𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦

✮11. New friends✮

I ran over to them as fast as my legs could take me. Immediately, I threw myself into James's arms and gave him a tight hug. I never thought I'd see any of my friends ever again. Yara was already happy-crying, and James and I pulled her into a group hug. 

"Tell me everything, how'd you get here? What was it like?", I asked him after we pulled apart. 

James took a deep sigh and said, "It was hell for sure. Remember that I was supposed to have a dinner with my friends when I last saw you guys? So ya, we had someone turn into the undead in the restaurant. So two of my friends and I drove to my apartment which was three blocks away and we stayed there for about a week or so."

I was already so invested and inquired, "How'd you know about the rescue?"

"A woman was trying to break in to my home and after questioning her, we found out that she was gearing up for supplies for her trip to Saeville, the rescue site", he replied, "Of course we let her go and started the journey here as well. Thankfully, we did not have any close calls with the undead at all." After a pause, James asked, "How about you guys?"

Yara and I gave each other a look and I replied, "Yep, brace yourself."

With that, we filled James up with every detail about our journey. How it started with Dirk McAllister being bitten, us ending up in his apartment, the gas station tragedy. You know, all our close run-ins with the undead. 

"Okay, wow. That was way more dreadful than my story", he said with a shocked tone, after we finished. I let out a chuckle while Yara nudged me playfully. 

Suddenly Yara asked, "Wait, what happened to those two friends of yours?"

"Dylan and Cameron. Ya, they're here somewhere. I was trying to find them before I ran into Yara", James replied then started looking around for them. "We'll help, what do they look like?", I said, getting up. "I bet Cam's carrying his bright yellow backpack, and he's got tan skin. For Dylan, look for someone with a tattooed arm", James laughed. "Ooh, easy to find then", Yara added with a wink. 

We all parted and decided to meet by the examination tent if we found someone. 

I started to look for someone with a yellow backpack first, seeing as it wasn't easy to miss. I passed by the informational desk, medical analysis tent, the food court but couldn't find him. It was a pretty big place, to be honest. 

I came by a little boy, who couldn't have been more than 4 years old. He was crying uncontrollably and calling out for his momma. Getting distracted from the task at hand, I went and knelt down before him, "Hey little guy, are you lost?" He wiped his tears off and nodded. "Don't worry, we'll find your mom. Can you tell me what she looks like?", I asked.

The boy couldn't really answer but managed to say the words "blue shweater" which I assumed was blue sweater. I took the boy by his hand and started to look for his mom. 

We came across a lot of people wearing blue sweaters and sweatshirts, so every time I asked him about them, he shook his head and cried even more. 

I was about to lead him to the information desk to know what to do just when I received a tap on my shoulder. I turned to look at a guy who was simply gorgeous. He had a sharp jawline, deep green eyes and his hair were all wavy dark brown. He spoke with a deep, calming voice, "Sorry to bother but the child you have with you is this lady's" and from behind him came a weeping woman wearing a green sweater. GREEN sweater. "Mommy!", the child cried and ran into her arms. 

They both hugged for a long time and the boy told her mom, "she helped me, mom!"

The woman looked at me gratefully and said, "Thank you so much. Thank you both of you for helping me find Max"

The guy and I said replied with a no problem and we bid farewell to Max and his mom. 

"That was really nice of you, to help the kid", the guy told me. "Of course, you too for helping his mom", I replied. 

"I mean, the world pretty much turned on itself so, a little bit of helpfulness won't hurt.", he said with a laugh. "I agree!" We both started to walk together. 

"So, I'm pretty sure you're happy for the rescue happening soon.", he said, walking with his hands in his back pockets. "Ya no, with blood thirsty monsters moving about, this kind of stuff lifts me up", I said in a sarcastic tone. He laughed.

I realized we had reached the examination room and I saw Yara, James and a guy with a yellow backpack standing there, who I assumed was Cam. He had tan skin with auburn eyes and he had the most amazing curls. 

I was about to turn to the guy and say goodbye when James shouted, "Oi Diana, you found Dylan!"

It just hit me, the guy had a tattooed arm and I didn't even bother asking his name. They all came towards us when Dylan looked at me and said with a smile, "So you're Diana. It's nice to meet you", extending his hand. I shook it and said the same thing. 

"What are the odds? Glad to see you man", James gave Dylan a hug while Cam and I made a small introduction. 

"Believe it or not but we've heard about both of you a lot", Cam said. "Of course, James can't live without us", Yara nodded while James shook his head. It felt nice to be with a group of people again and I had a good feeling about us. 

We all talked for an hour or so when an officer yelled through a megaphone, "Curfew's at ten. Remember that the rescue will be taking place 4 a.m. tomorrow, so be ready"