Hello everybody! Here's a new chapter for you all to read. Sorry for being pretty short with this author's note, but it's like 1:30 in the morning here. After this, I have to both start and finish an English homework that I have yet to do and is due in ten-and-a-half hours. Yeah, the joys of procrastinating; you get more time to do fun things at the expense of losing homework time.

Thankfully, this is homework for my Beginning Workshop in Fiction class in college. The prompts are pretty easy for me to work on, so I can like afford to go on procrastination attempts every now and then. That's how confident I am in my writing skills; although I probably should get down from that mindset before I actually start getting too cocky about everything.

Oh well, please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. They are always very helpful to me in both the support and whatever suggestions you might have for me. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!

Chapter 7: Preparing for the Journey Ahead

As Greg led Teddy and Billy through the streets to his girlfriend's house, they kept their eyes peeled for any other instances of a sudden zombie appearance. Thankfully, they did not have to suffer through said problem and continued on their way without incident. However, what they lacked in zombies they quickly received in a quickly growing crowd of panicked people beginning to fill the streets. And with the appearance of the crowd came the ability to break the silence of the once empty streets.

"Come on; stick together everybody!" a man who sounded like he was the organizer of this crowd commanded. "Don't lag behind!"

"What in the world is going on here?" a woman exclaimed in fear and confusion. "How can there be zombies here? They only exist in horror movies!"

"It's blasphemy; that's what it is!" an older gentleman was heard shouting over the noise of the crowd. "They're a blight sent down to us by the good Lord himself in order to see if we're fitting to take part in His new world!"

"Honey, can't you carry this suitcase?" another woman who did not sound all that concerned with the situation asked. "I'm holding onto the baby!"

"Forget the suitcase!" a man assumed to be her husband exclaimed as the sound of luggage clattering to the ground was heard. "It's just going to slow us down. All you have in there are clothes anyway."

"Clothes for the both of us and the baby," she quickly retorted in annoyance. "If you think I'm going to take shelter wearing only the clothes on my back and stay there for only the heavens know how long, then you're sorely mistaken. Think about how drab it'll be to be wearing the same thing every day!"

"…You're unbelievable woman, you know that?"

"Oh, may the good Lord guide us in this our hour of need and place us under His divine protection!" another older gentleman was heard praying in a tone barely audible above all the chaos. "May He bestow upon us all both the strength to persevere through this otherworldly challenge and the courage to face the devil's fearsome wrath!"

Amidst all of the sudden commotion they were now bombarded with, the three teens continued on their way to their destination. They now had to fight their way somewhat through the reverse current of people that were moving at a remarkably calm pace considering. Cars packed with people were also driving down the roads, some at dangerous speeds, with most heading towards the direction of the school. Many were on foot carrying with them backpacks and suitcases also heading in the same direction. No doubt they already heard the orders to evacuate and to head to the nearby shelter in order to safely ride out the oncoming zombie invasion.

Not surprisingly, most of the evacuators were adults with the occasional crying baby being held in a protective mother's arms. Some of the men were actually pushing others away so as to have their families move through the growing crowd faster, not caring if they ended up hurting others in the process. Very few high school people were seen amongst the evacuees. It was obvious those were the few who managed to escape the school and went to warn their families for these particular groups of people were heading in the opposite direction of the school. Whether or not their friends or neighbors believed them remains to be seen, but they probably did not judging by the vast amount heading to the high school.

"Shouldn't we tell them to head to Suffern?" the teen asked as another car zoomed by, not caring whether or not they ended up accidentally running over innocent people. "The school isn't safe anymore."

"Do you really think they're going to believe us?" Greg growled out as he was nearly run over by said passing car. "We don't recognize anybody here. They'd probably think we're a bunch of kids and just ignore us. That and they don't know about Suffern being another designated safe zone. Don't you remember the officer saying that only the school was advertised as the nearest disaster shelter?"

"They'd think we're crazy telling them to run somewhere further away," Teddy agreed as a passing woman nearly pushed him to the ground. "They're all probably too scared to listen to any other suggestions apart from the police's."

"But we can't just let them unknowingly walk to their deaths!" Billy countered as he began telling the nearest person about the high school being a major danger. All he received for his efforts was an ignored reaction. He tried once again with a passing couple and immediately got his hand swatted away the moment he tried to kindly reach the man's shoulder.

"Can't say we didn't tell you so," the blond said with a sigh as he saw his best friend try again and garner the same results. "Nobody under these circumstances is going to listen to anybody who isn't either an officer or a member of the military."

"…I just thought I'd give it a try," the raven haired teen responded in a despondent tone as he made his way back to Teddy's side. "You know I don't like sitting around doing nothing when I can try and do something."

"Well, I suppose it's the thought that counts," Greg replied with a shrug of his shoulders as he continued to lead them to his girlfriend's house. "I doubt it does a lot of good in these circumstances, though. Oh well, let's just hurry and get to my girl's house. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave this zombie-infested town behind us."

Without wasting any more time trying to persuade people into heading to Suffern, the three continued to fight their way through the flow of people. Thankfully, the crowd only lasted a short while as they quickly arrived at the tail end of it. They soon arrived in front of a plain two-story house with a large oak tree growing in the front yard and a silver Subaru van parked out in the driveway.

"Well, we're here guys," the teen announced in a relieved tone as the crowd slowly started to disappear from their view. "Welcome to my girlfriend's home that we're about to raid for our own personal gain."

"Gee, you don't have to put it like that, Greg," Teddy stated as they walked up to the front porch. "You're making it sound like we're a couple of average thieves looking to make a quick buck."

"Might as well be considering what we're doing kind of borders on unlawful entry," he said in a joking manner before putting his hand in a nearby potted plant and soon pulled out a silver key. "Figured she'd put it there again. I can't help but think she purposefully let me see where she hid the house keys. Probably thought I could use it to sneak in to her place some day or something like that."

"Aren't you worried about her, Greg?" Billy suddenly asked as the door was effortlessly opened. "I mean, you haven't seemed too concerned about her since you've met up with us. The only time I remember seeing you with her was when Teddy and I barely made it into the cafeteria before you closed it on us."

"…To be perfectly honest, we were on the verge of breaking up before all this shit started," Greg explained with a sigh once they were all inside the simply decorated entrance hall and closed the door behind them. "Turns out she was cheating on me and actually had sex with another guy."

"Sorry to hear about that," the blond apologized as he took note of a nearby set of stairs leading to the second floor. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I only figured out about her little escapades late last night. I probably would've stayed in the dark had she not accidentally speed-dialed my number on her cell while sexing it up with her other guy. When I confronted her about it, she said that she wanted some action before high school was over, essentially saying that I was moving too slow with the relationship. I mean, can you blame a guy for wanting to wait a bit before the big moment if he's feeling kind of nervous about it?"

"Funny, I never thought of you to be nervous about anything," Teddy stated with a small chuckle that earned him an annoyed glare from Greg. "But yeah, I'd so want to break up with her immediately if I were in your shoes."

"But then why were you with her back in the cafeteria?" the raven haired teen asked as they entered the living room. "If you were angry with her, wouldn't she have been the last person you wanted to be around?"

"Hey, things got pretty hectic pretty quickly there!" Greg defended himself as he made his way into the kitchen. "I didn't really have my head on straight to be thinking about whether or not I hated her. All I was concerned with then was surviving the zombie fest and getting the people I knew out if it safely.

"Now why don't you stop with the questions and start helping me gather some supplies?" he quickly changed subjects as cluttering could be heard from the kitchen. "I really don't want to hang around here if and when those monsters end up swarming the streets. I'll take care of gathering the food and drinks down here; you two go upstairs and pack up whatever medicines and stuff you can carry. We'll stuff them all in the back of the van outside and make our way to Suffern with that."

"No need to be pushy, Greg," the blond called out before leading Billy up the stairs and following closely behind. "I'm sure we'll be able to get everything and get out of here with time to spare. Just concern yourself with trying to remember the driving lessons you took during the high school summer driver's education program."

The other teen had said something in retort but was quickly muddled by the sound of more clattering. Whatever he said must not have been important since he did not bother to repeat himself.

"He can drive?" Billy asked as the two reached the second floor landing. His feet automatically went to the bathroom where his mind figured the medicines and whatnot would most likely be kept in. "Isn't he only sixteen?"

"Sixteen-and-a-half. He's a junior this year. Once you're at his age, you're eligible to have a learner's permit. I can't say I'm confident in his driving skills, but he's definitely a lot more competent behind the wheel than the two of us combined."

With a skeptic look pasted on his face, the raven haired teen took off his backpack and carefully placed it on the bathroom floor. And instead of next providing an answer, he opened a cupboard off to the side of the porcelain sink in search of medicinal supplies they could take with them. Unfortunately, all he saw in there were just prescription medication that he knew would do none of them any good.

"Nothing but prescribed medication in here," he murmured disappointedly as he closed the cupboard. "No way am I going to be packing them up." He then glanced over at Teddy who had since taken to searching the drawers deeper into the bathroom. "Got any luck on your end, Teddy? All I found were medicines none of us can use."

"I found some boxes of bandages and a couple tubes of antibiotic cream," Teddy replied as he held up a hand with said stuff without looking up. "There's also some anti-itch cream mixed in here that we might end up using. Can't really say it's what we're looking for, but I suppose it's a start."

"A pretty bad start if you ask me," the other said in a half joking manner before rolling his eyes. He then took notice of the mirror directly above the sink looking like it doubled up as a cabinet. Curious, he placed a hand at the mirror's edge and effortlessly opened the mirror door. He was then greeted with what they had initially come in to find. "Got it! Here's some over-the-counter medicine we can use. It looks like they were ready to take on anything that required a pill to get better."

"That's good!" the blond happily responded as he quickly made his way to the cabinet to look over the contents. "Let's see what we got here. We have Tylenol, Bayer aspirin, Ibuprofen, Dayquil cold tablets, some day and nighttime allergy relief, some cold and fever antibiotic pills, some stomach relief medication, and some multivitamin supplements both in pill and chewable form. Looks like we have everything we'll need for whatever comes up. They even have some diabetic medication mixed in with these regular medicines."

"I really don't think we're going to be using that anytime soon," Billy said with a half-smile before beginning to stuff his backpack with the over-the-counter medication. "The last time I checked, neither of us was diabetic, and I have a feeling that Greg's just as healthy as us. How about we just stick with what we need? Don't forget that I have my laptop, my charger, and school work in here."

"Do you really think school work is important right now? That should be the last thing on your mind. Just get rid of it! It's only going to end up making your backpack even heavier and slow you down."

"…I suppose you're right," the raven haired teen admitted after giving it some thought. Once he finished packing up the medicines, he opened another compartment in his backpack and began pulling out a rather thick binder and some loose papers. "I doubt our school is going to recover that quickly from a zombie invasion. But I'm not getting rid of my laptop! You never know when we might need it later."

"Hey, I never said anything about that," Teddy retorted as he took off his own backpack and began emptying it of inessential items. "That thing might be our only source of information when we're out of the road. Is the battery charged up?"

"It's charged all the way to maximum capacity. And the Wi-Fi hotspot I have on my phone's in top shape. We'll have internet connection no matter where we are provided nothing ends up jamming the signal."

"Good; the last thing we need is to be completely disconnected from this problem," the blond said as he added his junk to the pile of school materials piled next to Billy. "I'd like to stay on top of this mess as long as we possibly can. Just make sure you don't use that battery unless you really have to. I doubt you'll have much of a chance to charge it once we're on our way to Suffern.

"Now that we're done here, why don't we head back downstairs and see how Greg's holding up?" he suggested as the two shouldered their backpacks. "He might need some help with the food packing."

With a nod of his head in agreement, Billy followed Teddy out of the bathroom and back down the stairs to the entrance hall. Once there, they heard a door opening along with the sound of footsteps coming from the kitchen.

"Greg, is that you?" Teddy asked in a cautious tone.

"No duh, Sherlock," Greg's sarcastic voice was heard answering with a sort of grunt present in his tone. "Who else do you think would be scavenging down here? Did you guys find some medicinal supplies upstairs?"

"Everything from the common headache to potential fevers," Billy announced as they both entered the kitchen and saw Greg carrying a box of something. "We even found some bandages and antibiotic cream. We've already packed them all in my backpack. Since we're done, do you need any help with the food?"

"Yeah, could you help me carry the boxes out into the car?" he motioned with his head towards the far end of the kitchen where a few more boxes were resting before heading back outside. "I've packed all the canned goods and sealed packaged foods I could find into those things. It'll be enough to last us a good while in case we end up getting stranded on the way to Suffern. I've already packed some bottles of water that were stored under the emergency stash, so you don't need to worry about that."

"Do you really think we'll need to carry that much food?" the blond asked as he peeked into one of the boxes and saw lots of cans along with a handheld battery-operated can opener resting on top of them. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but don't you think you're being a little bit extreme here?"

"You obviously haven't read or watched many survivor-horror movies," the teen grunted out as he reentered the house with his hands now free. "Every time something like this happens in those shows, people are always trying to find ways to get away from the trouble. They never think long-term about whether they might need to stock up on food or whatnot should it end up spreading. It always ends up that they have to live in a world ravaged by zombies and trying their damnedest to survive the next day. I'm not planning on taking any chances with our survival if this is what it turns out to be!"

"B-but what are the chances of that even happening?" the raven haired teen asked with a slightly nervous chuckle. "I mean, the zombie problem might only be taking place in this part of New York. It might not even be as widespread as you're making it out to be."

"Still, I'd rather not be gambling with our lives on this. We either go to Suffern over-prepared or risk being caught in survival mode with nothing but the clothes on our backs. Now are you guys going to help me out or what?"

"…You two go ahead and pack the rest of the stuff into the car; I'm going to look for a T.V. and see if I can find anything about this on the news," Billy answered as Teddy nodded his head in agreement before taking a box of food out to the car. Apparently, the blond was also thinking about taking a peek at the news to see just how bad this problem was. Greg merely gave off an annoyed grunt before taking another box out. "We might learn more about what all this is about."

As he made his way to the connecting room that was the dining room, his eyes caught sight of some boxes of juices and soda sitting in the corner just out of view from the kitchen. He made a mental note to either get Teddy or Greg to help carry the stuff to the car when they came back. However, he was right now set on finding the living room so he could get on the news and see just how bad things were.

Fortunately for him, the search was short-lived as the next room he entered was a simply decorated living room that housed a television hanging on a wall mount. The remote was located on a glass table top situated underneath the television. He quickly made a beeline for it and turned the television on.

"…is all we know at this moment!" Billy immediately heard someone say on the television. Apparently, the channel was already set on a news station. "Reporting for Channel Five News, this is Paul Swanson of the Daily Bugle."

"Alright, thank you Paul for taking time out of your schedule to cover the story," a female news anchor with long black hair and lips accentuated with red lipstick thanked in a calm tone despite the worry showing on her face. "If you are just tuning in, we are right now covering breaking news. Albany is currently overrun with these zombie-like people. The army and local police are trying their best to keep everything under control, but we right now have no reports on their current developments. We'll now move onto the town of Southfields where another journalist from the Daily Bugle, Kat Farrell, is currently on location with the latest up-to-date news. Kat?"

"Yes, let me first start off by thanking you Jessica and Channel Five for allowing me to pose as an anchor for this story," a woman was heard thanking as the screen shifted to a red head. In the background were the police and military around what seemed to be a barricade with zombies on the other side trying to get past. "It's a great honor for a behind-the-desk journalist like myself to be reporting on the field.

"Now let me go ahead and give you the latest on this stunning development," the woman called Kat quickly swung back to the main topic as she moved aside so that the camera could get a better shot of the background. "As you can no doubt see, these people who have been dubbed by many as 'zombies' are trying to break through the police and military barricade set up behind me. By some claims we've heard from some of the locals who had escaped from northern Southfields, these 'zombies' were seen killing other people by means of cannibalism. Naturally, we have yet to see for ourselves whether or not this is the actual case of things. However, it does entitle a pretty chilling thought.

"So far, the barricade is keeping these monstrous people away from us, but the military have told me that it's only to buy them time until they can deploy their master plan," Kat continued on as she began explaining what was going on at that moment."Until then, they have warned all citizens in the immediate area to quickly take cover in your designated shelter zones. They have also warned us to find shelter and have refused to answer any questions at this time. Back to you, Jessica."

"Did the military ever mention what exactly their master plan is, Kat?" the reporter back in the station called Jessica asked. "I would suspect it would have something to do with putting an end to this frightful episode we're experiencing."

"Unfortunately, everybody's keeping tightlipped about this," the field reporter answered with a small frown. "I only chanced to hear about a master plan when I happened to overhear some of the military men talking amongst themselves. They quickly brushed me off when I asked about it. I even tried asking some of the local police about what it might be, but they seem to be in the dark about it."

"And how about the reports on the zombie-like people? It sounds almost like something straight out of a Hollywood horror film. Have you learned anything more from either the military or police about this?"

"As I said earlier, the military is keeping quiet about everything. However, the police seem more lax with the giving of details. According to them, these cannibalistic people are in fact zombies in every sense of the word. One of the officers I interviewed a few minutes ago told a chilling account of people being eaten right in front of him. Of course, I won't go into detail being that it's quite graphic.

"He also warned about the victims coming back to life after being eaten and taking on the form of zombies. So far, I have yet to confirm any of this to be the truth. Once I get an answer to this or come across a new development, I'll get back to you. For now, all we know is that these zombies are being held back by this barricade and that all citizens are being urged to retreat to the nearest designated shelter."

"Alright, thank you very much Kat for taking time out of your busy schedule at the Daily Bugle to help us with this coverage," Jessica thanked Kat before the camera shot back to the news station. "Once again, this is breaking news for those of you who have just joined us. There have been reports of many incidents of cannibalism from people who have been dubbed by many as zombies. Because of how quickly this murderous spree has spread and how many are involved, the military has moved in to help local police take control of the situation. At the time being, citizens are being asked to evacuate to designated shelter zones for safety reasons. For Southfields, shelters are being set up in high schools and community centers. We'll keep you posted as often as we can when new information comes up.

"Also, there have been reports that neighboring states are also suffering from this same zombie problem," she continued on as she looked down at her papers. "According to our sources, the states north and west of New York are considered to be danger zones. Officials are strongly advising people to avoid heading there at all costs. Rhode Island has even gone so far as to barricade itself from the outside world in order to ride out this mayhem. If you want to get out of the state, then the only course of action seems to be to head south as officials didn't say anything about that direction being dangerous.

"And now we're going to move on to one of our Channel Five choppers that's giving us an overhead view of what exactly is going on at the other side of these military barricades. As you can all see, these zombie-like people are walking around slowly with what appears to be limps. They even seem to be banging at some windows and doors. I would suppose that there are some people in those buildings that they are trying to get to. Nevertheless, it's a particularly chaotic scene out in the other side of those barricades."

"Well, I guess we should consider ourselves lucky we're not trapped on the other side," Greg stated so suddenly that Billy jumped a bit. "From what the news anchor just said, it doesn't sound like Suffern is having any trouble with these zombies. We'll definitely be in safe hands once we get there."

"Geez, how long have you been standing there?" Billy asked as he took some deep breaths to slow down his rapid-beating heart. He saw Greg leaning against the doorway to the dining room with his arms crossed. Teddy was leaning against the dining table and looking over the other's shoulder at the television.

"Long enough to know that the military thinks they have everything under control with their barricade plan," the teen replied as he gave off a scoff. "They've deluded the people into thinking they're safe; it's not even funny. I'm telling you, these people have no idea exactly what they're doing. They're just going to end up getting themselves killed the longer they stay at the barricade tending to it. That's how these things tend to spread, from people relying on plans that are only going to end up failing."

"You don't know that for sure, though," the raven haired teen countered as he turned his attention back to the news and saw them shooting an overhead shot of what appeared to be a shelter in Central Park. "If they hadn't put up that barricade while we were at school, I don't think we would've even had the time to come here to get ready for Suffern. That's proof that what they're doing is working."

"I never said that it wasn't working. All I'm saying is that it's a pretty poor temporary fix to an enormously big problem. Don't you understand, Billy? It doesn't matter where the military set up their precious barricades. Those zombies are always going to find some way to cross over or even come from an unforeseen direction. All it accomplishes is buying simple citizens like us more time to escape.

"And in case you missed it while trying to stay alive during the zombie incident in school, anybody who happened to get bitten by those monsters ended up turning into one of them! You already saw what happened inside the cafeteria. I wouldn't be surprised if every single shelter in New York had at least one person who was already wounded by a zombie just waiting to turn into an unsuspecting killing machine."

"I hate to say it, but I agree with Greg on this," Teddy spoke up after listening to the short one-sided argument. "It's true that we don't know whether this barricade plan is going to fail. It might actually end up working. That will all be a moot point if a zombie manages to sneak its way past the barricade and kill everyone. Like he just reminded us, we saw that very scenario taking place when we were all holed up in the school cafeteria. We saw someone turn into a zombie right in front of our eyes! And I don't doubt what Greg said in that those bitten turn into a monster, even if I never saw it happen myself. If one zombie can take down a group of students in a cafeteria, then one can easily take down an entire safe zone from the inside out even with military professionals overseeing things. Face it, Billy; the plan that the city has to protect us isn't going to work in the long run."

"If you still think what I'm saying is just a bunch of bull, then feel free to stay behind and see for yourself what's really going to happen!" Greg sharply stated as he walked back to the kitchen. "Otherwise, you better kick your ass into high gear and get in the van. We've got what we came here to get, so let's stop wasting time and get out of here before those monsters start flooding the streets!"

"…Do you really think Greg's right about this?" Billy asked once the other teen was out of earshot. "I mean, whatever the military's got planned has got to work in the long run. Just because someone changed into a zombie inside a cafeteria full of students doesn't mean that it's going to happen in every safe zone. It even looked like the military were doing a good job keeping those things away during the news cast."

"That may be true, but then it also goes to say that survivors huddled in the middle of a zombie-infested town are still going to end up dead," Teddy explained as he placed a comforting arm around Billy's shoulders before heading out to the kitchen back door. "They'll soon run out of food and will be forced to scavenge for more amidst a sea of walking dead. And even if they manage to survive off of scraps, it'll end up running out. In the end, they'll either die from starvation or from the attempt at finding food. I don't like to think about it just as much as you, but that's the sad reality of things.

"That's at least the case for here in Southfields," he quickly explained as he felt the other's shoulders quickly sag in sadness. "I can't say whether or not Greg's right about the rest of New York or even the entire United States. I desperately hope he's not. Either way, the point he was trying to get at was that we should always be expecting the unexpected. I know he didn't quite say it like that, but that was the underlying message I got. Trust me; I've been friends with him long enough to be able to read between the lines."

"So you know him better than you know me?" the raven haired teen asked in a teasing tone as his shoulders were squared up once more. "Are you secretly telling me that he's a better friend than I am?"

"Only if you want me to think that way," the other played along with an impish grin that earned him a punch in the arm. "Hey, no need to get physical! You don't really want me to think that Greg's my real best friend, do you?"

"Would you two lovebirds stop stalling and hurry your butts up?" Greg's annoyed voice was heard shouting from outside. The two had yet to exit the house yet. "Stop trying to sneak some kisses and get out here! I'm going to drive off without you if neither of you don't get here in the next minute!"

"…No, you're definitely the only one who can fit the role of best friend," Teddy said as his cheeks gained a slight dusting of pink that had stemmed from Greg's outburst. "You don't try to rush or embarrass me every single day."

"I don't see how that was embarrassing," Billy wondered out loud as it was now his turn to grin impishly at Teddy's reaction. "It's not as though we really are a couple of lovebirds or anything, right?"

"Uh, r-right!" the blond answered a bit quicker than he had intended before quickly making his way out to the driveway. His cheeks seemed to have gained an even deeper shade of pink to them. "I'm going to get some fresh air before hopping into the car. Don't take too long in here!"

Aww, he's pretty cute when he gets flustered like that, the raven haired teen thought as his grin changed into an amused smile. Not like I'll admit it to his face or anything like that, though. Now if only Greg was right in that we really were kissing each other… No way am I going to ruin a friendship over something like this, though. Oh well, at least nothing's stopping me from pretending to be his boyfriend!

With a childish giggle accompanying this thought, Billy made his way out into the driveway and closed the door behind him. The television was all but forgotten and continued talking about breaking news on the zombie incident to a now abandoned house.

Well, that's it for this new chapter. I had decided to make the ending of this to be a bit lighthearted to sort of offset the rather serious nature that has been very prevalent for the past few chapters. I hope I ended up making that work.

And sorry for those of you who I might have insulted with my references to God at the beginning of the chapter. I am not a religious person myself and am clearly not an expert on the Lord, so I apologize to any of you who take offense to whatever I might have said wrong in His regard.

Now with that out of the way, let me go ahead and do the outtakes for this chapter. Again, sorry for being short with the author's note since I have to move onto my homework right after this.

Please don't forget to leave a review before you move onto the next story that you want to read. They are always very helpful for me so long as they are not something like a pointless flame. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on this site everybody!

Outtakes:

Teddy: Billy, stop trying to convince people that Suffern is safer.

Billy: (Running from person to person) But I can't just let them go to the high school that's clearly dangerous!

Greg: Is he always this hard-headed?

Teddy: (Small sigh) Only when he feels there's something he can do.

(Billy gets punched in the face by a man when he tried to talk to a girl)

Greg: I think that guy thought he was either a zombie or trying to hit on her.

Teddy: I told him this wasn't going to work. (Shakes head in annoyance before going to help Billy)

Greg: (Observes the two from afar) And it never fails that you run to Billy's side whenever he's in trouble. I wonder when he's going to officially score with the guy?

/

Billy: Are you sure that Greg can drive that van?

Teddy: Well, he did take the driving course during summer vacation. He's the only one qualified enough to even try.

Billy: (Sounding skeptical) But can he drive?

Teddy: ...Probably not. (Adds as an afterthought) Now that I think about it, he did manage to cause a minor accident during the field test.

Billy: (Looks slightly worried) That doesn't really make me feel safe about him driving now.

Greg: Don't think I can't hear you two dissing me from here!

/

Billy: Boy, there are a lot of over-the-counter medicines in here. It's like they were prepared for anything!

Teddy: Maybe the family were stockpiling on it so they could get high whenever they wanted to.

Billy: You really think these people would waste so much money for that? Their house is pretty well-furnished than what I'd expect for druggies.

Teddy: Maybe they're just getting these on the down-low and selling some at slightly higher prices to prevent money loss.

Billy: (Looks at Teddy with deadpan gaze) ...You've been watching way too many mafia and gangster shows, you know?

/

Teddy: Uh, Billy?

Billy: Yeah, Teddy?

Teddy: (Looks nervous) There's something I want to tell you.

Greg: (Shouting) Hey, get your asses out here you lovebirds! Stop trying to sneak a glance at each other and get in the van!

Teddy: God damn it, Greg! (Quickly turning red with embarrassment before quickly walking out of the house)

Billy: (With amused smile) Wow, I never seen him that embarrassed before! (As an afterthought) But still, how did Greg actually comment on what was actually going on in my mind? Freaky coincidence.