Don't Let Me Go

Separated and Lost

Mark jumps back as he pulls his knife from the head of a random infected. The diseased body drops to the ground and he sighs, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. He turns back to his friends to make sure he hasn't lost them as they trek through the woods. He smiles when he sees everyone is still accounted for. Ken is the first to catch up to him, followed by Tyler, Jack, Felix and Marzia, and finally, hanging in the back is Nate and Stephanie. Mark faces forward and keeps going. The group walks in silence for at least an hour before Tyler speaks up, "Where are we even going?"

Mark had been hoping no one would ask, because he has no idea where they are going. They've been lost in the woods since leaving the camp they made close to that house they buried Matt and Amy at, but Mark didn't want to tell them. He doesn't even know what town they're near anymore. He knows they're still somewhere in California, he just doesn't know where. Tyler crosses his arms, "Hey, I'm talking to you. Where are we going?"

Mark sighs, "I don't really know."

"Are you serious?!" Tyler scoffs, "You've been leading us and you don't even know where you're taking us?!"

"Calm down," Ken frowns, "Do you even know where we are, Tyler? No? Didn't think so. We don't really have a destination we're trying to get to, so lay off. Mark's just probably trying to get us out of the woods, that's all for now."

Ken turns to Mark, smiling brightly, "Right?"

Mark smiles gratefully at Ken before turning his gaze to Tyler, "That's right."

Tyler sighs, looking away, "All right.."

Jack jogs up to Mark, he smiles softly, "You doing okay?"

Mark smiles lightly in return, "I think so. How are you holding up?"

Jack shrugs, "Better than most, I guess. You've all lost more than me."

"Don't be like that," Mark frowns, "You've lost just as much as the rest of us. We've all lost friends, and really none of us know if our families are okay. You're going through just as much as we are, so don't say that, okay?"

Jack frowns lightly, but nods, "Okay.."

The wind blows hard, scattering leaves around the group of survivors. Dark clouds cover the sky, dampening the afternoon light. Ken looks up at the sky, "A storm is coming.."

The wind continues to pick up, leaves dance around the air viciously, Marzia and Stephanie's hair whip about their faces violently. Thunder rumbles loudly and the group all exchange worried glances. To be caught in a bad storm while in the middle of a forest is never a good time, and now they have to worry about any wandering infected getting to them. With the thunder, it makes it harder to hear if anything is coming their way, and this makes them all uneasy.

"Is it too late to go back and hide out in that house?" Marzia asks.

"Yes," Felix replies, "It's hours behind us, and I can't navigate shit in the woods, so there's no telling which direction we would even have to go to get back. That storm could be on us any moment, too.."

"Oh," Marzia frowns.

"We do need to find shelter soon, though. Being out when that storm hits isn't something we want to happen. We could all get sick, or the infected could sneak up on us." Ken says, looking to Mark, "What do you want to do?"

Mark frowns, looking around. There's nothing but trees for as far as he can see. He groans softly, running a hand through his hair, "I don't know. I agree we need to find shelter, but I don't see a way out of these woods yet."

He turns back to his friends, "Does anyone have any ideas?"

"How about you don't get us fucking lost with a storm coming our way?" Tyler glares at Mark.

Ken glares at Tyler, "I don't see you in a hurry to take the lead. Mark's doing the best he can, so how about you cut him some slack?"

Tyler and Ken glare at each other in silence and Mark sighs, "Can we not fight?"

Thunder booms ahead and then it suddenly starts pouring rain, soaking them all to the bone almost instantly. Stephanie suddenly takes off and Nate gasps, calling out to her before running off after her. Marzia gasps, eyes widening as she shakes. She yells over the roar of the rain and the wind, "Should we go after them?!"

Mark takes off in the direction Stephanie and Nate went and Jack follows close behind. Without a word, the others follow. The mist from the falling rain skews their vision and when a few infected stumble in their way, the group splits in different directions. The infected cross behind Mark and Jack, who keep running. 

Ken stops and takes one of the infected down while Tyler runs around the walking obstacles. Ken stands and takes out the second of the infected before running to the left of where the others were going when the infected try to surround him. Felix takes Marzia's hand and pulls her along to the right of where the rest of the group was going, hoping to find a way around the small horde of infected that came between them. 

In a matter of minutes, the group of eight is split. Four people together, but apart from the group, Tyler, Ken, Nate, and Stephanie are all on their own, trying to find the friends they lost in the woods as the storm comes down on them. Mark and Jack continue in the direction they think Nate and Stephanie went, while Felix and Marzia try to find a way to double back to their friends without having to interact heavily with the infected. 

Ken runs through the woods almost blindly, stopping when he realizes he's lost, with no way of telling which way his friends had went. Tyler runs through the woods, stopping when he can't see anyone ahead of him anymore. He looks back, expecting Ken to be behind him. He frowns when he finds he's alone. Nate runs as fast as he can, keeping his eyes on what he hopes to be Stephanie's silhouette up ahead, the mist from the rain blurring his vision.