I HAD BEEN following the highway for a day or two before I discovered the fourth (and what I hoped to be the last) wave.

It was a little bit after I had seen the bus. I had heard shooting off in the distance, and voices.

A lot of voices.
Loud voices.

They yelled at one another- ordering commands I couldn't quite make out.

Stupidly, I had stopped walking- again hit by the surprise that there were other people like me.

I had caught a glimpse of one of them through the trees, and a smile had spread across my face. In a matter of 24 hours I had seen two signs of hope- the bus and then now, the people in front of me.

Maybe there were more people out here than I had originally thought.

At that point, I had thought they were other survivors. I had thought that maybe the shots being fire had to do with hunting.

I didn't realize that these people weren't survivors. And they weren't just hunting to survive. They were the Others. They, now in human form, were hunting us.

I was about to call out to them when I saw one of them raise their gun again and swing it around to face me.

A gasp escaped my lips and I darted away from their line of fire before one of their bullets whizzed past me.

I quickly glanced back at them before making a mad dash up a highway overpass. My boots scuffed against the concrete as I attempted the steep climb.
The overpass wasn't very tall so I was able to make it to the top without much of a hassle.

I stole another glance behind me to see my predators quietly maneuvering their way through the trees. They were fast, moving at a rapid pace that I knew I could not match.

As I pounded across the overpass, a million thoughts raced through my mind.
Why were these people chasing me?
Hell, why did they want to kill me?
How did they find me?

I had been lying low for the past couple days, keeping out of sight from the drones that surveyed the sky.
I had been careful to not make my fire too large or to make much noise on my trek.

It seemed as if these people or whoever they were, had come out of no where.
One minute they weren't there- it was just me, the dead bodies on the road, and the peaceful wind billowing through the trees. And then the next minute, they were there, reeking chaos.

I finally reached the end of the overpass and was deposited on the opposite side of the highway.
The people would have to take the same route I had- the road was too congested to just simply cross it to the other side.

I took my knife out of my belt and held in firmly in my right hand as I darted in and out of trees. My palm grew sweaty as it's weight burdened my hand.
Would I be able to use it if I needed to?
It'd be easier to use a gun- one quick movement of the trigger and it was done.
But the knife? I'd have to be in close proximity and witness the blade piercing my victim's skin.
I wasn't sure if I had it in me.

If Lizbeth was here she'd be able to. She was always stronger, always braver.

She would've been able to do what had to be done.

But she was gone now, and I was the only one left of our disjointed family.

It was my turn to do what had to be done.

The weight of the knife in my hand became lighter and I was able to run faster.

I didn't know how much later, but I couldn't hear them after so long. Either they had given up or they were quietly in pursuit.

Regardless, I took it as a sign that I could slow down.
My throbbing feet needed a rest and so did my mind.
The questions I kept asking were still left unanswered. It seemed as if I truly was alone.

I let myself drop to the ground, hitting its surface with a loud 'thump'.

I leaned back against a nearby tree, taking out a bottle of water and stashing my knife away in the process.

After some time, my panting had stopped and my breathing slowed. My legs began to feel like legs again and my body recovered from the overwhelming amount of strenuous activity.

This was when I needed someone like Ben Parish to carry me the remaining 20 or so miles.

"Pull yourself together,Lucy" I mumbled, irritated with myself for bringing up Ben Parish yet again.

I just couldn't stop. I couldn't get him out of my head for the life of me.

I zipped up my backpack and took my knife out again, sliding it into my belt once more.
I needed to find a gun...or something that would be more useful to me.
I didn't exactly like the idea of my life riding on a kitchen knife.

I stuffed the now empty water bottle and the hoodie I had been wearing back into my book bag before bringing myself to my feet.

I brushed the dirt off my jeans and let a deep sigh escape my lips as I trudged on in the direction I had seen the yellow school bus go.

Thinking about the yellow school bus led me to thinking about school. And thinking about school led me to where it always did...to Ben Parish.

"Lucy Morgan!"

I froze at the sound of my name and my feet stopped in their tracks.

"Mr.Frasier" I said, turning around to face him.

The final bell had just rung, and students were either on their way home or to after school activities.
I had been on my way to the fields, prepared to wait 2 hours for Lizbeth's soccer practice to finish.

"Thank goodness I found you! I'm running late to one of my after school meetings and need someone to bring these down to the football field for me" he said, nodding to the cardboard box he was holding.

"I'd be happy to do it" I said, "I'm heading that way"

Mr. Frasier balanced the cardboard box long enough to push his glasses up the brim of his nose.
"Great! So these are the football team's new jerseys. If you could give them to Jimmy Caterby or Ben Parish, that'd be a big help"

I nodded, taking the box from him, "sure, have a good meeting, Mr. Frasier"

Mr. Frasier nodded in gratitude before hurrying off in the opposite direction.
For a 65 year old man, he sure moved pretty fast.

I made my way to the fields, all the while hoping that I'd see Ben Parish before Jimmy Caterby.
It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Jimmy, it was just that I'd rather talk to Ben.

When I got to the football field, the girl's soccer team was already beginning their warmups- taking turns kicking the ball into the goal (or in Lizbeth's case- trying to).
The football team must've just started their drills because a dozen or so of them were still on the benches.

I scanned the benches for Ben but Jimmy caught my eye before I had the chance to find the guy I was really interested in talking to.

Lizbeth had told me a couple days ago that Ben Parish was a 'no go' because of Cassie's passionate crush for him ever since they were young.
But did that stop me?
No.

"Lucy!" Jimmy called.

I gave him a small wave, "Hey Jimmy" I said, doing my best to play off the encounter as 'no big deal'.

Jimmy was popular, like Ben, which meant that even talking to him was a big leap for those like me.

"Mr. Frasier wanted me to give these to you" I said, showing him the box of jerseys.

"Ah sweet. We've been waiting forever for these! Yo, Parish! Come check these out!" Jimmy said.

"Parish is still in the locker room!" someone called back.

Jimmy shrugged and grabbed his own size from the box, "Hey everyone, grab your size and start drills if you haven't already!" Jimmy said, sliding his new jersey on over his gear.

The other guys came by and picked their jerseys up, lessening the load of the box.

"Would you mind dropping those off in the boy's locker room?" Jimmy asked when everyone was done, "I think Ben is the only one in there- he probably wants his to get changed into."

I nodded, "Yeah sure."

Jimmy nodded and gave me a small wave before trotting onto the field.

I bit my lip softly, starting back the way I came. I had done a couple errands to the boy's locker room for Mr. Frasier before, but never had someone been in there... let alone that someone be Ben Parish.

When I got there, I took a deep breath before swinging the door open confidently.

Almost immediately I was hit by a horrid stench of sweat and dirty clothes.
I would've plugged my nose if it hadn't been for the box I was carrying.

Oh gosh. How do guys even live this way?

"Lucy?"

My heart skipped a beat.

He knows my name? How? Since when?

"Hey," I said, giving Ben a soft smile.

He was standing beside one of the benches in the center of the locker room, fixing the straps on his padding. Which, by the way, meant that he was shirtless- his muscles completely exposed.

I drew in a sharp breath, trying my best not to stare.

"Jimmy told me to bring the new jerseys here for you," I said, setting the box down next to his helmet.

Ben drew his hand through his hair, letting it flop back into place, "Thanks for bringing it over," he said, offering me one of his charming smiles, "Was Mr. Frasier running late to a meeting again?"

I laughed quietly, "Yeah. When is he not?"

Ben laughed and I tried to contain my excitement.
I had gotten the smile and the laugh.
In my books, I was winning in every possible way right now.

"Oh hey, would you mind helping me fix the straps on my padding? I'm already late for practice and it's going to take me forever to do it on my own," he said.

I nodded, "Yeah, sure."

"Awesome, thanks," he said, sliding his padding on.

I pursed my lips, deciding to do the straps on the back first. I tightened both of them, stopping when he told me to.
I then moved to his front, avoiding his eyes the best I could.

This is not awkward. No it isn't. Not at all. I'm simply helping him fix his gear. It's not like he's shirtless or anything.

"So, you just moved here a couple months ago, right?" Ben asked.

"Mhmm," I said, "My mom and I moved in with Lizbeth a month or two after school started."

Ben nodded, "Where'd you move from?" He asked, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine.

"California," I said, silently praying he'd change topics. Talking about home always made me upset.

"Wow, that's cool," he said.

I stared intently at the straps, finishing the last one with some trouble, "There ya go," I said, stepping back to smile softly.

"Thanks, Lucy," he said, putting his jersey on over his head.

That was the first time I had talked to Ben Parish. The first and as painstakingly as it was to admit, probably the last.

<><><>
Next update! Make sure to check out the amazing trailer made by ironic_denim ! (attached at the beginning of the chapter)

Vote & comment if you love shirtless Ben :)