Chapter 3

It took us an hour to reach Highway 45, this one was surprisingly not as backed up as I originally thought it would be. It seemed that this one had a slightly slow traffic flow to it but people were still moving which was a godsend in my book. As we drove past cars that were scattered around the highway, I noticed that some of the cars were on fire and others were being raided. It seemed that it might have been under attack by the 'Infected' for a while and then they moved elsewhere into the city which is why it seemed less chaotic. I knew that it wouldn't be long before society itself collapsed, this always happened in movies, books, and even shows. Riots break out, people flee to get to safety, and are killed or attacked while doing so. I looked out of the window, watching people run away from cars with their belongings. I hoped that it was nothing like this back in Colorado and that everyone we love is safe, I couldn't stand the thought of losing anyone to this disease. Scarlett suddenly slammed on the brakes causing me to fly forward, my back slammed into my seat and I felt the wind nearly knocked out of me. I let out a cough and tugged at the seatbelt to loosen its hold on me, "Scarlett, what the hell?!" I looked over at her, my hair hanging in my face. When I saw Scarlett's face, my eyes softened as she once again looked frightened. Just as I was about to say something, I heard screaming outside and turned my head to look out of the windshield. My eyes widened in shock as I watched a family of five get attacked by one of the 'Infected', the father was trying his best to fend off one of them as the oldest kid was busy protecting his younger siblings. He looked to be around Scarlett and I's age, the middle child looked a few years younger and the youngest was practically a pre-teen. "Oh god," Scarlett stammered as the mother was attacked by another 'Infected', she was pulled away from her youngest child and was bitten and jumped by several other 'Infected' people.

"Oh my god,"

"What do we do? We can't just let them die out there." Scarlett looked at me, knowing that I was not going to let this go. "Blake, no. We have to get out of here, we can't stay here. Helping them might just get us killed." We heard more screaming, the two of us looking out the windshield as the oldest and middle child was separated from the youngest, the oldest panicking as he watched his younger sister get attacked by an 'Infected'. The father became overwhelmed and continued fighting to get to his children, but it was no use. They hardly had any sort of weapons other than a few hockey sticks and bats to protect themselves from the 'Infected' coming at them. My heart dropped into my stomach as I watched this poor young man watch his youngest sibling get torn apart. In just a few minutes, his entire family minus the middle sibling, was attacked, separated, and killed right in front of him. "I'm going out there, you can stay in here. But I'm going to help him," I undid my seatbelt and reached into the backseat, pulling out the bat that I had stuck in here when we were packing the car. The bat was given to me by my older brother when he found out that I was going to college in New York and I would be living with Scarlett, he gave me the bat to keep in the apartment for protection. "Blake," I snatched my hand out of Scarlett's grasp and unlocked the door, "Look, you will only open this door if I come back here alive with those two. If I come back with a bite, don't open the door. Drive away, drive fast and as far away as you possibly can, and get back home to our families. Do whatever you can to make it, to survive. Do you hear me?" I looked Scarlett in the eyes, "Blake, I-" I stopped her from saying anything else, I quickly got out of the car and closed it behind me. I heard the car door lock and quickly surveyed my surroundings, making sure there were no 'Infected' coming towards the car. When I saw that none were around, I quickly made my way toward the two.

Without thinking much, I swung my bat and managed to take down two 'Infected' by harshly hitting them. I knew that it wouldn't kill them but I had to try, "Hey!" I called to the young man and his brother, the two looked up at me. My eyes widened when I saw an 'Infected' sneaking up behind the two, just waiting for the right moment to strike and grab the younger brother. "Watch out!" I ran over to the two, dodging an 'Infected' that was coming at me, and smacked the one that was headed for the younger brother. I swung the bat again, knocking the 'Infected' onto its back, and turned towards the two siblings. The young man had dark straight, wavy brown hair and gray-blue eyes. He was extremely handsome and had tan skin, just a tad lighter than my own. He stood about 5'8'', taller than both Scarlett and I and he was well built, he had nice broad shoulders and looked very fit. He wore a brown leather jacket, a beige shirt underneath it, and black jeans. His brother stood just a few feet shorter, one inch taller than I. He had the same colored eyes as his brother but his hair was shorter and a dirty blonde color, he also was fit and broad-shouldered. He wore a black jacket, a white shirt underneath, and black jeans. Just like his older brother, he was handsome but his skin was a bit lighter than his brothers. "Look, I know you have questions and are skeptical of my intentions since you don't know me, but me and my friend have a vehicle and we're trying to make it out of here alive. I came out here to help because I didn't want to leave you two to die out here." I explained.

"What does that mean?" The young man asked.

"What I'm saying is.. Come with me if you want to live." I said, wincing as I realized how cheesy it sounded. The young man hesitated, thinking it over as just as another 'Infected' charged at us. I immediately swung my bat, hitting it across the temple and knocking it down. I heard more groans and saw that there were more 'Infected' pouring out of from the forest around the highway, "Alright." With that, I led the three of us back to the car and slammed on the window. Scarlett quickly unlocked the car, the boys jumping into the back seat as I got into the passenger side. "Everyone, buckle up." I called, putting the bat on the floor in front of me. I heard the clicks of the seatbelts and locked the car door behind me, buckling myself in. Scarlett quickly started the car as 'Infected' started coming towards the car, "Drive, Scar. Drive!" She slammed her foot on the gas, causing the car to lurch forward as she took. I held onto the handle as she swerved around the incoming 'Infected' and headed away from the area. We all let out sighs of relief when we finally left the area, I could see from the rearview mirror that the younger brother was watching from the back window. "What's your name?" The young man asked, looking into the rearview mirror, his eyes meeting mine. "I'm Blake, this is my best friend Scarlett. We're both college students, I'm 19. She's 20. What about you? I never got your names." I introduced myself, "My name is Logan Thatcher, and this is my younger brother Liam. I'm 19, he's 16."

"Well under the circumstances, it's nice to meet you, Logan. Liam." Scarlett said.

"Likewise."