People.. Hi :P Arigatou for sticking with me till now :D

Just a quick response for anyone who wants to know how often I post each chapter, it is completely random whenever I post them, I don't have any specific time for them, I just post them as soon as I am done writing them.

Writers' Block has been my enemy these past few weeks, so I truly am sorry for keeping you all waiting for so long! ;_; School was also a problem, along with my feels going a bit too overboard T_T I hate school as much as the next person, but we all love our friends, don't we?

Quick shoutout to BlueSky509, thanks for the fantastic reviews, they really helped me improve my story (if you guys want to, please have a look at their profile! Fantastic writer here, folks!) :)

Chapter 6 is finally here! K… Enjoy! :D

That night…

The cabin's wooden roof is facing me now. The cold, splintery floor is beneath me, uncomfortable and creaky. Inside the cabin is only a slight improvement compared to the outside. The only difference here is that there's a roof over our heads and that we have walls and a door to protect us from the outside; but not for as long as we think. Infected can still break in here, whether we like it or not. We just have to be prepared for that moment.

It's hard, sleeping on the floor like this. No pillows, no blankets or mattresses either. All I've got is the soft and empty-ish part of my bag as my pillow, and my hoodie as a makeshift blanket wrapped around my cold body. The cold air outside snuck its way in here from under the door and the cabin's dank windows. I tilt my head slightly to the right to observe the droplets of rain attacking the windows. Tilting my head to the left, I see Dad and Uncle Tommy lying beside each other on their sides, asleep; their chests expanding every time they would inhale.

Normally, I would try to ignore reality by putting on my headphones and playing music until I sleep; but I can't. I have my phone, I have a charger. Note that I said A charger, not my own. I took it from an abandoned electronics store not too long ago. WHY I took it, I don't even know. What I don't have is electricity. I haven't been able to tell the time for 3 years, unable to charge my phone in any way. I wonder if they have electricity where the Fireflies are.

It's dark out. No thunder, just a downpour that's been going at it since noon. Now I'm starting to wish I hadn't forgotten my watch in my room. I feel useless without it, since I was always the one telling the time to my friends. I wonder what time it is now. I can't tell.

Oh well. I might as well just get some sleep…

The next morning…

The light of morning is surprisingly blinding. Its brightness makes looking around an almost impossible task; especially when curtains are an unavailable option. Squinting at the window, I pull my jacket hood over my face, trying to take in as much of my sleepiness as I can.

Over the creaking floorboards, I hear footsteps approaching me. "Hey. Get up, Mel. Come on. It's morning." Uncle Tommy is shaking me awake. I pull my hood off slightly so I can see him. Using my free hand, I push his arm away, his grip unfaltering. "Ugh. Go away, Uncle Tommy. I wanna sleep." I grunt at him.

Scoffing, he whispers discreetly to me, "Fine, then. I'll just head over to the Fireflies on my own and leave you here with an asshole of a dad."

I immediately sit upright and stretch tirelessly. "YAWN. Umm, let's get going then, Uncle Tommy!" I tell him in a sarcastically enthusiastic tone in my voice. I just need to sarcastically swing my arm back and forth so that I can become the sarcastic swash-buckling pirate-Girl Scout I was born to be.

Rolling his eyes while refraining from smiling, he picks up my bag and tosses it at me, aiming at my face. I slide across the floor to avoid it, causing my shoes to skid across the floorboards. "Melanie, was that REALLY necessary? You could've just caught it, you know." Uncle Tommy says to me, giving me this sarcastic withering gaze.

Frowning at him, I pick up my backpack and throw it over my shoulders. I pull my hood off of my head, revealing the messy ponytail hiding underneath. I run my fingers through my hair, pushing my fringe out of my face.

In a world like this, it's almost impossible to have fun anymore, so yes; it is nice to joke around with Uncle Tommy once in a while. There may even be kids my age when we join the Fireflies. I don't know. I hope so, at least.

"Where's Dad?" I ask Uncle Tommy. "He's taking a piss."

"Oh. Again?" I ask him with what I think was a surprised look on my face.

"Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go."

We walk over to the cabin door and open it. I scurry down the creaky wooden stairs and tilt my head back as soon as my feet come in contact with the rough terrain to inhale the scent of moist pine. I close my eyes to attempt having a flashback and succeed. I remember morning hikes with Dad and Sarah.

I'd always be too tired to continue walking while Sarah would be speed walking over the mountain like terrain. She'd always looked like a squirrel scurrying from one place to the other. Dad would always be way ahead of us both, navigating the route for our hikes. Then there was me, trudging my feet in the dirt, being forced to come along and always in a cranky mood from my lack of sleep on most days. This was a happy memory of mine, despite me not being the happy one in this particular one.

Upon opening my eyes, I hear familiar footsteps approaching from a row of pine trees in front of us. Dad's bristly beard is the first thing I see coming out from between the trees. For a second, his eyes come in contact with mine. They flicker away almost immediately. He puts his hand behind his head and says, "Come on. Uh, you guys ready?"

My heart skips a beat. Did he just say 'you guys' to us? Normally, he'd just acknowledge Uncle Tommy and totally ignore me, so THIS is an awkwardly pleasant surprise.

Looking over at Uncle Tommy, he raises an eyebrow at me then narrows his eyes at Dad. "Joel, you feeling alright?" he asks him.

"Tommy, I'm fine."

"You've treated her like shit all this time and only now you see her?"

Dad looks over at me with a mournful look on his face. "Mel, I haven't been treating you right these past 3 years. I was wrong to just ignore you after-"

He swallows hard and continues, "After Sarah died. I still had you. I didn't know what to do, something inside me snapped. I couldn't lose you too, so I decided to pretend you didn't exist. It was hard for me, constantly having to look away from you every time you wanted to speak to me, but I managed; with a consequence. You hate me now. I was wrong to treat you that way. I'm sorry, Melanie. You have to remember, Sarah was everything to me, to us. Our baby girl."

I ball up my hands into fists and swallow hard, slowly ingesting what Dad had just said to me. He's apologizing. He knew I was here. I knew it. Uncle Tommy thought it was a daze, but he was wrong. He knew I was here, he always did. He just chose to ignore me. He didn't want to lose me?

"You-you didn't want to lose me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I say to Dad a little too harshly.

"Melanie-" Uncle Tommy says to me. Is he seriously trying to defend Dad now? Wasn't HE the one that convinced me to leave because of Dad?

"I loved you too much to let you go. No father should have to deal with seeing his own child dying before he does. I've had to deal with that once already; I do not wanna go through that again. You understand me, honey?" Dad says to me in the vulnerable voice he used when we were confronted by the soldier who shot Sarah.

I give him a spiteful glare and start to yell at him, "Oh yeah? You could've just asked for some privacy or some time alone! All this time, Uncle Tommy kept on trying to convince me that you were just in a daze, but I knew better. I knew that you were ignoring me because you never cared about me! All you care about is Sarah, and she's dead! She's dead, okay?! This is reality! It will bite you in the ass every time you let your guard down and you need to wake up! I'm still here!"

I continue screaming at Dad. My voice is starting to get squeaky, my face is going red. I'm mindlessly pouring out all of the anger that I've managed to keep in all these years. By the time I'm done, I'm breathing heavily and watching Dad's mournful expression turn into one of pain and hurt. A long sad silence fills the air, for about 3 minutes; when angry, it feels like eternity.

Looking towards the road, I say to both Dad and Uncle Tommy, "I'll go first. You'll catch up with me eventually."

After walking a few steps forward, I pass by Dad's tall figure, staring at his shoes, a forlorn look on his face.

"Why are you acting like this?"

I freeze at those words. "WH-WHAT did you just say?" I ask him hotly.

"You heard me. I'm treating you like my daughter again, the way I should, the way you want me to. Why are you acting like this? I've owned up. Now it's about time you did. Both of you."

He heard us talking about it last night. Go figure. Forgot that he's a fantastic listener, having him listen in on that conversation was the last thing I need, but right now it isn't.

I turn around and say "We're joining the Fireflies. Got a problem with it, old man?" I say it to him without even batting an eyelid.

"Yes, I have a problem with it!" he says to me raising his voice. "What did you think? That I'd just let you stroll on out of here right to them without even telling me?! How many times have I told you that we ain't getting' involved with their anti-government shenanigans?! Now, you're going against everything I've been telling you these past 3 years!"

"You NEVER said ANYTHING to me! You couldn't have cared less about me for the past 3 years! You ignored me for whole 3 years, and only now you say that you've been telling me, too?! You were telling Uncle Tommy, never me! I was a fucking ghost to you! Why should I listen to something that you've been telling Uncle Tommy?! Boy, you were a FANTASTIC actor! You didn't even bat an eyelid when you treated me invisible! You-"

I'm surprised no storm clouds have started to show up with us yelling like this, and it's only morning. The sun's rays are glaring at me, either commanding me to stop or commanding me to continue railing on Dad. Either way, I refuse to acknowledge Option 1.

"BOTH of you! That's enough!" Uncle Tommy yells to us both, startling me. Uncle Tommy NEVER yells. I didn't even know he could up until now. I've only heard him raise his voice, like on the day the Cordyceps hit, never a yell though, so it's definitely a first for me. Not so sure about Dad, though…

"Oh, only now you come to my rescue?" Dad asks Uncle Tommy accusingly.

"Hell no, I'm not, Joel!"

Dumbfounded, Dad gives him a frustrated and questioning look.

"Listen, I'm only here to emphasize on what Mel's been TRYING to say to you" he says giving me a hard look, and then continues, "Going on like this ain't getting us anywhere. We figured that if we joined the Fireflies, we might be getting' somewhere at least; a fresh start for all of us. We'll be in a group, larger numbers means more protection and safety, likeliness of being killed by Infected is a lot less. Besides, we just might be able to live normally again if we go to them. Marlene promised us hope, and we plan on gettin' it. Clear enough for you, big brother?"

After a moment's silence, Dad asks us smugly, "So how exactly do you plan on finding 'em? Their camp moves so often that it'd be pretty hard to spot. Besides, when did that crazy leader of theirs speak to you?"

Infuriated, I step closer to Dad and say in a low and angry voice, "She is NOT crazy."

"Joel, that ain't any of your business. What I'm saying is that Mel and I plan on going there right now, with or without you."

Shaking his head, Dad says to us, "Come on now, this is bullshit. We are survivors! We ain't just gonna join up with 'em just cuz their leader decided to play carrot-on-stick with you! It's suicide! The government will be on your tail and there ain't anybody comin' to help you out! The civilians are just gonna stand by and watch it all happen. They're all too scared of the government to back you up, anyways."

Exasperatedly, I throw both my hands up in the air and scream, "You don't decide what we want to do with our lives!"

I calm down after about a minute or so and say softly, "It's a free country, it was at least. Anyways, all I'm saying is that we'll fight for that hope. I don't care what it takes, I'm willing to fight for that hope and die trying rather than living with no reason anymore. Sorry, Dad. You're on your own on this one."

"You two are staying! And that's final!" Dad yells.

"Joel, this is pointless, okay?! We're going! And you ain't stoppin' us!" Uncle Tommy yells back.

"Yes, I AM." Dad says before lunging at Uncle Tommy. He dives and tackles Uncle Tommy, pinning him down on the ground, a loud thud mixed with the sound of gravel and dirt shifting underneath Uncle Tommy's weight. Dad starts punching hard at Uncle Tommy's ribs, each hit causing a gasp and a scream of pain to escape from his lips.

"NO! Leave him the fuck alone!" I yell at Dad. He continues to punch him, harder each time. He's ignoring me, AGAIN.

"Sigh, you asked for it." I drop my backpack onto the ground and slip my bat out from the hooks. I breathe heavily and walk slowly up to Dad. He won't stop.

"Gahh! Damn it, Joel! GAHH!" Uncle Tommy says between hits. It's obvious that he's having trouble breathing now.

"Dad, just fucking stop. Please." I say to him from his right side. He ain't even fucking listening.

Gripping my bat hard, I raise it, place it on my right shoulder and prepare to swing it hard, aiming at his side. Should I do it? He's my dad. This could scar him for life. No. He's already scarred me enough, why shouldn't I do the same?

I scream and whack his side with my bat, hard. He immediately stops and screams in pain, putting both hands on his side. I think I fractured one of his ribs, I'm not sure. Uncle Tommy shoves him off, allowing Dad to collapse onto the ground, rolling a foot or two away.

I kneel to Uncle Tommy and help him sit up. "Oh, shit. Are you okay?"

Glaring at me, he hisses at me, "Do I look fucking okay to you?" He starts coughing, no not coughing, hacking up blood.

I'm pissed. Not just at Dad and Uncle Tommy. I'm angry with myself for giving in to my anger and whacking Dad with the bat. I know shouldn't have done that, now I wish I hadn't.

As I help Uncle Tommy stand up, his eyes are fixed on one thing: Dad's limp body. We slowly walk towards him, towering over his body when we reach him. He winces each time he attempts to sit up.

Uncle Tommy kneels down beside him and grips his jacket collar hard, jerking him up. "Now you listen to me, Joel. What you did there was unacceptable. If I wasn't your brother, I'd kill you right here and now. But I am, so you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna fucking leave you here. Don't even think about following us because I don't ever want to see your goddamn face again. You're on your own from now on. Are we clear?"

Dad doesn't respond. He passed out.

"Alright, come on now, Mel." Uncle Tommy says to me as he releases Dad's collar. He starts walking towards the road after getting up.

I stare at Dad's body in shame. I'm the reason he's like that now. I can't just leave him like that. Even though I hate him, I'm not inhumane enough to just leave him here for the Infected to feast on.

"Wait."

Uncle Tommy turns around with a confused look on his face. "What is it?"

"We can't just leave him here." I tell him. "I know he deserves it, but come on. We're not that inhumane, are we?"

After looking at Dad and back at me several times, sighing, he walks over to Dad's body and says to me, "Open up the cabin door while I lift him up inside."

Sighing with relief, I obey him.

After putting Dad in the cabin and shutting the door behind us, he looks over at me and asks, "You ready for this?"

"Yeah."

And so, we make our way to the Fireflies.

Gloom and doom will be taking a break from here since Mel will be meeting some 'interesting' characters next chapter!

Patience, my grasshoppers! Good writing takes time, and I don't want my work to seem rushed!

Allow me to fangirl for the next week or so as Free! Eternal Summer is being released tonight! My insides have already turned to jelly, and writing this has taken a lot of effort because of my summer laziness…

DFTSA - Don't Forget to Stay Awesome, in case you didn't know, credits to John Green ;) Good luck with handling the wait! :D Byee…