More Than Blood (The Walking Dead Fanfic)

Chapter 1

][=][   Ryan Goldman's POV   ][=][

Mom and Dad rushed around, grabbing different items, everything from survival equipment and supplies to photo albums and books.

"Ryan," Dad said as he tossed an empty duffel bag on the floor in front of me, "I need you to go to the shed and put every tool we own in there. Nothing electric, though."

I nodded and grabbed the duffle as he entered the kitchen with another bag. I ran out to the shed and threw the door open. Once inside, I began taking all the tools I could pick up, either out of drawers or off hooks hanging from the wall, and putting them in the bag at my feet. Once I had collected everything I could from the shed, I dragged the now hefty bag from the shed into our house. Dad squeezed my shoulder, then picked the bag up and took it, along with several others, out the front door to the car.

"Ry, can you go check on your brother and sister? Make sure they're packing everything I told them to?" Mom asked as she carried a box from the living room towards the front door.

I nodded and ran up the stairs and knocked on the first door on the right, Jasper's room, and turned the knob to enter. My brother stood beside his bed, stuffing some clothes into his suitcase.

"Jas, are you ok? Need help packing anything?"

"Can you help me close this thing? I can't get it to shut."

I nodded and then picked him up and set him on top of the suitcase to hold it as close as possible so I could zip it up. He laughed and rolled his eyes as I zipped the bag shut. Once it was closed, Jas jumped off the bag and grabbed his backpack, which I knew was likely full of his comic books, and slung it over his shoulder. I picked the suitcase up off his bed and carried it down the stairs as he followed behind me.

"Oh wait!" He shouted suddenly before turning around and running back up the stairs and into his room.

I stopped and watched his door until he returned, hugging his black puppy stuffed animal in his arms. I smiled at him as he came down the stairs again and ruffled his hair before passing him the handle to his bag.

"Go out to the car. I gotta check on Ruby."

He nodded and rolled his suitcase out the door as I turned around and headed back up the stairs to my sister's room, the only bedroom on the left side of the hallway. When I entered the room, I noticed her window was open and she wasn't inside. I climbed out the window and found her sitting on the edge of the roof overhanging our side deck.

"Ruby, you shouldn't be out here... are you all done packing?"

"Yeah, I'm done. Just wanted to look at everything here one more time before we left," she said as she turned towards me and frowned, "why are Mommy and Daddy so worried and making us leave our house? I-I mean, we just moved in a few months ago."

"Because something is going on, Ru, something bad... they're taking us somewhere that we'll be safe."

"But... what's happening?"

"I don't know... all I know is that mom and dad wouldn't make us leave if they didn't think we had to."

I could see the tears sliding down her cheeks from her sapphire blue eyes. I reached my hand out to her, which she took, and then pulled her into a tight hug.