Rikter Jonathon Reznov's Story

Deep, low, quivering notes resonated throughout the air, breaking the unnaturally silent atmosphere that had seemed to consume the area of the street. Rikter sat cross-legged atop a wrecked van, the front tires missing, a hubcap missing from the front right, while the rear was missing its entire axle, wheels, suspension and all. Looking down to the old bass he strummed away at, the young man sighed heavily, his tune heavy and solemn, just as his heart felt. Trapped. Isolated. Alone... With a glance, he kept plunking out the notes on the strings, the song beginning to pick up its pace and starting to sound very prominent, though still solemn. Smoke on the horizon, coming from the direction of a camp he had passed through not too long ago. It only really went to show just how much this world was going to hell.

After watching the rising smoke, closing his eyes, and inhaling deeply, he let the breath out as he sang softly. Given that the acoustics provided by the linear-running buildings surrounding him on that road, his voice travelled quite a distance as it broke the quiet with the instrument's call. "...Before I tell my story please consider who I am...I missed my window years ago, I'm doing all I can...A tragedy is commonplace, but in the end they go away...My skin is the only stain I'm left to wear in shame..." His voice was haunting in its tone and pitch; calm, sorrowful, resentful, a Baritone range paired with a faint but apparent Russian accent. A rare breeze blew down the street, causing him to stop playing and singing. With hazel eyes opened now, he looked upward and forward, down the street, parting his slate colored hair a bit in order to see clearly. Such a breeze wasn't felt so often, and given the situation, it brightened his mood a little bit.

However, the breeze wasn't the only thing that caught his attention. A soft sound, but still quite prominent; metal grinding against metal for a brief moment. That meant something was moving. And given the situation, he may as well see what was causing this. If it was another survivor, excellent; if it was one of those shambling, husks of humans...He'd rather not think about the latter scenario. Rikter began to move, but hesitated, a soft jingling heard at his chest. Cupping his right hand, he lifted the pair of dog tags into the palm of his hand, sliding his thumb over them to separate them. The upper tag held the name "Rikter Jonathon Reznov II". Rikter Jonathon Reznov Jr. That was who he was. The lower read "Rikter Jonathon Reznov". Rikter's father. Rikter's deceased father. A shakey sigh escaped his throat as he clutched the tags, muttering a soft prayer in Russian before sliding down the van's roof and landing on both feet. Dusting himself off, adjusting the strap, and flipping the bass guitar around to its back, neck and head pointed downward, he began to walk. Just...Walk.

He could only really wonder who he would find; it could be anyone. A man, woman, child, doctor, lawyer, killer, prostitute, salesman, soldier...It could be anyone. Or anything. There was some worry in his mind if he would have to fight. Then again, a lot of things were resting heavily on his mind these days. But, he wasn't too concerned. Maybe if he was lucky, he would find a gorgeous woman who knew how to survive something like this! "Naaaaah...." He waved off the thought as he walked toward the source of the audible disturbance from before. Rikter knew his luck, and the chances of something like that were near nichego, nothing. His focus returned to finding the disturbance, and finding it fast. But, still...He could only wonder who, or what, he'd find.

Carrie Reeds

Carrie twirled her new weapon in her right hand. It was silent and perfectly fitted in her palm, but chilling to the touch. However, Carrie turned away from the nostalgic scene in the distance and towards her new goal.

She walked for a few minutes, mind focused on her surroundings. Although, when she heard soft footfalls behind her, she spun around and stared at the empty street. ‘What was that?’ she thought inwardly. Carrie’s eyes narrowed and her hand clenched over her weapon. It hadn't been long since she attained it but she felt weird as she thought about getting to use it already. Carrie was sure it hadn’t been the shuffle of an infected but you could never be sure. She suspected it was some scavenger, come to rid her of whatever food she had on her, albeit not having any to give. She stared for a moment more before moseying to the side of the street, leaning against the storefront in the shadows.

A man came down the street after what seemed like forever. Carrie was surprised that her gut feeling had been right. Someone had been behind her and she questioned for how long too. His determined walk made it seem like he was searching for something. Carrie stiffened and let her blue gaze take in the rest of his appearance. He looked pale, almost like a phantom, and he had a slim build. His hair was a similar shade to her own but she knew that her hair color was more silvery. His dog tags attracted her attention and she briefly wondered if they were for show, or if they actually had meaning. She could remember her great grandfather wearing dog tags, but only because he wanted to preserve his memory if he died. Nonetheless, Carrie stepped out from the shadows and scowled.

“Hey. Looking for something?” Bitterness laced itself in her voice. Even if he might have just been a passerby, the chance that he might have been bad news was too much. Carrie glared and raised her weapon, tapping it against her shoulder.

Rikter adjusted the strap of his guitar as to keep the neck of it from hitting anything. If there was anything he hated more musical wise than having to tune the guitar was a popped or broken guitar string. But, "Dragunov" was tough, so he was able to rest assured. He'd been walking for quite some time, yet still no sign of who or what caused that sound...Maybe he was just imagining it? But, before his mind could agree, his suspicions were confirmed as a woman stepped forward from the shadow of a shop, holding a long piece of metal resting on her shoulder. That had to be the source of the sound; only problem was, this woman looked like she meant business. But, looks...She was quite a catch, and had a very unique sort of beauty to her. Seems Rikter's luck was turning up after all. She was dressed in what looked to be some sort of off time uniform, her gaze focused and cold. Given the shade and shimmer her hair had, he assumed that the silver locks were given that pigment from being dyed. But still...Something about this woman made him blush, just a little bit.

However, her rather cold and commanding voice brought him back to reality. "Hey. Looking for something?" Rikter cleared his throat as he walked closer, so he wouldn't end up having to shout, his Russian accent apparent in his speech. "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?" He kept his hands up where she'd be able to see them, constantly eyeing the piece of long, slender metal. She may very well be ready to take his belongings, and if that were the case, she'd have to kill him. Rikter was carrying things too precious to him to let some thief take it without a fight.

"My name is Rikter Jonathon Reznov Jr. My friends call me R.J. You are?" He introduced himself as politely as he could. Given the current situation, pleasantries weren't exactly something that would flow smoothly. This woman could easily attack him, or even have other waiting to jump him! Or...Or...He paused and exhaled, gathering his thoughts. Those few years of duty he served military wise had created a part of him that was always paranoidly creating scenarios. He hoped for the best now, keeping his hands up as he rolled his shoulders to keep his arms from getting stiff, the dog tags hanging down to his chest jingling once again, and quite audibly at that.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

Hannah kept turning the flash light on and off to make sure the monstrous infected elephant followed her. When the creature turned towards her, Hannah got a good look for the first time at how revolting and horrid the animal looked. It's body was lacerated and torn so violently... The bottom of it's legs were tattered from where infected had obviously bitten it. Hannah's face screwed up as the creature stood on its hind legs and trumpeted again, the foul stench of it reaching her nose causing Hannah to cough.

The elephant's front legs hit the ground and it began a charge. Hannah's eyes widened and she turned on her heel and bolted. She managed to reach a nearby canteen, jumping across its countertop and sliding onto the floor; just in time to hit the ground as the elephant raised it's head and bashed the canteen, tearing it's top off. Hannah crawled out the side door of the canteen as the elephant raged onto it, destroying the whole thing like it had the truck. As Hannah crawled away and got to her feet, she heard the beast trumpet again and turned her head to see it coming after her once more.

Hannah was running as fast as she possibly could, ducking through the zoo and passing the animals enclosures. As she passed the lions she noticed they were all dead, rotting on the ground in their cages, they were perhaps the luckiest things around here. She reached the corner of the lions enclosure and barely made it around the corner as the elephant kept charging in a straight line. The beast had picked up so much momentum thankfully, that when it turned to change direction, it's bulky body prohibited it from stopping and it slammed right into the side of the aquarium the zoo housed. It hit the wall and went straight through to the pool of water on the other side. Hannah watched in awe as the building partly collapsed on the elephant and water gushed out into the pathways. "Holy shit" she said to herself wide eyed watching as the elephant tossed and turned under the wet rubble.

Hannah turned back around and began to make her way back to the zoo exit where she'd instructed the others to run to. She assumed the elephant had been dealt with as the building had pretty much collapsed on it. As she jogged back to the spot where the blazing truck was still burning Hannah heard a thunderous roar and looked around her and her eyes widened from what she saw; a panther stood near the blaze of the truck remnants and Hannah froze as it watched the scene around it.

The creature barely stood upright. It was missing half it's tail and back left leg. A large portion of it's left side was also missing... Black blood oozed from its nostrils and eyes and some of its wounds. Hannah could clearly see its lungs puffing up and down, but also knew that must have been habit from living rather than necessity. It appeared that the infected must have swarmed this zoo and managed to make their way into some of the animal's pens and cages. Hannah began to back slowly away, surely the beast couldn't catch her if she tried to run for it. But the others might not have as much luck.

Hannah shouted out to nobody in particular but hoped everyone heard, "NO ONE MOVE FOR THE MOMENT...BY THE TRUCK!" she pointed her hand and almost immediately regretted it. The panther looked around and spied Carrie, Pack and Kat. It clumsily jumped out into the open away from the burning truck. It was surprisingly nimble too for a monster without four legs. It made a b-line for the man holding the woman as he attempted to carry the woman to where Carrie had run. "Oh God" she said frighteningly to herself, "LOOK OUT!!!".

Hannah then looked around the sorry scene for Christian and the other guy who had managed to escape the truck. Hannah wasn't strong enough to even begin to fight that monstrous cat. But maybe if Carrie, the Rikter fellow with the guitar and that other scraggy looking man could protect the other girl and hold off for a moment, or at least long enough so Hannah, Christian and the stadium guard guy could dispatch of the zombie cat.

Hannah called out briefly, keeping her eye on the panther, but it seemed as though it was more than distracted at that moment, "Christian where are you? Did you find that other guy?"

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.

Kat finally began to come to once more, and she knew that they were still not safe. There was chaos all around. Screaming, undead, frantic infected animals. She heard a few gunshots behind her and heard an explosion. And there was the smell of blood, her own blood, and smoke in the air. She could taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth. Her ribs were on fire with every breath she took and every move she made. But then she realized she was in someone's arms. She felt warm, pressed up against the body, and she wanted to stay right there. But she knew she couldn't. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting as the brightness made her head explode anew in pain. Finally, she looked up, peering at the person who held her. There were two of them. How did this one person holding her have two heads? She blinked a few times, forcing her eyes to focus.

"Pack," she groaned quietly. "What's… what's going on?"

She turned her head away from his face and saw the horror that was unfolding before them. Undead everywhere. Smoke closing in as the fire from the stadium began to spread. People she didn't recognize fighting the undead by hand. Pack had been stuck hiding by a wall with her in his arms. Kat slid her hand down into her knee pocket and pulled out her gun. "Put me down, I have to help." She gave him a look that showed that she meant business. When he finally set her down, she swayed a little and put a hand on his shoulder to steady herself. Her head was spinning and she stumbled back against the wall, closing her eyes for a moment.

Her ribs jarred as she leaned back against the wall and she grunted, putting her hand over her left side where the pain came from. "Damnit. I'm ok. I'm ok," she said, more for herself than anyone else. She reopened her eyes and the world had finally stopped spinning. "Ok." She popped the magazine out of the gun and checked to see how many bullets she had left. Five. "Pack," she said. "I'm going to need some of those bullets you've got. Nine mil, please."

And as he went digging through his bags to find what she had asked, Kat raised her gun. The stretching movement sent a shot of pain through her and she doubled over. "Damnit!" Taking slow breaths, she straightened once more, biting down on her lip until it bled. She held the gun closer instead of stretching her arm out this time, and aimed for an infected that was making its way toward the one man who was fighting up there. She missed with the first shot, hitting a different infected behind it in the shoulder. The next shot found its mark, though.

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!"