London Bridge Is Falling

We're riding a bus into the city, escaping our haven. From a distance, the city looks trashed but as we get closer, it becomes clear that there's nothing left. Vines travel up buildings that weren't blown to bits.

"What happened? I ask Jason, he sits in the seat across from me.

"A few months ago, the military came and bombed"

"What sets Ghost apart from the military?" I ask.

"We're trying to save people, Dylan. What sets the B.T.A.R. apart from the military?"

"We were the first to respond after the initial outbreak. We saved people, we exposed the truth"

"We're after the same thing" He smiles.

The bus stops quickly, there's something blocking our path. A truck in front of us. I stand up from my seat and slowly walk towards the front.

"Oh god. Jason. Come up here" Attached to the front of the truck is a man, his face shows pain. The truck comes towards us fast.

It slams into the front of the bus and I'm instantly knocked to the floor. The man is splattered against the windshield and the bus driver is dead. Then there's gunfire and bullets are coming through the windows. I can feel the blood spray on me. I crawl to the back and open the door, Jason close behind me. I see the members of Ghost pile out onto the road and open fire on the building next to us. Motorcycles come from behind us and go towards Ghost. They carry chains and swing them around, taking out a few of the men. I leap out and run towards the bus directly in front of us. Jason comes quickly, crouching down. He falls to the ground, his eyes wide, looking at me. I run out into gunfire and grab his hand then pull him behind cover.

"Jason" I smack his cheek. "You're not dying. Get up, it's an arm wound!"

He pulls himself up and leans against the bus. "Who are these guys?"

"Just some apocalyptic assholes" I say.

"Everyone in the bus!" A man yells.

I help Jason up and walk around the corner, bodies on the ground, dead bodies. I see Jason's eyes dart to one of the bodies, a dark skinned male, his eyes open and blood dripping down the corner of his mouth. We get on the bus and sit down.

"This is not okay. We just got ambushed" He says. "And we lost people. Valuable people"

"It's life now, Jason" I touch his hand. I can feel his emotions, his loss, his hope. "I'm sorry. I know he meant something to you, but you can't dwell"

"They'll be back!" The commander says. "But we need to get out of here quick"

We take off. Cosima comes to the front and looks at Jason's wound. "It's fine" She says. "Bullet went through"

Jason looks straight ahead, staring at the back of the seat in front of him. All of his emotion is drained, his face is pale. There's something I haven't noticed. There's a scar under his ear that trails down his neck.

"Jason" I say. "Look at me"

He turns towards me, emotionless. "What?" his lips barely part.

"I don't know what you've been through. But you said yourself that we're okay even if the world isn't"

He grabs my hand and squeezes it. "Don't leave" He says.

"I won't"

"Promise?" He asks.

"Promise" I just lied.

He smiles and pulls me into his seat. I look out the window, watching the vines crawl up the towers. I can't believe I used to live here, California is so different. I lay my head on Jason's shoulder and fall asleep. I wake up when Jason moves his shoulder, we're stopped somewhere in the woods. There's multiple houses surrounding a huge log cabin. This must be some sort of resort.

"Oh my god. Charlie, is that you?" A girl walks down a set of steps and wraps her arms around the commander. She's tall, dark skinned and poofy black hair, she also has an Australian accent.

"In the flesh" He says, smiling.

"I see things got difficult. Come in, there's plenty of food. David and the rest of us made this place pretty usable"

"Still running with David and Sarah?" He asks when we enter the lodge.

"Yeah. We lost some of the others on the way here. Beth left a few months ago and the rest either got bit or were murdered" She says it so calmly, like the death of her friends doesn't bother her, maybe she's gotten used to it.

We all sit down around a large fireplace in the center of the room. A guy I assume to be David, comes out of the kitchen with something under a silver lid.

"Dinner is served" He pulls the lid off, exposing cans of pork and beans.

"Oh, cheeky" The dark skinned girl named Anna says, tossing a piece of popcorn at him.

After we clean up dinner and get beds made, the commander, Charlie, calls Cosima and I over.

"Anna, this is Cosima and Dylan. They're both immune"

She looks at us, marveled. She shakes our hands. "Nice to meet you. You're welcome to whatever you need"

"Cosima has a different immunity" Charlie says. "She was bit and the virus was slowly killing her, rather than infecting. The doctors at base used Dylan's blood to cure her"

"Fascinating" She smiles. "I'm glad you two are still kicking" She hands us some extra food and winks.

After everyone is asleep, Cosima and I sit around the fireplace, playing cards.

"Oh, you got me" She laughs, flipping a card over. "Dylan. I don't how it worked but I'm glad it did. Your stem cells got me feeling great"

I chuckle. "I'm glad it worked" I flip over a card. "I always loved playing war"