Christian Duffy's Story

Hannah stood crouched watching the two newcomers to the zoo. The rolled her eyes to herself when Christian made a comment about he undead laughing at the living if they were intelligent. She then watched as he stood and walked out calling, "Who's there?". Hannah reached out to pull him back, whispering briskly, "Don't just stick your head out!" But she was pulled to a standing position and in front of Christian before she knew it and in sight of two survivors.


The soft back tones of a guitar created a soothing introduction when one of the survivors - a woman - introduced herself, "Carrie." she said as she extended a greeting hand, Hannah looked back and into Christian's eyes, looking to see what he'd do next... When he didn't respond she gave him small glare as if to say, do I really have to introduce us? Hannah turned back and stuck her hand out and gave a firm shake to the woman in front of her, "Hannah... and this is Christian" she said looking back to him.

Hannah let her hand go and nodded over to the man with the guitar, "who's that?" she asked with curiosity. Hannah wasn't normally this distant towards new people or anyone really, but she was flustered and on edge from the whole ordeal, plus the smell of the zoo was making her sick. "I'm sorry" she apologised, "We've just hauled ass to get in here... and haven't really made our next move... a fast zombie threw us off... and I don't think I could take anymore surprises" had said with a bleak smile. "So what are you two doing?" Hannah asked unhitching her back pack and unzipping it to pull out a candy bar and hand it to Carrie, "Need something to eat?" she asked with another smile, this time a bit more meaningful... Food was hard to come by nowadays and sharing it was usually a good indication of people, or that's how Hannah felt anyway.

She stood back up and sighed, took a bite of her candy bar and then looked to Christian and back to Carrie and the man with the guitar, "We're going through the zoo and out the other side..." she said swallowing her food, "You're welcome to come too?" she asked hopefully.

Kat followed Pack's instructions, checking quickly that the guys were down before she plowed through the fence. Once she was through, she slowed down a little bit, giving them time to look around and for the people to catch up if they spotted the truck first. She heard Pack talking about the aquarium and she slid her eyes in that direction, shuddering when she saw the undead pressed up against the glass. She wanted nothing more than to just step on the gas once more and get the hell out of this place. Head for open air where they couldn't get trapped by the hoards.

She continued driving, dodging booths and other small things here and there, when finally, she caught sight of a group of four people passing between buildings. They weren't shambling along. They were running, but they didn't have the cold, grey look of the undead. "There!" she called out. Kat thought that her heart was going to pound right out of her chest. She swerved toward them, taking out one stumbling infected that had been following them. "Get in!" she shouted out the window at the four. No time for introductions. They had to get the hell out of there.

She saw some hesitation on their faces, but the stragglers from the hoard were almost upon them, and their choice was made for them. Once everyone had piled into the truck, some in the cab with her, the rest in the bed with Pack and Yosef, Kat changed gears and almost floored the gas pedal once more. "Pack! Need you to give me directions!" she called out through the window.

Christian wasn't really listening as Hannah introduced them to the strange girl that appeared from around the corner and her even stranger companion, whose companion was a guitar. He flashed them a smile before a scowl deepened on his brow, a strange muffled sound echoing through zoo. There was the sound of struggles outside, the moans of the horde shuffling, the cries of uninfected humans meeting their bloody doom, that truck slamming on it's break. But that was not the sound Christian was focused on.

The noise was unnatural, disturbing. It was coming from within the zoo and Christian found himself moving toward it, curiosity killing him as if he were a feline. His hand's curled around the bloodied crowbar, his steps slowly and his eyes sharp. The frightening sound was starting to volume and when Christian strode slowly a corner, he had to nearly bite his tongue off to hold himself back from screaming. The chimpanzees in the cage before him were shrieking now they had laid their eyes on him, their flesh rotting and their stumped arms clobbering at the glass. Christian stumbled back and then forward when the sound of a pained elephant's roar was heard. Christian spun around, his eyes wild and hands trembling as the bull elephant whose wrinkling skin was drooping and torn, a black ooze seeping from their eyes, ears, mouth and nose. The elephant screamed in rage and barged toward the gates of it's enclosure, the metal groaning as it collided with it, the chains lashing into it's face, drawing more of the black tar from the wound. The elephant shrieked, throwing it's decaying trunk up, unaffected by the injury, frustrated that it couldn't reach Christian. Who was cussing under his breath.

"Oh what the fu-" Another ram at the gate, another groan under the weight. And when Christian heard the foundations begin to shatter, his eyes shot open in horror and ran back to the others, the crowbar shaking before him as he sprinted. "THE ANIMALS! THE ANIMALS HAVE IT!" He shouted just as the piercing crash of an enclosure reverberated and the unholy roar from the elephant sounded, Christian grabbed Hannah and pulled her to the side, his body shielding hers. The undead creature came thundered shakily down the cobble road just as the truck came squealing into sight and someone yelled for them to enter. Christian knew it was too late, they were all stuck between the bio-hazard and their escape route. The elephant did not stop and within seconds collided with the truck, the mental crumpling and slicing into the beast's flesh. It threw the truck to it's side, the wheels spinning as the elephant bellowed, stamping down on the side of the truck. Christian's eyes were wide in realisation, he had left those others to die. Instead, he stood and waved his arms frenziedly, trying to distract the elephant from crushing those in the truck. He looked at Hannah and Carrie and the other man.

"FUCKING HELP. DO SOMETHING!" He cried.

Pack's life flashed before his eyes. His childhood. His growing up. Everything. Four strangers had fit their way into their truck, just before a giant... something... Pack had no idea, he never got a good look... but it tossed them. They had gone scraping across the ground. Everything was so bright. "What... the..." Pack let out through now bloodied lips. "Holy... fucking elephant..." Pack saw it. It's eyes were puffed out, one had exploded into black goo. Torn skin littered it's body, and black ooze was coming out of the rips and shreds. "It's... Infected? The fuck..." Pack turned his head around. The four people they had picked up had died. On impact, Pack would guess. Kat and Yosef were either dead, unconscious, or just as baffled as Pack.

"FUCKING HELP. DO SOMETHING!" A voice rang out nearby. Pack moved his now stabilizing vision over towards where he had heard it. The elephant shifted it's head to look at the man who was yelling, but turned back to the truck, and began to make a charge. Pack panicked, and looked around. Kat hadn't moved yet. Or at least, he hadn't seen her move. He had no idea where Yosef was, he could still be in the cab for all he knew, just behind the other side of the truck's paneling. Pack got up as fast as he could, and saw the Elephant was maybe twenty yards away. The pachyderm like screech, mixed with the howling undead pouring through the south entrance, was getting on his nerves. Pack was bleeding from his arm, and his head felt wobbly, but he managed to unhook Kat's seat belt, and pull her out of the truck. She felt light weight to him, seeing that he was used to carrying twice her weight in bags. Pack turned, and ran away from the truck.

BOOM! The truck soared into the air, flipping around and launching chunks of metal about. Pack felt metal scraps were puncturing his bags, but they kept him from being severed. Pack made sure Kat couldn't get hit by any of the metal on the way. If she had woken up at this point, Pack would let her down to run along side him, if she weren't harmed. "Hey! HEY! Where the FUCK do we escape a FUCKING ELEPHANT!?" Pack yelled to the man, who seemed to have some company with him by now. Pack ran behind a smaller building, just so that the elephant would lose sight. It looked occupied with the truck, and was still flipping it, but that could change soon. "Fucking damn... what else can happen to ruin this lovely day?"

Hannah, Christian, the white haired woman and the man with the guitar had only just begun introducing themselves when Christian decided to just walk off. Hannah had handed the candy bar to the white-haired woman and was about explain what she and Christian were going to exactly when he just wandered off. Her head turned to Christian and her voice turned into one like an angry mother, "Where are you going Chris? Get back here!".

Then it all happened in a flash. Hannah hadn't even consciously noticed the roar of the truck engine, the smashing of the zoos fence guard or the roar of the elephant. Her head turned in time thought to witness Christian running screaming something and suddenly the elephant - a fucking infected elephant - charging and colliding with the truck, toppling it. She just stood, her mouth agape as the whole thing exploded, but not before three people managed to escape it, but one of the three being carried by a man.

"FUCKING DO SOMETHING!" brought her back to reality. Hannah looked over to Christian, "Jesus fucking christ" she mumbled to herself, then Hannah set herself into motion. She turned to Carrie, "We'll introduce ourselves properly later... and your buddy go help the man and woman that just got out, head for the exit as soon as possible! There's a police station just across the road from the zoo entrance... go hide there and i'll get Christian and the other guy and meet you there!" Hannah screamed over the noise, "this place is about to get fucked".

Hannah rushed to Christian grabbing his arm, shouting over the now loudening moans of the undead and the elephant roaring in front of them. "Christian, you need to get that other man that got out of the truck, he's over there... near the kiosk, I recognize him as one of the stadium guards!" she said hurriedly, "I'll distract the elephant! I can run from here and meet you at the police station!"

Without even waiting for a response, Hannah grabbed the flashlight from her backpack and began to flash it at the elephant, "HEEEY! OVER HERE!" she yelled furiously. The elephant stopped butting the burning trunk and began to follow Hannah, she looked at the others and yelled as loud as possible over the commotion, "Get the fuck out of here, I'll only be a few minutes!"

Carrie Reeds

The next few events happened quickly, and when Carrie thought back on it…Maybe she wasn’t in the right mind that day. Hannah began speaking to her and introductions were exchanged. The woman was brisk but polite. She explained about the zombies before and offered food, which happened to shock Carrie enough to chuckle. “Sure, but I plan on finding some here on the way out. Concessions and all.” She relaxed a fraction comforted by the strange idea that the woman would willingly share her food. Hannah next offered to travel together and Carrie accepted it with relief. “That would be most wonderful. Sticking together, right Rikter?” She glanced back at the boy in question.

Carrie paused, turning her gaze on Christian curiously. He seemed distracted but it was a distraction that was focused on something important. She analyzed his face before glancing around nervously. She almost asked him what it was but it wasn’t long until she noticed the noise too. Christian started forward towards it and Carrie hesitantly shuffled behind him, staying a few feet back. She preferred to stay closer to Rikter since he had proven himself adept in combat already.

Carrie stopped abruptly about seven feet away from Christian when a look of horror struck him. She felt panic rise and took a step back already fearful for what he was seeing. “Shit.” Carrie was backing up further when the sound of an elephant rang through the clearing. However, the sound was diseased and ungodly. Carrie raised a hand to her right ear and winced, spinning to catch the sight of the infected elephant. Her shock made her freeze like a deer in the headlights. ‘What the fuck? Is that…Is that an animal? It’s infected though. No. OH Holy fuck!’ Her thoughts were interrupted when the elephant slammed into the cage, enraged by their presence. The gruesome sight frightened her and brought the reality of death right to the front of her mind. The dark fluid seeped from the rotted, wrinkled, grey flesh and the stink strengthened as she focused on the beast. The elephant screeched, throwing it's putrefying trunk up. Carrie flinched but dared not move her feet yet. She was too enthralled by the sight, so fearful that she had lost her entire will to move.

The foundation of the cage began to splinter and Carrie inhaled slowly, time sloing for her as Christian raced back towards the trio. "THE ANIMALS! THE ANIMALS HAVE IT!" Carrie snapped out of her trance as she remembered the others and specifically herself. She snapped into motion, flying back over the pavement and towards Rikter who she snatched up by the hand and grimaced, hauling him to the side and out of the way of the elephant as it came crashing through it’s cage and down the cobble path.

The truck came squealing into sight and someone yelled for them to enter though and Carrie clutched to Rikter, losing her mind for what was happening around her. Where had the truck come from? She hadn’t noticed it come in but the people inside were definitely alive. Carrie started forward, still holding on to Rikter for dear life but stopped mid-step. The elephant hadn’t stopped and within seconds collided with the truck, the metal crushing and carving into the monster's flesh. The monster didn’t feel the pain though as it bellowed again and began stamping the truck in a frenzy frenzy. Carrie froze, her knees threatened to collapse. They all but yelled ‘Fuck this. I’m just going to give up because this is hopeless! I’m tired of holding your stumbling ass up!’ Carrie gasped sharply and backed up into Rikter, refusing to let him go. She didn’t have the time to wonder why as Christian began trying to bring the elephant towards them. He screamed at them to help him but Carrie was reluctant. Why should she help him? They were dead anyways. That elephant had charged and then stomped them flat. Carrie bit her lip hard enough for blood to bloom in a dot of red.

The elephant charged again in her hesitation and the truck flipped, flying into the air with a crunching sound. Carrie wasn’t watching that though. Her eyes were on the people scrambling away from the enraged giant and towards them. Guilt pierced her chest so quick she almost couldn’t breath but upon realizing this was her chance to stop feeling like a fuckhead woman, released Rikter and sprinted towards the man. "Hey! HEY! Where the FUCK do we escape a FUCKING ELEPHANT!?" Carrie followed him behind the building and fetched up against the wall. "Fucking damn... what else can happen to ruin this lovely day?" Carrie giggled hysterically. “A lot. Actually.” Hannah came too and began issuing orders, taking charge and Carrie nodded sharply as she fell into hunter mode.

Once Hannah ran off, Carrie gestured to the woman as she spoke to the man. “Let’s get her to safety and regroup in the police station. No time for questions or introductions. Let’s go. Keep up. If you can’t hold her for much longer, tell me. I’ll carry her.” With that, Carrie sprang into action. She leapt out from the hiding spot and raced for the entrance. The horde crowded around the doors but she raised her weapon, prepared to get the hell out of here.

Carrie reached the doors and slammed herself into the rotating door and out into the lobby as the door pushed her out giving her an extra momentum. The zombies were struggling to get past the turnstiles but she sprinted up to one of the zombies and clocked him over the head. Her pole rang with a clear bell-like sound but she was too distracted to remark upon it. Carrie rolled over the turnstile and was faced with the second zombie who gripped her by the pole in her hands. She didn't struggle to tug it out of the zombie's grip but went with a different tactic as adrenaline made her calm and strategic. She kicked out, hitting the zombie in it’s rotting, fleshy hip and the zombie bent under her weight, flinging to the side like a rag doll. It was getting up quick though but she was faster to finish it off with a neat strike to the neck, shattering the bones and windpipes. The other zombies were slower and were just now shuffling awkwardly towards her. She braced herself, prepared to fight for her life. “C’mon. Time is a wasting!” She called desperately to the man and woman.

Rikter stopped long enough, cutting his song short before standing, turning the guitar before he went to introduce himself. "Name's Rikter." He stated plainly and calmly, arching a brow as he walked on approach, glancing back to make sure that these locks and that piece of siding would hold those turnstiles shut. While he made it look as if he was using the guitar strap as a sort of sling for a tired arm, he kept his hand in the coat, tracing his fingers over the handle of the switchblade. All they needed was to give him the reason, and he would drop them faster than they could praise whatever god they believed in or worshipped, if any at all. The others were simply talking, and he tuned it out for the most part. He wasn't really ready to speak yet, still coming down from the adrenaline rush induced partly by his militant state of mind. But, just when he finally seemed to calm down, all hell broke loose.

A loud screech was heard from tires, given the sound produced and the engine, it had to be some sort of truck or humvee. He shifted and looked around, finally spotting the pick-up truck barreling forward. It seemed like they would have a way out. It brought a smile to Rikter's face; and then the pachyderm showed up. It knocked the truck on its side, delivering abuse to the vehicle that confirmed to Rikger before the shout ever registered in his brain: The animals were infected. He was snapped back to reality beforehand when Carrie yanked him out of the way of the charge, looking forward as he was brought away. The world seemed to slow down as the adrenaline kicked back in, and for a split second, he saw the beast's eyes. Heavy, glazed over, faded. This thing was gone. Carrie held him fast for a moment, and she seemed to be trembling faintly. What had happened to the woman before who had given him such a cold and serious demeanor? However, everyone had some reason to be afraid of something. Once she let him go, she left to assist those who were getting out of the truck. Rikter watched for a moment, his mind racing. He was frozen, not from fear, but from memories. Of the warzone. Of the guns, and running, and death. Horrible. Rikter clenched his teeth, exhaling deeply before moving ahead, following Carrie and the others.

He ran with Carrie as a few others followed. He didn't know where they were going, and right now, he didn't care. They had to leave, and now. He watched the silver haired woman burst through one of the turnstiles and into the lobby. Great, the horde was back. However, Rikter didn't care, reaching into the coat and pulling the weapon out, the blade shifting and locking into place. Turning it around where the blade was parallel to his arm, the Russian male charged through, moving and fighting against the undead like he was trained to fight normal men. No remorse. No hesitation. Kill them all, send their remains back to their home. "Mother...Father...Sister...Day mne sily..." He muttered to himself as he cut and struck down one zombie, moving on to another. He glanced over to find Carrie fighting as well. Good. The more fighting these things the faster they'd be able to break through.

Give me strength... His father dead, along with his mother and his sister, Maria, missing. Things couldn't be any worse now. The end was approaching, and if he wasn't careful, he'd be joining his father...Or these things...

Christian's mind was a blur with panic and confusion. The carnage was extreme and he felt a strange squeeze of his guts when Hannah told them to run to the police station, told him to find some security guard and help him as she flashed her light at the rabid elephant and ran, leading it from them. Christian's heart pounded in his chest painfully as he ran over to the truck, eyes racing across a homeless man cradling a small red-haired woman.

"You alright? Is she hurt?" Christian asked as Carrie and Rikter fought the horde at the turnstiles. "I can see to her when we get to the cop station." He yelled, slapping his MedKit. "Just make sure she doesn't stop breathing, keep her head tilted forward so she doesn't swallow her tongue!" He looked around wildly as he heard Hannah cry "LOOK OUT!"

Christian felt his heart tighten, the panic in Hannah's voice making his skin crawl. He looked around and saw it. "Oh my fucking god." He uttered, eyes wide as the panther growled, before beelining at the man holding the unconscious woman. Christian didn't even realise his legs had engaged, his mind screaming in terror. WE ARE NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS! He raised his crowbar and brought it down onto the big rotting cat's back. "CARRIE! GET THE OTHERS OUT OF HERE! HANNAH I-" The creature turned, unaffected by the crack in it's spine and hissed, howled at him.

Christian stumbled back, his crowbar trembling in his tight grasp. "FUCK!" Christian took a dive as the panther pounced, bits of dead flesh flying from it's legs. Christian rolled, scrambling to his feet and holding the crowbar in front of him. "HANNAH! A-ARE YOU SAFE?" Christian shouted, his voice shaking. Despite the danger he was in, the death he faced, something inside him was worried for her, more so than himself. "WE HAVE TO GET TO THE COP STATION! I NEED TO HELP THA-" the panther roared and Christian ran behind the destroyed truck, catching his breath and composure. He needed a plan. He needed help.




"...I promise on my goddamn mothers life, I'll leave you the fuck alone..."

Lulu listened to the man's promises, his gentle threats. For some reason, Lulu felt compelled to open the door. She sensed she was in no danger from this man, he was just a desperate survivor who needed his car. Lulu swallowed hard, pausing to think for a moment. Rationality and morality danced in her mind and soon her hand was on the locks, clicking them open gently until she cracked the door and flickered her eyes up and down the man. He was huge indeed, a rough man who looked as if he has seen many a harsh year. But something inside Lulu felt he was alright, worthy of her trust. She opened the door more, to reveal herself and then shifted aside.

"Hurry."

She shut the door once he was inside and looked at him closer. He was handsome, and even in his weathered face, there was kindness masked by anger and honour. She smiled a little. "You said you had a car here?"

Hannah heaved heavily, pausing in the moment to try and act as quickly as possible. Time slowed as Hannah looked around the horrid sight before her. She watched as Christian swung his crow bar at the undead cat. It hissed violently but made no effort to attack him...yet. Hannah looked over to the entrance, Rikter and Carrie seemed to be fighting off an oncoming horde... They didn't have much more time to fuck around.

Hannah surveyed the area looking for the stadium guard she slightly remembered... The sun was setting now and twilight was taking over... The commotion was certainly enough to draw attention to the zoo...but the fire light was creating a terrific light show for anything that couldn't necessarily hear the event. Hannah kept scanning the area and her eyes grew wide when she saw not too far from the truck, a lamp post - with a fire extinguisher attached.

"Christian!" she yelled hurriedly, "There's a fire extinguisher on the lamp post near you! throw it at the cat as a distraction!". Hannah looked around the scene and finally spotted Marcus, he looked a little dazed, but considering the whole circumstances... he was good. She rushed over to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, noticing the gun in his hands. "You need to shoot that extinguisher!" she spoke to him as calmly as possible, "It might blow up and take that fucking cat out with it!" she said hopefully, turning around to look at the scene, "Christian, throw it now so we can get out of here!".

Hannah waited to see what happened next, her plan wasn't full proof but they were reaching breaking point and Carrie and Rikter needed everyone else's help!



Cameron sighed with relief when the woman opened the door hurriedly asking him to "Hurry." Cameron walked into the house and closed the door behind him then turned to the girl, and for the first time looked her up and down. "You're just a kid?" he said partly astonished, "Where the hell is your dad?" he asked frustrated, the last thing Cameron wanted was to fuck around with some young girl. "Or better yet, where's my car?" he asked with some enthusiasm, "I've missed her like crazy and she's my ticket outta here" he said out loud.

Cameron made himself at home and walked through the house and down the hallway then stopped halfway down at a door that, from previous experience dealing with the man who owned this place, knew it led to the garage. Cameron opened the door and stepped out into a large hanger-like shed. Many cars fitted into it, so Cameron had to search a little, but when he couldn't find it, turned to the girl waiting in the doorway.

She was rather quiet, and looked almost scared, Cameron shook his head and lowered his voice so he didn't sound as frustrated, "Where's your dad little lady?" he asked gruffly, but as gently as he could, "I need my car... it should be fixed... I had it brought in few months ago, but never got round to coming back and picking it up until now..." Cameron stepped closer to her and got a really good look at her this time... She mustn't have been more than 18 he guessed, and not that he could judge, but she looked a lot worse for wear than she should. For the first time Cameron stopped being so forward and dropped his voice a few decibles and meekly said "Oh" as he realised she must be on her own out here... "Um.." he said, "Look... I promise you I ain't gonna hurt you... and I'll leave you alone asap... just tell me where my car is and I'll be on my way". Cameron was sort-of kicking himself for his initially insensitivity.

Marcus reached an arm out the truck to pull one of the new survivors into the truck when things got confusing. First there was an image of the sky, then a trunk, then the ground. After that his memories showed him he was in a bright pink and purple psychedelic world with no meaning except that which he created for himself. He toyed around, moving abstract impossible blobs with ease and generally feeling happy.

Then the world was black, fading to dark blue and purple, then some bits of his eyesight cleared while others remained covered with the spots. He knew what had happened, he had been knocked unconscious, but by what? He dragged himself around the corner of the nearby building and sat there, watching though the figments of the vision he had regained the scene around him. It was carnage. The elephant had disappeared as soon as it had arrived in his memory, but there was something new, a black blob. No, some sort of mammal, a wolf? It took him a couple more seconds, months for him, to finally see the panther stood in the flames, infected at that.

He wouldn't be able to aim his rifle at all in this state, but a good spray and prey with his submachine gun could do the trick, if it didn't hit any of those human sized blobs nearby. Were they survivors or infected? He couldn't tell, but at any rate one of them managed to grow bigger and come into focus, a woman, one of the other survivors. She hauled him up, and through the tinnitus in his ears he could vaguely tell her commands, which were almost what he was going to do anyway. A man ran up to what was materialising to be a fire extinguisher and threw it at the cat, to which he responded by lazily firing in the general direction of it. One of the bullets managed to clip the panther, distracting it, while the extinguisher went on to hit the panther on the side of the head. A moment later, a couple more bullets hit the cannister, one of which hit the release mechanism, and it exploded spectacularly, dousing the flames in the truck and sending the cat barrelling into the amassed hoard of infected, knocking many of them over and distracting a large number of them from the two attacking survivors.

He calmly pushed the woman aside in an attempt to stand up on his own and his composure quickly returned and something hit him. "Do you smell that?" he questioned the woman, who was almost too frantic to reply.
"Fire... but not a fire like the truck fire," he quickly corrected himself. He quickly ran around the kiosk to look at the cityscape, and at about a kilometre away was a gently glowing thick black cloud acting as a sort of wall between this side of the city and that, and the raging inferno was growing ever closer. "It's the fire from the stadium. We need to go, NOW!" he shouted to anyone who was listening. The woman who had helped him up has also seen the imminent danger and had run off to some of the survivors.

Pack looked to the woman who had just arrived, processing her words. "You kidding? Kat's the lightest thing I've carried in my life! Lead the way." Pack followed the woman, who now bore a pistol. Thank god. She had lead them across the path to another building, where she kicked a zombie systematically to the ground, crushing it's head in at the turnstiles. "Remind me not to cut in line..." Pack bellowed, feeling silly and stupid at the same time for making jokes in this crisis. By now, Kat began to move around. The jungle cat behind them was being taken care of by some bullets and an explosion. By now, Pack had been shitting his pants repeatedly. Figuratively, of course, but there were times there where he'd swear he would need a new pair of pants. "Kat, hey, you alright?"

"Pack... What's going on?" she managed to let out. Pack's body loosened up as he realized she'd be okay.

"Hey Kat, bad news. We got a dead elephant and a dead panther, both flesh hungry. We're going to the nearby police station. You got knocked around good in the crash. You'll make it though, or else I'll bring you back and kill you myself!" Pack had no idea where these jokes were coming from.

"Put me down, I have to help." Pack looked at her.

"Oh, no. Oh, no no no! You're too hurt! Can't you..." The look said it all. "Alright, alright... C'mon, I got your back though." Pack let her down gently, and saw her fish her pistol out quickly.

"Damnit. I'm ok, I'm ok." Pack knew it had to be more for herself than for him, but he nodded.

"Welcome back to the living, Kat." Pack lightly smacked her on the back. "We got shit loads of undead coming in. We gotta' thin them a little before we can head out." Pack turned in time to see the horde approaching ever so slowly. All the runners had been shot by now, and most of the animals were still caged up.

"Ok." Kat let out with a sigh. She checked her clip, and looked up. "Pack, I'm going to need some of those bullets you've got. Nine mil, please." Pack nodded, and went directly to his left bag. Shrapnel had ripped through the top part of it, but it was alright. The bag was ok, and all the munitions inside were intact. "Damnit." Pack looked up to see her double over. Pack began to reach out to her, but he knew better. She was independent. She needed to do this, to bolster herself. He knew the feeling. She managed to get up, rearrange her shot, and kill two of them with limited ammo.

"Alright Kat, here's the ammo. I got three clips made up, I will fill in some more." He handed the munitions to her one by one, as she pocketed them. Pack turned to where the others were. "Hey! Once we clear up a bit, head out of the east fence! We rammed through it, and none of the infected followed us that way!" Pack took a breath in between yells. "Let's make like trees and get the fuck out!"

Hannah's eyes widened with excitement and a little pride when her plan had sort of worked. The man she'd run up to did seem groggy but it also seemed he either understood her or had the same idea... regardless it worked and the cat was blown out of the way and for the next few minutes at least, was out of the game.

Hannah grabbed Marcus's wrist and pulled him forward, "C'mon" she said hurriedly, "We haven't got long before we're absolutely fucked..." She rushed over to Christian and grabbed his wrist with her other hand, "This is the guy you were meant to find Christian" she half scolded, "It doesn't matter though, you alright? Good." she said firmly without really listening to a reply. Hannah looked to Marcus and then to Christian, "the man over there, next to the girl shooting in the army gear" Hannah said with urgency as she spied the horde pushing the other group back into the zoo... "He said the east fencing... over there" she said now pointing to the colossal hole in the fence that luckily was empty of undead, "Go through it... apparently minimal undead or none at all... get out that fence hole then turn left... follow the fence to the end then turn left again.. the police station should be in full view... I'll grab the others".

Hannah turned on her heels for the umpteenth time and rushed to Carrie, Rikter, Kat and Pack. "Carrie! Rikter! Come back through, there's no way we're gonna fight our way out... we'll have to go the long way around the edge of the zoo!" Hannah shouted, "There's a hole in the fence we go through!" Hannah looked at the two, then over to the army woman and scraggy looking man. Hannah only just put two and two together and realised the army woman was the one being held, "Good you're awake!" she cried over the ruckus.

Hannah dashed over to Pack and Kat looking Kat up and down, "Are you alright?" she asked flushed, "You" she said looking now into Pack's eyes, "Let her put one arm around you and help support her weight" Hannah could see the woman was in some pain and she also guessed that she was still waking up from the trauma she sustained, "Here" Hannah then said to the girl, "Put your other arm on my shoulder, we've gotta move fast, so no slowing down ok?" she asked with seriousness, but a hint of understanding that it was going to be hard for the woman to move at full speed. "Carrie, you and Rikter are gonna have to be our path clearers!" Hannah then began the race for their survival, helping the scraggy man and the hurting army woman.

"Christian, let's move it now!" She shouted, hoping he and the other guy with the guns were ready to high-tail it.

Kat, grinning in between shots, looked to Pack, and announced, "So what you're telling me is the world has gone to hell in a hand basket? Again, that is..." To this, Pack had to laugh.

"Ma'am, I'd prefer hell in a hand basket to this shit any day. I need a drink." Pack winced as another shot rang out, this time on an undead that was eerily too close, for Pack's comfort. Pack saw the increase of undead in the southern entrance, and the thinning forces of the infected from the north entrance. They had to go, now. Pack looked at Kat, who began to look back with increasing looks of fear. Pack knew why. "Hey, now, Kat, I ain't a hero or nothin', but you're my closest thing to a friend out here, alright? I am not leaving you behind, no matter who does what or where. So wipe that grimace off your face, ok? We'll be fine. I promise." Pack gave her the same thumbs up he had when he had given her the messages from the sign.

A woman appeared at their right flank. She looked a little flustered to Pack, but hey, who the fuck wasn't at this point? "Are you alright?" She had asked while looking at Kat. He knew she needed more attention than he, it didn't bother him at all. "You," she said, looking to Pack. "Let her put one arm around you and help support her weight." Pack nodded. No response needed. He would die for his friend, even if they had known each other for only a solid three hours. "Put your other arm on my shoulder, we've gotta move fast, so no slowing down ok?"

"We got you, Kat. Let's get the fuck out, we didn't get thrown by an elephant to get eaten by some freaks!" Pack took his position at Kat's side, while the others cleared their path to the fence-line. They would make it. Pack had hope. And besides, he still needed that damn drink. "C'mon, let's go!"

Christian felt the heat from the extinguisher burst through his hair and he knew the guy must have heard Hannah's cries. Christian looked up in time to see the howling panther bowl into the moaning horde, knocking a few down like pins in the alley. Many turned to the furred distraction, growling and snatching at the panther who hissed viciously, kicking what was left of it's legs. Christian gripped his crowbar. He has been hopeless in this fight really, but that was not a surprise to himself. Fighting was not his forte. Healing was. He was a lover, not a fighter. And by lover, he meant healer. And by healer, he meant stitcher-er of gaping wounds and strapper-er of bones. He knew that if the was a nurse, wasn't trained in saving lives, he would be no use to anyone. And the thought of being one of those shambling motherfuckers was sickening. Even worse, being ripped to shreds by those shambling motherfuckers.

Christian heard voices yelling, Hannah's mixed in the chorus. He stepped out from the behind the truck and looked around, running to Hannah and the woman she was helping, in the injured woman. And the homeless looking dude. His eyes grew wide as he scanned the two unfamiliar people, seeing their injuries and feeling his passion, his knowledge fill his brain. He went to touch the woman's head, to begin the medical proceedings but stopped himself, realising the timing was hideous. He looked between the three, staring at Hannah for longest. "Can you get them to the police station? She..." He nodded at the woman, looking over his shoulder at Carrie and Rikter who were fighting a losing battle as the explosions and gunshots and the other sounds of battle and elephants attacking trucks brought more undead to them. He looked back, his voice-pace quickening. "I need to look her over, her eyes are unfocusing. She could have a severe concussion. Or worse." He grimaced, looking at Pack's bleeding arm. "I need to see to everyone Han. Get them to the cop station."

He rolled the crowbar in his fingers and gripped it, using his free hand to tighten his MedKit. It was so precious now. He looked at the hole in the fence and started for it. "Come on Marcus, someone! I need to get the station, we need to clear it out and I need to prep..." Christian rambled loudly, looking for a partner. He couldn't go down alone, it would most likely be the last thing he'd ever do.



Lulu's blood ran cold. "Where the hell is your dad?" She looked at him, amber eyes flashing as her chest pitched. "My dad is gone. Dead. I... I-" Lulu stopped, her mind skipping across the dark memories. Her sick father rising from his bed. Lulu fiddling with her father's project, her headphones squished into her ears. The cold sense of something being wrong. The fright as someone seized her ankle. Her father's bloody eyes, his mottled skin. The way he moaned, growled as she kicked out instinctively. The way he stumbled back, slipping on the oil, his head cracking on the pavement. How still he had groaned, reaching for her, his arms wobbly. And how Lulu took the heavy spanner from her belt and brought it down onto her father's forehead, once twice until his brains exploded up from the pressure. And how she had cried, screamed and cursed for days. She had been alone ever since.

She couldn't finish, instead listening as the man's tone eased and softened. She felt her blood boiling, rage and grief coursing through her. "Yeah, I'll bet. You must miss your car." She muttered, turning and wiping her hands on her overalls. "What sort of car?" Lulu asked bluntly. She wanted this man gone, and he wasn't going to leave until he got some vehicle. Because, as a cheeky grin slid on her lips, she had a feeling he was in for a nasty shock.

"Ok, if I start bawling like a baby, just keep going," Pack nodded.

"Trust me, all you'll do by crying is give me some ammo in making fun of you later." Pack lifted her arm over his own. Luckily, his good arm was untouched. His bad arm, however, was increasingly bleeding by now, and Pack had only begun to notice it. It started at a slow pace, but it was getting annoying. It would begin to close soon, but not before ruining Pack's arm sleeve for awhile. A chunk of metal was lodged in the arm, he could feel it. "Fuck," he whispered to himself. He probably hadn't felt it initially, due to the fact that it was searing hot. His nerves probably never registered it. But he'd shake it off, knowing that his friend's wounds were much greater.

"Alright, the fence is that way." Pack gave a little point with his other arm. "We'll go out and turn left, like you said. Good idea. If we get there, our armed guys gotta' go in first. We have no idea if the police station is even accessible, let alone clear of undead. So take the entrance slow. Kat's condition is a little poor, but if we get her resting in the next couple of hours, she should be fine." Pack wiped his brow of sweat. Kat was easy to carry with the two people. Pack felt bad for her, knowing she probably was disliking this. But it was better than being dead.

He looked around, and saw Marcus. "Hey man, you ok? Shit hit the fan pretty quick didn't it!" He gave kind of a grin to the man. "We're lucky you made it, we'll need that aim of yours." Pack looked around the havoc. Underneath all of the grime and the gunshots, the blood and the undead, was a group of men and women who would live to fight another day. Preferably together. Pack's grin hadn't been so wide in weeks. "Alright, let's get there quickly. Guard my ass like my life depends on it, Yosef! Follow us, we know the shortcuts." He laughed, almost painfully. He didn't even know half of their newly found groups name. Just Kat and Marcus. He heard someone shouting Hannah... other than that, he'd have to meet the group and make acquaintances at the Police Station.

"Hey man, you ok? Shit hit the fan pretty quick didn't it!" Marcus gave a laugh that would seem inappropriate in such a situation. "We're lucky you made it, we'll need that aim of yours. Alright, let's get there quickly. Guard my ass like my life depends on it, Yosef! Follow us, we know the shortcuts." Marcus nodded and ran partway ahead, before drawing the rifle and aiming back at Pack, and the others, sniping past them. He managed to take two down in quick succession and only paused to notice that the panther was no longer a threat. In fact, it was no longer anything, the infected had really done a number on it, but the cat had caused it's share of damage too.

It felt like slow work, but Pack, Kat and who he assumed was Hannah finally made there way past him and on to the final stretch to the gate. "Hey!" he called out to the two who remained fighting, a woman and a man with a surprisingly undamaged guitar. "Your turn! Run!" he usered them in his direction. As they ran, he continued loosing shots at the shambling infected. Another man from behind, seemingly rambling, called for assistance to help with clearing the police station, and Marcus would gladly oblige when these last two were out.

The two were almost there, 20...15...10 meters to go. Then the chimpanzee cage shattered around them.

Carrie Reeds

Carrie bashed in the zombie’s face, her ragged breath gasping as she fought a battle that was becoming harder to win. The hordes closed in and Carrie could only fight off so many. She danced away from the zombie whose hands were lacerated and was reaching for her with all its might. She swept out with her foot and toppled the infected but it grasped her ankle and she fell back as it pulled her foot from under her. “Get off! Get the hell off!” She kicked its face hard enough for black goo to splash out onto her shoe. The zombie continued it’s pursuit and tugged harder but she leaned up and raised the bar before bringing it down on its cranium with all her might.

The smell overwhelmed her as she glimpsed the rotted brain and stained bones of the zombie’s head. She scrambled back and stumbled to get out of reach of the other zombies. However a scream startled her and she whipped around to see the panther dashing towards her and the others. Carrie hurdled the turnstile once again and charged for the creature, teeth gritted, but stopped right before the injured duo as Christian bashed the panther’s spine with his weapon. The cat whirled on the man, engaging Christian with a new anger. Carrie held her ground, unable to gather her strength to help the poor man. She had enough to protect already.

Carrie noticed the infected piling over the turnstile and hissed out a frustrated breath. She loped towards the first to get to its feet and smacked the zombie’s arm off with a clean swing downward to the shoulder. She stared for a moment before she used the edge of the pole to push the enraged zombie onto it’s back. Carrie wondered mildly if it felt pain as she smashed her foot down on its face several times in a maniacal fashion. “Dead fuckers…” She growled and sidestepped the next zombie’s swipe for her arm. However, the loud explosion behind her and the sudden flight of a blackened panther distracted her. It flew into the horde and they all turned away for a few minutes, confused by the movement. She front kicked the zombie who was starting to turn, momentarily diverted. It fell onto it’s back and she finished it off with a blow to the jaw. She panted, momentarily dizzy but someone calling her name made her turn towards the action behind her and the woman rushing her. Carrie tensed but when she realized who it was she took a shallow breath.

“Carrie! Rikter! Come back through, there’s no way we’re gonna fight our way out…we’ll have to go the long way around the edge of the zoo!” Carrie breathed a deep sigh of relief. She bolted away from the entrance towards the group, keeping close on their heels as Hannah helped the man carry the woman. Hannah ordered Carrie and her partner, Rikter, to the front to clear the way and Carrie doubtingly took the lead position. “Will do.”

Carrie lead the way for a while, heading in the general direction when the man finally pointed out the fence. She scanned it nervously before huffing impatiently, eager to get to the fence. It was only meters away now. The man spoke up, "We'll go out and turn left, like you said. Good idea. If we get there, our armed guys gotta' go in first. We have no idea if the police station is even accessible, let alone clear of undead. So take the entrance slow. Kat's condition is a little poor, but if we get her resting in the next couple of hours, she should be fine." Carrie somewhat regretted grabbing a weapon all of sudden but she kept her mouth shut. She was far too frustrated and tired to speak regardless. She eyed the third man who ran up speaking with the first, the one who she remembered had been sniping a few of the horde.

Carrie was closing in on the fence, pausing every few steps to wait for the injured. She was getting exhausted and now she could feel some of her own injuries. Carrie assessed herself and figured there were some average burns, scrapes, and a sprained ankle. Other than that, her list of annoyances didn’t go on too far. Carrie had paused again and was looking back, her scowl deepening when the loud clang caught her attention. “What the..” She lost her breath as the newest danger burst from their cages and galloped on all fours towards the freshly formed company. “Run! Get your asses to that fence!” She gasped in the air that singed her lungs and moved to the flank of the group. She wasn’t wasting time sticking around this zoo any longer but she still had a job to do, and didn't want to feel any guilt about leaving the injured behind. “Fuck! Run faster!”

Hannah Blackstone

Hannah heaved under the almost dead weight of the woman. "C'mon" she said reassuringly to the woman she was holding, "Stay with us if you can! I promise I won't let you fall behind" Hannah said with honesty. It was true too, she wouldn't every leave someone behind. Hannah, Pack and Kat were getting through the gate when the piercing sound of shattering glass and howls filled the air. She looked behind her and saw Carrie screaming "Fuck! Run faster!". Hannah's blood curdled and her eyes widened with fear as the chimpanzees began to run out to the blaze and jump around howling and screaming, "Oh fucking hell!" she said with fear, "they're fast and nimble!" she screamed to herself.

Hannah raised her gaze to meet Pack's "i'm sorry if you're tired, but we've gotta pick our pace up ten notches and get the fuck up the street!". Hannah hitched Kat up a bit higher and broke into a hard and difficult jog. It wasn't so much her endurance that was giving out, but Hannah's strength... She wasn't built to carry any sort of weight, but rather run and keep running when she needed. But, she wasn't going to give up. "Oi you!" Hannah shouted over to Marcus, "You need to rain bullets on the monkeys! We can't out run that... they need to be dealt with now!" Hannah said almost crying.



Cameron regretted probing into the girl's father's whereabouts immediately and watched as she cut her sentence off when going into explanation. Then she shook whatever thought was on her mind and concentrated back on what Cameron wanted. "What sort of car was it?" she asked with a small smirk. Cameron grew uneasy as he followed her through the hangar, "Uh, It-it was a 67 Chevy Impala" he said with a hint of pride and a hint of worry at the girls smirk.

They rounded one or two cars before Cameron came into sight of his car, "Ohhh baby kitten!" he said as he approached the front of his car, "She's still as good lookin' as the day I met her" he said with a warm smile for his car. "Damn your dad did a good job on her" he said comfortingly to the girl. Cameron began to walk around his car, quickly admiring the design and look of the dark black paint. The car certainly looked badass, and Cameron had to admit that style meant nothing anymore, but he loved his car like it was his child. As he reached the rear of his car his smile and fond eyes dropped and his jaw followed suit.

"W-w-what have you?" Cameron couldn't talk as he looked at the back of his car. The impala was completely missing it's back wheels, the boot cover, the paneling... It was pretty much gone up to the back window and Cameron hadn't noticed it initially from the shadows in the hangar. "No no no no" he whined looking up at Lulu "Why the fucking fuck would you do this!?" he asked with some rage. He backed away from his car and approached Lulu menacingly, a fist raised ready to knock her out... Cameron made it a few steps from Lulu and stopped just before he swung out. He made direct eye contact with her and suddenly he stopped. He lowered his fist and sighed, grunting roughly and then hitting the car next to them instead leaving a large dent. He couldn't hit a girl... let alone one who was barely an adult.

Rikter slashed and and struck at the oncoming horde, but things just kept getting worse and the pressure was building. Though, this was working in Rikter's favor; the more pressure the undead were putting on, the deeper into the soldier mindset he was was driveng into. As they pressed onward, he slowly began stepping back. Eventually, he noticed Carrie moving back, hearing the woman who had introduced herself as Hannah. Moving through the fence. Carrie and Rikter are to lead the charge through to clear the way. Perfect. Rikter flipped the blade in his fingers before walking forward, moving to take point with the woman.

He was about to move past the the few who were helping the injured woman, but his heightened sense from the adrenaline helped him pick up on the weakened voice of the red haired woman. "I've got a gun, if anyone else knows how to shoot..." He slowed his stride, kneeling down and relieving this injured woman of her firearm, along with any extra ammunition she had. "Save your breath and your energy..." He muttered before cocking the gun with a fresh clip, getting a bullet in the chamber. Now, he had knife in the same position, but pointed outward in his left hand, pistol over his left wrist in his right hand. A stance of one who had learned such arts of combat. He took his place by Carrie, immediately turning his attention to the coming threats, firing off one round per target; he was taking down the swiftest, and each round hit their mark between the eyes or somewhere in the upper cranial region. He was killing them off. Fast. Deadly. Efficient. Just like he was trained to do.

If one looked into his eyes, they could see they had changed; not in color or anything, but by the feel they had, the emotion. Or in this case, a lack of. Rikter's amber eyes were cold, hollow, and.some would dare said dead. They were the eyes of a trained killer. And given how his military time had taken over, that's all he was. No longer the laidback, guitar loving musician who was searching for his mother and sister. He was just a soldier in the warzone right now.

The chimpanzees crawled over the cages, not wanting to touch the floor for some unknown fear, and kept hopping across cages and back again at lightning speed. He noticed that both Mr Guitar and the other woman who was fighting him had taken up stances against the human infected so he threw the rifle over his back and loaded the submachinegun. In his more awake state, the shots were a little more accurate, taking out five of the creatures - one mid leap - within one clip (He could tell if he had taken down a human). Despite the quick reload and the second bullet storm he threw their way, the chimpanzees were frenzied, uncaring of the danger they were getting themselves into.

"Fall back!" Marcus cried out to the others. "To the gate! We can use it as a choke point!" At they, all three of them quickly back-peddled to the gate ready to face the hoards, a challenge that never came.

At the exact moment that both the chimp and the human infected had reached the zoo intersection Marcus and the other too were at moments earlier, a badly injured and horribly infected elephant covered in the remains of a small building and slightly wet plowed through the hoard, violently shattering the bodies of some and sending others flying. Marcus mused that if they decided to run backwards a couple of seconds later, it would be their remains on those ugly fragments of tusk. The elephant began to turn towards the humans - the healthy ones - when a chimp decided to swing off its trunk dislocating it slightly. It didn't end well for the chimp, nor for anyone or anything near the frenzied pachyderm who decided to stamp its way through as much as the hoard as possible. Marcus and the other two turned to catch up to the rest of the group before the creature had a chance to find a new target.