Leaves crunched and cracked under Alexa's feet as she ran. Her heart was racing and her head was whirling as the world flew by her. Away from her. Her feet ached from how much she had been running. Running from the dead, that was almost upon her. Running to get back to her little brother.

Chase would be alright, she told herself. The determination to get back to him was rooted deep in her bones. But her bones screamed at her, yelling for her to stop. But she couldn't. Alexa willed herself to speed up, to push herself farther than ever, to run. Despite the pain.

The groans of the dead act as encouragement, sending her into overdrive. Forcing her to run. To sprint. To race. To compete. Years on the track team served the girl generously, giving Alexa the stamina she needed to return to her brother.

Alexa's lungs burned, she wanted to stop, she needed to stop. To catch her breath to will herself to continue. But she couldn't. All she could think about was getting to her brother. Get home, protect him, keep him safe and feed him. That's all she wanted to do.

The girl swerved, ducking around a tree, forcing her thoughts away from her brother. She inhaled watching as the dead that was chasing her slouched away, further into the forest.

Alexa exhaled, calming herself before sprinting off in the direction of her house. The place where her brother was. The place Alexa needed to be.