Well, isn't this nice? For once I'm actually not being sarcastic- this is actually pretty relaxing. We're somewhere in Southern Illinois, hanging out in this small house we came across. There's still electricity here- which is shocking. Get it? Anyway, this place has an electric fence which makes it pretty easy to defend.

Mack and Addy are on watch right now, but judging by the giggling coming from outside they're probably just taking time to mess around. I don't blame them- we're all pretty at home. Warren and Garnett are in the kitchen enjoying a cup of coffee and talking, Cassandra is napping on the couch in the living room, 10k's sitting in a chair next to her reading some magazine.

Murphy and Doc are playing some card game in the dining room using medicine as bets while I watch. It's almost like the apocalypse isn't happening and we're just a normal family spending time together; it's nice.

"I will see your Vicodin and raise you one Tetracycline." Doc placed his bet, adding his bet to the pot. Murphy didn't think twice.

"Call." He said confidently. Doc placed his cards face-up on the table.

"Three of a kind." Three kings- nice. Murphy grinned and showed his cards.

"Full house, aces high." Aces over nines? Damn.

"Man!" Doc huffed, slouching back in his chair and he watched Murphy collect his winnings, letting out a victorious chuckle.

"That's 5 hands in a row, Doc." I reminded him.

"If you're gonna continue to use my deck, you need to quit pulling cards outta your ass." Doc complained to Murphy.

"Oh, boo-hoo." Murphy laughed, and I laughed with him. Surprising, I know- but in the last few days he hasn't done anything to bother me; so I guess I'll give him a chance. Garnett's voice broke up the party as he shushed is.

"Hey, shh, hold on- he's back on." Citizen Z has been broadcasting a lot recently- I think that's how he's keeping his sanity. I couldn't hear the first part of what he said, but I listened as I abandoned Doc and Murphy to join 10k- Tommy- in the living room, sitting in the chair next to him. Citizen Z put on a cliche weatherman's accent as he spoke.

"... big storms in the Mid-West, friends. I'm talking mean weather coming in fast- some reports of tornados. Find shelter and take cover, it's dangerous out there- more so than usual! Now, back to the soothing sounds of the apocalypse." CZ played some more calming music that sounded a lot like elevator music; but I didn't mind.

"You know," Murphy started as he looked up from his cards, "after he was so wrong about that chopper, weatherman's a pretty good job for that geek." I grinned and nodded.

"Word." I replied as I leaned back in the chair, watching Mack and Addy come back inside and walk over to Charles and Roberta.

"You're up." Mack let our leaders know as he leaned on the doorframe.

"All good?" Garnett questioned, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Peaceful night." Addy confirmed.

"First of all," I started, sitting up and crossing my legs in the chair, "it's day time. Second of all, your stalker said there's a storm front coming in." Warren nodded towards my statement and looked to the young couple.

"All good out there?" Addy grinned.

"Cloudy with a chance of zombie." She stated. I laughed softly.

"Ay-oh! Reference game on point, sister!" Addy chuckled and shot me a sailors salute.

"Okay, you two get some rest." Garnett suggested to the two, who just looked at each other with grins on their faces.

"You got it." Addy stated quickly before she and Mack rushed upstairs. Judging by the giggling, I highly doubt they're going to be resting. I cringed at the thought as I watched our leaders head out for their shift; coffee in hand.

I closed my eyes as I listened to the calming music, before reopening them when I heard Ten Thousand get up from his spot next to me- watching as he knelt down to fix Cassandra's blanket for her. As soon as he moved it, she startled awake and punched a knife into the couch cushion- right next to his hand.

"The...blanket... I was just... sorry." Tommy stuttered out, pulling his hands away. I laughed softly as Cass pulled her knife out and resumed her nap, watching as he sat back down next to me.

"Nice." I commented teasingly, 10k just shrugging in response. I listened to Murphy and Doc speak in the other room.

"Scared of that one." Murphy commented in regards to Cassandra's actions.

"Best not to mess." Doc stated, studying his cards. Murphy pulled his hand away from his face before leaning towards his friend slightly.

"You know, if we bred those two it would be all over for the zombies." He suggested. Doc shook his head.

"Nah, I'm rootin' for Sniper Squared."

"Word." They both chuckled. Did they not realize we could hear them? Tommy and I both looked at each other, his face was tinted red- and I'm sure mine was too. I jumped when a particularly loud clap of thunder sounded, and sighed as I heard the electric shut off. In 3... 2...

"Incoming!" Garnett shouted from the door, as he and Warren shot a few rounds. And 1. I started to get up with an exasperated sigh.

"I knew this was too good to last longer than a few hours." I muttered as I grabbed my rifle, draping it across my back. Our leaders ran inside seconds later.

"Puppies and kittens, time to go! Everybody out the back!" Roberta shouted though the house. I grabbed my bag and draped it over my shoulder before casually walking to the back door- listening to everybody else scramble to grab their things. I was the first out, followed by Thomas and Cassandra, then Doc and Murphy; Warren, Addy Mack. One shot went off before Garnett joined us in the truck.

We all assumed our usual spots in the truck as we sped off. I watched as the zombies that entered the house left through the same door we did and attempted to follow us. Just as we were cruising at a constant speed, Citizen Z started another broadcast.

"Hey, turn 'im up!" I called to Warren, who accepted my request. This wind and thunder is really making it hard to hear. I listened as CZ spoke in his cliche weatherman voice again.

"In our continuing effort to bring you up-to-the-minute information, we at Z-TV have acquired a National Weather Service satellite- that they aren't using anymore." I laughed softly.

"But, that's not important." He continued. "We now go to John Smith, Southern weather correspondent, to get his opinion on the story." Oh, please do another accent.

"This is the badassest storm this weatherman has ever seen!" I laughed at the accent he was using- it was a mix between Southern and Hillbilly. "From the Gulf of Mexico right up the Mississippi Valley- trouble is a-brewin'!" Lovely.

"Hey guys, guess what Illinois is? Part of the Mississippi Valley." I pointed out. Nobody payed attention- I guess they were trying to listen to CZ instead. Tough crowd.

"I don't know if they call this thing a, Turicane, or a Tornado- or what, but if you're anywhere south of Chicago or East of the Rockies, I'm issuing you a, 'get-your-butt-in-a-bunker' warning."

"Guys, guess what? We're South of Chicago. And, even better- East if the Rockies! Man, this day is going absolutely fantastic." Okay, maybe I'm nervous and sarcasm is my outlet. Sue me. Citizen Z stopped the accents and used his normal voice, except he sounded more serious than usual. We pulled over when we spotted an abandoned car on the side of the road, and Doc and Garnett jumped out to try to siphon some gas.

"Hey, I hope you guys are getting this- Addy and friends." I nudged Addy's shoulder through the window and she just rolled her eyes playfully. "You guys gotta seek shelter immediately, because this is bad; and when you seek shelter immediately- and after you do that- you need to contact me where you are, and I'll update you with further information- Okay?" Wait... is he- drunk? I laughed slightly. Poor guy.

"Alright, this is Citizen Z, and I'm signing off." Yeah, go take a nap or something buddy. I listened as the thunder grew closer, leaning my head back against the window and closing my eyes as Warren, Garnett and Doc spoke.

"So, which way do we go?" Garnett questioned. The storm is going to go through here. Our best bet is to just find a place to hunker down.

"The storm is pushing North from the Gulf. If we make it to the I-70 we can outrun it." Not gonna happen, Warren.

"That storm is going faster than that crap-tastic truck ever will!" Steven Beck, the voice of reason.

"Yeah, we gotta get off the road. You heard Citizen Z; we gotta seek shelter!" Garnett had to raise his voice to speak over the approaching thunder and wind.

"What we need is to get the hell outta here!" Warren declared. "I ain't stopping just 'cause some punk with a satellite says so." Come on Warren, the guy has helped us out a bunch- take it easy on him.

"Okay, ha-hang on." Murphy spoke up. "Am I missing something? You did not drag my ass this far so that man kind's hope could get sucked up by a tornado, did you?" That right there is a good point. I could hear Mack and Addy talking quietly in the backseat of the truck, but I didn't focus too much on it because it seemed private. All I know is Addy has been acting strange since we left that house.

Everybody outside the truck jumped back in, and I chuckled slightly when Doc asked if anybody had a mint. I thought for a second before reaching into my bag and pulling out a half-empty tin of Altoids I found in General McCandle's desk. Pulling one out, I handed it to him through the window.

"Enjoy it, that's all you get." I warned, closing the metal container before placing it back in my bag with the rest of my belongings. I leaned my head back against the window and looked up, taking in the dark purple color of the sky. I looked over to see Cassandra with her back to Thomas and I, watching the road behind us as we continued driving.

I turned to look through the window when we came to a stop to read the road sign. Castle Point 2 miles to the right, St. Lewis 62 miles to the left. Castle Point? I think that's Warren's home town.

"Castle Point- that's your hometown- right?" Garnett questioned Warren. She didn't answer, just took a sharp left- causing me to slide into 10k.

"Sorry." I'm mumbled, shifting back into my spot.

"It's okay." I looked to our left and my eyes widened.

"Woah, look at that storm coming in." I called over the wind and thunder. Roberta came to a halting stop before muttering something- throwing the car in reverse, backing up onto the road we had just come from and taking a right towards her hometown.

2 miles later, we were driving down the streets of Castle Point, Illinois- Roberta's home. It looked like a quaint suburban town, at least it probably was before the apocalypse made its big debut. It sounded like Mack, Garnett and Warren were having a conversation about it, but I couldn't hear them very well over the weather. We parked in front of what looked like the City Hall, before jumping out and looking around.

Warren walked straight to some kind of bulletin board, followed by Garnett and Murphy. The rest of us stayed by the truck, staring at the sky.

"It's so green." I observed.

"I've never seen a sky look like that. I've only seen tornados on TV." Cassandra informed us.

"I don't like tornados." Doc spoke worriedly.

"I'm pretty sure they don't like you either." I teased, jumping back into the truck when I saw the three return. They looked irritated about something but I decided not to ask. Roberta took off the second we were all in the vehicle- only driving for a few minutes before we pulled up to a large brick house.

"That it?" Garnett questioned as the truck turned off, opening the door.

"That's it." She confirmed. That's all we needed before piling out of the pickup, Addy and I being the first two to jog up the small sidewalk to the front deck.

"10k, come on!" I called- deciding I didn't feel like keeping watch alone. He jogged up next to me, standing a few feet away on the porch while Mack tried to bust the door down.

"Come on!" The blonde grunted, failing at shoulder-checking the front door. Roberta reached up for something before pulling her arm back down, holding a key in front of Mack's face. This caused him to stop his actions and step away. As she slid the key into the lock, Garnett spoke.

"If he's in there and he's..." He must be talking about her husband.

"I will not hesitate." She stated, unlocking the door.

Walking in, it seemed like your common suburban home; cute furniture, decorated walls. Mack and Addy went upstairs as the rest of us stood in the living room. I watched as Warren walked over to a small box and opened it, admiring whatever was inside. Murphy sat his lazy ass in a chair and looked around.

"Home sweet zombie." He muttered. Roberta didn't like this- at all. She looked at him and rushed over, leaning over him with with her right hand on the back of the chair for support.

"Get outta that chair." She ordered sharply. Murphy didn't move. "Go on, get out of there!" She yelled. Again, he stayed put. "That's my husbands favorite chair!" She yelled at him, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him out of the small blue Lazy Boy rocker. Murphy stumbled, but managed to catch his balance after a few steps.

"All right!" He shouted. Mack and Addy walked into the room- that was now filled with tense air.

"Um, upstairs is all good." She informed everybody sheepishly. Seconds later, guttural coughing and groans could be heard from the kitchen. We all raised our weapons- only to be stopped by Roberta.

"I got this." She stated sharply as she pulled out her gun. We kept ours at the ready as we followed her towards the kitchen. Once we entered the room, we were met with a woman leaning over what looked like a man; it was unclear if they were zombies or not until the woman quickly sat up and looked at us- a look of pure fear on her face.

"Please, don't shoot us! My husband is hurt." Hurt is an understatement. The man was bleeding profusely from his head, a small pool of blood surrounding the area.

"What are you doing in my house?" Our female leader interrogated the couple, lowering her weapon. Everybody else did the same, however I kept mine aimed- if this man doesn't turn soon I'll be shocked.

"The fireman said we'd be safe here." The woman spoke quickly. Is Robertas husband alive?