This was it.
They had reached the mall where the EVAC. center would be located. This was the last stretch, and damn, Elizabeth was anxious for it.
The night had consisted of her shivering from anxiety and cold, and now, the morning came. She knew this would either be death, or they would survive and thrive(Well, thrive as best as they could in a country full of infectees).
Standing and gathering her items, Elizabeth let her eyes ghost over everyone in the safe house.
Daniel was packing some stuff in his health kit whilst talking to Rochelle, the two smiling and laughing lightly.
Robert and Coach were talking, Ellis adding points to the conversation as well while he loaded his shotgun. The other two seemed to be packing as they were talking.
April was talking with Nick, the latter handing the female a cigarette and lighter.
They had only known each other for a mere two days or so, and yet here they were, casually chatting as if they had known each other for years. They all seemed so... Relaxed. How can they be so lax? It's life or death here... Maybe it was their experience. Elizabeth knew she was the youngest one here, being only seventeen. She still had no clue why she felt so damn anxious- It was nearly to the point of where she wanted to get sick.
She did not have a good feeling about this.
"Hey Liza, you alright there?" Her train of thoughts were snapped in half as someone asked the question.
"Huh?" She echoed blankly, and April's brows furrowed slightly. She walked over, putting a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, and the shorter looked up at her friend. She couldn't see April's eyes or eyebrows due to the set of ski goggles adorning her face, but by the frown marring her features, Elizabeth could tell her best friend seemed worried.
"I asked if you were alright. You look a little pale, there. 'Lil green around the gills." April wiped a thumb across Elizabeth's forehead, where perspiration had started to gather. She jerked away in surprise, slowly moving the gloved hand away. She waved her own hand.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a bit nervous- I mean, this is either make it, or break it." She admitted quietly, swallowing the lump that had started to form in her throat.
"We'll make it." Robert suddenly intercepted, a small smile on his determined face. Daniel gave a mute nod of agreement, and Ellis grinned, echoing with a 'Hell yeah we will!'. The rest also agreed, and April gave Elizabeth a rare, assuring smile.
"We'll be fine." April nodded, and Elizabeth gazed at everyone, before letting a grin spread across her face.
"Right. Thanks for the assurance." She started, moving and loading up her weapons. Once everyone was ready, they all headed out. However, Elizabeth noted, there was no evacuation looking vehicles anywhere. There wasn't even a specific station!
"This doesn't really look like an evacuation center..." Robert muttered, and nobody answered his comment, but they all seemed to be thinking the same thing.
After picking off few Infected, they climbed into an elevator.
"Hol-ee shit! It's Jimmy Gibbs Jr.'s car!" Ellis suddenly exclaimed, looking down at the car as they descended. "Damn... To think ah could've gotten a picture with it..."
"So, considering there's no evacuation anything here, anyone have another plan?" Nick snorted, looking at everyone.
"We could take the car." Ellis suddenly suggested, still staring at the machine. "They don' gas 'em up at shows, but we could look fer some gas." Nobody said anything.
"No objections? Good." Coach nodded, "As soon as these doors open, y'all better haul your asses and find some gas!" A chorus of agreements echoed out, and as soon as the doors opened, they were met with several Infected. They started taking them out, and all begun to disperse.
Nick moved to go off, but didn't get very far. Something grabbed his arm, and he turned to shoot whatever it was, stopping as he saw April. "What? We don't have time to be standing around!" He snapped, trying to pull away, but she held on tight. She narrowed her eyes through the goggles.
"Nick, please- You have to promise me," She started. Her low, serious tone made Nick stand still, so she continued, "If anything happens to the three of us- Robert, Daniel and I- I want you to look after Elizabeth." He blinked in surprise at her request, and was about to retort, but she didn't let him. "Please." Her voice was almost near a plea now.
"Why should I make any promises like that?" He snapped, pulling away from her. She frowned, but he continued, "You can look after the brat yourself when you get out of this place." With that, he turned and headed off. April watched, before swallowing, and headed off to take care of her own Infected.
A/N: Forgive the abrupt ending. I didn't want the whole Dead Center campaign to be the first chapter, so I split it up. Friendly note: I originally wrote all of this as one long chapter, so the chapter splits may be choppy. Please R&R!