Alex

"No one should be in the Dead Zone."

That sentence has never mattered more to her than I does now, especially since she now knows she isn't the only one in the Dead Zone. She glanced over at the group of five misfit teens huddled around the vibrant flames of a fire. She never thought that she could ever be capable of caring for the safety of others; it's only been herself she had to look out for. Even when she was behind the protective barrier of the Compound that kept her and countless other safe from the dangers of the outside world, she only looked out for herself. Now, she's standing guard, watching over the misfits she has come to enjoy the presence of. But she would never admit that to anyone, not even to herself.

As she watched the tight-knit group of friends laugh about something unknown to her, she wondered what possible reason they could have for risking their lives in the Dead Zone. She knew better than to ask, though, for they would turn the question around onto her, which she did not feel comfortable answering. Twirling her small but sharp dagger-like knife between her fingers, her attention was drawn to the forest at the sound of a twig snapping, causing her to pause and grip her knife.

She straightened her posture and placed her hand on the butt of her gun that rested in her leg holster. Her actions caught the attention of the teens, causing them to go on alert as they suddenly fell silent. Each of them grabbed a hold of their weapons as they moved to take their defensive positions inside the abandoned house they currently resided in. Narrowing her eyes, searching through the thickness of the forest, she reached for her now and grabbed an arrow out of her quiver, setting the bow up to retract if necessary.

"What is it?" she heard Shawn quietly ask as he stood next to her.

She didn't answer. She just continued to scan the area as best as she could in the night time atmosphere. Then she heard it. It sounded as if whatever the sound belonged to was choking, drowning even. But she knew that sound like the back of her hand. She knew that the creature that echoed the sound was no living creature.

She drew her bow back to her cheek before releasing, "Company."

The arrow whistled it's way through the leaves before hitting it's target, causing the target to drop to the ground. Everyone was silent; no one dared to make a sound. Nothing moved. The crickets were silent, too, as if they knew something was wrong. Seconds past before anything happened, causing each of the teens to be high on alert. It was too quiet; it was unsettling.

Before anyone could react, a creature of pale skin, eyes of blood, and teeth of a shark jumped in front of the window she was standing at. She quickly back another arrow before releasing it, hitting the creature in the chest at point blank. More creatures advanced into the house at the sound of a shriek coming from the one that was shot in the chest. She pulled her bow back once more and released arrow after arrow at the creatures. She did the best she could to walk backwards away from the menacing creatures without tripping over furniture.

"Feros!" hollered Trin, escaping to the back of the house.

She turned her head to face the others, "Go, go, go!"

They did as they were told without questions, with Trin leading the way. There were too many for her to take on alone, but she wouldn't let the others put their lives on the line. Not for her. She was running low on arrows but she continued to hold her ground against the Feros, buying enough time for the others to escape. She could sense another presence to her left, only it wasn't a Fero. She quickly glanced to her left and saw Shawn battling against the Feros alongside her. She silently cursed to herself at the sight of him putting himself in harm's way.

"Go!" she ordered as she released let last arrow.

He swung his modified baseball bat towards an oncoming Fero, "What about you?"

"I'll be right behind you. Now, go!"

Shawn reluctantly listened to her orders and sprinted to the rear exit of the house. She knew that she would have a better chance of defeating the Feros if she didn't have to worry about the others. Her dark hair flung around as she tossed her bow to the floor and pulled out her sword. She moved lightly on her feet as she stepped to the side to avoid an oncoming Fero. In doing so, she swung her sword around and left a penetrating slash on the Fero's chest.

With every Fero she dropped to the floor, another would advance towards her. She couldn't keep up any longer. She was slowing down; that was evident. Her breathing was ragged, sweat dripped down her forehead, and her arms were growing tired as a result of the continuous swinging. She didn't know how much longer she could keep up the fighting.

I can't let them get hurt, she thought. Her mind wandered back to the misfits and how she felt the responsibility to protect them fell on her. Suddenly finding a burst of adrenaline, she swung and stabbed the Feros with her sword, continuing to do so until only a few remained. She thought for a split moment, that she might be able to defeat the Feros on her own. But her sudden courage was cut short when she suddenly felt a sharp pain on her right side.

She paused and looked at her side. She pursed her lips at the condition of her side. A Fero had managed tk scratch her, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Her skin was a disgusting shade of purple with crimson oozing from the penetrated area. She lifted her head up to face the Feros and narrowed her eyes at the one who scratched her. The Fero charged at her. She twisted around and brought her sword to strike the Fero on the back.

The remaining Feros did the same, motivating her to do the same as well. Her determination to protect her new found comrades outweighed the pain she felt from her injury as she impaled her sword into the last of the Feros. She breathed heavily, placing he hand over her injury. Pulling her hand away, she found that her hand was clean; no evidence of a cut showed.

She knew what that meant, but she couldn't let the others see. Wiping the darkened blood from the Feros off her sword and picking her bow off the floor, she began making her way outside in the direction the others escaped. Hesitantly, she walked outside and saw that they all stayed, against what she would have preferred.

"Why are you all still here?" she questioned as she put her sword back in it's scabbard.

Shawn stood up, "We weren't going to leave you."

She frowned and crossed her arms. "You realize that if I hadn't been to defeat the Feros, each of you would be struggling to kill them right now."

"Luckily, it didn't come to that," Dawson commented.

Trin's eyes suddenly drifted over her abdomen, seeing a darker shade staining her shirt. She saw where Trin's gaze landed and instantly froze. Shawn, too, saw the darker staining and began to grow worried. Feeling as though she had to prove she was okay, she lifted that part of her shirt up to reveal bare but sweaty skin. She hoped that seeing she was clean of injuries would prove as evident enough to the others that she was indeed okay, but it wasn't. Of course, she knew why her previous injury was no longer there; why it healed as quickly as it did, but she couldn't afford for the others to know about her secret.

"Alex?"