David Cross's Story

"Buncha pansies if ya ask me. Ya know why they call you boys Army right? Ya know what that stands for? Ain't ready for the Marines Yet."

Monster Mike joked with a laugh and a mouthful of food. David couldn't help but laugh in return as he leaned on the counter eating a bacon cheeseburger and fries. David had picked up the food for the two ex military men not more than twenty minutes ago. Cross had stopped into the guns and ammo shop just to look around and ended up striking up a conversation with the Marine vet patron. A Corps Man through and through, Monster Mike couldn't help but tell David how he wasted the last few years of his life in the Army when he should have joined the Marines.

"Yeah well I woulda joined the corps Mike but I scored too highly on my IQ test. You know how it is man. You can't be a Marine AND walk and talk at the same time. If you're not a knuckle scraping gorilla you'll never make it through basic."

David shot back with a wry smile. Mike just broke out into a hearty laugh as chewed up french fries tumbled out of his mouth. David dipped a handfull of fries in some ketchup before shoving the food in his mouth with smile. Mike finished his food and leaned back in his seat as he readjusted his baseball cap.

"So you gotta tell me kid, the hell you doing in Aurora anyway?"

David took a long drink out of the straw of his soda from the styrofoam cup before answering.

"On a road trip. Just traveling the country. Seeing the amber waves of grain and all that."

"And how's that working out for ya?"

David just shrugged as he balled up the greasy wrapper his burger came in before tossing it in the garbage can at the end of the counter.

"It's been good so far."

The blaring of the alarm pulled David from the sweet, lovers embrace of sleep with the subtly of a punch in the face. The Ranger groaned and rolled over to look at the glowing red numbers on the digital clock sitting on the small nightstand next to the bed.

8:00

David rubbed his face with his hands before shifting over in the sheets to reach out and smack the snooze button. Peace and quiet was his reward for his heroic defeat of the evil beast that was the alarm clock. Cross rolled back over onto his back and stared up at the filthy ceiling in the tiny motel room. Stained with smoke stains from countless cigarettes smoked in this very bed. The floor was enough to make most people shiver in disgust with a disgustingly ratty thin carpet that retained warmth about as good as sheet metal. The bed sheets that Cross was currently laying in were scratchy, thin and smelled of musty clothes. The bed itself was hard and unrelenting.

"Five stars all the way. The Hilton doesn't have shit on this place. I owe ya one for this Mike."

David mused to himself sarcastically as a sleepy grin dawned on his face. The No-Tell Motel was where David called home last night. He'd spent longer than he'd expected hanging out with Monster Mike and before he knew it the sun had set. From everything Mike had told him Aurora was a charming enough little town. Kind people, relatively low crime, pretty girls, the works. It warranted at least one night to check out. Mike's recommendation of affordable lodgings was no doubt keeping the Old Marine chuckling well into the morning.

David pushed himself up from the stiff bed, his dogtags clinking lightly with the motion. With a sigh David swung his feet over the edge of the bed to drop on the dirty floor. The cold carpet sent a momentary shiver to make it's way through the Ranger's body. He got to his feet and rolled his shoulder to ease some of the built up tension from the uncomfortable nights sleep before reaching his arms up and giving his back a good stretch as he let loose a loud yawn. That done David slowly stumbled his tired body towards the bathroom. Given the hygiene of the rest of the room the bathroom was no surprise with unnamed stains dotting the majority of the surfaces. The plumbing that sounded like an angry dragon and water pressure that could break stone.

Cross leaned on the tiny sink before turning on the cold water. The pipes groaned and sputtered before arctic water spurt out of the spout in a pathetic display of efficiency. The sight brought a half smile to David's face as he arched an eyebrow.

"Classy."

He said as he gave the water a minute to fall into some semblance of working order before he dipped his hands into the sputtering stream. He soaked his hands before splashing some cold water on his face to help him wake up. The water was just what he needed as his entire body was shocked into alertness. David's shook his head with a surprised gasp before turning off the water and grabbing his tooth brush. He squeezed a bit of toothpaste onto the end before hopping into the shower. Much like the sink the plumbing of the shower was fledgling at best but got the job done. David brushed his teeth and showered before leaving the bathroom to get dressed.

Dressed and ready for his first day of exploration. David past the day manager of the motel giving them a friendly, if not a tad sarcastic, wave. Once outside in the morning sun Cross breathed deep the fresh, clean air of the small cheery town of Aurora before fishing in his pockets for his car keys as his stomach began grumbling for breakfast.

...police were called to Freeman Medical Center for-

The sound of the anchor man was cut off as David pulled the keys out of the ignition, shutting the car off. He hadn't been paying much attention to the radio as he drove with his windows down through Aurora on the way to the diner for breakfast. David casually palmed his car keys as he put his hand in his jacket pocket and made his way to the front door, walking through the parking lot of the small local diner. He pulled open the door and stepped inside the cheery and well lit eatery. A older waitress with fiery red hair and 70's style curls gave him a friendly smile.

"Sit anywhere you like hun, someone will be with you in a minute."

"Thanks."

David replied with a polite nod and a smile. Cross chose a seat near the door and slid into the booth. David took the few minuets of wating to survey the room casually as he relaxed in his seat. A long bar style seating area ran the length of the room right infront of the kitchen. Near the windows were the tables with booth style seating where David had taken his seat. The diner was small yet charming having that old fifties or sixties style decor. David noticed a few of the patrons and took note of them as he waited for his waitress. A small family of three at the back of the diner was enjoying breakfast. Two older men were at the bar counter top talking quietly over coffee. A young woman and presumably her boyfriend were sitting side by side in one of the booths, lovingly speaking to one another as they giggled about something undoubtedly romantic.

It was then that a attractive young waitress approached David's table with honey colored hair tied back in a bouncy pony tail. He pale skin was almost flawless and her shapely pink lips were sporting a friendly smile as she greeted Cross.

"Good morning sir."

"Morning back."

David shot back with a charming smile. The minor flirtation was well recieved as the waitress brushed some loose hair away from her ear, seemingly suddenly aware of her appearance around the attractive stranger.

"Can I get you something to drink Mr...?"

She asked with practiced professionalism as she set a menu on the table.

"David. And Coffee, please."

David replied casually as he maintained eye contact with the alredy flustered young waitress.

"Well I'm Katie, and I'll be helping you this morning. I'll be right back."

She said with sweet smile before taking off to grab David's order and no doubt gossip about the interesting new patron.

In a little diner casually sipping a hot cop of black coffee sat a patriot. A man who'd fought for his country, his home and his family. He'd put his life on the line in far off lands all for the sake of his duty. Now he was none of that. Just a brother on a journey. David Cross's mind was warmly remembering his brothers life and the stupid things they used to do together as kids. Having paintball wars in the backyard until they were too bruised to move only to catch hell from their father when he got home and saw the mess. Stealing their parents big mattress and riding it down the steps like a sled. When they were older skipping school to hit a movie became a common occurrence for the Cross boys. Now there was but one Cross boy and the future that was in store for the small town of Aurora threatened to reunite the brothers in the afterlife.

The sirens and screeching tires snapped David out of his daydreaming. He looked out of the window to see the lights of three emergency vehicles. An ambulance with a police escort was racing down the road. As David looked on with interest and curiosity something caught his eye. The ambulance began to swerve on the road erratically. The movements of the first responder vehicle became more and more chaotic as the seconds ticked by until the police car from the rear sped up to the drivers side, no doubt to see what was causing the commotion. The ambulance swerved and slammed into the side of the police cruiser causing it to veer off the road before hitting a ditch and flipping over.

By now the few patrons that were in the building were on their feet or in the booths looking at the scene unfold down the street, as it neared ever closer. There was a chorus of chatter and gasps at the sight of the squad car flipping on it's side in such a spectacular display of high speed wreckage. David's eyes flicked back to the ambulance as it and the last police car got closer to passing by the diner at those break neck speeds. The ambulance began to nearly double it's speed as it rocked back and fourth as if two heavy weight boxers were slugging it out in the back.

The two vehicles were getting close now. Just a few seconds and they would pass the diner. Just a few more seconds. The ambulance tapped the bumper of the police car then again and again. The cruiser maintained control but was notably having difficulty with the seemingly possessed ambulance behind it. It was then that the ambulance hit top speeds and smashed into the tail of the squad car. The next few seconds passed by in David's mind in what seemed like an eternity. He watched as the squad car was turned by the force of the impact. The inertia took the ambulance right along with it as the two vehicles began to veer off the road. David realized to his horror, that they were both going to come crashing through the walls of the diner.

"GET BACK! MOVE!"

David shouted as he leapt out of his seat just as the headlights of the cars shined on the windows to the diner. In the next instant the walls imploded inward in a savage display of horsepower meets shoddy construction. The walls and windows exploded inward sending broken glass, wood and metal flying out like shrapnel. People screamed as their bodies were pierced by debris or sheer fear took them. The police car was pushed all the way through the building, running over two patrons before coming to a stop in the bar counter top in front of the kitchen. The hood of the ambulance was sitting in the dining area where David had been seconds prior, the remainder of the vehicle was sticking out of the side of the building.

Cross had only seconds to react and dove over the counter before the chaos ensued. He braced himself as the vehicle came crashing through the wall, the tires of the police car coming to a stop about a foot or so from David's head. He looked up with stunned shock, surprised to still be breathing and miraculously unharmed. David Cross slowly got to his feet, dirty, covered in the debris from the crash, dazed but alive. He looked around in horror at the scene around him. Bodies littered the small eatery. Fresh corpses of the people he'd just been enjoying breakfast with. The family that had been eating together was lost somewhere beneath the wreckage. The two old men who had been drinking coffee and recanting old memories with each other had never made it away from the counter before the police cruiser came barreling through. The attractive young waitress was pinned between the hood of the police car and the wall to the kitchen. Her corpse covered in blood and was nearly split in two by the impact of metal meeting flesh.

David had seen a lot in the middle east. So much horror and death he tried to forget but this was something different. Even soldiers couldn't get used to seeing dead civilians. His eyes stared widely in horror at the bodies when suddenly a sound reached his ears. A moaning that made his blood freeze in his veins. It was ghastly like the groan of the damned yet hope swelled up within Cross just the same. His mind told him that moaning meant someone was still alive. The next few minutes to come would show how wrong an assumption the man had just made.

The doors began to open as Lilly helped her push the girls out the window. Without hesitation she put all of her weight against the door. She could smell something foul sifting its way through the strong door. Once Lilly successfully climbed the lockers and was out the window Victoria ran for the window's as well.

She followed Lilly's example with a few changes, she was not much a free runner. Soon, with some difficulty, she was pulling herself through the small window. She looked into the room and was confused by what she saw. The bodies were beaten, bloody. They moved slowly, but with direction towards the window they had just left through. They walked like they were drugged, slow and staggering, bumping into things.

She had been thinking about taking the intruder down until she had heard how many there were pounding against the door. Something was terribly wrong. As she looked at the landscape around her, she knew it wasn't over yet. Sirens were loud in the streets, screams could be heard if you listened hard enough. She could see lots of cop cars over by the diner.

Many of the girls were finding their parents, they had come once the chaos had started. It wasn't Victoria's style to watch after kids anyway, but she saw Lilly standing all alone.

"Come on, let's see what kind of information we can get." She said to Lilly, gesturing towards the diner. "Those cops should know something."

She tried to push the knowledge of what she had saw in the locker room out of her mind.

David pushed through the wreckage to reach the exterior of the diner. He scrambled out over broken beams, shattered tables and bent metal. Cross was moving ever closer to the source of the moans. Each step nearing what he believed to be a survivor from the crash. The horrifying truth however was soon to come face to decaying face with David. Cross finally made his way outside and was forced to step over two more bodies. One was of the young woman from the diner who had been lovingly speaking with her boyfriend in the booth. Now she was laying in ruined state, her body horribly mangled from the crash. Her blood matted hair sticking to her scalp in patches as broken glass clung to what was left of her once flowing locks. David struggled with the sight but powered on as he stepped over her body and the body of one of the police officers.

Cross had to get to the trapped survivor in the ambulance. The moans of what sounded like pain driving him forward. As he neared he called out to the trapped person inside, hoping to calm them.

"Hey don't worry buddy! I'm gunna get you out of there!"

David shouted as he began pulling some of the wreckage away from the door so he could reach the handle. The sound of David's voice seemed to elicit a reaction from the trapped man inside whose moans picked up in volume and urgency. They began groaning frantically as they clawed at the door.

"Just hold on, almost there!"

Cross said as he heaved and yanked some more debris away from the door finally granting him access to the trapped man. He reached up and opened the door only to be greeted by a horrific, broken form of life.

"Hey what the fuck?!"

David cursed as the ghoul fell on him, teeth gnashing. It's bony hands reaching for him. David acted on instinct putting his forearm under it's throat, keeping it from biting him as his other hand kept it from grabbing him. David gritted his teeth in exertion as he struggled to keep the mad man off of him.

"Fucking Christ!"

David growled before bringing his boot up to the maniacs gut and kicking him off of him. The ghastly creature tumbled back and slammed into the back of the ambulance. David scrambled to his feet as he stared at the man in horrified awe. The man's neck had a massive chunk missing from it, dried blood as well as fresh covered most of it's torso and mouth. It's eyes were a sickly yellow and stared out with rabid hunger. The man moaned and took a step toward David but the Ranger was not about to have a second wrestling match with this thing.

"Don't try it pal."

David warned as he brought his fists up in a standard Army CQC stance. The warning fell on deaf ears as the ghoul came for him. David responded by stepping in and throwing a hard right hook to the temple. The blow had knocked Marines twice David's size flat on their ass but this thing was something else. It fell to the floor in a heap but sickeningly got back to it's feet, all the while a haunting growl in it's throat. Again it came for him, bloody hands reaching for him. The military man countered, grabbing it's wrist with his left hand and pulling him forward before throwing his forearm into the ghouls elbow. The bone snapped with a nasty crack as the bone shattered and split out in the opposite direction. The zombie faltered and stumbled back from the force of the attack but barely seemed to notice the broken arm as if feeling no pain. David stared in confusion and horror at the ghastly sight knowing full well that no matter what you were on a broken arm should down just about anybody.

"What the hell are you?..."

He said aloud, taking a tentative step back. It was that step that granted David his salvation. He stepped on the boot of one of the dead cops. He turned and realized that the officers service pistol could mean the end of this fight. He had to act fast as the ghoul was still coming. David darted to the cops side and pulled his weapon from it's holster. A Glock 17 9mm, used by law enforcement nearly all over the world. David took aim and fired in seconds, putting three rounds in a tight grouping in the crazed man's chest. The rounds did nothing to slow it's advance. David stared in disbelief as the monster moaned for his blood. David took a quick step back, this time a kill shot. One round right between the eyes. Blood and brain matter spewed out of the back of the zombies skull before it dropped to the ground finally still.

David stared at the body in confusion as he breathed rapidly with the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. He turned around to scan his immediate area when he heard more moans from nearby. More of those things wandered the streets as sirens could be heard all over town. Chaos had overwhelmed Aurora and the dead feasted on the living. The screams of the dying could be heard on nearly every street corner as gun shouts rang out in the air.

"What the fuck is going on?..."

David muttered to himself as he stared out onto the hellish reality he now found himself in. He crouched beside the cop and searched his body for spare clips. Finding three he pocketed them before looking back up. It was then that his eyes fell on two people. An attractive young woman with fiery red hair and a young girl with a moderate tan coming towards him. His hand tensed on the pistol in his hand but that tension eased once he got a better look at them. No blood, no wounds from what he could see at this distance. They still looked very much alive. For how long however was still open for debate as David caught sight of two more shuffling corpses making their way up behind them. David took few quick steps towards them before shouting.

"Get down!"

He barked before squeezing off two shots. Each expertly placed in the skulls of the walking dead. As the bodies dropped David jogged over to the girls to see if either of them were hurt at all.

"You two alright?"

Lilly walked with Miss Vicky towards the police cars. But as they approached it became clearer and clearer that they wouldn't be getting any help from them. Lilly had never seen anything like it. An ambulance was inside of the building and the two police cars were smashed in there too. They heard at least one guy moving around and talking inside. Mesmerized, Lilly walked towards the destruction, feeling like she was in some sort of movie. Then she heard shouts that were followed by three loud cracks. They sounded like fire works, only scarier.

Lilly shrieked and stumbled away from the sound. She started to ask Miss Vicky what the sound was when another one rang out. She turned to start running when she heard a man say, "Get down!"

Lilly dropped to the ground as the man shot two more bullets over them and into some people who had been behind them. Lilly stayed on the ground, covering her head and whimpering. Not knowing what to do.

Victoria didn't even flinch as the bullets whizzed by her head. She knew instantly that this was the man to stay close to. He knew his way around a gun. Lilly was on the ground whimpering. Victoria controlled the urge to roll her eyes, she pulled the girl up, trying to act like she should. She held the girl's head into her stomach, trying to act the part of the concerned teacher.

She looked at the chaos around her and shook her head in bewilderment. What happened to Aurora in the few hours she was teaching a tumbling class?

"You two alright?" the man with the gun asked.

"Fine," Victoria responded. The man didn't see the body rising from the ground behind him. Like a horror movie, the body rose from its grave of rubble. He was like the ones in the locker room.

"Watch out." She didn't yell it, she said it with the deadly calm voice that she held. She let go of Lilly, and before the soldier could turn and see what was happening she had jumped over the soldier's head. She did a high kick to the monster's head, what she assumed was the easiest way to knock the person unconscious.

She looked at the thing as it started coming back to life, she was going to have to kill them or nothing. She turned to the man with the gun.

"What the hell is going on?"

David watched in surprise as the young woman leapt over his shoulder with a stunning display of acrobatic talent and ferocity, kicking the walking dead in the head. The blow was savage and floored the corpse instantly. Had it have been alive they would have been unconscious before hitting the floor. Knock out shots weren't going to do much to these creatures unfortunately, leaving David one option. Before he could say anything else he walked up to the moaning corpse and put his foot on it's chest, pushing it back down and holding it there. As the zombie's hands raised to grasp David's leg Cross leveled the gun at the creatures forehead and squeezed the trigger. The ground beneath the head became wet with blood and chunks of brain.

David turned a little concerned with how even and measured this young woman was. Seemingly unphased if not a little annoyed at the chaos around them. She had barely flinched when David had fired past her earlier. No tears, no emotion, nothing. It was possible she was just in shock but the soldier was unsure as of yet. His gaze flicked to the little girl, now standing alone after the woman had let go of her hand to go Bruce Lee on a zombie.

"I don't know what's going on, I wish I did. To say that the dead coming back to life is a big problem though would be the understatement of the year."

He said as he slid the gun in his pants, at the small of his back so as not to have it in his hands as he reached the little girl and unsettle her further. He knelt in front of her with a warm reassuring smile.

"Hey there, my names David it's gunna be ok alright. We're gunna get you somewhere safe."

He paused and turned around looking at the woman with the fiery red hair.

"We'll get you both somewhere safe. First we better get off the street, the less we're out in the open like this the better."

David's mind, all the tactical training from his time in the military, began to page through what little he knew about Aurora and what he had seen since coming here. He was thinking about buildings, locations, anywhere that could be easily defended by one man with a scavenged pistol. It had to be somewhere small, somewhere he could easily defend alone. The less entry points the better. Stores offered a good choice. Most had those pull down security gates for locking up at the end of the night. They were made to keep out thieves, they should do wonders against the undead. Yet the majority he'd seen had those big shop windows that once broken would only be inviting trouble. The walkers would see them easily inside and their numbers would just increase. He needed someplace slightly more discrete, something like...

His mind practically screamed at him the answer as he muttered what he'd come up with out loud.

"Monster Mikes."

Her teacher was so brave, Lilly thought as Miss Vicky helped her up. She took in a shaky breath as she surveyed the area. She felt ashamed at the way she had acted, especially because of the way Miss Vicky was acting. It was like she had changed completely. Lilly had never seen her teacher like this, so cold and uncaring but brave and aware of her surroundings. Lilly shivered even as the older girl held her. She had felt rigid, like she hadn't actually wanted to hold her or even be there. But who would want to be in this situation?

Her teacher said "Watch out," and then high jump kicked a zombie in the head. Lilly gasped when it got back up, but then the man walked over and shot it in the head. Lilly made sure to remember that part. It has to die in the head.

"Hey there, my names David it's gunna be ok alright. We're gunna get you somewhere safe."

Lilly nodded at the big man in front of her. She was calming down now, starting to think more clearly. She shook her head a little at the strange world she had rolled out of that window into. Then the man mentioned Monster Mikes.

Lilly didn't really know much about that part of town, but she knew it was in the opposite direction of her house. Now that she was thinking clearly, she put together a plan of action. She wanted to get home to see if her parents were ok. She also had to change out of this outfit. Home was safe, home had food and Daddy had a gun.

"Mr. David?" Lilly said sweetly as she pulled on the big man's sleeve. "Can we go to my house please? I need to find my mom and dad and make sure they're ok. Miss Vicky, you'll come with me right?" Lilly looked up at them, widening her big green eyes and puffing out her lower lip only a little. She let one tear fall down under her right eye and sniffed a little, just like she had practiced.

VIcky pulled her hair up in the bow and nodded. Her eyes seemed to soften at the sight of the little girl. She looked so sad and concerned, and Vicky would want to go check on her own mother. She was terrified of what was going on. All this news about the hospital and she knew her mother would be there.

Her brother was also in that part of town.


"She is right David" The sweet soft cooing of her voice had returned. "I want to check on my family too. If you want to come with us it would be deeply appreciated. We could use your expertise. If not, I understand, I'm sure you have your own things you need to do."

She knelt down to talk to Lilly when she saw something moving out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively she pulled Lilly behind her. It was different than before, protecting Lilly was almost her prime objective. She had to get this girl home safely.

Cautiously Vicky approached the movement, it was a man, he was hiding behind a car. She wasn't sure at first if he was one of the walking corpses, or if he was just a man looking for help. She motioned for David to wait, in case it was indeed human.

She got a good look at him. He had dark brown hair, it was neat aside from the places you could see where he had ran his fingers through it in his stressed state. He looked unharmed.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

David breathed out a quick sigh of concern but nodded to the little girl as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, sure of course. We'll find them."

David said, his voice unsure yet resolved to find the young girls parents. Trekking off after missing civilians was risky and dangerous but he wasn't about to deny a child an opportunity to find their parents. If the roles were reversed he would go to the ends of the earth to find his brother. He turned to the young woman as she tied her hair up in a bow.

"I'm with you, I'm not about to leave you two ladies out here on your own."

He said with a warm smile before the young woman caught the sound of someone moving nearby. David's smile faded in an instant as his hand went to the gun at his back. It was out and at the ready in seconds. He was about to move forward to engage the target but the woman motioned for him to hang back. David halted but kept his gun ready to drill a hole through whatever was on the other side of the car should it be hostile.

"Are you okay?"

He heard the woman say, whose name was still a mystery to him as was the name of the young girl.

Matthew stayed hidden behind the car, terrified. He had woken up this morning and started his day as usual, then things had gone insane and the next moment, there were the walking dead - or at least something like them. It was bizarre, like from a sci-fi or horror movie. And now he was here, hiding behind someone else's car after a frantic moment of panic filled fleeing, clutching his conducting baton like some sort of makeshift weapon. Suddenly, he heard people nearby. They were far away, but he heard them clearly.

As they grew closer, he became now and more paranoid. What if they attracted one of those whatever they were? Just as he was about to peek around the car to check, one person looked over the car and spotted him. Frozen, he simply stared back, blue eyes wide and his knuckles turning white as he gripped the baton. Then, one of them spoke. The moment he heard her voice, he unfroze - her voice seemed familiar, had he heard her before? Was she student at the middle or high school? He could forget a face but he never forgot a voice.

"Y-Yes," he said quietly, standing slowly, looking around himself cautiously. "Are you?" he inquired in return. Perhaps she would recognize him before he recognized her. Depending on the time of day, he taught at the middle school or the high school - high school in the morning and middle later in the afternoon. A quick glance at all of them showed that they were far from walking corpses, and he even clearly recognized one of them - The young Lilly Williams from one of his more... rambunctious choirs.

"I'm fine," She used her sweet voice to coax him out of his hiding spot. She stared at him long and hard. He looked familiar somehow. Then she had it, she smiled enthusiastically at him, happy to see a familiar face.

"You work at the high school don't you?" She asked. She tried to think back to before she graduated. "You taught the music class." She held out her hand to him.

"My name is Vicky Dawn. I took your class about 2 years back. This is David, we only just met, and Lilly, she is one of my students." Things were tumbling out of her mouth stupidly.

"I'm glad to see that you are okay. We are heading towards Lilly's house. We have to get her home," She turned to the girl.

"Where do you live anyway exactly?" She inquired of the girl.

Lilly saw her choir teacher, Mr. Cave, behind the car as he came out. Miss Vicky recognized him too. He looked really scared and Lilly wondered how he had gotten there. It was strange to see him outside of the classroom. But, Lilly felt that she wouldn't see any of her classes any more anyways. Inside she felt a little jolt of excitement as she realized there would never be any more homework. Then she realized that the world she was in was a hard price to pay for no homework.

She woke up from her thinking to hear Miss Vicky asking her a question.

"Where do I live?" She asked rhetorically, thinking to herself. She realized that she knew the way, if they took backroads, alleys, and the backyards of people's houses; but she had no idea about how to get there using streets. She also wasn't quite sure how to explain it to them. She also wondered if these people would be able to follow her if she took her usual routes. They generally involved a lot of climbing, jumping, and falling from moderate heights. She wondered if these old people would be able to handle the strain.

"I can lead you there," Lilly said after a few seconds of contemplation. "But you might know a quicker way...It's close to the park. We could go there first and I could lead you from there if you want."

"The faster we're on the move the better. I don't like us being out here in the open like this. Lead the way Lilly, we're right behind you."

He said giving her a reassuring wink before checking how many shots he had left in his current clip and eyeing the nearby streets for signs of trouble. The nearby moans of walkers were ever present but fortunately there were none in visual distance. At least not yet. David took a minute to shake the new teachers hand as he introduced himself.

"Hey there, David Cross. Hell of a day huh?"

He said half sarcastic.

Matthew was quiet as Vicky talked, always having been a very polite man. As she asked if he taught at the highschool, specifically if he taught music, he smiled lightly and nodded, muttering a quiet 'yes'. It was comforting to know that two younger people had enough sense to take action while keeping their heads in the right place. He visibly calmed quite a bit once he realized that they were there, strongly believing in strength in numbers. He held his conducting baton loosely in one hand as he straightened his back.

"Yes, i remember you," he spoke after Vicky's brief introduction. "One of the few that paid attention if i remember correctly," With a sigh, he continued. "And i know Lilly, she's one of my current students - Also one of the few that pay attention." It was sobering for him to think about how many students tried to take his class for an easy A (although they quickly were proven wrong when they're lack of work ethic earned them a very solid D or F). Teenagers now...

He was pulled from his thoughts when the man, David, spoke up. He offered him a smile as he introduced himself. "A pleasure you meet you Mr. Cross, although i wish it would have been under different circumstances - Hell of a day indeed." Offering his hand politely, he spoke quietly. "I'm Matthew Cave," Once the pleasantries were finished, he quickly shifted his attention like flicking a switch.

They needed to get Lilly home - And she was the only one who know how to get there, so she would have to lead the way for all of them. Hopefully they'd make it - Alive.

"I know how to get to the park." Vicky said cheerfully. "My brother lives on that side of town. I want to check on him myself." She stared off in the direction of the park, then turned to face her party.

"It is probably going to be safer to walk. The roads are blocked in most places." She began to walk the route she knew best towards the park. Vicky was doing her best to stay out of sight, not wanting to attract more of the soulless monsters to them. She was especially careful to avoid downtown as the passed it. There as nothing but bad things there before everything went to chaos, she was sure there was nothing but even worse things now. It seemed they would make it to the park with no incident. They weren't far now.

Everyone was looking at Lilly for guidance but she wasn't sure if she knew how to lead. She shrugged and began to walk forward when Miss Vicky said she knew the way to the park. Lilly sighed in relief and she eagerly let the older girl take the lead. It was a lot easier then trying to lead them through her route. She noticed that Miss Vicky was avoiding the open while still using the street. Lilly still felt a bit exposed.

As they walked they could hear the sounds of chaos off in the distance, but for now they really couldn't hear anything close to them and Lilly felt safe with all of the adults walking with her. She noticed that Miss Vicky was avoiding downtown. Lilly would have lead them straight through there, because that was the quickest way to go. But she understood the need for caution and she followed her teacher trustingly.

As they got closer to the park Lilly got more and more nervous. She hoped her parents wer ok and she hoped that they wouldn't have to see any more of those zombies. She worried about leading them and started thinking of an easy route that the adults would be able to take without too much trouble. She had just thought of the perfect way to go when they reached the park.

I was bringing up the rear, the pistol in my hand. I kept my eyes scanning out immediate surrounding for signs of hostiles. We were moving steadily, making good time.

"Keep close to the buildings and check your blind spots people."

I advised as we continued on our route to Lily's home. As they went along I noticed the buildings starting to open up as the park started to come into view. Littered with park benches, playground equipment and picnic areas. It would have been quite charming if it wasn't for the walking corpses. There was maybe six or seven of the moaning and stumbling around in the park. There were two huddled over a body they were savagely ripping to pieces as the devoured the flesh. I moved up to the head of the column to bring Vicky to a stop.

"Woah, hold folks up we got contacts."

I said as I lowered to a crouching position and gestured for the others to do the same. I eyed the terrain and gauged my chances at taking out the few in the park but it just didn't smell right, too many variables. I turned around to confer with the others about our next move.

"I've got enough rounds for the ones I can see but it's the ones I can't I'm worried about. We don't know how many are around the corner or down the next street. I start firing off rounds the noise will draw everything in ear shot. We don't want that."

I said before pausing to shoot another quick, speculative glance at the park before turning back to the group.

"Options?"