I sit in the back of Shane's jeep. The sun is long gone but it's still hot. We have sat on this highway for hours. People have started to pitch tents and lawn chairs. They don't seem to scared, they are just impatient. Carl sits next to me and is talking. He hasn't stopped for a good two hours. I'm fine with it, it keeps me entertained. Lori and Shane are playing with the radio but nothing but static is heard.

Shane turns and faces me. " Juliet…" he starts. I just smile and nod to tell him I'm fine.

I look out the window and notice a family parked next to us. The husband is smoking looking down at his daughter who looks lonely as her mother pats her head. The mother looks afraid and frail. I tap Carl's shoulder. He stops talking for a moment and looks to me. I point out the window to the little girl and hand him a board game, checkers, that was just sitting on one of his bags. He took it and jumped from the car.

" Hey? You wanna play with me?" He asks the little girl. The girl looks to her mother who nods with a small smile. " I'm Carl." he sticks his small hand out, the girl shakes it timidly.

" Sophia."

" That's my mom Lori, Shane and Juliet." He says as I climb from the jeep and walk over to him.

" Shane your dad?" Sophia asks.

I smile. " No, my dad is dead." Carl sighs as I put an arm around him. " Shane and Juliet are brother and sister, friends with my mom and dad." Carl says.

I look up to the mother and smile. I shake her hand and smile. " Carol, that's my husband Ed." She points to the larger man who looks me up and down with an unsettling smile. I back up a bit with a small smile at Carol.

" Could you watch Carl for a minute?" Lori comes up behind me. She places a hand on my shoulder and I jump a bit. She smiles. " Me and Shane are just going up the road and see what the problem is…" Lori said as I look back to Shane. I tilt my head. I do not want him to leave but he does with a small nod.

The sound of helicopters flood my ears. I look up quickly. They are headed for the city. I freeze. Are they search and rescue? Maybe they can save Rick, he isn't dead. Shane told me he was but I refuse to believe one of my best friends is dead. Lori has come to terms with it but I simply just can't. Then the sound of screams pull my attention. Carl finches but I hold him close and shake my head to let him know not to be afraid.

The sound of crashing and roaring rips through the air and I'm confused. Shane comes running back with panick and horror in his eyes, I can see it from miles away. Lori had tears down her face as she runs behind my brother He comes up to me and looks out of breath. He grabs my hand and pulls me away from the two children and Lori hugs Carl. He pulls me to the jeep and sighs.

" It has gotten worse. They… They…" he starts to breathe heavily. I place a hand on his shoulder and take a deep breath with him. " They are bombing the whole damn city." He says. My eyes grow in shock. I shake my head. All those people, just gone now. " We need to get out of here. I need to get you, Carl and Lori safe." She said grabbing my hand and pulling to the small group again. " Alright we should make camp for the night." Shane speaks up over the small group of about 15 that has gathered.

I survey the group. Carol, Ed and their little girl are close to Lori and Carl, a Hispanic family hold each other as the three kids cry. Two young blondes with and older man near an old R.V look confused. Two African people, skinny older women and a chunkier young man are whispering with a middle age man who just stares into the abyss not saying anything. Two brothers, I assume stand by a motor cycle and old blue pick up, they look like they could care less. The older one stares back at me with an odd smile and the younger listens to Shane as he crosses his arms and bites his nail. I shake my head and look back to Shane who moves closer to me and puts an arm around me and smiles as everyone moves to the bushes and starts setting things up.

Shane and I pitch a tent in the middle of everyone. They all look at us and wait for me to say something. But I just ignore the looks and start gathering all our food. We have three big boxes of canned goods. I walk over to the older man sitting near his RV. The young blondes have a tent set up beside the door. They look scared but calm. I walk up to the man and tap his shoulder.

He turns with a jump. " Oh my, Dear you startled me." I put my head down and look at the food. I point to the boxes and then point to his RV. He gives me a questionable look. I point at the food then the RV again. " You want to put the food in here?" he asks. I nod. " Why?" He asked. I sigh. I just shrug. I don't know how to tell him there is more room. I just point to the food and then the RV again. " Alright." he smiles as he helps me. " I'm Dale by the way, and the two girls over there are Amy and Andrea." he smiles and I just nod. He looked at me and waited for me to respond by I say nothing and just carry the food into his RV.

Later I walk over to Shane who smiles. " We should start some fires…" He smiles. I just nod and walk into the bushes hopeful to find some wood. I only stray from camp a bit picking up twigs and branches. I hear a stick snap from behind and I freeze. I have an arm full of wood and no weapon. I just stand and wait. The bushes rustle a bit. I slowly start to back up but before I can take off I run into something stiff and big.

Whatever I ran into makes a grunt and I jump dropping the wood in my hands. I turn quickly ready for anything. " Watch where you're going." The voice says in a deep and thick southern accent. I look up slowly and see the younger brother from the highway. I still freeze. He huffs in aggravation. I say nothing. " you alright? Look like you seen a ghost." He shook his head. He took a step forward and I shuffled back my eyes wide with fear. " Relax will ya." he rolled his eyes. I just nod slightly then start to pick up the wood in front of me. He bends down and hands me some sticks I missed. I looked back up as I stood. I couldn't really see a whole lot, just his big body shape and his eyes. He looked at me waiting for me to say something but nothing. I nod as a thank you then walk backwards a bit then turn and make a b line for camp.

" Juliet are you alright?" Shane comes rushing as I quickly exit the bush. I nod and walk around him. He and some of the others built fire pits out of rocks. I place some wood in each. " You are out of breath. Did you see something? Did one of those things attack you?" Shane pesters me. I shake my head. As I search my pocket for matches he grabs my arm and turns me to face him. " Don't go out alone like that again." he says in a more than forceful tone. I smile and nod. I very much agree with him. Even though I am only a few years younger he still feels the need to protect me like a child.

As the night calms and people quiet down the fires start and we all stay quiet. A lot has happened in the fast few weeks. It started out as a cold, then started to spread. This virus took over Atlanta within a day. The dead started to rise and eat the living. It was not a pretty sight, blood, bones and the smell was the worst, not to mention being chased by people you know for food. By the end of the night people had different names for these things; bitters, roamers, geeks, lamebrains, and walkers. didn't matter to me what they were called, all that mattered was not getting eaten.

" Juliet?" I heard my name. I look up from the fire and noticed people looking at me. Shane was standing outside out tent and waiting. " We should all get some sleep, we have a lot to figure out tomorrow." he said to me and everyone else. I nodded and walked over quickly. The others they watched me. I bet they wondered why I didn't talk. I bet they all had different stories. I didn't really care, I just needed some rest.

HEY! Well that was the first chapter! I kinda love this story and am working really hard at making it awesome! If y'all like it just review and I'll keep posting chapters... but I have three other stories so If no one likes it I will probably abandon all hope... anyways thanks to anyone who reads :)