Don't Let Me Go

Surviving

Mark and Jack stop running, both leaning over to catch their breaths. Jack looks around, holding his hands over his eyes to keep the rain from blurring his vision further. The rain is still coming down hard and Jack's voice cracks as he speaks, "Mark?"

Mark turns to him, "Yeah?"

"Where are the others?" Jack asks softly, his eyes wide, "They were right behind us.."

Mark frowns, looking around, "They must have gotten separated.."

It's no use, with the misty rain, he can't see very far in front of him. He sighs and pushes his hair from his face, "I'm sure they'll be okay.. We should find somewhere to hold out until the storm passes.. Being out in this.. We'll get sick.."

"We're probably already sick.." Jack looks away, "They said the virus is airborne, didn't they..? What if we're all already infected..? What if we get sick just like Amy did..?"

Mark stiffens, the image of Amy coming out of the forest flashes through his mind and he shudders. He shakes his head, "We're not sick yet. We're going to be fine, Jack."

Jack looks back at him, "But what if we're not?"

"You can't think like that," Mark sighs softly, "Come on, we should.. Get going.."

Jack nods slowly, "Yeah.."

The two continue on in silence.

...

Ken looks up at the sky, his hands over his face to shield his eyes as he tries to figure his location by where the sun is. Unfortunately with the dark clouds covering the sky, the sun isn't visible. He sighs and looks at his surroundings again. Nothing but rain and trees. Same as it has been since he found he was alone. He groans softly, "Why did Stephanie have to run off like that..? Where did the others go? Being out here alone isn't ideal.."

He draws his knife as he hears the unmistakable moans of the infected. With the mist from the rain, he can't tell where the infected are coming from. He quickly hides behind a tree, hoping to scope out how many cross into his path before trying to engage, just in case there are more than he can handle by himself. Four infected shamble across his path and Ken stays hidden. One or two, he can handle, any more than that is a risk he isn't willing to take.

Once he's sure the infected are far enough away not to notice him, he continues down the path. He isn't sure where he's going, he just knows he needs to find his friends. He also knows the probability of finding his friends in the forest filled with infected while a storm is raging is very low. Still, he continues on with the intention of rejoining the group. He suddenly stops when he hears crying. 

He follows the soft cries and he finds a little girl no older than maybe six or seven wearing dirty dark blue overalls over a dirty, white long sleeved shirt and black and pink Nike shoes. The girl's clothes are covered in mud and what could be blood. She's pale, with short, black hair pulled up in loose pigtails, and pale blue eyes. She kneeling by the tree, crying, her hands covering her ears.

Ken slowly approaches her, "Little girl? Are you hurt?"

The child gasps and looks up at Ken with large, tear-filled eyes. She shivers, she's soaked, just as he is. She shakes her head slowly. Ken looks around, he can't see any infected, but that doesn't mean there aren't any nearby. He heard her cries, so he's sure they did, too. He looks back at the girl, "Why are you by yourself?"

"M-Momma and Papa told me to run when the.. The scary people came.." she replies softly.

Ken's eyes soften, "Would you like me to help you get back to your parents? It's dangerous for you to be out here by yourself."

She nods and stands slowly. He gives her a smile, "My name's Ken. What's your name, sweetie?"

She rubs her eyes, "Mary-Jane Morgan."

...

Nate stops running, looking around. He groans, "Where did she go?!"

He tries to catch his breath as he tries to find any sign of Stephanie. The rain is making it hard to make sure he's even still going the right way. He rubs his eyes, groaning softly. Of all the times to run off, she picked now? He sighs and takes off running again. I have to find her before something really bad happens to her. If anything happens to her, it's all my fault, because I didn't keep a close enough eye on her. 

He suddenly sees a dark haired woman sprint across his path and he gasps, running after her, "Stephanie!"

Upon hearing his voice, the woman turns and Nate's eyes widen. Not only is this woman not Stephanie, she's infected. She growls and sprints at him at a speed almost faster than a living person can run. He yelps in surprise, quickly drawing his knife. The woman tackles him and as they both go down, his knife is lodged into her left eye. Her body falls limp and he grunts, pushing her off him. He pulls his knife from her eye and shivers as he stands. He stares down at her, breathing heavily, "Since when do the infected run that fast..?"

The rain suddenly stops and the forest is eerily silent. Nate shivers and walks away from the body, continuing his search for Stephanie. He makes a mental note to tell the others about that infected woman when he finally regroups with them. He just hopes they'll be regrouping soon, he's had enough of being out in the forest alone. Having someone to watch his back constantly has spoiled him, and being on his own is making him scared and paranoid. The sooner I find Stephanie and the others, the better.

...

Marzia pulls Felix to a stop, soaked to the bone and crying, trying to catch her breath, "I-I can't.."

Felix turns to her, putting her hands on her shoulders, "Are you okay?"

She nods, waving him off as she fights to catch her breath. Felix watches her with worry-filled eyes. They had been running for awhile, the rain had finally stopped, and they have no idea where their friends are anymore. They stand in silence for a moment while Marzia catches her breath and Felix looks around, trying to find any distinct markings in the area to tell them where they might be.

There is no indication that Felix can pick out and after a few minutes, Marzia calms down. She takes his hand, smiling softly. He smiles back at her and she hugs him, shaking. He gasps softly and hugs her back. They've been lucky, not having seen any infected since they were separated, and Felix wouldn't mind never seeing another infected for the rest of his life. He's a Youtuber for crying out loud, not a survivalist. He sighs, holding her tight against himself, just trying to prove that she's still real.

Marzia smiles up at him, "At least the rain stopped."

He chuckles softly, brushing some hair off her face, "Yeah, at least the rain stopped."

What they were going to do now, he has no idea. He has no idea where they are, and no sense of direction to tell him which way to even go back to try and catch back up with the others. He doesn't want to be alone, either. He's afraid that if he and Marzia have to be alone for the rest of their lives, that his lack of knowledge in basic survival instincts will get her killed. He's terrified to death of losing her because he's incompetent. He holds hope that they'll find the others soon.