EPOV

"Hey Carter, want to come over after I'm done with basketball practice?" I asked one of my best friends, Carter. School had just finished for the day and I had to go to practice, but it was Friday so it didn't really matter.

"I can't, my dad wants both Amanda and I home immediately after school is over, she should already be there and I need to get there. I don't know why he wants us home, thanks for the offer though. I'll see you and Soph later this weekend." He responded

"Oh, ok. Bye." I said as he walked towards the bus loop.

I got in the gym and saw that most of the team wasn't there yet, but Sophia, or Soph as most people call her, was. She's the only girl on our schools basketball team, she's my other best friend, my dad took her in after her parents got hit by a drunk driver and were killed. They were killed about a year ago, she's been living with us since it happened and CPS didn't mind as long as my dad filled out some paperwork because she and her family had already been very close to my dad and I because we've been friends since we were five years old.

"Hey Soph!" I shouted across the gym.

She looked over at me smiled and waved, then went back to shooting hoops.

"Where's the rest of the team, and Coach Brandt?" I asked when I got to the bench closest to her.

"I don't know, there was nobody in here when I got here." She answered as she shot a three pointer, and made it.

She stopped and came and sat next to me on the bench.

She opened her mouth to say something but before she could the gym door opened and Coach Brandt walked in, he came over to us. Coach Brandt is a large African American man, who had to be at least seven feet tall, he was also very muscular and pretty fast. Everyone who knows him is really surprised that he never wanted to be in the NBA, he's been approached by several teams, but has denied every time.

"Oh, sorry you two, I was just about to send out an email saying practice was cancelled, a lot of the team can't get here, other than you two the only other person who would have been able to was Jayden, and he was gonna be here late.

Ughhhhh... I really don't like Jayden, he's one of the biggest bullies at our school. My friends and I have all reported him, but nothing has happened. The last time I saw him bully someone was a couple days ago, and I had to keep him from beating the kid bad enough to send him to the hospital.

"Oh, ok. Well, I guess we'll see you at practice next week then." Said Soph.

"Yep, bye guys." Said Coach Brandt as he walked to his office and we walked to the gym door.

"So, what are we gonna do with our now free Friday afternoon?" Asked Soph.

"Well, the buses are already gone, we'll have to walk home. There's a Cold Stone on the way, want to stop and get some ice cream?" I asked.

"Yeah why not." She said.

We started walking home and got to the Cold Stone about ten minutes after we started walking. We bought our ice cream, ate it, then continued walking home. My phone started to ring, it was my dad.

That's weird, the last time I really got to talk to my dad was when I was five and my mom had just died. He's usually always at work trying to find a cure for cancer.

"Hey dad, what's up?" I asked when I answered.

"Are you somewhere with a TV?" He asked.

Ok... that's a random question.

"No, but Soph and I are almost to the house, we'll be there in about five minutes. Why?" I responded.

"When you get home turn the TV to channel five news." He said.

"Ummmmmmmmm... ok." I said.

"Ok, I'll see you tonight, bye." He said.

"Uh... bye." I said.

He hung up.

"What was that about?" Asked Soph.

"I have no clue to be honest, when we get home we have to turn on channel five news." I answered.

"That's weird. He called you to tell you to turn on the news?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.

I nodded.

A few minutes later we walked up to the front door and she unlocked it, we entered the house and I went to turn the TV on while Soph got a snack.

I turned the TV on and went to channel five, and immediately knew why my dad wanted us to turn it on. The message at the bottom of the screen read: Dr. Wilson and his team have found a possible cure for cancer.

"Ok, I think it's about time that we go over to Jimmy at Doctor David Wilson's lab so that we can get some more information about this potential cure for cancer." Said the female reporter.

"Thank you Karla. I'm here at the lab and I'm about to get to talk to Dr. Wilson about the breakthrough he and his team made on their attempt to create a cure for cancer. And we'll get to ask him some questions about the cure, but also about his motivation to find one."

"Soph come here!" I shouted into the kitchen. Soph walked out with a bowl of chips and another bowl of guacamole.

"What?! Did the president get assassinated or something?!" She asked.

"No. It's my dad, he's getting interviewed, I guess he and his team had a breakthrough. I wouldn't know because he's never around though." I said, although the last part was in a very bitter tone.

She didn't say anything to that, she just looked at me for a few seconds then turned back to the TV.

"Ok, here is Dr. Wilson now." Said Jimmy the news reporter.

"Hello Jimmy, how are you today?" Said my dad.

"Good, how are you Dr. Wilson?" Replied Jimmy.

"Pretty good, I understand that you want to ask me some questions." Said dad.

"Yes, I have several questions. Let's start with these ones." Said Jimmy as he pulled out a stack of cards and looked down at the first one. "What was your motivation for finding the cure? And how did you put your team together?"

"Well, ten years ago my wife, Sarah, had cancer and it had moved to her brain, the doctors performed a surgery that had a low chance of survival in order to try to save her, but the procedure failed and she died. I was going to start working on it before she died so I could try to save her, but she asked me not to. After she died I was determined to find the cure because I didn't want other families to have to go through the pain and sadness that my son and I did. I put my team together by finding other scientists that had similar things happen to their family members or friends, that's why we've been spending most of our time on finding the cure. We all had the same goal, and similar motivation to fulfill that goal." Answered dad.

"Ok. What is your most recent breakthrough?" Asked Jimmy.

"Well, we've had a test going for about a week and a half now. Our most recent version of the cure has been working on several deadly cancer types, as well as some not as deadly ones. We are trying to see if it works on all cancers. Since we started the test the cure has successfully defeated several skin cancers, a few different breast cancers, and most brain cancers, and it is still working on lung and bronchial cancers, and its winning the fight." Answered my dad.

Oh good for you, your ten years of working twenty hours every day is paying off.

"Wow, that's really impressive. Now, my final question. About how long do you think it will be before the cure is available to the public?" Asked Jimmy.

"That will all depend on if it is successful at defeating these last few cancers. But we also want to make sure that there are no deadly or unwanted side effects. But if all goes well, it could be available very soon."

"Thank you so much Dr. Wilson, we'll let you get back to your work now." Said Jimmy, my dad said bye then walked off the camera."Well, there you have it. The cure seems to be working at this point, and if all continues to go well then it could be available very soon." Said Jimmy after my dad left.

I turned the TV off.

"Sooo... are you happy for him or mad at him?" Asked Soph.

"Of course I'm happy for him. But he's literally almost never home, and when he is home it seems like he's forgotten that I exist." I said.

"Ethan, I don't think that he's forgotten you exist. I think he's spent so much time trying to find the cure because that's how he has to cope with your moms death. He's not trying to ignore you or anything like that, just trying to cope." Soph said as she put the chips and guacamole on the table next to her.

"Well, it's taking him a long time to cope." I said bitterly.

"Are you trying to say that you're not still coping?" Soph asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Think about it. After your mom died you coped by joining all of the teams you could and becoming the best person on each team, soccer, basketball, baseball, swim, you even joined and archery team. Since you were five you've joined almost every team activity you could and made yourself the best on the team. And you still do that, you're on the school basketball team, swim team, and wrestling team. And you are the best person on all three. You've had to cope by being the best you can at everything." She said.

I just stayed silent because I knew she was right.

"You're still coping weather you believe it or not." She finished.

"Yeah... I guess you're right." I said then sighed.

There was a moment of silence before I spoke again.

"How are you coping with your parents deaths?" I asked.

"I'm trying to cope by doing the best I can at everything I do. Sports, school, everything. I know that that's what they would want from me, the best I can do." She said.

I could tell she was trying hard not to cry. I pulled her into a hug and she put her face in the crook of my neck.

"It's ok to cry." I whispered in her ear. "Crying doesn't make you weak."

I guess she got my message because she started to cry, I rubbed circles on her back trying my best to comfort her.

At least I still have my dad, she lost both of her parents, and she didn't get to say goodbye to them, they had been on their way from work and theIr car got hit head on by a drunk driver that had moved into their lane.

"T-thanks for a-always being there w-when I n-need you." She said, her voice muffled by my shoulder, which was now soaked with her tears.

"You don't have to thank me. That's what friends are for right?" I said.

"T-true, but t-that doesn't mean I c-can't thank y-you." She said.

Hey guys, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I know it was a pretty emotional chapter, especially towards the end, it's a bit of a long one but I'm really happy with it. I know that I haven't really gotten to the zombies yet but they'll be here soon, I'm just trying to help you guys get to know a little about the characters and their lives pre-apocalypse.

Next chapter you'll get to know Carter a bit more, I think you guys will probably enjoy it.

THANKS FOR READING!