We Must Live On

Chapter One "Origins"

I ran, my rifle bag clanging against my chest and my backpack bouncing slightly. I pushed a lock of raven hair out of my face and looked back, knowing the place I once called home was now the scene of a horrible and despicable murder. A murder that I committed. At this very thought I choked up and I felt the tears begin to stain my slightly freckled cheeks. I flung open the door to my dad's Honda Pilot and slipped into the drivers seat, remembering the time where I couldn't hit the petals but that was back when I was ten, I'm fifteen now. I turned the key in the ignition and slammed on the gas.

I turned and just drove. I ended up at the school, noticing two identical boys fighting off a horde of un-dead, one in a blue 'Ravenclaw' jacket wielding escrima sticks, who I identified as Joe, and one in a gray 'Hufflepuff' jacket firing arrows hitting each lifeless form in the base of the head, severing the spinal cord, who I identified as Brian. I quickly stopped and rolled down a window, calling to the boys. "Joe, Brian! Over here!" They turned and looked at me and began to run towards the car. Joe got in shotgun and Brian slipped into the back. "Josh!" They seemed to be in unison. I grinned and slammed on the gas and heard shriek followed by a hiss and looked at Joe. His eyes widen and he screamed, "Eyes on the road!" My eyes immediately went to the road and I apologized.

I grinned at them and swerved, hitting the interstate and my mind went to where my little brother was and I slammed on the brakes. "Holy crap. Jonathan." Joe and Brian looked at me like I was crazy. "My little brother he was gone when I woke up... and came downstairs to...-" I felt tears build up, "-To my parents... already infected... And I. I..." the dam broke and I felt tears stream down my face. "Josh... Don't cry." Joe tried to comfort me, but failed. "No Joe! You don't understand... I. I killed them." I sobbed uncontrollably and Joe offered to take the wheel and I nodded, curling up in the back letting Brian ride shotgun receiving a "Yes!" from him. I let sleep consume me.

I woke and sat up, looking around the car and at our surroundings. We seemed to be behind a school bus painted black with what looked like navy blue racing stripes. "Whoa." Joe looked back and activated a walkie-talkie. "Hey, D.W, Raven, Peregrine, Wolf's up." I noticed he was using our old call signs from my book, We Must Live On, and chuckled. "We're behind Dyonna's old supped-up school bus? That's insane." Joe looked back and chuckled, nodding. I noticed we were in the Appalachian Mountains. "Where are we going, Joe?" he shrugged. "I'm just following Dyonna." I nodded and noticed it was peaceful and, unlike Hollywood zombie movies, the interstate was clear and the view was beautiful. Until I saw the small burning town below us and the undead roaming the streets, looking like confused ants.

I picked up a walkie-talkie laying next to my bag, and I grabbed it, pressing the 'talk' button."Dee-W, where are we going?" I let go of the "talk" button, but quickly notice she is waiting for me to finish and I press it and say the phrase, "Over." She responded half a second later, "I was waiting for that, remember to say over when your done talking. What is it? Over." I chuckled and responded, "Where are we going? Over." I could imagine her raising an eyebrow signifying the "What the hell kinda question is that?!" look. "We got a call from Kingsport, Tennessee so we're heading there. Over." My eyes widened slightly, "Okay, over." I sighed and leaned back, enjoying the scenery.

We made it to Kingsport in about two hours and waited at a McDonald's which was right next to a Subway. I decided to go for the McDonald's and raided what they had, stuffing it into a dufflebag. When I came back out I looked at who we had with us. I looked over everyone, there was Michael wielding a yardstick, Sarah with a machete, Joe and Brian, Deborah with 9mm Beretta's, Dyonna with two Desert Eagles, Riley with a crossbow, Ryan with a "Black Mamba" revolver, and Gabbie with a... Bedazzler... What? "Uh, Gabbie... Is that a Bedazzler?" She nodded and grinned. "Sparkled zombies, much nicer than regular zombies, and much prettier too." I chuckle and look left as a huge explosion rips through the sky creating a mushroom cloud. Then, and only then, I see a piece of shrapnel heading towards Deborah and Dyonna and I leaps towards them, and everything goes black.

ØØ During the trip to Kingsport, TN ØØ

ØØ New Point-Of-View ØØ

I grinned and looked back at Britney. The girl of my dreams kick'in zombie arse. Awesome! I turned back and took aim through the sigh of my Winchester rifle and fired, grinning as the bullet went through one head of a zombie and entered another's. I look back and Britney was gone. "Britney?!" All possible scenarios played in my head... Donut break, maybe? "Boo." I swear I just jumped five feet in the air... Or at least my heart did. I flipped my head around and Britney was sitting in front of me. "Britney... Don't do that!" She grinned and chuckled at me.

Suddenly my Satellite phone went off. "Crap!" I muffled it and cursed silently, turning down the volume and answering. "Siege, where should we meet?" I grinned, knowing that voice. "DW? Really?" I could hear a scoff coming from the other end. "Shut it. How's your girlfriend?" I blushed, knowing Britney was right there, even though she couldn't hear Dyonna. "Can it, DW." Britney chuckled from over my shoulder. We had made it to where my Mamaw (Southern for Grandmother :3) used to live, and where my great aunt lives. I grinned knowing I could find my good old friend Kevin. "I'll meet you by the McDonald's on Cleff Street, north of my position." I waved Britney through the gates, keeping the phone to my ear.

"Okay, Siege. But you need to get us some gas." I nodded, knowing she couldn't see. "Gotcha." I breathed a breath of relief that I hadn't realized I'd been holding in when she hung up. Britney turned to me, "C'mon Brodie." I groaned as she said that name, it annoyed the crap outta me. Suddenly a large horde of the undead elderly came running from up the street, actually they were stumbling slowly. I raised my rifle and fired into them, I unloaded a full cartridge and slung my M1 Garand and ran up the hill, Britney behind me spraying her silenced AR-15 into the horde.

I hid on a porch and reloaded my M1 Garand and looked over at Britney who was reloading as well. As she finished I nodded at her and we walked to the top of the hill and fired down upon the horde, watching the undead grannies and grandpas collapse to the ground and slide down the hill, causing a heap of disgusting, rotting, and obviously smelly bodies to appear at the foot of the hill. We gave each other a fist bump and ran down the hill and past the rotting pile towards Kevin's home. Once we got to his street we realized this would be hard, due to the fact that a large amount of elderly zombies that are occupying the street.

Suddenly there is blood spraying up and the elderly turn, moving towards the end where Kevin is hopefully located. We ran after them and Britney began to spray into the crowd but I shouted to her to stop. We waited and then the last few of the undead wave were sliced and diced into pieces. I grinned as a blood-coated figure wearing a trench coat appeared, brandishing two katana sharpened to the molecule. He walked to us slowly, a hood covering his face in shadows, and sheathed the two deadly blades.

He flipped off the hood and stood in front of us, smirking at Britney's awestruck facial expression. I felt jealousy creep up in my mind but I banished it away. I walked up and Kevin and I shook hands and Britney walked up. "Ohmygoshthatwassoamazingdudeyouramazing!" She was obviously fangirling and neither of us understood what she just said. Kevin grinned, "Calm down, I know I'm absolutely amazing." He stood there flexing... infront of my girlfriend! I, again, banished the jealousy from my mind. Britney seemed to catch her breath and repeated what she had said normally, "Oh my gosh. That was amazing! Dude, your amazing." [Thats what she said :3] Kevin chuckled and we all turned and walked back down the street.

A/N: Alright guys! How was that? Nice prelude, eh? I will continue this to the point where the explosion happened.