I would like to thank those who were patient and the great readers of this fic. ^_^ I have other fics on the way but this one is my main priority. Thank you to all the reviewers and those who entered their OCs, I will add them when the time comes I haven't forgotten them. So with that out of the way here is the next chapter.

Keeping The Faith

The girl can't shake the eerie feeling that has filled her home. It was dark and abandoned, not a sign of life or any sign that someone had been inside. Everything was as it was when she left that morning for school. The living room remained the same, sofas, pillows, and chairs, even the TV. She wandered to the kitchen where it felt even colder then the rest of the house. The sun beamed through the window as it began to set. It never felt so empty to her before, like it lost the essence of life it used to hold. The girl can still smell the toast she made that morning before storming out to greet her friend outside. Continuing to space out, she wandered up the stairs to her room.

She made it to hallway that lead to her room. The aura felt off as well like if she wasn't staring into her room at all. Her stuffed animals lay on top her bed, pictures of her and her friends on the walls, a mirror near her closet so she can check out her wardrobe, and little stars the glow in the dark all over her ceiling. She takes a few steps toward her bed; a cold wind blows into the room. Something inside her told her to leave so she did not bother looking back to the place she used to call home.

The girl walks not too far from her place to the house of an old friend. The car she traveled in was still parked on the street, blood and guts still on the side. She can recall the events that lead up to this point in her head. An ordinary day gone horribly wrong, her faith turned upside down, a dear friend was killed. Before she could cry another tear the girl walked towards the front door of the house. Taking in a deep breath before entering the house. Opening the door and stepping in she finds her fellow survivors chatting away.

The new girl Stephanie was busy cuddling up next to the man named Geoffrey like he was her boyfriend. Her knew mentor Alis kept busy by cleaning up her arrows of the blood. While the perverted firefighter Jon just glanced at her every second probably thinking something perverted. They each threw in their ideas of what to do about the situation.

"I think Geoffy and Zion are the best bet for leadership" the longhaired blonde hugged the man next to her.

"Um…well…I rather leave it to Zion" he was a bit nervous cause of the girl but his point was clear.

"I agree. The young man meets the criteria to be the leader…more then I can say for the rest of us" the nurse spoke out taking her bow to aim at the man eye balling her.

"Whoa…Whoa…Whoa! I am an excellent leader. Why should I listen to a child when I'm obviously the oldest here!" Jon shot up from his seat in anger. Sarah was going to defend her friend but was interrupted. "Like I said! You can go if you aren't going to cooperate!" Zion walks down the stairs and looks over to the girl next to the front door.

"Are they there?"

The girl looks away and shuts the door behind her.

"I see. Listen up everyone. There are four rooms that can be used so I split them up between the group. Alis and Grace will take up my sister's room, Geoffrey and Jon will rest in my room, Sarah and I will sleep in my parent's room, and Stephanie will take the guest room down here. Any objections?"

Sarah quickly objected "Yeah…no! I'll take your sisters room with Alis" she had completely forgotten that the bitch was still in the house. Zion scanned the room to see she wasn't there at the moment.

"Now Sarah, please" Alis got up from her seat to try and calm the girl down a bit. She placed her hands on the girls' arms leading the teen to sit next to her. While placing the girl down she gave Zion a look to allow it.

He sighed. "Any other objections?"

"Well since we are switching rooms I'll bunk with you or Geoffy here" Stephanie cheerfully hugged the man again. The look on Geoffs face told Zion that he wasn't ready for that set up so Zion sucked it up "You'll be with me then…Why me?"

Grace stepped into the room to have all eyes on her. A bit of shyness ran over her from all the eyes looking straight through her. "Um…I think we should take the time to make up a plan on what to do"

"She's right. I know it's a lot to ask but I need to check on my little sister as soon as possible" Geoff finally broke free from the blondes grip.

"Anyone else? Besides Geoff and Sarah that is" Zion looks at the other three.

"My family is dead bro, but I am going to need to stop by my house for something" Jon looks over to the doctor so she can speak. "My family is located in Puerto Rico. No te preocupes por eso ahora…" he nodded and looked over to the last person left.

"My brother was my only family. And I don't care about that asshole" her face formed a look of pure disgust.

Zion wanted to say something but he couldn't find the words. Grace tapped him on the shoulder snapping him out of it. "I just called my parents…they're safe. So they will come first I guess" she looked down with a bit of embarrassment. Geoff got up from his seat, Stephanie looked disappointed, and he walked over to Zion. "What about you?"

The man was taken back from the question. He didn't plan on them asking about his family but it had to be brought up eventually. "My mother and sister are located in California…god knows where my father went off to". Alis looked over with concern before asking "Why would they leave you here alone?"

Both Zion and Sarah looked heart broken by the question that was asked. The young man shrugged if off as best he could before answering, "It doesn't matter at the moment. Come…let me show you to your rooms"

After everyone got into their rooms and changed into comfortable night wear, they all met up in the living room before heading off to sleep. The girls wore pajamas that where taken from the closets of Zion's mother and sister. Each of the girls picked a certain color and style that fit them. The guys just chose whatever was available rather then trying to be picky. With all the clothes being washed clean from the blood and guts, they decided to stay up and relax a bit. After a few minutes of working on a plan the group began to tire out. Each pair lay in their respective rooms to call it a day and soak in the current events.

"Yay! I can't believe I get to sleep with Zion!" the blonde girl bounces on the bed. Zion stands at the door not sure what to do at the moment. "Come to bed sweetie pie" playing with her burgandy silk pajamas. He had no choice but to get in bed and try to survive the night with the hyper young lady. It wasn't that he didn't want to get in bed with her, in fact the idea of getting in bed with a beauty like her actually got him excited. But too much has happened in one day and the last thing he needs right now is to be distracted by a pretty face.

The girl on the other hand wanted to feel safe and protected. She can sort of tell by the way he and Geoff act that they will show her the love she craves. It wasn't right for her to think of these two strange men in that way. Especially with what's been going on outside of the house. But now that things have changed and order is now chaos, she couldn't let herself get in her way anymore. Before this ever happened she would find a reason to stay away from a man she liked, but not tonight, even if it's for one night she will be with a man. Not just any man though, her savior.

"Zion…" she followed him across the room as he makes his way to the bed. "Yeah?" he sits down on the right side of the bed and slowly lies down straight. Placing his right arm over his face to shade his eyes from the light that was on.

"Thank you…" the girl crawled along the bed until she got close enough to him. He felt the heat of her body next to his arm; this caused him to tense up. She caught on to this and smiled at how fragile he gets around women. "It was no problem Stephanie…it only seemed fair since you saved us. And you might prove useful to me…I mean…us in the future". The words caught her off guard as much as it did for him. She felt her heartbeat faster.

She moved her hand from the bed and placed it on his chest. Zion moved his arm to see the girl staring right at him getting ever closer. She could feel the muscle that was hidden behind his clothes. Both of them turned a light red as thoughts rushed through their heads. He knew what was to come if he allowed her to get closer and that was something he couldn't let happen. The girl got closer; her upper body was now on top of his. Both of them felt their bodies begin to heat up. Stephanie positioned herself on top of him and looked into his eyes. A glow in his eyes caught her attention that somehow pulled her in even closer to his face.

The young man couldn't get his body to stop her from going any further no matter how hard he tried. In seconds her lips connected with his, her hands gripped at the bed sheets. Zion felt his hands reach up and land on her waist to pull her down. She began to grind against his lap leading them to kiss more passionately. They had now fallen into each other's sexual needs and seemed to let things play out. But Zion knew better and was finally able to break through his hormones to stop things before they went any further. He took his arms and lightly moved her off him so he could sit up.

"We can't" he let out trying to catch his breath. "I'm sorry"

The girl felt heart broken at his actions but knew it was a long shot. "It's ok…I shouldn't have-" he interrupted her by placing his hand on her cheek. "Don't get me wrong. It's not like I don't want to…I just feel that we shouldn't at this point. It took a lot to pull away from you. But I rather have it happen in better circumstances"

She felt a small touch of hope hit her heart. Even though she couldn't get him to go further with her, she now knew that he cared for her. If he had to fight himself to stop the both of them when other men would have taken advantage of the moment there had to be something there. The mixed feelings in her head had driven tears to her eyes. Zion felt horrible but he had to do it in order to keep things from getting too difficult for them both. Stephanie placed her hand on his and tried to feel how much he cared for her through his warmth. He moved in and gave her a hug to try to calm her down a bit. With this act she caved in and started to cry into his shoulder. Everything she was holding in about the day just came out in one long cry session in the arms of the man she now felt sure she had feelings for.

xXx

In what used to be Zion's sisters room, Alis and Sarah are trying to sleep but can't seem to get there. "Meralis?" the young teen whispered from the bed. From the floor the doctor sat up and looked over to her. "Que?"

"I just want to thank you for everything you've done for me today" Sarah turned to face her

"De nada. I just did what came naturally" she smiled at the girl and laid back down.

"I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there to hold my hand" her voice lowered a bit in embarrassment. She played with her fingers under the sheets trying to keep busy. Alis knew something was bugging the girl so with a soft tone "What is wrong?"

It made the young girl uncomfortable to pry into someone else's business but she had to ask. "When we met…back at the school…you mentioned that you and Zion had met before….how? I mean…I don't want to force you to say anything you don't want to…I just…"

The older woman couldn't help but laugh. "It's ok. I will tell you the story of me and little Zion"

You can already tell that I am a doctor by the coat. But I am actually a veterinarian working in a near by animal shelter. "Wait…do you work at the animal shelter near the school?". Can I tell my story? "Sorry". Well on the day before this all happened I was working on a puppy that had eaten some garbage. "We comforted the girl that owned the dog". Yes you did and that is part of my story, I am sure that you two knew her since she let the boy carry her inside. So when I finish up with the puppy I brought it out to find the parents thanking a young man. The little girls face lit up when she saw the puppy looking better in my arms. It brought me joy to see the girl run up to me with a smile on her face. She reached her tiny arms up to me signaling to give her the dog. I bent down to her level so I could tell her to be careful next time and to watch what he eats. But the dog licking her face kept her from listening to warnings. The parents came up to me to finalize the paper work while the little girl and young man played. "Zion! Playing with a puppy! How cute". I thought so too. He didn't seem like the type to play around with kids but he did it. After the girl and her parents left the shelter I approached the young man. He looked lost in thought so I lightly tapped him on the shoulder. To my surprise he turned around quickly like if I had a gun to his back or something. "Yeah he's jumpy like that". He apologized for startling me and asked if there was something he could do for me. I told him yes, but I wanted to know something first. He had a puzzled look on his face that made me smile so I asked him about the little girl. And he told me about how she was the daughter of a close friend to his family. It was odd that the girl clung to him like a little sister would to an older brother. But it made sense if the girl grew up with him in her short life.

After awhile we got to know each other while I had him help me treat some of the animals. We talked about him for about a minute and then he shut himself off from answering any of my questions. So I just stuck to the topic of myself or anything that happened on the TV or Internet. That's when he told me about this favor he owed a friend and her cooking club. I offered my services to him but he just refused to let me come and ruin my camping trip. "Is that why you have all that equipment and stuff in your car?". Yes, I told him about it. He seemed interested about the whole thing; actually it's the only thing he seemed to get into when talking about it. It was late in the afternoon when he decided to go home so I let him go. If I had known that he was here alone I would have taken him home with me…no one should be left alone at home. "…".

Things seemed to die down after the evening so I decided to call it a day. I went to take care of the animals that had to spend the night before heading to my car. But as I went to check on them I heard the sound of glass breaking. "Oh no". I ran to check what it was; from the window I spotted a group of thugs smashing my car with blunt objects. "Those bastards". I quickly got outside to stop them from trashing my car any further then it had already been. I yelled for them to stop but they kept going until I kicked one of them in the face.

The rest stopped beating my car to turn on me now. I was outnumbered but I had the training my brothers gave to me. One ran towards me with a bat, I was able to dodge a swing when another man swung his pipe. I barely dodged this swing and fell to the floor hard and I sprained my ankle. I turned to find them with big perverted smiles on their face; they knew what they were going to do to my body.

One man stepped forward towards me; I was still stunned by the drop to move. But once he reached down to touch me a kick landed on his face. The thug flew back pretty far if you ask me. What caught me off guard was the person who kicked the stupid man away. "I think I know who it is". The young man who helped me out earlier was the one that came to my rescue. One of the thugs ran forward to hit him when he sidestepped and kneed him in the gut. He took the thug in his palm and slammed him on the floor in one swoop. He didn't notice the other thug coming from behind so he was able to hit him with the pipe. "Oh no". The rest of the thugs came together and started to wail at the boy with their weapons. He tried to block the blows but most of them connected with his body. "Zion…". I felt horrible as they continued to beat him in front of my office and car. I couldn't move cause of my ankle but I didn't have to when I noticed red lights heading for us.

The police officers chased after the thugs after they ran from the scene, someone must've called them. I crawled over to the battered mess of a boy who came to save me. He was still breathing, his blood sticking to the street. I was horrified to see him look so bad luckily it wasn't too bad that he had to go to the hospital. "That idiot". I told the men to help both of us into my office so I could patch us up.

After they asked their questions and left a car outside for us seeing as some of them thugs weren't caught. I had left the room to show the officers out, my ankle began to heal so I was able to walk. When I came back to the room I found him making a phone call. "WHAT?". I got together a first aid kit and scolded him after he finished his conversation. He apparently made a call to the man that owns the car repair shop, he told the man to pick up my car and drop off a replacement until it was replaced. I was shocked at the fact that he had connections also the fact that he even had enough energy to move himself to make a call. I made sure that when I healed him he felt a bit of pain that way he learned not to do things like that. "That's right…teach that boy some things".

In a matter of minutes the boy was patched up and looked as if nothing happened to him. The bruises that showed made me feel horrible but he said something that took away the worry. "What was it?".

She smiled to herself and looked over to the girl "That's a secret"

xXx

In the room the men were sleeping in the older fire fighter fought the urge to fall asleep. It wasn't something he wanted to do so he avoided it any way he could and his partner seemed like a great way to do that.

"Hey kid" he whispered to check if he was awake.

"Can you stop your moving? It's bothering me" the young man lying on the bed stated.

"I can't sleep right now. Keep me awake will ya" frustrated by the response.

"No. I'm not here to amuse you" turning to his side. In fact the young man didn't feel like sleeping either.

"Come on. At least let me into your head" his eyes grew heavy

"Nothing to talk about. Just go to sleep"

"There has to be something in your head…I mean you're awake too"

"If you must know I'm worried about my little sister at the moment" it was bugging him all day. He wanted to leave the house and wanting to get to her as fast as possible. But going alone with a lack of energy would just end up getting the poor guy killed. And he couldn't save his only family member that mattered to him.

"Oh yeah…are you ready for that?" the atmosphere changed around them.

"For what?" he knew what the man was talking about but couldn't allow that idea to fill his head.

"You know what I mean kid. It won't be pretty when you get there and seeing something you wish you hadn't like your sister becoming-"

"Shut up! Don't say it!" he interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"I know it's not what you wanna hear but this is something the others may be dealing with as well. I'm just wondering if you can handle it" the man tried to sound as sincere as possible.

"…" Geoff knew the possibility of his sister being alive was slim. And he knew he had to face the facts now, he was the type to face the truth head on. No sugar coating or lying. But when it came down to it he had to tell himself that everything would be fine with his family, he had to keep the faith.

"Sorry…" Jon falls to sleep. Leaving his partner to look up at the ceiling thinking about the next day and what's to come. Soon after he too drifts off to sleep.

xXx

In the middle of the night the back door to Zion's home is slowly opened. Someone walks out of the house and into the yard making his or her way to the fence. The person tosses a bag over the fence and hops over after it.

A voice slips through the darkness and forces the person to come to a complete halt "Leaving so soon?"

The person removes the hoodie they had on to reveal herself as Grace. She turns around to face the voice that came from the darkness. A voice she knew too well "You know I don't fit in here. I'm just going to check on my family alone. Besides I'm certain that your girlfriend would kill me if she had the chance. And Sarah too"

The comment caught the man off guard but he walked out of the dark to reveal himself to her. He felt like he should stop her but knew she had her mindset on leaving and won't stop. "We have too much of a history for me to let you go alone. Stay here and we can go as a group"

She picks up her bag and runs off into the darkness. Not once looking back at the house. Zion just sighs before heading back into the house where the group that may be the only survivors in the town are currently sleeping. Not only did he have to lead the group to safety but also he may need to take in others. He would have to find a bigger place to keep them all safe. The thoughts halted when he found himself in front of his parents rooms door. He actually walked all the way to the room without evening noticing. After shrugging off all the thoughts he walks into the room to find the girl he was sharing a bed with wide-awake.

"So you let her go huh" Stephanie just shook her head. She made herself comfortable in between the sheets and pats the empty side of the bed to get her bedmate to come lie down. He smirked at her cheerful playing and got into bed hoping answers would come to him in the morning.

I know this chapter was a bore but it needed to be done that way to allow some drama to be set up. I mean the heroes need a break before going out and getting killed. The next FL chapter will focus on the other two men from this group as they don't get that much screen time haha

Jon: Damn Right!

Geoffrey: Finally

Yeah sorry guys but you two will get your story told soon as well the others. Please wait for it, you will get your time slot. With that please Read, Review, and Reload your guns.