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[Jessica Warren]

Things couldn't get any worse. That's exactly the way that Jessica saw them, but not in the way that one might think. In her mind the only way to go was up. Her mother always told her that's why she had such good luck; she never cursed herself by thinking the worst only to be proved wrong. As she sat in her house eating yet another handful of dry cereal the cheery girl couldn't help but let a few more tears escape from her eyes, only to quickly brush them away. She was alone, but surely there was someone else out there. Just one person would make her not feel so terribly alone.

With a sigh she stood up and decided to be brave again. So she ran up to her room and grabbed her sunglasses, the ones with the purple lenses. For some reason she thought that maybe if she wore those glasses things wouldn't seem so bad and the bodies, well, she didn't want to think about it at the moment. Then she walked out her front door and yet again saw nothing. She did however see that dead body in the car across the street again. The sight still made her cringe and her eyes water. No matter how optimistic she could be that didn't change the fact she was a child and to see such a widespread loss of life overnight was devastating.

Whenever she would see a body she would close her eyes and walk past. There was one point at which she could feel herself walking on a hand and hear a sort of crunch under her fingers. At that point she screamed and ran. Alright, maybe this walk wasn't turning out too well. Feeling rather scared she went to the playground for comfort. It was a place she was used to going and very familiar to her. A smile came across her face when she saw it, and didn't see many bodies around it. The bodies, that had to be the part that disturbed her the most. There was nothing she wanted more than to see them all gone.

Once she got on the playground equipment she climbed to the top of the monkey bars and sat down. It was the highest point, making it ideal to look from. Then she decided to sing a song from her height as she looked for anything that moved. An animal, a person, anything to prove her optimistic ideas right. The song that popped into her head was the last thing you'd expect, Chin Up from the movie Charlotte's Web, one of her favorite movies ever. "Put a little laughter in your eyes, brave it, save it, even though you're feeling otherwise." The words just seemed to flow from her and she found suddenly she didn't feel so bad.

[Willow Adams]

Willow woke up, leaves stuck in her fine brownish-blonde hair. She blinked her eyes drowsily and looked through the fingers of the bush towards the park. Singing . . . she heard a voice. It sounded like another child's voice.

Was it possible? Death had prevailed, leaving Willow alone with all of these bodies and the memories and the shadows. She wanted them all gone; she just wanted her parents back. Nothing would make her happier than to be surrounded by her loving family again. But she knew that it would never happen.

She decided that it must be another person, and she shook the leaves out of her hair. Without too much effort she jumped to her feet (for being eight she was still young and spry), and raced towards the sound of the voice which happened to be the playground.

"I'm here, I'm here!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. It didn't even occur to her that she may be scaring the other girl. Ah, another girl! Someone her own age! Well, maybe a little bit older. But the only other alive person she had seen thusfar had been quite a bit older than she was, and while it was great to have another person with her, having another one her age was even better.

Willow stopped underneath the monkeybars a few feet away from the other girl. A grin spread across Willow's innocent face, and her green eyes shined with joy. Her sundress was a little wrinkled and the bottoms of her jeans were slightly muddy, but the smile on her face made up for any disunion in her clothing.

[Jessica Warren]

Jessica gazed off into the distance, the purple sunglasses blocking out the sun from her face. Even though she was surrounded by so many bad things she couldn't help but feel cool in those glasses, no matter what memories may have been attached to them. Getting lost in the song somehow made her happy. That's all that mattered to her, that she was happy.

Then, of all things, she heard a voice, a small voice meaning another kid was alive. The shock caused her to jump a little, before she frantically scanned the area for the owner of the voice. There was a look of joyful excitement on her face as she couldn't believe her luck. Maybe her mother had been right about her luck but Jessica never believed in things like luck.

Then she saw the other girl and her joy seemed too much to contain. In a fluid movement she grabbed the bar in front of her, slipped her small body between the bars in front and back of her, and let herself dangle for a second before dropping to the ground. Yes, there was another girl close to her age there, and she wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

Without a second thought she gave the little girl a hug and not a small one either. "I thought I was all alone." She explained, still full of excitement before letting the girl go. "But I'm not, because here you are." It didn't strike her that maybe hugging a stranger wasn't a good idea, but she couldn't help it. Besides, part of her wanted to prove that she wasn’t imagining things. Before seeing Willow there had been no one.

"I'm Jessica." She introduced herself to the other girl. "What's your name?" It was obvious that she wasn't shy about asking anything. A lot of it was her excitement, but some of it was just Jessica. It was taking all she had in her not to ask a bunch of questions at once. The one thing she was pretty sure of was that this little girl didn’t have any family either because if she did she would have been with them.

[Willow Adams]

Willow was never so happy to receive a hug in her life. Her face was lit with a radiant smile as she said, "I'm Willow. Willow Adams." Usually she wasn't such a talkative person, but this was a special occasion. "And don't worry we're not totally alone," she said, her voice high and her words spilling forth quickly. "There's this lady who I saw the other day."

She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy, and it struck her childish mind as a silly thing. She giggled aloud as she realized that two weeks ago meeting a child in the park would be kind of scary. She would have hung out behind the swings until they had gone or whispered a shy "hello."

[Jessica Warren]

"Willow is a pretty name." She said as she thought of it and looked at the other girl. "There is?" She questioned at the knowledge of other people. "Maybe there's more then." There was a bright smile on her face as the possibility of more people being alive crossed her mind. It almost made her want to jump, but she didn't, she just bounced slightly. Staying still wasn't possible. She had been alone and now she wasn't.


"I hadn't seen anyone since my family got sick..." The sentence stopped short becuase she knew if she said any more she would cry. "So I've been in my house eating cereal." Of course she had no milk, no idea how to use a can opener, and really didn't know how to cook much that didn't go in the microwave.

[Daria Fallen]

After Daria had held her dying child in her arms, she thought there was nothing left for her. First her beloved husband, Gabriel, succumbed quickly tot he plague. And then her young daughter, Camilla. She was the last to die of her family. The plague had come so quickly she couldn't even say goodbye to the rest of her family. Her sisters, her parents, her grandmother ... All gone before anyone knew what was happening. She had called and called and called, but received nothing but the sounds of their voices on their various answering machines or voice mails. She had finally given up after her husband was taken. It was all over the news. That is, until the power went out. There wasn't even anyone left to try and figure out what this damned thing was.

She held her daughter until hunger had driven her out of her house and into the streets, which were congested with cars, bikes, trucks, buses, carts and worst of all ... Bodies. God, they were everywhere. Some stinking, some only starting to. She waded through the growing number, trying to help some that had fallen in front of her. But they were all beyond hope. Daria expected to be next any moment. She found food at the local convenience store. She had managed t ofind some fresh food; sandwiches, meat, some cheese, milk. She ate and drank as much as she could, knowing that it wouldn't last for long. She had looked longingly at the ice cream in the freezers which had melted and were likely nothing but cream soup now.

She didn't want to go home. She couldn't face the dead bodies of her family. She refused to go to the rest of her family. She knew it would be pointless. So she had gone to the only place she could think of that might not be so horror stricken. And now, here she was, in a thick grove of trees, sleeping on the ground near where Willow and Jessica had just met. They were mere feet from her location. It had been Jessica's singing that had woken her. Daria simply sat watching the girl, not caring about the leaves and pine needles sticking to her hair and clothing. Then Willow had emerged not too far from her. She hadn't even noticed the girl's presence. Watching the two girls reminded her of her daughter. Her dear, sweet, beautiful daughter. She would never see another day, Daia would never hold her again. Daria pulls her knees uo to her chest and rests her arms on them, her head on her arms as she begins to weep silently, then sobs begins to rock her body, shaking the leaves and branches around her.

[Willow Adams]

"I bet there are lots of people!" said Willow happily, her bright eyes dancing. It didn't even occur to her that they could be bad people, too. At least it didn't occur to her right then. Because right then she was too enveloped in the excitement of meeting this new girl. Maybe she went to the elementary school down the street where her brothers went.

No, she didn't want to think about her brothers. Or her parents. A wave of sadness swept through little Willow, punching the excitement right out of her. Her face feel and her eyes started to tear up. Her lower lip trembled and she did her best to keep the tears from running down her cheeks, but she knew she had failed when a solidary drop trickled down her soft skin.

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized. She buried her head in her hands and the tears came quickly now. "I was just . . . just thinking about . . my family," she explained in between sobs. She really didn't mean to start crying in front of Jessica, especially when everything had been so happy. But the tears fell and turned her eyes red. She didn't notice. She didn't even notice the lady in the bushes shedding her own tears.

[Jessica Warren]

"You're probably right." Jessica agreed with her new found friend in a typical child-like innocence. Bad people never crossed her mind even when she met them. Yes, the small child had an issue with always trusting people unless they lied to her bad or made her feel really uncomfortable. Even when someone tried to tell her some person was bad she didn't want to believe they were all bad.

When she saw Willow crying Jessica gave her a hug. "It's okay to cry." The words were those she had heard many times from her mother, usually when a pet of hers died or someone said something mean to her. "I miss my family too." She spoke, as she felt her eyes well up with tears, remembering the four people she lost, and the way she had spent days getting the bodies out with her brother's skateboard and putting them out back. Of course this was simply because the bodies made her sad and she realized they were starting to smell bad. Besides, weren't you supposed to put people in the ground after they died like at grandma’s funeral?

Then she heard a noise in the bushes and look over there. "Stay here. I'm going to go see what it is." She whispered to Willow before slowly approaching the bushes and seeing...a grown up! So she crouched down and smiled at the old lady, even though she really just wanted to smile right then. "It's okay for you to cry too if you want." She told the lady. "You can come out here with us since we're out here crying too." She added, not realizing how odd that may have sounded to anyone else. It made sense. If the lady was crying, Willow was crying, and she was about to cry, why didn't the three of them take part in this activity together.

[Daria Fallen]

Daria had heard the girl approaching and tried to wipe the tears away before the girl could see them, but she wasn't quick enough. Instead, she looked up at the girl with a wet face. (Great job, Dar. The only adult this girl's probably seen in a while and I'm freaking crying!) But Daria couldn't help but giggle a little at the girl's comment. She understood it perfectly, but only a child could say something with such innocence. "Thanks," She said, crawling out from under the branches. She sniffled a bit, wanting to just break down completely. But she had to hold it together for a little while.

She looks over at Jessica sitting on top of the monkey bars. "Um ... I don't think I can get up there, though ... " She says, doubtfully. Although 'old lady' was kind of a streach, she was considerably older than when she could play on the jungle gyms and not sprain a bone or pull a muscle. She stands and holds out her hand to the girl. "I'm Daria." She introduced herself. She hated using formal names like mister and missus. And she wanted the girls to feel comfortable.

[Willow Adams]

Willow was drying her eyes as Jessica approached the bushes. She turned to face them, curiosity spread across her gentle features. She watched with eyes large and inquisitve as Daria crawled from the bushes. The remnants of tears were still on Willow's face, and she reached up to wipe them off with the back of her hand.

She remained silent as Daria approached, suddenly intimidated by this lady's presence. While she was happy to see an adult and authority figure, she wouldn't let her guard down. It was a wise thing for a child to do, but so sad at the same time. Instead Willow scurried over and stood behind Jessica.

[Jessica Warren]

Wow. Two people in one day. Could life get any sweeter? For Jessica, no. It was like feeling you were completely alone and abandoned on a deserted island only to be found by a cruise ship full of people. There was a smile on her face as she saw Daria appear from the bushes and it made her happy. Very happy. It made her want to, well, she wasn't sure but she was very happy and it read all over her face.

"Hi! I'm Jessica." She replied, her voice cheery. When she realized Willow was behind her she looked over and grabbed the other girl's hand. "It's alright." She assured her, once again thinking the best of whoever she came across. "This is Willow. I just met her too. I thought I was alone and now I'm not." Somehow, even though she had been through so much, she refused to get down. That's not what her family would want, but that didn't make the nights in that house any better.

[Daria Fallen]

(I thought I was alone, too. Maybe we're the only ones left?) Daria hides her dark thoughts wit ha smile as Willow approaches. "Hi. I"m Daria." She gives the newcomer her name. "It's nice to meet both of you." She kept her voice quiet. The girl seemed afraid of her. But Jessica, as she found her name was, reminded Daria of herself when she was that age. She wondered for about half a second if she was Romani, as well. But that wasn't possible. There weren't many true Romani left. Most had simply adapted so well into the American culture that they didn't even know their heritage. This made her think of litlle Camilla. Her eyese welled up, but she fought them back, not wanting to show weakness with the two children near here. Fortunately, her stomach gave her something else to talk about as a rumble of hunger erupted from her midsection. She giggles a little and looks up at the girls.

"What do yo usay we find something to eat? I'm starving."

[Willow Adams]

Willow regarded her with caution for a few long seconds and then tugged on Jessica's hand. "I'm hungry, too," she said, looking at her new-found friend. She hadn't eaten since early this morning when she ate a couple of Twinkies. She was amazed that they didn't taste as good as they used to. But then again, nothing tasted the same these days. She could eat Twinkies all day like she wanted to before, but there wouldn't be that feeling of accomplishment.

[Jessica Warren]

Food. It was the well spring of life and the thing that made the world go round. So maybe it's really love, but it's hard to feel much of that when you're hungry and grumpy. Jessica, being a little girl who loved food, decided that food sounded good. "Me too." Her words were to Willow who she felt suddenly very protective over. "I think we should go find some. I have a box of cereal left at home. That's what I've been eating." She admited, her face somehow still bright. Yes, it was sad she hadn't been able to figure out how to do anything but eat cereal. Dry cereal. Then again she was nine and always more interested in other things than what her mother did in the kitchen.

[Daria Fallen]

Daria tried to hide a smile as the two girl seemed to rely on each other; Willow more on Jessica than the other way around. Daria had been the sam with her little sister, Bethany, when they were growing up. In fact se still was. Well, she used to be ... Daria shakes her head a little, trying to knock the thoughts out of her head. (Cereal? Well, at least it's food ...) Daria grins. "Well, I thin kwe can find something that's a little more ... Tastey." Daria assured the two girls. Though she wasn't sure how the girls wouldreact to her killing an animal. (I think I saw some animals moving arounf over there the other day ... ) "Come on." She says, holding out her hands for the girls to take.