So i decided to update this one before I tackle one or two of my other stories. Where we left off the group was on their way into Ashville. Jen and Hannah was taken away. Read below to see what happens next. Thanks for making it this fr in the story. Don't worry I'll be able to wrap this up soon so we can move onto the maze and what might have possibly came before it.

Day- 245

I've been laying here in this cot staring at the other cots past us. Jess is laying with her back against mine. I heard someone shuffle over to us behind her. "Jess, you awake. Jess." It was Sam. They've talking a lot, its probably comforting. I was happy to hear her voice, made it easy drown out everyone else. "No…" Jess moaned she rolled over and wrapped an arm around me. "Jess." Sam pleaded and before she could get comfortable she rolled back to face her. "What?" Jess asked I think she sat up a little. I didn't move. I didn't want her to know I was awake. "Do you think this place will last?" Sam asked, I felt bad for the kid. Her Family must have been through the worst of it all. "It's got walls doesn't it." Jess stated and reached for her. "Yea." Sam said. "okay so Go back to sleep it late." Jess told her and Sam shuffled away. Jess roll back over and put an arm over my waist. I felt light breathing on the back of my neck. She's always so warm.

We're all in quarantine. At least for another four hours. I think, I'm just glad to have four walls or walls of bleachers I guess and lights. They set quarantine up for people who were with people infected the flare. Which is pretty much everybody. It already has a name. I was told it gets worse than people going crazy, mumbling nonsense and killing themselves. Apparently that is the less violent version. I haven't seen what comes after but from what people in here have been saying it's pretty bad. This Flare has been around a little longer then we think.

I rolled over and propped myself up on my elbow. I felt for her fingers and intertwined with hers, she started to wake a little with the motion. I could stare down at those eyes all night. She's got bed room eyes and I always seem to fall under some spell. She was still a little sleepy, I watched as she came in and out of consciousness.

"Is the room still full?" Jess asked. I glanced up, the cots in the right corner had since been emptied. I smiled nodded. Everyone else was still here. Hopefully we get released this morning. I know it's really late now but there's no clock in here. I've been awake most of the night. Mainly because somehow one of the last people they let in here starting showing symptoms. The guy was across the room but you could still here everything. They came for him, men in suits. The guards even kept their distance. He screamed and yelled as he was being dragged away. They did it in front of everyone. They didn't care that we saw. Right after I got weird feeling. All I could think was, 'I'm just glad it wasn't Jess or me.'

"A few that was in the corner that's now gone. Everyone else is still here." I told her. Jess took a deep breath. I sat up and turned to find the kids. Sam was holding Sonya and Newt was using the cot to try to walk. He was really cute, tiny for his age but that might have worked out in his favor now. People will think he's younger than really he is. I watched as Newt went from one cot to another. Then turned around, the little guy was trying to cross over to the other set of cots we were on. He wasn't very stable but still he reached out for the opposite cot anyway.

Jess saw me paying more attention to something else an gave me a look. I pointed to Newt. He was doing this long stretch for the other side. Jess giggled, Newton heard her and she distracted him. The unstable baby boy fell back onto his bottom. Not affected by it, he jus leaned to one side and crawled over to the cot. We watched as he reached up then pulled himself up till he was standing. Jess laid back down onto her back. "He's going to be a tough kid." Jess said. I didn't say anything as he walked towards us. Newt smiled at me as he got closer. I think he really likes Jess an she has taken to him so well. He's becoming ours it's cute.

Newt etched closer an closer till he was right next to Jess. He tried to hop up into the cot but couldn't make it. Jess noticed him immediately. "Boo… come here Newt." Jess cooed as she used one arm to sweep him up into the smallest cot in the world. I might as well sit on the floor and let them have it. But newton laid right down on her chest, closing his eyes. The babe took the idea right out of my head. I was tired. I laid on my side so they would have a little more room. As uncomfortable as it was I just kept reminding myself its only quarantine. After Jess an Newton dozed off, I did.

A few hours later

"JEN!" Jess screamed and it woke me up. Newt was gone. I rubbed my eyes and looked around to spot each of them in cots around us before getting back to a tossing Jess. She was tossing so hard I almost fell off. She hadn't had a nightmare in months. Only, this one is different, way worse. I touched her arm, sitting up and pulled her close to me; hugging on to her tightly. "Shhhh." I whispered softly in her ear and she calmed down a little. She's still breathing really hard.

"She okay?" I gawked up to see Sam sitting on the cot next to us. I glanced back down at Jess for a moment. She slowly stopped, "Yea, she should be fine. What time is it?" I asked Sam. "Morning time, sun rose an hour ago." Sam explained and I perked up. We are out of here. "Great, I want to check our status. Hang out and watch everyone." I told her and she furrowed her brow. She's like my shadow. "Sam." I said sternly. "Whatever, just don't take forever." She griped and put her legs back up on the cot then laid down. "This place sucks." She complained. "We shouldn't be here much longer." I told her as I stood off the cot and started towards the only table in the room.

The table sat in the far corner with no cots around it. There was one guy who always sits at the table watching us and keeping a log. There's others but there isn't that many. Oh yea they keep doors to the place chained shut from the outside. It's a bitch really if you ask me. They show you as you walk in.

The only time they unlock the door is during shift change. They do quarantine releases at the same time. So there is less of a chance of an incident. They found quite a bit of chain for all of the doors. Trust me I checked.

I walked up to the table the same time this other guy did. There was this awkward moment and neither of us said anything we just starred at each other. We both tried to keep to the Four-foot rule, not knowing each other. "wow… I'm s-sorry I'm really a n-normal guy once you get to know me. "He stuttered. I nodded, I don't know if I ever seen him before. He must be new. The guy motioned for me to go ahead of him. So I walked up to the table.

"Name." the man sitting down asked. "Amy C." I said, "30 minutes… You should let your group know. Someone will come and get you." He informed me, I smiled. "Next." HE said unceremoniously and shooed me away. I got back to our little area quickly.

I hopped over Sam's cot and sat next to Nathan, across from Jess. Sam sat next to her. They were all awake. I must have had the biggest smile. I motioned for Jacob to join us. "we're done, we can leave. We got Thirty minutes or less in this place." I informed them and sat up. Jess smiled widely. "Wait wait here they come…shhh" Jacob noticed and we all turned and looked over his shoulder.

A man in a green bulky suit was walking in our direction. "We were in here twenty-four hours?" Sam questioned. "yea well I'm glad it's over." Jess said. The guy in the green bulky suit stopped about two feet or so away from our group. He waved his hand. They took all of our things so we gathered up the kids and followed him. There was another family already waiting by the doors.

We walked across the gym to the biggest exit. They released the chain and the door swung open. The door hinge was broken on one side so it slammed into the wall. Jess jumped but she looked up an saw what it was relieved.

The man stopped and pointed to a door that lead outside to the end of a hall. There was a lady standing about halfway down the halls. She waved her arm for us to come to her. So we did.

Moments later we met the first smiling face since we've gotten to this place. "Hi." She greeted, "Hello." Sam said eagerly. I just nodded. "Well right this way." She stated and started to walk towards the door. We followed.

Once we got outside I realized how dimly lit they kept it in the gym. The sun stung my eyes. Without the canopy of the tree's in the woods its big difference. "Is that normal." I asked. The woman turned to face me. "Oh yea, you will get used to the sun. It's always super bright and hot. Trust me, this is no-where near as hot as it was. If it wasn't for this sickness, I would say things we starting to look up..." "You mean the Flare." Jess told her. The lady turned around again. "That's what it's called…the flare. Creepy." She continued as she lead us to the front of a building. She actually read my mind. It is a creepy name.

"Just around here, then we go through the market to where housing is." The woman explained and I gladly followed.

As soon as we rounded the corner of the gym I could hear all the people. Some were yelling, most trying to talk over the yelling. We continued till we came up on it. There were stands and carts on each side. "Buckets, Buckets for Sale" some yelled as I passed him. Tents and Larger tarps that they used for shade. There was a couple of umbrellas here an there but they were attached to chairs. People were selling clothes, random items. Stuff you can't really use any more like tablets. I use my phone for its map for a while before the battery died. I do still have it. The charger was in my bag if I ever get a hold of that again I'll be surprised.

I couldn't tell what the currency was but they sold a little bit of everything. There was even food being cooked here and there. The market was about three blocks long. At the very end there was a guy who had a whole bunch of small animals for sale. He had all kinds of cages plus some there were already dead critters hanging up.

We followed the woman to a building a few buildings down from the market. "You guys are lucky, right across the street from transport." She pointed to the building behind us as we walked up the stoop. "Transport?" Jess asked, "Cars mostly and stuff they can' get running." She claimed as she opened the door. The building was breezy on account of all the window being blown out.

The woman walked down a small hall and up a set of stairs. Jess held onto the railing the whole way up. I could tell she was tired an wondered how much sleep she actually got in the gym. The woman stopped on the second floor. She walked the first family that was walking with us into their apartment and quickly came back out. Then she opened another door and directed us to enter. "Everyone works, no one slacks, even the teens." She said one final word then left us.

Nathan shut the door and I looked around. It had been cleaned out mostly by scavengers. There was an entertainment center that was empty. A couch with two burnt up pillows the last one was missing. The walls were coming apart. You can see the insides of the wall in some spots. It wasn't rot from the building being old, all of it was burned. It even smelt burnt. I didn't even look at the kitchen.

Jess took hold of my hand and walked me to the room across the living room. As she opened the door it creaked, "cozy." I stated as we waltzed in. There was one dresser, and a mattress on the floor. You could see where the original mattress might have burned up.

"Think we should go check out the market." I asked jess. She nodded her head, an walked backwards towards the mattress on the floor. "We probably need stuff." I told her, "I think I just want to enjoy this." Jess stated as she sat down pulling me down after. "What?" I asked, I felt as if I should already know the answer. "This place… Without Jen we would have been goners a while ago. She got us here an what…that's it. We just leave her." Jess complained. I laid down, it was heavy thought. Jess laid on my chest. "I don't think there's anything we can do. There's no cure. I don't even think they know about the children being immune." I told her, she nodded. "We tell them tomorrow, lets enjoy this." Jess said as she snuggled into my shoulder. Then it set in. We had a roof over our head that wasn't thatch, leaves and mud. "No pine needle smell." I told her and kissed her forehead. I guess a burnt apartment is better then no apartment at all.

TBC...

Thanks for reading. Now since you gotten this far leave a review, review, review and let me know what you think. ... I have also been workin on a original movie short. So when that's done, I'll let everyone know so you can see it too.

Luv- Ray