Chapter 3

Introduction
This is chapter three of the Beyond the Blue Series

Not alone
A group of people hurry through the woods. Seven in total. Two boys in the front and a man in the rear, all armed with hunting rifles. Between them, struggling to keep up, a woman and two other men, an obese middle aged one, and an elder. Sweat stains are visible on the obese man's shirt, but he tries his best to keep up. The older man however stops to take a breath.

"Dad, George, hurry up", the man in the back says in a low voice, trying to keep his voice down.

"We 're trying, Michael", George replies, making small pauses to catch his breath. Michael takes a look behind. He sighs in relief when he sees no aliens are following them. Barely visible in the background lies the house he grew up into. A single house, inside the forest without any other houses in sight.

Michael spent his early years here, until they moved in the city due to his father's job. He took a good look at the house. He knew that he would probably never see it again. His father, James Davis, now standing right besides him, tired, sweaty and dirty, running from his home like a fugitive, was once a great man. A history professor. When he took up teaching at universities across the state, they had to move from this house. They would always return though. At first in order to escape the city vibes, and find some peace of mind in the countryside. Later on, when he and his sister got married, they would return with every chance they had, to reunite with their beloved families. His wife, Anna and his sister Anne were close friends since childhood, so Anne always felt like a member of the family. George is also a good man. Not very good looking, contrary to his sister, but a kind and generous man. Karen is kind too, and that's what she loves in her husband. Not his money, not his beauty, but the fact that he has qualities few people have.

Michael snaps out and turns continues ahead. In front of him are his sister, Karen, never leaving George's side, George, his brother in law and James, his father. A little further ahead are his two sons, Jason and Mat. Two fine young men, armed with their rifles. In that moment, Michael felt a little better. His home isn't a house. His home is right there, running by his side, trying to survive. Well, at least what is left of his home. A thought of the once two governing family figures ran through his mind. Those of his wife and his mother. They looked alike much, which is why they went along great. Both were strong, independent and powerful women, dedicated to their families. Michael tried to think of something else. His mother had died a few years ago, but his wife was something he couldn't deal with right now. He gathered his thoughts and diverted his mind into soemthing entirely else.

His father, James Davis taught history at the local university, and despite they moved, they visited the house often on vacations and weekends, every time James and his wife Mary wanted to take a break from the city vibes. Over the years, they would come here less and less, until Michael's sister got married, and after a few years, so did he. Then, they would only visit the old house at most once per year, but they would always have a great time there. All this until a few years ago, when Michael's mother, Mary, died from cancer. James had already retired, but he continued teaching at the univesity as an honorary teacher; yet he abandoned everything to stand by his wife's side during her last days. When the inevitable happened, he didn't feel like getting back to his old ways. He started drinking, and drinking was all he did. His life took the down road, he gave up on teaching, he gave up on reading, he gave up on anything. His children, Michael and Karen called him evry day, but he rarely picked up. Truth be told, he had really given up in life. Bu one day, something happened inside of him. He thought about Mary, about what they had together, and realised that despite he was nothing without her, she would be ashamed to see him like that. So he decided to be happy again, and the old house was the first thing that popped on his mind. One day, sickened from the city life, he packed up and left, back to the house he and Mary built their family together. Slowly, but with hard work, he cleaned and fixed the old house, until it seemed like it had never been abandoned. Michael and Mary, now back into his life, were with him every step of the way, as were Jason, Mat and George. Once he accepted them back into his life, they helped him a lot, and felt proud of him once more.

Michael took a quick last glimpse at the old house. He knew this image would never leave his mind ever again. The memories of this place were all happy. This is where he spent the most innocent years of his life, this is where he met his siter and parents, this is where the whole Davis family would unite and spend the holidays together. In that yard he taught his children to ride their bikes, in these woods he taught them how to hunt. This house is where his father recuperated from alcoholism and became his kind former self, after his mother died, and finally, this is where all his family instinctively knew they should meet when all hell broke loose.

Thannkfully, by the time he got there, his sister, Karen and her husband, George had already arrived. Mchael had planned to go search for them as soon as Mat and Jason were there safely. His father was fine too. Over the last few days though, when the cold subsided, a few infected approached the house. Michael was foolish enough to fire a bullet on an infected's head. He still remembers the sound of the shot echoing to the nearby mountains. No doubt they followed the sound, as in the next few days their numbers became more and more dangerous. Now the whole family has abandoned the house. It's not safe anymore for any of them. Loaded with supplies and a couple of weapons, what they had in the house, they head to the nearby graveyard, where James wants to say a final goodbye to his wife before they leave the area for good. Michael wants to check the nearby inn for supplies or survivors too. He is smart to know that a big group will be better at protecting  his aged father from the flesh-eating aliens.

As they run, a the sound of multiple shootings catch their attention.

"Maybe it's mom", the youngest of the group said both excited and scared. The boy is in his middle teens, and has a weapon strapped on his shoulder. His blue eyes shine in hopes that the shootings will help him reunite with his mother. Without waiting for an answer, he charges the direction where the shooting comes from

"No, Mat, wait", Michael shouts and chases after him. The boy's stamina is greater than the fourty five years old Michael, who struggles to keep up. Behind Michael, the older son, Jason follows closely. As they run, Jason passes Michael and heads to engage Mat. The shootings seem to be just a few yards ahead of them, when Mat stops. Jason lashes out and jumps on top of him, bringing him down on the dirt hard. Mat lets out a groan of pain as his face collides with dirt and roots. Jason doesn't seem to care and keeps him pinned down.

"Keep your head down fool", Jason whispers to his little brother. "A bullet may pass through your skull if you are not careful. Besides, are you sure these are good people?", he asks. Mat says nothing and stays put as Jason takes his weight off of him. The gunshots stop, and Michael, who just arrived, comes out of their hiding. Jason can hear guns click and point at his father, and Michael trying to calm down some people. He nods at Mat, who complies and they both come out of their hiding spots, aiming at the two people who aim at their father, a girl and a young man.

The girl was asking their father a few questions, but her tone looked threatening.

George, Karen and James are way behind Michael and the boys. James worries about them getting lost, so he picks up his pace, earning an admiration from his daughter and his son in law.

"Hey young man, take it easy", George says jokingly, gasping for air. James can't help but chuckle. "Come on, I know you can take an old man", James jokes back, but everyones knows he is just trying to hide the fact that he worries a lot. Suddenly, an infected appears infront of them. George gets in front of James, and unseathes a knife from his pocket. He runs towards the infected, falling on it and brings it to the ground. In a matter of seconds, the knife goes through the infected's head and it is dead. George is disgusted at the sight of the dead person, still unable to get used to it.

"You either put that weapon down too lady, or we do the talking", Jason threatens.

Nora gets a tight grip on her rifle. How did she get in this position? When did they start aiming guns at each other? all she feels now is relief that they are not anole out there.

"I said put your gin down", Jason says again as he clicks his gun.

"I... I don't want to hurt you", Nora says in an apologetic voice, realising it was her istake they got here.

"Sorry, but I don't trust you. So put the damn gun down first", he threatens once more.

But then Jason feels the cold barrel of a gun stuck to the back of his head.

"I'd put my gun down if I were you", a man says in a low but threatening voice.

Jason tries to put on a brave face. "You kill me and she dies", he threatens back. As far as he can see, it's a blond man, standing at least three inches taller than him. "Brave, I like that", William notes. Then he looks over Mat, who seems more scared, and slowly puts his weapon down. He then puts his hands behind his head, and ted immobilizes him on the ground. Jason follows his brother's lead, knowing that nothing good can come by pushing the situation any further.

William subdies him too, and Nora forces Michael to come closer too. The three men are made to stand on their knees, with their hands behind their heads. Nora, Ted and Spencer perform a thorough check on them for any weapons or stolen goods, and William finally breaks the silence.

"Who are you?", he asks, looking at Michael.

"I am Michael Davis, and these are my sons, Jason and Mat. We don't want any trouble", he adds.

"Just answer what I'm asking....", Williams cuts him, but is also interrupted by another man coming out of the woods. The man collapses on the ground and struggles to take a breath, sweating through all of his body.

"Please, we are good people", he pleads as he lifts his hands in the air. Michael and his sons look tough, and definitely able to handle a gun, but this man looks totally harmless. His chubby cheeks and his tone of the voice betray him as one of the good people. The man has blood splattered on his hands, and seems shocked by the fact. William inspects him a little closer, but his round innocent eyes only support his claims.

"What happened?", he asks Nora, realising the whole confrontation might be a mistake.

"It may be kind of  my fault", she replies, almost apologising. Her eyes are wide and round, and she tries to excuse herself. "The man came out of the woods in surrender, looks like he only wanted to talk. But I couldn't take any chances", she says when William interrupts.

"You did what you had to do. You took every precautionary step, and for that well done", he congratulates. Nora didn't expect this, instead she expected him to shout or something, but he was right. You can never be too cautious.

Suddenly two more people come out of the woods. An elder man and a woman. "This is my father, James, and this is my sister, Karen Brown. The man there taking a breath is George. George Brown. He is my brother in law", Michael adds.

William reaches out to Michael, helping him get on his feet. "William", he introduces himself. "William Harris. And these are my proud soldiers, as well as scientists and civilians I am tasked with taking care of". William now points at the group that has just come out. "We need to check that bruise", Ted says as he inspects Mat's bruised cheek. "I'm fine", Mat says. "Thank my brother for that".

"Might I ask where you are headed?", James asks.

"We have a few vehicles down the road, William answers. We will get there and then we will figure out the rest.

Michael realizes what William is talking about."I'm sorry to break the news to you, but the vehicles aren't there anymore. I came in about a week ago, and those that remained were burned. Only a couple of them were left, I suppose you had more"

"How do you know what I'm talking about?", William asks curiously. he still doesn't trust Michael enough.

"There is only one way to climb the mountain. I came through there. Everybody comes through there. Me and my boys saw the smoke and investigated. The trucks were there", he said and peeked at Jason and Mat, who nodded in agreement.

"I need to check for myself, William interrupts.

"I can get you there in no time", Michael agrees.

"We were headed to the Heminsburg's Inn", James adds. "How about you all come there while these two check out the trucks?", he suggests.

"Sorry old man, but we already got our program", Spencer objects.

"You will go there. Sounds like a good plan, besides it's almost noon, and by the time we get back, there won't be much sunlight left", says William. "We will need a safe place for the night"

About an hour later, they are reaching Heminsburg's Inn. "I think what you did was brave", Karen tells George. "You stepped forward and talked some sense into the madness that was going  on. You 're my hero", she adds with a big smile. George smiles too. Karen knows George has lots self-confidence issues, so she tries to boost his ego as much as she can. Not that she doesn't mean what she said, she just likes to make him feel nice about himself.

"Ok, settle up here", William instructs. "Ted, Nora, Spencer, Megan, you are in charge until I come back. Expect us back within a few hours", he adds. The soldiers nod and salute, as William departs to where Michael is filling up a Harley bike with gasoline.

"Best think I could find", he says. "Will do", William replies. "It'll take us there and bring us back, that's enough with me".

After kissing Christine and the kids, William leaves on the bike with his new friend, while the rest of the group prepares to clear the Inn of any potential threats and settle  in for the night