"the room was cold when i opened my eyes, and i had no idea where i was or how i had gotten there. the room was dimly lit, and i couldn't see much farther than about three feet in front of my face. i stood and what had happened in the past few months hit me like a frieght train. the apocalypse, losing everyone, being shot, and finding out almost everyone i care about was still alive and thriving, even in the desert-like world earth had become. taking a step, i almost collapsed from the burning pain in my leg. another few steps and the burning subsided as i got used to it. i made my way through the hallways, my hand pressed against the cold, smooth stone. i found a room that looked to be a military meeting room. seated around the table were all my friends. ashton was at the head of the table and saw me first. when he had paused mid-sentence, everyone looked up and saw me standing there, jeans torn, face caked with dirt, my hair plastered to the side of my face with dried sweat and tears and a bit of blood. the bandage was slightly crusty from being on too long, and i was a mess. but even in my bedraggled state, he greeted me with his usual, "morning, beautiful. did you sleep well?" i blinked, trying to fully wake up. "how long was i out?" Jalieke was the one to answer my question. i hadn't remembered seeing him when i had gotten here before, but i also didn't remember seeing most of the people here. "about a week. you must've been through a lot. so we let you sleep." i nodded in his direction, acknowledging i had heard him. my mind was racing. 'about a week? how could they have let me sleep? i could've been helping protect the bunker. or i could've led them to my safer bunker.' but before i could give a voice to any of these comments, ashton continued what he was saying before i had interrupted. "ok, so skie, jalieke, christina, hexicaius, emmerick, and i will go here, to this Sam's, stock up on food and medical supplies, deriah will drive. elisa, stay here and make sure amy is ok, stephanie, and sasha, you're on guard duty. amy, back to the hospital wing. you're not well enough to be out of bed." elisa went to take my arm, to lead me back to the hospital wing when i protested. "i want to go on the raid with you guys. im faster than any of you because i'm smaller and lighter, plus i can get things that you need to get through small spaces in order to get. you need me." he walked over to me and grabbed my shoulders. " i know all of that. i also know that i don't want to lose you again. i don't know how fast you'll be able to run with your leg like that, and anyone that tries to carry you will be weighed down and won't be able to run as fast if we get ambushed. it's too much of a risk." i grabbed his hand, not letting him go. "but i need to go with you. i feel useless just sitting here. please let me come with you." so he finally consented. i was allowed to go.
this is amy rose, signing off for now to go raid, wish me luck."
that was the last entry she had. after that, we left on the raid, and everything went well. on the drive, skie talked about how he had seen her run into the office building with the bitten on her tail. so he thought he would be able to help her escape, but didn't get a chance to see if she had. he had thrown a rock in the direction of the building across the street and it worked. they started to move over to the other building, but they had seen him before he had a chance to hide. they had chased him from that building all the way to the hospital a few blocks west of that section of town. when we got to the Sam's club, we all filled our backpacks and went out to the pick-up truck. we all hopped into the back, and deriah started driving. as we passed by an alleyway, they had picked up our scent, specifically amy's because they had smelled her many times before. suddenly, hundreds of them were chasing us. her and i, side by side in the back of the truck, firing into their ranks. they were dropping like flies, but it wasn't doing anything to their numbers as a whole. the more we dropped, the more showed up. it was like the hydra beast of myth, only worse. I looked at her and we both had the same thought. we knew someone wouldn't make it back to the bunker, and i could see it in her eyes, she had already decided it would be her. i rested my hand on top of hers as she started to pick up grenades and smoke bombs and flash grenades. "you can't do this. you're a better leader than i am. they" he indicated everyone in the truck as well as at the bunker "need you. you're stronger than i am. in those three months, you were focused on survival and all i could think about was finding you." "but i have to do this. if i lose you again, i will go insane and kill myself and then they would be left without a leader. i know that if i'm gone, you'll do what you have to to keep them alive. i would only focus on myself, not the needs of everyone. plus, you saved me once, now it's my turn." she pulled the vest on and told me, "when i jump, you'll have at least a good ten to fifteen minute head start. you need to tell deriah to step on the gas. don't look at the flash, or you'll be useless to them. you and hexicaius are the best shot and will be your best bet at getting out of here once they realize it was all a setup." she turned and walked to the edge of the flat bed. they hit a rock and the entire back of the truck lifted off the ground, almost throwing her too soon for her plan to work. she grabbed the edge and looked at the horde and saw skie hanging off the edge, the corpses trying to claw at his legs. one grabbed his ankle and he called out in pain. his grip was slipping while the bitten's stayed a grip of iron. she made a jump and grabbed his arm just as his grip slipped. she pulled him back up and the sudden jerk on his leg ripped it from the corpse's grip, but also shredded his ankle in the process. she helped him stand and brought him over to me. "in the bunker, there is a cream. you need to put it on this as soon as you get there. then it need to be re-applied every month. it will keep him from turning, and eventually the marks will fade to scars. it is tested, i tried it on myself." she showed me where she had allowed herself to get bitten. the mark was still there, but it was very faint. skie was laid on the ground and he sat there twitching on the floor. his exclamations of pain had subsided to soft sobs as the venom burned through him. she turned back to the horde that was now closing in on the truck. she was trying to figure out how much time she would have from when the first pin was pulled to when she would have to jump off. i came up and turned her to face me. "you have fifteen second to pull all the pins and get to the middle of that horde. here. i'll help you, since i know i can't change your mind." i started to pull pins and she joined in. just before she could jump, i pulled her in and gave her one last hug and kissed her. she took a running leap at the horde, and screamed "come and get me, Zombie Bitches!!!!" the last i saw of her, she had bravely landed in the middle of the horde, and then the flash grenades went off. i was blinded for a second, but i blinked just after the first blast hit. body parts went flying in all directions, splattering us with blood and plasma. deriah rolled down the window and asked us what had happened. i was speechless. i couldn't bring myself to tell him that she had saved us all. i heard Hexicaius tell him to floor it to the bunker. the truck sped up and i almost fell off the back. but that wouldn't have been what she wanted. she would've wanted me to be the leader our friends need. i turned to deriah, and asked him if he could go any faster. skie didn't look too good right now. he had stopped moving, but he was still breathing shallowly. we had to find that cure.
