The sky looks pissed. The wind talks back. The sun beats hard.

Heats beyond 100 degrees made the days long and dirty. The sun was ruthless, not caring who lived and who died. People were frying under the heat without the proper amount of water at hand. You could only pray that you were in good hands at a time like this.

When the world is coming to what seems like an end, people need to stick together. Gather your family, friends. Even a trust group of good citizens will do the trick. Being a group will get you farther then running out on your own. Team work is the key. The hard to fit, sticky, and crooked key. High stress lead to high emotions and high actions. You rarely find someone alone in these days, unless their infected or crazy. And the heat has probably gotten to some heads by now. A full solid week of blazing heat during the day and bone chilling nights.

MS wasn't sure where they were. She assumed it was hell. She hated the heat, the cloudless sky that burned at her back. Creeping through the seams of her shirt and itching at her skin, she had never once remembered being this hot. She could swear that she could feel every pore screaming for water. This was just a lovely place to stop and stay. Their stay wasn't by choice though, their bus had run out of gasoline. In literally the middle of nowhere. Thankfully they weren't short on water, that was one thing they had more than enough of. Showers were even a suggestion at this time. Water was something they weren't going to run out of, especially with the purifier recycling the shower water. And that was one blessing that MS could graciously accept and give thanks for. She wasn't sure that she'd be able to live without being clean.

The group had broken up. Everyday they paired off at search for an old car, a house, barn, town, anything that could have gasoline in it or near by. MS was paired with Jeter, who she had no feelings toward or against. He was just another neutral human, another element of survival. MS hadn't allowed herself to grow very close to anyone. She, like many others, was still trying to process everything. Come to the realization that was her new life, and that she would never see her family again. These people were her new family, even if she wasn't willing to accept that yet.