The feeling of chills run down my spine as the cool fall air brushes across my skin. Slowly opening my eyes, I look at the hard, cold slab of concrete I've been laying on all night. My heart sinks remembering that I've lost everything and have been alone for years.

Guess I'm up now. I think as I roll over. My body aching with pain from tossing and turning all throughout the night.

I don't know what's been happening recently, but the same dream occurs over and over again when I try to get any sleep during the night.

Flashback

The smell of warm, blueberry pie fills the air, causing me to look up. Everyone is sitting at the dinner table eating.

My grandfather, drunk as a sailor, decides to get up and he starts to rant about some political matter. It might involve the next president and his duties, but I can't quite manage to hear the full conversation from across the room.

I look back down at my book and continue to read. I'm away from everyone else, alone in a corner where it's quite.

I hear a noise outside that causes me to look back up and out the window.

I see a man.

He's being real clumsy with his feet, and he even knocks over the flower pots my Meme had worked so hard on the summer before.

I slowly rise from my seat and turn around to see if anyone else sees. No one has noticed, so I walk to the door and step outside to confront him.

The man ignores my warning.

I get closer and yell at his back, yet he still refuses to leave.

As I get closer his attention is suddenly caught and he slowly turns toward me.

The sight I see is horrific.

His face has been torn apart and his chest is wide open. Some of his internal organs are hanging down to his knees, making him trip a bit.

I'm mortified by what I see before me.

Terrified, I take off running in the opposite direction of him, but he follows after me limping. I manage to barely evade him, but nevertheless

make it back to the house. I see that the door is left wide open.

I could of sworn I had closed it earlier when that man attacked me.

I walk in and yell for my Meme to tell her what happened with the strange man, but she doesn't answer.

It's eerily quiet, which it never is, not in this house.

I walk to the one place a creak comes from; the far room, at the back of the house.

I slowly approach when I see what my grandfather is doing.

He's eating my family.

He stops devouring his meal to look at me. "You need to know..." He starts, but then everything slowly fades away.

End of flashback

I always immediately wake up after those very few words, never knowing what he was going to tell me.

The one thing that seemed to haunt me the most was how his eyes glowed a golden color, making me go blind for the few seconds the dream remained after that.

I reach for my bag and grab my gun, it's time to head out.

I've been on my own ever since the beginning when my family was slaughtered by the newly found Z's, over five years ago. They're everywhere, no place, so far that I've seen, where there are none.

I saw a couple years back, that some idiot came up with the name Z Nation, and decided to vandalize a sign on the side of the road, as if to voice their founding.

Now how are we ever gunna get tourist with a name like that.

I hunt my own food with a bow I snagged along the way.

For some reason the animals aren't affected by the virus, so there's still plenty of game. The meat they harbor is still healthy enough to eat.

Now if there is a dead carcass laying around they will not hesitate to eat, I've learned that from experience.

Rule 21: When you kill your meal, do not wait a full five seconds to get up and retrieve it.

I have to move around a lot, don't want to stay in one place too long, I've noticed it only attracts Z's soon enough if you do.

I rest every night, and continue moving on during the day.

I've mostly given up hope of finding a cure for the people, until I heard about a savior named Murphy. It's said that he's half human and half zombie, but still has control over what he does. I'm not sure if its true or not: people will come up with anything now a days if it still means there's hope.

I sigh and finally decide to head in the direction my gut is pulling me: towards the tree line, and into the forest.

As I walk away from my night camp, I get a feeling that today's going to be different, that something's going to happen.

********

I walk until just about sundown, only ran into a few Z's.

That's a good sign.

Slowing down, I come up on a beautifully tall tree near a river that looks like it branches out over the horizon. It gives the perfect amount of cover, and a view from all directions.

I decide that this tree will suffice as my new camping grounds, but before I even take another step, the feeling of doubt and uneasiness washes over me, causing me to halt any further movements.

I don't know where it comes from, I just know that all these signs and feelings started around my seventeenth birthday.

If there is ever any danger near by, my body reacts and goes into a self defense type mode. The feelings appear and, in a way, guides me through whatever obstacle I'm facing. It's hard to explain in any way other than pure instinct.

The area has minimal Z's, the height of the tree we will gain an advantage point, and with the thick layering of leaves a perfect cover is made.

As I finish going over the facts in my head, the feeling slowly starts to subside.

Taking a rope out of my bag, I throw it around the tree, just to catch it on the other side. After a little push off the ground, I begin to climb.

The views not too bad.

Grabbing a hold of the last branch, I haul myself up.

The bark itself is cooling and helps with the heat I've accumulated in the past thirteen minutes.

Molding my back against the tree, I rap the rope around the base as well as myself.

A song I once knew comes to mind and the toon soon slips its way past my lips.

The sound of the water splashing over the rocks along with the song I've committed to memory, soothes me into a light sleep, but just before I can completely drift off, a sound startles me.

Voices.

Not zombie rambling or moaning, but actual voices.

Excitement surges through me as I wait for them to pass.

I haven't had contact with another human since the beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse.

I'm not quite sure if I'm physically ready to communicate just yet.

Thinking of this, sadness covers the excitement and I feel my body slowly grow cold.

The foot steps get closer and closer to my hideout; panic sets in.

What do I do? What if they try to steal from me, or even worse, hurt me?

I'm frantically screaming in my head, mentally breaking down.

I come to the rational decision to let them pass without giving away my cover, when the rope snaps, and down I go tumbling along the side of the tree and fall flat on my ***.

And **** if it didn't hurt.

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

Vote and comment please...I wanna know what you think of the story!!!

"Puppies and Kittens!" I hear a woman's voice say.

I slowly began to raise my face from the ground, when I hear a softer voice come after hers.

"I think she's human."

I turn to see this strangely attractive boy nodding his head in my direction. His voice sounds warm and smooth, and for some odd reason, it comforts me.

"Yea Imma have to agree with 10K on that Warren." An older guy with a silver mane, and a beard to match, says.

As he turns his head I can see the outline of a little bump sticking out of his head which I'm slowly finding adorable. I feel a smile coming on, but push it down.

Looking back at this guy, "10K", I start thinking how odd of a name it is, but I guess I should be greatful, he just saved me from being mercied.

I can't shake the sudden feeling I'm getting though. It only seems to get stronger as he continues to approach me. It feels kind of...nice in a way.

"Get her up," the women with the authoritative tone speaks in my direction again, "she may be useful to us."

I slightly wonder what she means by "useful". It makes me a little uneasy, I don't want to be anyone's personal slave. I will not go down like that, just because I am of the mixed race means nothing, but before I could object, the guy named 10K picks me up to my feet.

His touch is warm and electrifying. I swear he looks like he feels the jolt of the electricity too, but I keep that to myself, I don't want to start off being too weird after just falling out of the tree.

I am less tense now that he's touching me, but I am also still panicked and on alert for not knowing who these people are, or what they are planning on "using" me for.

I take a glance at 10K, to see him looking at the beautiful dark skinned women ahead of us. A ping of jealousy hit me for some unknown reason. They seem to be communicating by looking at each other.

What is wrong with me?!

Before I could think anymore to myself, the women in front of us starts to speak.

"I'm Ronda, this is my group," the she says,"we aren't going to hurt you. We are not here to steal any of your stuff either. We are just passing through to get home." She said pointing West.

I think a soft sigh escapes my lips, because she looks at me expecting to hear some foul language or an argument.

I am upset I fell out of the tree, but not at them, it is nice to see people for once.

Noticing that I have not flew off the handle at her yet, she continues on. Pointing around at the people surrounding me, she starts to name them.

"This is Addie, Doc, and that there is 10K." After she says his name he looks down at me. The smile starting to form on his face is very sweet. He asks for my name, but drawing a blank and not knowing what to say, I stay silent.

"Well you've made it out here this long, and seeing as we kind if startled you out of your tree there, you're free to come with us if you want," Ronda says, breaking the silence I have made by not revealing my name to 10K, "as long as you can pull your own wait." I simply smile and nod a yes.

Breaking everything I believe in by that one small movement, I suddenly feel a weird sensation creep over me.

Even though I don't truly know these people, I am tired of being alone, it is nice to see people for a change instead of dead bodies walking around, so I slowly make my stomach suck up the feeling.

I start to gather my things, including the rope that had so fatefully broke, and begin following them to my new destination.

As they start back on their journey, now with me joining them, the guy they call 10K starts to stare at me.

I hope I look okay. I self consciously think, starting to feel my face heat up.

I glance up at him and stare into his mint green eyes. They are beautiful, the intensity of them make my knees feel weak. His smile tips higher when he notices me looking at him.

"You haven't said that much since we've met." He says.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything, out of the fear of messing up a friendship with the new people, so I just give him a blank stare, hopping he won't continue.

"It's okay if your not ready to talk yet, I'll give you your space." He says looking a little let down.

He starts to walk away, but before I realize what I'm doing, I quickly grab his hand and pull him back.

Wanting to say something, I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I close my mouth and stare at him a little longer, feeling that same jolt of electricity.

He seems to understand that I can't take being alone anymore and stays behind with me. I drop his hand hopping he won't see my face turning a different variety of colors, and we continue to walk side by side until we come across a herd of Z's.

Almost out of nowhere my instincts kicks in and my arrows start flying though the air.

I hear Ronda say 'Puppies and Kittens' again. I think she's referring to the zombies, but I'm not so sure yet.

I realize that I have already merced seven Z's, and that 10K is a great shot. He doesn't miss not one zombie he aims for. Every shot went through the head, the kill spot, and the Z will simply drop in what seems like half a millisecond.

I look at him and a big smile wipes across my face. He notices and then drops the last Z there is. I stare at him in awe, and take in how he mumbles a number under his breath everytime he shoots a Z.

Turning to look at me smiling a big and incredibly goofy smile, he has his hand up in the air for a high five. I go in to slap his hand and we make a really powerful clapping noise.

I make a loud giggling sound, staring at him. He leaves his hand on mine for a little bit longer after wards, letting the tingles dance over our skin, until I let go.

Turning around blushing beat red cheeks, I see that everyone has eyes on me and 10K.

Oh god, I thought.

this is so embarrassing...

they probably think I'm weird now...

why do they keep staring?!

Please just avert your eyes people!!!

"You're pretty fast on your feet," Ronda says looking impressed, "we didn't even get a shot in."

"You were right to ask her to come and help us find Murphy." Doc laughs.

Surprise shows over my face. I can’t believe that Murphy is real, maybe there really is some hope left.

"Well we better keep moving the sound probably attracted more." Ronda states. "Our camp is straight ahead, lets move out."

************

When we arrive I am surprised to see that the camp is an abandoned store. It is all cleared out, no z's in sight. There is still food stocked everywhere, and well guarded too. In front of me stands the biggest dog I have ever seen. It's a husky and wolf mix. From sitting, to on all fours, the dog starts to growl as I approach. 10K suddenly runs to my rescue and shouts at the dog. It shuts up and sits back down. "His name is Shasta." I look at him in shock considering I have always wanted a dog to name him exactly that. He grabs him and puts my hand on Shasta's back. Stroking his fur feels nice, it feels...normal. I haven't done something so normal, as stoke a dog's soft fur coat, in years.

The dog rolls over onto my lap and holds his belly out. I, of course, can't resist and stroke his belly till he falls asleep on me. 10K seems amused, yet shocked at the same time.

"He's never just laid in the lap of a complete stranger before. I guess he likes you." Hearing 10K say that makes my day. I curl up with the dog and continue on to stroke his fur.

Ronda comes over and tells me I have a night shift later, that 10K will show me where to go. I nod and was then told to get some rest. No resistance on my part at all. I curl up against the wall with my new acquainted friend Shasta. His warmth making me feel safe.

************

I begin to drift in and out of sleep hoping to stay away from my night terror. Instead of my recurring nightmare, I dream of a memory from my past, before the Z.A.

************

I was sitting on a deer stand with a small heater on in the corner.

My grandfather always took me to the deer camp with him. It's one of the only memories I have left that I remember, the rest has started to fade.

It was just before the morning light, the trees moved slowly from the oncoming wind. A bird chirped a melody in my ears, it was so peaceful.

The sun then crept its way into the sky, as a deer made its way into the big opening. I raised my gun to shoot, but instead just admired it through the scope on my rifle. The deer looked up from grazing and met my eyes. It seemed to give me a long look before it took off  running into the forest, never to be seen again.

************

A light tap wakes me from my memory. I struggle to flutter my eyes open, but when I do 10K is standing over me.

"Time for your shift." He says with a smile.

I hurriedly wipe my face of any indication that I have just been sleeping.

Wow you just met the guy and you already care what you look like in front of him. I think to myself as I gather my weapons to head up to the roof.

I try to not wake the sleeping Shasta, but that dog hears my foot hit the ground and he bounces up. He follows me to the roof stair case and waits for me to open the door for him.

"Your Majesty." I whisper so only Shasta and myself hear.

He seems to understand my words for he struts out the door like he's the king of the universe. I giggle walking out to the roof top to see 10K staring at me with a smile.

"It's nice to hear you laugh." He says.

I blush and put my things on the ground. Hoping he doesn't notice, I quickly bend down and load my bow.

Being on the roof with 10K makes me nervous, not only because I don't know the guy, but because every time he looks at me my stomach goes crazy.

I turn away to look at the little town below me, admiring all the sights I'm taking in. A few Z's have made their way here during the time that I slept, and now occupy some of the street below.

Suddenly I feel a burning sensation on my face, I turn to see that 10K is staring right at me triggering those damn bugs in my stomach. He seems to stare at me a while longer before finally asking the question I guess he's been wanting to ask.

"Are you afraid to talk to me?"

Shocked by his words I look at him and laugh. He seems to be embarrassed by the question now. I stop laughing seeing this emotion. I sigh and finally speak my first words to him.

"I'm afraid to mess up." I confess in a hushed tone.

He looks surprised that I actually answered the question, but goes back serious.

"Mess up what?" He responds.

"I haven't talked to people in a long time. I don't want to mess up and say the wrong thing."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." He looks generally concerned. He reaches over and grabs my hand. "Don't let that get in the way of how you connect with people. Not all of us are bad." He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck nervously.

I let his hand stay there, enjoying the warm electricity go through my body. His hand starts to caress mine with his thumb. I look at him and make the time to actually take in his features that the moonlight so enhances.

His hair is so dark brown it looks black. A tingling sense to run my fingers through his hair comes over me, but I stop the urge by looking at something else.

His eyes are a beautiful mint green. His smile is gorgeous. His skin is a smooth tan color that makes his white complection seem golden brown. His teeth come to a point at his canines, it is actually a really sexy feature on him.

I suddenly feel his hand tightening around mine, bringing me back to earth. I look down at his hand and smile, this one gesture makes my stomach go in knots.

"Jasmine." I blurt out.

"What?" 10K looks confused.

"My name. It's Jasmine."

His smile brightens and I see a twinkle of what looked like hope in his eyes.

"I like it. Jasmine." He says testing my name.

A big blush comes across my cheeks and I put my head down in shame. The way he said my name made it sound like I matter.

"Hey," He says looking me deep in the eyes, bringing my face back up with his finger,"I know you may not trust us yet, but I swear we aren't bad people."

Shasta seems to bark in agreement.

I go to pet him, when something catches my eye.

A dark shadow blurs my vision.

Zombies don't move that fast. I thought, or do they?