Jenifer Drop's Story

The loud clanging echoed throughout the container as the screams and shouts were amplified by the hollow container. Joe immediately shot up and began looking around at the other people, each searching for answers of their own. He could hear the driver up front shouting for assistance, but from the influx of people crowding the small space that led to the cab of the truck it was a fools errand to try to speak to him. This wasn't the first time this had happened to Joe. Had had been in a U-haul with a group of survivors before he had reached the airport. The infected had surrounded the U-haul to a point that they couldn't even move. The driver had tried to run away which attracted the attention of the infected allowing a few survivors to make a break for it, Joe just hoped his luck was help him a second time.

A foreign boy was asking for a gun, and Joe finally decided to speak to the people inside the container before these kids got them killed.

"A gun wont be of any use inside here, by the way your shaking you might end up doing more harm than good. The less guns we have floating around the better"

Joe stood and braced himself up in one of the corners while he watched, and waited for the worst to happen.

When the screams started letting loose Zac dropped his usual attitude. Jokes wouldn't save them from the damn psycho's outside, and a gun would be pretty much useless right now, and when Luca asked for a gun; he wasn't jumping up to give away his baby. Yang had gotten him out of some pretty hairy situations. He couldn't believe how panicky people got when certain death surrounded them in obvious ways. He reached under his shirt and grabbed his necklace. He rubbed it three times and put it away. He wasn't really the religious type, but in times of great peril or need; God always had an open ear... and an empty heart.

"I need someone NOW!!!!"

Zacs' head shot up when the driver yelled at them, he had no clue what the guy wanted and had no intention of finding out. He was kind of relieved when he saw Jenifer walk up there. When Alex made her way up there, he wasn't to happy about that. She didn't make him want to shove screwdrivers in his ears, yet. That's when everyone started brandishing guns, 'Great, not only do I have to worry about getting eaten, now I have to worry about getting hit with a ricochet too. F#@K ME.' Zac muttered to himself.

"A gun won't be of any use inside here, by the way your shaking you might end up doing more harm than good. The less guns we have floating around the better."

The older man was the one who spoke. Zac couldn't have agreed more. He tried to resist the urge to grab Yang. The worst possible thing he could think of was the truck hitting something and started rolling, and with that all of the guns with the safeties off. It would be like the 4th of July in the truck.

"Would everybody calm down, we're in a metal truck going at least going 40. The only possible way the psycho's could enter is through the doors and they're locked," Zac didn't add the part about them probably being locked from the outside. That sure as hell wouldn't have helped morale. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and stuck one in his mouth. He didn't light it. The smoke would only irritate people more. For now only having the thing in his mouth was all he needed.

In his little dream, Jeff thought he could finally get away from all the troubles that had always been clinging onto him like a koala and finally be able to rest easily like when he did back during the days. Oh how he missed the days when he could smile freely everyday, without giving a care to anything nor anyone but his family at all. Now the times has changed, and he was sure as hell that this isn't the time for him to be reminiscing the past. Now, he had to concentrate on getting his daughter and probably the people here to safety.

The intense wails and cries of both the living and the non-living just increases the tension in the metallic truck, and he knew that he had to somehow calm everyone down, one way or another. When Luca asked him for a gun, he was about to tell him no, Beth went ahead and passed him her gun. Then she asked for a gun from Jeff. He quickly had Beth sit back down, and rested her hands on her laps. "Dear, we won't need a gun for now. If the worst comes, I'll give you one. But for now, it's awfully cramped inside here and with the safety off, any accident would mean a life gone, and a bullet wasted. Just calm down. I'm sure our driver is getting us to safety. Let's not stress him any more." He told her, making sure that everyone heard him.

Alex and Jenifer had already went to the front of the truck to help. However, Jenifer was approached by one of them when a man pulled her back and shot it. But it was expected when the driver pushed those back into the truck. Alex was the only one who was with the driver, and Jeff assumed that the driver needed her help. He stood up, hung on to the wall to prevent him from falling, and walked to the driver seat. Along the way, he had the panicking Luca sat down and turned the safety off.

"How far until we get to the next safe-house, Alex?" He questioned the girl who sat beside the driver who clearly wore like a military. He recognized it thanks to him past experience in military. Judging from his clothing, he's a Sergeant. But he ignored that and concentrated on getting himself balanced and on the answer he was about to get from Alex.

Sergeant Henderson

Henderson gritted his teeth as he nodded to the girl, showing her that he had hear her. Once he was certain he was on the right track he did his best to tune the rest of them out which proved to only make the undead seem even louder. Gunner was between him and the girl now, eyes huge as he stared into the darkness.

"Mother of pearl..." Henderson swore to himself as he swerved around a swarm of undead that loomed suddenly from the darkness. He was certain that their numbers were dropping off though and he hadn't seen an abandoned truck in some time, hopefully they were still clustered around what remained of the last convoy.

He was impressed by his navigators nerve and had to admit some grudging admiration to himself, if they got through this in one piece he would buy her a beer, or dinner, whatever the hell she wanted. She was certainly doing her best to keep the rest of the passengers quiet which was more than he could do at the moment.

Exit 112 appeared on his right and he turned carefully, negotiating a black Lincoln town car that was flipped on its roof. The undead were scarce now and he felt himself relaxing slightly. It was a big mistake.

As the truck crested the exit he suddenly found his entire field of vision filled with undead that swung towards him as one giant creature. They filled the road from verge to verge and vanished into the darkness beyond the beams of his headlights.

"Hang on!" He roared, spinning the wheel to the left, taking the heavy truck into a 90 degree turn that must have had them standing high on only two wheels.

He mashed his foot down on the accelerator and the trucks engine screamed in protest as he plunged off the road and into the fields on the side of the road. He knew at once that they were in trouble as the heavy truck began to sink into the field, its wheels spinning and screaming in protest.

"Mother f**cker..." He muttered, the words turning into a shout of alarm as the ground in front of him vanished. He tried to hammer on the brakes but he was a second to slow and the truck heaved itself over the edge and into a deep ditch half filled with water.

The crash jerked him forward, the seatbelt preventing him from slamming face first into the metal bars as water poured in through the windows. He quickly snapped the belt, booted the door open and, with Gunner in tow, launched himself into the cold water. For a moment he feared a hand grasping at his ankle but nothing came. He looked back at the truck, its taillights burning like beacons in the darkness, the screams of the passengers inside loud in the night.

He could leave them, make his way into the woods and wait for an air evac, it would be easy. For one long moment he was tempted but then Gunner barked, grabbing his attention as the dog bounded towards the truck. He dragged himself from the creek and raced to the back of the truck, the moans of the undead getting louder, and threw the doors open, he never would know why they were locked from the outside.

"Come on, move!" He shouted at the terrified faces, turning and crouching to fire at the first of the undead that came from the darkness. There were only a few but the horde wouldn't be far behind. "Shotgun is still racked in the front, grab it if you can!"

"Hang on!"

The call came too late for Luca and soon he found himself thrown about the back of the truck like a rag doll. Water began pouring in through the window and it leaked in through the gaps of the doors.

Everything hurt, everything was loud and just when he thought he couldn't get any more scared.. it happened. Were they going to drown? Where was the driver? He managed to find his pack and he gripped it, clinging to it as if it would save him or something.

They were going to die here. Drown, or get eaten by those things. He knew it!

He clambered off of... whoever it was he'd been thrown on to, and scrambled to the doors. As he raised his hands to start pounding on them in a futule effort, they swung open and the driver stood there with the undead stumbling towards them.

"Come on, move!"

A shot was fired and Luca's ears rang, but he didn't have to be told twice. That truck was a death trap for sure, and even though they were surrounded by the infected... they probably wouldn't die quite so fast. Once he was out, he turned and helped the others get out of the truck.

Now he regretted putting that pistol down.

After being forced out of the cabin where the driver was, Jenifer just stood where she was, unknowingly squeezing Jack's arm the whole time. The panic completely blinded her from what was going on for a moment, only noticing Jeffrey rush past Jack and her and into the driver's cabin.

For a short moment, all Jenifer could feel was calmness. Maybe the horror finally got to her; Jenifer ceased breathing heavily and let go of Jack's arm. She looked around the truck, seeing the terrified expressions on most of the people in truck eighteen. I'm going to die, thought Jenifer. That sudden burst of soothing emotion ended when the truck viciously swerved. Screaming, Jenifer fell face-first onto the ground, busting her lip.

"What's going on!" cried Jenifer as she turned herself over, too afraid to pick herself up. The truck was being maneuvered wildly. The driver must have seen something alarming to cause the vehicle to drive unstably. Sounds of the driver's fierce, uninterpretable words flew out of the driver's cabin. Jenifer couldn't help but shriek due to the horrifying climax of the situation.

Suddenly, the truck felt as if it was flying in air. The ground underneath it disappeared. Jenifer's screams became louder as the truck made impact with water, the inside of the vehicle beginning to flood. She finally pulled herself off the ground and pushed through the many people dashing to the only exit of the truck. Luca scrambled to the doors and raised his hands, looking as if he was about to pound of them. Jenifer only then realized that they were locked from the outside.

The doors flew open. The driver was there, yelling for everybody to move on out of the truck. Roamers were behind him. Jenifer shoved everybody out of her way and dashed to the doors, lending her hand to the driver so that he could assist her out.

"Help me out," she demanded to the driver. Even in the predicament she was in, Jenifer was not just going to jump into freezing water. She was going to gently be let off, and what happened after that was completely up to the people who were brave enough to face the living dead approaching them.

Beth knew she was being stupid, asking her father for a gun when they were squashed in a tiny truck - Too many things could go wrong, but she just couldn't help it, Beth would do everything and anything to insure her father and child their safety.

"Hang on!"
Beth just managed to grab onto the underside of her seat she was sitting on before the truck swerved, Luca bolted and was thrown hard around the truck.
Water started to leak in and Beth finally excepted that this was it, she was going to die.

Then the doors opened, the Driver was there, yelling at them to get out. Beth's ears were still ringing and she jumped from the truck, feeling a sharp pain shoot up her leg, she had no time to worry about that now.

Suddenly Beth found herself standing in a little lake and then realised it might not be a lake of water, they were standing in the middle of the infected's feeding ground, or that's what it felt like.
Beth then held out her hand, to help her father down and watched as Jenifer demanded the driver give her a hand out.
Good God that girl infuriated her, why is she demanding help out? I'm not and I'm pregnant for crying out loud Beth though bitterly, sort of wishing she had asked someone for help out; the pain was back, but this time, more centred around her stomach.

Beth could only pray her child make it. She would be shattered if the only thing [besides her Father] that kept her fighting back; kept her trying to survive, died.

☣ Alexandria "Alex" Owens ☣

---

She looked into the clouded eyes of the undead, appearing out of no where through the eerie darkness. Her own eyes widened, looking at the sergeant with an uneasy expression.

"Hang on!" He exclaimed, jolting the steering wheel to the left. The truck tilted off of its balance.

Her heart began to race. Alex clutched onto the arm rests as the truck spun off the road. The vehicle plunged into a field, the truck now battered and damaged beyond fixing. Water began to seep through the cracks and crevasses of the van, flooding over Alex's feet. Her breathing became labored as fear struck the inside of her heart.

"Shit!" She thought with panic. Now was not a good time for an asthma attack.

The sergeant slammed on the brakes, only sending them farther down into the water with a deep crash. Alex jolted forward as her feet dangled above the invisible ground beneath her. The seat belt dug into her neck, preventing her from going through the windshield. She gasped for air once more as the agitation increased.

The sergeant had managed to escape with the snapping of his belt. Alex did the same, propelling herself off of the metal bars below her. She quickly grabbed onto the handle of the door, flinging it open as she climbed her way out. Water surged past her, forcing her grip to loosen.

"Come on, move!" The sergeant barked at the back of the vehicle, his hand motioning for everyone to evacuate.

Alex heard the cries of the infected become louder as the seconds rolled on. Her breathing was still strained. She couldn't comprehend how the asthma attack had to happen at this instant. Couldn't it wait? She forced her way up through the truck as the others escaped in front of her. Luca was helping the passengers get out, along with the sergeant.

She coughed, straining her way up the walkway towards the exit. Her fingertips tightened against the pistol, which was now more like a body part, in case of any danger approaching. Most likely, there probably was.

Alex looked up at the exit; she glimpsed Beth and Luca (who was continuing to help the others) outside the truck. At least Alex knew some of the others had made it to safety. She wondered if Zac, Jeff, and Jack were alright. She could already hear Jenifer's obnoxious voice ask the sergeant for help, so she was guessing she had at least made it out alive.

Eventually, Alex had managed to finally reach the exit, pushing her way out of the disastrous truck and into the creek. Survivors trudged around the crash sight, distraught of what to do next. She watched as distressed expressions populated her vision. She wanted to help, but unfortunately, Alex had problems of her own. The asthma attack had gotten worse as a result of the panic. She had difficulty breathing as she focused on calming herself, but the pain in her chest had enlarged. She flung her backpack off of her shoulders, desperately searching for an inhaler.

"Please let it be here..." She thought with desperation.

She rummaged through her bag until the inhaler came into view. Lurching onto it as if it would disappear, she forced the medicine into her mouth. It circulated through her lungs, making it a little less challenging to breathe; it was easier now, but she still strained.

She looked up from the inhaler, focusing her attention on what had just taken place. Her eyes viewed the sight of dismayed, confused people. What were they going to do now? All she could hear were the moans and cries of approaching Roamers. She put her finger on the trigger of her pistol, pulling it closer to herself.

When was it that he finally had the time to relax? He don't know it himself. It's probably days or weeks ago but to him, it felt like forever. The times where birds chirped happily and innocent children runs around the streets sounded like harmony to him now, even though he thought it was a pain back then. What had it all became? Thousands of walkers now replaced the children on street and the moaning and wails of them replaced the chirps. Back then, he was too naive. Way too naive. He thought his days would never come to an end. Boy, was he ever so wrong. Hours ago, they were joking happily. Minutes ago, they had a small shining glitter of hope. Now, it was all probably history.

The crash was probably what worried him the most. When the truck crashed, the thought of his daughter getting hurt roamed all around his head. Death was probably something much less worse than seeing two people; both his family, die right in front of him. He can feel water slowly filling the truck, and at the same time, he could hear the driver rushing out his door since he was close to the driver seat. Alex got out later, and in mere seconds, the back door flung open, along with Luca, who was thrown to the back of the truck by the crash. The Sergeant and Luca quickly helped escorted the passengers, and Jenifer demanded help from them. He couldn't blame her. Most humans tend to be eager to save their lives instead of others. Beth was out already, and she already had reached out her hands to save Jeff.

Jeff really wanted to take that hand. He really do. But if his daughter is safe, he doesn't have anything else to worry about other than the walkers outside. He quickly helped the other passengers inside out by pushing them up, and slowly, they got out successfully with the help of Sergeant and the others. "Go, Jenifer!" He pushed Jenifer up, awaiting for someone to take her up next. He thought that because he's old and considering the position he's in, he needs to help the others first before getting himself back up. He's really scared of death deep down, and he's already visibly shaking all over. But if he, the oldest in group, starts to panic, the others might follow and might start having negative thoughts that might slow them down on the rescuing process. "Everybody get out now! I'll help out! The Sarge and the others will take you up! Do not panic and stay calm! We're gonna get out of this alive!" Even his voice was shaky. He took the bet that the others will probably be, even a little bit, motivated to getting out of this situation alive.

But every possible moment his mind comes up with some wild consequences of his actions. [I gotta STOP THINKING ABOUT THESE THINGS, and focus on getting these people and especially my daughter to safety!]

Joe's head and back were slammed against the metal wall of the container causing him to fall to the floor in pain. He was disoriented, and he was having a hard time regaining his footing as he tried to stand. He didn't seem to be seriously injured, but the pain was easily apparent on his face. The truck must have finally crashed, Joe was half expecting it but he still wasn't prepared. That didn't really matter now though, all that mattered was getting as far away as possible. The giant container doors flung open and the soldier that had been driving was yelling for everyone to get out. At least he knew how dangerous this situation was, and with the sound of the infected growing closer the danger steadily became more real.

Joe staggered to his feet and shook his head trying to focus as he made his way to the back of the container. As he did he passed the mother and little girl that had been sitting across from him. It appeared that the girl had broken her neck in the crash, and though Joe knew the pain this woman was going through, he kept moving. As he jumped out of the truck he landed in the water and it seemed most people had already began running away. While that wasn't a bad idea at the moment, with no clue where to go next Joe decided to stay with the soldier boy for now.

"Ok then, what's the plan hotshot?"

Joe said as he walked in the direction of the soldier.

As the Sarge yelled for them to hang on the only thing going through Zac's mind was a single word repeated numerous times over again. He had no idea what they were hitting or why all he could feel was that slight moment of weightlessness as the truck dropped into the drink. The crash into the water hurt his ears. He had been the cushion for not one person, but two. They landed right on his stomach. He was having a hard time breathing. As the first person got off of him he felt the water start to leak into the truck. He looked left and saw the cigarette that was in his mouth in two pieces and was starting to get water logged.

"God damn it. I should be put in jail for cigarette abuse." He said to himself.

The second person wasn't getting off of him. He tried to move his right arm and found it was wedged under a seat. Zac coughed as he went to move his left arm. This time he was met with a whole lot of nothing. He couldn't feel his arm. He decided against looking at it for now. The adrenaline was keeping him from feeling whatever was wrong with his arm. He moved his arm and pushed the dead guy off of him. He saw what killed him, a swift hit to the head. Blood was starting to mix with the water flowing in. He pulled his arm free and started heading towards the doors. He saw his backpack on the floor and grabbed it.

He stood at the containers' door and jumped to dry land. Zac dropped down to his knees and started kissing the ground. It was the best tasting dirt he's ever eaten. He sighed and pulled a cigarette out of his pack. He grabbed his matches and light his cancer stick.

"Thank god. I thought I'd never see dry land again."

Zac looked at his left arm and saw blood, he rolled up his sleeve and saw a gash about 3 inches long and about half an inch wide. "Hey guys not to make people panic, but I got a bad injury here. I think I need stitches, or at the very least some help. I don't think I'm cut out for this line of work."

Sergeant Henderson

Henderson missed most of what was happening in the truck behind him as he knelt, taking careful aim, breathing evenly, as he fired all thirty rounds in his clip, thirty head shots, his training was paying off. He popped the exhausted clip from his assault rifle, handing automatically finding a new one and slamming it home.

He swept the area with the night vision scope and realized that they had a few precious minutes before any more of the creatures reached them, though he could see the entire horde from the 112 exit starting to spill down the embankment towards them, their moans loud enough to drown out much of the shouting behind him.

He slung the assault rifle and turned, helping to pull the survivors of the crash from the truck. A glance inside revealed a couple of causalities and he grimaced as he snapped at the others to leave them alone.

“Leave the dead! They will buy us some time.” Those words to the man who had addressed him as “hot shot”. Then to the rest of the survivors, raising his voice so they could all hear him, he continued. “Gather your gear and follow me.”

He plunged down the bank into the icy water, pausing long enough to haul his rucksack from the truck cab and un-racking the shotgun which he slung next to his assault rifle. Then he splashed his way towards the far bank, the water was not more than four feet deep but godamn was it cold!

He unclipped his pistol, fixed a flashlight to the bottom, and began to head further into the darkness. The moon, though weak, revealed a cluster of buildings nearby and if they could find shelter on a second story they might have a chance to hide until morning. With luck the undead would be too busy with the still warm bodies in the truck. If not… Well, he didn’t want to think about it.

“Come on folks, keep together, those with weapons, do NOT fire until you are 100% sure there is a zombie out there. Any gunfire will attract attention.”

He waited for the nods of agreement before turning and plunging into the field, his red flashlight lighting just enough path for him to see what was ahead. In the distance loomed potential salvation. They had to reach it, and fast.

Luca slung the satchel onto his back, wincing as a few stabs of pain shot through his body. If he survived this, he was probably going to have some lovely bruises over the next few days.

He followed the older man who had taken lead of the terrified group, and he leapt into the water. The icy chill forced the air from his lungs in a loud exhalation of shock, this water was freezing cold! He pushed through the water and struggled up onto the bank, his teeth chattering now from the cold.

Weapons... His knife. Where was it? His numb fingers fumbled to remove the knife from the side pocket of his bag, it might not be the best thing to use to fight these things... but it was better than nothing. Luca just kept wishing he would wake up, that this was all just a really, really bad and really vivid dream. Sadly, he doubted that was going to happen.

In the distance there seemed to be buildings, perhaps they could hide there? It seemed the guy who was ahead of the group had already spotted it.

"How... how kill them?" He stammered through chattering teeth. He'd not killed one of these things before, and he had no idea how -to- do it.

The driver didn't bother to help Jenifer out, and instead Jeffrey appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and pushed her out of the truck. Pushing him away in anger, she turned around and glanced at her surroundings, not even considering helping the helpless people still remaining in the trunk.

Zac spoke up about an injury, and immediately Alex went over to assist the guy. Jenifer rolled her eyes, thinking that what Alex was doing was a total waste of time and could have been done at a later time when they all weren't under the attack of Roamers.

The driver commanded everyone to gather their gear, follow him, and for the people with weapons, don't fire until they're one hundred percent sure there is a zombie out there. Jenifer grunted with anger. If she had a gun, she would've been shooting aimlessly around the surroundings in front of her to get rid of the unlucky Roamers that would take her bullet.

After the driver stopped talking, Jenifer stormed up to Zac, hands on her waist. Alex was by him, a pistol in her hands. "Can you explain to me why you're so concerned about your pathetic little wound right now that you have to waste Alex's time, who has a weapon that could probably have saved us all." looking at Zac and Alex with vicious eyes, Jenifer turned and walked away from them both.

Everybody on Truck Eighteen sure did know how to strike Jenifer's nerves.

When the group entered the freezing water, Jenifer couldn't take it. She backed out, trying to hold in her extremely loud and attention-catching scream, but failed miserably. Letting it out, it went on for a considerable amount of time. Knowing that her scream probably caught some Roamer's attention, Jenifer shrieked again in panic. Louder this time.

Zac winced when Alex grabbed his arm. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, the pain was creeping up on him. He could see that blood was pouring out to his heartbeat. It was actually kind of cool; painful, but cool.

"Once we get to a safe haven, I'm sure I can treat it better. But for now, I'm just going to have to do the best I can, okay?" She said.

Zac knew that dire situation they were in, so he wan't expecting hospital level care at a drop of a hat. He tried his hardest not to scream out from the pain. He tried not to focus on his cut, but the blood was to mesmerizing. He wasn't losing enough blood to be concerned about dying from blood loss. When Alex started ripping off her shirt Zac's eyes jumped to where she was ripping. He hoped that he would see a little skin. 'Damn it, I'm bleeding like a stuck pig and I want to see some skin from the girl who is patching me up. The hell is wrong me, oh wait I'm a guy.'

When Alex started to clean the wound, Zac watched her with such interest. He was only mildly aware of the wound screaming in pain. His mind was too focused on her. She made the cutest face concentrating on his wound. He lost track of time and before he knew it his wound was all cleaned up.

"Alright Zac, this might hurt, but it will help," She said snapping him back to reality.

He couldn't think straight, his mind was conflicting over the fact that his arm was in extruating pain and the budding interest in the girl who was patching him up. When she was done their gazes met. Zac almost looked away, but that would hint at something that might not be real. When The Sarge said to leave the dead, he saw the look she had for a quick seconds. He nodded to her. He knew this wasn't right but, that was the world today. They would grieve and honor them later.

"Gather your gear and follow me" Sarge barked at the lot of them.

Zac was grateful to Alex at least somebody cared enough to help him out. He wasn't sure he could make it if he was still bleeding. He decided to give her something that ought to make her smile. After he got up with Alex's help, he opened his backpack and stuffed something in his pocket. As The Sarge said something about not firing unless it's a zombie. Zac reached around his back and grabbed Yang. Yang was a standard Colt 1911 but instead of it's traditional silver nickle plating it was a black nickle plating with a white grip. He kept the safety on.

Zac was about to head into the water then Jennifer walked up to them. After she stopped talking Zac was astounded about how selfish she was. After she walked away and he was sure that she couldn't her him he whispered to Alex, "Ever hear that old saying: I don't have to outrun the tiger, I just have to outrun her, and a well placed bullet would make that happen."

As he followed Alex into the drink he reached into his pocket and grabbed the unopened pack of smokes and handed them to his nurse. "Hey, I want you to have these. Of course only half of the pack is yours until we get to safety and you finish patching me up then you can have the rest of them."

☣ Alexandria "Alex" Owens ☣

---

Alex's fingertips ran up her arms, grazing her shivering skin. She could faintly see billowing clouds of her cold breath evaporate into nothingness, disappearing into the night air.

The challenging trek up the creek had just begun, and she could tell it would seem like a long journey.

Zac and Alex walked onward at a constant pace as Truck Eighteen's survivors trudged through the chilling creek. Every so often, Alex stole a quick glance of Zac's patched up wound to see if everything was going well. So far, nothing happened out of the ordinary.

Suddenly, out of no where, Jenifer approached Zac, anger fuming in her expression. "Can you explain to me why you're so concerned about your pathetic little wound right now that you have to waste Alex's time, who has a weapon that could probably have saved us all." She stated angrily.

As fast as she had come, Jenifer took off, stomping through the water. Alex could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.

Alex turned towards Zac, mouth agape. She didn't know why Jenifer was so frantic about Zac's wound. Quite frankly, Alex didn't think she was wasting her time; she was helping someone with a serious wound. She almost laughed at Jenifer's outlook on the situation.

"Ever hear that old saying: I don't have to outrun the tiger, I just have to outrun her, and a well placed bullet would make that happen." Zac whispered in her ear.

Alex smiled, letting out a small chuckle. He always seemed to tie in something humorous no matter what the situation. Alex liked that about him.

"Don't tell me you want to kill Jenifer." Alex grinned at her own sarcasm. It was nice talking to someone normally again since the outbreak.

"Hey, I want you to have these. Of course only half of the pack is yours until we get to safety and you finish patching me up then you can have the rest of them." Zac handed her a pack of cigarettes with generosity.

The smokes rested in her hands like the keys to a new car. Of course she was dying to have a smoke, not to mention more than one, but she new the others would become agitated with the smell, and the flicker of the smoke itself might become a distraction to a nearby Roamer. Nevertheless, she appreciated the pack, and couldn't wait to open it.

"Thanks, Zac," She smiled again. "But I'm sure I can't have them all to myself. I think I'm at least willing to share." Her eyes met his bandage. "Not to mention, you might need a couple smokes to relive the pain after you're all stitched up."

Alex put the smokes on her back pocket, looking forward to something when they reached a safe zone. She had almost forgotten they were making their way through icy rapids.

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream made Alex flinch. She looked around, focusing on who or what it came from.

"What the hell was that?" She asked Zac.

Oh... Now Alex remembered. The scream matched the one of Jenifer's, who had shrieked earlier in the truck.

"Shit- It's Jenifer. She's gonna' end up attracting a Roamer." Alex's eyes searched through the crowd for the stupid blonde.

Boy, were they in for it now.

Henderson turned like a snake at the sound of the scream, pistol raised, ready to fire at whatever threatened them. Instead he saw Jenifer silhouetted by the taillights of the truck, screaming like a six year old, he almost threw up his arms in frustration. Instead he pushed he way through the small crowd that had come with him, grabbing the young woman who had been navigating for him.

"Take these people and make for those buildings. Whatever happens, don't turn back, and don’t wait for me." He plunged into the water again once he was sure they were moving away, Gunner following with a second splash.

He was tired, he was cold, he was afraid, and now he was angry. He managed to climb from the creek for a third time, tottering for a moment on the bank before finding a solid footing. He raised his flashlight and pistol again to see that the screaming girl was no more than a dozen yards from the first of the zombies. He fired without hesitation and the creature toppled backwards. The girl, her back to him, only screamed louder.

He took two steps forward and clubbed her across the back of the head, her screams ending abruptly as she collapsed. He caught her before she hit the ground, taking a moment to fire at two more zombies that appeared in the red glow cast by of the trucks taillights.

“Gunner, aandag!” He ordered and the dog, who was sniffing Jenifers hand where it lay in the water looked up at him at once, attention riveted on him. “Lok, vinnig vinnig, dan vind.”

The dog turned at once, barking at the nearest zombies who turned towards him, empty arms grasping, moans filling the air, lurching slowly in the direction of the dog who began to draw them away into the darkness.

Henderson knelt and heaved Jenifers listless body over his shoulders, settling her weight on to his rucksack before turning and sliding down the bank and into the water again. He must have hit the girl decently hard, she didn’t even twitch as the cold water splashed over her.

He slogged through the mud and water, now completely drenched, using one hand to help him climb the bank, the other to steady the girl. It took him twice as long to make the climb this time and he staggered to his feet, nearly falling backward again.

Gunners barking was becoming more distant as Henderson stumbled into the dark, following the path carved through the grass by the other survivors ahead of him.

☣ Alexandria "Alex" Owens ☣

---

"Take these people and make for those buildings. Whatever happens, don't turn back, and don’t wait for me."

Alex watched as the sergeant ran through the crowd with great haste, his dog following behind.

"Wait! Sarge!" She exclaimed, desperately hoping to catch his attention. Much to her disappointment, she was too late; he had already dissolved into the downrush of darkness.

She bit her lip. Why did Jenifer have to be such a pain in the ass? She had forced the poor sarge to make his way back through the creek as a result of her pointless screaming. Alex hoped there weren't any Roamers where he was heading. The Sarge had to return. He had too.

Turning her attention towards the survivors, she clenched her fist, determined to make it to those buildings.

"Hurry up, Sarge." She thought.

Alex made her way towards the front of the group, giving Zac a slight nod as he left his side. She needed to act quickly. She wouldn't be responsible for these people's death.

"Everyone, listen up!" She paused, waiting for silence to cascade over the crowd. "Keep your eyes on me and those buildings in the distance." She turned, pointing a finger at the outlines of the buildings. "Whatever you do, don't turn or look back!"

She hurriedly took her pistol out of the backside of her pants. She yearned that she wouldn't end up using it. The safety was already off, and the weapon had already been cocked and ready to fire at any moment.

"Try to walk as fast as you can at an orderly pace! Those who can defend themselves, I need you on the outside of the group, weapons ready at all times."

The cries, wails, and moans of Roamers multiplied. The group had to move. And fast.

"Follow my lead!" Alex shouted, motioning her hands for the group to follow.

She proceeded through the creek with a half jog half walk pace, always turning her head to see if the group was following.

"So far, so good." She thought as the group made their way through the biting rapids. But, unfortunately, there had been no sign of The Sarge.

"Ok everyone, keep up the pace." She looked behind her shoulder as the others made their way up the hill of the creek. A few survivors stumbled upon rocks, but quickly made their way back to a balanced position. As if it were a blessing from God, the moon shined some light on their faces, lighting up the trail to safety.

But of course, Alex had second-guessed the safety thing.

She heard a few branches break behind her through the shade of surrounding trees. Was it The Sarge? She turned to look back, stopping her constant pace.

Apparently it wasn't him.

A Roamer lurched onto Alex through the obscurity, pushing her down to the ground with a large smack. The impact knocked the wind out of her stomach, causing her weapon to flail out of her grasp. She laid speechless on the ground as the infected creature sprawled its decaying arms towards her face, making it its goal to scratch her eyes out. Alex breathed heavily, flinging her backpack off her shoulders to block the Roamer's yellowing teeth from sinking into her skin.

"Shit!" Was all she managed to say.

The Roamer wailed loudly, forcing its jaw to jerk forward to try and bite Alex. She managed to squirm her arm free from beneath the Roamer, grabbing her pistol that had been sheltered by the autumn leaves. Alex promptly put her finger on the trigger, crying out as aimed the weapon. Fearing for her life, she pulled it, causing the bullet to enter the Roamer's shattered skull. It became limp as the undead 'life' disappeared from its eyes.

Alex's chest heaved up and down as she cried out once more, pushing the body off her own.

Thoughts circled through her head. She didn't know what do next. Fear had finally gotten to her, punching her in the chest with a great force. Tears managed to escape her eyes as she finally stood up, facing the group. Some of the members had turned to watch in pure panic, confused of what to do.

Alex looked into their eyes full of pain. It looked like Hell had finally risen.

"There's plenty more where that came from." She looked down at the limp and frail body that had just attacked her, motioning her weapon towards the thing.

Wiping tears from her eyes, she knew she had to stay strong for the group. She slowly walked forward as if the incident had never happened, taking her place in line again.

"Let's move out."

☣ Alexandria "Alex" Owens ☣

---

"Let's go." Was all Jeff muttered to say.

She gave him a slight nod, heading away from the woman who had just been stabbed. Alex chose not to look back. She didn't blame Jeff for his actions; times had changed, and if this was the only way to fix it, so be it.

"You did the right thing." She addressed him, tilting her head in his direction.

Alex guided the group forward, every so often checking her surroundings to see if there were any lurking Roamers nearby. So far, the group had come in close contact with two of the creatures. One had attacked Alex, the other one had bitten a helpless woman who eventually ended up dying by the hands of Jeff. If Alex was ever bitten, she would choose to be stabbed, most likely shot, too. It was the good way to go. She wouldn't want to be trapped inside a lifeless body who roamed the Earth aimlessly. She wouldn't have any purpose to life anymore. She would be nothing.

The buildings were becoming closer now with each stride. She wondered what they were once used for. Houses? Apartments? She liked to imagine normalcy amid the crisis. It was nice, maybe even relaxing to think back to how things were before. But one question remained; were there any people left inside of the buildings? Probably not, but hope was one of the few things Alex had left to hold onto.

---

An hour had passed, perhaps and hour and a half. The group was beginning to grow tired as they made they approached some type of nearby farmland. It had been a long walk through the creek, and a mile back they had finally exited it and made it into a dirt road. She could practically kiss the ground.

Above her stood an abandoned, but very large barn. She wondered if the outbreak hadn't hit less-known areas as badly. Because of the amount of people and how fast the pathogen could spread, her predicament was probably right.

"Okay everyone," She turned gathering the group's attention towards her. "We need to stay quiet. We don't know if there are any Roamers nearby." She looked over her shoulder, glimpsing the outline of the barn once more. The poor crowd needed refuge from the long trek to safety. Maybe they should set up camp and rest. She faced the group. "I think we should take shelter for the night as we wait for The Sergeant. Those who can shoot, make sure to surround the group as we enter."

Taking her pistol out from the backside of her pants, she brought it to her eye-level, carefully walking into the barn. The place was lifeless, cold, and miserable. The group proceeded through, eyeing their way over scattered debris. Alex kept a close eye out for Roamers. So far, there had been no cries or wails in the darkness. She only prayed it stayed that way.

After a few minutes of scoping out the place, Alex guided the group into the dormant barn. Hay had been laid across the ground, and in the corner sat a rusty ladder which could lead the group up into the wooden loft above them. Typical farmer's supplies was scattered about the area.

She had a plan, and she was going to use it.

"We'll make sure that any Roamers can't make it through by blocking the entrance. Night shifts will also be distributed to those who can use a weapon. Those who have a weapon will guard through the night, switching off every hour or so before Sarge gets here."

She met the eyes of worn out faces. "Hopefully this place is safe." She thought in her mind.

"By the time The Sarge gets here, we'll figure out what to do next. For now, let's set up camp." She sighed, taking a deep breath. "Try to find anything that will support you and others as a bed. Any source of food would be nice, too."

"Sarge, you better get here. And fast." She thought.

Henderson only stopped running when the moans behind him had dulled to little more then noise on the wind and the sound of Gunners barking had faded to nothing. Now, in the pitch dark, he sank to his knees, pitching the girl from his shoulders and onto the ground beside him. He took deep welcome breaths of air and drank deeply from his canteen.

He waited for a few moments, kneeling in the dirt, hearing for the first time in a long time, the sound of crickets in the open field. The sound of the creek was faint and he heard nothing else moving. He watched as the tailights on the truck flickered as zombies passed in front of them, their fists banging on the side as they tried to reach the fresh dead, he hoped Gunner was alright.

He must have been there for five minutes before he finally knelt next to Jenifer and turning her onto her back. A pause and then he slapped her. She moaned slightly and he hit her again, a third strike finally bringing her back to conciouness. He saw her open her mouth to scream and clapped a hand over it, pressing his pistol into her right eye socket, not enough to hurt but enough to make his point.

"You scream and I promise you, I will kill you, do you understand me?" Terrified eyes stared back at him as she nodded and he slowly lifted his hand from her mouth, glancing about in the dark. "Get up."

He pulled her to her feet and then pointed towards the tracks made in the grass by the party ahead of them. "Follow them." He whispered and she nodded, hurrying ahead of him into the darkness.

For the next hour they moved in near silence. He couldn't see more then the girls shape and only once more did they stop when she tripped over the body of a zombie with its head blown off. He could see her eyes bug out and only him making a shotting motion silenced her.

They pressed on into the darkness.