Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I'd just like to say I have a physics exam tomorrow, but screw that so I can get this next chapter up ASAP. :D

Chapter 2: On the Road Again

When Zoey woke it was still dark outside. Someone had pulled a green scruffy blanket over her, and as she sat up, groggily rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the prvious night's events came to her - rescuing Ellis and meeting with his friends; Coach, Nick, and Rochelle. Standing up, she could see that they had slept on the floor, allowing her the couch for the night; she smiled at how Nick must have put up a fight for his territory before she came and claimed it.

Grabbing two pistols and a bottle of water, Zoey quietly unbarred the safe house doors and crept outside, making sure to close the latch behind her. She turned to survey the building she had just left; it was a 5 story block of apartments, with a fire escape leading right up to the sloped roof. Zoey smiled, and started to climb the fire escape, the metal cold against her palm in the misty dawn and the black paint peeling off in places. Trying not to make too much sound as to alert the horde, she climbed to the top, and scrambled onto the roof. Tiptoeing accross the lime green coat of erosion on the copper, she sat down facing the sliver of light to the east and watched the sun rise.

The golden rays were seemingly static, cutting through the mist and dismissing the dark for another day. The city was bathed in light, making it appear as a silent heavenly city. The sun was but a disc on the horizon, and as it rose it cast long dark shadows over the west side of the city; constrasting a beautiful pool of soft yellow with the pitch black shade next to each other - Just like a bumble-bee, Zoey thought to herself. She leant back, her eyes closed, and let the sun roll over her skin, letting all her worries free in this warm glow. Basked in oblivion, she didn't hear the approaching footsteps.

'Ain't it just beautiful.' Zoey opened her eyes and saw that Ellis was coming to sit down on her right. He had washed his t-shirt since it wasn't caked in blood as it was the night before, and wore a soft smile. He too looked golden in the sunlight; a golden angel in a golden city.

He sat down next to her, just watching the sun rise with her for a while. It was perfect, just the two of them sitting in silence, enjoying the amazing beauty the shades of gold could bring to even an infected city. However, the sun could not rid one of the mist and Zoey was starting to regret leaving her pink jacket behind. Sensing her cold, Ellis reached out and put an arm around her; it was more a reflex than a thought-through action, but it had the desired effect.

He was suprisingly warm, and Zoey found herself shifting closer to him, trying to get comfortable. She rested her head on his shoulder, still watching the sun rise. Neither of them spoke, as words would ruin the moment; a moment that would embed itself in her memory forever, sitting on the roof of a 5 story building, watching the sun rise in a gleaming deserted city, with a golden angel's arm around her.

After what seemed like forever, the duo heard a commotion in the rooms below.

'Sounds like they just woke up,' said Ellis. Zoey nodded her agreement and together they made their way down the fire exit and back into the safe room.

Rochelle was in the bathroom, brushing her hair and washing her face, Coach was preparing food for the group, and Nick was still in his sleeping bag, moaning at the noise Coach was making. As Ellis and Zoey walked through the door, he turned to smile at them.

'Finally!' Coach exclaimed, 'We thought you'd run off without us!' He laughed a deep, hearty laugh. Zoey smiled. She opened her mouth to tell Coach that they were watching the sun rise together, but Ellis interrupted her;

'We went to go look around for some supplies together,' He started, 'But we found nothin'.' Zoey shot him a worried glance; sitting on a roof together was completely innocent, unless... She smiled, as the thought struck her; He's got a thing for me.

Hours later, and finally the team were ready to set off. Zoey felt refreshed after her shower, and reassured with a health kit on her back, and a belt filled with pain pills, adrenaline shots, and bile jars, as well as a few pipe bombs as gifts for the horde. She had armed herself with a katana and auto shotgun strapped behind her and a pistol pushed into each side of her belt. As Coach, wielding a mini-uzi, opened the safe room door, he was immediately greeted by the tongue of a smoker which Nick expertly shot. A horde attack as soon as the door opens was rare; but they happened, and down the street waves of zombies were coming at the group as they filed out of the safe room, closing the metal door behind them. Zombies with missing limbs, torn clothes, covered in blood and even vomiting.

With a fierce war cry, Rochelle surprised the group by rushing forward first, swinging her axe like a pro - Bill would have been proud of such a valiant soldier. Zoey shot a few common infected in the neck, enjoying being back in battle with a team again. She started to laugh at how easy killing zombies was getting, when the cry went up from Ellis and Nick simultaneously;

TANK!

The large, muscular infected pushed smaller fry out of its way as it raced towards the survivors, who were reaching for their more powerful weapons. Zoey had her shotgun out in a flash, and fired a round into the beast's huge chest. The bullets seemed to ricochet off, having little to no effect. As she was reloading, she was grabbed from behind. A reflex made her start to struggle, but it was Ellis's voice in her ear.

'You act as if you've never shot a tank before, missy,' He laughed, grabbing her arms and aiming the shotgun for her. 'Man or zombie, it never changes where it hurts the most...' Ellis aimed Zoey's gun with her, and fired; a shot that went straight between the groins of the tank, bringing it down. They both chuckled, and Ellis stepped away from her as the group turned to look at Zoey, amazed.

'She's pulled off Ellis's little trick!' giggled Rochelle.

The horde was thinning now, and Nick shot down the last zombie holding the rifle in his left hand alone, as if his aim was perfect and he needn't look at his target to see where he was shooting. Everyone was grinning. They'd advanced from the safe room to the junction; a menial distance given the time frame - but they'd had to fight off one of the largest attacks in a long time. Almost gasping for breath and sweating after the extortion, Zoey and Rochelle high-fived over the body of the charger they'd took down together.

'Five of us,' said Coach, 'Versus ten million zombies.' He pushed a carcass with his foot, as if checking to see if it was dead. Nick stalked past him emitting an aura of euphoria.

'They're gonna need more zombies,' he grinned. As bad a joke it was, everyone laughed at the attempt; the smallest hint of humour was welcomed in a hostile environment such as this. As the progressed down the wide street, they felt they could take on anything, and all Zoey held was positive anticipation for the future;

She was on the road again.

Oopsie. Very short. My bad. Well, thanks for the positive reviews everyone. I wanna start a RvB fic too soon, but having 3 going at once will be hard. After my exams finish a fortnight today, I'll have more free time to work on this. Yay! (For some) Also, thanks for motivation go to Butters321 and hdubs and everyone who reviews. I LOVE REVIEWS. :D

~Frankie