Disclaimer: I own nothing except my favorite characters; Alex, Dan, Amy, Sandra and Maria

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my favorite characters; Alex, Dan, Amy, Sandra and Maria.

A/N: Thank you so much for those who reviewed! J.K. Meyer and Chistineangel100, you two are the best.

"Alright everyone split up and find some food." We did as Maria told us, the four kids headed toward the back of the store to find food while Maria stayed at the front to get some fruits and vegetables. We were done stuffing our packs and heading back to Maria when noises sounded from outside. Cars doors slamming and fast approaching helicopter blades. Maria saw us and motion wildly for us to hide. We were shocked and scared we ran behind some check out counters. Maria was behind us. The seekers burst in with guns and flashlights that swept around the store. Maria ducked behind the counters with us.

Maria had tears in her eyes as she looked at us. She hugged Sandra to her chest and whispered in her ear, "Sandra, lo siento, caniño. Te quieromasque nada. Nuncapararé de quererte. Nunca." Sandra's voice was just silent sobs and she could respond. Maria released Sandra and she turned to Dan and Alex.

"Take care of her and yourselves. I love you all. I'm sorry. No matter what happens, keep fighting." With that Maria stood up. Sandra began to scream in protest but Dan covered her mouth and pinned her to the ground. Alex covered my mouth as well. Maria was half way to the seekers and their flashlights found her. She froze and stared at them with her head held high.. They shone light in her eyes and no reflection bounce of. We trembled from our hidden hiding spot as we saw here standing there in the spotlight. The seekers moved forward to grab her. Maria pulled her gun out. The seekers moved faster and began to yell in Spanish at one another. Maria aimed the gun at her own heart. My Sandra's and my screams were muffled by my brothers' hands. A gunshot. I watched in horror as my adoptive mother crumbled and fell dead to the ground. Maria had won. She had killed herself to protect us. The seekers would never know we existed. I was frozen in horror. Sandra was trashing, Alex let go of his grip on me to hold her down. Maria was dead. We couldn't survive without her.

We did survive without her though. The seekers didn't find us and decided Maria was the only human. We walked by night to the next town and stole to motorcycles. Dan and Alex who were fourteen at the time read the manual and taught themselves how to ride. Sandra stayed isolated and in her own little world for a time. Then it all came out she would cry until the mourning, look up at the stars and sigh. Maria had died human to save us from being erased.

My brothers fulfilled Maria's last wishes: to take care of Sandra and themselves, and to never stop fighting.

Sandra needed Dan, she would cry on his shoulder and he would try to calm her. For the past to years they had been acting less like brother and sister and more like lovers. They weren't involved with each other yet, just best friends who needed and cared about the other. Alex took care of us he decided where to raid and where to go. He was the head of the family and he watched out for us. He was also my best friend who looked out for me all the time.

Since Mexico we had wandered around Texas for awhile and then turned north. It had gotten to cold and our lack of clothing made us turn south again. Now we were in Arizona. We had planned to stay here only a short while, it was so hot.

However we had heard rumors about humans living in this area. We would stop by near towns and try to find more information. If there were any humans out there we would try our hardest to contact them.

I was brought back to Earth when I heard the sound of approach. I hoped it was Sandra and Alex. Yes it was them. Finally they were here they were pushing their motorcycle though the sand of the desert. I heard Alex heave a sigh of relief. I ran out to help them.

"You're back!" I explained happiness flooding through me as I saw Sandra's pack full. My stomach growled in hunger. I hadn't eaten all day, none of us had.

"Thank you, captain obvious," Laughed Sandra. Laughing was something that we didn't so often, but right now it felt like Christmas. This was one of our first long raids in awhile and we had "gifts" for everyone. We sat around in a circle smiling. I couldn't remember when I had last felt this happy. Sandra and I sat next to each other our packs in our laps and we began passing out food and clothing. I gave everyone their new clothes and other things I had picked up. Sandra gave us the food, it was good. Tomorrow we would head for Tucson in hope of more information on humans. Hope had given us life again and a reason to live one more day. We cleared a space on the ground to sleep. I huddled down between Sandra and Alex. Sandra was busy running her fingers through her dark curly hair and Alex was gazing quietly at the stars. Dan was already out and snoring softly.

"Well goodnight everyone," I sighed as I closed my eyes feeling completely content. Tomorrow would be a good day, I knew it.

A/N: Here's chapter everyone, tell me how you like it. Not much happens and it will probably be another chapter before any excitement. This is the longest chapter so far, over a thousand words; some of them are pretty short, sorry. I hope to update again sometime next week maybe. Sorry if that's a disappointment, I have a lot going on. Thank you all for reading my story, especially those of you who reviewed. I hope you liked it,

Leah