Two days later, I woke up to the faint smell of smoke. A few hours later, it was much stronger and I was starting to get worried. Evan quickly climbed a tree and then came back down even faster than he had gone up.

He spoke urgently, "Forest fire, and the wind is blowing this way. We have to get out of here, quickly."

Our hand had been forced. We had to leave.

We hastily loaded both our vehicles with as much as they could hold and started driving. There was just enough time to throw the essentials into our vehicles and for me to grab a couple of pictures of Evan, Kailey, and myself off my desk. Clouds of smoke were being blown towards us by the strengthening wind.

I followed Evan's jeep out of the driveway with tears slightly blurring my vision. This was my home, with pictures and memories of my parents and friends that I may never see again. My parents were travelling on the other side of the world somewhere, and I had no other living relatives.

To be forced out of it was terrible, especially when I had no idea if it would still be standing in a couple of days. I didn't know if I would even be able to come back to this spot. Zombies were taking over the world and a forest fire was threatening my home. This was not one of my better days.

The rutted gravel road in front of my house hadn't seen much traffic, but the larger paved highway in the distance was a different story. Other people must have heard the radio broadcast, or perhaps, they were simply trying to flee the big cities or the forest fire. Even though a week had passed since the outbreak, the roads were still fairly busy.

I made sure to keep Evan's Jeep in my sight, tightly gripping the steering wheel as various vehicles passed us like we were standing still. Every few minutes we passed an abandoned vehicle that had been left parked at the edge of the road or in the ditch; they had likely run out of gasoline or encountered mechanical problems. My car's fuel gauge said that I had plenty of fuel left.

Once we were halfway to Wainwright, we turned onto a larger highway. It had even more abandoned vehicles on the side of the road. Doors had been left open as if the occupants were in too much of a hurry to close them.

I craned my neck as I spotted movement ahead – a handful of people were running along the edge of the road. An abandoned truck blocked most of my view at the moment, but once I passed it, I got a better look at the group. There were two adults and three kids. At the same moment, I also saw my first zombies. Three of them to be exact, and all three were covered with a large amount of blood.

My stomach turned when I noticed that one was missing an arm. From the way it was trying to hurry along in an odd shuffling-skipping gait, it must have had a few other injuries as well. My heart rate picked up as I realized that the zombies were chasing after the terrified family at a speed that was similar to a speed-walk. The family was outrunning their slower adversaries quickly enough, but they were tiring. From what I remembered, the zombies wouldn't tire or slow down.

Evan's Jeep swung to the side of the road as he slammed on the brakes, coming to a stop just ahead of the family. I saw Kailey jump out and yank the back door open, yelling at them to run faster and get in. The zombies were about ten car-lengths behind them. Thinking quickly, I pulled over on the side of the highway. The zombies were closer to me than they were to Kailey, but not by much.

I opened up my door and stood up. I grabbed the first object that came to hand and threw a can of soup at them as I yelled, "Hey, over here!"

I always knew that my aim was terrible, so the fact that I actually hit one in the shoulder shocked me, although the zombie looked even more confused than I did. He stopped to stare blankly at the can that had bounced off his shoulder and was slowly rolling away. I came to the conclusion that this guy had not been the sharpest crayon in the box before being infected.

The remaining two zombies had slowed down to see what the other one was inspecting so closely. Then the first one looked up at where my voice had come from and saw me. I was somewhat surprised by his eyes. I knew that they would be red, but I hadn't expected them to be such a bright red. After a three-second staring match, he lurched in my direction at his top speed that seemed to be about as fast as my top speed-walking pace. His two friends were in close pursuit.

It is amazing how variable distance is. Fifteen meters when throwing a can of soup at a moving object is a huge distance. Fifteen meters with three approaching zombies that happen to be covered in blood is way too close for comfort.

"Okay, time to go," I muttered, quickly ducking into the still-running car before hitting the gas pedal.

Evan was already slowly pulling away, probably watching both me and the other kamikaze drivers in his mirrors. The crazy drivers were mostly in the passing lane, thankfully. The zombies disappeared into the distance, and my heart rate slowly decreased as we drove further.

I kept thinking about what had just happened. I hoped that none of the family was hurt, or worse, bitten. My mind kept tracking back to the zombies though. Oddly enough, the zombies didn't seem quite as deadly as the news reports had made out. Scary, yes. Deadly, not quite. The more I considered it, the more I resolved to avoid underestimating them since they were taking over entire countries at an alarming rate.

I wasn't in the best of shape, but I could have outrun them for a short time, hopefully long enough for them to find something else more interesting. Or I might stumble into more of them, in which case I would be in serious trouble if I was already tired. And if I ran into one of those Swift things, I would be a goner. Perhaps our best route was just to avoid zombies altogether...

Brake lights interrupted my thoughts as Evan pulled over shortly after we lost sight of the zombies. I parked behind him and watched as everyone got out. It was very strange to watch seven people get out of a Jeep with only four seats. I shook my head as I got out of my car and walked over.

I couldn't really make sense of what they were saying since everyone was talking at once. The mother was crying in relief as she gratefully hugged Kailey. The youngest girl was still screaming and hanging onto her mother's leg in hysterics.

Evan walked closer to me. "Their van ran out of gasoline, and as they were walking, those three... zombies... crossed the road and started chasing them. We were the first to stop and help."

I nodded, noticing that he was having difficulty saying zombies. The word was not easily rolling off his tongue. I asked, "Were any of them injured?"

"No, that was the first thing we asked."

With a deep sigh of relief, I relaxed, even though I still glanced at them as I checked for any blood or injuries. The last thing we needed was for one of them to turn into a zombie while they were in the vehicle.

"I can take three of them," I said, "but I would prefer not to have that screeching girl. She has quite the set of lungs on her."

He chuckled at my reluctance to take the girl. "Good aim though. I can't believe you managed to hit that thing. You can't throw a tennis ball to save your life, but you can peg a zombie across a similar distance."

I knew my aim was bad, but not quite that bad. Or, at least, I was pretty sure it wasn't that bad. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he chuckled at my reaction.

"What did you throw anyway?" he asked.

"Uh, we may or may not be missing a can of soup..."

He laughed loudly enough that he caught the attention of the others. Shaking his head in humor, he turned around to face our newfound travel buddies.

After some introductions and shuffling of supplies, we managed to clear enough seats for everyone. The father and two boys came with me, while the mother and girl went with Evan and Kailey.

We barely reached highway speed before we saw a man walking near the trees that bordered the highway. Evan started to slow down, causing the man to turn around and look at him with red eyes. Evan sped back up.

We continued driving down the highway. The closer we got to our destination, the more zombies and empty vehicles we passed. Sometimes, the only way to tell if they were zombies was by their red eyes. We didn't spot anymore living survivors. With the growing number of living dead in the ditches and on the road, I was glad that I still had over half a tank of fuel. With only fifteen minutes left in our trip, it should be more than enough. I would not want to run out of gasoline at this point.

We turned off the main highway to head the last little ways to Wainwright Fort. I was surprised that most vehicles weren't turning here. They must not have heard the radio broadcast after all. I wondered if they knew where they were going or if they were just trying to put as much distance as possible between them and what was behind them.

One of the boys pointed from the back seat. "Look!"

Looking off to the side, I saw several quads luring zombies away. The soldiers on the ATVs were leading the zombies away from the road and the military base. Judging by the lack of zombies beyond this point, they were succeeding. I shuddered slightly at the thought of having that job if the quad overheated or ran out of gasoline.

A large hand-painted sign directed all vehicles to "Slow down to 30 km/hr". I hoped the red splotches on the sign were paint. But I had to admit, it made everyone slow down. We slowed to a crawl as we reached a long lineup of vehicles.

I kept close behind Evan's jeep as we neared some sort of checkpoint. Several lines of vehicles were stopping to talk with soldiers. Eventually, it was Evan's turn, and I saw him point back to us. The soldier nodded before continuing to speak. After a minute, he waved Evan onward and me forward. I rolled down my window as I stopped beside him.

He asked for our names, if we had been in contact with any infected, where we were from, and some other details as he entered everything into a small laptop. I answered for myself, and the father responded for himself and his boys.

The soldier gave directions to the parking lot I was supposed to park in, and after he recorded the license plate number, he waved me onward. I drove forward and passed through the new-looking gate. Evan was waiting for me, and I followed him to the parking area we had been directed to.

The only reason I knew the grassy area was a parking lot was due to the already-parked vehicles and spray-painted parking spots. As I parked beside Evan, I glanced at the numerous vehicles and groups of people uneasily.

We got out of the vehicles, and I slung my purse over my shoulder as I closed my door. The family we rescued reunited and hugged one another while I walked over to Evan and Kailey.

"Getting in was way too easy," I quietly commented. "I could have had one of our friends from the roadside in the trunk for all he knew. Anyone here could be infected."

Kailey frowned as she glanced around nervously. "I know what you mean. I hope you didn't mention our adventures earlier?"

"No."

She sighed in relief at my answer but didn't look much better. Evan commented, "This parking lot was recently added – look how new that fence is. The chalk marks haven't been washed off yet, so this area couldn't have been fenced for more than a week. They probably put it up just to keep people safe until they can get them inside."

We were interrupted by a woman in uniform on a corner block as she called into a megaphone, "All people please lock your vehicles and keep your keys. Then please come see me for registration."

We looked at one another and shrugged before walking over. The family followed behind us. The woman nodded a brisk welcome from where she stood behind a podium with a laptop.

She said, "I have the basic details from the checkpoint. I just need a few more. First name and age."

"Evan, twenty-five."

"Kailey, twenty-four."

"Diane, twenty-five."

I looked at the large building complex off to the side while our passengers gave their responses.

"Any special skills, abilities, or anything that may be of use to help keep this place going workwise? Even if you are just good at laundry, that is great."

Evan went first again. "Mechanic. I can do most things on cars and have some training on class 1 vehicles."

Kailey followed, "Umm... I was a grocery clerk. I don't mind cleaning, and I can cook a good soup."

The lady in uniform nodded and looked at me. I tried to think of what skills I had that might be helpful here.

"Well, I know quite a few types of edible wild plants in the area. I have practiced with a recurve bow, but have never shot at anything other than targets."

She nodded and kept going down the line. She skipped the kids, saying they would be attending school with classes revolving around the essentials like basic math and survival skills, with some basic chores on the side.

"Any medical conditions or allergies?" she asked. "We need to know about everything, even the small things, just in case."

Both Evan and Kailey shook their heads no. I sighed and rubbed my neck with my hand in slight embarrassment. The lady looked at me, waiting for me to speak.

"Rare type of overactive immune disorder, specifically with overactive T-cell activity. Nothing serious, but it can cause an uncomfortable pins and needles sensation if I don't get regular physical activity. I can't just sit all day."

The pins and needles sensation had scared my parents at first, and it had taken the doctors months to figure out what it was. Most people looked at me weird if I told them and trying to word it in a way they would understand was tough. This lady must have been doing this for a while since she didn't even bat an eye.

The lady in uniform was typing away. "Details and examples."

"Umm... If I were to spend all day on the couch watching movies, I would have the pins and needles by the evening. A fifteen-minute jog in the morning and evening keeps it under control. A fever often accompanies the pins and needles as part of the immune response." I looked at the lady, waiting to see if she had more questions.

"Okay, do you experience any other side effects?"

"Not that I have noticed." She seemed content enough with my response and turned to the other family.

I took a deep breath and looked up at the blue sky, pretending not to see the odd looks our passengers were giving me. This was why I tried to avoid speaking about my medical condition – I always got strange looks. The uniformed lady finished her questions and picked up some plastic wrapped objects.

She addressed all of us, "Okay. First things first. Hygiene is important. Everyone who enters this place must shower. These are disposable towels. Walk down the marked path and through the gates. Enter the first door and follow the hallway. There are signs in place, although there is only one left turn to get to the showers. Men use the left entrance and women use the right. There will be a table with clean clothing; take a set for yourself and throw your current clothing in the garbage. The doors on both sides will lead into the next reception room, so you can reunite with family and friends over there once you are clean."

She passed the plastic packages to us, although I found it kind of strange that we were being given full-sized disposable bath towels. It seemed kind of wasteful to me. Then again, I wouldn't want to wash that many towels either, and some of the people entering the room smelled like they hadn't touched water since the first zombies had appeared.

We walked down the path, although it wasn't really possible to miss the large gate since it had half a dozen guards around it. Several of them were in raised guard towers, the wood still unbleached by the sun. The large signs and arrows meant that getting lost had to be an intentional decision. Other newcomers were also trickling along this route in a slow, but steady, stream.

Once we reached the showers, Evan headed for the men's section as he said, "I'll meet you in the reception room."

Kailey and I nodded as we went into the women's section. The family following us also split up, with the mother and daughter trailing further and further behind us. The shower room had individual stalls lining both sides, and each one was partitioned off for privacy. Along one wall, several tables were piled high with pale blue clothing of all sizes. Kailey and I grabbed a set of new clothing before picking two stalls side by side.

Inside the shower stall, there was a waterproof cubby hanging on the wall. I put my new clothes, purse, and towel in it before dumping my dirty clothing on the floor. As I walked underneath the warm water, I was happy to see the soap, shampoo, and conditioner dispensers on the wall since I hadn't brought anything in with me other than my purse.

I did find myself missing my hairbrush though. My waist-long hair was going to be extremely knotted by the end of the day. Once I was clean, I dried myself off and got dressed. Kailey was waiting for me by the door as she tried to braid her hair. I dropped my towel and old clothing in the garbage bin and walked over.

We glanced at each other with the same resigned look over our wet, knotted hair. Kailey mourned over the state of her hair, "I seriously need a hairbrush."

"Yeah, me too," I said. "We should get going before Evan has a panic attack."

She nodded in agreement, and we walked through the doors into the next room where various guys were all waiting anxiously for their female companions. Evan was also waiting and quickly came over. I didn't see anyone from the family we had rescued, so they were probably still in the showers.

We didn't even have time to talk before a woman at the desk called, "Next!" while pointedly looking in our direction.

"Okay," she said, quickly getting down to business. "Please take a seat. This is a rescue center, but it requires everyone's help to keep it running until things return to normal. What are your names?"

We gave our names, and the woman continued, "Your skills have been evaluated. Evan, you have been accepted as a mechanic. Kailey, the Cooks need assistance, so you will be in the kitchens. Diane, you will be joining the Foragers. If you wish a safer position later on, we can transfer you to livestock care."

I nodded in acceptance of my role. I could not bear the thought of being cooped up inside this place all day and every day with so many people all crammed in here. At the moment, I was just going to avoid thinking about the fact that there were hundreds of rabid murderers outside of the walls...

She continued, "Excellent. I will note that down. Here are your name tags and schedules. Please continue down the hall to our medical room. Oh, and don't lose your name tag. It involves a lot of paperwork to retrieve it." She handed us each a few sheets of paper and a plastic name tag to pin onto our shirts.

I glanced at mine as I put it on. My name was the largest, my position was just below it in smaller print, and a small number sat in the bottom right-hand corner; "Diane - Forager – 0723". I looked at the three papers. There was a schedule, a set of rules, and a map.

Kailey grabbed my elbow and steered me down the hall. "Come on. Let's move so other people can get through. There has to be food around here somewhere. I'm starving – and I left all of my snacks in the Jeep!"

My stomach growled its own agreement as the three of us continued down the hall. I glanced back, but still didn't see anyone from the family we had rescued. Other newcomers were walking through the hallway though, and several guards stood at stations along the hallway wall as they watched us. Their guns were holstered, but they each had a machete knife in their hands.

It made sense, but it made goosebumps appear on my arms as I realized that the people here likely knew how easy it was to get in the front doors – and they were prepared for anyone who had lied about potentially being infected. I looked around uneasily, wondering how this place was still standing when they let anyone inside.

Kailey watched the armed guards with wide eyes, but she didn't even venture a whisper. Evan was his usual quiet self as we continued walking down the short hallway.