After reading what Roland had placed on the security monitor, Alex leaned back in his chair.
"Interesting...", Bishop mumbled.
Alex nodded, then rested his hand on his open palm. "I figure we'll be checking this out?".
"Well, apparently it's giving Roland a boner, so probably".
Alex felt a smile tugging the corners of his mouth.
Bishop himself, was grinning. "If it last more than 4 hours please contact your physic---"
"No..just no, fuck that".
Bishop began laughing.
"Why not?!".
"Because I'm an EMT not a doctor...and I'd never be able to look Roland in the face again".
By now Bishop was doubled over in silent laughter.
"Fuck you Bishop..."
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Mason headed for the mattress store to catch some sleep, he knew he needed to rest as much as possible so his body would heal before the journey. He slowly opened the door and was greeted by heavy snoring somewhere in the dark room, and as his eyes became accustom to lack of light, he saw a form laying on a mattress near him, which was the source of the snoring.
Mason quietly walked by the sleeper, and grinned when he noticed that it was Roland. He crept towards the back of the store and saw yet another form, except this one was smaller and quiet. As Mason got closer, he saw Mina's face poking out from beneath the comforter and quietly chuckled, it looked like she didn't have a body, just a head enveloped in a blanket. He decided to take the king sized bed about 10 feet away on Mina's right, and made his way to it. He wearily sat down on the edge of the bed and slid his boots off, followed by his shirt, being careful not to irritate the bandaged cuts and scrapes on his arms and torso, then finally, he stretched out on the bed and was soon asleep.

While walking through the halls Alyssa saw Skulls in the distance carrying what looked like bags. She arched an eyebrow then jogged over to where the giant stood. "Hey! You still don't plan on leaving do you?" She knew the answer, but continued to speak anyway. "Don't tell me you haven't heard." She suddenly felt a little excited about being the first to tell him. "The guy named Niko. He found something about something weird going on up North where we're heading. Not only that, but he said there was something different about the Stim-crazies up there. Something he noticed that was different than over here."

[b]Fuck you, Bishop...[/i] Alex concluded. The already rolling Marine laugh even harder, which was astonishing to him, since he didn't think he could laugh any harder. This fact also added to his laughter. After about five solid minutes of Alex watching Bishop's red-faced, boisterous, teary-eyed fit, Bishop finally calmed down and was reduced to mere chuckles every so often.

"I haven't laughed like that in a loooooong time," Bishop finally said. He was still smiling.

"Well, you're welcome, then." Alex said. Bishop looked at him again, and grinned mischievously.

"You mad, bro?" Alex's slight smile broadened to a grin at the marine.

"Haha. Nah, man. I'm good." Alex replied. There was a brief silence.

"Well," Bishop eventually said. "Went over almost all of the weapons. I'll finish up the rest after I rest up." He paused. "All that laughing has worn me out." Bishop smirked, and Alex just smiled while slowly shaking his head. "I'll see you later, Alex. Gonna' go take a coma."

"Seeya," Alex said as Bishop left the room.

Bishop made his way around the mall till he meandered into the bed store. There were already three occupants. He noted Roland first. He just sighed and shook his head. Then he peered in further. He noticed two others in a back corner. There was the unmistakeably brilliant hair of Mina, and probably Mason Steele in the adjacent bed. Come on, man. Look at her positioning. She WANTED you to climb in beside her... oh well. Not my problem[ The marine finally decided on the bed a couple away, near the entrance like Roland. He sat down on the comfy bed and already could feel himself relaxing greatly. He needed it bad. He untied his boots and took them off, rubbing his feet a bit. He tore off his socks, thinking of how he would get new ones later. He tossed them somewhere behind him. Next, he removed his clothes except his boxer-briefs and pistol, which he tucked under his pillow as he laid on the bed. Then he sprawled out and passed out within the next several seconds.

“North is a winter wasteland… and unlike you guys if I’m going to die I’ll die on the soil of the nation I lived under… the nation that feared my very name. What is life if you run from your place in things? I’ve been marked for death since before you were born. My legacy was so great they needed to call in the fucking national guard to -contain- the situation. Even after Stim I still ruled the streets. So I’ll be damned if I forsake this land for some half baked scheme to freeze to death when you realize you didn’t prepare properly and that snow slows you down… but not them. Either way… don’t forget predators go where food is… what happens when everyone heads to the less populated areas? The horde follows the masses…” He shook his head looking at Alyssa. “Besides the hell does a cop want a three strike, mass murdering, seditionist tagging along? I left more Shields on the ground then the out break.”

"You can talk up all the shit you've done all you want. To me you'll always be that human being that saved my life. Twice." She slugged him in the shoulder, playfully, but kept a straight face. Skulls never seemed to be the type of person who'd stay around a large group of people. So, the fact that he was still planning on leaving didn't surprise her as much as she wanted it to. Since she'd be heading north and Skulls was heading south. The chances that they'd see each other again was slim. Then she remembered something. "Oh yeah, that Niko kid was looking for you. He couldn't find you so he gave it to me." She reached into her back pocket and pulled out an iPhone. "He's been giving these to everyone. He says they're all set up and has everyone's number in them." she pulled out her own. "We can keep in touch...it'll probably be too dangerous to actually talk on the phone, but we could text each other...and send pictures of our surroundings..."

Skulls cocked an eye brow when presented with the phone. “Uh don’t these need to be activated… and aren’t the companies themselves kind of… dead? Which would make these kind of worthless would it?” He shrugged though. “Though if it’ll make things easier on you I guess I’ll carry it…” He sighed. “Try not to die though… I hate wasting time and I’ve already invested quite a bit into you… seeing I saved you twice… also when I die I don’t want to be mourned… so many people have wept because of what I’ve done… I don’t wish any more to fall… and if you need comforting just remember I died doing what I love.”

A sliver of a smile crossed her face. She had to smile. It was a typical Skullz answer. "I don't think I'll be needing any kind of comfort." She turned to walk away. "Doubt anything out there can kill you...anyway." She didn't want to say good-bye. So, she wasn't going to say it. She didn't look back either. Good luck.

Skulls nodded as she turned and walked away before walking his own way. Soon he came upon the way they entered and he calmly left the mall. What creatures had followed them that far were now put at peace as he made his way to the streets and on his way to Florida.

About an hour after Bishop left, Alex had scanned the security monitors, making sure everyone was asleep, and that there was no disturbances in or outside of the mall, but on the last video feed, he spotted Alyssa and the hulking nightmare that was Skulls. Skulls walked off after a minute or so of trading words with Alyssa, Alex leaned back back and watched as Alyssa just stood in the middle of the screen, alone, then she too walked off. How the hell did those to get thrown in to this together? Alex thought to himself as he yawned. Deciding it was time to rest for the next day, Alex turned the monitor off and rose from the chair, stretching, then headed off for his "Office" to sleep.

After about a week of resting in and scouring about the mall, the miscellaneous group of survivors had finally gathered all the useful items and food in the mall, and had recovered enough to move on. With Skulls out of the picture, Roland was able to be a lot more relaxed, especially around Alyssa. That crazy bastard always had him on edge. He wasn't easy to be around before or after a 'zombie apocalypse.' Thanks to the new company, and the new goal, Roland was managing to stop the horrible thoughts of Neveah from coming into his mind. He welcomed all the new distractions that had come.

It was now the morning of their departure from the mall. The day before, Bishop and Alex had organized several packs so that everyone had an equal amount of everything. This was so that if anyone got separated, they wouldn't be without certain things like they would if instead the packs only had one type of supply per bag.

Now the group was all assembling at door that had been designated as their exit. The one that Roland hadn't visited since that horrid day which felt like so long ago now. Everyone trickled in slowly with their packs. Bishop would come last. However, first to arrive was Roland. He just sat on the ground against the wall, directly across form the door, staring. Alyssa came next. He didn't notice her until she was right beside him and he snapped his face up at her in surprise.

"You alright?" Alice asked, surprised. Roland relaxed back into his hunched position and looked at the door once more.

"Yeah..." he said softly, and not very convincingly. "I-" he started after a long pause. Alice sat down beside him. "We lost someone, not to far from the other side of that door. When Bishop and I first got here. We-... we had someone else with us..." There was another pause. "It was my fault," Roland finished softly. He closed his eyes and lowered his head.

This was the first first Alyssa had ever heard of this, but by seeing the look of guilt that seemed to have penetrated Roland's usually cool disposition bothered her. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, so she made sure that there was a little bit of space between the two of them that she would try not to violate. Her eyes played across his face his perfectly etched face which tried to hide from view. "What happened?"

Roland sat there for a second staring at the floor in between his legs. Niko walked up, but hid away before he could be noticed. He'd noticed the looks and glances that Alyssa and Roland had been exchanging all week. There was chemistry between then. That was obvious. He wouldn't be the one to spoil there moment. He wouldn't let anyone else do it either. He would just sit there giving them all the time in the world.

"Her name was Neveah." Roland finally said. The name resonated within him like speaking the name of a specter and half expecting them to be standing at your back the moment you turn around. Alyssa didn't say anything. She just waited for him to continue. "After me and bishop hooked up...but before we got in touch with Niko and Alex we'd set up base in a warehouse not far from here. Neveah who was on her own ever since the beginning of this shit. She'd stumbled across the warehouse and made her way in. We met and talked. She was smart, cool and polite. But she had this lethal edge about her. Y'know? You actually kind of remind me of her." He paused looking up into Alyssa's eyes as if he would find himself talking to Neveah's kin spirit. "Anyway, after we got in contact with Niko and Alex we prepared and made our way to the Mall from the warehouse. While were traveling we ran into a tough brood of Stim-crazies." he closed his eyes as if the entire incident was playing through his head all over again. "Neveah had gotten injured. I carried her as we ran, but I tripped. She fell out of my hands." He closed his fist so tight that his knuckles turned white. "I'd fallen only a few feet from the entrance. The horde was already closing in on Neveah. I wanted to go back for her, but Bishop lifted me up and dragged me inside." he unclenched his fist.

Without thinking Alyssa placed her hand on his and stared up at the light bulb in the ceiling. It was the closest contact they'd had since meeting. She could feel his body relaxing. "It's not your fault. There was nothing you could. You shouldn't blame yourself. When I was younger, my dad the commissioner of the police, had a lot of enemies. One day when I went to stay with my aunt, some people planned to kidnap me. While my aunt slept. They snuck into the house. My older cousin heard them, so she had us hide under the bed. When the men came into the room, they reached under the bed and dragged her away screaming. They thought she was me. My aunt heard the commotion and came into the room. They killed her on the spot and left with my cousin. I never saw her again. I just stayed there...hiding under the bed." Her eyes descended from the ceiling, locking onto Roland's. "That was nearly twenty years ago and to this day I still feel just as guilty as I did back then. What I'm trying to say is I understand exactly what you're feeling. You're not alone."

Their finger tangled around each other, locking together.

"It's not the same..." Roland almost whispered, squeezing the hand he was offered. It was the only comfort he could get, so he was getting what he could from it before they had to bail. "I..." Roland clenched his jaw and then swallowed. "I'm the one who drew the horde upon us..." Roland bowed his shamed head lower and clenched his eyes tight. The images he'd been blotting out were coming back. Those horrid, sickening images. At first he was fighting back tears. Now he had to hold back the contents of his stomach. He heaved and leaned away from Alyssa, covering his mouth with his hands. He managed to keep it all down, but the biting taste of bile remained in his mouth. He allowed Alice to envelope his pathetic, hunched over little ball of a figure as she embraced him from behind. After a minute, he relaxed and leaned back allowing them to return to their previous, seated positions. After a loud sigh. Roland nodded his head. "I think I'll be OK." He smiled weakly to Alice. "We have enough to worry about... and once we get away from here, I'm sure the memory will lessen." Roland then slowly rose to his feet. Alyssa joined him. "Thanks," he said softly as he shouldered his pack.

Soon after, Bishop came around the corner. He'd been waiting impatiently behind Niko. He walked up to Roland and the door. "You ready?" Roland nodded in reply. "Alright, then. Let's do this." Everyone braced themselves as Bishop took point. Alex and Roland were on either side of the door. "Three... two... one!" Bishop burst out into the alley with his rifle at the ready. He scanned everywhere, high and low. Then he beckoned out Alex. Bishop marched on while Alex covered the rear of the mall exodus. Once they'd fallen inline, Alex followed suit.

"OK," Bishop said softly. "Now to get to harbor, and that boat."

"You can say that again," Niko said with anticipated relief.

A ringing was heard as Alyssa's phone began to go off. As it played the default ring tone the name Skulls came up on the caller ID screen.

Skulls sat calmly near a old car he had hot wired that still ran decently enough what he was about to do was stupid and reckless... which required a fast get away. He looked down at the single fuse which branched out to a multitude of Molotov cocktails that were placed to ignite the shelves of fireworks. He did say he was going to make a diversion after all.

Alyssa looked down at her phone, Skulls. In the same second explosions sounded of from the south. Pops and explosions echoed through the streets as the sky lit up in bright flurries of technicolored nostalgia. The noises were so loud, Alyssa almost didn't notice the horde of Stims that were wandering into the street. They weren't running and snarling, but wading into the streets to stare up at the display as if transfixed with the lights. For a few moments they seemed almost human, perhaps something in the lights triggered a flicker of a memory of who they used to be. An average person who used to come down to Michigan ave with friends and family to watch the fire works show in commemoration of the 4th of July.

Before the lights even began to slow down they'd reverted to their usual selves running wildly in the direction of the fireworks. It was okay, they'd bought enough time to get out of there. Skull's last gift helped them out tremendously. the question on Alisa's mind was...how sage was he now.

After traveling on foot for a good while they made it down to the lake. Alyssa jogged ahead of everyone towards the shipyard discovering a sight that set her heart racing. Alot of the ships were gone. They had either gone adrift far out into the lake or had sunken below the surface. Despite that Alyssa speedily sauntered through the yard looking for her father's ship in the spot it had always been every summer they went sailing. Nothing. It's beenyears since she was last awake anything could have have happened without anyone sane to look after these ships. Somone else could have even taken t using it to escape themselves. She cursed then turned to everyone else. "It's gone."

Before everyone had began to panic Nikko frantically dug through his brain for a solution, then it hit him. He turned to his right. The Navy pier. "We can take the the Niagara Prince! Over on the Navy Pier. It's like a mini cruise ship. C'mon!" he ran off in the direction of the boardwalk where the Ferris wheel towered acting as a beacon of hope..or an omen of more misfortune.

The group raced toward the Navy pier. A few laggards popped out to join the fun in the city, but were distracted by the closer, more promising food source. Bishop, who was in the lead again, persisted to dispatch them in as silent a manner as possible. "Go, " he called to Roland over his shoulder has he momentarily wrestled with one of the Stim heads. Roland nodded and lead the group onward. Alex and Bishop covered the immediate threat.

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

Bishop shoved the beast back and immediately charged in, his fist colliding with its face just as it recovered and looked up to relocate its target. The amplified punched did a number on the creature's face. Needless to say, the thing was done. It had just been one shotted.

Alex has just dispatched one of his own by beating the thing with the butt of his weapon. He looked up to see another slinking up behind Bishop as he had just finished off his. "On your 6!" Alex's warning was just in time. Bishop moved in a fluid swoop, lowering down and turning about into a solid uppercut right underneath the degraded's head. There was a sickening sound as the skull audibly came loose beneath the filthy flesh. The thing which had once been a woman, flew for a few yards before landing on the dock with a thud It's head lolled about for a few seconds. With the coast now clear, the soldiers looked about in the city's renewed silence, then to each other, than down the way their group had fled.

"Well," Bishop said. "Let's catch up."

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

"So, how do you know we can use this ship," Roland hollered sideways to Niko as they ran on. He was worried about putting their hope into this new plan so quickly. With the fireworks dying down, they would certainly need to find safe haven immediately. Before Niko could answer him, a degraded came out just ahead of them. Roland grimaced and channeled his rage at the thing while he pulled out his pistol. He held the barrel and bashed the thing's face in, pulling the gun back out with a disturbing squish almost as bad as the sound it made on entry. He did this without breaking his strides. "I guess tell me later," he said as they continued on. The continued to clear the path to the Niagara Prince.

Upon Roland slowed and began to regain control of his racing heart and lungs. Once under control, he knew it wasn't time to rejoice just yet. "You two stay here and cover Bishop and Alex," Roland said to Alyssa and Niko. "They'll be coming shortly, I'm sure. I'm going to check out the ship and make sure it's clear. You all come in once they arrive." He started to go then turned back once more. "And try to remember, only use your gun unless absolutely necessary. We've caused enough of a ruckus over here as it is.

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

Roland began his sweep of the deck and interior of the boat. So far it seemed unoccupied, but he wanted to be sure. He soon found that the boat had been used at some point in the last couple years, but it wasn't recently, or didn't seem like it at least. Perhaps who or whatever had been in here was gone. They'd have a bit of tidying up to do, but most everything seemed in order and in decent condition. He continued on at a more rapid, though still cautious pace. It was a large boat, and he wanted to cover it all before they got too comfortable. Once the others got here, they could cover more ground quickly. However, he thought it best to find out right away whether or not using this boat was a good idea, rather than waiting. Roland continued his inspection nervously as he scoured the dark interior of the ship.

Bishop and Alex arrived on the boat just as Mason was about ready to go back and give them a hand against Mina's protests. As the two walked onto the boat, Mason sighed, feeling his injuries made him useless since Mina and Alex wouldn't let him do anything that would be strenuous on his body.
"Aw, is someone being a grumpy pants because he can't go fight the big bad monsters?", Mina prodded him with a big grin on her face.
"Doctors orders", Alex said as he and Bishop walked by Mason, Alex smiled and Bishop chuckled.
"My ass..."Mason grumbled, causing Mina to giggle.
"Alright then, lets help Roland secure the ship...I'd really like to get out of here", Bishop said, then he turned around to face Alex.
"So....".
Alex simply raised an eyebrow in question.
"Are you gonna..ya know, check out Rola--".
"No."
Bishop just chuckled as he walked to wear Roland had gone inside.
Alex sighed and began to follow with everyone else tailing him.

Alyssa and Nikko followed the others to the ship behind them. Alyssa stopped on the deck holding up her pistol. "I'll make sure they can't get on the boat." She reloaded her pistol and aimed outward. Nikko nodded. ""I'll see if I can find the keys or just hot wire this bitch-I mean boat." Nikko jogged off down the deck looking for stairs or something that would help him get to the operating room. He came across a ladder. "This'll do" and began to scale it. Once at the top he unlocked the door with a swing from his golden bat and entered the room. "Aaah Shit!" he stumbled back nearly falling out of the room.

Blood. A whole half of the room was covered in blood. Slumped on the floor was a deteriorating man who's skin was so pale that he looked like he could go zombie at any moment. Nikko gripped his bat tightly and inched forward. He noticed a bulge in the man's coat pocket. Tentatively, he let go of of the bat with one hand and reached into the pocket with the other. "Thats right," he mumbled to himself. The rank scent flooded his nostrils. He tried not to breathe in the fumes, but some leaked in and he nearly vomited. "There's no such thing as zombies...just insane..rage filled...adrenaline filled...fuck me."He pulled his hand back with a ring of keys in palm. His eyes grew bright with excitement. "Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me!" Excited he tried each key until one fit. Then after ten more minutes of googling how to drive a boat he turned it on. "Time to put this baby in drive...or in float...or whatever it's called when you make boats go....go."