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David had been shot. Jonathon, Ben, and Stephen had been killed. Jenna and Karli were now all alone and probably at the mercy of those men. My tears ran down my cheeks and hit David's. Softly, gently, I stroked his hair. Aaron glanced back at me every now and then, his eyes worried as the tears grew more persistent. The furry glanced once or twice, checking on David's knee. I had taken off my jacket and was pressing it against it, trying to stop the blood.

That furry, that creature had saved me...there was too much conflict in my head right now. When I first saw him I was terrified. He looked like a fox; his coppery pelt shining like fire in the sunlight. But he saved my life and most likely Aaron's and David's. I should be grateful, but no, I was being a bitch. For a moment, I took my eyes off of David and stared at the fox. David, barely conscience, followed my gaze. At that moment, he turned to look at us both. I held his gaze for a moment but returned to looking dejected and worrying over my brother. What I saw in David's eyes was only hatred. I wanted to be strong and firm in my belief, like David always was. I could choose to be stubborn, like him, and hate them for merely existing.

I assume the fox knew how we felt about him. He was my rescuer and I should respect him, but what he is, is something I hate. But the more I thought about it, the more stupid it appears. I'm discriminating against a race, aren't I? With a heavy sigh, I rested my head back and, for a moment, I watched the world go by. Exhaustion eventually overtook and I slowly slipped into sleep.

~~~

When I awoke we were surrounded by mountains. We must be on I-25. I blinked my eyes, trying to remove sleep from my eyes. When I looked around, Aaron and the fox were both staring at me. Aaron had a smile, a sweet, gentle one. That was something I had never seen.

"Hey, sleepy head," he whispered. I looked around outside.

"Where are we?" I asked quietly.

"We're close to Colorado Springs," The fox said. The sun was setting, so I guess that's why we stopped.

"Where are we going to spend the night?" I questioned. We were in one of those fancy, ritzy neighborhoods. Aaron pointed to the house we were parked in front of; the door was already cracked open. I looked at him, confused.

"Don't worry; we've already scouted the area and the house. This place is safe for now," Aaron reassured me.

"Alright," I nodded. "Let's get David inside." They both got out. The furry took David and Aaron helped me out, keeping an arm around me. We walked inside and into the living room. As the fox set David down on the couch, I asked, "Aaron, do you know if there are any first aid kits?"

"I'll check," he nodded and disappeared. I turned my attention to David. He had been shot in two places, his side and the knee. The blood had stopped for the moment, at least. Gingerly, I pulled his shirt up, revealing the ravaged wound. The bullet was still in him, so I'd have to find a way to remove it. I heard Aaron rummaging through the house and going up the stairs. Thinking, I went and found a bowl and some towels to wash off the dried blood around David's side. He mumbled a bit.

"Hey," I smiled at him. His eyes were drowsy, but stayed focused on my face. He must have lost quite a lot of blood. "David, can you take off your shirt and pants? I need to have full access to your wounds." He merely nodded and sat up. Aaron came back and I looked through what he found while he helped David undress. "Aaron," I paused. They both stopped.

"Yeah, what is it, Clara?" His hand touched my shoulder for a moment. A glare from David made that touch disappear.

"We are going to have to remove the bullets," I grimaced. "You and...what's your name?" I looked up at the fox.

"Keon, my name is Keon," he said. It was strange for something so animal like to be saying things to me. I brushed it off. I had to be concerned with David right now.

"Okay, you and Keon will have to help me," I started. David was back to lying down.

"Alright, how do we help?" Aaron tilted his head to look at me.

"You two are going to have to hold him down."

~~~

About four hours later, of screaming, struggling, and bleeding. We managed to remove the two bullets from David. I had bandaged up both wounds, the blood soaked in. I was covered in his blood and the dried blood and brains of Jonathon. David had passed out from the pain and loss of blood. After I had covered him with a blanket, I slumped down onto the floor. Aaron had gone to check something out, so it was only Keon and me.

"Keon," I turned my head to look at him on the other side of the room. His ears perked, his eyes watching me. "Thank you for saving me, for saving my brother."

"You're welcome," he dipped his head. The awkward silence returned between us and I went back to staring, watching David. I couldn't leave his side, not if something happened. I heard Aaron coming down the stairs.

"The water works here and it's hot!" Aaron smiled.

"That's great," I smiled at him. He held out his hand to me. I hesitated, glancing between David and him. But I took his hand and he pulled me up. Aaron held me close.

"Why don't you go and wash all that blood?" he offered.

"Aaron," I whispered.

"Stop caring about everyone else for a moment, Clara, take care of you," Aaron shook me. "Just go and clean yourself up."

"Fine," I sighed.

"There are more showers anyways. You can find some clothes in the second room on the left." Aaron hollered as I skipped up the stairs. I went into the room. It felt strange going through someone else's stuff. Unfortunately, they are probably dead. The lights worked so I flicked them on since the sun was setting down behind the mountains. The sky was dark and filling with the twinkling of the stars. I found some pajamas and went into the bathroom. I stripped down, discarding the bloodied clothes on the ground, then turned on the shower, waiting for it to warm. Under the sink, I found towels and washcloths.

I got under the water, shaking as the adrenaline left my body. Standing there, I let the water run over me. Then I grabbed the washcloth and rubbed soap into it. Wanting to get all of the blood off of my skin I rubbed my skin raw, I washed my hair repeatedly. It felt amazing and I felt so refreshed. I didn't get out till my toes and fingers were like prunes.

I got out and dried myself, dressing in the new clean clothes. I had on just a black tank top and plaid cotton shorts. I'll find real clothes to wear tomorrow morning. I wasn't sure what to do with my dirty clothes, so I folded them and put them in a corner. When I left the bathroom, I smelled food, so I went down the stairs.

"There you are!" Aaron peeked around the corner. His golden hair was damp and his dark blue eyes sparkled. "Why do you girls always take forever in the shower?"

"Sorry, it felt good," I shrugged. I walked over to where he and Keon were in the kitchen. The fox's fur looked damp as well. "Are you two cooking?"

"Yep," Keon grinned as much as a muzzle could grin. His tail was swishing back and forth in a happy, upbeat motion. Aaron flipped the meat on the skillet while I sat on the counter that wasn't in use.

"Smells good," I commented. "Glad that the electricity in this place works."

"Yep, we'll be able to stay here for a while so David can heal up," Aaron nodded. "We'll scavenge tomorrow morning."

"Here, this is David's meal," Keon handed me a plate with vegetables and meat.

"Thank you," I smiled, sliding off the counter and walking over to David. Gently, I shook him awake. "Hey, sleepy head, we made you some dinner."

David stared at me for a moment. He sat up, looking around. "Where's Jenna? And Karli?"

"David, we're in Colorado Springs," I said softly.

"Where are they?" his voice got tense and low. I had been crouched, but stood up, taking a deep breath.

"They're gone, David, they're gone," I bit my lip.

"What?!" He stood up, almost falling down because of his bad knee. He grabbed my shoulders pulling my roughly towards him. "That's Jenna, the girl I love, and an 11 year old girls!"

"David," I gasped. He started shaking me and yelling at me.

"You left them there to those thugs!" he yelled at me. "What sort of person are you?" He let me go but not before slapping me across the face.

"David, stop!" Aaron shoved him back down onto the couch. "Don't you move! Eat this." Aaron shoved his dinner into his lap.

"I'm not about to eat food made by that abomination!" David threw the plate back towards the kitchen. Keon ducked and it hit the cupboards above him, shattering. He peeked up, ears back and teeth bared. Aaron led me over to the kitchen, and it was quiet again. Aaron helped me sit on a counter.

"Here, let me see it," he said softly. I turned my face and felt his fingers over my skin. I winced. "Sorry," his breath grazed my neck. My skin was tender around my eye. "There's already a bruise forming." I sighed. His fingers trailed down to my neck. "What happened to you?"

Keon turned to look at us. He had been preparing the plates and was now done. His eyes looked to where Aaron's fingers were. I swallowed. "She was getting strangled when I came across her." Aaron's eyes flared.

"Aaron, it's okay now," I faked a small smile. "Don't worry about me."

"I can't help but worry about you if your jackass of a brother is beating you left and right," Aaron hung his head. "I want you to stay away from him."

"But..."

"No, please, just stay away from him," he cupped my cheek. I opened my mouth to try to object but the cold look he gave me made me stop.

"Alright," I nodded, looking away.

"Here, the food is ready," Keon glanced at the plates, then back up at us.

"Okay, thank you, Keon," Aaron smiled. "Let's eat, Clara." I slid off the counter and grabbed a plate. We walked into the dining room, putting distance between us and the crazy idiot. Sitting down in a chair, I picked at my food. I tuned out the background noise; Keon and Aaron talking. I couldn't tell you what they were talking about, but I could hear Aaron laughing from time to time. I was resting my cheek on my hand. A hand wrapped around my wrist and I jumped, gasping softly. Raising an eyebrow, Aaron withdrew his hand.

"Sorry," I blushed, staring down at my plate.

"It's okay," Aaron said.

"We were just wondering if you were going to eat your food instead of play with it," Keon said. His voice was gentle regardless of the sharp canines that flashed as he spoke. I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry," I pushed the plate away. "I'm gonna go to bed. Night, guys." I got up and walked back upstairs. I heard them both say good night to me as I walked up the stairs. I went into the same room where I got the clothes and crawled into the bed. Curling up into a ball, I started to cry. We lost almost the entire group. David, Aaron, and I were all that's left. And now, we had Keon; a furry, a very strange creature, but a creature that saved my life.

I felt the sobs racking my body and the tears began to soak into the sheets. There was the creak of the stairs as someone walked up them. Or maybe it was two people.

"Night, Aaron," I heard Keon whispered.

"Good night," Aaron whispered from outside my door. There was a closing of a door, then I heard mine open just a bit. It closed again, but there was the soft padding of bare feet. A rustle of fabric, and the comforter moved. I felt Aaron get in the bed. His arm draped across me. I turned around, staring up at him.

"David is going to kill you," I smiled through my tears.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Aaron smiled. "And I just wanted to repay for when you always stayed by my side, awake and worrying."

"You don't have to," I shook my head. He moved closer and held me close.

"Yes, I do," He whispered. I felt his fingers running through my hair. My mother used to do that to make me stop crying and fall asleep. She had always sung to me softly and she'd sometimes fallen asleep in the bed with me. David would have sometimes slept with me, when the virus first affected. He felt like he was protecting his little sister.

But that was a long time ago.

When Jenna appeared, my brother basically abandoned me. He was going to be grieving about her for a while. I felt awful for leaving them behind, all alone and at the mercy of those men, but maybe they weren't caught by them.

One can only hope.

~~~

I woke up as the soft, pale light of morning entered the room. I yawned, stretched and turned to face Aaron, who was sitting and had his back to me. I sat up, staring at him, but he didn't react. His back and arms were muscular; he was a tough kid, though appearing lean and weak, and he could pack a punch.

I crawled over to him and draped my arms across his shoulders, feeling his body shudder. "Good morning," I whispered in his ears. His eyes closed for a moment, breath quickening. I frowned and sat back. It remained silent, so I decided it was best to not press.

I slid off the bed and walked to the door. Turning the doorknob, I glanced back at him one more time. I sighed and left, closing the door behind me. What was up with him? I walked downstairs.

David was sitting up, staring at the floor and contemplating. The bandages and first aid kits were on the ottoman. I kneeled beside him and, without saying a word, began to change his bandages. He only moved so I could redress the bandages on his side. With that done I went into the kitchen, where there wasn't much food. I don't even know where they got the meat.

I went into the front room. There was dust collecting on the furniture and books within the study. I opened the blinds just a bit to let in some light, finding a window seat with red cushions. Sitting down, I stared out at the neighborhood. There were cars littering various areas of the roads.

My skin was covered with goose bumps. I rubbed my arms, drawing my legs up closer.

I heard the guys moving around upstairs, David was sobbing in the living room, and I remained in the study, silent. The stairs creaked as someone came down. I didn't look over, though, my gaze remained outside. There was a sigh and the feet walked away, back into the kitchen. A couple minutes later, someone else came down and went straight back to the kitchen. I waited then went back upstairs, picking out some clothes and going into the bathroom to change.

I put on jeans that had rips. I still can't believe that this was a style. I put on the shirt I'd grabbed, loose fitting and dark purple with a print of a bird. There was a brush, so I brushed my hair out. As I worked it, it turned into loose wave and fell over my shoulders. Finished, I left the bathroom and went downstairs.

Keon and Aaron were in the kitchen, whispering. I walked over to David. Kneeling down in front of him, I looked up into his eyes. There were so many mixed emotions in those dark eyes.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. He glanced at me.

"It hurts," he grimaced, staring at his knee. I nodded, getting up and glancing through the various pill bottles Aaron had scrounged up the other day. There were several types of painkillers, of which I choose the strongest. Placing the pill in his hand, I went and got him some water from the faucet. Bringing it back to him, he quickly downed the pill. My knees rested on the carpet and I sat back on my feet, tilting my head to stare at him, watch him. He looked up at me from his lap, face red and tight looking, eyes red and puffy. His hand, trembling, reached out towards my face. The noise and motion in the kitchen stopped for a moment. My breath caught but his hand merely brushed some hair aside, lightly touching the bruise he had given me. "Clara..." he whispered.

I shook my head and rose, letting his hand fall. Taking a couple steps away, keeping my back to everyone, I stood there, biting my nail, closing myself off to everything else. What was I going to do? I was helpless. There was nothing I could do for the group right now; Keon and Aaron were taking care of all the meals, and I was banned from being close to David, though I broke that rule twice already. Becoming angry with myself and frustrated, I walked back into the study. I sat back down at the window seat, drawing my legs up and staring out at the street. Only a minute passed before I could feel someone else in the room. I turned my head and saw Keon standing only a few feet away.

"Morning," he dipped his head at me.

"Morning," I replied, turning my attention back to the street. Keon walked over, sitting near my feet.

"Is...something wrong?" Keon asked, his voice wavering. His black-furred hands were clenched tightly together in his lap.

"Depends on what you define as wrong," I glanced at him. There was a look of confusion on his face. I wondered if he'd had anyone to talk to. I felt bad, guilty, that I hadn't tried to know him better. I sighed, deciding to answer the question, "Yeah, I guess you could say something is wrong..."

"Like what? Your brother? Me?" I flinched at the last question. I turned my full attention to him. It wasn't fair to him, but I couldn't lie. From the look on his face, he already knew the answer to that.

"Both," I nodded.

"Why me? What's wrong with me?" Keon frowned, or at least, I believe he frowned.

"I'm sorry, this isn't fair to you," I looked at him dead in the eye. "It's because of what you are."

"What I am? Because I'm a furry?" he said, his voice sounding cutting and hurt. I nodded, curling up into a ball. I knew I would have to confront this sooner or later, I just never thought it would be now. Keon was looking down at the ground, hands clutching at his tail.

I heard commotion in the living room as Keon's ears perked, head turned towards the living room. He grabbed my wrist. I tried to recoil at first, but he was dragging me into the living room, where there was the sound of glass breaking and several things tipping over. When we rounded the corner, Aaron was holding David by the shirt and quietly cursing him.

"Aaron!" I screamed as Keon ran forward ripped the two apart. I rushed over to where David crumpled. He cried out in pain as his knee gave way. I held him. "What the hell, Aaron?" I snapped up at him where Keon stood in between.

"What happened?" Keon asked calmly. His gaze was steady as Aaron looked between us.

"I was telling him to stay away from Clara, then he attacked me," Aaron started.

"Didn't look like he was the one attacking," I frowned.

"I'm trying to protect you!" he protested. I stood up, leaving my brother. Before either one could react, I slapped Aaron across the face. He stumbled back in shock. Unsure of how to react, Keon only watched bewilderedly.

"I do not need protection," I gritted my teeth. "I have been protecting your sorry ass since we came across you. Never have you shown me gratitude till the first moment you spoke to me without being a sarcastic jerk. David and I may hate each other, and he might have hit me once or twice, but he is still family."

"Clara..." Aaron could only stare at me in shock. His hand reached out to me, but I recoiled.

Shaking my head, I felt my tears building up, frustration building tension in my body, "Stay away from me. I'm done with saving your sorry hide from my brother, so you stay away from him." I walked upstairs, slamming the door shut to my room. Furiously, I punched the wall and rested my head against it. Six years, and now my heart felt like giving up. Why? From downstairs there came a frustrated yell and the sound of a piece of furniture hitting a wall. Shaking, I walked over to the window, pulling the shades away. Opening the window the breeze swept in, cooling me. The front door slammed shut and I saw Keon and Aaron getting in the car, driving away. They were probably going out scavenging, and if they left us, so be it. But as the car disappeared around I corner, I prayed for God to watch over them and keep them safe.