#7

Lily forced herself to not look back; although it had been a year since the outbreak had begun, she had never got used to the sight of the walkers voraciously tearing apart and devouring flesh. It was sickening. This world had become an eternal nightmare in which the only recourse was death.

She ran alongside Samantha and the two of them dodged protruding tree branches and scattered detritus on the forest floor, leaping over rocks and small streams as they tore through the night, eager to escape the dark forest.

They eventually found themselves back among society, or at least, the remnants of it. A vast and endless highway greeted them, inundated with long-abandoned cars and interspersed with solitary shamblers. Even if they got one of the cars to work, it would be impossible to maneuver it through the blockage. They would have to rely on their already exhausted legs for this trek.

"I'm sure one of these cars has a map in it." she suggested. "Once we find it, we can turn in for the night in a van or something. I really need to rest my legs up... We have a long few days ahead of us."

#7

After slowing down, Samantha nodded at Lily's suggestion. "That's a good plan." She walked around the cars, hoping to find a good SUV around so that they wouldn't be cramped inside.

"That one." Sam pointed at a dark colored Tahoe a few cars away, loading her crossbow in case there were any surprises while they walked to it. "We can rest right now until the morning. It'll be much easier to find a map then too."

"You're doing great kid," said Hannah, twisting in the passenger seat to check the Camellia situation. "I know first aid too, but this big mama's gotta be up front. Besides, I'm so wired I'd probably make things worse."

"Where we going?" Oskar asked, spinning the steering wheel to avoid a group of walkers amassed on the road. "I'm running out of clear tarmac."

Hannah looked back towards the front, and took in their location. She knew Chicago well, having visited the city several times in better days, but she hadn't ventured out into the suburbs. The HUMVEE's inbuilt GPS had been torn from its socket some time ago, judging by the thick dust on the ugly mass of wires jutting from a hole in the front of the dashboard.

Figures.

A sign passed them by, heavily faded from twelve months of neglect. Hannah made out a familiar and much cherished word in this fallen world, and made a decision.

"Take the next right," she said.

Oskar shrugged; as far as he was concerned, if Hannah had a plan, then that was good enough for him. No need for questions. He slowed the vehicle down, and guided it around the burnt out husk of a bus. The walkers were thinning out, and with bit a of luck, they'd left the herd that was chasing them far behind. A junction came up ahead, and as Hannah had instructed, he took the right.

The road went on for some time, and Oskar felt uneasy at the lack of mechanical carnage that was so common elsewhere across the city's transport routes. Cars that would have clogged the way, seemed to have been moved to the side; corpses littered the area, and crudely painted signs dotted the side walks. He looked at the former Apache pilot questioningly, but she merely stared on unconcerned.

Camellia moaned from the back seat, and for a moment Oskar thought she had turned; he took his eyes from the road to look into the HUMVEE's cracked rear view mirror just to make sure.

"WATCH OUT!" Screamed Hannah.

Something hard hit the front of the hummer, sending the speeding vehicle at a sudden right angle. The sound of grinding metal blotted out Oskar's senses, and in a fit of panick he hit the breaks - just as Hannah tried to fight him for the controls. The sudden friction on the tyres added to the HUMVEE's faltering trajectory, and it flipped over onto its roof in a clumsy, yet powerful display of driver error. It skidded for fifty feet, before coming to a gradual standstill on the middle of the road.

***

"Yeah fuck you, fuck you and fuck you," spat Woody, hacking away at the writhing wall of limbs with his good arm, and the rusted hatchet he'd found in some poor bastard's tool shed.

The walkers only seemed egged on by his enthusiasm, and they pushed ever harder to buckle the flimsy wooden barrier the old man had come to call his Alamo. Their jaws snapped at him through holes in the shed's wall, whilst bloody fingers extended themselves beyond their reasonable reach in an attempt to clasp him. The only thing keeping them at bay, despite the old man's hatchet, was the work bench he'd shoved against the structure's interior. The walkers couldn't get behind him, the hedge flaking either side was too thick for them to push into. He could run, but for now, he was done running.

He coughed suddenly; blood gurgled up through his throat, and into his mouth. He winced at the foul taste, knowing full well he was sampling the flavours of infection. He spat it onto the floor, and grimaced at its black colouring.

"I aint goin' out like this, you fucking bastards," he cursed, hacking at an arm as it reached for him. The appendage fell lifelessly to the floor soon after. "I'm gonna die somewhere peaceful, I'm gonna die somewhere with the sun shining on my black ass, and you, well, YOU ALL GONNA DIE!"

#8

Trevor nearly had a heart attack when he knocked over the tin trash can lid that was sitting on the steps. The loud clanging noise was a sonic boom compared to the silence that Trevor had been used to for so long. He ran, knowing that there had to be walkers in the area that had heard the noise from before he went in the house. The only sound that was heard was the sound of his Adidas sneakers as they hit the pavement.

After clearing about a block, he decided it was time to check on the cut on his left palm. There was blood soaking through the cloth he had wrapped it in. Trevor just sighed, knowing he might have to stitch it up later. He removed his backpack and placed it on the ground. After digging around for a good five minutes, he finally found the goldfish crackers that he had taken from the townhouse back there. There was a small crumbling as the bag was opened, and Trevor got two crackers and placed them into his mouth. After resting for about a half hour, Trevor figured it was time that he hit the road. He put everything back in the bag, and started walking North.

#7

Lily tenatively opened the backdoor of the dark green Tahoe, sighing once in relief when it opened and a second time when there were no horrible surprises awaiting for her inside. The car had clearly been abandoned, which explained why it was unlocked. The same was probably true for most of the other cars in the vicinity and this was advantageous for Lily and Samantha; they would not have to expend energy breaking open car windows and attracting more walkers to their location.

"You can take the backseat." offered Lily, climbing into the boot space. It wasn't exactly spacious, but it would have to do. This was a far cry better than spending the night with the malevolent scum that had torn her away from her relative comfort.

She instinctively reached for her backpack before glumly realising that it was no longer with her; their captors had discarded of it a long time ago. She felt naked, starting fresh in the apocalypse with no supplies besides the clothes on her back and the gun that Samantha had given her. It wasn't going to be much help until she learned how to actually use it.

"Thanks for..." she started awkwardly, laying down on the musty, grey upholstery and avoiding eye contact with Samantha. "You know."

Lily turned over as the back door shut with a light click. The two of them would be safe in this car, even without the ability to lock the vehicle's back door. She was certain that the odds of someone opening this car were slim to nil and the odds of it being someone dangerous were even lower. Walkers, fortunately, lackd the intelligence to open car doors... or so she hoped.

She fidgeted as she heard her companion lay down on the seats in front. This was the first time, the very first time since the outbreak started, that she had spent a night without Calliope. Her thoughts drifted to where her younger sister was and whether or not Levi was taking care of her. Had they been separated? Had he abandoned her? Had he been killed? Had she been killed?

A good night's sleep would not be embracing her when her mind was consumed with fear for the safety of Calliope and the crushing sense of loneliness that engulfed her when she realised that she was most likely never going to see her little sister again. Silently, she wept.

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she started at the roof, eyes wide open.

-End of Scenario #7-

#8

Johnny was in a house, wandering around, just trying to find more supplies. So far, he has had no luck. However, that wouldn't stop him from trying. In most of the house, he had found almost nothing. He went to the bathroom, the last place that he could look. He found some Narnia bandages. "Well, might have to use it sometime" he grumbles under his breath. He opened the front pocket of his backpack and put the bandages in. Right when he got to the front door, he heard a small gurgle. Barely able to be noticed. But that could only mean that there was a zombie nearby, and from the sound of it, it was probably behind the door. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a bit of pounding at the door. There seemed to be quite a few zombies there. Unless he used his gun, which would attract more attention, he wouldn't be able to take them on. So his only option was to try to lure them somewhere else.

It only took him a few seconds to figure out a plan. He would probably break a window around the side of the house, and when the zombies went there, he would sneak out the front door. The only problem, was what he could use to break it. The only thing that would really break the window was an old television. "Well, I don't have many other options" he muttered to himself. He went to the bedroom with the t.v. He took a few minutes to unplug all of the cables, and even longer to lug it to the window. He was tempted to sleep in the bed upstairs. But, the zombies would have probably broken the door by then. He heaved up the television with a little grunt escaping his lips, and he heaved the t.v. through the window. It had a loud shatter, which would attract almost anything nearby. He went to the door to wait until he was sure all the zombies were gone, then he opened the door.

He walked outside, careful not to make a sound. He looked down where the windows was, and saw zombies trying to get through it. He noticed that on one side of the road, there were quite a few zombies coming in his direction. "Shit" he muttered to himself, and quietly made his way down the road. After a few minutes of walking, there were only two zombies still following him. Might as well take care of them he thought to himself. He got his pocket knife at the ready and went towards the zombies. He took put the first zombie easily with the knife going in between the zombies eyes. However, he couldn't get the knife out, and the other zombie was close to him. " Typical ". He knew better than to continue to try to get the knife out. He quickly drop the knife, along with the now dead zombie. However, the zombie that was still alive manged to scrath him. Just a tiny bit. He let out a grunt of pain from it. He quickly ran backwards a bit. He had to look for a weapon.

After a few seconds of looking, he noticed a brick. He let out a tiny grin as he ran to it. He picked it up and hit the zombie with it, and the zombie fell down. He threw the brick downwards at it, and stomped in the zombie's head a few times until he heard a satisfying crack of the skull. He went over to the other zombie, and after a few hard tugs, he got the knife out, with some blood spraying up at him. He checked the scratch he got from the zombie. It was bleeding, but not too much. Probably not enough to cause an infection. He remembered the band-aids and got them out. He took a few of them out and put them along the scratches. It would be enough to stop the bleeding. And he probably wouldn't die. He took out his water bottle which was almost empty. Though, he hadn't had water for about a day, so he had the rest of it. He threw the bottle away, and put the rest of the band-aids out. After a few more minutes of walking, he walked directly in the line of sight of someone (Trevor). He quickly got his gun at the ready, just in case the man tried to kill him.

#3

Once Camella seemed to be stable, or at least stable enough, Kylie allowed herself to relax a bit. They were safe. The car was armored and protective against the hordes outside, and was moving much faster then the walkers could...well...walk. She leaned against the door of the HUMVEE with an almost lazy smile. Hannah and Oskar seemed to have things under control. And Camella didn't seem that bad despite the circumstances. Yep, everything was okay. And with this thought Kylie allowed her heavy eyelids to slowly close, sometimes snapping back open, before shutting all the way. She was tired, so tired. She didn't know when she last just fell asleep. She had been running and fighting all day, she thought she deserved some rest after the day she had been having. Yep. Just a few minutes of sleep would be fine. Hannah and Oskar could wake her if they needed her. As Kylie was slipping off she was reminded of pleasant times, she rarely slept during car rides.

She used to be scared that if she fell asleep they would crash.

It felt like seconds before Kylie was jolted awake by the sounds of Hannah's scream of precaution to Oskar. Kylie sat up with a gasp, a cold sweat covering her skin. She was about to open her mouth, about to ask what was wrong, when suddenly the car was swerving and flipping. Kylie was too afraid to scream. She was hoping this was just a dream. And when she opened her eyes she would be in the backseat with her sister and her mom and dad, listening to the radio. Kylie slowly opened her eyes, letting out a groan. She began to cry, all of her hope flooding out of her. She tried to sit up, only to experience the pain of their crash. She blinked the tears out of her eyes. Somehow the force of the crash had sent Kylie out of the HUMVEE's window. She tried to sit up again, feeling the warmth of blood trickle down her neck and head. She began crawling towards the wreck, calling out in as loud of a voice as she could muster. "Hannah? Oskar? Camella?"

#1

Leaning back slightly, the warm flesh of her palms meeting the cold tile, Ellie gave an endearing smile to Metro. She had heard his mumble, but decided against telling him which knight she was referring to. She had much to learn before deciding what Sir Metro truly was, for all she knew, the air between them now was calm and light now, but what about later?

They were oceans apart from one another, each knowing only the waves that lapped at their individual shores. They knew only what was a given, not what was hidden deep within. She doubted that they ever would, though they needed to allow themselves to get closer. To branch out, to attach. Upon meeting Metro, something had stirred deep within the complexity that was Ellie, it sparked an impossible flame down in the darkness that had enveloped her very soul. She had been given hope, no matter how small the flame, it was still there. It was burning. Light that once was a part of her began to seep into the dark that had so thoroughly consumed her.

Hearing his next words, Ellie's warmhearted smile sunk deep into her features, disappearing as soon as it had formed. She was surprised to hear laughter follow the risque statement. If this was his attempt at flirting, he was losing her. Rolling her eyes, a storm brewing in the meadow that was her green gaze, carefully hidden, yet all the same, exposed. "Now, my knight... I would strongly warn you off whatever course it is you have set. This princess, is not from a fairy-tale." Raw were the words that passed through her lips; enveloped in a soft silk, as they flew like graceful birds from her throat. She was giving a warning, not a threat. It was a part of her that wanted to laugh, to smile at him and give her own joke back. That part of her had been buried long ago, she was certain it hadn't existed anymore. Until now. She had laughed at this stranger, she had smiled, she had allowed herself to be...human again.

Even then, she couldn't escape from the horrid thoughts that perverted her mind. Melting into every crevice of her mind, turning each and every simple thought into something deeper, darker, dangerous. She hid it behind a smile, and a pretty face. Watching her father go AWOL, dealing with so much stress all at once, all leading to the end of humanity.... That did something to a girl. It changed her. It transformed her, morphed her into something not quite right. It turned her into a monster, of sorts. She could kill without batting one of her long eyelashes, she could leave behind any trace of morality. Without morality, without that vital sense of when to stop. More importantly, when to begin again, to feel the pang of regret, to have emotion within the barren husk of her soul. It was foreign. It was non-existent. Until now.

Unstable and downright broken at best, Ellie is a masterful painting of lunacy. Bright and vibrant colors on her surface, but the longer you look, the darker she gets. Yet, here she was, sitting beside this man who, was unarmed. He was also the only real company she'd had in a long time. And....She missed that. Some part of her did, at least, and now here she was. Sharing plans and cradling his face and trying so hard to hold back the emotions she barely understood. Round, and round she went with this.

Digging herself out of her thoughts, she swam back to the surface, breaking through into reality with a light gasp. "I do happen to have a map with me..." Should she mention her military father, and the training she'd had? No... That wasn't required of her. Besides, she'd share when they had some kind of understanding. Right now, all they had between them were two books, two very different people, and an idea, a single hope. "I don't have a compass, though." She sighed, that could've came in handy. Too late to fret over it now. A smile began to etch itself onto her face once more, "Now that you mention it, I do have some outdoors-man skill's." Thankfully her father had managed to teach her something valuable.

---

After watching Metro relieve himself of what little food, and some digestive lining he had, she found herself no longer in the mood to eat. Which made the otherwise kindly offer of food only make her grimace. Pushing her bowl aside, Ellie shifted in her seat, wondering whether or not to ask how long he'd gone without a proper meal. That's when the sounds rang out. She almost missed them. Almost. The loud cluster of clanging came from afar, in a whole other section. Ellie was about to spring to her feet when she noted Metro already heading off; she'd almost missed his disappearing form as he faded into black, the corridor he entered swallowed him whole.

I have a bad feeling about this. Her mind began to race, already the possibility of death was on her mind. But no, she would've heard something, anything. Ellie glanced down at her gun, finger's twitching towards the grip. Shaking her head, Ellie dropped her hand back to her hip before standing up and peering over the corner of the aisle, trying to see past the dark hallway. Nothing. With a sigh, she took a step to head over, about to call out to Metro. Just as she opened her mouth, a piercing scream cut through the black and reached out to her, grasping her out of her from the deepest part of her mind and pulling her forcefully out. It was Metro, and he was in trouble. Taking no care to silence her footsteps, she rushed through the corridor that lead into the children's department, barely keeping upright as she slipped over a small fire-engine. Her emerald eyes wide with panic, heart beating with adrenaline, and her hand braced around the handle of her handgun.

"METRO?!" Her voice rang out as she hollered, blaring through the quiet space. As she delved deeper into the small department, Ellie nearly choked on her own breath when she saw Metro, who was swearing like a sailor, clutching his bleeding leg....Just across from a dead Walker. It didn't take a genius to put two-and-two together, and if she was correct.... "Holy shit." She breathed, backing away from the wounded man, an incredulous look on her face. No- Not him. Not him, not now...Not again. She stepped over the body of the hopefully now fully dead Walker, and over to where a pained Metro tried to clog the gushing wound. Putting her gun back into the waistband of her jeans, Ellie leaned down and lifted off her small jacket, her high-school cheer souvenir, and lifted up Metro's pant-leg. She wasted no time covering the deep gashes with her jacket, wrapping it tightly in the fashion her father had taught her, enough to stop the blood from pouring out, but enough to constrict fully. That could cause more damage in the long run.

After she was certain her jacket was secure, Ellie lifted one of Metro's arms and swung it around her shoulders. "C'mon, big guy." She grunted as she lifted the taller man, trying to find her strength and carry him out of the department. Though she struggled, she found a way to help to balance their weight, finding a rhythm to their movements, their steps molding into one. "You'll be alright..." She found herself muttering this phrase over and over again until they reached their little hovel- by now, the jacket was beyond salvageable. Damn, she liked that one too. Carefully as she could, Ellie lowered Metro to the ground, making sure not to bother his torn leg. She could leave him, she realized. She could get her things, what little he had, and go. She shook the thoughts from her mind. She wouldn't give up this time, she was tired of being alone. If that meant she had to lose her jacket, then so be it. Reaching into her bag for her father's med-kit, Ellie glanced over at her shoulder to Metro. If he was infected... She was going to go down with him. All because she stayed. She turned back to the bag, digging through her supplies with intent, sweat forming on her brow. "What happened back there?" The question that had been pressing against her lips had finally managed to force itself out, allowing Ellie to focus completely on the task at hand. Pulling out the med-kit, she gave a timid smile, and scooted closer to the wounded man. "A princess saving her knight, who knew?" She gave a shaky laugh, fumbling when she pried the small medical box open.

"Hang on...This next part, might hurt...A lot." She hadn't had too much medical training, besides in health class. So, this whole thing was gonna be a bit new. Well, this should be interesting. The small flame within her grew, spreading warmth and light throughout her her once dull spirit. The ocean that separated them seemed to lessen, the wide berth between the two closing, ever so slowly.

- double post deleted -

#9

Evelyn stirred on the ground, darkness enveloping her vision as she heard herself groan. The ground underneath her was, for some odd reason, vibrating. There was a dull pounding in her head and her right eyelid seemed as if it was glued shut. With herculean effort, she managed to open both eyes at the same time and found herself sprawled out on the floor of some kind of vehicle. Looking at the edges and the amount of space, she deduced that they were in a pick-up truck.

She kept her movements subtle so as to not alert the guard who was standing a few feet behind her, assault rifle at the ready. Laid out and still unconscious in front of her was Scarlett, the companion she had met just a few hours ago. Evelyn had no idea whether or not she could be fully trusted but she was certain that they would both be more than happy to co-operate in order to escape their predicament. Unfortunately, a gentle rotation of her wrists told her that her hands had been bound together.

The pick-up truck was travelling at a steady speed, cruising along a mostly empty highway. Their was devastated farmland surrounding them on both sides, filled with the long-dead remnants of what once must have been a great harvest. A quick glance upwards at one of the dilapidated, blue highway signs told her that they were almost in 'Danville'.

"How much further?" called out the raider in the bed of the pick-up truck.

Evelyn immediately shut her eyes once she heard the man speak. If she was going to get the drop on her captors, she couldn't risk the guard knowing that she had woken up and was plotting against them. Considering how boorishly she and her fellow women had been treated in Wheaton by these marauders, their abilities were clearly being underestimated. That was an advantage; the element of surprise would be even more devastating.

Evelyn waited anxiously for the car to move left or right. They had been travelling in more or less of a straight line because they were on the highway, but hopefully some obstruction would force the driver to switch lanes. After what seemed like an eternity, the vehicle switched to the right lane and, seizing her opportunity, Evelyn rolled to the right and crashed into Scarlett's unconscious form. She laid there like a statue, completely unmoving. Although her eyes were still shut, an unpleasant and prickly feeling on the back of her neck told her that she was being closely scrutinised by the guard.

"Easy!" he yelled, presumably to the driver.

Evelyn opened her eyes by a tiny fraction, gazing to her left at Scarlett.

"You... need... to... wake... up..." she whispered, lips barely moving.

#9

Scarlett's eyes fluttered open at the sudden impact of something on her back. She was facing a wall, but it wasn't exactly a wall. The surface she was on was cold and there was a hum of an engine in the background. It took her a minute before she came completely to her senses, remembering where she was and who she was with. She had witnessed the small group that they had spontaneously made be torn apart by thugs, and then her companion get knocked out for not wanting to comply. She had fallen asleep crying when the sun set and hoped it was all some sort of nightmare.

Her eyes started watering and she quickly closed them, calming herself down by controlling her breathing. She was grateful that she was facing the wall of the pickup truck rather than another person. At least they wouldn't see her cry.

"You.... Need... To.... Wake.... Up." She recognized the voice and remains quiet, not knowing what to do. A million questions ran through her mind but she simply whispered back, "I'm awake" without turning to look at Evelyn.

Oskar found himself in a sweet dream, set in the twilight mass of post-Soviet suburbs that formed Warsaw's outskirts. It was cold out, but the sun was shining, and he was sitting at his desk in the humble office he often called his bedroom. Julia and Lana were making commotion outside the window; screaming at each other the way children often do for no reason other than the literal hell of it.

He heard the shower door open, and then close on well cleansed seals. There were wet footsteps on the aging tiles of the bathroom, and then the slight creak of a door nob.

"Kochanie?" came the familiar, soothing yet somehow mocking tone of his wife's voice.

He smiled gleefully, setting down his paperwork with an affirmative grunt. "Tak, moja miłość?"

There was a sudden dragging sound on the carpet behind him; something about it unnerved Oskar, and he could not bring himself to look back. His heart pounded, and he noted the sudden absence of his childrens' racket.

Freezing, wet hands planted themselves on the back of his neck; slimy lips braced the sid-

Hannah's assault rifle rattled its symphony of death. Something thick and foul smelling suddenly hugged Oskar's face, and he grimaced at the touch.

"Get up," she whispered; as if noise discipline mattered after firing her weapon.

He looked over at her. Everything was hazy, and he struggled to make out her familiar half-man, half-woman form. For seconds he tried hard to focus, willing his eyes to cast aside the veil they had donned themselves with. He brought up his hand, wiping at them furiously, and it came away bloody. Suddenly he became aware that just about every inch of his body pulsed with pain.

"Wha-"

"Get up."

With a sigh, Oskar heaved himself forwards; something stopped him. Round and solid, it held firm against his bruised chest. After fumbling around the object, he realised it was a steering wheel - a sudden wave of nausea brought home the fact that he was upside down. He vomitted acidic bile onto what he guessed was once the hummer's windshield.

"Trains leaving," Hannah said, looking around nervously. "You better unfuck that situation of yours, Rennold."

The familiar hammering thunder of the former pilot's voice gave Oskar's limbs a burst of energy, and he pulled himself free from the seat; falling onto tarmac and broken glass. Gore still caked his face, and he ventured a peak back towards where he had been hanging.

He gasped.

"She turned. It was you or her, soldier," Hannah said with a shrug. "Nothing you or I could do."

Camellia's broken body was slanted lazily between the driver and front passenger chairs. Her head was missing from the nose upwards, and the window behind was covered in the apocalypse's painfully stale decore.

"Fuck," he managed.

Hannah nodded.

"Hannah? Oskar? Camellia?"

Kylie was alive and well, it seemed. If Oskar had half a brain to think with at that moment in time, he'd of thought it a miracle.

"We're here," he yelled, stumbling to his feet. Hannah steadied him. "Where do we go?"

Hannah was already walking away, shrugging off the disaster and loss of life with her usual cold demeanour. Oskar looked in the direction she moved, and spotted a large commercial pharmacy just across the road. It seemed a solid enough structure, untouched by the tell tale signs of looting and death. This alone sent alarm bells ringing in his head, because such a sight was not normal.

"Hannah?" He called after her, but she did not reply. "What are you doing?"

Turning he saw Kylie approaching, for a moment thinking her a walker, and he hurried back to the wreckage for his rifle. Grabbing it, he turned back but was relieved to see that she walked with a living gait.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

#6

Before Lindsey could answer, the sound of hurried footsteps slapping against the pathway outside sounded through the night.

"Shit, run!" he hissed at Lindsey and Calliope, feeling a modicum of relief as they immediately heeded his advice and slipped away into the darkness. He could no longer see them and could only hope that their invisibility extended to the eyes of the Raiders as well.

"What are you doing up?" came the familiar, gravelly voice of the guard with the scruffy, handlebar moustache.

Levi wheeled around to face him and put his hands up in the air, eyeing the barrel of the gun that was pointing at his chest through one of the many gaps in the fence.

"I asked you a question!" he barked.

""I'm just... I had a... I was..." stammered Levi, speaking slowly and stupidly with deliberation. The longer he kept this guard here, the better it would be for the girls.

"The fuck is wrong with you?"

Levi swore and shielded his eyes as the raider shined an effulgently bright flashlight at his face. His mind went haywire as he immediately realised that the man was searching for Levi's fellow slaves. When he figured out that they were not there, there would be hell to pay.

"Where the fuck's the hole?" he demanded.

"The what?" shot back Levi, a disgusted look on his face.

"You know what I'm talking about, where the fuck are they?"

"I helped them escape." he taunted, the words leaving his mouth before his brain had fully thought the idea through.

The resultant look of pure rage on the raider's face sent a tingle of fear down Levi's spine, despite the fact that this was the reaction he had wanted. His heart hammered wildly against his chest as he realised that, if his tactics were inefficacious, he would die within the next few seconds. He wanted to anger the raider enough to disrupt his equanimity and make him do something stupid, but not furious enough to kill him.

"You stupid piece of shit." he growled, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a walkie-talkie. "Once we find them, Thorne's going to-"

"If you say anything to him, I'll tell him about our little deal." threatened Levi, a pronounced sneer on his face.

The raider went silent for a moment. It was almost undoubtedly the calm before the storm. He reached into his pocket once more and produced a keychain replete with what looked like half a dozen keys. He slowly thumbed through each one before settling on the smallest one, inserting it into the padlock and turning. The padlock fell to the ground with a thud and the gate slowly creaked open.

"Wait, I was only j-joking!" he stuttered, cowering against the fence. It was odd, pretending to be terrified whilst actually being terrified. "Please don't hit me!"

Levi held his breath as the raider marched towards him, silently begging for the raider to hit him. If he chose this more personal and brutal route, Levi stood a chance. If he chose to go for the easy route, a bullet to the head, it would all be over without a glimmer of hope.

The distance between them seemed to take an eternity to close as Levi's eyes fixed upon the man's legs, desperately hoping that they would keep moving. Fifteen metres. Ten. Five. If he wanted to shoot him, he should have done it by now. Right? Four. Three. Two. One.

Levi launched himself at the man and lunged towards him like a crazed animal, knocking him onto his back and mercilessly digging his thumbs into his eyes. The raider, who had seemed so tough before, was now screaming in pain and thrashing around fruitlessly. The noise, by now, would have alerted the other raiders. It was time to end this or he, Callie and the other girl would die in this place.

Levi ripped the assault rifle from the raider's hands and stood up, pointing the barrel at his head as the man stirred on the floor. He took a deep breath, squeezed the trigger and pulled.

In a normal situation, he was not sure how he would react to the man's skull being blown apart by the volley of hollow point bullets. There would be cold dread, sickness, an empty feeling in the stomach and an eruption of goosebumps as he watched another human being's life snuffed out by his own hands. There was, however, nothing normal about this situation. He was a shell, just another walker, running purely on survival instinct. He felt himself rifle through the raider's pockets to collect whatever supplies he could, eventually finding himself clutching a set of keys.

He looked through them all and found a familiar emblem from the old world on one of the keys.

Good. Car. Escape.

Physically unable to contemplate his sheer luck, he picked up the assault rifle and pocketed the keys before dashing out of the slave pen. He tore down the tarmac path and made a bee-line towards the parking lot he had seen when he was first brought in here. If the car was anywhere, it would be here.

Shots and yells of fury rang out through the night, whizzing past him. He paid them no heed as he finally found himself in the parking lot, eyes scanning the area to find just two cars. He held up the keys to his face to re-familiarise himself with the logo, something which had completely managed to slip his mind during his sprint. Levi ignored the smaller car and dashed towards the 4 X 4 Toyota, jamming the key in to the driver's door. Mercifully, the lock opened and he scrambled in to the vehicle, tossing the assault rifle into the backseat. There was only one way to find out if his luck would keep running. He pushed the key into the ignition and turned.

Nothing.

He screamed in agony, completely beside himself as armed raiders began coming into view in the distance. He pulled the key out and slammed his fists into the dash, forcing it in once more and repeatedly turning.

The engine roared into life and Levi gasped with relief, smashing his fist into the steering wheel triumphantly. The horn blared out as if the vehicle was echoing his own exultance. He drove his foot into the accelerator and the car zoomed forward, causing raiders to leap out of its way. More shots rang out as the screaming raiders fired on the car, the high-pitched smacks indicating that the body of the car was taking more than a few bullets. Levi yelped in surprise as an almighty crashing sound was heard behind him and the rear window shattered, exploding as its sharp pieces were expelled in all directions.

The car was rapidly heading towards the fortified main gate and, in spite of the adrenaline coursing through his veins, Levi knew this was a bad idea. Just before impact, he swerved the car, ducked to avoid the incoming bullets from the raider guarding the gate and ploughed through the much weaker fence that encapsulated the raider camp. The car sliced straight through and the section of fence which had been impacted split open, revealing a massive aperture for the undead horde to invade through.

Before he could realise it, he had burst into jubilant laughter. His merriment echoed in the car, the sounds of a man who had just escaped certain death through his newfound friendship with lady serendipity.

The 4x4 mowed down walker after walker as he tried to find the path of least resistance and density. Before he had made it out of the herd, something caught his eye and the horrific realisation that he had left the girls behind him struck him with the force of a freight train. The herd was moving together in a specific direction but had not yet stopped, suggesting that they were still chasing their prey. Levi gunned the engine, a terrified whimper at the thought of what may await him.

He slammed his palm into the horn, the awful, loud and screeching noise distracting the herd from whoever they were trying to devour. He was getting nearer and nearer, there were just a few metres now to their abandoned corpses.

"No!" he yelled out frustratedly, his panic causing him to argue against his own mind. "They're alive, I know it!"

He slammed the brakes and turned the car to the right, causing it to shift violently to the side and knock the group of walkers closest to the point of interest to the floor. By now, the passenger side window had completely broken off, giving him a clear view.

Calliope's frightened eyes stared back at him.

"GET IN!" he yelled, lunging over to the door and pushing it open.

She scrambled up to her feet and ran to the door, clambering in and shutting it with a frightened squeal.

"Are you bitten?" he asked, his eyes scanning her clothes. They seemed blood-free.

"No!"

"Where's the other girl?" he demanded, looking around desperately as the snarls and guttural growls of the walkers began to grow louder, the herd shambling and closing in on the source of the tremendous amount of noise.

"I don't know," she sobbed, staring at her feet as the tears cascaded from her face. "We got split up!"

Levi bit his lip, feeling completely hollow. As much as he wanted to, there was no way they'd find her in this mess. It was miraculous that he had found Callie.

"It's... It's alright." he said quietly, patting the little girl's shoulder, her body heaving with sobs. "I'm sorry, kid."

With great reluctance, Levi floored the accelerator and the car took off into the night. Levi adjusted the rear view mirror and found, to the appeasament of his vindictive fury, that the camp had been breached by the horde.

A fitting end.

Kylie almost laughed at herself. She remembered all of her life being told to always buckle your seat belt when entering a car. She recalled seeing videos of crash dummies being thrown out of cars as an example of what could happen. Kylie never expected to be the dummy thrown out of a cars window. She gingerly felt the back of her head, which was currently bleeding heavily. This blood loss wasn't helping her overall dizziness and sickness.

Kylie continued to hobble along the ground, the injury on her ankle hurting as well. This was a huge mess. She just wanted to have a few moments of peace.

The sound of a gunshot startled Kylie back onto the ground with a thump mostly scared that someone was shooting at her. She wouldn't blame them, her limp didn't make her much different then the walkers.

She raised her hands above her head, calling out again for the rest of the group.

The sound of Oskar's voice returning her call filled her with a brief feeling of joy. She wasn't alone. She continued to walk towards his voice, the blood loss making her vision swirl and dip. She ran her hand along her hip, glad to feel her machete was still sheathed there.

As she approached Oskar she watched Hannah run off again. She swallowed, looking up at Oskar with his rifle in hands. Kyle was about to ask where Camella was, but then began to connect the dots. He was covered in gore and Camella was gone after being close to death due to her injuries. She swallowed back the lump in her throat as she got closer to Oskar. She had been in the backseat with Camella when she fell asleep, Kylie just hoped she hadn't been bitten.

"I've...uh...been better sir." Kylie said as she hobbled up to Oskar's side. "But what do we do now?"

#6 "No, no, no." Lindsey muttered under her breath as the little girl crawled under. If Levi had been able to fit, he would be more useful in terms of finding a way to escape. Now that she this little girl, it's going to be more of a hassle. Before she could argue about her tagging along, she heard the footsteps of a raider making his way rounds. Heeding the obvious advice from Levi, she grabs Calliope's wrist and they bolt for the nearest hiding spot, she clumsily trips over a root, or what she thought was a root until she looks back at it and realizes it's her number one treasure. Her father's baseball bat signed by Andre Dawson. She grasps onto it, forgetting anything else existed in the world for a split second, until the sounds of shouting, gunshots and more raiders roaring and shouting.

What just happened, from the look of Calliope's terrified look, clearly an execution of some short. Probably a slave misbehaving and receiving their punishment. She frowns but knows now isn't the time to be mourning, or to be sitting their idly they need to escape and get out of their fast. This has to be the easiest escape ever, whatever happened that got the raiders all riled up, she couldn't think them anymore, and the fact that she doesn't have to search for her father's baseball bat saves her a lot of time and the risk of being caught and dying. She's been planning her escape for quite some time, it was suppose to be a lot quieter than this, but beggars can't be choosers. As they reach the parking lot, it dawns upon her that they forgot Levi. That is until she notices him bolting towards the parking lot as well with Raiders approaching him, going towards him would be suicide, and she knows it, as she changes her course and averts Calliope's gaze from noticing Levi as well. The last thing she wants is for her to scream out his name catching the attention of a soon to be dead man and his killers.

They make their escape, all seems to be going well until she falls to the ground hard, after receiving a blow to the back of her head. Her vision is blurry, but it comes back to her as she realizes she's staring at the end of a double barreled shotgun, and a pissed off Raider. Calliope right beside her, trembling in fear at the brink of crying, and near a bush. The man is taunting them for a bit, unaware that biters are approaching him from the rear. The sound of a horn can be heard, and the roar of an engine echoes through the night. The man looks up, towards the direction of the sound, this is her one time. She grasps onto her baseball bat and rams it into the crotch of the man, the scream he emits sounds worse than any biter's shriek or even her own screams of bloody murder as he crumbles to the floor. The biters begin to close in even more, and she pushes Calliope into the bush to hide herself, and she begins to dart off in the opposite direction, diverting more of the undead towards her and away from the girl. As the scream of pain, and shrieks fill the air as the biters begin to devour into their meal of the man, and the others limp towards her. She realizes that the truck stopped and the doors fling open and Calliope enters. That foolish man is alive, and has a mode of transportation, good enough for her, she can take care of herself anyway, just wished she could have grabbed some food from that prison. Oh well, she's lived the life as a scavenger and she will continue doing that. She just wished she could hear Lance's voice once more as she ventures through the dark.

End of Scenario 6.

#9
As Marcus and the others carefully travel around the Zed filled trench, heading towards the fortress. He motions them to stop as he sees a pair of headlights approaching from the other end. Seems like the owners are returning back to their home, or so he thought as they continue down the road away from their location. Why are they heading away from Black Mountain though, is what questioning him, there is nothing but a horde of Zeds south from them, a horde of Zed that are approaching him and the pick up truck.

"Oh fuck, we gotta move you two, that truck won't make it!"

Marcus hops on his bike and brings it to life as he wheelies out into the night towards the truck, honking his horn repeatedly.

"Yeah that's right just bring more to our location Marcus."

#9

Just as the two started their bikes, Haleigh motioned to Joe. "I am all for expanding the group, but tread with caution this time. We don't know what's in that truck, and we don't know if what's inside is friendly. Got it?"

Joe gave her a simple salute, and unsheathed his sword. Haleigh caught up to Marcus, yelling. "If we sense one little hint of unfriendliness, we are leaving. We can't save everyone."

That said, Haleigh fell back next to Joe and the two trailed cautiously and a very safe distance behind Marcus, approaching the truck.

#9

Evelyn felt a wave of relief sweep through her as Scarlett blearily opened her eyes. If it was not for the uncertainty of their escape, she would have been ecstatic to see that her fellow slave's hands were not bound; without the ability to move her hands, the dangerous plan swirling in Evelyn's mind would never be able to come to fruition without Scarlett's aid.

"Make... sure... you... jump..." she whispered.

She opened her eyelids a fraction more, concentrating on the guard's face. Once his eyes had moved away, she would begin her reckless stunt. She felt guilty at the idea of playing so carelessly with her own life and possibly Scarlett's life, but she was certain that they would both rather die than be subjected to the humiliation and torture that these raiders had prepared.

Evelyn pressed the back of her head hard into the floor and kicked her legs up forcefully, landing perfectly on the balls of her toes. The swift execution of her maneuver meant that the guard did not have enough time to register what was happening; he attempted to swing his gun around but it was too late.

"GRAB THE GUN!" she screamed at Scarlett before colliding headfirst into the raider's chest.

The two of them tumbled over the edge of the pick up truck and slammed into the tarmac with sickening thuds, the momentum causing them to roll repeatedly across the floor. Evelyn scrambled up to her feet and smashed her foot against the raider's skull before he could get up.

#9

"Jump?" Scarlett whispered, confused. At the sound of movement, she turned around and gasped, seeing Evelyn get up and go head on with the guy that had been riding in the back with them. She let out a scream as she ran to the end of the truck and watched both of them hit the pavement.

She knew if she didn't jump now, the others would get the upper hand, but she was terrified of breaking anything. Scarlett climbed over the back end of the truck and took a deep breath, pushing herself off and curling up as she covered her face.

She didn't know what to expect when she hit the ground, but either way she knew it wouldn't be pleasant. The sound of tires screeching made her get up and behind running although she was dizzy and slightly unaware of her surroundings. Her tunnel vision zoomed in the raiders gun and she began sprinting towards it, her legs stumbling here and there. "They're back there!!" Scarlett heard the men but luckily for them, they sounded far enough to give them time. "Got it..." Scarlett grimaced at the sight of the man's bloody face as she took the weapon out of its loosely tied holster. "Here let me un....." The sound of shots being fired interrupted Scarlett and made her crouch down, pulling Evelyn with her.
Taking the safety off of the weapon, Scarlett opened fire on the men, mouthing a quiet prayer as she aligned her sights and hit the one coming from the drivers side in the chest twice and once straight through the mouth. The next man she only hit in the stomach once and in the thigh, leaving him on the ground, crying in pain.

"I need a word with that one." Scarlett stood up and made her way towards the man on the floor, the gun in an alert carry, pointed towards the ground. "Throw your gun, I don't want to kill any more people." The man glared at Scarlett as she commanded him, eventually cooperating and tossing the gun aside. She closed up on him and kicked it even further, her own weapon still ready just in case. "I wish Sam were here to see you." The man gave Scarlett a strange look and grabbed his stomach as he gasped for air. "I can help you.. I don't want any more deaths...." For a moment, the man looked hopeful, as if he believed her, Scarlett simply smiled and put her leg out in front of her. "But you'll have to kiss my shoe and apologize." The mans eyes widened as she repeated the same words he told Samantha and he closed his eyes, thinking for a brief moment before swallowing his pride and attempting to lean in to kiss her shoe.

She pulled her foot back and with a quick twist of her hips, she kicked the man in the face, knocking him out. "I'm afraid she won't be able to skin you alive, but I'm sure being eaten by the walkers while you're alive will suffice."

Placing the safety back on, she stuck the pistol in the back of her pants and grabbed the one she had kicked before quickly running back to Evelyn, small tears running down her face. She never thought that she would have a problem with killing people if need be, but when it came down to it, she saw that it was much harder than what she had thought. "Hurry, I think there's more coming I can hear engines. Let me untie you."

#9

"What in the fuck is going on?"

Marcus stares in bewilderment as he sees two women jump out of the back of the pick up, and roll around like rag dolls, apparently unharmed as well. As they take over the armed men and leaves them for dead, he comes to a halt a couple meters away. He takes a moment to analyze the situation, two girls taking down men with guns, one is being untied, Zed is approaching. Oh shit Zed is approaching the ladies and they don't realize it. He wields his pick once more and he zips down towards them, in hopes of making it in time. But just as he's about to, a man leaps out of the woods and takes down the undead with a lance? This is getting too much to take in right now.

"What is going on here?"

#9

Evelyn recoiled in horror as bullets tore through the driver's body, copious amounts of blood spewing out of the gaping aperture in the back of his head. She watched the entire spectacle silently, unsure of what to think as Scarlett exacted her revenge upon the man who had humiliated her sister. Evelyn felt deep resentment towards this man; Samantha had not been the only one who had been degraded by him.

It was an ironic form of justice, she reflected, as the man leaned forward and kissed Scarlett's blood-stained boots. Although the spectacle made her slightly uncomfortable, revenge certainly was sweet. It was this man who had manhandled her so callously and it was his goon, the driver, who had almost knocked Levi's head off his shoulders as he attempted to defend her.

She stared at the floor, absorbed in her thoughts but still maintaining enough sensory awareness to hear the sound of a sharp blow and a thud; Scarlett had likely knocked the man out. She glanced up to confirm it, blinking slowly at the sight of the raider sprawled out on the ground with what looked like a completely broken nose. How had it come to this? It didn't seem too long ago that she and Levi had found themselves a new group. Two sets of capable sisters and one of them had been the same age as her students.

She thought about where the rest of the group had been taken and wondered if they had been lucky enough to escape like she and Scarlett had. They weren't out of the woods yet, but the difficult part was over. There was no doubt that the two of them were fully capable of handling themselves alone but, together, they made a formidable team. This realisation caused Levi's previous attempt at gallantry to sting even more. Did he feel that she was a dainty damsel in distress, in need of his protection?

This was an inappropriate time to cogitate on matters like these. Levi simply cared about her, as friends should do. His actions weren't a reflection of her weakness... Or so she hoped.

She got up to her feet as Scarlett ran over to her, holding her hands out so that her wrists could be untied. She caught a glimpse of the tears that ran down Scarlett's face and felt deep pity at the things she was having to do. Who had she been in her previous life? It didn't matter any more. That person was long gone and, in her place, there was a woman barely clinging to the last vestiges of her humanity. A struggle that the two shared.

"We're still killing them." she said in a hollow voice, looking down at the dirty blonde hair on the back of Scarlett's head as she worked to loosen the knots in the rope bound around Evelyn's wrists. "You know that, right? We're leaving them here, fresh meat out in the open. There's no difference between that and putting a bullet in their heads."

The rope slid around her wrists and fell to the floor with a soft thump. Barely able to breathe a sigh of relief, Evelyn sensed two points of danger in quick succession. In the corner of her vision, she saw a stranger astride a motorbike approaching them. She snapped her head to the right to look behind her, seeing another man a few dozen metres away driving a lance through a walker's skull.

She deftly grabbed the gun in Scarlett's hand, knowing that she still had one in her back pocket, and pointed it directly at Marcus' head.

"Take care of the other one, Scarlett. We're not going through this bullshit again." she said firmly, turning her head to address Marcus directly. "We're leaving here in that pick-up truck. I don't care who or what you are, just stay out of our way and I promise not to put a bullet through your skull."