The world had ended a long time ago. All anyone does now is fight. Fight to survive against each other, and against the Corpses. Almost everyone now only looks out for themselves.

Gabriel Agreste, once a top fashion idol, was running through the forest. High pitched crying echoed throughout the trees, driving the Corpses toward him. He quickly ducked behind a thick tree, catching his breath.

"Hush now. Please stop your crying, Adrien." Gabriel said as he bounced Adrien softly in his arms. Gabriel then heard more Corpses approaching and quickly stood again and took off running. The sudden movement made Adrien cry even more. Gabriel rushed through the trees in a blind panic, until he came to a sudden stop as he crashed right into someone. Gabriel was immediately pushed to the ground, still holding his baby.

"Stop. Don't move or I will shoot." the stranger Gabriel ran into spoke. He had a pistol pointed at Gabriel, who didn't notice right away as he paid more attention to his still crying baby. Gabriel finally looked up at the man, spotting the gun in his face.

"Please, sir! Don't shoot!" Gabriel said, his voice coming out in an exhausted pant. "I'm trying to get out of here. There's a horde of them right behind me." Gabriel said. It was then that the stranger noticed Gabriel was covered in blood.

"You're infected, aren't you?" the stranger said, a strong hint of disgust in his voice.

"N..no! No!" Gabriel quickly stammered out. "This b-blood is not mine, it's my wife's. She just gave birth not too long ago. Her cries of pain attracted all of them to us. I couldn't save her and our new son..." Gabriel pasued to take a breath. "She told me to leave with the baby. She didn't have the strength to get up. There was nothing else I could do, so I ran. Please sir, you have to believe me. They're still following me. They've been chasing us since my son just won't be quiet!" Gabriel said through gritted teeth as he stared down at his son. The groaning and moaning got louder as the Corpses approached them.

"Fine. Let's get out of here." The stranger said. "I know of a settlement not far from here. It's my home." The stranger helped Gabriel up off the ground. "But this is all that I'm doing for you." the stranger said, clearly still not quite pleased with the situation.

"Thank you, sir. I will do what I can to repay you." Gabriel said as he straightened himself up and checked on Adrien again. The newborn had finally seemed to have settled down.

"You can start by not calling me sir." The stranger said as he lead the way through the trees. "Call me Jack." The stranger said, glaring behind his shoulder to Gabriel. "That's what my wife calls me."

"Call me Gabriel. And this is my son, Adrien." Gabriel said, his voice cracking a little as he followed Jack, hoping he would find a place to call home.
-

After what seemed like hours of walking, Gabriel and Jack came across an old train yard. The fence had been covered with wooden planks and sheets of metal, so that no one could see through it from the outside. The train seemed to have long been gone. Adrien had fallen asleep on the walk there. As they approached the front gate, Gabriel could see a man in a camo-patterned military uniform shouting at a larger man and what looked to be a pregnant woman.

"I already told you, you can't come back in here. You've been banished. You broke our most important rule!" the military man said, grinding his teeth and glaring at the larger man.

"It was an accident! Why won't anyone believe me? I would never kill anyone!" the larger man said, pleading. "Please! If I'm not allowed here, then just let my wife stay. We both know a pregnant woman won't survive long out here."

"Enough!" Jack yelled out as he and Gabriel approached. "Our Council has already made their decision. You and your family are banned from our settlement. It doesn't matter if you killed on accident or on purpose. You killed, so you are banished." Jack said angrily.

"But-" the larger man began, but was stopped by the pregnant woman beside him.

"Tom, please. That's enough, let's just go." she spoke, her voice surprisingly calm. The larger man huffed, but put his arm around her shoulder. Without another word, the two of them started walking off into the forest.

"Hey, Jack. Who's the new guy with you?" the guy at the gate asked, finally spotting Gabriel.

"His name's Gabriel, and the baby is Adrien." Jack answered. "I knew those other two were leaving, so I brought him and his son along. They need the help." Jack walked toward the now opening gate. He turned back to Gabriel. "Come on in, we'll get you settled."

Gabriel walked through the gate following Jack. The guard at the gate smiled softly at Gabriel as he passed by with Adrien. "Welcome to Sunset Station!"

...

Thank you for reading

Big thanks to my editor/proofreader my brother.