So you may recognise this story from over a year ago under the title One Last Breath. Sadly due to personal problems I was unable to continue the story but everything is sorted now so i'd like to give this SYOC another shot as I had a lot planned for it (and still do)! If you submitted before, please feel free to submit again, even if it's the same characters, though I won't guarantee they'll be accepted!

Prologue: Night, Night

The scariest thing about winter was the silence. That's what it used to be anyway. The season of death, where flowers and trees had withered away and died, trapped in a sheet of white frost, and all of the animals had gone into hiding. No rustling of leaves or chirping of birds, just the silence.

That was until the walkers came along. No longer did we have to suffer in silence. The air wasn't just filled with a bitter, brisk breeze, it was full of the hungry groans of the dead ones.

Nathan Stone never liked warm weather. In fact, he sort of hated it, but he would much prefer the bustling spring where nature came back to life than being haunted by echoed moans and screams in the distance. At least he had his son, Russell, to keep him company, though the two had been short on conversation of late.

It had been this way for a little over three months. Three months since their cozy lifestyles had been changed forever as they were forced to life in fear of the creatures they once knew and loved. January now and it was almost a distant memory of when it all began. The two had become so used to their new life that looking back on their old one was pointless. It wasn't healthy for then to dwell on the past, of their lost loved ones. They had each other and that had to be enough.

The two Montana natives had made their way to the eastern part of Washington State, headed toward Seattle. There had been rumours amongst other survivors of help in the city but the pair didn't have much hope. The main reason they were travelling was to find Russell's mother – Nathan's ex-wife. Just before all communications went down she managed to contact them and the boy didn't have anything else on his mind after that, despite Nathan warning him what he was likely to find. It wouldn't be pretty, but he wasn't about to destroy his son's only dream in this bleak new world of theirs.

Their pick-up truck hadn't been much help for them either. They'd broke down at least a dozen times already but hadn't found anything much for practical for the harsh winters, especially considering there wasn't exactly anyone to clear the roads anymore. That's how the two had found themselves standing in the middle of nowhere with their truck's hood up, trying to figure out what was wrong this time.

"It's the radiator Dad, same as it was last time!" Russell groaned out, getting more and more frustrated as his father rubbed his bearded chin at the problem.

The seventeen year-old had been huddled up in a thick parka, beanie taming his messy brown hair as they stuck out from underneath. These past few months had left him looking much paler than normal. He definitely was his mother's son, not looking much like the more rugged Nathan, sharing only his hair colour.

"You shouting at me isn't gonna help anything…" Nathan replied, trying to keep calm, but his voice was strained.

Russell rolled his eyes, mumbling under his breath. "Great, just ignore what I have to say then!"

"I'm not ignoring you, Russ," Nathan responded, maintaining a sense of control. "All I want is to try and sort this out! Go make yourself useful and grab some tools from the back."

As Russell went to look for some tools to help out his father, not without another eye roll, the older man continued to try and suss out the problem. Wrapped up in a thick green parka, Nathan wasn't feeling the cold as much as his son, having spent years outside in the winter as a park ranger in his younger years. His matured body had been adapted to the rougher weather conditions up north and he had a thicker layer of muscle to keep the little warmth they had trapped.

"Dad…"

Nathan's thought process was interrupted as he heard his son. "What is it now?" he asked with some attitude in his deep, gruff voice.

He didn't need to get an answer as when he turned behind him he seen flashing headlights in the distance, the rumble of an engine struggling on the icy roads as it slowed down. Squinting his eyes, Nathan could see as the car got closer there was only a woman driving. Red hair, in her thirties by the looks of things.

"Can we help you?" Nathan asked calmly, motioning for his son to step back just in case, though she didn't look like a threat in her purple sweater and furry snow boots.

"I'm so sorry to bother you it's just I have a flat tire and there's no way I'm going to make it to shelter with my car like this and I just thought…" she began, fearful and flustered like the majority of survivors they'd met, and genuine enough it seemed. "I'm just useless with cars and I thought you might be able to help. Please."

"A flat tire shouldn't be much of a problem, got one in the back?" Nathan asked, having changed plenty over the years. It wasn't exactly much of a challenge.

The red-head graciously thanked him, nodding as she pointed to her trunk. Heading around to the back of the car Nathan popped it open. And it definitely wasn't a spare tyre that he found.

"Back off, buddy," a deep voice growled at him, pistol pointed toward Nathan's face.

Not one, but two men had squeezed into the trunk, both a little older than the female, probably Nathan's age, but both looked like they'd gone to hell and back with scars adorning their aged, buff bodies. Putting his hands, Nathan gulped, panic flooding over him. As he looked over the car, he hoped to ty and get Russell to run, but the seemingly innocent woman was pointing a gun to his face. Like father, like son.

"We aren't gonna hurt you," the first blonde man grumbled again as he climbed out of the trunk, along with his grinning, bald partner. "Just want to see what goods you've brought us." He finished with a low, menacing chuckle, sending shivers down the father's spine.

Keeping silent, Nathan while he was held at gun point, frequently looking over to his son as the bald man replaced the female guarding him while she began to unpack their truck of all of their supplies; weapons, food, medicine. Anything useful and then some.

Nathan's blood was boiling with disgust as he stood by, watching the robbery take place in front of him. How people could do something so cold in a time of trouble baffled him. It was far too early for people to lose their humanity. Right? And seeing the fear in Russell's once innocent eyes made him tremble with anger, his son now in a permanent state of panic in the world they lived in. A moment like this was enough to push him over the edge.

"What's wrong?" the bald man asked Russell, grin growing as he taunted him wickedly, waving a short blade in his face. "Don't worry, we don't want nothin' to do with your daddy. Nope… But a boy like you, well, we could trade you for anythin' we wanted." He placed a muscled hand of his on the boy's delicate neck, icy fingers gently resting on him without gripping.

As the two men of the group chuckled in sync at the idea, Nathan lashed out. "Don't you fucking touch him!" he yelled, silence falling on all of them as his eyes flared red with fury.

"Now, now, no need for that is there?" The blonde man asked, enjoying his reaction, savouring it even.

A slam of the car door interrupted them. The woman was done packing. "Let's go."

"Now I'm gonna back off into this car, and if you try anything, I'm gonna blow your son's brains out in front of you. Then I'm gonna do the same to you. Or… Maybe you're knee caps. Leave you to the biters. How does that sound?" the first man questioned Nathan, taking a step forward to intimidate him one last time.

A scream interrupted the moment and both of the men squaring off turned to Russell as his teeth dug into the hand of the bald man. As the burly male dropped his blade, the boy tried to make a run to his father but before he could, the same man gripped his parka and slammed him off the road, knocking him out cold.

"Russell!"

"Not so fast!" the blonde man said, waving his pistol one more time.

Nathan watched in terror as the bald man picked his son up and dumped him in the boot of the car, muttering all kinds of curse words under his breath as he rubbed the bite mark on his hand. And then he was crying, dropping to his knees as he looked up to the first man again.

"Please…" he begged, the father looking pathetic. He'd already lost everything else, he couldn't lose his son too.

"Lenny, it's getting dark! Biters will be swarming us soon. This thing isn't going to drive itself to Spokane." It was the woman again.

Chewing on his lip, the man, Lenny apparently, pondered on what to do with the man. They'd taken his son in the spur of the moment but didn't want anyone chasing them. Then again, he didn't want to risk the biters coming along and causing trouble for him or his people.

He finally made up his mind. Lenny smiled down at the father on his knees, begging. Raising the butt of his gun, he smacked it down on Nathan's head, knocking him out in an instant.

"Night, night."

Rules and Information

1. The main story will begin six months after apocalypse began and will start off with a group of survivors in the American state of Washington. Please keep this in mind when writing your character's background.

2. Diversity with characters is much appreciated, though keep it realistic to the place. Different races and ages are great, but consider if you're character fits the setting before submitting. I know it's mostly young writers on here but I don't want a dozen kids and no adults either.

3. Not everyone is a bad ass, or not everyone starts out as a bad ass anyway! You don't need to have a killer job to kick some zombie butt now and then, in fact, you don't need to be a fighter at all. Similarly, not everyone is purely good or evil, make them interesting! And antagonists are always welcome.

4. Take your time and add detail! It isn't first come first serve.

5. Send in as many characters as you like (please don't send in two teenage love interests - cliché!) but I'll only be accepting maximum of two per person at a time.

6. Review and follow the story please! Hearing your feedback is always a great boost!

7. Form is on my profile to copy and paste.

8. Submit by PM ONLY! Any character sent through review will be ignored.