It's been two weeks since we arrived. We are doing great. We help out by planting vegetables in the garden. I head into the kitchen. Jack is standing by the counter.

He turns around. "Look what Daniel brought us!"

A carton of eggs, a loaf of bread, and assorted fruit are sitting on the counter.

"That's great!"

Jack starts cooking some eggs.

Jade is sitting on the couch.

"Hey, Daniel also brought by our clothes," she says.

I take the basket by the front door and sort out the clothes. This place feels like home now. I sit on the couch with Jade. Jack comes out from the kitchen and places our plates on the coffee table in front of us. He made toast and scrambled eggs.

We eat, and then Jade and I go outside. Today we need to help scavenge food from nearby houses. We're headed out with ten others are headed out now.

As we drive, I see all kinds of animals.

"Do animals get infected?" I ask.

"They know not to hang around the dead but sometimes they do get infected," Daniel says.

The truck stops. There are five buildings ahead. One is a grocery store. The other four are houses. Jade and me go into the grocery store. We walk through the store, passing the registers.

I hear a child crying. I pull out my pistol.

I walk towards the sound with my gun ready. I see a woman behind the counter. She's holding a child who has a bite mark on his arm.

"Don't kill him!" the woman yells.

"I wasn't going to," I say.

"Those people from the fort killed my daughter and my husband, when they were bit. They were immune and they shot them! Don't take my son. He's immune, too. He'll be fine. Just leave...you can take some food but leave us some," the woman says frantically.

"I won't take your son," I say. "I'm not like that."

"You said the people from the fort? Did you mean the people from the safe house?" Jade asks.

"Yes, they don't care if a person is immune, they still kill them or take them away," the woman says.

Jade looks worried.

"Just don't tell them about the bite," I tell her. Jade starts getting the food while I sit with the woman.

"You said they take them. Where exactly do they take them?" I ask.

"I don't know...somewhere far away. Probably to be killed," she says. "No one knows where exactly they take them. I saw the bite mark on your friend's arm...you need to get out of there before they see it, too."

I don't want to leave, but if what this woman is saying is true, Jade is in danger. I need to protect Jade and Jack as much as I can. I'm the leader of our small group, and a leader is supposed to make sure everyone is safe.

"I understand. I'll figure something out," I say.

"Don't let them take someone else," the woman says.

"I won't, I promise," I say.

"Alright, I took most of the food here, but I did leave some for you," Jade says to the woman.

"Thank you. You two are the only kind people I've met in the last ten years," the woman says.

I get up. We walk out of the store. I see a horde running towards us.

"I'll get the others you start up that truck!" Jade says.

"Be fast!" I say.

I run to the truck. I look around for the keys. I look in the glove boxes and the center console. Jade gets in the passenger's seat. She hands me the keys.

"Everyone is in the truck! Drive now!" Jade says.

I hit the gas. I see the horde following in the rear view mirror.

"Faster!" Jade yells.

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"I'm going a hundred miles per hour, if I go any faster I'll crash," I say.

"We need to get rid of some of those zombies," Jade says. She crawls into the back of the truck.

"I found a rifle!" she says.

"Use it then!" I yell. I hear gunfire.

The passenger's side door opens. A person with enlarged pupils gets in. He grabs my arm. I start swerve off the road, zigzagging from left to right. I punch the zombie in the face. I find a pistol on the ground. I grab it and shoot the zombie. I push the zombie out the open door.

"What was that?" Jade yells.

"A zombie got in. I had to shoot it," I say.

"You're not bit, right?" Jade asks.

"No, I'm fine," I say.

I finally drive to the safe house. I get out of the truck. We lost the horde a few miles ago. That horde had about five hundred zombies. That was a close call.

I walk into our house. Jack isn't here. I look at my arm. There's blood all over it.

Did that zombie bite me? Please, tell me it didn't! I run to the sink. I grab a bottle of water and pour it on my arm. The blood washes off, revealing a bite mark.

It bit me. Jack opens the door. I can't let him see. I run to the bathroom. I wrap a bandage around the bite. I cover the bandage with my shirt sleeve. I'm not going to tell them. Once a person shows symptoms, that means they aren't immune. If I do show symptoms, I'll leave but if I don't, I'll stay. I go back into the living room.

"Are you alright? You ran into the bathroom when I came in," Jack says.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to get something from the bathroom," I lie.

"So what did you two find out there?" Jack asks.

"A horde! A giant horde followed us!" Jade says.

"You guys didn't get bit though, right?" Jack asks.

"No," Jade says.

"Uh, yeah, we're both fine," I say.

I find Daniel outside planting vegetables in the garden.

"That horde could easily take over this place. We need to defeat it," I say.

"And how would we defeat this horde?" he asks.

"I could do it. I've done it before," I say.

"Are you serious? You're going to defeat the horde? No. I'm not letting you go out there and get killed. Let the adults handle this," he says.

"Come on. Give me and Jade a truck, a few guns, and we can do this," I say.

"Fine, if you think you can do this go right ahead."

I'm surprised he said that. He probably thinks I'm going to back out. I have defeated a horde once, when I was fifteen. There wasn't as many zombies as there is in this horde, but I'm pretty sure I can do it again.

I go back into the house. I notice my bite wound has bled through the bandage already. I go into the bathroom and change the bandages. I walk back into the living room.

"Jade, I'm going to defeat the horde. I could use some help," I say.

"Sure, I'll go," she says.

We drive out and view the horde from a distance.

"You told Daniel you can do this?" Jade asks.

"Yes."

"I don't know now. There's more of them. Now there's at least a thousand," Jade says. I grab the assault rifle.

"We can do this," I say.

I start shooting at the horde. Jade starts shooting, too. The horde notices and runs in our direction. We get into the truck. I get into the back and start shooting at the horde. I kill thirty zombies before I have to reload. I keep shooting. Finally, after ten minutes, about half the horde is left.

Suddenly, the truck is flipped over. I hit my head and pass out. I wake up a few hours later. I'm on the ground.

"Jade?" I yell. I go over the the front of the truck. The truck is upside down. I see Jade passed out in the driver's seat. I hear zombies approaching. I open the driver side door. I pull Jade out.

"Wake up!" I say shaking her.

Her eyes open.

"We have to go!" I yell.

"What happened?" Jade asks.

"The truck crashed!" I say.

She closes her eyes.

I look at my bite mark. The skin around it is turning a grey color. I hear a car approaching us. I pull Jade behind the truck and hide with her. Please, let this be Daniel or someone from the safe house. I hear the car stop and the door open.

I lost my pistol in the crash. I pull out my knife. The person walks over to us. It's a man.

"I'm from the safe house. Daniel sent me," the man says.

Thank God it's not somebody else.

"We need to get back to the safe house," I say.

Jade wakes up again. I pull her up and get her into the man's car. Jade passes out again.

I get in the passenger's seat. He starts driving. When he's not looking, I check the bite again. It stopped bleeding finally, but it's turning grey which is not a great sign. I don't feel well, either. I'm burning up. We make it back to the safe house. I take Jade to the infirmary. They have it set up in a small home. While they check on her, I go back to the house. Jack runs to me as soon as I open the door.

"Are you alright? Where's Jade? I heard about the crash," Jack says.

I don't think I'm going to be alive much longer with this bite.

"Im fine, Jade seems okay," I lie to him.

"I was afraid the zombies got to you after the crash. I'm so glad you're alive!" Jack says while hugging me.

Should I tell him? I don't want to, but then I feel like I have to. Jade walks in a few minutes later.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she says. Jack starts cooking canned soup. I go to the bathroom. I'm very pale. I'm guessing I have at least twelve hours left give or take.

I don't know what to do. Should I tell them? What would they do if I did? I know Jack would be an absolute wreck. Maybe I could tell Jade? I throw up in the toilet. It's a black color. I start to panic. What is wrong with me? Is this normal for an infected person? Am I turning? I must be. I have so many questions that can't be answered!

I hear a knock on the bathroom door.

"Iris, are you okay?"

Jack must have heard me throw up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say. I flush the toilet and I leave the bathroom. I eat and sit in my room. Jade walks in.

"Are you alright?" she asks. She closes the door.

"No...I'm infected," I say crying. She's shocked by it. Was telling her the right thing to do?

"How?" she asks.

"When we were driving from that grocery store and a zombie got in the truck, that's when it bit me. I didn't know until after I had got home," I say. She hugs me.

"What do I do? What do I tell Jack?" I ask.

"I don't know, but whatever happens I will help you through it all," she says.

Jack knocks on the door.

"Give me a minute," I say.

"This can't wait, Iris!" Jack says.

I run to the door and open it. What could be this important?

"What?" I yell at him.

"We need to leave now!" Jack says.

"What? Why?" Jade asks.

"The horde is coming! It's bigger and it's going to attack. Daniel says we have to leave," Jack says frantically.

Are you kidding me? Why can't we ever just have one day where nothing bad happens?

I run back into my room. I grab all my clothes and stuff them in my backpack. I know I'm not going to be alive much longer, but these clothes are Jade's size. Jack and Jade have all their stuff. We run out the door. I can't believe this.

We run as fast as we can. I don't feel like I can run much longer. I don't even know where we are going. I feel dizzy and sick again. I fall over.

"Iris!" Jack yells. I pass out. I wake up a few hours later. Jack is holding me. We are in a shack.

"Where are we?" I ask

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jack cries.

"What? Tell you what?" I ask sitting up.

"You were infected, and you didn't tell me! Why not?" he says.

"Because I didn't want to upset you," I say. "I knew I should have told you, but I didn't want to upset you especially if it was nothing!"

"Are you immune?" he asks.

"No...how long was I passed out for?" I ask.

"Five hours," Jade says.

I look in the mirror. My skin is slowly turning grey. My veins are a very bright blue, brighter than usual. I don't have much time left. I'm thinking at most, an hour.

"Let's go! The more time we waste here is less time we could have had traveling," I say.

"She's right," Jade says.

We continue on. Jack is holding me as we walk. I'm freezing now.

"Is anyone else cold?" I ask.

"No," Jack says. He pulls a blanket out of his bag and wraps it around me. It's somewhat better.

"Jack, I don't have much time. I want you to know that l love you and that no matter what, I will always be with you. Jade, please protect Jack. I know you can keep him safe. Promise me you will protect him," I say.

"Iris, don't give up. Keep fighting," Jack says.

"I promise you that I will protect Jack with my life," Jade says.

"Jack, I don't have a choice! If I could keep fighting, I would. Just listen to what I have to say!" I fall over. I can't move. This is the end for me. I have no control over my body, whatsoever.