Christian Duffy's Story

Christian blinked into the glaring sunlight. The sky seemed overcast, but not with rain-clouds - it was plumes of smoke from smouldering buildings, from corpse burn-offs. The stench that coated the city was revolting; a singed mix of flesh and trash. But within hours, one's nose gets used to it and it's almost like you have always inhaled it. Christian was used to foul odours and gruesome sights, but that didn't prevent his stomach from tumbling over itself. His breathing was deep, forcibly so and he was trying to clear his cluttered mind as he watched his 'safe haven' begin to burn. He had fled the moment the camp was compromised - an infected stock-market jerk that had slipped through the virus scanning procedures by lying about some crap that he was 'allergic' or something. Christian had helped in the screening of newcomers and he had argued with the others.

"It's not right! We can't just let some stuffed shirt wander in because he claims to be allergic..." Christian spat angrily. "You are putting the entire camp at risk!"

"How can we deny someone, leave them to die out there if they simply cannot take the screening?" One young hippy-type retorted, in an almost hypnotic tone that enraged Christian further.

"Besides," a hardened old lady stepped forward, wrinkled hands on her hips, "we checked him over. No bites or visible virus entry points." Christian nearly exploded.

"Don't you remember that the virus can be spread, even if an infected bleed or leaked onto something he ingested-" The old woman, Martha, interrupted him with a scowl and her hand placed firmly on his shoulder. "Yes, I do. But if we can't trust our own, then what is the point of all this?" She rolled her hand, gesturing to the hundreds camped within the stadium. "Why bother fighting, surviving, if we can't even help those that need it? I would soon shoot myself then turn that man away." She closed her eyes and put her hand up before Christian's face as he opened his mouth to argue. "No more on this. He is in, and he stays." And with that, she shuffled off.

Christian sighed, the memory one in which he should be punching the air and shouting I FUCKING TOLD YOU SO! but the circumstances were too dire for that. He was out on the streets, hidden behind a dumpster with the crumbling stadium in full view. He had run as soon as the man had started exhibiting the symptoms of the Nizarri virus. He knew what was coming, and he wasn't sticking around for the bloody show. He snuck into the medbay, and rifled through the bottles, seizing some antibiotics and painkillers and stuffing them into his little medkit. He felt a twang of guilt for those he left, in blissful ignorance, but telling them would only have started a panic and made the situation worse. But for where Christian was sitting, it wouldn't have mattered. It had only taken an hour or so, before the first primal shriek erupted, muffled, from the camp. And within minutes, the place was filled with screams of terror and confusion. Crashes of equipment, gunshots and what sounded like snaps of bone made Christian turn away.

But he had tried to warn them, to make them understand. Martha had been wrong. In order to survive, one must think of only themselves. And if that means, joining others and benefiting from the arrangment, then so be it. But Christian wouldn't, couldn't hesitate deserting those that broke his rules. And if he ever found others, they would be stupid to cross him - he was a trained nurse, a lifesaver. And without him, they were already dead.

Christian took a deep breath and ran his hand across his face. The image of the place he once called safe -the place that could have remained safe if care had been taken- burning to the ground made him both furious and bitter. He stood quietly, readjusted and carefully made his way into the rubbish-strew alleyway. He tried to be as silent as possible, not wanting to attract any attention that would result in his mauling and/or death. The streets were eerily quiet, unnaturally so. Not even the wildlife or the wind made a noise; as if all of nature's beauty had deserted the planet. It was unsettling. And it made Christian's hairs on his neck prickle. He could hear his own unsteady heartbeat, the sound of his throat retracting as he swallowed.

And then the sound of sobbing been abruptly cut short. He froze and leant into the shadows, eyes narrowed. Is it one of them? He thought, mind boggling. If it was, then the tables had turned again. If they could made human noises, emotion-driven sounds, than the threat they posed increased ten fold. Traps could be set, perhaps this was one. His skin was tight and mouth dry. He needed to know how close it was, for he was without a weapon and wasn't great at fighting anyway - not without an Xbox controller anyway. He started edging forward, light widening as the alley's opening drew closer. He pressed himself against the heavily graffitied bricks, and slipped his hand into his pocket and took out his Swiss army knife. With a flick of the wrist, the widest blade appeared and Christian snuck the tip beyond the wall, angled slightly so as to see what was there.

A woman reflected in the blade. Christian's frowned as he stared at her, and realised he knew her. Not personally, but he had seen her before. Recently. I think she... I think she helped at the refuge... What was her name? Started with a H... Or was it a M? He withdrew the knife and thought for a moment. Was she infected? Christian then heard her apologise to someone, no-one, anyone. She couldn't be infected for two reasons. First, when infected the cognitive faculties of a human were essentially destroyed. And two, she was feeling sad - and Christian knew it was because she had ran too, just like him. He chewed the inside of his cheek and nodded an affirmation to himself before taking a small step out into the grey street.

"You a'right?" Christian muttered, looking around him to ensure safety.

"You a'right?"

Hannah jumped in surprise and reeled on her heels to face the direction of the voice that spoke to her. Her eyes made contact with his and Hannah's face broke out with a smile of relief, "SOMEONE ELSE!" she breathed heavily. "I - I'm fine.." she stammered, still overwhelmed. "How did you make it out?" she asked in disbelief, "I thought I was the only one to get out... at least from the side of the stadium I was on anyway..." Hannah's face dropped to the ground with guilt that she had run out on her own. "I didn't know what to do..." she whispered solemnly, "I just ran..."

Hannah was a people person, and never in her life, as much as she could help, ever let anyone down or walked away from a person in need. "I just didn't know what to do.." she said quietly as she raised her head... "It was just... a moment... and all I could do was... run". Hannah wiped a tear and looked up to the man in front of her, "My names Hannah" she said softly and held a shaky hand out to the man in front of her, "You're Chris right?" she asked with a bleak smile.

Hannah cleared her throat and spoke again, "Sorry... I'm rambling... I'm not normally like this" the said with embarrassment, "I'm not usually this emotional... I just feel like I should have done more back there. Hannah cleared her throat again and her voice returned to almost its usual confident tone, "Where are you going? Black Falls by any chance? If you are... think you'd like a travel buddy?"



Cameron grabbed her by the scruff and the lower back. He pulled back and then thrust forward with all his might forcing the undead-bitch to collide straight into the wall with enough force that you could hear her skull crack. Cameron stepped back, "Yee-haw!" he shouted with excitement, the world was going to shit, but this was Cameron's time to shine. He turned to face the woman he'd just saved from being attacked and bent down to help her up, "You're welcome..." he said gruffly and turned to walk away.

As the camp around him began to disintegrate, Cameron looked around in anger and disgust. Cameron could never claim to be a wholly righteous person - he did go to jail after all - but as he watched people become rabid and begin to infect others, he also saw how men were throwing women and children in the way to save themselves, and women leave their children behind to give themselves a better chance.

Cameron hitched his jacket and looked for an exit... One end of the stadium was an epic shit-storm, so he turned and began to high-tail it to a an exit that was barely being used. As he reached the stadium exit a man called out in the mayhem. Cameron turned to find a middle aged man stuck and entangled in tent ropes... "I can't get out... Please help!". Cameron thought for a moment... Helping this guys could seal his fate, and what did it matter if some stupid prick got himself stuck... It wasn't Cameron's problem. "PLEASE!" he begged Cameron. "Fuck me dead.." he shouted and ran as fast as he could to the man's aid.

As Cameron reached the man entangled he reached down and grabbed him by the arms, pulled with all his weight and yanked the man out. "There you idiot" Cameron snapped. The man began to run for the exit and Cameron was about to follow when a young woman's voice caught his ears from under the tent's fallen tarpaulin. It was a young woman, "Andrew!" Cameron's eyes widened and he turned to watch the man run for his life, "You piece of chicken shit." Cameron hissed. He turned and began to shuffle through the tarpaulin looking for the source of the voice. As Cameron lifted the tarp and found the woman he was met with a surprising hug and sobbing woman, "Where's Andrew?" she asked hurriedly, "I need to find him.." The woman didn't wait for a reply and just ran off into the hysterical crowed yelling out the coward's name.

Cameron stood and shouted "You're fucking welcome" after her and turned and ran for the exit. As Cameron reached the exit another yell echoed through his ears. Cameron turned to his left and saw the coward Andrew up against a wall with an infected woman attempting to bite him. The woman was held at a distance by the throat and the man was calling to Cameron for help. "Please help me!". Cameron looked the man straight in the eyes and and turned and ran.

Christian couldn't help but grin when the distressed girl whirled around, eyes lighting up - "SOMEONE ELSE!"

His smile faded almost as quickly as it came, a soft frown curving in it's place. He nodded, as if in agreement with the girl who was babbling feverishly on about feeling awful for leaving those people, that she could have, should have done more. But her instincts kicked it. Which was natural and even though Christian only felt a drop of guilt wherein this girl was drowning in an ocean of it, he smiled kindly and took her trembling hand in his warm, firm grip.

"Hannah. I am Christian. And it's alright, I understand. It's awful." He dropped her hand and looked around, hoping their voices didn't drift upon rotten ears. "But the will to survive is the strongest drive we have. It pretty much overrides all our emotions and morals." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and smiled at her, dropping his voice a few decibels. Something didn't feel right.

Christian tried to push the thought away, moving into the alleyway and beckoning Hannah to follow. His eyes flittered across her body. Hannah was gorgeous. But would she really be of any use to him? She had just mentioned about going to Black Falls, apparently the safiest place on earth! And he didn't know whether or not she would be a blessing or a burden. She didn't look very strong and didn't have any weapons. Would he constantly be healing her, running his supplies low? He needed to know what she would bring to the duo. Apart from sex appeal.

"Black Falls. Hm, yeah. It's not like there is much left here for us, unless you enjoy charred undead company." He paused and inwardly kicked himself. He really knew when to say the right thing. Oh the humiliation!

"Anyway," he carried on quickly, "we need to move out of the open. It's starting to get late." Christian would take her somewhere and interrogate her, find out about her past, her abilities as a human, her weaknesses. And if she was going to be a hindrance, he would leave while she slept. He'd donate her a bottle of pain-killers, he wasn't a monster. Besides, seeing a beauty like that go to decaying waste would be such a shame.

"Should I shoot him?" questioned Steve, another sniper to his right. Marcus watched the man as he stumbled to the entrance. His skin was still pink and his stumbling looked like it was some sort of injury or allergen.
"Leave him be, the nurse at the gate can deal with him." responded Marcus, and trained his sights elsewhere. That decision was one of the worst decisions Marcus could have ever made.

----

Fire broke out shortly after the screams, and erupted into an inferno surprisingly fast. Maybe it had hit the gas reserves? At any rate, Marcus began lowering the makeshift drawbridge - a couple of tables and a length of rope nailed together, just enough to get one person at a time across to the nearby rooftop.
"I'll prep the other side," he announced to Steve, somewhat selfishly as it would assure his immediate safety, but his companion nodded and started calling survivors up the stands to the drawbridge. Marcus had only just got to the other side when Steve shouted "Stop!" before a large crack was heard - around five people were trying to make it across at once. The drawbridge split and the people fell for what seemed eternity. He didn't stay to look at the remains.
"Steve! Meet me at the tower!" he cried out, pointing to a skyscraper nearby. His prompts were in vain, though, as he watched in horror as Steve was bitten, no, mauled at the side of the stadium. Instead of joining the infected, he pulled the group who was biting him over the edge and fell like the survivors before him. Marcus could only watch his friend fall. All this had happened in a couple of seconds, and already the escape route was destroyed and his friend was dead. He turned and sprinted across the rooftop, away from the horrors behind him.

----

Save for the distant burning, the place was silent. Watching the streets from above he noted how that it seemed there were no survivors. An infected man wandered into his sights and was quickly put down with a sizeable bullet. Marcus was, once again, alone.

Hannah followed Christian into the alley, but she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable going with him... Not because he seemed like a bad person, she had seen enough of his actions at the camp to know he wasn't a bad person, but he was looking at her with goofy eyes almost like he was checking her out.
Hannah followed still, a bleak smile cracking across her face at the forwardness his body language was saying.

As they walked down the alley Hannah shivered, and looked around, the eerie quiet that filled the air was ominous and unsettling. The dry-wrench inducing smell of wafting rot and burning flesh just layered the hopelessness surrounding the two. "Do you think others got out too?" she asked with a slight hint of hopefulness.

Hannah walked further and as they passed a doorway Hannah saw it was ajar slightly, "Chris!" she whispered, "Look! It's open slightly... We can rest in here...?" Hannah didn't wait for a response and approached the door and pressed her face to the crack and squinted, looking through to see if there was anyone - anything - inside. "It looks safe..." she said absently and opened the door a little and a small creak echoed. Hannah peered in deeper, "it's empty!" she called out behind her, and entered cautiously.

The building was obviously a restaurant of some description, Hannah had stumbled into an industrial kitchen. Hard, metal and cold... But looked as though it was waiting to have its staff walk in and start working at any moment - practically pristine - Hannah ran her hand along a preparation bench, and her hand ended resting on a butchers knife, clasping it firmly, her first weapon.

Christian sighed as Hannah asked, her tone laced with hope, if he thought anyone else had survived in the camp. It was possible, after all he hadn't expected to find Hannah, but the odds where not fabulous. So he just nodded, not turning to look at her. "Yeah, it's possible." His own thoughts wandered, curious as to what was next. What would he do if Black Falls had, well, fallen? Move on, forever searching for a safe place to call home... was that even possible now? And what if this place was all it said, safe and untouched? How can one resume their life when everything they knew is dead? Would it be better if he were dead?

He had considered this, lying on his crappy stretcher-bed in the stadium that groaned every time he shifted, considered that perhaps it would been better if he just injected 20ccs of bleach into his bloodstream and await the eternal rest. But something always stopped him; the help he gave was so desperately needed, if he did top himself the undead win and so on. But really, no matter what Christian implied, he was really too afraid to die. His 'calm, cool and collected' attitude conveyed a different tale, but inside, Christian was screaming in terror. He didn't have the first idea of what to do in a situation like this. If he could pray, he would; but he didn't believe in any Higher Being and these recent events only strengthened his beliefs. How could an all-loving creator allow his children to come back and eat each other-

"Chris!"

Christian was snapped out of his thoughts and spun around, to see Hannah moving into the opened door. His eyes widened and he stepped forward, not wanting to enter until... "It's safe...It's empty!" Hannah's muffled voice reached his ears and he moved quickly, not wanting to look like he had been waiting for the woman to check the safety of the place. He stepped over the threshold and quickly shut the door, looking around and grabbing the industrial strength broom from the corner. Christian wedged it between the handle and frame, ensuring that, at the very least, the undead couldn't just 'step inside. He turned and scanned the kitchen, smiling slightly as he watched Hannah pick up a knife.

"Nice." He muttered, running his hand across the bench. His landed on a whisk and he picked it up, looking at Hannah and swished it through air menacingly. "Imma whip them zombies 'till they don't know what's what." He stated in a tacky accent, before spying the dry-stores over toward the back of the kitchen. "Look, this could be our lucky day." Knowing full well the perishable fridge would be a nuclear bomb of rotten horror, he bypassed it and slid the dry-store open. There stood hundreds of cans and boxes and packets of dehydrated and preserved foods. He smiled a genuine smile and turned to Hannah, sweeping his whisk before him.

"Dinner is served."

Hannah's face withdrew with confusion when Christian held up the whisk and spluttered out the oneliner about whisking the zombies to death, then she laughed, "very funny". She appreciated the effort he was going to to make them feel comfortable with each other. She watched as Christian explored the kitchen and kept her eyes flicking between what he was doing and out into the actual restaurant, making sure no infected came in. Then Christian spoke, "This could be our lucky day" and Hannah turned to see him grinning at her saying "Dinner is served".

Hannah's eyes widened with hunger and excitement, "Oh my god!" she said excitedly as her hands delved into the pantry and retrieved a packet of nuts. She opened it enthusiastically and began to shovel them into her face, "I can't... Believe how... much food... is just sitting here" she said through bites and swallows of the packeted nuts. "How did no one ransack this place?". Hannah looked around the kitchen and saw a door that said Break Room. She rushed over and went in, spying a row of four or so lockers. She pulled one open and down the bottom sat a backpack, left behind by whoever had been here and left in a rush.

Hannah emerged from the break room with the backpack and held it up, "We can carry some of the food in this!" she smirked, walking over to the pantry and shovelling as much food as possible in the back pack. "We shouldn't stick around one place too long in the city" she grunted as she hoisted the pack over her shoulders. She grabbed the butchers knife from the bench again and held it up, "You need to find something better than a whisk" she said half-seriously half-joking.

Christian's grin did not fade as he followed Hannah into the over-sized pantry and chuckled as she snatched up a packet of nuts and devoured them within seconds. He nodded when she expressed disbelief at how much food was still in the place. Christian looked to the back and saw stacks of chocolate. He grabbed a block and snapped off an enormous slab, polishing it off within seconds and the entire block in minutes. Refills of water for the stand alone water cooler lined the walls, and small bottles of water stacked the back wall. Christian ripped open the tough plastic and drained a whole bottle within a minute. He looked at Hannah - "How did no-one ransack this place?" and shrugged, "they mustn've found it yet, probably ran straight passed." He watched as Hannah moved into a room with the sign Break Room and came hurrying back in, holding up her spoils - "We can carry some of the food in this!"

Christian watched, savouring some chocolate on his tongue. He grabbed a few blocks and walked behind her, sliding the chocolate in. He grabbed few bottles of water, slipped one into his little MEDKIT (it had a special holder for bottles) and put the rest in her bag. "Is that too heavy?" He asked, stepping out to look at her. He smiled as she said he needed a better weapon. Faking offend, he took a step back. "What's wrong with whisky here?" He said, waving it around. He smiled and dropped it, the wire scraping against itself and rolling under the shelves. He looked around, hoping to see a pump shotgun or katana just lying around. Not that he'd have the first clue how to use it... If he had a controller however, things may be different. He sighed, moving towards the locker room, talking loudly at Hannah. "So what did you used to do? Y'know, as a job?"

Christian's eyes came across the First Aid box and unlatched it - seizing the bandages, saline solutions and band-aids. They save more lives than one realises, Christian thought, laughing aloud. He stashed the extra good in his bag and moved back into the dry-store.

Hannah felt the weight in her bag increase when Christian dumped a few bottles of water in back pack. "Nah, that's plenty fine" she said hoisting the bag back into a comfortable position. She turned around and smiled when Christian made a joke about the whisk, "Oh, nothing's wrong with it... it's just too... good" she said sarcastically and laughed a little.

As Christian began to search around the kitchen more, Hannah mimicked him and searched around for more useful stuff. As Hannah searched she heard Christian speak to her and ask, "What did you used to do? Y'know, as a job?". Hannah knew instantly why he was asking, she'd had this conversation before, it was the inevitable sizing up people did before deciding if they were going to drop someone else or not. Hannah stood up and cocked a hip to the side with her arms on her hips, "Look" she said her voice suddenly going stern, trying to lock her gaze with Christian's.

"We know you're a nurse, and can help heal people and keep them alive if they need it..." Hannah breathed in deep and continued, "I've done these conversations before... So don't pretend to be interested in who I was." Hannah shifted the bag on her shoulders, her mood becoming heated, "I'm smart." I can think on my feet better than most people. "And I'm fast" Hannah stressed, "I'm not just talking, I can outrun you for a couple hundred metres..." her eyebrow raised slightly and a smirk emerged across her lips, "I can run for a good 6km's in twenty minutes without breaking a sweat fast" Hannah grabbed the butcher's knife and held it firm in her grip the knuckles going white on her hand, her mood changing from confident to nostalgic hurt "And I can fit into small spaces..." Hannah moved forward, "I've had this conversation too many times" Hannah's voice cracked, "I found the fucking stadium on my own... I helped more people than I could count..." Hannah stepped forward again and her pony tail swished around from her back across the front of her right shoulder, "I've been left to wake up on my own twice... and hours later found the assholes who left me mauled to death or infected themselves..." Hannah stopped her rant and stepped back.

The kitchen was eerily silent, and Hannah's voice lowered to an embarrassed whisper, stressing her point again, "I've been left on my own twice... both times woken up alone, both times seen the people that had promised to stay lie to me and end up dead... but I'm still alive..." Hannah coughed and cleared her throat and her voice returned to normal, "That fact i'm still alive should be enough evidence that i'm not some dick head who makes mistakes". Hannah looked back up and connected eyes with Christian, "All I'm saying is I'm smart.. and I'm fast... and I can get to places most can't"...

Hannah stepped forward again, "If you don't think i'm worth travelling with... then just go now... I'll be fine either way."

All Christian could do was stare, his lips ajar as Hannah snapped at his question. She was right, he was interrogating her - he needed to know whether or not she'd be a liability. Now, he wished he had never asked. He stepped forward, now only a meter from her as she had advanced on him and he looked at her, searching her eyes for... something. He didn't know, but he knew his own face would be giving away his guilt. He let her finish, her voice soft.

"Hannah... I'm... well, I am sorry..." He started awkwardly, eyes on his shoes, rubbing a hand across the nape of his neck. "I want to say I didn't mean it like that, but... I can't lie. I wanted to know if you would hold me back but now..." He paused, his eyes flickered up to hers. He felt awful and stupid; he had only known her an hour or so, and yet he could tell she wouldn't be a dead-weight. She was clever, he could tell. And used her initiative. But it was her bright spark of hope that, surprisingly, Christian found the most, well, comforting. And he knew he didn't need to dig around her, because he did want to travel with her. And he did deserve the guilt trip she had sent him on, telling him she had been left twice, but survived. He didn't realise she was fast, but when he thought about it, she did look it. All slender and toned... He dragged his mind from stumbling into the gutter and sighed.


"I'm sorry. I think... I think we should travel together... To Black Fal-"

The crack of a gunshot, though muffled, smacked Christian's inner-ear. His head spun, eyes narrowed. Muttering aloud to no-one in particular. "The undead can't shoot, not enough motor control..." He looked at Hannah and smiled. "It could be another person... survivor." Hannah had already changed the way he was thinking. He still didn't think they should run to the rescue. But a reconnaissance mission didn't seem such a bad idea. After all, Hannah was small and fast. And clever.

"Should we investigate... Travel buddy?" He grinned stupidly, hoping she wouldn't stab him.

Just over her head, Christian spotted a door in the kitchen. Maybe a weapons cache. Or even just a shovel...

As Christian apologised Hannah's frown lessened and she returned to her normal pose and regular tone of voice. Hannah's eyes softened too and she closed the gap between her and Christian with a brief hug and "Thank you" then moved back. Christian began speaking again "I'm sorry. I think... I think we should travel together... To Black Fal-" a blaring gunshot - muffled slightly - filled their ears. When Christian's words leant a possible nod to survivors in the area Hannah's eyes widened, "You're right!" she said in a hurried whisper, "But a gunshot can't be good!" Hannah looked to Christian and moved towards the kitchen doors that opened to the restaurant, she held the door open and spoke casually "It sounded not too far away didn't it? We may be able to get a better idea of where to go out on the streets" Hannah beckoned Christian to follow and moved into the dining area.

The restaurant was rather fancy to look at; the walls covered in a mahogany wood that were a rich dark red and lovely silk curtains framed the windows out the front that seemed to follow the front of the building the whole way. Hannah cautiously moved out to the center of the restaurant and flashed a quick look behind her to see if Christian was in the room too. Hannah's knuckles whitened as she gripped the butchers knife in her hand, ready to swing it at anything that got in her way. "I don't see anything in here... or out on the street at the moment..." Hannah moved around the tables, "This place looks like it wasn't actually opened when the outbreak really went to shit..." Hannah continued as her walk around the restaurant became more casual as she concluded it was empty.

Hannah reached the door of the restaurant and placed a sweaty free hand on the door knob. "Quickly get what ever else you need Chris..." she said quietly as she peered down the street, "We shouldn't hang around too long, that's my number one rule when out in the city alone..." Hannah peered down the street spying a large billboard with a message written across it and... "Someone's on top of that!" she said bewildered, "How the hell did he manage that?" Hannah turned her head to look at Christian, "there's a billboard a few blocks away, but you can see it from here... A man's up on top of the catwalk connected to it..." A smile broke out across her face, "There are survivors..." Hannah's eyes met Christian's with a stern stair as if to imply that what she said next was law, "We're gonna get him Chris..."

Hannah looked back down the street to the the sign, "We're not gonna be able to grab his attention from here... if we go down Dane St we might be able to come out a street or two near the sign..." Hannah kept looking down the street, her hand still grasped on the door knob "We'll be able to get his attention from that distance and see why he's still up on that sign... Just incase the infected are near... Or if he's infected too..." The end of her sentence trailed off with a sad tone that could be very true. Hannah looked down to the grown not liking that thought, as she raised her head up to look back to the sign, the man on top was gone... "He's gone!" gasped, she kept looking out the window to the billboard, "we've gotta go see Chris!".

"We gotta go see Chris!" Christian sighed. He never let anyone call him Chris before, but for some reason he didn't mind Hannah calling him that... Too much. He nodded, "Yep. Gimme one minute." He was happy Hannah forgave him, that lead feeling in his stomach easing up. Guilt. He looked at the door through the back of the dining room and strode over, peering through the small window. All clear, as far as he could tell. He jiggled the handle, no luck. He looked at Hannah and shrugged, before taking a few steps back and ramming his shoulder into it. The door groaned under the weight but did not really move. Three more times and cracks began to appear. Christian brought his leg up and kicked the handle...Until the whole thing fell out and the door cracked open.

Cautiously, Christian shuffled in, looking around the office. No one. No awful smell. No mass of maggots. "ALL CLEAR." He yelled, before moving further into the office. A big leather chair sat behind a dark desk, papers and pens scattered, a few coins here but nothing valuable to him. He was about to give up his search and try his luck at fisticuffs with the undead when a glint caught his eye. And behind the door, hung on the wall, was an crowbar-style club. A friend who worked at a club once told Christian that most bars, restaurants, convenience stores and fastfood joints had a blunt-force weapon for when intruders broke in. Christian grinned and took it down from the wall. It was fairly heavy, not uncomfortable but not something you could just slip into your pants. He left the office, and swung it up over his shoulder, muscles flexing. "Whatya think?" He joked, winking at Hannah as he moved back beside her.

He looked outside, it seemed clear. Hannah was right, there was no point in hanging around. The streets weren't gonna get any safer. And Hannah's rule was one that should apply to all - Never hang around one place too long.

"Let's move." And with that, Christian pushed the front door open and the stench hit his nose like a brick. He shuddered.

Hannah grinned as Christian came back from the office with his prize. "Nice rod" she smirked. As Christian passed her and opened the front door and stepped out onto the street her nose wrinkled and eyes began to water. "What the hell is that?" she coughed, trying to stop from dry wrenching. Hannah looked down towards the billboard where the man had been a few minutes ago, but it was completely empty. She turned her head down the other end and her eyes widened and jaw dropped...

A massive horde of the undead were walking aimlessly around but the horde was slowly but surely moving it's way down the street. "Jesus...fucking christ" she hissed quietly. Hannah looked toward Christian, "we've gotta move slowly at first..." Hannah began to back away slowly, "then we run like the fucking wind for the - " Hannah was cut off by a distant horn beeping and the mumbling music of a stereo playing. The horde's head's raised and Hannah froze, her hand bolted out to grab Christian's.

"RUN." she said coldly. Hannah turned on her heels and bolted down the street as fast as she could trying to get as much distance as possible. In a few seconds she was about 200 meters down the road. She stopped abruptly to turn and see if Christian was following, then she noticed it... just one of the infected, only one, but Hannah would be damned if everything she knew was coming unravelled at the seams... One zombie had broken from the pack, he wasn't shambling, he wasn't lumbering fast, he was... "f-fucking running!" Hannah screamed to Christian, "IT'S FUCKING RUNNING! CHRISTIAN GO FASTER!" Hannah turned on her heels and bolted further, her head looking and scanning around the street for possible hiding areas... but she didn't like their chances if one could run.

As the backpack on her shoulders swayed back and forth, Hannah began to panic... She was fast, but she couldn't run forever, and she definitely wasn't strong enough to fight one off it was fast enough to catch up. Especially if they infinite energy.

Hannah was reaching the shortcut to the billboard and stopped right outside of it and began to motion her arms byt pointing down the lane as if to say to Christian down here... But as Hannah was about to duck down the lane she saw it was blocked off by another small horde. "Jesus fucking christ" she shouted stupidly, the horde caught notice of her and she bolted again back towards Christian.

As she reached him again, Hannah's eyes filled with panic, the fast zombie was only about twenty metres from them, Hannah looked around quickly trying to spy another escape route, but the only other way to go was down Collins Street... But it only had a zoo at the end of it and no other connecting streets... "Fuck fuck fuck" Hannah took too long to decide and the fast zombie was feet from them, "SWING THE CROWBAR CHRISTIAN!" was all she had time to shout.

Christian grinned at Hannah's crude implication at his weapon but it was quickly wiped from his face when he saw the mass of undead shambling down the end of the city. His eyes widened in horror when a horn in the distance drew their attention straight to Hannah and himself. Within seconds, Hannah had his arm and they were running down the street, and Hannah was right - she was fucking fast. A good meter before him already and widening the gap. Her over-stuffed bag swayed as she run, and Christian could feel his legs burn. "Whe-"

Hannah shrieked before he could finish and what she said nearly made him shriek girlishly too. A zombie was chasing them, running after them. He could hear the jerky moan, the shaky sprint. "OH MY GOD!" Christian shouted, adrenalin kicking in and giving him that boost for a few seconds. He looked up, panic squeezing his lungs and saw Hannah looked down an alley and was running back towards him. "FUCK FUCK FUCK...! SWING YOUR CROWBAR-"

Christian needed no more encouragement. With what was an unnatural speed and agility, Christian spun around and his crowbar collided with the oncoming zombies skull, his mouth open mid-groan. It flew to ground and Christian brought his foot up, a focused scowl written in his brow as he smashed his foot into the undead man's eyes, once, twice and then it cracked open at the sides, gooey blackened brains sliding out. Christian leapt back, chest throbbing as he wiped his forehead. He glanced at the incoming horde, their moaning and shuffles filling the streets, alerting others.

"We have to go. Another fucking fast zombie could be here any moment." He grabbed her hand and moved down Collins St, the arched entrance to the Zoo small in the distance. He looked at Hannah as he ran. He felt a sudden urge to protect her, despite having very little idea how to do such things. He couldn't believe he was even thinking such things; 3 hours ago, he would have tripped her up to save himself. He skidded to a halt and hurried back up to a small garage in which a Lamborghini sat, sparkling. Christian's eyes shone with a bright red reflection and felt his heart thud as he brought his crowbar down into the bonnet, then across the windscreen. The alarm wailed to life and Christian stumbled out, and took Hannah's hand again, running to the end of the alley, gasping. The zombies shuffled through the alley and all turned to cram into the garage, the noise enticing them.

Christian sighed. The idea had worked, though it wouldn't last long. They needed to get out towards where this gunshot was heard, towards the guy Hannah said was on the billboard. They weren't gonna survive alone, not like this. Christian looked at the Zoo, the silence within unnerving.

"Let's go." And Christian took Hannah's hand again and run through the entrance, the first time in his life he had entered a zoo without paying.

Carrie Reeds

Carrie narrowed her eyes, loosening her grip on the pole as she geared up for battle. Oh, it would be sweet to win but she had to be patient until she had a reason. A little measly reason for her to beat him to a pulp since she was against hurting the innocent. She raised her brow as he spoke up with a Russian accent.

"Well, I suppose you could say I am looking for someone. Two specific survivors. But, that is just a main goal. I'm looking for survivors in general right now. It's good for people to stick together in tough times like this, no?" Carrie sniffed sullenly. ‘Damn. It is just an innocent. Unless he’s lying but I don’t get that feeling.’ Carrie glanced down at the street, considering her options before grumbling morosely. “Perhaps.”

"My name is Rikter Jonathon Reznov Jr. My friends call me R.J. You are?" Carrie glowered at him for a few moments, still uncomfortable with becoming any sort of friend or ally with the stranger. He was right about traveling together and everything though. Carrie finally shifted and lowered her weapon, hanging it at her side. “Name’s Carrie. Carrie Reeds. Call me Reed though.” She paused, feeling like she was being watched before continuing on as the tinkling of his dog tags brought back her attention. However, she didn’t turn her gaze back to him and remained continually watching the street. Why did she feel like she was being watched? “I’m going to Black Falls. I don’t need your company but you’re free to follow. Just don’t expect me to care you fall behind a step.” With that said, she turned on her heel and hurried to get off the street. She wasn’t getting a good feeling about staying in the open at all.

Carrie shuddered as she kicked up her pace when the sound of music and a car honking interrupted the silence just the street over. The sound of the infected that came after was audible now and her insides roiled. “Oh god.” She whispered, not bothering with cover anymore. She made a beeline for the end of the street and when she came to it, the insection widened before her. The infected, chasing whatever they had been hungering after, shambled awkwardly towards their target and she froze instinctively. Her gaze scoured the scene, noticing just for bare seconds the movement of the living heading inside what seemed to be a zoo. You can always tell the living from the dead as long as you look for the panic in their gait. She analyzed the structure the infected were approaching. ‘A zoo? That means food in the concessions and vending. But the infected... "For Joe’s sake!” Carrie hissed crossly, but she had been standing there too long and one of the infected broke off, shambling towards her.

‘Great. Another problem! Food or run? Group or one? If I’m keeping one why not get another. I won’t have to watch my back. Plus I don’t know where Black Falls is truthfully. I don't even live here. I just know a general direction. Rikter might know but that’s a liability on my part. Where’s my sense of justice for those people anyway?! Oh screw it. I need supplies and you know what they say about opportunities.’ "I need to get to the food in there. No choice. I'll just save an innocent in the process." Carrie looped back down the street far enough away from the infected and raised her pole, hesitating only mere seconds, before slamming it down on the car’s window and door. Most of the infected abruptly turned and started her way as the car's siren blared and the glass shattered. However, Carrie didn’t waste any time and launched herself down the next alleyway and to the next street over, avoiding the stranglers of the hoard. She hurried down the street and paused at the edge of the intersection before flying over to the entrance to the zoo. Four zombies managed to realize her plan and narrowly missed grasping her arm or coat but she leapt the turnstile and locked the last two rotating doors, leaving one open for the boy if he managed to keep up.

Once inside, Carrie slumped, bracing her hands on her knees. “Good. Golly. George.” Her ragged whisper was full of relief and a kind of hysterical chuckle. It was the second time she had done something crazy, and well she wasn't liking it any more than the first time. Carrie struggled for a minute, knees going soft on her as her adrenaline slowed. She figured would have collapsed if not for her willpower and for what was left of the adrenaline still pumping through her veins. Carrie straightened after she had caught her breath and smiled a bit, walking further away from the door. The further she was from those doors, the more comforted she felt. “Well then.”

Hannah managed to bolt through the turnstile and collapse on the ground just after. Her breathing was heavy, but she felt fine in truth, except for being scared that is. "You.. don't think... that was... over kill?" she asked in between breaths, "Stomping it's head...in?" Hannah quickly rose to her feet when she heard another car alarm signal, "What the hell is going on?" She looked out as best she could to see what was happening, the horde was making it's way in another direction apparently. "They've been distracted" Hannah said thankfully.

She turned to Christian, he was looking visibly puffed, "Told you I was fast" she smirked. Hannah then grabbed his hand and began a fast walk into the zoo, "We shouldn't stick around too long" she said seriously. Hannah moved forward and towards a map of the zoo, trying to get a rough idea of its layout. "The zoo has only one other exit/entrance" she said partly to herself, but loud enough for Christian to hear. "But we pretty much have to see every damn thing in this zoo on the way..." Hannah turned to face Christian, "We've gotta go through the african animals first..." she said as she turned and began to walk down a cobbled pathway.

"Do you think the animals are dead?" she asked solemnly, "I mean... no one has been here to feed them.. the poor things... at least they couldn't get infected right?" she said with a small glimmer of hope, as if to say starvation was better than being infected. As they rounded a corner not too far from the front gates Hannah suddenly heard the unmistakeable creaking of a turnstile. "Did you hear that?" she whispered to Christian, a hand gripping his arm tightly again, "The turnstile... it just creaked..." Hannah crouched down instinctively, "I can't hear anything else". She grabbed Christian's hand, "Did someone just laugh?" she asked looking to Christian.



Cameron had been roaming the streets for a while now. The afternoon sun was dimming and he'd luckily managed to avoid anymore infected on his travels. He had reached the entrance of a car scrapyard and mechanic and pushed the gate open to find it was securely locked. "Fuck me" he groaned, placed his hands in the fence hole and began to climb the fence, landing with a loud thud on the other side. As Cameron straightened up he heard the honking of a horn in the distance and then a car alarm, he shook his head and muttered, "fucking idiots".

Cameron flipped the distant noises to the back of his head and walked towards the main house/garage, Cameron knew this place fairly well, his gang had often had their vehicles fixed or tuned here since the old man had had the best rep. around town for knowing cars, and apparently his daughter had been something of a looker.

Cameron reached the front porch of the house and knocked on the door, even if the world was going to shit, and he didn't rather care for anyone outside his gang, he was still polite, his mother had taught him that, "Hello?" he called out, "Anyone home?"

Christian stumbled through the turnstile, his chest searing from the lack of oxygen and his legs jellified from the lack of exercise in his life. He swallowed hard, trying to moisten his dry throat as he leant against the wall, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at Hannah through his thick fringe, swept it from his eyes and grinned. "No such thing as overkill when they are already dead." He joked, trying to laugh, lmost vomiting. "Yeah, well either the undead appreciate and grieve over a Lamborghini being smashed or my alarm idea worked." He straightened up, ran his hand through his hairs and smiled. "Yeah, you're fast alright-" He was cut short when she took his hand again and began to stride into the zoo. Christian felt his throat tighten and his heart thud. What a stupid time for a crush! He shook his head, hoping Hannah didn't see the rising blush in his cheeks as anything but exhaustion. "Yeah, I agree. It's not safe, those deadfucks will eventually amble this way." He muttered, peering across her shoulder at the map and nodded as she spoke, not directly to him.

He walked beside her along the path and looked at her as she spoke sadly of the animals, asking him if they could be affected by this catastrophe. He felt bad. For her and the creatures; they weren't like humans, greedy, obnoxious, cheaters, liar, general asswipes. They didn't deserve to be a part of it. But something in Christian wasn't sure, rumours had swirled around at the hospital... "No, well... I am not sure. I don't think they coul-"

"Did you hear that?" Hannah had hold of his arm, tightly squeezing. "Did someone just laugh?" Christian's eyes narrowed and his hands tightened around his crowbar. He stepped in front of Hannah, starting to take that macho man approach. "I don't know... The undead don't laugh." He whispered, "otherwise, they would be constantly in hyterics at our stupidity." He cleared his throat.

"Who's there?"



Lulu shot out from under the vehicle and scowled, tossing her mess of a plait behind her shoulder. There was a knock at her door. And then a boom of a voice. She sat for a moment, her baggy overalls pooling at her waist, the legs covered in grease and dirt. She paused and thought for a moment. So far as she knew, these... creatures didn't speak. Or knock. But at a time like this, she would have preferred that it was those 'zombies'. At least she could have smashed them and been done with it. A living human was more troublesome. After a few minutes of thought, chewing her lip, she stood and reached for her father's hunting knife. She moved silently through the house, and slipped beside the front door, peering through the crack in the frosted glass to see a hulk of a man on her porch. Her frown deepened and she licked her lips nervously. She wanted to tell him to fuck off, to leave her property but he honestly looked like he could just kicked the door in, if he so wished.

She thought what her father would have done. And then the words fell off her tongue. Masked in a strong tone, though she was afraid. Her father wasn't there with her anymore.

"W-what do you want?" Lulu's eyes were closed, hot tears rimming.

Rikter shifted, watching as the woman ran before it dawned on him what she was doing, and he wasn't quite prepared for the plan. She bolted, and smashed a car window and set off the alarm before she ran down a side alley. Great. He groaned before he took off, making sure to keep away from the horde, though a few were breaking off and going after him. With a shout of something profane in Russian, he picked up a metal trash can and threw it hard and strong to stop the stragglers. His adrenaline was pumping, and his training was kicking in. Adjusting the strap with the guitar's neck pointed upward, he sprinted forward once more. Not only was this woman serious about treating him as nothing more than a follower, she had left him in the dust. And this didn't bode well with Rikter. That military time had kicked in as he sprinted forward, gritting his teeth.

After reaching the intersection and barreling forward, the doors of the zoo like building in view. And that woman, Carrie her name was? She was moving into the building, locking in two of the doors. "Proklyatyye chertovka..." he growled in Russian, the phrase essentially translating to "damned she-devil". Normally, he was a level headed and relaxed guy, but there were some things that just tested his patience; one of those things being someone leaving another behind. He was a firm believer in unity when working together, and those who left behind others were the same thing as deserters in his eyes. However, his philosophies would have to wait, since he had let a fairly fast walker get too close. It was either fight and live, and maybe get something useful off the runner, or try and outrun it and risk being caught.

It was decided. He turned and brought a foot up, delivering a swift kick to the solar plexus of the undead. It knocked it back, but not down; but the Russian male wanted it dead for good. After moving forward, it swung its arms in a futile manner to attack him and recover its balance. Rikter didn't allow this as he knocked it down with another kick before bringing his leg up, and dropping his heel down onto the zombie's cranium, crushing the skull and causing a rather nasty mess. Given his military training and the close quarters combat lessons he took from his father, he was more than ready to kill anything that wanted him dead. These things were abominations, so he had no remorse in killing them. He looked up for a moment to check the rest of the horde. Only a few stragglers were around, and they hadn't noticed him. Good. Upon further inspection, the corpse didn't have much. He relieved it of some loose dollar bills, a pair of sunglasses, and a switchblade. A weapon, excellent. After testing the mechanism a few times, he shoved it into an interior coat pocket before moving toward the only open door. Rikter took a few breathes to calm himself, the adrenaline dying down, though his body was still in overdrive, his heart beating in his chest. "Well, here goes nothing, if anything at all..." He muttered, pushing through as he looked around, grabbing a loose piece of siding from the outside and ramming it into the turnstile, thus jamming it shut. Carrie was here, and he could see the shape of two others further in. Now he could finally relax. Without any hesitation or questions asked, he sat back against the nearest support pillar, bass guitar in hand, and began plunking out a few tuning notes before going into a soft yet fast paced tune. It helped calm his nerves, since music was a sort of escape for him.

Carrie Reeds

Carrie scanned the opening area to the zoo. Her eyes skated over the gift shop and a few tables and she scrunched her face in irritation. There wasn’t much to see and it felt like a wasteland with the silence around the place. She wondered briefly if the animals had gotten out but she figured they had died either from an infect or from starvation.

Something clicked behind her and she turned to see Rikter come through the door and into the vicinity. She watched him block the turnstile and a slight grin came to her face as she relaxed. “Thanks.” She called out to him before loping down the path to view the two uninfected citizens. A slight breeze brought the smell of rot and animal excreta and she almost cringed. Carrie didn’t manage to hide her shudder thinking of what happened to everyone within the zoo but she did peek back to Rikter, viewing him play out a few notes on the guitar. “C’mon.” She gestured him forward, turning her gaze away. He deserved a bit more warning since he had kept up and helped her a bit. “Let’s go find those people then find some supplies. If we're going to get anywhere before nightfall, we will need them.” She spun on her heel and made a brisk walk towards the two figures in the distance.

Carrie slowed upon the approach of the woman and man. They looked worn out but she summed it up to the horde far behind her. “Why, hello.” She smiled and hitched one hip up, placing a loose hand on said hip. “I thought I saw uninfected and look at what I found. I wanted to see if my eyes weren’t fooling me since the only thing you see around here are the shambling dead, and the burning.” Carrie added. She briefly checked on Rikter before sighing and taking another step forward coming within striking range. Carrie only tensed slightly at the thought but she extended her free hand. “Carrie.”

She raked her gaze over both of them wondering which one was in charge. Who would be best to recruit? She didn’t trust them even though they seemed more innocent than Rikter’s first appearance. However, if one was coming with her she would need a team to cushion her in case somebody decided a solo team was better than several.