A New Beginning

Chapter III

By now the snow had completely stopped falling, however, the winds picked up as it kicked snow into the group's faces. Xavier, who led the group, shielded his face with his arm as he continued to trudge through the snow. In front of him was the bleak colors of white and brown as all he saw was snow and trees. The clothes that they wore appeared to be ineffective against the powerful winds as everyone was freezing.

As the group walked, a building appeared from the forest. They were unsure what the building was used before prior or why it was in the forest. Sarah said, "I think we should rest here. My legs are getting tired and my stomach isn't feeling well". Nick agreed as he said, "This snow is thick, my legs are tired as well". Xavier guided the group to the building as everyone was relieved that they could rest. Once inside, the group looked around. It was dark as the only light was the clouded sunlight that gave the building a light, hazy blue glow. What the group could see were a few boxes that were stacked near the door. As the group began to walk further into the building, Sarah searched through her backpack for flashlights. She handed Xavier and Nick flashlights as they aimed them around the room. Thomas spotted a light switch on the same wall the entrance door was on. He attempted to turn the lights on, however, they did not turn on. Xavier said, "Before we get comfortable, we should search the building for biters. Since we only have two flashlights, we're gonna have to buddy up". From the light that was provided, the group had figured out the building as a warehouse.

Sarah and Xavier walked to the left while Nick and Thomas walked to the right. Ronny stayed near the entrance in the event of a quick escape. Xavier and Sarah passed by rows of boxes and shelves as they made their way to the left end of the building. Besides the sounds of their feet hitting the concrete floor, the building was silent. To the right end of the building, Nick and Thomas walked as they looked down every aisle as to make sure that nothing else was alive. Finally, they made it to the right end of the building as they slowly walked towards the back end. Despite the fact that the building shielded the group from the snow, it was still very cold within the building as everyone could see their breath as they walked. Xavier and Sarah walked along the left wall as they headed for the back. As they walked, they saw something appear in front of them. It was an office. As the two slowly approached the office, Xavier peeked through the window to see if it was clear. Within the room were three biters. Xavier crept to the door as the two prepared to attack. Then Xavier swiftly opened the door as Sarah hit one of the biters with her gun. Once it hit the ground, Sarah stomped on its head until it caved in. Xavier kicked the next biter in the leg which caused it to fall. Xavier then stabbed it in the head with his knife. It was at this point that the third biter tried to attack Xavier, however, Sarah swung at it which allowed Xavier enough time to kill it.

Once the room was cleared, the two looked around. It appeared to have been the manager's office as documents and charts littered the room. Within the room was an emergency hatchet that laid in a glass case. Xavier began to wrap his elbow with cloth as he prepared to break the case. Sarah looked at the sign that was next to the hatchet. The sign warned that wild animals such as wolves, deer, and even bears roamed the area and that the hatchet should be used as a last resort to defend yourself. Finally, Xavier was ready as he smashed the glass and took the hatchet. As the two searched the office, they had noticed the switchboard on one of the walls. However, as they began to fiddle with it and attempted to turn on the lights, it did not work. Xavier said, "I should've known this wasn't gonna work. It's been almost a year with no power and I still expect the lights to work". Next to the switchboard was a door that led outside. Sarah opened the door and saw a small generator that was hooked up to the wires that ran throughout the building. She said, "Xavier, look! We might have power after all". Xavier looked outside to see the generator as a smile formed on his face. Sarah couldn't help but smile either as this was the happiest she had seen Xavier been in months. Xavier excitedly attempted to figure out how to use it. As Sarah walked back into the building. Next to the office was a bathroom. As she walked in, she checked every stall to make sure she was alone. Once she felt safe, she dug through her backpack in search of something. She could hear the sounds of the generator trying to turn on as she found what she was looking for. It was a pregnancy test. She held it tight as she took a deep breath.

Meanwhile, Nick and Thomas had, by now made it to the back wall of the building as they carefully searched the aisles for biters. However, as they kept walking, suddenly, the industrial lights above them turn on as they flickered. They were unsure if it was a good or bad sign as they continued to walk. Finally, they made it to the office in the back. Unsure of what was in the office, they slowly walked closer. Suddenly, Xavier opened the door which startled Nick and Thomas. Thomas said, "Shit, Xavier. I almost swung at you". Xavier said, "Guys, this building is self-sustained. We have light and heat". As they were talking, Sarah walked out of the bathroom and regrouped with her friends. Xavier said, "Where did you go"? Sarah said, "I just went to the bathroom". Nick smiled as he said, "In case you didn't know, it's the end of the world. You can pee wherever you feel like". Sarah responded with, "You guys may be able to do that, but I'm a lady. I can't just squat down wherever and pee. However, I'll remember that the next time I see your bed". As Xavier and Thomas chuckled, they all heard the sound of a baby crying. It had to be Albee. Xavier sighed as he said, "Let's go see if we can help Ronny".

As they made their way back to Ronny and Albee, the sounds of Albee crying did not die down. Once the group was able to see Albee, they saw that Albee was on the floor next to the entrance with the door wide open. Ronny was nowhere to be seen. The group ran to Albee as Sarah picked him up and walked away from the cold outdoors. Xavier and Nick ran outside in hopes of finding Ronny. They both called his name as they looked to the snow for footprints. As the two followed a trail of footprints, the snow hit their faces like needles. As they ran after Ronny, suddenly a wolf jumped out in front of them from behind the trees. Both Xavier and Nick stopped dead in their tracks. They were unsure what the wolf would do at first so they watched it for signs. As the stared at it, they saw two of its cups following behind. Xavier said, "Don't move. If we don't appear as threatening, we can escape". The wolf looked at Nick and Xavier. The cubs slowly trotted through the snow as they slowly caught up to their mother. Xavier said, "Slowly and carefully back up". Xavier grabbed the hatchet. He didn't want to use it but was willing to if need be. As Nick and Xavier began to slowly back up, the wolf growled. It then began to cautiously approach Nick. Nick froze in place as he was unsure if the wolf would attack if he kept walking. Xavier said, "Nick don't stop, keep walk". Nick, however, ignored him as he stood stiffly. The wolf, at first, sniffed Nick as it was curious. Nick's heart was pounding as he hoped the wolf saw him as a friend. After a minute, the wolf backed up a few feet as if it trusted Nick. Nick sighed as he looked back to Xavier. Xavier smiled as he began to relax. However, as Nick turned around to look at the wolf, it growled again. Nick put his hand up to try and calm the wolf. The result was the wolf attacked Nick. It bit into Nick's arm as Nick screamed. The wolf attempted to drag Nick to the ground, ripping at his arm. Xavier, at first, punched the wolf in an attempt to release Nick. However, once he knew it wasn't working, Xavier looked at his hatchet. He then aimed for the back of the wolf's neck and swung. The hatchet wedged into the wolf's neck as it let go of Nick and howled in pain. Xavier then ripped the hatchet out of its neck as he tried to help Nick run back to the group. As they ran away, Xavier saw the wolf had begun to chase them. Xavier tried to push Nick to move faster as Xavier saw the building appear from the forest.

Once he was closer, he could see Thomas was still outside waiting for the two to return with Ronny. "Get inside" Xavier yelled. Thomas was unsure what was happening, however, he did as instructed and ran inside. Nick then made it to the door as Xavier turned around to see the wolf was charging at him. Xavier ran inside as he screamed for Thomas to shut the door. Thomas slammed the door just as the wolf hit it. By now Sarah ran back go the group to see what was happening. "What the hell happened out there" Thomas said, "And where's Ronny". Xavier said, "We couldn't find him". Xavier walked over to Nick to examine his wounds. The bite wrapped around the side of his arm as it bled. Sarah said, "Well we have to go back. We need to find him". Xavier said, "Sarah, do you see Nick's arm? We can't go back out there right now". Sarah said, "That's all the more reason why we have to go back, Ronny's still out there". Xavier began to wrap Nick's arm as Thomas said, "I don't know, I think Xavier's right. If that wolf did that to Nick, I'm sure it'd do it to all of us, too". Xavier was split about what they should do. Since it was going to be night time soon, Ronny wasn't going to be able to survive, however, with an angry wolf outside, no one wanted to leave.