Sorry for the little delay for this chapter, I have been a little busy with school and the like. Here is the next chapter.

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Stephen had been walking for a half hour since he had left the old house. It was a nervous duty, walking in the open like he was doing. The only thing that could save him should he come under attack was the pistol at his side. He was still unsure if he had the nerves to fire the weapon, should it be required. He didn’t like the thought of killing another being, even if it was chasing him. But he still had to find his family.

He was brought out of thinking by the sound of something in the foliage off to his left. Stephen couldn’t see what it was, but drew his pistol to aim at the movement. His breathing was quick and his heart picked up speed inside of his chest. His hands also shook horribly, throwing off his aim. Before he could fire though, he spotted a family of deer emerge in front of him. They stopped when they saw him and stared. Their eyes looked beady from the ten or so yards they were from him. Before he could give them a second thought though, they bolted away from him, back into the forest. Stephen lowered the gun, feeling himself relax even though adrenaline continued to pump through his body. It was strange. For so long, the wildlife had seemed non-existent. Why was he seeing them now? Why were they coming back? Maybe everything was starting to go back to normal again. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since the initial outbreaks.

After wondering for another moment, he holstered the gun. Pulling a water bottle out of his pocket, he uncapped the top and started drinking. He finished, wiped his mouth, and dropped the bottle on the ground. It was empty; he had no more need for it. He started walking again until he found what he had been looking for. In front of him, hidden partially by the trees, an old dirt path cut off from the main road he was on. He stopped for a moment and looked down at his feet. Underneath him, he saw what looked like hundreds of foot prints in the dirt. They looked extremely old and were almost invisible, but they were still there. He shivered as a cold chill swept up his back, but he continued on anyway.

As he got further along the path, the surrounding trees seemed to close in on him, causing him to feel claustrophobic. He thought he saw shadows darting in between the trees, but his eyes were playing tricks on him. In a tree somewhere, a bird started chirping. Stephen let himself smile at the return of the wildlife. He was surprise at how much he had missed the little things he had taken for granted before. He just happened to glance to his right, and spotted a familiar hill. He saw branches covering a small hole and walked over to it, remembering that he had once hid in there.

He was exhausted from running and his lungs were burning. He heard them getting closer. He looked to his right, saw nothing but trees, and then looked to his left, and spotted his only chance for survival. He dived into the ditch and hurriedly covered himself with nearby shrubbery. He uttered a silent prayer, and then held his breath as he heard them pass by him. Their growls were loud and their breathing seemed to come from right next to him, but they all ran by him. Steadily, their numbers ebbed until none remained in the area. Stephen sat up from his hiding spot and looked behind him, to the direction from where he had been running from. In the sky, a dark pillar of smoke was rising in the sky.

He was breathing heavily at the memory, but continued on. He was so close; he could practically smell the burning wood and gunpowder. He cleared a patch of thick trees that cut through the path, and finally came face to face with what he had been looking for. In front of him, the charred and run-down remains of a building were spread among the area. He could make out in his mind where the door had been before, and where the walls started and stopped. He looked to a certain area and crouched in the debris, searching.

The door won’t open. Why?

It was blocked.

By what?

He didn’t know.

He continued searching through the dust and dirt. He sifted through it and struck something hard. He picked the object up and found out what it was; a bone.

“God damn you Stephen!” Eric pounded on the door, almost in sync with the infected behind them. The fire was so hot now, so close. They heard the structure groan in response, then shudder. The roof near the infected door collapsed, sealing them off from the three trying to get out. Logan started crying.

“Please don’t cry Logan, it will all be ok.” Amy struggled to be heard over the noise. “We will be fine.” She got down to Logan’s level and hugged him tightly. “It will all be fine.” Eric stopped hitting the door and put his head against the wall.

“I can’t believe this.” Behind them, they could no longer hear anything except for the fire.

He dropped the bone by surprise and stood up straight. He tried to swallow but couldn’t. In his chest, pain was flaring up again, almost unbearably so. He struggled to breathe, and put a hand to his chest to calm himself down. He crouched back down and pushed away debris to find more bones. Soon, he uncovered a skeleton. His vision was becoming blurry and he was feeling lightheaded. He uncovered more bones, and another skeleton. This one was smaller, the size of a child.

Logan.

He looked back at the other skeleton.

Amy.

He cleared more away and finally found the third.

Eric.

He stood up, almost falling from the lightheadedness. His arms were beginning to ache along with his neck. Around the skeletons, no others were found among them. It was just those three, grouped together. Just those three were here, which meant that the infected hadn’t gotten through. They weren’t walking around like that.

Tears slipped down Stephen’s face, and he to fell to the ground.

They hadn’t gotten through to them. They died right here by the fire.

Stephen stood in front of the door. He couldn’t open them because parts of the roof had fallen in front of it, blocking his efforts. He tried to get past it, but he couldn’t move it alone.

“I can’t open it!” They couldn’t hear him on the inside, but he could hear them.

“Don’t leave Stephen!”

“Daddy!”

“I’m not leaving you son!” He yelled desperately, trying to get them to hear him. He tugged and pulled and pushed but the debris just wouldn’t move.

“Don’t leave us!”

“I swear to you that I will never leave you!” His voice cracked and strained so he could yell as loud as he could. They still didn’t hear him. From around the corner, Stephen spotted several infected appear and spot him. They sprinted for him, and he hesitated before finally running.

I promise to come back.

He had kept that promise.

“I swore to you that I would come back.” He said to empty air. He had trouble talking from the tightness of breath he was experiencing. He fell face first into the ground, and then rolled on to his back. Pain seared throughout his chest and neck, and felt like he couldn’t breathe. “I promised that I would come back to you.” Above him, the sky was clear, and the sun was warm on his face. He stared at it, and then saw their faces. His wife was smiling at him, holding her hands out to him. His son appeared along with Eric.

“You kept your promise.” He touched his wife’s hand and squeezed it tightly. It felt real to him, like she was still there.

“What’s wrong with me?” His pain was starting to go away. The shortness of breath was beginning to disappear and he could see clearer now. Their faces looked exactly how he remembered them. They didn’t look like they did in his nightmares.

“You are having a heart attack Stephen.” He frowned, and then asked another question.

“Am I going to die?” She didn’t answer at first, but then gave a response.

“Yes.”

He smiled, and grabbed his son’s hand too. He closed his eyes. Together, they waited until Stephen’s pain had gone away and he could breathe again. He opened his eyes back up, and was staring at the surrounding forest. He was standing up, and on top of a distant hill with his family and Eric. On the horizon, he could see burning cities and cottages. Slowly, one by one, they all disappeared, leaving only the forest behind. Then the wildlife returned, and not a sound could be heard besides the birds singing. Stephen took a deep breath.

“It’s beautiful.” He saw a small home in a clearing. His wife squeezed his hand and they looked at each other.

“It’s our home.” Stephen looked over at Eric, who was holding a pretty girl in his arms. They were hugging each other. He smiled and looked back at his new home.

“Let’s go, we’re safe now.”