The Last of Us

"Get up."

I had already got my stuff packed in the car I found and was ready to go. I syphoned gas out of a few cars that was enough to fill it up. It was parked in the garage that was connected to the house.

"It's not even six yet," Zayn groaned. I shook my head. "We need to get going. I have a car all packed in the garage," I spoke.

They slowly but surely got up. I folded the blankets they used and packed them out to the car. I heard someone coming down the steps of the garage making me look around the car. It was Liam. He had their pillows. "Thanks," I said, taking them and stacking them on top of the blankets.

On one side of the back were our blankets, pillows, food, water, bags of our clothes, and other necessities. On the other side were our weapons. There was enough room between that stuff for Marley to sit.

"No problem," he replied. "Um...thanks again for taking us in. Who knows where we'd be by now."

"Rule #29: the buddy system." That made him furrow his brows. "What?" He questioned.

I chuckled. "I have these rules, and one of them is 'the buddy system'. I live by those rules."

He nodded and let out an 'ahh'. Marley came trotting in the garage making me grin. Patting the back of the car, she jumped up there and made herself comfortable. With a scratch behind her ears, I gave her a treat and closed the trunk door. Liam mumbled that he was gonna go get Niall and Zayn while I got in the car. A few minutes later they were all sitting in the car; Niall and Zayn in the back and Liam in the passenger seat. I backed out of the already open garage door and headed out of the neighborhood. Here we come freeway.

"Here's some energy breakfast bars and bottled water. It should hold you over until we have to stop again," I spoke, tossing them the food and water.

They all thanked me and tore into the breakfast bars. It was all silence until they were finished eating. "Do you have any of those pain meds you gave me last night?" Niall asked.

I nodded. "Could you get them, Liam? They're in my bag by your feet." He opened my backpack and found them laying on top of my journal. He handed Niall one pill then put the pill bottle back in my bag. "Thanks."

"No problem." He was silent for a minute before he spoke up. "Do you keep your rules in that journal?"

I nodded, quickly glancing at him. "Yes sir. What about you; do you have any quarks like that?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I'm just boring old Liam."

"You can't be just boring old Liam. You're 1/5 of the biggest boy band on this planet. You have to have something cool about you. Something none of your fans know about you." That made him think.

"I guess..." he trailed off. "Well none of our fans know that I'm double jointed. I can do my arms like those really rad hip hop dancers do and put it behind their backs. The one move that makes it look like they dislocated their arm."

I gasped. "Oh ew! I think that's so nasty! But so cool at the same time!" That made him laugh.

"What about you two?" I asked. No answer. Hmm. Looking in the rearview mirror, I noticed they were both fast asleep. Nice. "Well, guess it's just us two for the next few hours." I chuckled.


Welcome to Nashville, Tennessee!

I'd always wanted to come to Tennessee. My mom and dad were from here. They both grew up in Memphis though. We never had the time to travel down here seeing as my dad was busy with the army and all that came with it. London and I did get birthday cards and phone calls from our grandparents and aunts and uncles every year. They even came and visited on Christmas and Thanksgiving and the fourth of July. It was nice. We showed them around the city and took them to all the touristy places. They loved it.

Now, this place was deserted. It was a wasteland. Geeks roaming around. Dead bodies lying every which way you looked. It was sad. It was sad how such a beautiful place was destroyed by a bunch of man eating monsters.

"This is fucked up," I muttered. Nothing was even remotely the same as the pictures I remember seeing from my family members. I wonder if my family is still alive. If they were I'd have to help them get to the safe place in California. "Bloody hell," Liam muttered.

"This place is trashed," Niall spoke. "Look at that building! It looks like it's caught fire and burnt down." Zayn just stared out the window. He seemed like the quiet one of the group. The one who sat back and watched everything unfold before those big brown eyes of his.

"We can make a pit stop at a gas station that looks abandoned and then head to Memphis," I explained. "I need to go to Memphis."


Memphis, Tennessee. Home to the king of rock and roll; Elvis Presley.

Small two story house a few blocks from Graceland. Red brick. White shutters. Rickety old white fence. Porch swing. Small garage off to the side behind the house. There it was. It was my Mammy and Pappy's house; my dads parents. I pulled up to the curb and grabbed my big knife, sticking it in my right boot, my pistol and stuck it in the back waistband of my pants, and a aluminum bat. I handed Niall his gun and a crowbar. Liam took his gun and a pair of big hedge trimmers I handed him. Zayn took his gun and a shovel the length of a baseball bat.

"Follow me and keep your eyes peeled," I instructed. "Only use your gun if necessary. We don't want any unwanted attention." We all snuck around to the back door; me leading. The door was locked so I jimmied it open with my knife. Zayn softly shut the door behind us. It was eerily quiet. "Mammy? Pappy?" I called out. Nothing.

"Mammy, Pappy, are you here? If you're alive please come out," I called. "It's me, Holland, you're granddaughter." Marley tugged at her leash, so I let go of it and let her walk off. She ran up the steps and was quiet for a few minutes before she finally barked twice. That was what I taught her to do when she found something. I didn't wait for the others before I took off upstairs.When I found her, I took one look at the bed and broke down.

I fell to the floor in a fit of sobs. They were gone. They were dead. Geeks had gotten to them. My Mammy and Pappy were gone. I was the only one left. I had no one.

"Woah. Woah, what's going on?" Zayn questioned. Niall took one look in the room and turned around, moving out of the doorway. Liam came to my side and pulled me into him. "It's okay, Holland. Everything's gonna be okay," he cooed, petting my hair.

I shook my head, letting my tears wet his shirt. "No-No it won't," I hiccupped. "I h-have no one. N-no f-family. No n-nothing." I was a mess. A big crying mess. I never cried. I literally had no family left. None whatsoever. And it just now hit me.

I was all alone.

"You have me and Niall and Zayn." I didn't even know them. They were strangers. "We'll be here for you, Holls. We always will be."