This isn't listed in the categories but I think more people should probably give it a chance. It's inspired by the old radio dramas and is about a group of survivors trying to live in a world overrun by zombies. This started out as a recurring dream and I couldn't get it out of my head. The characters are mine and not from We're Alive. I hope you like it. All comments are welcome.

Chapter 10

Over the next few weeks, I worked with the few I hand selected to remain in my group, running drills every hour of every day, trying to see if there were any who would willing quit. Surprisingly, no one did. They all remained through the rigorous training: weapons, hand to hand combat, survival and evasion. Many were hesitant when I called upon them but a few were more than willing to show me that they were not the mistake I had once thought them to be. Kyle was determined that I not send him back to the compound. I had never doubted his skills but in his willingness to use them to help others. Be it pride or determination, they all remained.

The others went to train with Gabriel and Aenne. We all had our roles to play and while we were there to put ourselves in front, they were needed to support us. I would be nothing without my team. And what they could learn from them, they could never learn from me.

Only one recruit was called back to the main compound. His wife had gone into labor and I went back with him. Understandably, he would now need to remain and was glad he had a reason to stay. I had watched him, knowing she was due and wanted to see if the decision he made to train would change once he saw his newborn child. I wasn't disappointed when he made the decision to remain with his family. Seeing the miracle of birth was the best reminder of why we did what we did, risking ourselves to see if others could be saved. For now our future was uncertain with those things still out there but if more could be found, it was worth every risk we could take.

I returned the next morning and proceeded with the last lesson I had: emotional stress. It was something that took me some time to deal with after Sam died and it was a lesson they needed to face once more. They needed to be reminded that any one of your team could be taken from you. I was really glad that Lily had gone with one of the other groups. I knew that this would be just as hard on her as it would be on me.

At the end of the day, I needed some time to myself. Simulating what it would be like to lose someone close to you had brought back too many memories of watching Sam die in my arms. In training with him, it was easy to see how different he was from his older sister. He loved her unconditionally, only wanting her approval. I knew the exact feeling and while I knew things between me and my brothers would never be considered harmonious, I knew they would fight tooth and nail for me.

It was late in the afternoon and I had decided it was best to call it a day. Instead of heading back to my quarters, I took off on a run away from the training center and soon found myself in front of an impromptu memorial wall not far from the compound. It had once been just a simple, plain white wall when I first got here and I would look at it every day, thinking it should serve some purpose. A week after what happened to Sam, I walked up to it with permanent marker and wrote his name down on it. I thought of all the fancy memorials for fallen heroes and while it wasn't marble or granite, I knew it would do. Soon others followed suit and added the names of those they lost before being rescued.

I sat staring at the wall with my headphones on when I felt someone near me. I turned as Aenne sat down next to me with a cooler.

"Somehow I knew you would be here," she said as she reached in and took out a white parcel, handing it to me. It was one of my favorite sandwiches wrapped up in wax paper and I took it as I suddenly realized I was starving.

"You are a mind reader, Aenne!" I said as I hungrily bit into it and she laughed. I heard the distinct sound of glass as she handed me a bottle of root beer and I laughed as I took it from her. "They still won't let you near the beer, huh?"

"You'd think someone would reconsider the legal limit since there really isn't anyone around who can arrest me!"

"That doesn't mean they want to encourage bad behavior, Aenne," I said as I took the bottle opener from her.

"I'm nineteen, Moll," she whined as she laid back. "Hell, I'm almost 20! I don't really see why the old rules should still apply to us anymore."

I sighed and put the sandwich down on the cooler lid, lying back next to her. "Because if we started doing whatever the hell we wanted where would that leave us when we try to rebuild later on," I said and looked up at the sky. "We not always agree with the laws but they're in place for a reason."

She groaned and turned to me. "There better be lots of beer still left when I turn 21, Moll, or I will hurt you," she joked.

"I'll see if we can get someone who can learn how to brew some up special, just for you," I said and smiled.

She turned on her side and looked at me. "How was your day?" she asked and I made a face at her.

"I had to talk about Sam to them, Aenne," I said and sat up. "I need them to know that despite everything I'm trying to prepare them for, there's always something you're never ready for."

She sat up and looked at me sadly. "I never even got to thank him," she said softly.

I turned back to her and reached over to grab her hand. "You would have liked him. He was a lot like you," I said and smiled. I looked back at his name once more and she stayed quiet, thinking to herself.

"Is that why you wouldn't leave my side?" she finally asked.

"I wanted to make sure you would make it," I said when I turned back to her, reaching up and moving some strands off her face. "After staying alive for so long, I couldn't let you give up."

"I started thinking that my parents would want me to get up and do something, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," I said as I picked up the sandwich once again. "They would be very proud of you, Aenne."

She smiled and reached into the cooler for her soda and sandwich, placing everything in front of her before reaching in again for a bag of chips we could share. I reached in and grabbed a cheesy puff, savoring it before taking another bite of my sandwich. Aenne was staring up at the wall.

"Thank you for saving me, Sam," she said softly before opening her own drink. I reached over and clinked my bottle with hers. We raised our bottles towards the wall.

"To Sam," I said. "May he always be remembered."