[IC] The Dead and the Dying

[Sol Grim]

Blake stayed at the entrance. He was to keep an eye on the outside, and to bring up the van in case of an emergency. Dallen and Gwen made quick work of their time, talking little and moving quickly. Their packs were both half way full of medicines when they could hear the helicopter from outside. Gwen ran to a window and looked out, seeing the shadow of it pass by over the building.

"What's he doing?" Gwen muttered. She saw Blake running from his post and after the helicopter. She quickly pulled out her radio. "-Blake! Blake, what's going on?-"

Blake chased after the chopper as it flew by overhead. He was waving his arms and trying to get its attention. He ran over to the top of the hill, but it was gone just as quickly as it had appeared. Breathing heavily, he grabbed his radio to respond. "-Military helicopter just flew by.- -They didn't see me.-"

"Good," Dallen said.

"-Get back to your post!-" Gwen said in the radio.

"-We might have a problem-" Blake replied back. From the vantage point of the hill he was now on, he could see down the quarry on the other side. There were hundreds of vultures flying in circles in the air, the smell of rot and death passing by with the wind changes. Blake climbed the hill a bit further to see what was below the birds. Hundreds of the undead, all seemingly motionless and all huddled together as one giant crowd. Without flesh to eat, they all seemed to stay still. Other walkers wandered off here and there, but altogether they moved as one massive force.

"-What's the problem?-" Gwen asked.

"-I think I found where the town people ended up-" he replied.

The helicopter came back, as it circled around the quarry and seemed to take a good look at the horde of undead within in. The loudness from the blades of the chopper stirred the crowd of walkers, and they all took notice to it as it again flew away. Blake watched in fear as the helicopter passed by over his head again, and as the undead started all moving in his direction. It took seconds for one of the walkers to spot him, and instantly it let out a shriek into the air that could be heard within the hospital. Blake's eyes widened as the herd started to move, slowly at first, but then faster and faster as they went. Dropping the radio, Blake ran his ass off back toward the van. He made it in and started it up, but the dead were already about to reach him. Instead of driving back to pick up the others, he took off on his own. Through the rear view mirror, he watched as the horde of infected swarmed the entire hospital building. He stepped on the gas harder and sped off.

Dallen and Gwen didn't need to speak to know what was happening. They both ran back down the stairs and to the entrance to meet up with Blake and the van, making it just in time to watch him drive off. "He left us?" Gwen said.

"Move!" Dallen shouted. The infected ran toward the entrances and windows, smashing through them with relative ease. The two ran down the halls, closing and barricading doors with whatever was available to them. They made it to a nursing room and hid, hearing the dead scratching at the walls all around them.

"We're trapped," Gwen said, just now realizing that she had dropped her radio.

[moonfaerie]

Since she was only begrudgingly tagging along because Erin had asked her to, Elizabeth didn't have any objections. Her mind was elsewhere as Kenjen broke down the plan, but she'd managed to catch just enough so she wouldn't have to ask any questions. After handing out weapons to protect themselves with, they piled inside the van. Kenjen and Gwen took the front seat with Dallen and Lucy next. That left her in the back with Blake who shamelessly kept his eyes on the woman in the front the entire time. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

Arriving at the hospital they broke up into their groups and went their separate ways. Leaves littered the entrance to the hospital where the doors had been propped open. The only light in the building came from the windows which made the hallway in front of them pitch black. It gave her the creeps. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as every little sound managed to alert her. A squirrel stood on one of the tables eating a nut before scurrying away. “Why am I always going into the dark and scary places?” she muttered to herself. From hiding out in the sewers, trekking in the tunnels beneath the church, and now an abandoned hospital—her life had somehow turned into every bad horror movie ever made within the last four days.

Glancing over when Kenjen said her name, she felt herself relax a little when he mentioned Erin. “No,” she replied. A smile gracing her face when he mentioned that the girl trusted her, she said, “She just likes everyone.” There wasn't a person they'd come across yet that the girl hadn't taking a liking or a trust to—which was a bit concerning if they ever came across the wrong people. Fortunately, she was a good listener and, so far, the little girl seemed to respect her authority and listen when she told her to do something. She only hoped it would stay that way. “I do have a son though,” she admitted, refusing to use the past tense. “Maybe it's my maternal instincts.”

Though a thought occurred to her that hadn't before. What about Erin? Since the little girl had lost both of her parents, Elizabeth had been the one taking care of her. Being trapped together, the two had developed a bond. But she couldn't in good conscience take her away from the safety of a place like the ranger station to drag her along on a mission that Elizabeth would probably never even finish. Then again, she couldn't just leave her there either.

A loud shriek echoing in the distance from the other side of the building interrupted her thoughts and sent a chill down her spine. “Shit,” she hissed. Under the impression that the hospital was empty, she knew with how fast those things were they didn't have a lot of time. Since Lucy was busy packing up supplies in her own bag, Elizabeth tossed her own in her direction so the woman could keep the momentum going. Pulling out the weapon, she pointed it towards the ground as she readied herself for anything. Moving towards one of the widows, she peered out through the blinds just in time to see Blake scrambling to get in the van. “Why is he-” she started to say only for it to suddenly dawn on her what was happening. “That mother-!” she yelled out, her voice echoing through the empty hallways. The dead right on his heels, the large group was close enough to the hospital to engulf it.

As fast as she could, Elizabeth ran towards the open doors and shut them, pushing the lock up to keep it secured although it wouldn't hold for long if they decided to press against the door due to the sheer amount of them out there. With no sign of Dallen or Gwen anywhere, she hoped they were somehow still alive. Without any time to dwell on it, she went back to her own team. “We gotta go,” she told them, looking back towards the doors as they started to bow from the weight on the other side.

[Sol Grim]

"Relax," Dallen said to Gwen, who seemed to be going in and out of shock. Dallen could see the poor girl was absolutely terrified. She may have been a runner, but she was lucky enough so far as to not come across the undead. The idea of coming along seemed courageous as words, but everything changed when a horde was after you. "You're going to be fine. Put these on." He handed her a surgical mask to cover her mouth with. "Only use your gun if you have to, aim for the head."

Dallen pulled out his glock and readied himself by the door. He paused and listened to the footsteps on the outside, which were faint and few.

"What, we're going out there!?" Gwen asked as she slid the mask on her face. "Are you insane?"

"The main entrance is breached," he responded. "Soon, these halls will be flooded with them. We head to the south entrance, try to find the others on the way."

"And what if that's full of the dead, too?"

"Then we find a room and wait it out, stay close," he said.

"What are you, military?" Gwen wondered. "A cop?"

"Lawyer."

He opened the door and they moved out.

...

Kenjen tried to reach the others via radio, but all he received back was static. The trio made their way toward the middle of the hospital, where all signs led to nowhere. The only thing they could do was go up, but once they reached the top there would be no way out. Still Kenjen was optimistic.

"If we lock ourselves in the cafeteria, at least we'll have food for awhile," he said, as the three of them ran down hall after hall until they were all lost. The hospital was massive and was built like a giant labyrinth.

The grunt and moan of a walker sounded off just down the hall, in the pitch black. Kenjen froze in place, realizing just how close it was. Then, suddenly, something attacked the walker. The thud of it falling to the ground was the last thing heard, until Dallen and Gwen came out from the shadows.

"Dallen!" Lucy said with a deep sigh. "That asshole Blake left us all!"

"He was probably terrified," Gwen stated, as she was herself. Though she still wasn't sure why she just stuck up for him. "We all are."

The glass from the entrance finally broke in, and the undead were now on the inside at both the north and south entrances of the building. The dead ran through the halls mindlessly seeking out human flesh.

"The cafeteria?" Kenjen added a destination.

"Yeah, help me drag this corpse," Dallen said, walking over to the walker and grabbing its arms to pull it.

"What...?" Kenjen started.

"Just do it," Dallen said.

Lucy and Gwen closed the security gates of the cafeteria once they entered it, as Dallen and Kenjen carried the walker in with them. Elizabeth was tasked in bringing the bed sheets, the gloves and masks, and to cut head-holes in each sheet for them to wear. Lucy and Gwen joined in helping her once the gate was securely shut.

"What exactly are we doing?" Kenjen asked as he stared down at the corpse he just helped carry in, trying his best not to gag from the sight of it.

"We should wait until morning, the dead will start to disperse if they can't find us by then," Dallen said. "Then we cover ourselves in guts, and walk out of here."

"Oh really just that simple then," Kenjen added.

"Yeah, really," Dallen said. "It masks our smell. I've done it before. We just, have to wait this out. The less of them out there, the easier it will be." He lit up a cigarette and chose a corner to sit down at. He was already sure that everything would work out.

"I hope you're right, mister," Kenjen said and took a corner of his own.

Dallen rested his head against the wall as Lucy came up and sat next to him. She said no words, and just layed her head against his shoulder while holding his free hand. It was her way of telling him that she would follow him no matter what.

"Everyone get some rest," Dallen ended with.

[moonfaerie]

Everyone adjourned to their own corners in the room for the night. Elizabeth used a couple of the extra sheets she'd brought as a blanket and her arm as a pillow, but despite being more comfortable than she had been since all of this had begun, she still had trouble getting to sleep. The images of people being ripped to shreds were vivid in her mind preventing her from getting ample rest. The sounds of moaning and light breathing from those surrounding the building was also distracting. Expecting for this to be a quick run for supplies, her mind drifted to Erin. She hoped the little girl wasn't too worried about them. Though Elizabeth didn't know if they would make it out of here alive, she knew she was going to do her best to get back in one piece.

Unable to get much sleep, Elizabeth was one of the first ones up. Browsing the back of the cafeteria, though it looked like people had left in a hurry, they'd managed to take some of the more important essentials with them. There wasn't much food left behind, most of it going bad as the refrigerator had lost power days ago. The only thing she could find that was edible were a few bulk sized cans of beans, mixed fruit, and collard greens. It must have been more than they could carry to take it with them. Glancing back towards the doors to the cafeteria where she could hear the dead shambling around, she wondered if they'd managed to use the supplies they'd taken or if they'd turned before managing to do so.

Opening one of the cans, she ate enough to keep her fueled hopefully until they made it out and got back to the ranger station. With the amount of those things outside the door, she didn't think they'd be able to take the few cans they'd found without drawing attention. Though Dallen said they could sneak by unnoticed by covering themselves with their stench—and she'd been there when he'd found it out, so she knew he was telling the truth—they didn't know just how much it would camouflage them. Doing anything out of the ordinary, like carrying large cans of food, might draw unwanted attention. Which was a shame considering every little bit they found would be useful.

Preparing for the trek into the fray, she slipped the sheet over her head in the hole she'd cut out and tested the fit. It was long enough to dangle down to her ankles which would give a decent amount of coverage without posing the danger of tripping. The plan was to lather themselves, or more accurately cover the sheets, in gore and guts to make it through the crowd without drawing attention to themselves. Then she planned to beat the shit out of Blake for leaving them stranded when they got back.

Seeing other people start to wake up, she offered them a greeting. Arms crossed in front of her as she leaned with her back against the wall, she was ready to high-tail it out of there as fast as she could. But with everyone just waking up, she knew she was going to have to wait for them while they prepared. Not saying a word, she was silently rushing. Her eyes focused on the cadaver as if to tell them to hurry so they could get on with it.

[Sol Grim]

DAY 5

They all had nightmares that night. When they woke, each of them had a small sense of feeling that none of this was real. That they were safe with everyone they loved back at home and all would be well. The sudden realization that they were surrounded by undead came haunting back at them, as did the smell from the dead body in the room.

Dallen awoke next. He had nightmares of his daughter being killed again and again. How he couldn't save her. It didn't matter to him whether he lived or died anymore, all he wanted to do was keep moving. He wasn't just going to give up, it wasn't in him to do so. He ate some peaches as his girlfriend Lucy woke up. She immediately put two fingers to her temple to stop the incoming headache, then she covered her face to block out the smell of death. Dallen notioned with his hands for her to eat, but she nodded it off with a disgusted look.

Kenjen woke up on the floor, the first thing he saw being Gwen. She was still asleep, but he couldn't help but to marvel at her beauty. Suddenly Gwen opened her eyes and caught him staring at her.

"Uhh, I wasn't...ummm," Kenjen started.

"Good morning, Kenjen," she said with a smile, until she rose up and remembered their situation. "...nevermind, I take back the good morning part."

"I know, I'm not even sure how we all slept," Kenjen replied. "Must have been the exhaustion."

As everyone either tried to eat something or not, Lucy took Dallen aside. "I want you to know that I love you," Lucy told him, stern and bold. "You don't have to say it back, I just wanted you to know." She also wanted to go on a little longer about his daughter, and how she was trying so hard to get earn her trust. She knew Dallen would shut her down, so she stopped it there.

"Lucy, everything's changed now," he started, but she just walked away. She understood, and was ready to do what needed to be done.

"What if things go bad?" Kenjen asked as the group gathered around the corpse, all now wearing the bedsheets around their clothing. "I mean, I'm pretty confident that things are going to go bad."

"Stay close and blend in," Gwen stated.

"Things go south, kill as many of them as you can before they take you out," Dallen said. "Shall we?"

Dallen slammed his axe down on the corpse, bringing it back up and repeating. Guts and blood spilt all around, and those watching on started to feel sick to their stomachs. The insides were spread all over everyone, and when they realized they needed more guts, they brought a few walkers into the cafeteria and took them down with ease. The hospital seemed to have far less of the walkers roaming around, as was at least evident from looking down the hallway. The windows to the cafeteria were too high on the ceiling to see what the real situation was like outside, and they also had filters on them to taint the view. The group had little choice but to just go for it while they were at the ready.

Using the medical supplies they had, such as gloves and protective facewear, they each covered themselves up with the gore. After Kenjen was done hacking away all over himself, they made out for their escape. Dallen lead the way with Lucy right beside him. They headed down the corridors toward the eastern gate entrance. When they arrived to the exit, everything seemed dark outside. The crowd of the undead was still roaming, all aimlessly. However Dallen was right, as there were much fewer of them. The group would be able to move between them in a line, assuming everything worked. Dallen even started having second thoughts.

" Get as far as you can, then head north," Dallen gave them all the direction with his finger. "Try to stay together, or at least within proximity. If you go down, you're on your own."

"What!?" Gwen almost said louder than their whisper voices. "You failed to mention that bit!"

"If you help someone that goes down, they will get you," he said and went to the double doors, quietly prying them open until they were. "You all know what to do."

Dallen walked out first, trying his best to mimic the undead's movements and motions while they weren't hunting flesh. They simple just stayed around the same area, stumbling or slightly moving in one direction or another. None of them noticed Dallen, and so the rest of the group joined. It was hard for them to stay together, as quickly one by one they all were forced to avoid the undead. None of them were noticed though, and they were all still within sight. As horrible as it was, it looked like they were going to make it. Dallen could already see the other side of the horde, where the trees stood tall and looming.

Then, the sky above them opened up. As the group were nearing the end of the horde, rain began to pour from above. The skies were already grey, but they grew darker as the rain grew more and more.

"It's gonna wash the scent off!" kenjen whispered, feeling bits and pieces of flesh falling off from him.

"Keep moving!" Dallen whispered.

Suddenly the rain became a harsh pour, as it flowed rapidly and hard. Gwen looked down at herself and realized that all of the guts and blood was completely washed off of her soaking sheet. She started to panic, but still kept moving. A few of the undead nearest to them would sniff or lick at the air, but the rain was able to mask a lot of their scent as well. However, it would not last very long, as one walker started to become suspect. The thing started to stalk Gwen, still unsure of what it was smelling or sensing. It then moved in to take a bite from her shoulder, but she stopped it dead with a long knife to its forehead. The other undead started to take notice, not only of Gwen but of all of them now. The scent was fading from them.

"Keep moving!" Dallen said. If they could just make it to the tall trees, there would only be a few of the undead after them. They could easily take them out, then be on their merry way. The walkers were slow and stumbly, as they weren't so good with moving in the wet rain. However, they didn't need to rest.

"The ambulance in the lot!" Gwen shouted. "They leave the keys in them!" She instantly started her way toward one, taking out a few walkers in her path. Kenjen followed her, trying his best to protect her by taking out a few himself.

Before Dallen could respond, the two were already running off with a straight line toward a parked ambulance vehicle. Kenjen guarded as Gwen opened up the driver side door. She was right, the keys were even in the ignition. She hopped in and started it up, not realizing the walker from the back of the ambulance was coming toward her. It pushed its head through the hole that separated the front and back of the ambulance, then took a large bite into the back of Gwen's neck. She screamed and fumbled with the buttons, accidentally turning on the emergency lights and sirens. All of the undead turned their attention toward them.

"Gwen!!" Kenjen yelled in horror as he watched the walker from the back rip a piece of Gwen's neck off. Gwen managed to stab the attacker with her knife to take it out, however she could feel the infection already coursing through her veins. Kenjen had no choice but to leave her, and so he ran to attempt another of the parked ambulances nearby.

Gwen then closed herself in the vehicle and took off, leading herself and the horde away from the others. One last attempt to help people, but it was only seconds later that she lost control of her feelings and senses. The only thing she could feel was the intense pain of her ripped flesh at her neck. Her insides felt like they were exploding, and all she could do was lay across the seat and turn.

Right when they were about to reach the start of the trees, Lucy screamed in horror. She had taken out two of the walkers, but a third came out from her view and sunk its teeth deep into her right forearm. She shoved the thing off of her and sunk her knife deep into its skull, falling over to the ground with it as she did the motion.

Dallen hacked a walker's head off with his axe, then sliced another down as he witnessed Lucy go down. She was now on her knees, looking up to him from a distance with a few walkers in between them.

"Dallen, I..." Lucy started, but they swarmed her. She was taken to the dirt as numerous walker's tore her apart, ripping at her flesh and tearing off her limbs one after the other. She hardly had any time to scream, as her throat was ripped from her early on.

Dallen stopped and stared, almost running over to her to attempt to help. It happened so fast, just like that she was turned into nothing. The attention of the walkers turned to her corpse, and the sounds coming from the ambulance in the parking lot. Dallen almost felt stuck in place, but within seconds he kicked back into it and kept moving toward the trees. Turning to his side he could see that Elizabeth was the only one left with him, though they weren't exactly out of it yet either. There were still a small group of hungry walkers moving toward them, the rain still pounding down on all.

"We have to fight!" Dallen shouted. He tore off his sheet of guts and raised his axe as they approached. One after the other, he swung hard, clean shots at all of their heads. He took the heads clean off of the first three, then started slashing and pushing until they dwindled in numbers. "Come on!" He ran up the hill and into the tall trees, taking out any other walkers nearby.

By the end of it, only the two of them stood there atop the hill in the forest, looking back at the chaos they just left behind. Still, they weren't out of it. Groups of the undead still pursued them, but the rain caused the ground to turn into a thick, muddy paste. It helped keep a majority of the dead back from climbing the hill.

"Look!" Dallen pointed toward the large lot of the hospital. An ambulance drove through the undead and headed up to the road that went deeper into the mountains. Dallen quickly flagged the driver down, unsure of who was inside.

"Get in!" Kenjen yelled, and so they did. They piled into the front together and sped off as fast as the ambulance would take them.

No words needed to be said, as they all knew that the other two didn't make it. It wasn't the time to talk about it, it was time to keep moving.

"That horde might head after us, all the way back to the ranger station," Kenjen pointed out. "We can't stay there anymore."

Dallen said nothing, all he could think about was Lucy and Gwen. How they were just killed. His daughter. Everyone was dying around him, and he felt cold to it all. Finally, after a long beat, he replied, "We head north, the cold might slow them down."

Kenjen nodded, but couldn't stop thinking of the deaths they just witnessed either. Poor Gwen, he thought. They had lost two, but they still managed to retain all three of their medical bags filled with medicines. A harsh price to pay, but it opened his eyes on what the world was like now.

Dallen tried to hold it in, but tears started to run down his face. He buried his head in his hand as they drove down the long, dark road. When they finally reached the ranger station's area, the sky again seemed to change. The storm still raged on, but within it, at the top of the peak where the station was, a fog loomed. Lightning crackled all around, turning what was once day into the dark of night. The fog appeared to be a radiation storm, similar to the one that haunted the city of Mecha at the start of all this.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Kenjen stated.

[moonfaerie]

It had been chaos. Both Gwen and Lucy were dead. Running on pure adrenaline, there hadn't been a window of opportunity to process what had happened. With a moment to breathe and the horde somewhere behind, only now could they feel the weight of their most recent loss. Sitting between the men, she could tell the women's deaths hit them hard. It put Elizabeth in an uncomfortable position since she didn't what to say—if anything at all—to console them. Keeping an eye on Dallen as he buried his head in his hands, she hesitantly reached out for him to show some type of support before withdrawing her hand and letting it fall back in her lap. She barely knew him.

Whether she'd done the right thing by letting him be or not, she didn't have much time to think about it as a new problem was quick to arise. Leaning forward, she craned her neck to peer out the window. Lightning flickered across the sky as the fog slowly enveloped the area. Having witness the effects of the fog first hand in Mecha city, she could feel a knot of dread twisting in the pit of her stomach. It was just one bad thing after the other. Elizabeth had been hoping to catch a break from all of the fighting and running to sit down with Erin.

With a loud gasp, she suddenly reached to clasp her hand on Dallen's shoulder. “Erin,” she said. “We need to find Erin!” Maybe it made her a worse person, but she could have cared less about anyone else at the ranger station. Right now, that little girl was her main priority and those people weren't anything other than strangers. Getting everyone out alive on such short notice would be impossible. The best they could hope to do was escape before people started dying and turning into whatever those things were.

As soon as the ambulance stopped at the ranger station, Elizabeth had already reached over Dallen to open the door and was clamoring over him to get out first. The abnormal change in weather had people curious more than anything as to what was happening. They gathered around outside, pointing at the sky marveling at the anomaly. None of them were prepared for the horror and devastation that were soon to follow.

Cupping her hand to the side of her mouth to amply her voice, she yelled, “Erin!” Her eyes scanned the area for the little girl hoping to find her before things got worse. Unable to see her anywhere, she called again. “Erin!”

“Lizzy!” A small high-pitched voice called behind her. Elizabeth whirled around, kneeling down with her arms open. The girl ran into them, allowing her to pick her up in her arms. They hugged each other tightly. As she pulled back, she could see the look of fear etched on Erin's face. “The sky,” she said. Her voice wavered as she tilted her head back to look at the streaks of lightning brightening the darkness brought on by the clouds. “It's like it was at home.”

“I know,” Elizabeth said. “That's why we're gonna get the hell out of here before things get any worse.” Erin gave an understanding nod before Elizabeth sat her back on the ground. Following closely behind, Erin suddenly found herself frozen as one by one the people around them began succumbing to the fog. Erin cowered in fear, whimpering, while Elizabeth held her arms out trying to shield her as they stood in the middle of the crowd.

[Sol Grim]

The community at the ranger station all started to turn, one after the next. Each of them hunched over in agony, their insides burned as the virus infected them from breathing in the fog. Dallen and Kenjen both paused briefly as Elizabeth ran to embrace Erin, cautious stances from the two. The fog grew thicker and made it harder to see, but even with the air covered they could still hear the others that were dying. Their screams pierced the darkened morning sky, all throughout the camp.

"How come we're not dying, too?" Kenjen managed to ask in the middle of it all.

Then Dallen remembered what happened back at the court house, when he was stuck outside briefly in the fog. It didn't effect him then or now, as well as Kenjen or Elizabeth and Erin. This fog was some kind of biological virus, he quickly assumed, and somehow they were immune to it.

"I don't know," was the quick reply. Dallen put himself in front of Elizabeth and the little girl, kneeling down to give her a quick little hug. "Follow me."

He started to lead them back toward the ambulance they had just arrived from, but the gatewatchers that had turned were already approaching from that side. They lunged in from the cover of the fog, as Dallen shot them down one after the other. Then they came from the rear, one of them nearly snapping into Kenjen as he was faced the other way, but Erin tugged his shirt giving him just enough time to come to his senses. Kenjen slid out of harm's way, bringing his pistol up to shoot the attackers face off.

"Thanks," he couldn't help but to say.

As more walkers started to close in, a barrage of gunfire erupted to halt them in their place. Briggs, Steven, and the pastor came out from the mist, all heavily armed and still amongst the living.

"Are you all that's left?" Kenjen asked pastor Book.

"No," Leroy Book responded. "The others are in the van, we came back for you!"

"We'll follow," Kenjen said.

Kenjen, Dallen, Elizabeth and Erin all piled into the ambulance again, as Briggs and the others got into their church van. Everyone else had turned into the undead, all running around blindly in the mist searching for human flesh. The mist served as a cloak for the survivors as they drove down the mountain and away from the chaos. By the time the two vehicles reached the base, the fog that loomed over them was already gone. The sky was still grey and the rain still dribbled, but the storm seemed to pass as well.

It all left a bad feeling in the pit of Dallen's stomach. He wasn't sure of what was sure, all he knew was that the odds were against them all. They had shelter at the ranger station, as well as food and drink. Now, all they had was the medicine they managed to keep with them from the hospital scavenge.

"If the virus is airborne, why are we still alive?" Kenjen couldn't help but to ask, he was sitting in the passenger seat as Dallen drove, the church van was just before them on the road.

Suddenly the church van came to a screetching halt, and so forced Dallen to stop the ambulance in the same manner. A bright light shined over them all, and the sound of a helicopter's blades whipped through the air until it was all that could be heard. Everyone got out of the vehicles as the chopper landed, a full squad of armored and masked soldiers hopping out and taking aim at the ranger station survivors. Then a megaphone sounded out for all to hear: "Lower your weapons, get down on your knees."

After a brief thought, Briggs nodded to the rest to comply. There were far more of the soldiers than them, and so they threw down their weapons and knelt to the wet ground. Dallen took a good look around while he could, not of the enemy but of his own group. Riley was still alive he saw, and so was Ethan and Blake. All of them looked scared shitless. Then the soldiers covered all of their faces with bags, as well as tied their hands behind their backs with rope. They were taken into one of the helicopters, then flown up into the air.

"Who are..." Briggs started, but was socked in his gut from one of the soldiers before he could finish.

It was silence for awhile. When Ethan spoke out about having to use the bathroom, he was smacked in the face with the butt of a rifle. Then more silence. Then more. Hours passed, so many that Dallen lost track of time. The group all had no choice but to wear the bags on their heads and go along with it. The only thing they were left with to pass the time was their own thoughts.

Eventually they stopped, just when it felt like it might go on forever. The helicopter landed somewhere, and the group was taken out. After following wherever the soldiers led them, they ended up on an elevator that took them down. It was a long way down, but not quite as long as the helicopter ride. When they reached the bottom, the group was taken into small cages, all side by side from one another. Their bags were removed and they were left in complete darkness.

The floor was stone and it was cold, and the area surrounded them all felt clamped and crammed. The only sound in the room was the breathing of the others, all of them trying to grasp a hold on everything that was happening to them. Then Dallen lit his zippo lighter, lighting up the area around him. They were all their together, all of them in singular cages side by side, like dog cages in a pet store.

"What the fuck is going on!?" Ethan managed to get out, his eyes half filled with tears.

"End of the line," Dallen muttered aloud.

[moonfaerie]

Elizabeth had no idea what was going on, but the cage they had her locked in was uncomfortable. Fingers poking out of the space between the metal bars, she took a look around to find everyone else was locked in a cage too. At least she had more room in her cage due to her smaller stature than some of the bulkier men like that asshole Blake. She caught sight of Erin sitting on one side of the cage with her knees pulled up to her chest rocking back and forth. Catching her gaze the girl paused before she moved to crawl towards the front of the cage. The woman offered her a reassuring smile.

Though she was just as afraid as everyone else, Elizabeth knew that she had a little girl watching her every move; she had to remain an outward calm appearance even if Ethan spoke her thoughts. If she'd known that she was going to be locked up then she would have kept a bobby pin with her.

“So you're just going to give up?” she asked, looking over at Dallen's cage. These people obviously weren't friendly if they were keeping them locked up like this. The man seemed almost resigned to his fate, but Elizabeth didn't want to sit and wait around for whoever had captured them to come back and do something worse. They needed to get out of there fast and figure out what the hell was going on.

[Sol Grim]

Day 6 morning

"Of course not," Dallen replied, closing the zippo and bringing them back into darkness. "Anyone have a lockpick?"

"Yeah," Ethan spoke up as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He suddenly had a new realization of hope, as he pulled a pick from his belt. Luckily the military men left them all alone with whatever they had on them. "Almost forgot." He immediately began working on his lock. "I used to break in to places, so sue me."

"We didn't say anything, brotha," Briggs chimed in. "You get us out of here, I'll praise you forever as the greatest theif that ever lived."

"Someone's coming," Riley quickly said.

Ethan put his pick away as bright lights suddenly lit up the room. Everyone all had to experience the blindness together, taking some time for the majority to adjust to the sudden change. The steel door at the end of the room opened, and in walked three armed military men. They walked to the center of the room as a few more soldiers entered the room and stood. Two of them approached the cages and opened them all, one by one. The group was pulled out and lined up in a half circle, all of them forced on their knees.

From left to right, Riley, Briggs, Steven Burwell, Erin, Ethan, Elizabeth, Pastor Leroy Book, Kenjen, Blake and finally Dallen.

The seemingly eldest of the soldiers stood firm in the center of everyone, two of his trusted men on either side of him. "My name is General Brooks, these two here are private's Cole and Peterson. We are the United States military, well, at least what's left of it. You will not speak unless spoken to, or there will be consequences. Every action has a reaction.

"Now, you're probably wondering why we dragged all of you way the fuck to the middle of nowhere. It's quite simple, really. I'll give you the jist of it, pictures included!" The general twirled one of his fingers and one of his men pushed in a projector into the room. "I'm more of a visual learner myself." He paused only to cough and clear his throat. "I know we just got adjusted to the light, but we're going back to the dark." Another wave, and the lights shut off, save for the projector screen. It was blank for the moment.

"Now, as you may know," he started again. "There are people dying and coming back to life, then they're eating everyone else. Kinda strange, if I do say so myself. The jist of it is, the world is at war. My men and I have been assigned to SG17-KV, otherwise known as the Hive. A military research facility built 70 miles under the surface. You are currently in the lowest level of the Hive, there is no escape.

"This facility was created for one purpose, and one purpose only. Create biological weapons of mass destruction for the United States of America."

"'Murica!" Private Cole shouted. His eyes were wide as he looked down each one of the prisoners.

"So when we heard that the President of our great nation decided to shut us down, we did the only thing we could," the General continued again. "We started world war 3."

"You started this?" Dallen couldn't help but to speak out. "You're all insane."

Cole almost rushed in to shut Dallen up, but general Brooks stopped him with a single motion.

"I can see how you might assume such, from a civilian point of view," Brooks said. "Mecha City was an accident. One of many missiles malfunctioned and came back on our soil. The mist is under our control. Ready for the big reveal? You, yes all of you, have the cure within you. I don't know how or why, hell I don't care. All I know, is my men have been ordered to watch Mecha City survivors. Something in your blood makes you immune to the virus, and now we need your blood to make an antitode. See, we're all here for a good cause. Perhaps the best cause of all, the cure."

A picture of the Hive they were all in came onto the projection.

"The entire military is behind this? The president?" Briggs spoke, not caring for the rule stated earlier about not speaking.

"No, no, no," the general sighed and pulled out his sidearm, aiming it at brigg's face. "The governement went dark on day 1, it's when everything started. It's been only six days since Mecha City was hit. In that time, we lost contact with the world. We took control into our own hands, and when everyone on the outside is dead, we will use the cure to make this world great again. Unfortunately, we'll be needing all of your blood to save the perfect humanity. See test subject number 13..."

The projection changed to a shirtless man, he was inside one of the cells they had all just been in. It took Dallen a moment to realize that it was Tyler, from back at the court building. Dallen looked to Elizabeth to see her reaction.

"It took us 12 subjects prior to the apocalypse to learn that we don't need to study your blood," the general said, lowering his sidearm back to its holster and pacing around the room. Private Peterson was handed a steel baseball bat, as he swung it around playfully a few times in the background. Private Cole had a wide smile across his face, as he knew they were getting to the good part. "All we need is the blood itself, and we've found out that the quickest and most efficient way to do that, is with private Peterson's friend there."

The private started to pump himself up, as everyone in the group started to realize that he was referring to the baseball bat.

"This is subject number 13 after the procedure," the general said as the projection changed to another image. It was of Tyler's corpse, his head caved in from the bat to where he was unrecognizable.

The soldier's all raised their rifles and aimed at the group, keeping them in place. Dallen was already clenching a fist, though he also realized there was little he could do.

"We dump the body with our research team, and they come up with this," the general held up a green vile, the antitode to the virus. "I'm telling you all this because I don't like to bullshit people, you get everything up front with me. Now, we need to reserve supply, so you're all going back into your cages until we need more. For right now, just one of you will do."

A white sheet was sprawled across the floor, as the general slowly walked past each one of them. He only shook his head at the sight of the little girl, then nodded his head as if he was ready to choose one of them.

"You're all heroes," the general said. "Kill that one."

The soldiers rushed forward and forced all of them back into their cells, all except the one he had picked to go first. There was little any of them could do as they were all helpless. All they could do was watch.

Riley was dragged onto the sheet. He was terrified, as thoughts of his family were all he could think about. Private Peterson stepped in and smashed his steel bat over the lawyer's head, knocking him over into a shaking frenzy. The private continuously bashed in his head until he was tired himself. Then the men rolled the corpse into the sheet and dragged him away. The lights shut off completely again.

[moonfaerie]

Before Ethan could get them out, the soldiers who'd locked them up had come back for them. Elizabeth scowled at them and while she had many things she wanted to say to them, she kept quiet for the time being; she had a feeling their threat wasn't one to be taken lightly. The man appeared to be overly excited about the prospect of explaining this to them via visual aides to the point Elizabeth had to roll her eyes; he acted more like a child than Erin did. Afraid to move very far from her original spot, she could see that she took to standing close to Ethan. The girl was practically his shadow for now.

Disgusted as she looked over at Private Cole, he was exactly the type of person she'd always hated. She'd become accustomed to assholes like him whenever she was with her ex. He wasn't American. In fact, he'd been with the British Armed Forces. His four year enlistment contract had ended a months before they'd met. As difficult and tumultuous as their relationship had been, it was thanks to him and his teachings that she was able to survive right now—and she only hoped that he was out there keeping their son safe as well.

Elizabeth's mouth fell open at the revelation. Even with them telling her their motives behind everything, she still couldn't understand why it mattered so much to them. What did it matter that the President was shutting them down? Was this a matter of greed and job security? A bunch of elitist nationalistic assholes that just wanted to see the rest of the world destroyed for no other reason? This was evil. There was no other word to describe it.

Staring at the screen when Tyler's picture showed up, she tried not to show any emotion. Even though she hadn't liked the guy, he was a jerk, that didn't mean she wanted anything bad to happen to him. He'd helped even when he didn't have to, like when he'd gone with them to save Erin. She glanced down at the little girl who looked horrified to see the man's image on the screen. She remembered him too. The image changed to a picture of his corpse and Erin squeaked, covering her mouth and looking away. Elizabeth clinched her fist so tight that she could feel her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands.

“This whole thing is bullshit,” Elizabeth finally snapped. “It's all pointless! You're just a bunch of power hungry egomaniacs on a power trip.” Held back only by the pastor from doing something she'd regret, she glared at the General as he walked by her. Even if she didn't really know the person he'd picked, she'd never spoken to him before, Elizabeth was livid at the thought of anyone dying. “You son of a bitch-” she yelled, moving to lunge forward. The soldiers descended on them all as she kicked and thrashed against them, plunging her teeth into the soft spot on his hand as he forced her back into the small cage.

Even when the lights were off and they had been sitting in the dark calming down after what they'd just seen, she was still fuming. “We need to get the hell out of here,” she said, even if she didn't need to.

“Lizzy,” Erin said, her voice shaking. It was obvious she was scared, but what surprised Elizabeth more was what she said next. “Don't make them mad.” She was worried that she might provoke them into doing something to her next.

She hadn't meant to scare her with her outburst. “I'm sorry, sweetie,” she told her. “It's just...what they're doing is wrong. I couldn't stay quiet.” Frowning with a grimace as she realized that probably wasn't a good apology, Erin was quiet as she seemed to contemplate what she'd said and take it to heart. She only hoped that the girl didn't hate her for speaking her mind—even if it meant she might get in trouble for it.

Not knowing how long it had been since their last visit, it was Private Cole who came back into the room this time with a couple other goons. One of the soldiers tapped on the cages, barking and mocking them as they passed by, before arriving at Elizabeth's cage. “This one,” he said, a lecherous grin on his face that made her stomach churn.

“No,” she stated, shirking back in her small cage, but they reached in to grab her by her feet and dragged her out. “No!” she yelled, trying to fight them off, but they were too strong. They dragged her through their comrade's blood streaking the floor and staining her clothes. Her desperate pleas for them to let her go echoed through the hallway until they'd finally had enough and, to make sure she was quiet, knocked her out.

[Sol Grim]

"Larson and Nelson. Or...you know, Nelson and Larson...?" Riley said with a sly grin.

"What about...Larson and associates?" Dallen replied, he couldn't hold his laugh in.

"Nelson and Larson it is," Riley said, ignoring everything Dallen had said.

The two of them were both in fine freshly tailored suits, looking into the blank office space they had just purchased to start their firm. It was not only the beginning of a successful lawfirm partnership, but it was the also the beginning of a great friendship. Dallen popped open the bottle of champagne and poured them both glasses.

"You think we'll make it?" Riley asked in a serious tone. He was confident in both of their abilities when it came to understanding justice and the legal system, yet nothing was ever certain.

"I know we will," Dallen said and clinked glasses with him. "We're survivors."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Present Day: Day 6

Dallen stared blankly as the general smashed his best friends face into the cold floor. His brains were scattered, pieces still left remaining in the room.

The room went dark again. Ethan immediately began working on his lockpick, while Dallen remained motonless, his eyes starting to tear. It felt to him as if the silence lasted forever, but then a click sound and a sigh from Ethan.

"I got it unlocked," he said, the kid was clearly good at thievery. "Lets get the fuck outta here!"

"No, they're watching the hallway and that's the only way out," Briggs said. "We have to wait until the timing is right, when there's less of them. We have to be quiet."

"What?" Blake spoke up from his cell. "What if the timing is never right? What if they kill us all like that, one by one. Someone new tomorrow, I don't wanna go out like that! I mean, what have we got to lose?"

"Blake, you got Lucy and Gwen killed," Dallen stated. "If we get out of this, I'm going to kill you."

Blake immediately became silent.

"Briggs is right, we wait."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Day 7

None of them slept well. Dallen dozed off for a moment or two, but to him it felt like he was awake the entire night. All he could think about was his daughter, and how he had failed her. Her voice rang into his head over and over again, her cries from when she was shot. His thoughts started to overlap reality for him. Dallen looked out onto the cold, dark floor and saw his daughter's dead corpse lying next to the bits and pieces of Riley's skull that still remained in the room. They were both dead, yet she still stood before him as if she were still alive. He wiped his eyes and smacked his head, and when he looked back toward her, she was gone. Was this even a reality anymore? Steven had thrown up in his cell, and that smell mixed with the flesh of Riley brought a reeking disgustful taste in his mouth.

Suddenly the lights flashed back on and the military rouges came back into the room. This time there were only three of them, led by private Cole. He quickly picked Elizabeth and they took her out of sight and down the hall. Dallen gave Ethan a nod and he quickly went back to work at opening the locks.

.....

Private Cole was the type of man who always wanted to do whatever he wanted, and this was finally his opportunity. Only a week in to the apocalypse and he was already planning on ruling others. His wife had left him several months ago, his sons hated him. All he knew was to take what he wanted, and forget everything else. At this moment, he wanted Elizabeth.

"Watch the halls until I'm done," Cole told the men with him, he was holding an unconscious Elizabeth over his shoulder.

"What about us?" one of them asked.

"What about you?" Cole said, his tone quickly intimidated the others. Cole had a reputation for cruelty, even in the military. "Watch the halls until I'm done, that's a mother fucking order soldier!"

"Yes, sir."

Private Cole went into the next room. There were large generators making enough noise to mask the surrounding area. He set Elizabeth down on the cold flooring and started to removed his shirt.

........

With the cages open, the seven of them quickly made their ways to the exit, leading to the hall. Dallen grabbed one of Ethan's lockpick's firm into a fist, nodding his head that he was ready. Briggs gave a nod back, knowing that none of them had much else for a choice. The door swung open and Dallen rushed out, he tackled the nearest soldier and stuck the pick as far deep into the man's throat as he could manage. The dying man gurgled on his own blood as Dallen kept prying the pick deeper, while also holding his dead weight and dropping him to the floor. It was the first person Dallen had ever killed, and yet it came so naturally. It was all about survival now. Briggs picked up the man's shotgun, giving Dallen his handgun. Kenjen got the knife stored in the dead man's boot.

"Why don't I get a weapon!?" Leroy Book whispered. "I'm a man of God, but I know how to shoot mother fuckers. I wasn't always a pastor, you know." Kenjen gave the pastor his tactical knife. "My man."

Briggs peered down the next hall, pointing up two fingers to let them know there were two enemies. With a quick sigh, Briggs turned the corner and opened fire. A few rapid shots from the shotgun easily mowed the soldiers down.

The sound was masked from the large generator noise, except private Cole heard everything. The private turned toward and away from an awaking Elizabeth, his knife holstered at his belt and his gun aimed at the door.

"What the fuck was that?" Cole shouted.

"We need him alive" Kenjen said, speaking softly to the others. They had the door surrounded, ready to burst in and save Elizabeth. "He can get us out of here."

Private Cole fired a few shots through the door to keep them back. For the moment he forgot about Elizabeth, as his back was turned to her.

Erin came peeking around the corner, her curious eyes watching the hallway stalemate. Dallen held his hand up to halt the others from entering, not sure if Elizabeth was dead or alive.

[moonfaerie]

It was hard to focus on whatever was happening around her with the overwhelming splitting headache she felt at first. Feeling the pressure of something pressing down on top of her, she groaned as she tried to fight through the cloudy haze fogging her mind to shove the weight away. There was resistance as she could barely make out a voice. The weight suddenly lifting, Elizabeth caressed her throbbing head with one hand while struggling to sit up. She could feel the blood dried on the side of her face. Vision slowly starting to focus, she became more aware of her surroundings almost wishing that she hadn't when she saw the disheveled state of both her and the man in front of her.

Not wanting to think about what might have happened while she was unconscious or what would have happened if the conflict in the hall hadn't momentarily distracted Private Cole, Elizabeth couldn't help where her mind wandered and found herself fueled by a careless rage. The woman yelled, shrieking as she managed to pick herself off the ground and charged directly towards him, her fingernails digging into his flesh so deep and tearing his skin as she dragged them down. He yelled, slinging her off of him and throwing her against the wall like a ragdoll followed by a misogynistic string of profanity. In his arrogance he ignored Elizabeth's presence, even when she threatened him by saying, “I'm going to kill you,” and tried to examine the injuries she'd left on his shoulders dragging down his back.

His underestimation of her working in her favor, it gave Elizabeth the precious few seconds she needed for her gaze to survey her surroundings. Eyes landing on a long blunt object in the corner, she ran to pick it up. Private Cole aimed the gun at her commanding that she put it down. Taking the risk of getting shot, a decision he hadn't expected her to make, he fired at the last second and clipped her shoulder. The adrenaline numbing the pain for now, she managed to take the swing and hit him in the jaw causing a dent in the metal. Both of them dropping their weapons on impact, they clattered against the floor. Both of them went scrambling for the gun at the same time.

Hearing the scuffle on the other side of the door, Erin closed an eye trying to peak through one of the holes left by one of the bullets. She could see Elizabeth and Private Cole on the floor. Though the woman was putting up a fight, the man was stronger and managed to pin her down beneath him. “Hurry!” she yelled to the others with a frantic wave to usher them on. “Lizzy, we're coming!”

The sound of Erin's voice catching her attention, Elizabeth's gaze flickered towards the door. Her defense down for a few brief seconds, he took advantage of this to overpower her. Feeling his strong hands grip around her neck, she tried to pry his hands away and gasp for air that wasn't coming. There was a panic in her eyes as she thought for a moment his sinister face snarling down at her would be the last thing she ever saw.

Suddenly able to gasp for air in her burning lungs, she coughed as she rolled over onto her side. Erin knelt beside her, hugging her in her arms. It looked like she was about to cry. Elizabeth hadn't seen what happened, but she noticed the splintered broken door and the others in the room squaring off against Private Cole. Lifting a shaking arm, she enveloped Erin in her arms. “It's okay,” she said, her voice wavering slightly. She could see the doubt and concern on Erin's face and she wondered if lying to her was the best thing—because nothing was okay anymore.

[Sol Grim]

“Lizzy, we're coming!”

Dallen tried the door. Locked. He gave a nod to Briggs, who fired three shells through the knob, splintering the wood frame. As they rushed in, private Cole released his grip on Elizabeth's throat and he reached for his baretta. Dallen fired first, striking the man down with two shots to his chest. Cole flung to the floor, losing his weapon and spitting up blood where he lay. Dallen stood over him with his handgun aimed at his face.

"W-wait..." Cole spoke. "I can..."

Dallen pulled the trigger, blowing the man's brains out from his skull and onto the cold flooring. Kenjen sighed, but was already adapting to the new situation, as he knelt down and picked the man's key card from his pockets. Leroy handed Kenjen the knife back as he took Cole's baretta. "Yeah," the pastor said. "Lets get the hell out of here."

Dallen took a knee next to Elizabeth and Erin. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a nod.

"I'm glad you're okay," he told her. "Now we have to go." There was no time for anything, as the action had already been placed. The room boomed with noise from the generators, and it didn't seem like anyone else in the Hive had been alerted. This was just Cole's thing, along with those that followed him.

"Check this out!" Steven yelled. He was at a terminal, clicking various buttons until the map of the hive popped up. "We have to get past another hall, a few stairs, and then we can get to the tunnel through that exit." He pointed at the map, indicating exactly where he meant. "Looks like the tunnel uses a lift to the top. We use that douchebags keycard and they'll think we're him. Hopefully."

"What's that?" Briggs asked, pointing to the top of the screen where many different smaller videos were playing.

"They access everything through the terminals," Stevens said. "Those are security cameras watching all of the rooms." Stevens clicked on the prisoner video, which was completely blacked out. "Cole must have blacked out our room so he could...well, you know."

"That means we don't have a lot of time," Dallen added.

"No, what's that!" Briggs said again, pointing at one of the screens.

Stevens clicked it to make it larger. The security camera overlooked a room with many cells within it. As more options appeared, Stevens clicked the images larger. There were things in the cells. Some appeared to be human, at least at one point. Others appeared more animalistic.

"They're experimenting with the virus," Kenjen spoke. "With, humans."

One of the creatures was as large as a horse, but it was black and brown colored, with gorilla sized palms and a wolf shaped snout. Its teeth were as sharp as a razor, and they covered the majority of its face. It crawled in its cell on all fours, twisting its head in all directions of the room. It was patiently waiting to be freed.

The next screen showed the scientists. They were working on something on their table, a few caged monkeys and rats making noise behind them. The screen after that showed a few of the soldiers, some walking down halls, some sleeping, others at desks or at the firing range. None of them knew they had escaped, at least for now. Stevens cracked his neck, then went to work using the keycard to engage in the terminal interface. Within moments, he had every screen blank and the doors they needed unlocked.

It was as simple as a swipe from the keycard, and the circular elevator came down to meet them. All of them bordered, then the rise began toward the top. It was quiet most of the way, with a few clanks and crinks sounding off from the old machinery. Then the alarm sounded and a flashing red light pulsed all around them.

"Relax," Stevens told the group. "The alarm is for the outage I just gave them. I kept the lift running, we should reach the top before any of them figure out what's going on."

A radio crackled on. "-Cole, Cole where are you..??-"

Kenjen pulled up the radio he took from the dead man.

"What are you doing?" Leroy spoke up.

"-One of the subjects escsaped from E4!- -Send help!-" Kenjen did his best Cole impersonation, trying to send whoever was on the other end toward the test subjects they had seen.

"-Copy that, on our way-" the radio voice told them.

It worked, and as the majority of the soldiers were distracted, the elevator reached the surface. The metal door opened up and the night's sky came into view, with hundreds of stars shining brightly throughout. The lift ended up becoming a helicopter pad, it was next to a few large warehouses and an even larger military base. A week ago this place was beaming with military life, now it was completely barren and silent. All those that stayed here stayed underground in the hive, for the most part.

Briggs gravitated the group toward a few military trucks, as they all quickly checked them. "Here!" Ethan called out, finding keys to one of them in the visor.

"I'm driving," Briggs said, which took no quarrel from the student. Once everyone was piled in, Briggs started the engine and they took off.

...30 minutes later...

The radio crackled back to life.

"-Impressive, I must say that was not expected so early on...-" the general spoke into the comm. "-And to take out four of my men in the process, very impressive.- -But I can't let you all go, especially so early into the apocalypse. You're all too important to the greater cause.-"

There was a silence, as no one took the radio to speak back.

"-There is no escape, all you've done is delay the plan.-" "-If the deadites don't get you, we will. I can promise you that.-"

Dallen grabbed the radio and turned it on.

"Looking forward to it," he replied, then threw the radio out of the window.

[Sol Grim]

CHAPTER 2: Survival in the Decay



The truck they used to escape the hive had proved to be extremely useful for them. Stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, from M16's to a rocket launcher, all neatly put away in the boxes in the back. Of course General Brooks wouldn't be able to let something like this go. Night after night, they kept moving and staying on the road. They slept in shifts, only stopping to move vehicles out of their way and to siphon more fuel.

The first few nights the helicopters could still be heard off searching for them, sometimes too close for comfort. Missiles with the ZVirus would fire off through the night's sky, each heading to different parts of the country. The general and his rogues were tearing the world apart, one city at a time. The virus spread like wildfire. It was already too late for things to be turned back to normal, even with them having the cure. Briggs and Dallen wanted to go back to the hive, to attempt to kill the rouges. Majority decision ruled out over it, as there were far to many under the general's rule. They needed an army.

28 days later the group was still on the road. They were parked on an empty highway in the hills just outside of the next city. The same as everything else, the city was still smoking at the heart of it. From the distance it looked just like Mecha city did after the chaos.

"Looks like a bad idea," Kenjen told the group. He was on top of the military truck with Steven, looking at the city through some binoculars. "...like everything else."

"We need food, medicine," Dallen started. "We can just drive through, if any of the walkers are there we have enough ammunition to get cleared and get out."

"We should have stayed in the country," Blake spoke up. "Found a farm, we need a place to stay. To hunker down. We can't keep running forever."

"They would eventually find us, you know that," Dallen said, speaking of the military rogues that created this outbreak. "We've lost them, but our trail leads here. We go through the city, we will lose their trail for good. Then we find a safe place, we just have to push a little longer."



By noon they all rolled into the city inside the truck. The engine was loud, but the city was empty. As the towers came closer into view, Leroy Book put an army helmet onto Erin's head that sunk her hair in. The little girl was the only one unarmed, but they had to bring her regardless. Nowhere was safe anymore.

"Keep the truck moving slowly," Dallen told the driver, Briggs. "We scavenge the surrounding area for supplies, only quick things. In and out. If we see the dead, blow your whistles and get back to the truck." Along with the weapon stash they stole from the general, they also had a few whistles and flares. "Ready? Now."

Briggs kept the vehicle at under 5 mph, pausing on the brakes frequently as a few of the group ran off in either direction. They ran into the nearby houses, using their melee weapons to break in if needed. Kenjen snapped a door open with a crowbar, then quickly ran inside and headed to the kitchen, where he filled his bag with various goods from a stocked pantry. Steven and Ethan both had luck on the other side of the street, coming away with canned goods and bottles of water. These homes were freshly evacuated, meaning those living in them probably didn't have the time to pack.

Everything went smoothly. All scavengers returned with loads of food, water, and over the counter meds. It was enough to last them a good long while, but not forever. When everyone returned back to the truck, they continued on at a faster pace. They had enough fuel to get them beyond this city, but what came after that no one knew.

Suddenly the radio on the dash of the truck crackled on with static, and what sounded like a voice. Briggs messed with the frequency until the voice was clearer. It was a woman's voice. "Help! Please, help us! ...trapped in the mall..."

Briggs drove the truck over a hill that overlooked the city. On the other side of the barren freeway was Meadows Mall, which was mostly surrounded with the undead. They huddled mostly around the large parking lot, except the warehouse area of the mall which was seemingly open and clear.

"Yes, you. The military truck. We saw you coming into the city," the voice continued. "Oh, please have a radio. Please, we've been trapped in this mall since it started. There's only a few of us, we're good people! Please, we'll run out of food soon."

As the woman spoke on, the group had a little talk amongst themselves. If they were to help, they would not only have to lose some of their supplies, but they could risk their lives. If they didn't help, those within the mall would eventually starve, or succumb to the undead masses that clawed the walls around the massive building.

"We're barely alive as it is," Blake told them. "Just keep going, we have to look out for ourselves."

"For once I might have to agree," the pastor added. "Being nice nowadays means being dead."

"Come on, are we savages already?" Kenjen spoke up. "We have to help them, because we're the only ones who can. That has to be what we're about. It has to."

"I'm with Kenjen," Steven added. "It's what's right."

"What's right will get us all killed Steven," Briggs said. "We have to keep moving. This is about survival now."

"Survival doesn't mean we abandon our own," Kenjen said. "It's us and them."

"Tell that to the general..." Blake added.

"I say we help," Ethan chimed in, feeling his conscience way over him.

The rest of the group looked over to Dallen, Elizabeth and Erin so that they may way in.

"Whatever the majority vote, we stick together," Leroy Book told them all. "At least until we're past this city and far away from here."

"I say we keep moving," Dallen finally said.

Only two votes left to decide, and the little girl's vote counted amongst them. They were a group now, and whatever the majority was, would be the direction they would all take.

[moonfaerie]

The continued push for survival began to feel futile. Forced to keep a smile on her face for the sake of the little girl that remained practically glued to her side, Elizabeth often found herself sneaking away from the rest of the group whenever she could just to have a good cry. What were they even doing anymore? The missiles aimed at cities around the globe meant that they weren't the only ones affected by this disease anymore. There wasn't a place left that was safe and despite Dallen's reassurance that the group would eventually find a place to settle down, she didn't believe him. The only way to survive with them chasing after them was to keep moving—keep running—and that didn't sound like a fulfilling life.

Eyes downcast as they discussed the options among themselves, she mindlessly stroked the little girl's back to comfort her. Maybe it was her youth and the fact that she didn't know how things were really supposed to be, but she was far more accepting of the situation and listened more intently to the conversation trying to understand. A lull in conversation as the two of them were the only ones not to say anything, she looked up to find all eyes on her before giving a dismissive, “I don't care.” She'd been more detached and despondent to the group ever since their trip to the hive, but it was something she found she couldn't easily pull herself from.

Erin wasn't remaining by Elizabeth's side because she was scared anymore—even if that was true. She mostly stayed beside her because she knew she was sad. At the woman's response, she glanced up at her with her big eyes and gave a small frown. “We can't just leave them,” she implored. Looking around to the others in the group, she gave the pastor a stern look of disappointment as he of all people should have known that every life was precious and they needed to do whatever they could to help. It didn't match her sweet features.

“Why do we have to stay together?” Elizabeth frowned. “Let the people who wanna go on go. It's better than them fucking up and getting people killed.” Her harsh gaze was on Blake when she said it. The needless deaths of Lucy and Gwen hadn't been forgotten. In fact, it was a constant harsh reminder of what people were capable of when they got scared. “Kenjen, Ethan, Steven, and I can go to the people in the mall. The rest of you keep moving forward and wait for us at the city limits.”

The little girl looked almost offended by that plan. “But I voted to go, too,” she argued, obviously wanting to go with them to help save the people. Unfortunately it was too dangerous and while she may not have trusted Blake with her, she trusted the pastor to watch her as he had been doing and even Dallen to protect the group.

Elizabeth waited for objections, but while there were dubious looks from everyone no one actively voiced otherwise. Turning her back on the rest of them, the woman went to the truck to load up on weapons.

[Sol Grim]

Dallen joined Elizabeth as she started browsing through the arsenal of weapons. He holstered a desert eagle and a magnum to either side of his hips, and needed both of his arms to pull the .50 caliber sniper forward. He sat down next to the sniper, while the others in the group went over the plan to enter the mall's back warehouse.

"We get through this city, we're clear of the military," Dallen said to Elizabeth. "We can all go our own ways, if anyone wants to." He suspected the woman wanted to be on her own for awhile now, though the little girl easily swayed her to stay. It was love. Something Dallen remembered, but wasn't sure if he could ever feel again. He wanted to stay with these people because he knew them, and the rest of the world was different now. "I think we should keep moving together, but I won't stop you from your decision. Here."

He handed her a gun and a mini flashlight. "We don't need to stay together, but we don't necessarily need to split up either," he said, then pointed up to one of the abandoned towers that loomed above them. "You go on foot to the warehouse, easier to avoid the walkers. We'll stay in that building for three days, if the horde blocks you in. If not, signal us on the roof if everything is okay, by nightfall. If we don't get the signal, we'll move in."

Giving Dallen a side glance as he sat down, she arched a brow in his direction wondering why he was there. Her attention was on the arsenal in the back, but she still listened to what he was saying even if it wasn't at the forefront of her mind. Forehead creasing as he mentioned going their separate ways, in all honesty Elizabeth couldn't say what it was she wanted to do. Everything felt so hopeless.

Reaching out for the gun and flashlight, she tucked them both away. “Thanks,” she said, giving him an appreciative nod. Her gaze following his hand, she stared up at the tower. After haring his plan and not finding any faults she agreed. A slight smile on her face, she confessed, “I really just didn't want Blake with me.” If things got too rough he'd probably end up stabbing her in the back and leaving her to the dead in a desperate attempt to get away. He wasn't a pathetic man. Clapping the man on the shoulder, she gave him an apologetic look since he was going to be the one stuck with him. But after seeing the way Dallen had handled himself back at the hive, she knew he wouldn't take any bullshit from him.

"Oh, was that it?" he smiled, almost forgetting the feeling of it. "I'll handle Blake, we just, haven't had the chance to relax enough for it yet." All of them were in survival mode, not really having much to say to one another than bark out orders and commands. Everyone had a voice though, and it's what kept them moving and alive.

Even if she didn't need to she said, “Keep her safe.” They both knew who she was talking about. Once she finished gathering her supplies, she rejoined the others as they finalized their plans to enter the warehouse.

Dallen looked over to the little girl. She had been with them since the start of it all now, about a month or so. Nobody really kept count of the calender days anymore. She was brave, and sometimes Dallen looked over at her for strength in himself. She was the only thing now in this world that brought a sense of calm. He held her hand and brought her over to his group, filling everyone in on the plan.

...

Steven used the bolt cutters to create an opening in the fence. While the horde of the undead could be heard from the side of the mall they were on, they couldn't be seen. All it took was for one of the walkers to see them, then seconds later the rest would be rushing after them. They had to be silent.

While Dallen, Erin, Briggs, and Blake climbed the unforgiving stairs up to the top of the tower next to the mall, the rest quietly went through the large lot and approached the warehouse doors. The pastor Leroy Book stayed on ground level outside of the fences, he remained in an alleyway inside the military truck.

"Our people are at the doors, let them in," Leroy spoke to the lady on the other side.

"Copy that," the lady's voice replied.

...

A backdoor swung open and Kenjen, Elizabeth, Steven and Ethan entered. The plan was to get in, gather any intel necessary, then signal they were okay and staying the night. Then in the morning, they would all be ready to exit the city together in the truck. The sun was rapidly dropping in the sky as darkness began to sweep over the city.

They were met by the woman they had just been speaking to, she spoke to Leroy from her handheld radio as she offered the group forward and into the warehouse. "We have your people, we will stick to the plan."

"Welcome," the elder lady spoke to them. She had a calm pose about her and a soft, kind smile. "I am Sarah Coffman. We didn't think there were any survivors left after the dead swarmed us in." She talked as she led them down hallway after another, a few of the mall group greeting them at each doorway. They were dressed like average people would at a mall, some of them holding rifles in their hands.

"We were swarmed to, been on the move ever since," Kenjen replied. "How many people did you say you had? We might not all be able to fit in our one truck." More and more of the members were revealed as they passed through the warehouse and into the actual mall.

"It's okay, we have busses under us in the garage," Ms. Coffman informed him.

"We thought you guys needed help?" Ethan chimed in. "If you got the transport and the people, I mean, if we all go at once we can clear the dead and be on the highway and out of this city by the next morning."

"Military truck like that, must be loaded with weapons," Coffman said. Everyone stopped, they were all standing by the hot topic store when Ethan raised his rifle at the lady.

"Not really, what's your game lady?" Ethan said, as the mall group all held their weapons up at the newcomers.

"Whoa!" Kenjen said, though he still aimed at one of the members. "Everybody calm down! We can still work together!"

"I was hoping I could at least get you all to the food court where the rest of us are, but this will have to do," Coffman spoke. "We've been here for about a month now, since it all started. There were more of us, but they didn't see it our way. And frankly, we're not accepting new members. Lower your weapons now or you all die."

"You die too," Ethan said back, aiming direct at her face.

"We just want your weapons and your truck," she said. "No one needs to die love, we're not murderers. I just came to the mall with my nephew to buy clothes for him. When all the dead came, the cowards and the murderers came out from the people here. They barricaded rooms and locked people out to die. My nephew was in the halls when I was locked in a store. He was torn apart alive, just on the other side of the gate. I survived because of a coward. We've killed them all, and we've taken back this mall. Now it is our home, and like our god has promised, he has brought you to us with weapons. But unfortunately you all are not allowed to stay."

"You killed the others but your not murderers?" Steven pointed out.

"It is not murder to kill for your own survival," she replied. "The strong will inherit the earth. Now please, lower your weapons."

"We've all lost people," Kenjen said. "No need for any more to die."

"You lower your gun BITCH!" Ethan commanded, now pressing his rifle to her forehead. "You go first!"

"I don't care for my life, child," she said. "It was our god's will to wreak the dead upon the living, because we are cruel and evil creatures. We are all dead. But if you lower your weapons, we will only take your things. Then we will let you go."

"Bullshit!" Ethan spat.

"We have others, they will kill you all if you do this," Steven spoke up.

"Our people are already after them as we speak," she informed. "There's no way out. Give up and live, or fight back and die."

The stalemate stayed strong, as everyone was pointing guns at one another. The rest of the mall group was joining in from the court yard area, all running up to help their own. They weren't dressed like normal mall people, instead they wore brown cloaks with hoods. On their faces they wore a dead person's face, skinned from the corpse and superglued to their own. They joined the standoff, but they only had knives on them.

"The fuck is wrong with there faces?" Ethan shouted.

"We are the skin-changers," the hooded face wearers all spoke as one.

...

Leroy smoked a cigarette as he was about to comm Dallen and tell him the plan was running smoothly. Instead he heard a noise, something like a rock flinging by and hitting the wall. He got out of the truck and looked around the alley, keeping his mp5 firm to his chest. Another rock flew by.

"Mother fuckers, who's out there?" Leroy spoke, his voice cracked and shaken. "I'm armed mother fuckers, come get some."

Behind him a door opened in the alley, and the undead started coming out. One by one, walkers filled the alley.

"Fuck!!" he said, Leroy opened fire.

...

By now the skies were dark, the silence broken by the rapid shots the pastor let loose. Dallen and the others of his group had reached their positions, all tired but ready on the top floor of a 42 floor abandoned building. Dallen had the .50 cal sniper set up at one of the opened windows, aiming down at the mall and getting a feel for the weapon.

The gunfire broke the plan, as Blake tried to reach Leroy through the handheld radio. There was no reply.

"I'll go back and check on him," Briggs said. "Keep looking for the signal."

...

Leroy fired off a few more rounds, taking out a majority of the undead. As he attempted to reload, a being rushed out and grabbed him from the back. His weapon fell, as he struggled with what appeared to be a walker, but it wasn't trying to bite him. Another one came out and grabbed Leroy, both were stronger than him and eventually held him still, while another came out. Now Leroy could see, in all his fear, they were not walkers. They were humans, wearing dead people's skin.

"Wait, wait..." Leroy spoke in a panic. "What do you want from me!?"

"Man dressed like a preacher yet he doesn't beg for his god when he's about to die," the skin changer in front of him spoke, his voice harsh and low.

"Who are you?"

"We are the cult, we are the skin changers," he replied. "Now we have your weapons. There is no longer a place for a man of god here, not in the new era."

They all pulled out their knives, and each of them stabbed into the pastor dozens upon dozens of times until he was dead. The lead skin changer had a smile under his worn dead face, as he ordered the rest to kill the ones in the tower.

[Sol Grim]

They should have signaled them by now. Something was wrong. These people from the mall seemed to be one step ahead, whatever their endgame was. Dallen opened a cabinet and told Erin to go inside if things got bad again.

"Remember when we found you, you were safe from the dead in a cabinet like this," Dallen talked with the little girl. "If anything comes up here that isn't us, you need to go in the cabinet and wait for Elizabeth. I have to help Briggs and Leroy, Blake will be here."

A simple nod was enough, as he closed her in to the cabinet. He felt horrible in doing so, but he knew something bad was up. Dallen reached over and grabbed Blake by the collar of his shirt. "If anything happens to her..."

"I won't let anything get to her," Blake spoke dryly but as honestly as he could.

...

As Dallen went down the flight of stairs on one side of the building they were in, the skin changers went up the other end save for a few of them. A few shotgun shells sounded off near the base, then silence again. After opening into the lobby, Dallen saw Briggs standing there in the center facing toward him. Three skin changers stood behind him, as Briggs spit out some blood. He had taken two of them out, but the rest tackled him and stabbed him a few times. Now they held his near lifeless body as he fell to his knees.

"Let him go," Dallen said.

The third skin changer held up Leroy Book's head, then dropped it to the floor. The one holding Briggs put his blade at the security guard's throat.

"There is no room for you in our world," the skin changer said.

"Dallen, kill them..." Briggs shouted, but the skin changer swiped his sharp blade across his throat. Briggs fell to the floor, dying in a pool of his own blood.

Dallen immediately opened fire, taking each of them down with precise shots from his desert eagle. The powerful handgun blew each of them away without a chance for them to fire back.

...

Blake let Erin look out the large windows of the room they were in. It was an old office space, as much of the room was cubicles. It reminded Blake of his girlfriend, way back before any of this hell started. She worked in a similar office, he found himself wondering what had happened to her. Most likely she was dead, like everyone else.

"Stay quiet Erin, I'll be right back," Blake said. "I just have to pee, I'll go in the bathroom down the hall. Even though I'm pretty sure the toilets stopped working, we'll see I suppose. We won't be here for very long anyway. So stay put, remember what Dallen said."

Blake exited the room and took two steps down the hall when he came face to face with a skin changer. He screamed in fear as his gun was knocked from his grasp. The skin changer quickly tackled Blake into the ground, while another rushed in and stuck a blade into his eye. They stabbed Blake a few more times in the head, then headed into the room Erin was in.

Erin heard the scream, and the act afterward. She quietly entered the cabinet and closed herself in. The skin changers started to search the room, looking to kill anyone left alive.

[moonfaerie]

Elizabeth was quiet during the exchange. Her faith in others hadn't ever been particularly high, but it was dwindling fast. The betrayal from these people wasn't necessarily a shock, she was just angry with herself. She should have known better than to risk her life for people she'd never met before. Things might have been different at the beginning, but they were starting to shift now and more of mankind were starting to show their ugly colors.

“Luring people who want to help you in order to hold them up and steal from them instead sounds pretty cowardly to me,” Elizabeth remarked. Was this what the world was coming to now? Snorting at the woman's rhetoric, she said, “I hate to tell you this, but god had nothing to do with it.” It was the will of a few power-hungry, selfish, xenophobic, racist men.

Seeing the others emerge from the food court area, Elizabeth leaned her head back and let out a groan. She'd had about enough of this. Ignoring the cultists as they spoke in unison, she knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do. She was just angry, frustrated, and impatient. Pulling out her weapon, she aimed and instantly fired at the woman who'd been talking—the one she assumed was in charge of everything because she certainly enjoyed the sound of her own voice well enough. From the looks of it, these people probably expected for them to surrender considering they were vastly outnumbered. Using this brief moment of shock, she took out a couple more before a bullet clipped her in the shoulder and she was forced to dodge behind a large partition.

“I'm sick and tired of dealing with all these assholes,” she growled, mostly to herself. All she'd wanted to do was be a nice person—help out someone that might have genuinely need it. Instead she got this bullshit. The pain seared throughout her arm and she grimaced from the pain, but the adrenaline pumping through her veins was enough to keep her going. One of the crazy hooded cultists circled around to her, brandishing the knife, but Elizabeth let out a kick to knock him off balance. She could feel a slice of a blade knick her back. Letting out a sharp cry, she whirled around and fired her gun. Blood soaked through the long cloaks around the stomach area as their hands gripped at the wound trying to staunch the bleeding.

[Sol Grim]

As soon as the firing started, everyone dispersed and tried to avoid the firing. Ethan was able to take down two with his gun, but he in turn took the blunt of the enemy fire as he was shot down and killed almost instantly. Kenjen and Elizabeth ran off to return fire, with Elizabeth being minorly wounded in the process. Steven gunned down quite a few, but he quickly ran out of bullets as the cultists charged in without fear. They tackled the former security guard and each shoved their knives deep into the young man; his death was quick but he suffered before it.

Kenjen fired shots back as he and Elizabeth ran to the back of the mall, back to the warehouse doors. He unlocked the hinges and used the pull chain to open the large rolling door, on the other side was the mall's parking lot which was quickly filling with the undead. "We either die by them, or die by the undead..." Kenjen said, noting their nearly impossible to survive situation.

The remaining cultists showed behind them, all of them stopping and forming a line to block them from returning into the mall. The ammo was all gone, as the cultists just stood there, waiting for the dead to take them.

"We have to take our chances," Kenjen said, assuring himself moreso than Elizabeth. "Come on!"

They went into the lot, with dozens of walkers approaching from the gates. Suddenly the gate itself crashed down as the large military truck drove through it, driving over and flattening many of the walkers in the process. The truck stopped just before Kenjen and Elizabeth, as Dallen jumped out of the driver seat with Erin sitting in the passenger side. Dallen carried out a rocket launcher with him as he took aim at the cultists. "Get in."

He fired a rocket, as the cultists tried to turn to flee, but it struck in the center of them all, erupting in a large explosion. Their arms and legs scattered and spread in the aftermath, leaving nothing but fire and blood behind.

When they were all in the truck, Dallen tossed the launcher in the back and got in himself. Kenjen hit the gas and they sped off, easily toppling over walkers and obstacles until they reached the streets again.

"Where are the others!?" Kenjen asked, even if he already knew the answer.

"Everyone's dead," Dallen told him.

"Not us," Erin added. Her, Elizabeth, Kenjen, and Dallen were the only survivors left. Erin wrapped her arms around Elizabeth as they made their escape.

"How about, no more cities," Kenjen said. "No more fucking cities! No more military! No more stations or malls...there's nothing left."

"Just keep driving," Dallen said, noticing that they had still half a tank of diesel fuel left. He knew Kenjen was right, but there weren't many options open to them. With the rogue military after them, and all of their group dead now besides themselves, there was little hope left in any of them. Still, they pressed on.

CHAPTER 3: The Unknown
One Week Later...