The world did not end with a bang, or a whisper. But rather one scream at a time. The group of young adults that lived in the small secure house at the end of an abandoned dirt road knew this all too well. For they had heard many of their friends screams and been able to do nothing but show mercy by killing them before they turned. Turned into what you might ask? Well, there are many names for the brain eating undead that terrorize this world. Abominations, cannibal corpses, creepy crawlies, dead heads, ghouls, meat bags, roamers, demons, walkers, but most commonly known as zombies.

Which is what the youngest of the group had been attacked by only hours ago.

"She has to die."

Dax's voice was shaky yet stern as he spoke the words, his gaze not leaving the dark brown eyes glaring daggers his way.

"If you lay a hand on my sister you'll be the one who dies tonight."

Rory growled at the man, his body trembling and hands clenched.

"Rory, it hurts but we can't just let her turn."

Kyle argued with a broken voice, a tear rolling down her freckled cheek.

"She's just a kid."

He glared at each of the four survivors staring him down, his eyes filling with panic as he realized he was the only one fighting for his baby sisters life.

"She hasn't even had a chance to live yet!"

His knees buckled from under him and he fell to the ground with a loud sob. It was like no one else even cared about her but... she was his whole world.

"I can't lose her!"

Kyle, Dax, Ezra and Jude watched with tears in their eyes as Rory broke down. The most lively of the group was now reduced to a whimpering mess on the hard wood floor of their house.

"Rory..."

Jude's voice was gentle as he bent down next to his best friend, hesitantly resting a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not fair. I know..." he paused, wiping the tears from his cheeks and taking a deep trembling breath before continuing.

"...But it's also not fair to let her suffer, she deserves a death as peaceful as it can come in this world." Rory turned to glare at the ash blonde man, spite clear in his eyes. Jude pulled his hand away, surprised at the sight.

"She deserves to grow old. Not to be shot in the fucking head."

Rory snarled at Jude and he stood up, backing away from the man he had been sharing a drink with only a day ago.

"Rory..." a soft young voice broke the tension in the room and the group of survivors turned to see a small girl with tired eyes standing in the hallway. The medical wrap they had used to cover the bite on her neck was now drenched in blood.

"Alaina..." Rory whispered his sister's name in surprise, hiding his face from her view as he quickly wiped his tears.

"I can't sleep, my neck hurts. Will you come tell me a story?" Her small voice was the only sound in the whole room. Rory put on a fake smile before turning to look at her from his spot on the floor.

"Yeah, of course."

He glared at the others in the room and took a shaky breath before getting up from his knees.

"Goodnight."

Alaina yawned with a wave, before Rory took her hand and led her back down the short hallway.

Jude felt his bottom lip start to quiver and he captured it between his teeth.

"It had to be done."

Dax's voice boomed in the silent room and Jude glared from the corner of his eyes. Dax's jaw was tightened, although he was the only one in the room without tears in their eyes.

After six years of watching the ball of hope grow.

After listening to her wonderful stories. After she'd given each of them drawings and sang them songs when they were sad.

After everything they'd done to make sure she felt loved and protected.

This was it.

Tonight was the last night of Alaina's short life.

Everyone was still, the shock of what was about to happen fresh in their minds.

Kyle finally wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath. She took an uncertain step towards the hallway, everyone turned to watch.

"Ky, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go down there."

Ezra's voice was unsteady as he spoke the warning, but the red head had already made her decision. She followed Rory and Alaina to the end of the hall.

Kyle leaned against the wall next to the door and listened to the last words Alaina would ever hear.

"Ok, what kind of story do you want to hear?"

"One with a happy ending" Rory sniffled before chuckling lightly at her request.

"uhm..." He thought for a second,

"Ok, I got one."

Kyle smiled through her tears at his fake enthusiasm before peeking around the corner, watching Rory play with Alaina's sandy blonde hair as he told the story.

"Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess from Colorado-"

"That's where we're from!" She stated happily.

"Yeah, well, this princess was the bravest little girl in the world! She fought off dragons and monsters with ease." He took a deep shaky breath.

"But her older brother was frustrated, he thought the castle rules were stupid. He wanted to get away from all of the people in the kingdom."

He paused, trying to stop himself from crying.

"An-and one day her brother talked her into leaving the kingdom. He talked about running away forever, never turning back. Of course the princess knew he didn't really mean it. He never did."

He sniffled,

"Anyways, they left the safety of the kingdom. They walked for days when suddenly they came face to face with the biggest dragon either of them had ever faced-"

Alaina gasped,

"Oh no!" She whispered sweetly.

"Her older brother reached for his sword but before he could even grab the handle the princess lifted a hand. With a beautiful blue glow and a spell from her lips the evil dragon fell to the ground with a bang."

"Then what happened?" Alaina asked, her eyes wide with wonder. Rory cleared his throat,

"Well, they went back to the castle. The brother decided to be a knight and the princess became queen and they lived their lives in peace. They went to sleep every night with full bellies and clean sheets and it was perfect."

"That is a good ending."

"I think so too."

Rory smiled, trying his hardest not to break down in front of his younger sister.

Kyle watched as Rory laid on the bed next to Alaina, holding onto her for dear life, his lips resting on her temple.

"I love you Alaina,"

"I love you too bubby."

He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her forehead, holding that position for what felt like forever.

"I love you Alaina..." He repeated when she finally fell asleep, sweet, light snores escaping her lips.

"I love you so much. Please- Please forgive me," He cried, his tears soaking the fragile little girls hair.

He slowly reached for the wrap around her neck and gently pulled it away, covering his sob with his hand as the bite was uncovered. It had gotten worse, much worse, in only the span of 13 hours. Not only was it still bleeding but puss was oozing from it, the veins surrounding it had turned from purple to a deep red.

This was his fault.

He had killed his baby sister. All because he couldn't confront his problems.

"I'm so sorry I did this to you." He whined quietly, shakily pulling out the gun he had hidden under his pillow.

"I have to do this for you, so you don't feel anymore pain. I promise you'll go to a better place." He breathed heavily, laying the gun next to Alaina's temple.

Kyle turned away, unable to handle what was to happen next.

"I love you." Rory whispered.

Then there came the bang.

The gun was shot causing the crying redhead to jump as she quickly walked away.

The bunker was unusually silent.

There was no arguing yells coming from the kitchen. No hysterical laughing coming from the living room.

No.

Rory's loud cries of agonizing grief was the only sound in the small house they called their own.

Kyle quickly walked to her and Ezra's room, slamming the door shut behind herself. She threw her beanie to the ground before falling to the hardwood floor with a sob. Ezra laid on the bed, eyes closed and headphones on full blast. An empty bottle of Jack Daniels laid open in his hand, passed out and unaware of his girlfriend breaking down only 5 feet away from him.

Kyle ran a wobbly hand through her short oily red hair, her fingers gripping onto the curls as she rocked back and forth.

This wasn't right.

They were just kids, they weren't prepared to be thrusted into the world they now lived in. They were suppose to be going to college. Worrying about what taxes was and how to pay it. Partying with their friends and celebrating each holiday. Instead they were fighting for their lives. Killing or searching for their family and friends. Struggling to find things they had always taken for granted like toilet paper and toothpaste.

Alaina didn't deserve to die.

Rory didn't deserve to lose his only family.

They shouldn't have to watch their small group of now only five get picked off one by one.

"Kyle?"

Ezra's raw voice filled the room. She quickly looked up, her wet eyes wide.

"what're you doing on the floor?"

Kyle didn't answer his question and instead crawled onto the bed, grabbing Ezra's arms and wrapping them around herself. Ezra's gentle lidded eyes met kyle's wide emeralds and he lifted his hands, cradling her face as he wiped her tears.

"Why did this have to happen?" She whispered, her sunken cheeks stained with tears.

"I don't know Kyle... maybe god just got tired of all the bullshit," He answered with an exhausted sigh before snuggling closer to the weeping girl. Kyle squeezed her eyes shut and gripped his T-shirt tightly in attempt to stop her hands from shaking.

~~~

Kyle woke up to the click of the door closing, her eyes squinting as the sun blinded her from the window. She lazily sat up, reaching her arms far above her head with a satisfying pop. The blankets were thrown to the side, the freezing January air causing her to shiver.

She slipped her feet off the bed, her bare toes touching the cold wooden floor before she grabbed her long, green jacket and wrapped it tight around her.

Kyle rubbed her hands together in attempt to heat them up as she walked down the hall. Yelling from the kitchen alerted her and she stopped at the end of the hall to listen.

"She's dead because of you." Kyle heard Ezra declare, venom in his voice.

"I didn't force Rory to get up in the middle of the night and leave like he did."

"You're right." Ezra stated calmly.

"It is his fault. He decided to leave and that was his choice." He took a threatening step closer to Dax.

"But you were the one on guard that night."

Ezra pushed a finger roughly into Dax's chest. "You should've been there to stop him. You weren't. Alaina's death is your burden to carry too."

Dax's jaw tightened as he looked down at the finger pointed at his chest and back up to Ezra's threatening glare with a growl.

Kyle decided to intervene before one of the two threw a punch.

"Good morning."

She smiled light heartedly at the two men, the tension slowly lifting from the room as they turned away from each other.

"Get dressed, we're going out for a supply run."

Dax stated in a sour voice, leaving the kitchen with heavy steps. Ezra rolled his eyes with a scoff, turning to Kyle with a grumble.

"You don't have to be so rude to him, yah know?"

Kyle remarked as she climbed onto the counter and opened a cabinet, pulling out one of the last cans standing.

"What? You're on his side?"

Ezra fumed at her as she popped open the tuna can.

She sighed, pulling a spoon from the sink next to her.

"I don't take sides, Ezra."

Kyle mixed the canned fish with her silverware.

"I just don't think the blame should be put on anyone. This is the apocalypse and we're all just trying to do what we think will keep us alive."

She finished before shoveling spoonfuls of tuna into her mouth. Ezra moved closer to Kyle, leaning a hand against the counter on either side of her legs.

"You and me both know Alaina didn't have to die. This was Rory and Dax's fault and they need to learn from their actions so they don't get another one of us kil-"

Ezra was cut off as Kyle shoved a spoon full of tuna into his mouth.

"You're getting worked up again."

She pulled the now empty spoon from his mouth and set it to the side along with the almost empty can. She lifted her hands and settled them gently on either side of Ezra's long face. The bags under his eyes had grown immensely, reaching down to his cheek bones with a deep purple.

"Everything's going to be okay."

Ezra scoffed at that. How could everything possibly be okay? Everyone was in danger all the time. There were an endless number of ways everyone in their small group could die.

They could go on a supply run and get cornered.

The electric fence surrounding the house could go out and they could all get eaten in their sleep.

They could run out of ammo.

They could get sick.

They could starve to death.

Get hit by a stray bullet.

Trip while running away.

Not run fast enough.

They could-

"Ezra."

Kyle's soft voice pulled him out of his panic. He hadn't even realized he had began to hyperventilate, his hands gripping the counter tighter.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be, we're all scared. No matter how long we live in this world, that fear will never go away."

She leaned forward and gently pressed their lips together, the taste of alcohol hitting her mouth. Ezra pulled away.

"I'm going to get ready for the supply run."

Kyle nodded, biting her lip as the dark haired man turned away and left the kitchen.

~

Jude stared at the closed door in front of him nervously. His fists clenched and unclenched as he debated. Rory was so hard to read sometimes, it was hard to tell if he needed comfort or if he needed to be alone. The door in front of him gave no hint as to which was the right choice this time. Jude closed his eyes and took a deep breath, turning the door knob before he could change his mind.

The door squeaked loudly, Jude was sure Rory had to of heard him come in but the man on the bed made no effort of acknowledging him. The odor had worsened over night, the smell of rotting flesh filling the small room. Rory was deathly still, his body wrapped tightly around the source of the smell.

He didn't dare get too close to the grieving man, stopping a couple feet from the bed and waiting. Waiting for what? He wasn't really sure. A response, maybe? Acknowledgment? When a couple silent minutes past, Jude cleared his throat.

"Hey Rory..."

He was met with silence.

"I.. I just wanted to check on you."

He had no idea where he was going with this.

"I, uh... I want to help you but I... I really don't know what to do..."

A small whimper alerted Jude and he took a step closer.

"Do you need something? I mean, if you need to be alone I completely understand, but I just thought that maybe you would want som-"

"I just want to be alone."

He backed away.

"I'm sorry... I understand."

He began to leave,

"Jude."

He froze, his hand mid-way to the door knob.

"Will you help me bury her?"

His voice was horse and scratchy, a sniffle following his words.

"Of course."

Without another word he left the room.

Jude rested his head against the door with a sad sigh, his eyebrows knitted tight.

He could've prevented this from happening. He had confessed in the spur of the moment and it was too much. After everything that had happened, all the stress Rory was under, it was too much. He should've kept his mouth shut and he never would've left.

Alaina would still be alive.

"Let's go, we don't have all day. It's already noon."

Dax stomped past him, pulling his jacket over his shoulders.

"You're a dick! You know that!?"

Jude didn't think about the words as he yelled them, his anger bubbling over all at once.

"Alaina was a part of this family and you don't even care that she's dead. All you care about is yourself!"

Dax paused in the middle of the hallway, his back turned to the smallest of the group. He sighed as he looked to the floor beneath his boots.

"Is... Is Rory alright?... I mean..." He started, his voice going soft. He finally turned to face the petite boy behind him. "He's not going to kill himself, right?"

"Like you care." Jude scoffed, his baby blues refusing to meet Dax's dark eyes.

"Fine. Think what you want."

Dax's soft voice disappeared, replaced by a harsh tone. He turned back around and continued walking, his steps just a little bit heavier than before.

He stopped at the end of the hallway, his smile lighting up as he opened the closet door.

If there was one thing that made the zombie apocalypse worth it, it was weapons galore. No rules to the amount of damage you could cause.