1 Prologue

Slowly regaining consciousness, all I could hear around me were muffled screams slowly growing clearer. Having fully awakened I quickly got up off the floor and started searching around my room for an escape route. Looking down the hall through my bedroom door, I saw wooden beams and debris strewn all over the floor, eliminating that route. I quickly moved to my bedroom window and peered outside. Explosions up and down the street, houses on fire and people frantically trying to escape.

Reaching towards my closet I grabbed the first piece of clothing I could find, wrapped it around my hand and punched the window, shattering the glass. Pulling the piece of clothing off my hand I threw it on the ground and started searching for my backpack. Finding it next to my desk I pick it up and moved back to my closet, throwing crumpled underwear, shorts and shirts inside. Rummaging on the bottom rack of my closet I searched for my hiking boots and a pair of running shoes. Finished with packing I slung the back up onto my back and I thought about my duffle bag. Searching through my room, I quickly found it, then I ran towards the window and jump through it, thinking to myself 'thank god we don't live in a two-story house'. Running alongside the side of the house, I bolted to the front door and rammed it with my shoulder, knocking it clean of the hinges.

Stepping over the door and into the living room, I took a quick pause to assess the damages and see if the kitchen was not blocked. Seeing a clear path, I ran through the doorway straight to the cabinets with all the canned foods. I threw as much as I could into the duffle bag, leaving enough space for a few water bottles. After having stocked up I slung the duffle bag over my shoulder and then ran through the front door into the yard. Patting my pockets I searched for my car keys.

...

Driving at a snail's pace, I slowly made my way through the streets, weaving between parked or abandoned cars. Having made it to the first intersection I jumped out the driver's side and sprinted towards the corner house on the right side of the road.

Banging on the front door of the house, I heard no reply. Stepping back a few paces, I burst forward with all the strength I could muster.

"Marie! MARIE!! God damn it, where are you?"

Going through the house, door by door, I finally found her, unconscious but with no serious wounds. Rummaging through her closet I took her backpack and filled it with clothes and slung it on my back. I bent down and slowly picked Marie up. Making sure that I had a solid hold on her, I made my way back to my car. Opening the rear driver-side door I gently lay Marie on the back seat and put her backpack behind the passenger seat.

As I pulled away I heard a soft grown coming from behind me.

"Marie, hey Marie, you awake, you okay?"

"Kaiden?"

"You're awake, good," I say as I let out a relieved sigh. "Listen we're on the road, headed out of town, if you have any stops to make better say so now."

"Kaiden, what's going on, what happened?"

Slowly explaining what happened I snuck a few glances in the rearview mirror and saw Marie looking down and absentmindedly nodding.

"I'm thinking we'll go to Shade Tree campgrounds, set up there for a while, at least till we know what's going on."

Hearing no reply, I put my full focus on the road.

...

Standing in front of the car, I stared at the gates, blocking us from going to the campgrounds. Walking around the car I opened the trunk and lifted the cover mat. Opening the small compartment I pulled out the lug wrench. Walking around the car I give the lug wrench a few swings. I took an awkward stance, copying what I've seen in martial arts movies, and just as I was about to swing, a car horn sounded from behind. Dazed for a second, I stared at the pickup parked behind my car.

Snapping out of my daze I slowly walked towards the pickup, my grip tightening around the lug wrench.

Getting closer to the pickup I saw a Shad Tree logo on the hood. Seeing the logo I somewhat lowered my vigilance, and walked towards the driver's side window.

"I'm sorry, but could you move your car, I want to open the gates."

Hearing this, I quickly threw the lug wrench in the trunk, closed it, then got in my car and pulled to the side of the road.

The pickup slowly moved forward and stopped next to me. A young woman, maybe a year or two older than me half leaned out the window.

"Follow me in, and I'll take you to the employee lodging."

"Thank you."

Slowly following after the women, we drove for maybe fifteen minutes before I saw a few small buildings. Pulling into the parking lot, I shut off my car. Turning around, I saw Marie fast asleep. Getting out, I slowly walked toward the women.

"Thank you for letting us in."

"No problem. I'm Claire."

"Kaiden."

After having introduced ourselves, there followed an awkward silence.

"Let me go unlock the office and get you a room key."

Turning around Claire made her way to the closest building.

Walking back to the car, I open the rear driver-side door and slowly try to wake Marie up. After trying for a few minutes, I had no luck. Looking behind me to see if Claire had come back, but she was nowhere to be seen. Opening the front door, I reached over to the passenger side seat and took out my backpack and a duffle bag. Slowly laying them on top of the roof of the car, I open each one and started taking stock of all the items I managed to take before I left.

Having memorized all the contents of the bags, I put them back in the car and then leaned against the door. After waiting a few minutes, I saw Claire running towards me.

"I got you a room, just take whatever you need and I'll take you there."

"Okay, thank you. Hey Marie, come on, wake up."

After a minute of tugging and calling her name, Marie finally woke up.

"Grab your bag, we got a place to stay tonight. Oh and this is Claire, she works here."

Nodding towards Claire, Marie reached over to her bag and placed it on her lap. Noting this I looked at Claire apologetically.

After having taken everything we needed from the car, Marie and I followed Claire towards the Employee cabins. Claire showed us to our cabin and told us she would be right next door if we need her.

Locking the door behind me, Marie starts searching for the bedroom. Following behind her, we quickly found it and lay all our bags on the dresser next to the bedroom door. After sitting idle for a while, the adrenaline wore off, and a wave of drowsiness hit me. Looking into the bedroom I saw Marie already asleep on the bed. Closing the door, I headed into the living room and lay down on the couch, as the world slowly turns darker.