Morning came around slowly, the sun in no hurry to show itself. When Forest had first awoken, the boy immediately used his hands to shield his eyes from the cruel light. He peeked through his fingers to find a figure standing beside the pit. It was Dad. Forest sat upright reluctantly, glanced at the twins, and realized that they were both asleep.

"Dad?" His voice was a mere whisper.

Twitching at the sudden voice, he turned to meet its owner. "Forest? What are you doing awake?"

"I could be asking you the same thing."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were supposed to wake Autumn. But you were up all night, weren't you?"

Shaking his head, he scowled at the boy, but then his face softened. "Don't tell your sisters, okay? Or is it that obvious?"

Forest nodded.

"My insomnia never left last night. I didn't sleep for more than an hour. But don't worry; I'll be fine."

"Dad, you're in no condition to travel. Your eyes - they are barely open! Before we have breakfast, why don't you try getting another hour." When his father hurried a finger to his lips, the boy threw a glance at his siblings. They were out cold. He lowered his voice. "The sun only began rising. We still have a while before full daylight."

"Even though we can't waste the light, I'm giving them another half an hour. Otherwise, they won't have the energy," Hale said. "I suggest you go back to sleep too. It's gonna be a long day."

"You're the one who needs it, though." Nevertheless, Forest laid down once more and closed his eyes. "I guess I'll see you soon."

The next thing he knew, his tired eyes peeled open and he was greeted with the glare of the fully risen sun. Once more, he cringed and looked away, covering his face with both hands. When the boy's vision had adjusted completely to the light, he looked around. His sisters had yet to awake, he soon found, and his father was nowhere in sight.

"Dad?" Forest stood to his still-sore feet with minimal effort. "Dad?"

When he heard a gnawing sound behind him, the boy turned around and his jaw dropped. His backpack had been dragged a few feet away and there, head buried inside of his open bag was a full-sized dog. A persistent munching noise rudely hit his ears. The mutt was eating his stored food; it was clear.

Forest lunged at the dog. "Hey, get outta here!" Staring at the big dog, its body facing him, the dog stared right back.

The long-coated creature had light sable-colored fur with a black back. It had tall-standing ears that faced his direction; alert as if a slight movement would cause it to attack. Its expressive dark blue eyes stayed on him, motionless. Its tail was high and stiff, posture wide with dominance.

"Forest?" It was Autumn.

The boy took a step back. And then another. "Wake Winter and come over." His words were just above a whisper. "There's a dog."

There was a pause. Stealing a glance at the twins, he discovered both to be wide-awake and rushing out of the trench. The boy's attention drifted back, however, when a cold-blooded snarl came from the hound. He froze, his alarmed eyes locking with the dogs'.

Ruff! With that, the dog came forward.

He fought out of his paralyzed-state but not before it managed to plant a set of teeth into his bare arm. A cry of distress escaped his parted-lips as he desperately swatted with his free-hand at the savage beast. But it was of no use. Still, teeth digging into his flesh, it stayed.

"Help!" he pleaded through gritted teeth. "Hey, I need help! Autumn! Winter!" They hurried over, grabbed at its body, and yanked. When it was unsuccessful, they yanked again and the hound lost its grip.

Dazed and grasping his arm, Forest watched as the creature disappeared amidst the trees. The pounding of his heart struck his ears and he absent-mindedly made tight fists at his sides. When he looked at his sisters, he saw that they were frowning. Was Winter concerned too? Although Autumn's mouth was moving, he couldn't hear what she was saying.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Are you okay?" Autumn asked. She was staring with wide eyes at the bite on his arm.

Casting his own eyes downward, Forest held up the wound to better examine it before shaking his head. "Can one of you get bandages? I'm bleeding," he said in a shaky voice, then set his jaw. When Winter sped over to her backpack, the boy turned to his other sister.

"That dog must have been really hungry because that was just brutal," Autumn said, giving a glance around their surroundings. Her face at first holding sympathy, the girl's eyes soon lit up with alarm. "Where's Dad?"

"I don't know."

"I'll be right back, but don't worry. I'm just gonna look around for him," Autumn stated and patted her brother on the shoulder. She left at the same time her twin came back with a bandage.

"Where's she going?"

He watched as she wrapped the dressing over his injury, blood still drizzling from its opening. "To find Dad," he answered. When she looked up, the boy locked eyes with her. "That's what I was about to do, but then I saw the dog eating from my backpack."

"Well, I applied the bandage," Winter stated and hurried away. She zipped her backpack closed before shrugging it over her shoulders. She then tossed him his own bag. "Let's go, come on!"

A mere day ago the boy wouldn't be able to keep up with her fast pace, but he had finally recovered from the seizure. And so, struggling after his sister, he managed to maintain an adequate distance. Their feet stumbled past obstacles as they pursued after Autumn. Unable to make out her figure, the siblings followed in the direction of her voice as she called out for Dad.

Seconds became minutes before they caught a glimpse of her, now quiet. Winter, having come to a gradual halt, watched from afar. Forest stole a glance at her as he staggered ahead and that's when he breathed a sighed of relief. Dad. A motionless Autumn was standing before him.

"Hey, what's going on?" Forest asked as he took a detailed examination of the perimeter. He couldn't let anybody sneak up on them when they weren't prepared. Finding a distant one lingering about, he confronted the figure and stabbed his knife into its head. Having fallen to the ground, he pulled the object out of the fresh wound, before looking around once more. There were no more.

"I...I don't know," he heard his father say. It was clear the man was upset; and, stepping over to him, his expression matched the tone of his voice. "I'm sorry, kids."

Forest ignored Winter as she joined in on the commotion. Eyes wide, he studied his father. "Dad? What are you talking about?"

"I thought I saw him, son," he said, shaking his head, and a stray tear fell down the side of his face. "I thought I saw Jett."

"What?" Winter asked in a small voice, stepping closer to the scene until she was fully beside her brother.

Meeting her uneasy hazel eyes, he held the stare and nodded. "I only saw him for a split second before he scurried away and I chased after him."

Autumn timidly approached her father and gave him a sympathetic hug.

Half-heartedly accepting the kind gesture, he pulled away shortly after. "It's alright, Bambi."

"Are you okay? You don't look like you slept. And I know you didn't wake me up!"

Forest, frowning, watched as the man rubbed his red eyes. "You were hallucinating, Dad. Again. You chased after your brother, who wasn't there by the way, and we had to look for you! Now we're lost."

"Actually, I think I remember the way," Winter stated, looking at her feet.

"Wait," the father said, his wide eyes staring at Forest's arm. "Did you-"

"Get bit? No," the boy said, and the man's features softened with relief. "It was a dog."

There was a short pause. "God bless because I don't know what I would have done, boy." He took an uneasy breath. "Anyway, when I realized that he wasn't there; that it was just a sleep-induced hallucination, I turned around to hurry back. But," he said, looking at his children, "I didn't get there in time. You all woke up."

"Let's just get back," Forest said, sighing. "We are completely off course." He glared at his father. "Second time, Dad! This is the second time in a week that you hallucinated, and both times were your fault. You need to take better care of yourself because it's all your fault. We would have reached the road by now!"

"Hey." The man displayed a feeling of hurt, when, suddenly, he narrowed his eyes. "The first time was your fault. What did I tell you? I said to wait in the bunker, and, of course, you didn't listen. Just like always. I tell you to do something, and you disobey me. You, Forest, you're the one that shot me in the leg. I wouldn't have gotten that infection if it weren't for you."

It was Forest's turn to be hurt. Looking at the ground, he couldn't hear to hold eye contact any longer. There was an uneasy pause. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry too. My poor blasted leg," he said, his tone losing its edginess. "Let's get to the road. We're losing daylight."

Nodding, he didn't dare lift his vision as they began to walk in silence. The dirt no longer muddy, their feet banged against its solid surface. However, continuing forward, a certain noise motivated him to finally look up once more. With each step, they became more clear, when he came to a halt. Walkers. Their dry groans were coming from just up ahead.

"Dad?" the boy asked. And everyone else stopped walking as well.

"Yeah?"

"You hear it too, right?"

"...Yeah, I do."

"How many walkers do you think there are?" Autumn asked, her words shaky.

Glancing briefly at his daughter, the man gave a shrug. "I don't know, but let's not find out. They're nearby, I can tell. Before they can catch sight of us, we need to be long gone. I wouldn't be surprised if there's around fifty of 'em." Without another word, they ran on tired legs in the opposite direction.