Everyone just stared at Lani's lifeless body, shocked.

Lani was fine a few hours ago. How could things go so horribly wrong so quickly?

Lani didn't look peaceful at all. Her eyes were still open, droplets of blood trickling down them, along her cheeks and merging with the red substance coming from her mouth. Her skin was pale, grey almost. Small red marks had appeared on her skin, looking very painful, though no doubt not as painful as what she'd just been through. Her lips were bruised slightly but when you took a closer look it's clear the marks are burn marks.

"W-Why does she have burns?", asked Mia, broken down with sadness, barely able to speak.

No one answered. I mean, how could they? The only person with her was TJ and it's obvious he didn't cause them.

"We need to bury her", said TJ, finally speaking.

They all looked at him, though they knew he was right.

Sandra nodded slowly, tears in her eyes. She took this very badly, very badly. "Y-Yes of course. M-Mel and I will get her cleaned up and then we'll find a perfect spot"

They nodded and Mel gave them all a look that signalled for them to leave.

Ed walked over to Sandra, who was staring at Lani, running a hand through the girls hair and whispering comforting words.

"It's not your fault", he said simply.

"Do you think we should have speeches at the funeral or not? Is that too much?", she asked, acknowledging his words but choosing to not respond.

"Sandra", he said, holding her shoulders so that they faced eachother. "There's a fog that practically swallowed the back part of the house. We have to find out what's going on. Until we know more... I don't think anyone should touch Lani now. Not until we know what's going on"

Sandra's  eyes met his and her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She slapped him across the face, the noise sharp and loud.

Ed didn't even hold his face in pain. He just stayed in that position, his cheek turning red. He then looked back at Sandra, his face expressionless.

Sandra's face was different. It was full of pain, anger and utter disbelief at how heartless Ed sounded. "Are you being serious?! Edward Carburg you've said some stupid things in your life but this is by far the worst. How can you say something like that?! Have you grown THAT heartless in your old age that you seriously consider leaving a 16 year old girl, who we've all grown close to?!"

Ed looked down, breaking out sharply. He didn't answer her.

"Hello?!", she yelled, lifted his head up so that they were looking at eachother. "Answer me when I'm talking to you!"

They were both seen as the leaders. They had good survival instincts because of all the camping they used to do as kids. They were fully trained in combat too, having taken lessons growing up. Lana's dad used to be in the Army. I say used to because, after the Flare Struck, he was never seen again. So it was assumed he didn't survive it.

"Sandra. You know I didn't mean it like that. I just think that it's pointless risking all our lives just because some brainless fools did... well whatever this is", said Ed, his tone slightly apologetic.

Sandra knew they had to be cautious. But this just wasn't right. These kids were like her own now.

She didn't even have the chance to answer when TJ yelled something.

"It's spreading!", he yelled.

The mist had travelled from inside the house to nearer the front, towards the group. It spread out to the whole village.

"COVER YOUR MOUTHS AND RUN!", yelled Ed, using his shirt as a mask and running, ushering Mel away.

The others did as they were told and covered their mouths, though they stood still, looking at Lani.

"What about Lani?", asked TJ, loud and clear enough for everyone to understand through his shirt covering his mouth.

Sandra gave him an apologetic look before shaking her head. "W-We have to leave her", she said, her voice distant, as if she was in disbelief that she said it.

This instilled a feeling of sadness in them all- Lani was dead and was not coming back.

TJ looked at Lani's body one final time before following after Mel, who had gone quite far and was telling other people to cover their mouths.

The others soon followed, leaving Sandra alone with Lani.

"Good bye my dear. Sweet dreams, it's going to be ok, love", she said, dangerously close to breaking down as she gave Lani one final smile and kissed her forehead.

She heard the screams of other people in the village as the mist approached them. She covered her mouth and started to help.

                             ...

Matt and Mia were trying to calm familes that were screaming frantically.

"Come on, we need to get you out of here. Just calm down for me please", said Mia, helping a mother who was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"M-My b-babies!", she cried, gesturing wildly. "M-Mia my babies are out there!"

Matt and Mia looked around for her kids, a boy and a girl. 

A young boy with messy ginger hair ran towards the trio, pure terror on her face. "MUMMY!", she yelled, throwing herself into the woman's arms.

The woman clutched the girl tightly, whispering to her and not daring to let her go. "My baby...sweetie where's Kevin?"

The young girl just looked up into her mother's eyes, that look of terror appearing again. "The clouds took him", she whispered as if speaking any louder would cause them to get angry.

Matt and Mia both frowned as they realised the reality of it all- a mother had lost a child and a girl lost her brother.

The mother was trying to be brave but she couldn't stay strong enough to comfort the crying girl.

Matt knelt down to her and gently held her hands. "Gracie, Kev's gone to a magical place where he gets all the ice cream he could ever want", he said, knowing how much Kevin loved ice cream.

Grace's face lit up slightly at the mention of Kevin being happy. "Really?! Will he get his favourite, mint chocolate chip?"

Matt nodded, letting out a small laugh. "Of course! And he's watching you from up there you know?"

"He is?", she asked, looking up at the sky.

Matt nodded, looking with her. "Yeah. And he'd want you to look after your mummy, because she's scared too. Can you do that for him?", he said, giving her a reassuring look.

The girl nodded quickly, as if she was a spy that had just been given a very important mission.

The woman smiled at him gratefully and took the girl's hand and told her to cover her mouth, covering hers after. She followed Mel, who was getting a few people to safety.

Mia smiled, a proud expression on her face as the little girl waved at Matt and he waved back.

"What?", asked Matt, a laugh escaping his lips as he saw Mia looking at him. His heartbeats danced around crazily as if they were drunk. He could feel his cheeks heating up. This girl- he'd die for her.

Mia shook her head, her smile brightening. "Nothing"

They were snapped back into reality as the Mist came closer, consuming its victims. Within minutes, people who had breathed it in were coughing and spluttering, blood oozing from their mouths, noses and eyes.

Mia grabbed Matt's hand and ran with him, as far as they could.

"Where's Ed and Sandra? And Mel, TJ and Cassie?", Matt called out, the adrenaline in his body not strong enough to keep him from being extremely tired and breathless.

Mia was ready to say she didn't know when she caught a glimpse of Ed, shouting at people to move to safety. She pointed at him. "There's Ed!", she said out loud.

Matt looked over and saw him, gaining just enough energy to sprint over to him, with Mia still holding his hand.

Ed physically THREW people to the sides, getting them away from the Mist. "Matt, Mia, get everyone away from this blòòdy fog", he called out, pushing them forward.

They nodded, pushing people out to get them away from the Mist.

It was getting closer now, it's pungent smell filling the air. Ed had stopped pushing people away from it and ran away from the Mist himself, yelling to the others to do the same.

Matt and Mia wasted no time, the fresh dose of adrenaline surging through their bodies.

They kept running and didn't dare look back, only forward. Ahead of them they could see TJ, Cassie, Mel, Sandra and Ed.

Ed moved them all out of the Mist's line of fire and ran last.

They ran as fast as they could, not stopping for anyone or anything. They helped as much as they could. Now, it was their turn to survive.

The rustling of the trees could be heard, getting louder the faster they ran. As if they were waving goodbye to all the residents of the village it surrounded. Their village. Their home.

"Wait...", Cassie said, still running though.

"...what about all our stuff?", she asked.

"Oh for the love of- Cassie, let's focus on living another day, yeah?", said Ed.

Cassie whined but gave in.

"It's alright Cassie, TJ and I went back to some things. Sandra's got some too. We should be ok", said Mel, her voice shaky from the running but still confident.

"There's another village up ahead!", shouted Ed, pointing to it.

They all looked at it and saw it hadn't been swallowed whole by the Mist. They quickened their pace.

Matt looked over to see Mia's hopeful but slightly anxious expression.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "It's gonna be ok Mia", he said reassuringly, though he didn't really believe it.

He was sure Mia didn't believe it either but she smiled and squeezed his hand back. "Thanks Matt"

They approached the village, their legs tired and sore.

Ed and Sandra were the only ones that walked like they had been lying down all day. Even Mel looked tired, but not as much as the others.

Cassie gave up running a few minutes ago so Mel carried her. She placed her down on the floor with slight force, not in anger though.

"Ow my butt", she complained but saw no one was really interested so quickly got up and walked with them.

The village was quite small, more like a camp. There were about 7 houses in total and they were all arranged in a circle almost, large patches of greenery in the middle.

"This place looks cosy", said TJ. That was the first thing he said since Lani's death. He wasn't in his usual humorous mood anymore.

Ed opened his mouth to say something but was cut of by a voice.

"Who's there?!", yelled the voice, female.

Ed gestured to them to keep quiet.

"I said, who's there?!", they yelled, getting louder.

A girl came out of one of the houses, a small device in her hand. She had blonde hair that was straight and in a ponytail. She had bright blue eyes and a stern, defensive look was on her face.

She lifted the device up when she saw the group. It was a Transvice. A few years back, they were highly sought after and were incredibly expensive. Technology advanced since then but they weren't stupid- Transvice's were still dangerous.

"We don't mean any harm", spoke Sandra in a loud but sincere tone. "We've come from a neighbouring village that was struck with a strange Mist today. We just need a place to stay for a while, until we find our feet", said Sandra.

The girl moved closer, Transvice still firmly in her hand. "There they are", she said, pointing to their feet. "Now get going or I'll shoot"

"Listen girl", said Ed before Sandra could speak. "We don't mean no harm, as Sandra has said.  Give us a few hours and we'll be out of your hair", he said, his tone similar to someone who was talking to a little kid.

The girl grew impatient and aimed her Transvice as Mel, ready to shoot.

"Liz what's going on- Liz no!", yelled another girl who emerged from the house, blonde hair, brown eyes and looked younger than the girl with the Transvice. She stood in front of the Transvice.

"Lou get out of the way", said Liz, warningly.

Lou stood her ground. "No. You promised you wouldn't use that thing!"

"Lou they just barged their way in and won't leave. I have no choice!", argued Liz.

Lou turned around to face the Group. "W-What is it you want?", she asked, her tone nervous. It was clear that she was the shy one out of the two.

"Nothing bad", he said, stepping forward slowly so Liz wouldn't react quickly and shoot him. "We just need a place to stay. Just for a short time, until we know what we're doing next. Our village's been ruined by the Mist or whatever it is"

Lou listened carefully, her mind wondering whether to trust them or not. She turned back to Liz. "Liz... I think we should let them stay", she whispered.

Liz shook her head and answered adamantly. "No way. This is just a plan. And if they were attacked by Mist where are all the other people from their village?"

Lou turned back to the Group, thinking the same now.

Cassie wasted no time and immediately responded. "We don't know. Probably all dead by now some of them were moving pretty slow"

"One of them was our FRIEND", TJ said to Cassie. "Can you not have some respect?"

Cassie frowned. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. Look, some of them escaped with us but as far as we know, no one ran the way we did"

Mel nodded, agreeing with that. "She's right. I kept checking, in case any of them needed help. No one came with us"

Lou looked back at Liz with pleading eyes. "Please Liz, they need help"

After a few seconds of hesitation, Liz put the Transvice down and nodded with a sigh. "Fine. You can stay. But only for a few days"

Lou breathed out, relieved. She ran forward and gave her sister a hug.

"Careful of the Transvice!", she yelled, but smiled as she hugged back.

The others were relieved and grateful.

"Thankyou so much girls", smiled Sandra. "I'm Sandra, this is Ed, and this is Melanie or just Mel. And these kids are Matt, Mia, TJ and Cassie", she said, gesturing to them all.

They all gave a small wave.

"I'm Lauren Bethany Louise March. But everyone just calls me Lou", smiled the youngest blonde.

"And I'm Lizanne Millie March. I go by Liz though", said the older one.

"You're all similar ages so you'd all get along well, hopefully", said Mel.

Matt and Mia were both 18, same as TJ and Cassie.

Liz nodded. "Oh and it's not just us. Everyone else in our village ran when they heard about something that had happened in another village, probably yours. Anyway, we stayed along with 2 other people. They left to search for supplies"

Sandra nodded. "How old are they both if you don't mind me asking?"

"The boy, Cal, is 18 but he's turning 19 in a week. The girl, Dessy, is 15", said Liz. She spoke about them fondly, suggesting they were all very close.

"They're brother and sister", added Lou, smiling.

The others nodded.

"Hate to be a pain but is there any where I can dump these?", asked Ed, lifting up bags containing some of their things.

Liz nodded. "Sure, come with me, I'll show you where they can go"

Ed nodded and grabbed half of the bags, Liz taking the other half. They both walked into the house.

"Well, make yourselves at home. I was about to make some lunch, pasta if anyone's hungry?", asked Lou.

Sandra was about to politely refuse but the looks of joy on the kids faces when Lou mentioned food reminded her that they hadn't eaten as they missed breakfast to go to the shops earlier. She could feel her own hunger knawing away at her. "That'd be lovely, thanks Lou"

There were two benches outside on the grass and a campfire in the middle. The group sat down together as Lou brought out the food.

Mel helped Lou dish up and handed the plates to everyone. Ed and Liz were still nowhere to be seen.

"Does he usually take long to come out for lunch?", asked Lou, sitting next to TJ.

"You kidding? He's the first one in the kitchen", laughed Sandra.

Lou and the others laughed.

"I'm pretty sure he'd lick the pots and pans clean if Mel wasn't so big on hygiene", joked TJ, slowly starting to ease back into being his regular, humorous self.

They all laughed.

"You're a funny guy, TJ", laughed Lou. Her eyes were mesmerising as if they held a thousand secrets. She had brown eyes as opposed to her sister who had blue eyes. Her laugh had a childlike innocence to it.

TJ couldn't help but smile at her. He missed Lani. A lot. They were really close to it felt like a part of him died too. "So, my guess is Liz is like Ed then? Always hovering by the pan?"

Lou giggled a little but shook her head. "Actually, that's more like something Cal would do. You'll all love him when you meet him. And Dessy too, she's a real sweetheart. Though, she's got a fierce side too"

"Can't wait to meet them", smiled TJ.

"Dessy sounds like she'd be best friends with Cassie", laughed Matt.

They all laughed, agreeing.

"I mean, I can see where you're coming from", said Cassie.

"Hey, does anyone know why Liz and Ed are taking so long?", asked Mia, a little curious.

A small frown appeared on Lou's face but she quickly covered it up with a smile. "I'll go check on them", she said, putting her plate down and leaving.

Mel looked around at all the kids and Sandra, eating heartily. She smiled happily. "Eat up guys, tomorrow, I'll be taking the lead. Sandra deserves a break"

Sandra gave Mel a warm smiled and thanked her, grateful. She could tell that Mel sensed she was drained from the horror of Lani's death.

    *IN ONE OF THE BEDROOMS*

Liz was helping Ed sort out all the belongings and put his stuff in his room.

"Just to go over it again, Lou and I will sleep in one room, Dessy and Mia will be in the other room. Cassie, Mel and Sandra can take the third room and Matt, Cal and TJ will have to take the living room. We'll make it comfy though, don't worry", said Liz, closing the wardrobe.

Ed nodded. "Got it. Thanks again for this, we really appreciate it"

"Yeah well, just remember, it's only for a while", said Liz but she seemed happy with the thanks.

Ed nodded his head again, grabbing a shirt. "Noted. Could I quickly change my shirt please?"

Liz nodded and walked to the door, looking back at Ed before opening the door and leaving.

Lou walked up the stairs. "Hey Liz, what's taking so long? Is everything ok?"

"Yeah yeah, everything's fine Lou. I just went through who would be sharing rooms with who. Then we just had a bit of fun, he's in there getting his clothes on now", said Liz.

Lou's eyes widened. "Oh Liz did you sleep with him?! He's like, 40!"

"That's not that old", said Liz.

"I know that but... well I mean, look forget it. Did you sleep with him?", asked Lou.

Liz burst out laughing. "You're so easy to fool Lou. Of course I didn't! He's old enough to be my dad, not that he looks it mind you. He's got muscles too you know. Anyway, let's get going, I'm hungry"

Lou was still a little shocked but nodded, walking downstairs.

"I love winding you up Lou Bear", laughed Liz, walking down after her.

Lou and Liz made their way back to the others with Ed following shortly.

"There you both are!", smiled Sandra, handing Liz a plate with food on it.

Liz thanked her and ate straight away.

"I saved you the chicken from my pasta, I know you love it", said Sandra to Ed, handing him the plate.

Ed smiled and took it, sitting beside her. "Thanks Sandra"

He ate a little before looking back at Sandra. "Hey San?"

"Yeah Ed?"

"Are we good?"

After a long pause, Sandra looking back up at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Of course we are, you're my best friend"

They all laughed and joked around as they told stories about the different things they've been through.

"Wow! This is so fun! Honestly, I wouldn't mind you guys staying her permanently", said Liz, still laughing.

They laughed. They could all hear the truthfulness in her tone.

"LIZ, LOU!", yelled a voice. A girl ran towards them, an older boy wrapped up in her arms. She was struggling but was determined to reach them.

They all looked over to them, frowning.

Lou and Liz got up, running to them.

"Dessy! What happened?", asked Lou, worried.

"It's Cal!", she said, pointing to the boy she was carrying.

"He's been shot by the men in purple"