The invasion - Anna Shumate

Chapter 1

Sam POV

This was not how I expected to spend my 21st birthday. I was going to go clubbing with my friends, drink like there was no tomorrow. I was going to wake up to my brothers jumping in my bed and singing happy birthday with my parent. But none of that is going to happen, not anymore. 

It's been 10 months since the dogs invaded the planet. It's not really a dog, that's just what we call them. They look like a dog with a t-rex head, so not something you want to run into.
I was stationed in Ohio when it happened. I tried making it back home Missouri with my best friend Tyler, but we couldn't get there. We ended up finding a camp with survivors in south Indiana near Evansville. We decided it was best to stay there, so we did. We were some of the first people there, so we helped building the camp and keep it secure.

I woke up a little later than usual, I always did on field days. It was my turn to go out today. We had a field day, at least that's what we call it, twice a week. We go out in pairs and look for survivors and food. We had a roster for when we go out, we were 4 teams by now, so there was a while between each time

I stood up and got dressed for the day. As soon as I opened my door, I could smell it, pancakes. I smiled, Tyler most be here. I walked down the stairs and was jumped by Brandon.  

"Happy birthday Sammy!" Brandon yelled. I laughed; he was always so happy. Even with the world going to hell, he had a smile on his face. 

Tyler and I found Brandon about two months ago. He was walking alone in the city, hadn't had anything to eat for about a week. We took the 8-year-old back here and he wanted to stay with me; I couldn't bring myself to say anything else than yes. He was scared at first, but quickly warmed up to me and then Tyler. He reminded me a lot of my own brothers, so having him here was nice. He had become my brother now, just like Tyler had.

"Thank you B." I said hugging him back. We walked to the kitchen and as expected, Tyler were cooking pancakes. 

"Happy birthday Sam." Tyler said as he spotted us.
"Thanks Ty." I smiled and took a seat at the table along with Brandon. Tyler brought the pancakes over and we all enjoyed breakfast together. Brandon ate 5 pancakes, for an 8-year-old, the boy can certainly eat. 

"I made you something." Brandon said and walked to the living room. I looked at Tyler, silently asking if he knew what it was, but he shrugged indicating that he didn't know. Brandon came back with a piece of paper. 

"Here." He smiled as he handed it to me. I unfolded it and gasped at it. It was a beautiful drawing of two people hugging with a text on the left side. 'Thank you for saving me' it said. I smiled, put the drawing down and pulled Brandon into a hug. 

"Thank you buddy, I love it." I whispered.
"You're welcome." He whispered back. We pulled away from the hug and sat down again.
"You are getting amazing at this." Tyler said and looked at the drawing. Brandon had been drawing since he got here, a way for him to cope with everything. 

"I know right." Brandon laughed as did Tyler and I. He was funny and sometimes very cocky, but I loved it. It brought joy to this dark world we live in. 

We finished eating and cleaned up before walking out the house. Tyler walked back to his place to get everything he needed to go out today. I walked Brandon over to the hall. All the kids spent a lot of time here, mostly playing but also learning everything they needed to know in this new world. Vivian was the one to keep an eye on them. She was 60 and like the grandmother of the camp, everyone loved her. When we got there Brandon ran in and found Caleb, they had become best friends. 

"Hey Sam." Vivian said as she saw me. "Happy birthday." I smiled, of course she would remember. 

"Thank you." I said.
"You are going out today right?" She asked. 

"Yeah." I said and looked at Brandon. "Can you keep an eye on him today? To make sure he's okay?" I asked this every time it was my turn to go out. He would always worry about me. But I mean, who can blame him? He had lost everyone at this point and just didn't want to go through that again. 

"I will." Vivian smiled.
"B!" I yelled and Brandon came. "I'm gonna go now. I'll see you when we come back." I smiled assuring him that it was okay. 

"Be safe." He hugged me tightly. "And remember to look for her." I hugged him back and nodded.
"I promise." I said and walked out. Brandon had given me a picture when he got here, a picture of his sister Anna. He had been with her in the beginning, but they had gotten separate a few weeks before I found him. He made me promise to look for her every time I went out and I did, but I hadn't found her yet.

"Are you ready?" Joe asked me. Joe was the boss here or commander as we call him. He was a soldier like Tyler and I. "And happy birthday by the way." 

"I am and thank you." I smiled. I walked up to the car and made sure we had everything packed. Ammo for the guns and food and water for a day incase we ran into trouble. We were usually only out for 8-10 hours, but always had supplies for more. 

"Let's roll." Tyler said and jumped into the driver's seat. I sat in the passenger's seat and closed the door, indicating that I was ready.
"Be safe." Joe said as he opened the gate.
"Always." Tyler smiled and drove out. The camp was a bit outside the city; it had a big open space in front of it so we could see anyone coming.

We had driven around the town for a few hours now. We had found food and water but no people. We stopped in front of a target, hoping to find food in there. 

"You stay here. I'll go in." I said to Tyler, he agreed. We stepped out of the car, both holding onto our guns incase a dog came to surprise us. I grabbed a radio and a backpack from the car before walking in.

I walked in as quiet as I could, making sure I was alone. I couldn't hear anything other than my own breathing, so I assumed that I was alone. I found more foodthan I expected to and put it in my backpack. I heard steps and quickly put the backpack on and grabbed the gun. I snuck around the aisle to see what it was. Aguy stepped out in front of me, making me and himself jump. 

"Ahh." He yelled and pulled a gun on me. I had mine pointed on him already. "Whoare you?"
"I'm Sam." I said quietly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Connor." He said, before he could say more three girls came in sight behind him.
"Connor put the gun down." One of the girls said. "She's not going to shot you."He lowered his gun, and I did the same. I took a look at them and one girl caught my eye. Her eyes gave her away. 

"Anna?" I asked.