There was a collective gasp of dread and concern. “I’m fine, it’s not my blood” I wiped it off of my face best I could as Jim and I bolted the door back up. Michael stepped out from behind Sarah “you weren’t bitten?” his little voice trembled. I bent down to meet his eyes “of course not, those things don’t like the taste of your old dad anyway, I’m too musty” I roughed up his hair as he took my words lightly. It wasn’t fair for a five year old boy to live like this.

“Did you find them?” Devin asked “no” was all I replied as I walked into the kitchen with my bag “Haven’t we struggled enough?” Harper shook her head as her husband Kyle yelled at me. “We are almost out of food, we’re having to travel every single night. The kids can’t take much more of this!” He spat. I stepped into him “don’t you think I know that? I’m doing the best I can!” I said. I knew Kyle was just exhausted and worried about his daughter Keira, heck she was barely younger than Michael and they both were at the end of their rope. Even so, we all were tired of Kyle’s crap.

Jim stepped in to diffuse the situation, much like he always did. “Hey it wasn’t a complete bust, we found some medicine and several cans of food” he said as he pulled the items out of his pack. I gave him a nod of appreciation. Kyle groaned and stomped off, his wife following behind him, giving me an apologetic look as she passed me.

Sarah touched my arm calmly “Thomas…I’m not sure we can move again tonight…the kids and Mr. Fenton aren’t going to make it much longer if they don’t get some rest, that I will agree on with Kyle even if he is a complete ass”. Before I could respond to Sarah, there was a loud banging at our the door. “They followed you?” Devin asked in horror. We all were at our weapons in seconds, save for Mr. Fenton who took the kids in the back room.

We had been smart, never leaving tracks, waiting for a long time before approaching the house everyone hid at. How did they manage to find us? I put my finger to my mouth, silencing everyone as I approached to unlock the door.