THE SURVIVOR

"It's okay baby we're safe… we're safe," Joel says quietly while the infected fell to their backs and bled from the bullets. Joel looked up carrying his daughter Sarah at the man that pointed the flashlight at the two, readying his weapon. "Hey," Joel said to him, "we need help…"

"Stop!" the man replied with his gas mask on and a full suited armor like he was part of a SWAT team.

"Please, it's my daughter I think her leg's broken," Joel said back to the man with the gun and took a couple of steps forward but the man shouted at them while he pointed his gun at them.

"Stop right there!" he shouted, the light from the flashlight pointed at them in their eyes.

As the man reached for his radio Joel said, "Okay… look we're not… sick.."

"Got a couple of civilians in the outer perimeter." The man spoke in his radio like he was talking to a general.

"Daddy what about Uncle Tommy?" Sarah finally said while she held Joel tight as he held her in his arms.

"We're going to get you to safety and we can go back for him. Okay?" Joel reassured her as he spoke quietly to his daughter. Both of them worried from the SWAT member.

"Sir, there's a little girl," the man spoke back when he was talking into the radio, "but…" the man wanted to speak back but had to follow the orders of the general, so the man did what he had to do. "Yes sir…"

"Hey listen buddy, we've just been through hell… we just need," before Joel could finish the man pointed his weapon at the both of them like was ready to fire. "Oh shit… Sarah!" he shouted as the bullets flared and struck the both of them while he tried to turn back and run away but Joel carried Sarah as they fell down a small hill, tumbling from the dirt and rubble until they halted on the ground.

The man approached Joel first, and he could notice the blood stain from Joel's shirt. He pointed the weapon at Joel while Joel said like he knew it were his last words… "Please… don't.."

Until the man heard screams and shouts from close by, infected ran out of bushes and from trails to where they were, mainly toward the light from the flashlight of the man. "Holy shit!" he fired his weapon at as many as he could but was too late…

Joel got himself back up as quick as he could to look for Sarah, and he sees her getting up from the infected… struggling from her broken leg. "Sarah!" Joel tried to stand but his wound wouldn't let him while it let out pain all over his body, he ached for help.

"Daddy!" she limped a little closer towards her father like she was okay but Joel made it clear that he wanted her to run.

"RUN NOW. GET AWAY FROM THE INFECTED!" he shouted as he was crawling backwards from the monsters as they violently beat the man in the SWAT uniform, his cries for mercy were heard from Joel and Sarah. She didn't know what to do or how to get away with her leg broken, but her father reassured that she would need to get away now.

"Daddy I don't want to"-

"Listen to me baby girl, just… RUN," he repeated as he looked into her eyes like it was the last time. His serious tone made her shake a little, and immediately think twice about leaving or not. Sarah looked to the direction of the bridge where people were in cars and waiting to get away from hell, as she turned back and saw tears come down from her father's eyes…

"I…" she tried to talk but the infected screeched louder as the man was already dead, and they wanted to turn to Joel…

"Run!" he yelled as Sarah took steps back and could hear him aching from the bullet wound. He watched his daughter limp up the hill to the bridge farther and farther, and made him feel good until an infected man lunged at him, wanting flesh. Joel had reached his arms out on the man's shoulders to get away from himself as the infected wouldn't stop biting and grunting for more.

"Ahhhh!" Joel yelled as he thought he was going to die right then and there from infected, just when he was about to give in, his brother Tommy came yelling too and had a revolver that shot up the infected that was on Joel. The relief and calm tone reassured him from his brother's appearance. He looked to the hill again to see if it was clear from Sarah, and he didn't see his daughter there anymore. He thought she had made it, hopefully.

"Son of a bitch!" Tommy shot the last round from the weapon at another infected, so one last monster was left. It lunged at Tommy like it did Joel as they stood struggling arms against arms. Joel then grabbed the infected leg of the monster and pulled as hard as he could to make it fall to the ground. Tommy then saw what happened and the infected still tried to get at him on it's belly on the ground.

"Kill it now!" Joel shouted at his brother, then he listened and stomped as hard as he could onto the head of the monster, making a crack and guttering squish of a noise. Both brothers panted from their encounter and Tommy quickly crouched to Joel as he noticed the bullet wound in his torso.

"Oh shit brother, don't die on me please…" Tommy said to Joel as he ached from the pain.

"It hurts so bad…" Joel replied shutting his eyes trying to hold it in. then he immediately remembered about Sarah and where she might have been. The thought ran through his mind like he needed to find her now. "Sarah… she took off."

"What? You mean she ran off? She escaped, is that what you mean?" Tommy said as he turned back and saw the bridge full with lights from cars and noise from people trying to get pass. "Oh man we need to find her, but what about your gut?"

"Fuck it, I need to find her," Joel replied as he tried to get up but instead coughed a little blood onto his own shirt and lied back down. "God dammit… she's going to die if I don't get to her," he says as he cries.

"Now hold on Joel, I can help don't worry!" he reassured him as he took off his shirt and tore it up for it to cover the wound for his brother. It didn't do much but it had enough pressure to make sure it wouldn't bleed as much. "There, now try to walk."

Joel stood up slowly covering his wound, and he felt good like he was going to find his daughter… he coughs, "I need to… get her back NOW."

Sarah limped as far as she could in the middle of parked cars where people in them wanted to leave San Antonio as fast as they could, with their eager and scared eyes honking their car horns like they wanted to leave now. People could see Sarah limping in the middle of their cars, passing through each one with more than a person in the cars, they seemed shocked to find a little girl in her pajamas limping and cutting out of their way onto the bridge.

Sarah seemed frightened and was still crying when she walked up to a barricade that had gates blocking the paths for the cars to move on. A soldier that had the same clothing from before that almost killed them was holding a speaker phone, and was saying into it for people to stay calm and they had to wait for the bridge to be clear. The man standing on top looks down to see Sarah crying and looking up at him, and speaks to her, "Hey little girl, what're you doing? Get back to your family…"

She just stood there and cried as her aching leg hurt her more and more severely, she sat down on her butt as she just cried and sobbed.

"Shit. Hey, is it clear yet?" the soldier asked the other, "It isn't"-

Before the other man could finish, large gunshots were being fired from the bridge along with shouting from soldiers. They yelled, "RUN! INFECTED ARE APROACHING!"

"Oh my god…" the man on top said to himself as he witnessed soldiers being beaten and trampled on as a horde came by. "Open fire now!" he shouted at troops that were below him keeping guard, then shots of machinegun fire lit up the dark and steep road of the bridge that was ahead. One by one, infected sprinted to the lights of the cars and sounds of shouting and car horns.

Sarah covered her ears from everything that was going on and had her eyes shut too as she just sat there, hoping the nightmare would end soon. She looked up from her sobbing face and saw a man reaching his hand out for her like he wanted to help her up from the gunfire and soldiers. It looked like he was shouting from the way he was standing there having his hand open for her hand to take. His short black hair was like the night sky as she looked up at him, and his white skin was reflected from lights. Sarah raised her hand slowly and handed it to him, he then pulled her up and carried her to the end of the line where cars parked and wanted to leave.

His car door opened from the back passenger side and he put her in the back seat and slammed the door shut. The whole time on the way to the car, Sarah had her eyes closed and was terrified like she was being taken away from a stranger.

She opened her eyes and saw to her right: a boy that looked her age that was just as scared but was really quiet. He kept to himself as Sarah looked to the front of the car and saw the man that picked her up and a woman that sat in the passenger side. Both of them looked back to see if there was a car or anything behind them as they reversed out of the line and drove back to the small part of San Antonio.

"Are you okay there little girl?" the man that drove asked as he was finding a way out of the area. "You're safe now that you're out of there…" the woman turned to him.

"Are you okay?" the woman turned to Sarah and saw the expression on her face as she turned. She was sobbing and still scared as Sarah turned back and saw from the rear window an explosion of something and gunshots that fired away. The little hope that Sarah had in her was fading as she stayed quiet through the drive.

It became quiet, then she spoke, "I'm okay…"

The woman turned to look at her and said, "God is with you little girl, my husband pulled you out of there so we could leave as soon as we could.."

"That's right, I couldn't bare to see a soul like that go away… I saw families crying and losing hope as I walked in front of the cars to see what was going on with the gates, but then I saw the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life… a little girl crying to herself. God you to be saved and taken away from all that," the man said as he drove.

"We're the Andersons. My name is Carol, our son Anthony and the man that saved you: Frank." The woman spoke to her as Sarah looked up at them and saw the boy sitting looking out the window, ignoring what they were saying.

"I'm telling you girl, I'm finding a way out of home and somewhere I know is safe. Please believe me when I say that we mean no harm to you, we've lived in Texas for a long time now, so please don't be afraid. God is with you," he reassured her as Sarah listened.

It got quiet and the driving led to the sound of asphalt going against the tires as they drove. Then Sarah speaks and says quietly, "Thank you for saving me…"

The man smiled as he drove and thought of the good deed that he thought of was. He knew there was a place they could settle and get away from the hellish that was arising.

If only Sarah knew what she was getting into.