"Your mother is Chloe?"

Forest gave a shallow nod. "Yeah. You knew her, didn't you?"

The man didn't say anything as he studied the kids, frowning.

Forest crossed his arms and shifted. "Jett, I'm sorry." The man turned to him, confused. "Your brother - he's dead."

"You really think... we're related?"

"Yeah, everything matches. My sister even said I look kind of like you," Forest replied and took an uneasy breath. "Dad mentioned you a few times."

"Holly, give me that mirror," Fox demanded. "I need to see for myself." Watching her dig throughout the bag, he stiffened when it was offered to him.

Forest held his breath as the man looked from the mirror to him and the twins. "Jett?"

His hands began to shake.

"Jett?"

Again, no response.

"Hey, Jett?"

The boy's fear was met when the mirror smashed to the ground, breaking to pieces. Blinking hard, Jett snapped out of it. "W...we really are family."

Autumn stepped forward, her face bright. "I'm Autumn and that's my twin sister, Winter." She sent a nod her way.

When the man's eyes drifted upon Forest, the boy cleared his throat. "I'm Forest."

Without warning, Autumn wrapped Fox into a tight embrace. At first hesitant, he returned the gesture and cried happy tears.

"We're glad to see you," Winter said, standing aside. She bit her lip when Fox pulled back and met her eyes. "A coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, suddenly frowning. And he set his jaw. "My brother's dead?" There was a pause. "He can't be. That man's the best of the best. Tell me he's not."

"I'm sorry," Forest said, head down.

"No, he can't be."

"If it makes you feel any better, he died a noble death. He died to save us, Jett. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. Not all of us, anyway." Winter's words flat, a single tear managed from her eye. "He's gone."

When the man broke down, Forest slowly confronted him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I think about him all the time. It's all I think about, really. He told us to not remember his last moments, but I can't bring myself to remember the good ones. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to, Jett. I really don't. He... he died yesterday, and..." The boy had to stop. If he didn't, the first tear would come, and no doubt would more follow.

But the tears came anyway.

A layer of dusk had taken over but an hour ago, and, as they wept, it only spread. Their tears, at first silent, became more obvious as the minutes came and went. But no matter how black it grew, Forest's heart was still darker. Hugging himself, he turned away from the others and sobbed.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Am I ever going to get over this?

When someone suddenly touched his arm, Forest flinched before realizing that it was only Holly.

"Don't worry, dear. As much as I'd like to leave this unsaid, I can't. It's dark and there are walkers about. It's not safe out here... like this, which is why we need to get going," she said, looking at him kindly. "But when we do get there, you'll have all the time in the world to mourn, okay?"

He nodded as he whipped at his eyes. "Okay."

When she began forward, the others followed in dead silence. Everything was quiet with the exception of the occasional walker.

Lingering behind, Forest stumbled past obstacles despite eyeing the earth carefully. And as time past, avoiding them only became more difficult; not just because the darkness was increasing, but his vision was again clouding with black spots.

"Autumn?" the boy whispered, coming up to her. "I don't feel well."

Her eyes lit up in alert. "A-are you gonna have a seizure?"

"No, no, I don't think so. Could you just give me some water?"

She breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "Give me a moment."

As his sister searched her bag, Forest shook his head. "Our lives haven't been this eventful in a long time. Not since Mom died, and that was five years ago. But now it's changing and I'm not sure I'm ready. It used to be the same routine, Autumn. I thought I'd seen everything, but nothing about this is routine. What are we even doing?"

She gave him a hard look as he accepted the bottle. "We're going to see their group."

"Exactly, that's when I'm saying. All this time, we thought we were the last humans alive, and now we're going to see their group. Listen, for years we believed this. These people - we'll see them in half an hour, and I'm afraid it'll be too much!"

"I'll be with you the whole time, brother. Just follow my lead," Autumn said, providing a weak smile.

"I can barely believe it either," Winter muttered.

"Yeah, well I can't believe I'm your guys' uncle. Try believing that," Fox said with a chuckle.

"Wait, you can hear us?" Forest asked, holding his breath.

"Both of us can," Holly replied, throwing the boy a smile. "Hey, I want you kids to know that we're nice people. They're really no reason to worry."

Well, that's what you keep saying. He took a sip of the water and then another. Forest didn't notice before it was too late. Handing the bottle back, a rush of guilt overcame him when he realized that it was empty. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's fine. I'm sure we'll come across a pond or maybe it'll rain! Either way, I'm certain Holly and Fox's group have water."

"Call me Jett. Fox is a lame name anyway." There was a pause. "Oh, and we've got water."

A light smirk slipped over Forest's face. Jett, it is.

The remaining minutes were uneventful. Pressing on, they continued one step at a time. All the while, a soft breeze displayed itself nearby, the air feeling great to the drained group. Though the crickets chirped, the walkers groaned, and their feet struck the earth, Forest's thoughts were still louder.

If he hadn't been moving all day, the boy would still be sweating from the idea of meeting new people. He cast a weary look ahead as his stomach turned. Any minute now.

"Hey, don't worry," Autumn said, giving her brother a gentle nudge. "They won't bite, okay? Remember, just follow my lead."

Forest straightened, letting out an uneasy breath. "Yeah, they better not bite." He gave her a hard look. About to resume, he was interrupted by a cheerful voice.

"The first person I want you three to meet is Sky," Holly said and laughed. "Just call her Skylar for short."

But that's longer. Forest shared a glance with Autumn, each with a faint smile; but as quick as they came, their smiles disappeared.

A minute more would pass before an opening appeared just up ahead, the night's stars peeking through the trees with encouragement. Its darkness in full-effect, they stumbled through the mocking hazards in pursuit.

With each passing step, the sight only came closer, until, finally, they had managed out of the woodlands.

Forest only stared. There, just a couple yards away, was a farmhouse. Painted white, the building demonstrated more than a few broken-down parts. The lonely shed that sat close was colored purple. Both structures coated in grime, they looked anything but new.

It was only when Winter ruffled through his hair that his frozen-state left, and he gulped. His stomach hurt before, but its pain had almost doubled in a matter of seconds. Forest had to hold it together; he just had to. If the boy were to vomit, he'd be embarrassed to no end.

"Just up here," Holly insisted, her words upbeat. "We have a small farm in back, in case you want to see it later. The crops are hardly developed at the moment, though." She turned around upon reaching the door, smiling. "Are you ready?"

Not at all. "Yes," Forest answered in a small voice, "we're ready."