**A/N**

Thanks to gabriella. francis. 31 and Blondie (and his many clones... I think o.O) for reviewing! You guys are awesomesauce ^_^ The song I used for this chapter title was Walk Away by Five Finger Death Punch. Sorry it's a bit short and there are some cruel words thrown around in this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyways! I'll try to find some time in the week to upload the next chapter :P

*Vincent's POV*

The whole building was ablaze, and after being tortured for hours, I was more than ready to get out of this place. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead like morning dew on grass, and the oxygen was dying out faster than we were. I ignored the gashes and bruises coloring my skin purple and red, but I couldn't ignore the lifeless girl in my arms. Emma's had two black eyes, scratches painted red across her arms and legs, and a huge bump on her head from when their leader slammed her into that wall. I prayed she would stay alive tonight… I couldn't lose her and Raine a day apart from each other. There wouldn't be a point in running around this hopeless resort, getting tortured, and killing another freaking human being if I lost her.

"Ava! We gotta get outta here!" JP called out to her, but none of us had seen her for hours, except for Emma apparently. Ravenous flames roared and engulfed every exit we came across, but Codes knew the schematics of this place somehow (It's Codes; it's best not to even ask anymore). He continuously counted the doors until he reached the one we were looking for, and we all bolted out of the quickly crumbling Cooking Center. We never turned our back to watch the roof collapse into the building filled with more food than we could've imagined.

"We can't just leave! Did you forget about Ava or—"

"She's probably fine, Joe! I'm sure she got out of there; she knows this place better than the rest of us." There was no way of knowing whether I was right or not… Hell, people can hope all they want for something. It doesn't mean your wish is going to get chosen out of the millions of others waiting in line. JP, obviously disappointed by my answer, shoved past me and walked further into the pulling darkness ahead.

"To the car?" Codes asked with a quick glimpse back at me.

"Might as well. Although, it might be difficult to find it." I felt an irksome pain in my arm, and when I looked down, I realized how deep a cut there actually was. I couldn't tell you why or how I didn't remember getting a knife lodged in my own arm, but the fact that it started to incapacitate me now of all times was unlucky at best. Carrying Emma was becoming more difficult by the second, and I could only hope that the car was close by with Ava sitting in the front seat alive and safe.

"Thank God you're okay!" I heard Joe's voice echoing through the forest-like area like a little kid who just found a candy store. Codes and I turned the corner to see him holding Ava tightly as she whispered soft words through weak whimpers. I don't think I've ever seen her so feeble in all the years I've known her, but something was off about her. This wasn't the girl I knew; that was something no one would be able to persuade me against. Countless arguments with someone leave you with a good idea of who they are and what emotions they're capable of having.

"You!" Her eyes darted to mine before erupting in anger like a volcano ready to explode. "Put her down. Now." I gently rested Emma in the back seat of the car before turning to face my girlfriend. Before any words could escape my lips, I felt the sting of her hand meeting with the many cuts on my face.

"What the hell, Savannah!"

"You're helping her? The girl who got us into this mess in the first place?"

Her jealousy was kicking in again. She somehow could always find a way to blame someone else (most of the time Emma) for anything that went wrong. "How is any of this her fault? This is your father's resort. You invited all of us here, so I don't see how you can blame anything on Emma."

"Oh, don't you dare blame me for any of this. Not after everything I did for you, Vincent. Who was your shoulder to cry on when you two broke up? Who gave you a place to stay when you moved out? Who provided for you, huh? Not Ms. College Girl over there; I can tell you that much!"

I could feel my cheeks smoldering red with anger. She always did this when we argued. First, she acted like the victim. Second, she threw every single good thing she has ever done for me in my face. Third, she would go on and on until I finally gave in and apologized for doing nothing wrong. Not this time. I was determined to stand my ground after a year of dealing with her ridiculousness. "Stop being a brat already! I swear, I'm sick of hearing you talking."

In a split second, her eyes widened more than those of an owl. The others only watched as we stood across from each other as if we were two mortal enemies in a battlefield. I kept my sight focused on her. I wanted her to know that she wasn't winning this time, and after hearing her finally speak, I knew she was done. "You're not a real man! Screw you and your pathetic excuse of a woman lying over there!"

Before I could jump to her defense, I heard Emma speak. "Excuse me?" Our eyes flew over to the car as she struggled to push open the heavy door with her fragile hands. I rushed to her side and helped her steady herself to keep her from falling. Once she was able to stand on her own, she thanked me, turned to Ava, and said, "This 'pathetic excuse of a woman' is the one who nearly died saving your life."

"You're also the slut who came back to steal my boyfriend."

"Oh, stop it! You dated over half the school before dating me!"

"Leave her alone, Vince!"

The sound of my brother's voice defending her is what got me going. "Huh. You probably let my brother in your pants, too. Ain't that right, Joey?" I felt JP's arms push me back away from Savannah. He was picking the wrong time to mess with me. I felt my face contorting and my nostrils flaring as I faced off with him. A scheming smile curved on his face as if he was waiting for this showdown to happen for a while already. Maybe we both were. Two leading males always ended up fighting for dominance in nature, so why did I expect things to be different with my own blood?

When I saw him charge at me, I immediately seized his arms and tossed him into the filthy ground. I kicked him over and over again until Emma cried out for me to let him go. Her hand touched my injured arm, and I grimaced as I stepped away from Joey.

Almost immediately, he wiped some of the dirt off his face and said, "I guess you couldn't satisfy her, brother."

I felt fury take over me as I tackled him into the ground yet again, and I threw right and left hooks until Codes yanked me off him. "Stop this already! Don't you realize there are more important matters at hand?"

I felt my hands curl into fists as I glared at my brother with his arm around Savannah. "We're over. Just thought you should know." Again, I felt Emma by my side trying to keep me calm.

"Good. While we're stating the obvious, I might as well tell Codes something." She turned to Cody with a cynical smile crossing her plush, pink lips. "Who were the people with Raine when she was infected, hmm? Who got her killed, Cody? Who?"

His defenses broke with the mention of his sister. His rigid exterior melted down to a miserable man who lost the person he cared for most in what was left of this world, but in the blink of an eye, his emotions hardened. With revulsion in his voice, he shoved me away and said, "You two let her die."

And just like that, he had turned against me. "Don't tell me you actually believe that, Codes?"

"Don't call me that."

"I protected you for years, and she was my best friend! How could you believe that liar over me?" He wouldn't even look at me to give a straight answer. A line was drawn between them and me. I felt the burn of their stares, and inside, I knew it would always be like this. There was no recovering from this night. "Fine. I'm leaving."

"Great! We'll be crossing the mountains to get to safety."

I don't know if I started laughing uncontrollably out of sheer pain or just at the utter stupidity of her plan. "You? In the mountains? Good luck surviving in the wilderness with a blockhead as your leader." I started walking in the opposite direction without the thought of ever looking back.

"Vince, wait!" I felt Emma's arms grip mine for support. Our eyes met as she spoke softly, "I'm not staying here without you." Out of all this arguing, she was the only one to stay by my side. Not my brother, not my girlfriend, not even one of my closest friends. The girl I yelled at and continuously pushed away from me was the only one I had left. We were both misfits, so it was probably best for us to stick together in this mess. I nodded my head and lifted her light body up into my arms. I wouldn't let her walk over there after losing so much blood. I almost lost her once; I couldn't risk losing her again.

I took one last glance at my only brother before finally walking away. There was no sign of regret in his eyes, and that probably wounded me more than my injuries. She had completely turned Joey and Cody against me. Any last ounce of love for her combusted and died, and in its wake were ashes of pure hatred. Screw them. I didn't need them to survive; they needed me.I couldn't wait for a zombie to tear her to shreds, and I could only wish someone could record the sight and send me a video once the world went back to normal.