rose and held, voices rising amongst the group, the siblings began moving. Wilhelm had already began moving deeper into the woods with Alana collecting the last two packs. At the first pause in noise the two slowed, keeping low and choosing their steps wisely. Wilhelm turned back to the road.

"Faster!" he whispered. Someone from the group was stepping into the woods and calling back to the others. Moments later people could be heard calling out for the little girl. The group was moving into the woods, shining their lights everywhere.

There was no other choice, they had to stop moving. Finding a place where the land dipped down, creating a large enough overhang, Wilhelm and Alana took cover, pressing their backs into the earth best they could. Neither spoke, staring off in front of them. Listening. Both had the safeties of their weapons off; Alana kept one hand lowered towards her machete. She began hoping to herself that the people didn't come this deep into the woods. There was no telling if the people had brought weapons with them. Alana didn't like the odds of her and Wilhelm making a clean getaway.

The man from the truck was getting closer, heading in their general direction. Alana began questioning if perhaps he'd heard them. From having watched the group she wagered him the most competent. His steps slowed and finally stopped. Too close for Alana's comfort, close enough for her to hear him huff as he exhaled.

"Daryl!" a voice called out in a strained whisper, more sounds growing closer.

The man, Daryl, spoke that he thought he'd heard something. He must have been staring off deeper into the woods.

"Sophia?" the other man asked while more steps arrived and stopped. From the talking Alana and Wilhelm counted four people at the least.

"Must of just been more deer," Daryl spoke, his voice trailing at the end as he likely turned back. The others called out for the little girl as softly as they could, waiting a moment, and then headed back towards the road.

They remained still while the footfalls became quieter and quieter. Sitting in the silence for a moment, Wilhelm looked to Alana.

"We stay here for the night. Too risky."

Alana agreed, repositioning herself slightly to settle in for the remainder of the evening. They took turns sleeping, waking the other every four hours.

Shortly before sunrise Wilhelm dug through a pack and handed some jerky to Alana, the two quietly eating.

"We'll need to cross," Alana told Wilhelm. The group would surely head back into the woods to search for the girl. If the spread out to cover more ground it'd just mean she and Wilhelm would have to double their pace to stay out of sight, but even that didn't lower their chances of being caught. "We get ahead and then cross. We can't stay on this side."

As the sun began to rise Alana and Wilhelm finally moved from their cover, picking up the packs and began moving. They took an easy angle that brought them closer alongside the road but deep enough in that they couldn't be spotted. Occasionally Alana would look over her shoulder.

"What should we do, if we come across the girl?" she asked her brother when she finally felt comfortable speaking without drawing attention. "We can't just leave her. If she's alive." Though she was asking, it was obvious she'd already made up her mind. They'd never abandoned a child before that was on their own. They'd never come across one. "If she's alive we have to take her back."

Wilhelm looked to his side to Alana. "And if she is dead?"

His sister did not hesitate but did for a moment lower her eyes. "Then we have to keep moving and leave her as she is."

The two of them moved slowly, taking their time. The sun was continuing to rise and soon enough the group may wake to search for the girl. Alana figured she and Wilhelm would lay low for the next couple of days, do their best to remain quiet and avoid the dead. Draw as little attention as possible and hope they didn't cross paths again with the group.

As plans went, theirs went fairly as planned. They did the best they could to account for differing circumstances. This far into the outbreak, mistakes didn't come often. And so it was an honest shock when they heard the ringing of bells somewhere off in the woods. The two froze, listening as the bells echoed and kept ringing.

"Shit! What now?" Alana questioned, turning round in spot to scan the woods. That ringing would have caught the attention of the dead. She didn't know how far the bells could be heard or the extent that the dead could hear. But now every dead that had heard would be making their way towards the sound. Bringing them straight into the path of Alana and Wilhelm. And remaining in the woods was a foolish idea with them not knowing the source of the bells, if there were other people aside from the caravan, and how many dead were already there in the woods.

Wilhelm's choice of plans dwindled. He looked down to his sister, knowing it was a risk, but that in that moment there was no other choice. To kill the group would require firearms and added noise wasn't needed.

He walked ahead, stopping only when he could clearly see the road. Peering back he tried to spot the group. Not liking their position in regards to them, Wilhelm sighed and made his way back over to Alana. He adjusted the packs on his back.

"We keep moving. Up ahead we'll turn around. Make our way through the cars."

Alana stared at him before looking back the way they had come, brow furrowed. Having seen the disorganization of the caravan she was reluctant to turn back. Looking ahead of her then she argued with herself that it was the lesser of two evils. There were too many unknown risks all around them in those woods. At least with the group they already had an idea of what they were walking into. She nodded her head to Wilhelm finally, following after him as he kept moving.

She hoped they would not be with the group for too long. It always made it harder to leave them behind.