Gripping his knife, Forest glared at the neighboring trees as he lingered behind his uncle and Skylar. One step after the other, he'd remind himself, but the distress never left. His father had died but a few days ago and the thought of being away from his sisters stung more than he'd care to admit. Just follow my lead. That was what Autumn had told him, but he was nowhere near her anymore. If something were to happen to either of the twins, the boy wouldn't be there to save them. And then he wouldn't know what to do.

"How much longer?" he asked.

Glancing over her shoulder, Skylar shook her head. "We're only been out here for half an hour."

"Right," he mumbled.

The woman scoffed as she shared a look with Jett. "Selfish little-"

"Hey," the man said. He gave her a nudge and offered the boy a smile. "Just follow my lead."

That's what Autumn said. Despite himself, Forest still nodded. "Why did we split up? It's better to stick together. You never know when we'll need backup," he tried.

"You know why. To cover more ground and we'll find them sooner," Jett answered.

Before he could respond, a low groan interrupted the scene, and Forest sighed. "I've got this one."

"No, you don't," his uncle said. Flashing the boy a frown, he went in pursuit of the infected. "Not on my watch."

Forest chuckled bitterly. "I have killed more than you can count. In case you've forgotten, I was born in the apocalypse. That walker doesn't stand a chance."

"That may be true, but my brother was a survivor. I've yet to meet someone as skillful as he was, yet... well, you know what happened."

The boy watched Jett disappear from sight. Within seconds, a body dropped and he returned, his knife in hand.

Noticing the tight lips, Forest took an uneasy breath. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

When the pause dragged on, the boy set his own jaw. One step at a time.

----------------------------

Eyes tired, they lit up when he recognized a sound in the background. Was that flowing water? He stumbled up to Jett and cleared his throat. "Where are we going?"

His uncle managed a smile. "There's a lake up ahead. Lane, Kimberly, and Ryan go there often."

"Ah." Forest hung his head as he formed the next question. "What were they like?" When the man glanced at him, he straightened up. "I meant what are they like?"

"Best of friends, really. If not for this virus, they'd be anything but buddies, but it brought them together." Jett sighed and stole a glance at his nephew.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, a year ago they were taken and held captive for months before we finally found them. During that time, they had to rely on each other and now they're like siblings. No one else can relate to them in that way, so they share a special bond."

The boy frowned with sympathy. "That sounds tough," he said, and looked ahead. "Hopefully that's where they are."

"Yeah."

Tossing a glance at his uncle, Forest gestured for him to come before running forward. "Let's go find your people!" Without further provoking, he was pursed by both Jett and Skylar.

The boy's heart pounded with ease as he stumbled past obstacles. With hard eyes, the boy watched the opening of the woodlands. Almost there. The lake in sight, its calm waters sparkled with reassurance.

But then he heard his uncle yell out.

What? Baffled, Forest turned around to face the man, but someone else earned his attention. Or rather something.

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There was no warning. Its eyes dead, the walker nearly planted its teeth into his neck when Forest staggered back. If only his legs could work, the boy would hurry away.

The beast's tall form was so lifeless, yet so intimidating. Every time it took a step, the boy managed another. Nonetheless, the gap between them was closing. And that's when he had a realization.

His knife.

He equipped the blade from his holster. Taking a breath, Forest stabbed the walker in the head at the same time a bullet went off. With a thud, the body dropped to the ground.

"Hey, you okay?" Jett demanded, stalking over to his nephew. "What was that?"

There was a pause. Under the man's eyes, Forest let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, what was that? I totally had that walker."

"You think this is a joke?" Jett said, his tone even more grave. He shared a lingering look with Skylar.

"No, but I think we're almost to that lake."

The man huffed, clearing annoyed, but sighed after a long moment. "Fine, but don't go running off this time. You could have died just now."

Forest wouldn't admit it, but the turn of events had shaken him up as well. He had to be more careful, not only for his father and siblings but also for his uncle.

The trio continued forward until they had reached the body of water. With no soul in sight, they began to round the lake. At first eager, the atmosphere soon held an unspoken disappointment. The occasional splash of the water was the highlight of the scene when their shouts died down. Doubt had crept into their hearts and all around were frowns.

"Should we keep calling?" Forest asked.

"They would have answered by now," Skylar mumbled, kicking a pebble into the water. "If they were on the other side, we'd see them. They aren't there. Another minute and we'll have walked half of this lake."

"In other words, they are somewhere else," Jett said and took an uneasy breath. "Hope the others are having better luck than us."

"Yeah," Forest sighed. Just follow me lead. Autumn's voice came into his mind. Head down, he too kicked some stray pebbles into the water. "They better be okay."

The setting was quiet and bitter until it wasn't. When sudden gasps interrupted the silence, Forest finally looked up. And stopped in his tracks.

A cougar.

The creature's head peeked out at them from behind a nearby tree, its dark blue eyes observing their every movement. When the pause grew, the wild animal revealed a set of fangs and hissed lowly.

Forest opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"W-we should have brought guns. T-think we can outrun it?" Skylar asked, alarmed.

"That's impossible..." Jett said in a likewise horror.

This is it. We're all gonna die. There's no tomorrow. He took out his knife slowly and gripped its handle. Old blood stained the blade a dark red. Locking eyes with the cougar, Forest knew he couldn't go out like that. If he were to die, he'd want it to be his way. Fresh tears inched from his face as he wondered if he could really do it this time.

"I have an idea."

What?

"Listen," his uncle continued, "let's split up. We all have knives. We will overwhelm the beast."

Nodding, the boy released a breath. Maybe there is a tomorrow.

----------------------------

He willed his legs to function, but they threatened to give out. Under those murderous eyes, he was also struggling to breathe.

However, when his uncle and Skylar crept closer, the boy managed from his frozen-state. With every step he took, Forest knew it could be his last; that the creature had every opportunity to jump at them and win.

They couldn't really kill a cougar, right?

The three made sure to keep a distance as they circled around.

All the while, the beast's hiss grew more and more loud. Ear back, its stance was low and dominant as it glared at each and every one of them. Within seconds, alarm had set in and no longer was it giving a warning. The cougar was mad.

Forest's eyes never left the creature. Not until now. Glancing at the others, he caught firm nods. And he nodded back. Knife held high, he was ready to lunge forward. It was time.

In unison, they ran forward, ready for an attack that could cost them their lives.

With an enraged growl, the cougar pounced over one of their own. Skylar. A set of fangs had lodged into her arm. Screaming in agony, she dropped her knife as she desperately swatted at the animal.

Jett was the first to stab at the beast. When he pierced his weapon through its side, the cougar roared. Letting go of Skylar, it turned to face the unarmed man. And charged.

No.

It was Forest's turn to lunge forward. Before it could reach his uncle, the boy jabbed his knife into the animal's other side. And its reaction was anything but delayed.

Their eyes locked. And Forest ran.

But then he heard a sound he knew too well. Glancing over his shoulder, still hurrying away, he witnessed the cougar collapse to the ground. Dead.

The scene was suddenly quiet. No one said a word. No one moved. Everything was still. And that's when something occurred to him.

They had won. There was a tomorrow.

That same silence lingered over the group as they dragged the body in the direction of home. Nothing was spoken; their eyes said more than their words ever could.

I'm coming home Autumn and Winter. And then I'm finally going to say something I haven't in way too long.

Head down, he helped his uncle with the cougar while Skylar trailed behind crying soft tears. They'd have to tend to her arm when they arrive back at the farmhouse.

"Guys?"

Jumping at the voice, Forest looked up at its owner. "Yeah, Jett?"

"Blood. Do you see it?"

Furrowing his brows, the boy turned his attention to the earth ahead. A trail of red was coming into view.

"It's probably just an animal," he mumbled. When he received an ill-given response, it did little to calm him down. Without another word, Forest dropped his side of the beast and hurried over to the blood.

And that's when he saw something that confirmed his fear. Autumn had been here. There, in the pool of the dark liquid, was Holly's cross.

It was too much. Knees buckling, his vision went black before he hit the ground.