The kids sprinted down the hallway towards the terminal where everyone was boarding. Tyler hadn't dropped the gun. He switched on the safety and put it in his front pocket. His father had taught him about guns before he became a drunk. Tyler actually liked guns and was pretty glad to have one again. It made him feel safe.

"Tessa!" a boy, about 14 or so, screamed. "Let go!" a short blonde girl who looked about the same age had grabbed a bag away from the boy. She was stunning, her beautiful blonde hair hadn't been brushed today obviously, and her icy blue eyes were bloodshot, probably from lack of sleep or crying, and her clothes were tattered, but she was beautiful nonetheless.

"Kyle, why can't you defend yourself? I'm a girl and I can take you."

"Troy!" the boy screamed.

"Hey, Tessa. Leave him alone." A tall man with stubble and short hair walked over to Tessa and grabbed her arm. "You've asserted your dominance, you can stop now."

"Uh. Fine." Tessa flipped her hair and turned around. She squeaked when she saw the group. "Look! Troy! Kyle! Other survivors!" She looked as though she was ready to cry tears of joy. "They're not sickly and blood thirsty either!" She started to approach them.

"Tessa! Wait!" Troy ran out and grabbed her arm. "Show us your boarding passes. I want to know that you passed inspection."

Mark held out three slips of paper. "Here they are. We're clean."

Troy grinned. He turned to Tessa and they fist bumped. "Hey, I'm Troy. This is Tessa, and that's Kyle. He isn't feeling that well. He's not infected or anything." Troy held his hands out in front of him. "Just a little head cold. He'll be fine."

"I'm Mark. This is Tyler, my boyfriend. And this is Shantae." Mark put his arm around Tyler. "When do we board the plane?"

"In the morning. There are 4 more people coming, they went into town to get some stuff." Tessa said. Her once stylish clothes were dirty and ripped. "We're from Salem, Oregon. Where did you guys come from?"

"The central valley of California." Tyler said.

"We're gonna get some sleep." Mark said. He walked over to a chair in the terminal and sat down in it. He was asleep immediately. Tyler and Shantae did just the same.