Born 01 - Born

me. My leg won't make it far with the bullet hole in it. The long grass tangles in my feet and pulls at me. My leg burns and tries to convince me to stop running.
    "Emma. Emma." I ignore the voice and run. I feel the panic hitting.
    "Emma, they're all dead."
    I reach the bark of the huge tree. I want to climb but the pain in my thigh is killing me. I grip the massive branch and pull myself into the tree using only my arms. I've practiced this. I pull myself up and sit on the branch. I look down at the two people standing in the grass looking at me like I'm nuts. Leo paces. He understands. We've run from them many times.
    Jake approaches the tree limping slightly. He puts his hands out like he is scared of me. "Emma, they're all dead."
    "How?"
    Anna beams. "I shot them. I waited for them to run to you and then dropped them all instantly."
    "You? You killed them?"
    She tilts her head. "You still don’t trust us to help you?"
    I want to say yes, but I sit for a moment in the tree.
    "I'm stuck."
    Jake stands below the huge branch and puts his arms out. "Jump."
    I throw down my bow and arrows and look around. The field doesn’t move, except where the winds stroke the dark amber colored grass.
    I turn over on my belly and lower myself from the branch. I hang there for a second before the strong arms circle me and hold me tightly. The screaming agony of my leg is dulled suddenly.
    Leo nudges my legs and whines.
    Jake's breath brushes against my face as he speaks softly, "You looked a bit like you were going to run away."
    I don't realize how close our faces are until I see myself in his eyes. I bite my lower lip and shake my head. "I panicked. I've never been hurt like this when they were close before."
    He pulls me close. "I'll protect you, Emma." He looks toward his sister. "We both will."
    I can see the darkness in her eyes. It's the same look I give everyone.
    "Thanks." I say it just loud enough.
    She nods. "You killed most of them. You have to leave more for me to kill next time"
    I still feel scared and alone.
    Jake places me on the ground softly. "Emma, you're like Robin Hood."
    I smile, hearing the reference to the novel I love.
    Anna sighs, "Jake, don’t start again on the stories."
    I smile at him. "I love reading, too. I've read the same books for ten years. Sometimes I get lucky and find a small paperback that I can fit in my pack. Robin Hood is one of my favorites. My Granny read it to me when I was little."
    Jake smiles and I see it. There is joy inside of him that I have never seen before. When I see it in him, I know I saw it in the world before. It's just been so long, I forget how it felt to be near it. I want to be near him. He makes me feel things I've only read about. He makes it feel like the world didn’t end, and I like that.
    Instead of enjoying the feeling of being near him, a heavy disgusting feeling blankets me. It forces away the borrowed joy from him.
    I almost left him. I almost left them. I will leave him. It's my nature.
    He frowns at me. "I'd ask a penny for your thoughts, but I think it would be more than I can afford."
    I laugh, but it isn’t the free feeling of joy I had seconds ago.
    I walk away from him and pat Leo, who is suddenly needy. He rubs up against me and jumps up on his back legs to stand. He wraps his paws around me. I hug him back.
    "I love you, too." I whisper into his fur. I glance at them and nod in the direction of the farmhouse. "It's a day's walk to the house." I point down the hill.
    "We need to deal with him, too." Anna points at the beige mass at the bottom of the field and trees.
    I squint. "It's a man."
    "Great. You get to kill him."
    I laugh bitterly and hand over the bow and arrow to her. She thinks like me, and I like it. She never fired once when I was shooting the arrows. She understands conservation.
    She gives me a wide-eyed smile and takes the bow. "Really? I've never done this before."
    "We need to walk closer to him. When you pull the arrow back, control every inch of your arms. It feels hard at first but you get used to the tension."
    We walk to where the hill crests. We are near one of the fallen infected. I can smell him. I point at a tree further to the right. "Let's stand over there."
    We walk away from the smell of the rotting sick carcass. At the tree she attempts to pull the arrow back. Her skinny arms tremble.
    She looks frustrated.
    I laugh. "I know how you feel right now. It took me two years. It won't happen on the first try."
    She