A/N… Yeah, I'm back. ;) I'll make this quick… This was a fic I'd wanted to write for 2 years. It took three outlines to get it here. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, though for those of you familiar with my "rules," they are still in full affect. If you aren't, they are up on my profile.

That being said, this story comes with WARNINGS: Tissue, violence, graphic descriptions, and angst (though that last one is a debate between my pre-readers and beta, but I thought I'd toss it in there). I've been asked if this is horror…not really. I'd classify it as action/adventure/thriller…and of course, romance, 'cause that's just me. ;) SO…Rated M for all the things I usually do (action, violence, romance).

Here's the usual spiel… I don't own these characters, but I truly love to play with them. They're all SM's. However, the plot and original characters belong to me.

See me at the bottom. Strap in, hold tight… Off you go…

~oooRMFooo~

Prologue

April 10, 2013

Hurricane Beatrice Sets Course for Disney World

Tropical Storm Beatrice has gained speed and strength as it sits off the west coast of Florida. It shows no signs of slowing down, and its path seems set to barrel through the Sunshine State.

As a precaution, state officials, upon the order of President Parker, have ordered military backup and security to be brought in to not only secure military bases but to lend a helping hand once the storm passes by. Troops from all over the country are being ordered into the tropical state.

The Red Cross is asking for volunteers in the medical and construction professions to lend a helping hand…

~oOo~

April 15, 2013

Category Five Storm Destroyed Most of Central Florida, Military Base in Crumbles…

Due to the sustaining hundred and fifty mile per hour winds, several beaches, towns, and ports along the west coast of Florida were destroyed. Hurricane Beatrice's strength built over the course of two days, stirring up waves in the Gulf of Mexico that rivaled that of a tsunami. Tampa Bay—mainly Bayshore, Davis Island, and MacDill Air Force Base—are in crumbles. The military base is now partially under water, with very little hope of salvaging any of the buildings. Most aircraft were evacuated several days prior, and the ones unable to fly were damaged or underwater.

From Panama City, south to Port Charlotte, the damage is unimaginable. Power and phone line outtages are scattered throughout central Florida, and communication is down at Patrick Air Force Base on the eastern coast. While the Atlantic side of the state didn't have any high waves or flooding, they did receive high winds and several tornados.

There are rumors of security breaches at Patrick AFB, but government officials say the base is under control…

~oOo~

May 2, 2013

Reports of Untreatable Flu-Like Symptoms Coming in from Japan, Great Britain, and U.S.…

The CDC—the Center for Disease Control—has issued a warning of a new global flu. It's been reported that a new highly contagious virus is making its way around the world.The new strain has caused a few deaths in Japan, Great Britain, Brazil, and the U.S. Citizens are being warned to cancel any travel plans and to stock up on supplies.

"Staying home and out of the public is the best way to avoid catching this new influenza," states a member of the CDC, who wishes to remain anonymous. "It spreads quickly. The symptoms are high fever, nausea, even death…"

~oOo~

May 5, 2013

All Air Travel Temporarily Shuts Down to Contain Virus…

Airline officials called a press conference yesterday, stating that all flights in and out of the U.S. are canceled, with no date in sight as to when they will resume.

Military officials stated that due to the damage inflicted by Hurricane Beatrice and the recent influenza scare, the entire state of Florida is quarantined. No flights are allowed in or out of the state, and road blocks are stopping any traffic. People are being urged to stay home…

~oOo~

May 7, 2013

President Parker Succumbs to Virus, VP Now in Command…

Vice-President Hawkins was sworn in as Commander in Chief yesterday, due to the untimely death of President Parker. No statements or autopsy reports have been issued, but according to anonymous tips, President Parker was taken ill with the flu that has claimed the lives of reported thousands around the globe.

The Department of Defense has stated that contact with the governments of Japan, China, Great Britain, and Russia is down. According to satellite images, there are power outtages across the globe.

Religious groups, including the Vatican, have issued a world-wide statement that the end of days are near…

~oOo~

May 10, 2013

Rumors of Virus Being a Leaked Bio-Weapon Causes Uproar in D.C.…

Thousands of protestors outside the White House fence were urged to go home at gunpoint. Martial law has been effect for several days in various cities around the country. Most communication has been lost, and power is out in the larger cities from New York to Los Angeles.

Congress, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense refuse to answer for what has now been dubbed "The Zombie Apocalypse." The massive flu virus is now rumored to be an escaped bio-weapon that had been housed at Patrick AFB.

Scientists have stated that the virus starts as flu-like symptoms, only to destroy the brain tissue. The result is something out of a horror movie. Most states have reported more deaths, fires, and these reanimated bodies, but since communication is down in over 85% of the country, there are no updates.

Looting, riots, and fires have all but destroyed our city of Seattle. Due to the fluctuating power issues, the Seattle Times cannot continue to publish. We wish everyone the best, and may God have mercy on our souls…

~oOo~

EDWARD

Blackwood Lake, Washington

Five months and ten days since Hurricane Beatrice made landfall…

I flipped the page of my son's scrapbook, my heart hurting. He was so much like his mother in some ways that I couldn't help but smile, despite the circumstances. He may have looked like me, but he was smart and meticulous like my Bella.

Swallowing thickly, I gazed around the cabin. Nothing looked disturbed. They'd fortified the windows and doors, and there were enough supplies in the cabinets and stacked on the floor to get them through another week or so.

I flipped another page or two, noting some tears, some vacant spots where something had been ripped off the paper. I sighed at the poem he'd stashed in there, not to mention a few pictures, some ticket stubs from a Mariners game I'd taken him to, and a pass to the Seattle Zoo. Freddie loved the damn zoo.

Setting the book down on the bed that had obviously been used by my son, I scoped out the rest of the cabin. Melted candles stood cold on the mantel next to pictures of my wife and me. There were lanterns scattered about the place, although they were low on oil. Two makeshift beds were set up in the spare room. The master bedroom hardly looked touched, which made panic rise up in me concerning my wife. She'd done exactly as I'd asked her, but…

I'd spent the last several months trying to get to her, only to arrive to empty entire camp looked abandoned in a hurry. Vehicles and RVs were parked in various places, but no sign of life, no movement, not even the fucking birds chirped.

However, the sound of rain pelted down on the roof, which caused my skin to crawl. Rain was never fucking good, and neither was the setting sun. The combination of the two would bring a long fucking night, and I wasn't sure my group had any more fight left in them from the last hundred miles we'd traveled, especially after seeing Forks.

I stepped into the living room of the cabin I'd dreamed about more over the last few months than anything else. There was a part of my soul that was ripping in half, that was crumbling to the wood floor at my feet. My wife, my son weren't here, and there was no way to know where they went or even if they were still alive. That last thought almost brought me to my knees just as the door flew open and the sound of the telltale groans, growls, and snapping of teeth met my ears.

"Get your ass outside!" Emmett snapped, looking exhausted like the rest of us, but there was a spark in his eye. "We got aherd moving through, and they're focused on your dad's cabin."

My eyes narrowed as I pulled out my weapon. "They smell something?"

He smiled slowly, and it was evil and hopeful and determined all at the same time. "Doc says there's a bomb shelter under that bad boy. Didjoo know that?"

"Wha… Well, yeah, but I forgot about it…" I darted out the door and into the rainy night with him close on my heels.

The sheer size of the herd of foul, dead beasts brought me up short. There had to be well over two hundred of the putrid bastards.

"Holy fuck! They're migrating from Seattle," I breathed, shaking my head. They hadn't noticed us yet, and they were scoping out my dad's cabin like ants with a bowl of sugar. "Oh, they smell something, all right…"

Emmett and I moved slowly, quietly, until we reached the rest of our group parked at the edge of Blackwood Lake. They were from every walk of life, ranged in ages from toddler to the elderly, not to mention the giant Rottweiler panting in my face from the back of Dad's pickup truck. We'd accumulated, lost, and accumulated even more people the entire way from the east side of the country to the west. They were good people merely trying to stay alive in a world that was determined to kill us all. And the dog… Fuck me if Sasha wasn't a loyal-as-hell and deadly member of our group. And had been since we set off on this fucked-up journey.

Scratching her ear, I took a deep breath and let it out. "Sasha, draw 'em out. Everyone else? Get someplace high and safe. Make sure to take enough ammo with you inside the cabins. Go, go, go," I ordered quietly, turning to Emmett once everyone started to move. "You and me? We're getting inside my dad's cabin. As soon as Sasha draws them away, we'll move in."

Emmett grinned, though I noted it was weary as he wiped rain off his face and nodded. "Sasha, separate!" he ordered, and the large dog launched herself off the back end of the truck, hitting the ground at full speed. Her growl was low, menacing, as she bared her teeth.

She moved quickly, smart enough to stay just out of reach of those walking-dead bastards. The herd banging around the cabin shifted their attention to her – something moving, something edible, something attainable. They moved quickly, their senses sharpening not only with the rain but with the night falling.

My personal ammo was low, so I opted for my long knife, slipping slow along the edge of the lake. Emmett opted for his Marine sword – a weapon he'd grabbed at Patrick Air Force Base. What had once been a symbol, something for show, had now become his favorite weapon. It was quiet, saved ammo, and did the job from a safe distance.

Gunfire erupted across the camp, from the inside of my cabin, from the four-wheeler that was racing around the lake. But finally, I noticed that some was coming from the windows of my dad's cabin.

"Watch for friendly fire," I grunted as I slammed my knife through the eye of the closest biter. His teeth snapped once before he fell to the ground in a wet thump.

We worked our way slowly, and I lost count of the kills I'd made by the time I dodged the gunfire coming out the windows. It was the arguing on the other side of the windows that made me finally speak.

"Jasper! Hold your fire!"

Everything came to a standstill for a split second, but then I heard the shuffling of feet, raised voices, and finally, the lock on the door clicked. A rifle barrel was pointed in my face the second the door flew open. I froze at the same time Emmett aimed his .45 inside the cabin.

"Everyone…stop!"

When the rifle barrel was lowered from my face, I saw Jasper glaring at the man with his finger on the trigger. Jacob fucking Black sneered back at me, and I knew under other circumstances, he'd have pulled the trigger, whether I was a zombie or not. That bastard hated me. But it was the gasp behind him that caught all our attentions.

"Bella," I breathed, finally setting eyes on one of the most important people, one of two who I'd been fighting to get to these last long fucking weeks.

Her gun dropped to the wood floor and her hands covered her mouth as tears welled up in the prettiest brown eyes I'd ever seen. It looked like her knees were about to give out, and despite how weary I was, I was inside and across the room in a blur, catching her up in my arms.

"Edward?" she sobbed, wrapping herself around me. "I knew it, I knew it… I knew you were coming…"

Groaning, I held her closer, but she fought me, cupping my face. "You're here. You're real."

I couldn't speak. I didn't think that moment would ever come, so I could only nod, kissing her fingers as she muttered about waiting, about having to leave, about things that didn't make sense.

"Where's Freddie?" I asked, but Bella's gaze locked behind me at the same time the fight from outside met the front door.

She scrambled down from my arms as the door collapsed inward. It was then that I noticed where she was standing – over the trap door in the floor. However, an explosion ripped through the night sky, sending all of us to the floor. Covering Bella with my body, I took the brunt of it, but a sharp pain caused my vision to blur.

My last thought as I locked gazes with my wife was that at least I'd been able to see her one more time.

~oooRMFooo~

A/N… I know it's short, and to make up for that, Chapter 1 will post Thursday. That won't always be the case, but I figured what the hell… This will update regularly every Sunday with the possible surprises in between.

I need to thank everyone that's working with me on this… JenRar, who takes the red pen to it with a vengeance. My pre-readers: inkedupmom, DrivingEdward, GooberLou, and Mimi Holmes (who wanted this fic more than life itself ;) LOL) A special thank you to Edward'sEternal for being a huge support.

There will be a playlist, but not quite yet. The banner is by me, with help from JenRar, and it can be seen on my blog, Twitter, and FB…all links are on my profile.

I think that's it. I'll see you guys on Thursday… Mooches, Deb ;)