CHARLENE'S POV"Are you homeless, or something? No! Oh, God, Charlene, how can I be such an a*shole? I am sorry! Are you alright? Where did you go? Why aren't you with your family anymore?" She began rambling anxiously, and I tried to calm her down. The thought that she was upset with me over leaving scared me. "Hey, I'm fine, don't worry. I just needed a change of scenery, so I moved. I live with my parents, but they're gone right now. I've been staying there for two months or so–" "Two months? You haven't told us anything about it." "It's nothing, really. They've just been traveling a lot, so they don't tell us what they're doing, which sucks because I missed them a lot…" I lied easily, knowing that she wouldn't press further. My family wasn't exactly the most secretive bunch, anyway. Besides, she'd already asked about my house, and I doubted she would bring up Xavier again any time soon, which would make my situation easier. She nodded, clearly relieved, but still seemed hesit

CHARLENE'S POVXavier grabs my wrist and drags me towards the stairs. The grip on my arm tightens as he runs faster than me, so I'm forced to keep up. It takes some time, but eventually I reach the staircase. It's a big one, almost the biggest one in this house. At least half of the house is made up of stairs. We walk all the way through downstairs, and then go up another flight. There are windows along the walls, with a few small spaces between the slats that give way to dark corners. Xavier pulls open a window and throws me inside, after which he goes to close it again. "The window's too high to jump from. You better come into my room." "What do you mean?" I ask as I cautiously get closer to where he is standing. This part of the house isn't quite finished yet, with a lot more unfinished wood than the rest. A couple of boards still stick out from under the floor. "The ceiling has a very thin plank that separates our rooms, but it doesn't seem like anyone will notice you if you

CHARLENE'S POVThe poor thing probably hadn't been looking where she was walking. As I walked to our office, all I wanted to do was go home and hide. If only I could just disappear somewhere, nobody would ever look for me. Maybe a mental hospital, or an asylum. I knew they had people running away from them all the time. That would give me a good hiding spot, wouldn't it? I could hide out until… Or until I died. Or whatever happened after death. I wasn't even sure if I'd survive my thirties. It would certainly take a while for me to become a mother, too. When I arrived at our unit, I found a note pinned to the door that read, 'Work late. Be back tomorrow. Love X.' I smiled. His love meant a lot to me, and it meant he couldn't abandon me. I was safe. For tonight. We'd talk when I got back. When I got inside, I saw Xavier, sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and looking at something on his laptop. He didn't look happy. He glanced up at me and nodded, then pointed to a seat on t

CHARLENE'S POVThat earned me an unamused glance from Xavier. The look told me he wouldn't take that lightly. The next minute, we were moving forward again. I could hear some footsteps and voices from ahead of us. They seemed to be getting closer. So, we were close enough to go back. We walked past the last house. Then the sound stopped. There weren't any more steps anymore, not even whispers of movement behind doorways and windows. Xavier looked at me nervously. "We probably shouldn't just wait around here. What if they catch up with us and kill us in our sleep? Wouldn't that just defeat their purpose for capturing us?'' I shook my head. "I doubt they'll do that. They would've left us alone after that, but why take chances when they might have more fun watching us fight off those guys?" That got a small laugh from Xavier, but I noticed his face turn serious again pretty fast. "Yeah, you're right…" Then he smiled. "Hey, what if we run across them now and ambush them while they're

CHARLENE'S POV"Yes. I'm sorry, Charlene. I know what you're thinking, and you’re right. It could end badly, and we shouldn't risk anything more. Not until we're certain. However, I think we should do something now before we lose any more lives. We have to warn the others, and soon, or else we're going to die." "But… Dad?"He grabbed his phone and headed towards the window, pressing a button and putting it to his ear. After a moment he turned to face me again, frowning. "That idiot is not picking up. It's like he's ignoring me!" Well. He was acting rather irrational today. I was getting frustrated. "Look Dad, you have no idea how dangerous it is out there. I don't really care about doing this, but I can't let you go out there alone with no one to protect you," I explained. "Charlene, listen to yourself! Do you realize what we've just agreed to?" he shouted angrily. "You can't tell me what to do! Your mother was right, you are just another mouth to feed. You know what? You don't d