driving for about 5 hours, the car ran out of gas.
we were only at half a tank full when we deserted the apartment so we had to abandon the car.
we were driving on a path in the woods heading out of Seattle, looking for a safer place to go.
when we left the apartment, people were running away from these people that looked dirty and almost like they had mold on them.
i was driving so fast that i didn't get to see what they really were. trees were on fire and i didn't understand why but i was only caring about getting out of there alive.
.
.
.
after abandoning the car, we walked for a while, keeping an eye out for any danger.
finally, after feeling like it had been hours that we had been walking, we came upon an abandoned house that was damp from rain and covered in thick ivy.
there was a jeep parked there but we didn't think anything of it so we proceeded to enter the house.
when i closed the door behind us, i was suddenly grabbed, my arm twisted behind my back and a knife at my neck.
i was met with a pair of pale green eyes and olive skin.
"who are you?" the girl bellowed angrily.
"hey, let go of me. we're not going to hurt you," i replied back, wiggling out of her grip, making sure the knife she held at my neck didn't cut my skin.
she slowly let go and put the knife away in a leather knife-holder that was attached to her belt.
she wore black jeans that had a couple holes and a dark green tank top along with black combat boots.
she pushed some of her long, black hair out of her face and looked at us with suspicion.
she stepped back and hollered into a dark hallway that was on the side where we were standing.
"Luke, Calum, get out here!"
there was a rustle and then footsteps coming from the hallway.
i quickly glanced around the house.
there wasn't much besides a couple chairs in the open room, a kitchen with a shabby-looking dining table, and another door that led to another room.
the walls were made out of dark wood and the windows were covered which made the room seem smaller.
i glanced at Taylor and she had a look of uncertainty on her face.
i turned back to see two boys standing at the front of the hallway.
the closest one to us was a bit under six feet tall and had raven-colored, curly hair that went a little past his ears with tan skin.
he was wearing a dark blue sweater and black jeans with a hole in the knee.
the other boy was just a little taller and also had curly hair the same length but his was a dirty blonde.
he had pale skin and was wearing a black and red plaid flannel with similar black jeans but without the hole in the knee.
"hi, i'm Calum," the boy with the raven-colored hair chirped happily.
he nudged the blonde boy who had his head slightly down.
"um, hi. i'm Luke," he said quietly and slowly looked up at us.
"hey, i'm Lacey and this is Taylor," i said, motioning to me and then Taylor.
the girl who almost killed me spoke up after not saying anything for a while.
"i'm Marina. sorry about that." she pointed to her neck.
i touched my neck, feeling a small nick.
"it's not serious so you should be fine," she told me.
"it's fine, i guess." i shrugged.
i didn't know whether i should have been mad or not because i understood she was just protecting herself and the two boys.
"so, what's going on?" i asked.
"zombies are here," Marina stated bluntly.
"we think that's all but we didn't really stop to watch or else we'd be dead."
"do you have a plan on what to do next?" i countered.
"sort of. we know we can't stay here forever. something will find us eventually and it won't be pretty," she replied.
"i think we should head out in the next few days. gather things we can use and go to another city to find more survivors," Taylor spoke for the first time since being here.
"good idea," Marina said.
i nodded my head once and the boys agreed.
"we have to wait until we think it's calmed down and then we'll go," Marina responded.
"we can make a plan on where to go while we wait," i suggested.
everyone walked to the open kitchen with the dining table in the middle of it.
Taylor and i put our stuff down next to the wall opposite of the counters, stove, and fridge.
we all sat at the table except Luke, who sat on the counter, swinging his legs.
we discussed the best places to go for finding survivors and finally decided on heading to Portland, Oregon, thanks to Taylor's endless speaking of it.
it wasn't the biggest city but there would be less chaos to deal with.
