---Chapter One---
The four of them sat in the back of a helicopter, which was quickly zipping away from the burning remains of the bridge. After all they had been through, it felt good to finally be in the hands of the military. They could finally relax.
It was the oldest one of them that finally spoke. He was a large black man, seemingly in his mid-forties. The others had taken to calling him Coach, as that was his previous profession and what he liked to be called. In a deep, gruff voice, he exclaimed, "Thank you lord for delivering us to safety! Now almost all my prayers are answered!"
A younger woman in her late twenties by the name of Rochelle laughed. Like Coach, she was dark-skinned. She wore a bright pink Depeche Mode t-shirt, stained with blood, vomit, and other fluids. "Amen to that, Coach. What's your other wish?"
Before the man could speak, a different voice spoke up. "Let me guess; a cheeseburger?" He was wearing a once-white suit over a blue shirt. His brown hair, which might have been slicked back before the infected had come, was now in a tangled mess.
"You know what, Nick? You're right." Coach said, and the three of them chuckled. But the fourth figure didn't join in. He was sitting on the floor of the chopper, looking out towards the destroyed New Orleans slowly disappearing into the distance.
Rochelle noticed him, and was immediately worried. "Ellis, is something wrong? You don't seem yourself." Ellis turned and looked at her. He was the youngest of them all, with unkempt brown hair kept under a baseball cap. He wore a yellow Bull Riders shirt over a pair of his mechanic's pants.
"Yeah, I guess, Ro." He spoke with a southern accent. "I was just thinkin' about what we've been through and all… It's amazin' we even survived. You know?"
"I never knew you were such a deep thinker, Ellis." Nick joked. Coach ignored him. "Well, we did. And we did a damn good job of it!" He smiled reassuringly, and Ellis smiled back.
"Yeah, but I wonder what happened to those three guys back on the Bridge. I hope they're okay." Ellis said, looking back out the window. Nick scowled. "You're just thinking about that Zoey girl, huh? Well I wouldn't. She was way out of your league, anyway."
Rochelle lightly hit Nick's arm. "Nick, don't tease him! I'm sure they're all fine, Ellis. They had a pretty good position on that bridge. And remember, they said they were from up north. They must've been pretty damn good at surviving to make it down all this way."
Ellis considered this for a little bit. "Yeah, I guess so. Thanks, Ro!" Rochelle smiled. At that moment, the pilot clicked on the intercom. "We're not too far from the base. ETA ten minutes."
"Thanks, mister!" Ellis replied as the intercom clicked back off. He laughed. "Man, this reminds me of the time me and my friend Keith went on a helicopter tour…"
The rest of the survivors groaned. This was going to be a long ten minutes.